Chapter 7.

HJCK Television Studios

Amelia walked out of her meeting with the TV station's board of director's, breathing a quick sigh of relief at Everyday Heroes getting the go ahead, but her victory smile didn't last long as Jason grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into a small room in the next corridor.

"I need any information you have on Claudia Zacchara." Jason said as if Amelia were his informant.

"I don't know anything about her life. I know her on a personal level and that's all."

Jason gave Amelia his angry constipated stare, "Don't lie to me."

"Oh would you stop." Amelia said, laughing at his attempts to act tough, "You must know that we're a couple. Even that's on her terms. One of those terms is the same terms you force on anyone who gets close to you, which is I don't ask about her business and she doesn't talk about it. Fact is I don't want to know what she does. It scares me and the only way I can make this work is to not think about it."

"You two have been seeing each other for a lot longer than anyone else knows. Why did you keep this a secret? Why all the ploys? Why make Johnny think you are the enemy?"

Amelia paused to take in everything Jason had said, more than a little shaken that he knew so many details of her life, "You may know some things about my life, but I'm telling you I don't know one thing about Claudia's life as a mobster. She's very careful not to talk about it. No offence, but even though I have no problem with you or Sonny and I appreciate you saving my life, I would not betray Claudia. Luckily, I have no information to give you."

"I'm not sure how much you know about Claudia's business, but you are going to learn that she is not going to be calling shots soon. She's hooked up with a much bigger organization and she'll be a small little pebble who has no real power. Now that may not seem like a big deal to you, but Claudia may not know this is about to take place. I've just found out that this merger was orchestrated by her father, his last and final attempt to keep her out of the family business."

"What?" Amelia said, showing some emotion for the first time, "Claudia may not tell me what's going on, but I know she would know if her dad had sold her out."

"That's the thing about Claudia, she is a little over confident at times and really underestimated her father's desire to ruin her life."

"Even if that's true, he loved Johnny. He wanted Johnny to have the organization. OMG, is Johnny in on this?"

A hint of a smile crossed Jason's normally blank face, "Well, in his father's eyes, Johnny lost his claim to power when he sided with his sister. Next time you talk to Claudia tell her I want to set up a meeting. I know she isn't interested in joining this rival organization and as much as I don't trust her, I still prefer working with her than dealing with an unknown group."

"Tell her yourself." Amelia yelled as Jason left the small closet, closing the door behind him.

Robin Scorpio's Apartment.

Robin sat staring at a picture in her hand, her head spinning as to what it meant. She picked up the envelope it came in and spotted a small piece of paper stuck in the back and pulled it out. She opened it up and began to read it.

Hello Robin.
You don't know me, but I know you're mother and while I know you are aware of her line of work and has to keep some secrets from you, but I bet you didn't know about this one. Yes, the picture is authentic. If you wish, you can have your uncle Mac send it for testing, but it is the real thing. Along with this picture of your mother in the middle of a passionate kiss with Courtney Mathews, you will find instructions on how to find more revealing pictures of your mother and her many conquests. I was just one of them. Someone she used and tossed away like dirt. I'm a big girl and I've got over it, but it just didn't seem fair that you don't know what kind of person your mother really is. I know you are planning a birthday for her, but before you do that, why not ask her about Courtney and once she's done explaining that, perhaps she can discuss her relationship with other well known women from her past, including Felicia Jones, Brenda Barrett and of course, me. Oh I bet you want to know who I am, but you'll find out soon enough. Bye and say happy birthday to Anna for me.
XXXOOO

Port Charles Airport.

Lulu arrived at the security check point just as Maxie came strolling up, pulling five insanely large bags of luggage behind her. She shook her head at all the bags and couldn't help but smile, "We are not going to Paris for a year, so what's with all the bags?"

"I like to have a lot of options." Maxie said, smiling down at her fleet of bags, "I don't know how I'm going to feel when I get there, but I want to have the right clothes for my mood."

"You're insane." Lulu said without blinking an eye.

"What was that?" Kate asked as she waited for Lulu to turn around, "Is this how you are going to behave in Paris?"

"No. Not at all." Lulu said, cringing at having to explain her latest insult, "I just meant that Maxie probably doesn't need that much luggage and I didn't choose a very good word for it."

Kate looked over at Maxie's baggage and laughed, "Maxie, we are only going to be there a week."

"You have 3 bags, Lulu has 2 and I have 5, but I need every one of them." Maxie explained as she looked at Lulu and Kate staring back at her with big smiles on their faces, "I do."

"Okay, well let's keep this flight civilized. I have you two sitting side by side, so I hope you are ready to start showing me some of that new positive attitude you promised me."

"I was a victim here." Maxie declared, "Luckily, I've developed a thick skin and no longer am affected by Lulu's rather large mouth."

"Do you two even know when you are insulting the other?" Kate asked while staring back at both Maxie and Lulu, "If you can't talk without exchanging insults, don't talk at all. Is that clear?"

"Yes Miss Howard." Maxie said with a nod and smile.

Lulu sneered at Maxie but quickly put on a big smile, "Yes, we will get along, I'll make sure of it."

"More like 'I'll make sure of it." Maxie said, quick to correct Lulu.

Kate rolled her eyes and made her way through the long security checkpoint, which was still more enjoyable than listening to her two employees bickering like little children.

A City Park a few blocks from Elizabeth's house.

Elizabeth watched from her seat as Cameron played on the swings with another young boy, while she tried to keep Jake occupied with an assortment of toys. She kept a close eye on Cameron, not wanting a repeat of what happened with Jake to ever happen again.

Sam strolled into the park, spotted Elizabeth and came to a stop. She pondered turning around, but felt that was a bit silly, so she kept walking until Elizabeth made eye contact with her, "Hi."

"Hi" Elizabeth replied, her eyes lighting up just a little too much at the sight of Sam walking up to her, "What brings you here?"

"Nothing really, I was just clearing my head. I didn't know you were here if you think I'm stalking you are something." Sam said with a laugh as she stopped right beside Liz and waved at Jake.

"I'm glad to hear that." Liz said with a smile as she tried very hard not to stare at Sam's tight top and equally tight jeans, "So what are you clearing your head of?"

Sam paused a moment, wondering if she should burden Elizabeth with more of her personal issues, but she felt so at ease talking to her she couldn't help it, "I accepted Amelia's offer to come back and host Everyday Heroes and I'm wondering if that's a mistake."

"Why's that? You loved that show."

"I know, but it's the business side of things I'm not sure about."

"You mean Amelia?" Elizabeth said, trying not to sound jealous.

"Yes, she's certainly one of them, but I found out she's seeing Claudia Zacchara and I don't like that." Sam said, turning away from Elizabeth as she continued, "I don't want Amelia turning into a mob princess, but who knows what she might be do if Claudia asked."

"You think she'd use the show for some mob reason?"

"I honestly don't know, but our relationship was rocky from the start and even though we moved past things, it's still awkward being around her." Sam spun back around and smiled, more than ready to change the topic, "Anyway, I was going to ask Jason about Claudia, but I don't think that's a good idea."

"I wouldn't do that either. Jason isn't likely to give you any information. He actually warned me about her the last time I talked to him. I hate that I have to think of such things, but the sad part is the only way I can feel safe is if Jason is dead and even though we don't see eye to eye on things anymore, doesn't mean I want him dead."

"I know, but it has to be a horrible position to be in." Sam said as she sat down beside Liz, "Anyway, I know it's none of my business, but did things go with Lulu?"

"Not well." Liz said, letting Jake down on the ground by her feet, "It's over between us. She's probably in Paris as we speak. I hope she has a great time. She could use it after what I put her through."

"Stop being so hard on yourself." Sam said, instinctively putting her arm around her, "You said there were other problems that Lulu couldn't get past, so just remember that, okay?"

"You don't need to make me feel better." Liz said, turning to face Sam, looking deep into her beautiful eyes, "I need to get back to my kids. I'm glad you stopped by, but I really can't be around you right now."

Sam got to her feet as Liz knelt down beside Jake, "I'm just trying to help."

"I know, but it's just too hard when you're around. I feel things that I can't feel right now. Not soon after I ruined things with Lulu. I can't be happy, not now." Elizabeth said, keeping her eyes away from Sam as she picked up Jake, "Please, just go and I'll talk to later."

"Liz, it doesn't have to be like this." Sam sighed, stopping to watch Elizabeth walk towards Cameron, never tiring of the amazing view of her in tight jeans, "Let me help with the kids. Just as a friend. I am able to do friend things you know."

"Yes, but you are too distracting. I need to focus on the kids and getting my life back on track. I'm not saying we can never talk, I'm just saying it's too soon."

"I think you are over reacting, but if this what you want, I'll go." Sam said, taking a few steps away from Elizabeth but hoping so much she'd call her back. When that didn't happen, she let out a deep sigh and continued on towards the docks.

As Sam got to the docks she spotted Anna Devane talking to a woman with blonde hair and when she looked closer she let out a gasp, covering her mouth as she realized who it was. Not thinking about anything, Sam rushed over and stopped in front of Courtney. She looked her over from head to toe and then touched her on the arm, jumping back as she felt warm human flesh, "OMG, you're alive."

Anna rolled her eyes and turned away from the two women, grabbing her cell phone and walking to the edge of the pier. Courtney smiled at Sam, "Well, I was going to call you, but...well, here I am, alive and well as you can see."

"I don't understand." Sam said, still in shock as her long dead almost girlfriend stood before her, "You died. We had a memorial. How?"

"It's a long story, but I promise to tell you all about it soon." Courtney said, distracted by Anna's waving arms, "I know this not going to help, but I really have to go. I promise I'll call you tonight okay? I'm really happy to see you and you look great, but there's something I take care of and it just won't wait."

Sam didn't get a chance to respond as Courtney followed Anna to her sporty blood red Mercedes-Benz SLK300 and tore off down the narrow alley way. Before she could even begin to process what she'd just seen Carly walked up and headed right for her.

"What are you doing here?" Carly asked, as if she were Sam's keeper.

"About to go for a swim, wanna join me?" Sam said as she walked past the annoyed blonde.

Carly grabbed Sam's arm and spun her around, "Don't you walk away from me."

Sam laughed at Carly's attitude, yanking her arm from her rather weak grip, "What is your problem? We haven't seen each other in months and you're acting like I'm married to Jason and you're still jealous."

"Don't flatter yourself." Carly said, hating it when Sam got in a zinger, "I actually need to talk to about something and I'm not sure how to go about it. Have you seen anyone around lately that you haven't seen for a while?"

"Oh, so you know about Courtney rising up from the dead?" Sam asked with a much less surprised look.

"I figured you'd see her around sooner or later, you seem to have a nose for pretty girls."

"Is that a compliment?" Sam smiled, sniffing around, "I seem to have come up dry here, I wonder why."

"Very funny, but we both know you'd be all over me if you thought I'd say yes." Carly said, confidently, smiling back at Sam as she took out an envelope and handed it to the short, curvy brunette, "I don't know why I'm telling you this, but as much as I despise you I have this strange compulsion to warn you about your impending legal problems."

Sam grabbed the envelope and ripped out a large document, skimmed through it until she saw her name if bold print listed. She took another look to make sure she'd read it right and then shook her head at Carly, "Where you'd get this?"

"Well, I was at the police station earlier trying to find out why Sonny was there and I overheard Scott Baldwin talking about how he was going to put you away for a very long time." Carly said, enjoying watching Sam squirm, "Anyway, if you read a bit further you'll see that Scott believes you are a prime suspect in the disappearance of his son Logan."

"What? I barely know him."

"Yep, but you are friends with Lulu and he thinks you helped her get rid of him."

"Get rid of? Is he insane?"

"Yes, quite." Carly said without blinking an eye, "but that doesn't matter since he has all the power to make this stick. Apparently, you were seen defending Lulu from one of Logan's outbursts just a few days ago and told him to get lost or he wouldn't have to worry about stalking Lulu again."

Still in a state of shock, Sam struggled to explain herself, even if it made no difference to Carly, "I wasn't serious, I just trying to get his attention."

"That's a shame, because now you're going to face the wrath of our very own misguided and crooked DA, Scott Baldwin."

"Oh god, I don't need this." Sam sighed, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into, "How do I prove a negative?"

"Oh sweetie, that's your problem." Carly said with a laugh as walked away from a stunned Sam.

End of Chapter 7.