"You son of a bitch!" Angelique shouted as Connor lifted her off her feet and he tightened his hold on her. "Put me down!"
"No," Connor said, trying to keep his balance. He felt her body relaxing as he lowered her to her feet then she turned to face him. They locked eyes and he pulled her in for a tight embrace.
"Why would Smecker purposely do something like that?" Romeo asked.
"I didn't do anything!" Paul said.
"This says otherwise," Giovani said as he walked to the desk, opened the top drawer and he removed the file folders. He walked to Connor and Angelique when he opened the file folder and he removed a photograph. "Do you recognize the men in this photograph?"
She looked at the photograph when she growled and she lightly pounded her fists against Connor's back.
"That's the man who crippled my dad," she whispered.
"What did she say?" Franco asked. They had forgotten he was there. Connor looked at him then at Angelique and Connor lightly rocked her.
"She said that's th'man who crippled her father," Connor explained and he felt the anger coming from his twin.
"That's not me!" Paul said.
"It is," Giovani said and Eunice looked at Romeo.
"Why are you lookin' at me like that?" Romeo asked.
"I need her to hold onto you," Eunice said, pointing Angelina.
"Why?"
"Because it's your turn."
Giovani walked to Romeo while Angelina pinned Romeo's arms to his sides and Romeo frowned. Giovani opened the file folder when he removed a photograph and he showed the photograph to Romeo.
"Do you know who they are?" Giovani asked.
"Those are my parents," Romeo said.
"Did you know your father was an underboss for one of the heads of the Latino mafia?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know how they died?"
"They were killed by a car bomb," he said as he tried to get Angelina to let him go. "Angel, let go of me."
"You sure?" Angelina asked and he nodded his head. Angelina let go of him when Romeo took the photograph from Giovani and Romeo looked at his father.
"Are you tellin' me Smecker had somethin' to do with what happened to them?" Romeo asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying," Giovani said
The muscles in Romeo's jaw twitched as he walked to Smecker and Smecker saw the anger and fury in Romeo's dark eyes.
"Is this you?" Romeo asked, pointing to the first man in the photograph.
"No," Paul said with a shake of his head.
"Well, the other man in the photo is Hector Cortez. He was my father's second-in-command. His right hand. When it was found out he was the one who planted the car bomb, he was found in a dumpster. Well, what was left of him. He had been shot, stabbed, dismembered, set on fire and castrated."
"Castrated!?" Murphy asked with a shocked look on his face and Connor's eyes widened.
"That's what my uncle did to traitors," Romeo said, looking at them.
"Shit," Connor whispered.
"Before he died…," Romeo said, looking back at Smecker. "Before he died, I was told Hector finally admitted he had talked to the FBI. That he told them everythin' and was paid good money."
"Did he say who he talked to?" Rory asked.
"Yeah, it was him," he said, looking at Smecker. Smecker stayed silent as Romeo handed the photograph back to Giovani then Romeo walked to Angelina. She pulled him into a tight hug as Romeo sniffed and he placed his head against her head.
"You don't have to tell me anything," Angelina said as she looked at Giovani and Eunice. "I know full well what Smecker did."
"Mind telling me?" Franco asked.
"My father was a smuggler. He could pilot, fly and drive anything. When my mother died, he decided I wasn't going to be like him. I was going to be legit. I worked my ass off to make a reputation for myself. When my father died, Smecker showed up. He knew my father. He knew what he did. He then told me I had to work for him or he would make sure people would learn I was just as dirty as he was."
"He blackmailed you into working for him?"
"Yeah," she said and Romeo gently rubbed her back.
"I did not," Paul said as he scrunched up his face.
"You did," Giovani said as he removed a piece of paper from Angelina's file. He walked to Melletti and Callahan as he showed them the information and Smecker frowned. "Captain Kane taught his daughter to prepared for any situation. She had recorded and made a transcript of her conversation with you."
"Did you really do that?" Romeo whispered and she nodded.
Smecker grinded his teeth when he looked at Angelica and she looked at Eunice.
"You don't have to tell me anything. I know that Smecker had my father and his squad killed during a mission," Angelica said, glaring at Smecker while Murphy held her. "The mission he used to fake his death."
"Hold on," Rory said, looking at Smecker. "I read the reports on that mission. It was a bloody massacre."
Angelica nodded while Murphy placed her head against his head and Eunice looked at him and Connor.
"Remember when I told you I was looking into how the FBI knew you three were going with your father when he took down the Roman?" Eunice asked.
"I remember. We know we didn't tell them. Da didn't tell them. Romeo didn't tell them. Dolly an' Duffy didn't say anything…," Connor said.
"Who are Dolly and Duffy?" Franco asked. Connor explained and Melletti nodded his head from time-to-time.
"And I didn't say anything," Eunice said.
Murphy suddenly thought of someone when he shook his head and Connor felt the confusion coming from his twin. Connor walked to his twin and Murphy pointed to the door to the other room. They headed for the door when they went into the other room and Connor closed the door.
"Doc," Murphy blurted out after he walked to the center of the room.
"What about Doc?" Connor asked.
"He knew. He was there when you, me an' Bloom talked to Greenly, Dolly an' Duffy."
"Come off it, Murph. You know as well as I do that Doc would never sell us out."
"You're right. Sorry."
Connor walked closer when he placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and Murphy looked down at their feet.
"Hey, what you're thinkin' ain't no sin. I thought he might have said summat, too," Connor explained.
"Then who was it? We're running out of suspects."
"Is everything ok in here?" Eunice asked as she knocked on the door while she opened the door and they looked at her. She saw the hurt and confusion on their faces as she closed the door then she walked to them. "Guys?"
"We… We were thinkin' Doc might have been th'one who snitched on us," Connor said.
"I remember meeting him. That sweet, old man wouldn't do something like that."
"We know that. But we're running out of ideas."
"Let's go back in the other room. I need you to hear this."
"Why do I have a feelin' we ain't gonna like this?" Murphy asked. They headed for the door as she opened the door and they went back in the other room.
"Is everything alright?" Paul asked.
"No, it's not alright," Eunice said as she walked back to Giovani. "As I was saying, I have been trying to find out how the FBI knew where the three of you were. I was also trying to figure out why I was dismissed from looking for you guys after you had returned to Boston. It wasn't due to me not being able to do my job. I worked my ass off. The only thing I could think of was I got too close to you."
"Gee, that sounds familiar," Angelique said, looking at Smecker.
"While I was looking for answers, I found this."
Eunice removed a piece of paper from Connor and Murphy's file when she walked to Connor and she handed him the piece of paper. Murphy looked over his twin's shoulder while the information then they looked at Smecker.
"Those assholes worked fer you?!" Connor asked with a small growl to his voice.
Smecker stayed silent as the muscles in his jaw twitched and Murphy handed the information to Romeo. Romeo read the information when his eyes slightly bugged out and Romeo flexed his fingers in and out.
"You gave them the order to kill everyone, but Connor and Murphy," Romeo growled.
"Let me see," Rory mumbled, walking to Romeo and he held out his hand. Romeo handed him the piece of paper and Callahan read the information. "A shoot to wound order."
"Still doesn't prove I had anything to do with it," Paul said.
"Uh, aye, it does," Rory said as Callahan walked to Smecker and Callahan tapped the piece of paper. "Is that your signature?"
"No."
"Yes, it is," Giovani said. "I had the signature analyzed. It's yours."
Smecker made a soft growl while Connor and Murphy saw the look on Sibeal's face and Sibeal sighed.
"It's not him," Murphy whispered.
"Aye, Da said it wasn't," Connor said.
"If I may…," Sibeal said as he walked to Giovani and Giovani handed him the file folders. Sibeal found the right file folder as he opened the file folder and he saw the information he was looking for. "Agent Bloom, you are right about Smecker bein' th'one who gave th'shoot t'wound order, but you are wrong about him bein' th'one who sent fer th'FBI."
"If it wasn't Smecker, who was it?" Eunice asked.
"It was th'Roman."
"Why did he do that?"
"He was dying."
"So was Da," Connor said.
"An' like all old warriors, they wanted t'die th'way they lived."
"Makes sense," Franco said with a nod of his head.
"But th'agents who were sent t'take down th'Roman an' my brudder were not th'agents who ambushed Connor, Murphy an' Romeo. Those agents were…"
"Sent by Smecker," Eunice said.
"Aye."
"Which is why Agent Bloom was reassigned. Smecker knew she idolized him. So, he set into motion the events which led her to contact him and become involved with freeing the Saints," Giovani said.
"Aye."
"Speaking of Connor and Murphy. Do you know the name of the prison where they were sent?" Angelique asked.
"It was Hoag Maximum Security Prison," Eunice said.
"Do any of you know that is where their father was placed after he was arrested?"
Connor and Murphy looked at each other. The thoughts of being so close to their father and not knowing it made their hearts slam in their chests and waves of angry moved through them.
"If that's true, Da was… Da… Fuck!" Murphy said.
"Do you want to know who it was who put you there after you were arrested?" she asked, looking at Smecker.
"That can't be right. He told us he spent a month looking for us," Romeo said.
"Aye, he did," Connor said.
"Oh, he knew where you were. But what he didn't expect was the bullshit and red tape he had to go through just to find out if you were really there or if you were alive," Angelique said.
"And, once he did get that bit of information, he had t'get us th'hell outta there or we might have been killed," Murphy said and Angelique nodded.
"Well, now that we figured this all out, what do we do now?" Angelica asked.
"You can go," Giovani said, pointing to her, Angelina, Angelique, Romeo, Connor and Murphy.
"They can go?! They killed people!" Rory said, glaring at them.
"That's not what I'm going to put in the report. This was an Interpol bust," Franco said.
Callahan's jaw dropped as his mouth hung open and his eyes went wide.
"As far as I'm concerned, they were never here nor did they have anything to do with the deaths of my underbosses," Giovani said.
"Seriously?!" Rory shouted.
"Look at it this way," Franco said while he looked at Callahan. "You may not have captured the Saints, but you do have a bigger fish to fry."
Smecker frowned while Callahan walked to Giovani and Sibeal and they handed him the file folders. Callahan looked through the file folders when he looked at Dante.
"Cuff him and read him his rights," Rory said.
"Yes, Sir," Dante said. He walked toward Smecker as Smecker backed up then he turned to run toward the doors which led into the hallway. He saw Connor and Murphy standing in front of the doors with the Berrettas pointed at him and Smecker sighed. Dante walked to Smecker as Smecker placed his hands behind his back and Dante placed the handcuffs around Smecker's wrists. Dante started reading Smecker his rights while he lightly pushed Smecker forward and Connor opened the door. They watched Dante and Smecker walking by them as Smecker glared at Connor and Connor waved goodbye.
"Well…," Connor said as he closed the door. "I guess we'll be goin'"
"Aye. Let's go," Murphy said with a nod toward Romeo, Angelica, Angelina and Angelique.
"Are you going back with us?" Eunice asked.
"Dunno," Connor said when a sudden sound of gunfire filled the air and they all looked toward the door. "Shit."
They ran for the door as Connor opened the door and they ran down the hallway. Connor saw the body lying on the floor before the others did as he ran faster and Murphy was right behind him. Connor knelt on the floor as he looked at Dante and Dante had his eyes closed.
"Move!" Angelica said after she had knelt down next to Connor and Connor got out of the way.
"Agent down!" Rory shouted over the small microphone pinned to his shirt and he looked down at Dante. He gave the agent who asked where they were their location and Angelica sat back on her legs. "Is he dead?"
"He would be if he hadn't been wearing his bulletproof vest," Angelica said. Dante made a small cough as he barely opened his eyes and she smiled at him. "Stay still. You're going to be alright."
"Shit. I forgot how much this hurts," Dante said with a sigh.
"Where did Smecker go?" Connor asked.
"He ran that way," he said as Dante slowly lifted his right arm and he pointed down the hallway. Connor and Murphy looked at each other as Connor stood and they ran down the hallway.
"What happened?" Rory asked as he knelt down next to Dante.
"We were heading down the hallway when he told me he had to take a piss. I told him to wait. That's when he… He turned and head butted me. We started fighting. He got hold of my gun. Before I could move, he shot me in the chest and stomach," Dante said as he looked up at the ceiling. "Shit. This really hurts."
"Then shut up," Angelica said and he gave her a small grin.
Down the hallway, Smecker tried to find a place to hide. He knew Connor and Murphy would kill him if they got hold of him.
"Ungrateful assholes," Paul whispered when he ducked into one of the rooms and he closed the door. He heard footsteps coming closer when the footsteps stopped and he barely opened the door. He could just see Connor and Murphy standing in the hallway and Connor looked like he was breathing hard.
"Shit," Connor said, slightly breathless. "Where th'hell did he go?"
"I can't believe that just fuckin' happened," Murphy said, slightly panting.
"You said th'same thing about Sunny."
"Who the hell is Sunny?" Paul whispered then he looked through the small gap.
"Aye, I did," Murphy said with a small laugh. "I liked that cat."
"Me, too," Connor said with a nod.
"Sunny is a cat?!" Paul whispered.
"I felt so guilty afterwards," Murphy said, lowering his head. His mind replayed the semi-hazed images of that night and he lightly shook his head.
"Well, if you had placed the safety on….," Connor said, rolling his eyes.
"I thought I had."
"Murphy shot the cat?" Paul whispered with slightly wide eyes.
"How was I supposed t'know Rocco would pick up th'gun, slam it on th'table an' shoot th'fuckin' thing!?" Murphy asked, lightly shoving Connor.
"Hey! There's no need t'get physical!" Connor said and Murphy nodded.
"I don't get why he ran. Did he really think we'd kill him?" Murphy asked, looking around with his eyes for any sign of Smecker.
"He crossed th'line when he decided t'kill Angelica, Angelina an' Angelique."
"Aye, you're right. But you'd think someone like him would face th'consequences of his actions."
Smecker could see Connor nodding when they placed the Berrettas away then they headed down the hallway. Smecker closed the door when he leaned back against the door and he looked down at the handcuffs around his wrists. His mind replayed everything he had done as Smecker sighed and he looked up at the ceiling.
Safe Haven
The black vans pulled up to the gangplank as the doors opened and the people inside got out of the black vans. Some of them were being helped up the gangplank or gurneys were loaded with those who could not walk on their own and they headed for the gangplanks.
Eunice and Sibeal got out of the van as they looked at the yacht and she softly sighed.
"I guess we're on our own," Eunice said.
"Aye, we are," Sibeal said.
"Where do you think they went?" she asked, looking behind them.
Connor, Murphy, Romeo, Angelina, Angelica and Angelique had left shortly after the fighting stopped, but no one knew where they went or how they were able to leave without anyone seeing them.
"I think they're…," Sibeal said when they heard the sound of motorcycle engines and three motorcycles headed down the dock. Sibeal smiled when he saw his nephews, Romeo, Angelina, Angelica and Angelique and the motorcycles stopped near them. "Where th'hell have you been?"
"We had t'stop off an' get summat t'eat," Connor said, helping Angelique get off the motorcycle.
"Welcome back," Eunice said then she looked at Angelica. "Looks like you have some patients."
"Then I guess I better get going," Angelica said, lightly kissing Murphy's left cheek. Connor gently shoved his blushing twin as Murphy swatted at his hands and everyone laughed. They watched Angelica, Angelina and Angelique head up the gangplank when Eunice looked at Romeo, Connor and Murphy and she frowned.
"Are you really staying?" Eunice asked.
"Why th'hell not. Got nowhere else t'go," Murphy said with a grin. He held out his right hand while Connor held out his left hand and she took their hands. Eunice wrapped their fingers together as they headed for the gangplank and Romeo and Sibeal followed close behind them.
Milan
Melletti sat at the desk as he looked at the screen and he read the report he wrote about what happened at the Yakavetta Estate. He pushed the Send button when he sat back in the chair and he puffed out a breath of air. A knock on the door made him look up and he watched Callahan walk in the room.
"How's Corletti?" Franco asked while Callahan sat down on the chair in front of the desk.
"The doctors say there was no internal injuries and his heart's fine," Rory said.
"That's good."
"Did you write out the report?"
"Just sent it. What about you? What did you put in your report?"
"The truth."
Melletti's eyes widened as he pushed his chair back then he stood, slamming his hands on the top of the desk.
"Why…?! Why the hell would you do that?!" Franco demanded.
"Call it revenge," Rory said with a smug look on his face.
"Revenge?!"
"Aye. You see, I finally figured out who kidnapped me after I failed to bring down the Saints. I was told they were working for the FBI. And who was a former FBI agent?"
"Smecker."
"Right. So, all I had to do is tell the truth. Put in all the information we had on him and…"
"And he goes down.," Franco said as he sat down. "The problem is, after we searched the estate and grounds, there was no sign of him."
"You're right. But it doesn't matter. He's a wanted man now."
"Wanted men can be dangerous. They have nothing left to lose."
"Don't worry. We're handling it."
"I never really got why you hated the Saints."
"They're vigilantes."
"No, I think it's more than just that."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes."
"Well, long story short, one of them broke up with my little sister and she cried for three days straight. Never told me which one it was."
"Seriously?!"
"Aye," Rory said while he got up and he headed for the door. He opened the door when he turned to look at Melletti and Callahan sighed. "And, after what just happened, they better pray I never see them again."
"Or you'll kill them?"
"No. I just might offer them a job with Interpol," Rory said with a grin. He left the room as he closed the door and Melletti sat back in the chair. Melletti softly laughed as he shook his head and he turned the chair around to look out of the window.
