Annie woke up with a small snort when she got out of bed and she quickly walked to the door. Opening the door, she left the room as Diego opened his eyes and he got out of bed. Annie walked down the hallway when the doors to Connor and Murphy's rooms opened and they walked out into the hallway.
"You're still here?" Annie asked and they glanced at each other.
"Why wouldn't we be?" Connor asked.
"Don't bullshit me. Diego told me what he did."
"You mean him askin' us how we knew shit about guns, rifles an' police work?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah," she said with a nod.
"Fuck," Connor whispered.
"He thinks you're running from the mob."
"It's better than what we really did," Murphy said.
"What did you do?" made Annie turn to see Diego behind her and Connor and Murphy glanced at each other. "Look. You told me you can't tell me because it would get all of us in trouble."
"Which is what we don't want," Connor said.
"I get that."
"An' we're not cops," Murphy said.
"I get that, too."
"But….," Connor said and Annie turned her head to look at him then she nodded. "What we are is what you call "Urban Vigilantes"."
Diego thought for a few seconds while they watched the look of his face as he has a silent conversation with himself. His eyes slightly widened when he thought of something and his mouth slightly opened.
"I've encountered urban vigilantes before, but I remember hearing about these two guys from Boston. They took on members of the Russian mafia and killed them," Diego said.
"It was more like they were fightin' fer their lives after those eejits came t'their apartment fer some payback," Connor said.
"They were really pissed off," Murphy agreed.
"Well, if they hadn't acted like assholes, they wouldn't have had their asses handed t'em."
"You're right."
"I do admit it was fun jumpin' off th'roof."
"Not from my point of view. You are jus' damn lucky you didn't break yer fuckin' neck."
"I landed on that one guy."
"Doesn't matter. You…."
"Hold it. Are you saying….? You're the Saints?" Diego asked. "I mean you do look like the police artist sketch…"
"Aye. We know," Connor said, rolling his eyes.
"Shit," Diego said with a sigh then he smiled.
"What's so funny?" Murphy asked.
"You two… You two were like celebrities around my precinct. Heroes. You took out scum, but what we never figured out was how you were able to find them let alone kill them."
"Devine intervention an' bein' in th'right place at th'right time," Connor said.
"That's how we took down that Russian Mafia boss," Murphy said.
"An' we wouldn't have been able t'take him down without my plan."
"Some plan. Crawl through th'vents until we fell into th'right room."
"Hey! If you hadn't been complainin' about carryin' th'rope….!"
"Which we didn't need!"
"We did so! If we hadn't have had it, we would have fallen to th'floor an' they would have killed us!"
"They still could have!"
"Hey! You weren't complainin' after we finished them off!"
"Well, I did complain a little bit."
"Then Rocco showed up."
"An' we scared th'shit outta him!"
"Then…"
"Guys," Annie said with a sigh.
Diego admitted he was enjoying listening to their banter as he smiled and he leaned against the wall.
"Did you guys really work on a sheep ranch?" Diego asked.
"Aye, we did after we had t'leave town," Connor said.
"Why did you come back?"
"We had a job t'do," Murphy said.
Diego heard the serious tone in his voice and nodded.
"Well, thanks for telling me," Diego said as he pushed off the wall and he headed down the hallway. They watched him go into the bedroom when Annie looked at her brothers and she crossed her arms under her breasts.
"You're not goin' anywhere," she said with her Irish accent.
"What will you do if we try t'leave?" Connor asked.
"I'll tell Ma."
They watched her head down the hallway when she went into the bedroom and Connor sighed, scratching the back of his head.
Ireland
Annabelle MacManus stood at the stove while she sipped on the whiskey in the glass in her right hand and she stirred the stew in the metal pot on the stove. She dribbled a little of the whiskey into the stew as she smiled then she placed the metal lid on the metal pot. She walked over to the bookcase when she looked at the framed photographs of Connor and Murphy, Annie and her and Noah and she frowned.
"Son of a bitch," she grumbled as she glared at the photograph of her and Noah. The photograph was of their wedding day. Both of them were smiling. Her mind replayed how happy she was that day. She had known he had his secrets. He came and went and, sometimes, he came home injured. But it was when she learned his biggest secret that she swore she would never allow her children to enter that life.
"But life had other plans," she whispered and she picked up the framed photograph of Connor and Murphy. They were grinning their charming smiles and they had their arms around each other's shoulders. "Damn you, Noah. Why did you do this t'em?"
The sound of someone knocking on the door startled her as she placed the framed photograph on the shelf, headed for the stove, turned the burner off, walked to the door and she looked through the peephole.
"What th'hell?" she whispered.
She opened the door as she looked at Sibeal and Doc and Sibeal gave her a shy smile. She noticed Doc had suitcases with him as he placed the suitcases near the door and she frowned.
"What are you doin' here?"
"May we come in?" Sibeal asked.
"Not until you tell me."
"Please?"
Sighing, she moved back so they could move by her and Doc lightly nodded his head. She closed the door while Sibeal stood in the middle of the room and Doc went to sit on the couch.
"Well?!" Annabelle asked, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Can we have some tea?" Sibeal asked.
"This isn't a teashop. Why are you here an' who is he?" she asked, pointing at Doc.
Sighing and placing his hands in front of him, Sibeal introduced Doc then he explained. Annabelle sat down hard on the chair as she listened and Doc saw her face go from shock to anger.
"Anna?" Sibeal asked, walking to the chair and he knelt down on his haunches. He didn't flinch after she looked at him then slapped him hard in the face.
"You bloody bastard!" she shouted as she stood and she headed for the door. "Get out!"
"Anna…," he said and she glared at him. He slowly walked closer as tears rolled down her cheeks and he pulled her into a hug.
Doc felt like he was intruding as he went to look at the framed photographs on the bookcase shelf and Sibeal lightly rocked Annabelle.
"Move off," Annabelle said after a few minutes and she pushed Sibeal away from her. She looked at Doc when she sighed and she lightly shook her head. "What am I supposed t'do with him? Th'neighbors are gonna talk if a man is suddenly stayin' with me."
"You can tell them he's a boarder," Sibeal said.
"Aye, I can do that. But he's gonna have t'earn his keep."
"He used t'run a bar."
"Sean did say he needs a new manager."
"Would be mind if I swear?" Doc asked then he explained his condition.
"Hell no. Most of the regulars swear like sailors," she said with a small laugh. "You can have Connor an' Murphy's old room."
"Thank you."
Nodding, Annabelle looked at Sibael and he saw the worry in her eyes.
"Are you sure you have no idea where my boys are?" she asked.
"I'm sorry. No, I don't," Sibeal said with a shake of his head.
"Well, they certainly didn't come here."
"An' we checked th'homestead before we came here. No sign of them."
"Which means they could be anywhere."
"Aye," he said with a nod.
"Um, Mrs. MacManus…," Doc said while he held a framed photograph of Connor, Annie and Murphy and he turned to look at her.
"Annabelle," she said.
"Annabelle," he said as he walked closer and he showed her the framed photograph. "Who is this young lady?"
"That's my Annie."
"They have a sister?"
"Aye. Didn't they tell you about her?"
"They never said much about their past."
Annabelle could see the sadness in his eyes as she looked at the photograph and her eyes winded from the thought which moved through her head.
"Oh fuck!" she said, covering her mouth with her right hand.
"Anna?" Sibeal asked.
"I know where the boys are."
"Where?"
"They're with Annie."
"Why would they go there?"
"I dunno."
"Are you sure?" Doc asked.
"Only one way to find out."
They watched her walk to the phone when she lifted the receiver off the phone cradle and she started dialing.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
Annie, Diego, Connor and Murphy headed in the kitchen when Nichole ran to Murphy and she hugged his legs. He smiled down at her while Nichole took hold of his right hand and they walked to the table.
"Anyone feed Devil?" Diego asked.
"I did," Peter said.
"What about Ebony?" Murphy said as he sat down next to Nichole.
"I fed him." Darcy said, pouring coffee in the red coffee mug. Darcy served the food as she placed the red coffee mug in front of Murphy and he nodded. After Connor said grace, they started eating when the telephone rang and Annie got up. She walked to the counter, picked up the receiver and she held the receiver up to her left ear.
"Golden Cactus Ranch. This is Annie. How may I help you?" she asked, leaning against the counter. She heard a soft crackling sound as she frowned and she looked at the others.
"You can start by puttin' yer fuckin' brudders on th'phone," made her jump and she looked at the receiver.
"Ma!?"
Connor and Murphy quickly got up when they headed for Annie and she held the receiver out a little so they could hear.
"Aye, it's me. Now, put them on th'phone," Annabelle's voice said.
"Ma, they're not…"
"Don't lie t'me! I know they're there!"
Connor signaled for Annie to hand him the receiver and she gave the receiver to him. He swallowed the lump in his throat when he held the receiver out enough for Murphy to hear and Murphy glanced at him.
"Ok, let's go," Lisa said after she saw the concerned looks on Annie, Connor and Murphy's faces and she picked up the plate, silverware and coffee mug.
"Where are we going?" Chandler asked, picking up the plate, silverware and glass of milk.
"Just for today, we're eating in the family room."
Darcy took Nichole's plate, silverware and glass of milk along with her plate, silverware and coffee mug, placed everything on a wooden tray with legs and everyone left the room.
Annie had seen the worried look on Diego's face as she shook her head and he made a small whistle. Devil followed him out of the room as she looked at Connor and Connor leaned against the counter.
"Hi, Ma," Connor said.
"Don't you "Hi, Ma" me. Is that loser of a brudder there?"
"Yeah, Ma. I'm here," Murphy said.
"Do you have any idea how fuckin' angry I am at th'both of you?!"
"Pretty angry by th'sound of it," Connor said.
"Damn right."
"Uh, Ma, how did you find out we were here?" Murphy asked.
"I wasn't sure until yer friend asked about Annie."
"Who are you talkin' about?" Connor asked.
"That bartender friend of yers."
"Is she talkin' about Doc?" Murphy whispered and Connor shrugged his shoulders.
"Aye, that is exactly who I am talkin' about."
"Uh, are you sure it's him? He's…"
"He's standin' right in front of me."
"What?!" Murphy asked.
They heard muffled voices as they looked at each other and a soft sigh filled their ears.
"Hello, Lads," Doc' voice said.
"Hi, Doc," Connor said.
"Hey, Doc," Murphy said.
"Guess you want to know what's goin' on."
"That would be nice," Connor said.
They heard muffled voices again when someone made a small cough and they looked at each other.
"Hello," Sibeal said.
"Uncle, what are you doin' there?" Connor asked.
"I thought you went off with Maggie," Murphy asked.
"Maggie an' I parted ways shortly after you two stole th'car," Sibeal explained.
"Ok. So, what's goin' on?" Connor asked.
They listened while Sibeal explained and Connor nearly dropped the receiver. He felt the waves of anger coming from his twin. Murphy snorted breaths of air as he flexed his fingers and his hands were shaking.
"Connor, are you still there?" Sibeal asked.
"Yeah," Connor said, placing his right hand on Murphy's left shoulder and Murphy took a few deep breathes. "Are you sure no one followed you?"
"Connor, I don't think he'd put Ma in danger if he wasn't sure," Annie said.
"She's right," Sibeal said.
"Are you…? Are you gonna stay with 'em?" Murphy asked.
"Of course."
"What do you want us t'do?" Connor asked.
"I think you need t'go."
"No!" Annie said with a small growl.
"Annie…"
"If this Smecker guy has no idea where they are, we're not in danger."
"You don't know Smecker."
"He's right. We thought he was dead. Turns out he faked his death t'get us outta hidin'," Murphy said.
"Why? What does he want?" Annie asked.
"He says he wants t'help us," Connor explained.
"Oh, he helped you alright. Helped you into jail."
"That was our fault."
"No, it was yer damn father's fault!" Annabelle's voice said and they looked at the receiver.
"Ma!" Murphy said.
"Look. I know both of you need t'move on. But I think you're safer where you are. Don't ask why I know. I jus' do."
"Whatever you say, Ma," Connor said.
"Now, you two behave yerselves. I love all of you."
"Love you, too, Ma."
"Yeah. Love you," Murphy said.
"Love you, Ma," Annie said.
"Jus' one thing. If things get rough, you three run like hell," Annabelle's voice said.
"You want me to go with them?!"
"Aye, I do. I lost yer father. I ain't losin' any of you."
They heard her end the call as Connor placed the receiver back on the phone cradle and they looked at each other. Annie moved closer when Connor and Murphy pulled her into a hug and they put their heads together.
"Is everything alright?" Diego asked, walking in the room while Devil followed him.
"Not really," Annie said as she moved away from her brothers.
"Is your mom alright?"
She stood in front of him when Diego pulled her into a hug and he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"She's fine," Connor said.
"But we might not be," Murphy said.
"Does this have something to do with your old job?" Diego asked.
"It does," Connor said then he explained about Smecker, Eunice and Doc.
"Son of a bitch."
"What's wrong?" Lisa asked as she walked in the room. "Sorry. I have to get the kids' lunches."
She walked to the counter as she got the paper bags then she looked at them.
"Does this have to do with your mother?" she asked as she looked at Annie.
"More like an old family friend," Connor said.
"Are they alright?"
"They are now."
Nodding, she headed out of the room, but Connor noticed the doubting look on her face. He looked up at the ceiling and Murphy felt the frustration coming from his brother.
"This isn't gonna work," Connor grumbled and he shook his head.
"Think we should tell her an' Darcy th'truth?" Murphy asked.
"Better than keeping them in the dark," Diego said.
"Problem with that is they tell us t'leave because we'll be a danger t'them an' th'kids," Connor said.
"They still might the longer you delay telling them," Annie said.
"Seein' you're our sister, they might tell you t'leave as well," Murphy said.
"No, they wouldn't."
"We wouldn't what?" Darcy asked as she walked in the room.
"Where's Lisa?" Connor asked.
"She's taking the kids to school. Why?"
"We have something we need to tell her. And you," Annie said.
"Does this have to do with the phone call?"
"An' us," Murphy said as he pointed to himself and Connor.
"You mean about you two being the Saints?"
She smiled at the stunned looks on their faces and Darcy leaned her elbows on the counter.
"My husband originally lived in South Boston. We met when I got transferred from my job here in Houston. While we lived there, we heard about these two guys who took on a couple of Russian mob guys and won. They became local heroes and were given the nickname "the Saints". Took off shortly after taking out a major mafia boss during his trail. I remember the police sketch and the drawings look just like the two of you."
"Uh….," Murphy said, looking at Connor.
"Guess I should have told you Uncle wasn't the only person who was going to help me with your paperwork," Annie said, walking to stand next to Darcy.
"So, you don't mind havin' us here?" Connor asked.
"No. Though I'm not sure what Lisa is going to say," Darcy said with a grin.
"Christ."
"Lord's name." Murphy said and Connor nodded.
"Is there anything else I should know?" Darcy asked.
"Just that there is this guy who is looking for them," Annie said.
"Does he want to kill them?"
"No. He wants us t'work fer him," Connor said and she heard the anger in his voice.
"Do you want to work for him?"
"No," Connor and Murphy said at the same time.
"Does he know where you are?"
"Nope," Murphy said.
"Then I don't see the problem."
"The problem is he could make things rough fer you once he does find out where we are," Connor said.
"In what way?"
"He would have you arrested fer harborin' fugitives."
"Which would mean you could lose th'ranch an' th'kids," Murphy explained.
Darcy nodded as she frowned and she pushed off the counter.
"We need to tell Lisa," Darcy said.
"You're right," Connor agreed.
"Then I guess we have to wait until she gets back," Annie said.
They headed for the kitchen table as they sat down and Murphy felt something pawing at his right leg. Looking down, he saw Ebony and he picked up the cat. He held the cat on his lap as they sat in silence and Murphy gently scratched the top of the cat's head.
Boston
The doors to the elevator opened while Eunice walked out into the hallway. Her heels clicked on the tile flooring as she headed down the hallway then she stopped at the door to Smecker's room. She opened the door She walked in the room as the door closed behind her and she headed for the bed. Smecker was awake as he looked at her and he picked up the pen.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
"Just came to see you," Eunice said.
HAS THERE BEEN ANY NEWS?
"If you're talking about the Saints, no."
WHAT ABOUT THEIR FRIEND? HAVE YOU GOTTEN HOLD OF HIM?
"That's going to be a little hard. Seeing how he's not here."
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!
"I went to his bar and it was locked up. There was this sign on the door saying the bar was closed due to a family emergency."
BULLSHIT! SOMEONE GOT TO HIM!
"Yeah. I guess someone did."
Smecker saw the accusing look in her eyes and he painfully sighed.
I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING.
"Then who has him?"
HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW!
They became quiet as he tapped the pen on the paper when he thought of something and wrote on the paper.
WHERE IS THE PRIEST?
"Sibeal? I have no idea," she said.
DON'T YOU THINK IT'S ODD THAT BOTH OF THEM ARE MISSING?
"Yeah, I do think it's odd."
WAS HE WITH YOU AND YOUR TEAM WHEN WE BROKE THEM OUT OF PRISON?
"I was with the FBI."
WHICH MEANS WE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE HE WAS OR WHAT HE WAS DOING!
"Are you saying he's the one who helped them get away?"
THAT ISEXACTLY WHAT I AM SAYING!
"But how did he know about….?"
WE WENT TO THE BAR TO TALK TO THEIR FRIEND.
"Was he with you when….?" She asked, pointing to his battered body.
YES.
"Damn."
HE WAS ALSO HERE WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THEIR FRIEND.
"Shit."
I WANT THE AIRPORTS CHECKED. THEY MUST HAVE TAKEN THE FIRST FLIGHT OUT.
"I don't think they took a plane."
THEN HOW DID THEY GET AWAY?
"How did Murphy and Connor get away the first time they left Boston?"
THEY….
Smecker nearly snapped the pen in half as he sighed then he wrote on the piece of paper.
HAVE THE DOCKS SEARCHED! THEY LEFT BY BOAT!
"Smecker…"
The door opened as the nurse walked in the room and she looked from Smecker to Eunice.
"Is there something wrong?" the nurse asked.
"No. I'm just leaving," Eunice said as she walked to the door, opened the door and she left the room.
She headed down the hallway when she stopped near the window, looked outside and she slid her arms across her stomach.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
The sound of the front door opening made Annie get up as she walked into the hallway and Lisa headed for her.
"What's wrong?" Lisa asked.
"We need to tell you something," Annie said.
They headed into the kitchen as Lisa looked at Connor, Murphy, Darcy and Diego and Lisa walked to the table. Sitting down on the chair, she waited for someone to say something and Connor sighed.
"Is everything ok?" Lisa asked.
"No," Connor said with a shake of his head.
"Does this have to do with that phone call?"
"No. It had t'do with us."
"You and Murphy?"
"Yeah," Murphy said with a nod.
"What about you?"
Connor puffed out a breath of air as he and Murphy took turns telling her the truth and she nodded her head a few times. When they were done, Connor and Murphy stood up after Murphy placed the cat on the floor and they headed for the doorway.
"Where are you going?" Lisa asked, getting up and walking to them.
"We're goin' t'go pack," Connor said.
"Did I tell you to leave?"
"No."
"Then get to work."
Connor and Murphy looked at each other then they looked at her and she saw the confusion in their eyes.
"Guys. I am not an idiot. Darcy's husband told me the story about the Saints and he showed me the article about them killing that guy," she said.
"An' you still hired us?!" Murphy asked with wide eyes.
"One: I needed the help. Two: You're Annie's brothers. Three: I trust you'll keep us safe if shit hits the fan," she said as she ticked off the reasons with her fingers.
"Damn," Connor whispered.
"Now get to work."
Nodding, they waited for Diego to get up and walked to them then they left the room and Lisa looked at Annie and Darcy.
"I better not regret this," Lisa said as she walked to the coffee maker and she poured some coffee in the white ceramic coffee mug. She walked to the table as she sat down and she took a long drink of coffee.