DiMera Mansion

"There's a BODY in there."
Johnson gestured at the doors leading into the stable, opened just a crack behind where EJ was standing.
"Seems to be the night for it," observed the younger man dryly. "There's one in the morgue too…"
"Yeah, but it doesn't belong to your brother -"
"What are you doing here Steve?"

EJ did his best to keep his tone light and even amused but an unpleasant suspicion was growing in the back of his mind. Getting accosted by Johnson on the DiMera grounds was bad enough but then to hear the man admit outright that he knew Tony was alive could only mean one thing. Trouble. After all, Johnson had ties to Donovan too. They were still family, their loyalty owed to their children who were Bradys, not to Tony. It didn't matter how long he and Shane had known each other.

Not that Tony's loyalties were clear-cut by any means.

"I'm here to make sure you don't muck things up, Junior."
Shaking his head in disgust, EJ wasn't in the mood to guess what Johnson was talking about and made to step around the shorter man but Steve was quick, and blocked EJ's access to the mansion.
"You don't want to give me an excuse, Elvis," he growled.
"If you're pissed off because Sami's child turned out to be mine, you can take a number not to mention a rain check. There's someone inside I need to speak to."
"You're not finished speaking to me yet."
"This is ridiculous," snapped EJ and made to walk forward and through the older man if necessary but found himself shoved backwards and without thinking, his fist connected with Steve's jaw. From the sound of it, and the jolt it sent shooting up his arm, EJ would have guessed he loosened a few of guy's teeth but Steve just smiled and spit blood at what was left of EJ's crumpled suit. And his one-eyed stare grew even more insolent.
"You're making the idea of laying you out next to Hernandez in there awfully tempting," he told EJ after wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"And you're awfully cocky for an old man," observed EJ calmly.
A sneer twisted Steve's lips. "I've been so looking forward to this," he said, yanking his jacket off and taking a step towards EJ.

Both men were focused on each other and didn't notice the shadow that rounded the corner from the terrace, at least not until the gunshot went off. The sound of the blast caused both men to jerk around as a figure in dark clothes stepped into the light.

"Harold." EJ sighed in relief and exasperation.
"The weather is rather uncomfortable out here sirs," the butler informed them with a correctness that made EJ want to laugh, all the while keeping the gun in full view. "Perhaps we could take this inside the house. I believe the Count wishes to speak to both of you."
As concerned as he was about Tony's frame of mind, EJ couldn't help himself from worrying about Stefano after what he'd done earlier. "What about Father?"
"Mr. DiMera is still resting."
"Resting." Johnson snorted. "Tell me that's a euphuism for he's laid out like the one in there," he said, jabbing his thumb back at the stable.
"That was my partner so there is no one who'd like those responsible laid out more than me at this particular moment," said Harold in tone cold enough that the gun he was holding suddenly appeared a great deal more menacing. "Now, I'd appreciate whatever else you have to say wait, until we're inside." And with that, he waved the barrel to motion them towards the door that led into the kitchen.

"Shane won't like this," Steve growled under his breath, though loud enough for EJ to hear.

As he followed Steve into the mansion, EJ's suspicions leapt into high gear. Obviously, Shane had an understanding with someone about what he had in mind for Stefano and all of Tony's dancing around the topic back at the convent only made him look as guilty as Johnson, if not quite as eager. He knew both men had a perfect right to feel as they did about Stefano but he couldn't help his feelings either. And he was bloody sick and tired of being put on the spot. The more they hammered away at his reluctance, the more impossible it became for him to view any of what was happening in a rational manner. Being pushed this way tended to make him turn around and shove the person doing it in the opposite direction.

"Steve," said Tony with a nod as they arrived in the kitchen. "Elvis."

His pronunciation of EJ's name carried an underlying hint of sarcasm and EJ knew immediately he'd already gotten to Baker.

"DiMera," grunted Steve in reply, taking in Tony's seemingly relaxed posture where he sat on other end of the immense island, a glass of cognac in front of him. "You look a damn sight better preserved than the corpse out in the stable."

The ghost of smirk played at the edges of Tony's mouth and he raised his glass.
"The benefits of healthy living."
"Not to mention the advantage of a maniac who happens to share your likeness exactly."
The warmth in Tony's dark eyes vanished along with his good humor. "Charming. Tell me, what can we do for you this evening?"
"We?" Steve shot a glance from Tony over to EJ and then back again.
"Yes," replied Tony. "This is still our home, not yours and since you hadn't the decency to ring the front bell, your presence here requires something of an explanation."
"Why do I get the impression that Stefano would feel exactly the same way if he were to find you here?"
"And that would be of concern to you, why?"

The keen edge in Tony's question and the glare he aimed at Johnson took EJ rather by surprise, and it seemed the animosity he sensed between the two men had nothing to do with him.

"You better believe whatever dirty little tricks the old man has up his sleeve is still of concern to me," came Steve's instant retort. "He didn't steal your son."

Before he could stifle the impulse, EJ glanced at Tony and found himself face to face his with brother's dark, enigmatic stare. Their eyes locked for only a fraction of a second but it shook EJ all the same…as did the words that came out of Tony's mouth next.

"My memory isn't the one that appears to be deficient all of the sudden, Steve. I came to you last fall, remember? I asked for your help to put Stefano where he couldn't cause any of us further grief and you refused."
"Sure, after you asked Philip Kiriakis to join you…"
"Philip wasn't the issue."
"No, you're right," agreed Steve easily enough. "That would be this one," he stated, rounding on EJ. "I told you he couldn't be trusted when it came to daddy dearest. The minute Stefano bribed him with running the empire, the little snit gobbled it up and left you out in the cold."

EJ's temper was barely under control and Johnson's accusation was severely straining its limits but before he could reply, Tony, who'd finished the rest of his drink, slammed his glass back down on the wooden block.
"Elvis isn't your problem."
"I'm not anyone's problem," EJ informed the two men, "and if you're going to continue speaking about me as though I weren't in the room, I'm sure I have other things that need attending to." And with that he swung back around to Harold who'd followed them inside and remained leaning in the doorway. "Where's Baker?"
Harold glanced over at Tony.
"Oh, fuck the both of you," EJ exploded. "I want to speak to the bastard, NOW."
"I do understand," offered Tony quietly, "and if you still feel that way after you and I have talked, I won't have a problem with it."
"And what make you think you have right to have a problem with it?"
"You really want me to answer that in front of Steve here?" His tone was a little colder now.
"My…and here I thought we were all one big happy family," laughed Steve.
His sarcasm seemed to irritate Tony even worse than EJ's demands. "Whatever right you think you have to be here tonight, you don't. And I'll remind you again that was your decision."
"Come off it, DiMera. It doesn't work that way, not after what the sick bastard you call your cousin did to Benji."
"Benji," Tony mouthed as he rolled his eyes. "Too bad his demise didn't seem all that important when I spoke to you last fall."

Steve's hand squeezed into a fist, "Don't you dare sneer when it comes to…he was closer than a son to me and if he'd not been related to both of you, he'd still be alive. He was twice the man either of you are." His fist hammered down on the wooden block to emphasize his last point. "And I'm still not convinced that Junior here didn't provide Andre with his location and isn't just as responsible for his death as your double."

For an instant Tony's expression froze and his eyes darkened so that even in the bright light of the kitchen, they glittered like chips of black ice. "There is no one in this room, or this town for that matter as well acquainted with my cousin's depravity as I am. And for your information, I too mourn Benji…and my mother, and Renee and a host of others whose names you're not aware of…those are the ghosts that hound me and I'm not going to let you add anyone else to the mob all in the name of justice for the one DiMera you loved. Destroying Elvis won't change what Andre did, and it sure as hell won't bring Benji back to any of us."

"Maybe not, but it will sure make me feel better."

Tony glanced at EJ who looked about ready to throttle the man and Tony couldn't say he much blamed him, despite the ugly past the two of them shared. "Harold, would you mind showing Mr. Johnson the way to the front door?"
"Throwing me out, eh? And what will Donovan think of that?"
"Mr. Donovan sent you?" asked Harold.
Though it wasn't quite the truth, Steve went with it anyway. "Yeah."
Now it was EJ's turn to glare at Tony.
"And you may tell Shane I appreciate the sentiment," said Tony in a tone that was anything but gracious, "but we have the situation under control."
"Obviously," laughed Steve, turning a smirk in EJ's direction.

Tony didn't for an instant buy that Shane sent Johnson to assist them, or even to check up on them. So far, Donovan had kept the entire operation under such tight wraps that none of the Bradys were aware of what he and John and Shane were doing since the idea was to keep the Salem PD in the dark. The last thing they needed was for Stefano to learn what was going on.

All that Shane had mentioned was his intention to send someone over to the Kiriakis residence after the missing Brady in the hopes they'd find Sydney there.

Of course, Donovan's idea or not, Steve was still here and allowing him to leave, while it might prevent unwanted bloodshed, involved its own risk. Tony didn't need the wrong people learning he was alive before they were ready.

"So you're here to help."
His abrupt change of attitude took the other men by surprise.
"Tony…"
But before EJ could get any further, his brother held up his hand. "And if that is the reason you've come," he continued, speaking to Steve, "I require a chance to speak with Elvis first. Alone."
"No way."
"I don't remember asking your permission," Tony said, keeping a grip on his empty glass in an effort not to hurl it at Johnson. "And I bloody well couldn't give a shit if you like it or not."
"Man, you're a piece of work, DiMera."
The insult didn't seem to bother Tony, though the fact Steve hadn't budged from where he and EJ glared at each other was getting to him. "Be that as it may, I'd appreciate if EJ and I could have a little privacy."
"Why? So that your brother has the chance to talk you out of this?"

The stony veneer masking Tony's emotions cracked a bit and the intensity in his eye as he turned his glance from Steve over to his brother held something Johnson wasn't expecting. More shocking, it was an emotion Steve recognized…raw and agonizing and it brought back appalling memories he had no desire to relive. For the first time the tension he sensed in the room between the two brothers was all too familiar. How many unpleasant confrontations could he recall with Jack? "I see," he muttered. Decidedly unhappy, he got a hold of himself and then, "I'll wait out in the living room but I still want to know what's going on and I'm not leaving until this is done, Elvis be damned." And with that parting shot, and another look in Tony's direction, he turned on his heel and disappeared through the door leading to the dining room.

"Damn, you really know how to pick your enemies, little brother."
"Stop calling me that."
The bite in EJ's tone immediately caught Tony's attention since from the minute Harold ushered the two men into the kitchen EJ had showered the majority of his fury on Johnson.
"You've spoken to Baker already so you know better," he said in answer to Tony's unspoken question.
The mention of Baker made Tony heave a sigh and suddenly, he didn't want to have this conversation any longer. He was tired…so bloody tired of all the lies and wasted opportunities…all the things that should have been and weren't…worse, never could be. "Forget Baker," he said. "How about you tell me what you've been hiding from me since I returned home."
EJ turned away, though Tony could still see him rub at his eyes as though he too were tired. "This wasn't about trying to put one over on you, Tony."
"Or harboring Stefano's secrets for him," observed the older man, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice entirely.
"Sorry if that hurts, but I know him a hell of a lot better than I know you."

When Tony didn't respond to this assertion, EJ looked over his shoulder and met the other man's penetrating eyes. It continued to amaze him just how subtle the difference between Tony and his cousin because over the years, Andre had perfected nearly every one of Tony's mannerisms save one…and it wasn't for lack of trying because EJ had learned the hard way that the instant Andre appeared to let down his guard was when the man was at his most lethal but still he'd come up short at reproducing the air of candor Tony managed with such ease. There was something in Tony's character…a wry, self-deprecating humor that kept his bitterness from consuming him.

EJ wanted desperately to believe that was something he could learn to do as well…only he feared Tony's devil-may-care attitude wasn't anything he picked up from the DiMeras.

"The only ones who truly know the old man my boy, are the ones lying in their graves," Tony informed him.
"Andre most of all, eh?"
Instead of snapping at him, Tony simply nodded.
"Except it never really went both ways, did it?" EJ said after a moment, voicing the realization as it hit him.
Tony's gaze drifted away as though he seeing another scene. "Stefano's conceit," he said, at first without explanation but as the silence lengthened, he drew himself back to the present and regarded EJ, measuring him up. "He's the one who created the monster and he never could accept that the leash he imagined he had wrapped around Andre's neck didn't exist."

"Hey!"

Sami's head whipped around to stare back the intersection and the red light her companion had just gone through without even slowing down. "You're going to get us both killed before we get anywhere near the mansion."
"You timid American drivers." Anna accelerated onto Lakeshore Drive. They were still a good twenty minutes away even at the speed they were going and she had a really bad feeling they needed to get there sooner. "Hasn't EJ taken you out for a spin in that fancy Italian sports car of his?" she asked, hoping to keep her mind off her anxieties.
"Yeah, but he didn't run any red lights doing ninety."
"That's only because he's liable to get arrested for it in this town."
"What, and you're not?"
"Of course I won't," laughed Anna, as though the idea were ludicrous. "I'm the commander's ex-wife."
Sadly enough, Sami suspected she was right. "Well you're the only one with the DiMera name around here that can say that."

And the last word was no more out of her mouth than she quickly had to grab onto the door handle as her former sister-in-law took a curve at full speed. She thought about complaining and decided against it. Sami had no desire to find out if Anna could do Lakeshore Drive at a hundred miles an hour.

"Anna."
To Samantha's horror, the woman actually turned her head for a second towards Sami and away from the road.
"Are you alright? You look rather pale."
"I'm fine."
"Good. You had a question?"
She did. She just didn't know how to ask it without it coming out the wrong way. Certainly not a comforting thought with Anna behind the wheel. Still, her curiosity was overwhelming. "Is it possible that EJ could be Tony's son with…ah, Stefano's daughter…Renee?"

Anna shoved her foot on the break with such violence, Sami's heart nearly stopped, thinking she was going to go flying through the windshield. When the car came to a standstill, she was surprised to find she was still in her seat and neither air bag had inflated though her heart was definitely pounding from the adrenalin.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she snapped, not much caring any longer about Anna's temper.
"Renee." Anna spat the name out venomously and in the passenger seat, Sami shifted uneasily hearing the same level of disgust that came out of her own mouth whenever she spoke of Nicole.
"Sorry, it wasn't anything EJ told me…it was just…"
"That devious little mind of yours coming up with ways to twist this around so that someone…anyone other than me would end up EJ's mother."

Beneath the woman's sarcasm, Sami could hear the insecurity and pain. That was something she'd experienced as well. Not that Anna looked in the mood to be reasonable or listen to an apology and Sami didn't feel the need to make one just for having the audacity to ask a simple question. "No."
"No, what?"
"No, this isn't about you."
For an instant, the expression Anna wore was chagrined. "I realize that."
"But?"
She turned away her eyes that were suddenly too bright. "Oh, never mind."
"I'm asking you to explain it to me," said Sami, doing her damndest to sound patient the way her mom would in a situation like this.
"You sure about that?"
"Why not?"
"I thought you'd heard enough sorted DiMera history to last you a lifetime."
She had., but... "EJ says that Stefano told him his father was Tony, but…Tony isn't a…"
"DiMera."
"So he says."
Anna nodded, though it was hard to tell if it was in agreement with Sami or Tony.
"And?" Sami prompted her finally.
"If Renee turns out to be EJ's mother, god help you, and your children."
"Anna. Come on, how much worse could she be than you?"
"Well, I've never murdered a baby."

And with that shocking remark, Anna, rammed the car into gear, and accelerated so that the tires squealed on the wet tarmac. Next to her, Sami prayed she'd make it to the mansion in one piece.

A/N: I made up the reference that Tony went to Steve and asked him for help after the hospital lock-down. It wasn't something that happened on the show but fit what Tony might have done if he and Shane went after Stefano.