A/N: Warning: There is some violence in this chapter. And I apologize for going between Lou, the Saints and Romeo and Margaret. I just wanted to show you what they were doing.
Smecker moaned as he opened his eyes and he sighed. The first thing he noticed was he was blindfolded and he tried to figure out the smell which filled the room.
"Finally awake?" the voice he heard before asked.
"Yeah," he said. He realized he was sitting in a chair and his hands were tied behind him. The ropes were cutting into his wrists and his ankles were taped to the legs of the chair. He heard heavy footsteps moving toward him as he tried to get free when he felt his hair being pulled and his head snapped back. "Fuck!"
"Do you know how easily I could kill you right now?"
"Well, considering I can't move, I would go with really easily."
Smecker screamed as his head was pulled back to the point where he felt like his neck was going to snap then whoever it was pushed his head forward. Smecker coughed to clear his throat and he heard heavy footsteps moving in front of him. Suddenly, he felt hands grabbing onto his shoulders as warm breath move over his face and Smecker frowned.
"Ever heard of breath mints?"
His head snapped to the right after someone slapped his face and he felt the tang of blood on his tongue. Smecker spit the blood out of his mouth as he sighed and he lightly shook his head.
"Look, I don't know what you want…"
"You will soon find out what I want. For now.…," the voice said. Smecker grunted from someone punching him in the face and the stomach and he silently screamed.
"What do you think?" Louisa asked while she walked out of the bathroom and she looked at Murphy sitting on the bed. She was wearing a red hair wig, a denim vest, a white t-shirt, jeans and tan cowboy boots. He gave her a pleased look as he stood, walked to her and he brushed his fingers through the wig.
"You look great as a red head," he said, leaning in to kiss her lips. She slid her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss and she fought the urge to push him down onto the bed. They were breathless when they moved back and he helped her straighten the wig.
"Now it's your turn," she said, leading him into the bathroom. He sat on the toilet as she applied the bald cap to the top of his head after she brushed his hair back then she slid the blonde wig onto his head. She styled the wig when she smiled and she picked up the small hand mirror. She showed him what he looked like and Murphy grinned.
"Knew I'd look good as a blonde," he said. They went back into the bedroom when she helped him get dressed and he wore a black leather jacket, a black t-shirt, jeans and black cowboy boots. She handed him a pair of sunglasses as he placed the sunglasses on and she placed on the other pair of sunglasses. She handed him the black cowboy hat as he placed the cowboy hat on his head and she placed the tan cowgirl hat on her head. She picked up the tan purse when she placed the strap over her left shoulder and they left the room. They headed for the living room when they saw Connor and Romeo waiting for them and Romeo gave them a stunned look.
"Damn!" he said. Romeo was wearing a dark blue knit cap, a long black hair wig, a denim jacket, a white t-shirt, jeans and black cowboy boots and he put the sunglasses on.
"Lookin' good, Lou," Connor said. Connor wore a ballcap, blonde wig, sunglasses, black leather jacket, black t-shirt, jeans and black and white sneakers and he crosses his arms over his chest.
"What about me?" Murphy asked.
"You look ok."
Murphy growled as Louisa shook her head and Murphy slightly pulled the cowboy hat down.
"Let's go," Romeo said. They walked to the elevator as he pushed the button and the elevator doors opened. They walked inside the elevator car while Murphy punched Connor's right upper arm three times and the doors slowly closed.
The black sedan moved down the street while Margaret looked out the window and she thought about the message written on the bottom of the newspaper article. She knew whoever wrote that note meant to do something to Connor and Murphy and she flexed her fingers in and out over the top of her right thigh.
"'They will pay'. No, they won't," she whispered.
The sedan stopped in front of the precinct as she opened the door then she stepped out of the sedan. She looked at the door when she walked up the stairs and she walked inside. She glanced around when she saw a police officer and she walked up to him.
"Excuse me," she said and the officer nodded.
"How may I help you, Miss?" he asked.
"I need to speak with Detectives Duffy and Dolly," she said, showing him her identification.
"I'll have to check that with th'captain," he said and she handed him her identification. She watched him walk away then he returned a few minutes later and he handed her the identification back. "Now, who did you wish t'speak with again?"
"Detectives Duffy and Dolly."
"They're upstairs. Third floor. Fourth door on the left."
"Thank you," she said with a nod and she headed for the stairs. She looked up as she sighed and she headed up the stairs.
People walked by them while Romeo, Murphy, Connor and Louisa walked down the sidewalk, but no one gave them a second glance. They walked toward Connor and Murphy's old building when they walked in the alleyway and Louisa noticed the tense look on Connor and Murphy's faces. Romeo walked a little faster as he looked at their old building and he titled his head to one side.
"Let me get this straight. You carried a toilet up there, tossed it over the edge then you jumped off the roof!?" Romeo asked.
"Aye," Connor said, looking up and his mind replayed what happened. He knew he could have been killed, but he had to save Murphy and he felt Murphy placing a hand on his right shoulder.
Louisa looked up at the roof as she tried to picture Connor jumping off the roof as she turned then her mind showed her what was happening to Murphy. She had played scenarios in her head where she had been at McGinty's that night, but she knew there wouldn't had been anyway to stop them from doing what they did.
"You alright?" Murphy asked while sliding his arms around her and Louisa leaned into him.
"I could've lost both of you," she said in a soft voice.
"We're still here."
She nodded while Romeo and Connor found the graffiti and they looked at it. Connor looked at the writing at the bottom when he realized what Margaret hadn't told them, but he had no idea what the words meant.
"They will pay," he whispered.
"What?" Romeo asked.
"Did you find summat?" Murphy said while he and Louisa walked to Romeo and Connor and Connor pointed.
"What does that mean?" Louisa asked.
"Dunno," Connor said. Louisa opened her purse when she removed her camera and she took a photograph of the graffiti. Murphy saw the small grin on her face as he rolled his eyes and he softly laughed. "What's so funny?"
"She wants t'take some photos of us," Murphy said.
"Dressed like this?!" Romeo asked.
"If you guys don't mind," Louisa said. The guys stood in front of the graffiti as she took a few photographs then she handed Murphy the camera so she could get in the photographs. She put the camera away as they walked out of the alleyway and Connor wondered where Margaret was.
The door to the squad room opened while Duffy, Dolly and Baker watched Margaret walk in the room and her high heels clicked on the tile flooring. She was dressed in a dark blue blazer and skirt, a white blouse, nude hose and black high heels and her hair was pulled back in a tight bun.
"Hello," she said with a cold tone and the detectives glanced at each other.
"Hello," Duffy said. "Can we help you?"
"Yes, you can."
Margaret walked to his desk as she showed him her identification and his eyes went wide.
"Shit, you're from Interpol?"
"Yes, I am.
"What is Interpol doing here?" Dolly asked.
"Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" she asked. She had noticed the security cameras on the walls and she had kept her head down enough so she would not be recognized.
"We could use the integration room," Duffy said. Nodding, she followed them out of the room while they headed down the hallway then Dolly opened the door to the interrogation room. She walked in the room as they followed her then Duffy turned to look at Baker. "Get us some coffee."
"Uh. Sure," Baker said as Duffy closed the door in his face and Baker walked down the hallway. Margaret didn't show any sign of confusion as she watched Duffy and Dolly went to sit down and she half closed her eyelids.
"Look, I know I shouldn't be asking this, but you being here have anything to do the Saints?" Duffy asked.
"The Saints?" she asked.
"Yeah. See, weird shit is going on and we think it has something to do with them," Dolly said.
"And you suddenly showing up makes us wonder if we're right," Duffy said.
"If we are, leave us out of it. We've had it with those two."
Margaret had read the reports about them being questioned after she had freed Connor and Murphy from prison and she leaned the palms of her hands on the top of the table. Her eyes locked with theirs as Dolly winced and Duffy sighed.
"We are right, aren't we?" Dolly asked while Baker kicked the door and Duffy went to let him in. Baker walked to the table as he placed the insulated cups on the top of the table then he looked at them. "Mind getting us some donuts?"
"Let him stay," Margaret said.
"But…"
"He stays!"
They heard the icy tone to her voice as Baker sat down and she looked at him.
"What do you know about the Saints?" she asked and Baker frowned.
"Well, it's been a long time since I've been to church…," Baker said with a grin then the grin faded.
"She is talking about Murphy and Connor MacManus," Dolly said.
"Never heard of them."
"Really?" Margaret asked, arching an eyebrow. "How long have you been working here?"
"I've only been here for the last three months."
"Where are you from originally?"
"I'm from Chicago."
Nodding, she looked at Duffy and she stood straighter.
"Do you still have their file?" she asked.
"Uh, I think it was placed in the file room," Duffy said.
"Go get it," she said. Nodding, Duffy left the room and she sighed. Dolly slowly sat down as Margaret strummed her fingers on the top of the table and she wondered where Connor was.
Connor, Murphy, Louisa and Romeo had fun playing sightseers and Louisa had taken a lot of photographs. They had stopped off at the cemetery to pay their respects to Rocco and Murphy had explained the photo they used for Rocco's headstone was Rocco's mugshot.
"Why are we here?" Romeo asked while they walked down the sidewalk and he looked at the meat packing plant.
"This is where we used t'work," Murphy said.
"You used to work at the meat packing plant?"
"Aye," Connor said.
"I thought about working here, but Uncle Caesar wouldn't let me. Said he didn't want me to lose any fingers."
"I didn't lose any fingers," Louisa said.
"You worked there?!"
"Well, no. They just brought me to work with them once."
"Aye, an' she scared the crap out of us when we couldn't find her," Connor said.
"I had to go to the bathroom."
"You still should've said summat," he said and they laughed. She took some photographs of the meat packing factory then of the guys and she noticed the serious looked at Connor and Murphy's faces. They were looking at the buildings and she moved to take a portrait photograph and they sighed.
"I need a drink," Connor whispered.
"Aye, me, too," Murphy whispered.
They started to walk away while Romeo and Louisa looked at each other then they went to catch up with them.
Margaret had gone to sit at the head of the table when the door opened and Duffy walked in the room. He closed the door when he walked to her and he placed the file he had on the table. She opened the file when she looked at the black and white photographs of Connor and Murphy and she tried hard not to smile at the smile on Connor's face.
"The Saints…," she started as she looked at Baker and he leaned back in the chair. "Are two young men who have taken it upon themselves to eliminate the evil which plagues Boston."
"They're vigilantes?" Baker asked.
"Yes, they are, but they are not your usual vigilantes."
"You can say that again," Dolly whispered.
"Did you say something, Detective Dolly?" she asked with a cold tone to her voice.
"I am just agreeing with you."
"Care to elaborate?"
"Well, take what they do after a hit. They arrange the bodies in a certain way and they leave pennies on the bodies' eyes."
"Why do they do that?" Baker asked.
"it's payment," Margaret. "To the boatman of the dead."
"Who?"
"Charon. According to Greek mythology, he took dead souls across the River Styx after they used a coin as payment."
"Oh."
"What I find weird is the luck these guys have," Duffy said.
"Luck?"
"Yeah. They have been shot up so many times, I'm amazed they're not dead."
"Didn't one of them die?" Dolly asked.
"That was their flunky."
"Is that what Greenly was? A flunky?"
"Hey, don't start. What happened to him was…"
The door opened when a police officer walked in the room and they looked at them.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I was supposed to give you this," he said as he walked in the room and he placed a piece of paper on the table. Nodding, Duffy picked up the piece of paper and he looked at the information.
"What's going on?" Dolly asked.
"It looks like whoever is doing this is at it again," he said and he handed the piece of paper to Duffy. Duffy looked at the information as he sighed and he scrunched the piece of paper in his hand.
"It's that strip club the Saints killed those guys."
"Yep."
"Then let's get going," Margaret said while she slid the photographs of Connor and Murphy as well as the pieces of paper with their fingerprints out of the file and she placed them in the suit blazer pocket. Duffy held the door open for her as they left the room.
Connor, Murphy, Louisa and Romeo walked down the sidewalk when they arrived at McGinty's and they saw the closed sign on the door. The windows were boarded up and some graffiti was on the walls.
"What th'hell?" Connor whispered.
"It's says it's closed," Romeo said, pointing to the closed sign.
"When did that happen?" Murphy asked.
"Are you lost?" someone asked and Louisa turned, seeing Archie behind them. He gave them a suspicious look as he frowned and Murphy absentmindedly slid Louisa behind him.
"No, we're not lost," Romeo started and he looked at the closed sign. "We just heard this place was a good place to get a drink."
"Aye, it was," he said, looking at the door.
"What happened?"
"Doc retired."
"He did?"
"Aye."
"Do you know where he went?"
"Why are you askin'?"
"Just curious."
"Well, the last I heard, he was livin' with his niece in Miami."
"Thanks," Romeo said. They walked away while Louisa held onto Murphy's elbow and she placed her head against his upper arm.
"So much fer surprisin' Doc," Connor said.
"Aye," Murphy said as he slightly slid the cowboy hat down. Louisa heard the sadness in their voices as she looked at Murphy and he gave her a tiny grin. He placed his arm around her waist as they walked on when Connor turned and he headed back to McGinty's. "Where are you goin'?"
"Be right back," Connor said. He stopped when he got to the front of the bar when he looked up at the windows where the storage room was and he tilted his head to one side. Something told him where was something wrong as he headed for the door then he placed his hand over the door handle. He jumped when Murphy placed his hand onto top of his twin's hand and they looked at each other. They had a silent conversation when they nodded then they slowly walked away.
The door to the viewing room opened while the strip club owner stood back and Margaret, Duffy, Dolly and Baker walked in the room. Margaret scanned the room with her eyes while she walked around the room then she turned, crossing her arms over her chest. She noticed the uncomfortable looks on Dolly and Duffy's faces and she titled her head to one side.
"I see you two have been here before," she said.
"Not in the way you think," Duffy said.
"Yeah. This is where the Saints killed a few people," Dolly said.
"More like whoever was with them did."
"Yeah. It was their flunky. What was that guy's name?"
"I think it was Rocco."
Margaret looked around when she noticed there were three mirrors and she walked to the glass of the mirror to her left. She peered deeply into the glass when she blinked her eyes a few times then stood back.
"Can you turn the lights off?" she asked, turning to look at the owner. Nodding, the owner turned the lights off and she stood back.
"Shit," Duffy said as he looked at the mirrors and THEY WILL PAY! painted on the mirrors shimmered in the glow-in-the-dark paint.
"Turn the lights on."
The owner turned the lights on as she walked to him and he saw the anger in her eyes.
"I need to see your security footage," she said and he arched an eyebrow.
"Do ya have a warrant?" he asked. She reached into the inner pocket of her blazer when she showed him the warrant and he smirked. "Looks legit. But I can't let ya see the footage."
"Why not?"
"This place gets some high-class clients, ya see. So, we don't have security cameras."
Duffy and Dolly swore smoke came out of her ears as she stormed by the owner and Duffy, Dolly and Baker followed her out of the room.
The lights came up as the soft pinging sound filled the air and the elevator doors opened. Margaret walked out of the elevator car and the doors closed behind her. She glanced around the living room with her eyes when she saw the light was on in the kitchen and she frowned. She cautiously walked to the kitchen when she heard someone moving and she pushed the small switch resting on her palm. A small gun appeared in her hand as she pointed the gun and she walked into the kitchen.
"Either use it or put it away," Connor said, putting the lid back on the jar of peanut butter. He licked the peanut butter off his thumb as he placed the bread on top of the piece of bread on the plate sitting on the counter then he used the knife to cut the bread diagonally. She slid the gun back under her sleeve as he turned and he leaned on the counter.
"Where are the others?" she asked, walking closer.
"They went t'bed," he said as he reached behind him and he took one half of his sandwich. She watched him take a bite as he chewed then he swallowed and he waited for her to speak.
"Why aren't you asleep?"
"Wasn't tired."
"Did you go see the graffiti?"
Nodding, he took another bite, chewed then swallowed and he picked up the glass of milk. He took a long drink before he placed the glass on the counter and he arched his eyebrows up.
"Why didn't you tell us about th'message?" he asked.
"I didn't tell you because you and Murphy aren't the targets," she said, walking closer.
Then what are we?"
"I have a feeling you are going to be witnesses."
"Witnesses t'what?"
"That is what I am trying to figure out."
Connor became silent as he tried to find the words to tell her about McGinty's and what he was thinking when he reached over and he held out the plate with the other half of the sandwich. He lightly wiggled the plate as she took the other half of the sandwich and she looked at the peanut butter.
"Don't you like peanut butter?" he asked.
"I do, but I like the crunchy kind," she said and he softly laughed. "Are you angry with me?"
"Nope," he said with a shake of his head then he opened the cupboard, took out the other jar of peanut butter and he started to make her a sandwich.
