Mavis woke up. For a moment she didn't know where she was, r what had happened before she slipped into Dreamland. For a few seconds she was at peace, nothing able to break her down. And then, it hit her, like a speeding train. She turned around, looking for someone, but she was alone in the bed. He's dead… he's really dead… New tears found their way down her cheeks as she sat on the bed, hugging her knees and tried to curl into herself. Her strength was maimed by all the crying she had done last night, but she still had enough to keep crying for the rest of evening. Her husband was gone, and the full implication of this finally downed on her. She was alone, in a foreign country, with a baby back at home that had just lost his father, and a murderer and psychopath trying his best to make sure little Nate didn't have a mother anymore too. But that last one was irrelevant to her now. Her husband was dead, and she couldn't avoid feeling like it was her fault. I shouldn't have insisted to come! I… we should have stayed at home, safely. I'm such a STUPID! It was painful to even think about it, to realize that maybe, just maybe, she was the responsible for all this, for… It was unspeakable for her, and it made her feel like the worst person in the world.

Dad was half-right. There ARE evil humans out there.

Two days passed way too quickly for Johnathan's liking. He had been prowling the streets of Dublin's less fortunate areas, getting acquainted with the Irish underworld. It was, indeed, not very different from anywhere else. By the second night of prowling he had discovered something akin to snitch for the underworld, a person that sold information for the right price. Except that I am not buying anything, but beating the shit out of him. The mere thought made him smirk, as he watched the guy across the street. The darkness, unpierced by the few streetlights that still (somehow) worked protected and concealed him from anyone's sight, and allowed him to keep an eye on the rat and anyone that made business with him. It was 11:24 p.m. when he decided to introduce himself to his target. The hooded figure showed no signs of alarm, probably used to walk-in customers in the dead of the night. Drug dealer, Johnathan instantly thought, further closing the gap between both of them.

"You JTrain?" he asked, in his best attempt to sound thuggish.

"Aye, what you lookin' for, man?" the dealer had barely finished his sentence when Johnathan smacked his open palm in his face, stunning the man and sending him stumbling backwards into the alley. Johnathan followed him, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and pinning him to the graffiti-plastered wall.

"What the hell man! Your fellas said they would wait for Sean O', I told you I didn't wanted any part on that!" snapped the dealer, in a mix of irritation and fear.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Johnathan was already piecing the clues in place by the time the guy began to confess.

"What am I talking about? The guys in the shady outfits, they said they were here to take Sean and his dead brother's girl. Are you not with them?"

Shit. "When are they doing that?"

"Wait a sec, man, I don't have to tell you shit, I ain't afraid of you, you motherfu…"

The redhead was losing his patience, causing him to knee the bastard in his stomach, one, two, and three times, until the guy was feeling a lot more cooperative.

"You aren't JTrain, are you?" he finally asked, realizing that it was all set-up, just not for him.

"Look, this guy, he told me to stand In here and sell product, gave me some clothes and told me a guy named Sean would come and ask for him, and then some creeps in black outfits would take him and a girl away. That's all I know man, please. H-he even said he would kill me if I screwed it up. Please, man!" the anonymous bait begged him, and it was quite pathetic to him.

"Shut up. You have bigger problems right now. Where will these creeps in black be coming from?"

"I don't know man, I just know they'll be coming some 20 minutes before midnight. That's when this Sean guy is supposed to arrive. I swear, I know nothing else."

"Then shut up and listen. Proceed as you were told, but when the creeps show up get that Sean guy into cover, I'll deal with them. DO NOT fuck this up, or I'll kill you or real. Are we clear?"

"Yes! Yes!"

"Good, then go back to your business"

True to the criminal's word, at exactly 20 minutes to midnight a black sedan parked at the block's corner, some ten meters away from the alley. The vehicle was non-descript, a mark of professionals. Four men stepped off from the vehicle and then scattered in two teams of two. A snatching team and a look-out team, Johnathan thought to himself, watching from the shadows. These guys definitely mean business. The two-men teams remained away from sight, but Johnathan's eyes were already used to the very-low light conditions of the night, and so, he was able to move undetected near the look-outs, who were facing the direction were they had come from. The snatching team was hidden near the alley, no doubt intending to surprise their target from behind, cutting off his scape. The redhead waited patiently for another fifteen minutes, until he noticed a new comer. The guy was good: he made a visual sweep of the street and waited full five minutes until he decided to approach the imposter.

Sean was jumpy, but he did his best to hide it. In the underworld, fear was a sign of weakness, and that was something he didn't want others to see in him. He had been, after all, one of the most feared men in the streets of Dublin. Yet, he was no longer that man, and he was painfully aware of that.

"Mavis, I need you to wait here."

"No, Sean. If that guy knows something about the bastard that…" her words got stuck in her throat, trying hard to come out, but staying inside anyway, "… I need to know. Please."

Sean had objected fiercely at the idea of Mavis coming with him. She was, in turn, fiercely stubborn, and insisted that she would go with him. The man had serious doubts that any of them was in shape to go ahead with what had to be done, but they couldn't just sit on their hands and wait for her hunter to come for them. Still, Mavis was Sean's responsibility for the time being, and he was very worried that the guy he had come to see had flipped or ratted him out. He had to play it safe, but how did he explain that to her?

"No, Mavis, please, stay here. This guy… he's not a person that I trust completely. If he sided with the bad guys… I can't afford to let them take you, alright? You still have to take care of my brother's son. I don't want to be the one to lose Nathan's mom. Please. He's the only thing left from my brother. He needs you."

Mavis looked down to the pavement, some tears welling in her eyes. She felt guilty for not thinking about little Nate back at the Hotel. She was forced to admit that he was right, beyond any doubt.

"Ok, I'll wait here, but please be careful, I don't have anybody else to help me. I don't want to be alone in this" Her voice was cracked, barely audible, and full of sadness and fear.

Sean nodded, understanding her pain exactly. He checked to see if he still had his weapon holstered and then calmly strode to where he was supposed to meet JTrain.

"What the fuck? You are not JTrain!" he had time to mutter.

Now or never. Johnathan set his plan in motion. With a quick but silent dash he was holding one of the look-outs in a choke-hold, while with his free hand he shot the second one in the left knee. He then proceeded to slam the choking man against a car`s hood, then pistol-whipped the bleeding-knee man into oblivion. He had no time to waste, quickly spinning his frame to face the remaining threat.

One shot rang, and Sean couldn't even remember when he had pulled out his 9mm and fired at one of the two armed figures that had tried to surprise him. A second and third detonations rang, and the second figure scrambled for cover, not before letting out a shot, which barely grazed Sean's arm. He was furious. The bastard not only owes me a favor, now he owes eating a bullet to me. He pushed the imposter out of the way and into safety, while he covered himself behind a dumpster. A burst of metallic clatter convinced him to do his best to remain out of sight. If I can get close without him hitting me… yeah, I would have a chance. It was suicide, to say the least. But the situation was desperate, and police was sure to be on its way to make arrests. He was steeling himself, gathering every ounce of courage in his body, when he heard a muffled grunt coming from the alley's entrance. The only thing he could see now was a slumped body dressed in black and a redheaded-man standing near it.

"It's clear, I took care of the other ones"

Sean doubted about the intentions of the newcomer, and so, he kept his weapon aimed in Johnathan's general direction.

"Who are you?"

"Johnathan Marlow. And you are Sean O'Donnell, Padraigh's brother" This sent a chill down Sean's spine.

"Do I know you?"

"I knew your brother… sort of"

"Marlow… you one of his clients' relatives?" He could swear he had heard 'Marlow' before, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it…

The stranger handed him a set of keys and a cheap cellphone.

"Use their car, but check for trackers and dump it ASAP. He is alive, just knocked out cold, I'm guessing he can tell you one or two useful things. If you find anything useful, use this, and only this, phone only…"

"Why are you doing this? What's your business in all this?" Sean was genuinely puzzled as of why would a total stranger would be helping him. Johnathan simply stared at him for a few seconds and decided to make himself scarce.

Mavis had heard everything, and was steadily but carefully trying to approach the alley. What she saw left her breathless. It wasn't the dead men on the street what left her speechless, but the fact that he was there. Johnny…

The world suddenly didn't seem a bad place to both of them. For a moment, they had no worries, they were away from the present time, just taking into each other. She had red eyes, swollen eyelids and looked extremely tired, but Johnathan could swear he had never seen a prettier woman ever in his life. Mavis, in the other hand, could now see the changes in him more clearly: he was more muscular, his messy hair was gone, replaced with a short haircut. His face seemed hardened, no longer the one of a kid, and his posture was that of a secure man rather than that of an easy-go-lucky teenager. Johnathan really wanted to stay there forever, but he remembered what had just happened, and decided to leave, running down the street and melting in the shadows, leaving Mavis frozen in place.

"Who's this? I'm telling ya, if you want to sell me something, sonny…"

"Clive, it's me, Sean"

"Oh, it's you kid. Listen, I heard about your brother… I'm real sorry, I don't know what to say. You know you and your brother where like sons to me"

"Thanks, old man. It means a lot coming from you"

"Are you… into it? This calls for action, kid, and you know the Garda won't give a shit, especially not when they find out about your brother's past affiliations. If you need help, anything, just ask"

"I'm glad you say that Clive, because I need some help. I have someone that would happen to know something about what happened to Paddy. I need a place to stash and beat the truth out of the tosser. Think you can lend a hand with that?"

"Great job kid. My apartment works for that. Can you get here?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if this car is bugged. I don't want to lead them to you. Meet me at the pub"

"Alright. And kid? Is the girl with you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Be careful kid. No matter the circumstances, she was your brother's girl. There's a line you don't cross. Remember that and stay away from trouble"

"I know, Clive. Believe me, not even in my dreams would I do that."

Mavis was petrified as soon as she stepped out of the car. No, please no… There was no way life could be this sadistic, it was just too much.

"Mavis?" she heard Sean call softly by her side.

"Can I wait here? Please. I… I can't go in there, Sean" her eyes begged him to let her stay, but his common sense told him it was a terrible idea.

"I'm sorry Mavy, but I need to keep an eye out for you. I cannot protect you if I can't see you. I promise it won't be long, but I need you to come in with me" Mavis closed her eyes shut and grabbed his arm. Sean would have felt uncomfortable in other circumstances, but he understood it was a meaningless gesture, just the girl's search for protection and comfort from someone she could trust. They went through the door together, just to find the place empty except for the bartender and a familiar old man.

"Kid, it's good to see you safe and sound. Mavis, I'm sorry. We are all saddened by what happened. If there's something you need, besides skinning the responsible for this alive, we are all here for you." The older man was being honest, Mavis could tell. He had helped her late husband when he didn't have enough to take care of his siblings, and probably was a fatherly figure to him, so it wasn't a longshot to think Clive had developed a father-and-son-like relationship.

"Thank you, s… Clive. I… I just want justice for him"

"Don't worry about it, we are working on it. I would prefer to discuss this with Sean only, if you don't mind. It's not something I like to discuss in front of others. You understand, right?"

"Yes, of course. I'll… pick up a table and wait" she left both men at the bar, while she slowly took in on the empty place. It was here. I was sitting right alongside him, wondering if he had… She instinctively sat on the very same seat she had sat that day, all those years ago, and met the man that would become her husband. He was an ice cube. So serious, yet… he was so handsome. He always was… Her gaze fell to the table, and she hid her face in her hands. There were no tears this time, her tear-ducts completely dry from crying over the last two days. But it didn't diminished the pain. It just fueled her desire for justice, but the line between justice and revenge was beginning to get blurred, without her realizing it. She wasn't frightened by that, because she didn't cared. She just wanted the guy to die, in a way more painful than he had killed her husband, and she was going to make sure it happened that way.

"She's not good, kid. I know that look. She is hurt, but she also wants heads to roll, and that's not Ok. You need to keep an eye on her, or it's gonna get messy. Give her a good reason to keep her cool. Maybe… get her in contact with her parents, or something. She needs somebody to make her see reason" Clive had always been the voice of reason, which didn't meant he couldn't be strict and rigid at times. He downed a whisk of scotch and served himself again.

"I know old man. I'm doing my best, but right now I'm tied up. Besides, there's someone else involved in this. He said he used to know Paddy, and that he's here to help"

"And you trust him?"

"Too soon to tell, he did help us bag the bastard in the trunk", Sean stopped for a second, side-looking towards Mavis, checking that she was lost in her thoughts, "I think he also knows her. I caught them eyeing each other, and it was… different. It was not just the eyeing you give to a friend or a known associate. This new guy… he knows her in an intimate way. Maybe he's an ex, or something…"

"Don't sweat on it right now. Focus on one thing. If the guy proves himself reliable then make use of his help. Whatever their past, it's not important to the task at hand, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Could you sweep the car? I did a quick sweep, but I want some insurance"

"Sure thing, kid. Keep her company, I'll be right back"

Mavis felt a hand land on her shoulder, and her head shot up upwards.

"Are you alright?" Sean said, lowering himself to her level.

"Yes, it's just… it all started here. Right in this very same table I'm sitting. He had saved me from some thugs… I came in here and just… found him. It was… strange. I never thought…" her words were drowned by her starting to sob slightly, "And now… I can't… I can't take this, Sean... I… just want to it to end. I don't know what to do"

There was nothing he could say to comfort her, so he kept silent while holding her hand and rubbing her back soothingly. He was feeling the exact same way, but he didn't have time to grieve. He still had to learn about their enemy, and time was of the essence.

Sorry guys, I was very busy this weekend. I'm still gonna update the stories, I'll probably update "If Only You Knew" tomorrow and "All I Am To You" on wednesday. Stay tuned and remember to review, your thoughts inspire me to write a little faster. And, again, I invite you all users who are unertain about writting in here to join this community, we would all love to read new stories by newcomers, to keep this category alive. Don't be afraid, as one of my high school teachers used to tell us: Nobody knows what we win when we lose our fear. And hopefully all my fellow writers feel a bit more inspired to continue writting. I haven't forgotten about you. See ya in the upcoming updates.