Chapter Twenty-One

/

Robin felt the heat on her back as she fell face first to the ground. She reached out with her hands to brace herself and felt her left wrist break.

Aidan was thrown off his feet by the blast. He couldn't hold onto Patrick as they both fell hard to the ground.

Jamie was thrown into the air by the blast and he felt a white hot pain in his back as his body was flung to the ground.

Luke watched in horror as a piece of debris from the cabin pierced the back of Sean's thigh as he tried to run.

Robert covered Anna's body as they were also thrown down by the fierceness of the explosion.

Frisco, closest to the explosion when it happened, was lifted from his feet and was flung into a tree. He fell to the ground unconscious.

RJ's head impacted the ground as he was tossed off his feet. He was quickly unconscious.

John felt the flames chasing him as he dove to the ground. He felt shrapnel enter his back as he hit the ground.

/

Athens, Greece

Same Time

/

The Aegean Sea was a beautiful sight. The crystal blue water and the slight breeze were a balm to the tortured soul of the man gazing out at the water from his wheelchair.

"Sir, there's…there's been an explosion at the cabin in Germany," a voice sounded from behind the wheelchair-bound man.

He turned slowly in his chair. "Fatalities?"

"We don't know yet, Sir," he answered. "Orders?"

The man sighed deeply, feeling every one of his eighty-seven years. "Where are our men in Port Charles?"

"They are watching the Scorpio boy and the Drake children," the other man said. "Robert Scorpio Jr. seems to have…made use of the local criminal element in aiding in their protection. The children's uncle, Mac Scorpio, has a police detail on them as well. According to the reports, all three are well guarded."

When there was no reply, the other man spoke again. "Sir, do you want me to alert your…?"

"No," came the curt reply. "No, he needn't know of this yet. But, you can alert my cousin. The web of our past is unraveling. Too many people have come to the truth."

"Yes, Sir."

The old man smiled. "Thank you, Reginald. Thank you for coming so quickly. I'm sure Lila was not keen on letting you go."

Reginald Jennings, the longtime butler of the Quartermaine family, nodded. "Lady Lila was insistent, in fact. I believe she knows more than she's letting on."

The man smiled. "That would certainly be like her. Give her my best, Reginald, and let her know that she is always welcome here. As are you and your family."

Reginald thanked him and was quickly on his way.

/

RJ came to slowly. He blinked rapidly trying to clear his vision. As he took in the carnage around him, he tried to sit up. A wave of nausea overwhelmed him and he vomited on the ground.

"RJ?" came Robin's soft voice.

"Rob…Robin," he responded. "Are you…?"

"I'm…I'm okay, I think," she responded. "My left wrist is broken, though. I can't…oh, my God, RJ! Look at this."

RJ and Robin pulled themselves to their feet and began to survey the damage.

"Patrick!" Robin screamed.

She and RJ both ran to the injured doctor. Patrick was shaking his head as he began to sit up. Pain tore through his right shoulder where Demetrios' bullet had entered.

"Patrick," Robin cried as she got to him.

"It's…it's okay," he muttered through the pain. "Went…through. Clean wound."

RJ ran to his brothers. Sean and Jamie were only lying a few feet from each other. As he got closer, he could see them both moving. He could also see the serious shrapnel wounds they'd suffered as he knelt by them. The back of Sean's thigh had a large piece of splintered wood sticking out. Jamie's back was littered with glass; blood everywhere on both young men.

"Junior, we gotta get out of here!" Luke suddenly yelled as he stood.

RJ ran a hand through his hair. "We need…we need a medivac. Check Frisco, he probably has his WSB radio on him."

Luke knelt down by Frisco, who was completely still, blood oozing from several shrapnel wounds on his back. Luke felt for a pulse and found a faint one. He quickly turned him over and found the radio. Remarkably, it looked intact.

"Here, Junior," he said as he walked it back to RJ. "Look, Victor's two men are dead. John's moving, but he's injured. Victor and Demetrios…are gone. Disappeared. I don't know how they escaped that explosion."

"Seems Demetrios is like Faison; they both favor fire," RJ commented as he stood and held Frisco's radio up.

"WSB, come in, over," RJ said simply. "WSB, come in, over."

"Who are you? Where is Agent Jones?"

"My name is RJ Scorpio," he answered. "I'm with Agent Jones. He's injured, along with a half-dozen others. We need a medivac."

"We need verification on identity and location."

RJ sighed. "I'm sure you've already activated your tracking system. We're north of Hamburg, Germany in the mountains at a small cabin that was just blown sky high. I'm fairly certain you can trace Frisco's location. If not, then lock onto the signal being emitted from my watch. It's a WSB-issue Skylark 556 with a tacking chip inside. My father…"

"Scorpio? You're…Robert's son?"

"Yes! Damn, it!" RJ exclaimed. "Robert Scorpio was my father. Look, we can play twenty questions later. I've got injured here that need to get the hell out of here."

"Okay, Scorpio, we've locked on to Agent Jones' signal, and yours. We'll have a medical team there in fifteen minutes."

RJ didn't bother to acknowledge the response. He tossed the radio down and went back to kneeling beside his brothers.

"RJ," Jamie suddenly called softly; so softly RJ almost missed it.

He touched Jamie's hand. "Hey, baby brother. Don't talk, and try not to move. Help is on the way. You're…you're gonna be fine. I promise."

Jamie's eyes slipped closed again but his fingers tightened slightly around RJ's.

Next to him, Robin was tending to Sean. She was palpating the area around his thigh wound. He groaned in pain.

"Hurts, Robs," he muttered.

With tears in her eyes, Robin touched his back. "I know, but help is coming. You just gotta hang in there for me."

Sean managed to nod a little as Luke took Robin's place. He held his son's hand as she moved on to Aidan and John.

"Aidan," she called to her cousin. "Can you hear me, Aidan?"

Aidan stirred. "Yeah, I hear ya. Hearing a lot of bells, too."

Robin made him look directly at her so she could check his eyes. "You took a pretty good hit to the head, I'd say. Can you follow my finger?"

As she waved it front of his face, he laughed. "Which one? I see four."

Robin's expression was grim. "You have a concussion. So does RJ. Help is on the way. You'll be fine."

He nodded as he sat up. He stayed on the ground. He knew he was too dizzy to stand.

"Robin!" Patrick yelled.

Robin ran over to him and John. "What's his status?"

"He's got some serious shrapnel wounds to his back," Patrick said, grimacing against the pain in his shoulder. "He's losing a lot of blood. This piece here looks deep. I'm…I'm worried about his spinal cord."

Robin wiped a dirty hand over her face, cradling her other against her chest. "The WSB is on the way. I just hope they're in time."

"Me, too," said Patrick as he looked down at John McBain.

/

Once RJ was sure Jamie would be okay for a few moments, he got up and made his way to his parents, both of whom were on their feet and watching everyone.

"You two okay?" he asked.

Anna nodded, her eyes focused on her two younger sons.

"Fine," Robert replied as he looked around. "Where is Uncle Demetrios?"

RJ's eyes widened. "Uncle…? Why the hell are you calling that bastard uncle?"

Robert eyed RJ warily. "He is my uncle. Yours, too. He's the reason your mother and I are here at all. He saved us from the WSB, rescued us. Explained my birthright to me."

"Rescued you from the WSB?" RJ questioned. "After the tanker explosion?"

Robert merely nodded, but didn't say anything else. His eyes were still unfocused. RJ felt certain that whatever Demetrios had triggered by using Robert's birth name was still in effect.

"Dad, listen to me," RJ said as he stepped closer to his father. "Whatever Demetrios explained to you, it's…it's wrong. You are Robert Scorpio!"

"I am Alexios Alexander Liakos-Cassadine, heir to the…"

RJ slammed his hands down on Roberts' shoulders. "You are Robert Xavier Scorpio, damn it!"

Robert's eyes closed and he shook his head. When he opened his eyes, they were clear. He looked around; at Anna, RJ, his other children, Luke.

"Where…what the hell happened? Where are we?"

RJ backed up. Something wasn't right with his father, or his mother. She seemed dazed and off balance, and she'd seemed that way before the cabin blew up.

"Junior, you okay!?" Luke yelled from a few yards away.

Still staring at his parents, RJ shook his head just as the sound of helicopters sounded overhead.

"No," he whispered. "Neither are they."