In Stereo
Dead of night, in a rundown garage on a makeshift bed, Elizabeth Webber sits upright staring at the hand-me-down alarm clock, waiting out the minutes until she turns eighteen. Duffel bag by her feet, her right leg starts to fidget the closer it gets to midnight, knowing that she will soon be a free woman. Just a matter of time.
"You have no parents, no family, no one," the first words her foster mother, Carolyn Webber, voiced once the social worker was gone, moving her into the garage and not the room that was presented to the social worker. "You're lucky we were kind enough to take you in. From here on out you will do as you are instructed. You will not speak. You will appreciate whatever we decide to give you. Do I make myself clear?"
With no last name on record, she was forced to take on their last name, a mistake that she will rectify once she scrounges up enough money to have it changed. They aren't her family, they're not her blood, so, getting the name changed once she can afford it won't be that hard of a task.
11:59 pm.
Just one more minute to go. Rising to her feet, she turns to the smudged-up mirror, using her sleeve to wipe away enough to see her face. She doesn't know what awaits her, but she knows that staying isn't an option. Taking in a deep steady breath, she bends down to grab her duffle bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she straightens herself out. Whatever waits for her, whatever happens from here on out, at least it'll be of her own volition.
!2:00 am.
Sliding the bed out of the way, Elizabeth kicks out the board that she has been careful not to use until now, knowing they'd have fixed it if they knew she had broken it. Anything to keep her locked away in that garage. Once she's out, she takes a deep breath, the first breath of free air, taking one second to appreciate this moment before she moves along.
Walking around to the front of the garage, she takes one last look at the locks that are in place to keep her locked away, swearing she will never let another person keep her held captive again. Securing her hold on the duffel bag, she turns away from the estate, using her knowledge of the security rounds to make her way off the property.
The moment she drops down onto the sidewalk outside of the property, Elizabeth takes off running, following the directions that she was able to get from the library to the bus terminal. With no funding, getting on a plane wasn't an option, but thankfully she was able to scrounge up just enough money for a bus ticket out of town.
Making it just in time to board the bus, Elizabeth makes her way to the back of the bus, dropping down onto the seat and sliding her duffel bag under her seat. Once the doors shut, signaling the start of her journey, Elizabeth finally allows herself the chance to catch her breath. This is only the first step in getting away from the clutches of her foster family.
She only managed to scrounge up enough to get to the nearby town of Port Charles, the hometown of her foster family, which didn't make her escape long-lasting. The moment she gets to that town, she needs to find a way to make enough money to continue on her way, leaving less of a chance that they'd find her.
~ . ~
Pacing back and forth in his penthouse office under lock and key, Sonny Corinthos stares at the clock ticking on the wall, counting each minute that his wife is out there in the world without him. He's replayed the moment she was taken over and over in his head. This never should have happened. How could he let this happen? He promised her that he'd always protect her.
As the anger continued to boil within him, he tears his gaze from the clock, forcing himself to think of the ways that this could have gone down differently. There had to have been a way to stop her from being taken. Playing and replaying the moment in his head, he tries to think of all the ways he could have protected her, anything to keep his mind off what she must be going through.
"Anything?" Sonny blurts out when his top tracker walks through the door.
"Not yet, boss," Ritchie replies honestly, hating that he hasn't been able to pick up any clues as to where they were holding the boss's wife. "We're running down every lead that comes in, but so far none has panned out."
"Then why are you here?!" Sonny snaps, yanking off his Armoni jacket, feeling like he couldn't breathe any longer with it on. "Get out there and find my wife!"
Ritchie wanted to tell him that they are doing everything they can, but he could see that his boss really didn't care at this point. Unless the news was that they found his wife, Sonny just isn't in the headspace to hear them, realizing that it's on him to figure out what the next steps will be.
"What did he say?" Francis Corelli, one of the lieutenants, voices when Ritchie rejoins the group. "What's our next move?"
"He hasn't gotten any calls, so, we have to work on the basis that they just want him to hurt," Ritchie explains, wishing more than anything that they had a face to smash at this point. "I have every midlevel guy out on the streets looking for any sign of Mrs. Corinthos. So far, that hasn't been enough and it doesn't look like we've got a whole lot of time left on our hands."
"What do you want to do, man?" Johnny O'Brien, Francis's partner, questions, reading the writing on the wall just as they are. "Say it and it's done."
"Get every able man on the streets, pull them out of bed personally if you have to, I want every single worker on the streets looking for her," Ritchie voices firmly. "All updates are to be filtered through the two of you. If you find anything plausible, you send it straight through to me and I'll track it from there. Time is not on our side, fellas, let's get out there and get this done."
With their orders set, the two lieutenants head out to pull the rest of their roster out of bed, putting every last person on the streets looking for the boss's wife. Glancing over at the office door, Ritchie lets out a strained sigh, knowing that this night was far from over. It's days like today that make him question the line of work he entered into but knowing that this too shall pass. For now, he needs to focus on the task at hand and that's bringing the boss's wife back home in one piece.
~ . ~
Rules. God, she's so sick of rules. Duffel bag slung over her shoulder, Elizabeth walks out of the bus station, mentally going over the places in town that people in their family wouldn't be caught dead in. Right off the back, there's Courtland Street, but even she wouldn't be caught dead in that part of town. Not for the same reasons, but that's the gist of the situation.
Making her way through town, she sticks to the shadows, making sure not to draw any attention to herself. With the late hour, there's not much to shy away from, the usual night owls hanging about the streets. One thing she learned early on when they dragged her to this godforsaken town is that anyone caught outside past the midnight hour becomes fair game to the monsters in the shadows. Which means that she has to get off the streets and somewhere safe before the shadows reach out and get a hold of her.
"I just don't get why we had to move her," a man grumbles up the street from where she's standing. "They were getting close, but they never would have gotten to us."
"The boss says to move her we move her, plain and simple," another man grumbles from inside the car. "Just don't lose your grip, huh."
Spotting the man's grip onto a woman's legs, dragging her out of the car as she struggles against his hold, another man crawling out of the back of the car with a grip on her upper half. Don't get involved, she says to herself, watching as the woman wiggles against the men holding her. Don't do it, she screams in her head, just don't do it.
"Dammit," Elizabeth mutters to herself, dropping her duffel bag to the ground and retrieving her pocket knife, noting that it should do the trick to cut the zip ties on her hands.
She's been reckless, hell, she's been downright insane at times, but doing this is on a whole other level. Throwing rational thought out the window, Elizabeth keeps to the shadows, keeping her steps light but moving fast. With the woman's life on the line, she hopes that those books she studied in self-defense will pay off.
Throwing her entire body into the man carrying her feet, Elizabeth focuses on bringing him down, hoping the woman will be smart enough to keep the other man distracted. She loses the advantage momentarily a few times, but eventually she gains enough of the upper hand to daze him. Turning around, she finds the other man scrambling to grab hold of the woman yet again.
A thought coming to mind, a move she had seen in a tattered magazine from a wrestling thing, Elizabeth manages to get behind the guy, wrap her arm around his throat, dropping to the ground in an instant. The woman looked shocked, more so than she was when they were taking her, not that she blames her. She's be confused too if some random girl jumped in to save her.
"You good?" Elizabeth questions, getting the woman to focus as she uses the knife to cut her loose. "They aren't going to be out of it for long. You good?"
"Y-Yeah...I'm good," she says shakily, glancing at the two guys. "I'm good."
"Great because we need to move, now," Elizabeth says as she hears the guys start to come to their senses. "Now, lady."
Booking it back down the street where she came from, Elizabeth snatches up her duffel bag, running faster when the sound of gunfire starts chasing them. She really knows how to get herself into the most ridiculous situations. It wasn't bad enough that she was running to save her own life, no, now she's running to not only save her life but the life of some random woman on the street.
"There aren't many exits down here," the woman voices as they are running down the stairs to the pier. "If they find us..."
"They won't," Elizabeth says seriously, grabbing her hand as she rushes to the crevice underneath the stairs, a surefire space to lay low. "Keep your breathing low and try not to make any noise."
Pushing the boxes back into place once they're settled, Elizabeth takes a moment to catch her breath, using the breathing exercises she read in one of the medical books the family kept in the garage. Seeing the woman having trouble catching her breath, Elizabeth shows her the technique, needing her to remain as calm as possible if they're going to have any chance of getting out of this thing in one piece.
~ . ~
Finally having a breakthrough, Ritchie rushes down to the Elm Street Pier, praying he gets there before things escalate any further than they have already. Meeting up with the two lieutenants and the latest recruit, they make a plan to get ahead of this. With any luck, they will find the boss's wife and get her back before the boss throws his own safety out the window and hits the streets.
"Stick with me, rookie," Ritchie says as the lieutenants head off to the other staircase. "No room for error. Understood?"
Shaking his head, knowing this was probably a dumb move bringing a rookie into the mix, not having any other choice in the matter. Training is all well and good, but timing is not on their side. Hopefully this kid is as quick on his feet as the others think he is because this is the moment that will prove it. Signaling for him to move, they make their way down the stairs just in time to find the guys rushing along the pier in panic.
The moment the men spot them coming down the stairs the true fight begins. Giving the signal to the lieutenants to search the area for the boss's wife, Ritchie moves in with the rookie, needing to end this as quickly as possible before the cops catch on. The first guy was easy to handle, not much smarts on the kid, but not the second. Just before the guy gets the jump on him, the rookie pulls through, proving his worth tenfold.
"Any sign of her?" Ritchie asks the guys when they join him.
"She's gotta be nearby," Francis replies. "If they're out searching, she had to have gotten away, we just gotta find her."
"Sooner rather than later," Johnny points out. "Cops are bound to show soon with all the gunfire."
"Where's the rookie?" Francis questions when it dawns on him that they're a man short.
"There," Johnny gestures to the staircase where the kid is standing with his head tilted. "Think he sees something?"
"One way to find out," Ritchie says simply. "Let's get to it."
"Rookie, you see something?" Francis calls out as they get to him. "Well?"
Without a word, the rookie makes his way to the boxes under the staircase, moving them aside before gesturing for them to walk over. When it comes to rookies, they have to admit that he's just unbelievably out of left field, they haven't had a rookie like him in...well, never, to be honest. Gotta hand it to the kid, though, he really is quick on the draw.
"Mrs. Corinthos?" Ritchie says as the faint sounds of sirens could be heard in the air. "Mrs. Corinthos, it's Ritchie, you're safe ma'am. We're here to take you home."
"I'm coming out," she says loudly, carefully making her way out on all fours to prevent from hitting her head on the boards. "I thought you were the other guys..."
"Yeah, we took care of them," Ritchie assures her. "Come on, let's get you out of here, the boss is going crazy with worry."
"Yeah, okay," she replies, subtly glancing at the opening she crawled out of before allowing Ritchie to guide her up the staircase. "I can't wait to see him."
"Rookie," Francis calls out to him when he notices that he's not following after them. "Cops are minutes out. Time to get scarce."
"I'll be gone before they get here," the rookie replies plainly.
"Suit it yourself, kid," Francis replies, seeing that he wasn't about to leave with them. "Meet up first thing in the morning."
"Meaning don't get yourself arrested," Johnny calls out. "Would hate to have to break in a new rookie so soon."
With the decision set, the two lieutenants book it up the stairs, making sure to stay out of direct sight of any cameras that may be in the area. Once they are gone, the rookie kneels down near the opening, looking to see if his hunch was right. Sure, the boss lady could have gotten away on her own, but it just didn't seem likely. If she was capable of getting away from the guys that took her, it wouldn't have taken this long for them to track them down and find her.
"You can come out," he says calmly, waiting a beat before continuing when the person doesn't come out. "I know you're in there. Cops are coming."
"I'll take my chances with you, I guess," a soft voice calls out, female, guess that was an obvious thing given the boss's wife not giving the person up when she was found. "Just...don't shoot me."
"I won't hurt you," he replies honestly, reaching out a hand to help her to her feet.
"Famous last words," she counters under her breath before placing her hand in his, allowing him to help her to her feet before slinging her duffel bag across her body. "So...what now?"
"Now we get scarce," he replies simply. "Unless you want to deal with the cops."
"Any chance you let me walk away and act like you never saw me?" she questions, not at all sure she wants to deal with him any more than the cops. "I never saw you, you never saw me...done deal, right?"
"Wrong," he counters. "I get the feeling you hate the cops about as much as I do. Either come with me or take your chances."
"Fine," she replies plainly. "Lead the way, I guess."
Taking her hand, he guides her through the back area of the pier, popping up just shy of the local park, thankfully the park has cleared out of the polite side of society. Those that remain are either too high or hate the cops too much to utter a single word of their presence there. Guiding her to his home away from home, he helps her up into the abandoned boxcar, pulling out a bottle of water from the cooler and handing it to her.
"Poison?" she questions as she opens the bottle. "Guess that's a better death than a bullet."
"It's not poisoned," he voices, chuckling at the fact that he had to voice that. "Just water."
"Yeah, okay," she replied before taking a big gulp of water. "You got a name or something?"
"Jason Morgan," he says plainly. "You?"
"Elizabeth," she replies simply. "No last name, none I care to hold on to, anyway."
"I know the feeling."
"I doubt that."
"My last name wasn't always Morgan," Jason explains. "Changed it as soon as I could."
"Guess you do get it," she voices, placing the cover back on the bottle. "How about we touch a more relevant topic like what happens now?"
"Now we lay low," he answers honestly. "Wait out the heat."
"And then?"
"Then you meet the boss," he concedes. "After that, I can't say."
"Can't or won't?"
"Can't," Jason answers firmly. "Get some rest. I'll keep watch."
"You're something else, you know that?" Elizabeth voices as she settles on the futon in the corner. "Do me a favor, if you're gonna kill me, make it painless. I've had more than enough pain to last a lifetime."
"I'm not going to kill you."
"Sure," Elizabeth replies simply, pulling the sheet over her. "But if you do...keep it in mind."
Taking his post by the door, Jason glances over at Elizabeth, wondering if she even really knows what she stumbled into. He didn't blame the boss's wife for not saying anything about the girl being with her, she knows what would have to happen next if she did, but it's his job to not take chances. Even someone as harmless as this girl looks can prove dangerous under the right circumstances. Until he's certain that she's not a threat, he has to play it the way he's been taught to, regardless of the outcome.
~ . ~
Bundled up in the backseat, her mind goes back to the girl that stumbled her way into her life, curious about what circumstances would have a girl like her on the streets of Port Charles at such a late hour. Clearly she's a local or at the very least familiar with the area to know that they could hide in that space under the stairs undetected.
The more she thought of her unlikely savior the more she wishes the girl would have taken her up on the offer to come with her. If nothing else, she just wants to repay the person that saved her life when they had no reason to do so. She understands the concept of the good samaritan, but that didn't stop her from wanting to repay the favor in some way.
"I think I know those voices," she had whispered when the gunfire died down and a conversation ensued. "I think it's safe now."
"Are you sure?" the girl questioned her. "I mean bet your life on it sure."
"I...maybe?" she whispers, moving further into the space when the boxes are slowly removed from the opening. "What now?"
"Mrs. Corinthos?" she hears the familiar voice of her husband's employee call out. "Mrs. Corinthos, it's Ritchie, you're safe ma'am. We're here to take you home."
"That's him, that's my husband's employee," she says to the girl. "Come with me. Let me repay you for saving me."
"No thanks, I'm good," she insists. "Just go before they come in."
"Please," she pleads, not wanting to leave her there. "You saved my life..."
"Forget you ever met me," she cuts her off swiftly. "That'll be payment enough."
"Okay," she accepts, seeing that this girl really didn't want anything from her but to be left alone. "Thank you for saving me."
"Just watch yourself," she replied plainly. "Now go. They won't wait forever."
"I'm coming out," she says loudly, meeting the girl's eyes for a moment longer before shaking her head and crawling out of the space. "I thought you were the other guys..."
Taking in a deep breath, she lets it out on a sigh, realizing that she never did get the girl's name. Getting to the safety of her husband's apartment towers, she's guided to the private elevator and taken straight up to the penthouse floor, pulled right into her husband's arms the moment the doors open again.
Clinging to him, she can feel him physically shaking, the toll it must have taken on him knowing she had been taken. She never wants that for him. As scared as she was for her situation, it was the fear of what he must be going through that kept her fighting, needing to get back to him and their life together no matter what.
~ . ~
Laying on the futon, Elizabeth keeps her breathing slow, mimicking the breathing of someone fast asleep, one of her many talents that he had picked up over the years. The number of times that she had to fake sleep in order to deceive those people long enough to escape, not that the escape ever lasted long enough, well, suffice to say that she has made fake sleeping almost an art form.
After a few bottles of water, nature will soon run its course, which will give her the opening to slip away. Focusing her other senses on his presence, she waits him out, a slight smirk touching her lips when she hears him rise to his feet. Turning around to face the door, she opens her eyes slightly, watching him jump down from the boxcar. Nature at its finest.
Keeping her movements light, she grabs her duffel bag from where she tossed it, slinging across her body before carefully making her way to the doorway. Once he steps out of sight, she listens for the sound of nature being relieved before she climbs down from the boxcar and quietly makes her exit. Though he seems like a decent enough guy, she's not about to let this moment of so-called heroism interfere with her plans. She has to get out of this town as fast as possible.
"Not bad," Jason says to himself when he finds the trail from the boxcar dies at the treeline. "Elizabeth. I won't forget."
Not much has impressed him quite as much as this girl has since he first joined the organization. What he's witnessed himself and the stories that the guys tell him, he has to admit that Elizabeth is nothing like he expected from a woman. He let his guard down because of his pre-established notion of what a woman is capable of. Looks like he'll have to adjust his perception for future encounters.
Checking his watch, Jason makes his way back to the boxcar to close it up before heading to his apartment on the second floor of the local bar now that it's just him. Taking the backway up to his apartment, he takes a quick shower, throwing on a pair of boxers before dropping onto his bed. He'll get a few hours of sleep before having to meet with the lieutenants for more training. What a strange day this has been. Enlightening but strange.
"Talk about one hell of a first day on my own," Elizabeth says to herself as she takes shelter in a closed-down storefront. "One can only wonder what will happen next."
Author's Note: Just a little one-shot. Let me know what you thought. Take care.