"Call 911," someone yelled, watching the PCPD prisoner van continue to burn.
"Did everyone get out?" another asked, helping the driver get away from the blaze.
"Another guard is in the back with the prisoner," the woman breathed out before collapsing against a nearby tree.
"Can anyone get them out?" people questioned, running back to the fire.
The moment they reached the van, the flames hit the gas tank, causing a small explosion. The crowd moved away from the fire, watching the van burn. Anyone left inside the van was not going to survive.
"What happened?" Detective Spencer inquired, approaching the group of people.
"We don't know," many responded.
"A lot of us came upon the vehicle already in flames. We were only able to pull the driver out," a man explained, pointing to the woman on the side of the road.
"Well," he sighed, looking around. "Don't leave the scene without giving your name and contact information to one of the officers," the detective said, before walking towards the driver of the van.
"Amber, how are you feeling?" Lucky questioned as the paramedics attended to the woman's wounds.
"I don't know," she answered, looking up at the man.
"What happened?"
"Everything happened so fast," she replied, closing her eyes, trying to recall the events of the night.
"Just take your time," he instructed, kneeling beside her.
"I remember thinking that it smelt like something was burning in the van," she stated, peering at Lucky. "Before I could think much of it, there was an explosion, then there were flames everywhere," she continued, eyes drifting towards the van. "I lost control, brakes locked, and the van flipped. I don't even know how I got out."
"Did you see anyone before all this?"
"No, the road was clear," she responded, shaking her head.
"Who else was in the van?" Lucky questioned, writing every detail in his notepad.
"Officer Ainley and the prisoner, Luis Torres," she answered, leaning back against the tree.
"Were they able to get out?"
The officer shook her head in response, "No one was able to get them out before flames engulfed the back of the van," she answered, eyes moving back to the fire.
They both watched as the blaze slowly start to die down. Sadness covered their faces, realizing both had lost a fellow officer in the fire. Lucky made sure Amber was fine, before heading back to the van.
"There could be two bodies inside that truck," he said to one of the firemen as he approached.
"We'll let you know if we find anything," the man replied, heading towards his truck.
Lucky made his rounds with the witnesses, trying to come up with something to tell him what led to the fire. No one was able to supply him with any helpful information. Mac was not going to like what he had found out upon returning to the station. Too many incidents similar to the fire had been happening around Port Charles, and with no leads.
"Forensic team just arrived," an officer informed Lucky.
"Let them know there might be two bodies inside that van. I need the bodies IDed as soon as possible," he instructed.
The officer nodded, walking away just as the commissioner approached.
"Spencer," Mac Scorpio called out. "What do you got?"
"Absolutely nothing," he answered. "No one saw anything, and the driver explains it as just a malfunction of the vehicle."
"Do you believe that?"
"No," he responded, eyes on the burnt frame of the van.
"Let's figure out what happened," Max said as the walked towards the crime scene.
The men spent hours collecting evidence as well as statements. Two charred bodies were taken from the vehicle, with identity still having to be determined. Lucky already knew the bodies belonged to Luis and Officer Ainley. There was no reason to think otherwise.
"Detective Spencer," an officer called after him, while he walked to his car. "Do you want to send anyone to question Mr. Corinthos or Mr. Morgan about the accident?"
"Why?"
"It's a known fact that Jason wanted Luis dead...the man is dead," the officer pointed out, shrugging.
"I don't know..." Lucky breathed out, leaning against his car. He took a minute to think about Jason's state of mind while Ally was at the hospital. He remembered that Jason wanted to get to the man while at the courthouse. "Maybe it might not hurt to check," he uttered to the officer. "But I'll do it," he said, climbing into his car.
Lucky placed a quick call to dispatch as he drove towards Harborview Towers. Upon arriving, Max informed the detective that Jason and Ally were out of the evening. Shortly after obtaining the enforcer's location from Max, Lucky arrived at Jake's. He found the couple tucked away in the corner of the bar. He slowly walked towards the duo, watching the woman laugh as Jason spoke. Her smile disappeared as the detective approached. Jason peered over his shoulder, rolling his eyes upon seeing Lucky.
"Good evening, Detective Spencer," Jason expressed, extremely sarcastic. "What brings you here?"
"Well, first of all, it's good to see that you are doing much better, Ms. Lynn," he stated, while Ally sipped from her glass.
"Of course, I'm better," she grinned. "The man that hurt me can't hurt me anymore," she replied, clinking her glass with Jason's bottle.
"Actually...that's why I'm here. The prison van that was transporting Luis back to the station never made it back," Lucky informed.
"What?" Ally asked, distraught.
"Seems as though the van caught fire somehow. The only survivor was the driver," Lucky explained, eyes glued to Jason.
"Luis is dead?" the woman asked, eyes drifting back and forth between Jason and Lucky.
"Seems that way, along with the guard that was riding in the back with him. We won't know for sure till the forensics come back," he uttered, eyes never leaving Jason. "You have any idea what happened out there on that highway tonight, Jason?"
Jason slowly moved his gaze from his beer to the detective. He took a long swig, staring directly at Lucky. "I got nothing to say without my lawyer," he declared, expression never changing.
Lucky sighed, "Jason, I don't want to have to take you down to the station for questioning. Just tell me were you or any of your guys near Shoreline Road and Cardinal Drive," he questioned.
"Jason's been here with me all night," Ally answered.
Jason's eyes remained on Lucky while Ally answered the detective. He waited for the man to speak because Lucky had no reason not to believe the woman.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, and as for guards, I haven't seen them all night. Which usually means, Jason gave them the night off," she stated.
Lucky's eyes moved back and forth between the pair. "Look, I'm letting this go for the moment, but if something comes up...I'll will be contacting you," he spoke to Jason.
The enforcer waved him off, turning his attention back to his beer. He watched as Ally tell the man good-bye before turning her gaze upon him. He smiled while she did her best to read his face.
"You didn't have anything to do with what happened, did you?" she asked quietly, leaning over the table.
"No," he responded. "A guard is dead. That's not how we do things."
"I know. I just..." she trailed off, biting her lip. "I know how much you wanted him gone."
"For you," he responded. "But I didn't do that. Either it was a freak accident, or someone else took care of Luis."
"What about the guard?"
"Our people will reach out to them. We'll take care of everything."
"But if you didn't do anything..."
"Still got to take care of the innocent," Jason commented, finishing his beer.
Ally leaned over, placing a kiss on his cheek. "How do you do that?"
"What?"
"Act like you don't care, but take care of everyone, even people you don't know," she explained.
He shrugged, "I don't know."
"I do. You have a huge heart, Mr. Morgan."
"No!"
"Yes," she corrected, standing. She held out her hand. "Dance with me."
"Here?"
"Ahh...yeah. You said we would go dancing tonight," she reminded him.
"There's no music," he responded, gazing up at her.
She leaned down, reaching into the front pocket of his jeans. Their eyes remained locked as she searched for change.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked, his tongue moving slowly over his lower lip.
Ally winked, holding up a quarter. "Yeah," she whispered, pecking his lips. She slowly walked to the jukebox, leaning against the machine while selecting the perfect song. A smile spread across her face, turning to find Jason standing behind her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as Journey's "Open Arms" began to play. Jason's slid his hands over her body, pulling her close to him. She moved her head to his chest getting lost in the sound of his heart and the melody. His chin rested on top of her head, smoothing down her hair while their bodies swayed.
"Boss," a voice called out, causing Jason to groan in frustration.
"Ignore him," Ally whispered, gripping onto Jason's body.
He kissed the top of her head, moving their bodies to face his employee. "What, Max?"
The guard glanced at Ally, then back at Jason. "We need to talk in private."
"I'm not even listening, Max. I wishing you to disappear," she spoke, her body still pressed against Jason's.
"I'm sorry, Miss Ally," Max expressed as she looked over her shoulder at him.
Jason sighed, turning her face to look at him. "Order another drink. I'll only be a minute."
"You owe me a dance," she insisted, pulling away.
Jason smirked, pulling her back, kissing her gently. With her cheeks filled with color as she walked to the bar.
"Okay, Max, what's going on?" he questioned, walking back to his table.
"Someone got to the prison van before we did," he murmured.
"I know. Lucky was already here tonight asking questions. A guard was killed, so I knew it was you and Milo," he mumbled back.
"We were right where you told us to be,"
he promised. "The van just never made it to us," he explained, eyes drifting to Ally.
"Once the police have cleared the area, I want you and Milo to look around. See if you can find anything out of the ordinary. I'll have Spinelli look into it as well," Jason instructed, gesturing towards Ally.
"Okay, Boss," he said just as she returned.
"Everything okay?" she questioned, bringing a beer back for Jason and a cocktail for herself.
"Yeah, just business," he breathed out, waving Max away.
"Good night, Boss...Miss Ally," the guard responded, leaving the two alone.
They waved to the man as Jason pulled Ally onto his lap. She placed the drinks on the table, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"So...I think you should go pick a song for us to dance to this time," she suggested, placing her head against his.
"Or...we could go home and dance," he whispered, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"But, I just..." she trailed off, feeling his lips upon her neck. "Home...is good."
"I thought you would like my idea," he muttered against her skin.
Jason helped Ally put on her jacket, before pulling his one. He wrapped a single arm around her body, walking to the bar and quickly settling their tab. He pressed her close to his body as they strolled towards his bike.
"Take me home, Mr. Morgan," she uttered into his ear as she gripped onto his body, while Jason raced home to the penthouse.
Author's Note:
Thanks for all the patience. I have been writing a lot, but I haven't been near my computer. I just want you all to know that I haven't given up on this story. What I might do is consider this complete and start a whole other story. Continue where I am now, just with a new antagonist coming up might want to start. Like A part 2! Let me know what you think.