Smoke & Mirrors

After a year working for Sonny, Jason goes on a two-year sabbatical. When he returns, Sonny is with Liz but they aren't getting along. Sonny asks Jason to accompany Liz on a trip. Will their attraction get them into trouble in more ways than one?

A/N Jason just started working for Sonny again. He had been away for the last two years. He had worked for Sonny for a year after the accident and then was a given an out to go figure out if this was the life he wanted. Sonny has been dating Liz for almost the entire time Jason had been gone. She has no kids. Liz and Sonny haven't been getting along. Jason and Liz don't know each other. Took some liberties on the timeline, but hope you don't mind. Liz is a lot edgier than the current incarnation.

Chapter 1 - The Assignment

Jason watched them fight hidden from their view. He had a hard time understanding why this woman would be with someone like Sonny. She seems like she's smart, beautiful, and very talented and could have anyone, yet she chose a moody mob boss who has a tendency to fly off the handle. Sonny is like a magnet drawing down a girl's IQ. Jason sighed and left the office knowing he had no right to judge. Someday, he'll hopefully find someone and she'll have to be crazy to be with him as well. Maybe he is just jealous that Sonny had found someone like Liz. With a lot on his mind, he made his way outside to the docks. Coming back was not the easiest thing. So much had happened while he was away and he had avoided his family for some time and is not in any hurry to visit them and reminisce, but he knows he is going to have to bite the bullet and go talk to them. He had ended up making a very difficult decision that he would come back and work for Sonny because he couldn't think of anything else he wanted to do. In a way, he feels trapped within his own brain. He didn't hate working for Sonny, but he couldn't wrap his mind around doing anything else either.

"I figured you be out here," Sonny said.

"I needed to clear my head."

Sonny nodded and took a deep breath. "Listen, I need a favor."

"What's up?" he asked, glad to dismiss his inner dialogue.

"Liz is insisting on going to an art show in New York. A few of her paintings are on display and she needs to be there."

"So what's the favor?"

"I need you to be her bodyguard for the weekend."

Jason stared at him for a moment. Great, he doesn't even know this woman and now he has to babysit. "Do you think she's in danger?"

"There have been a few threats lately," he said smoothing his hair. "We might not be getting along right now, but I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Okay, you know I will do whatever you need." It's almost a habit to stroke his boss's ego.

"Great."

"Does she know I'm going?"

"Yeah, I told her. She wasn't too happy about it, but she understands," he said smiling at the memory of her tantrum. "You leave in the morning."

Jason stared at the water kind of wishing he could disappear into the black abyss. After Sonny had left, he called an associate to meet him on the docks with some information. If he is going to protect her, then he needs to know everything about her. The more he knows, the better he could predict her reactions to things and stay one step ahead. He is known for being thorough using any methods necessary.

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Liz went back to her room and started packing. This whole Jason angle is going to ruin her escape plans. If she is going to leave Sonny and the baggage of this relationship, she needs to get away and start over and it will come at a high price. In order to begin her new life, she'll have to give up her burgeoning art career and change her identity; whatever it takes she'll do. At this point, she is tired of being hunted and ducking every time a car backfired. Now, it is going to take a huge amount of cunning on her part if she is going to give Jason the slip. She is aware of his reputation, but figures he'd underestimate her just like every other man does. The guards were constantly talking about how great Jason is, but she's up for the challenge.

For the last six months, Liz had gone out of town and took self-defense and shooting classes as she planned her escape, meticulously going over several scenarios in case something went wrong. You just don't leave Sonny until he's done with you, and even after she leaves, due to his ruthlessness, his way of life will never be done with her. She had heard the stories of what Sonny does when he's crossed, but it's a chance she'll take to get her life back. There is always someone out there trying to climb the ladder, so she can't rely on the guards to always be there to protect her. Two had already died defending her honor and she can barely live with herself because of it.

Her thoughts are interrupted by Sonny.

"May I come in?" he asked pushing the door open as she nodded.

He watched her solemnly. The last few months were rough on Liz due to the violence and he didn't think that their relationship could be repaired, but at the same time, he isn't ready to let her go. She is under his skin and he needs her to keep his sanity in such a dark world. The problem is that he doesn't realize or seem to care how much her light had already diminished.

"I got you something," he said before handing her a box.

She smiled politely."You didn't have to buy me anything, Sonny."

He grimaced at her smile and knew what it implied. Gone were the days where she practically jumped for joy when he gave her gifts and he would give anything to recapture her heart and feels she just needs time to see that they are meant for each other.

"Nonsense, I wanted you to know that I still care and I think about you all the time," he said flashing a big smile.

She smirked at his attempt to dazzle her with his dimples and took the box from his hand. When she inadvertently touched his, she waited for a physical response to occur in her body the way it used to, but felt nothing. He had ruined any feelings she had and on some level, she thinks he knows that, but won't accept it. Slowly, she took the lid off of the box and sucked in her breath.

Sonny smiled at her response.

"Sonny, you shouldn't have." It's what she always said when he bought her things. It had become a habit. Inside the box is a stunning diamond bracelet with three rows of diamonds intertwined with white gold wire. As an artist, she can't help but admire the complexity of the piece. She kept examining it, finding new ways to admire its assembly.

"I take it that I did okay?"

She takes a minute to study his features.

"Sonny, it's exquisite," Liz said giving him a hug. "Thank you, but you really shouldn't spoil me like this."

There was a time when she would have ravished him with kisses and they would have made love after such a gift, but that time had long passed. Sonny could see it in her eyes that she was done, but no one walks away from him until he's ready for it to end; at least they don't live to talk about it. When she got back, they'll have a serious talk about their future because he can't imagine his life without her. Maybe if he commits totally and gives her a ring, she'll come around. Reaching out, he tugged her into his arms one more time and then told her good luck before walking out the door.

Liz sat on her bed and then put the bracelet on, but instead of feeling like a million bucks, the coldness of the diamonds tickled her skin making her shudder. Carefully, she placed it in the jewelry box he had given her along with everything else he had bought her. She glanced at them for the last time because taking them was not an option. She wanted no way for him to track her and if she pawned them, then it would leave a trail. Wearing such expensive jewelry would just draw attention to her that she didn't want. Forcing herself to look away, she turned to finish packing. She'd have time to regret her decision later. Some of them, she truly adores because he knows her tastes well.

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Jason spotted his contact standing by the water.

"Jason."

"Did you get what I needed?"

"Yes, I did." He handed his boss an envelope.

Jason perused the file. Liz is twenty-two years old and an up and coming artist that had graduated art school. Her grandmother lives in town and she has a sister named Sarah and a brother named Steven that she is in contact with. Jason listened to him drone on about some other minute details he had found and realized that he needs more information.

"She has a few friends one of which is your sister, Emily."

"Emily?" Damn, that means he'll have to do something he doesn't want to even though it will kill him.

Jason left the docks and headed towards the Quartermaine house. He has no other choice. It is time to bite the bullet and see his family.