Babble: I've been leading up to this chapter for awhile I can't wait to hear what you think of it. I really hope you like it and drop me a line. To all of those who regularly reply thanks a lot, it means more than you know.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Her Greatest Mistake

Innocence Lost

Chapter 11

~Penthouse~

Sonny closed his eyes and wearily leaned back against the couch. He was physically exhausted but his mind was wired. Memories were assailing him from all directions fueling his guilt, his anger, his fear. He smelled her perfume before she sat beside him, and he reached for her hand but kept his eyes closed.

Carly took his hand and kept quiet. She was surprised that he had reached out to her, but she was also relieved. She rested her head on his shoulder content with the silence.

"I keep thinking about Deke." Sonny's voice broke the quiet after a few minutes. "I know, I shouldn't be, Lucky is totally different them Deke, but I can't help it."

"It's only natural that you would Sonny. I think a part of him is always on the back of your mind." Sonny's biggest fear, besides her or Michael dying because of him, was of turning into Deke. He was smart man, he knew sometimes kids began to act like the adults who raised them. That terrified Sonny. It had taken her time to realize that, but once she had some of Sonny's behavior had made sense to her.

"I know, but Elizabeth isn't my mother and Lucky isn't Deke." He opened his eyes and stared blindly at the cold fireplace. "Do you know how strange it is for me to even think that Lucky is capable of this? I've known that kid for close to 8 years." He turned to look at her. "I'm sorry I forgot he's your cousin."

"It's okay we were never close, in fact until he started working at Deception I hardly ever spoke to him." She was quiet for a minute while she remembered. "Before the fire I had spoken to him on a few occasions, he was cocky, of course being Luke's son he had to be." She smiled wryly. "I always got the sense the few times I did see him that he was looking right through me, that he could smell whatever con I was pulling."

"Lucky was always sharp. He got in over his head a few times but he was always smart. Once not to long after Lulu was born, there was a problem at their house. Gunmen were trying to kill Luke and me. I grabbed Lucky and shielded him." One of the reasons he had always remained loyal to the Spencers even after Luke had turned on him, was because of that night. "He held it together pretty good. Now when I look at what he's done…"

"Don't," Carly interrupted him. "You saved him when he was a boy and you should have. You would never have forgiven yourself if you hadn't. What happened to change Lucky happened after the fire. You didn't know it would happen, no one did. You love to take the blame for things that can't possibly be your fault, but this time you can't do that." She tugged on his hand until he looked at her. "The Lucky that came back after the fire was different, he was a new person, he wasn't close to anyone anymore. He was angry and confused, he wasn't confident anymore. He wasn't the cousin I once knew, so I doubt he was the boy you knew, either."

"No." He had always been drawn to Lucky, most people were. The kid had been a livewire. But since his return he hadn't felt that, it seemed like Lucky had become a stranger.

They were quiet for awhile each trapped in their own thoughts. Carly knew she had to tell him the truth, she would never be able to live with herself if she didn't. "Sonny there's something you need to know."

Pete knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Zander Smith is here, and he's pretty upset."

Sonny ran a hand over his face. "Sorry." He told her before getting up and nodding at Pete to let him in.

"I'm sorry Sonny, but it's really important." Zander spoke as soon as he walked in. "I think something's happened to…" he broke off when he noticed Carly on the couch. "Am I interrupting?"

"No Zander." Grateful for the reprieve Carly got to her feet. "I'll be upstairs."

"Thanks Carly." Sonny smiled at her for a minute more before facing Zander again. "Now what's wrong?"

"It's Emily." Zander stepped by Sonny nervously running a hand through his hair. "We were supposed to meet last night, but she never showed up or called. Tammy said she ran out of Kelly's like someone was chasing her. I went to her house but she never came home, she didn't even call Reginald." He turned to face Sonny. "She always calls Reginald, he runs interference for her with the family. I can't reach Nikolas, Lucky and Elizabeth are out of town, and I can't find her anywhere. I know that it's been quiet with Sorel in jail, but I'm afraid something's happened to her."

With Jason's words ringing in his ears, along with Zander's worried ramblings, Sonny knew he had to make a decision. He had studied Zander while he was speaking, and all he could see was concern and love in his eyes when he spoke of Emily. It had taken time, but he had finally grown to like Zander, but that didn't make him blind to the fact that Zander was a hothead.

"Sonny can you help me find her?"

"Sit down Zander, I need to tell you something." Sonny moved to the table.

"Sonny…"

"Sit." Sonny snapped, when the boy had, he went on. "What I'm going to tell you does not leave this penthouse. And you will not go off half-cocked. You are going to be quiet and listen to what I have to say."

Zander nodded he knew from Sonny's tone it wasn't going to be good.

"Emily was hurt last night. Don't worry she's going to be okay." Sonny went on quickly when Zander paled. "Physically she will anyway, emotionally, she's going to need some help and that's where you come in."

Zander clenched his hands, anger was fighting for release, and it took all he had to battle it back. The words, Emily was hurt kept hitting him again, and again. "Who did it?" He needed to know who he was going to kill.

"Lucky." Sonny dropped the bomb and waited.

"That sonofabitch." Zander stood so fast the chair hit the floor. "How could he do that to her? He's supposed to be her best friend." He began to stalk the room, all the lectures Lucky had given to Emily about him, rang in his ears. He wanted to yell, he wanted to hit something. No he wanted to hit Lucky. Without being aware of it, he picked up a glass from the wetbar and threw it into the fireplace.

Sonny waved Pete off when he opened the door at the noise, and just watched Zander work off the worst of his temper.

Zander turned finally and saw Sonny watching him from the table, realization came crashing in and he set a glass down, before if joined the others. "I'm sorry, I was just mad."

"That's fine." Sonny dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. "I want you to let your anger out, I want you to yell, to scream, to break things, if you have too. I want you to get it all out of your system now." He lowered his voice and his dark eyes seemed to pierce Zander from across the room. "Because when you go upstairs and see her, you are not taking the anger with you."

Zander automatically looked towards the stairs.

"Zander."

Sonny's voice was low, but compelling and he focused on him again. "Yeah?"

"I mean it. When you see her, you're not going to go on about how you're going to kill Lucky. You're not going to say that you feel bad because you weren't there for her, when she needed you. You won't bring up the fact that her best friend shouldn't have done that to her." Sonny got to his feet and moved closer. "All of those dark thoughts running through your head, all those revenge fantasies, have no place here, and you're not going to let her see them."

Zander's eyes kept moving from Sonny to the stairs and back again. He could hear the words but it was hard to understand them.

"The only thing you will do when you see her, is what she wants you to do. You won't ask her questions but will listen to her. If she wants to talk, let her, if she wants to cry, let her, hold her hand or her if she needs it. As angry as you are at Lucky, you need to remember that he is her oldest friend."

At those words the worst of the anger drained from Zander. Sonny was right, vengeance didn't have any place around Emily, especially now.

"She is reeling, trying to deal with the fact that Lucky hurt her, that Lucky hurt Elizabeth, that he might have even killed Elizabeth in front of her." Sonny hammered his point home.

"Jesus, Elizabeth too?"

"Yes. I know how you feel Zander, nothing hurts worse then seeing someone you love in pain. I know you want to kill Lucky. But she doesn't have enough in her, to worry about what you're going to do. She's holding on by a thread as it is, and she needs you." Sonny shifted in front of him. "Don't make me regret telling you."

"How badly is she hurt?"

"The bruises on her face are the most noticeable, bruised ribs and wrist. She is in pain, but most of it is inside of her." Sonny held his place blocking Zander's approach to the stairs. "Can you do this?"

"Yes." Zander met his gaze and after a minute Sonny stepped back to let him pass. He paused on the stairs keeping his back to Sonny. "Lucky is going to be handled eventually right?"

Sonny thought of the boy, with the grin and the way he had sold earthworm farms as his first business. The brown-eyed boy who had convinced him to house and protect an oversized dog, in his apartment over Luke's, when Edward Quartermaine had wanted it destroyed. The boy who had sat beside him at a campfire, and hadn't even flinched when his father had pierced his ear. The boy who had asked Stone for help building his prized go-cart. And he closed his heart on the memory of that boy that was lost forever. "Yes."

~Kelly's~

Taggert paused on the steps leading down into the diner and waited while Garcia finished speaking with a lab tech. He was doing his best not to feel anything, only to concentrate on his job. He had been accused of being single-minded when it came to his work, and now he needed that. He needed that because even though he tried not to think about it, he was aware of every minute ticking off of his watch. Minutes of time until his mother arrived from New Jersey. His aunt had already told her about Gia, but he knew she was holding out hope until she saw Gia herself, and then the fall would be brutal.

He had been the picture of control as he searched the photography studio at Deception. Even though photos of his sister were hung everywhere he looked. The irony of the man who killed her being the one who "shot" her everyday was not lost on him.

He'd stayed in control when he'd searched Lucky's room as well. He knew that the instant it looked like he was losing it, he would be pulled from the investigation and he couldn't have that. He needed to be in the loop when it came to the hunt for Lucky, he needed to be the one who…. He felt the hate building in him and he battled it back, he had to stay in control.

"Ready Marcus?" Garcia asked from his side.

"Yeah." Taggert began descending the steps. "What was your take on the rooms?"

"I didn't like what we found in Elizabeth's, the bloody first aid kit, the locks, the knife."

"Hannah didn't have those locks." Taggert informed him. "And those scratches on the closet and bathroom doors weren't there when she lived there."

Garcia noted that then went on. "As bad as that was though, Lucky's room was worse, at least from a psychological standpoint."

"I knew this was coming." Taggert paused at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes sweeping the room.

Garcia didn't rise to the bait, he was a few credits shy of his criminal psych degree and the guys on the force ribbed him about it to no end. "Mock me if you want, but what the psychologists find in the rooms of assailants, normally tell the tale."

"So enlighten me."

"His room was too precise, anal." Garcia consulted his notes. "The socks and underwear were precisely an 1/8 of an inch apart, the bed was made with military corners. Even the two pieces of paper in the trash were folded into cubes before they were laid in the trash. The room was very ordered, nothing out of place. There wasn't even so much as a stray hair in his comb or brush."

"I noticed that." Taggert took a seat at the counter and watched Tammy move around the kitchen through the window. "That would make sense for me, but Lucky has a lot of hair."

"Exactly," warming to the subject, Garcia hurried on. "I rousted Lucky a few times at the boxcar. The kid wasn't a slob, but he was nothing like this."

"I know what you mean, the photo studio was the same way." He focused on Garcia. "So what are your conclusions?"

"Normally when a person is that ordered in their life, there is someplace else that they go, a secret place so to speak, where they let the anger out. Their rages would be extremely violent, their kills very messy." He trailed off remembering Gia too late.

"So he's probably got a hotspot somewhere else." Taggert kept his voice even by driving his nails into the palm of his hands. "That makes sense, his room would be to public of a place for him to let loose."

"Yeah."

"So where would that place be?" Taggert wondered aloud. "My bet is the boxcar, he's familiar with it, and its isolated.'

"I agree." Garcia got to his feet and noticed Tammy in the kitchen. "Did you get the feeling that Tammy was expecting us?"

Taggert studied the frizzy haired blonde. "You noticed that too?"

"Yeah, not that she will tell us anything. First rule of the streets, never talk to cops."

"Right." Taggert trailed Garcia out the door. "We should go by Elizabeth's studio first."

"You know we don't have a warrant to enter and search. The only reason we got into Elizabeth's room here was because Tammy let us." Garcia paused in the Courtyard. "And there has been no answer on her phone there."

"I know, but maybe we can find a reason to enter." Taggert headed for the docks.

Garcia let out a sigh and followed him.

Tammy watched them move towards the docks before heading to the phone.

~Penthouse~

"Sonny I need to tell you something." Carly spoke quickly before she could lose her nerve.

Sonny frowned at the look on her face. He knew that look it was a mixture of guilt, fear, and defiance, she always had it on her face when one of her plans was about to blow up or had just blown up in her face. "What did you do Carly?"

Carly shook her head, he knew her so well. "It's about Elizabeth." She broke off when the door opened and Jason walked in followed by Johnny. She took one look at his face and knew it was bad. "Are you okay Jase?"

Jason's hand tightened on the phone, and he focused on Sonny.

"What did you find?" Sonny asked.

Jason ignored the question. "I meant to ask you when was the last time you spoke to Elizabeth?"

Sonny heard the ice in Jason's voice and it worried him. "About a week ago at Kelly's. She was working when I had lunch with Benny."

"How about you Carly?" He turned to look at her.

Carly saw his eyes and knew it was too late to tell him first, he already knew. "I spoke to her last night."

~GH~

"I'm sorry Roy, but I'm waiting for a call, and with what happened to Audrey, there is no way I can get out of here early today." Bobbie sighed wearily and tugged at her earring.

"It's okay Bobbie." Roy pressed the phone closer to his ear, when a semi went past him.

"Look Tony got called into emergency surgery and I promised to give Betty a reprieve from the kids. I was going to take Lucas and Georgie to the carnival at the Park. Can you do it instead?" She looked at her watch it had been over an hour and Laura still hadn't called her.

"Sure. I'll have my cell with me, so when you want to meet us give me a call and I'll tell you where."

"Thanks Roy." Bobbie hung up quickly when someone caught her eye. "Kevin." She hurried around the nurse's desk and after him.

Kevin turned around and braced himself when he saw the determined look on her face. "Yes Bobbie?"

"What do you know about Lucky that makes you believe he would shoot Audrey?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential Bobbie. I can't discuss what happens in a therapy session without the patient's permission, you know that."

"Damn'it Kevin. Lucky is my nephew, and he's been accused of attempted murder. I had to turn him into the cops." Bobbie caught his arm when he turned away. "I need information."

This was the part of his job that he hated. But there was no way he would violate doctor/patient confidentiality. "I'm sorry Bobbie, I can't."

"God." She slapped a gurney in frustration. "Give me some help here."

"Have you heard from Luke?"

She blinked at the change of subject. "No."

"Maybe you should try to find him." His eyes held hers a beat longer then necessary trying to convey the message. "Maybe he can help you understand things." He began to walk away. "I'd find him if I were you."

"Big brother, what have you done now?" Bobbie wondered aloud.

~Penthouse~

"What?" Sonny cried. "Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

"Yes it's what I've been trying to tell you." Carly admitted before looking past him. "Jase?"

"What did she say?" Jason demanded his expression, cold.

"I didn't know who she was at first, she wouldn't give her name." Carly began slowly. "She asked to talk to Sonny but he was in the shower. I recognized her voice then, and I asked her why she was calling." She fidgeted again.

"What did she say Carly?" Sonny asked quietly.

"She begged me to get you for her," Carly admitted. "I didn't know. Sonny you know how I am, I demanded to know what she wanted, and then she hung up. That all she said I swear. She asked for you, and when I wanted to know why, she hung up." She clutched at Sonny's hand. "You believe me right?"

Sonny closed his eyes when he saw the plea in her brown eyes. This was quintessential Carly, her jealousy seemed to be the largest part of her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because we were going out." She hedged.

"Would you have told me at all if this hadn't happened?"

"Probably not, I would have just confronted Elizabeth today instead." She turned towards Jason. "I didn't know Jase. You know that right?"

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I was going to…"

"You waited until I already knew Carly." Jason interrupted her, holding up the phone. "The penthouse was the last number dialed by this phone. Do you know why she hung up so abruptly? What she was staring at while she was begging you to let her speak to Sonny?" He caught her arms, holding her in place when she tried to move away. "She was at the boxcar and she was staring at a dead girl that Lucky had beat to death."

Carly gasped and tears spilled from her eyes. "I didn't know."

"You didn't let her tell you. Your damn insecurity, your jealousy, wouldn't let you listen to her." Jason shook her lightly. "Why didn't you listen to her?"

"Jason." Sonny stepped closer. "Let her go."

"He covered the wall with pictures of her, and blood covered those pictures, and there was a brown-haired girl chained to the wall." Jason's eyes drifted off and his grip on her arms loosened. "I thought it was her, for a few horrifying minutes, I thought it was her, that I was too late and she was dead."

"Jason." Carly moved closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It wasn't her. Do you hear me, it wasn't her."

His arms tightened convulsively around her and he closed his eyes, for an instant he let himself bend, and he buried his face in her hair.

Sonny jerked his head in the direction of the table and Johnny trailed him over there, while Carly whispered to Jason. "How bad was it?"

"It was worse then Jason described." Johnny admitted tiredly, "I have no idea who the girl is, but I thought it was Elizabeth too. Sonny he tortured her to death."

"Christ." Sonny wasn't even surprised anymore.

"There's more." Johnny looked over at Jason then lowered his voice. "Lucky photographed her."

"That's what Jason said."

"No I mean he kept a record of the abuse."

Did he really think he couldn't be surprised? Sonny shook his head, he could and he could be sickened.

~GH~

"Bobbie, Laura's on line 2." Amy Vining called. "Hey let me talk to her when you're done."

Bobbie ignored her and grabbed the phone. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I don't like to be summoned Bobbie." Laura snapped. "I was out with Lulu, now what's wrong? You made it sound like it was life or death."

Bobbie closed her eyes and tried to hold onto her temper. Laura and her relationship had always been eventful at best, sometimes even hateful, but now wasn't the time for that. "You need to get back to town now."

"I can't just leave I'm in the middle of some very delicate negotiations."

"Laura I know this is hard for you to grasp but there are more important things then your damn company. And the world of Port Charles doesn't stop moving just because the Saint has left town." Bobbie all but snarled the words. "Get you ass on a plane and get back here." Years of animosity, along with the stress of the last several hours had caught up with her, and Laura was such an easy target to let it out on.

Laura felt her own temper begin to spike. "Bobbie what is your problem now?"

"It's your son Lucky, remember him?"

"Is he hurt?" Laura shot to her feet.

"No he's not hurt, at least not physically." Bobbie tried to bite back her temper. "But he needs your help."

"I'll be back in town on Tuesday."

"Laura he's wanted by the police, he shot Audrey Hardy in the back last night." Bobbie cried loudly, causing Amy to drop her clipboard in shock.

"No." Laura sank weakly back in her chair. "No he wouldn't do that."

"Audrey named him herself," she softened her tone. She hadn't wanted to tell Laura like that. "If you know how to reach Luke you better call him."

"I'll try." Laura hung up the phone. This had to be a mistake. Her little boy wasn't capable of shooting anyone, much less Audrey. Her mind unwillingly replayed a conversation she'd had with Luke right before he left town.

"I'm just asking you to keep a close eye on the Princess." Luke straddled the chair.

Laura couldn't help but see how uncomfortable he was in her office. "Luke I always do. Is there something you're not telling me? Is there a new problem?"

"More like an old one." Luke muttered.

"What?"

"Laura keep an eye on her and on Lucky. You need to keep a close eye on Lucky."

"Luke he's in therapy, I see him every day, he's getting better." Laura leaned over her desk, closer to him. "I know he's still pushing you away, but believe me, he's getting better."

"Angel, please promise that you'll watch him." Luke pressed.

Laura frowned, what had Luke known that he hadn't told her?

~Kelly's~

"Okay so where do you want to go now?" Roy asked keeping a firm grip on Georgie's hand while he worked on his ice cream cone. He had learned early on that Georgie was a lot like her mother. She tended to wander off as soon as something caught her eye.

"The boats."

"The bumper cars."

Both replies came at the same time and set off the inevitable argument between the kids over what to do first. Roy let out an exasperated sigh and broke into their complaints. "Well since Georgie chose last time, it's time for Lucas to choose. So that means the bumper cars, and then the boats."

Lucas grinned triumphantly at Georgie, and she stuck her tongue out at him in return. It was times like this that he was glad that Hannah had been an only child.

~Penthouse Upstairs~

"Do you want some more water?" Zander asked quietly.

"No." Emily kept her head on his chest. She was feeling safer now and for that she was glad. She had been surprised when Zander had walked in, and then relieved when he hadn't pressed her for details, or got mad at what had happened. She couldn't stand to be around anyone that was mad right now.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep?" He was grateful that Carly had warned him what she looked like before he had come in the room. That gave him time to prepare himself, because the marks on her face would have sent him over the edge.

"I can't sleep, every time I start too, I remember," she sighed. "And I don't want to remember, not yet anyway."

"Okay how about some distraction of the mindless sort then?" He asked moving carefully and picked up the TV remote.

"That sounds perfect." Emily stared at the TV while he began the manly art of flipping through the channels at a dizzying speed.

~Downstairs~

"Thanks Tammy." Johnny closed his phone and looked at Sonny "Taggert and Garcia just left there, they searched Elizabeth and Lucky's rooms."

"Damn." Sonny pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping we would have more time. I wonder how they caught on."

"Enough Carly." Jason's raised voice reached their ears.

"Jase…" Carly reached out to him again.

"I can't listen to you right now." Jason snapped. "I need to focus on finding her, I can't deal with you and your apologies, when we both know you could care less about her."

"Hold it." She yanked on his arm. "I never liked her that's true, but I never wanted her dead or beaten."

Jason wearily scrubbed a hand down his cheek. "I know that. But I can't be around you right now. I know you didn't want her hurt, that you didn't know what was going on, but she called for help and couldn't get past you."

"Jason." Sonny could see the pain in his wife's face and tried to intervene.

"Sonny the truth, if she told you Elizabeth was on the phone desperate to talk to you, and she wasn't there when you picked it up, you would have checked on her right?"

"Yes." Sonny admitted, noticing Carly's flinch out of the corner of his eye.

"That's what I can't handle. The log on the phone says she called here at 6:40, Emily didn't see Lucky attacking her until around 7:45 or 8:00, there was time to stop it."

"Jason don't second guess things, we can't change what happened. We need to look ahead." Sonny stepped closer. "She's still out there. We're not done yet."

Pete opened the door and whispered something to Johnny.

"Oh Christ." Johnny moved over to the entertainment center on the far wall. "There's something we need to see."

"This is Veronica Bowles of WLPC news with the latest in this breaking news report. As we all know the Fourth of July is a time of frivolity and fun, the joyous remembrance of our birth as a nation, and a celebration of that birth. Sadly though, at times it can also be a testimony to the violence of that birth as well." The overly made up, frosted blonde reporter, gestured to a street with well-manicured lawns behind her. "That violence found its way here to this upper middle class neighborhood."

"I know that house." Jason muttered.

"The violence found its way to the doorstep of Audrey Hardy, the widow of the late Chief of Staff of General Hospital, and Administrator of the nursing program there. The violence came in the form of an attacker who shot Mrs. Hardy in the back as she attempted to flee her home."

"That's Elizabeth's grandmother." Jason explained needlessly.

Carly couldn't help but remember how nice Audrey had once been to her. She had picked her for the physical therapy position over, Amy Vining. That kindness had changed once her and Tony had gotten together, but for awhile she had been real nice.

"Violence also occurred here." Veronica was now on a street in downtown Port Charles. "On Charles Street, a popular walk for lovers, to take in the view of the water, off the nearby docks. But last night someone had something else, besides the view on their minds. Calvert Rogers, a man who worked in the security field protecting the likes of Jason Morgan, Carly Corinthos and Sonny Corinthos, was brutally beaten to death here last night." The image on the screen shifted again and the little word LIVE appeared at the bottom of the screen.

Jason jolted when he recognized the house he used to live in.

~Upstairs~

"That's Nikolas' cottage." Emily sat up unmindful of the pain and her tears that had started when she'd heard about Audrey.

"Mockingbird Lane is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Port Charles, but even it's opulence couldn't shelter it from the violence of man. Or the sound of gunshots that shook this neighborhood earlier this morning. Gunshots that left Gia Campbell, the recently named Face of Deception model, dead at the age of 22."

"God." Emily gasped.

"It also left Prince Nikolas Cassadine who also lives here, seriously injured." Veronica gestured to the police cars that were still onscreen. "The police have let it be known that the same person is responsible for all of these crimes. Two murders and two attempted murders in the span of less then 18 hours. Killers like this could be called Spree killers. Spree killers are those who kill at random with no specific target in mind. However in this case the term would not apply." Veronica paused briefly trying to draw out the anticipation of her audience.

"In this case the assailant knew each one of his victims, in some cases extremely well. The police have admitted that an APB has been issued for Lucas Lorenzo Spencer, in connection with all of these attacks. You may remember Spencer from a story we did on him about 15 months ago when he returned from the dead…"

"Turn her off." Sonny ordered.

"We have to find Lucky before the cops do." Jason's focus was still on the now dark TV.

"I know." Sonny nodded. "Taggert is going to be all over this, Gia is…was his sister."

"Oh my God." Carly sank limply onto the couch. "I can't believe she's dead." Gia and her had clicked because they were both willing to do whatever they had too, to get the job done. It hadn't always been pretty between them, but they had definitely connected.

"I have to go." Jason headed for the door.

"Wait where are you going?" Sonny stepped in front of him.

"I need to leave, I have to move." Jason spoke haltingly. A feeling had come over him and it was difficult to ignore, he felt like was time running out.

Jason's normally clear eyes were a mixture of emotions and close to being wild. Sonny nodded. "I had Benny checking on her and Lucky's credit cards, he should have something for us by now."

"Let's go." Jason started for the door, only to come up short at Carly's voice.

"Jase…"

"Carly I can't right now." He kept his back to her. "Keep close to Emily." He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, with Johnny close on his heels.

"Sonny are we okay?" She moved over to her husband.

Sonny let out a heavy sigh. "We need to talk about this, but not now." He stepped away and her hand fell to her side. He paused in the door and everything that had happened in the past 12 hours hit him, and he turned around. Before she had a chance to speak she was in his arms and he was kissing her. "I love you and so does Jason, he just needs time."

"I love you too." She rubbed at the lipstick on his lips. "Watch him, he's close to the edge."

~Yacht~

"Lucky Spencer as he is known is 21 years old, roughly 5'9" with blondish-brown hair and what has been described as vacant blue eyes." A picture of Lucky popped up on the screen.

"Turn that insipid woman off." Helena ordered. "And get me a brandy."

"Yes Madame." Andreas hurried to comply. "Is there anything else you require?" He asked when he served her the drink.

"Yes the Spencer boy's head on a spike." Helena sipped at her drink. "His instability is costing me." She moved to her desk. "I don't like the fact that he broke, I wasn't done with him yet." She picked up a letter opener and tapped the sharp instrument thoughtfully in her hand.

Andreas blanched at the sight of the letter opener. He knew it was the same one she had used to slit his brother's throat.

"Lucky made a mistake by going after Nikolas. The rest I don't care about, but he hurt Nikolas and that is not allowed." She focused on Andreas. "I want him dead before the day is out."

~Penthouse Upstairs~

"Spencer is believed to be armed and is considered dangerous. If you see him you should not attempt to apprehend him on your own, but contact the authorities immediately." Veronica paused and another picture popped up on the screen. "The police have also put out a material witness warrant for this woman, Elizabeth Webber. Ms. Webber is Spencer's girlfriend and she was last seen yesterday afternoon around 4:00."

"Oh God I'm going to be sick." Emily cried out suddenly.

Zander moved quickly and helped her to the bathroom, holding back her hair, while she was sick.

"How did it happen Zander?" She asked weakly leaning against the cool surface.

"I don't know." He handed her a glass of water.

"He's hurt so many people," her voice was soft. "And yet a part of me is worried about him because he must be so lost, and in so much pain."

"That's just who you are baby. You care, your heart is so big, you can't stop loving him." He helped her to her feet.

"He's been in my life for so long." Emily closed her eyes and hardened her heart to the memories. "I need to go to the police."

~GH ER~

"Elizabeth Webber is the granddaughter of Audrey Hardy, one of the victims of Spencer's attack. Ms. Webber is 20 years old, she's 5'2" and approximately 115 lbs. Her eye color is brown sometimes blue…"

"I can't believe it." Dr. Karen Wexler turned away from the TV in disbelief. "I have known Lucky for years, and I don't even know how many times Elizabeth has waited on me."

"You can never tell when someone will snap. And from what I've heard of the Spencer's it's amazing he lasted as long as he did." Dr. Chris Ramsey straightened in his chair. "You better get ready."

"Why?"

"Nikolas Cassadine is one of the victims. His Uncle Stefan runs this place. I for one am going to be prepared when he shows up." He shot to his feet when the elevator doors opened. "Speak of the devil." He moved quickly towards the doors. "Mr. Cassadine your nephew is right over here."

Stefan barely spared him a glance. "Why was I not informed immediately when he arrived?"

"Well…" Chris began.

"There is a standard rule that if my nephew or my sister, are ever admitted I am to be notified immediately." Amy Vining of all people had informed him what had happened to Nikolas, the insult of that was enough to make him angry, if the attack hadn't already made him so.

"Mr. Cassadine." Karen spoke from his side. "He's been stabilized, as soon as we get his X-rays back he will be moved into a private room."

"How badly was he injured?"

"He has a severe concussion and a cut on the back of his head that required 21 stitches, but we have ruled out a skull fracture." She paused in front of a door. "Physically he will be fine, but it's his emotional well-being that concerns us."

Stefan nodded in dismissal and stepped inside the room, his eye fell on Nikolas lying on the narrow bed, and his heart filled. Nikolas was, in every way that mattered, his son, and no parent ever wanted their child to be hurt. Their relationship still hadn't recovered from him faking his death, but he couldn't stay away from him. He crossed to Nikolas and took his hand. "Oh Nikolas."

"Uncle." Nikolas opened his eyes, grateful for the distraction. The quiet of the hospital room was too loud in his head. "She's gone."

"I know Nikolas." He tightened his grip on his nephew's hand. "I'm so sorry."

"She wouldn't listen to me. I told her to run, but she wouldn't leave me." Nikolas' eyes filled. "Why wouldn't she leave me?"

"Miss Campbell loved you." The love he had turned a blind eye too for months, was, in hindsight, very obvious. "You don't walk away from someone you love when they are in trouble."

Alexis burst through the doors, and she sighed in relief when she saw Nikolas on the bed. She quickly crossed to his side and took his other hand. "Are you okay?"

"I don't think I'll ever be okay." Nikolas focused on her. "How do I make myself understand that my brother killed the woman I loved?"

"Lucky?" Alexis couldn't hide her surprise.

"He's gone Alexis, my brother is gone." Nikolas murmured. "You two taught me everything good in my life, how to love, how to laugh, to trust, to forgive, everything that was the best part of the Cassadine legacy. The only good part of being a Cassadine I learned from you two." He sighed heavily and went on. "Today I learned about the other side of the Cassadines. The side that hates'. that want's revenge, where vengeance means everything." Nikolas stared blindly at the ceiling, oblivious to the looks passing between Alexis and Stefan.

"I learned how to hate today," he focused on Alexis. "Helena finally taught me something. She taught me to hate. And I do. But not Lucky. I hate her. She's the one who did this, she's the one who killed my brother, and returned a shell of a boy that used to be him. She's the one who killed Gia, my love, and maybe Elizabeth too." Tears slipped from his eyes and he turned to Stefan. "Teach me how to handle the hate Father, because it is choking me."

"Oh my boy." Stefan pulled him into a hug.

Alexis was wiping her eyes when her cell rang. She stepped away from the bed. "Alexis Davis." Her voice was husky.

"Alexis its Zander."

"I really can't talk now."

"Wait don't hang up. It's Emily. She's going to the police about…, well it's complicated. She shouldn't go alone."

"I'll meet you there." Alexis said after a minute.

Stefan stepped away from a bed, when a nurse came in to check on Nikolas. "You're leaving now?"

"Nikolas and Gia weren't Lucky's only victims." Alexis explained briefly. "Tell him I'll be back soon."

"Alexis," Stefan stepped after her. "It's time to deal with Helena."

"I've been saying that for years."

~Docks~

"Isn't that your sister?" Jay Johnson asked pointing to some people who were getting into a boat.

Maxie Jones turned around to look, she squinted in the sun and saw her sister waving at her. "I don't think so." She turned back and smiled slightly at him, cocking her head to the side. She had been practicing that look, and she thought she looked pretty good when she did it.

"Maxie's ignoring you again." Lucas jeered.

"She's been like that ever since she got breasts." Georgie griped. "I'm never going to get them if it means I have to act like her."

Roy hid his laugh by starting the propeller on the boat. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Both kids cried in unison.

"Who's she talking too?' Lucas kept his eye on Maxie. He had always had a crush on her. But it seemed while he kept staying the same, she kept changing and getting older.

"Jaaaaaay." Georgie rolled her eyes. "The only reason she likes him is because he kind of looks like Lucky."

"Lucky Spencer?"

"Yeah you should hear her talk about him." She put her hands over her heart and began to blink rapidly. "He's so smart, and so talented, he taught me some chords on the guitar." She stuck a finger down her throat. "Gag me, I always thought he looked like Shaggy from Scooby Doo."

This time Roy couldn't hide his laugh and the kids joined in.

The next few minutes were the calmest of the day, Roy maneuvered closer to the docks to make the waves Georgie liked, on the second pass, the boat gave a sudden lurch and the engine died.

"You killed it." Lucas accused.

"I'll get it going." Roy pulled on the string but nothing happened, he yanked again. "I think were caught on something," he said while he peered over the side.

~Studio~

"Ohhh something stinks." Garcia commented when they reached the third floor.

Taggert looked past him to the studio door and saw a mess of dark bodies squirming by the door. "Man those suckers are big."

"And determined." Garcia said as the rats refused to move until they had almost reached the door. "Looks like someone forgot their ribs."

"Looks like probable cause." Taggert corrected his focus was the bloody handprint on the partially ajar door.

Garcia pulled out his gun and took up a position on the other side of the doorway. Then nodded at Taggert, they swept in through the door, Garcia going low, Taggert high, like they had done countless times before. The sunlight streamed through the windows, showing the room to be empty and destroyed.

"Looks like we found his hunting ground." Taggert muttered, before stiffening when he saw the closed closet door. He tapped Garcia on the shoulder and pointed at the door. Garcia nodded and they carefully made their way through the destruction on the floor. They followed the same drill as before, but this time they both groaned as the odor hit them.

"Jesus what died?" Taggert asked.

"I don't know, but its in there," Garcia gestured to a bag on the floor.

"Open it."

"We can't it needs to be photographed first."

"Why we know who did this, so open the damned bag." The frustration was building inside of Taggert.

"Don't assume." Garcia shot back. "Just wait, I'll get the lab techs over here."

"Fuck that." Taggert reached for the bag and Garcia stopped him.

"Don't lose it now." Garcia could see the temper and the grief in Taggert's eyes. It had been there ever since he had seen Gia, and he made up his mind. "I have a camera, let me shoot it first." He pulled a one-time use camera from his pocket.

Taggert took a deep breath, he needed to stay focused or he would be yanked off the case. He tried to focus on something else. "Why are you carrying around a camera?"

"I was meeting Lily later on, we were going to the concert and then watch the fireworks." Garcia answered without thinking.

"Wait Lily? You mean Lily the dispatcher?"

Garcia closed his eyes, he should have kept his mouth shut. "Yes." He put the camera away and worked on the knot on the bag.

"Brave man, don't you know her old man is psycho?" Psycho the word had a whole new meaning for him now.

"Her and Al are divorced." Garcia defended himself. "That's sick." He cried when he looked in the bag. "It's a decapitated cat."

Taggert sagged against the wall in relief. He had been afraid that something human was in there.

"Call Whitey and get him over here." Taggert ordered carelessly, heading for the door.

"Where to now?" Garcia asked wiping his hands on his handkerchief.

"The boxcar."

~Docks~

"Come on Roy." Georgie was coming close to pouting. Not only were they stuck on a dumb boat, on the hottest day of the year, but they were stuck in hearing range of her stupid sister, while she tried to flirt with a boy.

"Yeah put your back into it." Lucas joined in.

"Thanks." Maxie took the snowcone from Jay. She was going to have to be careful not to get anything on her shirt. Besides not wanting to look like a geek, it was her mother's shirt, and she didn't know she had borrowed it. It was really Felicia's fault if something did happen to it though. Felicia was the one that insisted in buying her clothes from the teen stores in the mall.

"Hey looks like your sister is stuck." Cara pointed over Maxie's shoulder, at the trio in the boat. The foursome on the dock moved closer to the edge to check it out.

"Come on Roy." Lucas hissed. He wished his dad were here, he would know how to start a stupid boat.

"Need some help sir?" Jay called down.

Roy heard the faint mocking tone and hid his grimace. "No I've almost got it." He yanked hard on the string and something gave below the water, he sprawled back into the boat as the engine sputtered to life, the boat rocked as a thudding sound came from the water, then began to whine, and smoke poured from it before it died again.

"Oh my god." Cara screamed and turned away from the water.

Georgie looked past Roy and into the water beyond him, and screamed as well.

Maxie's eyes were locked on the white hand that was breaking the water, and the blood surrounding it as the top of someone's head bobbed to the surface. The snowcone slipped from her hand, hitting her shirt, before falling to the ground, taking her innocence with it.

~Limo~

"Did you check who else she called?" Sonny broke the silence in the limo.

Jason had been staring at the phone in his hand for so long, it took him a minute to answer the question. "No." He opened it and checked her stored numbers. He was surprised that his cell number was at the top of the list. There were several other names that he recognized. The last number had no name beside it, and he didn't recognize it. "Johnny dial 212-555-2161."

Johnny did as he was told. "Sorry wrong number." He said when it was answered. "It's Dr. Kevin Collins' office."

Jason filed that away for future reference and hit a few more buttons. The phone had the feature that allowed you to see the phone history for two days. "God." The phone clattered to the floorboards.

"What?" Sonny retrieved the phone and checked the display.

"She called my cell 18 times in the past two days." Jason explained. "But that cell only works when I'm in the country, and I wasn't."

Sonny flinched he was the reason Jason had been out of the country. "Do you check the voicemail?"

"I don't even bring it with me," his voice was rough. "It's at the compound in Florida. The only phone I take with me when I'm working is the one you gave me. I always thought if someone else needed to reach me they could go through you." 18 times in two days. Why hadn't he given her the number to the phone he always carried?

"Don't go there." Sonny hissed. "Stay focused."

The limo came to a halt and Johnny got out first, followed by Sonny then Jason.

Johnny noticed a large crowd on the docks by Bannister's Wharf. "Hey Dean what's going on?" He called when he recognized the big man walking towards them.

"Some kids found a body." Dean Gagal explained. "It was wrapped up in something and thrown in the river, a boat's propeller caught it. It's pretty gruesome, there's blood and body parts in the water."

Jason's focus was on the outline of Elizabeth's building. It was so close to the docks and had an unobstructed view of the warehouse. That was one of the reasons he had wanted to stay there.

"She was wrapped in something and carried from the room."

His eye moved to the crowd on the docks and he moved closer.

"Some kids found a body."

"Jason?" Sonny trailed him in concern.

"Carried from the room."

He began to walk quickly.

"Wrapped in something."

Jason began to run, he pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the front. One man turned to say something, but stopped when he saw the look on his face. He watched as first one rescue diver appeared at the top of the stairs and then another one. They turned back one on each side of the ladder and began to pull something up on the dock.

He didn't feel anything but recognition when he saw the red throw that she had used to cover her couch, and the brown hair what peeked through the top of the rolled cover produced no response either.

He felt someone move up beside him on his right but he kept his eyes on the docks and the scene unfolding before him. He couldn't seem to hear anything, his world had come down to a hideous red throw that was being laid out about 8 feet in front of him.

The last diver stumbled coming off of the ladder and dropped his end of the throw. The action caused it to unfurl slightly and a pale white hand and arm emerged from the throw and flopped on the dock.

Jason's eyes locked on the arm, and all the air left him in a whoosh.

~November 1999~

"Come on please, please." Elizabeth's voice came from behind the counter when Jason entered Kelly's but he couldn't see her anywhere.

"God please."

He could hear the tears in her voice and hurried around the counter, she was lying under the low sink that was used to wash glasses, her focus was a wrench that she was using to try to loosen a pipe. "Elizabeth?"

Her eyes whipped over to him and he could see the tears in them. "Jason I can't get it."

He crouched beside her. "Get what?"

"My ring it's…" she yanked on the wrench again. "It's in here and I can't get it. Lucky gave me that ring." She set to work on the pipe again but it wouldn't budge.

"Let me." His hands brushed hers from the wrench and she moved out of his way.

"It just slipped off. I was washing the cups and it was gone. It has to be there Jason, it has to be. I don't take it off, Lucky gave it to me, I can't lose it."

He could hear the edge of hysteria in her voice and looked up at her. "I promise I'll find it."

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

He applied more torque to the wrench and the pipe gave, he eased the pipe down and only a small stream of water dripped from it. She had remembered to turn the water off at least. He examined the trap and saw a small glimmer of gold, he stuck his finger in the end and drew it out slowly. "Got it."

"Give it to me," she reached out and took it from his hand. She rubbed at it with a towel, then put it back on her finger. Once it was on her finger she collapsed on the floor in relief. "Thank you."

"No problem." He tightened the pipe back in place and gave her a minute to get control, while he got to his feet.

"Well," she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "You deserve a reward. Whatever you want it's on me. In fact I'll go one better, it's on me, and I won't cook it."

Jason laughed and dried his hands on a towel. "You better turn on the water."

"Okay." She disappeared into the kitchen but kept talking. "I realize I probably sounded a little frantic but the ring means so much to me." She entered the room again. "I know it doesn't look fancy but it is special."

"Elizabeth." He cut her explanations off. "It's from Lucky, I know what that means to you."

"You know for the past 45 minutes, since I knew it was missing, it was the first time that I'd ever been without it since he gave it to me." She frowned down at her hand. "I can't imagine ever not wearing it."

"Who says you can't wear it?"

"No one really. It just sometimes people look to see if I'm still wearing it. Like it's a test, once I stop wearing it, it means I'm done mourning."

"That doesn't seem right." Jason shifted on the stool.

"I know. I'm no where near ready to let go of Lucky. I wouldn't even know how too. But Lee one of the other waitresses, was trying to fix me up with a friend of hers earlier today. She said I should leave the trinkets at home though." She twisted the towel in her hands.

He could see the pain the remark had cause her. "I don't get the big reliance on material things, but I don't think the ring is a trinket." He shrugged and went on. "Isn't it more like a symbol of the love you shared with Lucky?"

"Yeah to me it is. But it made me wonder. People think I should start dating again, if I were to do that, how likely is it that the guy will understand why this jewelry means so much to me?" She looked down at the ring on her finger. "Older people dismiss it as a promise made by two kids, like it doesn't mean that much. But Lucky's my only love so it does."

"Robin has this ring, it's an old fashioned kind, it has a picture on it, I don't know what they're called."

"A cameo ring?"

"Yes. Anyway Robin always wore that ring, it was from Stone her first love, who had died. It never bothered me to see it on her finger. Because she loved Stone, she was able to eventually love me too. So I had no problem with her remembering that love with symbols, or in her heart. That's just who she was." He was a little surprised to realize how easy it was for him to discuss Robin now. Her memory didn't hurt him the way it once had.

"That might be who you are too." She leaned on the counter and tentatively touched his hand. "Thanks."

"I just loosened a pipe." He tried to dismiss her gratitude.

"No you did a lot more than that. Thanks to you I can wear my ring and my kidnapping bracelet…"

"What?" He interrupted her. "Your kidnapping bracelet?"

"That's what Lucky called it." She said with a soft smile holding up her left hand to show the bracelet. He recognized it as one she always wore.

"Lucky gave it to me on my birthday, the clasp broke, and I lost it on the docks. I of course wigged out, when I saw it was missing and he went to look for it. This was when he wasn't speaking to his parents," her smile faded. "Luke 'kidnapped' him to try to work things out. Anyway, once he came back he gave me my bracelet and called it the kidnapping bracelet."

"That sounds like Lucky." He thought that was a good memory to have.

"Yeah." She scrubbed at the counter and changed the subject. "So what are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"I haven't really thought about it." To him it was just another day, he still didn't see the point in all of these holidays. "Maybe I'll see Sonny," he frowned at that thought. Sonny was still stringing Hannah along trying to trick her, and he knew Mike would be there, it wouldn't be a good scene.

"Well you could always have pizza with the Q's."

He frowned at her.

"Don't look at me like that. Emily said you tried to bring them a turkey once, she said it looked pretty good until the robbers knocked it from you." She teased him with a smile.

"That's why I will never understand that family." He leaned over the counter and shook his head. "One of them sends robbers, to clean the place out on Thanksgiving, and the Quartermaines, argue over what their going to give them, their trying to get rid of stuff they hate."

Elizabeth laughed. "Well their unique."

"I guess." Jason got to his feet he wasn't hungry anymore.

"Jason tomorrow were opening at 4:00 to feed the homeless and people who don't have anywhere to go. Why don't you come by?"

"Won't you be at your grandmothers?"

"By 4:00 I'll be dying for a reprieve." She said with a groan. "So come by, and I'll give you a traditional desert. Brownies."

He looked at her in surprise. "I thought pumpkin pie was the traditional desert."

"Not when I'm cooking. Trust me I'm doing you a favor. Brownies are the only thing I can make." She warned him.

"We'll see." He stepped back from the counter only to stop when she reached out and touched his arm.

"I really hope you do, but if not, Happy Thanksgiving Jason."

He looked down at her hand on his arm then back at her. "Happy Thanksgiving Elizabeth."

"Jason." Sonny touched his arm trying to get his attention.

Sounds seemed to crash into him all at once. He could hear the excited chattering of the people beside him, and the squawk from the police radios, he could even hear the sound of the water as it lapped the dock.

The sunlight sparkled off the bracelet that was on the arm of the left hand that was on the dock, and it caused his eyes to water. A diver picked up her arm to move it back out of sight, and he caught a glimpse of a ring on her hand.