Chapter 7:

Jason Morgan was nervous. His stomach was doing flips, the hair on his arms and neck standing on end as he waited for the phone to ring. He typed uselessly on his laptop, trying to gather his thoughts through the key strokes and chewed on his lower lip. It was strange to be working in the company of the District Attorney. Especially since everything they were doing was marginally illegal.

After Alexis broke down Jason had delivered the DVD to Stan personally to reduce the risk of Manny interfering with their search. They returned to the Penthouse, still charred and wrecked from the explosion, to pick up a few 'things' Jason would need, then came back to set up shop in Alexis's new home. Jason got to work doing all he could to assist Stan, while Alexis vanished.

He felt useless. All he wanted to do was get Sam home. To him. He wanted to hold her in his arms and smell the soft perfume of her hair, the softness of her skin under his rough, worn hands. She had been bleeding in the recording, something he couldn't keep from dwelling on. If Manny hurt her there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't keep her safe.

There was a moment where he thought that was all he could give her. Safety. Even if that meant breaking everything off. He cancelled their engagement, forced her to move out, and tried to sever himself completely from her. That, however, hadn't worked out quite the way he thought it would. She was a difficult one to ignore, and when she put her mind to something there was really no fighting her. And, when it was all said and done, he had never wanted to.

So they had gotten back together and he changed the way he viewed their relationship. She told him time and again that she had made a choice when she first realized she was in love with him. She understood how dangerous his life was, but she didn't know how else to live. For him she was ready to adopt his lifestyle. She told him that it wasn't his life putting her in danger: it was hers. He accepted that, as best he could, and strove to keep them both safe.

Apparently he had failed.

The phone rang and Jason answered it. Stan delivered his report efficiently and without frivolity. Jason answered in monosyllables, hanging up once all the important information had been passed on. Stan knew what Jason was going through right now, and held no grudge against his boss for being rude on the telephone. There was no room for being petty in a business like this.

The air in the room felt stagnant, thick and emotionally charged. Jason gave off an intense aura, keeping the DA at bay. She stayed in the other room, watching from a doorway as the phone rang and the mobster answered. She didn't know what to think or do, and both parties thought it best if she just stayed out of the way. Literally. He didn't want to look at her.

It wasn't that he was mad at her. He realized that Alexis had every right to chose Kristina over Sam. Thousands of indications, moral obligations and instincts told Jason that this was the only course of action. Sam was a grown woman, could handle herself, was strong and, in an unsettling way, used to these kinds of situations. Kristina was a small child who didn't know what was going on, much less how to keep herself safe. If one of them needed more immediate rescuing it was the latter.

But Sam was her daughter too, and the woman Jason couldn't imagine living without. There was no way he was going to leave either of them to Manny. There was a tactful way to approach this situation, another kind of game to play in counterpoint to that madman's. All Jason needed to do was find the weakness in Manny's set up and exploit it.

Stan informed him that the film had been shot in a remote, out of state area. They tried to trace the packages path, but it had resulted in a dead end. The recording itself, however, had been filmed on a specific type of camera that recorded straight to DVD. They were running a check on that, but it was so broad Jason doubted anything useful would come of it.

No, the key was in the film itself. Manny had not gone to extreme care with this film. He clearly shot it in one go, since it never cut away, and he did not edit it afterwards. Why would he leave that confident, silly face Sam made at the camera in? It undermined the appearance of complete control he was going for, giving small hope to the recipients of the recording. Bearing that conclusion in mind, Stan had analyzed the DVD over twenty times, replaying frame by frame to isolate and examine the short moments when the window was in the shot.

The scenery outside was common and lush, green and beautiful. Stan discovered that it was a garden, not a forest, and it there were traces of a lake or water supply, considering the type of trees that were growing. They were not a common breed, and grew only near banks. They produced beautiful blooms, which was why some gardeners went to great lengths to introduce them to their own projects. They were running a search on properties that might have such a garden, and Jason thought this was far more likely to produce a useable result than the other small leads they were following.

All in all, they were grasping at straws and wandering through the dark. It was like trying to find stable footing on a road of marbles. With each passing moment he could imagine the threat to the two sisters increasing as Manny's patience declined. He couldn't, didn't want to, imagine what that monster might be doing to pass the time.

The land line began to ring and Jason picked up the phone, shooting a glance to where he knew Alexis was lingering. She appeared hesitantly, watching Jason listen wordlessly to the easily recognizable voice on the other end. Jason's face solidified, his features edged and menacing, his ice blue eyes sharpening with the intensity of a knife's point. The corner of his lip twitched as he forced himself to keep silent, his compulsion to yell almost unbearable.

"I think I've let enough time slip by," Manny purred into the phone with no effort to disguise his voice. Jason listened not only to his words, but the sounds around him. To his dismay, but not surprise, there weren't any. "Have you made your choice?"

"We're not playing this game." Jason said coolly. Alexis looked at him as if he had just shot her, tears in her broken eyes, her hands shaking as she reached for the phone. It was her obligation to speak with him, as far as she was concerned. Unfortunately to her, obligation meant nothing to Jason.

"Ah, Jason! I'm not surprised to hear you. In fact, you're just the man I was going to ask to speak with. I know what you're thinking of doing. Going all White Knight on us all to rescue your fair damsel in distress. I just want you to know that if you try anything stupid it's Sweetness that's going to have to pay for it. She doesn't have to die, you know. I've always loved the way she screams… and I haven't had the opportunity to make good on one of my initial promises."

Jason didn't need Manny to elaborate. He stood, scowling at nothing, Manny's laughing face flashing into his mind. He balled his hands into fists, digging his flat nails into his palms.

"If you even touch her…"

"You'll what? Kill me? Isn't that what you were planning on doing anyway? See, that's the problem with you good boys, you can't make any real fun threats. Too much class for torture. You hold your moral standing too high: because in the end, you and I are exactly alike. I just have more fun."

Jason's blood ran cold. His senses failed him, words he was going to use to throttle Manny slipping away like leaves on a breeze. His jaw hung slightly open, his eyes shifting from side to side as he listened in horror as a soft, feminine voice moaned painfully in the background. He couldn't contain himself.

"Don't touch her, Manny!" He yelled, his voice booming. Alexis let out a small cry of surprise, recoiling three full steps. She stared at him in abject horror, her heart in her throat. She could hear Manny's laughter from so far away, the sound piercing her mind and making the color run from her face. She said nothing.

"Just making sure you understand how serious I am about this," Manny said to Jason, his voice finally matching the malignancy of his loathsome soul. Jason shivered inadvertently, snarling as defeat settled over his proud shoulders. Manny took his silence for what it was, a grin crawling into his tone like a snake, "Good boy. Now let me speak to Alexis, please."

Jason couldn't stand how rightfully pompous Manny had become. All because they continually failed to kill him. He was beginning to worry that the man they branded a demon was exactly that. Some devil spawn that infected their lives and could not be destroyed. But that wouldn't keep them from trying.

He silently ordered Alexis to come to him with one jerk of his hand. He thrust the phone at her and then moved away. He didn't want to be around anyone. He was feeling dangerous and terrible, his rage getting the better of him. Alexis him watched him move, wondering vaguely, albeit inappropriately, what furniture was next on his hit list now that the coffee table had been disposed of.

It was the book shelf.

Alexis held the phone to her ears, breathing heavily but unable to produce a word. Manny seemed to know he was speaking to her now, and continued without much delay.

"So, have you made your choice?"

Alexis nodded, then, aware that she was on the phone, forced out a tiny, "yes. Kristina…"

There was a very long pause on the other end. Alexis couldn't figure out what was going on, Manny returning before she had enough time to understand anything. He was laughing, as if someone had told him a very funny dirty joke, and he had to catch his breath before he spoke again.

"Good. Here's what's going to happen now."