Corinthos Household-
Sonny and Jason walked in from the flight that seemed to take an eternity. It could have been from New York City and it wouldn't have mattered, every single second felt like it would never end to both of them, although their primary worries were reversed, they still felt the same fear for the same reason. People that they cared about were in trouble, and they weren't sure if they were going to be able to get everyone out of danger in time.
Carly had been waiting the entire time, she had barely moved since Dillon had left her, and that was at least an hour before Sonny got there. When she saw her husband, Carly got up and rushed into his arms. "I'm so sorry..."
"Carly, I already told you, none of this is your fault. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening to anyone. Don't blame yourself. I need you to be strong right now because it will help me be strong."
"I'll try," Carly's voice was soft and filled with a certain degree of shame. She knew that it was her fault, on some level. Her best friend was in trouble because of her. Her stepson was already finding himself placed in so much danger because of her. Everything that happened was because of her, Sonny was just ignorant to that fact. He would have to remain as such or else he would leave her. He would take Michael and Morgan from her and she would never see her children again. Sonny wouldn't stand for a betrayal like she had given him. Carly had to stay silent. She had to keep Lorenzo quiet as well, although she had a feeling that he wouldn't say anything. He probably still loved her, even though he knew that there was no chance in hell that he would be with her. Lorenzo was a strange individual. She looked over at Jason, "Jase..."
"Don't, Carly," Jason warned her. "I don't need your apologies right now."
Sonny found his eyes wandering up the stairs, "Does Michael know yet?"
"No," Carly shook her head. "You told me not to tell him anything until you came back, so I kept my mouth shut."
"Good," Sonny was finding himself delivering so much bad news to his younger son about his older son, it hardly seemed fair to anyone. "Michael!" Sonny hollered, his voice carrying throughout the whole house.
"Dillon's at the penthouse, Jason," Carly told her friend. "I told him that he wasn't supposed to leave until we found out what was going on."
"I hope he listened," Jason said, but his focus was not on his cousin. It was on his wife.
"He wanted to be a guinea pig," Carly thought back to his idea. "He thought that he could find Lorenzo because he had worked for Lorenzo in the past."
"If it comes down to it, we might have to work with that," Jason was already beginning to plot ways in his head that Dillon could be used as a plant.
"Jason... he's just a kid!"
"Carly, I'll do almost anything to get my wife back!" Jason's voice began to waiver, a rare occurrence, but when it came to Courtney he was just as vulnerable as anyone else who was in love, if not more. Love for Jason was so hard to get because the people that he loved always ended up leaving him. Courtney was different. Courtney stayed.
"Let's focus on making sure that Michael doesn't have a breakdown right now," Sonny told them both. "I can hear him coming down the stairs."
"Daddy!" Michael was feeling that youthful exuberance, the severity of the situation lost to him because of his momentary ignorance that would soon be shattered.
"Hey, buddy," Sonny got on his knees.
"Mommy got me out of school early today!" Michael was thrilled. After all, to any 8 year old boy, getting out of school early was a reason for celebration.
"I know she did, champ," Sonny hugged him. "But I'm afraid that there was a good reason for it."
"I thought we were going to go see Damian," Michael admitted. "I thought mommy was going to take me to the hospital, but she brought me here and told me to go to my room."
"I told her to get you out of school and bring you home," Sonny pushed away. "I wanted to make sure that I was the one who told you..."
"Told me what?" Michael was trying to piece together the broken information, but his mind wasn't yet sharp enough to think of anything.
"Michael, we don't know where Damian and Courtney are."
"They're at the hospital, I know that..."
"No," Sonny began, "someone took them both last night after you and your mommy left."
"Took them?" Michael didn't comprehend what was going on. Who would take his brother and his aunt? "They're not here?"
"Michael... they're gone."
"The bad man must have taken them!" Michael yelled. "Like he took mommy!"
Sonny didn't think that Ric was a suspect. Why would Ric take his own adult nephew? The one person in the family that showed Ric even a smidgeon of compassion and understanding? It wasn't something that Sonny completely thought was possible. Besides, Carly had already said that it was likely Alcazar, and the motive fit. "I don't think it was Ric, Mike."
"You didn't think it was him when it was him," Michael pointed out. "The only one who believed me was Uncle Jason!"
"Buddy," Jason began, "I don't think Ric was the one who took him either."
That surprised Michael. Jason always believed him. Always. "But... who else would do it?"
Sonny braced for everything that was going to come out of Michael in the next few minutes. "That's what we're trying to figure out."
"I want to see Damian!"
"You can't, buddy," Sonny replied. "As much as I want to tell you that you can, we don't know where he is."
"Find him!" Michael ordered. "You find everyone else, you always get what you want. Send Max out to look for him!"
"We're doing everything that we can right now, Michael, but we need to keep some people here as well."
"Why?"
Sonny got up, "Because this might not just be something that they're doing to Damian and Courtney. They might try and take you, or your baby brother, or your mommy. We're going to have guards around the door all the time and I need you to stay in here all the time until we can find out what's going on."
"I want to help," Michael said. He wanted to do something. He knew that sitting around and doing nothing wasn't going to help bring his brother back.
"You can help us all by staying safe," Sonny pointed out. "We're worrying about Courtney and Damian right now, we can't worry about you as well. You understand what's going on, right?"
"Is he going to die?" Michael asked.
"I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that he doesn't die," Sonny was trying to instill faith in his boy. "We're going to find him, and we're going to make sure that the man or woman who did this to him pays for hurting us."
Michael was sniffling, trying not to cry, trying to show that he was a big boy. If he didn't cry, maybe his father would let him help.
Sonny could see that his son was struggling. "Buddy, if you want to cry, you can cry."
"I don't want to cry..."
"You don't?" Sonny asked. "It looks like you do."
"I want to be strong like you and Uncle Jason! You never cry! If I'm strong like you, I can help..."
"I told you how you could help," Sonny sighed. Nothing was getting through to Michael. It wasn't unexpected. How could you explain something like that to a boy Michael's age? Regardless of how smart he was, there was still the fact that Michael was a little boy.
"By not doing anything," Michael replied. "I don't see how that is helping anyone."
"Why don't you play your new video game?" Carly suggested.
"I don't want to play any video games," Michael stated. "I want Damian back!"
"You're being unreasonable," Sonny told his son. "You should know better than to think that you can fix everything just by asking for it. Please, Michael..." Sonny knew that the boy wasn't being selfish, he was just scared.
"If you think I can help... will you let me?" Michael asked.
"If there is something that only you can do, I will let you do it," Sonny didn't think that it would ever come up, but if Michael was the only hope they had... he would have to risk it sometime.
"Good," Michael thought that he could finally be useful for something. "You're going to find him, right, daddy?"
"I certainly hope so," Sonny said softly. "We found mommy when we thought we wouldn't, remember?"
"Why don't you go upstairs, Mr. Man?" Carly said. "Me and daddy and Uncle Jason need to talk about stuff."
Michael was momentarily hesitant, but did as he was asked and went up the stairs.
Sonny got up of his knees and looked at Jason, "I already talked to some of our men. Alcazar's apartment is unoccupied. The only things that are there are the things that he owns. None of the items in the house give any hints as to where he might be."
Carly sat down. Had Lorenzo listened? Had he left Port Charles... with Courtney and Damian. She didn't know where he could have gone. He always talked about taking her away, but she never went with him. The yacht was gone, there was no way that he could be on that. "The compound... in South America?"
"No," Sonny replied. "I had people look into every single flight that left for any of the areas that Alcazar has a compound in. All the commercial flights, too. There was nothing that showed anyone leaving for any of those areas within the last 24 hours."
"He could be here still," Jason said. "Or maybe he drove to Canada."
"Would he risk it?" Sonny wondered. "He can't take Damian on an extended road trip, that could put his health in danger."
"Sonny, I don't think that Alcazar cares about what's going on with your son," Jason pointed out.
"If he wants to use Damian and Courtney as hostages or bartering chips, which he might, then he would want them to be as safe as possible, wouldn't he?"
"He could just want them dead, though," Jason countered.
"That's not going to happen!"
"Sonny!" Jason yelled. "I don't want to think that my wife or my nephew are dead, but it's a possibility that I have to accept. We're dealing with someone who kills people without even blinking. He's worse than we could ever be. He wouldn't bat an eye at killing either of them."
Sonny rubbed his temples, "You're right. That sick bastard wouldn't care about killing them. We've got to get them back, Jason."
"We're doing everything we can..."
"Everything isn't good enough," Sonny poured some water. "I want results, and I'm not getting any."
The Lake House-
One of Lorenzo's henchmen came into Lorenzo's private chambers. "Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan have landed in Port Charles."
Lorenzo smiled, "Excellent. Now all we do is wait..."
"Sir?" The henchman said. "Forgive me... but what if they never find out where you have the woman and the boy?"
"Never underestimate the mind when it is working for the safety of those that it cares for," Lorenzo's voice flowed like silk. He was devious, but he was good at it. "Morgan and Corinthos will find out where I have taken their loved ones, and they'll come running."
Sonny and Jason walked in from the flight that seemed to take an eternity. It could have been from New York City and it wouldn't have mattered, every single second felt like it would never end to both of them, although their primary worries were reversed, they still felt the same fear for the same reason. People that they cared about were in trouble, and they weren't sure if they were going to be able to get everyone out of danger in time.
Carly had been waiting the entire time, she had barely moved since Dillon had left her, and that was at least an hour before Sonny got there. When she saw her husband, Carly got up and rushed into his arms. "I'm so sorry..."
"Carly, I already told you, none of this is your fault. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this from happening to anyone. Don't blame yourself. I need you to be strong right now because it will help me be strong."
"I'll try," Carly's voice was soft and filled with a certain degree of shame. She knew that it was her fault, on some level. Her best friend was in trouble because of her. Her stepson was already finding himself placed in so much danger because of her. Everything that happened was because of her, Sonny was just ignorant to that fact. He would have to remain as such or else he would leave her. He would take Michael and Morgan from her and she would never see her children again. Sonny wouldn't stand for a betrayal like she had given him. Carly had to stay silent. She had to keep Lorenzo quiet as well, although she had a feeling that he wouldn't say anything. He probably still loved her, even though he knew that there was no chance in hell that he would be with her. Lorenzo was a strange individual. She looked over at Jason, "Jase..."
"Don't, Carly," Jason warned her. "I don't need your apologies right now."
Sonny found his eyes wandering up the stairs, "Does Michael know yet?"
"No," Carly shook her head. "You told me not to tell him anything until you came back, so I kept my mouth shut."
"Good," Sonny was finding himself delivering so much bad news to his younger son about his older son, it hardly seemed fair to anyone. "Michael!" Sonny hollered, his voice carrying throughout the whole house.
"Dillon's at the penthouse, Jason," Carly told her friend. "I told him that he wasn't supposed to leave until we found out what was going on."
"I hope he listened," Jason said, but his focus was not on his cousin. It was on his wife.
"He wanted to be a guinea pig," Carly thought back to his idea. "He thought that he could find Lorenzo because he had worked for Lorenzo in the past."
"If it comes down to it, we might have to work with that," Jason was already beginning to plot ways in his head that Dillon could be used as a plant.
"Jason... he's just a kid!"
"Carly, I'll do almost anything to get my wife back!" Jason's voice began to waiver, a rare occurrence, but when it came to Courtney he was just as vulnerable as anyone else who was in love, if not more. Love for Jason was so hard to get because the people that he loved always ended up leaving him. Courtney was different. Courtney stayed.
"Let's focus on making sure that Michael doesn't have a breakdown right now," Sonny told them both. "I can hear him coming down the stairs."
"Daddy!" Michael was feeling that youthful exuberance, the severity of the situation lost to him because of his momentary ignorance that would soon be shattered.
"Hey, buddy," Sonny got on his knees.
"Mommy got me out of school early today!" Michael was thrilled. After all, to any 8 year old boy, getting out of school early was a reason for celebration.
"I know she did, champ," Sonny hugged him. "But I'm afraid that there was a good reason for it."
"I thought we were going to go see Damian," Michael admitted. "I thought mommy was going to take me to the hospital, but she brought me here and told me to go to my room."
"I told her to get you out of school and bring you home," Sonny pushed away. "I wanted to make sure that I was the one who told you..."
"Told me what?" Michael was trying to piece together the broken information, but his mind wasn't yet sharp enough to think of anything.
"Michael, we don't know where Damian and Courtney are."
"They're at the hospital, I know that..."
"No," Sonny began, "someone took them both last night after you and your mommy left."
"Took them?" Michael didn't comprehend what was going on. Who would take his brother and his aunt? "They're not here?"
"Michael... they're gone."
"The bad man must have taken them!" Michael yelled. "Like he took mommy!"
Sonny didn't think that Ric was a suspect. Why would Ric take his own adult nephew? The one person in the family that showed Ric even a smidgeon of compassion and understanding? It wasn't something that Sonny completely thought was possible. Besides, Carly had already said that it was likely Alcazar, and the motive fit. "I don't think it was Ric, Mike."
"You didn't think it was him when it was him," Michael pointed out. "The only one who believed me was Uncle Jason!"
"Buddy," Jason began, "I don't think Ric was the one who took him either."
That surprised Michael. Jason always believed him. Always. "But... who else would do it?"
Sonny braced for everything that was going to come out of Michael in the next few minutes. "That's what we're trying to figure out."
"I want to see Damian!"
"You can't, buddy," Sonny replied. "As much as I want to tell you that you can, we don't know where he is."
"Find him!" Michael ordered. "You find everyone else, you always get what you want. Send Max out to look for him!"
"We're doing everything that we can right now, Michael, but we need to keep some people here as well."
"Why?"
Sonny got up, "Because this might not just be something that they're doing to Damian and Courtney. They might try and take you, or your baby brother, or your mommy. We're going to have guards around the door all the time and I need you to stay in here all the time until we can find out what's going on."
"I want to help," Michael said. He wanted to do something. He knew that sitting around and doing nothing wasn't going to help bring his brother back.
"You can help us all by staying safe," Sonny pointed out. "We're worrying about Courtney and Damian right now, we can't worry about you as well. You understand what's going on, right?"
"Is he going to die?" Michael asked.
"I'm going to do everything that I can to make sure that he doesn't die," Sonny was trying to instill faith in his boy. "We're going to find him, and we're going to make sure that the man or woman who did this to him pays for hurting us."
Michael was sniffling, trying not to cry, trying to show that he was a big boy. If he didn't cry, maybe his father would let him help.
Sonny could see that his son was struggling. "Buddy, if you want to cry, you can cry."
"I don't want to cry..."
"You don't?" Sonny asked. "It looks like you do."
"I want to be strong like you and Uncle Jason! You never cry! If I'm strong like you, I can help..."
"I told you how you could help," Sonny sighed. Nothing was getting through to Michael. It wasn't unexpected. How could you explain something like that to a boy Michael's age? Regardless of how smart he was, there was still the fact that Michael was a little boy.
"By not doing anything," Michael replied. "I don't see how that is helping anyone."
"Why don't you play your new video game?" Carly suggested.
"I don't want to play any video games," Michael stated. "I want Damian back!"
"You're being unreasonable," Sonny told his son. "You should know better than to think that you can fix everything just by asking for it. Please, Michael..." Sonny knew that the boy wasn't being selfish, he was just scared.
"If you think I can help... will you let me?" Michael asked.
"If there is something that only you can do, I will let you do it," Sonny didn't think that it would ever come up, but if Michael was the only hope they had... he would have to risk it sometime.
"Good," Michael thought that he could finally be useful for something. "You're going to find him, right, daddy?"
"I certainly hope so," Sonny said softly. "We found mommy when we thought we wouldn't, remember?"
"Why don't you go upstairs, Mr. Man?" Carly said. "Me and daddy and Uncle Jason need to talk about stuff."
Michael was momentarily hesitant, but did as he was asked and went up the stairs.
Sonny got up of his knees and looked at Jason, "I already talked to some of our men. Alcazar's apartment is unoccupied. The only things that are there are the things that he owns. None of the items in the house give any hints as to where he might be."
Carly sat down. Had Lorenzo listened? Had he left Port Charles... with Courtney and Damian. She didn't know where he could have gone. He always talked about taking her away, but she never went with him. The yacht was gone, there was no way that he could be on that. "The compound... in South America?"
"No," Sonny replied. "I had people look into every single flight that left for any of the areas that Alcazar has a compound in. All the commercial flights, too. There was nothing that showed anyone leaving for any of those areas within the last 24 hours."
"He could be here still," Jason said. "Or maybe he drove to Canada."
"Would he risk it?" Sonny wondered. "He can't take Damian on an extended road trip, that could put his health in danger."
"Sonny, I don't think that Alcazar cares about what's going on with your son," Jason pointed out.
"If he wants to use Damian and Courtney as hostages or bartering chips, which he might, then he would want them to be as safe as possible, wouldn't he?"
"He could just want them dead, though," Jason countered.
"That's not going to happen!"
"Sonny!" Jason yelled. "I don't want to think that my wife or my nephew are dead, but it's a possibility that I have to accept. We're dealing with someone who kills people without even blinking. He's worse than we could ever be. He wouldn't bat an eye at killing either of them."
Sonny rubbed his temples, "You're right. That sick bastard wouldn't care about killing them. We've got to get them back, Jason."
"We're doing everything we can..."
"Everything isn't good enough," Sonny poured some water. "I want results, and I'm not getting any."
The Lake House-
One of Lorenzo's henchmen came into Lorenzo's private chambers. "Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan have landed in Port Charles."
Lorenzo smiled, "Excellent. Now all we do is wait..."
"Sir?" The henchman said. "Forgive me... but what if they never find out where you have the woman and the boy?"
"Never underestimate the mind when it is working for the safety of those that it cares for," Lorenzo's voice flowed like silk. He was devious, but he was good at it. "Morgan and Corinthos will find out where I have taken their loved ones, and they'll come running."