Chapter 19

Mid- July 2006

Location- basement of an abandoned building in New Jersey

Michael sat with his knees bent and his arms wrapped around them. He stared straight ahead, but all he saw was darkness. The last light he had ended abruptly when the man closed the basement door.

Michael tried to not think of what he had said,

but the words came back again and again.

He stood over Michael, a gun shoved in the waist of his pants, a beam of light from the flashlight in his hand lit his face in a eerie glow.

Michael knew there were more men who worked with him nearby. There had been five in the SUV that brought him here.

"Sit tight, little guy. This will all be over soon." The man laughed. The sound shot through Michael like a bullet. "Morgan will come looking for you and then he's dead. And your next. Jose was a fool to come at Morgan head-on. You got to get his weakness. His bambino. And then you got him."

Michael refused to talk to him. He refused to show fear.

The man glared at Michael and said, " I outsmarted Corinthos and Morgan. And Jose was just a shooter who wanted to run things. He never thought ahead. But me, ya, I'm always thinking."

The man stomped up the stairs, still talking "That's why I am going to be the new boss of the Morales family. Even your daddy Sonny will have to respect me then. Or I'll take his territory, too. I get what I want, little guy. Ya, this will all be over soon."

And then the door shut and Michael was alone.

Hours past, or it could have been minutes or days, Michael couldn't be sure.

He crawled through the blackness and tried to pull open the door to the basement. He tried to find things to use climb up to the one small window ten feet over his head. He tried to find a weapon to use to attack the man if he came back. But nothing worked.

His energy spent, he sat and waited. Michael knew that his family would not let him die here.

Your just a pawn in a losing game...

Stay alive


The hardest part is the night,

it's the night, it's the night...

All alone in a place

where the lonely
they all have to walk through the rain...

Bon Jovi

Jason sped through side streets in New Jersey in Julio's black SUV. Jason had left Julio tied up, in case he needed more info later.

The man had given him an address where Jose had stored guns, drugs, and anything he didn't want his Uncle to know about. Since his Uncle was now dead, would Jose use that same place?

Had Jose even been the one to take Michael? Jason knew Jose could have grabbed Michael, or ordered him grabbed, and sent him out of town with men who worked for Jose before Jose died.

But had it happened that way? Or was it someone else, maybe not even in the Morales family?

Jason's mind flooded with images of past enemies who might now want revenge. And Michael, Morgan, Kristina even Carly and Emily were such easy targets. Jason hated that they could never truly be safe as long as Sonny and Jason were in the business.

The rain slapped against the windshield, the wheels slide over the wet pavement, but Jason pushed down on the gas harder. He turned onto the street where the building Julio gave him an address for was located

and screeched to a halt in front of it.

It look abandoned. But Jason knew that could be set-up.

No time for back-up. Michael could be in there, hurt or scared. Jason headed for the door, his gun drawn, his eyes scouting for an ambush.

These four walls

they could tell you some stories


About lying and dying and fame


There's a price that you pay

for the glory


About losing and choosing and pain.

Bon jovi lyrics

Carly was still pacing, waiting on someone to come to the door with news, or something to happen. Something to end this awful unknowing.

"Ahhh!" Morgan cried from his bedroom

Carly bolted down the hall. Max was right behind her. She heard him say into a walkie-talkie " Carlos?

Any movement on the perimeter?"

"All clear," Carols said

Carly could hear Morgan crying. She flung open the door to his room. He sat in bed , Leticia holding him.

"Nightmare," Leticia said

Carly put a hand over her pounding heart.

Max said into the walkie-talkie " Hold your position, Carlos. All clear here."

"Mama!" Morgan cried, reaching for her.

"I'll stay with him," Carly said " You get some sleep, Leticia."

Leticia and Max left.

Carly crawled into bed next to Morgan and said, "It's okay. It was only a bad dream. Just a bad dream..."

Hear their cries
The hardest part is the night
in the night, hear their cries, in the night

Bon Jovi Lyrics