Port Charles Police Department-
Mac had returned from his short stay at the home and had been hard at work for the past several hours. He had many things that he needed to go over, both in his head and actually doing it out on paper to at least make sense of what was happening. Nothing was making sense, though. That was the problem. Everything that they had, which was really only the wallet that was found on the scene and the possible motive, pointed at Damian. Mac was still firm in his belief that the boy was not guilty. He wondered, had he not seen the display that he had seen two nights before, which showed Mac that without a doubt Damian was a decent person, would he be as firm in his defense? Did he truly think so lowly of Damian to begin with, or was he merely trying to keep Maxie away from anyone because of the varied incidents that had happened with Kyle? Another question that didn't have an answer. Mac hated it when his personal life got caught up with his work. It made everything much more complicated than it should have been. The first step would be to take himself off of the case, but he wasn't going to do that in this instance because he wasn't sure that anyone else could treat it in the way it needed to be treated. There were too many people that would want to put Damian away simply because of his relationship to Sonny. Mac always knew that would get one of them in trouble soon enough, and he had a feeling that the person that would feel it the worst would be Damian. The sins of the father must be passed on to the son.
There was a light tapping on Mac's closed door. It broke his concentration. It wasn't unexpected, though. "Come in, Lucky," Mac called out.
Lucky walked in, not suited up since he was technically off duty and was called when he wasn't expected to be. "You wanted to see me?"
"I need to ask you something about what happened last night, Lucky."
"Go ahead, Mac. I've got nothing to hide," Lucky took a seat.
"I know you don't," Mac said firmly. Lucky, he would be the first to admit, wasn't the best candidate for a cop when he signed up for the force. He was a Spencer, they had a history of not exactly being the most law abiding people in society, particularly Luke. He even took the job because he wanted to investigate what was going on with Summer's death at the hands of Stefan. A murder in which his father was unjustly accused of. But now with that case solved, Mac had seen that Lucky was one of the most dedicated people on his force, and one of the most trustworthy. Mac couldn't have been as wrong about Lucky being a member of the police force as he was. It should have showed him that he was oftentimes much too harsh in his judgments of other people. It didn't. One of the many mistakes that Mac had made in his life. "And I want to thank you for coming into my office even though you've been working so hard since last night. I do appreciate it."
"I want to see that we get the right person for doing this as much as anyone else," Lucky looked up at Mac. In a way he idolized Mac. It was hard to explain, although he had never really tried to put the words out of his mouth. Mac was a lot of what Luke could never be, and that was a large part of the appeal. Mac was dedicated to a family that wasn't even his by birth, while Luke would often split town for months at a time at the most inopportune moments that he could find. Lulu was growing up without her father, and Luke didn't really seem to care all that much.
"That's the exact reason why I've called you here."
"I'm listening."
"Do you think someone has an agenda against Damian Zuniga?" Mac asked.
"I wouldn't say the agenda would be against Damian specifically, no," Lucky responded. "But I do believe that they wouldn't be above using him to put Sonny into a situation that could compromise his seat of power in the system that he works for. In fact, I'm almost certain that's the case that we have against us right now. I don't think Damian would have picked up a gun and just began mowing down people at whim. He's not that twisted."
"I agree," Mac leaned against the edge of his desk. "But there are a lot of people that are in this force that do have an agenda against Sonny Corinthos and would not be above throwing his son into the fire just to see Sonny react. And, if Damian is found guilty of this crime, we all know that Sonny will react and we all know that it won't be pretty. The half dozen mobsters that died last night wouldn't be anything compared to what Sonny would do if his son got thrown in jail for life or was sentenced to death."
"You think it was someone that works with us?" Lucky knew that the list was quite long, but he didn't think about it until the moment Mac brought it up, at least not in depth.
"Like you said, he wouldn't do what we're trying to say he did, Lucky. I know the kid is innocent, you know the kid is innocent, but someone is trying to make the kid look guilty. We need to find out who that person is and stop them."
"Any ideas?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Mac responded immediately.
Lucky didn't. He knew who was at the top of the list, "Lansing?"
"Ric would do just about anything, if not anything, to see Sonny pay for whatever agenda he's got in that head of his. But that's why I needed to speak with you, Lucky. You were there at the scene when the evidence was found. Did Lansing act in any unusual way?"
"He wasn't happy about it," Lucky said, recalling the events of the night before. "He looked shocked."
"Do you think it was genuine?"
"Actually... I do, but I don't know. Ric was able to lie to all of you for months about holding Carly captive. He was able to lie to Elizabeth, someone that he claims to love about the same thing. It's obvious that Ric can lie with the best of them and not feel bad about it." Lucky scanned his thoughts, "But, like I said, there was something about him last night. I think he doesn't hate Damian like he hates Sonny."
"Ric hates everyone that has any ties to his brother, Lucky. We all know that he's established that by kidnapping Sonny's wife and his sister." Mac sighed, "But you might be right."
"I don't think Ric could even make it stick if he tried. Anyone who has spent a minute with Damian knows that he doesn't have it in him to kill someone. It would go against everything that he believed in. Ric's smart. Twisted, but very smart. If he wanted to hurt Sonny, he would have picked a better way to do it than by trying to make Damian look like he was a murderer."
"Maybe he tried... and Damian just got in the way."
"I hadn't really thought about it like that," Lucky admitted. "It does make sense, though. Ric could have sent those people to their deaths and tried to get there in time to bust Sonny and Jason, but they were one step ahead and Damian just ended up being caught up in the middle."
"It's not enough to drop the charges that have been implied on the kid, though," Mac's voice didn't hide the combination of anger and regret that he was feeling. "There's no way that the wallet couldn't have been Damian's?"
Lucky shook his head, "I'm the one that found the wallet, Mac. I opened it before Ric did and saw Damian's identification on it. I don't have any reason to want to see him in trouble. Carly might hate him, but I don't."
"Maybe she planted it..."
"If Sonny even thought that she was working against his son, he'd make sure that she never saw her children again," Lucky said. "Carly's irrational, but she wouldn't do something that would compromise her rights as a mother and the time that she could spend with Michael and Morgan. She loves them too much."
"Dammit!" Mac was emotionally and physically exhausted. "I wanted answers, and I'm not getting any no matter what I try!"
"You're not the only one who wants to see this whole mess settled, Commissioner."
Lucky and Mac turned around to see Ric standing in the doorway. Mac was the one to speak. It was his office, after all, "What do you want, Lansing?"
"The same thing that you and Officer Spencer are after, apparently." Ric took a step inside. "I want to see that Damian is exonerated of everything that could be brought against him for the events of last night."
"What's your reason, Ric?" Mac asked. "You've always got a reason for doing anything that doesn't involve helping yourself. Why should I just try and work with you if I don't know what the reason you've got for even trying to help save someone who is your brother's son?"
"I shouldn't have to share my personal reasons with you, Commissioner."
"You shouldn't, but you will," Mac insisted. "If anyone has anything to gain by watching Sonny crumble, it's you, Ric. We all know that."
"You really should try and keep your Commissioner as objective as possible, Officer," Ric spoke directly to Lucky.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to side with Mac on this one, Lansing," Lucky got up and stood next to Mac. "He never kidnapped my cousin, after all."
"So that's what it comes down to?" Ric asked. "You've both got the mindset that I had something to do with trying to put Damian away?"
"We just want to hear what you have to say about it, Ric," Mac said. "It doesn't hurt to tell us what you're thinking. It won't go out of this office."
"I know that my nephew could not have committed the acts that are being placed on him," Ric said. "It's as simple as that."
"Nothing with you is ever simple," Lucky muttered. "You're more convoluted than anyone else I've ever met, and I've come across some less than pleasant people in my time."
"Elizabeth cares for him as well," Ric mentioned. "It would hurt her to see him get punished for something that he didn't do."
"So you're doing this for your ex-wife?" Mac asked.
"Do you really think that acting in defense of one of her friends will win her back, Lansing?" Lucky wondered. "She's seen you at your worst, there's no reason that she should have to ever even want you again."
"But she does, Lucky. For some reason she's willing to give me more chances than she gave you. Maybe I've just got more to offer."
"Both of you, that's enough," Mac ordered. "We can't lose track of what we're trying to accomplish here. I'll trust you, Ric. For now, at least. But if I see anything at all coming from you that makes it seem like you're working to put your nephew away, don't think I won't find a way to make sure that you lose that title that you hold in such high regard."
"I'm looking for the same thing as both of you," Ric said. "We are trying to see to it that justice is served, and is not abused."
"For once, you're actually acting with some sense of moral integrity," Lucky noted. "Keep it up, and I might actually start to like you."
"I don't need your favor, Spencer, nor do I want it."
Scott walked into the room, a grin on his face. "If there were three people I would have never expected to see engaging in idle chit chat, it would be you guys, and yet here you are. The Commissioner, the son of someone who is always on the wrong side of the law, and the corrupt attorney. Nonetheless, it's all of you that I wanted to see, so you've made my job a bit easier." Scott waved a file in his hand, "I've got a surprise for you..."
Mac had returned from his short stay at the home and had been hard at work for the past several hours. He had many things that he needed to go over, both in his head and actually doing it out on paper to at least make sense of what was happening. Nothing was making sense, though. That was the problem. Everything that they had, which was really only the wallet that was found on the scene and the possible motive, pointed at Damian. Mac was still firm in his belief that the boy was not guilty. He wondered, had he not seen the display that he had seen two nights before, which showed Mac that without a doubt Damian was a decent person, would he be as firm in his defense? Did he truly think so lowly of Damian to begin with, or was he merely trying to keep Maxie away from anyone because of the varied incidents that had happened with Kyle? Another question that didn't have an answer. Mac hated it when his personal life got caught up with his work. It made everything much more complicated than it should have been. The first step would be to take himself off of the case, but he wasn't going to do that in this instance because he wasn't sure that anyone else could treat it in the way it needed to be treated. There were too many people that would want to put Damian away simply because of his relationship to Sonny. Mac always knew that would get one of them in trouble soon enough, and he had a feeling that the person that would feel it the worst would be Damian. The sins of the father must be passed on to the son.
There was a light tapping on Mac's closed door. It broke his concentration. It wasn't unexpected, though. "Come in, Lucky," Mac called out.
Lucky walked in, not suited up since he was technically off duty and was called when he wasn't expected to be. "You wanted to see me?"
"I need to ask you something about what happened last night, Lucky."
"Go ahead, Mac. I've got nothing to hide," Lucky took a seat.
"I know you don't," Mac said firmly. Lucky, he would be the first to admit, wasn't the best candidate for a cop when he signed up for the force. He was a Spencer, they had a history of not exactly being the most law abiding people in society, particularly Luke. He even took the job because he wanted to investigate what was going on with Summer's death at the hands of Stefan. A murder in which his father was unjustly accused of. But now with that case solved, Mac had seen that Lucky was one of the most dedicated people on his force, and one of the most trustworthy. Mac couldn't have been as wrong about Lucky being a member of the police force as he was. It should have showed him that he was oftentimes much too harsh in his judgments of other people. It didn't. One of the many mistakes that Mac had made in his life. "And I want to thank you for coming into my office even though you've been working so hard since last night. I do appreciate it."
"I want to see that we get the right person for doing this as much as anyone else," Lucky looked up at Mac. In a way he idolized Mac. It was hard to explain, although he had never really tried to put the words out of his mouth. Mac was a lot of what Luke could never be, and that was a large part of the appeal. Mac was dedicated to a family that wasn't even his by birth, while Luke would often split town for months at a time at the most inopportune moments that he could find. Lulu was growing up without her father, and Luke didn't really seem to care all that much.
"That's the exact reason why I've called you here."
"I'm listening."
"Do you think someone has an agenda against Damian Zuniga?" Mac asked.
"I wouldn't say the agenda would be against Damian specifically, no," Lucky responded. "But I do believe that they wouldn't be above using him to put Sonny into a situation that could compromise his seat of power in the system that he works for. In fact, I'm almost certain that's the case that we have against us right now. I don't think Damian would have picked up a gun and just began mowing down people at whim. He's not that twisted."
"I agree," Mac leaned against the edge of his desk. "But there are a lot of people that are in this force that do have an agenda against Sonny Corinthos and would not be above throwing his son into the fire just to see Sonny react. And, if Damian is found guilty of this crime, we all know that Sonny will react and we all know that it won't be pretty. The half dozen mobsters that died last night wouldn't be anything compared to what Sonny would do if his son got thrown in jail for life or was sentenced to death."
"You think it was someone that works with us?" Lucky knew that the list was quite long, but he didn't think about it until the moment Mac brought it up, at least not in depth.
"Like you said, he wouldn't do what we're trying to say he did, Lucky. I know the kid is innocent, you know the kid is innocent, but someone is trying to make the kid look guilty. We need to find out who that person is and stop them."
"Any ideas?"
"Do you really have to ask?" Mac responded immediately.
Lucky didn't. He knew who was at the top of the list, "Lansing?"
"Ric would do just about anything, if not anything, to see Sonny pay for whatever agenda he's got in that head of his. But that's why I needed to speak with you, Lucky. You were there at the scene when the evidence was found. Did Lansing act in any unusual way?"
"He wasn't happy about it," Lucky said, recalling the events of the night before. "He looked shocked."
"Do you think it was genuine?"
"Actually... I do, but I don't know. Ric was able to lie to all of you for months about holding Carly captive. He was able to lie to Elizabeth, someone that he claims to love about the same thing. It's obvious that Ric can lie with the best of them and not feel bad about it." Lucky scanned his thoughts, "But, like I said, there was something about him last night. I think he doesn't hate Damian like he hates Sonny."
"Ric hates everyone that has any ties to his brother, Lucky. We all know that he's established that by kidnapping Sonny's wife and his sister." Mac sighed, "But you might be right."
"I don't think Ric could even make it stick if he tried. Anyone who has spent a minute with Damian knows that he doesn't have it in him to kill someone. It would go against everything that he believed in. Ric's smart. Twisted, but very smart. If he wanted to hurt Sonny, he would have picked a better way to do it than by trying to make Damian look like he was a murderer."
"Maybe he tried... and Damian just got in the way."
"I hadn't really thought about it like that," Lucky admitted. "It does make sense, though. Ric could have sent those people to their deaths and tried to get there in time to bust Sonny and Jason, but they were one step ahead and Damian just ended up being caught up in the middle."
"It's not enough to drop the charges that have been implied on the kid, though," Mac's voice didn't hide the combination of anger and regret that he was feeling. "There's no way that the wallet couldn't have been Damian's?"
Lucky shook his head, "I'm the one that found the wallet, Mac. I opened it before Ric did and saw Damian's identification on it. I don't have any reason to want to see him in trouble. Carly might hate him, but I don't."
"Maybe she planted it..."
"If Sonny even thought that she was working against his son, he'd make sure that she never saw her children again," Lucky said. "Carly's irrational, but she wouldn't do something that would compromise her rights as a mother and the time that she could spend with Michael and Morgan. She loves them too much."
"Dammit!" Mac was emotionally and physically exhausted. "I wanted answers, and I'm not getting any no matter what I try!"
"You're not the only one who wants to see this whole mess settled, Commissioner."
Lucky and Mac turned around to see Ric standing in the doorway. Mac was the one to speak. It was his office, after all, "What do you want, Lansing?"
"The same thing that you and Officer Spencer are after, apparently." Ric took a step inside. "I want to see that Damian is exonerated of everything that could be brought against him for the events of last night."
"What's your reason, Ric?" Mac asked. "You've always got a reason for doing anything that doesn't involve helping yourself. Why should I just try and work with you if I don't know what the reason you've got for even trying to help save someone who is your brother's son?"
"I shouldn't have to share my personal reasons with you, Commissioner."
"You shouldn't, but you will," Mac insisted. "If anyone has anything to gain by watching Sonny crumble, it's you, Ric. We all know that."
"You really should try and keep your Commissioner as objective as possible, Officer," Ric spoke directly to Lucky.
"I'm afraid that I'm going to side with Mac on this one, Lansing," Lucky got up and stood next to Mac. "He never kidnapped my cousin, after all."
"So that's what it comes down to?" Ric asked. "You've both got the mindset that I had something to do with trying to put Damian away?"
"We just want to hear what you have to say about it, Ric," Mac said. "It doesn't hurt to tell us what you're thinking. It won't go out of this office."
"I know that my nephew could not have committed the acts that are being placed on him," Ric said. "It's as simple as that."
"Nothing with you is ever simple," Lucky muttered. "You're more convoluted than anyone else I've ever met, and I've come across some less than pleasant people in my time."
"Elizabeth cares for him as well," Ric mentioned. "It would hurt her to see him get punished for something that he didn't do."
"So you're doing this for your ex-wife?" Mac asked.
"Do you really think that acting in defense of one of her friends will win her back, Lansing?" Lucky wondered. "She's seen you at your worst, there's no reason that she should have to ever even want you again."
"But she does, Lucky. For some reason she's willing to give me more chances than she gave you. Maybe I've just got more to offer."
"Both of you, that's enough," Mac ordered. "We can't lose track of what we're trying to accomplish here. I'll trust you, Ric. For now, at least. But if I see anything at all coming from you that makes it seem like you're working to put your nephew away, don't think I won't find a way to make sure that you lose that title that you hold in such high regard."
"I'm looking for the same thing as both of you," Ric said. "We are trying to see to it that justice is served, and is not abused."
"For once, you're actually acting with some sense of moral integrity," Lucky noted. "Keep it up, and I might actually start to like you."
"I don't need your favor, Spencer, nor do I want it."
Scott walked into the room, a grin on his face. "If there were three people I would have never expected to see engaging in idle chit chat, it would be you guys, and yet here you are. The Commissioner, the son of someone who is always on the wrong side of the law, and the corrupt attorney. Nonetheless, it's all of you that I wanted to see, so you've made my job a bit easier." Scott waved a file in his hand, "I've got a surprise for you..."