Chapter 54: I Don't Know What I Would Do, My Love

(Ella Fitzgerald)

By the time the night had set, they were on a war path. She hadn't been picked up by the cops, or Smecker would know. That meant she had been taken by the mob, which was their worse nightmare. They had a few ideas where to look, though they missed Rocco's intel—and capacity to make them laugh in any situation—more than ever.

After the tenth phone call of the night, Smecker had lost his patience and basically told them to fuck off.

They spent the rest of it tracking down some of Rocco's supposed former friends, that were turncoats anyway, and scared them shitless. However, all they managed to gather was that Papa Joe was still in hiding; they hadn't heard anything about Aideen.

So, Noah quietly advised they went back to the house for now. Dawn was breaking behind the skyline. Both Connor and Murphy looked so gaunt, after those two sleepless nights in a row, all their fighting and refusal to eat anything, that he was starting to fear for their sanity.

"I'll call Smecker again," Connor quietly stated without acknowledging the older man's suggestion.

"Why fucking bother? He said he wouldn't pick up!" Murphy had to snarl.

"It's the fucking morning now. Maybe there's something new." Connor snapped back.

Noah parked near the next payphone, knowing that neither would agree to go home anyway.

"Finally!" Smecker exclaimed over the line, and Murphy almost tore the phone from his brother's hand. "We really need to find a way for me to contact you," the agent continued.

"What the fuck, Smecker! Where is she?" Murphy yelled over Connor's shoulder, which should have earned him an elbow in the stomach, but Connor was too tired and eager to get the answer to his brother's question to properly retaliate.

"She's just in immigration offices. Nothing to do with anything you did."

Both the boys could have wept in relief.

"Damn, Smecker, I could kiss ye right now." Connor laughed, hugging Murphy's shoulder without even remembering any bad blood between them. His brother was jumping up and down, unable to contain his giddiness.

"Now what the fuck is she doing there though?" he still had to ask.

"Apparently, she's going to be sent back to Ireland." That cold shower sufficed to cool them down. "Something about her brother being her guardian. He alerted them that she was in violation of her visa or something. Not my area. Seems like your little girlfriend is not right in the mind-"

"Be careful of yer choice of words, lad." Connor's menacing and utterly serious tone made Smecker clear his throat:

"Anyway. There isn't much I can do."

Noah then took the phone, surprising Connor enough that he let go.

"Ye can delay the procedure, agent Smecker. Claim she's a witness in yer case so ye can keep her here."

"Even if I do that, she'll be deported in the end. As a witness, I can take her deposition but I can't keep her in the country eternally. Even if I could, she wouldn't go free…"

"If she's leaving, we're leaving too." Murphy stated, with a nod from Connor. They were back on the same page.

"Come on," Smecker pleaded, "we've got to finish what we started."

"We?" Connor asked with a smirk.

"Alright, I'll help you. I'll try to delay the process. And I have a way to get Yakavetta into court. You just need to be patient."

"Patience isn't our strongest suit." Connor warned.

"I noticed." His quip was only met by a heavy silence. "Alright, have a little faith in me." The agent wasn't used to being in the begging position. And he wondered how he had ended up there, since they were the ones asking for favours.

"When ye see her, tell her we're sorry." Connor said, looking Murphy straight in the eyes. The young man nodded up, more rueful that he'd ever been.

"I guess she knows why," Smecker had found back his trademark ironic tone.

"Ye better make fucking sure she's alright," Murphy couldn't help threatening.

When they hung up the phone, they were still upset, but a huge weight had been lifted from their shoulders. She was alive. They hated that they couldn't get to see her; they hated how they had left things between them. But she was alive.

"That's it. I'm fucking killing Liam now," Murphy muttered.

"If she gets back to Ireland, they'll send her to her father. We can't let that happen," Connor mulled over.

"There isn't much ye can do about this right now, boys." Noah tried to be the voice of reason.

"And we have to kill Yakavetta. For Rocco," Murphy stated.

"Aye," Connor agreed, "that's what Tin' would want us to do too. And afterwards, we'll simply go and get her."

"Aye, brother," Murphy grinned, "I think it's been too long since we've gone back home anyway."

"Ye're right, my dear brother," Connor smiled back before he turned to his father: "And I'm guessing Ma will have a thing or two to say to ye as well, won't she?"

Hey dear reader! Yes, you!
The end is not yet there but fast approaching... Any requests? Loose ends you'd want tied up? Fantasies you'd like fulfilled?
I know exactly where I'm going but that doesn't mean I can't be swayed...
I'm going to finish this before the new year, so don't wait up to let me know!
I hope you're having a fantastic holidays season.
You would make mine if you wrote even the smallest review.
Cheers!