As they sat down they ordered immediately.
“Five Steak Tartars please” Joseph smiled at the waiter as charmingly as he could. They were all starving hungry and the faster the food came the better.
No sooner had they sat down then the discussion began.
“So now we have a passport I want Lily on the next plane out tomorrow. We will take her to the Bobby Shop to check in then we will high tail it to the airport and get on the first plane out. That means we have a full twenty four hours to get back to the States and disappear back into obscurity at the Den.” Joseph took a huge bite out his bread roll.
“Wait a minute.” Everyone looked at Lily and suddenly realised that no one had actually had the courtesy to discuss plans with her first.
“So you’re telling me that I am going back to Eden Prairie tomorrow.”
“That’s right Princess. Are you okay with that?” Joseph smiled.
“Am I?” She grinned “Is this for summer or is it permanent?”
He smiled again “Permanent!” He loved giving his daughter good news and he knew how desperate she was to get away from her “Aunt and Uncle”.
“Well that’s great Joe, but we have a small problem that seems to have been overlooked. My Passport! Its been revoked, remember.”
“Ah yes, that’s why you may want this!” He handed over a small navy blue pocket book to her. She looked at the Golden Eagle embossed on the front and with her mouth gaping open, looked up at Joseph then to each of the three other men around the table one by one. She opened up the first page to see her photograph. It was a couple of years old as was the passport. She glanced at her name, expecting it to say Lily Roberts. Instead she took a double take as she realised her name actually read Lily Brannigan.
“I…” She paused. “I don’t understand!”
“Well we can’t sneak you out of the country with your current name or as a British Citizen. It will be easier this way.”
“But, but how did you get this made up so quickly?” She narrowed her eyes accusingly. “Is this a false passport?”
“No Princess. Its real. Bona-fide. Kosher.”
“Okay. Okay I get it. Its real. But Brannigan? How can I be two different people?”
“I registered your birth in the States, when you were first born. I think ahead. It was a just in case get out clause.” Joseph felt awkward about this conversation, especially as Jason, Paul and Tristan were all listening too. He had to play this carefully. He had warned them not to tell her the whole truth just yet. He had to get her to agree to come back to the Den.
“Just in case clause?” She repeated slowly and somewhat suspiciously.
“Well the life we lead sometimes warrants us to be overcautious.” He looked down and began to play with his fork.
“Are you guys gangsters or something?” Lily was partly right he thought ironically. The others just shuffled awkwardly in their chairs. They were gangsters of a fashion. They just didn’t always abide by human laws to make money or to get what they want.
“Look Princess, give me your passport back. I will look after it for you.” She dutifully obeyed. She felt so happy for the first time in a year, when she last stayed at the Den in Eden Prairie, but a little dubious about the name change. She concluded it was because she was in trouble with the law and nothing more, she had always wondered why Joseph had named his house the Den too. Maybe she would ask him when they got there and were alone, seeing as this was to be her new home.
“Wait, what about Aunt Carmel and Uncle Andrew?” Lily suddenly felt a pang of guilt despite the fact that she didn’t like her guardians very much.
“Well you can come back and visit, when all of this mess blows over and they can come out to Eden Prairie.” Joseph hated lying to her, but he had to get her to Eden Prairie and then deal with the consequences later.
Jason rolled his eyes. He thought she wouldn’t have cared less about them after the way they had treated her over the years, keeping her under a tight reign. Showing her no love all her life, he was just grateful that she had experienced it with Joseph and his other brothers looking after her. Granted three thousand miles away, but they were always only a seven hour flight away.
Jason snapped out of his thoughts in an instant. He started to have one of his intuitive moments.
“Heads up guys. We have visitors. Looks like THEY have cottoned on to what is going down here.” They all looked at Jason and were all on red alert except for Lily who just looked at him frowning with confusion.
“Who are they?”
Just as she asked this a blonde haired man appeared at the restaurant window. From under his black leather jacket he pulled out a semi automatic gun and held it up to the restaurant window.
“Holy Shit!” Exclaimed Paul
“Get Down!” Jason shouted as a burst of gun fire shattered through the restaurant and they all hit the floor. Tristan threw Lily to the floor and landed on top of her. He held her down as she screamed in fright. The noise was deafening even for human ears, but for them it was unbelievable torture. Jason thought his ears were going to start bleeding it was that painful.
The gun fire ceased and Lily was trapped under Tristan still screaming in terror. Tristan tried to calm her down.
“Hush Lily. Your okay. No-one is going to harm you.” She stopped screaming, but was shaking uncontrollably. They started to get up off the floor.
“Tristan get Lily out of here.” Joseph ordered.
Tristan didn’t need to wait for any more orders he dragged her up off the floor with such lightening speed and took off towards the Kitchen door that Lily hadn’t even blinked before she realised they were heading out of the back door. How the hell can he and me move so fast she thought? Her mind was racing. None of this was normal, but the need for self preservation took over as she was running with Tristan at the same speed. From behind her she could hear another burst of machine gun fire just as Tristan yanked her up into the air as the pair of them cleared a ten foot wall and she found herself landing sure footed in a back yard full of empty steel beer kegs.
“Great! A public bar. I hope they are not mad enough to open fire in here.” Tristan rushed to the door and yanked the locked door off its hinges.
“How did you do that? All of that Tristan? We just cleared a fucking ten foot wall for Christ sakes.” Lily was hysterical now. “And who were they back at the restaurant? What’s going on?” She screamed.
“Please Lily just keep your voice down and get inside. We don’t want them to hear you.” Tristan grabbed her arm and dragged her into the back of the public house. Now was not the time to cajole her with soft words. Act now and try to explain away what she had just seen later.
Back at the restaurant three men had jumped through the broken windows and opened fire again.
“Jason GET OUT! Get the car and find Lil and Tris!” Joseph shouted over the din. We will take care of them!”
Jason waited for the right moment and shot out the Kitchen door as fast as Tristan and Lily had. He followed their scent and leapt over the Pub wall and ran into the pub. Joseph and Paul looked at one another from behind the bar in the restaurant that they were using for cover.
“Do you know how many bullets we can take?” Paul laughed hysterically.
“Don’t know brother. Never been shot at before. Lets find out shall we, after three. One, two, three!” They both jumped high into the air and somersaulted over the bar. Paul landed in a crouch then charged at the blonde haired gun man that Jason had first seen through the window and head butted him in the stomach. He grunted as the wind was knocked out of him and they both hit the floor with a thud. Paul grabbed the mans hair and yanked his head forward so fast and with such force that his neck snapped instantly and his cervical vertebrae was protruding out of the back of his head.
Joseph though had lunged straight in with a kung foo kick and his foot landed squarely in another gun mans face. His sheer strength crushed the mans skull and his nose caved into his head. As they landed Josephs foot was still attached to the man’s face. Well what was left of it. He stood there looking at the brains, flesh and bone that was seeping out of the face when he felt searing pain shoot through his back and then registered the crack of gun fire. He let out a guttural growl and turned around just as the third gun mans round of ammunition ran out. He clicked his trigger twice and realised his mistake. He looked up as Joseph and Paul walked towards him. Horror was fixed on his face and his feet wouldn’t move like they were super glued to the spot.
And my book Links here for The Beyond Series of Epic Urban Fantasy
or if you prefer crime and suspense, why not try The Mancunian Tales
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