A/N: Updated 7/3/06. I swear I have a life besides up dating this story. LOL Just not tonight, I guess. Anyhow, again, just a few small changes. You are so great about reviewing and encouraging me that you deserve the best version possible. :) And I say that with all sincerity. And yes Jamie, I will revel in my evil. I enjoy my evil. My evil is my friend. If you let it, my evil can be your friend too... :)
There was a searing pain in his right side when Connor finally recognized his surroundings. The pain spread on up to his head where it throbbed to the beat of his heart and all the way down to his toes, which had begun to curl in response to the pins and needles throughout his legs. He could taste the blood that had run down his face.
His eyes opened quickly and after a brief moment of disorientation, he realized the car was on its side. Heart racing, he moved his head to his left and saw that Da was slumped over the wheel, hanging by his seat belt.
"Da!" His voice was hoarse but it echoed eerily through the dark car. It was too quiet. Groaning with the growing pain in his shoulder, Connor managed to shift sideways. "Murph!"
A soft grunt came from beside him and Connor watched with relief as Da opened his eyes. "Ye okay?" He managed to grunt.
"I am but…" Connor worked his seat belt off of him with trembling hands and bit back another groan as he turned around completely. His good shoulder hit the right side of the car as he lost his balance. Working to ignore the pain, Connor stared at the bloodied face of Murphy.
"Murph! Murphy!" He reached out but found he was still hooked by his seat belt. Connor yanked at it, not taking his eyes off of his brother. "Murphy. Wake up!"
Murphy's eyes slowly opened before Connor could leap over the seat and he stared at him for a second, confused. He then closed his eyes again and winced as he moved.
"Are ye okay, Murph?"
"Fuck, I think so…" Murphy's eyes flew open and Connor could tell he'd just realized what had happened. They stared at each other for a second. "Are ye okay?"
Connor nodded and turned back to Da. "Da, ye hurt?"
"I'll survive." He sat back from the steering wheel and raised a hand to his head. Blood flowed sluggishly from a cut at his hairline. Connor reached over and lifted Da's hand to peer at it through the darkness before setting his hand back down to apply pressure.
"Christ, we're on our fuckin' side, aren't we?" Murphy's voice was breathless and full of pain.
"Yeah, we fuckin' rolled, I think. The top's dented in." Connor turned around again and saw the Murphy hadn't moved yet and his eyes were closed again. He frowned at him. "Where are ye hurt, Murph?"
"Me ribs mostly. It just fuckin' hurts ta breathe." He paused and grimaced as he pulled at the seat belt. "Just gimme a minute here."
"Then don't fuckin' talk." The pain in Connor's shoulder flared as he leaned over the seat but he just gritted his teeth against it. Pain was good. He could work with pain. With his left hand, he helped yank on Murphy's seat belt. "Press it in."
Together they got the seat belt off of him and Murphy seemed to be able to breathe better. He opened his eyes again and nodded at Connor. "Where are ye hurt?"
"Me shoulder. I think I fuckin' dislocated it again."
"Not as fun as the first time ye did, huh?" Murphy gave him a half grin. Connor laughed softly.
"No, not quite."
"How'd ye do it the first time?" Da voice made them both turn.
"The rope in the hayloft of Uncle Sibeal's barn broke." Connor grinned at him and Da chuckled a little before wincing.
"We've got ta get out of here before someone comes along." Murphy moved gingerly forward, holding a hand tightly to his right side.
"The interstate was fuckin' empty. And we're not exactly visible. I think we're okay for now." Connor stepped over the seat, the glass of the windows crunching under his boots.
"We're lucky they didn't come back ta finish us, m'boys. Let's not give 'em too much time ta try." Da said and Connor nodded in agreement. He glanced at Murphy.
"Ye can't fuckin' boost me up, can ye?"
"I can try. Don't use yer fuckin' bad arm. I'm not draggin' yer ass home if ye pass out." Murphy shifted and stood up next to Connor.
They glanced at each other, now close enough to really see. Connor winced as he saw the cuts and swelling on the right side of Murphy's face. He raised his hand but Murphy knocked it away with a wince.
"Leave it alone."
"Ye've got fuckin' glass pieces stickin' out of yer face, Murph."
"Ye can play fuckin' nursemaid later. Let's get out of the fuckin' car first."
"Boys." Da warned from the front seat. "Just figure out how ta do this. I don't want ta fuckin' hang here all day."
Murphy cupped his hands in front of him at waist level. Connor eyed it wearily.
"Are ye sure you can do this?"
"Just fuckin' do it, Conn."
Looking up at the window, Connor saw that most of the glass had fallen away from it. Gripping the frame with his left hand, he gingerly put one foot into Murphy's hands. He heard his brother's groan but continued going, knowing he'd be in worse trouble if he stopped. Pulling up, he managed to get to where he was sitting on the window frame.
He made the mistake of leaning on his right arm and felt the white-hot pain flare again. Breathing in sharply, he fought the edges of black on his vision. A hand grabbed his foot and he looked down at a concerned Murphy.
"Are ye okay, Conn?"
He couldn't answer, just closed his eyes and tried to will it all away. Something grabbed the frame right next to him and he felt Murphy's body trying to fit through. Opening his eyes, he saw his brother trying to pull himself up by one arm. Reaching out with his left hand, Connor used his weight and helped lift Murphy so that they were scrunched together on what was now the top of the car.
A hand pulled his coat back and Connor forced himself to concentrate beyond the pain. Murphy was leaning closer and his fingers gently moved over his shoulder. "Ye've definitely dislocated it."
"Thanks, Florence. Let's get Da out."
Together they stood up and held onto each other for balance. The cool air rushed around them and they could now see the interstate from where they were. They were just down the steep embankment from the road.
Murphy kept his right arm to his side and yanked opened Da's dented door with his left. Da turned his head to them. "Took ye two fuckin' long enough."
"Well, if ye'd given us the right fuckin' directions…" Murphy grinned down at him. Connor felt better when he heard Da's hearty laugh in return.
Both Connor and Murphy reached down with their left arms to grab Da's hands. Together, they pulled him out to stand beside them on the car. Connor kept his arm around Da, ready to support him if need be.
"Be careful gettin' down, Murph. The last thing we want if for this fuckin' car ta roll again." Da nodded and Murphy looked at him quickly. He nodded in return.
The car moved only slightly as Murphy worked his way down the undercarriage of the car until he was standing on the ground below them. Waving his hand, he motioned for them to follow. Da followed slowly first and then Connor worked his way down one-armed.
With their feet on solid ground again, they all looked at each other wearily. It was Murphy who grinned first. "I can't believe we're fuckin' alive."
"Yeah." Connor smiled slightly. "I think the Fertittas might be a bit fuckin' pissed off when they find out."
"Let's try ta get out of the fuckin' city before they do." Da sighed and winced as he stepped forward.
"Where are ye hurt, Da?" Connor exchanged a weary glance with Murphy as he held his left hand out to Da.
Da just shook his head. "Just a sore back, that's all."
Connor nodded at that and turned toward Murphy. "Let's check yer ribs."
"Only if ye'll let Da and me put yer shoulder back in place."
"Fuck."
"It'll feel better once ye do and ye fuckin' know that." Murphy stared at him until Connor agreed with a short nod of his head.
"Fine." Connor raised Murphy's shirt and ran his fingers along each rib, working hard to ignore the winces. Murphy's hand dug into his arm as he neared the bottom of the ribcage. Pulling his hand away, he nodded. "Nothing's broken. Just bruised."
"Fuckin' great." Murphy muttered through his teeth and then opened his eyes. "Yer turn."
Da stepped forward and put his hand on Connor's arm. Murphy's arms supported him from the side. Da looked up at Connor. "Ready?"
"Do it." Connor gritted his teeth and felt the blinding pain as Da popped his shoulder back into place. Pressure rushed through his head, building in his ears and he felt Murphy supporting his weight. He was breathing heavily but he stood back up again. Murphy's hands stayed in place, as if to make sure he wasn't going to fall.
After a moment, the throbbing subsided to a manageable ache and he opened his eyes again. Both Da and Murphy were watching him wearily. He gave them a small smile. "Let's get back home."
"Or at least Katie's apartment."
Murphy felt around in his coat and laughed as he pulled out his undamaged cell phone. "I can still call." He caught Connor's look and lost his smile. "Fuck."
"Yeah, fuck. Let's not tell 'em yet. They'll just get all fuckin' worked up."
"Ye'll have ta tell them eventually, boys." Da raised an eyebrow as they shook their heads.
"How about as we walk in the door? They can't hold a grudge that long, can they?" Connor tried to smile but Murphy just looked at him.
"Let's just get home and get ourselves cleaned up." Da started walking. "Then ye can worry about yer girlfriends and their grudges."
Murphy shrugged and started walking, leaving Connor to follow.
"Think you can do this for the rest of your life?" Sara's voice made Katie look up from her intent staring contest with the crackling Rice Krispies. She frowned at her.
"Do what?"
"Wait for them." Sara nodded at their two phones that sat side by side in the middle of the table. It was the first time either of them acknowledged them since waking up on the couch several hours before. The McManuses still hadn't called and it was nearing nine o'clock in the morning.
Katie shrugged. "It's not like Murph and I've promised each other anything." It was a complete dodge of the question and they both knew it.
"Bullshit. You may not have vocalized, but you've promised each other plenty. But are you ready to wait for them like this for the rest of your life?"
"If it means I'll get Murphy in-between waiting periods, yes, I think I am." Katie took a bite of her cereal before moving her eyes back to Sara. "What about you?"
"I don't know."
"You haven't had as much time to get used to it as I have. Give it time."
"I'm not sure there is enough fucking time in the world to make this easier, Katie." Sara drained the rest of her mug of coffee and got to her feet.
Katie stared up at her for a moment before nodding. "So you have to decide if it's worth it to you. Because it's who they are. And we can't change that."
"That's a hell of a decision to make this early in the relationship."
"Sara, he's not Greg."
"Yeah, I know. At least I knew not to wait for Greg's call." She started for the door, only pausing as she reached the door frame. "I'm just not sure if I can do this to myself again."
She left Katie alone in the kitchen to overwhelming masses of sudden worries and a bowl of now soggy Rice Krispies. Where were they? Why hadn't they called? Closing her eyes, Katie pushed the palms of her hands over them, blocking any possible flow of tears. Bastards. Call, dammit. Call. Call!
Steeling herself against her emotions, she realized that only one thing would make her feel better at this point. She had to go straight to the source. It was time to visit Smecker at work.
It had been nearly three A.M. when they'd stumbled in the door of Katie's apartment finally. Fortunately for them, they'd been only half a mile from her exit. And then another six blocks to her apartment.
They'd kept silent the whole walk, each of their own thoughts centering on the same thing, no doubt. What did they do now?
They didn't speak about it as they cleaned each others wounds, Connor taking nearly a full thirty minutes to take the small glass shreds out of the side of Murphy's face and treat each small cut. The swelling made it more difficult and Murphy could feel his eye beginning to swell shut. Great, something else to worry Katie.
After the cut on Da's forehead had been treated, both Murphy and Connor convinced him to take Katie's bed for the night. His back was stiffening up and he was having less success in hiding the pain he was in. The lack of struggle to make him sleep there said something about his suffering.
As they got back into the living room, they had both stared at each other for a moment, analyzing who was hurt worse and thus, who needed the couch. Finally, Connor had simply nodded at him. He'd take the recliner.
"Take it. It'll help ye breathe easier ta be stretched out."
Murphy had been surprised, thinking he'd hidden the pain fairly well. One look at his brother made him realize he'd hidden nothing. Nodding, he had lowered himself slowly on the couch, working hard not to wince.
And now, nearly six hours later, he was still stretched out on the couch, phone in hand. He should call her. She would be worrying. He didn't want to lie though. And right now, if she asked if he was okay, saying anything but 'no' would be lying. He would rather keep her worried about the unknown than simply confirm her fears that they were hurt and more than four hours away from her. It would hurt Katie more to know there was nothing she could do to help them.
So, he would wait. Wait until both Connor and Da were awake. Wait until they had a better plan and a way home to her. He could only hope that Katie was distracted by something. Something to keep her mind off of things. He could only live with not calling her right now if he knew she was doing something besides waiting by the phone.
Katie sat down across from Smecker in one of the diner booths and waited. He had dragged her out of his office and off to lunch with promises of an explanation. They had been there a good five minutes and he hadn't yet spoken.
"Paul, please."
He raised his eyes to her and gave her a small smile. "Honestly, Katie. I've not heard anything yet."
She stared at him. "You brought me here to tell me that? You could have just said that at the precinct." She ignored the twisting in her stomach as she watched him sigh. Something was wrong. Really wrong if they hadn't even called him.
"Katie, sometimes it goes like this. They may have had to keep low for a day or so, which might mean no calls here. If something had happened, one of us would have heard about it."
Turning her eyes back down to the menu, she worked to keep her emotions at bay. "Unless none of them were able to call."
"Katie, do you think that Murphy is dead?"
She flinched at the word and lifted her eyes back to Smecker. "What kind of fucking question is that?"
He held up a hand to stop her. "I mean, do you feel that he's alive still. In here." He pressed his hand over his heart.
"I don't have a connection with him like that."
"I think you do. And I think you'd know if he were dead. I think you'd feel it in here." He tapped his chest again.
"Smecker, I need answers. Not romantic connection crap." She forced herself to say, not willing to allow herself to believe him. False hope she didn't need. She dealt better with real facts.
"Don't write it off as crap, Katie. I'm a strong believer in intuition. You work long enough in my field and you either believe in it or you become cynical about everything. I chose to believe. And a connection between two very close people is just a part of intuition."
She kept silent as the waitress delivered their orders and picked at her food for a few minutes, digesting what he had said. Finally, she looked up at him again.
"Paul, when have you had intuition work in your favor?"
"Well, in my favor, I'm not sure. But the night I chose to help the Saints."
"Go on." She took a long drink of her orange juice and wished it had vodka in it. He nodded slowly as he chewed his bite before speaking.
"I found out about Papa Joe's trap at his house on the east side. And I knew the boys were planning on going there. So, I did what I needed to, to get in."
"Which was?"
"I dressed as a fuckin' hooker, Katie." He grinned at her shocked expression. "What, you think I can't pull it off?"
She stared at him for a moment before smiling and shaking her head. "No, I think if any man I know could do it, it'd be you, Paul."
He laughed softly. "Yeah, well it worked. It got me into the house. Horny fuckers never think twice about a hooker being dangerous."
"So what happened?"
"I killed two of them and then found the third dead. The next thing I knew, something hit me on the back of the head and I was out like a fuckin' light."
Katie winced at him. He grinned again.
"Wanna guess who that was? Ever heard of Il Duce?"
Smiling again slowly, she stared at him. "Yeah, that name rings a bell."
"He's a close friend of yours, Katie." He laughed as he watched her realize who he was talking about.
"Da? He's Il Duce?"
Smecker nodded. Katie leaned back in the booth and pressed her lips together before bursting out into soft laughter. "Stories of him were told like he was a fucking ghost. I can't believe this. Da."
"Their Da is Il Duce. The Duke. Blows your frickin' mind, doesn't it?" He grinned widely.
"And here I've been in the presence of royalty all this time."
"Make sure you tell him that. He'll get a fuckin' kick out of it."
Katie chuckled again and took another bite. As she swallowed it, she looked back up at Smecker. "So, how did intuition work in that situation?"
He shrugged. "I knew I had to do something. Felt that I could help out. It just seemed right to do it, despite the fact that all of my training disagreed. I followed my guts that night and I've not regretted it since."
"Have you told the boys about this? It's not everyday that someone dresses up as a prostitute for them." Katie grinned but noticed that Smecker lost his smile as he shook his head. "Why not?"
"I don't mention that night. None of us do. That's the night Rocco died."
"Oh." She looked back down at her plate. They both fell silent as they ate. After a few more minutes, Katie looked back up at him. "So, do you have any news with this mafia war? Any new developments?"
He watched her for a minute with a smile. "You in training to be a fuckin' Saint?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "No, but I'd like to know."
"No. Nothing new really. The buzz died down a few days ago. Whatever they're planning is being kept hush-hush."
"How were you getting information before?"
"I had an informant on the inside."
"Had?" Katie watched him and felt the twisting in her stomach as he stared at his plate.
"Yeah, had. As in no more."
She didn't want to ask but needed to know. "And what happened to him.?"
Smecker raised his eyes to meet her gaze and she saw regret and pain. The answer was there too but he still spoke the words. "They killed him. Figured him out and killed him."
"I'm sorry, Paul." She leaned forward. He stared at her for a moment before lowering his eyes back to the table. He shrugged.
"It happens. Far too much, but it happens." He sighed. "In this situation, the worst part is, is that it is now much more difficult to know what to expect. I'll never find another informant as good as he was. And I'm not sure I'd want to risk one anyhow."
Katie was silent as she watched Smecker finish his food. She'd lost her appetite. A man had died for them and all they could afford to do was mourn the loss of information. Smecker reached for the check and she jumped at the sudden movement. He watched her for a second.
"Are you okay?"
Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth. That fucking question. She hated the fucking question. Forcing a deep breath, she looked at him again. "I'm fine. Just lost in thoughts."
"They'll be fine, Katie. Give 'em time to get their job done and they'll be home."
She just nodded and smiled her thanks as he paid for their meal. She'd given up fighting that small detail for now. He walked her out the door of the diner and glanced at her again.
"Give them time. Just go home and wait. I'm sure they'll call soon." His voice was soft among the sounds of the traffic and people. She nodded and offered him another smile as he turned and walked away, leaving her to stand amongst the milling crowd of strangers. She'd never felt so alone.
Go home and wait. Go home and fucking wait. She fought the lump in her throat as she realized she could no longer wait. Pulling her phone out of her purse, she checked it again. Seeing that there were no missed calls, she had to force herself not to fling it into oncoming traffic. She could no longer wait. She had to do something.
Turning for home with a purposeful stride, she closed herself off to her emotions. Emotions weren't needed right now. Whispering threads of an idea had begun to form in her mind and she needed to concentrate on that. Need to concentrate on anything but the lack of ringing from her phone.