"We have Michael's fingerprints on the muder weapon, Jason. A dozen people in the hospital who saw him covered in blood. Carly's still in a surgery that she may never recover from. We can put two and two together. We know what happened. We just need to find Michael."
Jason stared up at Mac with as much ice as he could put in his eyes. The Port Charles Police Department did a lot of really stupid things. They botched investigations. They continued to ask the same questions of their usual suspects, knowing they weren't going to get anywhere. But this… Thinking that Jason was going to hand over Michael had to be the dumbest thing yet.
"I can get a warrant, Jason, but I don't want to do that to him. I just want to bring Michael in, talk to him, hear from him what happened."
They all knew what had happened. The past hour and a half spent staring blankly around the room had given Jason enough time to come to terms with the night's events. He didn't want to believe that Sonny had that in him. He didn't want to believe that Michael had it in him. But, there was no denying what happened. There was no taking it back.
"Here's what I think," Mac said. He walked around the room, his arms dangling at his sides. "Carly and Sonny got into an argument. He never likes to give up the boys, but Carly was taking them. He probably accused her of going off to Alcazar, giving him his children. They fought, like we've all seen them do, but Sonny took it a step further. He started to hit her, and he couldn't stop. Michael walked in on him, and he did the only thing he could think to do."
"Arrest me, if you're going to arrest me."
Jason stared up at Mac defiantly, hoping that he'd be decent for once in his life and just let it rest, but he didn't let it go. "He grabbed the bat, probably something from his room. He grabbed it, and he swung. He kept swinging until he didn't have the strength to swing anymore."
"Shut up, Mac."
"He won't go to jail, Jason. He was protecting his mother."
"Shut up."
"He's ten years old! The boy needs help. He killed his father after he beat the living hell out of his mother, he's going to need somebody to—"
"Shut up!" Jason slammed his fists down hard on the desk. He shoved himself to his feet and the metal chair scraped the floor as it went sliding back. "I don't want to hear your theories, I don't want to hear any of this! Shut up and arrest me, or just shut the hell up!"
He took in a deep breath and turned away. This had to be one of the few times that he'd been brought into the station where his hands weren't bound behind him. He was handcuffed so many times in this place that he had to remember his hands were free. He had to remember, when doing something as simple as retaking his chair, that he wasn't cuffed.
Jason tossed the chair back to the table, then sat down hard. Just because he'd come to terms with what happened didn't mean he wanted to hear about it in detail. It would be bad enough when they finally got Michael talking. Listening to him, hearing him say how he hit him over and over again. And when Carly woke up…
Jason had to believe that she would wake up. It would be worse on Michael if she still died. Not only had he killed his father, but he'd done it for nothing. His mother was still… He shook his head. No point in even going there, because Carly wasn't going to die. She'd be fine, because she was always fine. Carly was resilient. She was a permanent fixture in his life. She was his best friend. She wasn't going to die.
He wondered if Sam had gotten to Alexis, made her understand. There was too much between him and Alexis for them to like each other, but she had to see that she would be doing this for Michael. He didn't deserve what the cops would put him through. He didn't deserve some mental ward and the permanent branding of murderer. He was a kid, and even though the records would be sealed, the media would find out. They'd get the truth, and they'd eat it up. Michael would never be left alone.
"I can charge you with obstruction of justice," Mac told him. "You know where Michael is, but you won't hand him over. I could charge you with kidnapping."
Jason looked past him, to the window that gave a minor view of the waiting area. Ric was out there, pacing back and forth. Why hadn't he been in there, yet? He claimed that he and his brother had gotten over their troubles, that they could be friends and one day real brothers. So, why was he pacing around outside instead of coming in and badgering Jason?
"He's not on this case," Mac said. "He's too close to it. Right now, he's probably thinking of a million charges that could be brought against you right now, and he can't do anything with any of them."
"If you're arresting me, then I want a lawyer. If not, I want to go home."
"You're getting real good at that answer, Morgan. You've come in here so many times that you're like a robot. I say something, and you just spit that right out at me. I almost liked seeing you mad. It showed a little bit of emotion."
"Give me a lawyer, or send me packing."
The door opened as Mac turned, the anger and frustration visible on his face. Alexis came storming in, and Jason looked out the window again. Ric stood there with his jaw dropped, his eyes wide open. If Jason weren't in the middle of playing stupid for the cops, he probably would have had the same expression on his face.
"No charges have been filed against Mr. Morgan, so I suggest you let him go, Mac."
"Alexis, what are you doing here?"
She ignored him and went on. "You've charged him with nothing, so you can't hold him. You've questioned him, and I take it that he didn't answer?"
"Apparently, he just lawyered up." Mac turned towards Jason, then back to Alexis. "Last time I checked, though, you didn't like him anymore than we do. So, what's going on?"
"What's going on is that my daughter's father is dead, his ex-wife is in a coma, and the only person that can talk the babysitter into handing over my daughter is sitting in that chair. I put a lot of things aside for my daughter, and if getting Jason out of here so he can tell Leticia that it's fine to hand over Kristina, then I'll do that. Now, if you don't mind…"
Not bad, Jason thought. He may not have personally liked Alexis, and she may have hated his guts, but he never denied that she was good at her job. She'd saved Jason from jail more times than he could count, and now she was adding another to the list. Infinity plus one. At least for the time being.
Jason stood up and walked around the table. "You're not charging me, so I'm leaving."
He walked out of the interrogation room. Ric approached him, and Alexis called out, "Don't." Jason didn't stop to see what went on between them. He needed to get outside, where he could call Sam. He had to find out if Michael had told her anything else. If he was out of that catatonic state that his actions had forced him into.
Jason had his cell phone in hand when Alexis ran up to him outside. She held her briefcase in one hand. The other was shoved deep into her pocket. "My house isn't safe," she told him, walking quickly with him down the street. "I sent them to Wyndemere."
"What?"
"Nikolas has been told just what he needs to know, enough to get him to help and to keep his mouth shut."
"I have to get to him." He slapped his phone shut and threw it in his pocket. Alexis grabbed him by the arm and he turned back to her. "What are you doing!"
"First things first. I was serious about Leticia."
"Alexis, this isn't the time—"
"Make it the time. You better believe that Mac's going to be watching us. If we don't go to the MetroCourt and pick up Kristina, he's going to know something's up. I've never had anything against Michael, and I'll help him if I can, but I'm not going to lose my daughter or my law license for anyone. So, first we pick up Kristina, and then we go to Wyndemere. It's the one place I can come and go from without being questioned and since I'm now pulled back into being your lawyer once again, you can go there, too. Now, we're going to the MetroCourt, and that's that."
Jason watched after her as she took off. He still didn't like her, and when this was over, they could go back to being at each other's throats. But until then… Jason sighed and pushed himself forward to follow her. Until then, he was just going to have to put up with her. And she would have to put up with him.