Carly could feel disappointment choking her, clutching at her throat hard enough to make her cough. She'd wanted desperately to believe that once she and Lorenzo had reached the safe house, she'd be reunited with her boys. Unfortunately, reality was harsh and it was unfeeling. There wasn't even a sign of Michael or Morgan at the house.
If nothing else, she might have handled it better had there been some small memento of her sons left within the vacant walls. Perhaps a fallen sippy cup or one of Michael's little race cars. Something she could hold onto and squeeze. As it were, the only thing that remained was the faint smell of baby powder on the air. She knew they had been there, and it was possible that they had just missed them.
Had they been in one of the cars that had passed them on the street? Carly had sat with her hands tightly wound together, staring out the window. They drove over icy roads, and her heart threatened to stop its constant pulsing. She hadn't spoken to Lorenzo during the drive, just stared out the window, hoping that maybe she would see some hint that they were doing the right thing. Some hint that, possibly, she would finally get her hands on her children and be able to run. Had her chance to escape with her boys raced past her on the slippery streets?
Now, however, she knew that her hope had been futile. She should have expected this from Sonny. He knew that she would find her children. He knew that Lorenzo would find them. Carly was actually shocked that the police hadn't been waiting for them when they arrived. Perhaps, Sonny had been so fervent in his theft of her children that he didn't think that far ahead. Or maybe they were just waiting for them outside. Waiting for them to head back to the yacht so they could ambush Jason and Sam.
Well, if they wanted to drive all the way to New Jersey, then they could bring it on. If they picked up a tail, that's exactly where Lorenzo was prepared to take them. He would make a phone call, drive into Newark, and within a couple of hours, be back aboard his yacht, and no one would be anywhere near Port Charles.
Except for Carly…
She wouldn't go. If they had to run, she wasn't doing it without her sons. She would go to prison first. Carly was under no illusions that Sonny would give the boys back if she ratted out Jason and Sam. He would just use her aid to them to make sure she never saw her children again. Thus, she would sit in a cell and let the hours tick away. She would keep her lips sealed and let Sonny figure out how to explain to Michael and Morgan why had their mother locked up.
"Carly." She turned slowly towards Lorenzo. His face was calm and blank, a mix between his business mask and the one that he wore when he was trying to be strong. He held a phone in his hand, raised halfway towards his ear. "We'll find them."
"Does he hate me so much, Lorenzo?" Her words caught in her throat and she felt like she would choke. Carly took a step towards him, then faltered. She closed her eyes, trying to will herself to be strong. Tears streamed out from beneath her lids and she knew her strength wouldn't last long. She opened her eyes. "Michael's not even his son! He's mine, Lorenzo. He's my blood and he… He just took him."
"I have people searching. We'll find them, Carly, I promise you." Lorenzo snapped his phone shut and slid it into his pocket. His mask started to slip away, his eyes slowly darkening with concern and… frustration, maybe? Insecurity? "I have to ask you this, Carly…"
She blinked up at him and cocked her head to the side. "What?"
"Are you sure you want to go forward with this? I know you want to help Morgan, but is it worth your children?"
Some part of her had known that the question was coming. She'd asked it of herself a hundred times as they drove to the safe house. "This isn't about Jason, anymore," she said softly. "Even if I turn them in…" She shook her head. "Sonny will use this against me," she told him. "He'll have us thrown in jail for aiding and abetting. The only way to get my boys back is to take them from him and wait until they find the real kidnapper."
"As long as they're looking for McCall, they'll never find the real kidnapper."
"They'll slip up. They have to. I just…" She shook her head again. Carly hugged herself tightly, then let her arms fall to her sides. "I can't trade Jason in for something I know Sonny will never let me have. I just…" Carly choked back a sob so hard that it shook her body. "I want my boys back, Lorenzo."
His arms opened and she walked to him. Her body was tucked before she reached him. His arms wrapped around her and Carly cried out her pain and longing against his chest. It was the only security she had left, Lorenzo's arms and his scent, and she had to hold onto that. Because if she let him go, she would surely lose her mind.
"They're taking too long." Sam paced back and forth, her arms folded. Her booted feet landed with a thud at each step. "This shouldn't have taken so long. I don't like it."
She hadn't liked the idea in the first place. They were going to be stuck where they coasted if Lorenzo and Carly got picked up by the cops. Lorenzo was the only one who could order the captain to take off, and he would use his one phone call to reach an attorney. He wouldn't waste that call to the yacht. Besides, he would know that they might be listening in on the call, just in case, and wouldn't risk it. Lorenzo Alcazar may not have been at the top of her most-trusted list of people, but he sure as hell wasn't a moron.
Beyond that, Sam was worried that Carly would turn them in. She'd seen the desperation in her eyes when she realized that Sonny had sent the boys away. If she thought that she could get them back by telling, she would. They didn't like each other, and Carly would sell them right down the river. She might even use that one phone call to lure Sam off the ship. That way, she could hand Sam over to Sonny without putting Jason in any danger.
"Sam…"
She ignored Jason and continued her pacing. A large part of her said that she was being ridiculous. They hadn't been gone all that long, and it was possible that they had just stopped somewhere. There was no reason for them to stop, but hey… sometimes, things came up. Maybe they needed to make an emergency stop for one of the boys. Or maybe Michael wasn't being cooperative. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been all THAT long, and if they were behind, there had to be a reason for it.
Another bit of her also told her that Carly wouldn't have turned them in, not after her first encounter of the day with Sonny. She wouldn't just hand anyone over to Sonny when he was in a rage. Carly could be mean as hell when she wanted to be, but she wasn't that cruel. And even if she were, she didn't like guilt. She wouldn't want it on her conscience if Sonny ever did anything to her. Sam could handle it, but again, Carly probably couldn't.
"Sam, look at me." She hugged and turned towards Jason. She stopped to the left of the bed and stared at him. He reached out to her and her arms fell to her sides. "Come here."
She had given up on trying to get Jason to go to sleep. He'd been awake since Carly and Lorenzo had left the yacht. Actually, he'd been awake before that. He slept for a little bit, but when they were leaving… He wanted to know what the plan was. He wanted to know what they were going to do, how it would be done, and what would come after. They would either tell him, or he'd shoot his way off of the yacht. In the end, telling him had been easier.
Sam felt bad for him. He was caught up in so many places that he shouldn't have been. It wasn't just her trouble, anymore. She knew the love he held for Michael, and the thought of him being somewhere without his mother had to be tearing him apart. And then there was Carly… There was a history there that Sam didn't even want to know. Their friendship was hard enough for her to handle. If there had ever been anything more, she didn't want to know about it. She preferred to be on the fringes of that particular point in history.
But, still… there was enough of whatever between them that he was filled with frustration and anguish. He was torn between two best friends, and there was no easy way out of that spot. Sam was glad she didn't have to make the kinds of choices Jason had been forced to make in the past couple of days, or come to the realizations that had to have dawned on him in the past few hours. It had to be hard to realize that the enemy was the good guy, and Sonny was the villain. Neither had said it, but Sam thought they had both thought it; Lorenzo Alcazar would never lay a hand on Carly the way that Sonny had.
Sam sighed and walked to him. She reached out and took his hand, then sat on the side of the bed gently. Jason's hand wrapped around hers and he squeezed as tightly as his strength allowed. "We'll give them another hour."
"Jason…" She shook her head. An errant tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away. "You're not doing anything but laying here."
"I'm tired of laying here." He pushed himself up, grunting and groaning as he moved. "I've been laying here for days and that gets us no closer to finding Kristina. And it damn sure doesn't get us any closer to having Michael and Morgan."
"Alcazar's taking care of it."
"Alcazar can…" Jason cut himself short and groaned. This time, Sam didn't think the sound had anything to do with pain. Jason had to admit that Alcazar was doing something for Carly that he couldn't do. That he was doing something for Sam that he couldn't do. "I'm the one that promised Carly I'd never let anyone take her kids from her, not Alcazar."
"Jason, we both know that this isn't about promises you've made or anything else. It's about Sonny, and your loyalty." Sam sighed. "You feel like you're betraying him."
"Aren't I?" He sighed. Jason's grip on Sam's hand loosened a bit, then he tightened it again. "I've chosen everybody over him and…" He sighed again. "I don't feel bad enough about it. First you, then Carly, now Alcazar… I'm supposed to feel worse about betraying him."
"So, you think denying that he was wrong will make up for that? Or that wracking yourself with guilt over your lack of guilt will make up for it?"
"Yeah?" He shook his head and groaned. "I don't know. I just wish it hadn't come to this."
Sam hated the pain in his eyes. If she thought that turning herself in would alleviate that grief, she would have done so in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, her gut feeling was that turning herself over to the police would only make matters worse. And, it would only push closer the time when Jason and Sonny would have what could be their final showdown.
Sighing, Sam carefully laid down beside Jason. She was tentative as she put her arm over him, cautious not to add anymore physical pain to the emotional anguish that already filled him. Jason put an arm over her and she sighed. "It's taking too long," she said softly, "but we'll both wait. A little bit longer, and then…"
"Then, someone's going to have to go out after them."
Sam looked up at Jason with finality. She reached up to lightly press her fingertips against his jaw then said, "And it most definitely won't be you."
