Vengeance
"Come on Carly, pick up," Jason grumbled clearly annoyed as he heard the phone ring again. Grinding his back teeth in frustration, Jason snapped his cell phone closed. "Damn it Carly, you said that you understood."
"Stone cold, you were right. I never should have helped Valkyrie," Spinelli lamented as he paced between the kitchen and living room. "Now the Original Blonde One and Maximista won't even talk to me."
"I told you to say no to Carly," Jason stated. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jason's gut was roaring, something was off. Flipping open his cell phone he hit his speed dial. "Where is she?"
"At home sir," the voice answered.
"Call me the minute she leaves," Jason ordered. Snapping his cell phone closed, he briefly closed his eyes. "Spinelli, come here." Laying a heavy hand on the young man's shoulder, slowly he applied pressure. "Even I get sucked into her plans, but the difference is I don't bemoan when things go belly up. Man up and face the consequences of your actions."
"Yes sir," Spinelli whimpered. "Is there anything I can help you or Valkyrie with today?"
"Yes, I have several jobs for you," Jason harshly whispered as Sam screamed his name from upstairs.
Looking into his mentor's eyes, Spinelli swallowed. 'Something mammoth happened.' Bobbing his head, Spinelli sighed of relief when Stone Cold released his aching shoulder. "How may I impart my assistance?"
"I want a complete financial breakdown of both Jax and Sonny. I want to know where their money is coming from and where it's going. Go back four years. Go back two years for Skye Quartermaine and Brenda Barrett. While you're at it look into Dante and Olivia Falconeri, look at them separately and any joint accounts they might have," Jason ordered.
"What am I looking for?" Spinelli asked.
"You're not looking for anything. Trace all the money. Any money not substantiated bring it to my attention," Jason replied. "My eyes only and Spinelli go back six years on Sam."
"Stone Cold?" Spinelli dared to ask.
"She's spending hard cash. Money she doesn't have," Jason answered coolly.
"Anything else?" Spinelli asked softly once he heard Sam's crutches approaching the stairs.
"At your office," Jason commented as he brushed past Spinelli.
~Jarly~
With slow measured movements, she inched her body off the bed. Carefully she made her way into her private bathroom. With shallow breaths she clutched the sink to keep her body up right. 'More you move the less you'll hurt.' Taking inventory of the pain in her body, she knew that she would need to go t the hospital sometime today. Glancing up into the mirror, Carly knew that her makeup wasn't going to cover the bruises. 'This is not what I need this morning.'
"Mom?" Michael's voice echoed out in the hallway.
"What?" Carly shouted as best she could.
"I'm going back over to the hospital to see Johnny. I still think he's lying about dad," Michael stated. "I'm going to convince him to stop lying."
"Michael, let the law do its job," Carly ordered. "I need you to go to the hotel and help Marty."
"No, I'm going to the hospital," Michael bellowed as he stalked past her room.
Her breath gushed out of her as her body slammed down on the cold titles within the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, Carly was momentarily grateful that she didn't hit her head on the sink. With a low groan, she ignored the jarring pain as she moved closer to the porcelain tub. Placing her throbbing head on the cold porcelain, she swallowed several shallow breaths. 'I did this; I always made everything about Sonny.'
"Mom, are you alright?" Morgan demanded as he peeked into the bathroom. "Oh …Michael!" Morgan screamed as he pushed the door open and raced over to her. "Michael!"
"Morgan, I'm fine," Carly whispered as she tried to reassure him. She found that she didn't have the energy to lift her hand.
"Mama?" Michael questioned from the doorway as his face went pale. "What the hell happened? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"No, no hospital. I could use your assistance with getting back to bed," Carly stated knowing that whatever strength she had, it was gone. It took both Michael and Morgan to help her back to bed. Seeing their pale faces, Carly gently patted the mattress close to her. "Have a seat, we need to talk."
"Where's dad?" Michael demanded as he took a seat near her.
"Where's Jax?" Morgan demanded, plopping down on the other side of her.
"Sonny is with Brenda," Carly answered softly. Michael's eyes were bright with confusion before he shut down. "I called Jax and Sonny. As you can see, they are not here. Each of them had other people who needed them more. Grandma Bobbie is still in San Francisco visiting Uncle Lucas, otherwise she would be here."
"This is why you need me to go to the hotel," Michael probed.
"I…uh...I'm going to need your assistance," Carly stated softly. "Yes Michael, this is why I need you at the hotel. I know that you want to help Sonny, and I'm not trying to stop you but he has several people assisting him at this moment. All I have is you and Morgan."
"What about Lulu? I'm sure that she'll put aside her anger towards you," Michael suggested. "Besides she knows more about business than I do."
"Michael!" Morgan admonished softly.
"Fine, I'll check in with Marty," Michael reluctantly agreed.
"What about me?" Morgan demanded.
"I'm going to need your assistance, along with Michael's with Josslyn," Carly whispered as she glanced back and forth between her boys.
"What about Jax?" Michael inquired coolly.
"He's busy with either Skye or Brenda," Carly replied hurt coloring her voice. "Jason has Sam to worry about. She hurt her ankle."
"What time is Marty expecting me?" Michael asked.
"Whenever you get there," Carly responded. "When you're there, you're in charge. Whatever decisions you make will affect the hotel. Marty will instruct you, but for the most part, you're on your own. Any questions, you can call me."
"I think I can manage it," Michael dismissed before shaking his head. Leaning over he kissed his mother's check and stood up. "Come on Morgan, we need to talk about what plans we're going to make for Josslyn." Michael gently led Morgan out of the room.
She waited until she could be sure that the boys were not standing outside her door. Reaching over, Carly lifted the phone out of the cradle. Dialing a number she waited for it to be answered before cutting off the greeting.
"Marty, Michael is taking my place today. I know that there is a scheduled meeting; I don't want you rescheduling it. Michael needs to handle that, and anything else that comes up. He has full authority. He will be taking my place for the next few weeks. Keep him busy, everything that I would handled, he handles. Thanks Marty." Placing the phone back into the cradle, Carly blearily looked around the room. 'God, I hate this place.'
"Mama, do you want breakfast?" Morgan inquired from the doorway.
"Morgan, come here. I have a few questions I want to ask you," Carly requested while she dismissed breakfast altogether.
~Jarly~
"Today we have a monthly meeting, all department heads will be here. Your mother has to have control; otherwise Jax will assume that she can't handle it. He will try to sell off the hotel," Marty informed Michael as he casted a cynical eye on what Michael was wearing.
"How long has Jax wanted to sell?" Michael demanded as he accepted the Hugo Boss jacket from Marty.
"He's been trying to sell it out from under her for a while now. Your mother called, she gave you full authority. I strongly suggest you use it," Marty advised as he stepped back to look at the young man before him. "Be more like Jason than your hot head of a father. Please."
"I'll see what I can do," Michael offered, not promising anything. Glancing in the mirror, Michael sucked in a surprised breath. 'I look just like that old photo mama has of Jason.' Glancing at the digital clock, he nodded his head. "Let's get this show on the road."
~Jarly~
"The number you have dialed is out of service," the automotive voice stated grating on his nerves. Grumbling, Jason hits the speed dial for the house phone. Hearing it ring, Jason wondered where she was. Softly swearing as the answer machine picked up, Jason stated, "Call me once you get this. Claire is on the move and we'll talk about what happened last night."
"Everything alright?" Sam questioned from the coach. Her foot propped up on pillows.
"She's not answering her cell phone," Jason grumbled as he closed his cell phone. Mentally he started to calculate how soon he could check on her. 'This is the last time I ever listen to her.'
"That's Carly for you. If she's not the center of attention, she doesn't want to play," Sam dismissed. "Ah, come on Jason. You promised me, that we would spend some time together. If it was something important she would have called back by now."
Glaring coldly at Sam, Jason pocketed his cell phone. Stalking over to the closet, he pulled down his lockbox. Retrieving his gun, he just reached for his leather jacket when he heard Sam screech hi name.
"Jason! Come on, Carly always does this," Sam shouted belligerently.
"Enough!" Jason snapped coldly. "You assumed that I was on the phone with Carly. For your information, I was trying to reach Diane."
"Oh," Sam whispered as she gnawed on her lower lip. "Sorry."
Shaking his head, Jason strode out of the apartment, softly closing the door behind him. "Watch her," Jason ordered the guard at the door.
"You got it Boss," the guard replied softly as Jason disappeared into the elevator.
~Jarly~
"I don't know about this," Morgan wondered as he hit the delete button, deleting Jason's message on the machine. "But Michael is right; if he really cared he would have been here."
Gnawing on his lower lip, Morgan looked around the house. Picking up the baby monitor, Morgan walked over to his backpack. Pulling out his homework, he made sure that he had everything before getting started.
~Jarly~
Checking the messages on her phone, Diane was pleasantly surprised to see only one message from Carly. Pausing, she checked her messages again just to be certain. Breathing a sigh of relief, Diane listened to all of her other messages before pouring herself a stiff drink to listen to Carly's message. 'Wonder what derange demand she has now.' Taking a sip of her drink, she pushed the play button.
"Diane, do the job you were hired for and save the marriage counseling for someone better suited," Carly's icy cold voice came across the line. The air became chilled. "I want my divorcé, full parental custody of Josslyn along with the full interest in the hotels and Crimson. No, you're not getting triple your rates unless you would like me to file complaint with the bar. I expect this divorcé to be finalized within the next two weeks."
Rubbing her arms to get some warmth back into them, Diane picked up her drink and slugged it down. Even then, she didn't feel any warmer. She played the message again and this time she noted a strong lack of emotional upheaval that was prevalent when dealing with Carly. 'What the hell happened?'
"Diane Miller?" a FedEx messenger asked as he stood near her open door.
"Yes," Diane answered as she looked him over.
"Sign here," he ordered as he pulled out an envelope package for her.
Signing the computerized slip, she handed over the small computer as she took possession of the package. Snorting softly, she noted that it was from Carly. Ripping it open, she found another envelope within. Taking another sip of her drink before she opened the second envelope, Diane's jaw dropped. Reaching over, she grabbed the phone when it rang.
"Diane Miller," Diane greeted as she continued to prose the contents of the package.
"Diane, do you want to have lunch?" Alexis asked.
"Alexis, we need to talk about Carly and Jax. Lunch sounds fine, Metro Court?" Diane informed.
~Jarly~
"I didn't realize that you own this hotel," Michael commented ever so softly as he stared at Olivia. Folding his hands in front of him, he patiently waited for her to respond. Noting that she looked back at him defiantly only caused Michael to give his best impersonation of Jason's cold little smile. "Miss Falconeri, you have no authority to authorize the use of digressionary funds. You're last pay check will be mailed to the address on file. Mister Maloney, please escort Miss Falconeri out of the building."
"What? You don't have the power to do this," Olivia exclaimed as security came to stand behind her chair. It took security several moments to force Olivia out of her chair.
Michael's only response was to coldly look at her, before his eyes swept over the rest of the department heads. Signaling with his hand, he ordered security to remove her from the room. Michael waited several seconds after the door was closed before softly asking, "Anyone else?"
"No sir," was coursed around the room.
"Let's get back to the agenda," Michael ordered coolly.
~Jarly~
"Stone Cold?" Spinelli greeted with a wary smile.
"Sorry about this morning," Jason stated. "Carly was attacked last night."
"Valkyrie?" Spinelli exclaimed as he retook his seat. Flinching at Jason's harsh face, he pulled out two files. "I got to work right away on your request. I can trace all of Brenda Barrett's money to either her modeling days or her business with Lois Cerullo-Ashton."
"What about the Falconeri's?" Jason wondered as he looked over Brenda's file.
"Ah… they're not so clean," Spinelli stammered. "It looks like Valkyrie was right about them. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't find anything until I looked at Olivia and Dante together. This could help me with the Blonde One, once of course when you lift the veil of secrecy."
"What do you mean?" Jason inquired. "I thought you cleared Dante."
"My comprehension is nonexistent, on how I failed to find this. There is money in a joint account, about three or four years old," Spinelli pointed out. "The problem is, there is over a half a million dollars in there. One time deposit."
"Did the money come from Sonny," Jason probed.
"No, that's the funny thing. It came from Michael," Spinelli blurted out, quickly taking a step back.
"What?" Jason wondered baffled. "Michael didn't know them."
"It's Michael's money, but he didn't sanction the money transfer," Spinelli pointed out as he tapped on his computer. "According to the bank records, it was first investigated as a part of RICO, and then it was transferred."
"Who?" Jason growled.
"Dante and he had assistance. I don't know who helped him," Spinelli answered. Seeing Jason close the folder, Spinelli coughed. "There's more. Sam found out about it, that's where her influx of cash is coming from."
"I want that money back with interest," Jason demanded coldly. Spinelli shivered as he kept his head down. "What about the others?"
"Working on Jax and Skye's financials, I've stumbled across a problem when they tried to steal Lorenzo Alcazar's money," Spinelli stumbled.
"Problem?" Jason inquired.
"Someone else has been tracking the money. Be fumbling the need for secrecy, I attacked them and won," Spinelli said proudly as he puffed up his chest.
"Who?" Jason posed.
"Someone name Isabella DeMarco," Spinelli rattled off. "As for Sonny, he's losing money faster than he can make it."
"What?" Jason gasped.
"Almost all of his investments have tanked within the last eight months. He's wining and dining four to five women per day. His legal bills, albeit necessary are rather high. The money he is making barely covers payroll," Spinelli reluctantly spoke.
"Finish the financials. Find out who assisted Dante, how much is left and how to recover it. Leave DeMarco to me," Jason instructed as he pulled out his cell phone. "And Spinelli, no one is to know."
"Yes, sir," Spinelli responded as he started to type away on his key board.
~Jarly~
Hearing the phone ring, Carly looked at the caller id. Seeing that it was the hotel, she picked up the phone.
"You missed it," Marty whispered excitedly.
"What happened?" Carly demanded as she prepped herself mental to go to work.
"Michael fired Olivia at the meeting. Ever since then the department heads have been accommodating to all of his demands," Marty related gleefully. "He took over; arranging for mini meetings with each department head. You should be really proud of him; he's handling the business beautifully."
"Thank you Marty and tell Michael, I am proud of him," Carly instructed. Disconnecting the line, she leaned back against the bed frame. 'With any luck, Michael won't ask Jason about the first time he took over for Sonny. He's too smart not to see the similarities. Now if I can just keep him away from Sonny and his business.'
~Jarly~
"Michael, what do you think you're doing?" Sonny demanded as he stalked into the Carly's office.
Leaning back in his mother's chair, Michael warily watched Sonny take a seat across from him. Looking the man, he called father over, Michael made several mental notes.
"I can't believe Carly had you fire Olivia!" Sonny exploded. "I already warned her about doing this. Where the hell is your mother?"
"Elsewhere, as for Olivia, she knows why she was fired," Michael bluntly stated as he struggled not to flinch. "You can offer her your compassion, a job or whatever. Be her friend, I don't care. She's not coming back to work here."
"Michael!" Sonny bellowed as he slapped Carly's desk.
"Leave or I'll have security escort you out," Michael replied coldly as he forced back all of his anxious feelings.
"I am your father; you will do as I say!" Sonny snapped irate. He moved around the desk as Michael hit the panic button that Carly had installed under her desk.
TBC…