Heathrow Airport
Murphy held Louisa as she placed her forehead against his left shoulder and he rubbed her back.
"Are you sure about this?" Louisa asked, looking at him.
"Aye," Murphy said.
"But…"
"Lou, I know you can handle yerself. But I would feel better knowin' you're safe at home with th'kids."
"I'm going home, too," Jessie said after she walked closer and they looked at her.
"I still don't like this," Louisa said with a sigh.
"We'll be fine," Murphy promised and he lightly kissed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she moved her fingers over the back of his head then they moved back. He watched Jessie and Louisa walk away when he slid his hands into the pockets of his black Navy pea coat then he sighed, blinking the tears from his eyes.
Irondale
Irondale was located outside of London and the mental institution was situated on the top of a large hill. A large, dark stone wall surrounded the grounds and barbed iron stakes rose from the top of the walls. A large iron gate greeted those who came to the mental institution and security cameras were mounted on top of the gate. At the center of the grounds was the mental institution. The large, eight story building has a dark stone base on the first floor and the upper seven floors were a white stone. Four stone towers were at the corners of the mental institution and the semi-collapsed roof had dark gray shingles. Some of the iron bars covering the windows were missing and the glass in the windows were either cracked or broken.
Connor, Murphy and Margaret stood near the car on the top of the hill across from Irondale and they were wearing black body armor, black leather boots, black leather gloves and black helmets. Margaret adjusted the strap to the black tote bag over her right shoulder as she sighed and Connor crossed his arms over his chest.
"Charming," Connor said while the night vision setting showed him the mental institution.
"Looks like summat outta a horror movie," Murphy said.
"Or a nightmare."
"This is one time I wish we had backup."
"Then turn around," a voice said over the earpiece in their helmets and they turned to see Fitzroy and several soldiers getting out of the black vans which had pulled up behind the car. Connor turned his head to look at Margaret and he smiled.
"I'll say it again. I have a clever wife," Connor said.
"Yes, you do," Margaret said then she looked at Fitzroy. "Seeing how we don't know if there is anyone inside. Stealth up."
"Yes, Miss… Uh… Yes, Mrs. MacManus," Angus said with a nod then he told the others.
"Stealth up?" Murphy asked. He blinked when information appeared and he moved his fingers in the air until a blue light appeared on the screen.
"This is so fuckin' cool," Connor said after the blue light appeared and Margaret smiled. She took his right hand as he wrapped their fingers together and they led the others down the hill.
A short time later, they arrived at the wall to the mental institution while Connor and Murphy looked at the iron stakes at the top of the wall and the scanners showed them the barbed wire.
"So much fer that," Murphy said and Connor sighed. Margaret lightly tapped Connor's right upper arm as she pointed and they headed for the front gate. They stopped when they saw the security cameras over the gate and Murphy noticed Fitzroy was moving his fingers in the air. "What's he doin'?"
"He is hacking into the cameras," Margaret said. Fitzroy nodded as the front gate opened and they walked down the front walk. The scanners showed them the surrounding area when Murphy stopped and he was looking down at his feet. "Murphy, what are you doing?"
"Can these scanners see underground?" Murphy asked.
"Yes, they can. Do you see something?"
"I'm not sure."
Connor walked to his twin as he looked down and the scanners showed him what was under their feet.
"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Connor said and Margaret walked closer. She looked down when the scanners showed her what they were looking and she frowned.
"Captain!" Margaret called out and Fitzroy ran to her. He looked down when the scanners showed him what they were looking at and he frowned. "Did you know about this?"
"No, I didn't," Angus said.
"So, they have an underground bunker or summat like that?" Murphy asked as he looked at Connor. "When did this turn into a spy movie?"
"Since we were freed from prison," Connor said as he looked at Margaret. "Not that I'm complainin'."
Nodding, Margaret looked at the mental institution as the scanners showed her the security system and she crossed her arms under her breasts. Connor and Murphy started walking when the scanners turned to infrared and Connor moved his left index finger to count how many heat signatures he was seeing.
"Are you seein' six yellow figures?" Connor asked as he looked at Murphy.
"Aye," Murphy said when he looked up and he snorted a laugh at the bright yellow light covering Connor. "You look fuckin' weird."
"You do, too."
Murphy started waving his arms and hands around while the yellow light moved over the screen and Connor broke out laughing.
"Are you two done?" came over the earpiece in their helmets and they looked at Margaret. Connor imagined the goofy look on Murphy's face as they nodded and she waved her fingers for them to follow her. They watched the others spreading out while Margaret turned and she pointed to the front doors. Connor and Murphy nodded as they walked to the front doors then they stopped and Margaret placed the black tote bag on the ground. Kneeling down, she opened the black tote bag then she removed the lock picking kit. She handed the lock picking kit to Connor as he knelt down and Murphy stood to stand in front of him.
"No one's lookin'," Connor said as he stared picking the lock.
"Jus' bein' cautious," Murphy said. He watched the scans as he flexed his fingers and Margaret reached into the black tote bag. She removed the Berrettas as she held the guns out to Murphy and he nodded, taking the Berrettas from her.
"We're in," Angus' voice said over the earpiece in their helmets and Connor stood after he got the doors unlocked. He helped Margaret to her feet then he handed her the lock picking kit and she placed the lock picking kit back into the black tote bag. She handed him the Berrettas then Connor opened the doors and they walked inside while the scanners changed into night vision.
"This is when th'scary music starts," Murphy whispered while they walked down the hallway and they had the Berrettas pointed in front of them.
"Will you stop with th'horror movie shit!?" Connor whispered.
"Well, when some pasty lookin' ghost bitch with her hair danglin' in her face comes screamin' down th'hallway t'rip yer face off, don't say I didn't warn you."
"That's it. I am tellin' Lou."
"Tellin' her what?"
"I'm tellin' her t'not allow you t'watch shit like that ever again."
"Then you can't watch action movies ever again."
"I fuckin' can!"
"Then I can watch horror movies!"
"Will you two please concentrate!?" Margaret growled. She could hear the snickers and snorts over the earpiece in the helmet and she rolled her eyes. They walked down the hallway when the scanners showed Fitzroy and his group were approaching from their left and she held up her left hand to stop Murphy and Connor. Fitzroy nodded after he saw them and the other group was approaching from down the other hallway.
"This floor is clear," Angus said.
"So, where t'now? We know someone's in th'basement…," Connor said.
"Could be zombies," Murphy said and Connor shoved him.
"I said knock off th'horror movie shit!"
Growling, Murphy put the Berrettas on the floor before he jumped on Connor and they fell onto the floor. Connor had placed the Berrettas on the floor as well and they started punching each other. Fitzroy and one of the other soldiers pulled them off each other and the twins pushed them off after they got to their feet.
"Let's go," Margaret said with a sigh. Connor and Murphy picked up the Berrettas and she took hold of Connor's left hand as she lightly pulled him down the hallway. Murphy and Fitzroy fell in behind them while the scanner showed Margaret where the basement door was and she looked at the keypad. Pointing at Fitzroy, she watched him walking to the door as he looked at the keypad and the scanner showed him the information. Fitzroy pushed the buttons as a soft click filled the air and he nodded his head. Margaret cautiously opened the door as they looked at the stairs leading down to the basement and she slowly walked to the top of the stairs.
"Hold on," Connor said as he walked to her then he scanned the stairs for traps or alarm wires. Nodding, he took hold of her left hand as they went down the stairs and Murphy, Fitzroy and the other soldiers followed them. They got to the bottom of the stairs when they headed into the basement and Murphy walked next to Connor.
"If you see…," Murphy said then became quiet after Connor slowly turned his head to look at him and Connor flipped him his middle finger. Margaret signaled for the others to spread out as she, Fitzroy, Connor and Murphy walked on and the twins pointed the Berrettas out in front of them. "You know what's gettin' me? If this place locked down an' everyone died in th'fire, how did these fuckers survive?"
"From what I am able to figure out, whatever's down there has its own power and tunnels leading outside," Angus said as he looked at the information on the screen.
"Which means they were doin' who-knows-what down there," Connor said.
They kept walking as Margaret looked at the scanners and her eyes widened when one of the heat signatures was identified as Morgan's.
"He's here," she whispered.
"What did you say?" Connor asked.
"My uncle. He's here."
They came to a stop at the metal doors while Fitzroy looked at the keypad and Connor slid his right hand over Margaret's left hand. Fitzroy looked at the screen while the scanner gave him the information and he moved his fingers in the air. The metal doors slid open as they looked down the dark elevator shaft and Murphy sighed, shaking his head.
"Why did I have th'feelin' we were gonna need fuckin' rope," he muttered and Connor lightly nudged him. The other soldiers appeared while Margaret placed the black tote bag on the floor and she removed two cords of rope and Connor smiled. Murphy carefully walked to the entrance of the elevator shaft as he looked down and the scanner showed him how far down the elevator shaft went. "Shit."
Margaret got to her feet as she walked to him, looked down the elevator shaft and she looked at the information.
"Damn. We don't have enough rope," she said. Connor looked at the wall as the information appeared on the screen and he smiled. He walked off when he found the keypad, looked at the keypad, pushed the buttons and the soft hissing sound filled the air as the hidden door slid into the wall. He made a soft whistled as he pointed to the opening then he walked inside.
"How did…?" Angus asked.
"He knows shit," Murphy said with a grin while he went to follow his twin and the others followed them. They entered the stairwell while Connor scanned the stairs for traps or alarm wires then they headed down the stairs.
Downstairs, Mike Baker walked in the room while Duffy moved side-to-side and Dolly stood in the corner.
"Hey, Guys. It's bedtime," Mike said as he walked to Duffy. He led Duffy to the bed as he helped Duffy get into bed and he moved the blankets up. He walked to Dolly when the lights went out in the hallway then in the room and Baker sighed, rolling his eyes. "Do you have to do that?!"
"We have visitors," the low voice said behind him and Mike frowned.
"What do you mean we have visitors? No one knows we're here."
"I checked the security footage. There was a slight glitch."
"And that means we have visitors? It could have just been a glitch. I mean, how old are those fucking cameras?"
"I run a system check every day. The cameras are functioning normally."
"Well, if we do have visitors, they can't get down here."
"Don't be so sure."
"Fine," Mike said with a sigh. "I'll go look. Put Dolly to bed for me."
Flicking the night vision goggles down, Baker walked out of the room as he scanned the hallway then he headed for the main stairwell. He was startled when he heard gunfire behind them when he turned and he ran back the way he came. He stood in the doorway as he looked into the room and he saw Dolly lying on the floor. He walked in the room when he headed for the bed where Duffy was lying and he sighed. He saw the dark spot at the center of Duffy's forehead as a low growl filled his throat then he walked to Dolly. Kneeling down, he rolled Dolly onto his back and he saw the saw dark spot at the center of Dolly's forehead. Standing, up, Baker looked at the doorway and he slowly shook his head.
"You son of a bitch," he whispered then he left the room.
"Gunfire," Angus said over the earpieces in the helmets and the soldiers aimed their weapons in front of them. Fitzroy, Connor and Murphy surrounded Margaret as she sighed and she moved by them. She removed two guns out of the black tote bag as she checked to see if the guns were loaded then she looked at Fitzroy.
"Captain, I want you to take the others and go in that direction," Margaret said as she pointed down the hallway.
"What about you?"
"I have them," she said as she pointed one of the guns toward the twins and Connor smiled. Nodding, Fitzroy pointed and he and the other soldiers headed down the hallway. Connor, Murphy and Margaret headed down the other way while she walked between them and they looked at the information on the screens.
"This place is fuckin' huge," Murphy whispered as he stopped and he titled his head to one side. "Hold on."
"What's wrong?" Connor asked and he and Margaret walked to him.
"I was checkin' th'scans an' two of th'heat signatures jus' turned blue."
"That means someone's dead."
"I got that. But th'scans identified th'signatures."
"Who were they?"
"Duffy an' Dolly."
"What th'hell were Dolly an' Duffy doin' here?"
"More to the point, who killed them?" Margaret asked. They walked around the corner when Margaret held her hand up to stop them and she looked at the scans of the hallway. She saw the security cameras on the wall as she pointed and the twins nodded. They moved along the wall as they passed under the security cameras and she held her hand up to make them stop.
"Mrs. MacManus," Angus' voice said over the earpiece in the helmet. "We have a situation."
"What did you find?" Margaret asked.
"We found two bodies."
"Yes, we know about those."
"We also found something written on the wall."
"What does it say?"
"It says 'Fire will cleanse thee as it cleansed me.'."
"What th'hell does that mean?" Connor asked.
"I have no idea."
"Have you found anything else?" Margaret asked.
"No."
"Keep looking."
"Keep looking for what?" made them turn around as they looked at Baker and he pointed a rifle at them.
"Is that Baker?" Murphy asked.
"It can't be. He's dead," Connor said.
"The same can be said about you two, too," Mike said after he recognized their voices then he glanced at Margaret. "Is that you, Miss Stone?"
"Yes," Margaret said.
"Take off the helmets. Now."
"We'd have t'put th'guns down t'do that," Connor said.
"Do it."
Baker watched them slowly lower the guns to the floor then they stood up and he motioned with the rifle for them to remove their helmets. Connor and Murphy looked at each other as they felt their eyes locking and they had a silent conversation. Margaret looked at them as she wondered what they were doing and she slowly removed the helmet.
"If I were you two, I wouldn't do anything or she dies," Mike said and the twins sighed. They reached up as they removed the helmets and he watched them slowly lower the helmets onto the floor.
"I knew I should have checked to see if you were really dead," Margaret said and Baker snorted a laugh.
"Guess so," Mike said then he looked at the twins. "You guys were wearing body armor, too?"
"Aye," Connor said and Murphy nodded.
"So, the only one I killed was Smecker."
"Aye, but what I don't understand is why you wanted us t'watch," Murphy said.
"He's right. It's like askin' yer mates t'watch you fuck your girlfriend," Connor said.
"I wanted you to see how it's really done," Mike said.
"How what's really done? Killin' someone? We know how t'do that."
"But, like those other shitheads, you don't take it seriously. You act like killing is some sort of game."
"Are you talkin' about th'memebers of those gangs who were takin' up th'slack fer us after we retired?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah. Those losers had no idea what they were doing."
"Bullshit."
"Most of them were jus' tryin' t'help."
"An' that's what we wanted t'do."
"We also wanted t'remove all th'evil in th'world."
"It's not our fault we had t'go into hidin'."
"He's right. If we had been left alone, who knows what would've happened."
"Do you two have any idea how weak you sound?! What we do… The calling… It should mean everything! You should have embraced it! Coveted it! You offered up a river and all you gave was barely a trickle of piss!"
"Aye, well, like we said, if our da hadn't've shown up an' took us into exile…," Connor said.
"Who's your dad?"
"Ever heard of Il Duce?" Murphy asked.
"Everyone knows who he is. He's a fucking legend!"
"He's our da."
"Bullshit!"
"He is," Connor said with a nod.
"An' he was proud when he found out we were takin' up th'family business," Murphy said.
"You're not even in the same league as he is!" Mike said with a growl.
"Was."
"Was?"
"He died a little over a decade ago."
Baker glared at them as his right index finger moved over the trigger and the twins glanced at each other.
"If you three are done, I would like to know why you're here," Margaret said with an icy tone to her voice while she looked at Baker and Baker arched an eyebrow.
"It wasn't my idea," Mike said with a sigh. "After you shot me, I woke up and I had no fucking clue where I was. All I knew I was in this room and I was strapped to the bed. That's when he walked in the room."
"Who are you talking about?"
"He was some British guy."
"Did he look like he had a stick shoved up his ass?" Connor asked.
"Yeah. I asked him what he wanted and he said I was working for him."
"What did you tell him?" Murphy asked.
"I told him to fuck off."
"Then what?" Connor asked.
"He left the room. The next thing I know, these guys come in the room and they pin me down. I told them to let me go when this doctor walks in and he drugs me. When I woke up, I was still in the room, but I felt like shit. That first guy came back in the room and he told me that I was working for."
"An' you told him t'fuck off," Murphy said and Baker nodded while Connor thought back to when they were reunited with Romeo. Murphy felt the anger and confusion coming from his twin when Murphy tilted his head to one side and Baker wondered what they were going to do.
"I told you not to do anything," Mike said and he pointed the rifle at Margaret. "One move and I'll kill her."
"I just need t'talk with my brudder," Murphy explained as he held his hands up in surrender.
"Make it quick."
Nodding, Murphy led Connor down the hallway as Connor glared at Baker then he looked at Murphy.
"What's goin' on?" Murphy asked.
"What Maggie's uncle did t'him. He had Maggie do th'same with Romeo. Well, she didn't have him drugged…," Connor said.
"But Romeo said she kept movin' him around until he said he'd work fer her."
"If he hadn't, I honestly believe he would've ended up here."
"Or we would've."
Connor glanced at his wife as he realized the real reason Margaret was so overprotective of him and Murphy and his love for his wife increased. They walked back to Margaret and Baker as Baker pointed the rifle at them and Connor held up his hands in surrender.
"Am I right in thinkin' th'reason you're here is because you told him t'fuck off one time too many?" Connor asked and Baker nodded.
"What about the fire? Everyone was killed after this building was placed in lockdown," Margaret said.
"Yeah, it was," Mike said with a nod. "But this guy I made friends with got me and two others down here before that happened."
"What guy?" Murphy asked. Suddenly, the lights went out as Murphy, Margaret and Connor picked up the helmets, put the helmets on, picked up the guns then they heard the sound of someone walking closer.
"You guys are so screwed," Mike said as he placed on the night vision goggles down and he smiled.