The Call At McGinty’s
Gabby dropped her purse in the stock room, in her small area that her uncle had let her set up for herself. She shrugged off her jacket, and hung it with her scarf on the hook on the wall. She tied her apron around her waist, and fished her phone from her purse; checking once more for messages, she chewed the inside of her lip, and dropped the message less phone into the pocket of her apron. She couldn’t hide that she was genuinely getting nervous; this was unusual to go so long without hearing from Murphy, or even Connor. Gabby looked into her small mirror, and fixed her hair that the crisp wind had blown awry, she sighed deeply as she tried to brush her worries about Murphy and Connor aside.
Gabby laughed as she grabbed her notebook for inventory, hearing Uncle Doc’s turrets kicking up as swore over and over to himself. She walked out to greet the old man and gave him a big hug. “Good afternoon uncle, ready for the inventory?” She asked him cheerfully hiding her nerves the best she could. Doc nodded, and rambled off to himself as he headed back into the stock room, Gabby took notes as they walked through; making the various tallies and totals on her notebook as they walked through the stock room. She casually slipped into the conversation about the Twins, but her uncle was just as clueless as she was about their whereabouts.
After inventory was finished, Gabby settled herself into the office behind her uncle’s computer. He hated operating computers or any other type of technology, but with their liquor providers all going paperless, the computer was a must for ordering. She looked out the small window, that faced the bar, watching her uncle clean and prep for the nights rush as the computer loaded. She made quick work of placing the orders with the various venders, and set up delivery times, making most of them when she knew she would be working, to prevent the extra work for her uncle. He was getting up there in age, and she wanted to do all she could do to help him.
Gabby glanced at the clock as the bell on the door started to ring more and more frequently. She placed the final order for the whiskey, and closed the computer down; jumping up from her seat, to head out to the bar, the rush was coming, and she knew her uncle would need her help . Doc shot Gabby a smile as she joined him behind the bar, and started filling the orders for the few regulars at the bar. Double shot of whiskey, 2 pints of Guinness, and a vodka on the rocks; she quickly slid them across the bar to their corresponding patrons, and glanced over at the two empty stools at the end of the bar. No twins yet. She glanced up at the clock, knowing they could still be working, and went back to filling orders as the bar filled up.
Gabby quickly lost track of time, as rush hour filled the bar to the brink. She busied herself moving from one table to the next; bouncing from behind the bar to the stock room as they ran out of whiskey repeatedly. As the bar started to quiet down, a dozen or so regulars still littered throughout the bar, Gabby finally glanced at the clock. A deep frown spread across her face, if Murphy was coming to the bar, he already would have been there. Gabby jumped from her thoughts as her phone rang in her apron. She quickly reached for it, seeing the familiar number as being Murphy’s she looked over at her uncle and he nodded to her in reply. She put her phone to her ear, as she walked into the stockroom, letting out a relieved breath before answering. “Hey Murph,” She tried to hide the excitement in her voice, “how are you?”
Gabby’s excitement was short lived as the voice on the other end was not Murphy’s. “Hello aingeal,” the voice said coldly. That was what Murphy always called her; no one knew that besides Connor. “Who is this?!” Gabby said into the phone, trying not to panic, but she knew in her gut that something was wrong, “Who is this? Where’s Murphy?” There was a pause on the phone, and then she heard struggling. “Murphy?!” She shouted onto the phone, hearing a loud slap, and a muffled groan; that same cold voice speaking up. “I said talk,” she heard in the faintly, and another loud slap rang through over the phone. “Aingeal,” Murphy said softly, his voice pained, “Aye’m here.” Hearing the pain in his voice in just those short words, Gabby started to panic; her heart dropping in her chest. “Murphy, what’s wrong? What’s happening? Where are you?” She asked as she panicked, “Where’s Connor?” Her mind started running away with her, as he took a few moments to answer. “Aingeal, listen ta me, ya don’t do a thing they tell ya, ya hear me?” He questioned, there was another loud smack, and she heard him groan out in pain, until the phone went silent. “Murphy!!?” She shouted into the phone, and ran to get her jacket. She stopped cold in her tracks as painful groaning echoed in her ears. “Please, don’t hurt him,” she begged, “I’ll do whatever you want. Just please don’t hurt him anymore.” A cold, maniacal laughter filled the air, giving Gabby goosebumps. “Aingel!” Murphy shouted, his voice in the distance, “Don’t ya listen ta em, don’t ya do it!” He was quickly silenced, as Gabby heard another blow.
“What do you want?” She asked again, feeling the tears well in her eyes. "We want you to give Connor a message for us," the man said without an ounce of emotion as Gabby shrugged on her jacket, and grabbed her purse, she headed for the door of the stock room as tears rolled down her cheeks. "What kind of message?" she asked, trying to keep herself in check as she looked at her uncle, mouthing "I have to go." Doc nodded and hie eyes stayed on her as she left McGinty's, the remaining patrons following her as well, as they had all heard her yelling into the phone. "What kind of message?!" She asked again as she stepped outside, and started walking down the sidewalk towards the boys apartment.
"Tell him that if he wants to see his brother alive again, he'll turn himself over to us," the man said coldly. Gabby's heart stopped in her chest, "Please, don't hurt him, I'm begging you," she pleaded into the phone, "I'll tell him now. Just stop hurting him.” "Aingeal!! Don't ya--" Murphy started yelling in the background, she heard in groan in pain, before a string of profanities cursed through the air. "I'll call back tomorrow, you relay the message, or he's dead," the voice retorted back. Gabby stood frozen on the sidewalk unable to move as the sound of Murphy being echoed through to her side of the phone. The occasional, "that's all you got," and string of curses coming from Murphy until the phone went dead in her hand.
Gabby couldn't move, she was frozen in that very spot, she just listened to the man she loved be beaten, he could be dead. Gabby snapped out of it as she felt a hand on her arm, "Are you okay?" One of the bar's patrons asked as she looked up. "I... I... I need to go." Gabby bolted down the street, running as fast as her legs could carry her to the boys’ apartment. Uncontrollable tears streamed her face as ran. She made it to the apartment, and ran up the five flights of stairs to their place. Gabby cursed herself for having worn her high heeled boots, as she reached the top steps. She ran to the last apartment on the floor and pounded on the door, praying and hoping that this was just a bad dream, and Murphy would open the door, and yell “Gotcha.” Being the practical jokers that they were, it could be possible, even though she felt it in her gut that it wasn't.
Gabby gasped as the door swung open quickly, catching her off guard, and she was met with the muzzle of a Desert Eagle shoved in her face.
