GH 2018 presents Elizabeth Webber; #009

"Crossbow"

General Hospital; Boulder Colorado…the office of Jeff Webber

The WSB Supersonic SR-71 Black Bird Jet, with the designation Crossbow, had landed at an air force base just outside of Boulder for refueling. Robert Scorpio and Gunther Scorpio were loaned a military jeep which they used to driver over to General Hospital Boulder Colorado.

30 Minutes later…

Jeff Webber sat behind the desk of his executive's suite office located on the top floor of the hospital. Sitting across from him were Robert Scorpio and Gunther Scorpio. Robert kept track of the time on his watch, wanting to get to California as fast as he could so as to help find Emma.

"So let me get this straight," Jeff said to Robert, as he poured the three of them a shot glass of Knob Creek dark bourbon, "you were hypnotized so as to forget Gunther over two decades ago," Jeff said, after hearing Robert's brief recap as to how he and Gunther had come to be together, "and suddenly you got your memory back upon seeing him, after he rescued you in Port Charles."

Robert nodded, but there was more to the story, but they didn't have time to get deep into it. Robert downed his drink, looked at his watch, and then pressed on.

What Robert didn't know, was that Jeff Webber knew more than he led on. In fact, Jeff had been the doctor who had delivered Mavis's baby all those years ago; Gunther. Aspects of that part of the story; Jeff decided to let Robert and Gunther discover on their own together.

"In time, Gunther and I," Robert said looking at his son, "will process what happened back in the past, but the reason we are here now is time sensitive." Robert looked back at Jeff. "As I recall, you and your wife spent some time in Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict. Not only in a medical capacity, but you were also covertly working with the WSB."

Jeff nodded his head, and it was secret he had still never revealed to his own wife. Another secret, that Robert wasn't aware of, was that Jeff was covertly involved with Section-7 in those days as well.

"That's right," Jeff admitted. "My work for the WSB was only in an advisory role. Back in my college days, I had taken Bosnian as a foreign language, somehow the WSB knew of this and asked me to translate intercepted communications; and that was it."

Robert opened his black leather jacket, and took a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. It was a printed out copy of the symbol that was at the bottom of the message Emma's captors had sent to the Berkeley police department (GH 2018 #165) and handed it to Jeff.

"If I recall," Robert told Jeff, "your work with the WSB helped break a militant group's code structure; and this was their symbol, their calling card as you might say."

Jeff looked at the symbol and nodded his head.

"Yes," Jeff said, as he recalled the memory. "And ironically enough, the night we broke the code, the leader of the militant group's wife had gone into labor. The code we broke was a desperate message for help; she was having complications."

"And luckily," Gunther said as Jeff finished his bourbon, "you were a doctor."

Jeff nodded his head.

"Precisely," Jeff came back with, "I demanded that the U.N. peacekeepers fly me to the hidden camp so I could deliver that baby, and I did."

"Emma's captors," Robert said, not missing a beat, "included that symbol with the message they sent. I thought the group no longer existed, so many years later, but apparently I was wrong."

"You were wrong?" Gunther said sarcastically to Robert.

Jeff chuckled and then looked at Robert, and nodded his head.

"This was their symbol," Jeff agreed, "but I'm not sure what I can do to help, Robert. It was twenty years ago and…"

But Robert cut Jeff off.

"Dammit," Robert said with urgency in his voice, "this is my granddaughter's life we're talking about here," as he slammed his hand on the table. "If you delivered that woman's child, and the father was the leader of that militant group, then odds are they at least tried to contact you so as to thank you."

Jeff took a deep breath, and then looked over to his old style rolodex phone number holder and opened it. Jeff thumbed through it and wrote a phone down on a piece of paper and handed it to Robert.

"You're right," Jeff said, as Robert took the paper and put it in his pocket. "When the child turned two years old, I was contacted by the father, the former militant leader, Ajnir. He wanted to let me know that his wife, Lejla was her name if I recall correctly, had been killed by Serbian terrorist. On her death bed she asked Ajnir to thank me for helping to bring their son into the world. Eventually, the United States granted him, and his two year old son, asylum; and relocated them to America. After that," Jeff told Robert, "I've never heard from him since, and that was back in 2000."

Robert stood back up, as did Gunther.

"This will help," Robert told Jeff. "I assume you were sworn to secrecy, and by telling me this, you have violated that promise; I'm sorry for asking you to do that."

Jeff stood up and shook Robert's out reached hand.

Moments later, having left Jeff's office, Robert and Gunther were heading to the parking garage structure of the hospital, when Robert looked at his watch. They still had 30 minutes before the jet would be ready.

"You go get the jeep," Robert told Gunther, "I want to pay a quick visit to another good friend. I'll meet you out front in fifteen minutes."

And with that, Robert headed for the elevator while Gunther headed for the parking structure.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Webber was in her office doing paper work when there was a knock at her door. She looked up as the door open and watched as Rosa Demarco, who was in tears, and Dr. Garth Landru walked in. Garth closed the door, so the three could have privacy.

Rose sat down across from Liz as Liz looked up at the still standing Garth.

"What is the meaning of this?" Liz demanded. "Who do you think you are?"

Garth, with a smug look on his face, placed two documents on Liz's desk, which she then looked at, word for word. It was direct confirmation that Rosa's presence in the United States was indeed illegal.

"Nurse Webber; I had hoped you would have done your job and looked into this," Garth said, as he glared down at Liz. "In any event," Garth added, "I will save you the trouble and contact ICE myself, and let them make the preparations for Rosa and the rest of her family to be deported back to El Salvador!"

After Garth's booming words, Liz looked over at Rosa, and felt powerless to help, but then there was another knock at her door, and then it opened. Liz was surprised at who stood in the doorway; Robert Scorpio.

"Elizabeth," Robert said with his Australian accented voice, but he could also pick up on the tension in the room. "Have I interrupted something serious," Robert asked as he saw the young woman crying in the seat across from Elizabeth.

"In fact," Garth replied with a cold sounding voice aimed at Robert, "you have. Would you mind leaving until we are finished? This is a confidential internal hospital issue."

Robert fixed his own icy stare on Garth.

"Actually," Robert said to Garth, "I've been less than honest. I have a pretty good idea what's happening in here, thanks to your loud and obnoxious voice, which I could hear halfway down the corridor," Robert finished with.

Elizabeth stood and picked up the documents and handed them to the WSB sleuth. She had once helped Robert crack a case, and was a friend of his daughter, Robin.

"He shouldn't be reading those," Garth said back as he glared over at Liz.

Robert glossed over the emigration documents, and then looked at Garth.

"You know," Robert said to Garth, "I am finding it hard stopping myself from reaching over and snapping your neck."

Garth had the urge to say something; then realized that the Australian rogue might actually do what he said.

"Hold on a sec," Robert added, as he pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

Garth, Liz and Rosa could only listen as Robert, who stepped back into the corridor, spoke on his phone, in French no less.

While Robert was doing whatever he was doing, Garth looked over at Liz.

"You do realize, Nurse Webber," Garth said, with nearly a whisper, "that someday your luck will run out, and I'll be there. And when that happens, it might not only ruin your carrier; but your father's as well."

As Garth finished his words, his eyes caught a quick glance of Liz's purse, which was on the chair next to her. He quickly noticed two items; a brochure about a special showing of The Dark Knight, and, what appeared to be Emergency calls on that night to 911. Most hospitals kept such lists for administrative reasons.

Garth's most recent illegal organ harvesting operation, he recalled, had happened on the same evening as the special showing of The Dark Knight. He knew this to be the case, because he was going to go to the special showing himself, but the chance to harvest organs for extra money came up.

In fact, the victim he took the organs from, and later sold on the black market, had been walking his dog not far from where the Landmark Theater was showing the movie.

The brochure and the fact Liz had a listing of 911 calls that night may have been just a coincidence, but maybe it wasn't. Garth would look into the matter.

Robert came back into the office, and had a devilish grin on his face.

"As of two minutes ago," Robert announced to Liz, Garth, and then Rosa, "Ms. Rosa Demarco and her family were retroactively made citizens of the United States back to 1989. Apparently," Robert explained to Rosa, "at that time, El Salvador's emigration protocols to the US were, at best, iffy due to the civil war there in your country. So your father applied for green cards to France at some point, which at that time; represented your countries interest in America, somehow those records had been lost, so, make a long story short," Robert said, as he shifted his gaze back to Garth, "after my conversation with the French embassy, and the American state department, Rosa stays here; in fact they all get to stay here; forever."

Garth glared at Robert, and then looked at Liz, and the interesting items in her purse (the brochure and list of 911 calls) and then he stormed out. In Garth's mind, his dealings with Liz may have been thwarted on this day, but time…was on his side.

Seconds later, after Rosa thanked Robert and left to go home, Robert told Liz of Emma's predicament. And then they both hugged.

"Don't worry," Robert assured Liz, "I'm confident we will find little Emma and bring her home."

Liz had no doubt.

"I know you will. Thank you for pulling strings, Robert," Liz said, "and helping out Rosa and her family; you didn't have to do that."

Robert simply smiled.

"Can you handle Dr. Ghoul?" Robert asked as he arched his eyebrow; referring to Garth Landru.

Liz smiled and nodded her head.

"Oh him," Liz came back with. "Dr. Landru has got some issues, but I think I can handle it from here."

Robert could see a little trepidation in Liz's eyes, but, he decided to let her have her way and he would leave it at that for now. But, Robert decided, he would look into Dr. Garth Landru when he had the time to.

Robert headed out of Liz's office and toward his eventual destination; meeting the former militant leader named Ajnir Sloviagn.

Continued…next time; Elizabeth's medical knowledge is put to a life and death test! Meanwhile, Grayson Wayne gets an unexpected visitor at his front door; his 11 year old daughter!

This issue featured

Rebecca Herbst as Elizabeth Webber

Richard Dean Anderson as Jeff Webber

David Anders as Garth Landru

Naya Rivera as Rosa Demarco

with Guest star

Trevor Jackson as Gunther Scorpio

and Special Guest star

Tristan Rogers as Robert Scorpio

Written by Robert Benson