A/N: I'm lovin the reviews guys. I've gotten a couple with suggestions and I luv those. So if you have any suggestions PLEASE send them to me. Alright? Enjoy!
Ch. 22 Bright Ideas
Exiting the hospital elevator, Ric spotted his three targets speaking with Lucky Spencer. Taking deep breath, he put on his professional face and approached them. Jason had been the first to notice him and soon after so did the Corinthos'.
'Here we go.' he thought
"Hello everyone. Let me take a guess, you're here to make sure I don't speak with Courtney correct?"
"Courtney went missing from her room last night." Lucky informed. Ric feigned surprise. He hoped it was convincing enough, though he couldn't seem too worried because that would certainly be suspicious.
"Sorry, I didn't know. However I must say I'm proud of you brother. Something happened and you're speaking with the police." he nodded towards Lucky. "Big step for you."
Lucky took this as an opportunity to make an exit before the situation became more uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and grabbed their attention.
"I'm going to go check on a few more things. I'll stay in touch." They said their thank-yous and goodbyes. Lucky knew that Sonny and Jason hated having anything to do with the police, but they had already been there when they showed up.
Sonny waited until Spencer was gone before he began speaking?
"Get out of here, Ric." Sonny glared at the younger man. "For all we know, you're behind this."
"You think I took Courtney?" Ric tried to sound annoyed or even offended at the suggestion. Then Carly spoke up to him.
"Oh, how silly of us! To think that you are capable of kidnapping someone and holding them against their will." Ric didn't think he'd ever heard that much sarcasm in one sentence.
"Carly, I have apologized for that many times, and I have done all I can to try to redeem myself. But I'm not going to waste the time anymore. Now, seeing as you've made the right choice and involved the law, I'm going to get to the station and catch up." he turned on his heel and walked away.
'That went quite well.' he thought pleased with himself. He knew that he would be put at the top of the suspect list. Though if things continued to go smoothly he was hoping that he would be crossed off the list soon enough.
"Do you really think that Ric's behind this?" Carly asked Sonny.
"I don't put anything past him anymore." Carly nodded, she had the same opinion about her so called "brother-in law". She then looked to Jason and realized that he hadn't said anything in a while. Though he stood in silence next to her it was obvious that his mind was no where near the building.
"Jason?" he seemed to shake himself away from wherever he had been.
"I'll meet you guys back at the penthouse." he spoke but never looked at either or them. Sonny reached out and grabbed him before he could walk away and he finally looked at him.
"You tell me what you find." Sonny spoke deliberately to make sure that Jason knew he understood. As he walked away Carly looked at her husband.
"He's following Ric isn't he?" His silence was her answer.
Jason followed Ric from the hospital. He had gone to the station just as he said he would. Part of him had hoped that he was lying. Though he hated the idea of him having Courtney , he would have been able to find her right away. Everyone of them knew that he was completely capable of kidnapping a woman.
'Just look at what he did to Carly. He'd kept a pregnant woman locked away for months in that damn-"In the midst of his thoughts, an alarm went off in his head. 'PANIC ROOM!'
Having no idea why he hadn't thought of the possibility before, he left his hiding spot outside the police station. He jumped on his bike and raced towards Ric's house. The lights were off when came upon the house. He hid his bike in the trees and walked up to the house. Picking the lock he let himself into the dark, empty house. He stared at the wall that opened up to reveal the secret room.
Remembering where the button was, Jason quickly went over to the bookcase and found the button. The instant he pushed it the door slid open. He ran to the opening and looked inside.
"Damn it." Jason said aloud to the empty house. Half of him was happy that she wasn't going through the same thing as Carly had but the other half was hoping that he would find her in there. Because ALL of him wanted to find her as soon as possible.
He closed the door and left the house as if he'd never even been there. Once outside he pulled out his cell phone and punched in Sonny's number.
"Corinthos." he sounded exhausted.
"I checked Ric's place. There's nothing here."
"Alright just get back here."
"On my way." he ran a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. He hated to admit it but he was wiped. It didn't matter though, he knew that he wouldn't rest until he found her. That was a promise.
"Morning. How'd you sleep?" Courtney awoke in her own bed, next to her husband.
"Not bad." she smiled and laid her head on his bare chest. He gently stroked her hair as he spoke to her.
"I've been thinking. We need to get away from here. What do you say we go away for a while? Spend some time alone together." she put her arm around him and giggled.
"I would love that. When can we leave?"
"As soon as you want. But I want to take a quick shower first." he pulled her in for a kiss before getting out of bed.
"Everything is perfect." she said hugging herself. A minute later she heard the door open and Jason's voice followed.
"God aren't you awake yet?"
Her eyes shot open and her heart sank. She wasn't in her bedroom and she definitely wasn't with Jason.
"Oh, I guess you are awake. Took you long enough though." Faith sneered at her.
'It was all a dream.' she thought disappointed.
Not only was she not at home. She had no idea where she was. It was obvious that she had been moved. Courtney also noticed that she was on a bed not a chair this time.
'Thank god for small favors.' she thought. Her whole body was aching incredibly and her earlier escape attempt hadn't helped her at all. She had ignored all of the pain and made a mad dash for the door. But seeing Faith had stopped her. Faith. Courtney had almost forgotten she was there.
"Where am I?" another new feature, she was minus a gag. It made her a bit happier but scared at the same time. It meant that they weren't worried about her screaming for help, because she was most likely too far away or isolated for anyone to hear.
"Yeah, I'm going to tell you." Faith walked closer to the bed, and it was then that she had actually tried to move her hands. A noise of metal against metal and her hands jerked to a stop.
"Handcuffs this time. His idea. Guess he knows how resourceful you tend to be." she now sat on the edge of the bed inches away from where she was laying. "Nice work, that attempted jail bust. I think he's slightly less taken with it though."
"Let me guess. You help Ric get what he wants, he helps you make your own escape. Only now you're waiting for him to play his part while you're stuck being his lackey. Right?"
By the expression on her face, she knew she'd hit the nail on the head.
"So much for that "I don't do eye for eye" thing you were preaching. You think Ric plays that way? Do you really think that once you get in deep enough he's just going to let you leave?" though she tried not to she actually let out a laugh.
Faith didn't like that, most likely because she knew Courtney was right. She was stuck.
"Wow, that's insightful. Thank you for your pearls of wisdom. But now I'm bored. How should we pass the time?" she got a look in her eyes that sent shivers through Courtney's entire body. The she smiled her venomous smile and she spoke. "Oh, I have a few ideas."
Ch. 22 Bright Ideas
Exiting the hospital elevator, Ric spotted his three targets speaking with Lucky Spencer. Taking deep breath, he put on his professional face and approached them. Jason had been the first to notice him and soon after so did the Corinthos'.
'Here we go.' he thought
"Hello everyone. Let me take a guess, you're here to make sure I don't speak with Courtney correct?"
"Courtney went missing from her room last night." Lucky informed. Ric feigned surprise. He hoped it was convincing enough, though he couldn't seem too worried because that would certainly be suspicious.
"Sorry, I didn't know. However I must say I'm proud of you brother. Something happened and you're speaking with the police." he nodded towards Lucky. "Big step for you."
Lucky took this as an opportunity to make an exit before the situation became more uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and grabbed their attention.
"I'm going to go check on a few more things. I'll stay in touch." They said their thank-yous and goodbyes. Lucky knew that Sonny and Jason hated having anything to do with the police, but they had already been there when they showed up.
Sonny waited until Spencer was gone before he began speaking?
"Get out of here, Ric." Sonny glared at the younger man. "For all we know, you're behind this."
"You think I took Courtney?" Ric tried to sound annoyed or even offended at the suggestion. Then Carly spoke up to him.
"Oh, how silly of us! To think that you are capable of kidnapping someone and holding them against their will." Ric didn't think he'd ever heard that much sarcasm in one sentence.
"Carly, I have apologized for that many times, and I have done all I can to try to redeem myself. But I'm not going to waste the time anymore. Now, seeing as you've made the right choice and involved the law, I'm going to get to the station and catch up." he turned on his heel and walked away.
'That went quite well.' he thought pleased with himself. He knew that he would be put at the top of the suspect list. Though if things continued to go smoothly he was hoping that he would be crossed off the list soon enough.
"Do you really think that Ric's behind this?" Carly asked Sonny.
"I don't put anything past him anymore." Carly nodded, she had the same opinion about her so called "brother-in law". She then looked to Jason and realized that he hadn't said anything in a while. Though he stood in silence next to her it was obvious that his mind was no where near the building.
"Jason?" he seemed to shake himself away from wherever he had been.
"I'll meet you guys back at the penthouse." he spoke but never looked at either or them. Sonny reached out and grabbed him before he could walk away and he finally looked at him.
"You tell me what you find." Sonny spoke deliberately to make sure that Jason knew he understood. As he walked away Carly looked at her husband.
"He's following Ric isn't he?" His silence was her answer.
Jason followed Ric from the hospital. He had gone to the station just as he said he would. Part of him had hoped that he was lying. Though he hated the idea of him having Courtney , he would have been able to find her right away. Everyone of them knew that he was completely capable of kidnapping a woman.
'Just look at what he did to Carly. He'd kept a pregnant woman locked away for months in that damn-"In the midst of his thoughts, an alarm went off in his head. 'PANIC ROOM!'
Having no idea why he hadn't thought of the possibility before, he left his hiding spot outside the police station. He jumped on his bike and raced towards Ric's house. The lights were off when came upon the house. He hid his bike in the trees and walked up to the house. Picking the lock he let himself into the dark, empty house. He stared at the wall that opened up to reveal the secret room.
Remembering where the button was, Jason quickly went over to the bookcase and found the button. The instant he pushed it the door slid open. He ran to the opening and looked inside.
"Damn it." Jason said aloud to the empty house. Half of him was happy that she wasn't going through the same thing as Carly had but the other half was hoping that he would find her in there. Because ALL of him wanted to find her as soon as possible.
He closed the door and left the house as if he'd never even been there. Once outside he pulled out his cell phone and punched in Sonny's number.
"Corinthos." he sounded exhausted.
"I checked Ric's place. There's nothing here."
"Alright just get back here."
"On my way." he ran a hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. He hated to admit it but he was wiped. It didn't matter though, he knew that he wouldn't rest until he found her. That was a promise.
"Morning. How'd you sleep?" Courtney awoke in her own bed, next to her husband.
"Not bad." she smiled and laid her head on his bare chest. He gently stroked her hair as he spoke to her.
"I've been thinking. We need to get away from here. What do you say we go away for a while? Spend some time alone together." she put her arm around him and giggled.
"I would love that. When can we leave?"
"As soon as you want. But I want to take a quick shower first." he pulled her in for a kiss before getting out of bed.
"Everything is perfect." she said hugging herself. A minute later she heard the door open and Jason's voice followed.
"God aren't you awake yet?"
Her eyes shot open and her heart sank. She wasn't in her bedroom and she definitely wasn't with Jason.
"Oh, I guess you are awake. Took you long enough though." Faith sneered at her.
'It was all a dream.' she thought disappointed.
Not only was she not at home. She had no idea where she was. It was obvious that she had been moved. Courtney also noticed that she was on a bed not a chair this time.
'Thank god for small favors.' she thought. Her whole body was aching incredibly and her earlier escape attempt hadn't helped her at all. She had ignored all of the pain and made a mad dash for the door. But seeing Faith had stopped her. Faith. Courtney had almost forgotten she was there.
"Where am I?" another new feature, she was minus a gag. It made her a bit happier but scared at the same time. It meant that they weren't worried about her screaming for help, because she was most likely too far away or isolated for anyone to hear.
"Yeah, I'm going to tell you." Faith walked closer to the bed, and it was then that she had actually tried to move her hands. A noise of metal against metal and her hands jerked to a stop.
"Handcuffs this time. His idea. Guess he knows how resourceful you tend to be." she now sat on the edge of the bed inches away from where she was laying. "Nice work, that attempted jail bust. I think he's slightly less taken with it though."
"Let me guess. You help Ric get what he wants, he helps you make your own escape. Only now you're waiting for him to play his part while you're stuck being his lackey. Right?"
By the expression on her face, she knew she'd hit the nail on the head.
"So much for that "I don't do eye for eye" thing you were preaching. You think Ric plays that way? Do you really think that once you get in deep enough he's just going to let you leave?" though she tried not to she actually let out a laugh.
Faith didn't like that, most likely because she knew Courtney was right. She was stuck.
"Wow, that's insightful. Thank you for your pearls of wisdom. But now I'm bored. How should we pass the time?" she got a look in her eyes that sent shivers through Courtney's entire body. The she smiled her venomous smile and she spoke. "Oh, I have a few ideas."