I own nothing you recognize. All original characters are my own.
….
Red Right Hand
...
He'll wrap you in his arms,
tell you that you've been a good boy
He'll rekindle all the dreams
it took you a lifetime to destroy
He'll reach deep into the hole,
heal your shrinking soul
Hey buddy, you know you're
never ever coming back
He's a god, he's a man,
he's a ghost, he's a guru
They're whispering his name
through this disappearing land
But hidden in his coat
is a red right hand
...
You ain't got no money?
He'll get you some
You ain't got no car? He'll get you one
You ain't got no self-respect,
you feel like an insect
Well don't you worry buddy,
cause here he comes
Through the ghettos and the barrio
and the bowery and the slum
A shadow is cast wherever he stands
Stacks of green paper in his
red right hand -Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
...
Belfast
Cormac tugged his collar up as he walked into the pub. O'Flagherty knew he was meeting with the snake but that didn't mean that he wanted others to know his shame. He didn't know the reason for the meeting and didn't even fathom a guess he just went and hoped Jimmy would get tot the point and it would be over soon. He walked into the pub and nodded to Oscar the barmen who tipped his head in the direction of the corner booth. With a quick nod of understanding Cormac walked toward the back and saw Jimmy with his man Donny.
"Well hello there Cormac, lovely ta see ya." Jimmy said with joviality that didn't seem forced. "Donny, go get the man a drink."
Donny nodded and went to the front. He wasn't sure what Jimmy had planned but he knew Cormac was integral to some plot. As he made himself useful Jimmy turned to the young man who was staring at him with untrusting eyes.
"What d'ya wan' from me Jimmy? Only reason ya'd call for this meetin would be cause ya need me for somethin'." He stared at Jimmy and the man just continued to grin.
"Ya' don't bullshit do ya Cormac? Yer right I want somethin from ya, somethin important." He took a swig of his pint and looked closely at the younger man. "I want yer loyalty. I want ya ta be my man."
Cormac scoffed as he looked at the man. He'd never be Jimmy's man, he hated the snake with nearly as much venom as he hated Keegan. Besides he was loyal to James, he was his man to the death. Nothing would be worth switching his loyalties.
"Now, I know what yer t'inkin'. You're O'Flagherty's man, loyal, good, trustworthy. He treats ya like a son, loves ya. I don' wanna tarnish that, but you've done a pretty good job o'that yerself, haven;t ya?" Jimmy gave him a level stare and Cormac's brow knit.
"I don' know what yer talkin about. I've never done anythin against O'Flagherty." Cormac defended himself and Jimmy smiled just as Donny came back with the promised drink.
"Give us a few more minutes, I'll call ya over if I need ya." Jimmy ordered and Donny just moved away before Jimmy's attention was brought back to Cormac who had risen. "Sit down. i know yer eager ta get back ta yer assignment but we need ta finish this."
Cormac sat down and glared as he thought about the tone in Jimmy's voice. Jimmy thought he knew something and that could be dangerous.
"Good lad. Back to tha topic at hand. I want yer loyalty and as I see it there are two ways we can go about it. Either ya pledge yerself ta me right now or I make ya and, boyo, I've got ways a makin ya." Jimmy sat back and grinned like the Cheshire cat as Cormac looked at him steadily.
"What do ya think ya have Jimmy? Ya know I won' come willingly." Jimmy continued to smile, he'd hoped it would be like this. There was nothing Jimmy liked better than showing people just how smart he was, just how convincing.
"I know a lot, and even a little could get ya killed. Want me ta list yer transgressions?" Cormac simply glowered so Jimmy decided to get it out, not give the boy a chance to bullshit or even attempt to get out of the accusations. "First, I know yer shaggin' Keegan's woman. That could breed distrust and tha's not good. Second, I know yer keepin tabs on Keegan, ya got eyes on him all the time. Tha's smart but the shotcallers might not like that bit o' subterfuge. Third and this is the worst of it. I know ya went to tha Ulster boys when ya heard whispers 'bout the women bein targeted. Ya gave up some vital information. Caused an innocent baby ta die..." He let it sit for a while as he saw tears form in Cormac's eyes.
"Sean heard the rumour. They were goin after the women, startin' with Keegan's...they were gonna kill Milla. I...I...had ta stop it...she couldn't die." He buried his face in his hands for a few moments before he righted himself and wiped his eyes. "How'd ya know? I...I was so careful."
Cormac's voice took on a pleading tone and Jimmy nodded.
"Aye' ya were careful, but ya gotta know tha' I've ears an eyes everywhere. Even with our enemies." Cormac nodded, it made sense that Jimmy would invite the UVF to his table, if it would save his sorry arse. "Now, I could keep this between us, you become my man and no one ever hears about any of it. If ya refuse me, I'll call Keegan an' let him take his pain, his grief, his rage out on you and maybe kill Milla too when I confirm that you've cuckholded him. Maybe I'll call O'Flagherty and tell him his goldenboy's workin' with the enemy. Either way you'll be dead boy. What do ya want ta do?"
"What do ya wan' from me?" Cormac asked in a voice devoid of emotion and Jimmy smiled again.
"Good lad! I wan' yer loyalty. O'Flagherty wants me gone and may do somethin about it. I wan' you ta warn me if somethin's in the works and if you get tasked to handle it I wan' the bullet goin' where it belongs...between O' Flagherty's eyes." Cormac felt ill but nodded and Jimmy saw the look on his face. "Don' be so distraught. Bein' my man has it's reward and yeh''ll be gettin' a big one. First though, yeh an' I have a mutual problem an' I wan' ya ta take care of it."
"What mutual problem?" Cormac asked as he tried to regroup.
"My boy, for the last year Keegan's been a thorn in both our sides. I wan' ya ta take care of him." Jimmy sat back and watched Cormac nod, this was something the boy had been wanting for a long time. "Once he's outta the way the path will be clear fer yer reward...Milla's gonna need a man an' that boy's gonna need a real Da. I think yer up fer the job."
Cormac nodded and reached his hand across the table. He may be making a deal with the devil but the reward was too great for him to ignore. Jimmy grinned like Old Scratch himself and tightened his grip. Today had been a good day
…
Charming
…
Piney sat by the pool table, watching Ope and Juice play some pool. The last few days had been largely uneventful since the bomb was dropped at Church. Everyone had their side of the fence. Unfortunately that side was opposite Piney but he didn't let it bother him. The kid and her kid were safe, that's all that mattered. Clay may have been too selfish to realize the danger to his little girl but Piney wasn't and he was secure in that knowledge.
"Hey brother, come to the chapel for a minute. I've got some shit to show ya." Clay said and Piney rose. Clay seldom called him for private meetings anymore, relying on Tig and Jax to pass on information to the old man, so he knew it had to be important. As he sat at the Redwood he noticed what looked like a stack of pictures in the center of the table. Piney picked one up and saw the desperation on the face of the little girl he was trying so hard to protect, a desperation she shouldn't have been feeling.
"This is why you've brought me here...to try to change my vote?" Piney asked as he put down the picture but Clay just pushed the stack at him.
"I know you want to protect her, there's nothing more that I want but you're doin it wrong. Look at those pictures. Look at her face, the way she'd holdin' herself. You really think she's better off there?" Clay put away all of his bravado and let Piney see him for what he was in that moment. He was a man scared for his daughter and Piney could respect that. For the last five years he'd been terrified for his son. In recognition of their shared fear Piney picked up the stack of pictures and studied them. In them he saw a young woman in pain, trying and failing to appear strong. He saw her misery interrupted by fleeting bits of joy as she hugged her son, only to be burdened further. When he got to the picture of Keegan holding her against the wall his blood boiled. The man had tried to kill a brother now he laid hands on the daughter of a founder... Piney set his teeth and put down the stack of pictures and looked at Clay.
"She comes back and we don't let her go. Otherwise you get a guarantee from the fucking Council that her protection is a priority. I want her safe, but I don't wanna see her like this again. She may be alive but she's not livin. Get on the horn, as soon as you get the guarantee, you'll get a "yay" from me." Piney got up and walked out of the chapel. He knew his sudden change in opinion would bring questions but he didn't fucking care. No one deserved to just walk through life. He'd done it for the last fifteen years and he knew how much it hurt. No way in hell the kid had ever done anything to deserve it.
…
Clay smiled as Piney walked out the door. He'd already gotten the guarantees Piney had wanted and even got them to promise an escort if she returned home. He got up and took a celebratory cigar out of his Romeo y Julieta's that he saved for special occasions. As he puffed he sat back and breathed a sigh. As long as there were no changes of heart his babygirl would be coming home and that deserved a celebration.
…
A few hours later...
"One last order of business before I let you go. Milla..." He let her name hang in the air and everyone sat up, with more than a few eyes going to Piney. "I motion that we bring an official end to her exile."
"Seconded." Jax said before he looked at his brothers.
"Third." Tig's voice was clear.
"All right, now we bring it to vote. Yay." Clay said as he looked around the table.
"Yay." Came Tig's voice from his right. and so on. Chibs had told Jax he would vote " yay" and had not disappointed him. Eventually they got to Piney and there was a collective breath held.
"She got protection?" He asked and Clay nodded. "Then it's a yay."
There was a nearly audible sigh of relief until they got to Juice. When it came to Milla no one knew where his head or heart could be at any given time. With a deep breath he answered.
"Yay." He wanted her home, needed her home. For the last year and a half he'd been dead inside, thinking that the one woman in the world he loved had never loved him back. Had chosen the man who tried to kill him. Now he knew the truth, he knew that she still loved him and the scars she left could start to heal.
The rest of the votes came in and Clay grinned his too wide, macabre smile.
"It's unanimous, motion passes." He let his gavel bang down and the men all nodded at each other. Milla was coming home. The family would be complete again.
…
Gemma sat at her table by the bar and watched the door. The reversal was going to vote today and she was on pins and needles. If Piney said "no", they'd have to wait a month before they could bring it to the table again and she didn't think she could stand it. She'd thought that she'd lost two children and having the chance to get one back had caused dangerous hope to fill her. She knew it was stupid to dream that everything would work out, history had proven that, but she couldn't help it. That dream had been keeping her sane for the last week and, truth be told, she'd had that dream stored deep in the back of her head ever since her daughter had gotten in that cab. She wanted her baby back.
As she swirled her swizzlestick in her glass the doors opened and the men walked out. Tig and Opie nodded to her before they went to the doors, Tig probably on a pussy run and Opie going home. Piney followed and Gemma could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was thinking hard about something and it filled her with a sense of dread until she caught her son's smile. The look caused the hope in her heart to notch it up to eleven and the wide, pleased smile on her husband's face confirmed it. She was getting her baby back. She smiled as she got up and was so focused on getting to her husband that she practically ran into Juice who was heading to his "office" with a look of determination on his face. He stopped and looked at her and she had to smile. All of the worry, the pain, the sheer frustration that had been weighing down on him for the last eighteen months was slowly receding. He was looking more like the man her daughter fell in love with. She grabbed him and before he could nudge her away she kissed his cheek.
"Thank you." She said quietly and he looked at her in shock. He had no idea why she was thanking him but she did. He'd looked past his hurt, past his pain and had done something good for her family and he deserved her thanks.
Still in shock he nodded and moved away as she walked to her husband who hugged her and lifted her a short distance from the ground. She held tight before he released her.
"Our baby's comin home, you wanna do the honors?" He asked as he held out his phone. She didn't say a word as she took the phone from him and walked toward the dorms with him at her heels. She may be making the call but he wasn't going to miss it.
Once they were securely in a dorm room she grinned at him and dialed the number they'd gotten from Kerri and put the phone on speaker. It felt like an eternity as they waited for her to answer the phone. Suddenly the ringing stopped and they heard a voice they'd been dying to hear.
"Hello."
….
Belfast
Milla held the phone to her ear as she stood in her kitchen. It was 6:30 in the morning, no one should have been calling her and she secretly hoped that it was a call from the peelers, telling her that her idiot drunk of a husband had fallen under the wheels of a car. It was a sick hope she felt whenever she got a call from an unknown number.
"Baby..." At the sound of her Mother's voice Milla almost dropped the phone but at the last second she clutched it like a lifeline. She couldn't speak, couldn't breathe as she waited for her Mom to speak again. "They brought it to vote baby, you can come home. We want you to come home."
As soon as the words were out of Gemma's mouth Milla's legs gave out and she slid to the floor as sobs erupted from her lips...She was going home...