Eliza went on with her day job at Miss Marion's house. Miss Marion sat at her vanity and looked at herself in the mirror. An old face was in the reflection, one that she'd yet to get used to. Inside, she still saw herself as the vivacious girl she once was. But those days had long gone since then. She looked down at her many items, nail polishes, a silver brush and comb, old perfumes turning to vinegar.

But one item was particularly special to her. A ring with onyx in the center. She lifted it between her frail fingers, getting a good look at it. It seemed to be just like any other shift, until there was a knock on the door.

"Eliza, please get the door." Miss Marion called out, wiping away a tear from her cheek. She placed the ring in one of the drawers to her vanity, then once again looked at herself in the mirror.

Eliza put down her feathered duster and brushed her hands together. Then she walked over to the front door and opened it, without ever looking in the peep hole. It was the shock of her life when she saw it was Bessie.

"Bessie! What are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to—" Eliza argued.

"I wouldn't come unless it's important." Bessie told her. "It's about your man."

Eliza knew exactly who Bessie meant, but she pretended as though she hadn't. "My man? I don't have a man."

"Now you know better than that." Bessie insisted, then she lifted up a newspaper in her hand. It had mugshots of William, Connor, Bunny, Jack and more men. "They were busted up in Connecticut!"

"Busted!" Eliza reacted loudly, then looked behind her. She lowered her voice and stepped out of the apartment. Almost as though she needed comfort, she crossed her arms. "Busted?"

"Well, William seems to have gotten away." Bessie told her. "This is an old mugshot."

"Well, what about the rest?" Eliza asked.

"I don't know who the rest of these people are." Bessie squinted at the paper as she tried to skim over it. "It says a Jack McGill was taken down."

"Jack!" Eliza reacted loudly again, which seemed to get the attention of Miss Marion.

"Who's out there, dear?" Miss Marion asked from her room.

"Uh... just someone of the Watch Tower Society." Eliza called back to Miss Marion. "They'll be done in a moment!"

"You know who Jack is?" Bessie asked Eliza as she showed her the newspaper.

"Of course I do." Eliza took the newspaper from Bessie. Her eyes skimmed over it, and she covered her mouth as she saw his picture. "Poor Jack."

"They said the boys fought with a rival gang and someone dialed up the police." Bessie explained. "We don't even know if William is alive. Shots were fired."

"Please, don't tell me that." Eliza shakily handed the paper back to Bessie. "But if he is gone, I can't harp on it. I already told myself I was through with him."

Bessie rose a brow as she looked at her friend. "Mhm. Sure."

"I am! I said I couldn't handle it anymore. So whatever happens to him... let it happen." Eliza said.

"You don't mean that." Bessie frowned. Both of the girls heard Miss Marion's footsteps as she returned to the room.

"Shit." Eliza said under her breath. "Hey, I'll catch up with you later."

"Alright." Bessie nodded.

"Are they still here?" Miss Marion asked.

"They were just leaving." Bessie told Miss Marion. "May Jehovah be with you."

Bessie winked then made her way down the hall. Eliza shut the door and rested her forehead on the cold wood. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she still cared about William. So the thought of him being dead almost broke her.

After her shift, Eliza and Bessie rode the subway back together. Eliza was especially silent, her mind wondering exactly what transpired with William. Bessie placed a hand on her friend's knee to comfort her.

"It'll all be alright." She told her, causing Eliza to break down into tears. They hugged each other as the elevated train moved across the tracks.

"We don't know of that being true." Eliza cried. "He's almost died so many times before. Who knows what happened this time around."

"William is brave." Bessie ensured her. "If someone was trying to kill him, he'd kill them first! You don't have to worry about him."

"Then why do I feel so empty?" Eliza cried.

"You know, you've always helped me with guy troubles I've had. All the gangsters I found myself with, or opium fiends, or guys who were just plain broke. Hell, sex fiends too!" Bessie listed.

"What does that have to do with me being empty?" Eliza asked.

"I'm saying it always feels like this. And then you have a good friend by your said who helps you through it. For me, you were that friend. Now it's my turn to do it for you." Bessie went on. "And when it comes to it hurting bad, it's probably because you have been refusing to allow yourself to be with him. It's like a pop bottle you shake up too much. Eventually it's gonna explode."

"It hurts more to be with him." Eliza answered. "To be involved in this."

"If that's the case, let him go entirely. Don't listen to me when I come with news about him. Just don't care." Bessie advised her friend, and that only caused more tears. "But you still care. Of course you do. You're in love with him."

"We're not in love." Eliza refused to agree with her friend.

"Oh, yes you are." Bessie insisted as she continued on comforting her friend. Eliza wondered where in the world William could be.

William didn't understand how they were found. He believed they did a great job at keeping their plans under wraps. There was only one possible reason they were caught by a negro gang: a rat. It caused him to look at all of his men differently. Even his closest ones.

He picked up the telephone receiver. "Operator? Can you put me through Long Island?"

"William... I can't believe you're doing this." Connor told him. "I thought you said you were never gonna call on him again."

"And I meant it." William answered. "But I have no choice. I'm not doing it for me, I'm doing it for Jack."

After a long while of waiting, a man picked up. The quality of the long distance call was grainy. "Hello?"

"Hello?" William repeated.

"Hel-lo?" The man said once again.

"I'm here." William confirmed.

"Who is this?" The man asked.

"It's your son." William answered.