A Love to Last a Lifetime

	Sign In Sign-Up

A Love to Last a Lifetime 15
Chapter 79

An hour later Lucky entered Jason’s room followed closely by a suspicious Reynaldo. Bobbie was at the door giving the officer specific instructions that no one other than her nephew, brother and their guests were to be allowed to enter the room. Bobbie had switched shifts with the duty nurse on the floor so she would be the only staff member available during this crucial time. Some things never change where dad is concerned, Lucky thought to himself with a smile.

Reynaldo went to Jason’s bed and looked at his boss. Then he turned on Lucky. “You said he was awake and that he ordered me here. He doesn’t look awake to me.”

At the sound of Reynaldo’s voice Jason opened his eyes and quietly cleared his throat. He watched with mild amusement as Reynaldo’s head snapped around. “Hello, old friend.” Jason reached up and shook his most trusted employee’s hand noting the look of absolute relief on his face. “Good to have you back boss.” Reynaldo said simply. He sat and watched as Jason again closed his eyes. Just as he looked up from his boss’s bed the door to the room opened.

Luke followed by Mac and V entered the room. “Alright, I see the gang’s all here, so let’s get started.” They had decided that the police definitely needed to be involved at this point. Elizabeth was missing and the identity of the man who took her was known. Jason was a known crime lord and without the police involved his future could be jeopardized. Since Mac had offered to work with Jason before the stabbing, they decided to take a chance and see if the offer still stood. Luke had tracked Mac and V down at Murty’s house and explained the necessity of a meeting to them. He did not fill them in on the details feeling it was better if Jason did it himself.

“You have your sister out there giving my man orders?” Mac looked at Luke with amazement. V only shook her head. She had never worked with Luke Spencer before, but she knew from his reputation that he had a way of getting things done. “Well commissioner, were you here to do it? If you don’t agree with the orders my sister gave him feel free to give him new ones.” Luke was puffing on his cigar, never one to follow rules himself.

V had taken in the rest of the scene in the room well before Mac had. She noted that Jason was lying still with his eyes closed. He looked like he had over the past few weeks, but she noticed that Reynaldo was back at his side. Something was up she decided as she nudged Mac’s side and pointed the situation out to him. Mac looked from the bed to Reynaldo to Lucky and back to Luke waiting for an explanation.

Luke looked at Jason with amusement. “Alright Spencer, what’s going on here?” Mac was quickly losing his patience with this man, not that he had much to begin with when it came to Luke Spencer.

Bobbie sat at her station and watched in shock as Nikolas practically ran by. She started to say something to him but realized that she would not be heard. She heard rather than saw the ruckus that took place down the hall.

Nikolas finally reached Jason’s room only to be told that he could not enter. With Emily’s life hanging in the balance there was no way that he was going to listen to a mere beat officer. With one quick motion Nikolas’ fist connected with the officer’s temple rendering him unconscious. Then he pushed his way into the room.

<AJ’s hideout, Port Charles Sewer System>

Liz immediately went to her friend. Attempts to wake her so far had been futile. What had AJ done to her? She was shocked that anyone could do such a thing to their own sister. She had always thought that AJ and Emily had a special bond. Apparently AJ had every one fooled.

Liz was sitting with Em’s head in her lap quietly singing to her. She was staring in the direction she had last seen AJ praying that he wouldn’t return for a while. She much preferred the company of the rats to him.

She felt Emily stir and looked down to find her staring up at her friend with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Liz, I’m so sorry.” Liz smiled a little confused. “What do you mean?” Emily sat up and shook her head. The physical pain she was in from AJ’s beating was nothing compared to the emotional pain she was feeling for her friend.

“It was AJ all along. Here I am your best friend and my brother raped you. Not only that, but he has done so many awful things. How can you still look at me?” Liz smiled and reached for Emily’s hand.

“Emily, how can I blame you for what he did? He was the one that raped me not you. He planted the bomb that killed Sarah and he cut Lucky’s brake line. Now he has done this to you. I am the one who should be apologizing. If it weren’t for our friendship you wouldn’t be here at all.” Elizabeth finished on a sob and both girls embraced each wondering what the next hours held for them.

Chapter 80

<Jason’s room, General Hospital>

Mac, V, Lucky, Luke and Reynaldo were all focused on the door. There stood Nikolas Cassadine with a look of fear and panic on his face. Lucky wondered what brought him there and stifled his concern in order to keep the fact that Jason was awake a secret.

“What are you doing here Cassadine?” Luke was annoyed that they were interrupted yet again. He knew that Liz’s time may be limited and he was still unable to get the plan across to Mac and V. He needed Nikolas to leave and leave immediately. If that meant harassing him he would do it. “We don’t need any of your kind here.”

Nikloas was in no mood for any of Luke’s crap so he chose to ignore him. He focused his attention on Lucky instead. “I’m glad you’re here I have major news and spent the better part of my morning looking for you.” Nikolas went to explain what he and Emily had found in the boathouse and their plan. “When I couldn’t find you I went back to boathouse to get Emily she was gone. So was the bag. All I found was her earring.”

Lucky’s heart sank, so AJ had Emily too. He looked at Luke and made his decision. Nikolas was family, and now he was involved. “Come in and shut the door.”

Jason thought the hardest thing he had had to do was lay in a bed pretending to be in a coma when he had just heard that his little sister had just been abducted by a lunatic. As soon as he heard the door close he sat up. “What do you mean Emily is missing!?”

Nikolas, Mac and V all turned and looked at Jason now sitting on the bed. V was the only one who wasn’t surprised and she noted that Reynaldo wasn’t either. “Nikolas, did see you any signs of struggle?” V decided that she would be the rational one here, Jason was ready to fly into a rage and Mac was dealing with his animosity towards Luke.

Nikolas shook his head. Mac who had been watching the whole scene asked simply, “why didn’t you come to the police?” Nilokas met his eyes and answered him honestly. “Because I figured you would wait the standard 48 hours and I thought that if I could have talked to Jason it may have been the jolt he needed to wake up,” he looked at Jason and gave a quick smile. “I see that was unnecessary though. What are we going to do now?”

The question had been towards Jason, but Mac looked to Luke when he said, “why don’t you guys tell us what you know and about this plan of yours.”

They all listened silently as Luke, Lucky and Jason explained that AJ was behind the recent Port Charles crime spree. Then they explained the plan, rehashing it twice so that everyone understood their role and the importance of remaining silent about Jason’s recovery.

Emily and Liz had been alone for what seemed like hours. Liz wondered how long it had been or even if a whole day had passed, without daylight it was difficult to gauge the passing of time.
Neither had spoken much, just the occasional comforting snipets of conversation.

Liz was lost in her thoughts. She had decided that she was through being a victim and was wondering how they could fight back. AJ had done a thorough job of tying them up when he had left the last time and now her hands were beginning to ache. When he brought Emily in he had untied her, but when he left he put the ropes back on. When he had been preparing to leave he looked at Liz with the strangest expression and then he said something she didn’t think she would ever forget, “I will be bringing Lucky here soon. I’m going to wait to kill sister-pain-in-the-ass over there until then. It is only fitting that you get to watch them both die. Then angel we will face the world together, you and I against the world!” Liz could still hear the echo his bitter laughter in her head. She purposely played the scene over and over in her mind. It helped fuel her anger and thus she kept her sanity.

Emily was dreaming. She and Nikolas were walking hand in hand. Everything seemed normal until she was violently ripped away from him, she screamed his name, but he didn’t come for her. She awoke with a jolt and took in her surroundings. She closed her eyes again praying for the nightmare to return. It was better than her reality.

Chapter 81

AJ was making his way through the tangled maze of sewage tunnels. He had memorized them all during the many months of his obsession with Elizabeth Webber. He had learned to get anywhere in the city simply by climbing into the sewer system. Sometimes the weather was a problem, but to him the danger of being washed away in a storm it just added to the excitement. Now he had Liz down here with him. He had to pat himself on the back for his genius. If only Lucky knew his beloved would be directly below him while he slept tonight.

As he climbed the ladder he shuddered, this would definitely not be a pleasant evening, he wished that he did not have to live this charade and looked forward to the day he wouldn’t have to any longer. He prepared for the family dinner during which the family would definitely take note of Emily’s MIA status. All hell was sure to break lose. A sly smile crossed his face as he braced for the evening. His mind, always jumping ahead to the next step in his plan, reminded him to stop by and see his brother later. Jason needed to be taunted. It gave him great pleasure to know that he controlled the most powerful person in the Port Charles crime world.

AJ loosened the manhole cover behind the boathouse and made his way quietly to the surface. It had been an accident that he found this spot. One day shortly after he had first seen Elizabeth Webber during the fiasco of a wedding between Brenda and Jax he had stumbled across it. He began his explorations on the spot.

If only Jax’s first wife hadn’t ruined everything by showing up things would have moved much quicker, he could have taken her then, AJ mused as he remembered. Instead once the guests filtered out he had to wait weeks before he had even seen her again. Then he saw her only for brief moments during which an opportunity never presented itself. Then Valentine’s night was upon him. He smiled at the memory of their one night together. He knew that one day Liz would see it the way he did, as a beautiful beginning.

AJ left his secret world behind and entered the one in which everyone knew him as the upstanding recovering alcoholic who was continually battling for his place within a powerful family. If they only knew.

<Jason’s Room>

Once Luke had finished speaking he opened the floor to questions.

“What if AJ were to walk in right now, then what? What kind of system is in place to avoid him surprising us?” Mac liked what he had heard with the exception of this one glitch. Luke smiled and took a long drag on his cigar. “I bribed the volunteer at each of the main entrances as well as the emergency room nurses. If AJ enters the building they will notify Bobbie immediately.”

Mac shook his head annoyed. “What if he doesn’t use a main entrance?” Luke smiled, “Well commissioner, that’s a risk I was willing to take. The way I see it AJ works out in the open. He almost feeds on visibility. The way he figures it, he shouldn’t need to sneak around to visit his sick brother.” Mac had to admit no matter how much it pained him that Luke did have a point.

V had what she thought was a more pressing question, and she posed it. “Jason, what are you going to do about Robin? Are you going to be able to lie to her?”

She watched the conflicting emotions cross Jason’s face and saw him make his decision. Jason spoke in the tone of a man whose sole purpose is to protect those he loved. “Robin may be hurt that she wasn’t included, but she will understand. If too many people know then the chances of leaks are much greater. AJ has already taken Emily. If he is on to us who is to guarantee that he won’t do the same to Robin. It would be much more dangerous for her due to her medication schedule to be held hostage. She needs to be kept in the dark for her own safety.” Jason finished, but not before he noticed the look in Mac’s eyes, what was it, respect, admiration, relief or a combination of the three?

Despite himself Mac had to appreciate Jason’s slant on the situation. “Thanks Jason for putting her needs ahead of your own.”

“All right everyone, though this touching moment of caring has gotten to me, we have to get out of here. Time to split up, Lucky you and Nikolas leave first. After 5 minutes V and Mac will follow. Reynaldo and myself will take up the rear. We will meet at the designated spot when the time comes. Keep those cell phones handy.” Luke took a long drag on his cigar as he took charge. “My gut tells me AJ will be around and soon.” His eyes met his son’s when he said, “Remember, for Liz’s sake,” Luke glanced at Nikolas briefly and added, “and Emily’s, if you run into Quartermaine act normal. Don’t do anything stupid. If he can smell your rage we will never find them.” Lucky nodded and watched as Nikolas did the same. Now the wait began.

Chapter 82

Elizabeth sat in the dark thinking. She almost had it worked out. AJ had tied Emily to the ladder. If she could scoot over there and get her hands close enough she may be able to untie Emily. She began flexing her hands hoping the circulation would return. She looked towards Emily’s sleeping form and decided it was time to wake her. “Emily? Emily!” Liz whispered as loud as she could. She didn’t know where AJ had gone, for all she knew he was lurking around the bend. As she scooted she brushed against a rat resting in the shadow of her body. She bit back the squeal knowing that a rat was minor compared to the pain AJ was capable of inflicting.

Emily stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She groaned and immediately shut them again as if in denial of their situation. “No Emily, you need to wake up. I figured out a way to get you out of here. Wake up and sit up as best you can.” Liz was almost all the way to her, she could feel the heat her body was putting off and welcomed it like a frigid camper would an inviting camp fire. It took about 5 more minutes of struggling, but Liz eventually made it within reach of Emily’s hands. She rested her back on the ladder and inched her way down so her hands made contact with Emily’s.

Liz flinched when she touched them. They were freezing and she knew that Emily had no feeling left in them. She felt a new wave of guilt wash over her. AJ had been harder on Emily than he had on her and Liz knew if they were caught the punishment for Emily would exceed hers ten fold. Liz continued working on the knots from behind all the while praying. “Emily, I have a plan. Before you say anything, here me out…”

<Kelly’s>

Lucky and Nikolas sat at an empty table in the middle of the dining area. The restaurant was closed and the only people in the room were Nikolas and Lucky, Ruby was in the kitchen finishing up for the day. They didn’t speak often, but when they did it was in hushed whispers. They knew that if Ruby overheard anything she would be put at risk, so they told her they were waiting for Liz and Emily. It wasn’t really a lie, just an omission, they were waiting for them just not in the sense she suspected.

Lucky looked into Nikolas’ eyes and for the first time saw him as a true brother. He knew at that moment if they made it through this they would have a completely different relationship. It shocked Lucky that he never noticed before that Nikolas’ were the same as his mother’s. The more time they spent together the more of her Lucky saw in him. What he didn’t yet recognize were the similarities between them as brothers. Ruby did.

Ruby looked out at them for the hundredth time since they had come in. They both wore the same pained expressions and they carried themselves in the same manner. It was as if they each bore the weight of the world on their shoulders, much like the mythical Atlas. At least they seemed to be taking comfort in each other. She knew something major was going down, her old bones had warned her all morning of impending doom. The fact that the two were here together only confirmed her earlier suspicions.

Nikolas heaved a heavy sigh and scraped his chair away from the table. He stood and started pacing finally stopping and looking at the door. He stood there staring for several moments before making the decision. Fast as a rabbit he was out of the restaurant. “Nikolas, Wait!” Lucky called as he ran after him.

He was heading towards the dock on which the Cassadine launch was waiting. He couldn’t wait any longer, he needed to find Emily and he knew his Uncle would be able to do it. He had to see Emily again, and this plan of Spencer’s was moving to slow for him.

Lucky never realized how fast his brother was, by the time he finally caught up with him he was truly winded. He launched himself at Nikolas tackling him just before he reached his goal. He felt Nikolas struggle against him and pinned him to the wooden planks beneath them. “Stop! You won’t do them any good by going to Stefan! His men will act quickly without any concern for the consequences. If they let him get away there is no telling what will happen. Luke’s plan guarantees capture.”

Nikolas knew he was right he just couldn’t stomach the thought of losing Emily so soon after he finally found her. He felt Lucky’s grip on his shoulders loosen and he sat up. He looked into his brother’s eyes and saw his own anguish mirrored there. Tears filled his eyes as he reached out and embraced his brother. They sat like that for quite some time, tears mingling.

Luke was on the phone pacing the middle of the room. “What do you mean he hasn’t left the estate since your men tailed him there? That’s impossible. Do you think he has them holed up in the East Wing somewhere?…No commissioner, it doesn’t make any sense, there is some thing your men are missing.”

Jason listened as Luke argued with Mac. He was thinking about Emily and Liz when the phone on his bedside table startled him out of his reverie. He heard Luke cut Mac off and move towards the phone. “Jason Morgan’s room…What? When did he enter the building?…I see, yeah thanks.” Luke slammed down the phone, he put the cell phone back to his ear. “As I was saying commissioner your men missed something. AJ Quartermonster just entered the building.” Luke hung up before he could hear the response and looked to Jason. “Get ready for the best performance of your life my friend.” With that Luke left Jason alone to wait for his visitor his visitor.

Chapter 83

AJ smiled at the friendly faces that greeted him. He was looking forward to seeing his brother and had been anticipating this moment all through dinner. It hadn’t been as bad as he had expected. The family mentioned Emily’s absence but chalked it up to her budding relationship with Nikolas Cassadine. He knew he had at least tonight before all hell broke loose and he intended to make the best of it. After his “meeting” with Jason he planned on spending some quality time alone with his angel.

He made his way to the 6th floor and breezed past Bobbie Spencer with a cursory nod in her direction. It never occurred to him that she was not a duty nurse, nor did he become suspicious when all the doors he passed on the way to Jason’s room were tightly shut. Bobbie sighed a soft sigh of relief as she watched AJ rapidly head towards Jason’s room obviously lost in his own world. Again Luke had been right. Bobbie had argued against evacuating the corridor but Luke had been adamant. He said that AJ was too caught up in his own world to notice much of anything and the risk of one of the other patients seeing something and then inadvertently tipping off AJ was too great. She sat back down in her chair and began to “monitor” her patient.

AJ reached Jason’s room and ignored the police officer sitting there. He smiled all the while taunting the officer in his mind. If only he knew who he really was, he would be commanding much more respect than he did a mere family member of a comatose mobster. Soon he promised himself he would be much more notorious than his dear brother he could already feel the power coursing through his veins as he pushed the door open and entered Jason’s room.

He saw Jason lying in the bed and smiled with satisfaction that nothing had changed. “I am almost sorry you are still in this state, you would have been a worthy adversary. I think you should know that my angel is with me along with someone very dear to you. It seems that our dear little sister stumbled upon me in the gatehouse. I couldn’t let her go so I now have her in my care. Too bad really, when I hit her over the head her pretty little skull split like a coconut.” AJ gave a dry eerie laugh.

Jason was listening to his brother and it was all he could do not to reach up and tear him limb from limb. How dare he hurt Emily and then brag about it, hadn’t the girl been through enough already? She had always adored AJ this must have come as quite a blow to her. He calmed himself and continued to lay unmoving on the bed. He knew that if he lost it now Emily’s fate would be sealed along with that of Elizabeth Webber.

“I was really looking forward to having Elizabeth all to myself, but Emily has been a welcome addition to our little abode. It’s amazing really, I knew all along how much Lucky had enjoyed having her lie beneath him during the night and into the morning. I was sorry to take that away from him, but I had her first and I was determined to have her again. It really is ironic though that she is still beneath him in a sense.” Jason felt the hair on the back of his neck rise and his jaw clench imperceptibly. AJ began to laugh again. “If only you could help poor Lucky and his brother find the ladies they love, but alas you have been incapacitated. I wanted to kill you, but I am finding this to be much more fun. I’ll see you later brother dear, I must not let my guests wait any longer.” With that AJ turned an exited Jason’s room.

He didn’t notice Bobbie’s tear stained face as he breezed back past her. Once the elevator doors closed Luke rounded the corner. “Replay the tape Bobbie.”

<Kelly’s>
It had taken some doing but Lucky finally convinced Nikolas to return to Kelly’s. Ruby had seen them leave but wisely left the door unlocked until their return. Lucky smiled at the realization that they weren’t fooling her at all. He was thankful that she had wisely kept quiet and had not asked for details.

They were just sitting back down when Lucky’s cell phone began its shrill ring. “Here we go he murmured to Nikolas as he answered. “Hello?…He was…I see, what the hell is that supposed to mean…Yeah, I’m calm, alright we’ll be right there, make sure to have that tape cued up, I want to be good and pissed before I confront him.”

Lucky hung up the phone and turned to his brother. “He was there, they have men tailing him, seems he said quite a bit. Luke wants us to view the tape, seems there is some cryptic message about their whereabouts, let’s hope we can figure it out.

After working for what seemed like hours Liz had finally managed to get the ropes off of Emily’s hands. She explained to Emily that their best hope for survival was if she managed to find her way out of the sewer.

“Liz, I can’t leave you here, he could r-, I mean he could hurt you or worse kill you.” Liz was touched at her friend’s concern. The fact of the matter was that she had thought about those things herself. She knew that AJ would want to relive Valentine’s Day. She also knew that she would never, NEVER, let herself be victimized like that again. Thoughts of Lucky kept her focused and she knew she would be able to survive anything AJ Quartermaine threw her way. “Liz, you need to be the one to leave. I’m his sister, he would never hurt me. I know he doesn’t seem the same to you, but I know that my brother is still in there somewhere.”

Liz’s heart broke for her friend, she knew that the AJ Emily knew never truly existed, he was always a mask for the monster she now knew him to be. She sighed, “Emily, I know this is going to be hard for you to hear, but please try and keep an open mind. The AJ you knew is gone, I have serious doubts as to if he ever existed.” Liz softened her tone when she saw the pain registering on Emily’s face. “I’m sorry Em, I know this is hard for you, but you need to hear this and understand. AJ has done some monstrous things, a normal balanced person would never go this far. It is me he has done this for, if I leave he will take it out on the first available victim. That would be you. If I stay, I can say that you escaped and I couldn’t stop you, he cherishes me and wouldn’t hurt me, in fact if I can be strong enough he will think I actually wanted to stay. Please Em, you have to listen to me. When you get out of here find Lucky. He’ll know what to do.” Liz was crying when she finished.

Emily had never known friendship as unselfish as this. Of course she saw Liz’s point and knew she was right. It didn’t make leaving her here any easier. “Liz, I’m worried about you, I need to know you are going to be alright.” Emily’s tears mingled with her friend’s as she wrapped her arms around her.

“I’m going to be fine as long as you get out.” Liz knew the next part would be the hardest. “Before you go, I need you to punch me in the face, I need for it to look like I tried to stop you, it needs to be realistic.” Liz saw Emily’s face harden, but before she could argue Liz grasped both of her hands. “It is our only hope, if AJ believes I tried to stop you he will think I am happy to stay here with him and he will let his guard down. Please Em.”

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. The feeling in her hands and feet had mostly returned and she knew she had limited time before AJ returned. She quickly hugged her friend then closed her eyes and balled her fist. She felt Liz gasp when her fist connected with her nose and felt the cartridge compress and heard the bones crack. “I’m sorry Lizzie.”

Liz only nodded as Emily hurried off in the direction they had last seen AJ go. “NO! Em, go the other way.” Emily turned and disappeared in the opposite direction leaving Liz alone to wait. She prayed that Emily reached Lucky soon and she wouldn’t crumble in the face of AJ Quartermaine.

Next Part
A Love to Last... Menu
Main Menu