Back at the compound, Sam and Hank walked to the red brick building where Hank had placed Lisa, Darcy, Nichole and the boys and Sam growled.
"How can you be so stupid?!" Sam growled.
"I did what you told me to," Hank said.
"I told you to bring my sons here! Not Lisa, Darcy and Darcy's brats!"
They stopped in front of the screen door as Sam unlocked the screen door and he opened the screen door. They headed into the back room when Sam saw that the back room was empty, saw the open window, turned, removed the gun from the inside of his suit jacket and he pointed the gun at Hank. Before Hank could move, Sam fried the gun until the clip was empty and Hank fell to the floor. Sam stepped over the body when he left the room, headed outside and he walked toward two of the guards.
"Hank's dead," Sam said as he walked away and the men ran to the red brick building, opened the screen door then they ran inside.
The interstate
The white truck moved down the road while Diego kept his eyes on the road and he glanced at Connor Murphy and Annie's reflections in the rearview mirror. He knew Connor and Murphy could take care of themselves, but Annie…
"No," Connor said and Diego glanced at him.
"No what?" Diego asked.
"You are not droppin' us off an' goin' after that asshole on yer own."
"Connor…"
"I said no."
"Look. I get it. You care about Lisa."
"Damn right I do."
"And Murphy cares about Darcy."
"Aye. I do," Murphy said.
"And you know I care about Annie."
"I care about you, too," Annie said and he smiled.
"Does this have to do with what's going to happen to you? Is this how you want to go out?"
"I've been thinkin' about that ever since we left the ranch," Connor said.
"And…?"
"I have no fuckin' clue."
"Neither do I," Murphy said.
"But I do know one thing. If this is how we're supposed t'do this then I guess we'll have t'face it with our heads held high"
"What movie did you get that from?!" Murphy asked with a grin.
"Can't remember."
They became quiet as the white truck headed down the road when Connor felt a cold chill move through him and he squinted his eyes.
"What is that?" he asked and Diego looked at the fuzzy object on the horizon. Diego slowed the white truck down as the fuzzy object moved closer and they saw it was an abandoned house at the end of the dirt driveway.
"Are you kidding me?!" Diego whispered, pulling the white truck to the side of the road a short distance from the house then stopped the white truck.
"Why are we stoppin'?" Connor asked.
"I have no idea."
Putting the white truck in park then turning the engine off, Diego removed the Barrettas from the glove compartment, opened the driver's side door and he got out of the white truck. The gray wolf got out of the white truck as Diego closed the driver's side door and Murphy helped Annie get out of the back of the white truck. Connor and Murphy removed the Barrettas out of the black Navy pea coats and Diego handed one of the Barrettas to Annie. They stood at the side of the road when Diego pointed to the large rocks and they ducked down. Connor, Murphy, Devil and Annie followed Diego to the large rocks as they knelt next to the large rocks and Diego quickly looked at the house. The house was one story, made of white brick and had a gray shingled roof. The windows were boarded up and some of the shingles on the roof were missing. Diego saw the black van and two motorcycles parked near the side of the house and Diego knelt down.
"Looks like someone's there," Diego said.
"I count one van an' two motorcycles," Connor said.
"What do you wanna do?" Murphy asked.
"Not sure why, but we need to go to the house," Diego said.
Sighing, Connor nodded and Diego looked at the next group of large rocks.
Diego wished it was night as he looked up at the sun and he frowned. They quickly moved to the next group of large rocks as the heat caused sweat to roll down their faces and bodies and Connor regretted wearing black clothing.
A short time later, they arrived at the house as Connor looked at the motorcycles and the black van and Murphy nudged his right side. Diego saw there were no windows on this side of the house as he scanned the area with his eyes then he pointed for them to go to the back of the house.
Cautiously, they moved toward the back of the house as Diego looked around the corner, but he only saw what looked like an old outhouse and some rusted car parts. Ducking down, he motioned for them to come closer and they moved along the wall. Diego held up his right hand and he pointed to the window. Connor saw the window was boarded up as he stood and he tried to see through the gaps in the boards.
"See anything?" Diego whispered.
"No. Too dark," Connor whispered.
Diego, Connor, Murphy, the gray wolf and Annie stood as they headed for the second window and the window was boarded up. Diego tried to see through the gaps in the boards, but only saw darkness and he growled. Connor saw the door and another boarded up window as he ducked down and he headed for the window. Murphy followed him when Connor stood and he tried to see through the gaps in the boards.
"Try the door," Diego whispered after he, the gray wolf and Annie walked to them and Connor nodded.
They moved against the wall when they arrived at the door and Connor saw the glass in the door was broken. Connor put on his black leather gloves after putting the Barrettas away then he reached for the door handle and he turned the door handle.
The door opened a crack as he stood against the wall, removed his black leather gloves, removed the Barrettas from the holsters inside the black Navy pea coat and he toed the door opened some more. Using the fingers of his right hand to count to three, Diego nodded and Connor kicked the door. The door slammed against the inside wall as they waited for someone to run outside, but nothing happened and Connor quickly looked inside.
They slid into the room and Diego could see they were in a kitchen. The black and white floor titling was chipped in places and a metal table with a white top, four metal chairs with white padding was around the table. The light green wallpaper was peeling off the walls and three of the cupboard doors were hanging off their hinges. There was a white stove, a white sink and a white refrigerator and Connor swore he heard the soft humming sound coming from the refrigerator. Connor walked to the refrigerator when he leaned his head toward the refrigerator and the humming came from behind the door.
"What th'hell?" he whispered.
"What's wrong?" Diego whispered.
"Th'refrigerator has power."
"What?!"
Diego walked to him when he heard the soft humming sound coming from the refrigerator and Diego frowned.
"That can't be right."
"Do you think they have a generator?" Annie asked
Murphy looked around the kitchen while the gray wolf sniffed the floor, looked toward the doorway and its tail moved back and forth.
"I think Devil found summat," Murphy whispered.
Diego and Connor quickly headed for the wall as Murphy pulled Annie and the gray wolf closer and they watched Connor and Diego standing against the wall. Connor held the handles of the Barrettas tightly in his hands while Diego went to stand next to him and he had the Barrettas in his hands. Connor listened to the house when he heard the sound of something moving and he signaled for them to move into the hallway. Devil followed them when the gray wolf barked and Connor saw something standing in the shadows.
"Connor?" Lisa asked, pointing the rifle at him. She walked closer as the light from the kitchen made it easier for him to see her and he felt his heart slamming in his chest.
"Stop," Connor said and she stopped.
"It's ok. It's me. Lisa."
"Where are Darcy, Nichole and the boys?"
"They're in the bedroom."
"Take us t'em," Connor said and she was surprised with the cold tone to his voice.
"I will if you, Diego and Murphy lower your guns. Where did you get them, by the way?"
Connor didn't answer or lower the Barrettas.
She pointed with the rifle as he and Murphy carefully walked by her and Diego followed. Lisa lowered the rifle as she and Annie headed down the hallway and Connor and Murphy pointed the Barrettas into the other rooms and Lisa frowned
"What is wrong with them?" she thought.
They came to a closed door as Connor went against the wall on one side of the door and Murphy stood on the other side and Connor looked at her. She walked to the door when she knocked on the door and the door opened enough for Connor to see Peter looked out at her.
"Open the door," Lisa said and Peter opened the door.
"What's going on?" Darcy asked and Murphy felt his heart beating faster.
"Hi," Diego said with a grin as he, Annie and the gray wolf appeared next to Lisa.
"Diego!? Annie?! What are you doing here?!"
"Rescuing you."
"How did you know where we were?!"
"Not really sure."
"Is…? Is Mister Connor with you?" Peter asked.
Connor felt his heart going faster when he placed the Barrettas in the holsters of the black Navy pea coat and he walked to stand behind Lisa.
"Aye," Connor said and Lisa got out of the way as Chandler and Peter ran to him. He held them as he blinked the tears out of his eyes and Lisa gave him a small smile.
"Where's Murphy?" Darcy asked.
"Right here," Murphy said after he put the Barrettas in the holsters of the black Navy pea coat. Lisa and Connor got out of the way as Darcy ran out of the room and hugged him. He felt Darcy shaking as he rocked her and held onto the back of her head.
"Papa!" Nichole shouted as she ran out of the room while Darcy got out of the way and Murphy knelt down on his haunches. Murphy carefully stood as he held Nichole in his arms and she placed her right cheek against his left shoulder.
"Don't you want a hug?" he asked Mark and Mark ran to Murphy, hugging him.
"How did you get away from Hank?" Diego asked.
"We climbed out an open window," Mark said.
"You what!?" Connor asked and the boys took turns telling them what happened.
"Shit," Diego whispered.
"Then what happened?" Murphy asked.
Lisa told them what happened as Connor gave her an impressed look and he pulled her into a hug. She didn't want to let him go. She could smell the cigarette smoke coming from the black Navy pea coat and he leaned his head against hers.
"Do you know who those guys were?" Connor asked as he looked at Lisa.
"No. And the weird thing is we didn't see them or hear them approaching. They were just there," Lisa said.
"The guy who was in the back of the truck with us was pretty cool," Peter said.
"But he told really dumb jokes," Mark said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah," Chandler agreed.
"How did you end up here?" Diego asked.
"I have no idea. I guess we must have fell asleep at some point. When we woke up, we were here," Lisa explained.
"Did you check the house?"
"Yep. We have air conditioning…"
Connor had noticed the air was cooler in the house than outside and he frowned.
"We also have electricity and there is food and bottles of milk, juice and water in the refrigerator and the cabinets."
"Do you think this is some sort of safehouse?" Connor asked as he looked at Diego.
"If it is then there'd be guards," Diego said.
"What about those motorcycles and that van? They have to belong to someone," Annie said as she went to hug Lisa, Darcy and the kids. The gray wolf was sniffing and licking Lisa, Darcy and the kids and Nichole giggled.
"True."
"Can we go home now?" Mark asked and Murphy looked at him.
"Yeah," Diego said and they headed down the hallway.
Connor noticed Lisa was looking at her hands after she had placed the strap of the rifle over her left shoulder and he gently took her right hand.
"Did you hurt yer hands?" he asked.
She liked him holding her hand as Lisa shyly ducked her head and he waited for her to say something.
"I thought I did while I was climbing the tree. But, when I woke up, they were fine," Lisa said and he wrapped their fingers together.
They walked outside as Diego led them to the white truck and he helped the boys, the gray wolf and Nichole into the back of the white truck. Connor had stopped to take some plastic bottles of water out of the refrigerator and he handed the plastic bottles of water to the boys.
"Ok," Diego said as he looked at Lisa, Murphy, Connor and Annie and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Annie, I want you to take them home."
"No way," Annie said with a shake of her head and he sighed.
Connor saw the anger in Lisa's eyes when he took her to one side and he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I know you wanna come with us t'kick Sam's ass…." Connor said.
"Damn right, I do," Lisa said.
"We can handle this."
"I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Do you really think we don't have backup? Lou's got th'roads covered in case some of 'em get away."
"Is Diego going with you?"
"Aye. Did you know he used t'work fer th'FBI?"
"Oh. Right. He told me about that."
"Are Lou, Murphy an' I th'only ones who didn't know that?"
"Hank and the ranch hands don't know," she said and he snorted a laugh.
"Shit."
"Connor…."
"What?"
"The main reason why I don't want you to do this is because I…."
"You what?"
"I love you."
Connor felt like she kicked him in the chest.
"Don't just stand there, Eejit. Tell her how you feel," the voice in his head said.
"I love you, too," he said, glancing at her.
She didn't take her eyes off him as he moved in for a kiss and he held her head in his hands. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss and she moved her fingers through his hair. The boys and Nichole's laughter made Connor moved back and he placed his forehead against her forehead.
"You look so badass," she whispered.
"I'm hot as hell," he whispered.
"That, too."
He snorted a breath of air as they move back and they headed for the white truck. He opened the driver's side door as she got into the truck and he closed the door.
Darcy looked at Murphy when she cleared her throat and he took hold of her right hand. He led her a short distance from the white truck and she looked deeply into his eyes.
"Come with us," Darcy said in a soft voice.
"I wanna, but…," Murphy said then ducked his head.
"But you have to do what you have to do."
"Aye."
"I… I just don't know if I can handle the idea of you… Of…"
He held her as she rubbed his back and he held the back of her head in his right hand.
"I love you," she said, softly.
"I love you, too. An' Mark. An' Nikki. Is it ok t'call her that?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod. She moved back as Murphy moved closer and they kissed. She slid her arms over his shoulders as he deepened the kiss and he felt the urge to get in the white truck with her. The kids' laughter made them move back and Murphy held her chin in his fingers and thumb. "Do you know how sexy you look in that outfit?"
She swore he was blushing as they headed back for the white truck and he helped her get into the back of the white truck.
"Right…," Diego said as he took hold of Annie's right hand and they walked away from the white truck. She turned to face him as he slid his arms around her waist and she shyly smiled. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?"
"I got a good idea," Annie said.
"Would you forgive me if anything happened to your brothers?"
"No. And neither would Ma."
"I bet," he said with a soft laugh and she lightly tapped his chest. "Anyway... I want you to take Lisa, Darcy, Devil and the kids and go home. Please."
She looked deeply into his eyes then nodded and they walked back to the white truck. She opened the driver's side door as she got in the white truck and he closed the door. Connor closed the passenger door after Lisa got in the white truck and she gave him a sad smiled. Diego and Connor stood back and Annie started the engine then she placed the white truck in gear. Connor and Murphy stood next to him as they watched the white truck heading down the road when Diego frowned and he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Ok. Now how do we get to the compound?" Diego asked.
"Those motorcycles look like they have gas in 'em," Connor said, looking back at the house.
"Or we could take the van. It would make less noise."
"He's right," Murphy said.
"Let's go," Connor said.
Connor and Murphy placed on the sunglasses as they headed for the house and the black Navy pea coat swirled around his legs.
The interstate
The white truck moved down the road as Lisa looked at the road and she felt the anger building inside her.
"Damn you, Sam," she growled.
"Are you ok?" Annie asked, glancing at her.
Lisa lightly shook her head when the air turned ice cold and her mind reminded her of something that happened before she fell asleep. She could just see the man who was driving the black van and she swore his eyes were shimmering with tears.
"Don't go home," he had told her.
"Why can't I go home?" she asked.
"You just can't. You need to go to Luke's."
"Who's Luke?"
"I mean the hospital."
"Saint Luke's Hospital?"
"Yeah."
"Why do I have to go there?"
"They're going to need you."
"What the hell was he talking about?" Lisa asked in a soft voice as the urgency to go to the hospital moved through her and she looked at Annie. "We need to go to Saint Luke's."
"The hospital?" Annie asked.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I don't know. We just need to go there."
Nodding, Annie made the white truck go faster and Lisa felt a cold chill moving through her.
Sam Warren's compound
Connor, Murphy and Diego had left the black van a short distance down the road and they were relieved when they saw the compound.
"Now what do we do?" Connor asked while they knelt down next to a large rock and they looked at the chain link fence and the two men armed with rifles standing in front of the gate.
"I thought you were the man with the plan. At least that's what Annie told me," Diego said as a soft beep made him removed the cellphone from his jeans pocket. He had handed the Barrettas to Connor as Diego looked at the text screen and he noticed the text screen was blinking.
"Why is it doin' that?" Murphy asked, looking at the text screen.
"It means it's on a secure channel," Diego explained as he tapped the screen.
"Whose texting you on a secure channel?" Connor asked.
Diego knew they would leave if he told them. Sighing, he sat against the rock and they waited for him to say something.
"It's Agent Bloom," he finally said. He was startled when they pointed the Barrettas at him and he held his hands up. "I didn't betray you."
"Then why is she textin' you?" Murphy asked.
"The only way for me to find out is for me to read the text."
He watched Connor and Murphy sit next to him and he pushed the button.
Are you free to talk?
No.
I need to tell you something.
What?
We found out the location of that guy you told me about.
"She's coming here?" Connor asked.
Are you coming here?
Yes. Wait! You're already there?
I wouldn't ask if you were coming here if I wasn't.
"Ask her about th'compound. We need t'know what we're gettin' into," Connor said with a cold tone to his voice and Diego typed on the keyboard.
Tell us everything you know about the compound. How many guards. Their locations. The buildings. Where we can find Sam.
Hold on.
Diego looked at the screen when the soft beeping sound filled the air and he looked at the information.
Thanks.
Look. Do me a favor and get your asses out of there.
Not going to happen.
Smecker's with me. He's going go in there with guns blazing and he isn't going to care who gets hurt.
Then he better make sure he doesn't hurt us. We're not in the mood to play nice.
Diego tapped the screen then he deleted the texts and he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Let's go," Diego said and they headed for the compound.
The interstate
"Bad news?" Paul asked while Eunice placed the cellphone in her purse then she looked at him.
"Yes," Eunice said.
"Want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Does it have to do with our friends?"
"Yeah."
"Did you tell them where we're going?"
"That's classified."
"I am really getting tired of you saying that."
The black sedan headed down the road while Eunice looked out the window and Smecker sat back in the seat.
"I just got word. The choppers are almost at the compound," Paul said.
"I still don't get why you brought helicopters. Those guys are going the run the moment they see the choppers," Eunice said.
"These choppers are on silent running. By the time those assholes see them, it'll be too late."
Sighing, Eunice shook her head and she watched the scenery going by.
Sam Warren's compound
Diego, Murphy and Connor had finally moved from behind the rocks after the guards went inside the compound and Connor had found the trees Lisa had told them about.
"Are you sure this is the right tree?" Murphy asked.
"I think so," Connor said.
Diego had found the footprints Lisa, Darcy, Nichole and the boys had left as he walked to the rocks where Lisa said they had met those men who brought them to the house and he frowned.
"This is weird," Diego said and Connor and Murphy walked to him.
"What's weird?" Connor asked.
"This looks like where Lisa said she, Darcy, Nichole and the boys met those guys, but there aren't any footprints other than theirs."
Connor scanned the ground with his eyes when he noticed the footprints heading off to the left and he followed them until they disappeared.
"Fine something?" Diego said.
Connor walked back to him and Diego saw the puzzled look on his face.
"I followed their footsteps. They disappear over there," Connor said, pointing to where he had lost their trail.
"She said those guys put her, Darcy an' th'kids in a black van," Murphy said.
"That's another weird thing. I didn't see any tire tracks," Connor said. Murphy and Diego frowned as they looked at each other and Connor crossed his arms over his chest.
"Guess that's something we need to figure out later," Diego said and they walked to the trees.
"Wish I had some rope," Connor said, looking up at the branches.
"Why would we need rope?"
"Havin' rope saved our asses a few times."
"You think this might be one of those times?"
"Never know," Connor said as he and Murphy started climbing the tree.
Sighing, Diego shrugged his shoulders as he tucked the Barrettas in the back of his jeans then he started climbing the tree.