Carly stood at the edge of the bar surveying the incoming dinner rush. It was two days after the funeral and she was throwing herself back into work. Whenever she couldn't be with Michael at the hospital, she was at the Cellar.
Her eyes narrowed in the middle of sweeping over the regulars. Sitting at a table in the farthest corner from her were Lorenzo Alcazar and Roberto Giancamo. Perfect, she thought with a sigh. What next, would Faith be joining them?
Taking a deep breath and putting a small smile on her lips, Carly approached the table with her head held high. "Good afternoon," she said calmly. "I trust the two of you are finding everything to your liking?"
"Everything is fine Carly," Lorenzo said, looking her straight in the eyes. She shifted her gaze slightly. "I'm surprised to see you at work so soon, I thought you would be with your sons."
"My sons are well taken care of, thank you for your concern," she said icily. She turned to the other man. "Mr. Giancamo, I didn't know you were staying so long in Port Charles."
"I hadn't planned on it, but a meeting has been called between the families, so I'm here until then," Roberto answered.
"I wasn't informed of any meeting," Carly replied.
"We never considered you would want to attend," Lorenzo said.
"Who then did you think would represent my husband's territories?" Carly asked. "They are, after all, still in my and Courtney's possession."
"All right then," Lorenzo said, his tone almost condescending. "The meeting is tomorrow night at the Haunted Star, at nine." His phone rang then. "Excuse me." He stood up and walked a few feet away.
"Mrs. Corinthos, wait," Roberto said as she started to walk away as well.
"Yes Mr. Giancamo?"
"I did plan on letting you know of the meeting tomorrow, I know the others were not expecting you or your sister-in-law to attend. If it is possible, I would like to speak to you and Mrs. Morgan together, as there are a few things I would like to share with you."
Carly nodded slowly, sizing up Roberto. Sonny had always respected him and Carly wasn't quite sure yet if he could possibly be involved with the bombing.
"Why don't you come to the penthouse later this evening for a drink around seven?" she asked.
"That sounds fine, I will see you at seven." Roberto smiled as he stood up. "Please, know that my family has been praying for your son and a quick recovery."
"Thank you Mr. Giancamo, I will see you tonight." She watched him leave the restaurant before retreating back to her corner and picking up the phone.
"General Hospital's Nurses' Station, how may I direct your call?"
"This is Carly Corinthos, I'm calling for an update on my son."
"Michael is still unconscious but the swelling keeps going down and Dr. Quartermaine is still optimistic that he will wake up very shortly Mrs. Corinthos."
"Thank you. Can you tell me, has anyone been to see him today?"
"Mrs. Morgan was in there for awhile, but I think she's in her office right now, did you want me to connect you to her?"
"No thank you, I'll be there to see Michael shortly. Good-bye." Carly put the phone down and took a sip of water. She was happy to see that Courtney had taken her advice and gone back to work as well. She was about to call Courtney but before she could pick up the phone she heard a large crash come from the kitchen and ran in to see what had happened. Calling Courtney would have to wait.
Over at General Hospital, Courtney was too busy to answer her phone as it was. Alan Quartermaine had been so impressed with her work with her foundation that fifteen years ago he offered her the position as the head of the hospital's Public Relations department, a position once held by Katherine Bell. While she still oversaw the foundation, most of her time was now consumed with the hospital. She loved her job, and when Carly had suggested she go back the other day, she knew it was something she needed to do.
Her phone rang and without looking at it, she hit the speakerphone. "I said I wasn't taking any calls until later this afternoon," she said to the receptionist.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Morgan, but there is someone here who insists on seeing you."
Courtney sighed and looked at her watch. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Courtney, why don't you just let me in and give this poor woman a break?" the familiar voice rang out from the intercom.
Courtney smiled at the voice and shook her head. She got up and opened the door to her office just in time to be swept into a hug.
"Jax, what are you doing here?" she asked, pulling away slightly and looking up at him.
"I tried to get here in time for the funeral, but business kept me until today."
"I told you that you didn't have to come Jax," she said. She motioned for him to sit down on the sofa and then sat next to him.
"I know, but I still wanted to be here for you. And Carly," he added as an afterthought. "How are you holding up?" he asked softly.
"I'm here," she said simply. "And right now, that's all I can really say unless you want me to lie."
Jax nodded understandingly. "How are the kids doing?"
She shook her head. "Lila doesn't understand what happened, she still asks for Jason every night before bed. Riley, she keeps herself locked in her room so she doesn't have to deal with anything. She says she's studying for finals, but Riley has never been the studious type."
"And Jack?"
"Jack's just like Jason. Putting everyone else ahead of himself." She looked down at his hands. "If he had his way, he'd be going after whoever did this himself."
"Do you think he will?" Jax asked.
"I hope not. But when did anything I say ever stop his father?"
"Courtney, what can I do to help?"
"Nothing Jax, I'm fine, really."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." She smiled. "How long are you in town for?"
"I'm not sure yet. Brenda is flying in early next week, who knows when we'll decide to leave."
"Promise me that you two will come to dinner tomorrow next week," Courtney said.
"Definitely." His cell phone rang just then. "And speak of the devil, that's my lovely wife herself. Excuse me."
Courtney studied the man sitting next to her. If anyone had told her all those years ago that taking that stupid bet with him would lead to one of the dearest friendships she had, she would have laughed in the face. But it was true. After she and Jason had gotten back together, Jax had remained in her life, and stayed on the board of the foundation. Eventually, he and Brenda had reunited and surprisingly enough, the two women had been able to forge a friendship between their husbands.
The years had been good to Jax, she noted, still watching him as he animatedly talked to his wife. Sure there were a few more lines around his eyes when he smiled, but they were the same sparkling blue eyes as ever. His hair had a hint of gray to it, but you wouldn't know it unless you were looking specifically for it. In short, Jax hadn't changed.
"Sorry about that," he said, putting away his phone. "Brenda sends her love, and accepts your invitation to dinner next week." He smiled. "She also insists I take you out to dinner tonight."
"Jax thank you, but I can't," Courtney said.
"Courtney, it's just dinner."
"No, I mean, I already have plans with Carly," Courtney clarified; remembering the message Carly had left her about being at the penthouse at seven. "The um, the reading of the wills is tomorrow, so I'm assuming we're preparing for that tonight."
"Lunch tomorrow then?"
Courtney sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this fight. "Alright," she relented. "Lunch tomorrow at the Cellar?"
"I'll be there at one," Jax said, grinning. "But I should get going and let you get back to work."
"It's good to see you again Jax," Courtney said. "I'm happy you came back to Port Charles."
"You too, Kid," Jax said. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Courtney will be here any minute," Carly said as she handed a glass to Roberto. "She had a meeting that ran late."
"If anyone understands that, it's me," Roberto said with a smile.
"So tell me, Mr. Giancamo, how well did you know Sonny?" Carly asked, sitting down across from him.
"Not as well as I would have liked, but we were friendly with each other. I had more respect for him and Jason than I did anyone else."
Carly nodded. "He spoke of you highly," she agreed. "Said you made him fell very comfortable whenever he had to go to Italy."
"Sorry I'm late," Courtney said, coming into the penthouse. "My meeting ran late and then Riley couldn't get Lila to eat and—"She paused when she saw Roberto sitting there and looked at Carly expectantly.
"Courtney, you remember Mr. Giancamo," Carly said in introduction. "He asked to talk to the two of us tonight."
"Of course. Hello Mr. Giancamo," she said uneasily, sitting down next to Carly.
"Please, call me Roberto. Both of you." The older man smiled at both of them. "I understand that both of you are wondering why I'm here, and if I could, I'd like to explain." He waited for both of them to nod before continuing.
"I know what both of you are going through right now," he began. "You see, a little over a year ago, my wife was killed in a car accident. Well, a car explosion, if you will."
"I'm so sorry," Courtney broke in.
Roberto nodded. "I was so angry. I had always been so very careful to keep business away from my family, but I was powerless to stop it from happening. At first, I thought the explosion had been meant for me, that someone was trying to kill me, but upon further investigation, I realized that it had been meant for my Gracie." His eyes darkened as he remembered. "I wanted revenge. I wanted whoever had taken my wife away from me to pay for what they had done, but I couldn't do much from Italy, and there was no way I could leave my children and grandchildren. Not when someone had already taken someone from my family."
"Of course," Carly murmured.
"So I came to Sonny and asked for his help," Roberto continued. "And he and Jason agreed to help me uncover who was responsible."
"Sonny never told me," Carly said as she looked over at Courtney, who shook her head.
"We had to be careful, we didn't want anyone else put in danger," Roberto explained. "And Sonny and Jason were close to finding out who killed my wife. Very close."
"Too close," Courtney whispered, gripping Carly's hand.
Roberto nodded. "I'm afraid so."
"So you're saying whoever killed your wife killed our husbands?" Carly asked.
"And Jacob," Courtney added.
"That's what I believe, yes," Roberto said.
Carly studied the man sitting across from her. She didn't know why, but she believed him.
"Do you have any idea who?" Carly asked.
Roberto shook his head. "Alcazar, Roscoe, and Del Rossi all had intent and means, that's all I know."
"We figured as much."
"I want you to know, I intend on continuing searching for whomever killed our loved ones," Roberto said. "We all deserve some justice out of this."
"Thank you," Carly replied. "Of course, if you need any help, our husbands resources are just as available to you now as they always have been." She didn't even need to look over to Courtney for confirmation.
"That was my next question for you. What do you plan on doing with the territories?"
Carly lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "We're still discussing that actually," she admitted.
"If I may offer a word of advice, hold on to them," Roberto said. "They are a very hot commodity among the families, and a definite bargaining chip should you ever need that. I am sure that Sonny and Jason's associates are capable of handling things for you."
"With all respect, Roberto," Carly said with a smile. "If anyone will be handling my husband's business, it's going to be me."
Roberto smiled in appreciation. "Sonny was definitely right when he said you were fearless." He stood up from his chair. "I should get going. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow." He smiled at both of them. "It goes without saying, but should you ever need any help or anything at all, please, don't hesitate to contact me."
"Thank you," Courtney said, rising and shaking his hand.
"Yes, thank you Roberto," Carly said. "We will see you at the meeting tomorrow night?"
"Good night ladies." Roberto left the penthouse.
"Meeting?" Courtney asked, looking at Carly.
Carly nodded. "The families called a meeting, I'm assuming, to fight over Sonny and Jason's territories. They'll be in for quite the shock when we show up, don't you think?"
Shock wasn't the word Courtney would have used, but she knew they were definitely in for something tomorrow.
The only question was, what?
