Chapter 61
The news of Peter's arrest had spread quickly through the city. The fact there were pictures of him being led out of the Metro Court in cuffs all over social media had helped. There weren't a lot of details yet but the fact his mother and aunt were both there when it happened was what most people were talking about. Speculating about what could have happened, how Alex was here in the city at all.
Maxie paused and took a deep breath, she didn't know what she was walking into but every part of her was telling her it wasn't good. When her father had called and asked her to meet him at the police station, Maxie was extremely confused. It wasn't just that Peter had been arrested, it was because it had been Frisco that had called her, not Mac. She had called Lulu to go with her, only to find out Lulu was already at the police station.
Maxie walked into the squad room, sure enough, there was her father standing with Robert Anna and Alex. She walked right over to them, "Hi, what's going on here? What happened?" Whatever was going on it felt good having him there for once.
"Hello, Maxie." When he stepped towards her with open arms Maxie stepped into the hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."
"I'm fine, what did you think happened?"
"I was just worried something could have happened to you." He paused as he leaned back and looked at his daughter's face, "if you got too close to Peter."
Maxie was hit with the realization that her father was very concerned about her safety. Whatever was happening concerning Peter, she knew it was serious. "Is he really that bad? Was I in danger being around him?" Peter had helped her but she also knew he had lied to them all. "He was there when James was born. He was my hero that night. He took such good care of me."
"That might be true, but Maxie that can't make up for the things he's done." Frisco put his hand on her back, "Come sit with me, I need to tell you some things."
A concerned look was now on her face, but she still turned and followed him. "I get the feeling I'm really not going to like this."
"No, I don't think you will." They walked out of the squad room and found a bench to sit on in the hall. "Maxie, I want you to hear this from me so you're prepared for when this comes out." He took her hand and prepared himself to tell her. "You know Peter was arrested and I know Mac had warned you to be very careful around him."
"Yeah, he did, so did Robert and Anna."
"We found out a lot about what Peter has done. He has hurt a lot of people, he's used a lot of people to get what he wanted. I'm not going to list off the charges he's facing but it's not good." Frisco knew he wasn't explaining this well but he didn't want it to sound like this was just work talk for him. "Peter was involved with what was done to Anna and Alex, with Kevin and Ryan.
Peter was behind the confusion about Anna being his mother."
"What?"
Frisco nodded, "He was the mastermind behind Jason and Drew's abductions and the mind mapping that gave Drew, Jason's memories. Maxie, he wanted Jason to hate Faison, to blame him for what happened so he would kill Faison for what was done to him. That's why Peter lured Faisons here with that book he wrote. The night Faison shot Peter in front of you, he was ready for that. Peter was wearing a bulletproof vest. He knew Faison wouldn't hesitate to shoot him. That's why he wasn't hurt."
Slowly all of that started to sink in, then she realized something. "That's the night Nathan was shot by Faison. The night my husband died."
"That's what I need to tell you about." Frisco took a deep breath and looked into his daughter's eyes, hating the pain he saw there. "When Peter was talking about that night, it was clear he wanted his father dead. It was also very apparent that Peter didn't care about the other people that got hurt because of his plan. Maxie, he laughed about the fact Faison had shot and killed his other son. Peter finds that amusing."
That shocked Maxie to the core, it felt like her heart had just been ripped out again. Like it had when Nathan had been taken from her so cruelly. "He thinks my husband's death is amusing? James will never know his father and he thinks that's amusing? I opened up to him. I was letting him into my life, we were becoming friends." She was struggling with the realization of who Peter really was. "Then he lied about the DNA test, about knowing Alex. That was just before Mac warned me about him." Maxie paused as she tried to make sense of this. "I was letting him into my life, into my son's life and he's the reason James doesn't have a father!" she said, getting more upset by the moment. Maxie stood up and started to pace a bit.
What else doesn't she know about him? What would have happened if her family hadn't been there to look out for her? She had almost believed he was a wonderful man that had overcome his past mistakes but that wasn't true at all. That was just what he wanted people to believe. "He was still plotting things, wasn't he? He wasn't done hurting people either?" Maxie asked.
Frisco slowly shook his head the answered. "Since he moved here, after Faison's death, it looks like he was trying to cover up what he had done. Was he trying to turn his life around? I think he was just trying to start fresh while plotting to keep his past from messing that up." He waited for her to turn back toward him before continuing. "What the WSB uncovered was a man that was doing whatever it took to keep his past actions hidden, no matter what. Things have happened here that I actually think Peter may have been behind. We're still investigating but with what we already had we knew it was time to get that man off the streets before he hurts anyone else." He stood up, not able to watch her pace any longer.
There were tears in her eyes when she felt his arms go around her holding her tight. "Thank you for telling me, Dad," she finally got out once her tears had stopped.
"Oh sweetheart, I'm so sorry you're hurting all over again."
She sat back and looked at him. "Is it strange that I feel disappointed in him? It feels like I was starting to get to know the man Peter could be, maybe it was the man he wanted to be."
"If he wanted to be a better man, he could have made different choices."
"I know that. I mean he let me see a different side of himself. Was that real or was he playing me for some reason?"Maxie paused to think about that for a moment. "I am grateful he was there for me when James was born but he's the reason Nathan wasn't." Maxie put her head in her hands, this was all just too much and she knew it would take a while to come to terms with knowing the truth.
Frisco looked around, so far no one had come looking for him and he hoped for once his job didn't take him away from his daughter when she needed him.
…
Later that afternoon, Anna followed Alex into the sitting room when they got back to the house. She had hardly said two words since they had all left Peter's office. Anna and Robert had been busy talking to the WSB agents while they were at the police station but Alex had sat quietly just watching them all work, not getting in the way, not asking about her son. Anna knew this couldn't be easy on her, even if she already knew what Peter had done. To confront their son then see him arrested and led off in handcuffs is not something any mother should have to go through.
"Are you alright?" Anna asked.
"Yeah, I will be. That was a lot harder than I expected it to be." Alex walked over and poured herself a drink. "Knowing he's done all these terrible things to so many people didn't make it any easier to see my son being arrested. I thought I wanted to be there, maybe I just wanted to confront him." It had broken her heart to see Peter arrested. She couldn't stop loving him, she couldn't let him go on hurting other people either. Alex knew prison was where he deserved to be, where it was safest for him to be.
"I know none of this is easy for you but Peter had to be stopped."
"I know he did." Alex finished her drink then put her head down and closed her eyes. "I still see that sad young man that only wants to be loved when I look at him. My son needed love in his life, I think he might have found that here. If only he hadn't done all those other things beforehand."
"Frisco told us Peter was still calling the shots and putting people's lives in danger to protect himself."
Alex let out a sigh, "Why couldn't he have just wanted to be free of his father by separating himself from him."
"As much as Faison didn't love him, I think he also saw Peter as something that belonged to him. Someone he was allowed to use however he wanted," Anna said. "We can't know what their early relationship was or what is the root of Peter's drive for such extreme revenge. I hate to say it but I almost believe Peter thought there was no way to free himself from Faison unless he was dead."
Alex looked up at her, a confused look on her face. How could she even suggest that she wondered? Then she saw the look in her sister's eyes. Anna would never have been free of Faison until he was dead.
"The first thing I thought when I heard Faison was dead, was that he could never hurt me again. That man was truly evil. I'm not saying Peter was right to do what he did, but I can understand it." Anna lowered her head, after a moment she started to speak again. "He was tied up, my gun was pointed at his head. I was ready to end his life, Robert wouldn't let me, he wouldn't let me become a murder even though he knew how much that man deserved to die at our hands. I wanted Robert and I, to both shoot him. To end his life once and for all!"
"You truly are blessed to have that man in your life."
"I know I am." Anna walked over and hugged Alex then poured them both a drink.
…
Back at the police station Robert and Mac were watching Frisco interrogate Peter. The arrogance that Peter was still displaying was annoying all of them. "I'm glad it's Frisco in there, I would have started beating the crap out of that man by now," Mac said without looking at Robert.
"Frisco's had a little more time to process just what kind of man we're dealing with here. He knows everything Peter's been up to. Someone he loves could have been hurt by Peter as well."
"Yeah, I know he did. If Peter had done anything to hurt Maxie it would have been me and Frisco that hunted him down to exact our revenge. I don't doubt that for a second." They both turned their attention back to what was happening in the interrogation room.
…
"You really didn't care who got hurt, did you? All you cared about was ending your father's life," Frisco stated, trying very hard to keep his temper in check. How many innocent people's lives had he ruined just to get revenge on his father? How many more would he have ruined to hide what he had done?
"I wanted that man to pay! He made me into this. I could have been a good person if he wasn't my father." They had already been at this for a little over two hours. Peter wouldn't deny wanting his father dead but also refused to admit to his part in what had been done to Jason and Drew.
"No Henrick, that is all on you! You changed your name but you didn't change the person to match the new persona. You made your own choices, you made your own decisions. No one forced you to plot and carry out the murder of your father. You wanted him dead and you did whatever it took to ensure that happened." Peter just glared at him, not saying anything. he knew they had a lot on him, that the evidence was all there and it didn't look like he was getting off this time. "You are the reason your own brother is dead."
"Oh, poor Nathan!" Peter scoffed. "Liesl made sure Faison never knew about him. Our father never got a chance to mess him up. Why the hell was he so special? Why wasn't he messed with, why wasn't he turned into a monster."
"No one turned you into a monster. You did what you wanted. Nathan did what he wanted, he was a good man."
"Oh let me guess, you're another fan of my saintly brother." Peter was really tired of hearing about how wonderful everyone seemed to think Nathan was. "He got to have a nice life. No one expected him to be a terrible person because of who his father was!"
"Your choices made you into the person you are," Frisco told him from the other side of the table.
"He was a cop, they get shot in the line of duty. It's not my fault he died," Peter said coldly.
"The man that shot and killed him never would have come back here if you hadn't set that in motion," Frisco insisted.
Peter sat back in his chair considering the man sitting across from him. "Why do you care so much?"
"Do you really not know who I am?" He waited a moment but Peter said nothing. "Frisco Jones, Maxie is my daughter. I care a hell of a lot about all of this."
Peter lowered his head, could this really be happening? This guy's going to have his own reasons for hating Faison, now he's in charge of this investigation. "So what happens to me now?"
"Now, you will be taken to a secure WSB holding facility until your trial. Then you will be the guest of the WSB in one of their fine prisons where hopefully you will spend the rest of your life." Frisco then stood up, picking up the file from the table as he did. "Our case is solid, you will not be getting out so you better get used to surroundings like this." Then Frisco turned and left the room.
He went to talk to Robert and was a little surprised that Mac was there as well. He gave him a little nod, "Mac."
"Frisco," he said with a nod as well. "I'm glad she's got you looking out for her too."
"I might be a failure as a father but at least my girls always had someone there for them, that was more of a father than I ever was for them." He held out his hand and Mac shook it then turned to Robert. "I still have a lot of work to do to make sure that man is never free again. I need to get back to work." He shook Robert's hand as well then left the brothers alone.
"I remember how excited he was to be a father. How much Maxie had him wrapped around her little finger from the moment she was born. He wanted to be a father, he was just better at being the hero."
"It wasn't always easy but the most rewarding thing I ever did was be a father. Your daughter was the perfect crash course as to what was awaiting me with my girls." He put his hand on Robert's back. "Come on, there's no point us hanging out here any longer. I want to get home."
"That sounds like exactly what I want to do as well." As they walked back out into the hall all Robert could think was, please let this all finally be behind them.
…
As Robert returned home it finally started to sink in. This Peter mess is going to be behind them. Now he and Anna can just think about their life together. What they want to do now. What they want to do next. When he walked into the sitting room he saw Anna and Alex sitting together, Anna's arm around her sister's shoulder. "Evening ladies."
"Hello Robert," Alex said with a slight smile.
"Hi, sweety. How did it go after we left?"
"Peter is being transferred tomorrow afternoon. Frisco said he doesn't want to waste any time here where Peter could attempt an escape."
"That's good," Alex said then stood up. "I think I'm going to head upstairs. I think I want to be alone now."
"Alright," Anna said as Robert walked over and joined her. As soon as he sat down she leaned against him. Once they were alone in the room Anna turned enough so she could touch his face. "She didn't expect it to hurt this much."
"Peter is still her child, of course seeing him being taken off to prison would be hard, even if we all know that's where he belongs."
"Can we talk about anything other than Peter?"
"Of course we can," he said then leaned in and kissed her.
…
Maxie was at home sitting on her couch, James sitting happily in her arms. After listening to her father talk about all that Peter had done, all the people he had used, hurt, killed. She just wanted to sit with her baby boy. "Your daddy would have loved you so much. You would have been his little buddy, he would have taken you to baseball games. I can picture it, you're daddy and his partner, Dante, taking their sons to ball games. You all would have loved that."
A tear rolled down her cheek, "A very bad man took your daddy away from us." She leaned down and kissed the top of James' head. "I miss him so much." Maxie closed her eyes, not wanting to break down again. She had sat in her car and cried after leaving the police station, now wasn't the time for that. She had considered him a friend. He had mourned his brother the entire time knowing he was the reason Nathan was dead. Her sorrow was quickly replaced with anger, again. It was Peter's fault Faison had been in Port Charles. Peter unleashed that monster on the city again and it had cost Nathan his life.
There was a knock at the door and Maxie looked over, "I wonder who that is James." She adjusted him then stood up and walked across the room. When she opened the door, Maxie was a little surprised to see Frisco standing there. "Hi, I thought you'd be working."
"I should be but since I will most likely be leaving tomorrow when Peter is transferred I had to come and see your son."
"Your grandson," she stepped back, "Come in, I'm glad you came by."
Frisco looked at the baby boy cuddled in his mother's arms, "He's beautiful Maxie."
"Come sit, we were just chilling, you can join us."
"I'd love to. Can I hold him?"
Maxie smiled, "Of course."
Maxie passed James to him, "Well hello James Malcolm West. It is so good to meet you." As his grandson snuggled into his arms without making strange Frisco smile. "I wish I had been better at this part of my life."
"I don't want to think about that today. Today I'm just grateful for all the people in my life looking out for me."
"I'm glad I'm one of those people." Frisco then turned and went to sit down, turning James on his knee so he could see his face as he talked. "I might not be here for the special moments, you have a grandpa here for those things and he's the man that should be here." He touched James' cheek when he grinned. "I might not be here but I will always be there to protect you and your Mommy if you need it. Well until you get big enough for that kind of thing, right? Yes, because you're going to be an amazing man just like your father." He glanced up when Maxie kissed the top of his head. "It's true."
"I know it is." Then she wiped away the tears that had fallen. He wasn't perfect but she knew he loved her and her children. Seeing him with James was a beautiful thing. Maybe that was just what she needed today, a wonderful little moment in the middle of all the craziness. "I'll make us some coffee, I'm not letting you leave yet."
"You'll get no argument from me. No, she won't." He tickled James' tummy making him giggle. Frisco was quite content to spend a little time with his grandson before he had to get back to work.
