Part Eight:

Connecting the Dots

January 27,
2000: Afternoon

WSB Headquarters,
Paris: Main Office

"You had a problem, Du Noir?" Sean Donely asked and sighed as he entered. He stopped a bit abruptly. "Frisco? What are you doing in Paris?"

"Ignoring orders," Charles Du Noir muttered. He was a tall, good looking man of almost fifty with chestnut colored hair and flashing hazel eyes. "Agent Jones wants to be a part of the Faison case, but that is strictly forbidden. He obviously has personal issues with this case, and, besides, he belongs with the Alexandria team." He said firmly, glaring at Frisco and Mac.

Ignoring Charles, Sean smiled at his old friend. "How are things in Alexandria? Slow, I hope?"

"They're pretty calm. They can spare me, if you'll reassign me here temporarily," Frisco answered the unasked question. "I already asked. It just needs your approval."

"Consider it done." Sean answered. He turned to Charles, knowing the Frenchman would protest any moment. "Frisco is a great agent, and we need all the help we can get with Faison. This is the most important case on the WSB roster right now. There's no harm with calling in extra agents."

"We didn't call him in!" Charles reminded Sean pointedly, disbelieving. "How can you decide something so important on a whim -- like telling Mr. Scorpio here all the ins and outs of the case?"

"He deserved to know. It's his family," Sean said simply. "Listen. His brother and sister-in-law were both WSB agents themselves. He's a police commissioner." Sean said, glancing over at Mac.

"He's a civilian. It's compromised the case."

"Mac knows how to keep quiet."

"Oh, does he? He just blurted out everything to Agent Jones here -- who is not authorized on this case."

"He is now, and Mac knows who to trust. I'm glad you caught him up and are willing to work with him, Mac," Sean said, thanking him. "That just saved us some time. Is that all?"

"The papers," Charles added. "They printed something about Miss Scorpio's disappearance."

"Yeah. I saw that. Don't worry about it." Sean said matter-of-factly. "They don't know anything. They act like we don't know anything -- because that's what they think. It makes us look like idiots, but it's not damaging." Sean smiles. "I like it when the papers make us look sloppy. If Faison sees it, he'll just laugh and write us off as hopeless. It's a plus actually. Just keep up the facade of ignorance."

Sean thought for a moment before adding, "There's a development we need to go over, but not right now. I have some more meetings first, all about this case, to sort things through. We're going to get everything just as soon as possible. Mac, lay low. Frisco, glad to have you. You want to stop by for dinner tonight? I'm sure Tiffany and the kids would love to see you." He asked, and Frisco nodded. "And Charles, calm down, man, or you're going to give yourself a heart attack." He smiled, and Charles set his jaw firmly, but did not speak – Sean was, after all, his superior, at the WSB.

"I've got to go, but I'll see all of you in the main conference room in an hour, along with everyone else on this case," Sean said as he hurried out of the room.

Paris, France,
Outside WSB HQ

The two men came to a dead halt in front of the building not noticing each other until they got to the doorway where they nearly ran into each other and, because of that, locked eyes for the briefest moment. Then they both did a double take and recognized each other.

"Luke? What are you doing here?"

"Me? What about you, Ashton?" Luke challenged. "Why would you be at WSB Headquarters? You going to sell them CDs?"

"I was in Paris on business -- ELQ business – " Ned said, ignoring Luke's jab. "And I saw the newspaper... it said that Robin Scorpio is missing." Ned noted that Luke didn't look surprised. "You knew, didn't you? Does that have anything to do with why you're here?"

"I'm here on business," Luke said dryly.

"Can I have a real answer, please?" Ned asked, knowing it had something to do with Robin's disappearance. "Robin's a friend."

"Well, all I can tell you is that I'm sure she's all right -- for now at least -- and that you certainly aren't of any use. Get back to selling subsidiaries or whatever you're here for, before you get in over your head," Luke said simply before walking in the door.

Ned hesitated a moment before tailing him into the building, hoping that he could get something out of Mac, whom he'd tracked to here, but doubting it.

Paris, France,
En la Boulevard

"Here are the codes. The last one is the code to the account where your money will be transferred, when the job is completed of course," Stefan said simply, handed Simon a folded up sheet of paper.

"Got it." Simon said nodding, "But I'm going to need an extra two hundred thousand dollars up front."

"That's never been part of our agreement," Stefan said coldly. "Why should the terms change now?"

"Because there's some reason you can't move around your own money, so you need me to do it. It's a very inopportune time. If I wasn't here, you know where I'd be? I'd be showing a beautiful lady around London."

"Precisely. Venus Ardanowski is a pretty woman, isn't she? Wouldn't it be a shame if anything happened to her?"

"Almost as shameful as something happening to Mrs. Laura Spencer -- excuse me, it's Webber again now, isn't it?" He commented. "It wouldn't be anything drastic of course. Just maybe a break-down triggered by the realization that all the pain in her life has been caused by the one man she's currently trusting most."

"I'll give you one hundred thousand up front, but that's all. Take it or leave it, Mr. Prentice." Stefan agreed, his jaw tightening with annoyance. "Don't forget, if I go down, I may decide to take you with me. You withheld plenty of information, transferred and transported money illegally, and certainly obstructed justice."

"I'll take it. This time. Don't call again." He warned pointedly. "And don't threaten me either." He said, his face dark and very serious.

WSB Headquarters,
Paris: Main Office

"Who are you?" Charles asked, exasperated. "We're not hiring citizens off the street to be WSB agents – though I'm not saying the ones we have are any better," he added bitterly.

"My name is Luke Spencer, like I already told you, and I need to talk with Mac Scorpio or Sean Donely. It's important." He said pointedly, rolling his eyes. This was precisely why he hated law enforcement officers.

"Oh, yeah? Try me."

"I can't. This is for Sean or Mac's ears only. That's the deal. Look, man, I can talk to Sean tonight. I know where he lives. I just chatted with his pretty, blond wife and his lovely little girls, but every minute we waste here is precious time we're losing."

"Fine. Stay here." Charles instructed. "I'll go get Mac. Don't move or touch anything. If this isn't for real--" He trailed off, his eyes blazing.

Scorpio-Jones
House

"Where have you been for the past six years?" Felicia asked softly. "Faison had you the entire time?"

"Yes." Anna told Felicia softly. "At first, I didn't know who I was. It wasn't until last year, I remembered." She shuddered, as she began her story:

"We lived as Anne and Christophe Delange in Lucerne, Switzerland. I remember everything," she said, shuddering a little and closing her eyes, "I also remember that I was confused all the time, like I knew something was missing, but I wasn't sure what. Not yet," She said softly. "I began remembering bits and pieces, and I think Faison saw all the signs. If it had come back all at once, if I just hadn't told him the pieces of my memories... But I did. He was my husband -- at least I thought so. Everybody told me so." She paused. "Then he moved us to the island and told me the truth about who I was. He wouldn't speak of Robert, even to tell me whether he was alive or dead. I didn't know until I met Danielle."

"Who's Danielle?" Felicia asked.

"My eyes and ears around that house," Anna answered. "She's a servant there, a girl from the south of France, I think, but there's something strange about her. She was smart, always…ahead of everyone. And she was a friend," Anna added. "She found Robert and used to write of him to me, but she could never correspond with him. She couldn't get in, and he was never allowed out."

Melpomene,
Walled Garden

"Thank you for walking with me, Mademoiselle Du Leon," Robin said, trying to sound normal. She knew, as well as Danielle, that the guards were listening.

"Oh, please, call me Danielle. Nobody calls me Mademoiselle Du Leon or anything that formal. It's either "hey, you, girl" or Danielle. I prefer the latter."

"Then you can, of course, call me Robin," Robin said politely.

"The weather is nice today, don't you think?" Danielle started, gazing over at one of the guards, and Robin understood they were talking about security on the island, not temperatures. "You could never tell there have been storms for days. It's warm for this time of year."

"Oh, really? What kind of climate do we usually see here?"

"Since I've been here, it's been mostly calm... just a few storms when the skies were particularly angry and a bit overcast at times, and, at this time of year, it's usually fairly cold. For it to be this warm, something must have been altered," Danielle suggested. "Perhaps they found something," She added, whispering.

"A body?" Robin mouthed, knowing her implication, and Danielle shrugged. But she knew just the same that security had barely tightened. Something must have happened after Anna's escape to make Faison think there was no reason to worry.

Somewhere,
In the Air

"You sure you don't want me to teach you?" Jax asked, watching Alexis out of the corner eye, knowing she was watching his every move. "It'd probably be simpler than you second-guessing everything in your head."

"I'm not--" She started, but then she smiled a little. "Okay, so I am. But at least this way if we crash, it's your fault."

Jax laughed. "We're not going to crash, Alexis," He assured her. "I promise. Getting to Melpomene will be a piece of cake. We're almost there, you know." He paused. "It'll be the once we're there part that's hard." He added. "Which brings me to: where do you want to land?"

"Okay," she said, pulling out a large map. "I was thinking we could land on Terpsichore." He glanced at her, and she nodded. "Yes, they're all named after muses. All the houses are named after Czars," She added. "Anyway Terpsichore is uninhabited, but there's a house there where we can stay till nightfall. There's also servant cabins, a small dock, and, hopefully, a couple of boats. We can't land on Melpomene. We're too noticeable. Besides, it's awful small. Terpsichore is fairly large, and I had my scouts survey it. The entire Northwest end is an empty field."

Jax nodded. "Fine by me. If we can't land, I'll turn around. We can always land in Crete to refuel if we have to." He added. "What are the coordinates for Terpsichore?"

WSB Headquarters:
Paris, Main Office

"Luke," Mac commented. "What are you doing here?"

"I've got a message from your wife," he said simply. "And your sister-in-law." A wave of confusion swept across Mac's face, and Luke continued. "Your presumed dead, yet not-so-dead sister-in-law."

"Anna? She's alive? Is Robert--"

"Yeah. Last time she saw him anyway, which was about two and a half weeks ago. She took her time in getting here, but she had to be careful. Faison is probably combing the earth for her right now."

"Does she know where Faison is?" Charles asked. He'd been eavesdropping, and now he was suddenly interested in Luke and his news.

"Or where he's taken Robin?" Mac asked.

"They were on an island, she says. They being her, Robert, Robin, and Lucky."

"Lucky?" Mac asked, confused by that.

"Yeah, he's alive. Nobody knows yet. We figured it was best to keep it quiet for now." He assured Mac. "Anyway, she said the island was somewhere in the Mediterranean, maybe Greece. She drifted off in a motorboat -- but the motor died and she used it as a sailboat. She landed on Crete."

"Greece?" The three men turned around to see Ned, who'd overheard the entire conversation. "They could be in Greece?"

"Who are you?" Charles demanded. "And how did you get this far into headquarters."

"Ned Ashton." He said simply. "No one stopped me, and I didn't pick any locks. I was following Luke." He entered the room, the wheels in his head turning. "The Cassadine islands are near Crete, aren't they?" He asked Luke.

"The Cassadine islands in Greece are just south of it." Luke answered. "Why? What are you getting at, Ashton?"

"Melpomene..." Ned murmured. "It couldn't be, could it?" He paused. He turned to the three men. "Someone took over a Cassadine island -- Melpomene. Alexis has been trying to find out who it was and why, but her surveyors couldn't get on. One of them was killed." He explained. "She and Jax are on their way there right now."

Charles snapped into action and picked up the phone. "Get Donely out of his meeting now and tell him to come to the main conference room. It's imperative." He barked into it. "Find Jones, too if you can, ASAP." He said before hanging up.

"Cassadine..." Mac sighed. "The Cassadines are involved. Sean told me that earlier," He told them. "He could be on Melpomene. He probably is."

"I should've known there were Cassadines involved when people started getting kidnapped," Luke commented dryly. He turned to Ned. "You might want to call Lex and tell her what's up."

"I can't. She left her phone behind." Ned responded softly, sighing, obviously worried. "But I guess, I can try to call Jax." He took out his cell phone and dialed the other man's number, but there was no answer. "He doesn't have it, or it's off. Either way, they're going to Melpomene." He sighed.

"What's going on?" Sean asked, entering. "What happened?"

"Well, first of all, there must be a major security breech, because these two men," Charles said, pointing to Ned and Luke, "were unauthorized, yet managed to get in here."

"You called me out of a meeting for that?" Sean asked, confused. He looked over the two "intruders," half-smiling at Charles's indignation over the situation. "Well, Luke, I know. Can't speak for the other one."

"Ashton's annoying, not dangerous," Luke said. "He's Tracy Quartermaine's kid."

"Can we get back to where Faison is?" Mac interrupted. "And not a who's-who of Port Charles residents."

"We know where Faison is?" Sean asked.

"We may. That's why I called you in here," Charles said, regaining control of the room. "Melpomene, Greece, a small Cassadine Island. I think it's on our maps. Roughly."

"Melpomene," Sean said with a muted chuckle. "God, that Faison has a sense of humor, doesn't he?"

Mac, Luke, Frisco and Ned looked at each other confused for a moment; Charles noted it and, on a side note, added, "Melpomene was the name of the Greek muse of tragedy." He explained. "We need a plan."

Mercy Hospital,
Cafeteria

Monica and Carly sat across from each other at a small, dingy, grayish colored table in the dull-looking cafeteria, sipping bitter, lukewarm coffee. Monica picked at a salad, and Carly nibbled on half of a bagel, minus cream cheese or butter of any kind.

"What does eighteen days mean anyway? How long are we supposed to let it go before we really start worrying?"

"In truth, there's no telling, but the best case results are usually benchmarked as two weeks, which, unfortunately, we've already passed. We can keep him alive like this for as long as we want to. Start worrying when he tests as brain dead," Monica said simply. She paused. "Or when you lose hope."

Carly sighed softly. "You know, I don't think I had very much hope to begin with. I don't think I ever have."

"Dr. Quartermaine?" A small, busied, dark haired, mousy girl approached them quickly.

Monica looked up. "Yes?"

"There's a call for you. From... someone named Reginald." She added. "He says to tell you that it's important -- that it's about Emily."

"Okay," Monica said, standing up. "Excuse me," she said politely to Carly. To the girl, "Where can I take it?"

"Over here. Follow me."

The
Docks

Elizabeth gazed out at the harbor with an artist's eye as she sketched the angles, lines, dimensions, and shades that made up the largest crane -- one at the ELQ docks, off to the West -- and the surrounding landscape. It was cold and metal looking in her picture, looking ominous and looming. The water lapped against it, both in life and in her painting -- blue-gray water that traveled in soft waves. The grayish-brown dock was sharp beside it, and small ghost-like shadings depicting a myriad of boats coming and going quickly were in the water near it.

"Lizzie, right?" She heard a soft voice and turned around to see a pretty, blond woman she knew as Chloe Morgan, fashion designer and a distant relative of Emily, standing behind her.

"Yes," she acknowledged, nodding and looking at her curiously. "Elizabeth Webber, actually." She added. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah." Chloe said softly, looking serious as she came to sit down beside the girl. "Wait -- did you draw that?"

"Uh, huh," Elizabeth said softly, nodding a little shyly. "Just now." She added. "Why?"

"It's really good." Chloe complimented her, but then she regained sight of her original objective. "But that's not why I'm here." She added. "I was looking for you, at Kelly's." She explained. "Emily's missing... She left a note... She ran away... It's the last thing we all need, and the last thing she needs probably, considering how she must be hurting." Chloe said quietly. "I thought you might know where she is?" She asked hopefully. "She's not in any trouble. Not with me. I just want to make sure she's okay."

"I really don't know," Elizabeth said honestly. "She was staying at my house, but she said she was going home, and I haven't seen or heard from her since. I can't promise you what I'll do once I will." She paused. "I think maybe it is good for her, though, especially if she's hurting -- I think she might need an escape right now. Everybody needs an escape sometimes."

Child walks down to the river's edge,
And looks out as far as she can see,
And draws each breath as if it were the last,
And wipes away the tears across her sleeve,
She can see where the river crawls to the sea,
Like a baby into mother's care

Lucky leaned against the railing as he watched the sun just about to begin its descent into the sea. It would be two hours before it was dusk, almost three before it was truly nightfall, but one could already see the faintest tracings of orange and yellow hues staining the sky.

He wondered where he was, exactly, and what time it was in Port Charles. That was where he wanted to be -- there, with her. He wanted to be home, but he could see no escape in sight. This place, an island or so he'd heard people call it, was extremely well-guarded, and a slip-up could cost Elizabeth her life. So, for now, all he could do was dream of home.

Somehow the longing is so far away,
The innocence so wasted and aware,
And look at the child with the dream in her eyes,
Holding it deep inside her
Thinking about Home... Home...
So much anger so deeply ingrained
Seemed a burden that was hers alone


 Robin had glanced up just casually from her spot in the garden, and she spotted him, standing there, staring out at the sunset. Danielle followed her gaze and the two women watched him as he stood there, looking very homesick; and, watching him, the two women felt very homesick themselves.

She didn't think that there was anything wrong
With wanting a life that she could call her own
How could I explain? You would not want to hear
You wouldn't listen if I talked anyway
For you were too weighed down by your own fears
And look at the child with the dream in her eyes
Holding it deep inside her
Home... home... home... home...

(((This Chapter's Song Credits: "Home," by Sarah Mclachlan, off of Solace)))