Chapter 4:
This was the worst hangover she had ever experienced. She sat up and ran a hand through her thick, messy hair, pushing it back from her face. She looked around, each new sight surprising her more than the last. The last thing she could remember was Manny jabbing some sort of drug into her neck. If she was honest with herself she would admit that she hadn't thought she'd be waking up from that. At least not in one piece.
As far as her own condition went she was marginally okay. Her head was threatening to split apart at her temples, her vision was blurry and the room seemed to spin around her, but beyond that she wasn't in any pain. No new bruises or cuts. No pulled muscles or any other injury. She was shaking as she examined herself, her mind lost to what could have happened while she slept. Though she was glad, she couldn't help but wonder why.
Manny had left her on a bed, the sheets pulled over her and the pillow comfortably fluffed under her head. When she sat up and the blankets fell away she discovered that she was still in her dress. She frowned, her nature getting the better of her as she thought how much of a waste all that effort was now.
The room was empty but for the bed, a bookshelf and a table devoid of any decorations. There was a window but, as Sam struggled to her feet and took careful, shaky steps towards it, she quickly noticed that it was locked and there was no way to open it. She stood looking out into a beautiful garden, then sun high in the sky and filtering down into the room with a majesty that seemed out of place with her circumstance.
A key in the door turned and Sam tensed, turned around a bit too quickly to see Manny walking in. He said something to someone behind him, then closed the door and looked at Sam. He was dressed in a fine silk shirt and a black suit jacket and pant. He tilted his head at her, grinning and nodding.
"So you're finally awake. I didn't think it would knock you out for that long. Still, made the transport easy."
"Where am I?" Sam asked, hugging herself protectively and taking a step towards him, her eyes ablaze with defiance. He saw no fear there now, as he had when he captured her. It was a disappointment, but he knew he would be able to remedy that any time he wanted. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Knowing you you'll probably be able to escape from this room at least once, and I'm not going to risk you getting to a phone by telling you where we are. But just enjoy yourself. Did you see the view? Beautiful." He moved towards her, holding out his arms in a gesture she couldn't recognize.
It made her retreat backwards, until she was against the wall, the window just beside her. Manny stood directly in front of her, supporting himself with his arms raised over both sides of her head. He smiled into her eyes, letting his nose brush hers until she jerked her head to the side.
"If you won't tell me that, then at least tell me what you want," Sam said, fixing her stare so that he saw she was not impressed. He tilted his head and let his cheek rest against hers as he spoke into her ear. She shuddered as his breath curled over her skin, his voice seeping into her mind like water through soil. She pulled her head to one side, but she couldn't escape him. He moved his arm closer to compensate for this movement, effectively pinning her head in place.
"Don't worry, Sweetness. I won't hurt you. Not this time. Not yet. This time you're just a guest. But don't worry, you'll have company." He pulled away from her, leaving her breathlessly clinging to the wall, and went back to the door. He opened it and turned to block the opening, standing with his hands folded over his chest and his feet planted apart. He looked down and Sam followed his eyes.
There was no stopping the gasp that escaped her lips as she discovered Kristina huddled against Manny's leg, gripping it for safety because she didn't know any better. Tears stained her pale cheeks. Sam instantly fell to her knees, holding her arms open. Kristina ran to her, covering the short distance with surprising speed for so small a pair of legs, and threw herself into the embrace of her big sister, sheltering against her desperately. Sam held her close, kissing the top of her head. She glared up at their captor with renewed hatred, the corners of her lips curling in a snarl as her eyebrows met over her nose in the deepest scowl she could manage.
"You monster," she could barely choke the words out, her throat burning with the desire to scream at him. She didn't want to risk scaring the little girl even more. "What have you done?"
Manny raised his hands innocently, splaying his fingers apart as if to show he had no concealed weapons, "Don't worry about her: she's fine. I wouldn't hurt a kid. At least, not today," his face twisted into a malicious half-grin, a thick air of smug accomplishment settling over him, "can't say the same about Ric, though."
"What did you do to him? What are you planning to do with us!" Her voice rising with each syllable, Kristina's grip increasing with each word. Sam put her hands carefully on Kristina's small shoulders and moved her away so that her big sister could confront the demon standing in the room with them. Kristina transferred her defensive hugging to the bed post.
"Relax. I already told you I won't hurt you. This isn't about you. It's about your mom. I think she, and the rest of Port Charles, needs to see just how big a mistake it was to get me off those murder charges."
"She saves you from a life time in prison: a life time you deserve, and you thank her by kidnapping her daughters? And then what? You're going to kill us in front of her?" She took three strong steps toward him, stopping beside the bookshelf. He circled on her but she sidestepped into his path to keep him away from Kristina.
He bared his teeth at her, "No. Just one of you."
Sam grabbed a book, the thickest she could see in one moment of a glance, and slammed it binding corner first against the side of his head. He reeled in surprise but did not go down, grabbing his gun from its holster under his jacket and smashing it in turn against her head. She crashed to the floor in a heap, bleeding from the new wound. Manny shook his head and frowned, rubbing his head. He bent to pick Sam up but Kristina, to his surprise, stopped him. She threw her small body protectively over Sam, crying and screaming for the monster to leave her alone.
Manny grinned.
Kristina drew a deep breath and screamed for her mother as Manny put his hand on her head.
Alexis shot up in the bed, the last images of her nightmare flashing before her eyes. She struggled for air, panting and grasping her chest. The material under her hand was unfamiliar, and when she looked down she found herself wearing a hospital gown. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was, or what had happened, the echo of her daughter's cry in her ears.
The door swung open and Jason appeared, looking worried but ready to take down whatever threat was making Alexis scream. He saw her sitting on the bed, caught her perplexed face and sighed. Seeing him triggered her memories. Sam going missing. The explosion.
"Jason, what's going on?"
"Manny's making moves against us. When he kidnapped Sam he left that bomb for us to let us know how serious he is about this. He knows it wasn't strong enough to kill us, but he rigged it on a timer to surprise us because he knew when I was getting home from Sam's notes."
"Manny made a move against you. He left that bomb for you." Alexis looked around the room for sign of her clothes. To her surprise they were waiting at the foot of the bed. She refused to believe she was letting herself get sucked into the dangerous life style of her newest daughter. Was this what it was going to be like? Constant danger and worry?
"No. He left it for us. I don't know what made him think you would be there. It probably just played into his hands. Alexis… I have to tell you something."
Alexis felt her heart miss a number of beats, her features dropping and the piercing scream of her daughter reverberating in her mind.
"Ric is here in the hospital. He's unconscious, recovering from a severe beating. Mike found him outside of Kelly's, left there as if he was meant to be found. He was coming back from picking up Kristina from Sonny's…" Jason's cold eyes softened for just a moment as they flickered to meet hers then dart away. Alexis began to shake her head, silently begging him to stop, "Kristina is missing."
"No!" Alexis yelled forcefully, throwing off the then bed sheet and struggling to stand. Her head pounded in protest, almost deafeningly. She raised one hand in a half hearted attempt to stop it, the other reaching her clothes to change out of the hospital gown. She bit back the tears that threatened to blind her on top of everything else, her anger stirring in the pit of her stomach. "This is your life, Jason! Kristina isn't supposed to be a part of it!"
"I'm not going to apologize," Jason stood, going to the door and keeping his back to her, "I'm going to find Sam. And I'm going to find Kristina, because I'm sure they're in the same place. You can either hate me and pout or help me find your daughters. Either way, it's going to get done. But with your help it might go faster."
He took the doorknob into his hand as he moved to exit the room but stopped when his cellphone rang in his pocket. He shut the door to let Alexis change as he answered the call silently, listening to what the man on the other end had to say. He frowned deeply, worry creasing his forehead for a split second before the door behind him was pulled open and Alexis appeared.
"What's going on?" She ordered, knowing full well that the call was about her family.
"A DVD was sent to one of my men, Stan, from Manny. It's addressed, though, to you."