A/N: Finally there. :) Next update soon. I swear.
The ringing of the phone was what finally woke Murphy up and he realized that Katie had left the bed awhile ago. The sheets where she slept had long since gone cold. He remembered the beginnings of a nightmare he'd had, but her wide eyes and tentative smile leaning over him in the wake of it was what stuck with him the most. Maybe Katie wasn't the cure for his nightmares, but she was certainly a good treatment for it.
The phone rang again, making him comprehend what woke up to begin with. Grunting with the movement, he pulled his phone off of his nightstand. Answering it, he blinked sleep from his eyes.
"'lo?"
"Murphy? It's yer worthless Mother here. The one ye never stop ta call." He winced as her voice bellowed through the phone but he still felt a bubble of happiness.
"Ye mean my sweet, endearing, selfless Ma?"
"Aye, when I find that one, I'll send her yer way. Until then, ye've got me." She laughed and he grinned in response.
"Sorry we haven't called, Ma. How are things there?"
"Same ole shit, fuckin' different day." The humor was still in her voice but he heard a bit of serious slip into her next words. "Is yer girl Katie 'round?"
"Me girl? Who ruined me fuckin' secret?" He laughed as she let out a loud chuckle.
"There're no true secrets among the McManuses. Ye know that. Yer Da told me."
"Well, than maybe Da should leave the secret-tellin' up ta me."
"Can I talk ta yer girl, Murph?" She sighed heavily, making it clear the burden he was putting on her. Murphy just chuckled louder. Ma was nothing if not dramatic.
"Aye, just let me go get her."
"Well, why don't cha just take me with ye? Since ye've got one of them mobile phones and all."
"I'd planned on it, Ma." Shaking his head, Murphy stood up off his bed and made his way out to the kitchen. Katie stood in front of the coffee maker, shaking her butt back and forth in some sort of dance he didn't know. But it was a dance he was beginning to enjoy. Another one of Ma's heavy sighs in his ear distracted him though and he cleared his throat.
Katie jumped before turning to face him, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Give me some warning, Murph." She laughed softly and raised an eyebrow when she saw that he was on the phone.
"Here she is, Ma." Murphy held out the phone and Katie took it with a confused expression. He didn't know what Ma was calling for, but nonetheless, he leaned against the counter to enjoy the possible show.
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Katie took the phone and pressed it to her ear, completely confused. The slight sound of breathing on the other end reminded her that she needed to say something. "Hello?"
"Katie, m'dear." Ma's voice was cheerful and loud. Katie grinned and turned away from Murphy.
"Ma, how are you?"
"Still alive, ain't I?"
"That's always good." Laughing, Katie shrugged. She had no idea what other possible response she could have given.
"I hear ye're gettin' yerself inta trouble, Kathleen." It was amazing how quickly Ma could go from cheerful to scolding. Like any true mother.
"Ah, I don't know what you mean, Ma."
"Kathleen. Ye need ta be leavin' the ass riskin' ta me boys."
"Ma, I-"
"I heard the worry in me son's voice, m'dear. They need ye ta be safe, not ta be playin' fuckin' wonder woman."
"Ma." Katie sighed, unwilling to turn and look at Murphy. Pressing her palm against the cool countertop, she shifted the phone slightly against her ear. "You know it's the same for me, right? For you, too. We need them to be safe. And if there is something I can do to help that, than I'm going to do it. You can't tell me you'd do differently."
"Yer a sweet girl." Ma sighed lightly. "And I'm not goin' ta be able ta talk ye out of this, am I?"
"No. But I appreciate the attempt." Smiling slightly, Katie heard Ma chuckle.
"Ye know, m'dear, a small part o' me is glad that ye wouldn't back down. Yer a good match for me Murphy. It's does a mother's heart good ta know her son'll be taken care of."
"He does plenty of that himself, Ma." Katie moved away slightly as she felt Murphy leaning over her shoulder to try to listen in.
"Aye, that I know, Katie. He's always been a bit more of the motherin' type than Connor."
Katie laughed but before she could respond, she heard Ma swearing lightly on the other end.
"Well, I've got ta be goin'. Sibeal and Lucy are tappin' at me fuckin' door." Ma sighed again. "Tell Murph that I'll have ta call him back later on."
"I'll do that. Take care, Ma."
"You too, lass. Make me boys behave themselves. Bye, now." The click on the other end told Katie that Ma was now gone. Lowering the phone slowly, she turned and raised an eyebrow at Murphy. He wrinkled his forehead at her.
"What? She hang up already?"
"Yeah." Katie set the phone down and then slapped his arm. "Thanks, Murph."
He laughed. "What?"
"You know what you did."
"What the fuck did I do this time?" He grabbed her hand as she moved to smack him again. Katie put her arm around his neck and worked to pull him into a headlock instead of replying. However, he was too quick for her and they ended up rolling to the floor instead. Murphy sat on top of her and leaned over her, his grip light on her arms. "What did I fuckin' do?"
"You know exactly-" She moved quickly and managed to roll him over, landing on top. "You fucking tattler."
"Whoa, what?" He started laughing and she leaned over him, her hands tightening on his wrists.
"You fucking wuss. You sent your mother after me. Real adult-like, Murph."
He just kept laughing. "I didn't do anything of the fuckin' sort, Katie."
The front door opened and Connor stepped in. He hesitated slightly before covering his eyes. "Can't ye fuckin' keep that shite ta the bedroom?"
"It's nothing like that." Katie glared down at Murphy again, who was still smirking at her. "Murphy's being a fucking asshole, again."
"I didn't fuckin' tattle on ye."
"Than who told your Ma to try to talk me out of it?"
"Ah, Katie." Connor cleared his throat and smiled slightly. "Ye got the wrong fuckin' twin there. I told Ma."
Katie stared up at him for a moment before stepping up off of Murphy and moving toward him. She hit him in the shoulder with her fist. "Why the fuck did you do that? Isn't it enough that I get guilted by you two and Da?"
"Guilted?" He was unsuccessful in holding back a grin.
"Connor." She smacked his arm again.
He grabbed both of her wrists and gripped them in one hand, rubbing his other palm over her hair. Laughing, she tried to pull away, shaking her head, but Connor held her wrists firmly. "Forgive me for bein' a fuckin' ass?"
"Conn…" She sighed but he lifted her wrists up higher with a half grin.
"Forgive me?"
"Fuck, you were forgiven by the time I got to Sara's."
"Wow, yer fuckin' easy."
Katie laughed harder. "Gee, just what every woman wants to hear."
He looked at her confused for a second before rolling his eyes. "Ye know what I fuckin' mean." Letting go of her wrists, he looked at her for a moment. "I didn't scare ye last night, did I?"
"Were you trying to?" She managed to hold back a grin, feeling a little guilty at his obvious discomfort at the question.
"No."
"Good." Smiling widely, she shook her head at him. "Because you suck at it. You're like my fucking brother here and Christ, even he was better at intimidating me than you are."
"Peter?" Murphy asked from behind her. Glancing back, Katie shook her head again.
"No, Brett. Peter's worse at it than Connor is. Of course, he is my baby brother…"
"And yer pratically like Connor's little sister. Which makes us one fucked up family." Murphy put his arm around her and waggled his eyebrows. Laughing, Katie elbowed him in the chest.
Connor knocked Murphy's arm from around her and stepped in-between them, facing Katie. "So if I'm like yer brother, does this mean I get ta tell ye that Murph's too fuckin' old fer ye?"
"We're talking maturity level, right? Because three years isn't really that much."
"Well, of course. Because we both know that Murph's just the most mature of us all. A fuckin' old man." He grinned. Katie pressed her lips together, pretending to think about it.
"If you told me I couldn't be with Murph, does this mean I have to sneak around to see him?"
"Anyhow, how's yer girlfriend doin' today?" Murphy spoke loudly from behind Connor. They both turned and grinned. Connor shrugged.
"She's fine. She's at fuckin' work. Oh, and she told me ta tell ye, Katie, that yer supposed ta met her there for lunch."
Nodding, Katie stepped back into the kitchen. "Okay. Thanks messenger boy."
"What might ye be meetin' her about?" Murphy tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"You know what we're meeting for."
"Aye, we fuckin' know." The sigh came from Connor but she just shook her head. It wasn't worth getting into. Neither twin was going to try to stop them. But what about Da? Blinking, Katie looked around and realized she hadn't seen him since yesterday afternoon.
"Where's Da?"
"He came home late last night, probably still fuckin' sleepin'. I think ye've officially lost yer bed ta him now." Murphy poured a cup of coffee and slid it down the counter toward Connor. He pulled out a second mug and poured some for himself.
"How do you know that he came home?"
"I heard him fuckin' come in, after ye fell asleep."
Connor nodded in agreement. "And the pain medication the doctor gave makes him tired."
"Did I miss a day or something? When did you learn all of this?"
"Ye gotta learn ta keep up." Rubbing his hand over her head again, Connor moved past her and sat on the couch. Shaking her head slowly, Katie left the room to take a shower. The sound of 'yeehaw's and gun fire from the television followed her out of the room.
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"Ye get things figured out?" Murphy's voice asked only seconds after they both heard the shower start. Connor pulled his eyes away from the screen to look at his brother, who was headed toward the couch. He shrugged but couldn't manage to hide a grin.
"Ye might say that."
"But they're still doin' it?"
"I guess. Not like she gave me much fuckin' choice in the matter."
Murphy leaned back and put his feet up on the coffee table. "It might be for the best."
"What?" Connor narrowed his eyes at him, noticing instantly Murphy's lack of eye contact. Something was bothering him.
"It might be best if they did this. Gave us some time ta come up with a fuckin' real plan."
"What's wrong, Murph?"
"Nothing."
"Murph."
"Fuck, I'm just tired of waitin' Conn. Waitin' for them ta make a fuckin' move. Waitin' ta fuckin' die, I don't know."
Connor turned fully toward him. "We're not goin' ta die. Not for a long time."
"How can ye be so fuckin' sure of that? We didn't think Rocco was goin' ta die either." Murphy took a long drink of his coffee and Connor knew he was trying to steady himself.
"Murph, that's hardly the same fuckin' thing. The pace we were goin' then, well somethin' was bound ta happen."
"I'd rather be goin' that fuckin' pace than stopped."
"Things were a bit fuckin' easier back then, weren't they?"
"It's always easier when ye don't know what the fuckin' stakes are, m'boys." Da's voice made them both turn. He stood in the doorway, looking not quite awake. "It may not seem like it, but we much fuckin' better off now."
"How?" Murphy's question was soft and Connor glanced over to find that he was staring at some fixed point across the room. Da moved to sit in one of the chairs, facing both of them.
"We know what we're facin'. We've see the other team's best fuckin' game."
"Aye but we're hardly half a fuckin' village size team facing the World Cup fuckin' champs. Knowin' their fuckin' game does us no good if we can't prepare against it." The sigh came out quickly and Connor realized it'd been a long time since he'd seen his brother this bothered by something. "Even with the fuckin' girls runnin' interference for us."
"What are ye talkin' about, Murphy?" Da frown grew steadily darker as Connor quickly filled him in on the girls' plan. He tapped his thumb against his lower lip and looked at them seriously. "And how do the two of ye feel about this?"
"I'm against it. But it appears that we haven't got a fuckin' choice in the matter." Muting the television, Connor shifted so that he could see both Murphy and Da at the same time.
"Katie made some good arguments."
"Like what, Murph?" Da leaned forward. He patted his pockets and sighed, realizing he didn't have a cigar on him.
"They most likely have Sara's name through Davis, so if she doesn't act fuckin' normal and take the project, they might look closer at her."
Connor shook his head. "But it wasn't fuckin' normal for her ta take the project. She's turned down his last few ones."
"Aye, but do those who matter know that?" Da asked, eyebrows raised. Connor shrugged.
"No fuckin' idea, really."
The bathroom door opened and Murphy gave a short shake to his head. "Let's finish this fuckin' conversation later." His voice was low. Da nodded in agreement and Connor turned the volume of the television back up.
He was more unsettled now than anything after talking with his brother. Murphy was the typical worrier of the two of them, but usually he had more faith in them than this. But then again, he knew that they had to start feeling the stress of the situation sooner or later. Apparently his brother had picked sooner.
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Sara managed somehow to keep her mind on her work and completed the outline for her newest article. It was to go to print in just two days, so she knew she really needed to keep on the work she actually got paid for today. But the manila folder in her briefcase kept calling to her. However, with the exception of a brief brainstorming moment on her coffee break, she'd managed to avoid getting sidetracked by it.
The sound of knocking broke her concentration and she realized as she saw Katie grinning at her that it was nearly noon.
"Wow, cool office." Katie's eyes wandered the wall, not bothering to stop at the diploma as Connor's had, but rather taking in the nice desk and sleek office chair. "I can't wait until I'm grown up enough to need a desk."
"Yeah, what are your plans, Katie? Besides hooking on the weekends." Sara held back a laugh as her friend's eyes widened and she glanced quick behind her.
"Watch it or you'll have your co-workers thinking you hang out with prostitutes."
"Apparently that's one career you don't want?"
"No. And I don't know what to do now. I was barely surviving on what I was getting paid by the Fetitta's in New York. I just got lucky that my great Aunt willed me that apartment in Brooklyn. Otherwise, I would have been a cardboard box dweller."
"You can't go back to the mob anyhow. I forbid it." Pressing her lips together, Sara gave Katie a look. Katie just shook her head.
"I just meant that that's all I've done since college. In other words, I have no experience that I can actually put down on a resume." Fixing Sara with an impatient glance, she nodded toward the door. "We can worry about my future later. Let's see what we can do about the McManuses' present."
"And get lunch. I'm starved."
Katie grinned. "Of course. We are multi-tasking woman."
Leaving Sara's office quickly, they got outside before Katie held up her finger and stopped. "Actually, can we stop at McGinty's first?"
"You were thinking a liquid lunch than? Margaritas and beernuts?"
"No, Sara. I need to talk to Doc."
"Okay…but I was willing." Sara kept her voice teasing as she saw the way that Katie was fidgeting with the cross around her neck. "Okay, so what's going on?"
"I just wanted to double check on something. Something that has been bothering me."
"About what?"
"Well, Murph told me that they think they have a mole somewhere. And I want to make sure I don't already know who it is."
Not sure of what else to say, Sara just nodded and followed the suddenly quiet Katie to the pub. After they got in through the heavy front door, she had to let her eyes adjust to the dim lighting.
"K-k-katie!" Doc's voice sang out from behind the bar and they both turned to find him grinning widely at them. "A-and Sara, of course. Good t-t-ta see ye b-b-b-both." He turned his head to the side. "FUCK! ASS!"
"Hey, Doc. How have you been?" Katie slid up onto one of the stools and leaned on the counter in front of him. Sara followed her, now suddenly unsure of just how long they were going to stay.
"G-good. What c-c-c…what'll ye b-be havin'?"
"Just water. We can't stay for long. I just had a question for you, Doc."
With very little effort, he produced two glasses of ice water and leaned on the counter across from Katie. "Sure, m'd-dear. S-s-shoot."
"Did you know where the McManuses went when they went to New York?"
"Aye, but I d-don't know if I knew m-m-much b-before they left. Pat w-w-wasn't too sure th-then."
"Did you know where they were going to stay?"
"Wasn't it somewhere in Brooklyn, Doc?" Tommy's voice echoed as he stepped out of the backroom behind the bar. He gave a smile to both of the girls before looking at Doc.
"Aye, b-but I don't think I kn-knew beforehand." He glanced over at Tommy as he answered before turning with a shrug to the girls. "I think I j-j-just kn-knew they were goin' ta N-new York."
Sara tilted her head as she watched Katie nod in agreement, unsure of what she was trying to find out here. She said something about trying to figure out who the informant was. Or at least to make sure that she didn't know who it was. But what did this have to do with it?
"But Tommy, do you remember what location you said when you asked me if they got there?"
He looked at Katie for a long moment then blinked and shrugged. "I said something besides New York? Why do you ask?" Picking up the cloth near their end of the bar, he started wiping things down, moving various things as he went.
Katie moved her head to Sara and met her gaze for a moment before smiling. "We had a debate as to where we thought they were going before they left. Sara thought they said Manhattan. I couldn't remember, but knew it wasn't Manhattan."
Tommy looked at her strangely again. "No, I don't think it was Manhattan." He picked up Sara's purse and then wiped under it. The purse slipped out from under his arm to the floor behind the bar. He disappeared for a moment before handing it back to Sara with a charming smile. "Sorry. I'm a klutz. But I swear I don't remember anything about Manhattan."
"See, I told you." Katie grinned at her and Sara nodded in response even though she had no idea what was going on. They'd had no such debate so she figured it was just Katie's way of getting answers.
"Eh, I'm sometimes wrong. Don't get used to it, Kat."
"Don't worry, I won't." She smiled back and slid off of her stool. Nodding at Doc, she turned toward the door. "Thanks. See you later, Doc."
Sara noticed the lack of a goodbye to Tommy but just grinned at the both of them and followed Katie out. It was only once they were outside that she noticed that Katie had started chewing on the side of her thumb.
"Isn't that Murphy's habit?" She pulled Katie's hand from her mouth. Giving her a distracted smile, Katie shrugged and pulled out her phone.
"Speaking of, I need to call him."
"What's going on?" Putting her hand on her friend's elbow, Sara scanned the street for a place to sit down and eat lunch. She spied a Subway just down the block before Katie responded.
"I don't really know." Katie finally sighed. Risking only a glance at her, Sara guided them through the pedestrian traffic.
"Don't know what?"
"It's just a feeling."
"Yeah, well, from what I remember, your feelings sometimes mean something."
"What?" Katie pressed a number on her phone and put it to her ear. Sara just shook her head and didn't answer. Apparently Katie's attention was not going to be on her answer anyhow. After a few seconds she hung up the phone, making a face. "Shit, of course he's not answering."
"What's going on, Katie?"
"I swear that when Tommy asked me about them, he asked if they got to Queens, not New York."
"Why Queens? Didn't they stay in Brooklyn? At your apartment?"
"Well, yeah." Katie shoved her phone back into her purse. "But I didn't tell them about my place until right before they left. There's no way Doc would've known."
"Well, still, why would he say Queens?"
"I don't think he meant to. Or maybe he didn't think I'd notice. Queens is where their hit was."
Sara's eyes widened as she stared at Katie. "And they got pushed off the road as they were going from Queens to Brooklyn on the way home."
"Exactly." She nodded, pressed her lips together. "But I don't like him. And I don't know if that's why I'm so willing to accuse him."
"And you think Murphy likes him any better? I know he drives Connor nuts."
Katie shrugged. "I don't think they necessarily like him better. But they know him better. And they know Doc. So I was just going to give them a heads up. A red flag or whatever. I could be completely off."
"But if you aren't…"
"They need to know."
"Exactly." Sara opened the door to Subway and nodded for Katie to go in. They stood in the short line, both uncharacteristically quiet for the moment. As they neared the counter, Katie glanced back.
"After we eat, let's stop by and talk with Smecker. He might have some ideas for this."
Sara nodded slowly, thinking. "Yeah, I'd thought about maybe asking Peter, if we could find him. I completely forgot about your easy access to Smecker. Must be nice to have an FBI man in your pocket." She winked at Katie who just grinned.
"Yeah, it'll soon become the new 'in' thing. Kind of like having a gay best friend is currently the 'in' thing in New York. Wow, Smecker could be, like, the total half-step in-between fads."
"What?"
"Ah, well, there's a greater chance that Smecker would have a crush on Connor than on you. Let's just put it that way."
"Huh." Sara grinned. "I guess you can't always tell."
"Yeah, well talk to Smecker a few more times. You might just get a few hints of it." Stepping up to the counter, Katie smiled. "But he's never obvious about it."
With her eyes on the menu above, Sara just shook her head again. Yet another thing to observe.
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Connor sighed again as he watched Murphy continue to surf the five channels available. It took all of his might not to tear the control from his brother's hands. Oprah passed, than some commercial, public programming, Maury, another commercial, Oprah again. Pushing off the couch, he moved to the kitchen and grabbed a beer. He'd need it the way this day was going.
"Christ, and I thought I was impatient." Murphy grinned from the couch. Connor just glared back at him.
"Has nothin' ta fuckin' do with impatience. I'm fuckin' bored."
"Watch TV with me."
"If ye'd stay on one fuckin' channel, I would."
"It's three o'clock. All the soaps are fuckin' over. And nothin' else is as fuckin' easy ta make fun of." Murphy shook his head. Connor snorted.
"Than turn the fuckin' thing off."
"Why, so we can both be fuckin pissy and bored?" He tossed the remote to Connor. "Here, you fuckin' choose than."
Connor pressed the power button, shutting off the television and picked up Murphy's phone from the table. He tossed it to Murphy. "Here, let this entertain ye. Ye missed a fuckin' call."
Frowning, Murphy stared down at his phone, checking the call log. "Fuck, how the fuck did I miss Katie's call? That might explain why she's not fuckin' home yet."
"Miss her already? How sad." Connor grinned as he said it although he could understand the feeling. He already couldn't wait to see Sara after she got off of work.
"Shut it, Conn. I don't fuckin' miss her. I just wonder where she fuckin' was. She went ta lunch with Sara over three hours ago."
"Aye, but ye know how the girls are. Maybe we should just go ta the fuckin' pub already. Da said somethin' about a rematch with Doc with their fuckin' chess games." Connor's ears perked up when he heard a cell phone ringing. Murphy held up his with a shake of his head. Glancing around, his eyes landed on the light spilling out of his coat pocket. "Or, maybe that's yer Katie now. She's callin' the dependable McManus twin now."
"Just fuckin' answer it."
Dodging the pillow Murphy threw at him, Connor slipped the phone from his coat pocket. He wrinkled his forehead as he saw Sara's name on the caller ID. She was supposed to be back at work by now. Pressing 'Send' he answered it. "Hello?"
There was just silence on the other line. Turning away from Murphy to hear better, he tried again. "Hello? Sara? Ye there?"
Labored breathing came through the earpiece, followed by a scream that made him jump. Chills shivered down his spine as the phone slipped through his fingers. He made a grab for it and ended up face down on the floor, holding the phone back to his ear. "Sara! Sara? Answer me! Hello?"
The sounds of running footsteps echoed through and were cut off by heavy silence. "Hello? Sara?" Connor was barely aware he was yelling and fought the hand that pulled the phone away from his ear.
"Conn. Conn! The call's ended." Murphy's voice was quiet and near his face. Connor's eyes moved up to see that his brother was crouched down and watching him, a concerned look on his face. "What the fuck just happened?"
His breaths came quickly as he tried to think. She was fuckin' screamin'. Somebody had ta fuckin' do somethin' ta her. She tried ta call fer fuckin' help. It was only Murphy's eyes still on his face that made him realize he needed to respond. Needed to make his brother understand what was going on.
Pushing himself off the ground, Connor stood up quickly, rubbing his hand over his face and pacing a few steps. He forced himself to take a few breaths before looking at Murphy. "Sara. Her phone. That's who called. There was silence. Then this weird fuckin' breathin'. Than she screamed. Christ, Murph. We've got ta find her."
Panic spread through his chest, making it near impossible to breathe deeply and he blindly pulled his keys off the table. Images of her being dragged down some dark alley made his hands clench around the metal keys. His coat was in his hand as he started pulling his brother toward the door. "We've got ta go. Someone's fuckin' got her, Murph."
Murphy put his arm around Connor's chest and pressed him against the open door. "Now hold on a fuckin' minute, Conn. Ye got ta stop for a second here. Ye don't even fuckin' know where ta go ta find her. Ye don't even know if she's really been taken."
"I heard her fuckin' scream, Murphy!" He hardly recognized his own voice as he yelled at his twin.
"Are ye sure it was her? That's all I'm fuckin' askin', Conn. Call her back. Call her work. Make sure that she just didn't lose her fuckin' cell phone." Murphy let go and stepped back, holding Connor's phone out to him. "I'll do whatever ye fuckin' need me ta do, Conn. Just make sure ye know she's not at fuckin' work first."
His fingers shook as he dialed her work number and his hand found Murphy's shoulder as the rings echoed in his ear. Sara's voice mail picked up after four rings. Blood rushed to his head, pressure building in his ears as he lowered the phone slowly. His eyes fell on Murphy, whose lips were pressed together.
"No answer?"
"Fuckin' voice mail."
"Call her apartment. I'll call Katie. Maybe they're together." Murphy's eyes widened at his words but neither of them spoke their shared thought. They didn't need to. Connor clenched his teeth. The girls had been together. Could still be together. But where?
Just fuckin' be home playin' sick. Be playin' a fuckin' prank on me. I'll forgive ye, please. Words formed into prayers, whirling through Connor's mind as he found Sara's apartment number. His left hand clenched at his rosary as his right pressed 'Send'. Be home. Be home. Just be fuckin' home. After four long rings, her answering machine clicked on and Connor had to fight to not throw the phone.
"She's not fuckin' answerin' either." The fear in Murphy's voice made him turn around and they both just stared at each other. "What the fuck is goin' on, Conn?"
Yet another question he couldn't answer for Murphy. He quickly redialed Sara's cell phone number as a last hope. It skipped directly to voice mail. His eyes feel back on Murphy and he saw the frantic look on his face.
Connor knew then he had to be calm now. He had to feel numb. If he fell apart, there would be nothing stopping Murphy from doing the same. Watching him chew on the edge of his thumb, he sighed. Wrapping his hand over his twin's fist, he pulled the thumb away from his mouth, realizing he hadn't done that since they were children and Murphy had bitten through the skin three times during their grandfather's funeral. The blood had run down their joined hands then, staining the knee of Murphy's trousers permanently.
Taking a deep breath, Connor stared down at their joined hands now. "We'll find 'em, Murph. But let's go get Da, first."
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Murphy's heart raced in time with their hurried steps to McGinty's. Connor's hand reached the door handle first, pulling it open for the both of them. Murphy followed him in, the sound of their boots announcing their entrance.
Da sat alone at the bar and looked up as they moved toward him. At the sight of their faces, he frowned deeply and stood up. "What's the matter, boys?"
"I got a fuckin' call-" Connor started but his rushed words were cut off by the sudden appearance of a flustered Doc. Murphy saw his breathing was heavy and rushed around behind the bar, putting his hand on the bartender's shoulder.
"Is it yer heart, Doc? Sit down." For the moment his concern for Doc pushed away the panic to the back of his mind. But Doc took another large breath and knocked his hands away.
"No, I'm f-f-fuckin' alright. B-but I'm glad ye b-b-boys a-are here. Ryan just c-c-c-called."
"Who is Ryan?" Da asked and Murphy waved a hand at him.
"Tommy's little brother. Go on, Doc."
"H-h-he s-saw s-s-s-some…" Doc struggled with his words and took another large breath.
"Slow down, Doc. Let the fuckin' words come on their own." Connor leaned against the counter. Murphy could see the tension in him and knew his brother was as impatient as he was. But neither of them would dare interrupt Doc since it seemed so important.
"H-he saw s-some Russian b-bastards c-c-c-carryin' a blonde w-w-woman inta the o-o-old fuckin' w-warehouse. Said she l-looked like S-s-s-"
"Sara." Connor whispered and Doc nodded his response, his eyes wide behind his glasses. Da put a hand on his shoulder but Murphy just shook his head in disbelief. No fuckin' way.
"What old warehouse, Doc?"
"T-t-the one on th-the fuckin' north s-s-side of the s-s-south end."
"The one I told ye about, Doc?" Da's eyes widened and he stared at Doc who simply nodded. "Fuck. Katie's warehouse."
"They just saw a blonde woman with them?" The words tumbled out of Murphy's mouth and Doc nodded again slowly.
"Murph, it's too fuckin' much ta be a coincidence."
"Th-they were t-t-together this a-a-afternoon. They s-stopped in." Doc added to Connor's comment.
"When?" Murphy demanded, leaning toward Doc.
"Around n-noon."
He nodded mutely to Doc answer and felt the emotions swarm him. The panic, the desperation, the fear. If he didn't move quickly, they would paralyze him. And that would kill him. Raising his eyes to meet Connor's, he stared at his brother. Connor's jaw was clenched but his face was calm.
That was one thing Murphy had always admired about his brother. Emotions ruled Murphy but Connor had always been use his to his advantage. He turned them into action, into something kinetic and functional. Something more than tantrums and tears. He'd done it with the Russians that first night at McGinty's and he'd done it again to save Murphy's life in the alley. And now, Murphy realized as he watched the only trace of his brother's emotions swim in his eyes, now Connor would use it to save their girls. And maybe, in the end, to save themselves.
"Let's go." His brother spoke the words out loud only seconds after nodding slowly to Murphy.
"We've got ta talk ta Smecker first, m'boys. See if he knows anythin'."
Silently, Murphy nodded in agreement, giving Doc one final nod before following his brother and Da out of the bar. His heart pounded against the harsh noise of the city as they moved toward the precinct. We have ta find them. We will fuckin' find them. His heart clenched in his chest as the thought he'd been holding back finally surfaced. What if we don't find them?