Lorenzo's Lake House-
"Mrs. Morgan?" A voice called out to Courtney.
"What happened?" Courtney asked, trying to look around but seeing nothing, all that was around her was a blackness that wouldn't give way to anything. Was she dead? Was she blind?
"Do you remember anything that happened?"
"Where's my nephew?"
The voice chuckled, "So you do remember what happened earlier today."
"Where is he?" Courtney screamed. "Where have you taken him?"
"I can assure you that the boy is safe, for the moment."
"Where am I?"
"I'm afraid that such information cannot be given to you, you'll have to be out of the know in that instance."
"Do you realize what's going to happen to you if my brother or my husband finds out where I am?" Courtney asked. "Do you know what Jason and Sonny do to people who try and destroy them?"
"We're all well aware of the power that the men in your life possess, Mrs. Morgan. Frankly, however, we don't care."
"It will be your mistake," Courtney grinned. "We're going to get out of this."
"That's an optimistic viewpoint, don't you think?'
"Not for someone who has as much experience in this as I do," Courtney replied. "Sonny and Jason always find a way to get me out of danger."
"You seem to put yourself in danger quite frequently."
"It's never intentional," She said.
"Very few things in life are ever intentional, Mrs. Morgan." The voice appeared to be somewhat more distant. "Would you care for something to drink?"
"Why should I trust you?"
The voice came closer, "What choice do you have? I'm the only one who you know is in the room right now. Who is to say that your nephew isn't a few feet away from you, lying in agony?"
"Leave him alone, please!" Courtney said, her voice cracking in a nervous state. "He's hurt... he needs medical attention."
"We studied his condition enough to know that there is nothing at this point in time that requires an actual doctor," The voice said, putting a drink to Courtney's lip and tipping the glass. "But, worry not, we will find a way to get him medical attention, should he require it."
"How nice of you," Courtney said, breathing. "Too bad you already ruined your record kidnapping both of us. Who do you work for? Faith? Is she back?"
"Mrs. Rosco hasn't been seen from in quite some time, although nobody in particular is mourning that fact. However, you may continue guessing. Even if you get it right, I will not tell you anything."
"Just let me hear Damian... and make sure that he's all right, please."
The voice made a sound that appeared to be thinking about something. "I will discuss this with my superior. If the person in question agrees, I shall take you to your nephew for a time. However, the blindfold will remain on."
Guest Room-
Damian struggled in his bounds again. Once more the pain that he felt was massive. He began to cry from the pain, but he would not make a sound that showed he was in pain. The tears that streamed down his face were the only indications that he was suffering that he was willing to give to anyone. He thought about what was happening. He thought about Carly, about what Alcazar had told him. She had done something to bring this to a head? She had wanted him out of her life that much? Was he that bad? He didn't mean to ruin her life so much that she would have plotted his death. He only wanted to be accepted by his family. That wasn't going to happen if he was dead. How much was he going to suffer in order to find a place in the Corinthos regime? Would he ever find his place?
Lorenzo came in, "Ah, it appears that you're awake now."
"You know, if you let me go I think I can convince my dad and Uncle Jason to not kill you for what you've done to Aunt Courtney and I."
Lorenzo laughed, "Nobody has that power, not even Carly." Lorenzo took a few steps forward, "I'm aware that if my plan does not pay off the way that it should I will likely not be alive to see it, and I have accepted that, since I have no intentions of failing."
"Where's Aunt Courtney at?" Damian asked. "If you let her go... I'll do whatever you want."
"How noble," Lorenzo quipped. "Very much like your father in that respect, willing to do anything for the sake of his family. It is one of the only things about Sonny that I respect, even though he tends to abuse that family love that he holds so dearly. He did the same with you, you know?"
Damian turned away, "We all make mistakes."
"Yes, but how many people make as many as your father? How did it feel when he lied to you, Damian? How did it feel when you received that package, learning of everything that he did through a recorded message rather than from the man who was responsible for your birth himself? How did it feel to be betrayed but not one, but two parents..."
"My mother never betrayed me..."
"She didn't?" Lorenzo asked. "Are you certain? Did she not betray you in death? Did she not leave you alone, without a parent to call your own?"
"She didn't have a choice," Damian thought back to his mother, to his shattered faith. If he began to pray at that moment, would he be heard? Would someone find a way to make everything right again? "The cancer killed her before she had a chance to beat it. People die all the time..."
"Nonetheless, you always thought that she would be there for you, did you not?"
"My mother is always here for me when I need her," Damian shot out. "Her memory keeps me going, stronger than ever."
"I admire your adherence to your faith..."
"It's not faith that I adhere to, Alcazar," Damian cut in. "It's love, that's the only faith that I need."
"If you say so," Lorenzo moved towards him again. "You remind me quite a bit of myself when I was your age."
"Sorry, I don't do drug trafficking and killing."
"Neither did I, when I was your age," Lorenzo said. "I was a better man than I am now when I was like you, Damian. If things were different, I would have left you alone. But you have a curse that you will never be able to rid yourself of. You are cursed with the blood of your father."
"I don't look at it as a curse," Damian said.
"You don't?"
"Not anymore," He grinned. "If you attempted to destroy anything that I felt for my father then I regret to inform you that you failed considerably. I love my father now more than I ever did. We have a closer understanding than I ever thought possible, even when he was lying to me and I believed him. You helped us get over the adjustment period better than anyone else could have, thanks for that."
"I see you refuse to lose that sense of humor that you have."
"Who is trying to be humorous? I'm not."
Lorenzo brought out a small blade and cut Damian's cheek. "I would advise you to stop these pathetic attempts at angering me. The next time I may just aim this blade a little lower."
Damian felt the warm blood, his own blood, trickle down his face and down his neck, over the vein that could cause his death if it were severed. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to be my bait," Lorenzo replied. "I will lure your father here, much like I will lure your uncle here with Courtney. I will rid myself of the two largest thorns in my side, and then I will get rid of you."
"What about my aunt? What are you going to do with her?"
"I doubt that Courtney will survive. She will try to push herself into Jason's arms, and she too will die," Lorenzo had an evil glint in his eyes. "Carly will be alone, she will have only her children... and I will take her with me."
"She won't go with you now."
"She loves me."
"I doubt that."
"I do not," Lorenzo got out the blade again. "What did I say about tempting me?'
"You want to live your life with foolish conceptions, fine... I won't stop you. But I choose to live in the reality of the situation, Alcazar. You're not going to win Carly's love now or ever."
"Sir?"
Lorenzo turned around, "Yes?"
"Courtney Morgan would like to know that her nephew is safe."
Lorenzo sighed. "I suppose that it would run a risk of her finding a way to kill herself if we didn't give her what she wanted. Very well, bring her in." Lorenzo turned his attentions to Damian again, pulling out a gun. "I may only need one of you alive in order to put this plan into action. So, I make this deal with you. You will talk to Courtney. You will tell her that you are all right. You will not say anything about me, you will not give any hints about our location to her or I will put a bullet in her head and you will be responsible for your beloved aunt's death. Do you want that?"
Damian had never felt hatred for someone in the same way he hated Alcazar at that moment. He wanted the man to be gone, not just out of his life, but gone, away from anyone and everyone. "Fine..."
Lorenzo watched as a few of his henchmen brought Courtney, bound and blinded into the room. He looked at Damian and mouthed the words 'remember,' holding his gun directly at Courtney. With that distance, there was no way that he would miss.
"Aunt... Courtney?"
"Damian!" Courtney looked over at the direction of his voice, even though she couldn't see him. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"I'm fine," Damian replied. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Courtney struggled, "I just wish I knew where I was. Do you know?"
Damian looked over at Lorenzo, "No... I don't know where we are."
"Don't worry, we're going to find a way to get out of here. Your father and Jason are going to get us."
"I know," Damian replied.
"Do you need any medical attention?"
"No... I don't think so."
"You don't know anything? You don't even know who has us here?"
Another glance at Lorenzo, who kept his eyes and his gun on Courtney. "I wish I could give you the answer, Aunt Courtney, but I can't."
"We'll get out of this..."
"Yeah, we will," Damian looked over at Lorenzo one final time, his eyes showing his contempt. Damian had no doubt in his mind that they would find a way to get out of the situation that they were in, even if it cost Alcazar his life.
"Mrs. Morgan?" A voice called out to Courtney.
"What happened?" Courtney asked, trying to look around but seeing nothing, all that was around her was a blackness that wouldn't give way to anything. Was she dead? Was she blind?
"Do you remember anything that happened?"
"Where's my nephew?"
The voice chuckled, "So you do remember what happened earlier today."
"Where is he?" Courtney screamed. "Where have you taken him?"
"I can assure you that the boy is safe, for the moment."
"Where am I?"
"I'm afraid that such information cannot be given to you, you'll have to be out of the know in that instance."
"Do you realize what's going to happen to you if my brother or my husband finds out where I am?" Courtney asked. "Do you know what Jason and Sonny do to people who try and destroy them?"
"We're all well aware of the power that the men in your life possess, Mrs. Morgan. Frankly, however, we don't care."
"It will be your mistake," Courtney grinned. "We're going to get out of this."
"That's an optimistic viewpoint, don't you think?'
"Not for someone who has as much experience in this as I do," Courtney replied. "Sonny and Jason always find a way to get me out of danger."
"You seem to put yourself in danger quite frequently."
"It's never intentional," She said.
"Very few things in life are ever intentional, Mrs. Morgan." The voice appeared to be somewhat more distant. "Would you care for something to drink?"
"Why should I trust you?"
The voice came closer, "What choice do you have? I'm the only one who you know is in the room right now. Who is to say that your nephew isn't a few feet away from you, lying in agony?"
"Leave him alone, please!" Courtney said, her voice cracking in a nervous state. "He's hurt... he needs medical attention."
"We studied his condition enough to know that there is nothing at this point in time that requires an actual doctor," The voice said, putting a drink to Courtney's lip and tipping the glass. "But, worry not, we will find a way to get him medical attention, should he require it."
"How nice of you," Courtney said, breathing. "Too bad you already ruined your record kidnapping both of us. Who do you work for? Faith? Is she back?"
"Mrs. Rosco hasn't been seen from in quite some time, although nobody in particular is mourning that fact. However, you may continue guessing. Even if you get it right, I will not tell you anything."
"Just let me hear Damian... and make sure that he's all right, please."
The voice made a sound that appeared to be thinking about something. "I will discuss this with my superior. If the person in question agrees, I shall take you to your nephew for a time. However, the blindfold will remain on."
Guest Room-
Damian struggled in his bounds again. Once more the pain that he felt was massive. He began to cry from the pain, but he would not make a sound that showed he was in pain. The tears that streamed down his face were the only indications that he was suffering that he was willing to give to anyone. He thought about what was happening. He thought about Carly, about what Alcazar had told him. She had done something to bring this to a head? She had wanted him out of her life that much? Was he that bad? He didn't mean to ruin her life so much that she would have plotted his death. He only wanted to be accepted by his family. That wasn't going to happen if he was dead. How much was he going to suffer in order to find a place in the Corinthos regime? Would he ever find his place?
Lorenzo came in, "Ah, it appears that you're awake now."
"You know, if you let me go I think I can convince my dad and Uncle Jason to not kill you for what you've done to Aunt Courtney and I."
Lorenzo laughed, "Nobody has that power, not even Carly." Lorenzo took a few steps forward, "I'm aware that if my plan does not pay off the way that it should I will likely not be alive to see it, and I have accepted that, since I have no intentions of failing."
"Where's Aunt Courtney at?" Damian asked. "If you let her go... I'll do whatever you want."
"How noble," Lorenzo quipped. "Very much like your father in that respect, willing to do anything for the sake of his family. It is one of the only things about Sonny that I respect, even though he tends to abuse that family love that he holds so dearly. He did the same with you, you know?"
Damian turned away, "We all make mistakes."
"Yes, but how many people make as many as your father? How did it feel when he lied to you, Damian? How did it feel when you received that package, learning of everything that he did through a recorded message rather than from the man who was responsible for your birth himself? How did it feel to be betrayed but not one, but two parents..."
"My mother never betrayed me..."
"She didn't?" Lorenzo asked. "Are you certain? Did she not betray you in death? Did she not leave you alone, without a parent to call your own?"
"She didn't have a choice," Damian thought back to his mother, to his shattered faith. If he began to pray at that moment, would he be heard? Would someone find a way to make everything right again? "The cancer killed her before she had a chance to beat it. People die all the time..."
"Nonetheless, you always thought that she would be there for you, did you not?"
"My mother is always here for me when I need her," Damian shot out. "Her memory keeps me going, stronger than ever."
"I admire your adherence to your faith..."
"It's not faith that I adhere to, Alcazar," Damian cut in. "It's love, that's the only faith that I need."
"If you say so," Lorenzo moved towards him again. "You remind me quite a bit of myself when I was your age."
"Sorry, I don't do drug trafficking and killing."
"Neither did I, when I was your age," Lorenzo said. "I was a better man than I am now when I was like you, Damian. If things were different, I would have left you alone. But you have a curse that you will never be able to rid yourself of. You are cursed with the blood of your father."
"I don't look at it as a curse," Damian said.
"You don't?"
"Not anymore," He grinned. "If you attempted to destroy anything that I felt for my father then I regret to inform you that you failed considerably. I love my father now more than I ever did. We have a closer understanding than I ever thought possible, even when he was lying to me and I believed him. You helped us get over the adjustment period better than anyone else could have, thanks for that."
"I see you refuse to lose that sense of humor that you have."
"Who is trying to be humorous? I'm not."
Lorenzo brought out a small blade and cut Damian's cheek. "I would advise you to stop these pathetic attempts at angering me. The next time I may just aim this blade a little lower."
Damian felt the warm blood, his own blood, trickle down his face and down his neck, over the vein that could cause his death if it were severed. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to be my bait," Lorenzo replied. "I will lure your father here, much like I will lure your uncle here with Courtney. I will rid myself of the two largest thorns in my side, and then I will get rid of you."
"What about my aunt? What are you going to do with her?"
"I doubt that Courtney will survive. She will try to push herself into Jason's arms, and she too will die," Lorenzo had an evil glint in his eyes. "Carly will be alone, she will have only her children... and I will take her with me."
"She won't go with you now."
"She loves me."
"I doubt that."
"I do not," Lorenzo got out the blade again. "What did I say about tempting me?'
"You want to live your life with foolish conceptions, fine... I won't stop you. But I choose to live in the reality of the situation, Alcazar. You're not going to win Carly's love now or ever."
"Sir?"
Lorenzo turned around, "Yes?"
"Courtney Morgan would like to know that her nephew is safe."
Lorenzo sighed. "I suppose that it would run a risk of her finding a way to kill herself if we didn't give her what she wanted. Very well, bring her in." Lorenzo turned his attentions to Damian again, pulling out a gun. "I may only need one of you alive in order to put this plan into action. So, I make this deal with you. You will talk to Courtney. You will tell her that you are all right. You will not say anything about me, you will not give any hints about our location to her or I will put a bullet in her head and you will be responsible for your beloved aunt's death. Do you want that?"
Damian had never felt hatred for someone in the same way he hated Alcazar at that moment. He wanted the man to be gone, not just out of his life, but gone, away from anyone and everyone. "Fine..."
Lorenzo watched as a few of his henchmen brought Courtney, bound and blinded into the room. He looked at Damian and mouthed the words 'remember,' holding his gun directly at Courtney. With that distance, there was no way that he would miss.
"Aunt... Courtney?"
"Damian!" Courtney looked over at the direction of his voice, even though she couldn't see him. "Are you okay, sweetie?"
"I'm fine," Damian replied. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Courtney struggled, "I just wish I knew where I was. Do you know?"
Damian looked over at Lorenzo, "No... I don't know where we are."
"Don't worry, we're going to find a way to get out of here. Your father and Jason are going to get us."
"I know," Damian replied.
"Do you need any medical attention?"
"No... I don't think so."
"You don't know anything? You don't even know who has us here?"
Another glance at Lorenzo, who kept his eyes and his gun on Courtney. "I wish I could give you the answer, Aunt Courtney, but I can't."
"We'll get out of this..."
"Yeah, we will," Damian looked over at Lorenzo one final time, his eyes showing his contempt. Damian had no doubt in his mind that they would find a way to get out of the situation that they were in, even if it cost Alcazar his life.