Part 9:
Towards Melpomene

January 27,
2000: Afternoon

WSB Headquarters,
Paris: Main Office

"We have to do something," Ned said quietly, but with a firm graveness that caused all the other men to stop their thoughts and speech to glance over at him. "They could land any moment."

"What time is it? Too early there for that," Luke said calmly. "They probably won't be on Melpomene until nightfall. Natasha's not stupid."

"I'm quite aware of Nata-- Alexis's intelligence," he said gruffly. "But the lines get blurry when you're dealing with family; she could get sloppy, if it means keeping her promise to Nikolas," Ned pointed out. "And even if we have till nightfall, that's not long. It's a few hours later in Greece."

"He's right. We don't have much time." Mac agreed. "If anyone gets onto Melpomene, Faison is liable to move Robert and Robin."

"And Lucky," Luke put in. "It seems we all have a stake in this," he said softly.

"It seems you all are civilians," Charles muttered under his breath, but he didn't bother to argue anymore. Sean had said everyone could stay for this, and so, everyone stayed.

"Yes, we have to act quickly," Sean agreed, thinking of his own daughter, though he had no doubt she could handle herself. "Faison could move at any time. This is liable to stir things up. It changes everything."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Mac asked pointedly. "We've got to do something. We need a plan -- and fast."

"We have a plan," Charles pointed out. "Why should this change anything? If they're found, Faison is either going to abduct Ms. Davis and Mr. Jacks or have them killed on sight. It's too late already, probably, to save them from the latter; and the former changes nothing."

"It changes Faison's sense of security," Frisco pointed out. "We have to move right away, or we might lose our chance."

"We can't move for at least another hour -- that's the next time I'm expecting Danielle to check in." Sean told them. "Danielle is an agent we have on the island, posing as a servant." He paused a moment, considering telling them more, but thought better of it.

"Agent Duleon?" Frisco asked, pronouncing it 'do-le-an' with less of the proper French than it had been thrown around earlier, on the island.

"Yeah," Sean answered, surprised. He'd known that Danielle had worked with the Alexandria office briefly, before he realized who she was, but he didn't know that she had worked with Frisco. She hadn't been there long.

"She'll be fine," Frisco said, and, noting Sean's surprise. "We worked on something in Alexandria. She's tough."

Sean smiled, but tried to suppress it. "Certainly is." He paused. "Anyway," he said, regaining purpose, "once she checks in, we'll have a better idea of exactly what to do. In the meantime, we need a plan and a route. I know when and where the guards are on duty, basically. I have a log. Let's see if we can put them to a map of Melpomene -- do we have one?"

"Of the island itself, no." Charles answered. "We have roughly where it is, but nothing beyond that."

"I can get you one," Ned replied. "Alexis made a copy. The original is in Port Charles." He answered simply. "I can call and have a copy faxed here."

"Thank you, but you should go, Mr. Ashton. The WSB will handle this," Charles said pointedly.

"There's no way in hell that I will let that happen," Ned responded. "I am going to Melpomene, with or without you."

"So am I," Luke said, rising.

"Don't even try to tell me to stay home," Mac added, staring fiercely at Charles.

Sean looked at the three civilians and nodded. "I'm going, too, and you can come. Better with me than without. But, one condition – on that island, my word is law. For the safety of everyone involved, ourselves and the hostages. You understand?"

All the men nodded.

"Charles, you'll be my link here. Frisco, you ready?"

"Born that way."

Sean nodded, then looked at Ned. "Call for that map, Mr. Ashton. We're going to need it on Melpomene."

England:

Airport Terminal

V sighed as she stared over her shoulder. Still no sign of Simon. Even after his message, she had somehow hoped that he'd make the plane, but she guessed she'd have to wait for him to make it to Port Charles. She glanced at the clock. Ten minutes till boarding. Then she saw a flash of blond hair peeking out from under a mass of red curls. Two women were rushing through the airport, and V realized that Felicia Scorpio-Jones was one of them.

She approached them with her eyebrows raised and whispered loudly, "Felicia! What are you doing here?"

Felicia practically jumped three feet into the air at the call of her name, even in a whisper. She turned around and was relieved to see V. "Thank God, it's only you," Felicia murmured.

"What are you doing here?"

"We need to get to Paris."

"Well, why the wig then?"

"We can't be seen."

"Why?" V asked, staring at her friend's worried eyes. Both Felicia and the woman with her glanced nervously around the airport. "What's going on?"

Port Charles:

Airport

"Nikolas, what's the point of all this, anyway?" Elizabeth asked as she found Nikolas, waiting for the Cassadine jet. "Why are you flying to Greece now? Why did you call me down here?"

"I got a call from Ned," Nikolas explained. "He wanted a map of Melpomene, so I faxed it to him. Apparently, Faison is the person who took over the island, and Alexis is on her way there, heading for a very dangerous situation."

"So, you thought we'd join her? The more the merrier? This is crazy, Nikolas," Elizabeth protested.

"Wait. There's one more thing," Nikolas said softly. He took a long moment's pause. "Elizabeth, he told me…" He paused again. "Faison has Lucky."

"Lucky," Elizabeth murmured. "But how…Lucky's…"

"No, he's not. He's not dead and he never was. Lucky is alive, Elizabeth. And I've got to get there before it's too late."

"You mean, we do," she said. "I'm coming with you."

Terpsichore:

Main House

Alexis stared out the picture window as the sun set over the Aegean Sea, hugging her arms around her. She was barefoot, and her eyes were wistful. One could very easily see the girl in the woman she had become, the barefooted, tanned girl with eyes of fire. But the fire had cooled, had been beaten down to a small, steady flameless smoke that burned deep within her. And now the woman stared out the window at the same sea she had gazed at with her childish eyes, and she realized that she had come to say goodbye. Goodbye to what, she did not know, not quite, not in a way she could express, even to herself. But this was an ending.

Jax came up behind her quietly. "So, what do the Cassadines use this house for?"

"Not for much of anything," Alexis admitted. "Not that I know of, at least. I'm not even sure why it was built, to tell the truth. Stefan used to come to this island sometimes, when he was older, just to escape everything. He liked boating. I've only been here twice before."

"Have you been on Melpomene?" Jax asked.

"I spent an entire summer there once. It was the happiest summer of my childhood," she told him quietly. "Stefan and I both went there, and Stavros stayed with Helena. We stayed with Uncle Victor and his girlfriend at the time… Sophie, her name was. She was blond and very pretty. They all were, Victor's girlfriends, but Sophie wasn't like the others. She was also very nice and very…wise."

"Sounds like she made quite an impression on you," Jax commented, smiling. "How old were you?"

"Eleven. It was the first time in my life I had ever had a mother," Alexis murmured quietly. "It was the only time I can remember." She looked back at the sunset as Jax rubbed her shoulder gently.

New York City:

A Hotel Suite

"And how exactly did you swing all this," Juan asked, looking around at the luxurious suite, in awe.

"This," Emily answered, "is the ELQ suite. My cousin or whoever uses it when they come to New York. All I had to do was call up Ned's secretary – he's out of town, you know – and convince her that I was Carly Quartermaine, whose voice she has never heard, and that I needed desperately to go to New York and had permission to use the suite." She smiled triumphantly. "She totally fell for it."

"Yeah, but it can't be long before we get caught," Juan pointed out, and Emily nodded agreement.

"I know, but I just wanted a short vacation, you know. I mean, all these bad things have been happening. A.J. got shot, and I just heard that Jason skipped town again. Elizabeth's parents are keeping her locked in her room, and Nikolas is freaked out about something. I just wanted a break from all of it," she explained. "So, I thought we'd explore New York City. I want to eat chestnuts in Central Park and go to the top of the Empire State Building, and see Lion King on Broadway, and buy really tacky T-shirts that say "I love New York," with a heart and an apple on them. All that stuff. It'll be fun," she added.

"Well, then, lead the way."

Port Charles:

The Brownstone

Jerry pulled out of a passionate kiss he and Bobbie were sharing and stared at his cell phone, looking annoyed. "Sorry, love, I have to get it. It might be Jax," he explained, and she nodded. "Jerry Jacks," he answered. "What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Jerry, it's V," he heard her say on the fizzling line. "It's V. Ardanowski. And, actually, there is trouble. Have you heard from Jax? He's not answering his phone, and I really need his help."

"I'm afraid you'll have to take a number, then, V," he answered. "He's off with Alexis, scouring the Mediterranean or something." He explained, and he heard her sigh on the other end. "Is it an emergency?"

"Yes. It's a long story, but I've got some friends who need to be taken to Paris. Discreetly and quickly. They think they're being followed." She explained. "I was hoping Jax could fly them." She paused for a long moment. "Jerry, you don't suppose… that you could fly them?"

Now, he sighed. "How desperate are you?"

"Very. This is life and death here."

"I'll fly out in an hour. Where should I meet you?" Jerry said, and it was obvious that the white knight complex he'd been talking about earlier ran in the family.

Melpomene:

Danielle's Room

Once again, she swept the room for microphones or cameras, locked the door, and carefully took the key from the chain around her neck, opened the box, took out several items until she reached the cell phone she carried. Then, she dialed.

"Yeah, I'm here," she replied when Sean answered. "Something strange is happening on the island. Even though Anna escaped, security has barely tightened. In fact, Faison has been unusually lenient. Miss Scorpio can pretty much roam freely, through the house and garden. And Robert has been allowed out of his room several times in the past week. Very unusual," she commented. "Faison has something planned. And I think it's something big." She paused. "What?"

Paris, France:

WSB Headquarters

"We think we know where you are," Sean repeated. "But first I have a few questions about the island. Just to check." He glanced down at the map he had of Melpomene. "Is there a peach orchard in the northernmost part of the island?" He asked, then nodded. "Great. And how many docks are there?" He smiled. "Great. It looks like Melpomene."

Melpomene:

Danielle's Room

"What's Melpomene?" Danielle asked, slightly confused. Then, she stopped breathing for a moment and listened to footsteps in the hallway that her room opened into. She said a silent prayer.

"Wait. Whose room is that?" She heard a man's voice and recognized it as Stefan Cassadine, the man she had eavesdropped on earlier. "I think I heard voices."

Danielle clicked the phone off and slid it back into the box, which she locked and slid under the bed. She tucked the key under the neckline of her dress just as she heard a banging knock on her door. "Oh!" She cried out loudly enough for them to hear them and quickly unbuttoned the back of her dress, so that she could re-button it if the door opened. "Un instant, s'il vous plait."

The door opened anyway, to reveal Cesar and Stefan. "Ah, Monsieur, je assiste toi?" Can I help you? She asked in French, hoping that she had used the countryside dialect and not the Parisian. Unlike Faison, he may have noticed the difference. A few of the other servants had.

"Why have you locked your door?" Stefan asked.

"Door?" She gestured, pretending to take a moment to understand him as she finished her last few buttons. "Oh, la porte. I lock because I was…" She paused, pretending to find the words. "How do you say…" She motioned buttoning her dress. "Revite." She paused again. "Ah, dressing. I was dressing, monsieur." She paused, nervously, pretending too look meek. "I apologize for taking so long."

Stefan paused for a moment, then nodded. "It's fine, mademoiselle. What is your name?"

She pushed her blond waves back and cast her eyes down, trying to look like the simple servant girl she was supposed to be. It was not an easy feat for someone of Danielle's fiery temperament. "Danielle Du Leon, monsieur."

"And how old are you?"

"Ninety," she answered. Stefan looked confused for a moment, then laughed a very small. "What is amusing?"

"You mean, nineteen," he commented, smiling. Stefan, like most men she'd met, developed an instant affection for Danielle. It had never matter what language she spoke, or who she was playing – that was her greatest skill, catching men off guard, charming them, always seeming just the tiniest bit helpless.

Yes, Danielle had a quality that was meant to be adored, but it was a quality she only appreciated when she could exploit it for business. "Oh," she replied. "Yes. I apologize if I was mistaken."

Stefan smiled at her and turned back to Faison. The two men walked on. "How many other new servants have you brought over in the past year?"

"Not many. A few other girls, that's all. To look after Anna. And I was expecting Robin's arrival, as well." Faison answered. "I'll introduce you to them, but they are all as loyal as Danielle. I am sure of it," he swore to Stefan.

Danielle heard this and smiled as she darted back into her room.

Terpsichore:

Main House

Dusk was fading into darkness, and Alexis and Jax sat in the parlor, waiting for the darkness to engulf the landscape. Then, they would creep out to the boathouse and across the sea to Melpomene.

"We'll have to be careful of the moonlight," Jax commented, watching the almost full moon rise. "It's not the ideal time for surveillance," he told her, almost hoping she'd change her mind. He had a bad feeling about Melpomene.

"We've come too far to go back now," Alexis replied, hearing his implication. "Besides, I want to know what's going on."

Jax just nodded, understanding. "So do I, actually," he added. "But I have a feeling about it…"

Alexis looked up. "Me too. Like… something's waiting for us, there," she added quietly, and he nodded again. "It's a creepy feeling. I can't shake it. But I have to go… I just have to."

Jax nodded again and walked to the window. "Come here, quick," he called as he watched a shooting star burn across the sky. She did, and she smiled and shut her eyes tight. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm making a wish," she told him, and he smiled. She had left a part of herself on these islands, he realized, and this had given her the unexpected chance to pick it back up, to remember something good about her childhood, to regain some of the fire that she'd lost.

"What are you wishing for?"

"I can't tell you. It won't come true," she reminded him. "What about you? Did you make a wish?"

"No," he said, gazing at her wistfully. "I missed my chance."

Paris:

WSB Headquarters

"But everything's okay there? Great," Sean said, nodding at the others. "I'll see you tonight, then. We all will, if everything goes right. Try and call me in three hours," he added and then ended the call. "Everything's set," he told the others. "Get changed, get ready, be back here in an hour. We're going to Melpomene."