Chapter 4

Alexis was on her way back to her apartment from her meeting with Dixon after explaining what she needed from him. This was the first time in her dealings with him that he ever questioned her motives. For him, cases with her were strictly about defending and protecting kids. With this one the line between fighting for the rights of children and adults was more than just a little vague compared to all of the other cases he worked with her on.

In order to prove how much the case revolved around children, Alexis was forced to relate to him part of her past with the Cassadine family. Once he heard enough he cut her off and said he'd be in touch. Alexis knew she provided enough for him to be able to see the danger to Michael. They needed to know who Johnny was. While they were discussing what needed to be done Dixon received a call and quickly looked toward her.

"Somebody's tracking your moves. They know you made a call from your apartment."

"Do you know who it is?"

"Sonny Corinthos."

"Does he know who I called?"

"No. That information is sealed."

"Thank you. Let me know when you get something, Dix."

"No problem. Take care." He began making calls as soon as she left him.

Alexis knew she was going to have to talk to Sonny sooner or later. She had questions that needed to be answered and he might have some of those answers. But, she wanted to wait until she heard from Dixon before she questioned Sonny. She hailed a taxi and headed back to her apartment. Just as the taxi pulled to the curve across the street from her building she saw Sonny and Johnny enter her building. She wasn't ready to face Johnny yet. But she knew if she didn't speak to Sonny, he would never stop coming at her until he knew the truth. Alexis pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and called him.

"Corinthos here."

"Sonny, do not let on it's me on the phone." Sonny heard the tone of her voice and casually adjusted his body so Johnny couldn't see his face.

"Yeah, what have you got?" He questioned in a way Johnny would expect him to if the call was business related.

"I need you to get rid of Johnny then meet me at the coffee house across the street. Do not let him know you have spoken to me. I'll explain when I see you." Alexis hung up without giving him time to respond.

Sonny turned to Johnny.

"It's not good."

Sonny watched Johnny's face pale and realized that Johnny thought he was talking about Alexis.

"No, man. It's business. We've got a problem. Some of the boys are getting out of hand. Johnny, I need to talk to Alexis. I know you need to see her too but I need you to go back to Port Charles and find out what's going on. I'll call you just as soon as I see her, whether she's ok or not."

Alexis positioned herself in a booth at the coffee house so she could see the front door of her building without being seen herself and she held her breath. She watched Johnny come back out and hail a taxi. Once he left sight, she watched Sonny come out and cross the street toward her. She straightened her back and consciously put on her best face. It was a no-nonsense frame of mind and it served her very well. As much as she wanted to believe that Sonny never heard of the Cassadine's she just couldn't leave any stone unturned in trying to find out all she could about 'John Mitchell Cassadine'. And if using Sonny to get the information she needed was the only way to do it, as much as she didn't want to, she would.

Sonny walked into the coffee house and looked around. His face relaxed when he saw her. He started toward her and the closer he got, the more he realized that something was definitely going on. He could see it on her face. When he got to the table he sat down and reached to cover her hand with one of his. He needed to make a connection with her. Needed to touch her.

"Do you know I've got half of Port Charles looking for you?"

"I'm sorry, Sonny. I should have called you. But, I received a call from one of my clients today. He's in trouble. He used his card to get to me. I couldn't let him down."

As the waitress walked up to the table with a cup for Sonny, Alexis used the distraction to pull her hand out from under Sonny's and laid it in her lap. Her walls were firmly in place.

"Alexis, honey, I understand that, but you should have called. Johnny and I have been going out of our minds."

"Sonny, when a little boy calls, I run. I don't think about anything else but the child. And this particular child is in real trouble."

Alexis was telling half-truths and as much as she hated it she knew there was no way around it. There was no choice. Michael could be in real danger and only she knew just how much danger could be involved if Johnny was one of 'them'.

"In fact, the troubles that are facing this little boy are causing me concern for myself regarding Johnny."

"Alexis, what do you mean, Johnny loves you. He wouldn't hurt you."

"I know he loves me and I love him too, but four days ago I had never laid eyes on him before. I don't know anything about him or his past. And that frightens me a little."

Something suddenly clicked with Sonny. When he and Alexis were in bed last night he noticed scaring on her arms and legs. He even noticed scarring on her back. Being cautious of bringing bad memories up on their first night together; he remained quiet. He now found himself wondering about her past and could understand why she was questioning Johnny's.

"There's not a whole lot I know about Johnny before he started working for me, but I'll tell you all I know about him."

"Thank you, Sonny, that would help a lot."

"I met Johnny in Puerto Rico several years back. Well, we weren't exactly introduced. I found myself lying face down in the sand one night when that big oaf tackled me. He saw one of my enemies coming at me with a pistol aimed at my back and he knocked me down out of the way. I was just beginning to build my organization and there were a lot of people out there trying to stop me. Johnny happened in on one of their attempts. He was a street junkie at the time. He didn't have a home and no family to speak of. He just wandered the streets day in and day out. He stole to survive. Just like I did. I took him in and made him my bodyguard. We've been together ever since."

"He didn't have any family at all?"

"None that I could tell. He never spoke of having any until Michael was born. He was at the hospital with me one night and we were standing in front of the nursery and when I looked at him, he was white as a sheet and sweat was pouring off him. I asked what was wrong, but he wouldn't look at me; he just stared at some baby on the other side of the glass. You should have seen his face. The torment that guy was going through was unreal. He told me he had a little sister once. She died. He called her 'Lexie'. I don't know anything about the little girl. He's never talked about her since, or at least he didn't until you came along. It seems she came down with pneumonia and it wasn't caught in time; she died from complications. That's about all I know." Sonny left out part of the story, but he wasn't ready for her to know it yet. Not yet.

"Thank you, Sonny."

Alexis listened while Sonny related to her what he claimed he knew about Johnny. She wasn't ready to believe that he told her everything. What she needed now was for him to go back to Port Charles so she could get on with what she needed to do.

"It looks like I may be tied up here in the city for a while with this case. I have to finish it. Is Michael okay?"

"He's fine, Alexis. And don't worry take whatever time you need to clear it up. I have to go back to Port Charles. I'm needed there. Would you like me to give Johnny a message for you?"

"Yes, if you wouldn't mind."

She needed to give Johnny just enough to keep him satisfied and out of the way for now. Alexis took a small notebook out of her bag and began to write a brief note to Johnny explaining that a child was in trouble. She told him she would see him as soon as she could, and not to worry. She signed it simply 'Alexis'. Looking at her watch she began to gather her things.

"I hate to do this, but I have a meeting I must get to. Why don't I call you tonight and check in with you?"

"That would be great. Oh, by the way, you might want to change the message on your answering machine. You know, update it."

Sonny leaned over to kiss her good-bye and wondered at her hesitation. Well, it was probably because they were in a public place he told himself as he turned to go.