By the look on Gavin's face, Emily knew before he even said it. She wished to God that she could take her words back. She tilted her head to one side and her eyes softened. 

"Oh, Mr. Byrne, I'm so sorry. I thought it was fairly common knowledge. I heard from Roxy, who was at the funeral with some of the other girls and Stella's son and daughter."

She chose her next words more carefully. 

"I don't know details, only that it appeared to be a shootout in her home while Gabe and Sophie were away."

Gavin's face was hard as flint. He smiled, but there was no light in his eyes. Silvio simply looked up at him; this seemed like a bad time to compliment a man on his beautiful and intelligent daughter.

Gavin paced for a moment before he spoke.

"Tell me everything- not the quick version you gave me before- but everything. Then tell me how you'd like me to help you."

Emily nodded, though she still felt a sting in her heart for the man sitting there. Rather than belabor his clear disappointment, she began the story, from the beginning. Thoroughly, she explained her evening with the FBI region director, and the photos he left behind. 

"Giving the photos back wouldn't even help. They know that I know, and they can't erase my memory without erasing me. They've come close twice. I took a bullet in Detroit, and before that in Las Vegas before I started running. That's when I got the nun getup."

She continued, talking about Mike Riddle and the burning of his office. 

​​​​​"And that gets you caught up to today. I've been able to avoid them until now. I have no idea how to fix this. The secret will die with either me or the FBI director. I never had any intention of using it against him. He seems to be really paranoid. I just want this over, but I have no idea how to do that without getting killed myself."

Gavin forced a smirk.

"Did the nun cover work? If more nuns looked like you, I would have been a much more religious man."

He gave his head a small shake, maybe to himself; standing in this room... he felt 30 years younger. He then immediately shifted subjects.

"So if we kill the FBI director and leave the photos on his body... would that remove the heat from you? Or would there be other people in the department who'd come after you?

He shrugged.

"Either way, it's a start. That's what I'd recommend first, at least."

"One does not simply kill an FBI agent...", cautioned Silvio from his place next to Gavin, who nodded his agreement.

"No," said Gavin, "not lightly. But sometimes it's the best solution. If you want him to go down, Emily, just say the word. Are there other targets in the department that you're aware of? Do they know about his corruption?"

Emily shook her head confidently. 

"I'm sure the agents don't know anything. The only offers 3 they have is shoot to kill. They are protecting their boss rather blindly."

She followed that with a light chuckle.

"But yes, the nun thing works well. You'd be surprised at how many people go out of their way to avoid eye contact with a nun. If they only knew."

The room was quiet. The decision had to be made, and Emily had little hesitation. 

"If we can take him out, I say we do it."

Gavin nodded.

"I assume you're willing to play a part here, Emily? What about you, Spazio?"

"It's Silvio."

Gavin raised an eyebrow. Aurora was spending time with that guy? He sighed. Billy would love this.

"I say we bait him out. Bribe someone to fake a 9-1-1 call  to find Emily's body in some dump of an apartment. If he's thorough, he'll come to the morgue to confirm it's you. As long as he doesn't bring 12 agents or anything, we should be fine."

Gavin started pacing.

"We'll get you a gun. We just need to find you a small enough one to conceal."

Silvio pulled up the smallest, shiniest gun that Gavin had ever seen. He grinned as he waved it and said, "She can borrow mine if she wants."

Gavin just stared for a moment. Why would any man carry a gun so small? It just... whatever. He sighed, "Fine. Yea. She can borrow yours."

"Careful," said Silvio as he handed it to Emily, "it has never been fired before?"

"You mean by anyone other than you?" questioned Gavin.

"No, myself as well. I have never had a need," stated Silvio, proudly.

Gavin stared at Silvio for a long time, until the Italian flashed a friendly smile. Then Gavin looked back to Emily and said, "Okay great. You've got a gun. Wait, I shouldn't assume... is this something you want to do personally? Or do you just want him gone?"

Gavin shrugged, continuing, "It's fine with me either way."

That was something Emily hadn't considered. She'd never exactly been close enough to resolving things to think about actually ending the man's life. 

"I... No. I don't have some kind of vengeful need to kill him myself. Sure, he's made my life hell for a half a year, but I'll find no joy in seeing him dead myself. I just want it done."

The plan sounded pretty solid. Emily smiled a bit, making mental notes to herself about Gavin to remember later. 

​​​​​​"I guess that just leaves two details. When do we do this, and what is your fee for services? I have to admit I'm a little star struck to have met you."

She met the icy blue eyes of Wolf, looking up to him from her seat on the floor. Something about him was intriguing, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly. 

Gavin grinned.

"Well, that makes things easier. Now we won't need to put you on the table. As for when and the price... I don't see why tonight wouldn't work. They know you're hurt and desperate, so you winding up and a bad situation and catching a bullet isn't crazy."

He looked around the place again.

"As for my fee... consider it a favor for an old friend. If you get this place back up and running, we'll call it even."

Gavin pondered.

"I think I'd like to keep this as simple as possible. We bribe the morgue attendant and fake the call if we need to. Silvio keeps an eye out outside and draws any heat that could cause a problem, and then I handle the FBI target when he goes in. Miss Renfroe, you can either watch from a distance like Silvio or accompany me. Thoughts?"

Emily didn't need to think about it. Her nature was far too curious to stay far away from action. Part of her wanted to see the end of her troubles, even if she didn't do it with her own hand. Another part of her simply wanted to understand more about how Gavin Byrne did what he did. 

"It's a deal. I'll stay close to you. I want to see it done."

She looked over to Silvio with a sly smile, more like the ones they'd shared at El Rancho. 

"Last chance, Silvio. You sure you want to borrow trouble you ain't have to?" 

Silvio grinned.

"It is a pleasure to borrow trouble from a beautiful woman. I think that is something that Mr. Byrne and I have in common, no?"

Gavin just shook his head, but he smirked as he headed out the door. The Italian wasn't wrong.

The threesome left after dark, with Gavin driving the vehicle and Silvio up front. Emily sat in the back, stretched out with her foot propped up on the seat. There was a palpable heaviness in the air. While Emily had never been directly involved in a murder, she imagined that the feeling must be ever present for those who made it a regular part of their lives; like Gavin Byrne. Now, Emily didn't have a count, but her information over the years was good enough to know that he and his wife both had racked up an...impressive stack of corpses. She wondered if Gavin ever felt the heavy pit in his stomach that she felt now.

All this just to have a normal life again. Again? Was her life ever really normal at all? Maybe "normal" really was relative. Whatever it was, Emily knew she wanted the old mansion to be a part of the plan. Despite the circumstances that brought her back there, she felt the same energy in the place that she'd felt when she worked there. The house had fallen into disrepair, but the spirit hadn't died. In her mind's eye, she could see it rebuilt and resplendent; just like Stella had done it, but more modern to fit the times. Of course, she thought to herself, there would have to be a good, proper infirmary in the basement. After all, escorting had never been her first career; nor had been information gathering. The Don of Corktown had shown quite an interest in owning a similar business, and though he had been killed off, Emily thought she might still do a pretty fine job running a place like that. The more she thought about it, in fact, the more she liked the idea. Besides, now she had even more a reason to do it. 

The car rolled to a stop and pulled Emily from her thoughts. As Gavin killed the engine, she pulled out the tiny pistol and checked that it was fully loaded. Her heart pounded so loudly, she thought it might be audible for miles.

The morgue was a strange place to kill someone. Fitting, Gavin supposed. Convenient for the city. 

The morgue was on the outskirts, away from the parties, celebrations, and festivities that encapsulated and defined the City of Sin. This was a quiet place; a well lit two story building on a main road. Gavin drove by a few times to check it out and, as he had been for the entire drive, his thoughts turned to Stella. Tara must know, and there must be a reason for her not telling me. The battle raged within him for a while, until the part of him that was still weary from his wife's death told him to shut up and trust his sister. 

Perhaps that was why she didn't tell him. It had been months since Bella's death, but for Gavin it was the one wound he'd suffered that remained open, rather than healing into a scar. How can you spend 25 years with someone and not walk around with a wound like that? 

And yet, Stella had been one of his very closest friends. If she'd been killed by someone, he...

Gavin took a deep breath. He trusted his sister.

"We're here."

He barely recognized his own voice as he pulled the car over in the darkness and pointed.

"Silvio, you're going to wait over there. If you have a way of distracting anyone or drawing heat away, I'd appreciate it. Ste- Miss Renfroe, you're with me."

Gavin stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, adjusting the sleeves on his bespoke suit. Gavin and Emily approached the building from the back, finding a place in the bushes where they could clearly see the entrance. Silvio loitered in an alley a good distance away from them smoking a cigarette.

Gavin glanced at Emily's face in the moonlight. She was a tough kid. And she looked just enough like Stella that, if he squinted, he could see her walking down the sidewalk of New York. Or inviting him into her bedroom. Or walking through a vineyard in Sicily, with her left hand extended to run through the leaves.

Gods, Stella. I wish I had known. I wish I had been there.

But Gavin trusted Tara, and he stepped forward to kneel down so he couldn't see Emily. Still, he could feel her over his shoulder. 

"There they are. Always a black sedan..."

The car had stopped in front of the morgue and three men, including the driver, exited. Two of the men waited outside, while one- who Gavin assumed to be the target- went inside. Almost immediately, Silvio began sauntering over. Gavin couldn't hear him, but whatever he said seemed to make the men mad. They approached him and he raised his hands in an innocent gesture, backing away.

Gavin took off, knowing he was going to leave Emily behind. She saw him move in a half-crouch, silently crossing the parking lot and building up into a run as he approached the two men. They both turned toward Gavin, and Silvio snaked his arm around the neck of one of them who'd turned away from him. As Silvio held on, Gavin landed a devastating punch to the chin of the other man- following through and catching him before his head hit the pavement. The second man, who'd managed to toss Silvio aside, received a punch to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him, then Gavin grabbed his head and pulled down into his knee, which was moving up. He lay that man down on the pavement too and grimaced, not wanting to reveal to either Silvio or Emily how much that had just tweaked his back. Ignoring the pain, he stood up and walked inside with his gun drawn. Emily trailed behind him. 

They entered the building, following the signs to the morgue, where they found the morgue attendant standing with their target, who was being told there was no body there to view. Gavin already had his gun out, and he quickly disarmed the local FBI director. 

"Is this the man?"

He didn't take his blue eyes off the target.

As fast as she could, Emily hobbled in behind Silvio and Gavin, gritting her teeth against the pain in her ankle and the pain medicine that was wearing off. 

The sight of the Director made Emily's blood run cold, and for a few seconds, she actually did feel a slight desire to pull the trigger herself. She replied to Gavin with an iciness in her otherwise pleasant voice. 

"It is."

Part of the way over, Emily didn't know if she'd be able to look the man in the face, knowing her word would end his life. But in the moments before Gavin made his next move, she looked the lanky old man in the eyes, then spat at his feet. 

Gavin kept his gun on his target, still speaking to Emily.

"Are you sure you want to see this?"

"As much as he wanted to see me dead."

The conviction in her voice was unwavering. With a steely look, she nodded to Gavin once, stepping a bit behind him and putting a hand briefly on his shoulder to reassure him that she wasn't going anywhere. 

The target stepped forward with a joyless smile and a commanding expression on his face, opening his mouth to growl, "Now look here. You-"

Gavin didn't let him finish; the sound of the gunshots were cacophonous inside. They had a muted effect on Gavin, whose ears had absorbed far too many of those blasts. Emily, from the way her hand clenched his shoulder, seemed to react more strongly- or perhaps that was just her reaction to seeing her enemy drop to his knees with crimson on his white shirt. 

Stepping away from Emily, he felt her hand drop away. He put two more in the target's head to be sure, then pointed the gun at the morgue attendant. Emily nearly spoke up, but Gavin spoke first, saying, "Give me your wallet."

The morgue attendant, obviously terrified, handed Gavin the wallet; the older man fished out the attendant's license and handed it back.

"Did you see anything? Anything you could tell the police about who did this?"

The attendant shook his head quickly, and Gavin patted the man's cheek.

"Good man."

Emily was staring down at the body, and as Gavin walked past her he unthinkingly took her hand to tug her along.

"Time to go. The quicker the better."

And just like that, it was over. 

Emily looked down at the body of the director, and the strangest thing happened. She smiled. It wasn't so much that she took joy in seeing a man dead on the floor, but that she was finally free. She took the well-worn file from beneath her robes and laid it open on the man's bullet-riddled body. 

"Time to go. The quicker the better." 

Gavin's voice was followed by his hand grasping hers. She did her best to keep up, and as they approached the car, Emily couldn't help but hug Gavin tightly, though briefly. 

"Thank you...thank you so much. You gave me my life back."

Silvio appeared beside the vehicle. She smiled, relieved to see him. 

"Are you alright?" 

Silvio held up a ripped sleeve of his jacket.

"You may need to take me shopping, bella donna, but it's nothing that a little bit of money can't fix."

Gavin hustled them along into the car. He was silent as he drove them away, and his thoughts seemed to stretch far behind the car.

"Where am I taking you, Emily? Do you have a place to stay? Silvio?"

Silvio piped up first, "Anywhere on The Strip- the night is young. Unless Emily desires or requires some company?" He glanced at her with a charming smirk.

"The train station, if you don't mind. I've kept my things in a locker there so that I don't have to carry them around. From there, I'm sure I can find a hotel. I'm looking forward to an actual restful nights sleep."

"And a stiff drink with a side of percodan" she thought to herself. 

Gavin dropped Silvio off at The Strip, where the Italian cheerfully wished him goodbye and wandered off. It had seemed like Silvio had wanted to talk to Gavin about something else, but evidently decided that now wasn't the time. Gavin was thankful for that. His thoughts were on Stella and, to a lesser degree, the woman in the back seat who reminded her so much of his old friend and lover. He glanced at her in the rearview mirror as they pulled to a stop at the train station. Gavin emerged to pick up her things for her, which he deposited in the trunk.

Driving to the hotel, he was very quiet- as was Emily. They both had a lot on their minds.

Still, he parked the car and helped carry Emily's things up to her hotel room.

When she'd been checked in, Gavin checked the room- although he hadn't expected any trouble. With a smirk, he holstered his gun.

"You should be all set, Emily. You've got the number of that doctor, and I already paid for him for a follow up or two. Anything you need, give him a call. So... you're going to renovate Stella's old place, right?"