Musical Inspiration:
Doing it to Death - by The Kills
Time To Say Goodbye
Chapter 21
Russian Roulette
.~*~.
Standing back, Jason watched as each bullet hit the middle of the target over, and over again. When the clip was empty, he moved forward.
"Switch hands."
He hated this. He hated doing this to her but he had to make sure she was prepared if they ran into any problems. Brenda had only been out of the hospital for 2 days and here he was, making her practice at a shooting range.
A war was brewing in Port Charles. Kate getting shot started the chain reaction. With her death, Sonny lost himself in revenge and got retaliation on Karpov. Russians were coming out of the woodwork over their murdered organization head. So far, only their docks had been targeted but Jason knew it was only the beginning. Things were going to get a lot worse.
The Zaccharas were another concern. Johnny had shown up at the coffee house wanting to know where his sister was. Sonny's only reply to the younger man was that she was 'on a time out'. Jason still wasn't sure what Sonny had done with Claudia. He only told him to concentrate on his family and let him deal with it. His partner didn't realize that he was being reckless and that without some order, this was all going to fall back on both their families.
"Jase, my arms are starting to hurt."
"Okay." Jason nodded and took the gun from her. "I'm sorry. I know I'm pushing you too much."
She took her ear protectors and glasses off. With a few steps, she turned into him. "Your worried."
"Everything will be fine."
"I think you are forgetting that I was around for the first mob war. Joe Scully's men fired shots at me while I was in the shower— after raining bullets onto Lukes club, his home, and taking aim at anyone associated with Sonny. It was the same thing, retaliation for Scully's death. It's going to be like that again isn't it?"
Jason held her tighter. They would have to go through him to get to her or his daughter. "It could be," he replied honestly, "it's why I want you to leave for upstate, tonight, with Bowen."
"I'm so afraid to leave you here by yourself."
"You know I'll be more focused if I know you both are safe away from here," he said, leaning his cheek on her head. He wanted to take in the feeling of her in his arms while he could. He would miss this. Until the threat was over, he wouldn't bring her back. "Carly and the kids left an hour ago. They will look forward to you being there."
It would have been better if he could have put them all on a plane to the island but the babies couldn't fly. Instead, he was sending them to the 'Fort Knox' of safe houses. It was the securest one they had. `
Jason's phone began to ring. It was one of those moments where he wanted to ignore it but knew he couldn't. Relenting, he pulled back from his wife to dig the cellular from his pocket. "Yeah?"
"They took out the warehouses. We think they are going for the trucks next."
"I'll be there shortly," he said, hanging up.
"C'mon," He took Brenda's hand. "Let's get you home to pack. I'm sure Bowen is up by now anyway."
"I still don't know what to think about Kimberly," she said, referring to their new nanny. "Bowen didn't seem to like her and babies are supposed to have that sixth sense about that stuff." Brenda frowned as she followed him out of the booth.
"Francis vetted her, she's fine. Our daughter doesn't like her because she's clingy to her mother who rarely puts her down."
"I can't help it. She's so sweet, all soft and warm. And she makes the cutest little faces when she sleeps." Brenda scrunched her nose up and Jason found it funny that it was identical to Bowen's. "I bet she has really happy dreams."
"You do realize that's gas."
Brenda let out an annoyed groan. "I'm sticking with happy dreams."
.~*~.
After dropping Brenda off at the penthouse and giving the guards instructions, Jason drove to the truck yard. This may have been their chance to catch the Russians before they strike.
Together, he and his men checked their guns and ammo. Kevlar vests were handed out and everyone took their predetermined positions. The shipping containers that lined the premises gave them good cover.
They didn't have to wait long. Vans filled with men broke through the gates and groups of Russians began to spill out, loaded with automatics and Molotovs.
Jason was able to get in a good amount of shots before his cover was blown. Once they located where the shooting was coming from, they unloaded their weapons and he had to slip around the corner to another container.
He climbed up on top of one to get a better advantage. Laying flat, he listened for footsteps to grow closer. He heard a few accented phrases before leaning over the edge and taking some more shots. They fired back and he had to roll away.
Jason knew he needed to get higher. Running to the next receptacle, his hands gripped the edge and he pulled himself up. From this height, he had a good vantage point. He crouched and fired off shot, after shot. Not seeing any more men, Jason waited as the gun assault stopped. He blew out a breath of relief and stood when he heard one of his own guys yell that they were clear.
He walked to the edge, about to slide down, when one more shot was fired. He felt the impact and the whoosh of air leaving his lungs. Losing his footing, he tipped over the side.
.~*~.
Brenda was pacing the living room of the penthouse. Occasionally, she would glance at her daughter. Her child laid in her bassinet, staring up curiously, as Franny and Kimberly would talk to her and show her different colored toys.
The brunette swore there was a little something-something going on between her head of security and her nanny. Under normal circumstances, she probably would have playfully patted Franny on the back. The man was a workaholic and needed some female company. But now— she didn't have it in her to tease him. She was too nervous, too worried.
"Brenda, you need to sit down and relax."
"He was supposed to be back 2 hours ago, Franny. He wanted to see us off. Now, I can't even get a hold of him on his cell phone."
Something was wrong. She knew it. If nothing was wrong he would have checked in. This whole situation was a nightmare. She continued to pace.
"Things like this don't always go down as planned. We need to leave. We can't keep waiting," Francis explained gently.
She stared at her overly stuffed luggage. Everything her and Bowen would need for an undetermined amount of time was filled in those bags. She knew he was right. Everyone else had already left town. She and Jason made sure that the Quatermaines, along with Coop with Maxie, left on an unexpected vacation. Monica's rehab had been switched to a facility upstate as well. Spinelli was distantly helping via phone from his Granny's house in Tennessee and Georgie followed to finally meet his family.
The front door opening stopped her in place. For a moment, her hopes rose that it was Jason.
They were dashed quickly when Bryan popped his head through and spoke, "Mrs. Morgan, Sam McCall is here."
Brenda swallowed down her emotions and nodded.
The woman walked through the door and stared at the luggage. "I guess that answers my question."
"What do you need, Sam?"
She looked around the penthouse briefly before her eyes landed on Bowen. A painful look flitted over her features before she tucked it away and focused back on Brenda. "Things are going to hell in a handbasket down there. Russians are running all over the place. They took out the coffee shop."
Brenda's worried eyes landed on Franny. He stood abruptly and whipped out his cell phone— walking away so that they could not hear his conversation.
"If there is something going on I need to know so I can get my own family out of town. Innocent civilizations are going to get caught in the crossfire," Sam stated.
"Get your family out of town," Brenda confirmed.
Sam took a step back in surprise. "I thought it might just be a squabble but you're serious— you're actually serious. This is a mob war?" When Brenda didn't reply, Sam took a moment to sit on the edge of the couch. "Was it because of Kate?"
Again, Brenda stayed quiet.
Sam shook her head in annoyance. "Somebody taught you well. So typical."
Instead of trying to continue their conversation, Sam instead pulled out her own phone and called her mother. Brenda could overhear bits of the conversation. From what she gathered, Sam was telling the woman to pack up Kristina and Molly and leave. The woman must have already gotten word from Sonny because apparently she was on her way to the airport and had been trying to get in touch with Sam. She ended the call, having told her mother that she would follow shortly.
"Sonny took care of it," Sam said.
"Good," Brenda replied and looked over to Franny who was still talking in a hushed tone from the corner of the room.
A loud boom from outside made the building vibrate. Both Bryan and Phil ran through the front door to get to Brenda. Bowen began to cry and Kimberly instantly picked her up with Franny rushing over to them.
"She's safe," Kimberly said as Brenda immediately went for the baby.
"What the hell was that?" Sam asked, running to the window. While Brenda tried to calm down her daughter, Sam continued her assessment. "It looks like there is a fire a block over."
Brenda tried to think of what the Russian's could possibly be after that close without actually going after the apartment building. It wasn't until she caught Franny's eye did she link on to his line of thinking. "Oh, God. You don't think—" she paused, not finishing her sentence.
Franny tried calling a number again without getting a response.
She was just about to pick up her own phone when Milo came rushing through the door. He stopped at a halt right in front of her. "Mrs. Morgan, we don't know what to do. Mr. Morgan and Mr. Corinthos are not picking up and we can't find either one of them."
He just confirmed her fears and now, he was looking to her for advice on what to do next?
"Brenda—" Franny began.
She didn't know what to do. How could they expect her to know what to do?
"I just need 5 minutes. Gimmie 5 minutes," Brenda blew out, trying to keep her voice gentle while holding her daughter. This was all too much. She just needed it to be quiet for 5 minutes so she could think. Everything was happening to fast. Thankfully Sam stayed quiet, realizing she was having a mini freak out.
She took those minutes to take long calming breaths. One thing at a time.
"Okay. Okay." Brenda nodded. "Milo," she turned to the man. "Who was with Sonny?"
"Normally, it would be Max but he went with Mrs. Jacks to the safe house. Dom— Dominic was covering Mr. Corinthos but he hasn't checked in."
"Keep trying to hold of both of them. Check the Greystone and see what damage is done at the coffee shop." She turned to Franny. "Get confirmation it was PC Playdate."
While Milo was leaving, Franny quickly responded. "I already did. It was bombed. Nobody was inside but I got confirmation from one of my men that Mary's dead."
Her cover business was gone and the nanny she hired for Elizabeth was dead. Brenda gulped at the implication. She didn't know how they found out but they knew about the connection to Jake.
Realizing what had to be done, she hugged her daughter tighter and kissed her forehead. "Bowen, you are going with Kimberly and Franny for a nice long car ride. You, be a good girl and Mommy is going to come and see you soon. Be good for aunt Carly. I love you," she finished and gave her another lingering kiss on the top of her head.
"That wasn't the plan, Brenda," Franny said, his tone full of concern.
Wiping her eyes, Brenda handed Bowen back over to Kimberly. "I need to warn Elizabeth. This isn't something done with a simple phone call. She wouldn't even begin to know how to handle this. I need to make sure she gets the kids to safety. The whole thing was my idea, Franny. I can't have those kids in danger because of it," she said, not backing down. She gave him a pleading look. "Please understand. And— please, please protect my daughter."
"With my life," Franny swore. "And you— you make sure they are taken care of and then get yourself out of town. Do you understand me? I mean it, Bren, you get out."
Brenda watched her senior guard pick up the luggage. He gave her a determined smile as he and Kimberly walked out the door holding Bowen. She could feel the sob building in her throat and covered her mouth to push it down. Her guards weren't sure how to handle her in this emotional state so they stood by and waited for a possible breakdown. Surprisingly, it was the hand on her shoulder in silent support that helped. Who knew she and Sam would be caught together like this? Brenda cleared her throat.
"Bryan, get the car ready, please."
"You're going to Elizabeth's place?" Sam asked, her voice low. "They know about Jake?"
"Yeah, I think they do. I need to make sure they get away from all this."
Sam moved to her side. "I'll come with you. I owe them that."
Brenda knew Sam was not a fan of Elizabeth or herself but it was obvious Sam had time to reevaluate things away from them. Maybe she was just trying to right her wrongs with Jake. Brenda wasn't about to turn down help. She already felt like she was in over her head. "Okay, let's go."
Together, along with Phil and Bryan, the girls left Haborview to reach the other side of town.
As Elizabeth opened the door, Brenda could tell she was surprised at their appearance. She must have understood the seriousness of the visit because she immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"Can we come in? We weren't followed. The guards made sure," Brenda asked, still looking all around her for her own peace of mind.
Elizabeth viewed them skeptically but opened the door wider. "Yeah, come in."
The woman and both guards ushered themselves through.
"Liz," Juan spoke out curiously as he came down the stairs with Jake in his arms, "what's going on?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," she said, staring at the dark-haired women standing in her living room.
"You and the kids need to get out of town," Brenda stressed.
Elizabeth's eyes became more alert. "What? Why? I don't understand."
"Mary's dead. Playdate was bombed."
Taking a step back, Elizabeth put a hand to her chest and her face took on a look of horror. "You said it was safe. You said it wouldn't lead back to you."
"And it didn't," Brenda clarified, "I don't know how they found out but it's clear they did."
"You put my son in danger," Elizabeth shrieked.
She did and she felt horrible for it. Brenda still didn't know how this happened. She was so careful. She thought of everything and went over it 5 times just to make sure. Nobody should have been able to make the link.
"I'm sorry for that, Elizabeth, I am, but right now, I need you to focus on what's happening. You can be as angry as you want later once we get the kids safely out of Port Charles."
The slap to Brenda's face was so fast that even the guards weren't prepared for the nurse's wrath. She put her hands up to halt the men who were stepping forward.
Elizabeth fisted her stinging palm. "You don't get to tell me when I can be angry. You should be ashamed of yourself. You're a mother and you willingly put your own child in danger to live out some twisted mob fantasy with Jason and now you condemned my son as well," she yelled out, her chest still heaving with anger.
"Um, Liz," Juan stepped forward, "We need to listen to them and get the boys out of here."
"And go where," Elizabeth asked, turning towards her boyfriend, "I don't have anywhere to go."
"There's a safe house that's prepared—" Brenda began.
Elizabeth's head whipped in her direction. She furiously pointed at her. "I don't want anything from you. I'm not staying anywhere with the name Morgan attached to it."
"If I can give a suggestion," Sam chimed in, "I know a place. Lucky took me to a cabin once. It was secluded, away from the city. It's practically out in the middle of nowhere."
"Why would you care?" Elizabeth directed her question to Sam.
"I owe you," she told her, repeating the words she had said to Brenda. "I owe Jake. I can take us up there."
Juan shifted a wiggling Jake to his other shoulder. "I'm thinking, it sounds like a good plan, Liz. But, maybe, you should take some of Brenda's help that's she's offering too." Elizabeth went to open her mouth to reply but Juan pushed forward. "I'm not talking about the safe house, I can see you don't want that to come out later, I get that, but you could take a guard with you. He can go up with you, Sam, and the kids to the cabin, and I'll follow behind. You should have someone who can use a gun and protect you if things go South."
"It's solid advice, Elizabeth," Sam agreed.
"Phil can go with you," Brenda said, looking towards said guard.
He nodded. "Of course ma'am, they'll be safe with me."
"Fine," Elizabeth said unhappily. "I'll go pack." Without a backward glance, she marched up the stairs out of sight.
"And— I'll just go help her," Juan said awkwardly before taking making his way up the steps as well.
Brenda sighed and sat down in one of the dining room chairs.
"She's got a mean slap, doesn't she?" Sam commented sitting across from her.
Brenda snorted. "She's definitely strong for a little thing."
Together the pair waited in silence until Sam once again broke it. "I would have done it too, ya know." Brenda tilted her head and she continued, "With Jason, the whole family thing despite knowing what was out there."
"We can't run from it no matter how hard we try. I don't regret having her. I can't," Brenda stated.
"I know. Believe me, I know, " Sam said, her eyes glossing over as if recalling a special memory.
It didn't take long for Elizabeth to gather everything for herself and her children. Brenda watched as the guards helped put the stuff into the back of the car and as Sam strapped the kids into their car seats.
She didn't mean to eavesdrop but it was easy enough to hear Juan and Elizabeth's conversation.
"You're not leaving right after us?"
"I just need to make some phone calls— let the boss know I won't be coming into the office. I'll only be 20 minutes behind you," Juan swore.
Brenda was confused that Juan had an office job. He was a singer. He was on L&B's label. At least, he was the last Brenda heard. Then again, it had been quite a number of years since she had anything to do with the business. Lois ran everything now. She really needed to call and check-in with her friend.
Elizabeth and Juan shared a hug and a kiss before the car pulled away.
The three of them stood in the driveway watching it go.
"We should get you going as well, Mrs. Morgan."
"I know," Brenda nodded to Bryan. "I just need to try again and see if I can get through to Jason or Sonny. Maybe I could use the bathroom real quick since it's going to be a long drive?" she directed her question at Juan.
"Yeah, sure. I need to do a few things before I lock up anyway," he replied.
Brenda gave him a tired smile. "Thank you." She walked into the house with both men trailing behind her.
After finishing and failing to get a hold of anyone on her phone, Brenda walked out into the kitchen. She froze when she noticed she didn't see Bryan sitting where he had been waiting.
"Bryan?" she called out and received no answer. She was about to pull the gun out of the back of her pants when someone she was surprised to see stepped into view. "Tom?" Why was her old guard here?
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Morgan."
"Wha— " A strong sting of pain pierced through her neck as she fought the arms around her. Losing the battle, her eyes became heavy and she felt herself falling sleep.
.~*~.
Jason groaned as he felt the aches throbbing all over his body. He attempted to open his eyes but still had to squint through the darkness that surrounded him. He pushed himself upward and leaned his back again the ridged metal behind him. He forced his brain to focus on what he remembered. Gunfight. He was shot and fell. But the sun was out when that happened. How long had he been out?
As his eyes came into focus, he could see he was barricaded in. He must have fallen into one of the blocked-off areas where the containers lined up. It would make sense why nobody attempted to wake him. They couldn't find him.
He stood and let out another groan. Pulling his shirt up, he could see the shooter got him right in the chest. He plucked the bullet from the vest and dropped it on the ground. That was going to bruise.
"Hey, anyone still around!" he yelled out.
"Mr. Morgan, is that you!" a voice echoed back.
Jason banged a few times on the side of the container. "Yeah, hear that? Follow it. I'm blocked in so grab a ladder."
Waiting for them to find him, he slipped his phone from his leather Jacket. His stomach turned when he'd seen the number of missed calls. Milo, Brenda, Francis, Carly, Sonny— there was even a call from Sam. All of them knew not to leave voicemails because they could be easily hacked. He tried Brenda first but she didn't pick up. Worried, he called Francis next.
"Jason?"
"Yeah, it's me. The line's secure," he replied.
"Things went down, we had to change the plans. I've got Bowen and Kim with me. We are about an hour away from the safe house. Brenda stayed behind."
A ball of nervous energy formed in his stomach. "Why?"
"They blew up PC Playdate, killed Mary. Brenda wanted to make sure Liz and the kids got out of Port Charles. Last I heard, she was heading over to Elizabeth's. She might have Sam with her." Francis paused. "Jason, she hasn't checked in. She said she would call as soon as she was on the road to the safe house. I can't get a hold of her or either of the guards."
Jason wanted to throw his phone to the ground but held back. He needed to find Brenda and he needed answers. "Any idea how they found out about Jake?"
"No. That arrangement was rock solid as you know. He wasn't even there this week. I don't know how they made the connection."
He too had gone over all the details with a fine-toothed comb. He knew Brenda would be efficient but he had to make sure as well. Jason was as stumped as Francis. "I'm going to keep trying to get through on her phone. Call me if she or her guards contact you. Keep my daughter safe."
"Already promised the wife and she's scarier than you."
Jason could agree.
He ended the conversation and attempted to make more calls to the guards. Still, none of them picked up. Trying others, Sonny was the first to answer.
"Yeah," he coughed out.
"Sonny, where are you?"
"GH. Those bastards took out the coffee shop," he said, coughing again. "I trapped myself in one of the supply closets. Got a bit of smoke inhalation."
"Have you heard anything from Brenda?"
"No. Isn't she at the safe house with Carly?"
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. He was getting nowhere on finding out what was happening. "She stayed behind."
"What the hell for?"
"They sent a message that they knew about Jake," Jason explained.
"Those fuckers!" Sonny began but another coughing fit cut him off. Jason could vaguely hear a nurse in the background telling him to put his oxygen mask back on.
"I'll keep you updated," he said, knowing his boss was not in a position to do anything.
"We need to take them out, Jason," Sonny whispered, "You know it's the only way."
He did know. But first, he needed to make sure everyone was safe.
Dialing another number, Jason watched as the men hustled to drop the ladder.
"Jason, thank God," Sam's voice came through the earpiece. "You need to get to I-390, right at the 56 mile marker."
He could hear the sirens in the background. "I'll get there as soon as I can," he said grabbing for the metal steps and pulling himself up. "What happened?
"So, Brenda and I went to Elizabeth to explain that she needed to get the boys out of town— that they made the connection to Jake. Elizabeth didn't want to go to the safe house that Brenda offered so I suggested a cabin I knew of. I thought it would be a good idea. I mean, I even talked her into letting Phil come. We left and on the drive there, we were ambushed. A van rammed right into the car. Phil lost control but managed to turn it at the last minute so only his side would get the damage from the tree."
Jason couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Is everyone okay?"
"Phil didn't make it. And— they took Jake, Jason. I was checking on Phil. He was bleeding from his head and Elizabeth was checking over Cam since she had already checked over Jake. She took him out of the car seat to sit next to her. The Russian was so fast. He pulled Jake right out the window and took off with him."
Stopping the sprint he had begun through the parking lot, Jason froze. "What?"
"They took Jake, Jason. I'm sorry. It happened so quickly. I got out and chased after them but he jumped with both of them into the back of a van and the driver took off. I got the license plate and gave the info to the cops. They put out an APB."
Jason started running again. He needed to get there in a hurry so he could start tailing them. "Is Brenda okay?"
"What do you mean? You haven't talked to her? She's wasn't with us. She stayed back at the house with Bryan and Juan."
This situation just kept getting worse and worse. "I'll call you back when I'm closer," he said, turning on the car and peeling out of the trucking yard.
Again, he tried calling Brenda and Bryan, getting no response.
He dialed out another number. "Milo, where are you?"
"I'm at the hospital with Mr. Corinthos."
"I need you to go to Elizabeth Webber's house. That was the last place Brenda was and I can't get a hold of her. Call me back when you do."
"Yes, sir."
At the speed Jason was going, it didn't take him long to get to the location Sam had directed him too. He pulled up to see the taped off car and cops surrounding the area. Elizabeth was crying off to the side with Cam wrapped in her arms. Sam rushed over before he could even put the car in park.
"C'mon on, I saw where the car turned. We can see if we can catch some of the tracks," Sam said jumping into the passenger's side.
Jason nodded and they sped away, following the trail his ex laid out.
They found themselves on a dirt road that tapered off into some hidden side trails. Together, they focused between the trees, looking for tire marks. Jason's phone beeping had him rushing to answer it. "Yeah?"
"Mr. Morgan, it's Milo. I found Bryan. He's unconscious sir. There is no sign of Mrs. Morgan."
"Dammit!" Jason hit the steering wheel. It made Sam jump in fright. "Is Juan there?"
"No, uh, they must have grabbed him too."
"Stay with Bryan. The second he wakes up you call me, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Jason slammed the phone shut and continued to look through the trees.
"Brenda?" Sam guessed the reason for his distress.
"Taken."
"Sorry," she said sympathetically. "We'll get them back, Jason. Just focus. We already have a good track on Jake. We'll get your son and then we'll find your wife— and Juan", she quickly added.
Jason clenched his jaw, not wanting to let the crack in his voice show. He should have waited. He should have made sure Brenda left safely with Bowen and then— he could have handled Elizabeth and the kids. Everyone would have been fine if he didn't go running off to plan an ambush at the trucking yard.
"There," Sam's voice called out. She was pointing to a gap in the trees.
He could see the tire tracks and turned into follow them. Jason shut off the headlights not knowing how long the road was. He stopped the car as he saw a glow in the distance. It was a house.
"Cops?" Sam questioned.
"Let's find out what we are dealing with first," Jason replied as they got out of the SUV.
Together, the pair crept up to the house in the dark and looked in the window. Jake was sitting on the couch playing with his feet while two Russian men argued back and forth. A phone rang loudly on the end table. The larger of the two picked it up first.
"Yess," he said, his accent heavy, "Vee have kid here. Vhat you vant us do?"
The Russian rolled his eyes at his friend.
"Dat eet? Vait. You vant us to vait?" the large man pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it before attempting to talking into the receiver again. "Heello?" He shook his head before slamming the phone down. "Мудак Aмериканский!"
Both men began to argue again.
"If we can do a diversion to get one of them outside, then it would only be one we'd have to take down to get Jake," Jason worked his plan out loud.
Sam bopped her head in agreement.
They looked for something to make a loud enough noise. Seeing an oil drum, Jason gave it a good whack with his gun. The sound echoed through the forest. He could hear the Russians shouting with each other from inside and hoped it wasn't scaring Jake.
Finally, the front door opened and one of the men exited with his gun pointed outward. He took each step cautiously, looking around for any sign of trouble. When he reached the ground level, Sam threw a stone to divert his attention.
It worked. The man turned his back to Jason and with a thump to the head, he was down. Jason pulled him into the bushes, out of sight.
"Sergey?" the other man in the house called out. Not hearing a reply, the second Russian edged out of the doorway with Jake on his hip.
Jason would have loved to put a bullet through the guy's head but could never take the chance with his son so close.
"Sergey?" he attempted again, looking more panicked. "I vant no troubell," he called you, knowing they were there.
"If you don't want any trouble then you will hand over the boy," Jason said, stepping into sight.
Jake's eyes lit up when he saw him and he began to bounce in the Russian's arms. "Da," he said.
Jason had warned Brenda many times about how she needed to stop telling Jake he was his daddy. He worried it would come out at the wrong time but right now, hearing it— it made his heart jump. Even under the horrible circumstances.
"Why did you take him?" Jason asked, hoping to keep the conversation going so Sam could get a better angle behind the guy.
"Hee pay us."
"Who," Jason asked, "Who paid you?"
"Jon."
God damn Zaccharas. This was the last straw from Jason. Johnny was going down. He tried to give the kid the benefit of the doubt but after the bullshit with Brenda and now this, he'll kill the little shit. But how did he know about Jake?
"The job is done. Hand him over," Jason demanded.
"I vait," the Russian replied.
"For what?" he asked, eyeing Sam as she slipped closer.
A loud explosion echoed in the distance and another followed quickly after. From the corner of his eye, Jason could see the bright lights in the sky.
"Dat." The Russian smirked.
Jason took a step closer seeing Sam was now directly in back of the man. "And what was that?"
"Corinthos, Morgan, homes."
He couldn't help the anger that he was sure filtered over his face. The Russians blew up Harborview Towers and the Greystone. He didn't have time to think about it as Sam kicked the back of the Russian's knee. He lost his balance and as he did so, Jason grabbed the pistol and Sam grabbed for his son. It was a bit of a hustle but both of them succeed in unarming the man and getting Jake away.
The enforcer punched him in the face and continued to do so until Sam stopped him, reminding him Jake was there. The Russian was unconscious anyway. He would let the authorities have him.
Jason rushed over to take Jake from Sam's arms. He hugged him tightly and quickly looked him over to make sure he was unharmed. Seeing he was, Jason let out a breath of relief and hugged him again. While he rocked him against his chest, he looked over to Sam. "Thank you."
Sam nodded and smiled. "Let's get him back to the car and call the police."
Together, they began to walk the distance to the SUV.
They were only a few steps away when Sam screamed out his name. On instinct, he turned and put his arms protectively around Jake. He heard a gunshot and another as he ducked. "Sam?" he called over his shoulder.
"It's okay, I got him," she gasped out before he heard a thud.
He spun to see the first man they knocked out earlier, dead against a tree, and Sam on the ground. The front of her shirt was covered in red. He turned Jake the other way so he wouldn't see and bent down. "Sam, you're going to be okay," he said, already dialing 911. He quickly told them their location and went back to putting pressure on her wound.
She coughed up some blood as she tried to speak. "It's fine, Jason, I saved Jake. I got to make things right. I've made my peace with this."
"Don't say that. The paramedics will be here shortly."
Sam tried to swallow but ended up coughing more blood up instead. "I'll get to see them again. Lila, Danny— Lucky. I'll get to be with them again. I'm happy."
A couple of gurgle sounds later and Sam was gone. The ambulance pulled up a few seconds too late.
.~*~.
Feeling the grogginess that traveled over her, Brenda didn't want to get up from her bed. There was no crying so that must mean Bowen was still asleep and she had some extra time to catch some Z's. Before her mind could wonder what she would do today, her memories began to kick in. Her eyes burst open and she sat up quickly.
The sound of metal clinking along the floor drew her attention. The weight on her leg was pulling her down. She lifted her ankle to see the shackle locked firmly around it. Her memories were becoming clearer and clearer. She was at Elizabeth's and saw Tom and then she felt the syringe go into her neck. He'd taken her here. Where was here?
Brenda stood from the bed to inspect the room. The four walls were completely white. An empty closet lined one wall and a lighted fan hung from the ceiling. Across from the bed she was sitting on, was an identical bed. Only, instead of empty like she would have expected, another person was lying in it.
"Juan," she whispered. He groaned in response. "Juan."
"Huh?" he cracked out, rubbing his eyes as he turned to her. When he saw her staring at him, he too, jumped up causing the shackle on his own ankle to sway back and forth. "Woah— Brenda? What happened?"
"Tom—" She shook her head, not believing this was happening. "He took us. I don't know why. Do you remember?"
Juan rubbed his face. "I was grabbing my bags to put them in the car when someone came up behind me and— I think he injected me with something."
"Same. Damn. We need to find a way to get out of here." Brenda stood and pulled at the chain attached to the floor.
"That may be difficult considering the metal rods are embedded into the concrete," he pointed to the metal loop that ran the length of the chain.
"Maybe we can pick the lock," she suggested, her face hopeful.
"Not likely," he said, inspecting the lock around his own ankle. "Why do you think he took us?"
"I don't know," she said before tilting her head. "Well, I might know why me but I don't know why he took you. We just have to relax and we can figure something out."
Juan nodded but looked far from relaxed. In fact, he kept tugging at his collar. Minutes later, his leg began to bounce and the tapping of his shoe made a repetitive beat on the floor. "Nope. Nope. I was wrong. I can't do this." Brenda gave him a confused look so he elaborated, "This." He waved his hand around. "This dangerous adventure thing. It's not me. I'm just a normal guy who is very content keeping things simple." The more he talked the more hysterical he sounded. "I can't shoot a gun or run from mobsters. I don't want to die in here."
"Hey," Brenda began, her tone soothing, "calm down." She crawled closer to him in an attempt to break him from his obvious meltdown.
"I can't die here. I just fix copiers. This isn't my life."
Brenda pulled him into her arms and rocked him back and forth to comfort him during his panic attack. "It's okay. Everything will be fine. No one is going to die. We'll get out of this. People will be looking for us."
"Thanks," he said, minutes later, after his trembles softened. "My dad always said you were a good person."
She tried to keep the conversation going to keep his mind off the danger around them. "How is Miguel?"
Juan shrugged his shoulder as his breathing evened out. "I don't see him much. He's always on tour."
"How come you stepped away from music?"
"L&B booted me."
"What?" Brenda pulled back to look at his face. "Lois kicked you from the label?"
Juan pulled away seemingly embarrassed and leaned back against the wall. "I ah— got lost in the fame. I had all this money and people falling at me feet for attention. I just always figured it would be there so I spent more money, partied more with the fans, and skipped some concerts. I slacked and it cost me. By the time I put out a new record, people were already onto the next big thing. They stopped listening. Lois really didn't have a choice. I was making her lose money."
Brenda frowned. "I'm sorry, Juan."
He gave her a depreciative shrug. "It's okay. I had some friends to help me out."
She squeezed his hand. "You have me too. So, no worries. Things will work out."
"Promise?"
.~*~.
After taking Jake back to an overly distraught Elizabeth and planning a strategic attack against the Russians, Jason walked into a new safe house that he set up for a temporary home. He had informed Milo to bring Bryan to the location because Jason wanted to be the first to question him as soon as he woke. He was happy to hear the guard finally did.
"Bryan?"
"Mr. Morgan," he began, trying to sit up. His hand went directly to his head and he winced. "I'm sorry, sir. He hit me with a tranq gun and I just went down."
"Yeah," Jason said, "You fell on a rock too."
Bryan nodded uncomfortably. "That would explain the headache."
"Who did this?"
The guard's eyes hardened. "It was that bastard, Tom."
Jason's own face turned to stone as he glanced at Milo. "Find me Johnny Zacchara."