Misty Gray
Pessimisty
The Sullivans/Porters
As Nikolai addressed Conor, James walked to the nearby cabinet and poured himself a vodka. He continued to listen intently and watch Conor's face closely as the Russian spoke of eliminating the Romanos. The hit-man knocked back his drink in preparation for what he was anticipating he would have to say. He knew Conor well enough now to know he would still let his feelings for Alex conflict with the love he had for his family. James was willing to take any potential backlash from his brother-in-law. This all needed to come to a stop and fast.
Conor sent a firm nod in the Russian's direction as he spoke of liquidating the Romanos, but when Nikolai made it clear that would include Vinnie's children, the young Irishman's face gave his reluctance away. Conor wanted more than anything for Vinnie and Salvatore to be killed, but not Alex. Even if their relationship was now over and even if she hated him, he couldn't find it in himself to agree to her being killed. He bit his bottom lip as it was pointed out that James would find the whole thing straightforward. It was clear Conor was about to speak and to disagree with the plan, to let his feelings for Alex cause him to refuse. James decided not to let Conor respond until he'd said a few words himself.
"Conor," James suddenly spoke up. He glanced to Nikolai before stepping forward towards the Sullivan boss. "What happened to your mother tonight?" he questioned.
"Salvatore took her. He made me hand over the Emerald and the Pier Cafe in exchange for her life..." he explained, keeping his voice level despite the high emotions.
"Alright. So you exchanged Finn for Alex, then Shannon for two of your favourite businesses. Then what? Salvatore shook your hand and called it quits?" James sarcastically asked. "Somebody shot Vinnie and this family is the only suspect. All that happened tonight was Salvatore outsmarted you and took two of your businesses along the way. When someone attempts to murder a man like Vinnie, taking businesses doesn't settle that debt. Vinnie will still be out for blood and when he finds out you kidnapped Alex, he'll be out for more blood." James briefly glanced back to Nikolai and then sent Lucy a look which only asked that she understood what had to be done. "Our Russian guest is right," he said, fixing his eyes back on Conor. "You have to make a sacrifice, Conor, and the right choice is blindingly obvious. Cormac can see it and I'm sure Lucy can see it too..." James didn't like to put words into his wife's mouth, but he believed after everything she'd lost, she would surely agree with him. "In less than one year, this family has lost Emmet, David, Kate... countless loyal men. Who's next, Conor? If we don't act, I can tell you who's next. They will slaughter Sinead and take Savannah; and then they will kill your mother. All in return for what happened to Alex and Vinnie today."
Conor knew James was right. The thought of losing his mother, sister and niece made him feel sick to his stomach. But he'd been through this already today. He'd allowed Cormac to use is emotions to talk him into kidnapping Alex and now he felt like he was being led down the same path again. He could feel his chest tightening as his anxiety began to overcome him. That suffocating feeling once again took over him. He looked to James and shook his head. "You're not in charge here, James," he coldly argued.
"Jesus..." James replied with exasperation as he looked up to the ceiling and shook his head. "And you're not in control, Conor." He looked to the others and sighed. "Lucy, Cormac... please can you try to explain this to him?"
Conor stepped out into the hallway, expecting his sister and cousin to follow. He knew in his heart he needed to stand down from his position and he'd been fully prepared to do so only minutes ago. Now, hearing they wished to kill everyone, including Alex, made him beyond reluctant to hand over his power.
Meanwhile, James let out a long breath before turning back to Nikolai to address the Russian. "When we do this, I will be the one who kills Vincenzo. I want to watch him take his last breath and know for certain he's dead. With your firepower, I will finally gain access to do so." Similar to Conor, James didn't like the idea of killing Alex either. He'd come to an understanding with the girl and knew she was not like Vinnie. But right now, the prime objective was to take down Vinnie and Salvatore before any more Sullivans were harmed. He folded his arms as he already began to think of the intricacies of working with the Russians. "I must ask, though. What is it you want from the Sullivans in return for your assistance?"
Bellz (Lucy) Enzyme (Nikolai) neverbackdown (Cormac)