Ireland – Angel Wings Ranch
Louisa stood in front of the whiteboard as she looked at the photographs of the paintings and murals of Connor and Murphy and she took a long sip of coffee from the white coffee mug in her right hand.
"What are you looking at?" Romeo asked while walking closer and he looked at the photographs. "Uh, don't you think you should look at those in private?"
"It's nothing I have seen before," Louisa said with a grin and he shrugged. "Besides, I think there is something in these photographs besides the Saints."
"Like what?"
"That is what I am trying to figure out."
"Where did this one come from?" he asked, pointing to the third photograph.
"Maggie sent it to me. It was taken in the Herder's base."
"What is that on the bottom?"
"That's the prayer."
"I still don't get why someone's killing them. Do they hate Connor and Murphy or something?"
"Dunno."
"Well, I gotta go get the kids to school."
"Isn't it my turn to drive?"
"Yeah, but I think this is more important."
Nodding, Louisa went back to looking at the photograph and Romeo walked away.
Greenwich, New York
The wind blew through their hair while Connor and Murphy walked down the path and the sunlight shimmered on the bottle of whiskey Connor had in his left hand. Murphy had asked Louisa where Norman's grave was located and he held the bouquet of flowers in his right hand. They stopped in front of the grave as they looked at the tombstone and Murphy placed the bouquet at the bottom of the tombstone. Connor opened the bottle as he took a swig of whiskey then he handed the bottle to Murphy and Murphy took a drink. They stood in silence while they prayed then Connor poured some of the whiskey on the grave and they slowly walked away.
10th Precinct
The door opened while Margaret and Jessie walked toward the security desk and the police officer looked at them.
"May I help you?" he asked and Margaret and Jessie showed him their identifications. After they were scanned, they walked toward the elevator and Margaret pushed the call button.
"Where did the guys go?" Jessie asked.
"They said they had some personal business to attend to," Margaret said as the doors to the elevator opened and they walked into the elevator car.
"Are you sure if was a good idea to let them go off on their own?"
"Yes," Margaret said as she pushed the button and the elevator doors closed. "Did you read the file on Louisa?"
"Yes, I did. She used to live in Greenwich and she was attacked in her apartment by her ex, right?"
"Yes, he nearly beat her to death. She ended up blind, but it was what happened to her brother which brought her back into the Saints' lives."
"He was killed by her ex."
"Yes."
"What does that have to do with the Saints?" Jessie asked while the elevator doors opened and they walked into the hallway.
"The Saints were friends of theirs."
"Oh. So, what, are they here to get even with this guy?"
"No, her ex was killed by her bodyguard."
"Then what are they up to?"
"They went to the cemetery to pay their respects to her brother."
"Oh," Jesse said as the elevator doors opened and they walked out into the hallway. They walked into the squad room as the police officers watched them and they headed for the door to the Captain's office. Margaret knocked on the door when she saw the captain nod her head and Margaret opened the door. They headed for the chairs in front of the desk after Margaret closed the door and they sat down. Margaret noticed the Captain had graying black hair and green eyes and she was dressed in a black suit jacket and skirt, a white blouse, nude hose and black shoes. Captain Sarah Locke walked to the desk when she sat down and she fold her fingers together.
"Hello. I am Captain Sarah Locke," Sarah said with a nod.
"Hello. I am Margaret Stone and this is my assistant, Jessie," Margaret said as she shoed Sarah her identification and Sarah nodded.
"How may I help Interpol?"
"I need to see all information you have on the deaths of the members of the Church."
"May I ask why?"
"They may be relevant to the deaths in Manhattan as well as the deaths in London and Dorset."
"I have heard about the deaths of some members of the Herders, but they're just a gang, aren't they?"
"No, I am afraid not. Have you heard of the Saints?"
"Yes, I have. In fact, one of my cousins is a police officer in Boston and he was on sight after the Saints had taken down the head of the Russian Mafia at that hotel. He said he's never seen anything like it. I mean, did they really hang from the ceiling on a rope while they killed those men?"
"That's the rumor," Margaret said as she tried no to smile at the memory of Connor telling about what happened that day.
"I'll be right back," Sarah said as she got up and she left the room. Margaret removed her cellphone from her suit jacket pocket when she looked at the text messages screen and she saw a text from Connor. She tapped the screen as she looked at the selfie of Murphy and Connor and they were flipping their middle fingers with a goofy look on their faces.
"How old are you two? Five?" she whispered then she showed the text to Jessie. Jessie laughed as she shook her head and Margaret tapped her fingers on the small keypad.
Where are you?
We're heading for the Church's base.
Take photographs.
Do I have to take one of a painting or a mural of me and Murphy?
Yes. I need to send it to Louisa.
Why?
She might be able to see something besides your amazingly hot body.
"Are you really going to send that?!" Jessie asked while Margaret felt the burn of a blush moving over her cheeks and she deleted what she was about to send.
She might be able to see something besides you and Murphy.
Fine. But, if we're naked, I am blurring us out.
No. She needs the whole image.
Why does she need an image of me when she has the real thing? – Murphy
Give me back the phone! – Connor
Why did you send that? – Murphy
Just give it back! – Connor
Murphy, give Connor the phone back or I'll call your mother!
Now look at what you did! She's going to call Ma – Murphy
Me?! I wasn't the one who took the phone! – Connor
GUYS!
He gave me back the phone.
Good. When you're done, go back to the apartment.
Want me to pick up something for lunch?
"What do you want for lunch?" Margaret asked while looking at Jessie.
"I could go for a pizza," Jessie said.
Pick up a pizza, some breadsticks and a salad, please.
Will do! Love you!
I love you, too.
How much?
More than life itself.
And I thought me and Lou were mushy! – Murphy
Shut up and give me the phone back! – Connor
Make me! – Murphy
Margaret smiled as she ended the text and she placed the cellphone back in the inner pocket of her suit jacket just the door opened. Sarah walked in the room when she handed Margaret the file folder before she sat down and Sarah watched Margaret looking at the information and the photographs. Margaret did find a photograph of a painting of Connor and Murphy, but it was too dark for her to see properly.
"Do you know what this is?" Margaret asked while she showed Sarah the photograph.
"No. But the officer who took the photograph said it was a painting of, well, angels," Sarah said.
"Angels?"
"What's what she said."
"Did they find any information which blamed the police for what happened to those who were killed?"
"No. Then again, we haven't seen any members of the Church since the killings."
"Do you think they might be planning some sort of retaliation?"
"Seeing the deaths occurred months ago and nothing has happened, no. But we are not ruling it out."
"Well, thank you for your cooperation," Margaret said as they stood and they shook hands. Margaret and Jessie headed for the door as they left the office and Margaret hoped Murphy and Connor had more luck at the Church's base.
"The Church's base is an actual church?!" Murphy asked as they stood at the bottom of the stairs of the old abandoned church and Connor nodded. They walked up the stairs when Connor tried to open the doors, but the doors were locked. "Now what?"
"Watch my back," Connor said as he knelt down and he removed the lockpicking kit from the pocket of his black Navy pea coat.
"Are you fuckin' serious?! We are not breaking into a church!"
"Got a better way to get in?" Connor said then he waved his hand for Murphy to stay quiet. A few seconds later, Connor unlocked the door as he placed the lockpicking kit away, stood then he opened the door. They crossed themselves before going inside and Connor closed the door. Sunlight from the stain glass windows shimmered on the dust as they walked down the aisle and they saw the pews were replaced with mattresses. The large wooden cross sat behind the alter and they looked at the statue of Jesus. They glanced at each other as they walked up the stairs to the alter when they knelt down and they closed their eyes. Saying a quick prayer, they opened their eyes, walked to the cross and they kissed the feet of the statue.
"Now what do we do?" Murphy said, looking around the room with his eyes. Before Connor could answer, the sound of footsteps came from the choir loft as they slowly backed up and they looked to see a young man dressed all in black leaning over the railing.
"Hi," Connor said with a small wave. Suddenly, the young man pointed a gun at them when he fired and the twins dived out of the way. The sound of gunfire echoed around them as they tried to find a place to hide when Connor pointed to the doorway to their left and they ran for the stairs. They ran upstairs when they ran down the small hallway and they heard the sound of footsteps heading toward them. Connor pointed to the room to their left as they ran inside and Murphy was surprised to find two rifles leaning against the wall.
"Jesus," he whispered.
"Lord's name," Connor scolded while Murphy handed him one of the rifles and they checked to see if the rifles were loaded. They stepped out into the hallway while pointing the rifles when they saw the young man at the end of the hallway and he pointed the gun at them. "Use it or put it down."
"Are you two assholes cops?" the young man asked.
"Do we look like cops?" Murphy asked.
"You could be undercover cops."
"We're not," Connor said.
"What do you want?"
"We're just lookin' fer a place t'stay."
"Aye, where better than a church," Murphy said. The young man moved closer while he lowered the gun and he titled his head to one side.
"No, you can't be."
"We can't be what?" Connor asked, lowering the rifle.
"Follow me," the young man said as he turned and they followed him down the hallway. They walked in the bell tower room as they looked around the room with their eyes and Connor could just see the painting on the wall to their left. The young man stood in front of the painting as he flicked the switch and several lights lit up the wall. Connor and Murphy walked closer as they looked at the painting then they looked at each other. "That's you, right?"
"Aye, it is," Connor said and Murphy nodded.
"Damn, you guys got old!"
"We're only forty-seven," Murphy grumbled.
"What happened to you, Man?!"
"Life happened," Connor explained.
"What does that mean!?"
"It means we decided life was more important than death."
"But the Saints…"
"Aye, we get it. But sometimes God changes His plans. We accepted His decision t'release us from th'callin' an' moved on."
"Moved on to what?!"
"Peace," Murphy said as he walked to the painting and he looked at the images of himself and Connor. He removed his cellphone as he took a photograph of the painting and the writing under it and the young man glared at Connor.
"You ain't the Saints!"
"Aye, we are," Connor said.
"Bullshit!" the young man said as he drew the gun and he pointed the gun at Connor. He rubbed the trigger with his right index finger over the trigger when he felt the end of the barrel of the rifle being pressed against the back of his head and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Fuck, Man, don't. Please don't."
"Then put th'gun on th'floor," Connor said. He watched the young man place the gun on the floor then he lightly kicked the gun to Connor and Connor reached down for the gun. "Now, what happened to th'others?"
"They fucked off after the cops killed our friends."
"You think th'cops killed them?"
"I just said that!" he shouted then he grunted after Murphy pushed the end of the barrel of the rifle into the back of his head. "Shit, Man!"
"He doesn't like it when someone' bein' disrespectful."
"Yeah, the cops killed them."
Connor looked at Murphy while Murphy lowered the rifle and he walked to Connor. The young man looked at them while Murphy noticed the wet spot on the young man's jeans and Murphy sighed.
"Go change yer jeans," Murphy said while the young man looked down then the young man ran out of the room. Connor sighed while he looked around the room then he saw some papers on the table and he looked at the information. He placed the papers in the inner pocket of his black Navy pea coat and they left the room. They walked down the stairs when they headed for the front door and Connor opened the door. "Wait. We can't walk around with rifles on our backs."
"Aye," Connor said as they placed the rifles against the wall then they walked outside. They placed the sunglasses on as they headed down the stairs and Murphy slid his hands in the pockets of his black Navy pea coat.
"I'm hungry," Murphy said.
"Me, too."
"Didn't Maggie say we were supposed t'get summat fer lunch?"
"Yeah. Pizza."
"Then let's go," he said as they headed down the sidewalk and Connor noticed the look on Murphy's face.
"What's wrong?" Connor asked.
"Jus' thinkin' about Norman."
"Norman?"
"Aye. Seeing his grave… It brought back all that shit I was feelin' when Lou told us what happened. Did you know she went back t'her apartment after she came back t'New York?"
"Why did she do that?"
"She told me she wanted closure, but she couldn't even get th'nerve t'knock on th'door."
"Do you wanna go see it?"
"Nah. It would jus' piss me off."
"Even more then you are now?"
"Aye," he said and Murphy lightly bumped shoulders with him.
"Tell you what," Connor said as he started walking backwards so he was looking at his brother. "How about you pick out the pizza toppings?"
"I can pick anythin'?"
"Anythin' you want."
"Even pineapple?"
"Fuck no!"
"When we went t'Costa Rica fer our second honeymoon last year, Lou introduced me t'pineapple on pizza. It's not that bad."
"No."
"You said I can pick anythin'."
"Aye, but not that."
"Why?"
"Because Jessie's allergic t'pineapples."
"I didn't know that."
"Romeo told me."
"Ok. No pineapple. How about an all veggies pizza?" he asked and Connor sighed. "Hey, I happen t'like bein' a vegetarian."
"An' yet you live on a farm raisin' chickens and sheep."
"So?!"
"Fine," he said as Murphy pulled him toward him before Connor walked into a lamp post. Connor turned to walk forward and he saw the smile on his twin's face. "There. That's better."
"Fuck off," Murphy said. They laughed as they headed down the sidewalk and Murphy admitted he did feel better.
Manhattan, New York
The soft pinging filled the air while the elevator doors opened and Connor and Murphy walked in the room.
"We're back!" Connor said. Jessie walked out of the kitchen while she smiled and Murphy placed the pizza box and the plastic bags with the salad and breadsticks on the table. "Where's Maggie?"
"She's in the bedroom," Jessie said. She went to get some plates, glasses, a bottle of wine, napkins and silverware while Connor walked down the hallway then he leaned on the doorframe of the bedroom Margaret was sharing with Jessie. Margaret was sitting on the bed with one leg tucked under the other and she had her laptop on her lap. She didn't notice him as Connor walked to the bed then he crawled over the mattress to sit next to her.
"Whatcha doin'?" he asked as he placed his head against her right shoulder.
"I was just checking my emails," Margaret asked and he looked at the screen.
"Anythin' interestin'?"
"The feed order for the sheep arrived, the alpaca have their appointment with the vet next Tuesday, Robert and Moira passed their maths exam, your mother is complaining about the kids driving her crazy and wants you to come home now and Annie's ex-friend, Sarah, has been expelled from school for telling a teacher to fuck off."
"Ah. Well, lunch's ready."
"Good. I am starving," she said as she turned the laptop off, placed the laptop on the night table and they got off the bed. They headed down the hallway while he held her around the waist and she smiled at him. They walked to the table as he held the chair out for her to sit and Margaret sat down. Jessie smiled when Murphy did the same then the twins sat down.
"Did you find out anythin'?" Murphy asked as he removed a slice of vegetarian pizza out of the box and he placed the slice on the plate. Margaret explained as she showed them the information Captain Locke had given them and Connor removed the papers he had found at the church. He handed her the papers as she read the information and Murphy removed the cellphone from his jeans pocket. He handed her the cellphone as she looked at the photographs and she handed him the cellphone.
"Have you sent that to Louisa?" Margaret asked.
"Aye."
"Did anything happen while you were at the Church's base?"
Murphy looked at Connor as Connor told them what happened and Margaret nodded.
"I'll call Captain Locke and tell her to have someone watch the church in case he comes back."
"He might be armed," Connor said.
"I'll inform her of that."
"So, where are we going next?" Jessie asked.
"We're going to Philadelphia."
"When are we leavin'?" Murphy asked.
"Our flight leaves at eleven in morning."
"Not to put a damper on things, but don't you think it's odd that we haven't heard from your uncle?" Jessie asked.
"Aye, we haven't heard a peep outta him since we agreed t'help him do this," Connor said and Murphy nodded.
"He normally doesn't contact me during a mission unless it's to complain about me taking too long," Margaret said with a sigh. She did admit Morgan keeping silent was a bit unnerving, but she also knew he kept silent to test how long it would take for her to ask for help or to admit defeat.
Connor noticed the cold look in her eyes as he dipped a piece of breadstick into the dipping sauce then he held it out to her. Smiling, she took a bite as he leaned over to kiss her lips and Murphy snorted as he rolled his eyes.
"Like you tell me an' Lou on a few occasions, go t'yer room if you're gonna act like that," Murphy said then he laughed after Connor flipped him off.
Unknown location
Morgan moaned as the sound of heavy footsteps came closer and he felt whatever he was lying on dip down.
"Still alive?" the voice asked.
"Of course, I am," Morgan said in a raspy voice.
"If you wish to survive another day, I suggest you do not anger me."
"Who are you?!" Morgan demanded then he gagged as large fingers tightened around his throat.
"Just kill him," the other voice said and the long fingers tightened around Morgan's throat.
"That is your way of dealing with things. I was taught better."
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"It means you should stop asking idiotic questions."
Morgan felt the long fingers let go of his throat as he cleared his throat and he heard the heavy footsteps move away. He then heard a soft scraping sound as he braced himself and pain moved up his legs after something heavy was slammed against them. He panted as he felt a warm breath on his face and someone softly laughed.
"Do you want to know something? The last man I did this to begged for death. I would have given it to him if it wasn't for your bitch and those two pieces of shit," the voice said, softly.
"What are you talking about!?"
"I'll give you a hint. In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti," the voice said while the darkness took Morgan into a dreamless sleep and Morgan frowned.
A/N: Sorry for the violence. I also gave you a hint to one of the two voices. Can you figure out who it is?