"What the hell happened to you?" Eunice asked while Smecker walked up the gangplank and he glared at her.
"The Saints happened," Paul grumbled.
"Connor and Murphy did that!?"
"Yeah."
"What did you do t'make my nephews beat th'hell outta you?" Sibeal asked with a small smile.
"I didn't do shit."
"Smecker," Eunice growled, crossing her arms under her breasts.
"Fine. Fine. I told them Captain Kane, Miss Lee and Doctor Traynor are the mole."
"You what?!"
"You told them th'three people who have saved their lives twice is spyin' on them?!" Sibeal asked, glaring at him.
"Yeah," Paul said.
"Where are they now?!" Eunice demanded.
"How should I know?! They beat the shit outta me, tossed me outta the van then fucked off!"
"What about Captain Kane, Miss Lee and Doctor Traynor? Where are they?" Sibeal asked.
"Uh…."
"Smecker!" Eunice said with an annoyed tone.
"Fine," Paul said with a sigh. "I had them taken care of."
"An' what does that mean?" Sibeal asked.
"It means they're being taken care of."
"You…? You had them killed?"
"They were in the way," Paul said then he stormed off. They watched him go inside as Eunice looked at Sibael and Sibeal looked like he was going to be ill.
"He just signed our death warrants, hasn't he?" Eunice asked.
"Aye, he has," Sibael said. She watched him walk away while a cold chill moved through her and her body shook in fear.
Milan – the Traynor Estate
The front gate slowly opened as Angelica led the way and Angelina, Angelique, Murphy, Romeo and Connor looked at the well-groomed lawn, the lush trees and the driveway curved toward the two-story modern home. Angelica had called for a cab to take them to the estate after Angelique had dismantled the tracking system, placed her cellphone as well as Connor and Murphy's cellphones in the black van then she set fire to the black van.
"Welcome to Traynor Estates," Angelica said with a smile and she lightly squeezed Murphy's fingers.
"Shit," Romeo said with a grin.
"I didn't know you had a place like this," Angelina said.
"You should see the house in England," Angelica teased.
"So, how many rooms does this place have?" Connor asked.
"Downstairs, there is a formal living room, a family or tv room, a dining room, a study with full internet access, two half-bathrooms, a gym and a large kitchen. Upstairs, there are six bedrooms with bathrooms. It also has a state-of-the-art security system, a garage, a lush garden in the back and an outdoor pool with a hot tub."
"Damn," Angelina said and Romeo nodded.
They walked up the stairs when Angelica pushed the buttons on the panel near the front doors and she unlocked the right front door. They walked inside as they stood in the hallway and she closed the door.
"Follow me," Angelica said. She led them into the large living room while they looked around the room and she walked to the large, marble fireplace. She looked up at the framed photograph of her, her parents and their cockapoos. Murphy noticed the sad look on her face as he walked to her and she was surprised when he slid his arms around her.
"When was that taken?" Murphy asked as he looked up at the photograph.
"It was taken nine years ago."
"What kind of dog is that?"
"That's a cockapoo. It's part cocker spaniel and part poodle."
Nodding, Murphy placed his chin on her right shoulder and she placed her hands on top of his hands.
"Uh, not t'put a damper on things, but why did you bring us here?" Connor asked and they turned to look at him.
"I brought you here because this is a safehouse," Angelica said.
"A safehouse?" Angelina asked.
"You see…," Angelica said while she moved away from Murphy and she looked at the photograph. "My father was… He worked for the FBI."
"He was an agent?" Angelique asked.
"No, he was like me."
"He was a doctor?" Romeo asked.
"One of the best. He was a skilled surgeon, an expert in psychiatry and his work in field medicine was unsurpassed."
"What happened t'him?" Connor asked.
"Eight years ago, he was on a mission with… With Smecker."
"Smecker?" Murphy asked.
"Yes. It was a collaboration between the FBI and MI5. At some point, they were ambushed. Everyone was killed. Well, not everyone."
"Are you talkin' about th'mission where Smecker "died"?" Murphy asked, making air quote with his fingers.
"Yes," Angelica said, lowering her head. He wrapped her in a tight embrace and she slid her arms around his chest.
"Wait. Back up a bit. Why would you be workin' fer Smecker if he's responsible fer yer father's death?" Connor asked.
"I'm not working for him. I'm working for Agent Bloom. She knew Dad and she called me to get information on, well, on you two."
"Us?"
"Like I told Smecker. One of the papers I wrote is about twins. I became an expert on them. What Smecker wanted to know is how your minds worked."
"You mean he wanted you t'profile us?"
"Yes. But I lost interest after I finally got to know you," she said and Murphy lifted her chin up to look deeply into her eyes. He saw the truth in her eyes as she smiled then she looked at Connor. "Do you believe me?"
"Aye," Connor said with a nod of his head.
"What did you do when you found out Smecker was alive?" Romeo asked.
"I was furious. I asked him several times to explain what happened to my father, but he told me to drop it," Angelica said.
"What about you, Angelique? Why are you working for Smecker?"
"I'm not working for him. I'm working for their uncle," Angelique said then she explained. Romeo noticed the conflicted look on Angelina's face when Angelina headed out of the room and he followed her. She walked to the front doors when she stopped with her hands over the door handles and she sniffed.
"Where are you going?" Romeo asked and she placed her forehead against the door.
"I… I have to go," Angelina said and he walked closer.
"Why?"
"I… No. I can't tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"I'm… I…," she said then she turned to look at him. "I'm the one working for Smecker."
"You are?!" he asked with wide eyes.
"Not that I want to!" she said as she tossed her hands into the air. She started pacing while Connor, Angelica, Angelique and Murphy stood in the doorway and Angelina shook her head.
"Hey…," he said as he walked to her and she was surprised when he took her hands in his. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."
"Fine," she said with a sigh and she lowered her head. "My dad… He was… I…"
"Take your time."
"He could pilot, drive or captain anything."
"Like you?"
"Yeah," she said, nodding. "He was always going somewhere. Mom would get pissed off at him and she threatened to leave him if he didn't settle down. She died when I was seven. Child Services threatened to take me if he didn't stay in one place. He just packed us up and I spent my life going from one port… One place… To another. He homeschooled me and taught me everything I know. Well, not everything."
Angelina paused as he waited for her to speak and she shook her head.
"He was… He was a smuggler," she said, looking deeply into his eyes.
"So?"
"What do you mean so!?"
"My uncle's one of the heads of the Latino Mafia and my dad was one of his underbosses. My dad and mom were killed in a car bombing when I was six and my uncle raised me to one day take over the family business."
"I didn't know that."
"Does it bother you?"
"No."
"Then tell me the rest," he said with a small grin and she snorted a laugh.
"He didn't want that life for me. When I was old enough, he set me up with some people who were legit cargo shippers, legit flyers and legit drivers. When he was diagnosed with lung cancer, he made me promise to stay legit. I did. After Dad died… After that, Smecker contacted me. Dad had worked for him and Smecker told me he would make sure people learned about Dad's past if I didn't work for him. That he would tell them I was just as dirty as Dad was and he would made damn sure I couldn't even sail a toy boat in a bathtub."
"He's blackmailin' you?" Connor asked as he, Angelica, Angelique and Murphy walked closer.
"Yeah."
"Shit," Murphy said.
"Son of a bitch," Angelique said while she and Angelica walked to Murphy. Angelina looked at them when she looked down and Connor walked to her, gently lifting her chin up so they could look each other in the eyes.
"You're not th'mole," Connor said and Angelina heard the honesty in his voice.
"Thanks," Angelina said and Romeo hugged her.
"Now that we got that settled, we need t'know about those trackin' devices," Connor said as he looked at Angelica.
"The only tracking devices are the ones in our cellphones," Angelique said as she walked to him and they stood face-to-face. They locked eyes as he saw the fierceness in her dark eyes and he cleared his throat. "Now, tell her you're sorry."
"Damn, she's good," Murphy whispered to Angelica and he slid his right arm around her waist.
"I'm sorry," Connor said with a sad look on his face.
"Apology accepted. Now, if you will follow me," Angelica said as she headed down the hallway and they followed her. They walked in the large kitchen as Romeo's mouth fell open and his eyes slightly widened.
"Fuck," Romeo whispered as he walked to the large kitchen island and Connor smiled, lightly nudging Murphy.
"Those doors lead outside," Angelica said, pointing to the double doors.
Connor and Murphy walked to the double doors as they opened the doors and they stepped outside. They looked at the large pool with a diving board, the hot tub, a stone grill, the deck chairs and small tables and a small rock garden with a waterfall. A high wall surrounded the backyard and the lawn looked like it had recently been mowed. The garden had fruit trees, bushes and rows of flowers and a small changing tent was near the pool.
"Guys?" made them turn as they went back inside and Connor closed the doors.
"We checked the cabinets. Looks like we're well stocked with nonperishable food, bottle water, bottles of juice and wine and the freezer's stocked," Romeo said.
"Why do I have th'feelin' you were plannin' on bringin' us here for a while now?" Connor asked, walking to Angelica.
"I might have called ahead and told the staff I was going to be here for a while. I also told them I was brining friends," Angelica said.
"How did you do all that without Smecker findin' out?"
"Simple. Me," Angelique said with a smug look.
"Speaking of that asshole, wanna know what pisses me off? He crossed the line," Romeo said.
"He has," Connor said and Angelique saw the anger in his eyes.
"Doesn't matter that he saved our asses. Wantin' you three dead jus' because we're becomin' close is nothin' short of cold-blooded murder," Murphy said.
"Does that mean you're going after him once we deal with Yakavetta?" Angelina asked and Connor and Murphy nodded.
"Unless he tries to stop us," Angelique said.
"We'll have t'make sure he can't," Connor said.
"How? Unless we…"
Angelique paused as she started pacing then she headed out of the kitchen.
"Where's the study?" Angelique asked and they followed her down the hallway. Angelica led them to the door as she opened the door and Angelique walked by her. Angelique walked to the oak desk when she sat down on the desk chair and she looked at the computer monitor. Angelica powered up the computer then Angelique looked away so Angelica could type in the passcode and she lightly tapped Angelique's left shoulder.
"What are you doin?" Connor asked as he walked to the desk.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm hacking."
"You can hack into th'yacht's computer? What about all that computer shit designed t'keep people out?"
"Who do you think designed the system?" she asked with a grin and he gave her an impressed look.
"Brains, beauty an' th'ability t'kick my ass," he whispered and he swore she was blushing. Angelique typed on the keyboard as she looked at the screen and Connor leaned the palm of his right hand on the desk.
"What are you lookin' fer?" he asked.
"Not looking. Retrieving," Angelique said when she smiled then she pointed to the screen. "This is everything I have on Smecker, the files he has on us, your uncle, Bloom and the rest of the crew and what was on that laptop we found."
"Can you find out what happened to my father?" Angelica asked.
"Yes."
"An' they can't trace it back t'here?" Connor asked.
"Nope."
"How fast can you download it?" Angelica asked.
"Depends on this computer's internet speed."
Angelique typed on the keyboard when she hit "Download Files" and she sat back in the chair.
"I'll call you when it's done," she said and they nodded. They left the room while Angelica, Murphy, Romeo and Angelina walked down the hallway and Angelica looked from they to the stairs leading upstairs and she smiled.
"The bedrooms are upstairs," Angelica said as she headed for the staircase and they went upstairs. They walked down the hallway as they looked into the bedrooms and she pointed to the bedroom on the right. "Angelina, your bedroom's over here. Romeo, that's your room. Angelique's room is over there. Mine's over here. And, Connor, you and Murphy's room is there."
Nodding, Connor and Murphy headed for the bedroom when they saw the black jeans, black shoes, black shirts, black leather gloves, black sunglasses and the black Navy pea coats on the beds and Connor looked at Murphy.
"You getting' the feelin' we're bein' set up?" Connor asked.
"I do," Murphy said with a nod as he picked up the black Navy pea coat. "Wanna leave?"
"Not jus' yet."
Murphy went to sit on the bed when he went onto his back and he looked up at the ceiling.
"Shit. This is getting' outta hand," Murphy said with a sigh. "How do we know who we can trust?"
"We trust each other."
"I get that. And I do trust Romeo. It's…"
"It's th'Angels," Connor said and Murphy smiled, sliding his hands behind his head.
"I like that."
"Like what?"
"I like callin' them "th'Angels"."
"Care t'explain?"
"Well, we're Saints…," he said as he sat up and Murphy placed his hands on his knees. "Who better t'guard saints then angels?"
"Good point," Connor said when Angelica appeared in the doorway and he looked at her.
"So, what do you think?" she asked, walking to the bed and she sat next to Murphy.
"What do we think about what?"
"What do you think we should next?"
"We need t'go after that gun warehouse."
"What about Yakavetta's place? Are we still going to check that out?"
"Aye, we're gonna do that as well."
"The problem is we got rid of the van."
"Good point."
"Do you have anything we could borrow?" Romeo asked while he and Angelina walked in the room and Murphy and Angelica stood up.
"I might," Angelica said, walking to the door then she left the room. Murphy and Connor looked at each other as they had a silent conversation then they went to follow her. Romeo and Angelina left the room and they all went down the stairs.
"What's going on?" Angelique asked as she walked out of the study and they walked toward her.
"Did you finish th'download?" Connor asked.
"Almost."
"We are going to check out the gun warehouse and Yakavetta's place," Angelica said.
"If I remember right, Angelina and Angelica were going with me to Yakavetta's and Angelique was going with you two to the gun warehouse," Romeo said.
"You're right," Murphy said.
"Seeing how we got rid of the van, how are we going to get there?" Angelique asked.
"That is what I was about to show you," Angelica said. They walked to the kitchen as she led them to the backdoor when she pushed the buttons on the panel near the door then she opened the door. They walked outside as she closed the door then she led them down the sidewalk. They headed for the garage when she pushed the buttons on the panel then she opened the door. They walked in the garage when she flipped the switch and the lights came on.
"Christ," Murphy said as he looked at the cars, motorcycles and a few SUVs and he smiled.
"Lord's name," Connor warned and Murphy nodded.
They walked by the cars, motorcycle and SUVs when Angelica stopped near the black SUV and they looked at the SUV.
"Is it bulletproof?" Connor asked.
"Yes. And it has some built-in weapons as well as a weapon storage in the back," Angelica said.
"Shit."
Connor opened the driver side door as he got in the SUV and Murphy opened the passenger side door, getting in the SUV. Angelica pointed to the ignition as Connor saw the keys and he started the engine. The dashboard lit up as they looked at the icons and Murphy and Connor frowned.
"Looks like I might have to do the driving," Angelique said as she looked at the dashboard.
"Wait. What about th'download? If you go with us, wouldn't they be able t'find out where we are?" Murphy asked.
"He has a point," Romeo said.
"Are you saying you don't trust me?" Angelique asked and Connor heard the anger in her voice.
"No one is sayin' that," Connor said as he got out of the SUV and she got in the driver's seat. Connor opened the side door as he got into the SUV and Angelica used the remote to open the garage door.
"Sorry," Romeo said and Angelique sighed, rolling her eyes. Romeo looked at the cars when he found a cherry red convertible with white leather interior and his eyes widened.
"Looks like Romeo's picked out our ride," Angelina teased and Angelica softly laughed.
"Let me put in the location for Yakavetta's place," Angelique said, getting out of the SUV. She walked to the convertible as Angelica handed her the keys and Angelique placed the key in the ignition. Angelique started the engine while the screen in the dashboard clicked on and she set the coordinates. She got out of the car when she headed for the SUV then she got in the SUV.
They watched the SUV head out of the garage when Romeo looked at Angelina and Angelica then he looked at the convertible.
"Ladies," Romeo said with a grin and Angelina and Angelica got in the car. He started the engine then he placed the car in gear and the car left the garage. Angelica used the remote to close the garage door as she smiled, turned in the seat then she said a small prayer for them all to be safe.
Safe Haven
Smecker sat at his desk as he clicked the mouse button and he looked at the security footage. He leaned back in the chair while the door opened and Eunice and Sibeal entered the room.
"Well?" Paul asked and Eunice walked to the desk, sitting on the corner of the desk.
"Well, what?" Eunice asked.
"Have we found them yet?"
"We're still trying to find the van they took."
"You can't find the van?"
"The tracking system died."
"No. Lee removed it."
"Then we may never find them." Sibeal said.
"Really should have had tracking devices implanted in them," Paul grumbled and Eunice frowned.
"Care to say that again?" Eunice asked.
"When I told them Doctor Traynor, Miss Lee and Captain Kane were the mole, I might have told them Doctor Traynor implanted them with tracking devices."
"Are you insane?!"
"Why, in Heaven's name, did you tell them summat like that?!" Sibael demanded.
"Look, once they're over being angry, they'll come back," Paul said.
"No, they fucking won't!" Eunice shouted.
"You have doomed us all," Sibeal said as he turned, walked to the door, opened the door then he stormed out of the room.
"What does he mean by that?" Paul asked. He watched Eunice walk to the door when she turned and she glared at him.
"You'll find out soon enough," she said, slamming the door closed after she left the room. Smecker looked at the door when he frowned and he tiled his head to one side.
Above deck, the doors hissed open while Eunice walked outside then she saw Sibeal standing near the railing.
"Come on." Eunice said. Sibeal followed her to the gangplank as they headed down the gangplank and they headed down the dock. They walked for a short while when she looked around, slid behind some crates then she removed something from her pocket. Sibeal noticed it was a small, black box and she pushed the button.
"What does that do?" Sibeal asked.
"It creates white noise. Good thing to have if you don't want someone to overhear your conversation," Eunice explained and he nodded.
"Does this have t'do with Smecker?"
"Yeah. Even though he saved my ass, I don't trust him."
"I don't trust him myself. Th'only reason I do trust him is because he told me he wanted t'help my nephews with their mission."
"If we're going to survive this, we need to find the Saints and prove to them we're on their side."
"Knowin' my nephews, they're in th'wind."
"Shit."
"Is there anythin' else?"
"Yeah. I got word from security. We've been hacked."
"Do you know by who?"
"My guess? It was Lee."
"Why would she do that?"
"Think about it. We've broken their trust. Tried to kill her, Kane and Traynor."
"I know that."
"Well, she's taken everything. All the files. Yours. Mine. Hers. All of them."
"What does she want with them?"
"The hell if I know. All I know is Smecker has lit the fuse and it's only a matter of time before it blows up in his face. And ours."
"What should we do?"
"Pray."
Nodding, Sibeal lowered his head and Eunice leaned against the crates.
Milan
Melletti sat at his desk while he looked over the photographs in the file folder and he frowned. The door opened while Callahan entered the office and Melletti looked up.
"Did you see this?" Rory asked while he walked to the desk and he put some photographs on the desk.
"I was just looking at them." Franco said.
"What the hell is Lorenzo Yakavetta doing in Milan?"
"That is what we're trying to figure out."
"The only reason he's here is he's after the Saints."
"He is?"
"If it wasn't for them, Papa Joe and his son would be alive and Lorenzo, here, would still be in hiding."
"He isn't involved with the family business?"
"He is. And what makes it worse…? The man is a fucking psycho."
"Great," Franco said with a deep sigh.
"If we don't take him down… If we don't find the Saints… This city is going to be a killing field."
"What do you suggest we do? We can't arrest Lorenzo Yakavetta without a reason and we don't know where the Saints are."
"Then prepare for a bloodbath," Rory said as he picked up the photographs, turned then he left the office. Looking at the door, Melletti sighed when he turned the chair toward the window and he leaned back against the chair.