Chapter 7

It had been five days since Anna and Robert had moved into their apartment at the Brownstone. They were taking time for themselves while still going over the old case files. Between them, Guy and Sean, they had narrowed it down to six cases that, for different reasons they felt could be bigger than what was uncovered by the PCPD investigation at the time.

Having their own place had also let them really reconnect. Talking about what they thought about while they had been alone, while they were lost. Laying together, holding each other, they could talk about that time, letting go of the pain a little at a time. Anna was also talking about wanting to exchange vows the next time Robin was in Port Charles. She had mentioned coming at the end of the month and Anna felt if there had to be a witness, then that should be Robin, maybe Mac too. It didn't matter to her if other family members were there. This wasn't about a wedding, it was just about them being husband and wife in the eyes of the law and their little girl should be there.

This evening they were having Sean over for dinner. Robert was cooking as Anna tidied up a little. When there was a knock at the door she happily went to answer it. "Hi Sean, come in," she greeted him warmly.

"Hi, am I too early?" Sean asked as he stepped inside.

"Of course not," she answered welcoming him in.

He looked around and smiled, there were pictures all over the walls. Lots of Robin, including from when they were apart, even Stone was in one. Then he saw the collage of the two of them over the loveseat and smiled. They always seemed so happy in pictures he noted as he took a closer look. "This is a nice little place. Does it classify as the Penthouse of the Brownstone?" he asked with a light-hearted laugh.

"I hadn't thought of it that way but now that you mention it, I think it should," Robert offered with a smile. "You're our first guest."

"Well thanks for having me. I was getting tired of room service alone since Tiff and Mae left." Sean turned and walked towards Robert. "What you cookin'? You are the one cooking, right?" Sean asked then glanced sideways at Anna.

"Don't start Donely," Anna warned playfully as she stepped a little closer and he put his arm around her.

"I can not explain how amazing it is having you both back. Anna, you needed this guy to come home so much and I don't think you even realized it."

Anna smiled up at Sean, he knew them both very well and she knew he was right. She hadn't known what was missing until she had Robert back. "I thought I had to figure out how to live with a hole where he should have been. I just had to wait for him to find a way back to me." Robert was listening to them and smiled but didn't add anything to the conversation.

"I don't want to get all emotional this evening so let's talk about something else," Sean suggested squeezing Anna a little closer to his side. He loved seeing them happy and tonight he just wanted to enjoy being with his friends, there's no need to think about everything they had been through over the last decade.

"I want to hear more about Mae," Anna said smiling up at him. She didn't want to talk about work either, chatting with Sean, hearing stories. Telling jokes, the three of them just hanging out. That was exactly what she wanted.

"Does she know the story of how we all learned what Tiff's real name is?" Robert asked as he started bringing dishes over to the table.

Sean started to laugh, "Tiff doesn't know I told her all about that and how mad she was at me that whole day. Mae loved hearing about how we had all been laughing and that her mom couldn't really be upset since she knew it was coming and could have warned me."

"Are you sure?' Robert asked with a bit of a laugh, "Hearing Elsie Mae Crumholz was rather surprising."

"Yeah, but if I knew it was coming, maybe I wouldn't have laughed quite so much." He paused, "Maybe," Sean admitted, making them all laugh.

The evening passed with lighthearted conversations like this. Sean told them a little more about things they had heard about since being back in Port Charles. Giving them a few more details, filling in blanks. Telling them about some of the happy times, not just the painful parts. When he left none of them were thinking about finding out about what was done to Robert. They were just happy, it had been a wonderful evening with dear friends and exactly what they had all needed.

…

The following afternoon found the four of them working in the den at Mac's again. Robert and Guy were going over two cases that they had started to notice had similar elements. Some of the same names were coming up, same places. "The timing could work out, these could have been connected," Guy suggested.

"I think it could be, but why. These fires," Robert said holding up one file, "couldn't benefit those home invitations."

"No, but if a neighbourhood is suddenly having a lot of problems like these that could affect the housing market," Guy countered.

"What year, what months?" Sean suddenly asked.

"This would have been late fall of '90 and spring of '91."

"Right, so when we were rather busy dealing with Faison and the cartel," Anna noticed, now paying attention to their conversation a little more closely.

Sean nodded, "Yeah we were, but there was also something going on with the water around then, remember."

"That's right, there were those condos that the residents were getting sick. Frisco and me ended up in the catacombs to get evidence because of that," Robert remembered.

"Oh and that crooked lawyer was involved in that too," Anna added as she started remembering more about it.

"If this was all happening in the same area of the city, was there someone that had big plans for that area but you kept messing with their plans? If someone wanted to lower the property value before coming in and buying up a section of the city but you kept solving the problems they were creating," Sean wondered, letting that thought hang over them.

"Without making the connection you were interfering with their plans and they wanted you out of the way because of it. Even if you didn't make the connection they might have believed you had," Guy suggested. "Maybe they saw you as an obstacle."

It was quiet for a moment as they all considered this possibility. "This is good, maybe we have somewhere to start looking now," Robert said as he rubbed his hands together. His face dropped a little as a thought struck him, "Would that be enough to do what they did?" Was money or some deal more important than his life? What had he done that these people felt the need to try and break him?

"We won't know that until we know if this is all connected, old buddy. Like you just said we have somewhere to start. Let's see what we can figure out. Then we can ask those kinds of questions." Sean knew this wasn't always easy on them. They are looking for something that must have been overlooked but it was also bad enough that violence had been the reaction of whoever this was. It was easier for him and Guy to put that out of their minds. For Anna and especially Robert, it was always just under the surface.

"Sean's right, first let's find the connection if there is one. Then we'll figure out what we do next," Anna said as she walked over and picked up the file Robert had been holding. Time to shift gears, figuring out how and if these two cases are connected just became all four of their main focus'.

They had been working on doing just that when Sean's phone rang forty-five minutes later. When he got off the phone he walked over to the other three. "Whoever was behind your abduction is cleaning up loose ends. That was Frisco, Mattias Sohlmann is dead, he was murdered. His body was found in an empty lot in Madrid Spain."

Robert and Anna looked at each other, "I'm willing to bet they know I know who I am."

She put her hand on his back, "This just means we need to be on our toes," Anna said. "They aren't going to risk exposing themselves and coming after you. Not yet anyway. We have time to figure this out and stop them."

Robert smiled at her, grateful that she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Yes, we will."

"I wonder if this will loosen the brother's lips a little," Guy said and the others all turned to look at him.

"That's true, Hans might be a little more talkative once he finds out that his brother is dead," Sean agreed. "I might want to take a trip in the next couple of days."

"That's a good idea. Even if he doesn't tell you anything yet. Knowing that he's as good as dead if we let him go might make him more willing to tell us something useful," Robert added in agreement.

"Alright boys, let's call it a day. We can start digging into finding the connection tomorrow morning," Anna told them.

"I think Anna's right, we can start fresh in the morning and this way I can take her out for dinner this evening."

"Oh, I'd like that," Anna smiled happily. They had all agreed that as much as they needed to find the truth, they also needed to have lives. Sean was even going back to Boston every few days. He'd stay overnight then head back to Port Charles. Anna had insisted that he made sure to spend time with his family while they work on this.

…

The following morning, Robert sat drinking his coffee. Anna noticed he was in deep thought so asked, 'What's going on in that head of yours this morning, Scorpio?"

He looked up at her, "It doesn't seem right, maybe I mean fair. Death seems like he got off too easy."

Anna understood what he meant, it would have sounded terrible to someone else if they had heard Robert say something like that but she understood it. "That man spent years torturing you. Of course, you would want him to pay for what he did. To face the consequences, to be held accountable, to be punished."

"Yeah, that's it. Death, he's just dead. He never had to pay for what he did to me. He's just," he let out a sigh, "dead."

"At least he can never hurt anyone else." Anna put her hands on his face and looked him in the eyes. "We are going to find the person that hired those men to do that to you and we will make them pay for this. There will be justice for you."

"For us. This was done to our family, not just me. I was kept from you and from Robin."

"And now we are making up for that." Anna took his cup and set it on the table then sat on his lap. "I think you should take me out for breakfast this morning. We don't need to be at Mac's first thing."

"No we don't and breakfast at Kelly's seems exactly like what we need." As he reached up to stock her hair his phone rang. They both looked over at it. "Do I have to get that?"

"It could be important." Anna reached for his phone and answered it, "Hello."

"Good morning, Anna. Is Robby around?"

"He's making a very nice seat at the moment. Did you want to speak to him?"

"What if I don't want to speak to them. Who is it?" Robert asked.

"It's your brother," Anna told him as she heard Mac laughing on the line, clearly he'd heard his brother as well.

Robert leaned in and gave her a little kiss. "Yeah, alright. I guess I should talk to him."

Anna grinned, trying not to laugh. "He has agreed to converse with you," she said into the phone.

"Oh, I feel honoured. Thanks, Anna," he added with a laugh. Then Anna handed the phone to Robert but didn't stand up.

"Hey bro, what's up?"

"Not too much but I thought you might like to know the WSB wants to talk to you. There's been an agent calling me. They want me to pass on the message that they would like to speak to both you and Anna in person at your earliest convenience. They seem pretty persistent."

"Why do they want to speak to us?" Robert asked suspiciously.

"Oddly they won't tell me. Almost like they don't think it's any of my business," Mac told him, trying not to laugh. He loves that his big brother is back and that they get to kid around with each other again.

Robert grinned and shook his head a little. "Yeah, alright. If they call again let them know we'll talk to them." Mac said that he would and they ended the call.

Robert sat quietly, his phone still in his hand. He had a few questions of his own for the WSB. The biggest one is why did they declare them dead so quickly? What had led to that? Could either of them have been found sooner if that hadn't happened?

As if reading his mind, "We both have questions for them and if they want answers from us they had better be willing to answer ours." Anna stroked his cheek, "Come on, you're still taking me to Kelly's mister."

"Yes, I am," he said, patting her bottom. Then they both started to get up, quickly putting the WSB request out of their minds.

…

It had been four days since Mac had told them that some WSB agents wanted to meet with them. When Robert Anna and Sean all arrived at the PCPD people there took notice. Former police commissions didn't often make group visits like this. When the news of what Robert had been through, why he'd been gone, had gone through the station people quickly started speculating about whether he'd come back to work. They were all greeted by officers as they passed them. This visit should give them all more to speculate about.

They were close to Mac's office door when the two men standing there turned to face them. Robert knew one of them, they all did. "Ross, why am I not surprised to see you here? Had to come and see for yourself that I'm alive, eh?" Robert asked. A hint of annoyance in his voice. Robert had never cared for Ross. There was just something about the man he didn't quite like. Always felt like he couldn't quite trust him and Robert knew that Ross felt the same about him.

"Scorpio," he said with a nod. "I was asked to accompany Agent Miles here since I had been in contact with both Donely and your brother after the explosion."

"Oh, so you have some explaining to do, good." Sean clapped his hand on Ross' shoulder and as they started to move toward Mac's door again. He looked at the other agent. "What's the first name Miles? I'm Sean Donely and if you hadn't already figured it out, this is Anna Devane and Robert Scorpio."

"Glen, sir. It's an honour to meet all of you." During training with the WSB, he had always been amazed by the work done for the WSB by these three individuals. Not only as agents but also when they were not active and they were living their own lives, they had always been willing to help the WSB. They had always been loyal. Glen Miles lowered his head a little as they entered the office they'd been waiting by. What he has uncovered over the last month seems to indicate the WSB should have owed it to them to be that committed to them.

Mac was sitting behind his desk when they walked in. As soon as he saw Ross he stood up. "You sure were quick to write my brother off as dead. You couldn't show Sean and me those pictures fast enough. Close the book on Robert and Anna so they could never steal your glory again. Is that what you did?" Mac accused angrily. He remembered Ross too. There was something he didn't like about him then and it seems that hadn't changed.

Sean looked over at Robert and Anna. "Did I mention Ross here was the one that showed us the pictures of you on the tanker just before the explosion?" Sean stepped around him, moving closer to Mac. "He's the one that told us about the WSB presents in the area," then Sean folded his arms, "However, he never mentioned that the Blackbox orders were lifted."

Ross knew there was no explaining that. He'd had no problem with Scorpio's and Devane's names going down with that bit of dishonour attracted to them. "Sorry, it didn't seem that important when we spoke. I can see now that it must have mattered. At least in some way."

"You're damn right it matters," Mac responded heatedly.

"That's not what's important today," Anna said, hoping to calm the situation before anything happened. The tension in the room was building with every passing minute.

"Anna's right, why don't we all get comfortable and you can tell us why we're all here," Sean suggested looking at Agent Miles.

"Right." After a little shuffling around they were all seated where they could see Agent Miles, who remained standing by Mac's desk and was pulling folders out of his briefcase. He looked at Robert, "After your return from the dead," he started.

"After both Anna and Faison had shown up alive," Mac threw in.

"Yes, that too. I can't tell you what if anything was found after their returns. Um, I was assigned to this five weeks ago and it has been my sole focus since then."

"Go easy on this one Mac, he's still learning the ropes." Sean could tell Miles was a newer agent and whatever he was here to tell them about had him on edge for some reason. "Oh where are my manners, this is Commissioner Mac Scorpio, Robert's kid brother."

"Right, sorry, I'm Agent Glen Miles, nice to meet you, sir. Um, if I could continue." Sitting beside him on the couch, Anna moved a little closer to Robert, whatever he was going to tell them, Miles was clearly nervous about how they were going to react.

"Just relax, then tell us what you need to. We have time," Robert told him as he put his arm around Anna.

He gathered his thoughts again then picked up the file on top of what had been pulled out of the briefcase. "The night of the tanker explosion, as you know, the WSB was in the area. There were pictures taken that evening."

"We know all this, Ross here told Sean and I that was the proof they had. That was all they needed to declare my family dead!" Mac seemed to be the one that's most upset at the moment. He wanted to know why Agent Ross had given up on his brother, why he had given up on Anna. He had never trusted what Ross had told him years ago and he wasn't sure he trusted him now either.

"Mac, let him tell us what he found," Sean cut him off quickly, he wanted to hear what they were here to tell them.

"Yes, one of the first files I familiarized myself with was that report. It was rushed and incomplete." He glanced at Ross, then back at Robert and Anna. "The agents that prepared it were less than thorough and once it had been presented it was never re-examined."

"Why would we re-examine a closed case?" Ross asked defensively. He had worked on that report with a few others and felt certain they were all aware of that fact.

"As I said, incomplete. Also when I say never, that includes after both Cesar Faison, then Anna Devane were discovered to in fact be alive." Ross quickly put his head down, suddenly having nothing else to add. "I wasn't happy with the report from March of 1992 so I went back and went through all the evidence we had from that night. I went over what was happening with Devane when she was abducted. I went over how the WSB was responsible for Faison being free at the time to abduct her." Agent Miles cleared his throat, standing up straighter. "Agent Ross, I suggested you remain quiet until I am done. You will only make yourself and your fellow agents that were involved at the time look that much worse."

Clearly, Agent Miles had gotten over his nervousness and was ready to give his report. He went on to explain what all he had been able to find out. The Blackbox order on Anna had been rushed through after being suggested by none other than Agent Ross. As was the one on Robert, a short time after he left Port Charles. Agent Miles had also found the report Frisco had given a short time after the explosion, detailing what he had been helping Robert do. It included dates times and locations. That report was never referenced anywhere in Ross' report.

There were not only hundreds of pictures taken that night there had also been a couple of videos Miles had found. They weren't the best quality but there was still usable footage there. Before the boat started to sink there had been a lot of movement on deck, there were boats in the area. Some came to help others may have already been in there. When he picked up a picture of what looked like a body being lowered into a boat Robert grabbed it.

"I felt like I was falling then I hit something hard and that's all I remember," Robert said looking at the picture now in his hand.

"After you said it felt like you were being dragged," Anna said squeezing his hand.

He looked up at her, "Yes."

Agent Miles was listening closely, he was fairly sure he had seen what they were talking about. "I'll show you some video after this. I think I can clear that up." Robert and Anna looked at each other again. Could this man actually know what happened to them that night?

Miles continued, "You'll notice the name of the boat isn't complete but we are working on identifying the boat then hopefully who owned it at the time. I want to speak to them about that night."

Miles shuffled through a few more pictures then stopped when he saw one of Anna and Faison. "I've located you here. This is just before I found Scorpio in one of the pictures approaching you." Then he showed them that one as well. Anna knew this was when Robert and Faison were yelling at each other. When Faison was threatening him. Shuffling through the pictures, Miles spoke again, "There are photos of the explosion and right here." He handed Anna the picture he was now looking at. "Is where I found you being led away from where I believe Robert still was."

Robert was looking at the picture as well. There was blood on her face and there was a lot of smoke but that was Anna. She was yelling over her shoulder trying to get away from the man holding her arm, a look of desperation on her face.

Everyone except Ross was looking at all these different pictures from that night. They could see how Miles had been piecing the events of that evening together using them to recreate the timeline. It was all there for them to see.

"It was about five minutes after that there was a second explosion, it's after that I found a picture of Anna in the water then another of her being pulled out by men on this boat." Then he handed him that photo as well. "I have now learned that was how Anna ended up getting what little medical treatment she did when she was taken to shore. I want to investigate this more and find out how she ended up in Canada from Venezuela." He looked over at Ross then back at Anna, "If this had been handled properly in the first place. If the investigation had not been a rush to close the case. I feel certain the WSB would not have given up the search for either of you. What I found was enough to make me believe you had both made it off that tanker. Even if you were injured. Even if it was unsure whether you were alive there should have been bodies to collect."

They spent the afternoon going over what Miles had brought with him. Sure enough, he was able to show them a video of two men dragging something across the deck. Shortly before what they were sure was Robert being lowered into a small boat and it drove away. Miles ensured them that these were the best quality they could get from the pictures taken that evening. The faces were hard to make out and they didn't think they knew any of them. "I intend to continue looking into these events and will have a full report to present in the not too distant future," Miles assured them.

Robert had stayed quiet most of the time Miles had been speaking. The more he heard the more time he spent glaring at Agent Ross. It was what he had feared. If the WSB hadn't given up on them so quickly they might have been found. Anna might have gotten treatment sooner. Robin may not have had to live believing they had both died. He might not have been tortured.

"If I'm hearing this correctly, and I think I am," Sean began as he stood up. "You're saying the investigation into the tanker explosion was closed prematurely. That if a more thorough investigation had been done back then, this all could have played out very differently." Sean might not be a violent man but he was having a very hard time not punching Ross in the face.

Miles who had remained standing the entire time straightened his back and said with confidence, "What I am saying is. If a proper investigation had been carried out at that time, then yes, there would have been a different outcome. I had to search for this information even before I could start going through it and I was working alone. A team of two or three agents should have been able to determine what I did in no more than a couple of weeks. There was enough evidence to support that you both made it off the tanker. There were leads to be followed but no one ever bothered."

No one saw it coming, even as his arm pulled through her hands Anna didn't suspect what he was going to do. Ross didn't know what hit him, or who hit him at first. Robert was on top of him punching him repeatedly. "You piece of shit!" he yelled as his fist came down on Ross' face again. That was when Ross started trying to fight back. Pushing Robert back then standing up to fight the man intent on pummeling.

Several minutes passed before anyone made a move to stop Robert. Ross was trying to fight him off but Robert was still getting the better of him and now that they had broken one of the chairs in Mac's office it was time to stop them. "Alright, hey Robert. That's enough." Sean stepped between them, pushing Robert towards Anna. She put her hand on his chest as Mac and Miles went to assist Ross who was laying on the broken chair in obvious pain.

As they helped Ross to his feet, Miles stepped closer. "You deserve a lot worse than that for what you did to them. You disgust me and everything I have uncovered about your handling of this case has already been reported and will be included in my final report. I requested that you accompany me here. I wanted you here when they all found out it was your negligence that tore their lives apart."

Robert wasn't trying to get past Anna. This was far from over but he had done what he needed for today. Seeing that bastard bleeding and in obvious pain was good enough for now. "Negligence? This worked out how he wanted it, right up until when we started showing up alive. I bet that's when you started to worry."

Looking in Robert's direction, Ross knew not to say anything else. His left eye was already swelling shut and he was pretty sure he had at least one less tooth. He knew he was bleeding a lot from a cut above his eye. The pain in his side might be bad enough to be a broken rib, but he hoped not. If he said anything else any of them could attack him next. "I think I may require medical attention. I can find my own way there if need be." There was nothing Ross could say to them to defend his past actions. Nothing that could excuse what he let happen to either Robert or Anna.

Mac looked over at him, not hiding the anger he felt. "Don't be ridiculous, I'll have an officer escort you." There was anger in his voice as well but he would not let Ross leave on his own in the shape he's in. Mac hit the intercom button still glaring at the injured man. No one spoke as they waited. Looking up when the door opened, "Officer Watts, would you take Agent Ross over to General Hospital. He seems to have had a slight accident," Mac told him.

Watts was a younger officer and even if he knew basically what had happened, he knew well enough not to ask. The five other people in the room all looked upset. All of them at different levels of anger but the injured man wasn't. He didn't look scared either. Whatever happened to him he was taking it like a man. A man that might have deserved whatever had happened in here. He also knew this was WSB and could only imagine what had lead to whatever this was.

While Watts waited for the injured man he took a better look at the other people in the office. The officers had all been talking about the WSB being here as well as the former WSB Agent / Commissioners and what might be going on. They had all heard the altercation that had just happened in here as well. Most of them had guessed right though. Robert Scorpio clearly was the other involved party in what they had clearly heard.

Once Ross was gone Agent Miles pulled two envelopes out of his briefcase. "I am to give you these once I have finished my report." Then he handed one to Anna and the other to Robert.

"What's this then?" Robert asked as he tapped the envelope against his hand.

"I wouldn't know, sir."

Anna started to open hers, so Robert looked over. Once she had it out they read the letter together. It was expressing the WSB's sincerest regrets for how the situation of their disappearances were handled. The letter explained that there should have been a full search organized for them and that because of false statements made by a few Agents the case was closed prematurely. When they reached the bottom and it mentioned an enclosed cheque, Robert finally opened his letter. They were both now holding lofty cheques in their hands.

"Dinner's on the WSB this evening by way of the Scorpios, that is," Sean said, catching a glimpse at the amount on Robert's.

After a moment Anna looked up at Robert. "I guess this means you're not my kept man any longer," Anna said, a slightly confused looked still on her face. She didn't know what else to say. She had never expected something like this. Neither of them had.

"You will continue to reserve all the same services, trust me." He was now only looking at her. Too much was going on in his head, he didn't want to talk to the other people there any longer. H wanted to get out of here. What was going on? What had just happened? The WSB seems to be admitting their mistakes. They are responsible for all the time Robert and Anna had lost because of that explosion. Were these cheques meant to replace the time they'd lost? He touched her cheek, Robert didn't care what the cheques were for. He has her.

Anna smiles and leaned in a little closer, "Can we go home. That was a lot and I just want time alone to think about all of this?" she said quietly.

Robert nodded, she was who he wanted to talk to now. He looked over at the agent, "Do we get a copy of any of this stuff? Can we go over it on our own now?" Robert asked.

Miles handed Robert a folder, telling him that was their copy to keep. It might not be the full report but it had the details they wanted. After a few last formalities Agent Miles left, then Robert and Anna excused themselves.

Walking through the squad room, not saying anything. No one approached them or called out greetings. It was clear they were not in the mood for chit-chat. They walk out the door deep in thought.

Robert and Anna had just found out that the WSB had given up on them three weeks after the tanker explosion. That everything could have been very different if anyone had tried to find them. If people knew there was a chance they were alive. If they had even been allowed to suspect because there might be something that could mean something. Their friends and family would have followed a lead like that no matter how unlikely it might seem.

Now they needed time to let that all sink in. Time to accept how little their lives meant to some of their fellow agents. That was going to be a bitter pill to swallow. One that won't be forgotten either.