Babble: So either my sporadic posting efforts, or my no talented writing has spooked all of my readers away.
Sigh
I think I'm going to cry.
Well to those who actually did and do read my work, I hope this part might clear up any questions you have as to my little twist in the last part. There's only one part left if anyone is still interested.
Happy Holidays to all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Quagmire
Part X
~General Hospital~
"So whom does that leave us with?" Nikolas asked. Like Jason he had been counting on Dr. Ramsey being the stalker. No other names had been mentioned, so he had no idea where to go from here. Judging from Jason's expression, he didn't know either, and that terrified him.
Taggert stepped away from a coughing and complaining Dr. Ramsey. "We still have the nurse, she's trying to identify the orderly who gave her the fake note from Audrey Hardy. The only problem is the nurse is new to the hospital, and there are several hundred employees to choose from, she's going through the photos now."
"Photos won't mean a damn if the guy never worked here at all and was just dressed like an orderly," Jason pointed out coldly.
"We are prepared for that, a sketch artist has been placed on alert," Detective Capelli answered with a glare at the mobster. Why Taggert was letting Morgan hang around at all was beyond him, but he knew he didn't like it.
"I'm suing," Chris managed to get the words out of his bruised throat. "You are a menace," he glared at Jason.
"Do you really want to do that Dr. Ramsey?" Nikolas asked casually. "This was a unique situation, stress leads people to behave in ways they normally wouldn't. I don't think they should be punished for that."
Chris thought about retorting then realized whom he'd be mouthing off too. Since Helena and Stefan Cassadine had left the hospital board, Nikolas Cassadine was the head person at the hospital. Everyone knew he was the one who funded most of the hospital research grants, not to mention underwriting certain programs. Nikolas Cassadine would be a good person to have owe him a favor, in the future. Chris nodded. "I suppose your right."
Nikolas nodded and turned away. He wasn't sure why he had just stepped in to help Jason Morgan. It wasn't that he had consciously planned to do it, he was as surprised as anyone when the words came out of his mouth. But he'd done it, and judging from the calculation he saw in the doctor's eyes, this little favor may come back to haunt him at some point. He met Jason's steely gaze, shrugged, and Jason turned away.
"Detective?" A dark-haired nurse entered the waiting room and came to a quick halt when she spied a glowering Jason.
Detective Capelli quickly crossed over to her. "Nurse Barty, did you find something?"
"Uh," her eyes stayed on Jason who had moved closer, and she couldn't help remember how scary he had been the day before.
Realizing the problem Nikolas stepped in front of Jason stopping his advance, and smiled at the nurse. "Nurse Barty it's so nice to see you again."
The nurse nodded, breathing a little easier she focused on the Detective. "I found the orderly who gave me the message yesterday."
"Good," Capelli pulled out his notepad. "What's his name?"
"It's Brad," the nurse gestured behind her. "I didn't find his picture I saw him walk by the staff room, so I brought him up here."
Several pairs of eyes turned to focus on the young looking orderly with dreadlocks, earrings, and tattoos that were visible under the green sleeves of his scrubs. Comfortable with being stared at Brad merely grinned and offered a flippant. "Hey."
Taggert jerked his head and Capelli moved to the nurse and began guiding her away, while he closed the distance on the orderly. "I want to talk to you about a message you delivered yesterday."
"Dude I deliver a lot of messages," Brad answered in a bored voice. "You're going to have to be more specific."
Jason recognized the sarcastic attitude of the orderly. It was one that a lot of their young runners had with the police, not to mention everyone else, and he had no time for it. Moving around Nikolas he came to a stop beside Taggert.
Brad's eyes widened in recognition and his expression lost the amused look. "Which message?" He asked seriously, all flippancy gone.
"I need to know about the ones you gave to Nurse Barty yesterday, especially the one that was for Elizabeth Webber, and was supposedly from Audrey Hardy."
"Elizabeth Webber?" Brad began to wilt under the cold gaze of Jason Morgan, and barely restrained the urge to wipe the sudden moisture from his brow. Racking his brain he tried to remember the message they were talking about.
"Yes you included a description of her, when you gave the nurse the message," Taggert prompted. Since he had no choice he had decided to use Jason's silent intimidator routine, he took a slight step back, so Jason was the orderly's primary focus.
Brad was busily wishing he had taken that extra perocet pill his roomie had offered him that morning, it would have definitely taken the edge off. "I gave her messages from administration, from ER, from…" he trailed off. "You know yesterday was a long time ago."
"Brad let's take a walk," Taggert took the orderly's arm, pulled him onto his feet and led him out of earshot of the others. "Listen you little pothead piece of shit. You're going to focus for me, your going push all those dead brain cells in your head out of the way and you're going to remember who gave you the message."
"What pot?" Brad asked lamely and Taggert squeezed his arm until he yelped.
"You reek of pot man, pot and I don't want to know what else, and I don't have time for you to come down off of your high, so this is what you're going to do. You're going to tell me what I want to know. Because if you don't I'm going to let that man over there, talk to you, all by himself," he jerked his head in Jason's direction. "He just got done talking to the doctor over there," he jerked his head at Chris, who was still rubbing his red throat. "Am I making myself clear?"
Paling Brad nodded and began to move back into the room. "You said I included a description?"
"Petite, brown hair, blue eyes, really pretty," Taggert repeated the message. "Wearing a gray coat."
"Oh her," Brad nodded as the memory finally came.
"Who gave you the description?" Taggert asked.
"It was that doctor, the one who's always in a bad mood and yelling at people." Brad tugged on one of his dred's in a nervous habit.
"A lot of doctor's fit that description," Chris couldn't help but point out.
"I know, you do," Brad retorted. "He's an old guy, fat, hums a lot. He's always in scrubs, so maybe he's a surgeon?"
Part of that description triggered Chris' memory. "Do you mean Dr. Jones?"
"Jones," Brad snapped his fingers. "That's the dude. He caught me on 8 and gave me some films to take back to radiology, then told me to deliver this envelope to 6, for some old lady who couldn't do it. He gave me the description. I remember thinking she sounded like a Betty."
"Get me a picture of Tony Jones, just to be sure," Taggert ordered Capelli, who nodded and withdrew.
Tony Jones, the name reverberated in Jason's brain. Turning his back on the group he moved to the window and tried to piece things together. Tony Jones was someone he was always aware of peripherally, because of what he'd done to Michael, to Carly, to Robin. But other than that he barely paid the man any attention at all. When was the last time he'd seen Tony?
"Another one of your victims Jason?" Tony demanded loudly. "They seem to keep getting younger and more innocent. You won't stop until you destroy everyone's lives will you?"
"Tony," Bobbie whirled on him in warning.
"Do you ever not whine? Since I've met you, or rather since I met Lucky, he's told me about how you blamed everyone else for what you did. So do you ever not whine?" Elizabeth asked the doctor.
Tony's mouth dropped open in surprise.
"I mean you kidnapped two people and were never punished for it, I'd think you'd be grateful instead of whining all the time." Elizabeth went on.
"We better go," Jason took her arm trying to lead her away.
"Think about it Jason, the only reason he's alive at all is because you let him live, you'd think he'd get a clue," Elizabeth continued. "Are you sure he's a neuron, a nucleo, a surgeon? I thought doctor's were supposed to be smart," she eyed her doctor. "Aren't they?"
"I always thought so," Chris Ramsey agreed.
"That's what I thought. Whoa," she giggled when Jason put his arm around her waist and forced her to move. "Bye-Bye."
Remembering the exchange now he could remember the brief flash of hate that had appeared in Tony's eyes.
"You know the reason I was in surgery yesterday when Elizabeth was being chased in the morgue, was because Dr. Jones said he was sick," Chris pointed out.
"Why would he do this?" Nikolas asked.
Nikolas' question sparked more memories in Jason. The messages that Elizabeth had received, had been focused solely on her, until he had been around her. Once he was the messages had changed, they were still keyed on her, but they also mentioned his hate of Jason.
"You need to stay away from Jason though. I tolerated your dalliance with Lucky but I won't with him. You're mine Elizabeth, from the minute you put on your harlot's dress you became mine. Now remember … not a word … about this to anyone."
***
"I warned you about Jason didn't I? But you didn't listen to me. You are just a slut. I'll bet your spreading your legs for him right now. I won't have that Elizabeth. You need to be punished. You will be punished."
***
"You're wearing his clothes? What did the thug tear yours off of you? I didn't break you in to let Jason Morgan have you. You will regret this Elizabeth."
***
"I don't know how much plainer I have to be, before it sinks into that stupid brain of yours. I've told you repeatedly to stay away from Jason, yet you continually ignore me. I can't have that. You need to be taught a lesson."
***
"I only wanted to get Jason, but look how many other people I hurt, or I should say you hurt. It's all your fault. If you had just followed the rules I wouldn't have had to hurt anybody. Maybe you're the brain damaged one. I know you're with him still. You never learn do you?"
***
"I'm so disappointed in you Elizabeth I thought you cared about people. But your actions continually convince me that you don't. I'll give you one more chance. Make Jason leave, and I won't hurt anyone else. But if you stay with him, you'll regret it."
"The messages," Jason met Taggert's eyes and the cop nodded, he'd come to the same conclusion. "Tony hates me."
"Yes that was the guy who gave me the message," Brad confirmed it by pointing at a picture of Tony Jones.
"Where is Tony Jones now?" Taggert asked. "We need to page him." Capelli nodded and disappeared again.
"He's on vacation," Chris stood up. "I spoke to him about 2 hours ago, by the nurses' station. He was giving me the final rundown on some of his patients. He's gone for 2 weeks, I don't know where."
"Bobbie ate the chocolates, and Lucas was there, his son was there, when you brought in the chocolates," Nikolas pointed out. "He wouldn't have poisoned them would he?"
"Lucas is a diabetic, he wouldn't eat the chocolate no matter what," Jason answered simply.
"Dr. Jones has already left the hospital," Capelli confirmed. "He's going out of the country and was supposed to call in a number once he reached his destination."
"Would Tony have snatched Elizabeth to punish you?" Nikolas asked then immediately shook his head. "But how would he have known about her history?" He lowered his voice. "Bobbie knew of course, but her and Tony were divorced and weren't even speaking when Elizabeth was attacked."
"No," Jason disagreed. "They were divorced but they were still talking. Bobbie didn't shut Tony out until he kidnapped Michael."
"He did that to punish you and Carly didn't he?" Nikolas remembered a day in the park when his lunch with Robin had went bad because of Dr. Jones.
"How is Carly?" Chris perked up at the mention of the blonde. "I saw her go racing out of here, a few hours ago. I tried to stop her, but she took off down the stairs."
"When was this?" Jason began to get an uneasy feeling.
"The same time I was talking to Dr. Jones, I saw her run for the stairs just after Tony got on the elevator to leave," Chris explained.
"You don't think," Nikolas began.
"Jason," a slightly out of breath Francis Carnivale moved into the waiting room and headed directly for his boss. "Sonny's been trying to reach you."
"I don't have time…"
"It's about Tom Baker," Francis interrupted Jason. "He had Benny doing some deep checks on Baker, he found out that someone has been paying Baker $500 a month for years now, ever since he went to Pentonville."
"Who?" Jason asked even though he had an idea who it was.
Francis looked past him to Taggert who was listening. "Jason?"
"Who?" Jason repeated.
"Tony Jones. He's been paying Baker $500 a month for years now," Francis admitted in a rush.
Taggert turned to Capelli. "Place an APB on Tony Jones and get me an address." He turned back around but Jason, Nikolas and Francis were already halfway to the stairs.
"You know you might need a doctor," Chris pointed out.
"Then you better come along," Taggert hurried for the elevator.
Chris' gossip instincts and insatiable curiosity was humming so he followed the police to the elevator. If Jones was out of rotation in Neurosurgery, that could only help his career as well. He began to hum, then thought of Tony, and stopped, deciding to grin instead.
~*~*~*~*~
Jason led the way out of the stairwell, the phone that he'd turned off out of habit when he'd entered the hospital, was in his hand and on. "I need an address for Tony Jones." He announced and opened the doors that led to the street.
"I already got it," Francis ran around to the driver's seat and got inside the Durango. "Sonny wanted you to call him."
Nodding Jason got in the truck, the same time Nikolas climbed in the back. Francis didn't even wait for the doors to close before he put the truck in gear and took off. Before Jason could dial the phone, it rang in his hand, signaling voice mail. Jason hesitated then hit the button to retrieve his messages. Hearing Carly's voice he almost hit the button to move to the next message when her words stopped him.
"Jason you may not believe this but I have an idea of who took Elizabeth. I saw something at the hospital, that makes me think," Carly hesitated. "I won't tell you who, because you probably won't believe me. I'm going to check some things out then call you back. Yes I'll be careful."
"Shit Carly what the hell are you doing," Jason muttered. The next message clicked on and he breathed easier when he heard Carly's voice again.
"Jason why the hell aren't you answering your phone?" Carly demanded then sighed. "Look while I was at the hospital I saw what I thought was Elizabeth's scarf, the one she was wearing this morning. The guy who had it was Tony. I'm at his place now, and I'm going to check it out. I know you probably think this is just my Tony hate talking, but I know that was her scarf in his pocket. I just wanted you to know what I'm doing. I'll call you after I check things out."
"Francis drive faster." Jason ordered and the next message clicked on. Hearing Sonny's voice he skipped the message, the next one was also from Sonny and that was the last one. Glancing at his watch he realized Carly's message had come over an hour and a half ago. She should have called back before now.
"What happened?" Nikolas asked from the backseat.
"Carly she thought she saw Tony with Elizabeth's scarf and followed him," he explained briefly and dialed Sonny.
"Hello."
"It's me."
"Did you get my message?" Sonny asked.
"Yeah, are you sure?" Jason asked.
"Benny confirmed it, I just found out that after your little visit last night, Baker requested a phone call. I called in a few favors, and found out that the person he tried to call was Tony Jones, the guard we talked too, said he was not happy when he couldn't reach Jones."
The noose was slowly tightening around Tony's neck, and the tighter it got the more concerned Jason grew. He was the one who had been a witness to how out of control Tony had gotten when he'd taken Michael and Robin. Robin had been blinded by her memories of Tony, but he'd seen the madness in the doctor's eyes. The madness and the hate. Tony had taken Michael, after Elizabeth's rape. Did he work himself up to kidnapping, by raping first?
"Are you sure?"
"What?" Jason asked in confusion.
"Sorry I was talking to Benny," Sonny turned to look at his fact finder who nodded in confirmation. "He just found out that the first week Baker was at Pentonville he had a visitor. It was Tony Jones. He was only there once, but a deposit was made into Baker's account the next day. It sounds like blackmail, but I have no idea what Baker could have on Tony."
Feeling sick to his stomach Jason had an idea, and if he was right, it meant that Elizabeth was in even more trouble than he'd originally thought.
"I'll keep digging," Sonny offered.
"See if you can find out where Tony was on Valentines Day, 1998, this would have been a few weeks before he took Michael," Jason asked and heard Nikolas sudden sharp inhalation of breath behind him.
"Okay but that is a while ago," Sonny pointed out.
"Wait. Carly saw something at the hospital that made her think it was Tony who took Elizabeth. She followed him to his house, she left me a message that she was going to check it out, but she never called me back. That was almost 2 hours ago."
"What?" Sonny shot to his feet. "Why didn't she call me?"
"She probably thought you wouldn't care, you have been wrapped up with Brenda and Alcazar," Jason pointed out. "Look I'm almost there I'll call you."
"I'm on my way." Sonny began moving to the door.
"Thanks," Jason said shortly.
"I thought it was time to act like your friend again," Sonny explained just as briefly. He knew he had a long ways to go to make up for things, but it was a start. "You need to find her."
"Look I'll find Carly, but my focus is Elizabeth," Jason snapped and prepared to end the call.
"I meant Elizabeth," Sonny corrected and hung up. He couldn't help but feel stung my Jason's words, but then realized he probably deserved them. He also probably deserved the remarks about Brenda and Carly as well. Turning to Benny he decided there was another small token he could do for Jason. "I need you to make some plans for Tom Baker."
~Tony's Apartment~
Taggert pounded up the stairs. "Hold it Morgan, we don't have a warrant, you can't just break in."
Jason didn't even spare him a look. He reached out and tried the door but it was locked.
"Back off," Taggert yanked Jason back. "We need to do this by the book, if you can't handle that then you can leave."
"He should have left a long time ago," Capelli muttered.
"Elizabeth could be behind this door, right now," Jason pointed out.
"According to the landlady, Tony has already left. Do you really think he'd leave town without Elizabeth? If it is him that took her?" Taggert questioned.
Shifting Jason plowed his fist into the wall barely missing Nikolas' head. "We don't know what he's done."
"Let me get the landlady," Taggert turned to head back down the stairs.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Jason demanded of Chris. "You want to be here in case you have to drug Elizabeth again?"
"Jason," Nikolas placed a restraining hand on Jason's arm who was getting angrier by the second.
"You were always present with drugs the last few days," Jason stepped closer to Chris who backed off a step. "Maybe you're working with Tony."
"I'm not," Chris began nervously. "Hey," he gulped when Jason grabbed his shirt and yanked him to his toes. "Be reasonable."
"Jason put him down," Nikolas ordered.
"Fine," Jason snapped and threw Chris backwards away from him as hard as he could. Chris crashed hard into Tony's locked apartment door, and the door and the lock gave under the impact. The old door caved in exposing the apartment beyond.
Stunned Chris staggered away from the door rubbing his head.
"If the door's open you don't need a warrant do you?" A suddenly calm Jason asked and moved inside the apartment.
Nikolas couldn't help but smirk as he moved inside the apartment after Jason. There were moments that it was fun to be around Jason Morgan. Reacting to that realization, Nikolas' smile fell from his face.
The only reason he hadn't arrested Morgan was because of Elizabeth, at least that was what Taggert kept reminding himself. He refused to be impressed by the legal way that Morgan had found his way around the warrant rule, and in front of cops to boot. Even Dara wouldn't be able to find fault with that move.
Capelli wasn't quite as open minded as his more experienced partner. He was itching to slap the cuffs on Jason Morgan, but for some reason the Lieutenant wasn't letting him. Frowning he moved inside the room, determined not to take his eyes off of Morgan.
"Oh that's okay I'm fine I'm just bleeding," Chris called out sarcastically when he found himself alone in the hall.
~Cabin~
"Dr. Jones?" Elizabeth whispered unsure of what she was seeing she blinked trying to clear the image from her eyes, but Tony Jones remained in front of her.
"How are you feeling?" Tony stepped closer and took her arm to check her pulse. "Are you having any aftereffects to the drugs? Any headaches or blurred vision?"
Elizabeth's mouth worked but nothing came out.
Tony shifted and looked at the crate. "You should have eaten, I left you the sandwich because I knew you'd be hungry. But at least you drank, I imagine your mouth was pretty dry when you woke up."
"You drugged me?" Elizabeth managed.
"Yes," Tony kept his eyes on his watch, while feeling her pulse. "It was the only way I could get you to come with me."
"Why?" Clinging to her disbelief Elizabeth tried to stave off the horror she was slowly beginning to feel. Her skin began to crawl under his fingers and it took a lot not to pull away.
"You know why Elizabeth," Tony met her eyes and smiled softly at her. "It's always been between us. Don't pretend now."
"What has been between us?" Elizabeth yanked her arm away from him.
"Don't be like this Elizabeth," Tony sighed. "I know you recognized me. You've always recognized me. We couldn't have a night like we did and you not remember."
Elizabeth shook her head immediately to deny the words.
"There's no need to pretend anymore Elizabeth, I know you for who you really are, and I accept you." Tony reached out to touch her face but she jerked back. Frowning Tony moved closer. "I told you to stop pretending. Why do women always pretend with me? Bobbie, Carly, you, you all pretend, but no more, I've known who you were since Valentine's Day."
"Valentine's Day?" Elizabeth repeated numbly. The horror of his words made her feel sick to her stomach. He couldn't mean what she thought.
"I saw you walk into the park, huddled in your black coat, just flashes of red to tease as you walked. A popcorn box in your hand that you could care less about, because you kept dropping kernels as you moved, sort of like you were leaving a path for me to follow." Tony mused.
Gasping Elizabeth began to sink to her knees.
"Of course I had to follow, and you took your seat on the bench, and posed for me. The heavy makeup, the red harlot dress, you weren't playing that night were you? That night the real Elizabeth came out to play, not the pretend one that used to wait on me in Kelly's, with the phony smile on her face, the fake sweetness and respectful act."
Ignorant of the horrified expression on Elizabeth's face, Tony continued his trip down memory lane.
"I realized that you were in fact like Carly. You were a whore like Carly, you pretended to be one way when in fact you were another. But I saw through you," he crouched in front of her. "You smiled do you know that? Sure you screamed and struggled, but I saw you smile when you were on the ground in the bushes."
"No," she shook her head in denial. "T-tom Baker."
"You knew it wasn't Baker. I told you Elizabeth, you don't have to pretend anymore," Tony reminded her sharply. "You recognized me you had too, that night meant to much," he reached out and brushed a strand of her hair from her face. "It meant so much to me I know it did to you as well."
Sickened Elizabeth shook her head. If it wasn't Tom Baker, if what Tony was saying was the truth, then she was alone in a room with her rapist. She didn't know if she was strong enough to handle that so she tried to deny.
"How stupid are you?" Tony snapped angrily, rubbing at his throbbing temples, he went on. "Baker was there I'll give him that. We talked."
"What?"
"He called me from Pentonville," Tony began his explanation. "He told me he knew it was me in the park. Of course he called it rape but we know better don't we?" He smiled at her again.
"She was screaming and fighting you, begging to be let go," Tom said. "You ignored her, drug her in the bushes and threw her to the ground. Your technique was a bit rough, but you got the hang of it. Of course she was so much smaller than you, there wasn't much a fight."
Tony shook his head trying to shake off the convicted criminals words. But the words were painting images in his mind. Images that played like memories to him. How could the words be a lie if they felt so familiar?
"You whispered not a word, and took her. I don't really blame you," Tom sat back in his seat. "Elizabeth's a looker, I was eyeing her myself, but you made your move before I could. So I just watched the show instead."
"You're crazy and I'm not going to listen to these lies anymore," Tony got to his feet.
"You might want to rethink that Doc, or are you still a doctor?" Tom called after him. "I heard you almost had a one way ticket here to Pentonville yourself, and the only reason you didn't was because of a legal technicality. I bet the police will be real interested to know what I know about you."
"Like the police will believe the word of a convicted felon," Tony bravely shot back. The name Elizabeth had triggered memories of the waitress at Kelly's and more. But he shook his head trying to deny them.
"You're right maybe the police won't, but other people will. You had two women testify at your trial didn't you? A Felicia Jones and Robin Scorpio, they testified on your behalf. Do you think they would have been so helpful if they knew you'd raped a teenager a few months before? How about your ex-wife she doesn't let you see your son does she? Rape is a nasty, nasty word for women, they band together because of it." Tom pointed out.
Tony wanted to walk out the room and call Baker's threat. But the longer he stood there the more he remembered. He remembered how cold Valentine's night had been, he remembered the wetness that had seeped into his trousers because of the time he spent on the ground. He was beginning to remember terrified blue eyes looking up at him, until they glazed over and awareness left them entirely.
Sinking back in his chair he had a memory of a mixture of scents, strawberry and vanilla, which were out of place in a cold winter night in a park. Yet it had come from the girl underneath him, the girl who fought him, who begged him to stop. The throbbing in his temples grew and he rubbed at them absently as more and more memories hit him.
"What's the matter Doc? Don't like this little trip down memory lane?" Tom jeered.
"What do you want?"
"The girl, Elizabeth, she thinks I'm the one who did it," he grinned. "I loved playing with her head like that. Since the police have no evidence that I did it, and won't have any, because I didn't do it, I'll never be charged. But if you want me to keep quiet you're going to have the pony up the cash."
"Are you trying to blackmail me?" Tony demanded.
"Don't act so morally outraged doc. You raped the girl. You broke her in and left her bleeding in the snow, you don't have a moral leg to stand on." Tom leaned closer to Tony. "And you're going to give me money or I'll start telling the story of what really happened that cold night in February to everyone who will listen. The cops are already pissed that their kidnapping case against you went south, the DA is too, and I heard it was a mobster's kid you snatched, so I'm betting he might be interested in my story as well. I'll keep talking and giving details, until someone listens, and someone believes. How long do you think it will take before this gets back to your ex and you never see your son again?"
"How much?" Tony asked and sealed his fate right then and there by throwing in with the devil.
"Elizabeth don't cry," Tony focused on the woman in front of him who had buried her head in her hands. "I didn't mean to forget our night together. Really I didn't, it was just that time was so crazy. With Carly and Michael, I forgot for a while, but once Baker reminded me, all the memories came back, and I began watching you. I knew we were connected because of that beautiful night we made love."
"You raped me," she hissed through her hands.
"Don't call it that," Tony cried.
"You raped me." Lifting her head Elizabeth screamed the words in his face. "Are you going to try it again? Is that why you kidnapped me?"
Jarred by the loud words Tony rubbed his temples. "I'm saving you. You were getting involved with Jason Morgan. I wouldn't let him touch you. He's a monster."
"You're the monster, Jason is a man, but you wouldn't know about being a man would you?"
"Don't say that," Tony cried. "I was not about to let Jason Morgan take someone else from me, especially not you, not after everything we've shared."
"We didn't share anything, you raped me." Elizabeth shrieked. "You pulled me off a bench, threw me in the bushes and forced yourself inside of my body. There was no sharing, only pain, and violation. You are a monster."
"Don't say that," Tony begged.
"A monster. You deserve to die," Elizabeth hissed. Shifting to her knees she inched closer to Tony. "Did you like hearing me beg? Did it make you feel powerful when I cried?"
"Don't," Tony shook his head.
Furious Elizabeth lashed out, springing to her feet she hit Tony in the shoulder driving him back into the cot. The cot, being bolted to the ground refused to yield and Tony yelped in pain. Elizabeth never hesitated she ran for the open door, and the hope of freedom beyond. Entering the hallway she looked right, and saw a wall, turning she began running to the door at the end of the hall on her left.
Reaching the door she tried to open it but it was locked. Pounding on it in frustration Elizabeth screamed for help. She wrapped both hands around the doorknob and tugged as hard as she could only to scream again when Tony grabbed her from behind. He tugged on her waist until her hands slipped free of the doorknob and began dragging her back inside the room. Memories of the night in February assailed her, and she couldn't help but remember the helplessness she'd felt the last time he'd dragged her away.
"No," her scream echoed loudly in the hall.
~Tony's Apartment~
"There's no sign that Elizabeth was ever in the apartment at all," playing devil's advocate Capelli pointed out some facts to his superior. "The landlady confirms that other than his son, Tony Jones has never had any visitors here."
"That in itself tells me something," Taggert muttered and trailed the others down the stairs.
Frustrated, Jason yanked out his phone and placed a call to Carly's cell. The faint sound of ringing reached his ears and he ignored it, until he realized it stopped the same instant Carly's voice mail clicked on. Holding up his hand for silence, Jason dialed again and the same sound of ringing reached his ears. Turning away from the door he headed for the back of the stairs and found a door there. "Where does this lead?" He asked the landlady.
"The laundry is down there," Mrs. Lowen explained.
"Does Dr. Jones have access to this room?" Taggert asked.
"Of course he does, he's such a nice man, he even does my laundry for me at times, so I won't have to do the stairs."
Jason yanked the door open and headed down the stairs. He saw a purse, which he recognized as Carly's lying at the base of the stairs and raced the rest of the way down. Her phone was lying on the ground a few feet away near a closed door.
Chris took one look at the closed door then Jason, and stepped backwards until he was behind Detective Capelli.
"Mrs. Lowen this door down here where does it go?" Taggert called up the stairs.
"It's just storage for the tenants, I don't think anyone is using it right now."
"Do you have a key?" Taggert called.
"It's not locked," Jason announced and turned the handle. A dark room greeted him and he moved further inside until he found the pull string for the light. Any doubts he might have still had fled the instant he saw the pictures on the wall.
"Shit," Capelli muttered. "It looks like Jones is our guy. But the question is where is he?"
Jason's eyes were locked on the trunk against the far wall. Moving until he crouched in front of it, he knocked on the outside. "Is anyone in there?"
There was quiet in the room while they awaited the reply, but no answer came from inside the trunk. Frustrated and growing more fearful by the moment, Jason stood and picked up a shovel that was resting against the wall and turned back to the trunk.
Capelli intercepted him. "You can't break into the trunk. There could be evidence in there, evidence that we won't be able to use if you break into it."
Taggert sighed wearily. "He's right, I'll call for a warrant."
"Fuck that," Jason brushed past the detective.
"I'm warning you Morgan," Capelli reached for his gun. "Drop the shovel and back away."
"Excuse me," Chris tried to interrupt.
"You want to stop me? Then shoot me," Jason informed the cops coldly.
"Don't tempt me," Capelli retorted.
"Excuse me," Chris tried again, louder this time but the only one who turned to look was Nikolas.
"I'm opening the trunk," Jason announced.
"Damn'it Morgan," Taggert snapped.
"Will everyone shut up?" Chris yelled. "Someone is moaning, and that someone is inside the trunk."
Chris' words spurred everyone into action. Capelli stopped his posturing and moved out of the way, while Jason stepped to the trunk and placed the shovel on the padlock, trying to break the lock by driving down on it. The lock refused to budge.
"Do we risk shooting it off?" Taggert asked.
"No, it's too close," Jason answered immediately. "Give me your weight." Taggert gripped the shovel as best as he could. "On three, one, two…" On three the cop and the mobster worked together by using all their strength and bodyweight to apply pressure to the padlock. The lock stretched until the tumblers finally gave into gravity and ripped free. Dropping the shovel, Jason ripped the broken pieces of the lock out of the way and opened the trunk in one fluid motion. Blonde hair greeted him instead of brown, but the disappointment lasted only a second, before concern settled in.
"Be careful, she could have a head or neck injury," Chris pushed past Taggert and reached carefully inside to check Carly.
Capelli brought the radio to his lips but when he got no sound he stepped out into the basement. "This is 55 Charlie we need bus at our current address."
"We need to get her out of there," Jason muttered.
"Just a minute," Chris ran his fingers through her hair, bringing them out they came back bloody. "There's a minor deformity in the back of the skull, the neck seems in alignment. Let's move her out, so I can get a better look at her. We need to pick her up at the same time, and try not to move her anymore than we have too," Chris looked past Jason to Nikolas. "Come around to the other side and when you can get your hands under her body and support her back, try to keep it as straight as possible."
"I'll do that," Jason decided. "You take her feet," he ordered Nikolas, knowing that keeping the spine straight would be critical if she did have a neck injury.
"On three." The men took their position around the trunk and on three they lifted the blonde as carefully as possible, yet Carly still moaned in pain. They laid her down gently on the cold concrete floor. Chris immediately began checking for more injuries while Jason crouched by her head.
"You're going to be fine," he promised her when he saw her eyes were open. Her eyes looked dazed, the pupils were slow to react and another level of worry opened inside of him.
"Jase…" Carly was caught between dream and reality, the pain in her head subsiding into numbness at the moment.
"I'm right here," he took her hand and squeezed it. "You're going to be fine."
Knowing he'd never lied to her Carly's worry decreased. "Tony."
"Shhh, don't talk," Jason whispered. "I know it was Tony."
"No," without thinking Carly shook her head and let out a scream of pain.
"Carly you can't move." Jason informed her quickly. He brushed the hair from her eyes. "Just stay calm."
"I have too," tears trickled from her eyes.
"Okay tell me," Jason knew he had to calm her down.
"It was Tony all the time."
"You mean he's the stalker?" Jason questioned. "I know that."
"Not only that." Clear thought was difficult for her but the need to tell Jason what she'd found out had kept her conscious during her time in the trunk. He needed to know it all. "Tony, he was the one who raped her."
"Baker."
"No, he told me, he said Elizabeth reminded him of me, because of what she was wearing," Carly explained and the tears fell quicker. "He hurt her because he couldn't get to me."
Jason closed his eyes as the final piece fell into place.
"Carly," Taggert moved into her field of vision. "Was Tony the person who locked you in the trunk?"
"Yes," Carly shifted her eyes back to Jason. "It's my fault."
"No," Jason swallowed hard. "It's Tony's fault, no one else's."
"He's crazy," Carly whispered. "You have to find her. The cabin…" she trailed off.
Jason nodded, shifted down and kissed her cheek. "I'll stop him."
Carly's eyes closed and he got to his feet and turned around. "Francis you stay with her." The guard nodded and his gaze moved on. "How bad?"
Chris sighed. "Concussion, I don't like the cast her left eye is taking, she's lucid, but there could still be some swelling of the brain. We need to get her to the hospital and get a cat scan."
"Her husband will be there." Jason's eyes moved to Francis who nodded and stepped out into the basement to make the call.
"Morgan where are you going?" Taggert called when Jason headed for the door. He wasn't surprised to see Nikolas follow Morgan, and ignore him entirely. "Stay here with Carly," he ordered Capelli. "Once the warrant comes through, search everything with a fine tooth comb."
"Lieutenant are you sure you should go alone?" Capelli asked. "Morgan's almost out of control. He'll turn on you in a heartbeat."
"Do your job Detective," Taggert ordered and took off up the stairs.
"Hello there gorgeous," Chris said when Carly's eyes opened. "You'll do anything to get near me won't you?"
Frowning Francis moved closer to Carly to keep an eye on the doctor.
~*~*~*~*~
"Morgan stop." Taggert yelled but Jason kept moving. Putting on a burst of speed he reached the back of the Durango just as Jason started it.
"What the hell?" Nikolas asked when the right side of the Durango sagged.
Furious Jason got out of the truck. Taggert stepped back and closed his switchblade. "What the hell are you doing?" Jason demanded.
"I'll drive. You direct me to the cabin." Taggert ordered. "It's either that or I'll go by myself and you can find a car to take."
"Fight about this in the car," Nikolas ordered and headed for the waiting unmarked police car. "While you two are busy fighting, Tony is alone with Elizabeth."
Nikolas' words spurred Jason into movement and he jogged to the car. He knew exactly where Tony's cabin was, and how to get there quickly. Only this time, he wasn't going let Tony leave the cabin alive.
~Car~
"Ouch," Elizabeth brought her knuckles to her mouth and sucked on the throbbing skin she'd just scraped for a minute, before going back to work. Her initial terror over being confronted with her real rapist had faded. It was still there, lurking in the back of her mind, but she had battled the terror back. Her anger had helped her remain focused. Tony's recounting of what had happened was another thing that kept her focused. He really believed what he was saying that meant he was truly insane.
The spoon, which she was never, ever going to get rid of, was back in her hand and she shifted again. The trunk was empty except for her, a water bottle, a penlight, and a blanket. Tony had wanted to make her comfortable during the trip. He alternated between calling a whore, and being polite to her. She had to get away from him before they reached their destination, if she didn't…
Shaking her head she banished that thought. She'd thought he was going to rape her earlier, when he'd drug her back inside that windowless room. And she had fought him with every step he took. But like it had been years ago, his superior strength had won out again. She hadn't given up though, she hadn't given into her fears or her tears, she had fought and cursed him screaming anything she could think of. The noise she made seemed to hurt Tony, because he let her go and backed out of the room, locking it behind him.
Elizabeth rode the wave of fury as long as she could, using it to work on the hinges of the door again. But he'd caught her by surprise. She'd stepped away from the door to take a drink and he'd burst inside of it. Before she could react he had his arms around her, and placed a piece of plastic over her wrists tying them together. Her struggles proved fruitless and he'd placed her in the trunk.
Tony had been in his nice mood at that moment, so he'd cut the plastic off of her hands, freeing them. But he'd warned her that he would be stopping eventually and when he did he'd not only tie her up he'd gag her as well, before they crossed the border. His words inspired her self-preservation instincts and the instant the trunk lid had closed she went to work on getting out of the trunk.
"Ow," she cried out again, and yanked her hand back when her knuckle began to throb. She was about to go back to work when she felt fresh air on her face. Surprised she moved her face as close to the taillight she'd been working on as she could. She had finally managed to yank the bulb out of it. Grabbing the blanket, she worked an edge of the blanket through the hole she'd created in the taillight and worked a large section of it out, so it would flap in the wind. Hopefully some observant person in the car behind them would wonder why a blanket had just appeared where the taillight should be.
Rolling on her side she turned her attention to her other discovery. At first she didn't know what it was, but then the memory of a long ago conversation with her grandmother had come to her, and she realized what she was looking at. Some of the newer cars had a hidden release in the backseat that let the backseat be pulled flat, and provided an opening into the trunk. This would come in handy if you were trying to transport something that was really long and wouldn't normally fit inside a trunk. There was a release in the backseat of the car, so that meant there had to be a release inside the trunk as well, she just needed to find it. Moving the penlight around, she gripped her warped spoon in her hand and went to look for the release.
~Cop car~
"55 Charlie come in please."
The squawk of the radio broke the tense silence in the car. Taggert reached over and picked up the radio. "55 Charlie go ahead."
"We got a sighting on your kidnap victim."
"Where?" Taggert took a curve faster than he should and the car fishtailed slightly before he righted it.
"On old highway #9 heading towards the Canadian border, he just passed mile marker #251."
"That's one of the roads that run near his cabin," Jason pointed out.
"What else do you have Lily?" Taggert asked the dispatcher.
"I got a woman on her cell, she was trailing the car, when the taillight went out on the car and a blanket came out of the taillight. She figured that meant someone was in the trunk and called 911l. The license plate she gave matches your APB on Jones."
"That means she's okay," Nikolas said in relief.
"Lily can you patch that call into this radio?" Taggert asked.
"Give me a minute Lieutenant," Lily replied. "Her name is Deb Villa."
"How far are we from there?" Jason asked.
"I know a shortcut that should put us out ahead of Tony on Route 9." Taggert replied and made a sharp turn onto a dirt road. He brought the radio to his mouth. "Alert the border and remind everyone that he has a hostage, probably in the trunk so no attempts should be made to force the car off the road, just follow if for now."
"Roger," Lily replied. "I have you patched in to the cell now, I'll monitor it as well and update the pursuit as needed."
"Thanks," Taggert heard static then another voice drifted over the radio. "Ms. Villa?"
"Call me Deb," came the good-natured reply. "You know this is just like Cops, I love that show. In fact I saw this happen on Cops once. A man snatched his ex-girlfriend and threw her in the trunk…"
A Cops junkie, Taggert sighed heavily this was just what he needed.
~Car~
Elizabeth pushed on the back of the seat and slowly lowered it down until it met the bottom seat. She gulped in the fresh air greedily and laid there for a minute in relief. Finally she forced herself to move and tried to crawl out of the trunk as quietly as she could. She could hear Tony singing along with his radio, and the sound made her stomach clench, but she forced past that and kept moving.
She had a vague idea that if she could hide in the backseat when Tony got out to get her in the trunk she could make a run for it, before he realized she wasn't in the trunk any longer. All she had to do was be quiet, be small, and be patient. She was flat on the back seat now, or as flat as she could be, with the back of the seat partially down on the bottom seat. She dropped her feet to the floor and shifted until she was sitting on the floorboards behind the driver's seat. Elizabeth reached up and pushed the backseat back into its normal position. The click it made when it latched sounded loud to her ears but the singing continued from the front seat.
Huddled on the floorboards Elizabeth remained tense in preparation to move the instant he stopped the car. Her eye fell on a box that was sitting on the floorboards behind the passenger seat. Curiosity and a need for a better weapon had her tucking her spoon in her back pocket and reaching out to the box. She opened the lid as quietly as she could and brightly colored fish lures greeted her eyes. She poked around inside the box and moved a bright purple lure out of the way, exposing a handful of bare fishhooks. Elizabeth never even hesitated, she grabbed several of the hooks and closed the lid.
Twisting the hooks in her fingers she made a fist and the fishhooks jutted out from between her fingers. This was definitely a better weapon than a spoon. Now all she had to do was wait. But the longer she waited the more she thought, and the more she thought, the more worried she became. What if she couldn't outrun Tony? What if he caught her? What if her escape attempt failed? Maybe she shouldn't wait until he stopped the car. Maybe she should attack now, while she had the advantage of surprise.
She had never been a particularly brave person. At least not when it came to herself. She could be brave when she was fighting for her friends, or people she loved, but when it came to herself, she had never been very brave. Jason had always told her that she was stronger than she believed she was, maybe it was time to test his theory.
~Cop Car~
"Deb," Taggert tried in vain to interrupt the woman again, but she spoke over him.
"So why do you think they canceled Cop Rock? Sometimes I don't think those people at ABC know their asses from a hole in the head."
"Deb," Jason snapped. "What is going on now with the car?"
"Oh, there's no reason to yell I'm right here. What the hell?"
"What do you see?" Taggert demanded.
"Someone just climbed over the backseat. Oh my god, the car's fishtailing, it's swerving everywhere."
Jason clenched his fists, never had he felt so helpless. Taggert was speeding down a dirt road sirens' wailing, but his attention was on the radio and the voice coming out of it. A man who couldn't imagine, suddenly had no problems visualizing what Deb was describing.
"The car is spinning, he's losing it, he's losing control."
"Taggert hurry," Nikolas demanded.
"Shit," Deb cried out. "It went over the edge, the car went through the guard rail and over the side."