"Well, this is a fine mess you've gotten me into." Sage rolled her eyes and struggled against the bonds that held her arms. "Soy el que se supone para conseguirnos en apuro, moron. No puedo creer que usted hizo esto a mí. Estoy diciendo a Mamá!"
"If you call me a moron, one more time…" Sofie twisted her hands, keeping her feet still. "And I don't really care if you tell Mom. You're the one that gets us into this stuff, normally, so I'll just tell her that you did it."
"Sofie!" Sage grunted and started to fidget, then stopped when she realized her legs were moving too much. "You do realize we're up a creek if Dad or someone comes through this place and opens the door, right? Did you have a plan for that, oh great planning one?"
"Actually, smartass, I do have a plan." Sofie sucked in a great breath and screamed. "Dad! Jason!" She looked at her sister. "Come on! Scream!"
The two began to scream, still trying to get their hands loose, calling alternate names of anyone who might possibly come to their rescue. Of course, there wasn't much they could do if they managed to get their hands free other than freeze in that same spot. The ropes that bound their feet were attached to a bomb that sat between them on the ground. If the ropes moved too much, the counter started ticking. If they were removed without the bomb being disarmed, they would blow up in seconds. Corinthos had explained to them clearly, and after hearing what he'd done or attempted to do to everyone else they knew and loved, neither girl doubted his words.
"Seriously, Sofie, if we die here, I'm gonna kill you!" Sage started to scream again, yelling Spanish curses at her twin. She caught sight of movement out the corner of her eye and stopped. "Hello?" She waited, and there was the movement, again. Then a thump. Two soft pops. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah." Sofie went still and stared off, squinting her eyes to get a better look. "I think… I think that was a gunshot, but…" She stopped as a dark head appeared to her and she whispered, "I think it's Lucky."
"Are you sure? It could be…" She stopped as the figure came more clear, moving closer. "It is!" She started to scream out his name, but stopped, in case there were someone lurking nearby.
Lucky Spencer came from the bushes behind the old house, moving slowly through the snow. From the side of the building, Nikolas Cassadine snuck out. He was bundled tightly against the elements, but his complexion and eyes were visible enough for identification. From the other side of the house came Gia Campbell. She, too, was bundled, but there was no mistaking the diminuitive princess-to-be.
"You have got to be kidding me," Sofie muttered as all three knelt at their feet. "You brought a Cassadine and his fiancee to rescue us?"
"I'll have you know," Gia said, "that I've done some pretty damn undesirable things, so helping out Lucky wasn't all that hard. Besides, Nikolas is a Cassadine. They excel at ruthless."
"Ya know, if I were sure that was a compliment, I'd thank you." Nikolas grunted and turned from the bomb to Lucky. "Did your father ever teach you to disarm one of these? Because my grandmother may have been a complete psycho, but she never taught me how to disarm a bomb."
"Sorta…" Lucky shrugged, his eyes focused on the mechanics in front of him. He looked up at Sage and Sofie. "Okay, I'm gonna move you two and…"
"No!" They yelled simultaneously. Sage shook her head violently. "If we move, this thing blows. And if anybody comes out of this door, we blow. Where's Dad? Please tell me that you guys aren't are only rescue."
"Would you just hush for a second?" Lucky wiped sweat from his forehead, then pulled out a small phone. He pressed a button, then said, "Here's a note for you. If you don't want your neices to blow up, tell everybody not to come out the back door and don't let anyone out the back door. Nikolas says that the house is empty except for Corinthos and three of his guards. Just stay away from the back door, got me? Now, don't call back. I'm gonna be really busy here."
Lorenzo's eyes were dark and the intent in his eyes was clear to the two men that stood to either side of him. Murder, plain and simple. As Luis explained the situation to them, Lorenzo grew more and more dark. He didn't scream with rage, or send a rain of Spanish profanity through the air as Luis had done upon hanging up the phone. He didn't seethe as Jason did with each word that Luis spoke.
No, the anger that welled within Lorenzo Alcazar was a cold, calm emotion. His blood ran cold and his body shivered. In his mind, pictures of what he would do to those waiting inside flashed then changed. With each passing moment, his decision of what to do fluctuated, moving from a gruesome and terrifying massacre, to a cold execution with Corinthos looking him dead in the eye.
Lorenzo stepped forward, his hand on the doorknob, and didn't even realize that they had already crossed the long walkway. Luis had spoken as they moved and time seemed to be inconsequential. It was as though he had walked through a worm hole and wound up on the other side of the universe, the other side of existence.
The three of them were the only ones going inside, but they weren't the only people on the compound. In the dark of night, their soldiers moved around the property, disposing of every one of Corinthos's men. By the morning, there would be no hint of any Corinthos employees in Port Charles. All of their bodies would be properly disposed of, but Corinthos… He would be an example to anyone else who thought they could enter his territory, anyone who thought they could come to his home and threaten his family.
The door opened and Sonny Corinthos was seated in a large, antique chair about ten feet from the door. His hands were steepled, the inner ridge slicing his lips in half. Two tall, Latin men stood to either side of his chair and the third stood behind him. He lowered his hands slowly and his grin was sadistic. He enjoyed this far too much. There were those in their organization who found the necessary killing distasteful, but they did it when there was no other choice. Corinthos, however, seemed to be of the other variety, who enjoyed ever part of his dark work. He took too much pleasure in having the Alcazar twins attached to bombs outside his back door.
"Tomo su aspecto personal para significar que usted realiza que sus hijas muy absurdas han encontrado su manera en mi cuidado blando, cariñoso."
Lorenzo smirked. Were Jason not there, he probably would have replied in kind, in his native language. However, he was not going to leave one of his lieutenants in the dark. More than that, he had no intention of letting Corinthos have the upper hand. They were already on his ground, but he would not let him set the pace for this conversation.
Before another word was said, before another move was made, Jason and Luis rose their arms and the two men on either side of Sonny went down with a single bullet hole in their foreheads. Corinthos didn't move, but the guard behind him twitched just enough that, were he closer, Lorenzo thought he might have seen a line of sweat over his upper lip.
"My daughters will be leaving your special care very soon, Corinthos. Too bad you won't be going anywhere."
"Do you think I'm a fool, Alcazar?" Sonny stood slowly, his hands falling to his sides. "Did you really think that I would believe the farce your brother put on here, today? I know enough about the Alcazar family to know that Luis is never sent to handle business dealings that are meant to be honored. You would have done the same as I, only I struck first."
"You struck first, but we strike last."
"I'm surprised the three of you got past my guards." He shrugged. "Of course, I'm assuming that you brought more than stepped foot into my home. Your daughters, however… the only way you'll see them again is if they follow their dear papa to hell."
In a lightning blink, the dark room was suddenly alight with gunfire. The opposing factions took refuge on either side of the large room. Corinthos and his guard were outnumbered, but they were picking their shots, holding their own, and coming closer and closer to hitting their mark. On their own side, Morgan and the Alcazars were firing more randomly, with many of their shots meant not to hit them as much as to keep them from sneaking past the back door.
A cry from the left turned Lorenzo's head and he watched Luis go down with a bullet in his shoulder, the opposite shoulder that had been taken months before by Lorenzo. He dove to the side and came up beside his brother. Lorenzo held the wound tightly with one hand. Luis continued to fire with his free hand.
Then Corinthos made a break for it. "Jason!" Luis called out. Jason's head spun and he took off running. He shot as he ran and his bullet caught the remaning guard in the back, just to the left of his spine. Lorenzo fired and his bullet took the man in the neck. Luis fired and got him in the back of the head before he fell to the floor.
Jason chased after Corinthos, firing as he moved towards the dark and looming back door. Before they reached the outer door, they would have to go down a long stairwell, through a small dark hallway, and then they would be outside. Jason was just at the stairs when he yelled back, "Get Luis out of here! Go, Lorenzo!"
Lorenzo pulled Luis to his feet and started to run in Jason's direction, but Luis stopped him. "We have to get out of here, Lorenzo! Just in case!"
"My girls are back there, Luis! How in the hell do you expect me to just run!"
"Like this!" Luis leaned all of his weight on Lorenzo and shoved him towards the door. "If Jason sacrifices himself, he did it for the girls. Spencer's out back… There might be other shit in here to go, Lorenzo."
"I can't…" He grunted under his brother's weight. "I can't just let him do this! They're my daughters! I'm the one who should die for them!"
"Then die on the other side of the door!" Luis jerked hard and they went sprawling outside, both men covered in snow. Lorenzo jumped to his feet, pulling Luis behind him. They trailed around the side of the building, Luis dripping blood in the snow, doing their best to get to the back door, if nothing else to lean against it and keep it closed. Just in case Lucky hadn't finished with the bomb.
And in the rear of the house, a bullet pierced Sonny Corinthos in the side as he reached the back door, but not before he turned the knob and started to push it open.
