|
|
''Where *is* he?'' Carly asked
impatiently, starting on her
fourth round around the living room.
''Carly,'' Jasaon said sharply.
''You're making *me* nervous.'' He patted the couch cushion beside him.
''Come sit down.''
Carly considered a snide remark,
but Jason's offer was just too inviting to pass up. She crossed over to
the couch and sat
beside him, leaning her head on her shoulder. She
stroked his chest gingerly with one hand and smiled into his face. ''It'
so good to be home,'' she gushed.
Sonny looked uncomfortable,
but he tried to hide it and smiled crookedly. ''What happened with you
and Robin?'' he asked.
''What do you mean what happened?
Nothing happened.''
''Jason,'' Sonny said. ''Obviously
something has changed. You've been keeping several *huge* secrets
from her.''
''Robin can't be trusted,''
Jason replied shortly, and put his arm around Carly, drawing her
closer to him.
''What?''
''Her uncle. Mac. Robin can't
know anything about my business.'' Jason leaned forward and stared
at Sonny intently. ''I can't even trust her to tell her where I'm going
at night,'' he said. ''There's so much that I want to tell her that I can't.
I thought I loved her, but I always thought you had to have trust to have
a real relationship, and we don't
have that, Sonny. I don't know how much longer I can
keep up this charade
with her.''
Sonny stared at the younger
man, shocked beyond words. ''Why all of a sudden?'' he asked. ''You never
had any problem trusting her before,'' he added.
Jason shook his head. ''After
I left the orginization, or so Robin thought, I told her that I had
handed it over to Moreno. I
don't know why I told her, I shouldn't have gotten
her involved at all, but I did. I told her this in confidence, and
she promised she wouldn't say a word about it. The next thing I knew
Mac is pounding on my door demanding to know how to get a hold of Moreno.
She had to have to told him, Sonny. Nobody else knew.''
''I just can't believe this,''
Sonny said quietly. ''Robin loves you *so much*.''
''Well, maybe she has her own
agenda.''
Sonny sighed and stood slowly.
''Let me know how everything goes with Lucky,'' he said as he started toward
the door.
''Where are you going?'' Jason
questioned.
''There's something I have to
take care of,'' Sonny responded, and left the penthouse, lost in
thought.
Jason and Carly watched him
leave, then turned to each other, the question in both of their eyes. ''I'm
sure he'll explain when he gets back,'' Jason said.
''Yeah, maybe,'' Carly agreed,
and shrugged. She smiled and leaned against Jason. ''I wonder if Michael
is sleeping okay.''
''Maybe you should go check.''
Carly nodded. ''I think I will.''
She walked to the stairs, and was ready to mount the steps when she turned
back to Jason. ''Want to come in with me?'' she asked.
Jason didn't answer for a moment,
then crossed over to her. ''Alright. We just laid him down about
an hour ago, so he'll probably be fast asleep.''
''That's alright. I love to
watch him sleep.''
They walked into Michael's room
and stopped in front of his cradle, breathless. ''He's so beautiful,''
she whispered.
''So are you,'' Jason murmured,
and Carly stared at him, her face a mask of shock. Jason reached out to
brush a strand of hair from her eyes, then leaned slowly toward her.
Carly tilted her head, and their lips met.
Carly felt the world slip away
as she melted into his tender,
lingering kiss. At last their lips parted, and they stood
staring into
each other's eyes. Jason wrapped an arm around Carly's
shoulders, and they
stood together, watching their sleeping son.
Lucky did one last check by the
elevator for guards, then
hurried across the parking garage. He came at last to
his aunt's car,
and stopped beside it. He trailed his hand across the
side of the door,
then clenched the hand into a fist. He sniffed loudly
and dipped his hand
into his pocket, where he had stashed Bobbie's car keys.
He stared at
the keys for a long moment before making up his
mind, then slid the key into
the lock.
He heard the click as the door
unlocked, then opened the door
and climbed into the driver's seat.
''Sorry Aunt Bobbie,'' he muttered,
and turned the ignition.
He sped the car out of the garage
and took the back streets to
the freeway entrance, then picked up speed and
drove down the
expressway.
''Alright,'' he muttered, struggling
to see through his tears
and the pounding rain, ''where the hell are you?''
Finally he came to
his exit, and swerved the car onto the off ramp. He let
up some of the
pressure on the gas, and tried to control his shaking
hands.
Lucky squinted as he saw the
first car in the wreckage, and his
grip on the steering wheel tightened. He parked the car,
then ran
out into the driving rain and wind to examine the first
car. It was Jax's.
He hurried over to the other car, which he automatically
recognized as his
father's.
He ran over, and unlocked the
trunk, then threw it open. He
looked around for police, and was not surprised
to see there were none. They
would wait for the morning or when the storm cleared,
whichever came
first.
He removed the crowbar from
the trunk and crossed to Jax's car
again, shaking with pent up fury and pain. He brandished
the crowbar
like a baseball bat, then studied the car for a moment,
before bringing
the crowbar swinging down on the windshield. ''You stupid--''
He hit the
windshield again, ''son of a --'' The crowbar swung down
again. ''Bitch!" He swung
again. ''You---'' Again. ''Killed--'' And again. ''My--''
He swung another
time, and realized the windshield was completely shattered.
He
moved onto a side window. ''FATHER!'' he shouted, his
voice rising above
the roar of the storm, and swung mightily with
the crowbar. The window
shattered, and Lucky ran to the next, his tears mingling
with the rainwater
that covered his face.
He shouted angrily with each
swing, and when each window was
detroyed, he moved on to the next. He came to the headlights
and samshed
each, then started pounding the hood. He did not even
hear the car pull up
behind him.
''Lucky!'' Sonny shouted, running
toward him ''Lucky! Is that
you? What the hell are you doing?!'' He grabbed the raging
boy around the
waist and had to wrestle him to the ground to avoid
the swinging crowbar.
''Get off of me!'' Lucky shouted,
struggling to loose himself
from the man's grasp.
Sonny rolled off of Lucky and
stood, then helped him to his
feet. Lucky's body wracked with sobs, and Sonny reached
out to
comfort him.
''What's the matter kid?'' he
asked. Lucky did not respond, and
Sonny glanced around at the wrecked cars, then spotted
Luke's
Cadillac. ''What happened?'' he asked, pulling away to
look into Lucky's face.
Lucky mopped water and tears
off of his face and struggled to
keep his voice from shaking. ''Jax-'' he sputtered, then
grimaced, and
drew in a shaky breath. ''Jax killed him.''
''What?'' Sonny asked, alarmed.
''Lucky what do you-''
''MY FATHER!'' Lucky shouted
with astounding strength. ''He
killed my father!'' he cried, then swayed and collapsed
in Sonny's arms.
Sonny wrapped his arms around the
trembling boy, then pulled him into
his car, his plan suddenly forgotten.
Jason descended the last step, grateful that Carly had
finally gotten to sleep. She had looked so tired all night, and the situation
with Robin was not helping her in the least. He stood staring at the picture
of Robin and him on the fireplace mantle for a while, thinking of old times.
He could not even remember the last time he had been happy with her anymore.
He hadn't felt the same about Robin since she had betrayed him so many
months before.
His thoughts turned to that memory. He had
never told her what he had discovered about her. Just the thought of listening
to her denial and lie repulsed him. "Am I any better?" he asked, and was
startled at the sound of his voice. He did not usually carry on conversations
with himself, but now it seemed like the natural thing to do. "I've been
spending too much time with Carly," he muttered, and chuckled slightly.
Carly watched from the top of the stairs,
careful not to reveal her presence in the room. She watched with a smile
as Jason mused over his relationship with Robin, and stifled a laugh. Everything
was working according to her plan.
There was a loud knocking on the door, and
both were startled out of their reveries. Jason crossed to open the door,
and was surprised to see Lucky and Sonny. They looked equally miserable.
"Come on in," Jason said hastily, and waved them inside. "Lucky, what took
you so long?"
Sonny looked to Lucky for a response, but
Lucky only stared ahead blankly. "There was an accident," he said slowly.
"It wasn't an accident," Lucky said angrily.
"He killed him."
Jason was taken aback. He stared in shock
at the two visitors. "Sonny-"
"It *was* an accident, Lucky," Sonny said
gently, then turned to Jason. "Jax and Luke were in an accident. Their
cars collided, and they had to be rushed to the hospital."
"Is Luke--"
"Both were killed."
"Oh my god!" Carly cried, and the men's
head swiveled toward her. "Luke?" she asked hoarsely. "He's dead?"
"Yes," Sonny said slowly. "I'm sorry, I
didn't realize that you were that close-"
"He's my uncle!" Carly shouted, and rushed
down the stairs. She ran to Lucky and threw her arms around him. "I'm so
sorry," she said soothingly, and stroked the back of his hair.
Lucky nodded numbly, and cried softly against
his cousin's shoulder. Sonny finally pulled him away from her, and Lucky
allowed himself to be dragged toward the stairs. "I'm going to put him
to bed," he explained and the two disappeared around the corner.
Carly turned to Jason after they had left.
"This is just terrible," she said. "I can't believe he's actually dead."
Jason nodded, but did not respond. He walked
to the window and stared out at the rain. "Is this storm ever going to
end?" he asked.
"I don't know," Carly answered. "It certainly
is causing a lot of grief tonight." Jason nodded again, but offered no
comment about the men's deaths. "I'm going to go check on Lucky," Carly
said, and Jason watched as she hurried out of the room.
She walked to Sonny's room and knocked lightly,
then slowly opened the door. She saw Sonny sitting beside the bed and smiled.
"I thought you might have brought him in here," she whispered.
"Yeah," Sonny whispered. "He's already asleep.
He must be exhausted."
"Well, after a night like this you can hardly
blame him."
Sonny nodded, and stared solemnly at Lucky's
face for several moments before opening his mouth to speak again. "This
wasn't supposed to happen," he said quietly.
"No, it wasn't," Carly agreed. "But it'll
work perfectly. I know Luke was your friend, Sonny, but it's just a small
sacrifice to pay to get Jax out of the way." She paused. "Did you deliver
the package?" she asked.
"To the cottage?" Sonny asked. "Yes. I picked
Lucky up on the way back."
Carly smiled happily, heaving a sigh of
relief. Everything seemed to be working her way. "Thank you," she said
gratefully.
"What was in it?" Sonny asked curiously.
"Oh, nothing," Carly responded. "Just a
little message for Robin and Brenda."
"Carly-" Sonny said. "If you--"
"Don't worry," Carly said with a laugh.
"It's just a little surprise I've got for the girls. A big bash. I even
invited another friend."
"And who is that?" Sonny asked.
"Tony Jones."
Sonny was suddenly suspicious. "What was
in the box?" he asked abruptly.
"I told you, Sonny, it's a surprise-"
"Carly!" Sonny shouted furiously. "Don't
play games with me! Tell me what was in that box!"
Carly's eyes widened as the door to the
room was flung open and Jason ran in. "What's going on?" he asked. He looked
over to the bed at Lucky, who was raising himself up on his elbows. "You
woke him up," he said harshly to Sonny.
Sonny ignored his friend and continued to
glare at Carly. "Tell me, Carly, or you're going to be sorry you were ever
born."
"Why, such menacing threats. Really, Sonny,
you shouldn't treat a poor girl so," Carly said, smirking.
"Carly," Sonny growled.
"Tell him what?" Jason asked, confused.
"Carly, what's going on? What are you supposed to tell Sonny?" He looked
back and forth between the two, waiting for a response. None came. Lucky,
who had finally managed to sit up, regarded them stupidly.
"Is this about my dad?" he asked.
"No," Sonny said firmly. "I delivered a
package to Brenda's cottage," he explained to Jason. "Carly asked me to
take it over while you were putting Michael to bed. I was coming back from
delivering the package when I ran into Lucky at the sight of the accident."
"So what's the problem?" Jason inquired.
"Apparently your little friend here has
got a trick up her sleeve," Sonny continued. "I don't know what's in that
package, but it seems to be something that will have an affect on both
Robin and Brenda. And Tony," he added.
"Tony?"
"Tony Jones. The baby snatcher. Carly somehow
got him over to the cottage too, or so it seems. I'm going on what she
told me, and from past experience, I know that isn't much to go on."
Jason looked to Carly for an answer. "Alright,
Carly," he said. "What's in the package?"
Robin sighed as the car pulled into the driveway
outside of the cottage. She turned to Brenda, who sat slumped in the passenger
seat beside her. "You have to go in sometime," she said sadly.
"I know," Brenda replied, her voice void
of any emotion. She climbed out of the car and examined the car parked
beside Robin's. "I wonder who's here," she called to Robin. "I saw it when
we pulled into the driveway, but I thought--"She broke off, laughing bitterly,
and wiped away fresh tears. She sniffed loudly. "I thought it was Jax's,"
she continued.
Robin frowned and circled her car to stand
beside the other one. "I think it's Tony's," she said softly, her eyes
wide.
"What would he be doing here?" Brenda asked,
curiosity overriding her grief.
"Let's go find out," Robin said, and they
ran to the front door, attempting, without much success, to shield themselves
from the downpour of rain. Robin let them in and they hurried inside.
Tony sat at the dining table, ready to greet
them. His eyes were clouded with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Robin," he said.
"Brenda. I know you both must be devastated."
"Yes," Brenda agreed. "The man I loved died
tonight, Tony. Do you think a few comforting words from you is going to
make me feel *any* better?"
"Oh, I'm not here to comfort you," Tony
said, with a malicious grin. "I thought I should at least make a show of
sympathy, though. I can't say I'm going to miss either Jax or Luke much."
"Tony," Robin said angrily. "You shouldn't
be here. You come in, when nobody's home, and without an invitation, and
then stomp all over people's feelings. I don't know what make you think
you have the right."
"Ooh, let's just call it a *divine* right,"
Tony said slowly. "At any rate, I think you have something I want," he
said,
"What are you talking about?" Brenda asked
tiredly.
"I got the call," Tony said, clearly annoyed.
"I know you have them."
"Tony---what-"
"My custody papers," Tony snapped. "The
clerk at the office called and told me somehow she had gotten the files
mixed up, and she sent them here. You can't keep me from my son," he said
angrily. He noticed a package sitting on the nearby chair and hefted it.
"Is this it?" he asked. "It's an awfully big box for custody papers, but
I don't know--"
"Tony, that's Brenda's mail!" Robin exclaimed
and walked over to him.
"That's funny," Tony said, laughing. "It
has my name on it." Robin looked closely at the box and was surprised to
discover that he was right. "Well, it's a pretty funny package," Tony remarked,
shaking the box. "I think there is a parcel in here. Not only did they
send it to the wrong address, but they apparently got the wrong package
too."
Brenda frowned, and took a deep breath,
then let it out in a gasp. "Did you hear that?" she asked sharply.
Tony and Robin turned to her. "Let me see
that box,"Brenda said, and grabbed it out of Tony's hand. She put the package
to her ear, and listened intently. "Oh my god," she whispered after a moment.
She threw the package across the room and started dragging Tony and Robin
ahead of her. "Get out!" she shouted.
"Brenda, what's--" Robin's sentence cut
off as a blast knocked them all to the ground.
Conclusion
''Jason-'' Carly said, but stopped
as the phone rang shrilly in
the other room. ''Someone should get that,'' she said.
''I'll be back,'' Jason said
and ran to answer the phone. Sonny
remained where he was, and stared coldly at Carly.
''What have you done?'' he asked.
Carly opened her mouth to answer,
but no sound came. She stared
in open horror at the sight of Jason standing in
the doorway. He looked furious.
He pushed past Carly and joined
Sonny and Lucky at the head of the bed.
''There's been----- an accident,''
he said gently to Sonny.
Lucky groaned and leaned his
head against the boards behind
him. ''Things can't be much worse than they already
are,'' he muttered.
''Yes, they can,'' Jason disagreed.
''A fire started in
Brenda's cottage,'' he said. He glanced quickly at Carly,
and
chose his next words carefully.
''Robin, Brenda, and Tony were
inside.'' Lucky inhaled sharply, and felt his chest
tighten. ''Tony and Brenda were
killed,'' he finished slowly.
Lucky gulped in a huge breath
and stared in anticipation at
Jason. He slowly exhaled and gazed steadily at Carly.
''Do they know what caused the
fire?'' he asked.
Jason also looked at Carly,
his eyes resting on hers for a
moment before he replied, ''No.''
''They don't?'' Sonny asked
sharply. ''Brenda is *dead* and
they don't want to take the time to see what caused
it? Are these people idiots
or what?!''
''Sonny, why does it matter
how it happened? It wasn't a mob
hit. That's all that's really important.''
''I want to know why the woman
I love is dead.''
''Loved,'' Lucky said quietly.
''What?'' Sonny turned to Lucky,
confusion stamped on his face.
''You *loved* her, Sonny. Like
Jason said, she's dead.''
''I'll never stop loving Brenda,''
Sonny said heatedly. ''I
don't care what condition she's in.''
''Well, then you should cherish
what you have, Sonny,'' Carly
spoke up. ''She never would've given you anything
but heartache in life anyway.''
''You have no right to tell
me how to feel!'' Sonny shouted,
and shook his head. ''I'm outta here,'' he muttered and
stalked out of the room.
''Sonny, wait!'' Jason called,
and followed after him.
Carly and Lucky were left alone
in the room. Lucky sighed
heavily and climbed out of bed as Carly crossed the
room to stand beside him. ''How
are you holding up?'' she
asked.
''I don't know,'' Lucky said
numbly. ''At first I was so----
angry. But now I don't really feel anything.''
''Shock,'' Carly said with a
slight nod of her head. ''Lucky,
you have to know how very sorry I am-''
Lucky managed a small smile.
''It wasn't your fault,'' he said.
''I know you would never do anything to hurt my dad.
I don't know why I'm even upset.
I thought I hated him. I
*knew* I hated him. His death should have thrilled me.''
He shook his head in something
closely resembling
disappointment.
''*Don't* do this, Lucky,''
Carly said, rubbing his back
gently. ''You don't have to explain your feelings to
anyone.
He was your *father*. You have
every right to mourn his
death.'' She paused and took a deep, steady breath
before daring herself to speak
again. ''There's a difference
between wanting someone dead and watching them
die,'' she said finally.
Lucky looked up at her in utter
shock. Those were the same
words his father had spoken after Nikolas was shot.
He shuddered at the memory of
that night. ''Lucky?'' Carly
asked in concern.
''I'm fine,'' Lucky mumbled.
''Don't you have something to take
care of?''
''Well-'' Carly said unsurely.
''I didn't think you were up to
it...''
''I am,'' Lucky insisted. ''I
want to do something---- to stop
thinking about... him.''
''Okay,'' Carly said. ''I guess
we should go to General
Hospital then.''
''General Hospital?'' Lucky
asked sharply, suddenly remembering
his aunt's car. He was certainly not ready to deal
with her fury, especially after
all he had been through that
night. ''Why?''
''Didn't you hear Jason?'' Carly
asked. ''Robin isn't dead.''
''Well, at least there's that,''
Sonny said, his voice drowned
in complete misery. ''I just can't believe ------ Brenda.
God, she can't be gone, man.
I love her.''
''Look, Sonny. I cared about
Brenda too. And no one is as sorry
for you as I am. But you have to get through this
night. There's Lucky to worry
about too, and Robin. She's in
critical condition at General Hospital.''
''She is?'' Sonny asked. ''Then
what are we doing here? We have
to get there.''
They looked up as Carly and
Lucky entered the room, Michael in
his mother's arms. ''Get the stroller,'' Carly
ordered Jason. ''We have to
go to the hospital.''
Nobody made any argument, but
hurried out to the car. As they
pulled to a stop in front of the hospital, Lucky
was surprised to see everything
so calm. It had all seemed so
hectic when he left.
Carly walked beside her cousin
into the hospital, following
swiftly behind Jason and Sonny as they practically ran
to the nurses' station. Sonny
leaned forward impatiently and
hailed the nurse behind the counter. ''Can I help you?''
she asked.
''Yes, we need to see a patient,''
Sonny said quickly. ''A
Miss-''
''Sonny!'' The small group turned
to find the source of the
voice. Mac Scorpio stood, looking infinitely unhappy,
stood only a few feet away from
them, his arms crossed over his
chest. ''How nice of you to come back,'' he spat
at Lucky. ''Did you take your
aunt's car for a nice joyride?''
He got no response from Lucky, so turned his
attention back to Sonny instead.
''You're not going to see
her,'' he said angrily. ''I won't let you anywhere near
her.
Either of you.'' He glanced
at Lucky and Carly. ''*Any* of
you,'' he amended.
Carly laughed harshly. ''I'd
love to see you stop me,'' she
said, and started in his direction.
Jason puller her back. ''Carly,''
he chided her, and looked
with pleading eyes to Mac. ''Please, let us in to see
her.
I just want a chance to say
goodbye.''
Mac's lip quivered. ''She's
not going to die. She's on full
life support now, yes, but that's just because her heart
has
been so weakened by her injuries,
she needs some help. She's
going to get better and her heart and lungs will
work on their own.'' He sounded
more like he was trying to
convince himself than the others.
''I want to tell her goodbye,
Mac. I don't know if she's going
to live or die,'' he admitted. ''But it's going to be
goodbye, either way.''
Mac stared at him, caught off
guard. ''You mean--''
''I'm leaving her,'' Jason said.
''I've hurt her enough,'' he
added, sure this was what Mac would want to hear.
It seemed to do the trick. ''Alright,''
Mac conceded. ''You can
see her. But only for a little while. She's barely
hanging on. I want all the time
with her that I can have.''
Jason nodded, and he and his
friends followed Mac as he led
them to Robin's room. When they stopped in front
of the door, Jason looked at
Sonny almost apologetically. ''I
just want a minute,'' he said quietly. ''To say goodbye.
Then you can come in.'' Sonny
nodded slightly, and found an
empty seat in the waiting room beside Lucky.
Jason entered Robin's hospital
room, and gasped at the sight of
her. She was hooked up to what seemed a
thousand machines, the most
obvious of all the heart monitor.
He noticed with distress that Mac had been right;
her heart wasn't even beating
on its own.
He sat in the chair beside the
bed and took Robin's limp hand
in his. He inhaled deeply and looked into her
unconscious face, trying to
ignore the ghastly appearance of
her countenance with the tubes running from her nose
and the respirator. ''I'm sorry
this had to happen to you,
Robin,'' he said quietly. ''You only did one thing that
was
wrong to me. You betrayed my
trust. I asked you not to pass on
any information about the organization to your
uncle, and you did it anyway.
You know how I hate to be lied
to,'' he said as a tear streaked down his cheek.
''I was the one who was lying,
though,'' he continued. ''I
pretended to love you, Robin, and to tell you the truth,
I
don't. I'm not sure when it
happened, or how, or *why*, but it
did. Somewhere along the way, I stopped loving
you. And I've been lying to
you since. About my job, about my
lifestyle, about my feelings toward you. But now I
know for certain, Robin. My
heart belongs to someone else. I
can't lie to you anymore.'' He ended his small
speech and leaned forward to
plant a gentle kiss on her
forehead. ''I'm sorry I wasted so much of your time,''
he
whispered. ''Goodbye.''
Jason looked up just in time
to see the door open and Carly
poke her head inside. ''I'm sorry,'' she said with false
sympathy. ''Am I interrupting
something?''
''No,'' Jason said steadily.
''I was just leaving. Are you
going to have a minute with her?''
''Yes,'' Carly responded. ''There's
a little something I need
to take care of.'' Jason missed the tone of her voice
and
simply nodded, then left her
alone with Robin. Carly smiled
broadly after he left. ''Well, if it isn't the little
saint,'' she
said slyly and moved to the
side of the hospital bed. She took
the cord to the vast machine beside Robin between
her fingers and toyed with it
absently as she spoke. ''It's
such a shame,'' she said with exaggerated sorrow, ''that
you're stuck in this hospital
bed, while I'm fit as a fiddle
and free to do *whatever I want*. I know if you could
actually talk you would have
something very indignant to say
about that.
''It's too bad about Jason,''
Carl went on. ''He really loved
you, you know. If only you hadn't spilled all of his
secrets to Mac, you might be
with him right now.'' She couldn't
not contain her mirthful laughter. ''That anonymous
tip was the best thing I ever
did,'' she said heartily. ''Jason
bought every line. Of *course* he thought you had
spilled the beans. You were
the only one he told about it.
Except, of course, me. But you were always *very*
careful to make him forget about
me, weren't you Robin?'' She
tightened her hold on the electrical cord. ''Well,
that's going to all end soon,''
she said. ''This is a really
important cord that I've got, isn't it? You'd think they'd
have
these life support machines
working off something more than a
silly little electrical cord. I mean, one good yank---
and poof! No more Robin.'' Carly
shook her head and leaned in
closer to Robin.
''Farewell, little Robin,''
she whispered, and pulled the plug.