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Chapter 25
Jason got off the plane in Naples and was greeted by Shawn Butler. The two men didn't talk on the short ride to the home that Johnny owned. Since it was outside the city and had no close neighbors it was ideal for the chat ahead. They drove past the main house to a small structure further back on the property. They got out and walked inside. Logan and Andy were in the front room and from the rear was coming a commotion. "He's awake."
"And annoying." Logan added. "Are you planning on killing him? If you are I wouldn't mind helping."
"Thinking about it." Jason admitted walking to the door to the back room. Logan and Shawn followed him, Andy was watching his monitor he hadn't even looked up when they entered.
Inside the back room strapped to a chair with a gag in his mouth was Luke Spencer. This time yesterday he had been in Port Charles tapping contacts trying to find his son, it was no problem for Shawn to pick him up and load him onto the charter plane. "Hello Luke." Jason said as he removed the gag.
"You have to let me go before the dragon lady kills my boy. He's all I have left." Luke told Jason. Laura would want him to protect their son.
"Where is she?" Jason wanted to know. He didn't bother to point out that Luke had a daughter as well.
"Why don't you ask your sister? The two of them seem to be pretty tight." Luke hadn't believed it when he saw Helena and Emily talking on one of the balconies at Wyndamere. Years of running cons had made him a master of reading body language. The younger woman had been relaxed during the conversation. She had been out there willingly. It just went to show you couldn't trust anyone. He bet Nikolas was in on this as well.
"I will speak with Emily." Jason told his guest. "Where is Helena?"
"Why do you care? Are you here to get Caroline back, tired of Lizzie already?" Luke sneered.
Jason wanted to pull his gun out and blow the older man's brains all over the back wall. Not only for what he just said but also for all the pain he put Elizabeth through back in Port Charles. Right now Luke could be useful. He knew things about Helena. Jason needed that knowledge. Once he had it Luke might find himself taking a one way boat ride.
"I don't care about Carly. She's probably already dead." Jason saw that Luke didn't even blink. He wanted Lucky back and could care less about his niece. The Spencers really were a fucked up family. "You are going to tell me everything I need to know about Helena and if you don't prove to be too much of a pain in the ass I won't kill you while you are tied to that chair. I won't kill Lucky either."
"Promise me you won't hurt Lucky." Luke knew that Jason kept his word. If Luke could just get his son away from that old bat he could find a way to get to Liz. She was what Lucky needed to get better. Nikolas proved that. Once the programming was carried out Cowboy would get better, Luke didn't care that Liz needed to die for that to happen.
"I won't touch him." When it came down to it, one of the guys would handle it. Out of respect for what Elizabeth once shared with the younger man Jason would let someone else pull the trigger. But he would be there when Lucky died.
"Fine, I'll tell you what I know." Luke swore.
"Get him some water." Jason instructed. Logan did coming back with a glass of laced liquid. He gave it to the older man and joined his friends across the room. Luke wouldn't have a choice but to co-operate. Jason didn't trust Luke to tell the truth on his own. He turned to the Texan. "Stay here and write down everything he says."
"Will do." Logan said taking a seat.
In the outer room Jason walked over to Andy. "Where is my sister?"
"In her hotel suite." They had tagged her before she left the states.
"You ready?" Jason asked his friend.
"Let's go." Shawn replied.
"This view is amazing Francis." Elizabeth said smiling and trying to mean it. Her things were unpacked and she had explored the penthouse. If things had been different she and Jason would have been living here. It was nice but she liked her country cottage better.
"Yeah it is." He had been watching Liz since she arrived. She was doing a damned good job of pretending that everything was fine, but she was a lousy actress. And a worse liar. She was worried for Jason, which was understandable. They were all concerned but Francis knew that this way was best. Just sitting and waiting for Helena to strike could take years. Liz didn't need to live under that kind of stress. So they needed to eliminate her now. "Want to go out for a bit, catch a movie?"
"No." Focusing on a movie wasn't going to happen. She wanted to call Jason and ask him to come back. To ask him to let his guys handle this. If it wasn't for Emily being involved he would have most likely done just that. "Do you know the guys Jason is working with?" Trying to pretend this wasn't happening was stressing her more. Some information would help the most.
"I know Shawn, Cody, and Cooper." Francis told her. "They are all very good, and they wouldn't work with anyone who isn't good as well. Jason's got skilled guys watching his back." Francis would trust any of them to go through a door with him.
"Cody and Cooper were in Kildare, are they still in Ireland?" She wanted to know.
"Cooper is. If you go out he will go with you." Francis answered. In this situation there wasn't too much protection. "Cody flew over to Italy late last night." Jason had him watching Nikolas to see if he met with his Grandmother at some point. Right now the Prince was sitting outside Jason's penthouse villa.
Elizabeth was surprised that Francis was answering her questions. Normally she got a lot of silence if she asked about work matters. Not that she did often, but sometimes her curiosity got the better of her. "Thank you."
"No problem. Jason is the best I've ever worked with." Francis said to reassure her. The younger man's instincts were almost preternatural when it came to danger. Before Francis could say anything else the doorbell rang. "Go to your room." He said rising to his feet. He wasn't expecting company.
When Elizabeth quickly complied, he put her in the bedroom with the other panic room, he slowly approached the door. His gun was in his hand. One of the features of the unit was a camera looking into the hall. He pushed the view button and on the screen he saw three women standing outside his door. Rolling his eyes Francis called out. "Come back down."
Upstairs the bedroom door opened as he pulled the front door open. "Ladies."
"We'd like to see Elle." Chloe said grinning. She knew they should have called first, but Siobhan wanted to irritate Francis. Chloe had enough trouble maker in her to go along with that plan.
"Come in." Francis stepped back grinning at Diane as she walked by him. Elizabeth was in the front room. "I'll be down the hall. Don't leave without letting me know."
"I'm her guard if she wants to leave I'll keep her safe." Siobhan instantly protested. "Cooper is downstairs so we'd pick him up on the way." It was just easier for the two guards to share a place.
Francis counted to three before speaking. "I didn't say she couldn't leave. I said not to do so without telling me." He glared at the red headed woman. "I already apologized."
"You didn't mean it." Siobhan said calling him out.
"No, I didn't." Francis admitted. "I shouldn't have had to say I was sorry. I question anyone who is around Liz. I've worked with Cody and Cooper that's why I didn't ask about either of them. I'd question Johnny's mother if it came down to it. Pull the stick out of your ass and get over yourself." He said before stomping off.
Elizabeth looked at Siobhan. "I really like you, but I love Francis. If you two can't get along I'll have to tell Johnny to reassign you."
The guard grinned. "It's fine. I just like pushing his buttons. He gets really red." She said laughing.
Elizabeth planted her hands on her hips. "You're a female Johnny. He lives to irritate Francis and Jason."
"No wonder we get along so well. This is my aunt Diane." Siobhan said still giggling as she made the introductions. "Aunt Dee this is Elle."
Elizabeth smiled at the older woman. She had noticed her and Frannie eyeing each other up. She knew that Diane was Johnny's lawyer. "It's nice to meet you. Come sit down and tell me everything about yourself. And I mean everything, because I need to decide if you are good enough for my friend."
Diane smiled at Jason's girlfriend. "Francis would be lucky to have me." So this was the woman that had Jason's heart. She was tiny but Diane just bet she had a steel rod backbone.
"Ooh, I like you already." Elizabeth said grinning. Francis needed a strong woman and Johnny really respected Diane, so did Chloe.
"How could you not, look at me I'm fabulous." Diane said chuckling.
Elizabeth liked the twinkle in the woman's eyes. Poor Frannie was a goner. "I'll make tea and then we'll talk." Elizabeth moved off to the kitchen to root around.
"Let me help you." Chloe said joining her friend. "How are you really?" She asked plugging in the kettle.
"Terrified." Elizabeth found the tea after looking in several cabinets. "Thanks for coming over."
"Sure thing. Didn't hurt that I wanted to see the space. This building is fairly new I've never been inside. The furnishings are sparse." Chloe said picturing how to change it.
"Stop now. Diane will be decorating." Elizabeth also found some cookies.
"They had dinner last night." Chloe liked the look of them together.
"And eyeball sex when she walked in." Elizabeth whispered.
"Yeah, I caught that." Chloe smirked.
"This needs to be over soon so that I can have Jason home and Frannie can put the moves on Diane." Elizabeth said trying not to make this all about her.
"Our boys are the best." Chloe said bolstering her friend. "Let's go gossip, it's really good for what ails you. I want to hear more from Siobhan about this Cody Paul person."
"He's cute, I saw him yesterday. He was looking at Siobhan's ass." Elizabeth told her friend.
"Are you gossiping without us?" Siobhan called from the couch.
"No." Elizabeth and Chloe said in unison before laughing. 'This is just what I need.' Elizabeth said to herself fixing the tray.
Jason and Shawn got off the elevator and walked down the hotel corridor. "This is a nice place. Maybe I'll come here sometime for vacation." Shawn commented looking around.
"You don't take vacations." Jason said smirking. "Even if you did you wouldn't stay in a hotel. People like us roam hotels."
"Good point, they didn't even look twice at us in the lobby." Shawn agreed as they stopped in front of the Presidential suite. Hotels were a security nightmare. "Where is she?" He said into his earpiece.
"Bathroom off the bedroom." Andy's voice floated into both guys ears. "All the other rooms are clear." Heat signatures were a wonderful thing. It let you know whether you could expect company before you opened the door.
Jason went to the door and picked the lock while Shawn kept a look out. Inside the main room was quiet and cool. The lights were out but the sun coming through the window chased away shadows. They did a quick sweep, not that they didn't trust Andy. They just trusted their eyes more.
Silently Jason moved into the bedroom. Shawn stayed out front. If Nikolas was coming back up they'd get a call from Cody. He had checked in as they pulled up in front of the hotel to say Nikolas was still waiting outside the villa. Jason wondered if maybe the Prince was looking to see if Lucky showed up.
The bathroom door was shut but Jason could hear someone moving around. He stood to the side knowing that Emily wouldn't see him right away when she walked out. He wanted the element of surprise. It would give him the upper hand. The door opened and he went completely still.
Emily was dressed for a casual day in. Nikolas told her to not leave the hotel until he figured out where his brother and Grandmother were. She had no problem with that at all. Helena gave her the creeps. She had been shocked when the older woman showed up at the wedding. So had Nikolas since he hadn't invited her. Emily was hoping that Jason would show up soon. She needed to talk with him, she wanted to make sure he and Elizabeth were alright. Hanging out with Carly had left her feeling more afraid than ever. The blonde was nuts and knowing she was with Helena and Lucky made Emily lose sleep at night.
Jason watched his sister trying to get a read on her. Nothing in particular seemed off. Her movements were normal and she was muttering to herself like she always did. It made a small smile come to his face.
After he had gotten shot he considered asking Elizabeth to go away with him then. Instead he had tried to work things out with Sonny. If he had followed his first instinct they might not be here now. But they were so he needed to see this through.
He was going to startle her, there was no way to avoid it. Hopefully she wouldn't fall. He didn't want to harm the baby she carried. Stepping forward he spoke. "Emily."
She whirled around eyes wide. "Jason!" She threw herself at her brother engulfing him in a big hug. "What are doing here?"
"Do you know where Helena is?" He asked his sister looking into her eyes.
"No." Emily answered confused. "Why would I?"
"You were talking to her at the wedding. On the balcony." Luke hadn't been the only one to see that. Andy had as well, he just couldn't get close enough to hear what they were saying.
"That was just about the baby." Emily said but her voice was flat. "She wanted me to know how important the baby is to the bloodline."
Jason frowned. Her whole body changed as she recited that. "That's all?"
"Of course, what else would we be talking about?" Emily was wondering what was wrong with her brother.
"The fact that Elizabeth is with me." Jason said still watching her.
"I would never tell her that." Emily swore. "Not ever. Jason I don't want anything to happen to Elizabeth. She's my –"
"Protect the queen." Jason said softly while his sister was talking. Emily's went still and her eyes went empty. He had his answer to why his sister was doing the things she was. Helena had brainwashed her too.
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