Boston Blood

Thirty seven

"Okay, so what's the plan? What are we gonna do about Russo and Tommy?" Bridget had begun pacing the kitchen with her hands on her small hips. Cillian smirked and shook his head, suddenly feeling a wave of affection for his friend. "What do you mean what's the plan? The plan is still on, Birdy." Cillian mumbled, trying to hide his anguish. "But-, what about Fran-"

"What about her?" His voice had become louder and he looked angry. Bridget's eyes shot to the bedroom door but she had a sneaking suspicion that Cillian wanted her to hear what they were saying. "Nothing has changed. She's going to get a job for Russo and tell us everything he's planning. We already know there's a shipment coming in soon, all we have to do is find out when and where and that's when we strike." Bridget's eyes narrowed in thought. She was a both relieved and nervous. This was the Cillian she knew, ruthless and determined but she had a feeling he was putting it on, to convince Bridget that he was still focused.

"Cillian, you were fucking crying in my arms a few minutes ago. I don't think you're up for this. Why don't you speak to Aidan and maybe see if you can have some time off?"

Cillian scoffed and threw his beer bottle against the wall, causing it to shatter in a hundred pieces. If Bridget didn't know him any better, she would have been a bit frightened but as she stared into his blue eyes, she could see the fear behind them. "Okay, good. Well Aidan is on his way here. He wants to see you, both of you." Cillian nodded and picked up the sweeping brush. "How long is she gonna be here for? We need to make sure that Russo has a way of contacting her. What if he already has? I need to make sure Damien took care of that that prick Joe and-,"

Cillian held up his hand to silence her. He had never seen Bridget this unglued before. She was rambling and it had a strangely calming effect on him. "Bridge, relax. It's all taken care of. O'Malley said he'll be able to make it look like a mugging gone wrong. As far as he knows, Joe came to the pub on his own and no one saw him. We're good."

Bridget let out a deep sigh and patted Cillian on the back. "You know, as much as I hate cops, it's good to know that there's at least one we can trust. O'Malley's got his priorities straight."

"He hasn't got much a choice." Cillian mumbled as he bent down to sweep up the glass.

"Okay, Lucy will be home from school any minute. Do you want me to stay? I get can someone else to do today's drop. Dotser's around. He can collect the H?"

"No, don't be stupid. You go. I'll watch Lucy." Bridget nodded and turned to leave but was pulled back by Cillian's grasp on her arm. "Bridge, don't open your mouth about any of this. I'm good, okay? I'm just exhausted. Everything's fine. I got this." His voice was stern and rippled with strength. Bridget elbowed him and winked and left the house. As she sat in her car, she let her head rest against the steering wheel. The sound of her phone buzzing made her jump and she grabbed it out of the pocket of her leather jacket. "Bridget, I got held up. Some fucking junkie prick hasn't met me with last night's haul. He's taken off with it so I have Dotser and Shawn chasing him down. I won't get to Salem until tonight. Is Cillian there? Is everything good with the pain in my ass of a new employee? I can't believe the stupid bitch nearly got herself killed. I swear she better not fuck this up."

Bridget chewed the inside of her cheek as she listened to Aidan's rambling. She had started to notice that he was acting strange lately. She had advised him to lay off the coke and booze for a while but that didn't go down well. She felt a knot form in her stomach and closed her eyes. "Hello? Bridget?"

Part of her wanted to tell Aidan the truth; that she was worried about Cillian and that he seemed to be getting too emotionally involved in this shit. She wanted to suggest that maybe Cillian needed to be put on another job? Sent away for a while to get some clarity but she shook her head at the absurdity of the thought. This was Cillian's plan. It was from the start. As much as Aidan would like to take the credit (which he did), she knew that Cillian was the mastermind behind the entire Russo operation. He'd never admit it but the business was in trouble. Russo was in control of Boston and they needed him gone of they were going to survive.