The scans showed them a tall figure standing behind Baker as Connor moved closer to Margaret and Murphy pointed the Berrettas at Baker. Margaret looked at the information while her heartbeat increased, but she stayed calm.
"Who th'hell are you?" Connor asked.
"This is the guy I told you about," Mike said with a grin.
"Why did he turn th'lights off?" Murphy asked.
"Because he's ugly as shit."
"Will you please remain silent?" the low voice asked then the large figure pushed Baker to one side.
"Stop right there," Connor said while he stepped in front of Margaret.
"No," Margaret said as she stepped out from behind him. She walked by Baker as she stood in front of the large figure and she could just see his face on the night vision goggles. "Hello, Jonathan."
"Wait. This is th'guy who got blowen up?" Murphy asked.
"I see you have told them about me," Jonathan Grey said.
"Why wouldn't my wife tell me things?" Connor asked. He swore he heard a low growl while Jonathan locked eyes with him and Murphy felt the anger coming from his twin.
"Your wife?"
"That's what I said."
Jonathan scrunched his nose when he reached for Margaret, but he stopped after Connor pointed the Berrettas at him.
"Do you really believe I am intimidated by your foolish posturing?" Jonathan asked.
"Most people are," Murphy said.
"You've trained your people well, Margaret," he said as he looked at Margaret.
"They are not my people. They are my family," Margaret said with an icy tone.
"And they believe that?"
"Aye, we do," Connor said.
"You do know her family members tend to die, don't you?"
Connor growled as he moved his index fingers over the triggers and Jonathan softly laughed.
"I am amazed her uncle let her marry such an inferior species," Jonathan said with a small head shake.
"At least I treat her like a woman instead of a pet," Connor said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"He's talking about all those stages you had for our relationship," Margaret said.
"You didn't seem to mind."
"Yes, I did mind. But you were the first real relationship I had… The only relationship I had… And you treated it like a mission."
"I bet he's a virgin," Murphy whispered in Russian and Connor snorted a laugh.
"What is so funny?" Jonathan asked.
"He said you're a virgin," Connor said.
"And you believe virginity is a joke?" he asked as he looked at Murphy.
"No," Murphy said as he elongated the "o". "But it would explain why you didn't wanna fuck her."
"Aye, it would explain it," Connor said.
Jonathan glared at them while Margaret looked at the information on the screen and she moved closer to Connor then she brushed her fingers against his left hand.
"When I tell you, run," Margaret whispered and Connor placed the Berrettas in the holsters on his belt.
Murphy had seen I AM TURNING NIGHT VISION OFF THEN I AM TURNING THE LIGHTS BACK ON. PREPARE TO RUN on the screen as he placed the Berrettas in the holsters on his belt and Jonathan frowned.
"What are you…?" Jonathan asked when the lights suddenly came out and the blinding white light sent searing pain into his brain. The nearly inhuman scream filled the hallway as he felt to his knees while Baker quickly removed the night vision goggles, but his vision was blurry and he could just see Margaret, Connor and Murphy running down the hallway. Growling Bake raised the rifle as he fired, but Connor, Murphy and Margaret ran around the corner.
"Jonathan!" Jordan shouted while she ran down the hallway and she knelt down next to him. Jonathan was whimpering and shaking as she gently took his right hand and she softly carded the stubble of hair on his head. She helped him sit up while Baker stormed down the hallway and he held the rifle in his hands.
"Kill them!" Jonathan shouted while Jordan carefully helped him to his feet and Baker's laughed echoed down the hallway.
Margaret looked at the information on the screen while she ran down the hallway when she noticed Connor and Murphy were no long with her and she stopped, turning to look down the hallway.
"Captain, where are the Saints!?" she demanded.
"Unknown," Angus' voice said over the earpiece in the helmet.
"What do you mean unknown?!"
"It looks like they took off their helmets."
Sighing, Margaret removed her helmet as she strummed her fingers on the helmet and she tried to figure out where the twins had gone.
Baker held the rifle out while he cautiously walked down the hallway and he scanned the hallway with his eyes. He had found two helmets on the floor, but he hadn't seen any sign of Connor or Murphy and a small growl vibrated in his throat.
"Where the fuck are you?" he whispered. He walked on, but he didn't see the doors on either side of the hallway open and Connor and Murphy stepped out of the room. They took aim as they fired the Berrettas and Baker grunted. Pain moved through his legs as Baker fell to his knees and the rifle slid across the floor. Blood rolled over the floor tile as he blinked the pain out of his eyes then someone pulling him upright. He felt something pressing against the back of his head as he smiled and he held his hands up.
"And Shepherds we shall be…," he started, closing his eyes.
"For Thee, My Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti," Connor and Murphy said together.
"Amen," was the last thing Mike said when the Saints pulled the triggers and the gunfire filled the hallway.
Jonathan and Jordan heard the gunfire while she held him and he slightly swayed side-to-side.
"What do we do now?" Jordan asked.
"We finish this," Jonathan said.
"Are your eyes alright?"
"No. I can no longer see."
She reached up to touch his right cheek as he leaned his head into her hand and she lightly smiled.
"We need to go," he said and she nodded.
"Don't leave on my account," Margaret said as she appeared in the hallway and she dropped the helmet on the floor before she pointed the Berrettas at them.
"You're still alive?"
"Yes. Now, tell me something. How did you survive?"
"Do you call this surviving?!" Jordan demanded with an icy tone to her voice as she looked at Jonathan.
His hands were covered in burn scars and he was missing the little finger of his right hand. Burn scars covered his neck and the top of an artificial voice box was sticking out of the scarred skin. Burn scars covered the left side of his face, but his nose and lips were intact and burn scars covered the bottom half of his left ear. His once black hair was now short stubble and his left eyebrow was missing. His gray eyes were now covered with a white film and burn scars covered the left side of his forehead.
He was dressed in a black sweater, a black suit jacket, a black leather belt, black jeans and black leather boots and she noticed black leather gloves draped over the right pocket of the suit jacket.
"Calm yourself," Jonathan said, softly.
"I'm waiting," Margaret said.
"Follow me."
They headed down the hallway while Margaret picked up the helmet and she glanced up at the security cameras. They stopped at the doorway as Jordan opened the door and they walked in the room. Margaret looked at Morgan lying on the bed and he had an oxygen masked covering his nose and his mouth. She glanced at the screen to the heart monitor when she walked in the room after Jordan and Jonatan went in and Jonathan stood at the foot of the bed.
"What are you doing?" Jonathan asked.
"I am just admiring your work," Margaret said.
"I am flattered, but it was the Butcher who did this."
"Ah."
"Where is he?" Jordan asked, looking toward the doorway.
"I believe he might be looking for the rest of her team," Jonathan said then he made a deep sigh. "Now, to answer your question about my survival. As you both know, we had infiltrated a human trafficking ring in Cairo."
"I am not senile, Jonathan. Get on with it," Margaret said with a cold tone and he arched his right eyebrow.
"As you wish. After we had demolished the ring, we were leaving the hotel when the car assigned to us exploded."
"I know that," she said then she looked at Jordan. "I never asked, but why weren't you in the car?"
"I had forgotten my toiletries case. So, I went back up to my room to get it," Jordan explained.
"If I may continue?" Jonathan asked and they nodded. "While I was waiting for the two of you, I saw one of the traffickers and I got out of the car. Just as I entered the alleyway, he saw me then he ran. Once I had caught and subdued him, we were heading down the alleyway and that is when the car exploded. The sound of the explosion ruptured my eardrums…."
"Wait. You're deaf?!"
"Yes."
"Then how can you hear us?" Margaret asked.
"I will explain shortly," he said and she glared at him. "Do either of you have any idea how painful it is to be set on fire? I don't remember screaming, but I do remember blacking out and praying for my death to be quick."
"Who found you?"
"I was told it was the second team."
"What second team? We were the only ones assigned to the case."
"Have you forgotten who we are talking about? He never sends just one team."
Margaret glared at Morgan, but none of them noticed the two figures standing in the hallway and the overhead light shimmered on the black helmets.
"I was airlifted to the nearest hospital, but I flatlined on the way. They were able to revive me and I was rushed into surgery," he continued and Margaret frowned.
"Wait. What happened to the trafficker you caught?" Margaret asked.
"He died."
"Are you sure?"
"Did I stutter?!"
Margaret flinched from the tone to his voice and the two figures in the hallway slowly walked in the room.
"I was literally rebuilt. Artificial hearing. Artificial voice box. Several internal organs replaced and that includes my heart. Finally, the only way I can see is through night vision goggles or infrared goggles. But, thanks to your team, I am now blind."
Margaret felt her stomach sinking and an icy ball forming in her chest as one of the figures slid her helmet into her left hand and a familiar feeling moved through her,
"Who are you?!" Jordan asked after she finally noticed the two figures and Jonathan frowned.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Us," Connor and Murphy said.
"Am I right in thinking the Butcher is no longer living?"
"Aye," Connor said.
"It was a little weird. He seemed happy with us killin' him," Murphy said.
"Mind finishin' yer story? I wanna hear how you ended up here."
"I ended up here due to being declared dead," Jonathan said with a small grin.
"What's with th'smile?" Connor asked.
"I just find it humorous that he placed me in the one facility I had advanced knowledge of."
"Are you saying you were in charge of this place?" Margaret asked.
"It was one of my tasks, yes."
"You allowed people t'be butchered an' experimented on?" Connor asked.
"Yes."
Margaret looked at Morgan. She placed the helmet on as she looked at the information on the screen and she saw Fitzroy and the others were heading to their location.
"Are you still with us, Margaret?" Jonathan asked and she looked at him.
"Yes," Margaret said with a nod.
"I'm amazed they didn't do any experiments on you," Murphy said.
"As was I," Jonathan said as he flexed the fingers of his right hand. "I was kept drugged, but, eventually, I became immune to the sedatives."
"But you didn't let them know that."
"No, I didn't. Eventually, they believed I was a model patient and they left me to my own devices."
"How did you meet th'Butcher?" Connor asked.
"Foolishly enough, they placed him in my therapy group. He noticed I wasn't like the others and he and I developed a friendship."
"What about Duffy an' Dolly?"
"Are you talking about those detectives?"
"Aye."
"What about them?"
"Why are they down here?"
"The Butcher told me he would not cooperate if I didn't let him bring them along."
"What did they do to them?"
"From what the Butcher was able to find out, Margaret's uncle ordered for them to have lobotomies."
"Christ."
"Lord's name," Murphy warned.
"But how did you get down here? The building was placed in lockdown when the fire occurred," Margaret said as the screen showed Fitzroy and the others approaching.
"Before the fire occurred, the Butcher caused a riot. While the staff tried to calm everyone down, we made our way down here."
"Wouldn't the shutdown turn the vents off down here?"
"Normally, yes, but I instructed him how to override the controls."
"Why didn't you make your escape? There have to be tunnels leading out of here."
"There were, but where could we go after we did escape? The Butcher could blend in with the rest of civilization, but the detectives and I would stand out."
"So, he was th'one who went out fer supplies?" Connor asked.
"Yes,"
"He told us th'reason he decided t'kill those people who picked up th'slack after we retired…"
"Is that what you call it? Retirement?"
"Aye," Murphy said with a nod.
"He told us he did it because they weren't takin' things seriously. That they thought what we do it some sorta game."
"Yes, he told me the same thing."
"But you didn't think the same," Margaret said.
"No, I did not. I asked him to describe what they were doing wrong and he told me."
"An' that's when you decided t'become their sponsor," Connor said.
"Yes, but there were some who weren't living up to my expectations."
"Are you talking about the head of the Reapers?" Margaret asked.
"Yes, he and his Reapers betrayed us."
"I did find out they were informers for my uncle."
"Which means they could not be trusted." Jonathan said when he heard footsteps in the hallway and he turned toward the doorway. "Tell your people to stand their ground."
"What will happen if they don't?" Murphy asked.
"This," Jordan said as she reached into her suit jacket pocket and she removed a small black box.
"Is that a kill switch?" Margaret asked.
"Yes, it is."
Murphy, Margaret and Connor looked at the information on the screen as Jonathan gave them a smug look and Jordan slid the kill switch in his right hand.
"You planted incinerators," Margaret said.
"That would explain what was written on th'walls in th'room where they found Duffy an' Dolly," Murphy said.
"Won't that kill them as well?" Connor asked.
"No, they'll escape before he sets off the incinerators," Margaret said.
"Why didn't he do that th'moment we walked in here?" Murphy asked.
"Simple. In all th'movies I've seen, the bad guy always does a monologue before they do summat t'the good guys," Connor said.
"But this isn't a fuckin' movie."
"I know that. Jus' explainin' it fer th'people in th'back," Connor said as he turned to look at Fitzroy and the others.
"Does that mean someone ends up being a traitor an' they kill th'bad guy before he can kill us?"
"Or Morgan's really th'bad guy an' he'll wake up in time t'stop him then we have t'kill Morgan."
"Are you two done?" Jonathan asked with a bored look.
"Not yet," Connor said while he looked at Jordan and he tilted his head to one side. "I've been thinkin'."
"Do not strain yourself."
"Shut up. Now, if Morgan was th'one who ordered th'car t'be blown up. Whoever did it would've had t'make sure you were in th'car."
"But he got outta th'car when he saw that other guy," Murphy added.
"Right. Which means whoever it was would've seen that an' they would've had t'wait fer him t'get back in th'car."
"But the car exploded before he could get back in the car," Margaret reminded them.
"Exactly!" Connor said as he lightly nudged her left shoulder. "Now, who wouldn't've been able t'see him get outta th'car?"
"Maggie an'…," Murphy said as Jonathan snorted some air and Jonathan shook his head.
"She does not like being called that," Jonathan said.
"I don't mind when they say it," Margaret said.
"As I was sayin'…," Murphy continued. "Th'only two people who might not have seen him get outta th'car were Maggie an' Jordan."
"I told you. I went to get my toiletries case," Jordan said.
Jonathan became silent as his thumb gently rubbed the kill switch and he blinked his sightless eyes a few times. He started heading toward Murphy while Murphy aimed the Berrettas at him then Jonathan walked by him. Murphy placed the Berrettas in the holster when he went to stand on front of Jonathan and Jonathan stopped when he bumped into him.
"Where're you goin'?" Murphy asked.
'I was walking toward you," Jonathan said with a soft voice. Murphy felt sorry for him. He carefully placed his right hand on Jonathan's left shoulder and he turned him around. Murphy led Jonathan to Connor while Connor watched them and Murphy's eyes locked with his twin. They both remembered how hard it was for Louisa to walk around while she was blind and Connor placed one of the Berrettas in the holster before he held out his hand. Jonathan felt him take his hand as Connor led him to him and Murphy stood next to Jonathan.
"Margaret, remind me. Did you remember Jordan's toiletries case?" Jonathan asked while he carefully slid the kill switch into Connor's hand and Connor slid his fingers over the kill switch.
"It wasn't that hard to miss. It was bright pink," Margaret said.
"Yes, it was."
"Wait! Can't you see what they're doing?!" Jordan demanded and Jonathan snorted a laugh.
"No, I cannot see anything."
"That isn't what I meant! They are trying to confuse you!"
"I assure you my mind is clear. In fact, one of the things I am noted for is my photographic memory. That is why I was able to find this place even though I could barely see. So, it isn't that hard for me to remember your toiletries case sitting on top of your suitcase."
"If you believe I was the one who tried to kill you, why did you keep me alive after you kidnapped me!?"
"It's quite simple," Margaret said as she looked at Jonathan. "He likes playing cat and mouse with his targets."
"I am glad you remembered that," Jonathan said with a nod.
"Just like I remember that night I caught the two of you in bed."
"Wait! What?!" Connor said with wide eyes.
"Ok. This has now turned into a fuckin' soap opera," Murphy said with a sigh.
"I thought you said he treated you good," Connor said, looking at Margaret.
"He did," Margaret said as she glanced over at Jordan. "But he spent a lot of time with her."
"He was training me!" Jordan said in her defense.
"Does training include kissing?"
"He never kissed me!"
"Please. Stop pretending. I saw him kissing you several times. The only reason I didn't say anything was…."
"It was because you are a bloody ice queen!"
"Yes, that's it exactly."
Murphy and Connor felt the confusion coming from each other when Connor noticed Jonathan was reaching for one of the Berrettas and Connor slid the gun into Jonathan's hand.
"Jordan!" Jonathan said as she looked at him and he raised the gun. "I believe this would be a good time for you to finally tell the truth."
They waited for Jordan to say something as she looked at Morgan and she flexed her fingers.
"It was all his idea. He knew she was becoming too attached to you. So, he decided to turn her against you by making her think you wanted someone else. He could have picked anyone. Imagine my surprise when he picked me. All I had to do was act the innocent rookie. That I had no idea what I was doing even though I had been on several missions. What I didn't expect was how easy it was to get your attention. To get you to care about me. After a while, I really did fall in love with you."
"It's not that hard," Margaret said and Connor frowned.
"When we had broken the human trafficking ring, I was sent a package. In the package was a kill switch and orders to kill you. I fought long and hard not to, but then I got a call from him," Jordan said, looking at Morgan. "He told me I had to kill you or he would have my parents, my brother and his family killed."
"Now I know you are lying," Jonathan said with a grin. "One of the prerequisites for working at the agency is no family members. I, myself, am an orphan. So is Margaret."
"He is her uncle!"
"She is the exception."
"He really did threaten me! I had to do it!"
"Is that why he made you his assistant after the mission? To make sure you didn't talk?"" Margaret asked.
"Yes!"
Jordan remained silent for a few second when he slid his right index finger over the trigger then he sighed.
"Will one of you please help me?" Jonathan asked. Connor walked closer when Jordan ran for the door and Connor placed the kill switch into Murphy's right hand after Murphy placed the gun in the holster. Jonathan gasped while Connor spun him around then he whispered in Jonathan's ear to pull the trigger. Nodding, Jonathan pulled the trigger as gunfire filled the room and Jordan fell to the floor. Blood pouted out of the back of her head as Connor lowered Jonathan's arm and Connor removed the gun from Jonathan's hand.
"Go," Jonathan said as Connor took the gun back and he placed the Berretta back in the holster.
"What about….?" Connor asked while looking at Morgan, but Jonathan shook his head.
"We can't leave without Mister Stone," Angus said as he and two of the soldiers walked in the room.
"Yes, you can," Jordan said.
"Great. Another one of those ethical situations," Murphy whispered and Connor nodded. Connor watched Margaret walk to Jonathan when she lightly cupped Jonathan's face in her hands then she kissed him. She moved back as she moved his head so their foreheads touched and he gave her a sad smile.
"Goodbye, Jonathan," she whispered.
"Goodbye…Maggie," he whispered.
Margaret walked to Murphy as he handed her the kill switch then she walked back to Jonathan. She slid the kill switch into Jonathan's left hand as she kissed his cheek then she walked to Connor and they turned, leaving the room.