|
|
"Sonny."
It was Brenda. He’d been so lost in his thoughts about her he
hadn’t even
seen her get up and approach his
table.
"I’m sorry," she gushed, seeming nervous. "I don’t know why I’m
here exactly,
except you know, I guess I
was rude to Jason and his friend and "
Sonny rubbed his hand over his face, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Brenda," he
said, annoyance peppering his
words. "Do you see Jason and Carly here?"
Brenda shook her head, looking down and fiddling with her bracelet.
She
wanted to get defiant with
him-and angry, but she knew she had no right to.
"Forget it," she mumbled, beginning to back away.
Brenda didn’t get far when she ran right into Jason, Carly, and Rinaldo
returning from the terrace.
"Leaving so soon?" Carly sneered as Brenda strode by. Brenda
turned and
flashed an angry glare at Carly
but said nothing. A slight increase in pressure Jason put on
Carly’s back
with his hand stopped Carly from
saying anymore. She groaned inwardly, and began grumbling as
she sat down.
Sonny leaned forward, glancing one more time at Brenda’s retreating
figure
before fixing his eyes on Carly.
"I know," he said watching her fume. "She does that to me too."
Carly broke into a grin in spite of herself and felt instantly better.
Jason
sat down next to her, putting a hand
on her leg and squeezing her knee gently. "See?" he leaned over
and whispered
in her ear. "No big deal,
right?"
Carly nodded and kissed Jason on the cheek. "Yeah, yeah," she
whispered back.
"The three words *not* in
my vocabulary: no big deal."
*~*~*
The spotlight shone on Sonny as he stood at the table while General
Hospital
Chief of Staff Alan
Quartermaine announced his contribution. Carly looked around beaming.
All
eyes were on their table.
There she sat with the richest, handsomest, most powerful men in Port
Charles.
If her friends in Florida
could see her now! As Sonny made his way up to the stage, the
spotlight
followed him and Carly used this
opportunity to lean over and give Jason a sweet kiss on the cheek.
He smiled,
but his eyes never left Sonny.
"You’re not his body guard," Carly whispered, pointing to Johnny who
was two
steps behind Sonny as he
mounted the stage. "He is."
Jason made a face Carly couldn’t quite read, but smiled again, giving
Carly a
sideways glance.
"Ooh, I feel so honored," Carly muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
All of a sudden, as though mesmerized, Jason stood, staring at Sonny.
He
seemed frozen in fear. Carly
watched him, tugging on his cuff link, trying to figure out what the
hell was
wrong. She began to panic
when she saw a small red dot on Sonny’s chest. Carly glanced
at Rinaldo who
was staring behind them, up
into the rafters.
All at once, Johnny threw himself in front of Sonny, sending them both
tumbling to the ground. A single
shot rang out, piercing through the strangled gasps most people let
out at
Johnny’s sudden move. Rinaldo
threw Jason to the floor, pulling Carly down with them. It was
all happening
almost instantaneously.
Carly felt the air sucked out of her as she landed with a thud on the
ground.
She could barely breathe.
Jason was on top of her, Rinaldo on top of him. Everything was silent.
Then:
pandemonium. Screams and
trampling feet were the sounds Carly heard the most, muffled because
of the
unbearable weight on top of
her. She pushed as hard as she could, forcing Jason and Rinaldo
off of her.
Oblivious to them, or what they
were doing, Carly scrambled to her feet and lunged forward, intent
on making
sure Sonny and Johnny were
alive.
Strong hands encircled her waist and held her back, causing Carly to
fold
practically in half. She grunted,
struggling against the arms she assumed were Jason’s.
"Carly," Jason murmured, tightening his grip and pressing his body up
against
her back, allowing her even
less freedom of movement. "Carly, settle down."
Carly tossed her head back, glaring at Jason but ceasing her struggle.
"Let
me go!" she hissed, then softened
her tone into a sort of whimper. "Please."
Jason shook his head but released one arm from around her waist and
put his
now free hand against her
shoulder. "Sonny’s okay, look," he assured her, placing
his mouth close to
her ear.
Carly turned her head back to the stage and saw Sonny, now flanked by
police,
kneeling over someone.
"But Johnny!" Carly cried, lunging forward once again, more on instinct
than
true intent to run to the stage.
Jason held her back, replacing his arms around her waist in a quick
reflexive
movement.
"He’s okay too," Jason said, glancing back at Rinaldo who was standing
close
to his left. Rinaldo nodded,
indicating that Jason was indeed telling the truth. With reassurance
that the
guards had taken care to wear
their vests, Jason let out a breath. "He had on a bullet proof
vest."
As he said this, on stage Sonny helped Johnny up while an officer peeled
the
velcro away on the vest and
held it up, showing Mac Scorpio, the police commissioner, the bullet
lodged in
it’s back. Carly finally
stopped her struggle and wilted in Jason’s arms. She began to
tremble, then
sob, unaware of how
emotionally drained she was. Jason held her in his backward hug
until Rinaldo
guided two chairs over and
Jason was able to sit himself and Carly down. Carly leaned into
him, still
convinced she was unable to hold
herself up of her own will.
Carly could hear Jason’s heart beating. Hard. She stifled
a sob and let her
eyes graze quickly across the
room. Then she saw him. His dark brown eyes, glowing with
mischievous evil-
eyes she knew too well.
He caught Carly in his gaze and kept her there. She could barely
breathe.
She was scared. Had he had
something to do with this?
"No."
It came out as a whisper and Carly wasn’t even aware that the small
word had
passed through her lips. As if
she was in another realm-floating outside her body-Carly felt
herself get up,
using Jason’s shoulder to
steady herself as she did so. She was drawn to him. She
had to go.
Jason caught Carly’s hand before she walked away. "Where are you
going?" he
asked, concern evident in
his voice.
Carly looked again at the dark eyed man, and as if he had heard Jason’s
question, he held a single finger up
to his lips. Carly swallowed hard, looking down at Jason.
"I have to go see if Bobbie’s okay," she lied, freeing her hand from
his and
stepping away. Jason glanced at
Rinaldo who shook his head and held up his hands, a gesture clearly
saying
that he could not leave Jason to
follow Carly. Jason nodded, understanding, and watched Carly
until she
disappeared around a corner.
*~*~*
"Morgan," Mac Scorpio’s voice cut through Jason’s thoughts. Carly
was out of
sight but he was still staring
at the corner around which she’d disappeared, wishing she’d suddenly
pop back
into sight. He was
uncomfortable with her being gone-considering it seemed the cops hadn’t
caught
the shooter.
Jason finally looked up at Mac, and stood when he saw Sonny approach
behind
him.
"You okay?" he asked, looking past Mac to Sonny. Sonny nodded,
massaging the
bridge of his nose with
his fingers and sighing loudly.
"Morgan, we need a statement from you," Mac growled, moving to block
Jason’s
view of Sonny.
Jason stared daggers at Mac. "I don’t know what happened, that’s
my
statement."
Mac shifted his weight, putting a hand on his hip. His patience
was obviously
wearing thin. "You stood and
so did your body guard before the shot. What did you see?
What did you
know?"
Jason sighed heavily as though he was bored and glanced back at the
spot he’d
last seen Carly. What was
taking her so long? A slight twinge of worry coursed through
him.
"I saw a little red dot on Sonny. I figured out it was a-"
"Target rifle," someone said, approaching Mac and finishing Jason’s sentence.
Detective Taggert held up a rifle by its nozzle, his gloved hand touching
as
little of the gun as possible.
"Found this in the rafters right about there," he said, squinting his
eyes and
pointing upward. "It’s not
exactly a book depository but it would’ve done the job if that pesky
body
guard didn’t get in the way."
Taggert shot a disparaging look toward Sonny.
Mac cleared his throat. "That’s enough, Taggert," he warned,
pointing to an
officer several yards away.
"Go category that and let me chat with Corinthos and Morgan."
"We’re done," Sonny said, moving his stand next to Jason. "You
got our
statements, now we’re leaving."
Mac nodded, hesitantly at first, then with resolution. "Be reachable,"
he
warned, pointing a finger at both
men. "You may have to grace us with your illustrious presence
tomorrow at the
station."
Detective Taggert strode by, snickering at Mac’s comment. "Illustrious?
More
like notorious."
*~*~*
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Carly hissed as soon as she’d
turned the
corner and come face to face
with Tommy Nelson, an old boyfriend from Florida, and the only man
who knew
her darkest secret.
"Is that any way to greet an old friend, Caroline?" he sneered, a slight
smile
playing on his lips. He had
Carly’s arm in a tight grip and she shook herself away, trembling from
anger.
"I saw you yesterday at the No Name meeting with Sonny. What were
you doing?"
She sounded
suspicious-accusatory. And Carly believed she had every reason
to. With
everything she knew about
Tommy Nelson, it was to fear him. He was definitely up to no
good.
"I’m covering my bases, Caroline," he revealed, looking her up and down
in
such a way that she shivered
under his stare. She felt completely exposed. He had a
hold on her because
of what he knew. And she
hated him for it.
"You figured you’d make nice with Sonny so you can get to me easier?"
she
spat, her hatred toward him
clearly detectable.
Tommy grinned again, looking like a Cheshire cat-so pleased with himself
he
could barely stand it.
"Something like that, Caroline," he drawled, eyeing the necklace resting
against her collarbone. "I did figure
you’d sic your mobster boyfriend on me if I harassed little old you-Caroline
Benson, always pretending to
fight her own battles but standing behind some guy with big muscles,
or a gun,
or both."
Carly rolled her eyes tapping her foot impatiently.
"I’m also on a little job of my own," Tommy continued, looking
around and
dropping his voice as he spoke.
"Getting on Corinthos’ good side served two purposes: one, you
won’t run to
your boyfriend Morgan once
I start asking you to do things you don’t like-"
Carly felt like gagging at these words.
"-and two," a gleeful look passed over his face as he made a quick
retrieval
from his pocket, "it’s much
easier to kill a friend than an enemy."
Carly’s jaw dropped open. Her face went white and she tried desperately
to
focus on what it was Tommy
had in his hand. She backed up, feeling the world spinning around
her.
"You didn’t " she gasped, her eyes finally leaving the device in his
hand and
traveling up to his face.
"Tommy, you couldn’t , you didn’t " Sobs were choking her throat
and the
questions in her mind didn’t
resemble the words tumbling out of her mouth one bit.
Every ounce of her being told her to turn and run straight to any random
cop
that was milling around. But
she was frozen. His gaze held her. He held her. Always.
He’d always have
something on her. There was
no getting around it.
"Why? Why are you telling me this?!" Carly demanded, the
tears finally
spilling from her eyelids.
Tommy laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "For fun, Caroline.
To get
you back for running out on
me. You tortured me, now I’m going to torture you. Killing
your pal, well
that will just be bonus. And you
know-" he paused, his eyes flitting around once more to be sure
they were
completely alone. His grip
tightened on her shoulder. "You can’t say a damn word or the
unfortunate
little tape I have of you
committing the unpardonable sin of *murder* will make it’s way into
the wrong
hands."
Carly shivered at the memory. It had been so long ago-yet it was
now clear as
day in her mind. This
couldn’t be happening. No, it could and it was. Carly choked
then gasped for
breath. She had to beat him.
There had to be a way. She tipped her head up, looking down her
nose at him,
trying to appear unfazed.
She was sure her tear-streaked face and trembling body wasn’t helping
her
charade at all. But when she
spoke, her voice was strong and sure. Carly was grateful for
small favors.
"Jason and Sonny are not going to care about what I did back then."
Tommy chuckled, nodding his head. "Get those visions of Jason’s
and Sonny’s
out of your head. First of
all, there’ll be no Sonny. And I know, I *know* your boyfriend
won’t care
about what you did. Murderers
don’t disparage other murderers. But the police, they might raise
an eyebrow
or two."
Carly began to back away. She held her hands up as though they
might shield
her from any forthcoming
threats. "Don’t do this Tommy, please, don’t do this," she whimpered,
her
voice barely above a whisper.
Tommy advanced on her, taking her shoulder against his palms and rubbing
them
roughly. The box he held
in his hand scraped against her skin. Carly ignored it, not caring
now about
much in the world aside from
getting the hell away from Tommy Nelson.
"Caroline, baby," he murmured, so close to her ear Carly felt that she
would
throw up. "You keep your
mouth shut, you hear me? Or this whole little world you’ve built
for yourself
here will come crashing down
around you."
Carly shook her head and pulled herself desperately out of his grasp.
Before
she could protest, however,
Tommy showed her the box he had been holding. Carly’s eyes grew
wide as she
began to realize what it
could be.
"This is what they call a remote detonator," Tommy explained, watching
Cary as
her eyes grew wide and
panicked. "Now calm down," he commanded, holding a finger up.
"I just need
to prove to you I am
serious. And dangerous."
Carly watched his finger inch up to the button and managed to gasp out,
"I
believe you! I won’t say
anything, I swear!"
But the grin on Tommy’s face only grew wider and more sinister.
His finger
hovered over the button and
Carly felt the blood in her veins turn to ice water. Without
thinking, she
sprinted back around the corner
and into the view of the ballroom.
"JASON!"
Her scream was heard just a second before the table they’d been sitting
at
earlier in the evening exploded
into projectile shards of wood and glass. Carly covered her face
and threw
herself to the ground, only
waiting the few seconds it took for the room to settle before jumping
back up.
She saw Jason, Sonny, Johnny and Rinaldo before she even reached the
now
hollowed out table. They were
several yards from the table, obviously having been walking away from
it.
Carly managed a brief moment of
eye contact with Jason as he picked himself up off the ground before
the cops
descended on the area once
again.
*~*~*
"Carly, how did you know that bomb was going to go off?" Jason asked finally.
It was the first full sentence he’d said to her since the explosion
aside from
‘are you okay?’ and they were
already in the limo on the way back to the penthouse.
Carly looked at him, startled at the question. What the guy a
mind reader
too? "What are you talking
about?" she asked, trying to sound normal. As normal as possible
under the
circumstances. Her ex-
boyfriend was trying to kill her new boyfriend’s boss and gleefully
letting
her in on the fun.
Jason was patient in his answer. He knew she was hiding
something. It was
just a matter of finding out
what. "Carly, you yelled my name before the table exploded.
You knew it was
going down. How?"
Carly swallowed hard trying to think of something believable to say.
"I just
knew " she stuttered, knowing
she sounded completely insane. "I just knew."
For the rest of the ride, the limo was silent.
*~*~*
Carly felt awful. She knew no matter what she did someone would
get hurt.
There had to be a way to get
out of this. A way Jason and Sonny could find out who was trying to
kill them
without her being the one to
tell them. Then it came to her. Like a flash that was so
brilliant, she
should have seen it before. Find the
tape Tommy had of her before he could get it to the police. That
was it. She
had to figure out a plan.
Because the bottom line was, if she couldn’t save her own skin, she’d
save
Jason and Sonny no matter what.
If she had to, she’d tell them. They’d go after Tommy and he’d
go to the cops
with his evidence on her.
Carly just needed a little bit of time to keep that from happening.
To figure
out how to get that damn tape
from him, and make sure it was the only copy.
*~*~*
As soon as they walked in the penthouse door, Carly turned on her heel
and
headed out. "Okay, well,
goodnight," she muttered, hoping to make it to the elevator before
anybody
noticed.
Sonny had headed straight for the den, having already started the phone
calls
from his cell phone in the limo.
"Carly," Jason said, following her out into the hall. He stared
at her, his
fingers curled around the doorknob
as she slowly turned back from the elevator, a guilty look pervading
her face.
Carly glanced at both Johnny and Rinaldo who were both looking back
at her.
She sighed heavily, dropping
her head in defeat and shuffling back inside. She was tired and
really didn’t
want to have to have this fight.
Normally she loved fighting. It made her feel alive. Kept
her on her toes.
But with Jason, it was never fun.
It made her feel downright miserable. And this fight, well, she
would have to
lie through her teeth and Jason
always could tell when she was lying. And she hated it.
Carly dropped her purse on Sonny’s desk and heaved herself into a nearby
chair. It was time to do some
quick thinking. If she blew it, and told Jason the truth:
that she was being
blackmailed into keeping this
secret, could he protect her? Part of her screamed yes!
Tell him and he’ll
protect her from anything. But
Carly knew better. For one, she knew Tommy. She knew the guy
would have his
bases covered. He’d
prepare for this and still bring her down. It was inevitable.
And since when
did she not take care of things
on her own? Never mind what Tommy had said. Carly *did*
work alone. She
couldn’t depend on people
so she didn’t. It was just her nature. Don’t lean on people
and they won’t
let you down.
As she looked at Jason, staring at her in the chair opposite her, a
blank
expression masking his features, it
took every ounce of willpower not to confess everything. Sonny
and Jason
could have died. And she knew
who was responsible. She felt sick. The memory of her secret-an
image that
usually only reared it’s ugly
head in her darkest nightmares-resurfaced, and Carly could see herself,
clear
as day. No. There was no
way she could tell Jason and risk what Tommy had planned. She’d
stop Tommy
herself. No matter what it
took.
"You ever going to talk again?" Jason asked finally, clasping his hands
in
front of him as he rested his
elbows on his knees. He stared at Carly, still looking so beautiful
in that
dress. It was covered in dust but
she still shone radiant. However, now, replacing the pure happiness
that
she’d shown earlier that night, was
a look he couldn’t comprehend. Torment? Agony? It was worse
than he’d ever
seen her look. And why?
Carly cleared her throat, letting out a short self-depreciating laugh.
"I
thought you weren’t talking to me."
"Why?" Jason asked, scooting forward in his chair as though Carly was
about to
reveal a secret.
"Because you haven’t said two words to me since the explosion," Carly
muttered, rolling her eyes as she
stood and went to the bar to pour herself a glass of water.
"Carly, what are you hiding?!" Jason burst forth, slapping his
hands against
his thighs with a show of force
that surprised them both.
Carly watched as he got up from the chair and paced the room, raking
his
fingers through his short hair. She
recovered from his sudden outburst quickly and instantly raised her
armor.
"God Jase!" she exclaimed, slamming the glass of water down. "Get
off my case
would you?! I’m not
hiding anything!"
Jason stopped mid-step, turning to glare at Carly. "What about
Bobbie, huh?
I saw her outside when we
left, nowhere near where you’d come out from talking to her.
What the hell
were you doing?"
Carly opened her mouth and gasped, then snapped it shut again.
He was right.
There was no way Bobbie
could have gotten from where she was supposed to be talking to Carly,
to where
Bobbie really was outside
when they’d seen her in the span of time between the explosion and
when they’d
evacuated the entire
ballroom. Carly switched tactics immediately and hoped Jason
would follow her
new path into an argument.
"What are you saying Jase?" she accused, pointing her finger in his
face.
"That I was busy sneaking
off-planting bombs under our table?! Is that what you think?!
What were
Rinaldo and Johnny doing?
Aren’t they supposed to check for, you know, minor inconveniences like
BOMBS
under the table?! What if
you were sitting there Jason? Then what? What if someone
had gotten hurt?!"
"I know Carly!" Jason shouted, backing up so he didn’t knock Carly
over with
the force of his body.
"Somebody got to you. You know what’s going on here don’t you?!
DON’T YOU?!"
Carly bit her lip, trying so hard not to cry. "No, Jason, I don’t
know!!" she
screamed, so frustrated at every
lie she had to tell him she felt like punching something. "I
don’t know," she
repeated, quietly this time,
falling back into the chair and burying her face into her hands.
It hurt so
bad to hear Jason yelling at her like
this. And he was right. But she couldn’t tell him.
She wouldn’t.
Carly’s retreat did nothing to appease Jason’s anger. "Yes you do, Carly!"
Jason insisted, slamming his fist
into the back of the couch. "What the hell is going on?
You tell me now!"
Carly jumped back to her feet, suddenly seething with anger. "No
Jason. You
have no idea. You shut up
because you have NO IDEA what you’re talking about!"
"Then tell me Carly, please!" Jason demanded, gripping the back
of the couch
so hard his knuckles grew
white.
"Jason, I have no idea what you expect me to tell you!" Carly screamed.
"STOP LYING TO ME!"
Jason lifted his fists once again and pummeled them into the back of
the
couch.
Carly couldn’t take it. Not one more second of it. She stormed
to the desk
and grabbed her purse. "You
are out of control, Jase," she said, her voice calm and eerily cold.
"Leave
me the hell alone."
With that, she brushed past Rinaldo out the door, slamming it hard behind her.
*~*~*
"Sonny, I’m sorry," Jason muttered, entering the den with his eyes focused
on
the floor.
Sonny stood from the couch, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender.
"Hey, hey, don’t apologize for
Carly," he warned, watching as Jason leaned against the mantle, absently
picking up a picture and putting it
back down again.
Jason didn’t speak, he just shook his head and let out a sigh that was
barely
audible. He sat himself of the
sofa, landing with a dull thud, and leaned forward, his head in his
hands.
"Someone got to her," Jason finally said, his voice more confident in
this
possibility than ever.
Sonny raked his hands through his hair and sighed. "I heard everything
in
there, Jason," he muttered,
leaning against the mantle where Jason previously stood.
"Then why are you so calm, I mean, what do I do?" Jason demanded,
clenching
his hands into tight fists.
Sonny held out a hand in a calming gesture. If there was one thing
Jason had
to learn about the business, it
was that a poker face in every situation was the only appropriate expression.
Sometimes he seemed to have
it down pat, and other times, there was this rage inside him that burst
forth
like an unexpected tidal wave.
And there wasn’t much anyone could do or say to stop it.
"I’m calm because you tried to get it out of her for 45 minutes and
she didn’t
say a word. So what I’m
thinking is that she’s telling the truth-"
"She’s not," Jason interjected, his expression blank.
"-but if she’s not," Sonny continued, annunciating his words so Jason
wouldn’t
interrupt him again, "and
she knows who did this, we’ve gotta be careful. We can’t be getting
close to
someone who could sell us
out."
"She wouldn’t do it unless she was being forced, Sonny," Jason defended.
As
furious as he was at Carly, he
somehow knew she wouldn’t betray him, not like that. Not maliciously.
"Look, Jason," Sonny tried, sitting next to Jason and turning his body
to face
him. "Are you in love with
her?"
Jason looked at Sonny and nodded, answering without hesitation. "Yeah."
Sonny nodded, matching Jason’s gaze. He opened his hands then
clapped them
together again as though
there was nothing more to discuss. "Alright then. No harm
no foul right? If
you trust her, I’ll respect that.
We don’t need Carly to figure out who’s behind this. I know.
The guy he paid
to shoot me, was sloppy.
Not a professional. Two attempts on me tonight and I’m sitting
right in front
of you. That’s fishy. I’ll
admit it. But it doesn’t matter who pulled the trigger.
My beef is not with
him. It’s who gave the order."
Jason stared at Sonny, nodding in understanding. He let out a
heavy sigh,
then smiled a bit as images of
Carly flashed through his mind. "The worst day with her," he
mused, almost as
though he was thinking
aloud, "is better than the best day without her."
Sonny thought about this for a moment then smiled, focusing on the only
picture of himself and Brenda in
the penthouse. "Carly has been the best thing for you since she
got back and
let me tell you, Jason, from
experience " Sonny paused, standing to pick up the picture of
Brenda. He
gazed at it for a moment, then
turned back to Jason. "If this is the worst thing Carly does,
I’ll give her a
job in the organization myself."
Jason nodded, rubbing his hands over his face. He was suddenly
exhausted.
Sonny was right and Jason
knew he’d been hard on Carly. But it was going to be something
she was going
to have to learn-if she
knew anything about the hits on Sonny, she had to tell him no matter
what. He
had to make her realize what
the consequences of straying from loyalty brought. Jason pushed
himself up
from the couch with a new
resignation-to find out what was really going on.
Next
Part
Innocence
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