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Chapter 52
It rained the day of Sonny's funeral. Jason sat in the back of his limo with Johnny and Cody as they drove to the service. Lois had pulled this together fairly quickly, only four days after her visit to his office. Normally it would be the last name Ashton that had folks jumping to attention, this time it was her connection to Jason that had things coming together without a snag.
Jason's role today was a small one. He had to attend the funeral mass, and then make a brief appearance at the reception. Last night he had dinner with Maximus so they wouldn't meet today. After his duties were performed Jason was heading back home where his girl would be waiting for him. Bringing her to the service today hadn't even occurred to him, he didn't intend to have her socialize with most of his business associates.
They arrived at Queen of Angels and waited for their driver to open the door. The three men got out, Jason and Cody headed inside while Johnny hung back to give instructions. "Wait with the car, don't let anyone approach it."
"Yes sir." Jesse said closing the back door. Today was a graduation of sorts. He had received this assignment because Johnny wanted to see how their newest driver handled the limo. If OB was impressed then Jesse would be put into regular rotation. With so many people in town for the burial then the three passengers in the back would not really be paying much attention to their driver. Jesse thought he and Sabrina had lucked out with when they arrived in Port Charles. Corinthos was providing the perfect distraction.
With a nod Johnny headed up the stairs and into the church. Jason would have a front row seat as the deceased's business partner. They had guys stationed throughout the nave to ensure that their boss stayed safe. They had extended Maximus the courtesy of bringing a sizable security force as well. Everyone else had to leave their guards outside. That included the woman standing talking with Lois.
Brenda Barrett-Alcazar had indeed come to the funeral of her ex-boyfriend. From what their source inside her husband's organization had passed along Lorenzo was pissed that he couldn't get his wife to obey his decree that she not come. He was seeing one of the reasons no on in the Port Charles organization liked her. She was hard headed.
Brenda wanted to see Sonny in the coffin for herself. If she could get away with it she would dance on his coffin while smiling wide. She had basically ignored her husband to come gloat over the fact that Sonny was dead.
Her instructions were to go from the airport to the church and once the service ended she was to immediately return to the plane. She had arrived in the States with eight guards, too bad that wasn't going to help her any. Brenda was going to be fine in the church, they wouldn't disrespect the sacred space, but she was going to miss her return flight home.
"We all set?" Jason asked Johnny. The blonde had seen Brenda talking with Lois, but then looked away. Ned and his wife were the only other family members in attendance. Courtney was already in London, and so far no one had remarked on her absence.
"We are." Johnny assured his boss.
"Taggert and Mac just arrived." Cody pointed out.
All three mobsters looked over. "Do they seriously think something is going to happen in here?" Johnny said shaking his head. "No one in attendance is that stupid." They figured that the PCPD would have guys watching the building too, but they weren't going to be looking in the right spot.
"How is Nadine?" Jason asked his friend. The police didn't concern him. They would be watching him, which assured that they would miss all the action.
"Tired." Johnny was worried about his girlfriend. She wasn't sleeping well. "I think she'll start sleeping better once the funeral is over." He was escorting her next week to the service. They were taking the Morgan private jet and would fly in that morning and return home the same day. "She is moving today."
"Head over after we are done with all this." Jason told Johnny.
"I plan to." Johnny said scanning the room. He nodded at Ritchie who was in charge of security today. The guard nodded back that everything was fine.
"What are you doing this afternoon?" Jason asked Cody. He wanted all of his top guys well alibied for the time period that Brenda disappeared just in case Lorenzo tried calling the cops. Her flight crew and guards at the hanger had already been handled. The plane would fly out of Port Charles as scheduled and would land in New Jersey where it would be dismantled and sold for parts. The rest of the guards would be dispatched after the funeral mass, right under the police's noses.
"I am spending the rest of the day at the warehouse, and then having dinner with Lainey." Cody told his boss. "You heading home?"
"I am, I will be finishing the arrangements for our vacation." Jason said with a quick grin. With Baker taken care of, and the funeral happening the only pressing issues were Lorenzo and whoever tried to snatch Elizabeth. Jason was thinking the South American mob boss would not be an issue by the end of the week, which meant he and Elizabeth could leave for the vacation this weekend.
"The security for that is all set up." Johnny knew they would have a good time. "Is Liz at the house?"
"No, she is meeting with the gallery owner this morning. By the time I'm done here, she'll be back at the house." Jason had asked her to not go to the mansion this afternoon, and she agreed. He looked at his watch. "We should be starting any minute now. Let's take our seats."
"I owe you a hundred bucks." Cody grinned at Johnny. "I thought for sure Brenda would come over before the service started."
"She is going to make a point of ignoring Jason." Johnny knew the model better than Cody did. "They barely spoke when she was dating Sonny, I knew that wasn't going to change now. She thinks Jason is beneath her." He said as they followed their boss to the front row pew as the first few notes of the opening hymn began to play.
"Sabrina?" Elizabeth said as she was shown into the back of the gallery where she would have her showing. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi Liz." Sabrina said smiling. "I took a short leave of absence from the hospital. I needed a break. Luckily my minor in art history is coming in handy." She had no such degree, but according to her resume she did.
Elizabeth gave the other young woman a small smile. If she found a body at the hospital she'd want a break too. No amount of training prepared you for that. "So are we working together?"
"Yes, I'm your event coordinator." Sabrina said trying to appear nervous. "This is my first assignment, so I will totally understand if you want someone more experienced."
"This is my first show, so we can learn together." Elizabeth said trying to put the other woman at ease. She would look at this as a chance to get to know Sabrina a little bit better. So far all their talking had been at Kelly's. The student nurse seemed nice, so working with her here would hopefully go smoothly. "There won't be any diva like behavior from me. I'm sure what you've come up with is going to fine." Liz was just happy to have a show. "This is Francis Corelli and Milo Giambetti."
"Gentleman, I was told to expect you. I was also informed that you will be walking around to set up security. My boss wanted me to tell you that the cameras are off. Ready to see the back room?" Sabrina asked smiling, turning back to Liz. She wanted to make it look like she could care less about the security being disabled. The request was really smart, the guys didn't want to be filmed as they figured out how to keep Jason and Liz safe. Sabrina had been the first one in this morning. She brought donuts for the staff and a dozen mini cameras which she placed around the gallery. Every move the Morgan guys made would be captured, as well as their conversations. Once she and Jesse had that information they would know how to get Liz out of the gallery.
"I certainly am." Liz said following Sabrina to the room where her showing would take place.
"The paintings are coming next week, correct?" Sabrina said looking at her clipboard.
"They are. Angie Costello will be your contact." Liz passed over a business card. She didn't know why Jason's assistant had to help other than her boyfriend had something planned for the day Liz agreed to deliver the works of art.
"That's fine." Sabrina said taking the cardboard rectangle. "This is what my boss and I envisioned." She said pointing to the furthest wall in the room, as she pretended to care about the placements of the painting.
Out in the parking lot the guards and driver from the Alcazar organization were standing around the limo waiting for Brenda to come out. They were making a point to not talk to anyone. Lorenzo had been very clear about what would happen if they weren't vigilant and something happened to his wife.
"I got you guys some coffee." Andy Capelli came over with a couple of takeout trays.
"Thanks." The head guard said. They were only accepting because Andy worked for Maximus. That meant everything was fine, if anyone else offered them beverages they would suspect they were tampered with.
"I brought a bunch of sugars and such." Andy said putting everything on the hood of the car.
"How much longer?" Lorenzo's guy wanted to know.
"They are about half way through." Andy said shrugging. "It's a full Catholic mass."
"Figures." The head guard said laughing as he and his guys were fixing their drinks. "Even in death Corinthos would want to be the center of attention for as long as possible."
Since they were all up front chatting, none of them saw the guy slide under the vehicle. The limo itself shielded anyone else from seeing him either. Three minutes later he slid back out and crawled into the trees beside the car before standing up. His job was done.
Andy's phone buzzed letting him know he could wrap things up. Maximus was sick of the Alcazar family, and Morgan was going to get rid of Lorenzo for the Don. "I need to get that." He said looking at his phone.
"Sure thing. Thanks for the drinks." The head guard said with a nod.
"You're welcome." Andy replied before walking away with his phone to his ear. "All done."
"Thanks." Ritchie said before hanging up. He would pass word to Johnny when the mass ended.
"We are all set. Brenda is saying her goodbyes now, so we should head over to the reception." Johnny told Jason. "We shouldn't need to stay for more than thirty minutes."
Jason nodded. "Francis sent me a message that Elizabeth is back at the house. Once I'm home I'm in for the night."
"Sounds good." Cody said as the three men headed to where the limo was waiting.
Brenda was met at the rear door of the church by her security team who walked the former model to her limo. Inside she called her husband to tell him she was headed to the plane and would call him again when they touched down at home. Lorenzo didn't bother to hide his relief that things had gone smoothly. She hung up and settled into the soft leather seat.
This was going to be the last time she set foot in this backwater town. Port Charles was going to be nothing more than a bad memory. She told that to Lois, who wasn't at all surprised. Her friend was just happy that Brenda came to the service, especially since Robin couldn't make it. "You got what you deserved Sonny." Brenda said as a cruel smile curved her lips. "Your days of using, and then tossing people aside are over. I hope you rot in hell." She gave voice to everything she couldn't say inside the church.
The limo turned off the main road, taking the secure route to the private hanger where the jet was waiting. Brenda kicked off her shoes and closed her eyes. It had been a long day, and when she got back home she was going to open a bottle of champagne and toast the rest of her life.
They were about ten minutes from the church when the gas, from the canister attached to the underside of the car, started seeping into the limo. Odorless and colorless the three guards up front, the driver, and the passenger in the rear didn't know anything was wrong. One minute they were alert and the next the limo veered off the road and came to rest in some tall grass.
Five minutes after that two more cars pulled up. The guards were put in one car, and Brenda was put in the second. One of Jason's guys hit the master window switch and the glass around the vehicle rolled down. In a few minutes, after it had aired out, he would drive it to the warehouse where it would be dismantled as well.
Just like that Lorenzo's invitation to return to Port Charles had been issued. It was one that he wouldn't turn down.
One hour after leaving the church Jason was walking through the front door of his house. He accepted condolences, made sure Lois was doing okay, and then left the reception. Max was staying at the gathering to represent the organization in case anyone felt the need to conduct business. "How did it go at the gallery?"
"Fine. Liz did her thing, we did ours." Francis said grinning. "I'll have the full security plan to you for review when its completed. Which will be before you guys leave. That way we don't have to do business on vacation."
"You know I'm not going to change anything." Jason answered laughing as he removed his tie. "You love her as much as I do." He knew that Francis saw Liz as a little sister. "Which means you'll make sure she stays safe."
"Liz has an appointment at the end of the week with her doctor to have her leg and wrist looked at." Francis reminded Jason. "She hasn't been limping, and her wrist isn't swollen so it should go well. Her paperwork is getting picked up tomorrow."
Jason nodded. "Where is Elizabeth?"
"In her studio making the final decision on what she is going to show." Francis said reaching for his jacket. "Call me if you need me."
"We aren't going out." Jason said walking his friend to the door. "Except for possibly a bike ride, but even that is doubtful."
"Bye." Francis said before heading out.
"Bye." Jason repeated as he locked up and went to find his girlfriend.
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