The limo driver called to alert Jason they were leaving the airport. He decided to go down the hall to Reinaldo's place and wait for Johnny's report. Neither of them knew what to expect or what they would learn about Carly's trip or the reason for it.

After walking her to the door, Johnny headed to the elevator. Francis stopped him after Carly was inside and said that Jason was waiting for him at Rey's place. Johnny knew what that meant and exhaled a few times. He wasn't sure how he felt about reporting on Caroline. But, he worked for Jason so he'd do it. Sort of, he guessed. Once inside he could tell the two were waiting on pins and needles. They wouldn't believe him. Pouring himself a drink he sat down.

"Well?"

"I have no clue why we went down there."

"So nothing happened?"

That didn't seem right.

"Oh, I didn't say that. I said I don't know why we went down there."

Both of them looked him over. He looked tired but there was something else. Reinaldo just wants confirmation on his theory, not word games.

"Then tell us what you do know."

"First, I suggest that neither of you, and be sure to pass the word to the rest of the guys, call her Carly ever again."

"Huh?"

He filled them in and they stared. It made sense but it didn't.

"What's going on?"

Johnny looked at Jason carefully.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

Cutting off the smart ass retort.

"No. I'm serious. Take a minute to think about that carefully. Are you sure you want to know?"

He heard Johnny and he understood. Or thought he did. A quick look at Rey and they both nodded.

"She's dirty. Hell, I think she's dirtier than us."

Not a good opening line.

"Now, are you both absolutely positive you want to know?"

Jason was getting a headache. This was more than he expected to hear and he hadn't heard anything yet. Their suspicions were abstract until Johnny started talking but now it was concrete. He walked around the room wondering what it meant and who his best friend really was. Then he considered his own situation and knew it would be hypocritical to judge her. She accepted him at face value and never judged or told him what to do. Accept to tell him to make sure he found some happiness in life. Yeah, he'd hear it. He also needed to know what could stretch its hand from Florida to touch them. And other than the fact that she, Luke and Bobbie were from Florida, they still didn't know what that had to do with finding out where Bobbie was or what was going on. Jason turned around and leaned against the bar.

"Yeah, she's my best friend and Michael's mother. I want to know."

When Johnny got finished speaking you could have heard a pin drop. Neither man moved and barely breathed as they tried to process what they'd just heard with the woman who ate chocolate donuts for breakfast, was a group leader for Mommy and Me and couldn't cook a microwave dinner if her life depended on it.

"Excuse me?"

"That's my report and I'm sticking to it. I'm also trying to figure out why she isn't on your payroll. That was some of the cleanest shooting I have ever seen in my life. She is ice cold. And she knows how to get information. I don't know what she got or what it means but she knows what she's doing. And people know her. Well, some of the ones we visited today but since they're all dead now I guess they don't really count anymore."

Jason looked at Johnny and Reinaldo and tried to process everything. No one said anything for awhile then Reinaldo finally spoke.

"Why now?"

"Huh?"

"Jason, you've known her the longest. We met her through you. None of us saw any of these things in her. I wouldn't have started guessing, putting pieces together if she hadn't been so unCarly."

Jason thought about it for a second.

"Bobbie."

Johnny is waking up 'cause he didn't know anything about pieces and can't follow Jason.

"Elaborate please. What about Bobbie?"

"They're tight now. All the Spencers. Strange as they are, when Michael was taken, they all worked things out. Bobbie missing probably brought this out. Reflex or instinct, I guess."

Sounds good but Rey's still confused.

"Yeah but Michael is her kid. She didn't react like this."

Johnny saw plenty today on Caroline's ability to react.

"She told me, and I quote, 'you work for Jason but you are on my turf now. Don't interfere and don't try to out think me' right before she started loading and strapping on all that hardware. This is your turf, she knew you had the contacts and resources to search for him. Plus, he was just a baby and she was pretty broken up and worried about him."

"I guess that makes sense."

Jason nods absently. Then thinks for a minute.

"How connected is she down there?"

"Hard to say. Somebody was working for her or they wouldn't have had the stuff at the drop point for her before we got started on her trail of blood. Didn't take long after the first couple of bodies fell for me to realize why she carries so many guns. She didn't want them linked through ballistics.

Anyway, they knew her on sight and by name and they knew to be scared of her. Whatever else she may be, she is the most qualified woman I have ever met. Qualified person, she used a fucking garotte on one of them. I've never actually seen vocal cords before this trip. Not something I'm in a hurry to see again. She definitely moves like a hitter. And since she made me—wait in the car at the last stop I have no clue how many she dropped inside. Whatever she found out had her pissed. She brought back something in that briefcase. I guess she'll start going through the files in the morning."

Rey stopped listening at one point because he was stuck on a word and couldn't move forward.

"A garotte?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck. I thought only old school Sicilians still used those things. Who the hell trained her?"

"Probably the same person who taught her how to toss a switch blade."

"What?"

"Yeah, at one point I was really tempted to peek inside her suit to see what else she had in there. I'm telling you guys, of the eight I saw go down, none of them died the same way. I think she was amusing herself a few times coming up with different combinations. Versatile isn't the word for it."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

Both of them just keep getting surprised. Rey finally turns to Jason with a confused look on his face.

"How come she isn't on your payroll?"

"Because I didn't fucking know. She was Carly up until this week."

"You gonna try to change that now?"

"I don't know. There's a reason she kept quiet. She knows you're in here reporting on her trip. She'll know I know. If she doesn't say anything, I'm not sure I should."

"But you're gonna, right?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna. Caroline is going to take some getting use to. My reasons for keeping her out of the business before seemed clear and she never once interfered or asked for a job. I'm not sure if it's a good thing considering Michael."

"Uh uh. If they'd caught her today she'd be getting the chair in Florida instead of the needle in New York. That's not the reason."

Rey looks at Jason clueless but since he just shrugs he turns back to Johnny.

"What's the reason?"

"Because she's a woman and we've all been trained to think of them as either not strong enough to do the job or not smart enough to keep their mouth shut."

Jason isn't sure about that until he starts thinking about some of the things Sonny taught him. Then he concedes.

"Ok, on some level you're right. But I still got a legitimate excuse."

"Enlighten us, oh great one."

Jason rolled his eyes but answered the question.

"Until this week she was Carly. How the hell was I supposed to know?"

The next morning, Jason came down the stairs and took in the scene in front of him. Caroline was sitting next to Michael at the dinning room table helping Michael play with his food while Letisha scolded them both. He smiled and just watched for a few moments. Sleep didn't come easy for him the night before. Plenty of revelations over the last week floating around in his mind. Add to that the fact that Bobbie was still missing and the business, it made for a rough night. Something was off and he couldn't put his finger on it. Just a feeling but more than that. He was distracted a bit over the last few days but he knew he had to take some time to focus in on it. Something was itching in the back of his mind before Carly—Caroline called him over to the Brownstone. His day was pretty light. Only two meetings and the rest a lot of paper work. He'd deal with it then. And, he had to deal with his best friend before things got out of hand. He didn't want her not trusting him. He didn't want her thinking he didn't trust her.

Caroline glanced up and caught sight of Jason looking on smiling.

"Morning. Find something amusing?"

"Just trying to figure out which one of you is supposed to be the kid around here."

"Very funny."

Letisha looks up and smiles warmly.

"Good morning Mr. Morgan. It's a toss up, neither of them has been acting very mature today."

Caroline looked over at her.

"Sell out."

"Sue me."

Jason laughed while walking to the table to play with Michael.

Caroline turned to Jason,

"How's your schedule today?"

"Couple of meetings. Otherwise I'm working from home unless something comes up. Why?"

"Be available around 4:00. The tailor is coming by to fit you for some new shirts and suits. Oh yeah and the shoe guy."

Jason nodded absently still playing with Michael on his lap until he heard that last part.

"The shoe guy?"

"Yeah, I decided to go with handmade. You're always saying the others don't feel right and I'm tired of hearing you bitching and complaining."

"Ok. Do I need new clothes?"

"If I didn't watch you, you'd probably just grab anything. Yeah, plus some of these are specialty pieces. And you need a new tux. You need to have a couple on reserve."

"Sounds good. Who's coming?"

"Armani, Hugo Boss and Versace."

Jason rolled his eyes and made a noise.

"I meant the tailor."

"Oh. Alberto, like last time. Francis has the other names and I left a copy with their files on your desk."

"Thanks."

He noticed that she was dressed in baggy sweats and Keds. Since they weren't black he figured she didn't plan on killing anybody before lunch then cracked up laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I'm tired and wired. Right Michael?"

All he got was a couple of Cheerios in his hair and some sticky stuff on his face.

"That's right Michael. Defend mommy. Daddy's secretly making fun of her again."

"Was not."

"Please, I know you too well."

At that, Jason got serious and looked her straight in the eye with a genuine smile on his face.

"Yeah, you do. I'm glad."

"And you know me. In the most important ways. The ways that count."

Letisha sensed that there was something serious playing out in their undertones so she decided to grab Michael and beat a hasty retreat upstairs. The two of them had the craziest set up. No one would believe they weren't a couple considering Michael and them living together. She knew there had to be a reason for it but really didn't care. It was a good job and it wasn't even really work. For the 7 months after Michael was found Mr. Morgan payed her full salary even though she didn't work a day. She tried to protest numerous times but he wouldn't hear of it. Even before that, she was the nanny but many times when she took Michael out, Caroline came too. They talked and were friends. They even did things together just the two of them while leaving Michael with Jason. It was nice. And she quickly learned that his reputation was well earned but he wasn't cold hearted or cruel like most people thought. The relaxed atmosphere with the guards and Caroline was proof. And there was no doubt he loved his son. Her aunt, Graciella, was Mr. Corinthos' house keeper and she came to work with her a few times when she was younger. He was all smiles but creepy. He also wasn't nearly as easy going with his employees as Mr. Morgan.

She knew something was about to go down because Caroline asked her to move in for awhile. That's all she said. But the way she said it was enough.

"Come on Michael, you've played with enough food for the morning. Time to take a bath. Say goodbye to mommy and daddy."

Michael said his version of goodbye while Letisha took him from Jason. Caroline turned to her,

"I'm going to be at my uncle's club today if you need me. I'll have my phone too."

"Ok."

When the two of them were clear of the stairs Caroline turned to Jason.

"Dinner?"

"Pizza and beer?"

"You know it."

That was enough. The simple exchange would seem innocuous to outsiders but it spoke volumes between them. Those few words conveyed that they needed to talk but that neither had anything to worry about. And they would have straight talk with food just like the old days. Jason didn't say anything about her taking a guard with her. After Johnny's report, he wondered if he ought to ask her to be his guard. Seriously, he'd let things play out the way she needed them to. They were both aware that many changes were about to happen in their relationship but they'd find a new groove just like they always did when something shook things up.

Caroline knew she had a lot of work to do that day. What she learned yesterday was still a jumble that didn't make too much sense and she needed confirmation on many things. The information she got at the house in Coconut Grove on their last stop led her to the files and disks she took. She's pretty sure they'll bare fruit. Unfortunately, she suspects it will poison. She also had a better understanding of her uncle taking off. He wasn't running, he was hunting. Hopefully their paths would cross while both of them were still alive. There wasn't much time. Each day Bobbie was gone was one too many.

Four hours later Johnny walked into Luke's wondering if Caroline was including him in another one of her trail of blood sprees. Now that the shock wore off, he's pretty sure working with her would be fun. He smiled but dropped it and turned serious after he walked into the office. She was looking at him with an intense expression on her face and pointed to the back door without a word. Instantly on alert, he followed her out into the private parking lot. They both looked around and up before speaking.

"What's up?"

"Tell Jason to have somebody sweep the penthouses. Ours, Rey's and Justice's. Also, have them go over ALL the cars to make sure they're clean—for everything."

Johnny looked at her and knew this was beyond serious. And he knew it was connected to whatever she learned in Miami. She was going through that stuff in the briefcase all morning. He was pretty sure she had to have found out something. The fact that she called him down under the guise of taking her shopping meant she thought the phone weren't clean either.

"The phones?"

"Yeah."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"What else?" He knew there had to be something else.

"Ask Jason to send three guys to pick up Lucas from camp. Make sure Francis is one of them. I'm not calling to notify them until the guys are there and Lucas is physically with them so Francis needs to call me on arrival. Tell Letisha to keep Michael in the building. Move him from penthouse to penthouse while the cleaners are working if she has to but he stays in the building."

He knew what that meant and just nodded. Then he thought about them being in the alley.

"What about the office? You've been working in there for a couple of days."

"It needs to be searched but its got to be really low key. This is a public club. So far people think I'm working the books and helping out while Uncle Luke is out of town. I use electronic counter surveillance equipment in there and I scramble the phones when I'm on them so I don't think anyone picked up anything from me yet. If they did, we'd be dead."

Made sense. He was a little annoyed with that last part but since he was still alive he let that pass.

"Got it."

"And tell Jason we're eating in the car tonight."

That wasn't good at all. But the look on her face made his blood pressure rise and his heart race. He knew she was holding back something. Either she wasn't sure she could trust him or wasn't certain of what she suspected. Considering everything else she said, he knew he had to know.

"Telling you that you can trust me won't convince you so I won't say it. But, even if it's a gut feeling and you have no proof you know its better to play it safe."

She didn't like it and didn't want to be right. She also didn't want to say anything about the other part so she kept that to herself. Shaking her head, as if to clear it, she steeled herself and nodded her understanding. He was right and she knew it.

"Yeah, I know you're right. Don't explode and don't let Jase explode."

"I can only guarantee the first part."

She smiled because she knew Jason Morgan.

"Don't tell Benny anything or tip him off to what I suspect is going down."

Then she just stood there and waited unsure of his reaction. Shock. Disbelief. Resignation. Near explosion. She was just grateful he kept it in. If Jason didn't kill Benny, Johnny would.

About the same time, Reinaldo and Jason were on the docks near Pier 28. They just left a meeting with the heads of local 4105, Longshoreman's Union. Jason isn't the most talkative guy on his best day, Reinaldo understood that from their first meeting. But the man was more quiet than usual. Too quiet and that concerned him. Jason Morgan perfected the impassive expression. Only those who knew him best, worked with him longest and closest understood that you had to look at the eyes. They were cold and hard, except with Michael, Caroline, Lila Quartermaine and his little sister. Still, there was a difference in their hardness if you watched. What Reinaldo saw was unsettling.

Once they were completely alone, Jason stopped and looked out on the water briefly then turned to his second with a new and completely unreadable expression.

"Something's not right."

Rey took a minute to sift through which of the some things he could be referring to. He wasn't sure what was going on in Jason's head but he knew what his gut was telling him after that meeting.

"Yeah."

"Who do you think is involved and how far do you think it reaches?"

"I don't know yet. Santiago was nervous. Too nervous. And the fact that he wasn't trying to set up something for the upcoming negotiations means a lot."

Jason nodded. Those were his thoughts as well. His mind was racing through all the possible dangers last night and earlier that morning. This was a consideration because Jason never left anything to chance but it wasn't his number one concern. He just moved it up on the list.

"Carlos?"

Rey wasn't liking where this was heading. He thought about Puerto Rico a lot. You had to watch your territory especially when you weren't living in it. Jason kept watch and made some changes since the transition. Problem was, he had to ease into many of them so people didn't get nervous he was planning on making a move.

"He wasn't happy about the way you restructured things when you took over. It was the right thing to do and the sound thing. Sonny never paid attention to it. Guilt over Lily, I guess. That's not the way to run a business."

When he didn't say anything else, Jason knew they were thinking the same thing.

"Finish it."

Rey exhaled.

"The numbers look good and our distribution routes are strong. Or I'd say they were until this meeting. Something's coming."

Jason glanced out at the water keeping his gaze there while speaking.

"A war."

"Yeah. Moreno?"

"No, we hurt him too bad when I thought he was behind Michael's kidnaping. We have to find out what's going on and deal with it. When that's settled, I'm taking Moreno out and I'm taking over his territory. Its too close to mine and he's always had his eye on it."

Rey was always impressed by Jason. He never would have had this conversation with Sonny.

"What about the drugs and the prostitution?"

Jason knew Rey was trying to find out where his head was. He didn't mind. The man needed to know what was coming even if that was down the road.

"Plans for Moreno have to be made but they take a backseat to what's coming. I don't care about the prostitution and it can go. That's good press anyway. The drugs are another matter. There's a hell of a lot of money in that. But Sonny didn't have any D.E.A. contacts and I haven't been in a position to make any yet."

Rey wasn't sure how Jason would take it but it had to be said.

"Caroline might."

Jason looked him over carefully to make sure Rey said what he thought he said. Knowing that's what his boss was doing, Rey nodded.

"I thought about that some last night. I'll talk to her and see if she's got any ideas on the subject."

Rey chuckled for the first time in their conversation.

"Something tells me she will."

"Yeah, now what do we do ab...."

He was cut off when he caught Rey's jerky movement. They both looked up to see Johnny coming toward them. By the expression on his face, they both knew it wasn't good news.

"Fuck."

Johnny took many deep, calming, cleansing breaths once he got in the car and left Luke's. It was only slightly helping him not to explode. Jason and Rey didn't have that luxury. He also knew they hadn't heard the worst of it yet because he was only half way through the stuff he and Caroline discussed. Considering everything he'd told them so far, that reaction was pretty mild.

"I take it you two know something Caroline and I don't know."

"Yeah and the pieces are starting to fit together. Luke isn't running, he's hunting somebody. Caroline had to have figured that out by now if she didn't already suspect before the trip. Luke didn't know how big this is when he left or he would have told me. Hopefully he finds out, keeps his head down and makes it back alive. There's no way to reach him til he wants to be reached so there's nothing I can do to warn him."

Johnny knew "big" definitely meant war. With whom was hard to tell. The Bobbie angle still wasn't making sense. But he also knew that Caroline was holding back a lot to tell Jason in private.

"There's more. She told me to make sure you didn't explode. I made no promises on that but both of you have got to keep it together. Especially while we're out here on the docks."

Rey narrowed his eyes and responded in complete seriousness.

"You are not helping. If that was your attempt to ease into it you are in serious need of sensitivity training. And—I don't think I'm gonna like what you have to say."

"No, neither of you will."

This was a new one for Johnny. He'd seen Jason in many states. They first started working together when Sonny moved him up from being a runner to collection and enforcement. Obviously, Sonny realized that the man's talents were wasted as a courier. He was too cold not to have been made for that kind of work. But Johnny swears Jason reached an all time high of coldness by the time he got Benny's name out of his mouth. However things played out, they were going to be really bad for Benny. Rey wasn't much better and Johnny saw him struggle not to combust right there on the spot. Jason finally spoke.

"She's good and she's got a fucking job for life. When the time comes I'm gonna kill him myself."

Then he closed his eyes for several long seconds. Both men knew he was turning off his emotions and working through some of the particulars so they stayed quiet. It was eery. He opened eyes and began without preamble.

"Who's on my sister?"

"Marco."

"Tell him to interrupt whatever she's doing, stuff her in a car and take her to the penthouse."

Both men stared. She was a civilian. No way she should know what's going down until she reads it in the papers like everyone else.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

Jason got it, but he had something else for them to consider.

"She is Lucky Spencer's best friend and my little sister. If she stays clean til the age of 21 it'll be a fucking miracle. She knows exactly what's going down from Luke's perspective and knows how to keep her mouth shut. Lucky wouldn't have left town without giving her a heads up to watch her back and understand if he doesn't return. And I guarantee those two little crooks have worked out some high tech system for getting messages back and forth to one another at specified check in times and for emergencies. Luke's got safe houses all over the fucking planet which means they could be anywhere. Laura has to know about this. Even if she can't reach Luke, she's got two kids to protect."

When he put it like that, it made perfect sense. They nodded their understanding. Then Jason stared at Johnny for a moment and tilted his head before speaking.

"There's something else."

"Yeah. Caroline's not done working yet either. I think she has some people of her own to tap and I get the distinct impression that your dinner meeting in the car is related to that. She gave me nothing on it and that means its something she doesn't trust the rest of us with it. I got no problems with that. I have seen up close and personal how the woman operates. She is serious about what she does and she is not someone to fuck with."