A Warehouse - Port Charles
Escobar slammed his phone shut, "Who does the man think he is demanding we have the meeting with Kellie now. We can't even find her kids to ensure she cooperates."
"Are you sure this is a good idea still?" Tonio asked, "The stories about Ms. Corinthos are legendary."
"We have no choice," Escobar said, "We're already in this deal too deep. Esoterra doesn't take backing out of deals lightly."
"Then we'll step up efforts to find the kids," Tonio said, "And soon as Ms. Corinthos shows her face again. We demand that meeting immediately."
The Next Day
Jason met Charles at the front door of the safe house.
"Thanks for making this happen," Charles said.
"No problem," Jason said, "The kids are excited to see you."
"The feelings mutual," Charles said, "How are they doing? Really?"
"It depends on the minute," Jason said, "Alyssa found one of the guards iPad's and looked up Sonny on wikipedia. Jamie and Jared saw it too."
"Before or after Kellie left," Charles replied.
"Before," Jason said, "They saw enough to know Kellie ran Sonny's business at one point. The boys seem to understand why Kellie made those choices, why it's beneficial to move back to Port Charles."
"And Alyssa?" Charles asked.
"She wanted to have Sonny or I put a hit out on Garrett," Jason said, "She thinks if he's taken care of they can move back to California. She did something last night, she hasn't done before. She went out side after bedtime, tripped an alarm, and claimed to be looking at the stars."
"When Tyler first got sick," Charles said, "She did that several times. The attention was off of her, with Tyler going through chemo and sick a lot. Tyler wasn't always up to playing tea party or dolls as much as he had been. With Kellie home more, Alyssa wasn't happy because she couldn't get away with her little tricks or getting the boys in trouble like she could when it was just Tyler at home. She actually tried to run away one night."
"Kellie mentioned Alyssa had tried some things," Jason said, "But it sounded like she was past that until yesterday."
"We'll need to keep an eye on her," Charles said, "If you think the boys are like their mother, Alyssa takes it to another level. If she's not dealing well with Tyler being gone and moving to Port Charles, I wouldn't put it past to her to try to run away again."
"I'll talk to the guards although I'm sure they probably know about her tendencies," Jason said.
"It wouldn't hurt to remind them," Charles said.
"How did the board meeting go yesterday?" Jason asked, "I didn't get a chance to ask Kellie or Lorenzo yet.
"As I expected," Charles said, "Everyone understands the reasons behind the two of you getting married. But no matter what Kellie decides, the board has serious concerns about Kellie being left in charge."
"Why?" Jason asked, "I'm not going to touch it. Kellie certainly wouldn't do anything to compromise the foundation."
"Unless her children were threatened," Charles said, "We both know if she were in a bind, she'd break the rules and try to fix it later."
"If the families are already hinting at that kind of access, then I can see why the board is concerned," Jason said, "Is Kellie okay with it?"
"According to Lorenzo, it didn't surprise her when we told her," Charles said, "But that's Kellie always considering every possible outcome…most of the time."
"Yeah," Jason agreed, "Look, I'm not sure if there is a good way to bring this up with you. I know that this can't be easy for you, talking about Kellie getting married to protect her and the kids. Not to mention, her and I are together."
"Though neither one of you are quite sure what that means," Charles said, "Look, Jason, none of this is easy. It would be a lot easier on both of you if you didn't have to consider this whole marriage thing. I also know both of you well enough to know this wasn't something either of you were looking for."
"I was just trying to help Kellie after Tyler's death," Jason said, "And get some space from people time to think."
"I know," Charles said, "Coming back from the dead tends to throw everything for a loop. I remember when I found out Kellie wasn't actually dead and watching her and Tyler try to figure everything out. It was messy."
"I honestly wasn't sure they'd make it sometimes," Jason said, "Especially after Michael got shot. I wanted them to make the long haul."
"We all did," Charles said, "But life sometimes has other plans."
Jason just nodded.
"You've always looked out for Kellie, Tyler, and her family," Charles said, "when it's been within your power to. As long as that doesn't change, I don't have any concerns. In fact, I feel better knowing you're hanging around them in any capacity. I worry a little less about them."
"I hope you know I'm not trying to replace Tyler or anything like that," Jason said, "That would never be possible."
"But you're giving Kellie and the kids what they need given that he's gone," Charles said, "That's all I can ask for."
"You know that you'll always have a place in Kellie and the kids lives," Jason said, "We wouldn't have it any other way."
"I knew that," Charles said, "But it feels good to hear it. What do you say we find out what mischief those unruly grandchildren of mine are up to."
Jason left to attend to business in Port Charles while Charles stayed with the kids.
"Let's play hide and seek," Alyssa said after lunch.
"How about a game of tag?" Charles said suspiciously, " In the backyard."
"I want to play hide and seek," Alyssa said, stamping her foot.
"No, we're not playing hide and seek," Charles said, "We can either play tag or we could play a board game inside."
"I don't want to play anymore," Alyssa said, "I'll be in my room playing hide and seek with my dolls."
"Come on, Grandpa," Jamie said, "We'll play tag. You're it."
Jamie and Jared ran around the yard as Charles watched Alyssa go into the house before chasing after the boys.
When Alyssa saw Charles was distracted she snuck out the back door and made her around to the front of the house, hiding in the brush along the driveway. At the end of the drive way, she grabbed the backpack she'd stashed the night before.
Francis got a motion alert on his phone at the end of the drive way. He pulled up the camera footage in time to see Alyssa getting into a car at the end of the driveway.
By the time, Francis and two of the other guards made it to the end of the driveway, the car had already run too far down the road. The video footage only gave enough to get the color of the car, silver, and that it was a four door sedan.
