"What do you mean he's my nephew?" Skye demanded softly. A part of her wanted to run over to the child, and to release him of his bonds, but another part of her, the reasonable and rational part of her, wanted to wait, get the facts, and then decide on a course of action.
"He's your nephew, Michael Corinthos," Roscoe said smoothly, his voice slick as oil. "Your brother's son stolen by Sonny."
Was Roscoe crazy? "And you stole him back from him? You can't just steal Michael from Sonny and hope Sonny doesn't do anything to retaliate," Skye told Roscoe, her voice surprisingly free from the rising fear and uncertainty within her. "Sonny won't rest until the day Michael is found and back in his and Carly's arms, and then he's going to make sure that Michael is never again kidnapped. This is suicide!"
"Trust me," Roscoe said calmly to
Skye. "Corinthos won't be looking for
Michael. He thinks Michael is dead."
"Dead?" Skye echoed, the hair
on the back of her neck rising. She had
always known that Roscoe was not to be trusted, but she had never imagined he
would do something like this. "And why
would he think his son is dead?
Roscoe smirked. "You can watch the news when it comes on. There was an explosion at an old warehouse, and two dead bodies were found: a young boy's and an adult man's."
"So?"
"The adult man worked for Corinthos," Roscoe told Skye. "He contacted Corinthos and the others and told him that the child had been found. He was right. A child had been found, but not the one they were looking for."
A sudden chill swept through Skye's body.
"The kid did fit Michael's description, but he wasn't Michael. He was just some street punk with the same description as Michael. We gave him Michael's clothes, and put a gag and blindfold on him. Corinthos and his men fell for it hook, line, and sinker. They were positive they had found the right kid. An explosion later, the bodies are too burned to make a positive identification."
Who cared if Roscoe had murdered one of Sonny's men? But Roscoe had killed an innocent boy. And he had no qualms about it. He acted as if he had done nothing wrong.
"And don't worry about Corinthos hunting us down for revenge," Roscoe said derisively. "He's too smart to forget that we have Courtney as an open target, and that if he even tries to lift one finger against us…"
It's going to blow up in our faces. A whole gang war is about to start, and the next open target is Courtney. If it comes that far, and Sonny had to be plotting revenge now, then he'd quite possibly focus on AJ, Rinoa, and herself.
Skye forced a smile to her lips.
On the bed, Michael twitched in his nightmare-ridden sleep.
*******
Pine Valley…They had left Port Charles immediately and had reached Pine Valley by nightfall. Rae had instantly taken Jax to a woman named Myrtle Fargate. The woman, although she was elderly, was of a vivid and energetic nature, and she spent much time talking with Jax.
And, as Rae had been there facilitating the meeting of these two people, there had been the minimum awkwardness with maximum efficiency.
"Adam Chandler," Myrtle said, with a wrinkled, disgusted expression on her face, "should be your first stop. Adam is Skye's adoptive father. He probably won't know the specifics about Skye's childhood or her relationship with Althea, his ex-wife and Skye's adoptive mother."
"I've heard that there the relationship had tendencies of abuse and neglect," Rae said, visibly upset. "But Skye constantly refuses to tell me anything about her past."
"So how do you know what her relationship with her adopted mother was like?" Jax asked curiously.
"Word of mouth about Althea's public behavior and attitudes towards her daughter," Rae said through clenched teeth. "And there have been scattered police reports of family problems between Althea and her daughter. The police suspected there was abuse, but they never had any proof and they never bothered doing anything to stop it."
Jax grimaced. Child abuse and neglect- two key foundations in the beginnings of Skye Chandler Quartermaine.
"And then there's Hayley and JR," Myrtle added. "They're Adam's other children. Hayley and Skye never got along too well. And Skye had once been accused of kidnapping JR."Skye's life had been anything but boring. She herself was anything but boring, and Jasper Jacks has known this for quite some time now.
"Edmund Grey and Tad Martin," Myrtle listed. "Failed relationships that never even began. Oh, and Erica Kane. She's someone you have to meet." Myrtle loved Erica, and was always telling others how great Erica Kane was.
"Erica Kane?"
"Skye's greatest moment, maybe," Myrtle smiled indulgently. "She teamed up with two other women to bring a criminal to justice. Skye, Erica, and this other lovely young woman chased this man Jonathan down to the Caribbean and dragged him back to the police."
Jax smiled broadly. "I'll have to visit Erica, then." The idea of Skye and two of her friends chasing after a lawbreaker to bring him back to justice was too amusing.
Myrtle chuckled softly to herself. Just wait until this young man discovered that this Jonathan guy had been Skye's husband. But then, that opened another story completely.
"Anyone else?" Jax asked.
"Stuart Chandler, her adoptive uncle," Myrtle answered. "He's definitely the person to see. A kinder, gentler man never lived on this planet."
Rae smiled and nodded her head. She agreed with Myrtle's assessment completely. "Well, Jax, you seem like you're in good hands. I'll leave you with Myrtle, then, and I'll be back as soon as I can." He needed to return to Llanview and help Viki with her problems. "When we're done here, we'll just fly over to Llanview and continue our search there."
*******
Nine pm… Sonny's penthouse…They couldn't even give Michael Corinthos a proper burial. They couldn't claim the bodies, lest the Quartermaines discover the truth and bring up a lawsuit against Sonny for the death of the child. The charred remains of Michael Corinthos and Roger Cythe, the two dead bodies found in the explosion, remained in police custody as they worked to identify the dead, burned corpses.
"I talked to Kristina this morning," Alexis announced, interrupting the dead silence that had haunted the penthouse. "She doesn't understand why, but she's agreed to move to Wyndemere for the time being. She'll be safe with Nikolas."
Sonny nodded curtly. He needed Alexis to stay close, but Kristina would just get in the way. Sonny's best men, not the ones who were taken by Helena's men, were going to start taking residence in the vacant rooms in Alexis's suite.
"We've started packing her things, and Nikolas and Gia are going to come by and help her move," Alexis continued softly.
"I don't want to leave Port Charles," Carly spoke up, suddenly, in a strained voice. Her eyes were red from crying, and her voice reflected the amount of crying she had done since she had learned the news. "I don't see why I have to leave Port Charles."
"Carly, it's not open for discussion," Sonny snapped. "You'll be safer hiding, and I'll have Johnny and Benny get some good men to watch over you."
"But-"
"I will not have anyone else getting hurt because of me," Sonny growled. His first wife had died because of him. Brenda and Carly had been hurt because of him. He wasn't about to allow any more danger to come to Carly.
"Everyone needs to think Michael is still alive," Alexis sighed. "Carly, you have to pretend you took Michael with you on a trip. If the Quartermaines found out Michael died, then they'll sue you and Sonny. And the last thing we need right now is another court case." All of Sonny's men, besides the ones that would be assigned to Carly, were going to be used for the upcoming showdown with Roscoe.
"But it's their fault," Carly cried. "Skye did it. We all know she got Roscoe to do it."
That would be the obvious answer.
"It doesn't matter," Sonny said gravely. "Carly, you're going, and that's the end of the discussion. Benny, you and your best men escort her to my private jet, take her to the island, and stay with her until I call you guys back."
"Carly, don't worry about it," Zander said softly. "I'll fly down as soon as I'm done. And then, by the time we return, Sonny will have everything taken care of."
"We're going to have to assign more men to Courtney, too," Alexis reminded Sonny softly. Alexis sat down on the back of the couch and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
Sonny was a man of action. After one drink of Carly's hardest liquor, he had said a quiet prayer for the soul of his departed son and then had started planning their countermove.
Courtney had been first and foremost on his mind. And, with Alexis at his side, the two of them had sought Courtney out. They had to warn her of the impending danger, but they also couldn't tell her that Michael Corinthos had been murdered. If Courtney had a hold of that piece of information, she would just relay it to AJ, and then they'd have, as Alexis had said, another trial on their hands.
Ethically, it was wrong of them to withhold the news of AJ's biological child's death from him. But, then again, it had been, in all probability, the work of his sister and Roscoe. How had that saying gone? If I can't have it, then no one can. Was that the way they had seen Michael?
They had found Courtney with AJ and Rinoa. And she, despite all their cryptic pleas, refused to leave AJ and live with Sonny or Alexis. Alexis's gentle words had done nothing to help. Rinoa's advice to trust older brothers did nothing to convince Courtney to listen to him and Alexis.
"We have to assign more men to Courtney, too," Alexis repeated.
"I think you should just kidnap her," Carly said sharply. "It's for her own good."
"Kidnapping is a federal offense," Alexis snapped back, rising from her seat. "Kidnapping her will only give the federal agents a valid reason to come after Sonny."
"The plan stays as is," Sonny said. He looked at each person in the room: Alexis, Carly, Zander, Johnny, and Benny. These were his most trusted people, and they were the ones who would help him Michael the peace he deserved. "Carly leaves. Alexis, you stay with me and give me your legal expert advice. Zander, you're in charge of Courtney. Everyone else, be prepared." The day of reckoning was finally coming, and, soon, there would be only one gang in town.
*******
Two am… Roscoe's…At the very least, Skye supposed, she should be thankful that she didn't have to worry about AJ finding out about Michael's supposed death. She had called him tonight, which was unusual as she had been trying to cut all ties with him, and he hadn't suspect anything was wrong with Michael. Sonny was keeping it quiet, and the media was still clueless as to the identities of the two discovered dead bodies.
Skye pushed herself up into a sitting position. She hadn't slept one bit so far. She had watched Roscoe pass out from all the alcohol he had consumed (plus, he had been tired from all his careful planning to the kidnapping of Michael Corinthos), and she had thought about how unfair life was.
First, Michael was an innocent bystander here. He didn't ask to be born to that skank Carly, and he didn't ask Carly to lie and pretend that AJ wasn't his father, and he didn't ask Carly to have Sonny adopt him into his family, making him an easy target for Sonny's enemies, not to mention in the middle of a tug of war battle between the Quartermaines and the Corinthos families.
… Why was Michael so loved and wanted when no one had wanted her? Her father, although he had known that Rae had been pregnant with her, had chosen to ignore it. Her grandfather had arranged for her "faked" death and her adoption that turned into a black market baby sale. Rae had never admitted to her that she had been her child, and it hadn't been until that accursed Manning man had mockingly thrown her the news. Althea had been cruel, Adam had been less than loving, Monica had loathed and hated her, and the list went on and on. And this wasn't even going to the list of failed romances, either.
So what if Michael had a life filled with love and want, while she had not? She had been kidnapped from her own mother, and look at what had happened to her life since then. Lies after more lies, failed relationship after more failed relationships, fear after more fears. Michael would not go down that path, not while she had a say in it. Her life would have been so much more different, so much more filled with hope, than the life that she had ended up having. Why, if she had never been sold or given away… who knows what would have happened? Everyone's lives, not just hers, would have changed dramatically. She and Jax could have had a better chance, a… a what? He would have been involved with Brenda, and she would have been doing something else.
Her life may have been over, the dice cast and the odds set. But Michael's life was just beginning, and she wasn't about to let a two-bit hoodlum ruin it.
"Roscoe," Skye said urgently. She shook his slumbering body with her two hands. "Roscoe, wake up!"
Roscoe mumbled something incomprehensible.
"Wake up!" Skye said impatiently. She gave up shaking him and began to hit his chest. "Roscoe, we have to talk!"
Roscoe's eyes opened slightly. They blinked blurrily. "Skye?"
"I want to take Michael out of Port Charles and put him somewhere safe," Skye told him. "I don't think he's safe here, even if Sonny thinks he's dead." She's never lied to Roscoe before. Maybe she didn't tell him the entire truth, and chose to keep some things to herself, but she had never lied to him, either.
"No one's looking for him," Roscoe mumbled.
"I know that," Skye said through a clenched jaw. She had watched the local news, and she had seen exactly what Roscoe had told her had happened. "But I don't think it's good for my nephew, you know, mentally and emotionally, to be tied up and gagged for so long. I want him out of Port Charles."
"Huh?"
"I've got some people I can trust," Skye said quickly, her eyelashes fluttering like crazy. "I'll have them take care of Michael and keep him safe until Corinthos is destroyed and we're safe from him. Okay, Roscoe?"
Maybe the alcohol affected his decision. Maybe he had too little sleep in the past few days. Maybe Skye was just such a gifted liar that he couldn't even tell that Skye was keeping something from him. Any which way, Roscoe nodded sleepily and turned back into his pillow. Skye hated Sonny as much as he did, and she wanted Michael for her brother and the Quartermaines, not to return to Corinthos. There was no reason to believe that she would betray him.
Skye waited quietly until Roscoe's deep breathing returned, indicating that he was asleep. She slipped out of bed and, fumbling in the dark, looked for a change of clothes.
*******
Roscoe's guestroom…She could tell Michael was having nightmares. He was whimpering, and sweat ran down the sides on his blindfold. And he was calling for Uncle Sonny to come and chase the shadows away.
Skye sighed. She stooped down to the boy's level, and gently caressed his forehead. She kissed the red headed top of her nephew's head, and crooned a soothing song she had heard a friend once sing to her own baby. Althea Chandler had never done this for her, well, not that she could remember it, but Skye had seen enough movies and shows to know that this was what the child needed.
"Michael," Skye whispered tenderly. "Michael, wake up." Skye slipped the handkerchiefs away from Michael's eyes and ears. She took out the one that had been stuffed in his mouth. "Michael."
Eyes red from crying slowly opened. He looked at her with fear, wondering if she would be like the others.
This was the first time she ever looked into her nephew's eyes. This was the first time he had ever seen her.
"Do you know who I am?" Skye whispered softly. Had Carly or Sonny taken precautions to warn Michael of all Quartermaines, especially her?
Michael shook his head. He was too afraid to say anything.
"My name's, uh…" Skye trailed off. She shouldn't give him her real name, but what name should she give to him? She had never considered this part in her "grand escape". Toni? That was her real name. Rebecca? That was the name Rae had wanted to name her daughter. Jacky? No, that was too close to Jax's name. Hayley? No, she didn't want to use the name of a daughter of the family she been adopted to. And neither did she want to use Althea, Rae, Monica, or the name of any other person she had met. Finally…
"My name's Rebecca," Skye told Michael, a lump forming in her throat. Her name should have been Rebecca, and her life should have been completely different than the one she was leading right now. "I need you to stay still, because, uh, I have a pair of scissors and I'm going to cut the rope off you. If you move around too much, I might cut you by accident, okay? So stay still."
A minute later, Michael's arms and legs were free. But scorching red marks from the rope remained on his skin.
"I'm going to get you out of here and bring you somewhere safe," Skye promised him. "But there are bad guys all over the place, Michael. So if we're going to get out safely, I'm going to need you to do everything I say, okay?"
"Are you taking me back to Mommy?" Michael sniffled. "I want to go home to Mommy, Uncle Sonny, and Leticia."
Uncle Sonny doesn't even live with you. Why can't you ask for your daddy?
"Sorry, but we can't go back there."
Tears began to well up in Michael's eyes.
"No, no, no," Skye said quickly, backtracking. "I mean we can't go there right now. But we will go back there later, okay? I'll take you back to your family one day."
"You promise?"
"Yeah, I do," Skye smiled reassuringly. She looked Michael over carefully. "But we have to get out first. Does anything hurt? Can you walk on your own or do you want me to carry you?"
"I can walk," Michael said softly.
"Good," Skye beamed at him. Michael was such a brave little boy. She offered her hand to Michael, and, without hesitation Michael accepted it. Skye's heart leaped. She had never been with a child like this. She had never been in a situation where the she had to play the angel.
*******
Four am…Port Charles Hotel…
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Skye asked. She put on her most apologetic smile.
"No, you didn't," Rinoa said, stifling a yawn. "I was just watching something on tape." Rinoa gestured to the television.
Skye's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, Rinoa… is this porn?" On the television screen were two people: a red headed woman and a spiky blond haired man. The two of them were, through many different angled camera shots, making love.
"Porn?" Rinoa repeated, outraged. "Far from it. It's my favorite soap opera. See the woman? Her name is Toni, and she's been in love with that blond guy, Jack, for ages. But the guy wasn't over his past love, who died in a car crash, and he didn't want to get involved with anyone ever again. But then Toni almost died in an accident, and Jack realized that he couldn't stand his life without her, and that he was in love with her. So what you're seeing right now is the couple finally accepting and acting on their true feelings. And I have been waiting for this to happen for months now. So do not, Skye, do not, compare this beautiful scene of love making with some disgusting porn flick."
"Okay, fine, I'm sorry I insulted your show and your couple. But I really need to talk to you, so can you please turn the television off?"
The urgent tone in Skye's voice totally contrasted the words that had just passed between the two women. "Sure, Skye," Rinoa said, frowning slightly. This was exactly the way Skye had sounded earlier when she had called. The shock of mistakenly thinking that Rinoa was into porn had worn off, and Skye was back to business. Rinoa picked up the remote control and turned the television off. She would rewind the tape later and watch it then.
Michael was sleeping in the new suite she had obtained. It had been quite a struggle in smuggling Michael into the hotel without anyone seeing him, but the work had been worth it.
"Listen to me very carefully, Rinoa. There are high stakes here, and I need you to do exactly as I say."
"Did that Roscoe guy do something to you?" Rinoa asked suspiciously, her anger flaring. "Is he threatening you?"
"No, and that's all you have to know," Skye answered vaguely. "You can't tell anyone, not AJ, Courtney, Monica, no one, Rinoa, what I'm about to tell you. You got it?"
"You're really starting to scare me now." Well, maybe not scare. Worry and intrigue, yes, but scare, no. Cassadines don't scare easily.
"I need you to go to the mansion tomorrow, to the Quartermaines," Skye instructed Rinoa. "I don't care how you do it, just make sure you don't mention my name, but ask about the other family members. Look at photo albums or something. Whatever. But make sure that Monica tells you about Emily."
"Emily?"
"I'm not going to tell you anything about Emily right now," Skye continued. "You'll find out about her tomorrow. I need you to get Monica to take you to Emily. And you have to see her as soon as possible, by the day after tomorrow if possible. And then I need you to deliver this letter to her from me." Skye took the letter out from her purse. "None of the Quartermaines, none of them, can find out I asked you to do this, Rinoa. If they find out, they won't take you to her." No, they'd be too suspicious on why a person allied with Roscoe and Sorel had such an interest in Emily.
Rinoa hesitantly took the letter from Skye's hands. She fingered it lightly in her hands. "What's going on, Skye?"
"I can't tell you," Skye shook her head. "But trust me, Rinoa. This is very important. I've given much thought to it, and this is the only solution I can come up with." She couldn't go to Jax and ask for help. He was too loyal to Carly and would ruin everything. Besides, she had checked with the front desk and they had told her that Mister Jacks had left for an indefinite amount of time. It was insanity to ask the Quartermaines for help and to admit to them that she had Michael. There was still Chris Stamp and the other federal agents, but Skye had other plans for them. Emily was the best answer she had come up with, and she couldn't possibly refuse helping her nephew, could she?
"Promise me?" Skye asked pleadingly. "Go to the Quartermaines, ask about other family members, beg to be taken to Emily immediately, deliver this letter to her from me but make sure no one knows about it except for Emily. Oh, and give me your cell phone and tell Emily to call me on your phone."
"What in the world is going on?" Rinoa asked, her confusion increasing even more. "Skye, if you're in trouble, I really think you should go to the police. Or at least tell me or Alan or AJ what's going on."
"I'm not in trouble," Skye said resolutely. "I'm in charge, Rinoa, and I'm fine. But I need you to do these simple things for me, okay? Can you do it for me, Rinoa?"
Rinoa chewed her lower lip. She carefully studied Skye's demeanor and expression. Skye was desperate, despite her claims of the opposite. "Fine," Rinoa agreed. "I'll do it tomorrow morning." Her marathon viewing of her favorite soap was going to have to take a backseat as she now needed to go to sleep and prepare for her newest charade with the Quartermaines.
Gratefully, impulsively, Skye hugged her brother's sister. Skye's plans were officially still on track.
Now all she had to do was get Rinoa's cell phone, call Chris Stamp and tell him she had changed her mind. Roscoe had crossed the line when he had kidnapped the two children and then had one of them killed. Kids were innocent, and, like how she had disapproved of AJ's seduction of Courtney, Skye disapproved of what Roscoe had done to Michael and the other boy. AJ, she loved, Roscoe she despised but needed. AJ did not kill his "victim", but Roscoe had killed his. AJ had since learned the error of his ways and really did want a relationship with Courtney, but Roscoe hadn't learned a thing… not yet, at least.
The federal agents would have a field day with Roscoe and his men. She would get off scot-free. There was only one problem: Sonny.
Sonny probably wouldn't be destroyed anymore. But, undoubtedly, the man now felt empty now that he thought his adopted kid had died. He was probably in Hell right now, along with that witch Carly, and that could be considered a pretty good shot at revenge in itself.
But, even better, one day, the Corinthos's will find out that she had been the one who had saved little Michael. They would find out that she had been their angel, and they would be indebted to her. But that would come the day when Roscoe and his scummy men were in prison.