Note – One last bump to get through before this story is finished: the little matter of who wins the prized position as technical guru for the Corinthos-Morgan organization. I just needed one last mopey chapter before stuff happened. Thanks to those of you that voted in the Next Update poll.

Hack | 53

The movement of her sapphire-colored irises drew his attention once more, and Spinelli's eyes narrowed as he watched Elizabeth once again cross and uncross hers as she stared at the thick book in front of her. He was trying to fine-tune his resume and work on putting it out there for future employers, and from what he gleaned from present circumstances, the Dragon was trying unsuccessfully for the umpteenth time to make it through a suspiciously new-looking copy of Proust.

"Do you have to do that?"

Elizabeth looked up in surprise. "Do what?"

"Cross and uncross your eyes like that," he groused, hunkering down in front of his laptop again. "It's distracting."

"Aw, diddums," she sneered, pulling a face at him. When she saw that he was ignoring her, Elizabeth settled back in her seat and flipped to the next page, hoping she might have better luck with that than the one she was on. "Jeez, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Spinelli hissed under his breath. "I'm just trying to get some work done without you crossing and uncrossing your eyes like a...like a...like a stupid person."

"How shall I ever recover in the face of such a witty retort?"

"Retort this: Shut up."

"Retort this?" She wrinkled her nose. "What does that mean? Is that supposed to be a threat?"

He grumbled far-from-complimentary things under his breath, presumably about her, and resumed his task. Elizabeth had no idea what he was doing but if he was smart, Spinelli would be fine-tuning his hackery skills. After all, she'd so clearly put him to shame when she rescued Jason.

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. It felt so weird to say the words "rescue" and "Jason" in the same sentence, but that was effectively what she'd done. If it weren't for her work, he'd be facing a jury and an almost certain conviction right now.

Ha. Maybe Spinelli had better start calling the guy 'Fair Jason' from now on.

She shuddered and tried again to bury her nose in her book. Dear Lord. It was probably best not to delve too deeply in the very strange relationship between the nerd and his 'Stone Cold One.' Only bad things could happen if she did that. It would be best for everyone concerned if she just shut her yap and focused on Proust.

Proust, the depressed psychopath that spent twenty years working on a book that no one read.

Yeah, there was a real winner.

Elizabeth sighed again, drawing a profoundly irritated but only slightly murderous glare from Spinelli that she didn't notice. But in the end, she was saved from the unpleasant task of actually reading the book by Sonny and Jason, who walked into the penthouse just then.

"Do we have to go to this thing?" Jason was asking.

"For the hundredth time, yes," Sonny replied, flashing the kids a smile as he headed for his desk to set aside the files he held. "It's Ragno's fiftieth birthday, we have to go. And yes, you're wearing a suit."

"And I don't want to hear a whole big thing about it," Elizabeth drawled in perfect unison with him as Jason glared sullenly at them both. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing much." Sonny securely locked the drawer and patted his pocket, making sure he had his keys. "But I've got to meet Nikolas at Wyndemere in about half an hour, so I'd better get going. He said something about wanting to open up some sort of foundation, I don't know. Says he needs my help to push it through the board. So..."

He shrugged. "There you have it. What about you two?"

"I've been trying to come up with ways to avoid reading this," Elizabeth admitted, dropping the book on the dining table with a thunk before Spinelli had a chance to reply. She hopped up from her seat and walked over to Jason, who was leaning against the desk.

"Hey." She slipped her arm around his waist and gave him a poke. "I've got a great idea. Let's go out to Cafe Moonlight and make fun of all the couples there for a nice, romantic dinner to distract ourselves from the fact that we'll also be there for a nice, romantic dinner."

Jason laughed. "I don't have to change, do I?"

Elizabeth was already grabbing her purse from the little end table and pulling him toward the door. "Nah. You're Jason Morgan. If they tell you it's a suit and jacket establishment, just make some threats. I don't wear no suit and jacket. Ayyyyy."

"Since when did he become the Fonz?" Sonny wanted to know as he followed them out. "I mean, I know the leather jacket makes for an eerie likeness, but still. Allow the man his dignity."

"That was the first thing she demanded when we started seeing each other," the enforcer dead-panned, letting her pull him into the hall. "You want us to give you a ride to the launch?"

"That'd be great," Spinelli could kind of hear Sonny reply. The next part sounded like the mobster was asking if Jason was the god of the spade, but he figured that was because the trio was already out in the hall with the door partially shut. If they realized that they had basically just forgotten about him – and failed to inquire about his (non-existent) plans for the evening – they didn't come back to make amends.

And just when he was wishing that their heads would fall off at a very awkward moment, the door opened again. Spinelli perked up, half-thinking that it was one of them extending an invite to dinner either to Moonlight or Wyndemere. His expectant green eyes landed on Sonny, who jerked a thumb toward the kitchen.

"Spinelli, before I forget: leftovers in the fridge. And if I get any calls, do me a favor and take a message. Thanks. See you later."

His lips settled into a disgruntled line as the door closed again, and Spinelli slammed down the lid of his laptop and folded his arms over his chest. He took it back: he did hope that their heads would fall off at a most awkward moment.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"What the hell is your problem?"

"I have no problem!" Spinelli yelled back, taking a step closer to his nemesis. "All I ask is that when you and Stone Cold get back from your nightly sojourns if you could not yell at each other while I'm trying to sleep!"

"We weren't yelling," Elizabeth cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "We were talking. About what a stupid putz you are."

"It sounded like yelling," he shot back, giving her a tough jab in the shoulder. "Would it kill you to show some basic human courtesy once in a while, or does your species have specific rules about that kind of conduct?"

She wasn't following. "My species...?"

"Dragons," he ground out. "There's a historic council of dragons that every two and a half centuries compiles a specific code of – you know what, never mind. Just knock it the hell off."

"You don't get to tell me what to do," Elizabeth snarled, barely hearing the door open. "Whatever Jason and I decide to do is not your concern. You've had a problem with us seeing each other from the start, so I don't know why I'm surprised that you're once again being a pissy little bitch about it."

"I'm the pissy little bitch?" Standing at an angle, he didn't see Sonny and Jason enter the penthouse. "Oh, that's rich, coming from you, she who practically coined the term! Don't think for a second that the Jackal has ever found your impudence, your caustic remarks, or your hyperactive personality the least bit charming!"

"Horse's ass!"

"Wildebeast!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Sonny leapt forward just as Spinelli lunged at Elizabeth, and Jason quickly wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist and lifted her up as she lunged for Spinelli. "Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but that is enough!'

He loosened his grip on the young man but quickly grabbed him again when Spinelli tried to take a swing at Elizabeth. A few feet away, Jason was exhibiting much more intelligence and still had Elizabeth wrapped up in his arms so firmly that she could barely move. Clearly, he didn't trust her. Clearly, he was a very sensible man.

"What's the matter with you two?" Sonny wanted to know, looking back and forth between them. "You've been getting along just fine for weeks now. You haven't hit each other in months."

Good God, it was like talking to a pair of three year olds.

"She started it," Spinelli snarled.

"Oh, real mature," Elizabeth hissed. "Don't listen to him, he's lying. He always lies."

"Stop it," Sonny ordered. "Now, are you two going to tell us what happened?"

"He was being a pissy little bitch about stuff."

"She was being a pissy little bitch about stuff."

"God, I hate your face."

"Well, I hate your voice, but I still have to listen to it, so it looks like we're both screwed."

"Fine." Sonny exchanged looks with Jason, who just nodded in reply. This was alarmingly similar to dealing with two warring rivals in the business, and once they thought of it like that, the men realized that they weren't as far out of their league as they thought. "If you two can't get along, you're not to be around each other anymore."

Spinelli pulled a face. "You're quarantining us? In what world does that make sense?"

"In the world where the fact that if I see your face I'll rip it off is a known axiom."

Jason gave Elizabeth a little shake, as if she were a puppet, but otherwise ignored the two of them. "Ground rules. Spinelli, you are not going to go to Elizabeth's penthouse any more. For any reason."

"Well, that's a no-brainer," he grumbled.

"Not even to play RRD."

"DDR," Elizabeth corrected quietly. Across from her, Spinelli looked mildly troubled by this qualification.

"Fine. I can deal with that."

"And not even to steal her monkey lamp."

"Oh, come on! That hardly qualifies as a social visit! It's more like objective recon! You love recon!"

Jason ignored him. "And Elizabeth, you're not coming to this penthouse anymore until you two can fix things between you."

"What?" she squawked. "How is that fair? This is my penthouse!"

"It's my penthouse," her boyfriend corrected. "And besides, I'm never here. We're usually at your place. It won't be that different. This place is practically Spinelli's anyway."

The thought that he was gifting – really, that was the only word for it – her beautiful penthouse to that stupid nerd had Elizabeth seeing red, but there wasn't much she could do to challenge it. She had already consulted Alexis about it and it turned out that under New York property law, she had no claims to Penthouse 2.

Damn her luck.

"...FINE."

"Sonny's penthouse is neutral territory," Jason announced. "If either of you are there, you're prepared to call a temporary truce until you leave. That means no name-calling, no baiting, no arguing, no pranks, and no physical fighting."

"Failure to comply will result in immediate ejection from the penthouse," Sonny added, "and you don't get a single bite of whatever it is I make for dinner that day."

Spinelli and Elizabeth, both of whom had been about to challenge this, immediately shut their mouths. Really, there were some things in life one just didn't risk losing.

"Same goes for the hallways," Jason picked up again. "They're neutral territory, too. If you see each other in the hall, you have to be civil. And physical contact in both places is restricted to handshakes."

Elizabeth snorted. "Who's shaken hands since, like, the second grade? Not me."

Spinelli rolled his eyes. "That explains so much."

"Hey, if you have some kind of hand fetish, far be it for me-"

"You know what I meant! I was commenting on your naturally closed off and stuck up disposition!"

"I am not stuck up, you dopey hick!"

"Ooh, look at me, I'm the Dragon, I bathe in milk and wash my hair in beluga caviar, ooh, get out of my way."

"It's a face and hair product line that contains small amounts of milk and caviar! Everyone knows that! Everyone but you!"

"Knock it off!" Sonny glared murderously at both of them, instantly quieting the two, and cleared his throat. "Like we said, the hallways and my place are neutral territories. No antics."

"Anything goes in the elevator, though," Jason couldn't resist adding in. "You can beat the shit out of each other in there if you want, as long as you knock it the hell off once you hit the lobby."

"Sound fair? Good," Sonny nodded without even letting the two chime in. He held Spinelli back as Jason half-carried Elizabeth out the door to her own penthouse. "To your corners."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Mr. Spinelli,

We appreciate your interest in the position we have available and thank you for submitting the application. We have already filled the position but would like to keep your information on file for future positions with our company as they may become available. Thank you.

Donald Hoffman

Port Charles Credit Union

That was the fifth rejection email that day, sitting in his inbox. Spinelli scanned it quickly, wished that an onion would fall on Donald Hoffman's head, and promptly sent the message to the Trash folder. He thought for sure that he'd get the job at the credit union. After being told that there were no open positions at PCU's IT department and after failing to secure a job at any of the seven banks in Port Charles, he figured that the credit union position would come through. It was an easy job and he was way overqualified for it.

Maybe they hadn't liked that as an alternate name, he listed "The Jackal."

Hm.

Perhaps he'd have to slowly phase out that moniker.

Spinelli shuddered and shook his head, going into the Trash folder to permanently delete that stupid email. There was no need to be hasty just because he was disappointed.

On the couch, Jason grunted and shifted on the cushions, scratching his chest as he flipped away from the news that he'd been watching while the football channel had gone to commercials. Spinelli frowned at him, his fingers tapping restlessly on the edge of his keyboard.

"What are you doing here tonight?"

Jason stared at him blankly. "...I live here."

"I thought you said that you lived at the Dragon's," he half-sneered, very much intending the jab. "What's up with that?"

He rolled his eyes. "I don't live there...I just stay there most of the time. Besides, she had some thing going on tonight."

"Aha," Spinelli grumbled. "That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Why you two aren't sucking face at the present moment."

"Knock it off."

"Where'd she go?"

"Some lecture at PCU," Jason replied, and it was clear that he was already distracted by the game. "Don't know, didn't hear the whole thing. She won't be back for a little while still."

"And then you'll probably head over to her place," Spinelli sighed, opening another tab in his browser and heading back to .com. Gone was the malice, in its place only weariness.

"Yeah, probably."

"...Stone Cold?"

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Has the Dragon ever said the three fatal words to you?"

"Three fatal words?"

"You know, those three words that people say when – oh, don't make me say them. This whole thing already disgusts the Jackal enough."

"Oh." Jason frowned at the television screen, surprised that Spinelli would ask something like that. "No. No, she hasn't."

"...Have you?"

"No."

"Why not? You do, don't you? I mean, I've already lost you for good, I think, so you might as well remove all doubt."

"Elizabeth knows how I feel about her."

"Really?"

"Shut up and do your computer thing."

Spinelli pulled a face and broadened his search preferences. If he had to move out and get a real job, he probably wouldn't be able to afford wireless internet. He'd have to get dial-up, if anything, or live at a Starbucks and nurse a latte for five hours just to mooch off their public wi-fi.

"Yeah, while I still can."

Jason looked over at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He turned toward the door and sighed when he heard the elevator. "I think the Dragon's home."

"Perfect timing, too." Jason flipped off the television and quickly got up, heading toward the door. "Commercials."

Spinelli sat silently until the door slammed shut, then leaned back on the couch. It was a sound he was becoming all too familiar with.