Hours later, Lucky gladly welcomed the warm Grecian breeze blowing across the ocean as stepped off the plane. The fresh air caressed his cheek like a long lost friend after hours of being holed up in the stale cabin of the airliner. Following his father through the various customs and security checkpoints, his mind was already reeling from the mission ahead. He barely paid attention as an agent scanned his passport and waved him through the line. The only thing he could focus on was the pristine image of Emily the night of the Black and White Ball, smiling gloriously as she showed off her sparkling engagement ring to a room full of admirers. Six months had passed, but time had not been able to tarnish such a breathtaking picture.
"We should have a car waiting for us," Lucky muttered as he shuffled behind Luke and into the chaos of the open terminal. Slinging the black tote bag over his shoulder, he patted the small handgun tucked into the interior pocket. A simple wave of a police badge back in New York had ensured that he would be able to carry the weapon from port to port. For once, his father had waxed poetic on the benefits of his son's law enforcement ranking as it gave them allowances that would have otherwise been prohibited. "Nikolas' assistant also booked us a room at a hotel just a few miles from the house where we think Helena is staying.
While under ordinary circumstances Luke would be looking forward to a luxurious Greece vacation with the lushest accommodations Europe could provide, he was anxious to start the chase. He loved the adrenaline rush of chasing the so-called bad guys across the globe. To many people, he was one of those bad guys, but when it came to the Cassadine empire, he had always been fighting for the greater good. This time, that greater good was an angelic brunette doctor that just happened to be his son's best friend and perhaps even the love of his young life.
"We're going to find her, Lucky," Luke assured his son quietly. Lucky was silent as he hailed a cab. Luke waited until they had deposited their bags in the trunk before he addressed him any further. He knew that Lucky was in a headspace so deep that it would be nearly impossible to consider reason. The only thing he could see or hear was the danger that Emily was facing. It was up to Luke to finally be the voice of experience that both his children had sought for so long. He couldn't save Laura from falling away, but he would give his life to make sure that it wasn't repeated on his children or the people that they loved. "Let's skip the hotel and get there immediately."
"How exactly are you going to manage to get inside her compound, Dad? It's not like you can just walk up and knock on the door. Most of the people that work for Helena have either dealt with you in the past or have been warned extensively of your existence," Lucky pointed out. "We only get one chance to pull this off. I want to think out each and every detail completely."
Scrubbing his hands over his face, Luke took a deep breath and exhaled it with a long sigh. "I'm going to do what I do best and go into disguise. My sources tell me that Helena keeps a team of German doctors on her staff to handle any and all medical needs. It's likely that the doctors have had at least some interaction with Emily."
Lucky had witnessed his father's routine more than once, always astounded that it seemed to work each and every time. Adopting the German physician disguise was one of his favorites and had worked when it came to protecting his mother a few years ago. "That could work up until the point you actually run into Helena. There is no way she is going to buy the act."
"We just have to make sure that we can get to Emily before Helena gets to us," Luke replied. He knew that it was a long shot, but it was really the only option he could come up with that was at all plausible. "Even if I don't actually get to Emily, I will be enough of a distraction that you will be able to find another way in."
"Actually, I already thought of that," he told his father. Reaching into his messenger bag, he pulled out a set of blue prints Nikolas had given him at the last minute. "These are the last renderings Nikolas could find of the house. It includes a complete plan of the ventilation system. I'm thinking that I can probably get in there through the vents as long as we can figure out where Emily is being held."
Luke took the large map from his son and looked at the drawings. Tracing his finger of the complex network of pipes, he settled upon a spacious interior room. It was the only room that seemed to be secluded from the outside world but completely accessible to those on the inside of the house. "She has to be keeping Emily here. This room connects to a back staircase from the master suite upstairs. Helena would be able to come and go as she pleases while still giving everyone else entrance into the room. It'd be the perfect location."
Over the next few minutes, Lucky quickly mapped a route from an outside grate to the room and back. He calculated that it would take him roughly five minutes to find Emily. If she was conscious, they could escape in equal time. If not, he would have to improvise when he got there. "This is the only way that this is going to work," Lucky decided aloud as the cab pulled up to a vacant building. A black sedan was waiting along with a uniformed driver. "Looks like Nikolas was really thinking ahead."
"For someone who didn't want to get involved, he sure has put a lot into this," Luke noticed as he slipped from the yellow cab. Lucky had noticed as well but elected not to comment. The truth was that he didn't really know what he was getting his heart into. Nikolas still didn't believe that Emily could be alive when he left Port Charles, but from what he had done for them since arriving in Greece, it was clear that he still at least the slightest sliver of hope. Luke made it to the driver first, snatching the keys and spinning them around his ring finger lazily. "Thanks, Jeeves."
The drive to the Cassadine compound was short but quiet. Just a few miles from the home, Luke pulled off onto the edge of the road and headed into the woods to change clothes. When he returned, he looked every part the German doctor. From the tweed cap sitting upon his mussed white hair to the round spectacles resting on the tip of his nose, he appeared both aristocratic and slightly crazy. For his part, Lucky had exchanged his white button-up shirt and light denim carpenter pants for a pair of faded dark denim jeans and a tight black tee. He knew that Helena's guards uniformly dressed in dark colors. Once they were back in the car and on their way closer to the compound, Lucky tried to only focus on why he was there and not all the things that could go wrong along the way.
Upon arrival, Lucky climbed out of the car just inside the gate while Luke proceeded toward the front door to announce his arrival. Hiding behind a shrub, Lucky watched as his father tossed the car keys to a waiting valet. Within a few seconds, he had disappeared inside the house, indicating that at least one person on the staff had bought the scheme. Scanning the grounds, he made a dash for the exterior grate he had pinpointed earlier. He slowed his run to a steady walk when a groundskeeper passed him. Offering only a curt nod, Lucky exhaled gratefully when the gardener headed in the opposite direction. Sure that he was finally alone, Lucky popped off the metal face plate and lifted himself into the vent. Pulling the cover back over the opening, he crawled out of sight and turned into a dead-end corner so that he could gather his bearings.
Crawling along the dingy metal floor of the complex ventilation system, Lucky listened carefully as he passed over each room. When he came across the loud, angry buzz of a food processor, he knew that he was on the right track. He should pass over the kitchen just before turning toward the place where they believed Emily was being held. A fork in the makeshift road was just ahead. Choosing the path to his right, Lucky glanced down at the formal dining room and then over the staircase. Climbing up toward the next level of the house proved difficult but not impossible for the physically fit detective. Certain that he was just a few feet from his final destination, Lucky took another break to listen for his father.
A few moments passed before Lucky was able to pick up his father's stunted faux German accent. He was speaking with an older man in a white coat as they made their way up the staircase just below Lucky's feet. Luke seemed to be fairing well as he asked question after question about the "young girl" as he repeatedly called her. His father was doing a good job of not letting on to his close relationship with the patient. One false move could endanger both of them, and Lucky would likely be forced to pick which to save first. His father and the man soon disappeared out of sight, assumingly to enter into Emily's room. Pushing forward, Lucky was now more determined than ever to find his best friend.
Scampering over the final few feet of vents, immediate relief washed over his exhausted body as he finally spotted her below. Sleeping angelically in a hospital bed, she was thinner than he remembered but seemed to be in good shape. "Emily." He whispered her name like a prayer, hoping for a miracle. If she could just hear his voice, he was sure that she would awaken. He watched her for a minute, simply waiting for her big brown eyes to flutter open. So many times, she had met his clear blue gaze from across a room, holding intently to him as if she sensed that he had been watching her. Why couldn't this be one of those times?
His father stopped and looked over at the bed upon entering the room. His eyes widened briefly before adjusting back. It was the slightest movement, likely undetectable to anyone who didn't know Luke Spencer extremely well. Of that small number of people, Lucky had both the fortunate and unfortunate burden of being the person that knew him best. His father was slightly shocked at Emily's state but quickly snapped back to attention and into action.
"If you would leave me for a few minutes, I would like some quiet to look over the patient's charts," Luke requested with a rough accent. Lucky rolled his eyes at his blatant flamboyance.
The other doctor – the real doctor – nodded hesitantly. "You can look at whatever is available down here, but Ms. Cassadine keeps most of the charts upstairs in her private office. I'm sure that you would like to speak with her during your visit. I could just call up…"
"No, that's quite alright," Luke protested. "These records will work for now, and if I need more, I can just ask you then. I was told not to bother Ms. Cassadine."
"That's strange, she usually likes to meet with the doctors immediately. I have worked for her for years. I'm surprised that I have never been called upon to work with you in the past. I have consulted with most of her medical staff at one point or another."
"I am a specialist that Ms. Cassadine called to work on the case," Luke falsely explained. "I specialize in cases just like this patient."
The two men spoke for a few more minutes until the doctor convinced Luke to come into the office to look over the charts. Apparently, there were some irregularities on the computerized records that he hoped Luke would be able to help with. The brief disappearance gave Lucky just enough time to pop down from the ceiling. Sliding the tile away, he fell to the ground with a soft thud just beside Emily's bed. He stood up slowly, careful not to make any noise, and hovered over her body. "Oh, Em, what has she done to you?"
"Well, well, well," he heard unexpectedly as he whirled around. "Lucky Spencer."