Chapter Seven – Asking for Help
Standing on the steps of the Quartermaine mansion Nikolas steeled himself for an unpleasant but necessary action. He took a deep breath and knocked on the front door.
"Nikolas," Lulu's welcoming smile was radiant but her brother didn't really seem to notice. "I was just on my way out but if you wanted to see me I can stay," she offered. Her eldest brother had been distant for months, their once close bond hadn't been broken but it had suffered along with all his other relationships in the wake of Courtney's desertion – she couldn't remember the last time that he had just come by to visit her.
"No, that's okay, you go and have fun," he answered, giving her arm an absent squeeze in greeting as he stepped into the hallway, clearly preoccupied by other matters. "I'm looking for your dad, is he here?"
Her smile dimming at the casual dismissal, Lulu pointed Nikolas towards the parlor. "Sure, he's in there," she said dully. "So, I – I guess I'll see you later then," Lulu sighed.
At last something about Lulu's demeanor caught Nikolas's attention and he noticed her disappointment. He took a moment to pull her into a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry Lu," he said quietly. "I'm just a little . . . preoccupied right now and I need Luke's help with something. I promise I'll explain later, alright?" he offered her a tired smile and she shrugged off her disappointment long enough to hug him back.
"It's okay," she said forcing a smile – if there was one thing that Leslie Lu Spencer understood it was not being a priority, and Nikolas normally did his best to make time for her. "I really am supposed to meet Georgie and Dillon, anyway."
Lulu watched with some concern as Nikolas stalked off in the direction that she had indicated. The animosity between her father and her half brother had been one of the defining facets of Lulu's childhood; Nikolas had never visited her when Luke was expected to be home, there had been years in which her mother and Lucky and even Lulu herself had carefully avoided mentioning Nikolas in her father's presence. Even now the hostility was apparent whenever they were in each other's presence, so what could Nikolas possibly want Luke with, and what made him think that he would get it? Unable to shrug off her concern and aware of the fact that at times her existence had been the only thing preventing bloodshed between the two of them Lulu stopped just outside of the door ready to listen and intervene if it became necessary.
Nikolas must have heard her following though, because he turned back as soon as he'd entered the room. "We'll be fine, you go see your friends," he said giving Lulu a kiss on the forehead and closing the door in her face.
"Well, hello," Luke said raising his scotch in a mock salute when he saw who'd entered the room. "A visit from the Cassadine prince, and to what do I owe this honor?" he inquired, the word Cassadine was, as it had always been, an epithet on his lips and Luke's disdain for his stepson was apparent by the emphasis his placed on it – the boy was never Nikolas to him, he was that Cassadine. Luke had been less than impressed with the change in Nikolas's demeanor following Courtney's disappearance. The past few months had been underscored by Luke's perpetual barbs about 'bat junior' and how 'blood will show.'
Refusing to rise to the bait, Nikolas met Luke's eyes and forced himself to do what he'd come here for. He swallowed his pride and spoke the four little words that were the most difficult in the English language. Words a true Cassadine should never utter, especially not to this man, but Helena had left him no choice. "I need your help," he admitted meeting Luke's eyes unflinchingly.
That announcement caught Luke's attention; he sat upright in his seat and set down his drink. "You expect me to help you?" Luke snorted. "Why would I do something like that? You're a bloodsucking Cassadine – I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire."
"You've always made that very clear," Nikolas murmured, even they both knew it wasn't the whole truth – Nikolas would never forget the sensation of drowning in his own blood or the sound of Luke's voice in the ambulance 'I wouldn't let you fall off the mountains and I wouldn't let you bleed to death.'
Nikolas's smile had a bitter edge to it now and he moved forward lowering his voice, as he made his pitch. "I'm going to do something you've wanted to do for a long time," he said. "Something you've tried to do more than once but never quite managed."
"Well, I can't wait to hear this," Luke chuckled, aware of the fact that he was being baited but unable to resist. "What is it you've got planned, Nikky?"
"I'm going to kill my grandmother, and I'm going to let you help," Nikolas wasn't smiling any longer – his face and voice were deadly serious.
Upon hearing Nikolas's answer, Luke laughed out loud. "You're going to kill Helena?" he sputtered. "After all these years, you think that you're the one who's finally going to manage it. What's the old girl done to get on your bad side this time?"
"Does it matter?" Nikolas asked simply. "I have my reasons and so do you. Does it really matter what they are so long as we get the job done?"
"It matters," Luke's voice took on a hard edge his gaze intent on Nikolas as he evaluated the younger man. "If you want my help, you're going to have to tell me why. I want to be damn sure that you're going to follow through. Don't want to get down to the moment of truth just to have to talk you through an attack of conscience or a sudden feeling of family loyalty."
"My conscience is not going to be a problem," Nikolas promised lifting his eyes to meet Luke's gaze, he had never looked more like a Cassadine than he did in that moment. He paused hoping that that would be enough, but he could read in Luke's face that it would not – Luke wanted a reason, so Nikolas forced himself to continue. "Helena . . . has my son. I have to get him back, and I have to keep him safe. I don't see any other way, this time she has to stay dead."
Luke's expression was unreadable as he studied Nikolas. "Since when do you have a kid?" he asked after a moment. "This is the first I've heard of it." Surely he would have heard if there was another Cassadine running around.
Needing a moment to gather his strength for his next revelation Nikolas moved over to the sideboard and poured himself a generous serving of Edward's scotch. He had to fight to keep his hand from trembling as he brought the glass to his lips, but the slow burn of the alcohol soothed his nerved and he continued.
"Courtney," Nikolas paused taking a deep breath as he suppressed the sudden wave of guilt, "Courtney was pregnant when she disappeared."
"Pregnant with Jax's child," Luke took a malicious delight in emphasizing the name of Nikolas's rival. "And she left town to be with him." Either Nikky-boy had gone delusional or – or Helena was up to her old tricks.
"That's what we all thought," Nikolas acknowledged, "Until Lucky found Courtney this afternoon. It seems as though Jax has been dead for months. Courtney's been taken to General Hospital and the baby is missing."
"And you just assume that Helena's behind it and that the child's yours?" It seemed like a reasonable assumption to Luke but he wanted to hear Nikolas's reasoning, and something told him that Nikolas needed to talk about it.
"I didn't know what to think, not at first. But then I was sitting with Courtney and I heard her call out to Helena and it all made sense. She did it all: engineered the DNA test, kidnapped Courtney, killed Jax . . . All of it to get the baby. To ensure that she would be the one to raise the new Cassadine heir."
"It makes sense," he continued, "And it's not as though this is the first time my grandmother has kidnapped of someone, taken someone's child." Nikolas sent his one time step-father a hard look as they both remembered the long year in which they had all believed that Lucky was dead only to discover that he'd been taken and brain washed by Helena. "But I can damn well guarantee that this will be the last time."
"I will do whatever it takes to get my son back and to keep him safe," Nikolas swore. "I will do anything. I will kill anyone."
It happened occasionally, and Luke hated to admit it, but every once in awhile something to boy did would remind Luke of Laura. This was one of those moments. Something in his tone and in his eyes brought to mind a desperate declaration that Laura had made so many years ago, a declaration that should have warned him of what was to come. 'The time has come for both of us to stop hoping and praying and do what we have to do. Waiting patiently with our names on a list is just not working. Maybe I should be ashamed to say this but I will do anything. I will hurt anyone. I will sell my soul to the devil before I will stand here and watch my daughter die.'
It was that reminder more than anything that made up Luke's mind. Laura's desperation had brought the Cassadines back into their lives, now it looked as though her son's might finally to rid them of the queen viper – and Luke was going to be there to see it happen. But he wasn't doing the kid any favors.
