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Shifting slightly, gun weighing heavily in the palm of his hand, Jason Morgan idles patiently in the secluded area of the docks, awaiting the arrival of someone he hasn't seen in many years. Back when they held common ground, it had been unnecessary to arrive armed, but that is no longer the case and his safety is no longer guaranteed. For all he knows, he could very well be a sitting duck, but circumstances leave him no choice in the matter. They've been marked for dismantling and they need her help to stop it. Without her alliance, they could very well dig their own graves because it'll only be a matter of time before the Five Families order their demise.

"You came alone," the voice of one his former lieutenants, Francis Corelli, catches him off guard, but he doesn't show it. "Surprising."

"And she didn't."

"Can you blame her?" Francis counters with a shrug of his shoulders. "You did put her husband in a coma."

"He was a prick."

"He was innocent," Francis states firmly. "He wasn't his father."

"Agree to disagree," Jason replies with distaste, holding no regret for what he did. "Where is she?"

"She'll be here shortly," Francis assures, leaning against a stack of crates. "Once O'Brien secures the perimeter and gives her the all clear."

"There's no one else here," Jason states, growing tired of being as exposed as he is. "I'm no threat to her."

"Forgive us if we don't take your word on that," Francis says with a tilt of his hand, gesturing to the stack of crates next to him. "Might as well grab some crate. It'll be a while."

Growling lowly in frustration, Jason drops down onto the small stack of crates, knowing there was no point in arguing with the man. Security is the one thing she doesn't lax on, something she's learned from him, and there was no way that she was showing up until she was certain her safety wasn't at risk. The gun in his hand posed little threat to her as long as she had her two enforcers by her side. After Sonny screwed up the last meeting, he's lucky to have been granted another so soon.

Sitting in silence, they remain stoic, no love lost between the two, not since Sonny went after Johnny O'Brien when his contract had been bought off him. Once a guard was sold off to another family, it was a sign of respect to honor the purchase and not retaliate. Sonny, during his dark period, did the exact opposite. He apologized, but the damage was done. All that remained for them to do is move forward and leave the past behind them. Something they've tried to do, but sometimes the past just won't permit that. Much like this moment.

"Site's clear," O'Brien says over the comm. "Sending her in now."

"Copy that," Francis replies, moving to attention. "Proceed to phase two."

"Understood," O'Brien replies as he starts climbing up to his vantage point. "In position."

"Stand by," Francis says before turning to Jason. "She's on her way now."

Rising to his feet, Jason stares off into the darkness, awaiting her arrival. The moment she stepped foot out of the shadows, Jason could see just how different she has become, simply by the way she has chosen to dress. Black leather pants, combat boots, blood red tank top with a leather jacket atop. Her once long curly hair now stop just about her shoulders, straight and sharp, her makeup fierce in a way that would send chills through his blood. A gun holstered to her waist, another strapped at the ankle, he'd even wager a guess that she had a few knives stashed on her. A full-fledged boss if he ever saw one.

"Let's make this quick," she states firmly, not even a hint of a smile upon her face as she stares him down. "The sooner I get out of this hellhole the better."

"This hellhole used to be your home," he counters, trying to remind her of what this town had meant to her once. "Or have you forgotten?"

"I've been raped, kidnapped, and nearly murdered in this hellhole you call home," she replies viciously. "Forgive me for not holding any sentiment for this godforsaken place."

"There were good times..."

"I didn't come here for a rundown of the past," she cuts him off swiftly, knowing exactly what he was trying to pull. "You wanted a chance to voice your standing. Get on with it."

"I would," Jason eyes her carefully before voicing, "But something tells me you couldn't care less about what we need."

"You're not wrong," she replies truthfully, a devilish smirk playing at her lips. "I made my standing very clear to Sonny when he sent the proposition. A standing that hasn't changed a single bit."

"Then why meet with me?" Jason questions in frustration. "What is the point of all this?"

"Curiosity, mostly," she concedes, hopping up onto a stack of crates. "After everything that's happened, I just couldn't resist hearing what you had to say in defense of what you and Sonny did to me and my family. What you did to my husband. A man who wanted nothing more than to live a peaceful life making music and creating a family with me."

"You romanticize him too much," Jason states. "He was just as volatile as his father."

"You're wrong," she states through gritted teeth. "He was innocent!"

"He attacked our warehouse without provocation!" Jason nearly shouts, growing frustrated with her defense of her husband. "He killed three of my men!"

"To save me!" she snaps, jumping to her feet, anger flooding her being. "He did that to save me from Sonny!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Little blind enforcer unaware of his boss's true sins," she scoffs, disgusted with how blind he truly is. "Sonny had me locked away in that warehouse for nearly a month while my husband tried to negotiate my release. In that time, Sonny forced him to commit unspeakable things, even going as far as ordering him to kill his own father."

"You're lying."

"And, if that wasn't bad enough, if killing his own father for that son of a bitch wasn't bad enough," she states on a low harsh tone, her face mere inches from his. "Just as I was about to escape, your best friend, your boss, knowing my condition, pushed me down a flight of stairs...killing my baby in the process."

"Liz, don't," O'Brien voices over the comm, forcing her to take a step away from him. "I know it's hard, but we have got to stick to the plan."

"I know," she mumbles before straightening out and facing Jason once again. "And what did you do, Jason, huh? You went after my husband for something you would have done had you faced the same circumstances. Only we both know you would have done a lot worse."

"If what you're saying is true..." Jason takes a moment, trying to see how much truth resides in her words. "...I had no knowledge of it. I never would have let him do it."

"I'm sure," she scoffs. "Too bad you have no control over Sonny or his actions. All he has to do is ship you off to some random country on assignment and he's free to do as he pleases all the while."

"This alliance is bigger than Sonny's sins," Jason tries to get her to see reason regardless of how futile the argument sounds. "Name your price, dammit! You've got to have one."

"Okay...since you insisted," Elizabeth's eyes grow a shade darker as she states her terms, "A life for a life. You want this alliance so badly, I want Sonny dead just as much. Do that and you've got yourself a deal."

"No."

"No?"

"You're driven by vengeance," Jason states, understanding the look within her eyes. "You won't stop at Sonny's death. You're bound to come after me for what I did to your husband."

"But don't you see," Elizabeth smirks hauntingly. "You killing Sonny gives me both."

"Meaning?"

"The moment his life ends at your hands, your life ends just the same," Elizabeth states. "Because we both know you could never forgive yourself for killing the one person that's stuck by you all your life."

"I'd never kill myself over it."

"Of course not," Elizabeth says with certainty. "That's what I'm counting on. I want you to live with the guilt, allowing it to eat away at you from the inside out until all that's left is a shell of the man you once were."

"And if I don't?"

"You asked for my price and I've given it to you," Elizabeth shrugs. "Either you kill Sonny or you don't. Regardless of your choice, I still get what I want in the end. This meeting's over."

Walking off into the darkness from whence she came, Elizabeth makes her way to the car with Francis by her side, instructing Johnny to keep watch over Jason as he heads off to meet with Sonny. She had been certain when giving the ultimatum that Jason would turn her down, but it didn't hurt to lay it out there. Jason returned to town after months of being away and went after her husband without knowing the full story. Making him just as liable as Sonny.

Watching from his vantage point from within the warehouse, he listens carefully by way of the bug Elizabeth planted on Jason when she got close to him. Clearly Jason wasn't happy with being blindsided, but of course, Sonny had a line of excuses ready to placate the enforcer. Playing the mental health card. To Johnny's complete surprise, however, Sonny orders Jason to kill him. Talk about a twist in events.

"Liz, he's doing it," Johnny says over the comms. "He's actually going to kill him."

"Dammit," Elizabeth states, meeting Francis's eyes before letting out a growl of frustration. "Put a stop to it."

"You sure?" Johnny was beyond tempted to watch it play out. "The plan could still work..."

"Do as she says," Francis is the one to respond. "He'll die soon enough."

"Fine," Johnny sighs, hopping down from his sniper's nest to put a stop to the scene unfolding. "Here. Spoilsports."

"Corinthos," Sonny voices once he lifts the phone to his ear.

"You want the alliance, you've got it, temporarily," Elizabeth states in anger. "Make no mistake, Corinthos, the day you die, I'll be the one pulling the trigger. Count on it."

"Understood," Sonny voices before the line goes dead, handing the phone back to O'Brien, who makes a hasty exit. "She agreed to the alliance."

Part of Jason wanted to believe that she did it out of the kindness of her heart. That she knew he was about to do it and put an end to it for his sake, but the logical part of him knows better than to hope for that. This was a business move. She never expected him to follow through. All of which makes him wonder just what she has up her sleeve. What plan does she have cooked up that requires Sonny to be alive for it?

"How is he?" Elizabeth asks the nurse as she sits by her husband's bedside. "Any changes?"

"His vitals are getting stronger," the nurse informs, setting down the chart in the holder. "His sister came by earlier, she wishes you to call her when you've got the chance."

"Thank you," Elizabeth replies, taking her husband's hand into hers. "You're free to go. Please enjoy your weekend with your son and wish him a happy birthday from me and my husband."

"I will, Mrs. Zacchara, thank you," the nurse says gratefully, bowing her head slightly. "I truly hope the new medication helps him."

"Me, too," Elizabeth agrees, gently caressing his cheek in the palm of her hand. "More than you know."

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