Chapter 3

Alexis let herself into her Manhattan apartment, set her bags by the door and went to stand by the window, which looked out toward the western horizon. She needed it to be later in the day. She needed time with her mother and could only find that time in the evening as the sun set. She could feel herself erecting walls again. Even though her heart was filled with fear, her self-defense instinct had kicked in and was in full force. Time was what she needed right now. Time alone to think, to reason, to be able to make informed decisions about what needed to be done first.

The first thing to be done without a doubt was to make a phone call. The one call she hoped she would never have to make. The sole purpose of leaving Greece, the place of her birth, was to get away from her past and leave it there. She lived with the fear that someday, someone would pull her back into the insanity and cruelties those 'people' were capable of. Voluntarily re-opening those doors was tearing her up inside. The sheer magnitude of what she was about to do threatened to take away what little sanity she had left. Resigning herself to the task she bent slowly to pick up the phone.

She called Dixon. Dixon was the one person she knew who could find answers to questions that had never been asked. He was that good. She called Dixon when she wanted information on Carly. He never let her down when she needed information. He possessed the ability to turn himself into a shadow and lose himself in a crowd of one. She met him right after she took her first case. The case was high profile. A senator's child was kidnapped for ransom and Dixon had been able to locate the child and take down the kidnappers all on his own. They united and began a campaign together for the sake of children. She trusted him and he trusted her. They never made contact with each other unless a child was in danger.

Once she reached Dixon, she set up a meeting with him in a secluded part of Central Park. She had met him there several times in the past few years. And this time, she needed him not only for the protection of Michael, but for herself as well. She hadn't been willing to file the adoption papers for Sonny until she knew more about Johnny. The fact that she had been a willing participant in legally putting a child directly in the path of a Cassadine was numbing. She had seen first hand what Cassadines' did to children, especially those who didn't measure up to the required standard. There were physical as well as emotional scars to prove it. She lived with nightmares because of it.

As Alexis went about the business of finding out who was possibly trying to get to her and why, Sonny was just entering the Penthouse to spend time with her as they had planned that morning. He didn't see Max at the door and wondered if Alexis was able to finish her errands at the courthouse yet. The elevator opened behind him and Max stepped into the hallway. Alone.

"Where's Alexis?" he asked Max.

"I don't know boss. She asked me to go downstairs and get her some breakfast, when I got back I knocked on her door, she didn't answer. So, I used my key and went in. She wasn't there. I just came from downstairs to see if she went down there. I didn't find her."

"Did you look on the roof?"

"No, sir."

"Go look. And Max, I'll deal with you later."

As Max went to search the roof, Sonny went inside and walked into the bedroom. She was gone. The closet and drawers gaped open… empty. Sonny sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands trying to figure out why she would leave. He heard a movement at the door and looked up into Johnny's face.

"She's gone."

"What do you mean she's gone... Sonny?"

"She packed. Her stuff... it's gone."

"What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything." He screamed at Johnny.

"Then why did she leave? She said she might go to New York tomorrow to check on office things. She told me she would be here all day. She didn't tell you she was leaving?" Johnny was scared. He didn't want to regret letting her into his life.

"No. Before I left this morning we made plans to meet here at 1:00."

Sonny was going crazy. Did she actually go back to New York without telling him? What happened between the time he left and now that would cause her to leave? Sonny reached toward the nightstand and picked up the phone. He dialed her New York apartment number. He received her message that she would be out of town a few days. He then called her office and was again told she would be out of town a few days.

"Johnny, go to the airport. See if she in fact got on a plane to New York. Don't come back here until you have some answers. If you need help from the boys, fine, take all the help you need. I want to know where she is by the end of the day. You got that?"

"Yea, I got that!" Johnny had never spoken disrespectfully to Sonny before and didn't care that he did now. He didn't need Sonny in his face telling him to go find his own sister. His nerves were raw and he needed to get busy finding Alexis. He'd deal with the consequences of his heated words with Sonny later. He turned to walk out and stopped when he heard Sonny call him.

"Johnny!"

"Yea."

"I know what she means to you. I forgot for a moment, that's all. I'll be waiting to hear from you." Sonny was apologizing to Johnny for his words in the only way he knew how without actually saying it. Johnny understood.

"Right, boss. Just as soon as I know something..."

Sonny wanted to go find Alexis, but after his morning with the boys, he knew his organization was in worse shape than he originally suspected. He needed to stay on top of things. He would have to trust Johnny where Alexis was concerned. Although he knew there was no other choice at the moment, but it still angered him that he was tied down and couldn't do what he needed to do. Why would she leave like that? Did she leave because of something I said this morning? Sonny was slowly reaching the critical point and needed a release. He reached down and picked up the lamp off the nightstand and threw it. He watched it shatter against the wall and thought how similar it was to what was happening inside of him. He needed Alexis here, now.

Johnny met Max outside as Max was just coming from the roof.

"Well."

"She's not up there."

"Go find Carly. Make sure Carly isn't involved. Put out some of the boys to search. Start with the courthouse. Send one of the boys to check on Michael. Call me when you know something."

Two hours later Johnny knocked on Sonny's penthouse door.

"What have you got? Did you find her?"

"She arrived in New York around noon and went directly to her apartment. She hasn't checked in with her office yet. She made one phone call. We haven't been able to track down who she called yet."

Sonny picked up the phone and dialed her apartment number and got the same message again. She would be out for a few days. He turned to Johnny...

"Get the jet ready to go."

"It's already done and waiting for us."

Sonny swung his head up to look at Johnny.

"Sonny, I'm going. She's my friend... sister."

"Okay, man. Let's go."