My Life Closed Twice
Chapter 32: It's Not The Fall That Kills You
Disclaimer: General Hospital and all its characters belong to ABC, Disney, etc.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my faithful beta reader. Please read and review!
I was brought back to the same study. Helena was still sitting at the desk. As soon as we came in Henchman 1 picked up a piece of rope and tied my hands. When he was done Helena dismissed the henchmen with a curt, "Attend to your duties."
When they were gone we just stared at each other.
"You are older then you should be," Helena finally said in a thoughtful voice. "I really hadn't meant to let you live this long."
"Am I supposed to be afraid? Threatened?" I asked.
"My dear, I don't threaten," she answered. "There is no point in saying anything you are not ready to follow through on."
"Then why am I still here?" I inquired politely.
"Because I thought you might be useful," she calmly answered.
"Little old me? I'm honored," I told her.
"You should be grateful. I didn't find your father so useful," she said.
She hadn't just said that. She REALLY hadn't just said that.
Helena smiled. "You didn't know? I know Natasha did."
I couldn't think. For the first time in my life I couldn't think. I could only feel and hate. I took one step toward Helena, then another. I don't know what I was going to do. I wanted to wipe that smile off her face.
Then she brought her hand up with a gun in it. "I would stop there if I were you. It would be a shame to leave a mess all over Nicholas' carpet."
"Why?" Was that really my voice?
"I wanted to give Natasha something special on the tenth anniversary of her sister's death," Helena said.
So that is what Anniversary Day is, a day of death. Helena was so calm. Dad didn't matter to her. He was just a pawn. "Have you cared about anyone you killed?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"I cared about your whore of a grandmother," she told me.
The door opened and Henchman 3 came in. "It's time," he announced.
"Don't dawdle now," Helena told me. She swept past me and out through the real door with her cane thumping every step of the way.
Henchman 3 grabbed my arm and we followed Helena out of the room. We went through the house and out the front door.
Just as we cleared the threshold, Henchman 1 came from around the corner. "There are people on the dock," he reported.
"Luke is as quick as ever," Helena said with a smile on her face.
"Sounds like my ride is here," I told her.
"No, I'm afraid I can't part with your company just yet," she told me. "Bring the others to the second location."
I took a deep breath while her back was turned. Then I felt a knife at my throat. Helena turned around, "I wouldn't suggest it if you want to have any hope of surviving tonight."
I glared at her. "You are just going to kill me tomorrow."
She smiled at me. "Ah but what is that quaint saying, 'tomorrow is another day'?"
With that we headed off around the corner of the house and through the woods. We came out of the woods into a small clearing near the edge of a cliff at the edge of the island. I could see the top of a rickety stairway going over the edge. I guessed it probably led down to a cove with a get- away boat.
That was when I heard the helicopter. For a minute I was sure that the helicopter was going to be her escape vehicle. Then I realized that the helicopter was worrying Helena. No, it wasn't in her plans. Jax! It had to be Jax.
"Do you really think you are getting away?" I asked her.
She ignored my comment. "Go see what is keeping the others," she ordered the henchman.
Helena trained the gun on me. "Let's continue, shall we?"
With my hands tied I doubted that I would be able to win an argument with her and her gun. I had no desire to experience a gunshot wound. My best tactic at this point was to delay long enough to get rescued. I hate playing the damsel in distress.
I dragged my feet as we headed toward the cliff in the most indirect route I could manage. When I got too far a field I got her cane shoved into my back. Still I managed to slow her down quite a bit and we ended up on the wrong side of the stair platform.
Then I heard it, the sound of people crashing through the woods with more speed then grace. While I hoped it was the sound of rescue, I hoped Helena would think it was her henchmen. No such luck. Some instinct prompted her to move me between herself and the woods with her gun clearly set against my temple.
Just a second too late Mr. Spencer and Mom burst through the edge of the woods. Mr. Spencer saw us first. He froze. It was the first time I had seen him completely still. Mom gasped when she caught sight of Helena and I standing at the edge of the cliff.
"Well darling, you look wonderful. Been keeping up with those exercises?" Mr. Spencer schmoozed.
"I always try to keep in good shape for our little games," Helena returned. Great I was standing here with a gun to my head and these two were flirting.
Mom was more direct. "Give me my daughter. You can have me."
"Why Natasha, it's good to hear your voice again. I had been informed you buried it with that husband of yours. What was his name again?" she said.
I saw the barb hit my mother. Everything in me wanted to tell the old battle-axe to leave Mom alone. However, every second she wasn't paying attention to me was a second closer to when she would forget about me and make a mistake.
"You don't get to say his name," Mom spat.
"Come on sweetheart, don't you want a private dance with just the two of us?" Mr. Spencer interrupted.
Just then, Uncle Stephan, Ms. Spencer, and Uncle Zander burst into the clearing. While it didn't startle Helena into removing the gun from my temple, it did get her to back us up a step.
As soon as the newcomers saw the situation Uncle Stephan half shoved Ms. Spencer behind him and Uncle Zander moved next to Mom.
Uncle Stephan was the first to speak. "There is no where for you to go, Mother. Just, let her go."
"Oh my poor pathetic son, you never were able to grasp even the most basic of my lessons," she answered. "Now stop right where you are Luke. You wouldn't want me to get nervous and shoot Natasha's little girl."
"Just trying to put some distance between me and Count Vlad," Mr. Spencer said.
"Yes, I have often whished for the same," Helena said sympathetically. Was she loosening her grip?
"Well at least he is better than Stavros," Mr. Spencer drawled. "This one does know how to walk down a staircase."
I could feel the waves of anger coming from her. Typical crazy maneuver to try and draw her fire.
"Stavros was a true prince, like his father before him. Stephan is just a mistake that tried to be one. He failed miserably," she spat.
"Yes, Stavros was a true prince. As I recall, Laura said he spent all his days hung over from his drinking binge the night before. If he hadn't taken his trip down the staircase his mistakes would have decimated that empire you are so proud of," Mr. Spencer sneered.
"The only mistake Stavros ever made was thinking that peasant girl was worthy of the honor he gave her. I fixed that mistake though," Helena snarled back.
I saw the hate shine from Mr. Spencer's eyes. The helicopter was getting closer. Its searchlight was casting strange shadows over the clearing. For a second I thought I even saw movement off to my right.
Then Mom captured all my attention. "You're right, Stavros was just like his father. He should have found a nice opera singer to settle down with."
No Mom! Don't turn yourself into a target. I could practically feel Helena trembling with rage.
"Mikkos was mine. Your mother should have remembered her place," Helena responded.
"She did know her place. It was with my sister and me. Right at the center of my father's heart," Mom said in the surest voice I had ever heard.
That did it. Time slowed down. I barely heard Helena's cry of rage. My attention was totally focused on the fact that her pistol was no longer pointed at my head. She was moving it to point at my mother. Moving it to shoot my mother. Her other arm was still trapping me against her.
I wasn't going to stand there and watch this woman who had taken both my grandmother and my father away from me shoot Mom. So I did the only thing I could do. I threw my entire body weight back against her.
It worked. Helena fell backwards over the edge of the cliff. The bad thing was that I went with her.
I heard a shot go off as we began to fall over the edge. I even heard some shouts from the group still left on the top of the cliff.
Helena lost her grip on her gun and me as we fell toward the water below. I just got one glance at her enraged face as we fell.
They say when you jump off a building you have time to think on the way down. I didn't think, I just prayed. Please let the shot miss Mom.
Then I hit the water and everything went black.
Chapter 32: It's Not The Fall That Kills You
Disclaimer: General Hospital and all its characters belong to ABC, Disney, etc.
Author's Notes: Thanks to my faithful beta reader. Please read and review!
I was brought back to the same study. Helena was still sitting at the desk. As soon as we came in Henchman 1 picked up a piece of rope and tied my hands. When he was done Helena dismissed the henchmen with a curt, "Attend to your duties."
When they were gone we just stared at each other.
"You are older then you should be," Helena finally said in a thoughtful voice. "I really hadn't meant to let you live this long."
"Am I supposed to be afraid? Threatened?" I asked.
"My dear, I don't threaten," she answered. "There is no point in saying anything you are not ready to follow through on."
"Then why am I still here?" I inquired politely.
"Because I thought you might be useful," she calmly answered.
"Little old me? I'm honored," I told her.
"You should be grateful. I didn't find your father so useful," she said.
She hadn't just said that. She REALLY hadn't just said that.
Helena smiled. "You didn't know? I know Natasha did."
I couldn't think. For the first time in my life I couldn't think. I could only feel and hate. I took one step toward Helena, then another. I don't know what I was going to do. I wanted to wipe that smile off her face.
Then she brought her hand up with a gun in it. "I would stop there if I were you. It would be a shame to leave a mess all over Nicholas' carpet."
"Why?" Was that really my voice?
"I wanted to give Natasha something special on the tenth anniversary of her sister's death," Helena said.
So that is what Anniversary Day is, a day of death. Helena was so calm. Dad didn't matter to her. He was just a pawn. "Have you cared about anyone you killed?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"I cared about your whore of a grandmother," she told me.
The door opened and Henchman 3 came in. "It's time," he announced.
"Don't dawdle now," Helena told me. She swept past me and out through the real door with her cane thumping every step of the way.
Henchman 3 grabbed my arm and we followed Helena out of the room. We went through the house and out the front door.
Just as we cleared the threshold, Henchman 1 came from around the corner. "There are people on the dock," he reported.
"Luke is as quick as ever," Helena said with a smile on her face.
"Sounds like my ride is here," I told her.
"No, I'm afraid I can't part with your company just yet," she told me. "Bring the others to the second location."
I took a deep breath while her back was turned. Then I felt a knife at my throat. Helena turned around, "I wouldn't suggest it if you want to have any hope of surviving tonight."
I glared at her. "You are just going to kill me tomorrow."
She smiled at me. "Ah but what is that quaint saying, 'tomorrow is another day'?"
With that we headed off around the corner of the house and through the woods. We came out of the woods into a small clearing near the edge of a cliff at the edge of the island. I could see the top of a rickety stairway going over the edge. I guessed it probably led down to a cove with a get- away boat.
That was when I heard the helicopter. For a minute I was sure that the helicopter was going to be her escape vehicle. Then I realized that the helicopter was worrying Helena. No, it wasn't in her plans. Jax! It had to be Jax.
"Do you really think you are getting away?" I asked her.
She ignored my comment. "Go see what is keeping the others," she ordered the henchman.
Helena trained the gun on me. "Let's continue, shall we?"
With my hands tied I doubted that I would be able to win an argument with her and her gun. I had no desire to experience a gunshot wound. My best tactic at this point was to delay long enough to get rescued. I hate playing the damsel in distress.
I dragged my feet as we headed toward the cliff in the most indirect route I could manage. When I got too far a field I got her cane shoved into my back. Still I managed to slow her down quite a bit and we ended up on the wrong side of the stair platform.
Then I heard it, the sound of people crashing through the woods with more speed then grace. While I hoped it was the sound of rescue, I hoped Helena would think it was her henchmen. No such luck. Some instinct prompted her to move me between herself and the woods with her gun clearly set against my temple.
Just a second too late Mr. Spencer and Mom burst through the edge of the woods. Mr. Spencer saw us first. He froze. It was the first time I had seen him completely still. Mom gasped when she caught sight of Helena and I standing at the edge of the cliff.
"Well darling, you look wonderful. Been keeping up with those exercises?" Mr. Spencer schmoozed.
"I always try to keep in good shape for our little games," Helena returned. Great I was standing here with a gun to my head and these two were flirting.
Mom was more direct. "Give me my daughter. You can have me."
"Why Natasha, it's good to hear your voice again. I had been informed you buried it with that husband of yours. What was his name again?" she said.
I saw the barb hit my mother. Everything in me wanted to tell the old battle-axe to leave Mom alone. However, every second she wasn't paying attention to me was a second closer to when she would forget about me and make a mistake.
"You don't get to say his name," Mom spat.
"Come on sweetheart, don't you want a private dance with just the two of us?" Mr. Spencer interrupted.
Just then, Uncle Stephan, Ms. Spencer, and Uncle Zander burst into the clearing. While it didn't startle Helena into removing the gun from my temple, it did get her to back us up a step.
As soon as the newcomers saw the situation Uncle Stephan half shoved Ms. Spencer behind him and Uncle Zander moved next to Mom.
Uncle Stephan was the first to speak. "There is no where for you to go, Mother. Just, let her go."
"Oh my poor pathetic son, you never were able to grasp even the most basic of my lessons," she answered. "Now stop right where you are Luke. You wouldn't want me to get nervous and shoot Natasha's little girl."
"Just trying to put some distance between me and Count Vlad," Mr. Spencer said.
"Yes, I have often whished for the same," Helena said sympathetically. Was she loosening her grip?
"Well at least he is better than Stavros," Mr. Spencer drawled. "This one does know how to walk down a staircase."
I could feel the waves of anger coming from her. Typical crazy maneuver to try and draw her fire.
"Stavros was a true prince, like his father before him. Stephan is just a mistake that tried to be one. He failed miserably," she spat.
"Yes, Stavros was a true prince. As I recall, Laura said he spent all his days hung over from his drinking binge the night before. If he hadn't taken his trip down the staircase his mistakes would have decimated that empire you are so proud of," Mr. Spencer sneered.
"The only mistake Stavros ever made was thinking that peasant girl was worthy of the honor he gave her. I fixed that mistake though," Helena snarled back.
I saw the hate shine from Mr. Spencer's eyes. The helicopter was getting closer. Its searchlight was casting strange shadows over the clearing. For a second I thought I even saw movement off to my right.
Then Mom captured all my attention. "You're right, Stavros was just like his father. He should have found a nice opera singer to settle down with."
No Mom! Don't turn yourself into a target. I could practically feel Helena trembling with rage.
"Mikkos was mine. Your mother should have remembered her place," Helena responded.
"She did know her place. It was with my sister and me. Right at the center of my father's heart," Mom said in the surest voice I had ever heard.
That did it. Time slowed down. I barely heard Helena's cry of rage. My attention was totally focused on the fact that her pistol was no longer pointed at my head. She was moving it to point at my mother. Moving it to shoot my mother. Her other arm was still trapping me against her.
I wasn't going to stand there and watch this woman who had taken both my grandmother and my father away from me shoot Mom. So I did the only thing I could do. I threw my entire body weight back against her.
It worked. Helena fell backwards over the edge of the cliff. The bad thing was that I went with her.
I heard a shot go off as we began to fall over the edge. I even heard some shouts from the group still left on the top of the cliff.
Helena lost her grip on her gun and me as we fell toward the water below. I just got one glance at her enraged face as we fell.
They say when you jump off a building you have time to think on the way down. I didn't think, I just prayed. Please let the shot miss Mom.
Then I hit the water and everything went black.