staring down the sun

[18] use that evidence, race it around

Smecker handed her two pennies, his voice low and cautious as he told her, "I know where we can find Nikolai." Elena held her breath as he showed her the evidence from Copley Plaza, explained what these two Irish guys were doing in Boston...and that he decided to help them.

She finally exhaled and shook her head. "You're crazy, you know that, right? That's murder. And what, these guys think that God told them to kill?"

Smecker leaned back, and his eyes flickered in annoyance like they always did anytime someone challenged his thinking. He started readying a cigarette in his mouth, and asked the question that will forever echo in her head. "What does God tell you, then?"

Elena pauses, studying the jump drive in her hand before zipping it back into her jacket pocket. She looks at Connor and Murphy, but before she can silently signal their next move, their hostage/informant suddenly smashes his laptop on the floor. The three of them jump, turning their shocked faces to the scruffy-faced man and cursing at him, Elena's voice somehow louder than the twins. "What the fuck, man?"

He breathes heavily as he raises his eyes, adjusting his black-rimmed glasses. "Everything you need is on that jump drive now. And I need to disappear, right?"

The twins look at each other, and Elena takes a deep breath as she stares at the mess of computer parts on the floor. When they decided they needed someone to talk, Connor and Duffy pointed out this Billy Valencia kid, some computer analyst for one of Lombardo's factions. "Trust me," Connor said with his signature smirk, "this guy will talk."

Valencia starts grabbing stuff from his desk drawers, whatever personal effects he has, and throwing it all into his backpack. "Look, I only did this because I needed the money. I didn't want anything to do with the drugs and all of the..." He hesitates, clearly not wanting to acknowledge the rest of the evil his bosses were known for. After a moment, he throws his bag onto his shoulder and looks at the trio with a sense of resurrected conviction. "But you can take them down. You have to. I mean...you're the Saints, right?"

And there's that imposter feeling again. Elena's not a Saint. She's just...helping. When the opportunity comes, she's going to leave. She has to. That's how this life goes.

But Connor...

He locks his eyes with hers, trying to read her mind, trying to convince her to stay.

Connor and Murphy turn to Valencia, patting him on the shoulder with revered smiles. "Aye," Murphy assures. "We'll take care of it."

"And ye do need to disappear," Connor adds, his accent strangely gentle. "Get as far away from here as possible." He hands the man two pennies, explaining, "If yer ever in trouble, go to a Catholic church and give them these. They'll know to protect ye."

Something Smecker and the boys' uncle had coordinated, some signal they could give without explicitly giving away information.

After Smecker revealed himself to be alive to Elena, he handed her two pennies again to underline what he was asking of her. "I need you to talk to them, check how they're doing, so you'll go undercover as a court-appointed therapist."

Elena remembered him talking about the boys, and she hated to admit she felt some gratitude towards them for the ripple effect they created in that hotel room forever ago. She stared at the pennies in her palm, her voice meek as she asked, "Why me?"

"Because something tells me you'll be able to find common ground with them."

She rolled her eyes instinctively. "Because I'm Catholic?"

Smecker just smiled. "Because you killed an evil man."

Connor and Murphy are mirror images again as they take a deep breath and watch Valencia disappear down the hall.

Connor looks so pleased with himself. "Told you he'd talk."

Murphy shakes his head, and Elena rolls her eyes with a slight laugh. "Ever the wise one you are, Connor," she rags as she flips her phone open. She calls Smecker. "Yeah, it's me. Listen, we might need to get some bent copper pipes to finish that bathroom remodel."

The twins make a face, and Elena smiles but shakes her head, silently telling them she'll explain later as she listens to Smecker. "Yeah, in New York," she confirms.

She ends the call in agreement to reconvene in the morning, but the twins are still making a face at her. "Bent copper..." she stalls, waiting to see if they'll catch on. No dice. "Valencia gave us a list of dirty cops that worked for Lombardo, yeah?"

The boys wait a moment, then slow smiles crawl up their cheeks, leaving Elena to feel like they've been fucking with her. They knew. "Fecking eejits," she teases, faking an Irish accent.

Their features soften as they smile at Elena and then look at each other with raised eyebrows. Maybe she is finally beginning to speak MacManus after all.