Chapter 10: Cause and Effect
Misty Gray
Pessimisty
Chapter 10: Cause and Effect
Saturday 15th June 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Evening - Warm, Dry, Cloudy
London: Evening - Warm, Dry, Cloudy
New York City: Late Afternoon - Mild, Rainy, Cloudy
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Mercury Nightclub and Cocktail Bar
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
Saturday 15th June 1985
...8 days later...
Dublin: Evening - Warm, Dry, Cloudy
London: Evening - Warm, Dry, Cloudy
New York City: Late Afternoon - Mild, Rainy, Cloudy
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Mercury Nightclub and Cocktail Bar
~ Bethnal Green, East London ~
Spencer King and Christian Brooks
"Jesus Christ, Spence. You're bloody useless!"
The taunting voice echoed in Spencer's mind before he snapped out of his thoughts as the nurse and midwife finished checking on Shona and left the room. As he sat at one side of Shona's bed, Shirley sat at the other. "Did they just say there was still not much change yet?" he tiredly asked. Taking Shona's hand, he brought it to his mouth to kiss her skin. It was a gentle and delicate gesture, as he was feeling inclined to be that way around his wife. It had been 18 hours since Shona had gone into labour, with most of that time spent in the private room at the Royal London Hospital. Whilst Spencer wasn't one to flaunt his cash and act more entitled that others, he was certainly grateful to be in their private space. A man who liked to keep his circle comprised of close family and friends, he felt more comfortable not having other pregnant women and their families around them, not when he'd have no control of the security. During the last couple of hours, Spencer was grateful not to have more people around, as his wife grew more irritable with him by the minute. He knew no matter how cautious or well-intended his actions, Shona was likely to snap at him again. He figured she was entitled to take it out on him, given the pain and discomfort she was going through, not to mention the sacrifices she'd made over the last few months whilst carrying their child.
Given Shona's sacrifices, Spencer found it easy to skip his own birthday party. Up until the previous evening, he'd been ready to celebrate his 37th birthday. Although Shona going into labour was more important than a party, Spencer still encouraged his siblings and their friends to go out to the nightclub as planned, to celebrate on his behalf. "Do..." he cautiously began, studying Shona to she if she was going to yell at him before he continued. "Would either of you like something from the vending machine? Crisps, or chocolate, or..." he stopped as he heard someone open the door behind him.
Christian didn't feel overly comfortable with having to interrupt Spencer in the hospital with his wife in labour, but he knew the man would want to know the information he'd gathered, without delay. After getting Spencer's attention by peaking his head into the doorway, the former detective sent Shona and Shirley an apologetic wave. Once he and Spencer were out on the corridor, Spencer folded his arms somewhat impatiently. "You better have something important to be showing up here," the man grumbled.
"It's important, but you're not going to like it..." Christian awkwardly began. He then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a couple of photographs before hesitantly handing them to him. "So, the bloke who's been sneaking around lately asking about your lot is who we both expected." Seeing Spencer's face turn from an anxious one for his wife's labour to one of deep anger, Christian almost held back from saying the rest and pissing him off further. "I've also heard someone was seen hanging around the nightclub earlier, looking shifty. If he knows your brothers and sister are out there tonight, he could show up there. Assuming it was him hanging around..."
Spencer anxiously ran his hand through his hair as he looked back to the room Shona was in. "Shit, I can't..." he began, torn about leaving his wife whilst she was in labour. "But it's probably going to be hours yet..." he continued to reason with himself. "I need to get to the club and make sure security is beefed up. I don't think he'd have the guts to show up now, but if someone we do need to worry about has been hanging around the club, I don't want my family put at risk."
Mentions: Pyroclast (Shona) BloodThunder27 (Shirley)
*****
After reassuring and apologising to Shona, Spencer reluctantly left the hospital with Christian. He first warned the security guards to be extra vigilant and showed them the photographs Christian had taken, to also keep an eye out for the man in question. Spencer then entered the club, briefly greeting anyone who spoke to him before he found Alex and told his brother to follow him through the back of the club and outside where they could talk privately. Just as Spencer was about to speak, the back door of the club swung open, with Damian and Tatiana leaving the private office to get into the nearby vehicle that was waiting for them. "Looks like Gabriel is otherwise occupied right now. We've rescheduled the telephone meeting for Monday," Damian informed Spencer, giving explanation for his and Tatiana's early departure from the club. Thankfully, the two King brothers appeared too preoccupied to talk them into sticking around for drinks.
Christian took it upon himself to take a look around the rear exterior of the building, whilst the two King brothers spoke. Once they were alone, Spencer turned back to Alex. "Alex, I need to get back to the hospital once I know everything's okay here. I need you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Any dodgy people hanging around. Possibly Sullivans, but it could be anyone. Our, um..." he began but fell silent and instead handed the photographs to Alex so he could see for himself. "Trevor's in London," he spoke of their father. "I don't know why, or where he's staying yet, but those photos confirm he's around. He might not show up tonight, but if he does, I don't want him anywhere near Billy and Harper. Yeah?" he seriously asked his brother. With Shona in labour, Spencer couldn't focus on much else at the moment.
Meanwhile, as he smoked a cigarette, Christian made his way down the small alleyway between the nightclub and the neighbouring business. He stopped before he reached the unused side door, the drying mud on the ground in front of him catching his attention. It had rained a couple of days ago and the mud had been trampled in since. Except for a significant patch in front of the bolted door that seemed unusually smoother than the rest of the pathway around him. Stubbing out his cigarette against the wall, he placed the remainder of it back in the cigarette box. His attention was now focusing on the door that lead into the cellar of the bar, which hadn't been used in many years, having been rendered usually for goods onwards since the building next door had been erected. Thankfully the sunlight was enough to still light the alleyway as he closely inspected the rusted old padlock. Though it was locked and was never used or opened, some of the rust had chipped away around the closure. Whilst it could be nothing, Christian's suspicions were heightened on account of the conversation he'd just been having with Spencer.
Interaction: Melanin-Gxdess (Alex)
Also present: Billy, Erik - Pyroclast to intro
Harper, Jeremy - Bellz to intro
Darcey, May - Melanin-Gxdess to intro
Tatiana, Damian
Undisclosed Sullivan Lookout Point
~ Bethnal Green, London ~
Kerry had been laying low since she'd suspected Gabriel Moretti had been in London. However, after a few weeks and going stir crazy with no job or social life, she was itching to get out for a bit. It was nothing against the hospitality and kindness the Parkers had shown her since inviting her to stay with them for a while, but she simply missed her friends. With Savannah in Dublin, she was reduced to infrequent phonecalls, and staying away from her former establishment of employment, the Mercury Nightclub, meant she hadn't been able to spend time with May recently either. After catching up with some of her friends over the phone, she'd determined she didn't need to worry about heading out to meet them. With a bit of luck May would be working or out drinking at the club too, then she could catch up with her at the same time. Of course, she'd be vigilant in case of the small chance the Moretti boss was in London again, but she wasn't willing to keep hiding away, not after it had taken so much time and work to overcome the physical and psychological trauma she'd suffered in New York.
Once she was dressed ready for her night out, she descended the stairs and took a seat on the sofa as she waited for the taxi to arrive. Maddox was seated in the armchair reaching through one of his patient files, but he put the document down so he could speak to Kerry. After the terrible things he had done to Syd and Conor out of his desire for revenge, Maddox had gone a long way to try redeem himself and make up for his wrongdoings. Kerry had been his first accomplishment on that front, helping her to overcome her horrific ordeal over years of therapy and support. By now she was a friend rather than a patient, and one he couldn't help but feel concerned about. "Even if the Morettis aren't around, you still need to be careful. I've told you before that it's risky being associated with both sides of a feud. I know you care for May and Savannah, but you would be wise to distance yourself from one or both of them."
Kerry quickly shook her head. "Neither of them are involved in this fighting and throughout all of the issues Sav has been having with the Kings, they've never asked me to use my friendship with her to benefit them." As if saved by the sound of the car horn, Kerry couldn't stand up quick enough. "I'll see you tomorrow," she assured him with a smile, having planned to sleep at her own apartment after her night out.
"Just... Call us if you need anything," Maddox told her.
*****
There had been undetected Sullivan presence in London for the last few days, as plans were put into action to get back at those who had attacked Aliana, Leo, Sinead and Liam. Tatiana Moretti and the employed psychopath, Damian Nicolosi, were the two confirmed high-profile Morettis who had been based in London for some weeks now. It had also been confirmed that they frequently attended the Mercury Nightclub to conduct business meetings, or a least to call the Morettis in New York for catch-ups.
Everything was set in place and all that was left was confirmation that Tatiana and Damian were where they were expected to be. Aidan and Braden were seated in a car a short distance from the Mercury Nightclub, keeping watch to ensure nobody or nothing unexpected appeared to put a stop to the plan. From the driver's seat, Aidan watched the nightclub in the distance like a hawk. "How's your Mam and brother doing?" he asked Braden, but kept his eyes on the target. He knew the other man had personal reasons for being in London on this particular job. Aidan figured if it was his mother and brother who had been harmed, he'd want to get back at those responsible too.
"Callahan... Byrne... Everything is place at this end. The Morettis are confirmed as present and inside. On your word it's all clear at your side, you've got five minutes to drive well away and back to base..." the voice of their colleague on the two-way car radio confirmed.
Aidan was about to respond when he saw a taxi pull up into the parking space in front of them. Once the female passenger was out of the car, the taxi was pulled out of the space and driven away. Kerry had got out of the taxi before it could reach the club and instead was going to meet her friends outside the restaurant they'd been dining in. "Isn't that whats-her-name...-" he began, pointing to Kerry who was standing nearby. "Didn't she work in the nightclub? Maybe we should wait until she's in there before calling it in. I know Syd wouldn't object to that," he darkly remarked.
Bellz (Braden)
Undisclosed Sullivan Base
~ Residential Area, Donnycarney, Dublin ~
Adam couldn't deny that he felt different since he'd found out Elena was his daughter. Similar to how he often felt with Blake, having a daughter gave him even more reason to get home in one piece after every job he did. Despite feeling good about learning he had a daughter, he had found it difficult over the last week, trying to find a balance so he was giving Elena the right amount of attention and not laying it on too thick. As it happened, his work had been turned up into overdrive since the events of the previous week, so most of his interactions with Elena had been either him checking in on her whilst arranging security at the pub or a quick phonecall if he got home at a decent hour.
Despite everything that was going on for the mob boss, Conor had been able to get an update about Elena. Whilst Adam wanted the news to be kept quiet until he could tell Blake, he had to tell Conor, as the man had sent him to interrogate Elena in the first place. The boss had been accepting of the information and seemed genuinely happy for the man. Of course, much of that conversation was overshowed by the two attacks that had taken place on Conor's and Peter's loved ones. After finding out about them after leaving the Zegarra house that night, Adam hadn't slept and instead had been out beefing up security before checking in on the injured parties to make sure they were okay more than fish for details about their attackers.
This evening, Adam was showing Edwards the ropes at base, helping the man to familiarise himself with the surveillance room and the key locations across Dublin. He was in the process of going through some maps when Syd entered the building. "Alright, mate. I'm going to leave you in the challenging hands of Emery Callahan whilst I have a quick catch-up with Syd," Adam remarked.
"Hey! I'll show you challenging, Harper!" Emery shot back.
"Good luck," Adam told Edwards, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
Pulling Syd into an empty room, Adam closed the door and looked to him. "It's been a heavy week, ain't it?" he asked, with a deep sigh. "How's it going, mate? Did you manage to find out any information about those Conor asked you to look into? Your little mechanic friend?" he asked.
Pyroclast (Syd)
Emery had wanted to join Braden in London, wishing she could help with the attack against those who had attacked her family the previous week. Instead, she was still being held back by Conor since she'd deviated from Aidan's plans on the diamond exchange some weeks back. She was at least glad she'd been approved to help out with surveillance over Dublin this evening. A computer whizz, she quite enjoyed being surrounded by the various CCTV systems and communications devices. With security in Dublin beefed up, along with some of the gang members being down in London on a mission, it was important that they had people on standby at the base. Unfortunately, Emery knew she'd be stuck in the control room if anything went down, leaving Adam and Edwards to have all the fun.
With Adam having excused himself to speak with Syd, Emery was left with Edwards in the control room. She was about to say something to the newcomer when a call came in over the radio confirming her cousins, Leo and Lorelei, along with Natasha and Benjamin, had safely made it into the Oak Tree Restaurant, which Conor had permitted. "Double-dating. How cute!" Emery remarked, before making a note confirming the location of the four youths. "How's Dublin shaping up for ya, Ed?" Despite the man having only been introduced to her some minutes ago, she'd already decided she was addressing him by 'Ed' from this moment on. "I guess anywhere's better than prison, to be fair. Can't complain, eh?"
Emery flashed the man a smile before sitting back in her seat. "I heard you went to visit my Mam in hospital last week. That was real nice of ya." She let out a sigh. "She's the last person who deserved that - wouldn't hurt a fly. I wish the jerks had tried that shit with me. I'd have shown them not to mess with a lady." Hearing another observation down the intercom, Emery jotted down more notes. "Roger that," she said, letting out a playful laugh. "Danny's going to love being sent to drive my sister home. Those two had a thing back in the 70s..." she informed Edwards, with a suggestive wink. When Conor had finally agreed to let Emery at least work on surveillance, she jumped at the chance, and who better to get to pick up Savannah than her old flame, Danny? Savannah hadn't dated in way too long and Emery was frankly tired of that fact.
Emery pushed her hair back behind her ears before sitting back to look at Edwards. "So tell me about yourself, Ed. Where'd you grow up? Are you single? What made you want to join this crazy business?"
BloodThunder27 (Edwards)
Emerald Studios
~ Dollymount, Dublin ~
Savannah had been considering figuring a way she could get Alex to meet her halfway so he could spend time with Callum, but then her mother got stabbed and Liam was almost kidnapped, putting a stop to any idea she had of doing such a thing. Predictably, security had been tightened and there was no chance of Savannah being able to leave Dublin for the foreseeable, never mind to meet Callum's father in the north of England. Besides which, she had no intention of going far until Sinead and her Aunt Aliana were well again. Savannah had stayed at her parents' house since the attack, not wanting to be far away from her mother when the woman was so upset by it all. Plus, having both Hattie and Callum around seemed to help keep Sinead's spirits up, so Savannah wasn't in a rush to put a stop to Callum's sleepovers at his grandparents' house.
With Peter's help, Sinead had offered to look after Callum for the evening, so Savannah could work in the city. Having got to the studio in the afternoon, Savannah knew she wouldn't be done until into the evening and she'd decided to spend the night at her own place so she could catch up on some chores in the morning. Time always seemed to fly by when she was working. Today's job had involved many outfits and too many shades of lipstick to count for the fashion magazine photoshoot. It wasn't as tiring and time-consuming as her acting work, but it wasn't half as fun either, she had to admit. Still, she managed to get through the shoot effortlessly and found herself fighting temptation to order some of the outfits for herself. Though as the final snap was taken, she knew one thing she wouldn't be ordering was the corset she was wearing at that moment.
"Your ride's here!" the female assistant called out as she entered the room with a glass of water.
Savannah smiled back and nodded her head, figuring Emery would be waiting in the corridor as planned. She headed over the to dressing table and took a sip of the water. Catching a glimpse of herself in the black corset and briefs, she pulled a curious expression. "Ohh! Em would actually love this corset!" she announced. "Hold that thought." she told the assistant who nodded and proceeded to help the photographer pack up. Savannah grabbed her pink dressing robe, but didn't put it on as she wanted to show her sister the outfit first. Pulling open the door, Savannah stepped onto the corridor, looking to the seat she expected Emery to occupy. "Em, I bet you love thi--" Seeing Danny standing there, Savannah's cheeks instantly turned a deep shade of red as she bashfully gazed towards the floor. After a brief pause, she caught her thoughts back and proceeded to quickly put the dressing robe on, fastening it around her waist with the ties. Despite the fact she and Danny had seen all of each other before, back in New York, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed standing there in just lingerie, nonetheless. "Soooo, you're not my sister... And I don't usually run around corridors half-dressed!" she pointed out, with a bright smile. "Are you my ride home, Danny-boy?" she asked, quickly managing to relax in that moment.
Pyroclast (Danny)
The Oak Tree Restaurant
~ Dublin City Centre, Dublin ~
It had been Benjamin's birthday six days ago, another one without his father there to celebrate it with him. Although he'd been able to call Kurt on the day in question, it hadn't been the same as seeing him in person, but he understood flying out to New York wasn't an option at present. Despite wishing he could have seen Kurt, the young man still enjoyed spending time with Aidan, who had gifted him with a used car, as promised. Although Benjamin was intending on paying him back for the vehicle over time, it was still a big gesture that he appreciated from his guardian.
Benjamin had arranged to go out for dinner with Lorelei. Whilst his original plan wasn't to go to The Oak Tree Restaurant, it ended up being the best option after the attacks that had taken place in Dublin the previous week. Whilst Benjamin wasn't associated with the mob's criminal activities, he tended to be kept in the loop on what he needed to know from Aidan. After hearing what had gone down, Benjamin understand completely why Lorelei's family only wanted her at Sullivan-owned establishments, where security was tighter. Thankfully, Benjamin liked his job at the restaurant, so it didn't bother him eating there on his day off. When Lorelei had mentioned inviting her cousin, Leo, as well as Natasha, Benjamin didn't hesitate to agree. Having some knowledge of what Leo had suffered through a week ago, Benjamin understood the guy might want to get out and have some distractions. It was also the first time he would hang out with Lorelei's friends and family in their age groups. Of course he'd seen Leo and Natasha in Conor's restaurant before, but it had been when he was working and not exactly on a social level.
Now he had a car, Benjamin had picked Lorelei up from her house and driven them both to the restaurant, wanting to take advantage of no longer relying on taxis or having to ask for lifts. After parking the car, Benjamin put his arm around Lorelei and walked with her to the restaurant. Having arrived a little early, Benjamin and Lorelei sat on a bench in the waiting area until the other two arrived at the restaurant. "So, how do your rate your driver today?" he playfully asked her, given it was the first time he'd driven with her in his car.
Benjamin glanced to the clock before looking back to the redhead beside him. "Have you spoken with Leo much since the attack? Conor hasn't been in here for over a week; not even for a takeout." He lightly shook head head. "I wish I could say I can't believe what those people did... but it was the Morettis, right? They'll never change," he pointed out, having personal experience of what Gabriel's brother had been like.
Bellz (Lorelei, Natasha)
Melanin-Gxdess (Leo)
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