"Can you see anythin'?" Murphy asked as he tried to see what was going on.
"Not really," Connor said as he tried to see what was going on.
Mike had heard them talking as he walked to Connor's cell and Connor slid his forearms back through the bars.
"Keep it down," Mike warned.
"What's goin' on?" Murphy asked.
"We're just getting the new meat settled in," Mike said and Connor and Murphy nodded. Mike walked back to the other cell and he stood in the doorway.
"How am I supposed to examine him if he's in there?" Oliver asked.
"Don't bother. I ain't staying here for very long," Vincenzo said.
"Want to bet on that?" the guard asked.
"My lawyers will have me outta here within the hour."
"Then I guess I'll go back to my office," Oliver said. He nodded his head toward the doorway and he and Wanda left the cell after Mike moved so they could walk by him. Mike and the guards left the cell as Vincenzo growled and he pulled on the chains.
"Hey! Aren't you going to let me outta this thing?!" Vincenzo shouted.
"Nope!" the guard said as they left the main room. Mike looked at Vincenzo as Mike closed the cell door and the lock clicked into place.
"You can't do this!" Vincenzo shouted.
"Looks like they can!" Connor shouted and Murphy snorted a laugh.
"Guys…," Mark warned.
"Are you gonna let us out now?"
"Hold on."
"Come on! We're hungry!" Murphy said.
"I said hold on," Mike said, walking to Connor's cell. He unlocked the cell door as Connor walked out of the cell and Connor headed for the cement table at the middle of the room. Mike unlocked the door to Murphy's cell as Murphy headed by him then went to sit next to his twin. Mike walked to the kitchen window as he looked at Maggie and she went to serve up Connor and Murphy's lunch. She slid the trays through the slot under the shatterproof/bulletproof glass and Mike picked up the trays. He walked to the cement table as he placed the trays down in front of Connor and Murphy and they nodded.
"Get me outta here!" came from the cell and Vincenzo tried to move, but the chains kept him in place.
"Shut it!" Connor shouted, taking a long sip of coffee.
"Who the fuck are you!?"
"Someone who will kick yer ass if you don't shut up!" Murphy shouted.
Vincenzo became quiet when he thought about the guard mentioning his cellmates and he frowned.
"All of you shut it," Mike said and Connor and Murphy started eating their lunch.
Suddenly, the front door slammed open as several men dressed in black body armor and riot helmets burst into the room and Mike removed the gun from his holster.
"What the hell!?" Mike growled.
"In here!" Vincenzo shouted after he saw the men and Mike looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Look under the table," Mike whispered and Connor and Murphy slid under the cement table. They were surprised to see four revolvers taped under the cement table and they removed the tape. They took hold of the guns then crawled out from under the cement table and Connor noticed the security cameras were off and the alarms weren't blaring.
"Shit. I knew this was a trap," Connor whispered.
Vincenzo watched one of the men head for the cell when he noticed the man was aiming the rifle at him and he frowned.
"What the fuck are you doing?!" Vincenzo demanded.
"What do you think I'm doing, Asshole?" the man asked.
"Wait! You can't do this!"
"This says I can."
"Aren't you here to rescue me!?"
"No. I'm here to rescue them."
"Who the hell are you talking about?!"
"The Saints."
"The Saints?" he whispered. He had been at "Papa Joe" Yakavetta's trail. "Papa Joe" was his mother's brother and he was grooming Vincenzo to be one of his underbosses. Vincenzo was in the upper balcony when the Saints entered the room then they executed his uncle. Vincenzo glared at the man then he laughed.
"You can't harm me! This glass is bulletproof!" he shouted.
"It also has airholes," the man said, pulling the trigger. The world seemed to slow down as the bullet sailed through the air, headed for one of the small holes in the glass then the bullet slammed into Vincenzo's forehead. Blood splattered at the back of the glass as the man lowered the rifle then he walked to the other cell.
In the main room, Mike looked at the other men as the sound of gunfire filled the room and he glanced over the Vincenzo's cell.
"Shit," Mike whispered as Connor and Murphy walked closer and stood next to him.
"Think we can take 'em?" Connor asked while looking at Murphy.
"What do you think?" Murphy asked with a smirk and armed the guns.
"Guys…" Mike warned, but he noticed the look in their eyes and sighed. "Shit."
Mike removed the gun from the holster as he moved closer to Connor and Murphy then he felt a sense of clam moving over him.
"Ready?" Connor asked, glancing at his twin.
"Ready," Murphy said and they held the guns tightly in their hands.
Gunfire filled the air as Mike tried not to fatally injure anyone and he noticed the twins were standing back-to-back while firing their guns. A few of the men fell to the ground as Mike, Connor and Murphy headed toward the front door and Mike pushed the buttons on the control panel. A soft click filled the air when Connor saw a small cylinder rolling across the floor then a loud bang filled the air. A bright light filled their eyes as they dropped the guns on the floor and Murphy reached out his left hand for his brother's hand. He felt Connor grabbing hold of his hand as they tried to find the front door, but someone grabbed their shoulders, turned them around and they were led to the iron door leading to the yard.
A few seconds later, they were outside and the ringing in their ears made them feel a little dizzy.
"Where are we?!" Connor shouted.
"How th'hell do I know?!" Murphy shouted.
"I think we're outside!"
"What?!"
"We're outside!"
"How can you tell?!"
"I feel th'heat of th'sun on my skin!"
"Where's Mike!?"
"Dunno!"
Connor and Murphy stretched their arms out as they walked around the yard and Murphy felt something at his feet. He reached down to pick up the basketball when he stood and the ringing in his ears started fading.
"Connor!" he called out when he felt someone touch his right shoulder and he spun around. He was about to toss the basketball when the basketball was removed from his hands and he balled his fingers into fists.
"It's me!" Connor shouted.
"You don't have t'shout. I can hear you," Murphy said.
"I can hear you, too."
"Still can't see shit."
"Guess this is what happens when someone uses a flashbang grenade."
"How do you know that's what they used?"
"Like I told you. I know shit."
"Think we should go back inside?"
"Which way's th'door?"
They grabbed hold of each other's hand as they moved around the yard, but Connor stopped when he felt the chain links of the fence.
"Christ!" he said as he moved his hand away.
"Lord's name," Murphy warned and Connor frowned.
"I touched th'fence."
"Are you ok?"
"I wouldn't be talkin' if I wasn't."
Murphy moved toward the fence when he touched the chain links and he frowned. They turned around when they started to move around the yard then stopped when they heard someone laughing.
"Do you two know how funny you look?" a voice asked and they turned around. They blinked their eyes until they could see and they were surprised to see Maggie standing in front of them.
"What th'hell?!" Connor asked and she walked closer.
"How'd you get out here?" Murphy asked.
"I used the door," Maggie said as she pointed to the open iron door which led into the kitchen.
"We're in lockdown. Shouldn't it be locked?" Connor asked.
"Look. There is no time to explain. Move."
"How? There's no way out," Murphy said.
"Then how did I get in here? The door to the kitchen is on the other side of the fence."
"She's gotta point."
"Then how'd you get in?" Connor asked.
"That!" Maggie said as she pointed to her left.
Connor and Murphy were stunned when they saw the large hole in the fence and a black sedan was parked outside the hole in the fence.
"Where th'fuck did that come from!?" Murphy asked.
"The less you know the better," Maggie said and the twins looked at each other.
"This has t'be another trap," Connor whispered.
"Aye," Murphy whispered with a nod.
"It's not a trap," Maggie said.
"Prove it," Connor said.
Sighing, Maggie walked to the car when she opened the trunk lid, removed something, closed the trunk lid then she walked back to them. She held up their rosaries, their sunglasses and their black Navy pea coats and the twins frowned.
"Where did you get those?!" Connor asked.
"Again. The less you know…"
"Fuck off," Murphy grumbled.
"Boys," Sibeal warned as he went to stand next to her. He was wearing black body armor and a riot helmet was in his right hand.
"Uncle!?" Connor asked.
"You better get a move on. He's gonna be here any second."
"Who is!?"
"Smecker."
"He's dead," Murphy said.
"No. He's not," he said then he explained about how Smecker faked his death, how hard he was working on getting them out of prison and Connor and Murphy looked at each other. They had a silent conversation then they ran to the fence. They went through the hole in the fence and all of them headed for the car.
"Uh… Why aren't we usin' th'helecopter?" Murphy asked as he looked at the helicopter.
"I don't know how to fly a helicopter," Maggie said.
Maggie got into the car as Sibeal opened the back door and Connor and Murphy got in the car. He then got into the car and Maggie started the engine. She steered the car down the path and Connor and Murphy looked back at the cellblock.
Cellblock MacManus
Smecker frowned when walked in the main room and he looked at the men in black body armor and riot helmets sitting or lying on the floor. Two of the men were moaning as they looked at the ceiling and Mike was sitting at the cement table.
"Looks like the body armor worked," Paul whispered while smiling.
Smecker walked to Vincenzo's cell as he looked at the body and the blood rolling down the glass around the transfer platform then he waked out of the cell.
"Guess that's one less thing I have to worry about."
"Who the hell are you?!" Mike demanded and Smecker gave him a blank look.
"Did you find them?" Paul asked one of the men who hadn't been injured.
"They're not here, Sir," the man said.
"What do you mean they're not here?! Warden Maxwell told me this is where he put them!"
"Shit. You're here to kill Connor and Murphy," Mike whispered while Maxwell walked in the room and Maxwell looked at Smecker. He then walked to Vincenzo's cell when he looked at Vincenzo, turned and he walked to Smecker.
"Do you have any idea what I am going to have to do to clean this up?!" Jeffrey demanded, locking eyes with Smecker.
"Like you're really upset," Paul said, folding his arms over his chest.
"Look…"
"No! You look! This was a sanctioned extraction! Those men you had locked away in here were…!"
"I know full well who they were."
"Which is why you allowed for that asshole to be put in here!" he said as he pointed toward Vincenzo. "Did you know he was sent here to kill them!?"
Maxwell glared at him as Smecker grinned, rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"Of course, you did. As did the Governor."
"And that gave you the right to come in here and shoot that man?!"
"Yeah."
"I'm going to call the Governor the moment I get back to my office!"
"You do that," Paul said as he patted Maxwell's cheek then he walked to the front door. He stopped when several men in black body armor and riot helmets standing just outside the doorway and he saw FBI printed on the front of the body armor. "Get out of my way."
"Sorry. They can't do that," Eunice said as she walked by the men then walked in the room and Smecker gave her a confused look.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're under arrest."
"For what!?"
"For the death of the Saints."
"What?!"
"You heard me."
"They're not even here!"
"Take him away," she said as she looked at the agents and Smecker growled as the FBI agents headed for him.
"Why are they listening to you?! You're no longer FBI!"
"I made a deal. My reinstatement for you."
"And you really think they're going to believe I did all this?!"
"Yep."
He heard the truth in her voice and Smecker glared at her. She watched as the FBI agents handcuffed Smecker, surrounded him with some of the agents pointing their guns at him then they them walk away.
"Where do you think they went?" Jeffrey asked, walking to her.
"You mean the Saints?"
"Yeah."
"I'd be more worried about what's going to happen to you once the press gets hold of what really happened to them."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll see," she said as she headed for the door and he felt the sweat rolling down his neck.
"Shit," he whispered and he scanned the room with his eyes before he left the room.
Mike saw Doctor Billings and Nurse Tanner standing in the doorway to the clinic and the laundry room and he sighed. Doctor Billings and Nurse Tanner went to check on the men lying or sitting on the floor and Mike walked to the shatterproof/bullet proof glass which looked into the kitchen and he saw the iron door was open.
"Guess you quit after all," Mike said as he sighed then went to help Doctor Billings.
The car headed down the road while Connor looked out the back window when he turned and he leaned back against the seat. Murphy was looking out the window while confusion and anger moved over Connor and he lightly nudged Murphy's right knee with his left knee. They locked eyes to have a silent conversation and Connor's fingers brushed over the door handle.
"I guess I should explain what's goin' on," Sibeal said suddenly, turning in the seat to look at them.
"That would be nice," Connor said with a cold tone to his voice.
Sibeal looked at his nephews as the memory of the conversation he had with their father, Il Duce, before they came back to Boston moved through his mind and he sighed.
"You see… Yer father knew you two were not handlin' exile well," Sibel said.
"That's puttin' it mildly," Murphy grumbled.
"That th'memories of what you did… Of what happened… They had not brought you any sense of peace," Sibeal continued and they glared at him.
"You're right. They didn't," Connor said.
"They were drivin' us nuts," Murphy added.
"He tried t'think of summat which would help you, but nothin' he thought of seemed t'work," Sibeal said.
"He coulda let us go home," Connor said.
"Aye. Or, at th'very least, let us do summat other than sheer sheep," Murphy said.
Sibeal knew they would be angry, but the venom in their voices caused a cold chill to move through them.
"He knew th'only thing which would make you happy is fer you t'go back an' do what you were called t'do," Sibeal said.
"Are you sayin' Da would have said yes if we told him we wanted t'leave?" Murphy asked.
"Aye, but…," he said then he paused again. "What you boys have t'understand is yer da an' th'Roman. They were… They were not well."
"Da was fine," Connor said as he snorted a breath of air.
"No. He wasn't."
The twins looked at each other then at him and Sibeal saw the questions in their eyes.
"What was wrong with him?" Murphy asked.
"He told me he was diagnosed with cancer."
The stunned look on their faces hurt his heart as Connor blinked his eyes a few times and Murphy pressed his lips into a thin line.
"What was wrong with th'Roman?" Connor asked.
"His heart was failin'," Sibeal said, pausing again. "I had gotten word from him about it an' his final wish was t'see yer da one last time."
"An' Da's idea was fer us t'go with him t'act as backup?" Murphy asked.
"That was th'original plan."
"But Concezio Yakavetta killed our priest," Connor said.
"Aye," he said with a nod. "Yer da knew you would rather avenge th'priest then help him out. That is why he told you about that instead of tellin' you th'truth."
Maggie felt like she was intruding. She lightly tapped her fingers on the steering wheel as she glanced at the rearview mirror and she saw the sadness, confusion and anger on their faces.
"Do you think th'Roman knew we were gonna be there?" Murphy asked.
"I don't think so," Sibeal said.
"But he did know Da would have wanted a final showdown instead of dyin' in a hospital," Connor said.
"Aye."
"That would explain why there were no guards at th'Roman's place," Murphy said.
"We thought those FBI eejits were th'guards," Connor said.
"Which means someone sent them t'their deaths."
"Smecker. It had t'be him."
"I think you're right. Da… Romeo…. They were critically injured. We were jus' shot up a little bit."
"Smecker worked his ass off tryin' t'get you two outta prison." Sibeal said with a sigh.
"How did he even know where we were?" Connor asked.
"It wasn't that hard. You were sent t'the prison yer dad was sent to."
"Hold on! Da was sent t'Hoag Maximum Security Prison?!" Murphy asked with wide eyes.
"Aye."
"Did Da know we were in Boston?" Connor asked.
"No."
They sat in silence as thoughts of being so close to their father moved through their minds and Sibael saw the anger in their eyes.
"That guy they put in our cellblock. Was he there t'kill us?" Murphy asked.
"Aye," Sibeal said with a nod
"Hold on. I need t'know summat. How did you find out about Smecker?" Connor asked.
"Th'Roman. He had some run ins with Smecker over th'years. He was able t'find out where Smecker was an' th'Roman told me how to get in contact with him. Didn't take long t'get Smecker t'trust me," Sibeal said and they gave him a blank look.
"An' you felt it would be ok fer him t'get his hands on us?" Murphy asked.
"I had no intention of lettin' him anywhere near you."
The twins heard the anger in their uncles' voice and they sank down slightly in the seat.
"Do you know who our new cellmate was?" Connor asked.
"He was Vincenzo Yakavetta. He was Papa Joe Yakavetta's nephew,' Sibeal said.
"Am I right in thinkin' he was there when we took down Papa Joe?"
"Aye. He was."
"Which means th'warden knew who he was an' allowed him t'be put in with us."
"Aye."
"Who did you think okayed all this shit?" Murphy asked.
"My best guess? It was th'Governor."
"Then I was right. They wanted us dead so they didn't have t'do a trial," Connor said as he tossed his hands in the air.
"What I don't get is why you're helpin' us," Murphy said as Maggie looked at him in the rearview mirror.
"Believe it or not, but I'm one of those people who believed you two were ambushed and shouldn't have been sent to prison," Maggie said.
"You're a fan?!" Connor asked with a shocked look.
"Yeah."
"How did you get in contact with Uncle?" Murphy asked.
"I had help from a friend."
"Who's yer friend?" Connor asked.
"Agent Eunice Bloom."
"You know Eunice?!"
"We've been friends since high school. And she owed me a favor. She made me go out with this asshole who wanted to date her. Turned out the guy was a loser. So… When she called and said she needed help? I applied to work at the prison. You know the rest."
"Shit."
"I thought she was on their side. Why would she help us?" Murphy asked.
"It was her way of payin' you back fer messin' things up," Sibeal said.
"Christ," Connor whispered.
"Lord's name." Murphy said and Connor nodded. Connor looked out of the window when he sighed and he shook his head. He looked down at the black Navy pea coats, sunglasses and the rosaries sitting on the floor by their feet then he looked up at Maggie.
"Stop th'car," Connor said, lightly tapping Maggie's right shoulder.
"Why?" Maggie said.
"Stop th'fuckin' car!"
Maggie pulled the car onto the side of the road when she turned the engine off and they got out of the car. She and Sibeal watched Connor and Murphy get into the car when she tapped on the window and Connor pushed the button to lower the window after he started the engine.
"Just so you know. There is money, untraceable credit cards and some burner cellphones in the glove compartment," she said.
"Thanks," Connor said.
She stood back as Connor steered the car onto the road and they watched the car speed away. Maggie saw Sibeal was looking back down the road from where they came and she sighed, folding her arms under her breasts.
"Maybe I should have taken the helicopter," she said, softly.
"I thought you said you couldn't fly it," he said.
"I can't. But it beats walking."
Nodding, he watched her heading down the road and he went to catch up with her.
Later that night - the Blue River Motel
The soft hum from the motel sign came from behind the glass as the pink and blue light filled the room and Connor was looking up at the ceiling.
Murphy was on the other bed as he looked at the wall and he blinked his eyes a few times.
"You awake?" Connor asked, glancing over at the bed.
"Kinda hard t'sleep with that fuckin' hummin'," Murphy said as he looked over at the pink and blue light.
"Better than Da's snorin'."
"Hey. No speakin' ill of th'dead."
"I wasn't."
"But you are right. It was loud."
Connor smiled as Murphy made a soft hissing giggle then he rolled onto his back.
"Do you have any idea what we're gonna do now?" Murphy asked.
"The first thing we need t'do is get outta Boston."
"How? They must have th'bus stations, th'airport an' th'docks surrounded with cops by now."
"We could find a car."
"There are a few in th'parkin' lot."
"I saw one or two with th;keys in 'em."
They became quiet as Connor looked at the ceiling and he thought about their father had said.
"Do you…? Do you still have th'constitution t'keep goin'?" Connor asked. "Do you still have faith?"
"Are you talkin' t'me or t'yerself?" Murphy asked.
"I guess both."
Murphy looked at the ceiling while he listened to the soft humming sound and he placed his hands behind his head.
"Would you think less of me if I said no?" Murphy asked.
"Would you think less of me?" Connor asked.
"No."
"Then, no, I don't think less of you."
Murphy and Connor watched the lights blinking on the ceiling when they heard the soft sound of heavenly singing and music and they sat up. A powerful voice spoke as what felt like rain fell over them and they arched their heads back. A familiar feeling filled them as the heavenly singing and music grew louder and they were breathing hard and fast. A few seconds later, the heavenly singing and music stopped and a sense of dread moved through them. They looked at each other as they tried to calm down and they wiped the water out of their eyes.
"I can't believe this," Connor said.
"Neither can I," Murphy said.
"I don't know about you, but I'm scared shitless."
"Me, too. What do we do now?"
"I have no fuckin' clue," Connor said. They went onto their backs as the soft humming sound filled the room and they held the wooden crosses tightly in their hands.
