Boston Blood

Eleven

Boston, 2000.

Frankie got dressed into the fanciest outfit she had, which for her, consisted of an un-ripped pair of jeans, black boots and a black off the shoulder blouse. She let her hair fall in thick curls down her back and applied a little make up, mainly to hide the fact that she looked like a zombie. She wanted to make an effort for Billy. When he found her, she was on death's door. She wanted to show him how much she's changed and how much he's helped her. Even if she felt like she was lying.

It was Saint Patrick's Day and the bar was going to be crazy. Billy's wife, Mary had tried to convince him that they should go to a nice restaurant instead but, true to form, Billy refused, saying this was his busiest day of the year and why would he want to go anywhere else.

One one thing was, though that the bar was only going to let regulars and special guests in tonight, so it shouldn't be too messy. At least there would be no messy college kids falling around the place and puking in the toilets. There were going to be hired staff serving the drinks tonight, which meant Frankie was also technically a guest. She didn't like that. I'm sure Billy wouldn't mind if she pulled a few pints for the regulars. They only liked the way she pulled Guinness, anyway.

Frankie just had enough time for a cup of coffee and something quick to eat. The party was starting at eight but she was going to go to a meeting at six. She was still fuming at herself for how she acted the last time, but she was hoping that Linda would be there and that she could apologise.

She ate her toast and decided to turn on the T.V. She flicked through the channels before a head line on the news caught her eye. She nearly choked on her toast as she scrambled for the remote to turn up the volume. As she heard to broadcaster read the story, she felt the blood drain from her face.

"Notorious gangster, Aidan O'Shea has been arrested on suspicion of man-slaughter, this evening. The Irish born leader of one of South Boston's most prominent gangs has been keeping a low profile of late but have Boston's finest finally found a way to take down this dangerous crime ring? For more on this breaking story we go live to John Moore.

Thank you, Casey. Yes. I'm outside the district court where we have just been informed that the Police have released O'Shea as there is not enough evidence to convict. Unfortunately, this seems to be an emerging pattern among organised crime rings in our city. There is worry and unease in the judicial system that maybe O'Shea and others have people on the inside. My sources tell me that there is an Internal Affairs investigation under-way as we speak in the hopes of sniffing out the moles.

O'Shea, of course, has been Boston's infamous "Don" since the early 1970s when he moved here from Dublin, Ireland to escape arrest. In Ireland he was allegedly involved in some of the country's most heinous crimes at that time. However, O'Shea has always managed to allude the authorities and has escaped conviction. He maintains that all of his assets and income have been earned in the proper fashion his whole life and that people shouldn't feed into rumours.

Although we cannot confirm that O'Shea is actually the ring-leader, we do know that there are several other powerful men that seem to have affiliations with him. They have certainly been more open and vocal about their involvement in the organised crime plague that is sweeping out streets. You will remember that Patrick Connolly and Eamonn Dunne (allegedly right hand men of O'Shea) were previously involved in a feud with Ryan's gang and convicted in Ireland of the attack on local criminal Tommy Ryan's home. Ryan was later convicted of murdering his wife, Margaret, whose anniversary is tomorrow. Ryan was sentenced to eight years in prison and sources say he has moved state side, since his release."