Connor woke with a start from the sound of children's voices and he looked at the glowing numbers on the clock sitting on the night table.
"What th'fuck?" he whispered.
The voices grew louder as he sighed and he moved the bedding back. He got out of bed after turning the lamp on the night table on and he sat on the edge of the bed. He wasn't sure if he should put his jeans on as he sighed, shook his head, stood up and he headed for the door. He opened the door when he walked down the hallway and he scratched the back of his head while he yawned. He stood in the doorway to the boys' bedroom while he watched Peter, Chandler and Mark tossing clothes at each other and Connor cleared his throat.
"What is all this noise about?" Connor asked.
"We're trying to figure out what to wear to school," Chandler said.
"By wreckin' yer room?"
"We wouldn't have to wreck it if Mom didn't clean it all the time," Peter said.
Memories of the messy bedroom he shared with Murphy and hearing his mother yelling at them about how they could find anything moved through his mind and Connor smiled, rolling his eyes.
"Jus' pick summat clean an' put it on. An' you are gonna clean this up when you get home," Connor said as he turned and he nearly walked into Lisa and Darcy. "Uh…. Hi."
"What's going on?" Lisa asked when she looked in the room and her eyes widened.
"They're tryin' t'figure out what t'wear fer school."
Connor noticed she saw he was just wearing his briefs as he quickly moved sideways down the hallway then he darted into his bedroom. Lisa watched him quickly close the door when she laughed then Lisa glared at the boys.
Down the hallway, the bedroom door opened as Nichole walked in the room and she held the teddy bear against her chest. She was wearing a pink nightgown with Minnie Mouse on the front and her hair was sticking up on her head. She walked to the bed when she looked at Murphy sleeping on his stomach and his right hand was dangling down from the edge of the bed. She lightly pulled on his fingers when Murphy made a small snort and he moved his hand back up. He yawned as he rolled onto his back, opened his eyes, looked to his left and he blinked his eyes a few times.
"Mornin'!" Nichole said with a smile as she lifted her left arm in the air.
"Hmph," Murphy grumbled as he rolled onto his left side and he pulled the bedding up and over his head.
"Get up!"
"No."
"You gotta get up an' feed th'cows!"
"Nuh-unh."
"Everybody else is up!"
"Nope."
Growling, Nichole climbed up onto the bed as the teddy bear fell to the floor and she carefully climbed over his legs to sit behind him. She pushed on his back as he tried hard not to laugh and he covered his mouth with his right hand.
"Get up!" she said, pushing harder.
"No," he said with a slight crack to his voice.
"Nichole? What are you doing?" Darcy asked as she walked in the room and Nichole crossed her arms over her chest.
"Mister Murphy won't get up," Nichole complained. Darcy saw the bedding was shaking as she tried not to smile and Nichole pushed on Murphy's back.
"Don't push him."
"I gotta get him up so he can feed th'cows."
"What you have to do is go get dressed. I'll wake him up."
"Ok," she said with a sigh. Nichole carefully climbed over Murphy's legs as she slid off the bed and she looked up at her mommy. Darcy pointed to the door as Nichole walked to the doorway then she headed down the hallway. Murphy peeked out from under the bedding as Darcy smiled and she knelt down next to the bed. He looked so sweet with his sleepy eyes and messy hair and he gave her a slightly worried look.
"Do I have t'get up?' he asked in a sleepy tone.
"Yes. You have to get up," Darcy said.
"But it's so warm an' comfy under here."
"Were you always this hard to get up?"
Murphy thought for a few seconds then he moved the bedding down enough to cover his face and she moved the bedding back up.
"What do I need to do to get you out of bed?" she asked.
"Coffee," he grumbled.
"The only way you're gonna get any coffee is for you to get up and get dressed."
Murphy locked eyes with her then he moved the bedding back. She watched as he sat up, stretched his arms over his head and he made a big yawn. She noticed he wasn't wearing an undershirt when she saw the tattoo on his chest and she frowned.
"Who is Norman?" she asked and he looked down at the tattoo on his chest.
"He was my best friend grownin' up."
"Why do you have his name on your chest?"
"Ummm….," he said as he pulled his legs up then placed his wrists on his knees. "When we were growin' up, Connor an' I had a lot of friends. But my best friend…? Besides Connor…? That was Norman."
"How did you meet?"
"It was in Baby School."
"Baby School?"
"I think you call it preschool or nursery school."
"What happened to him?"
"His parents got a divorce an' his ma moved them t'London."
"When did that happen?"
"We were sixteen."
"Why did you get his name tattooed on your chest?"
"Ma said you keep all those who mean th'most t'you in yer heart. This is jus' a reminder that he's there."
"What do you tell women when they see it?"
"That it's my da's name."
"Annie said your da's name is Noah."
"Aye. It is," he said as he got out of bed and she watched him head for the bathroom. She noticed he was wearing boxers, but it was the demon tattoos near his right shoulder and the tattoo of a man's legs and feet on what looks like a piece of wood on his back which caught her attention. She stood up then headed for the doorway, but she stopped after he cleared his throat.
"That little girl of yers… She's a pip," he said with a smile.
"Yeah. She is," she said then she walked out of the room.
Murphy stood against the doorframe to the bathroom as he looked at the doorway for a while then he shook his head before he went in the bathroom. A few minutes later, Murphy walked in the kitchen with the teddy bear in his hands when he walked to the table and he dangled the teddy bear in front of Nichole's face.
"Look what I found," he said and she took the teddy bear from him.
"Thank you, Mister Murphy," she said, holding the teddy bear to her chest.
"She was gettin' all weepy about it," Mark said and she glared at him.
"Was not!"
"You were," Peter said.
"Nuh-unh!"
"Alright. That's enough," Murphy grumbled and they looked down at the table. He went to sit down next to Connor then Murphy noticed the cat sitting next to his chair and Ebony looked up at him. "Mornin'."
"Here," Darcy said as she placed the red coffee mug down in front of him and Murphy gently slid his hands around the warm coffee mug.
"Thanks."
Connor noticed how Murphy was looking at her as he smiled and Murphy took a long sip of coffee. Connor and Murphy locked eyes as they had a silent conversation and Connor shrugged his shoulders.
"Morning," made them look at the doorway and Diego and Annie entered the room. Devil was right behind them as Annie walked to the table and Diego went to feed the grey wolf.
"What do you want us t'do today?" Connor asked as he turned in the chair to look at Diego.
"You're going to help me feed the cows," Diego said, kneeling down to put some of the dogfood in the bowl. He stood while Devil started eating and Diego placed the can of dogfood in the trash can.
"What do you feed them?" Murphy said as Darcy placed a plate with some sausages, scrambled egg whites, two slices of toast and some grits in front of him.
"You'll see," Diego said as he washed his hands, dried his hands off with the towel then he went to sit next to Annie. They started eating when Connor slid a part of the newspaper toward Murphy and Murphy took the comic section. Connor had been checking to see if there were any stories about their escape from prison and he took a drink of coffee.
"Ok. Time to go," Lisa said, looking at the boys and Chandler, Peter and Mark nodded.
"Where are they going?" Connor asked.
"School."
"Do you go t'school?" Murphy asked, looking at Nichole.
"Yeah. But just until lunchtime," Nichole said.
Murphy smiled as they continued eating then the boys and Nichole got up and headed for the kitchen counter. The boys picked up the paper bag lunches as they went to get their backpacks and Nichole followed them out of the room. Lisa got up as she went to follow them and Darcy and Annie cleared the table.
"Murphy? Will you feed the cat, please?" Darcy asked.
"Where's the cat food?" he asked as he reached down to pick up the cat, stood and she pointed to the pantry. He walked to the pantry when he looked at the cans of cat foot and Ebony pawed at the can in his hand. "You want that one?"
Ebony meowed. Murphy placed the cat down on the floor and he walked to the cat bowl near the pantry. He opened the can, placed the cat food in the bowl and Ebony quickly headed for him. Murphy stood up when he went to place the can of cat food in the trash can and he headed for the sink. He washed his hands then dried his hands with the towel and Darcy smiled at him.
"Are we going t'feed th'cows now?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah. Let's go," Diego said, getting up as he kissed Annie's left cheek, made a small whistle and Devil walked to him. Diego, Murphy and Connor left the room as Annie and Darcy watched them leave and Darcy folded her arms under her breasts.
Outside, Diego led the way as they headed for the paddocks when Hank, Kenny and Jeff walked closer and Devil growled while arching its ears back.
"Stop," Diego said and the grey wolf went to stand next to him. Connor and Murphy glanced at each other as Connor shrugged and Diego arched the cowboy hat back. "I want the three of you to take the east and south paddocks while I take Connor and Murphy to the north and west paddocks."
"Yes, Boss," Hank said.
"Bet they'll run off the moment they see how they have to feed the cows," Jeff said and Kenny snorted a laugh.
"How much do you want to bet?" Connor asked in his surfer accent.
"Is everything a competition with him?" Diego asked, looking at Murphy. Murphy nodded and Diego sighed. "No one's betting anything. Get going."
"Still think they're gonna run," Jeff said as they walked off and Diego frowned.
"Let's go," Diego said. Connor and Murphy followed him as they headed for the feed truck and Diego pointed to the buckets of feed on the back of the truck. "Get in the back and I'll drive you to the paddocks."
Connor and Murphy got into the back of the truck as Diego and Devil got in the truck and Diego started the engine. The feed truck started moving while Connor looked at the balls of feed in the buckets and Murphy scrunched up his nose from the smell.
"What is this shit?" Murphy grumbled.
"Dunno," Connor said.
"It reminds me of that time th'sewer backed up outside th'apartment."
"Aye."
Diego heard what they said as he sighed and he wondered if they would run off after he told them what they had to do. He strummed his fingers on the steering wheel and he made the truck go a little faster down the path.
A short time later, Connor and Murphy saw the cows as the low mooing filled the air and Connor found the thick gloves near his left hip.
"What're we supposed t'do with these?" he asked.
"Put them on then picked up the balls of feed," Diego said.
"Then what do we do?" Murphy asked.
"You toss the feed balls at the cows."
Connor handed a pair of gloves to Murphy as they placed the gloves on and Connor scooped some of the balls of feed in his left hand. Carefully, he stood up as he made a sharp whistle then he tossed some of the balls of feed at the cows. He was glad he hadn't hit the cows as he watched the cows head for the balls of feed and he smiled.
"Don't jus' stand there!" Connor said over the sound of the engine. Murphy tossed a few balls of feed after he saw the cows following the feed truck and the truck came to a stop. "Why did we stop?"
"That," Murphy said as Connor turned to see the cows surrounding the feed truck.
"Oh fuck."
"Just toss the feed," Diego said.
"Do we have enough?"
"Yep."
Nodding, Connor and Murphy took turns feeding the cows as slim and spittle covered the gloves, their jeans and shirts and boots and Connor and Murphy smiled.
"Is that all of them?" Connor asked.
"Only in this paddock. Sit down and I'll take you to the next one," Diego said as he started the engine and the feed truck started moving. They had finished feeding the cows in the second paddock and Diego drove the feed truck out of the paddock. The gate closed behind the feed truck as the feed truck headed for the next paddock and Murphy saw some buckets near the fence. The feed truck stopped while they got out of the back of the feed truck and they placed the buckets in the back of the feed truck.
"Move out," Connor said with a small thump on the hood of the feed truck and Diego rolled his eyes while he laughed.
The feed truck headed down the path when the gate to the next paddock and the feed truck headed down the path after Diego used the remote to open the gate. The feed truck bounced and rocked on the dirt trail while they fed the cows and Diego used remote to open the gate. The feed truck rolled by the gate as the gate closed and the feed truck headed down the path of the next paddock.
"Catch!" Murphy said while tossing a ball of feed at a cow, but the ball of feed bounced off the back of the cow into the mouth the cow next to it. "Did you fuckin' see that?!"
"Good shot," Connor said with a small laugh.
Diego had glanced in the review mirror as he smiled and he shook his head. He was distracted when the soft hiss coming from the small radio caught his attention and Diego picked up the small microphone.
"What's up?" Diego asked then let go of the button.
"Got a problem, Boss," Hank's voice said.
"What sort of problem?"
"Found a dead cow."
Connor held onto the top of the feed truck after Diego hit the break and Murphy carefully stood up.
"What happened?" Connor asked.
"Hank and the guys found a dead cow," Diego explained.
"Does that happen often?" Murphy asked.
"Not that often. But sometimes coyotes get in the paddock during the night or in the early morning and take down one of 'em."
"Wouldn't we have heard summat?" Connor asked.
"Yeah. Normally."
"Are you sayin' someone might've killed th'cow?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah."
Connor and Murphy sat down as Diego carefully moved the feed truck by the cows and the feed truck headed for the gate. The gate closed behind them as Diego held tightly onto the steering wheel and a low growl bubbled in his throat.
The farmhouse
The blue car stopped near the porch and Nichole got out of the car. She smiled as she ran for Murphy and he knelt down on his haunches. She stopped in front of him as he noticed the happy look on her face and she lightly bounced on the balls of her feet.
"Did you have a good day at school?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah! Did you feed th'cows?" Nichole asked.
"Aye. I did."
"Did you have fun?"
"Aye," he said with a smile then he stood up.
"Did they do a good job?" Darcy asked while she walked to Diego and he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"A lot better than Kenny, Jeff and Hank. They're still out there," Diego said as he looked toward the paddocks.
"Told Lisa those three were slackers."
"What's a slacker?" Nichole asked.
"She means they're lazy butts," Connor said with a grin and she giggled.
"Don't tell her things like that," Darcy said with a sigh as she rolled her eyes and he shrugged his shoulders. "Go get cleaned up."
"Yeah. You're stinky," Nichole said, moving her right hand in front of her face.
"If we have to," Connor said with a defeated look on his face and they headed for the farmhouse.
"I wanna go with you," Nichole said, running to Murphy.
"Why?" Murphy asked.
"To make sure you clean up and not just pretend."
"We wouldn't do that!" Connor said with a stunned look. She gave them a doubting look as they laughed and they headed for the farmhouse. Darcy snorted a breath of air when she saw the angry look on Diego's face and he lightly shook his head.
"Is there something wrong?" Darcy asked.
"Hank said they found a dead cow," Diego said.
"Shit," she whispered.
"I told Hank not to touch anything."
"Did you call the vet?"
"Yep. He said he was busy and can't get here until tomorrow."
"Guess we should go tell Annie and Lisa," she said and he nodded. Making a little whistle, Diego followed Darcy and Devil walked close behind them.
Later that night, Connor and Murphy walked out onto the porch as they headed for the railing and they leaned against the railing. Connor looked through the pockets of his jeans when he removed a pack of cigarettes and he offered a cigarette to Murphy. Murphy took the cigarette when he removed the lighter from his jeans pocket and he lit the cigarettes. They smoked the cigarettes when Connor sighed and he crossed one ankle over the other.
"Did you see th'papers?" Connor asked.
"Aye," Murphy said with a nod.
"You'd think they'd have our pictures plastered all over th'place after we escaped prison."
"Wonder if someone issued a media blackout."
"Do you think it was Smecker?"
"Wouldn't put it pass him."
They smoked the cigarettes for a few seconds and Connor blew out a ring of smoke.
"Still don't get why he wants our help so badly," Connor said.
"You're th'one who watches those action thrillers. Why do you think he wants our help?" Murphy asked. Connor smoked the cigarette for a few seconds then sighed and he lowered his head.
"I should've let Rocco kill him when he had the chance," Connor said.
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Remember when we followed him into th'churh?"
"Aye. I think he was drunk."
Connor told him what happened in the confessional as Murphy blew out a smoke ring then sighed.
"I still don't like th'idea of Annie tellin' Uncle where we are," Murphy said as he flicked some ashes off the end of the cigarette.
"You think Uncle will betray us t'Smecker?"
"Dunno."
"He was th'one got us away from Smecker when we escaped prison."
"Aye. But I still feel like he's gonna find us."
"You mean Smecker?" he asked and Murphy nodded. They stood in silence when they dropped the cigarettes, crushed them under their feet and they went back inside.
Boston - McGinty's
The door opened while the music played over the speakers and the sound of voices filled the air. Eunice pulled up the collar of her coat as she walked to the bar and she sat on the barstool reserved for Murphy
"Um… Sorry, but you can't sit there," the man to her left said and she looked at him.
"Why not?" she asked.
"It's reserved," Doc said. She hadn't heard Doc walk to her. She removed the sunglasses she was wearing and he gave he a slightly shocked look. "Oh. It's you, Lass."
"Hello, Doc," Eunice said.
"You still have to move."
"Why?"
"That's Murphy's spot."
"Can I sit there?"
"No. That's Connor's spot."
The door opened while Sibeal walked in and Eunice turned to look at him. She stood when she walked to him and he pointed to the booth. They went to sit at the booth when they sat across from each other and Eunice frowned, placing her elbows on the table. Sibeal waited for her to say something when she sighed and lowered her elbows.
"Did you hear about what I did to Smecker?" Eunice asked.
"Aye. Smecker said you turned him over to the FBI," Sibeal said.
"Had to so they could get away."
"Did you really make a deal with th'FBI?"
"Yeah."
"But Smecker was able t'talk his way outta goin' t'jail himself after you had him arrested."
"Yeah. Heard about that."
"Did you get in trouble?"
"No. But he is a marked man."
"Meanin'?"
"What do you think it means?"
"I don't think th'FBI will have t'worry. He's outta th'picture."
"Someone killed him?" she asked with a shocked look on her face.
"Not so much as put him in th'hospital."
"What happened?"
"We came here t' talk with him," he said as he glanced over at Doc and her eyes followed his. "After I accidentally said Smecker's name, he wasn't happy t'see us. Pointed a rifle at us an' told us t'leave."
Memories of her first meeting with Connor, Murphy and Doc moved through her mind as she sighed and lowered her head.
"Connor and Murphy mean a lot to him," she said, softly.
"An' he t'them. He's like their second father."
"Are you saying he shot Smecker with the rifle?"
"No. But he did send some of th'others after us after we left."
"They beat him up?"
"Aye."
Eunice wondered what he wasn't saying as Doc walked closer with a small tray and two glasses of whiskey was sitting on the tray. He placed the small tray on the table then he walked away and Eunice looked at the glasses.
"I don't think he put anythin' in it," Sibeal said as he picked up the glass and he took a sip of the whiskey. He swallowed as the soft burn moved down his throat and he smiled.
"How long before Smecker's out of the hospital?" she asked.
"It's gonna be a long time. Those boys really beat th'shit outta him," he said as he leaned back against the seat.
"Is he in a coma?"
"A light one."
"Any idea when he'll wake up?" she asked and he shook his head. "Do you know which hospital he was taken to?"
"No"
"What did happen after we shut the prison down? You were supposed to bring them back to the office," Eunice said.
Sibeal stayed silent as he sipped on the whiskey. He had his reasons for not trusting Smecker, but he had bigger reasons for not trusting her.
"They hijacked th'car," he said after a few seconds.
"Connor and Murphy hijacked the car?"
"Aye. Before you ask… Th'car didn't have any plates or a GPS."
"Which means there isn't any way for us to track them."
"I am afraid not."
Eunice sat in silence for a while when she shot back the whiskey, made a small cough, moved out of the booth then stood up. She gave him a warning look before she headed for the door and she left.
Sibeal sipped on the whiskey as he looked over at Doc and Doc gave him a small nod. Sighing, Sibeal placed the glass on the table as he frowned, closed his eyes and he started praying for Connor and Murphy's safety.