"Where do you think you're going?"

Jason's eyes narrowed as he stared at Alcazar. If he thought he was going to run to the rescue on his own, he was sadly mistaken. Jason's wounds were double stitched and his stomach was double bound. As long as he didn't make too many quick movements, he would be fine. "You're not doing this alone."

Lorenzo groaned and shook his head. "Carly left you in my care, and if something happens to you…"

"Nothing's going to happen. You can't stop me from going, Alcazar."

"And what do you think you'll be able to do, Morgan? You can't fight. You can barely stand up. What good will either of us be if I have to carry you around Manhattan."

"You won't have to carry me anywhere." Jason grunted and eased his leg over the side of the boat. "After what they did to Royal, I need to be there. I don't know what Carly will do to Durant if someone's not there to stop her, and I really don't believe Sam will be able to do that."

"That's why I'm going, and you're staying here." He sighed. "I'm only going to bring them back. My people have cleaned up Royal's apartment, and the only thing that will be found there is a note leading them to the address where Durant is holding Kristina."

Jason looked up at him as he straddled the side of the ship. "You're hoping the police get there before Carly and Sam."

"Yes, I am. I want this entire thing to be over with. I want Carly to have her children back and I want you off of my yacht." Lorenzo groaned. "You were right," he admitted reluctantly. "Corinthos took the bait. By the time we docked, he was already aware of the supposed sighting of Sam at Royal's apartment. By now, he has the address and is on his way to Manhattan."

"And if he doesn't get there in time?" Jason put his hand to his side, but held in a groan. "If Sonny gets there when you're there, somebody has to be around that can control him. I can do that. I've stopped him before, and I can stop him again."

"What are your concerns, Morgan?" Lorenzo leaned against the side of the yacht and folded his arms. "Are you concerned that Carly or Sam will be hurt? Or are you afraid that I'll see Corinthos and kill him for what he's done to Carly?"

Jason was quiet for a few minutes. He stared at Lorenzo, but his eyes grew dark, then lightened as his breathing slowed. He held on to the side of the ship tightly then sighed. "Alcazar, I could care less what you do or what you think. I'm trying to help both of them. Sonny was the only brother I held on to for a really long time, and even though I know he has to pay for what he's done, I can't let him go that easily. He may not be blood, but he's still family to me. Whether we end up estranged family or we can work it out is none of your business. But I'm not about to let you go in there and execute him any more than I'm going to let Carly live with murdering her own father."

Lorenzo was quiet this time, returning Jason's stare. His own bright blue eyes shifted between darrk and light before he finally spoke. "Fine," he said, standing up straight. "But, know this, Morgan. I am not going to let you put Carly at risk just so you can save Corinthos. If it comes to a choice, I'll put a bullet in his head before he can lay a hand on her again."


Luckily, guards were non-existant. Considering that no one was looking for John Durant, Sam could understand why. There was no need for guards, and should the police stumble upon the place, it would probably be easier to put the kidnapping off on her. Everyone thought she had taken Kristina based off of maternal emotions. If that were the case, why would she need security?

Besides, guards would mean more people to know his plan. More people to pay off, and more people who could give him up under the right conditions. There was no one inside the bedroom but Kristina and a nanny. The woman didn't speak any English and Sam didn't speak any Russian. Making the woman understand that she was going to take the girl wasn't going to be easy.

She supposed she could have put the gun in her face, but she didn't want to run the risk of scaring Kristina. It was late enough that she'd hoped that Kristina would have been asleep. Unfortunately, she was wide awake, watching some strange creatures on television. At one point, the screen flashed Boo-Bah, and Sam rose an eyebrow of disapproval. She'd have to make sure to tell Alexis that Boo-Bah was definitely not proper viewing for a child. It could give a kid nightmares. Hell, those things could give an adult nightmares.

The rest of the apartment was empty, and by that, she meant almost totally vacant. The only room that was furnished was the bedroom where Kristina stayed. The trash in the kitchen showed that she'd been surviving on take-out for the past few days. There was one loveseat in the living room and a television across from it. Whenever Durant was there, he must have watched the news of the kidnapping on that set, sitting in that chair.

Carly was outside the bedroom door. She said she was being a lookout, but Sam knew that she was waiting in hopes that Durant would show up. He hadn't been there when they arrived, but all calculations said that he hadn't been there in days. The last time they were in Port Charles, Sam could remember seeing him in town. He'd probably badgered Sonny as long as possible for the way he treated Carly. He had to come back and check on his investment, his plan… whatever the hell he expected Kristina to be. And Carly would wait in that hallway until he arrived.

Sam shook her head. She didn't have time to worry about Carly. At the moment, there was a little girl who recognized her, but was trapped in the arms of a Russian nanny. Sam took in a deep breath and reached into the waistband of her jeans. "Kristina," she said softly, "close your eyes, okay? I'm gonna take you back to your Mom, but for right now, I need you to close your eyes. Like a game, okay?"

Kristina looked at her confused for a second, then slowly, her eyes began to close. When Sam was sure that Kristina couldn't see her, she pulled the gun from her jeans and rushed forward. She pointed the gun at the woman, then leaned into her. She spoke softly and, even though the woman probably didn't understand her words, she definitely understood the gun pointed at her head. "I'm taking her with me, and if you try to stop me, you won't like it."

The woman released Kristina's arms.


She had long since left the bedroom's door and now stood in front of the entrance to the apartment. Carly had been almost positive that he would be inside. It had just been too easy to get into the place without him being there. But, inside they went, and he was nowhere to be found. Yet, she felt that she would see her father soon, and as Sam tried to pry Kristina from her nanny, Carly was proven right.

The door opened and closed without his head ever rising. "John." As Carly spoke, he spun around, staring at her with wide eyes. The shock was evident on his face, and so were the lines of sympathy that he immediately tried to bring up. "Why'd you do it, John?"

"Carly…" His briefcase fell from his right hand. A paper bag from McDonald's fell from his left hand. John rose his hands slowly, holding them out to his sides. "I can explain all of this…"

"Can you, John? Can you really?" Carly's hands were at her sides, her right arm pushed behind her. She held tightly to the butt of the gun, the same gun that she'd used to put a hole in Royal's head. "Can you explain to me why you would steal a little girl? Why you would take a child and let someone else take the fall? Were you planning on taking my kids, too?"

"Carly, your boys were never in any danger. I would never hurt my grandchildren."

"But you hurt children all the same!" Her voice had been remarkably calm until that moment. Her eyes had remained dry and focused. But now, her eyes filled with burning tears that leaked down her cheeks. Her body shook with rage. Her voice rose and cracked. "You took that little girl!"

"I was going to bring her back, Carly. You have to believe me." He took a step forward and suddenly stopped as Carly rose the gun. Most of her body shook, but her arm was steady, held fast and firm by the support of her left hand. "Carly…"

"Why did you do it, John? You have to tell me why you took her. You have to make me understand. How could you…" Her voice cracked and she swallowed hard. "How could you watch Sonny hide my kids from me?"

"Carly…"

"Tell me!" Carly steadied herself. She took in deep breaths and let them out slowly. She wanted to close her eyes, to regain her composure, but she couldn't afford to take her eyes off of him. The second she looked away, he would pounce. She had to keep her eyes open, no matter how badly the tears stung. No matter how much she hated looking at him. "Tell me why, John."

"I did it for you, Carly. For my grandsons." He stepped closer to her, hands still out. "You had to see how dangerous Corinthos could be. The danger that you and your children would be in with him around."

He moved even closer and she yelled, "Stop!" Her arm started to sag and she pushed it back up. "Don't come any closer, or I will shoot you. I'll hurt you for what you've caused."

"I knew you'd go back to him, Carly. He'd take you back, and you would go. And if this could happen with Corinthos, it could happen just as easily with Alcazar. You had to know what you were getting into. You had to know."

"I know everything!" Her tears flowed faster. "I know that you claim to love me, but you hurt me more than anyone could. I know that I should have listened to Momma when she told me to leave it alone." She let out a shaky breath. "You were going to let Sam take the fall for this."

"At first," he said, "yes, but I saw how tightly you were connected in this. You wouldn't believe that she'd taken her, but Faith Roscoe…"

"Faith is gone!" Carly straightened her arm again. "You were going to let… God, I can't believe you, John! How can you say you did this for me?"

"I love you, Carly. You're my daughter."

"No, you don't and no you aren't!" She jerked her arm, pointing the gun at him in jerking motions. "I don't have a father, anymore. I can't… I can't believe you! Did you really think that you would get away with this? That Royal would have kept his mouth shut? Jesus, John! You talk about putting people away, but you did worst than Sonny or Lorenzo have ever done!"

"Carly?" The voice came from behind her, but she didn't dare turn. "Carly, what are you doing?"

"Where's Kristina?"

Sam took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She's just around the corner. She's going to stay there until I go back and get her." Sam walked towards her slowly. "Carly, we have Kristina. We can go. We'll just take her home."

"We can't just leave, Sam. We can't leave him here to get away with it."

"The tape recorder is in your pocket." Sam talked slowly, carefully. It reminded Carly of the way people talked to her when they thought she was crazy. "I turned it on and put it in your pocket before we came inside."

"But it might be muffled. They might not be able to hear it. It has to be known that John did it. That John took her."

"They will know." Sam paused as the door opened. Carly looked past Durant to see Jason and Lorenzo standing inside the door. Sam's voice was soft, almost patronizing as she said, "Jason? Lorenzo? Tell her that the police will know that Durant did this."

"They'll know, Carly," Lorenzo told her. "They're on their way here. We left clues at Royal's apartment. But, we can't be here when they arrive, and that's going to be soon. And we have to leave Kristina here."

"No!" Sam stepped up to Carly's side quickly. "We are not leaving her here!"

"Sam…" Jason grunted and moved forward. His right arm hung heavily at his side, gun in hand. "They have to connect Kristina with Durant. We can be nearby and watch them come get her, but we can't be here when they show up. He'll just try to put it on us."

"We have the tape, Jason. We have proof that he did it. There's a Russian nanny in the other room that can tell them that Durant hired her. Granted, they have to find somebody who speaks Russian, but they can do that. We can't just leave her here."

"We have to. We've got to get here before the cops get here. More importantly, before Sonny gets here. That'll be a showdown that Kristina shouldn't see."

Carly listened to them rationalize, but she didn't want rationale. She wanted John to pay. She wanted him to realize that he couldn't just hurt people. He couldn't do whatever he wanted to do just because he thought it was right. "All of you shut up!" Carly screamed. She took a step towards John, holding the gun tighter. "We are not leaving here until he gets what he deserved."

"Carly…" Sam stepped up to her and reached out slowly. "Carly, you can't do this."

"Yes, I can. I can do it, and I won't feel anything but relief. I have to do this, Sam."

"No, you don't. You can let the cops handle it."

"Don't you see? Don't any of you see? I brought him into my life, our lives. I gave him the in to do this because I was so damned selfish. I wanted my father, all the time that I was keeping Kristina from her father, I wanted mine. And it's because I was selfish that this has happened. I have to pay and this is my punishment."

"Remember what you said in the car, Carly?" Sam walked up to her, but Carly kept her eyes forward. She saw Jason and Lorenzo moving towards her, but at every step, she shook the gun, letting them know not to come closer. "You put your trust in me, Carly. You trusted me to not let you kill your own father."

"I lied."

"No, you didn't. You knew that after all we've been through, I wouldn't screw it all up by letting you do this." She reached out and her hands hovered over Carly's. "You don't want to do this because if you did, you wouldn't have made me promise to stop you. I won't have you thinking you can't trust me when we've been through all of this to show that we can trust each other."

"He's got to pay, Sam."

"And he will. But, we have to get out of here first." Sirens blared from outside, but no one could be sure if they were the ones they expected or not. "We just have to get Kristina to safety."

"She won't be safe. Not with Sonny. I know that. He's right." Her arms shook. "Faith could have easily taken her, or anybody else. And his rage… All of this was so Sonny would hit me. I know what this is."

"Carly, you're just being paranoid. Give me the gun."

"I am not paranoid. He knew Sonny would crack. All of the children are unsafe with him, but first, they're unsafe with John. He took her, Sam. He took her and he would have let us all go down for it."

"Carly…" Sam sighed. "Carly, Kristina is in the other room. Even with the silencer, she'll hear him fall. She probably hears everything we're saying. She can forget it all, but she won't be able to forget if she sees a body." Her hands lowered, landing on Carly's hands. "Just give me the gun, alright? Let me have it, and then we'll take care of it."

"I just…" Her voice broke into sobs that covered her words. "I just want him to pay."

"And he will." Sam closed her fingers around the gun and slid it out of her hands. Carly crumpled and Sam caught her. Seconds later, Lorenzo was by her side, lifting Carly from the floor. She curled against him, crying. As he walked her towards the door, Sam and Jason held their guns on him. Sam said, "You're going to stay here, and you're going to tell them everything that you did."

"What makes you think that I won't give you up? That I won't say that you came in here and took the girl?"

"Because…" Sam looked to Lorenzo and said, "Get the recorder out of her pocket." He pulled out the small black player and handed it to her. Sam let the tape play. "It's a digital recorder, Durant. And I can erase or distort anything that we don't want the police to hear. And that's not really all that much, considering that we've not actually admitted to doing anything other than trying to return a girl to her mother. You, on the other hand…" She rewound, found the part she wanted, then played the tape as Durant admitted to stealing Kristina. "We're taking that little girl to her mother, and you're going to jail."

Durant looked at them all, then let his eyes fall on his daughter. "Carly, you have to understand…"

"All she has to understand is that you will never see her again."

Sam looked up at him and nodded, then looked to Carly. She was still tucked against Lorenzo. He looked at Sam and Jason, then headed for the door. A call rang out and he walked towards Jason. He pulled the phone out of Lorenzo's pocket, answered, then hung up. "We're gone. Cops are a block away. Sonny and Agent Marshall are with them. So are Ric and Alexis."

Sam left Jason's side and ran to the back. She came out with the gun tucked away and Kristina in her arms. "I'm not leaving her," she said forcefully, then crossed the room again. "Now, we can leave."

"I have a man waiting at the door," Lorenzo said. "Give him the… toys," he said, his eyes dancing over Kristina, "and then we go out with the recorder up. We start playing it the second they come towards us. Now, let's get out of here. The air in here stinks."