Syndicate batch 18

Syndicate
Episode 49
So it wasn’t long before silence and darkness crept up over Will like warm covers being draped over his eyes.
* * *
There was a good thirty seconds of indecision and shock for Lia until she scre-med once, and began to yell for help. The man on the front steps was something that once resembled Will, only beaten into a bloody mess. The puddle of blood under Will was slowly getting bigger. Lia got woozy for a moment, and thought she might faint, but she denied herself that luxury. Will needed help… Kieran would need help. And that was her job after all.Oh no, Kieran,Lia thought as she continued to yell for help. She knew this would tear him apart. And though she didn’t understand the politics of what was happening, she understood that this was not good.
The first men to come rushing over were people Lia recognized. They worked with Kieran often. She knew one was named Riley. At first they stood there in shock. Then one of the older men shook himself loose of the paralyzing shock and began to bark out orders.
“Don’t touch him!” he yelled at one guy who rushed to kneel next to Will. “No one move him!” He turned to someone in,side the house. “Get Kieran,” he ordered. Someone Lia couldn’t see rushed away to follow orders. Lia realized she was standing behind the men with her hands over her mouth.
It wasn’t long before Kieran came out of the door, going as fast as possible in a wheelchair. His pained facial expression when he saw Will almost made Lia cry. He looked as if someone had stolen his favorite object right from under his arms. Lia was the only one that watched him struggle to keep control. All the other men looked away in respect. They also knew how hærd it must be for him.
There was about a minute of complete silence while Kieran watched his friend bleeding onto his front patio as he struggled to pull himself together. Then he spoke.
“Who found him?” Kieran asked, looking at the people gathered around Will. They all looked over at Lia, who slowly raised her hand. They made eye contact. Lia looked at Kieran sadly, and she saw Kieran’s face hærden again. “How did you find him?” Kieran asked her, no longer on the brink of a mental and emotional breakdown.
“I came out to get something from my car,” Lia admitted. “And I saw a car speed down the driveway. I was so distracted by the car I almost tripped over Will.” Lia kept her eyes trained on the ground. She couldn’t look at Kieran- or anyone else for that matter while she spoke. She especially couldn’t look at Will again. She was just glad he wasn’t conscious for the pain.
After momentary silence, Lia looked back up at Kieran- who seemed to be thinking since he was staring into space. The men crowded around Will on the ground were looking to Kieran for further instruction. After a few more seconds of utter silence, Kieran snapped back to attention.
“Riley,” Kieran addressed.
“Sir?” Riley stood.
“Call Gilroy. Get him over here now.” Riley rushed into the house. “Nolan, call St. Helen’s hospital downtown, ask for Dr. McNamara. If anyone asks who’s called tell them it’s me. When you speak to the doctor, tell him I’m calling in that favor, and ask him to come out here. Tell him this is off record.” Nolan nodded and dutifully went into the house again. “Murphy-“ Kieran continued, “call Diesel, ask him to come out here. Tell him it’s urgent.” Murphy went into the house before Kieran was barely done speaking. Now Kieran turned his attention to Lia. “Lia,” Kieran said.
Lia looked up to Kieran and made eye contact with him again. Lia went over to her boss, and knelt in front of him.
“Are you okay?” she asked gently.
“I’m fine,” Kieran lied. “Can you go get Will a blanket? He’s shivering.” Lia stood, knowing he had shrugged her concern off.
“Of course,” Lia responded, and headed into the house. Once in the house, she noticed things were very stressed. The tension in the house was at an all time high. Everyone knew what was going on. Even new employees seemed uncomfortable. Lia supposed it didn’t take long to figure out what was really happening in the O’Meara family. She didn’t remember the first time she figured it out; she had been so young when she first started working here. Lia just silently prayed Kieran wouldn’t make any rash decisions as a result of this terrible crime.
Episode 50
He had woken up at one point, looking around in a confused manner. Dr. McNamara and Kieran assured him things would be okay, and that he should go back to sleep. Lia watched as Will’s eyes closed again and noticed Kieran’s thankful sigh. Will was in his room in the O’Meara mansion, his stable condition confirmed by the doctor. His injuries required rest, no offensive medical treatment needed to be taken. After a few hours of watching over Will himself, Kieran slowly pushed his chair out of his room. Lia followed. Kieran sat in the hallway for a few moments, blankly staring at a portrait of some dead relative. Lia stood silently by him. Dr. McNamara left, with the promise he would return to check on the patient in the morning. Only Murphy remained at Will’s side.
“Go home Lia,” Kieran said, finally making eye contact with his employee. Lia turned to go, but felt something push at her from the back of her mind.If you don’t stay with him and help him now, you’ll be kicking yourself,Lia thought. After an internal battle waged between fear of her boss and her need to do what she felt was right, Lia turned around to face Kieran again.
He looked up at her as if realizing for the first time she had never left.
“No- I can’t, sir,” Lia said resolutely. Kieran’s eyebrows knitted together in a look of confusion.
“What?” he asked, tilting his head.
“I can’t go. I’m going to stay with you. You need help.” Lia thought she sounded pretty stanch, so she was surprised when he started laughing. His face went from confused to amused in 0.5 seconds. Lia couldn’t help but smile along with him, since she strangely got the sense he wasn’t laughingather.
“Well then,” he said, leaning on an arm of his wheelchair, “what would you like to help with?”
“Anything I can, I mean, I thought I would just help you when you need assistance, but I can do more,” she offered, nodding for emphasis.
Kieran was silent for a few seconds, seemingly studying her. “Okay,” he said finally. And that was all he said as he turned his chair. Lia pondered Kieran’s unique ability to make every one of his words matter. His single ‘okay’ made Liafeelhis sincerity, and not just hear it. Somehow, with that one word, Kieran managed to convey the fact he honestly believed Lia was capable of helping him where he needed help, and he wasn’t just saying ‘okay’ to shut her up. She was always amazed by him when he did things like that.
So she followed him down the hallway, still in awe.
They entered the sitting room. Lia surveyed the people present. The commanders, Gilroy, Madden, and the team led by Shea were there. They had been arguing, but ceased speaking immediately upon Kieran’s entry.
“Diesel’s on his way,” Riley spoke before Kieran could even ask. Kieran nodded.
“We have to attack,” Nolan said, “there’s no way to avoid war.”
“Yes there is, shut up Nolan,” Riley countered.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Nolan snapped at Riley. Kieran rubbed his forehead. The sight of Kieran distressed sent Lia into action, and before she knew what she was doing, she had interjected.
“Actually, there is way,” Lia cut in. Nolan’s attention instantly focused on Lia.
“Who the hell are you and why are you speaking?” Nolan spat at Lia.
“She’s with me,” Kieran said darkly. The room got silent. “…and if you insult her again, I promise youwon’tlike the consequences. So, let’s all shut the f–k up and listen to what the girl has to say.”
Kieran’s dark mood set a cloud of silence over the room. But Lia was star-struck. His protectiveness made her heart race and her stomach fill with sand. When he looked over at her and gave her a small, reassuring smile, she almost completely lost the ability to speak. But the thought of his distress sent her into action again.
“There is a way to avoid any full-scale violence. Two years ago, March 2010, we were on the brink of a turf war with the Italians. After a few run-ins, Kieran and Will thought up a brilliant plan to be mediated by a neutral… uh, org-nization. Central was called in to mediate and provide a verdict. The verdict was sent to a neutral in New York City in order to assure there was no bribing or bias. After the verdict was found to be legitimate, both sides paid their dues and the war was avoided.” Lia fell silent.
She looked sheepishly at everyone around the room after a few moments of silence. Almost
every person’s mouth was slightly ajar. Lia looked to Kieran, who wore the same shocked expression. Nolan had one eyebrow raised.