McGinty's
Doc served the beers when the door opened and he watched Sibeal walk in the room. Doc noticed Sibeal was wearing a black sweater, a black leather belt, black pants and black leather boots and he had a serious look on his face. Sibeal looked at the two barstools reserved for Murphy and Connor and he went to sit on the barstool near Murphy's barstool.
"Evenin," Sibeal said with a nod.
"Evenin'," Doc said with a nod. "What can I get you?"
"A whiskey."
Nodding, Doc walked away while the men sitting next to Sibeal watched him and Doc walked back. He placed the glass of whiskey on the counter while Sibeal paid for the whiskey and he took a sip.
"Been a while," Doc said, leaning against the edge of the bar.
"Aye."
Doc noticed Sibeal glancing over at the door to the office when Doc nodded and Sibeal stood. They walked to the door to the office when Doc unlocked then opened the door and they walked in the room. Doc closed the door and Sibeal walked to the center of the room.
"What happened?" Doc asked, walking to him.
"Do you want me t'be blunt?" Sibeal asked.
"Aye. Has something happened to Connor an' Murphy?"
"Not that I know of."
"Then why are you here?"
"I am here t'warn you."
"Warn me?"
"Smecker is awake."
"I see."
"An' he knows my nephews are no longer in Boston."
"What is he gonna do?"
"He wishes t'use someone close t'them t'call them outta hidin'."
Doc thought for a second when he realized who Sibeal was talking about and his eyes widened.
"Fuck," Doc grumbled then he walked to where he had the bottle of whiskey, removed the cork, poured some whiskey into the glass and he took a long drink.
"I won't let him do it," Sibeal said.
"How can you stop him?"
"Simple. I'll make sure he doesn't find you."
"How will you do that?"
"By hidin' you."
"I can't just leave. I gotta bar to run."
"I understand."
"An' I can take care of myself. Shit."
"I can see that."
"I also know the boys wouldn't want me to go."
"You're…."
The sudden sound of gunfire filled the air as they fell to the floor and they heard the sound of men shouting and quick footsteps. Sibeal pointed to the door as he carefully crawled toward the door, opened the door enough to look outside and he saw men armed with guns standing over some of the regulars who were lying on the floor. He looked back at Doc, who was curled into a ball and praying, and Sibeal signaled Doc not to move. Sibeal slid outside when he kept the door open enough for Doc to hear and see and Sibeal walked to the bar.
"What th'hell is goin' on here?!" Sibeal demanded and a man carrying a rifle turned to look at him.
"Who the hell are you?!" the man asked.
"I'm th'owner of this bar."
"Is your name "Doc"?" one of the other men asked.
"Aye! Get outta my bar or…"
Sibeal walked behind the bar when he removed the rifle and he pointed the rifle at them.
"Shit!" one of the men said.
"Look. We don't wanna cause any trouble," the first man said.
"Too late fer that!" Sibeal said.
The armed men looked at each other when they slowly backed up then stopped when the regulars rose to their feet and the armed men looked at them. Before they could move, the armed men were attacked by the regulars and Sibeal headed for the office. He opened the door a little wider when he signaled for Doc to leave the room and Doc slowly got to his feet. Sibeal saw how shaky he looked as he went to help Doc walk and they headed for the back exit. Doc unlocked the delivery door as he opened the door and they quickly left the bar.
"Fuck," Doc repeated over and over as he shook his head and Sibeal held him to his side.
"I swear t'you on my immortal soul I had nothin' t'do with this," Sibeal assured him and Doc heard the truth in his voice.
"Where are we going?" Doc asked, softly.
"Somewhere safe."
They headed out of the alleyway when he helped Doc get in the car, closed the door, quickly went around to the other side of the car, opened the door, got in the car and he closed the door. After starting the engine, Sibeal put the car in gear and the car headed down the road.
Houston
The cars arrived at the police station as the deputy, Connor, Murphy and Diego got out of the cars and Murphy and Connor looked at the red brick building. They put their sunglasses on while Murphy moved the cowboy hat forward and Connor slid his hands into the pocket of his jeans. Diego led the way as they walked inside and Connor scanned the room with his eyes.
"Guys," made them turn to see Lisa walking closer and Diego saw the anger in Lisa's eyes.
"Where are they?" Diego asked while Lou walked closer and stood next to Diego.
"They're in the interrogation room," Lou said.
"They say anything?" Connor asked with the surfer accent. Lou noticed he and Murphy hadn't taken the sunglasses off and Lou pressed his lips into a tight line.
"No. They wanted a lawyer first. Luckily, we were able to get hold of Mike Gold."
Lou led them by the desks when they headed for a door and he opened the door. Connor, Diego and Murphy walked by him as they headed into the observation room and he closed the door. They headed for the two-way mirror as Connor and Murphy looked into the next room and they looked at the man sitting at the table. Diego noticed they were keeping out of the range of the security camera on the wall and the red flags in his head returned.
"Who are you guys?" he thought.
"Is that Greg?" Connor asked in his surfer accent, looking at the man with a thin build, shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a black and white checkered shirt, jeans and brown work boots. He had a long face and nose, thing lips and his ears stuck out slightly from under his hair.
"Yeah," Diego said with a nod.
"Who's the other guy?"
Sitting next to him was Michael Gold. Mike wore a white linen shirt, black pants and white sneakers. He had white hair peppered with black and gray hair, a chubby face, nice lips and a long nose. His eyes were green and he had his fingers folded together while his hands sat on the edge of the table.
"That's Mike Gold," Diego said and he saw the angry look on their faces.
The door opened while Lou and Lisa walked in the room and they sat down on the chair across from them. He looked at Greg as Greg looked down at his hands and Lou cleared his throat.
"Right. Let's get this over with," Lou said, moving the pad of paper and a pen toward him. "State your name."
"Greg Wilson," Greg said.
"What's your place of employment?"
"The Golden Cactus Ranch."
"Is that right?" Lou asked Lisa and she nodded.
"Lisa. I'm sorry. I never meant to do it," Greg said with a pleading look on his face.
"Just tell us what happened."
Greg looked at Michael and Michal nodded.
"You know I got a new rifle for my birthday, right?" he asked as he looked at Lisa.
"Yeah," Lisa said.
"What is your brother's name?" Lou asked.
"Come on, Lou. You know his name," Greg said, pointing at the deputy standing near the door.
In the other room, Murphy and Connor looked at the deputy and Connor frowned.
"That's his brother?" Connor asked with the surfer accent.
"Yeah," Diego said.
"Sit down," Lou said to Deputy Carl Wilson and Carl went to sit down next to Greg. Lou glanced from one brother to the other then he sighed. "What kind of rifle was it?"
"It was… It was a sniper rifle," Greg said.
"Why would you need a sniper rifle?"
"You don't have to answer that," Mike said.
"No. It's ok," Greg said then he looked at Lou. "I hunt."
"What kind of animal would you be hunting that you need a sniper rifle?!" Lou demanded.
"Deer."
"Are the deer armed with sniper rifles, too?!"
"Uh…."
In the other room, Connor and Murphy snorted a laugh then they looked at Diego while Diego placed his right hand against the wall and he flexed the fingers of his left hand in and out.
"May we just stick to what happened to the cow?" Mike asked.
"Fine," Lou said with a sigh.
"Look. I know you have a zero tolerance when it comes to guns or rifles except for the tranquilizer rifles….," Greg said, leaning his forearms on the top of the table and he looked at Lisa.
"Yeah. I do," Lisa said.
"Where did you keep the rifle?" Lou asked.
"Don't answer that," Mike said.
In the other room, Diego growled while Connor glanced at Murphy and Murphy shrugged his shoulders.
"Why did you shoot the cow?" Lou asked.
"I decided I wanted to practice firing the rifle," Greg said, sitting back in the chair. "I went to the paddock… "
"What time was that?"
"Just before sunrise. Not sure why there were cows in the paddock. They're usually in the barn."
"He's right," Lisa said.
In the other room, Diego stopped himself from hitting the wall as he started pacing and Connor titled his head to one side.
"Hank told me all the cows were in the barn that night," Diego grumbled.
"Know why he would've left them out in the paddock?" Connor asked with the surfer accent.
"No. But I am going to find out when we get back to the ranch."
"Isn't it dangerous to leave cows in the paddock at night?" Mike asked.
"Yeah. Coyotes would get them," Lisa said.
"Then how did you know the cow had been shot?" Mike asked.
"We found a bullet hole in the back of the cow's head," Lou said.
"That could have happened after the cow got attacked."
"Let's get back to why he shot the cow," Lisa said and Mike frowned.
"Like I said," Greg said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I went out to the paddock. I found a rock not too far from the paddock and I went to set up the shot."
"Hold it. How the hell could you see where you were going? You said it was before sunrise. That means it would still be dark out," Lou said.
"I bought a flashlight."
"And you didn't hear or see the cows? They would have made a sound when you walked to the fence."
"I didn't go near the fence."
"They would have sensed something was out there."
"Guess they didn't give a shit 'cause they knew it was me."
"What happened next?"
"I aimed the rifle."
"Didn't you think the sound of rifle fire wouldn't wake people up or scare the cows?"
"Yeah. I did. That's why I put the silencer on."
In the other room, Diego's hands were shaking as he headed for the door, but Connor cut him off.
"Get outta my way," Diego grumbled.
"Look. I know you want to go in there and beat the shit out of him. But that's just going to cause more trouble," Connor explained with the surfer accent.
"Aren't either of you curious to why he needs a sniper rifle with a silencer?"
"Ain't saying we're not. Just want you to calm down. Ok?"
"Yeah," Diego said with a sigh and they walked back to the mirror.
"I think my client has said enough," Mike said, folding his fingers together.
"No. I don't think he's said shit," Lou said.
"Fine," Greg said, leaning forward to place his elbows on the top of the table and he pressed his knuckles together. "While I was aiming the rifle, I heard the sounds of coyotes, got startled and fired the rifle. That's when I heard the sound of the cow bellowing. I panicked. Knew I would be in deep shit if I told Diego, Miss Lisa or anyone what I did. I took the rifle, headed back to the bunkhouse, hid the rifle and went back to bed."
"What about when we found the cow? You were there. You could have told us," Lisa said.
"I didn't want to get arrested!"
"Then why turn yourself in?" Lou asked.
"I told him to," Carl said.
"He told you what happened?!"
"Yeah. He called me after we left the ranch."
"And you didn't tell me?!"
Lou looked from Greg to Lisa while Lisa frowned and Lou noticed she wasn't buying what Greg was saying.
"Are you going to press charges?" Lou asked as he looked at Lisa
"Why would she press charges? It was an accident," Mike said.
"An accident that wouldn't have happened if he hasn't brought the rifle to my ranch," Lisa said then she looked at Lou. "I want to press charges."
"What?!" Greg asked with wide eyes.
"And I want to press charges against him," she said as she pointed to Carl.
"Me?!" Carl asked with a shocked look.
"You bought him the damn thing."
"She's right," Lou said as he got up, walked to the door, opened the door and he signaled for one of the deputies. The deputy walked to him and Lou talked to him in a whisper. The deputy nodded when he walked to Carl and Greg and they stood up. The deputy read them their rights before placing the handcuffs on their wrists then led them out of the room. Mike sat back in the chair while Lisa stood and she walked to Lou.
"Let's go to my office," Lou said. Mike stood as he followed them out of the room and Lou closed the door behind them.
In the other room, Connor and Murphy looked at Diego as he placed his hands against the glass and he lowered his head. They waited for him to say something when he lightly pushed off the glass and Diego headed for the door.
"Let's go," Diego said and he opened the door. They followed him out of the room when they headed down the hallway and the muscles on Diego's jaw twitched.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
The blue car pulled up to the front of the farmhouse when the doors opened and Diego, Connor and Murphy got out of the blue car. They closed the doors when Diego walked away and they watched him heading for the bunkhouse. They went to follow him as Diego stood in front of the door to the bunkhouse and he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Stay here," he said and they nodded. Diego opened the door as the door slammed into the wall and the ranch hands gave him a startled look. "Hank!"
"Yeah, Boss?" Hank asked as he walked out of the kitchen.
"We found the shooter."
"Who was it?" Kenny asked.
"It was Greg Wilson."
"Greg?! Why did he do it?!" Jeff asked.
"He said it was an accident."
"Why was he out there in the middle of the night?" Hank asked.
"Said he wanted to practice using the rifle he got for his birthday."
"I remember Carl giving it to him," Kenny said.
"Did anyone remind him of the zero tolerance for rifles and guns?!"
The ranch hands looked at each other while Diego sighed and he rubbed his face with his hands.
"Shit," Diego sighed.
"Look. What's the big deal? It was just a cow," Hank said.
"The big deal is he shouldn't've brought the rifle here in the first place! It was dark out! He might have shot any of you, me, Lisa, Darcy, Annie or the kids!"
"What would the kids be doing out in the paddock at that time of night?"
Diego glared at him while Connor and Murphy peeked in from the doorway and Diego slapped his hands against his thighs.
"Why were there cows out there at that time of night?! All of them were supposed to be in the barn!"
"I guess someone forgot 'em."
Diego walked to Hank as they locked eyes and Hank gave him a blank look.
"Lisa is pressing charges against Greg," Diego said with a small growl. "You value your job? I would pray she doesn't fire your ass once she finds out."
"You're not gonna tell her, right?" Hank asked.
The ranch hands watched Diego storm toward the door when he left the room and he slammed the door behind him. He looked at Connor and Murphy then he walked off and they followed him. They headed for the farmhouse while Diego glanced at them and he made a deep sigh.
"You didn't answer my question. Are you two cops?" Diego asked.
"No. We're not," Connor said.
"Then how do you know so much about guns and police work?"
"We can't tell you," Murphy said.
"Why not?"
"You an' everyone on this ranch would get in trouble," Connor said.
"An' we don't want that," Murphy said.
"Which is why Murphy an' I are gonna leave."
Diego thought while they kept walking when he frowned and he shook his head.
"You guys aren't in the mob, are you?" Diego asked.
"Nope," Connor said.
"Are you on the run from them?"
Connor and Murphy glanced at each other.
"Shit. That's it," Diego said, softly. They became quiet as they approached the farmhouse and they went up the stairs. Diego opened the door as they walked inside and Annie and Darcy walked to them.
"Lisa called. She said Greg Wilson was the shooter," Darcy said.
"Yeah. He was," Diego said with a nod.
"Did he say why he did it?" Annie asked. She saw the serious looks on her brothers' faces and she walked to them. "What's wrong?"
"Can we talk about it later?" Connor asked and she nodded.
"He said he wanted to practice shooting the rifle he got for his birthday," Diego said.
"Lisa would never allow him to have a rifle," Darcy said.
"That's why she's pressing charges."
"Damn," Annie sighed.
"She said she's on her way home and she hopes the boys are in bed," Darcy said.
"Are they?" Connor asked as he looked toward the stairs. He thought he saw someone peeking around the corner as he and Murphy headed for the stairs and Murphy smiled. Murphy crawled up the stairs when he looked around the corner and he saw Nichole smiling at him.
"An' what are you doin' up?" he asked.
"I was waitin' up for you," Nichole said as he stood up. Murphy reached down to lift her off the floor and he held her in his arms.
"Let's get you back t'bed," he said and she placed her left cheek on his right shoulder.
Connor had followed him upstairs as he watched Murphy go into Nicole's room then Connor headed for the boy's bedroom. He barely opened the door as he looked into the room and he could just see Peter and Mark sleeping on the bunkbed. Chandler was sitting at the desk as he looked at the computer screen and Connor leaned against the doorframe. Connor made a soft whistle as Chandler turned to look at him and Connor smiled.
"Bedtime," Connor said, pointing to the bed.
"Ok," Chandler said as he saved the report he was working on, turned the computer's power off, got up and he walked to the bed. Connor watched him get into bed as Chandler pulled the covers up and Connor walked into the hallway, closing the door. He looked at the door to Nichole's room and he leaned against the wall.
In Nichole's room, Murphy knelt next to the bed as he tucked the teddy bear under the bedding and she smiled. He smiled back and he knelt down next to the bed.
"Mister Murphy?" Nichole asked with a yawn.
"Aye?" he asked, leaning his forearms on the bed then he placed his chin on the back of his hands.
"Are you goin' away?"
Murphy wasn't sure what to tell her and he rubbed the top of his head with his right hand.
"Am I gonna go away?" he asked and she nodded.
"Mister Greg's goin' away."
"That's because he did a bad thing.
"What did he do?"
"He hurt one of th'cows."
"Why?"
"He said it was an accident."
Nichole yawned as her eyes started closing and Murphy moved the bedding up.
"I don't want y'to go," Nichole grumbled.
"I'm not goin' anywhere," he whispered and she drifted off to sleep. He slowly stood when he walked to the door and he left the room. He closed the door enough so some of the hallway light could go in the room then he looked at Connor. Connor lightly pushed off the wall and they headed down the hallway.
"Guys?" made them turn and Annie walked toward them. She stood in front of them when she noticed the worried and sad look in their faces. "What's wrong?"
"Nothin'," Murphy said.
"We're jus' tired," Connor said.
"Ok," Annie said with a nod and she watched them go into their rooms. Sighing, she walked down the hallway then downstairs and the door to Murphy's room opened. He walked across the hall when he lightly knocked on the door to Connor's room and Connor opened the door. He moved back so Murphy could move by him then Connor closed the door. He watched Murphy pacing when Murphy sat on the edge of the bed and Connor went to sit next to him.
"Are we leavin'?" Murphy asked, looking down at his hands.
"We should," Connor said, rubbing his face with his hands then puffed out a breath of air.
"Nichole doesn't want me to go."
"She told you that?"
"Aye."
"What makes her think we're leavin'?"
"She heard us talkin' about Greg."
They sat in silence when Connor carefully stretched his arms out and Murphy ducked.
"Think we should sleep on it?" Murphy asked.
"Sounds like a good idea," Connor said. He watched Murphy stand up when Murphy walked to the door, turned and Connor looked at him.
"Maybe we should stay. It would look suspicious if we leave right after Greg got arrested," Murphy said.
"True. An' I want t'find out why he needed a sniper rifle," Connor said.
Nodding, Murphy left the room and Connor went to get ready for bed after he heard the sound of the door to his brother's room closing. After stripping down to his boxers, Connor closed the door, walked to the bed, moved the bedding back and got into bed. Moving the bedding up, he placed his hands behind his head while he looked at the ceiling and Connor frowned.
"Why did he need a sniper rifle?" he whispered before going on his right side and he closed his eyes.
Later that night, Annie snuggled next to Diego's right side as her head rested on his chest and he breathed softly in her ear. They stayed silent as his heart thrummed in her ear and she moved her fingers along his right side.
"Annie?" he asked and she looked at him.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"I think I did something stupid."
"What did you do?"
"I told Connor and Murphy what I did before I came here."
"Oh."
"They did seem a little uneasy about it."
"Yeah. I'm sure they were," she said, looking at the wall. Her mind started wondering if Connor and Murphy would be there in the morning and Diego felt her body tensing.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah."
"Uh… I asked them if they were cops, too," he said and she looked at him.
"What did they tell you?"
"They didn't tell me anything. That's when I told them I thought they were hiding from the mob."
"What did they say?"
"Nothing," he said then he sighed. "Do you know…? Do you know what's going on with them?"
"Yeah. I know," she said.
"Can you tell me what it is?"
"No."
"Do you think they're going to be here in the morning?"
"Dunno."
The bedroom became quiet while Diego looked up at the ceiling and he felt the tears she was shedding moving down his chest.