Chapter Five Summary: Anna tells Murphy that she has Connor and though she wants Murphy back, she has to break him by hurting Connor. She hangs up, excited to claim revenge on Connor for sending her to prison for eight years. She describes the things she did to Murphy in detail as she begins to cut into Connor, claiming she'll go easier on him...

AN: Things are going to start getting a bit more graphic soon. By a bit, I mean a lot.

Demons of Saints

Monsters and Meetings

By Candra Hastings

Anna hadn't always been so cruel. Once, she'd been gentle and kind. Once, she'd had a family. Once, she'd had him.

She'd loved her husband. Her loving, adoring, wonderful husband with his thick dark hair and those bright blue eyes that would light up just for her. The same blue eyes that their daughter had.

He had always been good to her. They'd met as teenagers, married young, and their love for each other had only grown stronger as the years passed. He was always so kind and gentle, bringing her flowers for no reason, kissing her lovingly on the nose when waking up to her in the mornings. Anna simply adored him.

As much as she loved her husband, he'd scared her sometimes. Not that she thought that he would ever hurt her. He would never do that to her. But she didn't like the company he kept, or some of the things that he did. They were rough people who often got her husband in on their trouble.

But she loved him. With all her heart, she loved him. She trusted that he would be able to keep that part of his life separate from their family. Her trust had been misplaced.

Anna had been out at the supermarket the day that he life went to hell. She'd went to get supplies for dinner that night. She was missing Venice, her childhood home, and had decided to make spaghetti with garlic bread. She'd even bought a tub of ice cream for her daughter, Mae. Strawberry, Mae's favorite.

She didn't suspect that anything thing wrong when she came home and started to put away her groceries. She didn't know that her life wouldn't ever be the same again from that day on.

"Mae!" she called to her little girl, "Mommy got you a surprise!"

When the eight-year-old didn't reply, Anna knew that something was very wrong.

Anna put down her bag, fear gripping her heart as she climbed the stairs to Mae's room. She called to her child once more before opening the door.

Mae loved butterflies. She loved their bright colors and the gentle nature of the creatures, much like her own. The child insisted on putting images of the creatures on her wall, a riot of color on the pale white walls.

When Anna opened the door, the first thing that she noticed was that the wings were stained with blood. Then, before the gun hit her over the head and rough hands dragged her body away to a life she never wished for, she glimpsed the bodies of her family.

The next few years hadn't been kind. Over the next few years, she'd become a monster. Alone and broken, she fell in with horrible people, working for the head of the Diablos gang. She'd become a weapon, doing things to others that had been done to her.

Anna hid her feelings about her late husband well. She tried to not focus on the anger, the hatred that burned in her blackened heart for him. She spent her years learning to break people, to channel all the aggression she held in her soul on some poor sap who was brought into her.

It was the day a young Irishman named Murphy had been brought in and tied to her chair, hurling curses and threats at them, that something in her snapped. She could still remember the the first time that she'd seen his face. Saw those icy blue eyes glaring up at her, that dark hair his blood was soaked into. He looked so much like him. So young, so innocent with those blue eyes.

Anna knew that day that she hated herself because as much as she hated her husband, she still loved him. It was this young man that had been given to her to break to make her understand that. But she was still so... so angry.

So she took it all out on the Saint. She let him suffer for her husband's sins because someone had to pay. Someone else needed to feel as broken as she did. But the boy had been strong, and she found it odd that as she used way that she knew to torture him, she found herself wanting him, wanting to taste those bloody split lips, because maybe he would taste like him.

It was then that she decided. Decided that he would be her's. She wouldn't be the only one broken anymore. She would make sure or that.

B~D~S

Murphy was livid. He snapped the clip into his gun, ready to use every bullet. He was going to save his brother, no matter what the cost.

"We don't even know where, they are," Romeo said while loading his own weapons. He was worried. He'd seen his friend angry before, but he'd never seen him deadly calm. Connor was the calm one, the one who thought things through. Murphy was the emotional one, the one who fought with everything he had. Murphy has a full heart, but it was easily broken when it came to his brother.

"I'm going to find them," Murphy claimed. "If she won't tell me where they are, I'll hunt her down." He pulled a black duffle bag onto the bed. In it, he put Connor's loaded guns and rope, along with some ammo and another Rambo knife.

"And how are you going to find her? She could be anywhere, Murphy."

"She's in Boston. In the area," Murphy reasoned. "She won't take him too far. In the end, she'll want to see me. She'll want me to find her."

"Still, Boston is a pretty big city in case you haven't noticed," Romeo continued to argue.

"I'll go to the prison she was at and see if they know anything. Maybe she talked to a cell mate or something about her plans. I'll see where that goes." He put his guns in his holsters and began to strap on his knife.

"Well, what will you do when you find her?"

"I'll kill her," Murphy growled.

"She'll have Connor," Romeo pointed out.

"I'll kill her quickly."

"Before or after she kills him?" the Mexican asked. He didn't miss Murphy's fingers curl into a fist. For a moment, he thought he was about to be on the wrong side of a MacManus. But Murphy managed to stay calm for the most part.

"She won't kill him. Not yet. She wants this to effect me, to make me suffer, and if she kills him, it'll all be over too fast for her taste. She'll take her time before she does enough damage to be life-threatening. And she'll call back before the day is out."

"You sure?" The phone rang, answering Romeo's question. It was Connor's number.

Murphy felt a tremor of fear run through his body, up and down his spine and taking lodge in the pit of his stomach. Every time Anna had called Connor when it had been Murphy in his brother's current place, they'd tormented Connor by making him listen while they'd hurt Murphy.

Murphy hopped this wouldn't be the case because not only did it break your heart to be on the listening end, but he knew the agony of being on the other side.

Murphy answered. "Anna."

"Hello, pet. What are you up to?"

"Hunting," Murphy replied cryptically. Let the woman wonder.

He could hear her pause, wondering what he meant. Then she laughed. "Sounds boring. But you know what isn't boring? Cutting open your brother."

"Leave him the hell alone!" Murphy growled.

"Fine by me," Anna sighed. "I was needing a break anyways." She paused, shuffling around on the other end of the phone, causing worry to coil in Murphy's stomach. "I'm just going to take a smoke break. Connor looks like he could use one."

Murphy's blood ran cold. "No! Don't!" he yelled into the phone, desperately trying to save his brother from a pain that he knew very well.

But Anna paid no attention to him other than savoring the broken note to the darker twin's tone. Murphy could imagine her now, smirking as she pulled a cigarette from the pack. Though he couldn't see what was happening to Connor, he knew from experience what was going to take place.

He jumped when he heard the switch of a lighter. The scars that littered his arms and neck seemed to ignite to the noise. They burned like fresh on his skin, the embers glowing in the tortured part of his mind as he tried once more to stop her. "Anna, don't! Stop!"

But his only reply was a high giggle as the sharp intake of air that came from Connor trying to hold in a pained gasp. Murphy could practically feel his brother's pain, knowing exactly what it had felt like.

"Enjoying the show, pet?" she asked when she was finished burning his twin. "I bet you remember how all this felt. You know, this will be good for you two. A bonding experience, if you will. Now, big brother will finally be able to understand why you're so close to breaking for me. Or, maybe you're not... If that's the the case, I can continue-"

"Don't touch him!" Murphy yelped. "Leave 'em alone!"

"Have I made my point?" she asked sharply. "Do you finally understand that I own you? Or do I need to start breaking fingers?"

"No!" Murphy cried out in terror, his left fist clinching, the slightly crooking fingers fisting until his nails dug into the skin of his palm. He grounded himself in the pain. He needed to feel it. He needed to be able to focus so he could save Connor.

"You sure?" she asked, enjoying her sick game. "Because I'd be more than happy to-"

"No! That's enough! Just stop. Please! I'll do anything."

Anna giggled. "And there it is. Finally, my precious Saint begs. I knew that this had to be the way. I knew that there had to be a way to break you."

"What do you want, Anna?" Murphy sighed, trying to block out Romeo's steady gaze, trying to hear his brother in the background. "I'll do anything. Whatever you want. Let Connor go. This is between you and me."

"And what do I have to gain from that?" she pondered. "I deserve my revenge. I do. So why would I stop?"

"I'll give you anything," Murphy choked on his words. "Anything. Just let my brother go. Please."

It was quiet. Dread filled his heart as he waited. "Alright, precious. I'll leave Connor alone. But It'll come at a cost. Nothing in this world is free."

"Name it," Murphy said. He'd do, say, or give anything for Connor. Connor, his brother, his friend, his protector. Anything was worth what he meant to Murphy.

"I want... Oh, I don't know... I want..." she trailed, even though he knew very well that she already had something in mind.

"Tell me," he prodded.

"I think I'll take your previous offer. You. I'll take you. Your life for his."

Before Murphy could say anything, a struggle broke out over the phone. "Don't you do it, Murph! Don't you even dare!" A smack resonated through the phone, silencing Connor.

"You shut up," Anna ordered, her tone deadly. She returned her attention to Murphy. "So... do we have a deal?"

Without hesitation, "Yes, we have a deal." Anything. Anything was worth Connor's life, including his own.

"You're sure? You're willing to be mine? For him?"

He knew what she was implying. He knew what it all meant. If he traded himself to save Connor, he would be sentencing himself to a slow an painful death. Anna would kill him, of that he had no doubt. She would take her time about it, too. She would savor every second, making him suffer.

But if it would save Connor, he would never regret it.

"When do we do this?" he asked.

"Whenever you're ready, at the place where this all started. I'll entertain my guest until then. But don't take too long, dear. I'll miss you too much."

And then she was gone.

Murphy stuffed his phone into his pocket. He was doing his best to ignore the look Romeo was giving him. "Don't start," he commanded while zipping up his duffle bag.

"You can't do this, Murphy."

"Watch me! I'm going to save Connor. You can come or stay."

"I'll always come with you, man," Romeo said softly. "I just think we should try to figure out another way. Any other way."

"There is no other way," Murphy said with resign, eyes meeting his friend's. Romeo could see the fear there. Murphy was afraid. Afraid of Anna, of what could be happening to Connor. But he could also see the pure determination in those orbs of ice.

"Look, Rome, I have to do this. I'm not goin' down without a fight, but I'm gonna need to take care of Connor, first. If you help me with him, I can take care o' myself"

"Alright," Romeo agreed with a heavy heart. He felt terrible, like he was giving permission for his friend to go on a suicide mission. Because that's exactly what this was. Still, he knew there was no stopping Murphy, so he decided to help as best as he could. "When do you want to go?"

Murphy sighed, shoulders falling in defeat. Though he was terrified, he was relieved to know that even if things when badly for him today, that Connor would still have Romeo around. Connor would need him, because he relied so much on Murphy. But if Murphy wasn't able to be there for him, he would need someone.

"Soon. I have something I have to do first."