Chapter 37
December 20, 2008 - Port Charles Police Department
Mac closed the door. "Now that you're both here, I want answers. Why you two are really here? Why I've got a town crawling with spies? Why my jail is bursting at the seams with felons? Why are strange packages being delivered to Robin? How, Robert, did you get into Port Charles via the harbor instead of NYC customs?"
"You've been busy," Robert remarked with a sly smile. He pulled out his IPhone and turned it on.
"Damned right! Every time I look at you two the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. A sure sign you're up to something."
While Mac had been talking, Robert had stood up and began a slow circuit of the room scanning as he went. Anna mouthed the word "bugs" to Mac.
"We're here for the wedding or have you forgotten?" said Anna. "We ARE the parents of the bride. It would be quite odd for us to NOT be here." Anna motioned to Robert to scan the light fixture in the center of the room. "Are you saying, Mac, that we shouldn't be here?"
"No, no not all. I'm just under a lot of stress right now." said Mac continuing the ruse. "The wedding has to be perfect."
Robert's scanner began to flash red then yellow. Mac placed a chair under the fixture. He stepped up to the chair and searched the fixture. Robert began to scan around Mac's desk.
"If it isn't, then Maxie will either be on the warpath or at General with a nervous breakdown." said Anna. Mac handed the bug to her and stepped down.
"If I don't beat her there first." Mac said. Robert shook his head indicating that he hadn't found any more.
"We'll be back on assignment after the holidays. Let's have some music." said Robert tuning the radio to a station. "So what on tap for a New Years bash, eh?"
Anna placed a thick glass tumbler over the bug. "We ought to have a party."
"Great. Now my office is getting bugged. What the hell is going on?" Mac asked visibly upset. "You two are up to your necks in it. Don't bother telling me you're not."
"We won't. As you've guessed, we are here on a mission. The both of us." Anna admitted.
"For the WSB?"
"No. The WSB and the DVX are our backup."
"You're working both sides now?"
"In this instance we're all on the same side." Robert explained. "We're here to track three separate organizations. Anna and I have had past dealings with these organizations shutting them down and putting their leaders in jail. We have reason to believe that they're planning something. We don't know what yet. We do know that one of their goals is to put Anna and I out of commission."
Anna continued. "Barring our assassination, they'll use our family against us so we don't become involved. We're here to track them, find their agents here and stop them before they hurt anyone."
"They could go after Emma or Robin." concluded Mac.
"Yes." said Robert simply. "We're not about to let that happen."
"Then let's get them out of here." said Mac. "Today."
Robert shook his head. "We can't. They'll find them. By staying here we have some control over the situation."
"You want to use them as bait?" said Mac horrified.
"We don't have to. We KNOW that they are after Emma. Robert and I are secondary elimination targets." answered Anna.
"We're staying here to force their hand." said Robert.
"Who are these people?"
"One is a woman named Elena Cosgrove who asassinated key leaders in both the WSB and the DVX in order to establish her own global agenda. The other is an organization previously led by a man named Nicholas Van Buren aka Domino. We put him on ice at the state penitientiary. And now the organization, D99, has merged with the remnants of the Cartel's operations."
"The Cartel? As in Taub, Faison and Barrett?"
"The very one." Robert took a deep breath. "The last is a very old enemy - the Cassadines."
"Helena and her sons?"
"Yes. We ... our family goes way back with them." Robert stood up and moved to sit at the edge of Mac's desk. He looked straight at Mac. "I have reason to believe that the plane crash with our parents wasn't your fault. It was deliberately downed. You see we were never meant to come back."
A vein began to pulse in Mac's cheek. His eyes searched Robert's for the truth. He found it. "Why?"
"You were at university. You didn't know much about Mum or Dad's work. The Cassadines made a big splash in the city. They planned on building a man-made island in the bay and in return they would build several businesses and create a lot of jobs. Mum never liked Helena and Dad didn't trust Mikkos at all." Robert explained. "I remember a lot of disturbing dinner conversations about them. Mum and Lilian went to the same social functions as the Cassadines. They both hated it. Anyway, Mum found plans of some kind - blueprints, documents, who knows - that made obvious Mikkos' true intentiions. Our father made part of them public and the Cassadines were pretty much thrown out of the country. Dad was in line for governor, remember? He had the influence to do what he did. The Cassadines never forget a slight be it social, economic or political."
Mac sat furious and sad. "They're not the only ones who won't forget. What ... kind ... of ... proof do you have?"
"One of the original reasons I joined the WSB was to continue investigating them. I made a nuisance of myself I suppose. I never found direct proof, but ... I know someone who may have what I need. I'm hoping that the evidence or at least a good starting point is in one of the boxes you've kept for me."
All their eyes turned towards the wrapped bundle sitting on the shelf.
"Well, come on! Let's open this thing." Mac moved to rise.
Robert stopped him. "Not so fast, bro. It's not the right time."
"We can't wait any more. Let's do this."
Anna said in a soothing voice. "Mac, what Robert and I are doing is a completely private, even clandestine, mission. We have no actual authority from any agency. We don't have endless resources either. We're prepared to skirt or outright violate the law if we have to. But, you're the police commissioner. You can't be tainted by this."
"Like hell! I'll resign! Right now!" Mac cried out. "I don't give a flying fig for this job and you both know it."
Robert began to say. "We need you to -"
Mac jumped to his feet and pounded a fist on the desk. "I ... I knew that you hadn't died. I felt it inside where it counts! I KNEW it but I let myself be convinced that you were. Everyone thought you were dead. I ... I CHOKED down my own bile at your memorial service. I wanted to go out looking for the both of you. But I stayed for Robin's sake. So help me, Robby, I'm not staying behind this time!"
"Easy on, Mac. Easy." Robert embraced his brother hard before releasing him. "You're our ace in the hole. There is NO ONE Anna and I trust more than you. Not Sean, Frisco, Alex, Felicia. Get that through your thick skull, will you."
"I'm team leader on this one, Mac. If I say you're not in the front lines, then you're not." said Anna cool and firm. "Not because we don't think you can do it but because you're going to be needed somewhere else. If we fall, you're our best and last line of defense. You'll have the last shot to get it right."
"Have no doubt that we'll expect you to take that shot." said Robert gravely. "A kill shot if need be."
"That's more responsibility than anyone should be expected to bear." said Anna.
"I want a fair crack of the whip at the Cassadines. Promise me that and I'll do whatever you want. I'll be whatever you want me to be." said Mac.
Anna nodded. "It's yours."
"What's the plan then?"
"First thing, you'll need to pick someone that YOU trust to be the PCPD's liasson with the WSB. The more distance you can put between you and our extracurricular activities the better. Robert will deal with Reinhardt. Next, we're relying on you to navigate the political waters on this one."
"Politics, ugh!" said Mac distastefully. He said the word as if it were the worse kind of profanity.
"We don't know anyone anymore. Who's on the up and up and who's not? Who can we rely on and who should we avoid?" said Robert.
"You're going to be privy to all our plans, Mac. We want you to take at a good look at them and let us know any potential political problems. You'll have to be our eyes and ears on the inside."
"Oh, no! Parties spent fending off the overeager, endless meetings, dull cocktails gatherings." Mac opined. "Just kill me now."
"Bring a date," Robert suggested. "Get a girlfriend. A pretend one."
"You've tripped off your rocker!"
"Someone who can take the attention off you leaving you free to watch, listen, snoop around."
"I don't know anyone who would consent to such a ridiculous thing."
Robert smiled evilly. "But I do and said lady owes me big."
"Who?" Anna and Mac asked in unison.
"Dianara Amanti. She's perfect." replied Robert.
"She's a pain in the ass! If she has a sense of humor, she's hidden it real well. She turns men into ... into lapdogs and that's being kind to dogs. It's not on with me!" protested Mac.
"She's good, Mac, don't let the gorgeous exterior fool you. Give her a chance. Go to one social function with her." Robert cajoled.
"Take one for the team, Mac." teased Anna. "You can't back out of your team commitment now."
"Fine. Fine. One function. One." Mac's surliness was apparent. "You'll see. It'll be a disaster. Mark my words. What other torture have you in mind for me?"
"Let's have a good Christmas and enjoy the wedding to the hilt." said Anna. "I plan to."
"What about security?" asked Mac.
"Don't worry about that. We're taking care of it."
"I can assign a plainclothes to -"
"No. Robin has such antipathy towards guards. I don't want to set her off."
"Wait a minute. She will be told about all this won't she?"
"Of course. After the wedding and the honeymoon."
"Much more will be revealed, bro." said Robert.
"More?"
"Hmm, about seventeen years worth of more. Hold your questions til the right time."
"I do have one question you can answer right now." Mac narrowed his eyes at the pair. "Are you two really together or is it all an act for the mission?"
"What is this fascination with our personal life?" Anna asked of no one in particular.
Robert grinned. "Not an act. We're taking it one day at a time."
###
December 20, 2008 - Quartermaine House
Later that evening, Alice ushered Anna and Robert into the receiving room where Edward, Monica and Tracy waited.
"Anna, my dear, it's a pleasure," said Edward giving Anna a hug.
Robert greeted Monica and Tracy warmly. "Thank you for seeing us so late and on short notice." He nodded at Anna, pulled out his phone and began to scan the room.
Anna put her fingers to Edward's mouth to quiet him. She caught Tracy's eye then Monica's before saying loudly. "Well, we couldn't come back to Port Charles and not say hello to you all, could we?"
"You're always welcome here. You must know that." Tracy's gaze followed Robert around the room.
Monica shut the sliding doors. "The rescue of the hostages is all over the news."
"You always knew how to make an entrance, Anna." said Tracy.
"Coming from you, oh lady of the sedan chair, that's a compliment." laughed Anna.
"I detect a story somewhere." Monica mused.
"Tracy saved our butts in the Markam Islands." Robert supplied. He bent down under the desk and came up holding a bug.
Anna hurriedly picked up a wineglass where Robert promptly deposited the bug. Robert motioned Monica to open the French doors to the terrace.
"One day I want to hear the full uncensored version," Monica said as she opened the doors. "A little stuffy in here. I think we need some fresh air."
Robert placed the glass and bug outside and then returned inside closing the door behind him.
"What?! Who?! If Luke knows anything about this, he's a dead man." exploded Tracy.
"I doubt it was Spencer." Robert looked at Anna. "It looks to be the same model as the one we have from the, uh, other place."
"What was that thing?" asked Edward.
"That was a listening device, Edward."
"How long has it been there? We're always in this room. They could have heard anything." said Monica cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
"We can't know for sure how long it's been there. I would assume that they've heard more than you want them to." Anna said. "As for who, that's why we wanted to speak with you all."
They all sat down. Monica, Tracy and Edward in the long couch. Robert sat in an armchair. Anna stood leaning on the back of the armchair. All their faces sober and concerned.
Robert began. "Let's begin with some history. Edward, in that letter you wrote to me, you said that a group of men and women were coercing you to join them. Yes?"
Edward nodded. "Yes. When I wouldn't join them, well, they rigged my plane to crash."
Tracy added. "For years, we thought Daddy was dead."
"Until this darling lady," Edward looked at Anna. "Found me and brought me home."
"I wish we could say that all's well that ends well. We believe that we weren't able to put away the Cartel completely." said Robert. "Taub and Barrett are dead. Faison's whereabouts are unknown. And the fourth member, the silent partner, has never been exposed."
"Fourth?" asked Tracy.
"It's taken us a long time to piece -"
Edward interrupted. "I remember Taub referring to a partner with connections several times but he never gave a name."
"We know who he is and so do you all. This isn't going to be palateable for anyone. We didn't want to tell you but we're going to need your help to crack this group."
"Just tell us, Robert." said Tracy.
"It's Larry Ashton." revealed Anna.
"Larry? There must be a mistake!" Monica exclaimed.
"That .... dandy fool?!" remarked Edward.
Tracy was lost in thought and did not say anything.
"We found it hard to believe ourselves but the evidence we have points to him."
"That idiot couldn't think his way out of a paper bag." harangued Edward. "Thank god, Ned inherited Tracy's brains."
"Why, thank you, Daddy, but you're wrong about Ashton. There's more to him than what he appears. It's just that his charm overshadows his good sense and ambitiousness."
"What has he ever done? Anything worthwhile? Profitable? I'll tell you what - nothing."
Tracy let out a long breath. "Let me tell you then. He impersonated the legal Ashton heir for decades. He's sought ... marriages beneficial to himself. He knows the right people and can move impeccably in the highest of circles. He always has a scheme going and money in the bank. He's plays the poor man but he's not. He's ambitious though he doesn't appear to be."
"It's preposterous." said Monica.
"Robert and Anna wouldn't be accusing Ashton if they didn't have proof, Monica. I would trust them before I trust Ashton. They've always told us the truth."
"Thank you, Tracy." said Anna.
Tracy's eyes blazed with anger and humiliation. "And now when I think about it, he's managed to manipulate a lot of things at ELQ over the years. The sale of the tanker fleet to Nicholas Van Buren was Ashton's idea. Hell, Nicholas was his wife's uncle and look what scum he turned out to be. The election of Bill Eckert to the ELQ board. He had a hand in that too." She covered her face with her hands. "Who now is the fool?"
Edward gently wrapped Tracy in his arms. He said gruffly. "There, there, my girl. It's just your pride that was wounded. We, Quartermaines, have plenty of that."
"He had all of us fooled, Tracy." comforted Monica. "I can't believe it but it must be true."
Tracy composed herself. "Robert, you said that the Cartel was back, are they a threat to ELQ?"
"Yes." said Robert simply.
Anna explained further. "In the past, when the Cartel and Domino were arrested their activities stopped but only temporarily. We now know that the remnants of the Cartel's legitimate businesses are funding another group called D99. D99 is an offshoot of Domino's for hire mercernaries. D99 trains terrorist and guerilla militants all over the world. Their expertise and services are sold to the highest bidders."
"Oh my god!" Monica exclaimed.
"Groups like D99 need money to operate but to flourish they need connections and influence. Both of which the Quartermaines have always had. Your wealth is simply icing on the cake." said Robert. "They'll try to use you and ELQ.. After all they have a near direct channel to you via Ashton."
"Not any more." Tracy said the word in a near whisper. "No more."
"We have proof that D99 is planning something big. We think Ashton will be instrumental in that planning. We need you all to gather information that we can't."
"We should go to the authorities with this." said Monica.
"We would have if we could. These groups have long, long arms that reach into many places, Monica. If we tip our hand too soon, then they can counter. We have a small window of time to do something. We can't waste that time convincing the authorities to take action. When the right time comes, we will bring in the authorities." Anna said calmly.
"But how can you be so sure that something is imminent?"
"We have a personal stake in this. We're targets and so is our family."
"Look, understand that we'll be more than happy to turn over to authorities the evidence and the suspects all wrapped up in a neat red bow." said Robert. "To get to that point we're going to need your help. Can we count on you?"
"To hell and back." promised Tracy. Her eyes had lost the wild look of rage. Now, they merely simmered with determination.
"Whatever you need from us, from ELQ, it's yours." added Edward.
"Same here." said Monica.
"Thank you. You've made this far easier than we thought it would go." said Robert. "Tracy, I need to ask you a favor. You can't let Spencer know about this."
"Is he involved?" asked Tracy sharply.
"No and I don't want him to be. I have my reasons." said Robert carefully.
"Fine. None of us will tell him anything. I certainly won't." agreed Tracy.
"Well, then, welcome to the team." said Anna with a big smile.
A/N: The team is getting filled out. The playing pieces are beginning to jockey for position and control. I've felt that Mac, Monica and Tracy haven't been written to their full potential. I hope to do them justice in the story though. Thoughts?