Chapter 7
Skye sank back into her rented limousine and let out a satisfied sigh. Her day had been very busy, but also very successful. At least so far. She chuckled as she recalled the scrambling around that had gone on at Espressive. She had conducted meeting after meeting to grill all the higher ups, and had dived quite extensively into their accounting system to look at their general ledger. Skye frowned as she remembered spotting a man at the office several times during the day, who seemed to intimidate people, but she had never been introduced to him. He looked slightly familiar. She wondered who he was, and if he was perhaps the key to this whole mess. If she saw him again tomorrow, she was going to get an introduction. Skye was almost at the bottom of this mystery, and she was determined to have it all cleared up tomorrow.
The limo pulled up to the curb of her hotel, and she stepped out. She was about to enter the lobby, when something tugged on her skirt. She looked down, and saw a little girl standing there, who looked very grubby. Skye wondered if she were homeless. The little girl said something in Italian. "Oh, sweetie, I'm afraid I don't understand you." The little girl started to walk away, indicating that Skye should follow her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the little girl into an alley nearby. Just as her instincts started to tell her that this wasn't a good idea, she was grabbed from behind, and the little girl took off running. Skye heard her assailant laugh in her ear. "I knew you'd fall for it. You may play at being the big corporate bitch, but you're a sucker for a small child."
The man pulled her deeper into the dark alley, and turned her around so that she could see him and the gun he was holding. She gasped as she recognized the man who had been skulking around Espressive all day. Suddenly the whole thing clicked in her brain. She remembered where she had seen him before – the newspaper. And she suddenly realized what his connection to this whole thing was. "Dawson," she whispered. He laughed. "Got it in one. You are very shrewd. Too shrewd. Your activities at my company today almost messed up all my plans. I've got news for you – you're not going to finish what you started. Unfortunately, you're going to become a statistic. One of those American tourists who ends up a victim of our famous brand of thieves and muggers." Skye strove to remain calm. "No, you don't have to kill me. I can just leave tomorrow, saying that I didn't find anything wrong. I'll even recommend that its probably best if Café Italiano doesn't sell Espressive. Then you can go about your business." Dawson laughed evily. "You think I'm stupid? You think I'm going to make a deal with you that you can easily break, when it would just be easier to kill you? Especially when I plan to have a bit of fun with you first." Dawson grabbed her neck and pulled her to him, smashing his lips against her as his gun dug into her ribs.
"Sorry to interrupt your little tete a tete." Dawson broke away from Skye and they both turned to see Sonny Corinthos standing there. He smiled cooly. "You know Dawson, I didn't think this was your style. Isnt it much better to romance your partner in a nice hotel room?" Dawson recovered from his shock quickly. "I should have known you would show up, Corinthos. This whole mess stinks of you. And don't you mean that she's your partner?" Sonny frowned, wondering what Dawson's game was. He had seen Dawson and Skye both go into the Espressive building that morning, albeit not together. Dawson left for the day, followed a half hour later by Skye. Sonny had observed her getting out of the limo, and follow the child into the alley. When he entered the alley, he saw Dawson kissing Skye, and felt a tidal wave of rage envelop him. "No, I meant what I said. And the only thing that stinks is your ability to do business without having it blow up in your face. Although I will say that it is pretty genius to make a savvy businesswoman like Skye your lover. With her on your side, maybe you won't screw up as much." Dawson laughed. "I'm sure you would love for me to hire her so she could infiltrate my organization." Sonny had had enough. "Quit playing games with me Dawson. I know perfectly well that you and Skye are in cahoots."
Skye had been quiet the whole time, hoping that Sonny would save her from this horrible man. But she suddenly realized that wasn't going to happen. "Sonny, no! I'm not in cahoots with him. Please, he's going to kill me!" Dawson brought the gun up and put it to her head. "Shut up! I need to think." Sonny wondered what was going on. Was this some sort of setup? Now that he had exposed their partnership, maybe they were desperate. Dawson continued, "So, what you're saying, Corinthos, is that you have nothing to do with this dame, and you think that she and I have something going on." Sonny narrowed his eyes. "That's right." Skye started to struggle. "No! That's wrong! Sonny, please!" Dawson dug the gun harder against the side of her head. "I said, shut up!" He turned his head back to Sonny. "So if that is truly what you believe, then you have no business being in this alley. You should just walk away, and let us get back to what we were doing." Dawson transferred the gun to her ribs again, and rubbed his lips against her neck. Skye appeared anguished, and she gazed at Sonny with a pleading look. Dawson looked back at Sonny, and said, "Well, Corinthos, whats it to be? You gonna leave us two lovebirds alone?"
Sonny realized that this situation was far more serious than he originally thought. If Skye was in league with Dawson, than this whole scenario was a setup that could easily lead to his death. But if it wasn't a set up, and he walked away, then Skye was the one who'd be dying – and very nastily at that. Sonny had no reason at all to trust Skye, yet if she really was innocent, then her death would be on his conscious. But if he did trust her, and she literally stabbed him in the back…
Sonny made his decision. He looked at Dawson, and smiled coldly. "You know, I think I'm bored here. Instead of standing in an alley trading barbs with you two pirahnas, I could be having dinner with a beautiful young woman named Antoinette. If I leave now, I think I can just about make that date with her. Goodbye." He turned around and left the alley. After a brief hesitation, Skye screamed after him. "You bastard! You dirty bastard! I knew you'd do this! You're scum…" Dawson put his hand over her mouth so no one could hear her. "Well, I guess its just you and me now." He put his gun in his pocket, and pulled her into an embrace. Skye struggled to free herself, as he started to pull her to the ground. Suddenly he made a small noise and slumped over her, unconscious. She looked up and saw Sonny standing there, holding his gun with the butt outward. He had knocked Dawson on the back of the head. Sonny tucked his gun into his holster, pulled Dawson off her, then helped her to her feet. She threw herself into his arms, and whispered in his ear. "I thought you were going to leave me. But you said Antoinette, and then I knew. Thank you so much, Sonny."
He turned her so that he was between her and Dawson's unconscious body, hoping that he wasn't going to regret his actions. There was still a chance that this was a setup. Then Sonny felt Skye flinch at the same time as he heard a noise behind him. The next few moments seemed to go in slow motion. He felt Skye's fingers slide down to where his gun was and pull it out. A hand grabbed Sonny's shoulder as Skye stepped back and pointed the gun at him. As he heard the gun go off, he thought of Michael, and hoped that Jax would be a good father. The sound of Skye screaming seemed to trigger a return back to the normal speed of time. He turned around and saw that Dawson was now lying on the ground, blood spurting out of a gunshot wound to his head.
Skye sank back into her rented limousine and let out a satisfied sigh. Her day had been very busy, but also very successful. At least so far. She chuckled as she recalled the scrambling around that had gone on at Espressive. She had conducted meeting after meeting to grill all the higher ups, and had dived quite extensively into their accounting system to look at their general ledger. Skye frowned as she remembered spotting a man at the office several times during the day, who seemed to intimidate people, but she had never been introduced to him. He looked slightly familiar. She wondered who he was, and if he was perhaps the key to this whole mess. If she saw him again tomorrow, she was going to get an introduction. Skye was almost at the bottom of this mystery, and she was determined to have it all cleared up tomorrow.
The limo pulled up to the curb of her hotel, and she stepped out. She was about to enter the lobby, when something tugged on her skirt. She looked down, and saw a little girl standing there, who looked very grubby. Skye wondered if she were homeless. The little girl said something in Italian. "Oh, sweetie, I'm afraid I don't understand you." The little girl started to walk away, indicating that Skye should follow her. Curiosity getting the better of her, she followed the little girl into an alley nearby. Just as her instincts started to tell her that this wasn't a good idea, she was grabbed from behind, and the little girl took off running. Skye heard her assailant laugh in her ear. "I knew you'd fall for it. You may play at being the big corporate bitch, but you're a sucker for a small child."
The man pulled her deeper into the dark alley, and turned her around so that she could see him and the gun he was holding. She gasped as she recognized the man who had been skulking around Espressive all day. Suddenly the whole thing clicked in her brain. She remembered where she had seen him before – the newspaper. And she suddenly realized what his connection to this whole thing was. "Dawson," she whispered. He laughed. "Got it in one. You are very shrewd. Too shrewd. Your activities at my company today almost messed up all my plans. I've got news for you – you're not going to finish what you started. Unfortunately, you're going to become a statistic. One of those American tourists who ends up a victim of our famous brand of thieves and muggers." Skye strove to remain calm. "No, you don't have to kill me. I can just leave tomorrow, saying that I didn't find anything wrong. I'll even recommend that its probably best if Café Italiano doesn't sell Espressive. Then you can go about your business." Dawson laughed evily. "You think I'm stupid? You think I'm going to make a deal with you that you can easily break, when it would just be easier to kill you? Especially when I plan to have a bit of fun with you first." Dawson grabbed her neck and pulled her to him, smashing his lips against her as his gun dug into her ribs.
"Sorry to interrupt your little tete a tete." Dawson broke away from Skye and they both turned to see Sonny Corinthos standing there. He smiled cooly. "You know Dawson, I didn't think this was your style. Isnt it much better to romance your partner in a nice hotel room?" Dawson recovered from his shock quickly. "I should have known you would show up, Corinthos. This whole mess stinks of you. And don't you mean that she's your partner?" Sonny frowned, wondering what Dawson's game was. He had seen Dawson and Skye both go into the Espressive building that morning, albeit not together. Dawson left for the day, followed a half hour later by Skye. Sonny had observed her getting out of the limo, and follow the child into the alley. When he entered the alley, he saw Dawson kissing Skye, and felt a tidal wave of rage envelop him. "No, I meant what I said. And the only thing that stinks is your ability to do business without having it blow up in your face. Although I will say that it is pretty genius to make a savvy businesswoman like Skye your lover. With her on your side, maybe you won't screw up as much." Dawson laughed. "I'm sure you would love for me to hire her so she could infiltrate my organization." Sonny had had enough. "Quit playing games with me Dawson. I know perfectly well that you and Skye are in cahoots."
Skye had been quiet the whole time, hoping that Sonny would save her from this horrible man. But she suddenly realized that wasn't going to happen. "Sonny, no! I'm not in cahoots with him. Please, he's going to kill me!" Dawson brought the gun up and put it to her head. "Shut up! I need to think." Sonny wondered what was going on. Was this some sort of setup? Now that he had exposed their partnership, maybe they were desperate. Dawson continued, "So, what you're saying, Corinthos, is that you have nothing to do with this dame, and you think that she and I have something going on." Sonny narrowed his eyes. "That's right." Skye started to struggle. "No! That's wrong! Sonny, please!" Dawson dug the gun harder against the side of her head. "I said, shut up!" He turned his head back to Sonny. "So if that is truly what you believe, then you have no business being in this alley. You should just walk away, and let us get back to what we were doing." Dawson transferred the gun to her ribs again, and rubbed his lips against her neck. Skye appeared anguished, and she gazed at Sonny with a pleading look. Dawson looked back at Sonny, and said, "Well, Corinthos, whats it to be? You gonna leave us two lovebirds alone?"
Sonny realized that this situation was far more serious than he originally thought. If Skye was in league with Dawson, than this whole scenario was a setup that could easily lead to his death. But if it wasn't a set up, and he walked away, then Skye was the one who'd be dying – and very nastily at that. Sonny had no reason at all to trust Skye, yet if she really was innocent, then her death would be on his conscious. But if he did trust her, and she literally stabbed him in the back…
Sonny made his decision. He looked at Dawson, and smiled coldly. "You know, I think I'm bored here. Instead of standing in an alley trading barbs with you two pirahnas, I could be having dinner with a beautiful young woman named Antoinette. If I leave now, I think I can just about make that date with her. Goodbye." He turned around and left the alley. After a brief hesitation, Skye screamed after him. "You bastard! You dirty bastard! I knew you'd do this! You're scum…" Dawson put his hand over her mouth so no one could hear her. "Well, I guess its just you and me now." He put his gun in his pocket, and pulled her into an embrace. Skye struggled to free herself, as he started to pull her to the ground. Suddenly he made a small noise and slumped over her, unconscious. She looked up and saw Sonny standing there, holding his gun with the butt outward. He had knocked Dawson on the back of the head. Sonny tucked his gun into his holster, pulled Dawson off her, then helped her to her feet. She threw herself into his arms, and whispered in his ear. "I thought you were going to leave me. But you said Antoinette, and then I knew. Thank you so much, Sonny."
He turned her so that he was between her and Dawson's unconscious body, hoping that he wasn't going to regret his actions. There was still a chance that this was a setup. Then Sonny felt Skye flinch at the same time as he heard a noise behind him. The next few moments seemed to go in slow motion. He felt Skye's fingers slide down to where his gun was and pull it out. A hand grabbed Sonny's shoulder as Skye stepped back and pointed the gun at him. As he heard the gun go off, he thought of Michael, and hoped that Jax would be a good father. The sound of Skye screaming seemed to trigger a return back to the normal speed of time. He turned around and saw that Dawson was now lying on the ground, blood spurting out of a gunshot wound to his head.
