** Author's appreciation:
Rach6 – That's okay! I'm just glad you're back and enjoying it!!
Pop off valve – We're both lucky that you stumbled across it, then, aren't we? I'm glad you like it. As for Sophie's bankroller? You may be right… or not… who knows? :)
Tory – Good to see you! I really had a hard time writing that J&C scene because I'm such a J&C shipper. I had to keep telling myself that it was a CarLo fic (CarLo rocks, by the way!). I love their friendship, too, and I wanted it to take center stage for a moment… Thanks for reviewing!
Luvcarlo – Thanks! And don't worry, I love Jason too much to ever have him 'gun' for Carly. I don't want anyone suspecting him… And I know what you mean about him not being a best friend on the show… I miss their interaction. Except this last episode with him being all angry at Courtney and Sonny for taking the kids away. "I've known Carly a hell of a lot longer than either of you…" Best line of the show… Now if only he holds to that anger and keeps defending Carly when she can't defend herself – like a best friend would… I'm really not liking Sonny or Courtney much at this point.
***************************************
"So Ms. Germaine doesn't know that Carly isn't dead?" Jason asked into his phone. There was an affirmative from the other end of the line.
"Good, it'd better stay that way. We can't afford anything else to happen. Start looking into everything on her. Find her connections, find her business dealings. I want to know what she eats for breakfast, is that clear?" Jason ordered. He hung up before an answer came. Blowing out a heavy breath, he sat on his couch. He needed to find out who had cut the limo's brake line. If Sophie didn't have anything to do with it, then who did? Jason let out a frustrated growl as the door to his penthouse opened. In walked Sonny. He didn't look too good.
"Sonny?" Jason asked, worried. The man in question waved off the concern.
"Jason, I need you to do something for me," the mob boss said, his eyes looking everywhere but at Jason.
"Yeah?" Jason asked while standing up, curious as to what the man needed from him.
"I need you to take control for a little while," Sonny said. Jason looked at him in surprise.
"What?" Sonny held up his hands to ward off any other questions.
"Let me talk, Jason," Sonny said wearily. "First of all, I was served with my divorce papers today… and I signed them. I signed my wife over to another man. Second, I involved my wife – who I love very much – in a situation that very nearly got her killed because I was so bent on revenge. I think I need to… get out of here for a while… think some things through. I have the plane ready to take me to Puerto Rico." Jason was silent as he thought over his boss' words. And honestly, he couldn't find any fault in them. In fact, if Jason were completely honest with himself, he'd like to lay another punch on the man. But it wouldn't accomplish anything besides making a strained friendship even more so. Finally, Jason nodded.
"If that's what you need to do, Sonny, then I can't stop you," he said. Sonny looked up at his right hand man.
"I trust you, Jason. I know that you aren't happy with me right now and I can't blame you. I trust that you will take care of things, and make sure Carly is safe and happy. You were always so much better at it than I was anyway," Sonny said sadly. If Jason was shocked by the admission, he didn't show it. He just crossed his arms and waited for Sonny's next move.
"I trust you to take care of my sister, too. And Michael and Leigh. I don't plan on staying away very long, but I need to know that my family is safe," Sonny continued. Jason nodded.
"You don't have to worry about that, Sonny. I know what they mean to you… and you know what they mean to me." Sonny nodded as he reached out to shake Jason's hand. After a second, Jason took it.
"I'll be in contact with you. Let you know what I'm planning," Sonny said as he reached for the door. Their eyes met once before the mob boss opened the door and walked out it. Jason let out a breath as he sat back down. He wished things could be different… but then again, Jason knew he was long out of wishes where some things were concerned. He'd wished, so long ago, that Sonny and Carly could be happy… and they had been for a while. He'd wished that Carly would survive the car accident last year… and she did. He'd wished that she be brought home safe from where Ric had been keeping her… and she had. He'd wished that Leigh be born safely, unlike Michael… and she had been. He'd wished that Carly would be returned from Sophie's clutches unhurt… it had been close, but she had been. And he'd wished, prayed, and hoped that Sonny had nothing to do with it. Jason shook his head. You can't win them all… and his wish quota for the next ten years was pretty much used up by now. He knew that if he wished that Carly loved someone other than Lorenzo Alcazar it was pretty much going to fall on deaf ears. As the thought rang through his head, the penthouse door opened again. In walked Courtney.
"Hi," he said in greeting as he stood up. Courtney looked up at his voice.
"Hi," she returned as she hung her coat and purse up. "I didn't think you would be home."
"Why not?" he asked. Courtney put her hands in her jeans pockets, still standing near the door.
"Because you've been avoiding this place like the plague," she said. Jason continued to watch her as her eyes darted around the room, looking at everything but him. He had to hand it to Courtney and Sonny. The brother and sister certainly had similar ways of showing their discomfort.
"I had to take Michael and Leigh over to Carly," he said, leaving out the fact that Carly was over at Alcazar's. Courtney nodded.
"Right. Carly," she said. Jason frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. The blond shrugged.
"Nothing, I guess," she said as she started towards the stairs. Jason stopped her.
"No, I want to know," he demanded. "What have you got against Carly now?"
"Everything's about Carly, Jason!" the girl finally yelled. "We were two steps from being married, but we couldn't do it because Carly was missing. You spent the entire time trying to find her, picking fights with Sonny and not being with me! You were the one to rush in to save her from Alcazar. You were always the one that had to be there for her when she and Sonny fought. You were the one that went rushing after her when Sophie Germaine took her. And now, you are the one that supports this thing she has with Alcazar and charters her kids – my brother's kids – to her when we know full well what she's doing!" The angry blond was now pacing in front of the stairway, flinging her arms to emphasize her point. Jason's frown turned into an icy stare as he crossed his arms across his chest.
"Why don't you want me to help Carly, Courtney? She's my best friend! And she's your friend too! Or at least she was!" Jason said. Courtney laughed, no traces of humor it in at all.
"She was my friend… until she betrayed my brother… and had my fiancé running all over the world after her," she said bitterly. Jason shook his head.
"Is that what this is all about? You're jealous of my friendship with Carly?" he asked. Courtney turned to face him.
"Jealous? How very astute of you, Jason. Yes, I am jealous. I think I have every right to be," she said. "That woman has sucked every drop of loyalty out of you, and she's your best friend. I, on the other hand… your fiancée, may I remind you… have been sitting at home alone wondering where the man I love has been. Carly expecting you to drop everything to come after her isn't a very best friend thing to do, is it?" Jason was silent as the shock from her words wore off.
"Wasn't a very best friend thing to do? She was being held by a madwoman, Courtney – a woman that your brother went into business with in order to rid himself of the competition. Sonny was supposed to kill her… and I think he would have if he hadn't come to his senses. Sonny went behind all of our backs and had this whole scheme orchestrated. He – one of my best friends – betrayed my other best friend. I don't think that was a best friend thing to do either. Do you?" Jason asked. The woman was almost stunned into silence. What could she say that didn't make her out to be a bitch? Her face fell in surrender, her hands finding their way back to her pockets.
"As for supporting her 'thing' with Alcazar? No, I don't. Not really. But I support Carly. She's happy and that's all I ever wanted for her. She's happier now that she has been in the past year… almost two. She's repeatedly jumped through hoops for Sonny and for his love. If she's found something that she feels safe in, then I have no right whatsoever to deny her that," Jason explained. Courtney nodded, not looking at him. It was as much agreement as Jason was ever going to get out of her.
"Why so gung-ho on making everything right for Carly, Jason?" she asked softly. Jason turned from his girlfriend.
"Because I wasn't there for her. Not when it counted most. If I had been, a lot of this would have never happened," he said. Courtney scoffed.
"You were there for her Jason… you've pulled her out of a lot of messes," she said, defending the man now pacing. He stopped to look at her.
"Courtney, you weren't there, okay? Don't pretend to know everything. I left her in Sonny's care, and then I came back in time to smooth things over between them, and then I left again – coming back to smooth things over again. If I'd stayed, I would have realized that they really made each other miserable. I delayed the inevitable. And if I hadn't delayed it a year or so ago, then it wouldn't have turned out so disastrous for everyone," he said, hanging his head in his self-imposed guilt. When he looked up again, she was watching him sadly. She stepped to him and placed a hand on his arm.
"Jason…" she said softly. "Things are quieter now. Carly is… happy. Sonny will work through this. Let's go away… just you and me." Jason shook his head at the woman's pleading tone.
"I can't Courtney. Sonny needs me to take care of things for him. He left… he went to Puerto Rico. I need to run things until he comes back," Jason said. A spark flared in Courtney's blue eyes.
"Oh… well… I see where I lay in your priorities," she said coldly. Jason shook his head.
"Courtney, it's business. You say you understand, but I don't think you do. This is who I am," he said. Courtney let out a chuckle as she held up a hand to stop him.
"Whatever, Jason. So, tell me. Am I third behind business, or am I third behind Carly? Which one is number one on Jason Morgan's 'Most Important' list, hmmm?" she asked.
"Courtney, you know I love you…" Jason started, but she didn't let him finish.
"Yeah, Jason. You do… just not enough," she said as she pulled the engagement ring off of her finger. Rather than throw it at him, she just let it drop to the ground. Courtney went over and retrieved her coat and purse. After she opened the door, she turned back to look at him.
"When you finally get your priorities straight, come and find me. I might be waiting," she said before she walked out. Jason couldn't breathe for a second, but when he focused again, he walked over and picked up the discarded ring. The battle lines had been drawn. Courtney on her brother's side… and Jason on Carly's. The divorce was going to end up messy. His hand closed over the gold circle as he looked at the door Courtney had walked through. Messy… but not for Sonny and Carly. For Courtney and him, instead.
***************************************
~*~*~ The Brownstone – later that night ~*~*~
A dark figure stood outside the dark apartment building. After a few seconds of fancy finger work, the front door clicked open. The figure slipped inside noiselessly and closed the door softly behind him. Upstairs, third door on the left. The darkness provided cover for the unknown person to slip silently up the stairs and to begin counting doors. He stood outside the third door with a slight smirk on his face as he slipped the silencer onto the gun. Knowing there were sleeping bodies in the room next to his destination, he turned the knob slowly. There should be a balcony… do your job and get out. As soundlessly as possible, he opened the door and entered the room, closing the door behind him. There to his left, on the bed, lay his unmoving target. He raised the gun and prepared to shoot. A sudden noise to his right made him attempt to jerk around, but an arm slipped around his throat and a hand gripped his gun hand before he could react.
"Howdy partner… nice evenin' ain't it?" Luke Spencer's drawl broke the night silence. Suddenly, the assailant was released from the neck, but a fist met his face a second later. Luke knelt over the newly unconscious body. "I knew someone would come… I just didn't know when. Otherwise I'd have had a party for ya!" He then went over to where the gun had fallen to the floor and picked it up with his pointer finger. Sparing a quick look to the man on the floor, he looked back to the gun and made a face.
"And these are just naaaasty…" he said as he stood up straight again. Then he shrugged and tucked the gun into the waist of his jeans. He bent down again to smack the prone, leather jacketed man's cheeks.
"Let's go James Dean. We need to go make you a rebel with a cause," he said before he slung an arm over his shoulder.
***************************************
~*~*~ Port Charles Police Department ~*~*~
Luke strolled as casually as he could into the PCPD with a groggy, beaten man over his shoulder. It had given Luke great pleasure to have the man wake up on the way to the station… and then have to soften him up some more. The white-haired man couldn't help but smirk as he pushed his way through the double doors and back into the desired area.
"Well, lookee here gumshoes! I've been out doing your job for you!" he cried, calling the attention of three uniformed officers. Luke mercilessly deposited the not-quite-aware captive in a chair. He then pulled the gun from his waistband and laid it on a desk – well away from the other man's grasp. "And there is his six-shooter."
"What are we holding him for?" one of the officers asked. Luke turned with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Why, attempted homicide, of course. And I believe I saw him jaywalking, too," he said as he sat down on another chair and leaned back, hands behind his head.
"And who, pray tell, did this character try to kill?" Scott Baldwin's voice called out causing Luke to turn in surprise. When he saw the DA walk into the room, he rolled his eyes with a small groan.
"Not you, unfortunately," Luke replied.
***************************************
~*~*~ An undisclosed location ~*~*~
"What do you mean he was caught?" a voice asked.
"Luke Spencer was there waiting for him. By the time I tried to do something, the whole house was aware something had happened," a wavering voice answered.
"This is unacceptable," the fist voice said menacingly. There was an audible gulp.
"I know. We'll take care of it. It will get done," the other voice said.
"See that it is. As of our unfortunate associate… you know what to do."
***************************************
** A/N – Sorry there was no Carly/Lorenzo in this part, but it was necessary in order for me to set up the last few chapters of the story. It's all going to come to a head soon… and I, for one, can't wait. Almost there, folks! Figured out who's behind all of this, and why? Have any guesses? And where's Sophie? Is she involved? What's going to happen to her? Let me know what you think!!! **