Second Chances: Intended Target
The sun peeked its sleepy head from behind the rolling hills as Jason watched. Its dull yellow and orange color mixed with the early morning dew that hung heavy in the air illuminating the sky with a muted array of hues. He looked down at his cell phone and saw the flashing indicator telling him that he had messages. Undoubtedly several of them were from Sonny. Jason knew that he wanted to talk with him the night before but he had chosen to ignore the request. He hadn't wanted to rehash the same worn dialogue they had been exchanging for weeks now. It was exhausting.
He shoved his phone deep into his pocket and brought his attention back to the Lansing house. It was hard not to recall the harsh words that he and Elizabeth had bandied between each other standing in that very living room. Jason tried desperately not to think about all of the horrible things, acts that had nearly cost Elizabeth her life that Ric had perpetrated against the woman he claimed – and still did – to love.
Jason watched as several lights clicked on in the rooms of the house softly illuminating them giving him the ability to see shadows. The gray figure Jason knew to be Ric's walked past the window with a smaller shadow he assumed to be Faith Roscoe following close behind. What an unholy alliance the two of them were he thought. Both were sinister and conceiving but Ric possessed far more finesse. Jason understood that's why Sonny was so focused on Faith being the one responsible for all their troubles. It reeked of her haphazard plans. She was never one to look past the instant gratification she wanted to see the bigger picture. That's why Jason had always been able to foil her plans. No one was as loyal to her as she would have liked to believe. But teaming the two, her and Ric, that was a dangerous combination. Ric had the ability to calculate his every move and the Harvard education to make him cunning. Faith was good because of her sheer explosive nature but Ric would keep her grounded enough for the long haul.
Jason let out a heavy breath as he ran his hand over his face. His mind was drawn to Elizabeth. He knew that she was most definitely pacing the floors of his penthouse as he sat there waiting to make his move. He hated doing that to her. He hated making her worry about him. When they had faked Sonny's death all those months before, she waited patiently for him and would rush into his arms when he would finally come home. She tried so hard to help him through his friend's "death". She was so supportive, caring, loving that Jason would have given his right arm to have been able to explain things to her right then. To tell her that Sonny was alive and all of it had been a ruse to smoke out Luis Alcazar, but Sonny would have none of that.
Jason could have kicked himself still for going along with Sonny's order to keep Elizabeth in the dark. There had been no doubt in his mind that he could have trusted her. He had trusted her with his life countless times and not once had she ever let him down. She had turned her world upside down for him more times than he could count. He knew that it was time for him to finally do the same. This time he wouldn't be obediently following Sonny's orders about Ric Lansing. While he didn't intend to be outright insubordinate he certainly didn't feel that the man who had brought so much havoc to the lives of the people he loved most was off limits and it was time that Lansing came to understand that.
Ric felt Faith's fingers trace the muscles in his chest as she came up behind him. Delicately she entangled her digits through the dark tufts of hair covering his torso grazing her fingertips against his erect nipples. A shiver trailed down his spine from that subtle touch. It didn't go unnoticed by the sender.
"Happy lover?" Faith whispered. She was playing her part beautifully. There wasn't a hint of her anger or the scheme that was so well articulated in her mind coming through in her actions. For all Ric knew she was oblivious to it all. That's exactly what she wanted. "What about this?" she asked slipping her hands easily between the waistband of his dark silk boxers. Ric moaned softly as her hands made contact with his throbbing male form. "I'll take that as a yes," she purred as she slipped the boxers passed his hips leaving them in a puddle on the plush carpet. All he was able to do was nod his head for an answer as Faith continued her assault on him. She raised her leg high around his hip letting her own heat reach him.
Overcome with pure animal desire Ric lifted her completely against him as she swallowed his manhood with her feminine wiles. Faith enjoyed watching his reaction to her deliberate moves. He was a powerful man in and out of bed and it was going to give her great satisfaction to bring him down a few pegs. She was almost tempted to leave him wanting but admittedly she had worked herself into a frenzy and needed release of her own.
They lay on the bed both breathing heavy staring at the ceiling. Ric closed his eyes and squashed the thoughts of Elizabeth that picked at him. What was he doing? Was selling his soul to the devil the way to get her back? As he thought that the images of all the times he had seen her in the arms of Jason Morgan raided his brain. How they held one another, how they looked at each other so longingly and sudden his dance with the devil he knew it to be a necessary evil. And it was time he continued playing his part. In the end everything would be worth it to have Elizabeth in his arms again.
"I'm going to grab a shower then I'll take your necklace to the jewelers to be repaired. Would you like to come with me? We could have a nice breakfast at the PC Grille," he said as he swung his naked form to the edge of the bed.
"I actually have a meeting this morning," she said coyly. "Maybe lunch though."
"Meeting?" he said trying not to sound suspicious. "More information as to putting our plan into motion?"
"You could say that." She smiled.
"Lunch it is then." He returned her smile. The sooner they removed Sonny and Jason the sooner that Elizabeth would be ripe for the picking.
Faith watched as he retreated to the master bathroom. She waited for the door to close and the sound of the water pounding against the shower walls before she moved to where her phone sat on the night table. Tightening her satin robe around her body she listened as the call rang through. "Is everything set?" she asked the voice on the other end. "Just make it a near miss. It's time that people understood just who they are dealing with." Faith said as she looked back at the closed bathroom door.
Ric picked up his keys from the table adjacent to the door and placed the necklace he had given to Faith in his pocket. He was almost tempted to tell her that the piece of jewelry couldn't be mended. He should have never fabricated the tale that it had been a surprise for her. It was bad enough she was acting like the woman of the house, that right was solely Elizabeth's but now she had taken possession of something that had been his wife's. Maybe he was over reacting. Perhaps the blood red glass was merely a trinket that had been long forgotten, but something in his gut told him otherwise.
Ric pulled the heavy wooden door closed behind him and took a few steps closer to where his car sat waiting in the driveway. Without warning his nose and mouth were captured in a thick white cloth. His nostrils suddenly filled with a sweet odor leaving him woozy as his surroundings went black.
Easily Jason hoisted Ric over his shoulder and deposited him in the cargo area of his black SUV. He stared at him coldly as he watched Ric lying there lifeless. What a perfect picture Jason thought to himself. This is the way it should have been. It hadn't had to have gotten as far as it had. If Sonny would have just allowed Ric to be handled the second it came out that he allowed Carly to believe they had slept together none of the heinous things that had happened to his friends would have taken place. Jason just shook his head as he lowered the tailgate leaving Ric to sleep off the effects of the ether.
Ric's head felt heavy as he tried to lift it. His vision was blurry and he squinted his eyes forcing them to focus. His mind was engulfed in a thick haze. "Where the hell am I?" he said hoarsely. It was then he realized that his hands and legs were tied to hard wooden chair. Panic seized him as he began to thrash around wildly.
"Keep it up and those nylon ropes will cut your wrists. It will save me the trouble of killing you, but it won't be nearly as fun," Jason said as he step from the shadows to reveal himself to Ric.
Ric's mouth went dry as if he had swallowed mouthful of cotton. Jason's ice blue eyes bore holes in his flesh. The look of sheer determination on the enforcer's face made Ric quiver. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dimly lit room he looked around surveying his surroundings trying desperately to figure out where he was. This wasn't the same safe house he had been taken to as before. He was sure that Sonny had many of them in his possession though. "What do you want?!?" Ric tried to sound much bolder than he felt. Suddenly he saw Jason's gun perched on the table across the room and he watched as Jason pulled a roll of weighty plastic from the closet. He swallowed hard around the apple sized lump that had come to sit in his throat.
Jason enjoyed the sheer fear that had taken hold of his captive. It wasn't nearly all that he deserved for the horror and panic he had put both Carly and Elizabeth through but for Jason it was a start. Without a word Jason deliberately rolled the plastic out onto the birch floor. The last thing he wanted was there to be any remnants of what he was about to do. Not the that Quartermaines used this cabin retreat much anymore but he couldn't take the risk. He had chosen the out of the way cabin rather than one of Sonny's many safehouses. He couldn't chance what he was about to do would get back to his boss. Max was the only one who knew what was going on and Jason was certain of the man's loyalty.
"Where are we?" Ric pressed knowing full well that he wasn't about to get any answers from Jason Morgan who had a penchant for silence when it served him. "I know this isn't one of Sonny's safe houses," he lied hoping to get any indication of where he was.
"No it's not."
"Where the hell am I?" Ric's voice grew louder in the hope that someone, anyone might hear him. He knew he was grasping at straws but hysteria was setting in as Jason pulled the chair he was sitting in into the middle of the plastic sheeting. "Sonny's going to have your head. I'm his brother you can't kill me!" Ric wanted to sound smug but it only came out like the whining of a small child.
"What Sonny doesn't know won't hurt him."
Ric felt his chest tighten. Jason was working alone. There were no orders from Sonny for this little abduction. He again began to thrash wildly within his constraints imagining the torture that was in store for him.
Jason picked up his pistol from the table and trained it on Ric, making him stare directly into the barrel. He watched as beads of sweat began to form on the man's brow. "So what's it feel like to be a prisoner?" Ric tried to look away but using the butt end of the gun Jason forced his head back into position.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Funny and here everyone thinks I'm the brain damaged one." Jason smirked.
Ric again struggled as the ropes cut deeper into his flesh. "You think killing me is your way of keeping Elizabeth?" Jason's jaw grew taught as her name escaped Ric's lips. "She's going to hate you. She's going to know exactly what you are – a KILLER!"
"What makes you think Elizabeth doesn't know what I am doing?"
That remark silenced Ric momentarily. He couldn't believe that Elizabeth would sanction such and event. "Elizabeth would never stand by and let you kill me!"
"You don't think so?"
"NO!" Ric said so completely sure of himself.
"Well think again." Jason thought back to a not so long ago conversation he and Elizabeth had about Ric....
"I promise you Ric will NEVER hurt you again"
"You don't know how much I want to believe that Jason."
"But you don't do you? You don't think he's ever going to be out of
your life? He will Elizabeth. I swear to you he will. If it's the
last thing I do, he'll be out of your life once and for all."
"I'm not going to ask you about him. I don't want to know Jason."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I don't want to know what happens to Ric -- or your involvement in it. This is one time that I don't mind being kept out of your 'business'."
Ric sat wide eyed starring intently at his captor unable to fathom that a woman like Elizabeth would have any part in what the man before him was about to do. She had dropped him for lesser offenses so in his mind Ric knew that Elizabeth, his Elizabeth would NEVER be part of this. "You're fooling yourself Morgan! Elizabeth will hate you for this. She'll never – NEVER forgive you for killing me."
"She'll thank me!" Jason almost laughed as he rested the barrel end of his gun between Ric's eyes.
Elizabeth wrapped her yellow afghan tightly around her shoulders as she looked out over the docks and harbor. The sun was playfully making its ascent into the morning sky. If it had been some other morning she might have enjoyed watching the colors come to life but not today. This morning she was too focused on Jason. The feeling of dread that had consumed her since he had left the penthouse the night before had grown as the night wore into morning. She swore she had worn a groove in the hardwood floor from her endless pacing.
"Where are you going?"
"To get some answers and your red glass."
She had replayed those two simple sentences over and over again in her head. She tried not to let her fears get the better of her but that was far from easy. It wasn't the idea of what Jason might do that frightened her but it was more of what could possibly happen to him in the process.
She wasn't able to rid herself of those long ago images of finding him lying bleeding in the snow. They plagued her. She knew how close he had come to dying that night and in those first several days at her studio. She couldn't let herself think of that but it was difficult no to.
Elizabeth walked over to the desk and picked up the receiver for the hundredth time. She even dialed Jason's cell this time but quickly hung up. She needed to prove to Jason that she did trust him. And really for her it wasn't a matter of trusting him. It was a matter of her fearing he was again laying somewhere with a bullet through his body. She shook her head trying to rid herself of that likeness.
Forcefully she opened the door nearly sending Max tumbling inside. "Oh I'm sorry," she said startled to find him so close to the door. "Are you all right?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Max returned seeing the worry etched across her features.
"Do you know where Jason is?" Before Max was able to even open his mouth to answer she continued. "Of course you know. You always know."
"Elizabeth," Max reached for her hand and felt it shaking. "I...."
"You can't tell me." She finished his sentence for him. She closed her eyes and pushed back the tears that stung her brilliant cobalt eyes. "Well then maybe Sonny can!"
Elizabeth strode across the hallway and knocked heavily on the door. Johnny looked at Max who just shrugged his shoulders unsure of how to handle this. Part of him knew that Jason wouldn't want Sonny involved but he hadn't heard from the enforcer all night and he too was getting worried.
"Where's Jason?" Elizabeth asked as Sonny came out of the kitchen carrying a pitcher of orange juice.
"I could ask you the same question." Sonny was completely unfazed by her sudden presence. "He was supposed to meet with me last night and never showed."
"Damn." The single syllable word escaped her lips.
"Is something wrong?" Sonny asked sensing her apprehension.
"I don't know. Jason left last night and he's never come home. I was hoping that maybe he ended up having business for you that needed taken care of." Elizabeth dropped down into the soft velour arm chair and let out a heavy sigh.
"Sonny, breakfast smells great....." Carly began as she descended the stairs stopping cold at the sight of Elizabeth. "What the hell are you doing here?" This was the first time the two women had seen one another in weeks.
"Listen, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll handle this myself." Elizabeth got up to leave. In her state of mind she wasn't up for another round with Carly.
"What's going on?" Carly questioned looking from her husband and Elizabeth. Immediately she sensed that it had to do with something about Jason since Carly was sure that would be the only reason for Elizabeth's being there. "What happened to Jason?"
"Nothing," Elizabeth said too quickly for Carly's liking. "I'm just over reacting like I always do, Carly." Elizabeth said pointed to the blonde standing across the room who wasn't buying a word of it.
Carly moved deeper into the room and as she did that there was an unmistakable look of fear buried in the young brunette's eyes. Elizabeth skittishly moved about the room only heightening Carly's own fear. Her gut was screaming something was wrong. "Elizabeth," she spoke softly.
"Don't worry Carly I won't be staying. Thank you Sonny." Elizabeth turned to leave.
"Wait," Carly said as Elizabeth reached for the door. Carly had no idea what possessed her to suddenly care about Miss Muffin's well being but for one reason or another she couldn't rid herself of the visions of how much Jason loved the younger woman. "Are you okay?"
Sonny turned to stare at his wife wide eyed. He couldn't believe civil much less words of concern escaped her lips in terms of Elizabeth Webber.
"There's no need to pretend you give a damn. Jason isn't around to see you making nice," Elizabeth said sarcastically. "If you hear from Jason before I do, would you let me know?" She turned her attention back toward Sonny.
"I will."
Elizabeth closed the door behind her as the couple inside the room began their own conversation. She had far more to be concerned with than the Corinthos'.
"Elizabeth?" Max said as she approached him. "Is everything all right?"
"No."
"Is there something I can do?"
"Take me to Jason. I know you know where he is. I have to know that he's okay."
"You know I can't do that. Jason wants you to be safe...."
"So what if he's not right?" she cried choking on her own tears. "I know he went after Ric, Max. I know it. I couldn't live with myself if....."
"Nothing is going to happen to Jason."
"You don't know that. He's been shot before," Elizabeth's voice caught in her throat. Her lips began to quiver as an unstoppable wave of tears cascaded onto her cheeks.
"Where are you going?" Max asked as he watched her franticly push the elevator buttons.
"I can't just sit in the penthouse and wait for him. I'll go crazy waiting. I have to do something. I have to find him." Elizabeth rambled infamously.
"Whoa....you can't just run off." Max reached for her arm as the doors of the elevator slid open.
"With or without you I am going, Max!" Elizabeth countered.
"Then it will be with me." Max stepped into the elevator knowing that Jason would have his hid yet leaving Elizabeth roaming the streets of Port Charles alone wasn't an option either.
"Wait here," he instructed when they reached the lobby of the Harborview Towers. "I'll have Paulie bring around the car."
Elizabeth fidgeted as she watched for the black sedan to approach the curb. As soon as the car came into view she shot from her perch and was nearly to Max's side when the sound of bullets screamed through the air passed her ears. Before she knew what was happening Max tackled her entirely covering her body with his own. It seemed like an eternity before Max removed himself.
"You okay?" he asked raising her tiny body to its feet.
"I think so," she returned with a shaky voice.
"We need to get you inside right now!" Max ushered her towards the glass panel doors.
"Wait," she instructed. "The driver." Elizabeth pointed to where Paulie lay in a pool of blood on the sidewalk.
"Shit!" Max pulled out his phone and dialed as Elizabeth went to where one of Sonny's men lay. All she could think of was Jason laying bleeding in the snow.
"Morgan," Jason said never taking his eyes off of Ric.
"Jason there's been a drive by," Max's tone was quick and to the point.
"What? Oh my God – Elizabeth?"
Ric forced his swollen eyes to open at the sound of his wife's name. There was no mistaking the change in the enforcer's demeanor. Ric knew something was wrong.
"She's fine boss, but she needs you."
"I'm on my way."
Jason caught himself frozen unable to remove himself from the spot where he stood. His gaze was riveted on Ric Lansing. How the hell could this be happening? Ric had been with him the entire time and still an attempt had been made against Elizabeth. Quickly he shoved his gun in the back of his waistband. He didn't have the time to contemplate the order of events. He needed to get to Elizabeth.
"What happened? Is Elizabeth all right?" Ric finally asked as Jason approached the door only momentarily looking back at him. "Is she hurt? You aren't going to leave me here are you? YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!" Ric screamed as the door slammed.
The sun peeked its sleepy head from behind the rolling hills as Jason watched. Its dull yellow and orange color mixed with the early morning dew that hung heavy in the air illuminating the sky with a muted array of hues. He looked down at his cell phone and saw the flashing indicator telling him that he had messages. Undoubtedly several of them were from Sonny. Jason knew that he wanted to talk with him the night before but he had chosen to ignore the request. He hadn't wanted to rehash the same worn dialogue they had been exchanging for weeks now. It was exhausting.
He shoved his phone deep into his pocket and brought his attention back to the Lansing house. It was hard not to recall the harsh words that he and Elizabeth had bandied between each other standing in that very living room. Jason tried desperately not to think about all of the horrible things, acts that had nearly cost Elizabeth her life that Ric had perpetrated against the woman he claimed – and still did – to love.
Jason watched as several lights clicked on in the rooms of the house softly illuminating them giving him the ability to see shadows. The gray figure Jason knew to be Ric's walked past the window with a smaller shadow he assumed to be Faith Roscoe following close behind. What an unholy alliance the two of them were he thought. Both were sinister and conceiving but Ric possessed far more finesse. Jason understood that's why Sonny was so focused on Faith being the one responsible for all their troubles. It reeked of her haphazard plans. She was never one to look past the instant gratification she wanted to see the bigger picture. That's why Jason had always been able to foil her plans. No one was as loyal to her as she would have liked to believe. But teaming the two, her and Ric, that was a dangerous combination. Ric had the ability to calculate his every move and the Harvard education to make him cunning. Faith was good because of her sheer explosive nature but Ric would keep her grounded enough for the long haul.
Jason let out a heavy breath as he ran his hand over his face. His mind was drawn to Elizabeth. He knew that she was most definitely pacing the floors of his penthouse as he sat there waiting to make his move. He hated doing that to her. He hated making her worry about him. When they had faked Sonny's death all those months before, she waited patiently for him and would rush into his arms when he would finally come home. She tried so hard to help him through his friend's "death". She was so supportive, caring, loving that Jason would have given his right arm to have been able to explain things to her right then. To tell her that Sonny was alive and all of it had been a ruse to smoke out Luis Alcazar, but Sonny would have none of that.
Jason could have kicked himself still for going along with Sonny's order to keep Elizabeth in the dark. There had been no doubt in his mind that he could have trusted her. He had trusted her with his life countless times and not once had she ever let him down. She had turned her world upside down for him more times than he could count. He knew that it was time for him to finally do the same. This time he wouldn't be obediently following Sonny's orders about Ric Lansing. While he didn't intend to be outright insubordinate he certainly didn't feel that the man who had brought so much havoc to the lives of the people he loved most was off limits and it was time that Lansing came to understand that.
Ric felt Faith's fingers trace the muscles in his chest as she came up behind him. Delicately she entangled her digits through the dark tufts of hair covering his torso grazing her fingertips against his erect nipples. A shiver trailed down his spine from that subtle touch. It didn't go unnoticed by the sender.
"Happy lover?" Faith whispered. She was playing her part beautifully. There wasn't a hint of her anger or the scheme that was so well articulated in her mind coming through in her actions. For all Ric knew she was oblivious to it all. That's exactly what she wanted. "What about this?" she asked slipping her hands easily between the waistband of his dark silk boxers. Ric moaned softly as her hands made contact with his throbbing male form. "I'll take that as a yes," she purred as she slipped the boxers passed his hips leaving them in a puddle on the plush carpet. All he was able to do was nod his head for an answer as Faith continued her assault on him. She raised her leg high around his hip letting her own heat reach him.
Overcome with pure animal desire Ric lifted her completely against him as she swallowed his manhood with her feminine wiles. Faith enjoyed watching his reaction to her deliberate moves. He was a powerful man in and out of bed and it was going to give her great satisfaction to bring him down a few pegs. She was almost tempted to leave him wanting but admittedly she had worked herself into a frenzy and needed release of her own.
They lay on the bed both breathing heavy staring at the ceiling. Ric closed his eyes and squashed the thoughts of Elizabeth that picked at him. What was he doing? Was selling his soul to the devil the way to get her back? As he thought that the images of all the times he had seen her in the arms of Jason Morgan raided his brain. How they held one another, how they looked at each other so longingly and sudden his dance with the devil he knew it to be a necessary evil. And it was time he continued playing his part. In the end everything would be worth it to have Elizabeth in his arms again.
"I'm going to grab a shower then I'll take your necklace to the jewelers to be repaired. Would you like to come with me? We could have a nice breakfast at the PC Grille," he said as he swung his naked form to the edge of the bed.
"I actually have a meeting this morning," she said coyly. "Maybe lunch though."
"Meeting?" he said trying not to sound suspicious. "More information as to putting our plan into motion?"
"You could say that." She smiled.
"Lunch it is then." He returned her smile. The sooner they removed Sonny and Jason the sooner that Elizabeth would be ripe for the picking.
Faith watched as he retreated to the master bathroom. She waited for the door to close and the sound of the water pounding against the shower walls before she moved to where her phone sat on the night table. Tightening her satin robe around her body she listened as the call rang through. "Is everything set?" she asked the voice on the other end. "Just make it a near miss. It's time that people understood just who they are dealing with." Faith said as she looked back at the closed bathroom door.
Ric picked up his keys from the table adjacent to the door and placed the necklace he had given to Faith in his pocket. He was almost tempted to tell her that the piece of jewelry couldn't be mended. He should have never fabricated the tale that it had been a surprise for her. It was bad enough she was acting like the woman of the house, that right was solely Elizabeth's but now she had taken possession of something that had been his wife's. Maybe he was over reacting. Perhaps the blood red glass was merely a trinket that had been long forgotten, but something in his gut told him otherwise.
Ric pulled the heavy wooden door closed behind him and took a few steps closer to where his car sat waiting in the driveway. Without warning his nose and mouth were captured in a thick white cloth. His nostrils suddenly filled with a sweet odor leaving him woozy as his surroundings went black.
Easily Jason hoisted Ric over his shoulder and deposited him in the cargo area of his black SUV. He stared at him coldly as he watched Ric lying there lifeless. What a perfect picture Jason thought to himself. This is the way it should have been. It hadn't had to have gotten as far as it had. If Sonny would have just allowed Ric to be handled the second it came out that he allowed Carly to believe they had slept together none of the heinous things that had happened to his friends would have taken place. Jason just shook his head as he lowered the tailgate leaving Ric to sleep off the effects of the ether.
Ric's head felt heavy as he tried to lift it. His vision was blurry and he squinted his eyes forcing them to focus. His mind was engulfed in a thick haze. "Where the hell am I?" he said hoarsely. It was then he realized that his hands and legs were tied to hard wooden chair. Panic seized him as he began to thrash around wildly.
"Keep it up and those nylon ropes will cut your wrists. It will save me the trouble of killing you, but it won't be nearly as fun," Jason said as he step from the shadows to reveal himself to Ric.
Ric's mouth went dry as if he had swallowed mouthful of cotton. Jason's ice blue eyes bore holes in his flesh. The look of sheer determination on the enforcer's face made Ric quiver. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dimly lit room he looked around surveying his surroundings trying desperately to figure out where he was. This wasn't the same safe house he had been taken to as before. He was sure that Sonny had many of them in his possession though. "What do you want?!?" Ric tried to sound much bolder than he felt. Suddenly he saw Jason's gun perched on the table across the room and he watched as Jason pulled a roll of weighty plastic from the closet. He swallowed hard around the apple sized lump that had come to sit in his throat.
Jason enjoyed the sheer fear that had taken hold of his captive. It wasn't nearly all that he deserved for the horror and panic he had put both Carly and Elizabeth through but for Jason it was a start. Without a word Jason deliberately rolled the plastic out onto the birch floor. The last thing he wanted was there to be any remnants of what he was about to do. Not the that Quartermaines used this cabin retreat much anymore but he couldn't take the risk. He had chosen the out of the way cabin rather than one of Sonny's many safehouses. He couldn't chance what he was about to do would get back to his boss. Max was the only one who knew what was going on and Jason was certain of the man's loyalty.
"Where are we?" Ric pressed knowing full well that he wasn't about to get any answers from Jason Morgan who had a penchant for silence when it served him. "I know this isn't one of Sonny's safe houses," he lied hoping to get any indication of where he was.
"No it's not."
"Where the hell am I?" Ric's voice grew louder in the hope that someone, anyone might hear him. He knew he was grasping at straws but hysteria was setting in as Jason pulled the chair he was sitting in into the middle of the plastic sheeting. "Sonny's going to have your head. I'm his brother you can't kill me!" Ric wanted to sound smug but it only came out like the whining of a small child.
"What Sonny doesn't know won't hurt him."
Ric felt his chest tighten. Jason was working alone. There were no orders from Sonny for this little abduction. He again began to thrash wildly within his constraints imagining the torture that was in store for him.
Jason picked up his pistol from the table and trained it on Ric, making him stare directly into the barrel. He watched as beads of sweat began to form on the man's brow. "So what's it feel like to be a prisoner?" Ric tried to look away but using the butt end of the gun Jason forced his head back into position.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Funny and here everyone thinks I'm the brain damaged one." Jason smirked.
Ric again struggled as the ropes cut deeper into his flesh. "You think killing me is your way of keeping Elizabeth?" Jason's jaw grew taught as her name escaped Ric's lips. "She's going to hate you. She's going to know exactly what you are – a KILLER!"
"What makes you think Elizabeth doesn't know what I am doing?"
That remark silenced Ric momentarily. He couldn't believe that Elizabeth would sanction such and event. "Elizabeth would never stand by and let you kill me!"
"You don't think so?"
"NO!" Ric said so completely sure of himself.
"Well think again." Jason thought back to a not so long ago conversation he and Elizabeth had about Ric....
"I promise you Ric will NEVER hurt you again"
"You don't know how much I want to believe that Jason."
"But you don't do you? You don't think he's ever going to be out of
your life? He will Elizabeth. I swear to you he will. If it's the
last thing I do, he'll be out of your life once and for all."
"I'm not going to ask you about him. I don't want to know Jason."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I don't want to know what happens to Ric -- or your involvement in it. This is one time that I don't mind being kept out of your 'business'."
Ric sat wide eyed starring intently at his captor unable to fathom that a woman like Elizabeth would have any part in what the man before him was about to do. She had dropped him for lesser offenses so in his mind Ric knew that Elizabeth, his Elizabeth would NEVER be part of this. "You're fooling yourself Morgan! Elizabeth will hate you for this. She'll never – NEVER forgive you for killing me."
"She'll thank me!" Jason almost laughed as he rested the barrel end of his gun between Ric's eyes.
Elizabeth wrapped her yellow afghan tightly around her shoulders as she looked out over the docks and harbor. The sun was playfully making its ascent into the morning sky. If it had been some other morning she might have enjoyed watching the colors come to life but not today. This morning she was too focused on Jason. The feeling of dread that had consumed her since he had left the penthouse the night before had grown as the night wore into morning. She swore she had worn a groove in the hardwood floor from her endless pacing.
"Where are you going?"
"To get some answers and your red glass."
She had replayed those two simple sentences over and over again in her head. She tried not to let her fears get the better of her but that was far from easy. It wasn't the idea of what Jason might do that frightened her but it was more of what could possibly happen to him in the process.
She wasn't able to rid herself of those long ago images of finding him lying bleeding in the snow. They plagued her. She knew how close he had come to dying that night and in those first several days at her studio. She couldn't let herself think of that but it was difficult no to.
Elizabeth walked over to the desk and picked up the receiver for the hundredth time. She even dialed Jason's cell this time but quickly hung up. She needed to prove to Jason that she did trust him. And really for her it wasn't a matter of trusting him. It was a matter of her fearing he was again laying somewhere with a bullet through his body. She shook her head trying to rid herself of that likeness.
Forcefully she opened the door nearly sending Max tumbling inside. "Oh I'm sorry," she said startled to find him so close to the door. "Are you all right?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Max returned seeing the worry etched across her features.
"Do you know where Jason is?" Before Max was able to even open his mouth to answer she continued. "Of course you know. You always know."
"Elizabeth," Max reached for her hand and felt it shaking. "I...."
"You can't tell me." She finished his sentence for him. She closed her eyes and pushed back the tears that stung her brilliant cobalt eyes. "Well then maybe Sonny can!"
Elizabeth strode across the hallway and knocked heavily on the door. Johnny looked at Max who just shrugged his shoulders unsure of how to handle this. Part of him knew that Jason wouldn't want Sonny involved but he hadn't heard from the enforcer all night and he too was getting worried.
"Where's Jason?" Elizabeth asked as Sonny came out of the kitchen carrying a pitcher of orange juice.
"I could ask you the same question." Sonny was completely unfazed by her sudden presence. "He was supposed to meet with me last night and never showed."
"Damn." The single syllable word escaped her lips.
"Is something wrong?" Sonny asked sensing her apprehension.
"I don't know. Jason left last night and he's never come home. I was hoping that maybe he ended up having business for you that needed taken care of." Elizabeth dropped down into the soft velour arm chair and let out a heavy sigh.
"Sonny, breakfast smells great....." Carly began as she descended the stairs stopping cold at the sight of Elizabeth. "What the hell are you doing here?" This was the first time the two women had seen one another in weeks.
"Listen, I'm sorry I bothered you. I'll handle this myself." Elizabeth got up to leave. In her state of mind she wasn't up for another round with Carly.
"What's going on?" Carly questioned looking from her husband and Elizabeth. Immediately she sensed that it had to do with something about Jason since Carly was sure that would be the only reason for Elizabeth's being there. "What happened to Jason?"
"Nothing," Elizabeth said too quickly for Carly's liking. "I'm just over reacting like I always do, Carly." Elizabeth said pointed to the blonde standing across the room who wasn't buying a word of it.
Carly moved deeper into the room and as she did that there was an unmistakable look of fear buried in the young brunette's eyes. Elizabeth skittishly moved about the room only heightening Carly's own fear. Her gut was screaming something was wrong. "Elizabeth," she spoke softly.
"Don't worry Carly I won't be staying. Thank you Sonny." Elizabeth turned to leave.
"Wait," Carly said as Elizabeth reached for the door. Carly had no idea what possessed her to suddenly care about Miss Muffin's well being but for one reason or another she couldn't rid herself of the visions of how much Jason loved the younger woman. "Are you okay?"
Sonny turned to stare at his wife wide eyed. He couldn't believe civil much less words of concern escaped her lips in terms of Elizabeth Webber.
"There's no need to pretend you give a damn. Jason isn't around to see you making nice," Elizabeth said sarcastically. "If you hear from Jason before I do, would you let me know?" She turned her attention back toward Sonny.
"I will."
Elizabeth closed the door behind her as the couple inside the room began their own conversation. She had far more to be concerned with than the Corinthos'.
"Elizabeth?" Max said as she approached him. "Is everything all right?"
"No."
"Is there something I can do?"
"Take me to Jason. I know you know where he is. I have to know that he's okay."
"You know I can't do that. Jason wants you to be safe...."
"So what if he's not right?" she cried choking on her own tears. "I know he went after Ric, Max. I know it. I couldn't live with myself if....."
"Nothing is going to happen to Jason."
"You don't know that. He's been shot before," Elizabeth's voice caught in her throat. Her lips began to quiver as an unstoppable wave of tears cascaded onto her cheeks.
"Where are you going?" Max asked as he watched her franticly push the elevator buttons.
"I can't just sit in the penthouse and wait for him. I'll go crazy waiting. I have to do something. I have to find him." Elizabeth rambled infamously.
"Whoa....you can't just run off." Max reached for her arm as the doors of the elevator slid open.
"With or without you I am going, Max!" Elizabeth countered.
"Then it will be with me." Max stepped into the elevator knowing that Jason would have his hid yet leaving Elizabeth roaming the streets of Port Charles alone wasn't an option either.
"Wait here," he instructed when they reached the lobby of the Harborview Towers. "I'll have Paulie bring around the car."
Elizabeth fidgeted as she watched for the black sedan to approach the curb. As soon as the car came into view she shot from her perch and was nearly to Max's side when the sound of bullets screamed through the air passed her ears. Before she knew what was happening Max tackled her entirely covering her body with his own. It seemed like an eternity before Max removed himself.
"You okay?" he asked raising her tiny body to its feet.
"I think so," she returned with a shaky voice.
"We need to get you inside right now!" Max ushered her towards the glass panel doors.
"Wait," she instructed. "The driver." Elizabeth pointed to where Paulie lay in a pool of blood on the sidewalk.
"Shit!" Max pulled out his phone and dialed as Elizabeth went to where one of Sonny's men lay. All she could think of was Jason laying bleeding in the snow.
"Morgan," Jason said never taking his eyes off of Ric.
"Jason there's been a drive by," Max's tone was quick and to the point.
"What? Oh my God – Elizabeth?"
Ric forced his swollen eyes to open at the sound of his wife's name. There was no mistaking the change in the enforcer's demeanor. Ric knew something was wrong.
"She's fine boss, but she needs you."
"I'm on my way."
Jason caught himself frozen unable to remove himself from the spot where he stood. His gaze was riveted on Ric Lansing. How the hell could this be happening? Ric had been with him the entire time and still an attempt had been made against Elizabeth. Quickly he shoved his gun in the back of his waistband. He didn't have the time to contemplate the order of events. He needed to get to Elizabeth.
"What happened? Is Elizabeth all right?" Ric finally asked as Jason approached the door only momentarily looking back at him. "Is she hurt? You aren't going to leave me here are you? YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!!!" Ric screamed as the door slammed.
