The bedroom was dark while Louisa snuggled next to Murphy's right side and they were watching a movie on the plasma screen television. She had her head against his right shoulder while he held her and her fingers lightly moved along his left side. He glanced at her as he made a small sigh and she slid her hand across his chest.
"Sorry about earlier," Murphy suddenly said and she frowned.
"You mean about Connor stopping the ram?" she asked and she could just see him nod his head. "There's no need to say sorry. It was either that or the ram bashing the gate."
"What about Rocco? I shouldn't've brought him in th'house."
"It's fine," she said with a small laugh. He became quiet when he looked over at the night table and he could just see the framed photograph of him and their dog, Dixon. She felt his chest expand then relax and he looked back at the movie.
Three years ago, Dixon had followed Murphy up into the hills for a long walk. Murphy loved letting the dog run free, but Dixon failed to come back after a few minutes. When Murphy went to look for him, he found Dixon lying on the ground. The body of a poisonous snake was near the dog and Murphy was devastated to learn Dixon was dead.
She still remembered the look on his face when Murphy returned with the dog in his arms and the body of the snake was in his right hand. They took both Dixon and the snake to the vet and the autopsy showed Dixon died from a snakebite. They returned home and Dixon was buried under his favorite tree.
"He would've taught the ram a lesson," she said in a soft voice and he frowned while looking at her.
"Who?"
"Dixon. He hated that ram."
"Aye, he would've," he said and she moved so her head rested at the center of his chest. Smiling, Murphy rubbed her arm then he kissed the top of her head.
"Is there anything else bothering you?"
"I'm not sure," his voice grumbled in her ear and she waited for him to continue. "I think I might be havin' a mid-life crisis."
"You are?!"
"Aye. Lately, I look in th'mirrorr an' I wonder where Murphy is."
"You're right here."
"No, I mean th'Murphy I used t'be."
"You're still the same immature, fun-loving, slightly crazy guy I fell in love with all those years ago."
"But I feel like there's summat missin'. Like I need t'do summat, but I'm not sure what."
Louisa sat up when she used the remote to turn the television off then she carefully crawled on top of him. He could just see her as she held herself on her elbows and he wrapped his arms around her.
"What can I do to help you?" she asked. He brushed the hair out of her eyes as she barely saw him smiling and he titled his head to one side.
"Jus' be here fer me."
"I will always do that."
He heard the truth in her voice when he yawned and his eyelids slowly closed. She moved so she was slightly on top of him then she closed her eyes and they drifted off to sleep.
Unknown Location
Morgan sat at his desk as he looked at photograph of Margaret, Connor and their children, sat back in the chair and he steepled his fingers together.
"You are what?!"
"I am marrying Connor MacManus."
"I see. Do you understand the repercussions of such an action?"
"If you are talking about their former occupation…"
"Former?!"
"Yes. They no longer wish to follow their calling."
"Isn't that sacrilege?"
"Maybe, but it's their choice."
"Or it's yours."
"I beg your pardon?"
"This is how you acted when you became involved with your partner. You thought more with your heart than with your head and you allowed your emotions to dictate how you see things."
"At least I know how to feel. Unlike someone I could mention."
He never had Margaret talk to him in such a manner and he admitted what she had said was true.
He never allowed his emotions to get in the way of what he was doing nor did he ever invest time pursuing relationships with anyone.
He turned the monitor and the computer off when he pushed the chair back, stood, walked to the screen to his left and he typed on the keyboard. The screen flickered on as he looked at the young man and Morgan saw the startled look on the young man's face.
"Send them," Morgan said.
"Yes, Sir," the young man said then the screen flickered off. Morgan looked at his dim reflection in the screen as he turned and he headed for the door. He left the office as he closed the door behind him then he walked down the hallway.
Angel Wings Ranch
The soft snoring sound and the gentle thrumming of her husband's heartbeat filled her ear as Margaret looked into the darkness and her fingers lightly moved over Connor's right side. She slowly sat up when she moved the bedding back and Connor sighed, rolling onto his left side. His eyes barely opened while his fingers softly moved up her right arm and she looked down at him.
"Wha's wrong?" he asked with a sleepy voice.
"I can't sleep," she said. He sat up as he rubbed his face with his hands then he pulled her toward him. She placed her head on his left shoulder as he carded her hair and she held him.
"Wanna talk about it?"
Before she could say something, the alarms sounded and the red light embedded in the ceiling flickered on and off.
"What th'hell?!" Connor demanded as the metal shielding slid over the windows and they got out of bed.
"Daddy!" Moira shouted as he ran to the door and he opened the door, running out into the hallway. The red lights embedded in the ceiling flickered on and off as he ran into his daughter's room and she was sitting up in the bed. "What's going on!?"
"Dunno, Angel," he said as he ran to the bed and he helped her get out of bed. They ran out into the hallway as the others appeared out of their rooms and Murphy ran to Connor.
"What th'fuck is goin' on!?" came from downstairs and Connor and Murphy quickly went downstairs. Annabelle was standing in the doorway to her room as she glared at them and Connor noticed the metal shielding was covering the windows and the entrance to the fireplace.
"Murphy, go check the kitchen!" Connor ordered and Murphy ran into the kitchen. The red lights embedded in the ceiling flickered on and off as he saw the metal shielding covering the windows and covered the back and basement doors.
"What th'hell?!" Murphy grumbled then he ran back into the main room.
"Maggie!" Connor called out and she ran down the stairs with the others following close behind her. Margaret walked to the control panel near the den door as she entered the pass code and the alarms stopped. The red lights embedded in the ceiling flickered on and off as the children stayed near their parents and Annabelle went to sit down in her recliner. Margaret walked to Connor while Connor held onto Moira and Robert stood next to him. "Care t'explain?"
"The house is in lock down," Margaret said.
"Lock down?" Louisa asked while she held onto Soibhan.
"It should only happen when or if someone attacks us."
"Why would they do that?" Annie asked.
"Yeah, why?" Younger Murphy asked.
Connor looked from Murphy to Romeo to Margaret as Margaret sighed then they were startled when someone pounded on the front door.
"Daddy!" Rosita cried out and Romeo picked her up. He held his daughter as she started crying and he hushed her.
Margaret saw the frightened looks on the children's faces as she stormed toward the den door, opened the door, turned on the light and she headed for the desk. Connor and Murphy followed her as she sat down and she powered up the computer. She turned the monitor when she looked at the photograph on the screen then she started typing on the keyboard. Murphy stood on one side of the chair while Connor stood on the other side of the chair and Connor saw the anger on his wife's face.
"Damn him!" she whispered.
"Who're you talkin' about?" Murphy asked.
"I am talking about my uncle."
"Yer uncle's attackin' us?" Connor asked.
"No, he's not attacking," she said, looking at him. "They're here for you."
"Fer me?"
"For both of you," she said, looking at Murphy.
"What did we do?" Murphy asked.
"You didn't do anything."
"Then why does he want us?" Connor asked.
"He needs your help with something."
"Then why didn't he jus' come here an' ask?" Murphy asked.
Connor noticed she was shutting down as the pounding sound grew louder and he sighed, rolled his eyes and he left the room. He walked to the front door when he typed on the keypad near the front door and the small screen came on. He looked at the two figures standing on the porch and they were wearing full battle armor, black boots, black leather gloves and black helmets.
"What th'hell do you want?" he demanded as he pushed the button and the figures looked at the security cameras over the door.
"Open the door!" one of the figures demanded and he snorted a laugh.
"No."
"Open the door or…."
"Or what?! You'll start shootin'?"
He noticed the figures were looking at each other as he wondered what they were talking about and he looked over at Louisa, Romeo, Jessie and the kids.
"Are they gonna shoot us, Daddy?" Moira asked.
"No, they're not gonna do that," he assured her when he looked at the small screen and the figures looked at the security camera. Margaret walked to him when he stood back and she looked at the small screen.
"You are on private property. Depart immediately," she said then she let go of the button.
"I am afraid we cannot…," one of the figures said when the other figure pointed at something and they turned away from the security camera. A soft sound of something breaking and a low bleating sound came from the speaker and the figures ran off the porch.
"Does that sound like…?" Connor asked when they heard the sound of gunfire and the children and Louisa screamed. Murphy ran out of the den when he ran to Louisa and he wrapped his arms around her. Moira had run to Connor as Connor knelt down and he held his daughter in his arms. "What th'hell happened?!
"No fuckin' clue," Murphy said, placing Louisa's head against his right shoulder. They watched as Margaret pushed the buttons on the keypad near the front door as the red lights embedded in the ceiling stopped flickering, the metal shield retracted and the lights came on. She opened the front door when she stormed out of the house and she went down the stairs.
"Who is in charge!?" she demanded as she walked toward the people standing near the black vans and one of the figures walked to her.
"I am Captain Fitzroy," Captain Angus Fitzroy said with a salute. Margaret felt herself going into full ice queen mode as she folded her arms over her chest and she could feel his eyes scanning her body.
"If you wish to stay a captain, stop scanning me with your eyes."
"Yes, Ma'me!"
"Even though I understand why you are here, you have not only frightened me, but my husband, our children…"
"There are children in there?!" one of the other asked as she looked at the house.
"Yes."
"Shit. No one told us there would be kids involved," another figure said.
Margaret glared at them while Connor walked outside and he walked down the stairs before walking to Margaret. He could just see the others as he stood next to Margaret then he slid his right arm around her waist.
"Did one of you jus' kill one of my sheep?" he demanded. Margaret tried hard not to smile as the others looked at each other and he gave them a blank look.
"Is that what it was?" one of the others asked.
"I told you it looked like a ram," one of the others said.
"Never mind. We were gonna get rid of it. Now, you are gonna follow us inside an' you are gonna apologize t'not only me and my family, but my brudder an' his family, my friend an' his family and my mother. If you're lucky, she might not hit you with her cane," Connor said.
"Before they do that, they have t'help us calm down th'animals," Murphy said while he stood on the porch then he walked down the stairs, heading for Connor.
"Aye, they do."
"Miss Stone…?!" Fitzroy pleaded as she glared at him for using her maiden name and he sighed.
"Romeo! Lou!" Murphy called out. Romeo and Louisa walked out of the house then they went down the stairs and they ran to Murphy and Connor.
"Romeo, take some of them and go calm down the alpacas," Connor said and Romeo nodded.
"Let's go," Romeo said and a few of the others followed him toward the alpacas' stable.
"Louisa, take some of them and go calm down the chickens," Margaret said and Louisa nodded. Several of the others followed Louisa and they headed for the coop. "Connor, take some of them and go calm down the horses."
"Aye," Connor said and some of the others followed him to the stable. The rest looked at Murphy while he glared at them then he walked off toward the lamb shed.
"Captain, you and the others will follow me to the sheep shed. Now!" Margaret said with a growl and Fitzroy nodded. They headed for the sheep shed and she felt the anger boiling inside her.
After they had calm down the animals and went inside the house, Margaret stood next to Fitzroy and Fitzroy saw the anger in Annabelle's eyes.
"Shit, she reminds me of my nan," he thought and Margaret glanced at him. She had brought her laptop in from the den as she sat on the couch, placed the laptop on the coffee table and she typed on the keyboard. She moved the cursor to the chat icon when the window opened and Morgan appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Sir. Sorry to wake you, but it appears we have a situation," Margaret said with a cold tone to her voice.
"Are you talking about the people I sent to convince you to change your mind?" Morgan asked.
"Yes."
"This would not have happened if you would have done as I asked."
"You could've jus' come to th'house an' talked t'us," Connor asked, sitting next to Margaret.
"Aye, you could've done that," Murphy said, leaning on the back of the couch.
"Now you've woken up an' scared our kids, who have school in th'morning, scared th'crap outta our animals, killed one of them an' woke up our mother."
"Damn right," Annabelle said.
"You're lucky we live far enough away from our neighbors or they would wanna know what th'hell's goin' on," Murphy said.
"Aye, there is that," Connor said with a nod.
"Are you two finished?" Morgan asked with a curt tone. Annabelle slowly stood as she walked to Murphy and she looked at the screen.
"Don't you dare talk t'my sons like that! That's my job!" Annabelle said.
"And you are?"
"This is our ma," Connor said.
"An' you jus' made her angry," Murphy said.
"Has Margaret told you why I need to speak with you?" Morgan asked.
"She was goin' to when these guys showed up," Connor said as he turned to look back at Fitzroy.
"Look, can we talk about this later?" Louisa asked. She walked to Murphy when he slid his arm around her and Morgan looked at her.
"No, I am afraid we cannot," Morgan said.
"What an asshole," David said.
"Aye, he is," Young Murphy said.
"I beg your pardon?" Morgan asked.
"Clean yer ears out. He said you're an asshole," Siobhan said.
Murphy and Louisa glanced at each other as Louisa turned to bury her face in his chest and he felt her body shaking while she silently laughed.
"Daddy, I wanna go t'bed," Rosie said, placing her cheek against Romeo's right shoulder.
"I wanna go t'bed, too, Sweetie," Annabelle said.
"I wanna know what's goin' on," Robert said.
"Me, too," Caesar said.
"This feels like one of Da's movies," Moira said.
"Aye, it does," Annie said.
"Is this th'part where they get their assignments?" David asked.
"Dunno," Soibhan said
"Nah, this is when th'retired agents don't wanna do whatever it is their old boss wants them t'do," Young Murphy said.
"Why would they do that?" Robert asked.
"Weren't you listenin'?! I said they're retired. Eejit."
"I ain't no eejit."
"Aye, you are."
"You take that back!"
"Make me!"
Growling, Robert charged at Young Murphy as he tackled his cousin to the floor and they started punching each other.
"Like fathers like sons." Annabelle said with a smile.
"Guys!" Louisa said and Connor and Murphy went to separate their sons. Margaret smiled while Connor and Murphy finally got their sons separated and Morgan looked at Margaret.
"Is this…normal?" Morgan asked.
"Most day, yes," Margaret said.
"I see," he said then he paused. "Am I correct in thinking you told them who you are and what you do?"
"Aye, she an' Da told us two years ago," Annie said and Robert and Moira nodded.
"Da and Ma told us when we were cleanin' out th'barn an' we opened that trunk," David said and his twin and Siobhan nodded.
"Mom and Daddy told us last year," Caesar said and Rosita nodded. Fitzroy cleared his throat as he tried not to laugh and Morgan looked at him.
"Do you still wish for us to bring them in, Sir?" Fitzroy asked.
"If you're gonna do that, all of us are goin'," Connor said.
"Aye, I won't let you talk my sons into doin' summat they don't wanna fuckin' do," Annabelle said with a curt tone and an angry look on her face.
"Yep, she's just like my nan," Fitzroy thought as he tried not to smile.
Morgan looked at them when he ended the chat and Margaret turned off the laptop.
"Was that a yes or a no?" Louisa asked.
"Dunno," Murphy said.
A soft buzzing sound caught Fitzroy's attention as he tapped the button on the side of his helmet and a soft sigh filled his right ear.
"You are to leave, but I want you to stay close by. Once the women leave to take the children to school, you are to go in and apprehend them," Morgan said.
"Captain, is there something wrong?" Margaret asked and he looked at her.
"We have been ordered to leave," Fitzroy said.
"Good riddance," Annabelle said.
"Mind takin' th'ram with you?" Connor asked and Fitzroy nodded. They watched him walked to the door when he left and Margaret, Connor and Murphy followed him outside. They could just see them load the body of the ram into one of the black vans when the sound of the engines starting filled the darkness and the vans headed down the road. Margaret walked inside the house while Connor and Murphy stood on the porch and they glanced at each other. Nodding, Murphy walked down the stairs and he headed for his motorcycle. He moved the kickstand up as he walked the motorcycle to the porch and Connor walked down the stairs with their boots in his hands. After placing the boots on, Murphy started the engine while Connor mounted the motorcycle and the motorcycle headed down the road.
The black vans sat a half a mile down the road while Fitzroy stood outside the lead van and he smoked a cigarette. The others were inside the black vans as he looked into the darkness and he leaned against the side of the lead van.
"You know…. If we had guns, you'd be dead," made him look up and he could just see Murphy and Connor sitting on the top of the lead van.
"Then it's a good thing we don't have guns," Murphy said as he looked at his twin.
"Where would we put them? We're only wearin' boots and boxers," Connor said as he looked at what they were wearing.
The doors to the black vans opened while the others got out and they pointed their weapons at Connor and Murphy. Murphy watched Connor stand up as Connor looked at them and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"I am only gonna say this once. You are gonna leave or I'll tell my wife. An' we all know she is not someone you want t'fuck with."
The others looked at Fitzroy when Fitzroy thought for a few seconds and Murphy thumped his feet against the side of the lead van.
"Move out," Fitzroy said as the others got into the black vans and Connor and Murphy climbed down off the lead van. They stood at the side of the road while the black vans moved down the road then the twins walked off into the darkness.