Alexis looked at Derek.

"Excuse me?"

He looked at her and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

"I was looking for you. I thought I might ask you some questions if you have the time. All related to the gala of course."

She paused, glancing at Sam who had been clueing her in about the purpose of this party. Sam just looked at both of them.

"I'm busy right now. Can't it wait?"

He nodded.

"You're attending this party here?"

Alexis bit her lip.

"Yes…no I just wandered in here on the way to get fresh air. The ballroom's quite stuffy."

"I see but this is a party where illicit activity is taking place," he said, "My guess at best prostitution, at worst human sex trafficking."

Alexis blanched. Sam didn't look surprised.

"Sex trafficking? You can't be serious."

He tilted his face.

"I am serious. I am familiar with the history of Port Charles especially when it comes to organized crime families. Frank Smith…the Jeromes…"

Alexis flashed a look of distaste.

"The Jeromes were notorious criminals but they're all dead aren't' there?"

Derek paused looking down at his hands a moment.

"Yes they are…but their territory was taken over by the Corinthoes organization."

Alexis harrumphed.

"You mean Sonny the coffee importer and restaurant owner."

Derek sighed.

"That's all he's involved in and you know it."

Sam interrupted, staring at him.

"How do you know it? Mr…what was it again?"

He didn't miss a beat.

"Mr. Wells…but you can call me Derek…"

Sam nodded slightly.

"All right Derek…what do you know about Sonny?"

Derek pursed his lips while looking at both women. Two beautiful women both with that determined look in their eyes. No escaping it…or either one of them.

"He's into women…girls actually," he said, "He ran a strip club and pumped his under aged dancers with drugs to get them to take their clothes off…"

Alexis frowned.

"What club?"

"They shut it down but he took his operation underground…"

Alexis looked incredulous.

"I can't believe it…"

Sam just shook her head.

"I can…and that's why Jason won't get a lawyer…"

Alexis turned to her.

"He needs one but that's his own decision…"

Sam nodded.

"He's stubborn but he said nothing about prostitution or trafficking…but then he's all about protecting Sonny ever since he took him under his wing after the accident…

Derek looked at her, seeing the distraught look she tried to hide. Clearly Sam loved this Jason even if he seemed to be on the wrong side of the law.

"Well Sonny's in it pretty heavily. This party here is being run by his organization to recruit more young women into prostitution or worse…"

Alexis studied his face.

"Why are you so concerned about it?"

He rubbed his forehead with several fingers.

"I believe men in this business are the scum of the earth," he said, "Victimizing innocent people."

Alexis shook her head.

"I just can't believe that about Sonny. I've been helping him with a troubled young employee of his, Zander Smith. He seems concerned about him."

Sam shrugged.

"Who said a mobster don can't care about someone outside the business?"

Alexis bit her lip.

"I didn't…but this…is just hard to believe."

Sam rolled her eyes at her.

"Why? He's in the mob. He's either dealing guns, women or drugs."

Alexis narrowed her eyes.

"Okay…I'm going to have to turn down his job offer if he's involved in any of that."

Sam shrugged.

"It's up to you," she said, "So…Derek when you're done here, you taking off?"

He nodded.

"I'm just here on assignment. My entertainment reporter took a last minute job in L.A."

Carlos walked up to him.

"Boss we have a problem…"

Derek turned to him.

"What is it?"

Carlos glanced at the two women.

"We need to talk outside. It's about some…photographs."

Derek paused then nodded.

"Ah yes…excuse us…"

Alexis watched the two men leave the room then turned to Sam.

"So you were saying?"

Sam folded her arms.

"He's right about this party," she said, "so when some man approaches you remember that."

Sam wandered off across the room.


Derek talked to Carlos in the hallway outside the party lounge.

"What is it?"

Carlos sighed.

"I lost Ava…"

Derek felt impatience rush through him.

"What do you mean you lost Ava?"

Carlos looked away from his boss.

"She disappeared into a crowd after the awards ceremony finally broke," he said, "Then she disappeared near an elevator. She must be meeting with the buyer."

Derek sighed.

"Damn I know she's up to something. I don't know what. But we need to know the identity of this buyer."

Carlos gestured to the longue.

"Did I interrupt anything back there?"

Derek paused and shook his head.

"No…some illicit party probably tracing back to the Corinthoes organization but Alexis Davis and another young woman were there. At least now they know…"

Carlos arched his brows.

"They didn't?"

"Alexis was in denial about Sonny's illicit side. But the other woman with her didn't seem surprised."

Carlos nodded.

"You mean Samantha McCall."

"You know here?"

Carlos smiled.

"I found her in my research due to her association with Morgan."

Derek shook his head.

"They should both stay away from Sonny's business. His real business. The man hands out candy to children at annual Easter parties but in the meantime…"

Carlos grimaced.

"He traffics in women and girls."

Derek rubbed his jaw with his thumb.

"Do you have any idea where Ava might have gone?"

Carlos threw up his hands.

"No idea. The buyer's supposed to be a woman. Very, very wealthy. She might have a suite upstairs."

"Go check it out," he said, "In the meantime I need to meet with contact."

Carlos patted him on the shoulder.

"Good luck boss…"

"Hopefully I won't need it."


Alexis felt her chest tighten suddenly as she looked at Sam.

"What…what are you talking about?"

The two women looked at each other.

"The men all have suites here," she said, "But what they're discussing now is which one you'll be sleeping in tonight."

Alexis felt shock hit her.

"What…what the hell are you talking about?"

Sam tried to soften her words with a smile.

"I wouldn't worry about it, it's just what they do," she said, "But if it's not your thing, you might want to leave."

Alexis didn't know what to say, how to respond to the candor of what Sam told her. She watched the men talk, their faces grow animated except for Derek's which remained calm. That's how she knew what he discussed was akin to business dealings.

"I really don't think…"

Sam shrugged.

"I'll leave you find out for yourself," she said, "That Roger guy is coming over here."

Alexis looked up at Roger as he approached, arching an eyebrow. His eyes swam over her body as he cleared his throat

"It's time to leave now."

"Excuse me?"

He sighed and Sam nodded slightly to Alexis.

"You're going to be with me tonight. It's all arranged."

She arched a brow.

"Are you delusional? I am not leaving with anyone but my date."

He furrowed his brow.

"Date? Oh well I wasn't told you scored a customer before this party."

Alexis just dropped her mouth open. Sam suppressed a chuckle.

"I told you Alexis…I wasn't pulling one over on you…"

Alexis glared at her and then back at Roger.

"I'm not going anywhere with you. No matter what anyone has told you."

He looked confused.

"How would it be otherwise," she said, "I chose you."

"I didn't choose you…now run along and take it back with you."

His response was to press his body against her after placing his hands on her shoulder.

"You're a very desirable woman," he said, "So soft, so sexy in that dress and every man in there wanted you."

She swallowed back a lump that had risen in her throat.

"But they can't have you," he said, "and that body of yours, this weekend it's mine."

She shot him a look that would freeze a city.

"I don't think so, now get off of me."

"But…I'm really not that bad darling…"

She smiled, with a hint of malice.

"But I am…"

With that, she shoved him off of her hard enough so she had space to knee him in his most sensitive spot. Soon enough he'd lost interest in her and was writhing on the ground, grabbing where her knee had landed.

Sam raised her brows.

"Not bad…


Mac's pager buzzed while he was sitting with Felicia in the ballroom finishing dessert in a nearly empty room. The awards ceremony had mercifully ended. Felicia glanced at his irritated face.

"What is it?"

He sighed after reading it.

"Taggart from the bar," he said, "Cat fight breaking out."

Felicia bit back a grin.

"Usual suspects?"

He nodded and Felicia rubbed his shoulder.

"My money's on Brenda then. You run along. I'll order this dessert tray to go."

He smiled and pecked her on the lips.

"Thanks babe…I'll try not wrap this up real quick."

Felicia sighed as she watched him leave the ballroom filled with purpose. She turned her attention back to the fruit tart in front of her.


Roger finally recovered and scrambled onto his hands and feet as Alexis turned to leave. He tried to grab her ankle, missed the first time and then grabbed her leg. Pulling on her, he tried to make her fall but Alexis spun around quickly and kicked him in the torso with her other heel.

She struggled to keep from falling as she tried to get him to let go of her leg. But Roger was ticked off at his humiliation in front of the other party "guests" and wanted to get his payback.

"Wait until I…"

Alexis fell on the floor, not so gracefully. Roger tried to grab on her but Alexis still wore her purse that matched her dress. As he tried to grab her arms, she deflected him and reached into her purse. But he grabbed it and threw it out of her reach.

Damn, she needed to get in there to get her…

"Hey you get off of her."

Sam's voice and Alexis looked up at her, while Roger grabbed one of her arms.

"My purse…"

Sam nodded quickly and kicked it towards her and Alexis reached for it quickly. After fumbling inside, she pulled it out.

Her ice pick.

She brandished it and Roger just sneered.

"I'm not impressed…"

She smiled her eyes flashing.

"The point might be small in diameter but it's still very sharp," she said, "and it'll lobotomize that tiny brain of yours very quickly without leaving a scar."

He blanched a bit.

She pounced on top of him pinning him to the ground with the weight of her knees.

"It can also make short work of your carotid or brachial arteries…bleed you quickly that way…"

She traced the tip gently from where the artery pulsated on his neck, towards the shoulder. He flinched and tried to move.

"Or I could hit elsewhere…you're done siring kids already aren't you?"

He gulped at that as she knew that he would, as most men would sacrifice almost any other body part.

"No…don't…"

She leaned a bit closer.

"No don't…what?"

"I….I didn't mean it," he said, "Just let me go and I won't bother you…"

"Promise me that you'll leave this party and not bother anyone…"

He nodded quickly and she released him just as quickly as she'd caught him. He sprung to his feet and hightailed it out of there. Sam reached out a hand to help Alexis on her feet.

"Not bad for an overpriced lawyer…"

Alexis just shook her head and headed out of the room, way from the party.


Brenda had paid a lot of money for her extensions, most of which were now gripped in the claws of former trailer park trash and current mobster moll Carly Benson. That's how Brenda read her opponent, poor breeding, tawdry background and having a perpetual bad hair day.

"Why you…"

Carly dangled the extensions in front of her haughtily.

"You see this is why Sonny wants me more than you because I'm not polite when someone goes after what's mine."

Brenda laughed, despite her destroyed hair.

"Damn you bitch. I'm not after Sonny," she said, "I'm here with Ric."

Carly spat.

"Sonny's brother Ric who's only interested in you because you screwed Sonny."

Ric who walked up with Liz chastised her.

"Now Carly that's not true. I really care about Brenda…"

She pointed a finger at him.

"Now if that were true why are you with Liz right now?"

Ric and Liz glanced at each other. Liz smiled.

"We ran into each other on the way out of the ballroom and were just catching up."

Carly snorted.

"I bet…"

Ric said under his breath.

"I imagine Sonny would really be enjoying this if he were here."

Carly and Brenda spun around on him.

"What did you say," both in unison.

He pulled at his tuxedo tie.

"Oh nothing…Brenda maybe we should get going before the cops break this up."

Brenda's lip quivered.

"But my hair…she…."

Ric patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you can get that fixed…"

Mac walked up to them just then, looking very concerned especially when he saw Brenda's hair.

"What's this? I got reports from security of a fight?"

Ric stepped forward.

"The security…they were exaggerating…as you can see no fight."

Mac looked doubtful.

"Brenda's hair…"

Ric shrugged.

"She caught it on…something."

Mac looked at all of them and finally nodded, resigned.

"Okay so no one's talking," he said, "I can take you all down to the station but instead I'm going to overlook this incident but Carly…Brenda…if you feel upset with each other about something, Kevin Collins runs a wonderful mediation program."

Both women shook their heads. Mac turned to leave them then Taggart came rushing in.

"Mac…glad I caught you…something's up."

The harried commissioner sighed.

"What is it now?"

Taggart paused.

"I received a complaint from a gentleman," he said, "Something about a woman attacking him with an icepick for no reason?"

Mac looked skeptical.

"When a woman goes crazy like that, there's always a reason…"


Alexis walked out towards the elevator and saw him standing him there. He smiled when he saw her approach.

"Hello Derek…"

"Alexis…we keep running into each other."

She chuckled.

"It seems so. I'm just on my way out of that…party."

Derek digested that.

"Sonny needs to pay for those kinds of 'parties'."

She shrugged.

"I'm still not convinced," she said, "Where are you off to now?"

He hesitated.

"I'm meeting…someone."

She nodded.

"I was just about to head on home," she said, "Do some light reading and drink some Vodka."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Yes…events like these require some unwinding afterward."

He glanced around.

"Your date, Mr. Jacks?"

She smiled.

"He's on a conference call with his brother Jerry."

Derek's brow furrowed.

"Do you know him?"

Derek paused then shook his head.

"Only what I read in the news about him."

Alexis looked over his shoulder and saw two men in security uniforms approach her. Derek followed her line of vision.

"Wonder who they're looking for right now."

Alexis ran a hand through her hair.

"Probably someone who stole some towels. Look it's been nice…"

Just then both security guards approached them. Alexis knew the man had squealed on her and they were hunting for his assailant.

Her.