Jason was tired. Not exhausted, simply tired from a long day and an even later night. These meetings were a necessity to business but that didn't mean he enjoyed all of them. The penthouse was quiet. It ought to be at that time of night. It was well after 2am. He moved upstairs quickly, intent on falling into bed and relaxing. Jason entered Caroline's room and was surprised to find her bed made and her absent. Then he remembered they hadn't seen each other since yesterday morning. He assumed the overnight trip lasted longer than she and Johnny anticipated. Jason exhaled slightly at the thought of sleeping alone. Then he turned and left her room headed for his own.
After undressing and hitting the sack, Jason's mind wouldn't let him rest as he went over the day's events as well as his schedule of up coming meetings. Added to that was the personal Quartermaine business and Soleto. Jason sensed movement before he actually heard a sound as his door opened and a shadow crossed the room under the pale moon light. He knew that silhouette anywhere. Caroline entered cautiously and tip toed across the room. She didn't turn on a light as she undressed quickly. Jason watched silently without moving. He was enjoying the free show, though she didn't intend to perform. When she crept out of the bathroom he finally spoke.
"I'm not asleep."
Only slightly annoyed, she laughed.
"And you couldn't have mentioned that while I was fumbling around in the dark?"
"I wanted to watch you."
She had a day. A very long one. Coming home, slipping into his arms and falling asleep was the only thing she thought of for the last couple of hours and at the top of her must do list. It just got moved down on the list.
"Like what you see?"
"Definitely. The show isn't over is it?"
She smirked.
"I'm afraid so. I'm already dressed for bed."
Then she stopped and looked him over.
"Unless you want to do something to change that."
"Absolutely. Hurry up."
"Anxious much?"
"And you aren't?"
"Oh, you definitely have me there."
"Then hurry up so I can have you over here."
Caroline laughed and turned to finish taking off her watch and earings.
"Ok."
Jason smiled then slid over a little to make room once she finishes at the dresser.
"Where were you today?"
"The island."
That got his attention.
"Which one?"
"The one where they ain't building a casino."
Jason's mind is no longer on sex.
"In one day and what happened?"
"First, you forget we haven't seen each other in almost two days. I've done more in less time. Second, I don't know."
Jason is not liking the sound of that.
"What's going on and is there a problem?"
"I don't know what the problem is or if there is one yet. The shipments from Columbia into Miami are running without a hitch. DEA is fine, Coast Guard is fine. Suppliers and handlers all fine. Its just a feeling I got and I have no idea what so don't ask. That's why I took off from Miami. Someone's asking questions."
"Feds?"
"I don't know. But since its out of U.S. jurisdiction, the only one you should have to worry about is the IRS. Even if the money's dirty, they still want their cut."
"What kind of questions?"
"Well, mostly about the rum distilleries. Importing to the states and other countries. Wanting to know about the plantations. How large they are. How much they produce. Shipping for the distilleries. Is the business sound? Like their shopping. But general questions. Nothing specific. Nothing that even hints they know about either island yet or what you've really got going down there. Though everyone will know about one as soon as the casino, resorts and clubs open on St. Na'Salle but that was supposed to happen."
"So why'd you go down there?"
"Because no one should be asking questions in Miami about Puerto Rico when they can get the information in Puerto Rico. But, you know that."
Jason didn't say another word as he sat in bed taking in her report. Caroline was still leaning on the dresser waiting for him. She knew he was running through all possible senarios in his mind. She also knew he was coming up with something. It didn't take long.
"Wake up Rey."
Caroline shook her head firmly. It was after 3am. No way did she want to do that. He'd kill her.
"Uh uh. That's suicide."
Jason gave her an alternative. He's nothing if not an accommodating employer.
"Fine, then wake up Faith."
It didn't take two seconds as she slipped on her robe and headed for the door.
"I'm going to wake up Rey."
"That's what I thought. We'll meet at Justice's."
Jade and Sibbiaon discussed it at length during their initial private meeting with Faith. The two of them would take charge of coordinating her security and that meant coordinating the other guards who were assigned to her. The end result was a small team with one principle, Faith Quartermaine. As a result, both ladies felt they should have a complete feel for their surroundings. And each took shifts guarding the penthouse door. It was usually quiet but they'd only been with her a week. And she'd only been in town two days before that. Her schedule was not set and both Sibbiaon and Jade understood that a time would come soon when she was working in a different capacity from what she was doing now. They were guards. They were not deaf. The fact that Faith only let either of them in the Ashton penthouse when she was working with her cousins meant she did not want others to know of that project. It was initially difficult to understand until they heard the name Quartermaine and Soleto once too often. Neither woman worked in the states. They weren't familiar with all the organizations. A quick search told them all they needed to know and shed a bit more light on the tight security surrounding Mrs. Ashton and her daughter. Recently arrived from Brooklyn just before Morgan's war. They got it.
It also didn't take them long to see that Jason Morgan ran an unusual business for an American. His girlfriend did not have guards but his little sister did? They didn't need 5 minutes in Caroline's presence to see who and what she was. But, Jade gathered more information unintentionally that evening as she manned her post outside the Ward penthouse. Mr. Morgan came in some time after 2am with his guards so she assumed he was in for the night. Less than an hour later, Caroline returned from her "trip" and looked exhausted. They exchanged nods as she went inside for the night. Half an hour later Jade watches discreetly as Caroline leaves her apartment in a robe headed for Rey's. Mr. Morgan, also in his robe, nods to Jade then knocks on the Ward's door. Jade stepped back because she didn't think that was going to go over well. She was right.
It was a very good set up. Second in command down the hall, attorney across the hall. And his business manager in the same apartment. All on one secure floor. It made sense. Rey and Caroline headed to the Ward's after some brief exchange about someone better be dying or the building on fire. But what surprised Jade was Morgan's little sister leaving their penthouse 10 minutes after everyone else went inside the Ward's. Jade said nothing and kept her eyes averted but she saw the lap top case and satellite phone. That meant something was up and the kid was in the business too. It made perfect sense to her coming from Hong Kong but she did not think it would make much sense to people in the states. Then she considered that Jason Morgan had his own way of conducting business.
Once Jason is inside, Justice only says one word before turning around and heading for the kitchen.
"Coffee."
Jason got it. He hadn't actually fallen asleep yet and was just tired. Justice looked like Morpheus claimed him hours ago. Faith came downstairs in time to catch that. She was in baggy sweats and slouch socks with her hair pulled up in a pony tail. Caroline and Rey walked in muttering to each other as Faith hit the bottom step. She looked around sleepily at the group then turned to Jason with narrowed eyes.
"Time and a half."
He knew she was serious but he was serious too. Justice walked out of the kitchen with a tray and mugs just as Emily stumbled through the door with her high tech supplies. She was dressed in over sized men's blue plaid pj's and a matching robe, hair in pig tails, wearing bright yellow Tweety Bird slippers. She fell onto one of the couches and narrowed her eyes at the group before turning to her brother.
"Time and a half."
They all laughed. Jason shook his head then looked at her and Faith.
"You two have been spending too much time together."
Faith shrugged.
"She's learning. What's up?"
Jason turned to Caroline to make her report. By the time she was finished, Emily was already connected and typing something on her lap top. Jason hadn't given his take on things so he didn't know what she was doing.
"Em?"
"I'm watching who's watching all your shipments since Moreno. The FDA has regulatory authority over the sugar cane refineries and rum distilleries. The FTC has jurisdiction as soon as anything hits a truck, ship or plane. If the Feds want to get to you now, that's the only way they can. I'm also checking all FBI and DEA field offices to see what they think they know. Nobody should be asking questions in Miami about Puerto Rico when they can get that information in Puerto Rico."
That's all she said and she didn't look up from her screen as she typed. She looked like a kid and far too young for this kind of work. Rey turned to Jason,
"She's good."
Jason smiled for the first time since entering the room. He wasn't going to say a word to her about the DEA thing yet. He knew she knew Moreno's entire operation. The fact that he took it over meant he was in the game now. She hadn't said anything to him one way or the other so he thought she was alright about it. The fact that Caroline keeps flying south means Emily understands that part as well. Still, he'd make sure they sat down and talked seriously one on one.
Then Jason sat back and took in the room. Justice was at his desk going through some cryptic hand written notes and files on his computer with a serious expression on his face.
"Justice?"
"Double checking the filings after the purchase went through on the island. Then I'm going to make sure no one's been nosing around the set up for the equipment, construction, warehousing and shipping from that port. Its papered in a scatter shot format. The ownership looks like an international conglomerate of unrelated businesses and individual foreign investors not associated with you. Its impossible to make that connection unless someone knows what I know and no one knows what I know."
There wasn't any way to deny that and no one was going to try. Justice had more stuff stashed away in the back of his mind than anyone except Jason. That's one of the reasons Justice's advice is so crucial to prevent any mistep or cross over.
"Rey?"
"I've been down to the city twice since we started this. The network is solid. I've also met with the lane guys. The shipments are in tact. There's no talk up the coast and everybody is in line. Salazar doesn't want you or Caroline coming back to Puerto Rico because of a problem. Your last visit put things right. Its not him but I'll go down and check things out tomorrow just to be sure. Then I'll go down to St. Na'Salle for a progress report. I was scheduled to go early next week anyway. The islands are far enough a part in location and operation that there shouldn't be any obvious connection if everyone's doing their job. This trip won't raise any suspicion and I might catch someone off guard."
Jason nodded his approval but didn't say anything else for a few minutes. Then he looked up and saw Faith standing in the corner of the room by the window looking out on the water. She slipped away from the sitting area unnoticed while everyone was talking. Jason knew what he was thinking but he wanted to know what she was thinking because he thought it was the same thing. Rey and Caroline caught the way he was looking at her. They ended their discussion on what or who should be tapped on his trip and shifted their attention. Justice and Emily were still buried in their computers and hadn't looked up.
"Faith?"
"Cuba."
That made everyone stop and look in her direction. Faith was usually quiet but she hadn't sat in on any meetings like this before. They didn't know how she worked or how she thought. Even Justice, who knew her all her life, had trouble following her some times. She made strange connections because things just made sense to her differently than most people. That was a problem for her early on in life. Teachers thought she was dyslectic in elementary school. But that didn't fit with her IQ test scores so they treated her as if she had a mild form of autism. She didn't think linear and there was no way to make her mind work that way. It wasn't until later on that they realized she was just one of those people who saw different clumps of trees first then shifted her view to take in the forest when she was ready.
Jason Morgan wasn't Jason Quartermaine. Since the accident, his mind didn't process things the same way other people's did. Only those who worked with him or had the misfortune to work against him realized just how smart he was. It was hard to keep up with or follow him. It obviously worked in his business. Aside from the fact that what Faith just said didn't make sense, it didn't make any sense. But one glance at Jason and they all understood that he understood what she was talking about.
"When?"
"I don't know. It had to be in the last couple of days. Its just a coincidence that Caroline stays on top of things down there like she does and has accesss. No one up here or on the outside knows who she is."
"How much?"
"Five or six million depending on how much is skimmed off the top."
"How long?"
"Maybe two weeks."
"Can we get around it?"
"I hope so because now they've got a partner."
"Fuck."
"Yes."
Then Jason sat back on the couch and closed his eyes for a few minutes. Nobody said anything to him because they knew he was working. Faith didn't say anything else and turned back to the window. Justice went to his desk and pulled out another file from a hidden drawer. He wasn't always a mob lawyer. He wasn't always a champion for the down trodden as a civil rights attorney. Somewhere in between that he was General Counsel to ELQ. Justice doesn't always follow his little sister or his cousin immediately but he got enough from that to understand the source of the problem.
Jason didn't open his eyes as he spoke.
"Justice?"
"Its been over a year so Faith would have access to more up to date information on the specifics. Only one company operates commercial shipping out of Havana that could be part of this. Its impossible to pierce the corporate veil. The ownership is buried so deep and has been for over 30 years. Only those on the inside would have known."
Then he opened the file and started skimming through some of the papers inside. Rey, Caroline and Emily are completely lost with the conversation. Rey wonders if its a Quartermaine thing the way they start speaking in the middle of a sentence or use one word at a time. Then he glances over at Emily and sees that she's clueless so he dismisses that thought. About this time, Faith walks over to the couch and motions for Jason to scoot over so she can sit down. She looks to Jason and he nods so she addresses the group.
"U.S. foreign policy prohibits commerical enterprise or trade with Cuba. Numerous large legitimate corporations have ignored that law for decades and continued their associations or formed new ones. ELQ is one of them. In addition to their most profitable and well known export, cigars, Cuba exports refined sugar. They have always had large sugar cane plantations and in their day, it was a major source of capital for the country and individual businesses. One of several ELQ subsidiaries Tracy is using to finance her stock purchases with Soleto's money is an industrial line, Tradieac Inc. She is also using it as a shield to cover her own double cross so that she can retain ownership of the stock without his knowledge or his business manager & accountants understanding the way she set up the deal."
Then she stops talking. Jason isn't concerned. He knows that's what she does when she goes into thinking mode and doesn't bother her. Everyone else is still lost. Justice got that part. He also makes the sugar cane connection to Cuba like everyone else but has no clue what that has to do with their business further south or if there's a problem. Finally Emily has to ask.
"What does that mean? And is the business safe?"
Jason caught that and looked at her questioningly. Emily smiled and nodded. She knew exactly which business she was talking about and it wasn't 80 proof. They were alright.
Instead of answering the question, Faith gives her instructions.
"Em, do a search for all shipping lines currently petitioning for a transport license out of Puerto Rico or who have been granted a license in the last week."
It didn't take long. In fact, she had her answer just barely after she finished typing.
"Oh, shit."
Faith doesn't address that comment. She's in question mode and simply needs the information. She doesn't give Emily any time to get over her surprise.
"When?"
Emily just stares at Faith in wide eyed amazement.
"How did you do that?"
Rey, Caroline and Justice want some answers. Rey's all for the telepathy thing on occasion but the Quartermaine 1/2 sentences are annoying him again. One glance at Caroline and he sees she's right with him on that. He's not waiting anymore.
"Emily, the rest of us at the back of the class need catching up."
"Sorry. Tradieac Inc. applied for and was granted a commercial transport license in Puerto Rico today. Or yesterday since its after 4am. Their application was submitted the day before that. I didn't know what I was looking for when I searched but they were also awarded a $5.4 million dollar private contract for an unnamed transportation deal but its listed as non commodity. Which means its not refined sugar."
Then she looks back at Faith,
"How did you do that?"
"Its my job."
Caroline and Rey looked at each other. Hardly. But they both had a better understanding of why Gambino trusted her with the money. Even though they still have no clue what's going on. Caroline's ready to tackle this.
"But they can't ship for Jason, he own's his own lines. How could they possibly think they could muscle in without anyone finding out?"
Jason was still going over something else in his mind. Faith was going to have to earn her salary and work this through then come up with some options for him. He looks to her and nods.
"Make it worth time and a half."
Faith stands up from her place on the couch next to Jason and starts to pace the room. After several minutes she turns to Emily.
"Now check Tradieac's public and private record in the last....six months. Have they entered into any co-ventures with any Central or Eastern European or overseas based companies?"
Faith stops pacing for a few moments doing the eye close thinking thing before continuing without opening them.
"Companies that are registered or operate out of Yugoslavia, Malta, Turkey, North Africa or....Italy."
Emily worked. Everybody else just sat quietly. Justice took notes because Faith wasn't and he was going to need this information later after everyone left.
After she finished, Emily looked up suspiciously at Jason and Faith. Jason catches her look so he asks.
"What?"
"Morocco, Malta, Tunisia, Turkey and Albania. What is going on?"
Everybody else wants to know the answer to that. Faith looks at her but doesn't answer because she's not finished playing her hunch yet.
"How many co-ventures and do any of them also operate in the Carribean, Miami, Louisianna or New York state?"
It takes Emily a little longer to find the information. While she's doing that, Faith is still pacing. Justice is on his computer looking over the deal he put together for the islands because he didn't like where this was heading as soon as Faith started calling out certain foreign countries and wanted to make sure there was nothing sour in the deal connected to what she was working through.
"There are nine co-ventures. All in the four places you mentioned. For the Caribbean its Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic."
Faith is rubbing her temples and looks like she's trying to stave off a headache. It was giving her a headache trying to out think Tracy on this but that wasn't her suspicion or the place where the most trouble would come if she were right.
"Are any of those co-ventures for construction, sanitation, interstate trucking, gaming or........any commodity other than sugar?"
"All of them. Including citrus and coffee."
"Where is the coffee imported from?"
Emily looks up unhappily.
"Columbia."
Rey's fascinated by this little display. Some of it is making a heck of a lot of sense once he hears the list of co-ventures and the coffee was a dead give away that drugs were involved in there somewhere. Jason is trying to follow Faith. She's mentioned enough areas of his business to make him extremely nervous. He also sees that she knows exactly what's she's doing and how the game is played. But he's still concerned about their operation on the island being unprotected and how that's connected to ELQ and Soleto. And most important, did they find out about it and how.
"What's the bottom line?"
Faith turns to Jason with a tired look on her face.
"She's coming after you."
"Tracy."
"Helena."
No one expected to hear that answer. Jason had suspicions because Bobbie warned him of a Tracy-Helena possible link but they hadn't been able to find anything connecting the two of them. Nor could they find Helena or her money. The room is quiet and the others are looking to Faith and Jason for something. Caroline is trying to work through the Soleto angle because that's closest to her work in Miami. Justice still trying to make sure the private island is secure. Emily now has something to go on in her search for Helena but is still missing a lot. Jason needs options and answers.
"Talk to me."
Faith takes a moment to get her thoughts in order before trying to explain this convoluted mess to people who probably won't understand what those two came up with or how they did it.
"I haven't seen the particulars of how your operation in Miami is structured yet but I'm familiar enough with how to do it as well as other things related to it in order to clean up the money so I was working on that theory. I also don't know anything about Helena specifically or how she works but the basics are the same. She has to stick to what she knows. Cassidines know commerical shipping. Its how they laundred their money for several decades after the revolution in 1917. Tradieac Inc. was Edward's deal. Everyone else inherited it. Ned can't sell it without calling attention to it. But he can use it for certain types of deals that he wouldn't make using other ELQ subsidiaries because it can't be traced back to him. Tracy knew about it from her time at ELQ just like Justice. Its the perfect cover and rider for everyone trying to come after you both."
That got the other's attention. Emily had to ask,
"Ned? What kind of deals?"
Jason didn't skip a beat responding. He understood Ned a heck of a lot better since the night Emily moved in.
"Ned lives in the real world. Just don't let that get around."
They all accept that because they can't do anything with it. Jason turns back to Faith.
"Ok, explain Puerto Rico for me."
"Your islands are safe for the moment. That's why they're asking questions. Moving into Puerto Rico now is Soleto's way of having his transport in place for taking over your distribution network. First they had to figure out if you'd really gotten into the game after Moreno. That was a surprise so they weren't sure. But, even if you hadn't they still have to be ready to open it up after you go down. Everybody thinks you're using Puerto Rico and the rum export to ride full cover for the drugs. You're not importing enough into Miami directly from Columbia to support your entire network so its logical. But, you're not exporting enough from Puerto to make up the difference so they're trying to figure out what other deals you have going down there to cover the shipments. Somebody got to somebody at the ATF office in Puerto Rico. Emily needs to check that as well.
Tradieac Inc. makes money for ELQ, that's good for Tracy's long term plan to take over the company. She figures she'll have a continued source of capital once things are in place from both take overs. Soleto is happy because he's operating on the fact that he has a shipping network in place that won't cancel the contract on him. Plus, he's shielded because of the foreign ownership. In the meantime, he's also making money from it because of other deals Tracy has set up for him.
"Where does Helena figure into this and how did she get the connection?"
"Sonny Corinthos must not have been as stupid as you all thought."
"Even from the grave he keeps fucking up my business. Go ahead."
"At least 6 months ago she was trying to work something out for coming after the Spencers and anyone else on her list. Sonny must have given her enough specifics of the Puerto Rico end of the business to go with. Retired and in hiding, he still needed to be a player and he still needed to protect himself. Turning Benny gave him up to date details of the changes you made to the business and exactly how you were operating out of Puerto Rico. Cassidines have had extensive dealings in Cuba and most other countries that the U.S. hasn't had diplomatic or trade relationships with in decades. Em said she hasn't touched her personal accounts. Her secret stash of money was invested outside the Cassidine Estate. Where could she hide money for the last 20 years? Where could she continue to make a profit except in this business? So it probably wasn't difficult for her to know who else in the business wants a piece of your business.
ELQ's principle place of business is located in Port Charles. So was everyone else on Helena's hit list when she first started. The Spencers are connected to you. You are connected to ELQ. That's the logical place for her to start. And now that she knows it was you who went after Sonny on her island and exposed her recovery to the rest of the Cassidines, you're at the top of the list. I don't know who contacted whom but Tracy marrying Soleto was a neon sign that she has you in her sights. Her last bid for taking over ELQ wasn't successful and Helena had to figure the woman would try again. But Tracy was working on this long before she married Soleto. There's no way she could have done this much ground work and set up such an intricate strategy in the last 2 months. Remember that Tracy knew Sonny as well. She met him at the first ELQ board meeting after you made the deal with him for your shares."
"Why all the foreign co-ventures? Who's she hiding from?"
"Depending on which she you're talking about, you, Ned and Stefan Cassidine. Those countries afford a great deal of protection for a covert take over such as this. Its cost efficient and the regs are easy to finess. Certain Lybian companies use their next door neighbor, Tunisia, as a registry to hide their true origin in order to conduct business with corporations and nations who have cut off diplomatic and trade relations with them. This is the Cassidine angle. Its where Helena made her investments and launders her money. She doesn't have to worry about the IRS or any other U.S. agency. She also doesn't have to worry about Greece. She's not responsible to anything except the Cassidine Estate and Stefan is the Cassidine Estate. He is THE Cassidine. And that means something more because she does have to worry about him. I imagine Helena has been in the business of supporting the business for decades. She doesn't want or need to take over territory and be the boss, all she has to do is sit back and get richer from the ventures she negotiated or invested in. She's also in a position to influence certain governments and heads of legitimate international corporations because of the Cassidine name.
Ned's not squeaky clean, but he's clean enough not to know certain things that I know. That you know. He wouldn't have made the connection or been of assistance to you because he didn't hear Caroline's report and you aren't sharing it with him. Stefan wouldn't be looking at ELQ but he would pay attention to you in his search for a way to defang Helena. The man isn't stupid and I'm sure many of the investments made for and on behalf of the Cassidine Estate are structured in this way as well. They are legitimate and just the right amount of steps away from crossing certain lines, but that just depends on which country the venture is formed. However, he doesn't know what you know about the business. More importantly, he doesn't know what the people in this room know specifically about your business. This also something that Soleto's people would not have any experience or understanding. Tracy, yes, because of her work with a legitimate Fortune 500 blue chip. All business managers in the business operate the same way. They all think the same way. They all launder and hide the money the same way. And the Feds only investigate that way. Soleto's people couldn't follow this if she left them a trail."
Rey's got everything so far but is kinda stuck on the last thing.
"But you're a business manager in the business and you figured it out."
Jason had that covered.
"Faith is one of a kind."
She smiled at him from the spot she was leaning against on the wall while she broke everything down. Jason wasn't finished with her.
"What are you not telling me?"
"You've got maybe two weeks until everybody moves in. The Department of Agriculture is going to be sending someone, many some ones to Puerto Rico within the next two weeks. That is connected to the payoff for Tradieac Inc.'s license. This is the only way your competitors are going to get the information they need. Inspectors will be all over your distilleries and sugar refineries looking for violations under the guise of a spot inspection. They will also be inspecting your plantations. All of them. They're going to be checking for everything. Helena doesn't have that kind of influence over federal agencies. Tracy doesn't have that kind of influence. Soleto might because of other areas of his business if enough money was passed around and Tracy convinced him to do it. And, let's hope its him because the alternative is very bad."
Jason's dreading her answer but knows where she's going.
"Edward."
"Yes."
"I need some options. What do you suggest?"
"First thing I suggest is finding out who was payed off in Puerto Rico to issue the license. It shouldn't be difficult. They probably aren't a principle player in this. Just another government bribe. But, you need to know what they know. I need the particulars of the Tradieac's private contract in Puerto Rico. That's the legitimate reason for granting the license so quickly. The fact that they've operated in that area for so long gives them credibility in any investigation. I'm thinking it will also lead back to Helena. They are using each other because its mutually beneficial---for the moment.
The second thing you need to do is start moving the money. I put a tracer program on your accounts so I can be alerted and monitor anyone who's trying to track your money. It hasn't gone of yet, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't make a few changes. But that's the easy way, something anyone would think to do and something they're prepared to get around. I need to start giving your money away and I need to do it quickly."
She's lost them all on that point but Jason has an idea where she's going. Just not the specifics.
"Giving it away?"
"Yes, my term. No one takes over a failing business if they want immediate profits without massive capital expenditures unless they specifically want to operate at a loss for tax purposes. That's not how this business works. If they can't figure out what you have, they can't figure out where it is and they can't go after it. The network and contacts you have are enough to convince the dedicated to stick with it but its still going to cost them. I don't just hide money I redefine it."
"What do you need?"
"Everything you have. I have studied Benny's work from the day he stepped in for Silver. There's a reason he was in the Dominican Republic."
That made Caroline's eye shoot up just a tad.
"How'd you know Silver was in the Domincan Republic?"
"My former client sat on the Commission. I know a great deal."
"Ok."
Justice and Jason make eye contact then file that away before Jason moves things along.
"What else?"
"Let me go after Soleto."
"How?"
"Let me steal his money."
Justice looks at Faith and no longer sees a business associate. He's trying to figure out what his little sister is getting at and how she thinks she can pull it off.
"Faith?"
She knows what Justice is thinking and she thinks she knows what Jason is thinking. She pins them both in her gaze before speaking.
"First, do either of you care how you acquire an immediate infusion of capital?"
It didn't take Jason long.
"No. Why?"
"You're going to fight another war soon. How you decide to do that is up to you. But if I start taking what he has now, disrupting what Tracy set up for him...."
Jason finished it for her.
"The strings fall apart and the everybody starts turning on each other. In the meantime, I get flush."
"Exactly. The wild card is Edward. Tracy will make a frontal assault on ELQ in the next two weeks. That means she's coming home for a visit soon. Its more beneficial to him that you should loose your territory than he should loose ELQ. He's been in the business longer than any of us have been alive. He's done it all and he's crossed every line you have. He just does it with a pretty face. Ned is ELQ but Edward Quartermaine is Edward Quartermaine and he's got side deals and contacts none of us will probably ever know about. He'll work those while pressuring Ned to protect the company. At the same time, he'll work with Tracy to get the things on his list we know he really wants."
Rey and Caroline were following her intrigued, impressed and concerned until she got to that last part. They both noted that Justice, Emily, Faith and Jason all made eye contact at her last sentence and none of them looked pleased. They didn't ask any questions or show that they caught that.
"The FDA inspections worry me. If he's behind it instead of Tracy & Soleto, it means that he's been working on a way to get to you since Moreno. Of all the people on the planet, Edward Quartermaine has to be the most impressed with what you did. If enough pressure is or was applied, your entire Puerto Rico operation could be shut down under regulatory review for several weeks or up to a few months. That leaves you wide open to other federal agencies because you won't have any semi legitimate cover for the drugs or your other unreportable income. That's another reason I need to start remanaging your money. The point is for both you and Ned to survive this and come out ahead in the end. Ned is going after Tracy. He intends to get her money too."
"But then we're both fighting over the money."
"No, Ned is only going to touch what's already clean. He won't have time to pretty everything up. Plus, he expects you to take the dirty money anyway. I want to take Helena's too. She has a lot more. You break people your way, I break them mine. She can't operate behind the scenes and stay under Stefan's radar without her separate source of income and capital reserves. The money is her power. Taking it solves a few of your personal problems as well. These co-ventures are my immediate problem. Its an excellent system and anything formed more than 6 weeks ago means it was structured in such a way that you were not a primary factor. Meaning, regardless of if you took out Moreno, Soleto had every intention of doing so as soon as he moved in. If Rivera succeeded, Soleto would have just taken it from him instead of trying to take it from you. Everything is in place. You want what they set up. You also want Helena out of it permanently so that you can have ownership of all revenue generating aspects of their partnership. Just like Soleto, you want to step in. Its a very good set up and its extremely lucrative if utilized properly. The upside is, with the exception of any co-ventures operating directly against U.S. foreign trade policy, they are all legitimate enterprises. You need that source of income on the your sheets to keep the IRS off your back because they will get to you before the DEA or the FBI ever will.
Justice operates on a different level than most counsel for your competitors because of his resume and experience. Sonny didn't have that, neither did Rivera or Frank Smith. Soleto doesn't have that either. What he can set up for you in the future can help make you untouchable to most but you need the additional capital. And you need a significant about of liquid assets tied to foreign investments in some of the countries I mentioned earlier. That's part of what I did for Gambino and as long as you don't get caught like him, it will work for you too."
Jason smiled as he thought about the other part in this he wanted to play. Justice laughed.
"Alright, little sister, I suppose you really are a financial planner."
"Told you so."
Jason nodded.
"Ok, go ahead. You and I will meet later today. And, I have another idea I want to run by you after I think about it for a while."
She sees where his head is and laughes.
"Yes, I can do that too. But be prepared for Ned to throw a minor fit. He won't be mad but he will be extremely annoyed."
Jason turned to look at her seriously. Everyone else followed his eye. Rey was now convinced it was a Quartermaine genetic thing.
"How'd you know?"
"Because its what I would want."
Jason laughs remembering their first exchange. Then he turns to Rey.
"St. Na'Salle is going to have to wait. You're going to be in Puerto Rico until the inspectors leave and your're going to be there before they arrive. You're gonna have to work with Salazar to make sure that everything passes inspection. Don't announce the trip, though. See if and who you can catch off guard, just to be sure. It probably isn't coming from the inside so you'll have to really work your contacts down there.
Caroline, you're going back to Miami. Its a 3 hour flight if I need you to ask anyone up here questions. In the meantime, I want you in place before this goes down. Be prepared for a visit to Columbia as soon as Faith unravels what's connected to them. Start asking questions in Miami to see if you can find exactly who's asking about me. Just do it quietly, no hammer---yet. Get with Rey on the specifics of St. Na'Salle so you can take a quick trip down there in his place once you're settled.
Em?"
"Yes."
"Find out who's doing what to me from the Department of Agriculture. The individual FDA inspectors coming to investigated my Puerto Rico operation are on someone's payroll. That's the only way they'll come up with violations or try to shut me down. I want to know who they are before they arrive and who they're working for. Something tells me the FTC is about to start auditing my export shipments as well. I want to know who they are, how much they were payed and who owns them. I want to see them coming. And if its possible, I want to keep them for myself. Rey also needs confirmation of where that is coming from.
Emily is nodding because she's confident she can do that.
"Done. What else?"
"Find out what the old man is up to these days."
Emily's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open as sat back against the couch.
"You don't ask for much."
"I know you can do it."
"Then consider it done. At double time, of course."
Jason looks at Faith mildly annoyed,
"Quit teaching her stuff. We already negotiated."
Faith laughed but didn't say anything.
Emily isn't finished yet.
"I'll need luds off his private line in the study and his cell phone since the day I moved out of the mansion. I've got the numbers. Get them to me on CD-ROM not paper. I also need you to start tapping both lines ASAP. And it would really help if you put someone on him for me in addition to whomever you already have watching him inside the house."
Jason turned to Emliy with narrowed eyes because she was getting just a little too good at her job. He caught Rey's eye but he just shrugged like it was normal.
"Done. We're gonna sit down and have a long talk about a lot of stuff later."
"I am a professional. You're paying for quality, you'll get quality. I just don't come cheap."
It was too early or too late to deal with his little sister so he let that slide.
Instead he turned to Faith.
"When you hit on something that's connected to ELQ beyond Tradieac that Ned needs, let me know so he and I can have a sit down. Prepare a report that he can follow regarding any other way Helena might have gotten to him through Tracy that leaves me out of it."
"No problem."
"Justice?"
"Yes."
"While you're working on all that other stuff and the legal aspects of Faith's projects....keep me out of jail."
The sun rose long before they wrapped up the meeting and headed back to their respective beds for a few hours sleep before tackling what had to be done. They looked like a sight to the new shift of guards in the hall. But everybody knew that was no pajama party or sleep over. For them to all be roused out of bed meant things were going to start heating up. Emily stepped ahead of Caroline and Jason as they entered the penthouse and went straight to her office to sleep so she could cut down on the steps getting to work. Letisha was at the dinning room table with Lucas and Michael having breakfast. She took one look at them, nodded and averted her eyes. But just like Jade, she didn't miss that lap top case on Emily's shoulder. It wasn't hard for her to figure out Emily was working for her brother once she passed the study on their return from the safe house and saw the key pad on the door. The fact that Em spends hours in there spoke volumes. Letisha is pretty good at reading a situation before it unfolds. She knows it isn't time to pack but security around her and the kids will tighten. She turned her head in time to see Caroline and Jason at the stairs after they spent some time with Lucas and Michael at the table. She knew something was up with them. Seeing Caroline reach over and take Jason's hand was beyond obvious. Everything else around there was crazy, so Letisha figured a little extra crazy wouldn't hurt.
Once they returned to Jason's room, Caroline stopped just inside the door. Since Jason was still holding her hand he was forced to stop as well. All she got was a quizzical expression for why she stopped. She didn't notice and simply stepped closer to him, put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. He returned the embrace. After a few moments he had to ask.
"What was that for?"
She knew she was going to have to answer the question. Considering everything that passed between them it shouldn't have been a big deal but some times her impulsive reactions to him made her feel a little exposed. She hesitated enough before responding to let him know she was embarrassed again.
"Some times I just like being in your arms this way."
He was going to go there but first he pulled her closer and tightened the embrace for a full minute. Then he pulled back just enough to make eye contact but did not release her.
"Why are you embarrassed?"
Caroline really wishes they weren't so close some times so that he couldn't read her so well. It was silly and she couldn't explain it but she was. She tried to turn her head again because she knew her face was about to turn bright red. She could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks. That prevented her from going with the all purpose lie of 'am not.' Jason used one figure to gently turn her head back to him.
"I...."
That's all she could think to say. The conversation wasn't particularly enlightening or informative for Jason but he got it. Stepping out of the embrace, he took her hand and led her to the bed. Once they were settled and comfortable in each other's arms he decided to help her out.
"This is one of the things I look forward to most in the day. Lying next to you like this."
She lifted her head off his chest slightly to look at him. She knew it was the truth because Jason said it. She just didn't realize it was the truth. He got it.
"I thought we settled that awhile ago. I am your's, Caroline, and I'm right where I want to be."
She closed her eyes for a few moments just to center herself and make sure she was thinking clearly when she spoke. Hearing him say those words was a lot to take.
"Its different this time. It feels....I feel different."
Jason nodded. This was new territory for both of them and she was feeling exposed and on shaky ground. There were enough changes in their relationship over the last couple of months, this shouldn't have been a surprise.
"Is it a bad feeling?"
She didn't hesitate.
"No."
"Do you want to stop? Go back to the way things were?"
Jason isn't entirely sure what things are now or where they are going but he knows how he feels. He had his answer before she spoke as she tightened her arms around him.
"Definitely not."
"Then we don't have to worry about anything. And you don't ever have to be embarrassed with me. Or feel uncomfortable doing or saying anything you want or need."
"I meant everything I've said and done between us."
He knew what that meant.
"So did I."
"I'm your's. There's no place else I want to be."
He leaned in and kissed her forehead before speaking.
"Then we're both exactly where we want to be."
She smiled brightly at that and nodded.
"When do I go back to Miami?"
"In the next couple of days. I want to see what Faith and Emily uncover first. And Justice is doing his own search on the island at this point. He probably didn't even go back to bed. You'll need as much background information as you can get."
"For how long?"
"I'm not sure yet. Rey's on someone else's time table. We're waiting for the inspectors. So, he'll be out of reach for as long as they're there. That puts me in a difficult spot here. I'll call you back before things heat up. Definitely once Tracy arrives but I'm thinking before."
Caroline exhaled slowly.
"I'm gonna miss this. Miss you. I don't sleep so well without you now."
It was Jason's turn to close his eyes in order to take that in. Except that first night they returned from Puerto Rico, neither said or showed any signs of it not being easy. He adjusted her position to bring her closer to him in comfortable kissing range but spoke first.
"Same here."
Then he leaned down and moved in for a kiss. It was slow and tender. Intense and full of the unnamed between them. There was passion but that's not what it was about. And it surprised both of them.