Pozzulo's
Kellie was standing at the bar in the empty restaurant when Jason and Sonny walked in.
"What's going on?" Jason asked.
"Cyrus attempted to blackmail me," Kellie said.
"What does that bastard think you could possibly do for him?" Sonny responded, angrily.
"He wants me to greenlight his donations to Crossing Into Dawn and tell the board to accept a partnership with him," Kellie said.
"How'd he threaten you?" Jason asked.
"He seems to think he might know a witness that would implicate us in Garrett's death," Kellie said, "But considering I know that's impossible, I laughed in his face and told him I had better things to do than listen his little conspiracy theories."
"Kellie, you should know better than to antagonize him like that," Sonny said.
"He's an entitled prick that has an over-inflated sense of self importance," Kellie said, "He needed to be dropped down a few pegs by not being taken seriously."
"We need to talk to Renault, Jason," Sonny replied, "Figure out…"
"You'll do nothing," Kellie said, "Either of you. I didn't tell you so you could assist him with his little fishing expedition."
"Kellie's right. There's nothing for Cyrus find," Jason said, "Confronting him is only going to make him think there's credence to that theory."
"But he needs to know he can't just threaten my daughter," Sonny said.
"You'll be giving Cyrus exactly what he wants," Kellie said, "A reaction. He's looking for leverage. He doesn't have it with me. Yes, he hoped I would roll over giving credence to the idea I was involved in Garrett's death and access to the foundation."
"He was also hoping he'd get leverage on us," Jason said.
"I don't like this," Sonny said, "What if Cyrus decides fabricate something? The Feds would be all over it."
"I wouldn't put it past him," Jason said.
"Diane will shred anything he comes up with in court," Kellie said, "Feds couldn't prove Garrett's death was anything but a prison brawl. Even if that weren't true, we know he won't find anything. If anything, he ends up chasing his tail and distracted pursuing that course of action. Might even make him look bad."
"It's more of a nuisance for us," Jason said, "But confronting Cyrus would cause more problems than it would solve."
"We really don't need any more nuisances or distractions," Sonny said.
"So we lawyer up," Kellie said, "Diane and I will deal with it. That frees you two up to take care of whatever you need to handle on your end."
"Diane can handle it," Sonny said, "I don't see any reason for you to get involved, Kellie."
"Except Cyrus already involved me," Kellie said, "By sniffing around the foundation and with his little blackmail attempt. If he conjures up a false witness, we'll have to spend time investigating them and proving they're lying. That's on top of trying to track down Julian Jerome whom I assume is still not found."
"We do have a lead," Jason said, "But we don't know when Cyrus will tip his hand, Sonny. He'd probably do it when our attention has to be directed elsewhere. If he does try, we'll still be brought in for questioning, but Kellie and Diane could handle the rest."
Sonny didn't reply, but he didn't look happy.
"Dad, Cyrus is waging an all out war," Kellie said, "On a lot of different fronts. He's already in control of GH, blew up the floating rib last night, he's lurking around the foundation, and as for the PCPD."
"Hold on," Sonny asked, "How do you know about the PCPD?"
"TJ disappears and reappears when Cyrus goes free from prison," Kellie said, "Not that hard to figure out he's got Jordan right where he wants her. He's got his fingers in a lot of pies, the two of you can't possibly keep tabs on them all."
"Do you have any idea what he wants with the foundation?" Jason asked.
"Uncle Lo and I have some ideas," Kellie answered, "We deliver supplies and goods the people we help need. We think he'd most likely attempt to use that as some sort of distribution channel for his products. We're trying to figure out if he's already got people inside or not."
"What do you mean by trying?" Sonny asked.
"More extensive background checks on everyone hired in the last year," Kellie said, "Sam since she already volunteers is going to use her P.I. skills there."
"Wait, Sam is involved?" Jason replied.
"Uncle Lo and I were upfront with her about even continuing to volunteer with everything that's going on," Kellie said, "After wondering and not knowing if Danny was dead or alive yesterday, she's on board. She's also planning to bring Curtis Ashford in."
"If Alcazar is involved on the foundation end," Sonny said, "I would think you could stay out of all this."
"I'm not asking either of you permission to handle what I need to when it comes to Cyrus Renault," Kellie replied, "That ship sailed even before he tried to blackmail me. I worked hard to build the foundation. I'll be damned before I let Cyrus or anyone use the foundation to prop up his little drug ring, get the people we're trying to help hooked on drugs and overdosing like…"
Kellie's voice dropped off.
"Like your mom did," Sonny said, quietly.
"Yeah," Kellie said, "If I don't do everything I can where I can to help stop Cyrus, I'll feel responsible if someone the foundation helps get caught up in addiction or their kids lose a parent. I've seen other towns, other places where the local associates traffic the drugs through and the impact on the community. I've never seen that here in Port Charles. I know a lot of that has to do with you not letting anyone ship or distribute drugs through here. I don't want that to change."
"Neither do I," Sonny said, sighing, "You'd think I'd have learned by now that there's no telling you what to do when you've made up your mind about something."
"So you're accepting that I'm doing this," Kellie said.
"On one condition, actually two conditions," Sonny said, "One, you don't ditch your guards. Two, if you run into trouble that Alcazar or the cops can't help you with, you call me or Jason."
"Deal," Kellie said, "If either of you run across information that might help me out, you'll keep me informed. I'm not asking for business related details…"
"If we run across something," Jason said, "I'll let you know."
"And no one is confronting Cyrus about his blackmail attempt," Kellie said, "Right?"
"But if he keeps making threats," Sonny said.
"I'll let you both know," Kellie said, "And I'm not worried. Because if what Cyrus is trying to claim was true, I know the two of you wouldn't have left a trail. If I had hypothetically asked for something like that, I'd have only asked my husband. I'd rather just pretend the whole conversation with Cyrus didn't happen unless he actually makes a move. That would just annoy him if he tries to bring it up with me again."
"Sonny's right, you shouldn't antagonize him," Jason said.
"I'm not going looking for the ponytailed freak," Kellie said, "But if he approaches me all bets are off. You can't tell me that he wouldn't pop a blood vessel if I had no idea what previous conversation he was talking about."
"I think I'll have a word with your guard," Sonny said, heading for the door, "Johnny's outside, I'm guessing."
"Dad, you don't have to," Kellie started to say when Jason touched her shoulder.
"Let him," Jason said, "We both know Johnny will stick to the arrangement you have with him. But are you okay?"
"I meant what I said," Kellie said, "I'm not worried about Cyrus's threat."
"But…." Jason said.
"But his comment about the kids growing up without a mother and a father," Kellie said, "I don't know how I didn't knock him out cold right then and there."
"Because you knew it wasn't the smart move," Jason said.
"You haven't said a whole lot," Kellie said, "Can you handle me being involved with this? I know years ago when I just Sonny's daughter, you didn't have any qualms about me getting in the middle of things."
"Those were your fights," Jason said, "As much as I wish this wasn't your fight, it is. Whatever happens, I'll have your back. Just be careful and don't take any unnecessary risks."
"I have a feeling we might disagree on the definition of unnecessary risk," Kellie replied.
"That might be true," Jason said, "But I trust you. You know this business, this world as well as Sonny or I do. In some ways, you might even know it better because of the work you've done with law enforcement and the foundation over the years. I also know you don't make a big move unless you've thought it through or are in a situation where you have to make a snap decision, usually because someone's life is at stake. Even then, you're prepared to rely only on yourself and fight through any obstacle or something going wrong. As much as I wish I could shield you from Cyrus, I also know that you can hold your own and that having you bring your skills and resources to the situation is the smart move. You're right, Cyrus is coming at us, at the town from too many directions for one person to stop alone."
"I'm glad to know that our husband/wife status doesn't change your approach to my involvement in certain situations," Kellie said, "I kind of wasn't sure."
"I'll be honest, my first reaction is to tell you to stay out of it," Jason said, "But I know that doesn't work with you. After I had some time to think about it, I realized you don't need me telling you what to do. You need me to support whatever you need to do and have your back when the times comes."
"Speaking of support," Kellie said, "At some point, I'll need information on all the drug wars in Port Charles the last few years. Players and what not trying to move in."
"I can't say I'd be the best source for that," Jason said, "I probably know what you know. Sonny could probably fill you in. Brick would probably be another good source. What's got your wheels spinning?"
"From what I've heard Cyrus hasn't been the first one in the last few years to make a move to push drugs through here," Kellie said, "Someone like say Cassandra Pierce seems like someone that might be a front runner or part of a larger group. I'm just wondering about the possiblity of connections between people who don't seem to be connected. It's a long shot, but…"
Kellie shrugged.
"Still worth looking into," Jason said.
"I'll contact Brick," Kellie said, "I'll let him know your stuff comes first and to work on my request in between. Then I'll ask Dad if I need any blanks filled in. So Julian Jerome? You have a lead?"
"Connection to one of Cyrus's people at the MetroCourt," Jason said, "He was the middle man between Cyrus and Julian. We were able to prove the connection to Julian."
"If you need any assistance with finding him" Kellie said, "Let me know."
"We should have it covered," Jason said, "If we can get him to turn on Cyrus…"
"That would solve a lot of problems," Kellie said, "Of course, we'd have to keep him alive long enough to put Cyrus in prison. That could be an interesting game of cat and mouse. Might almost have to pretend to be sloppy, lead Cyrus away from Julian. But he'll think he's on the right trail. There might be some merit to that, leaving false trails to distract Cyrus."
"That could give us some advantages," Jason said.
"And slow Cyrus down," Kellie said, "If the opportunity presents itself. If he gets flustered, he could finally screw up and save us all a lot of trouble."
"I'll keep it in mind," Jason said.
"If you want help with that," Kellie said, "You know where to find me."
Kellie kissed Jason and proceed to leave the restaurant.
"Where are you headed now?" Jason asked.
"Diane's office," Kellie said, "Detective Chase is supposed to be taking Dev's statement. I'll see you whenever you get home tonight, Mob Boy."