Luke turned his attention back to the screen and pressed a series of keys. The screen changed to a map, with two columns of phone numbers on each side, showing the location of each phone call color-coded by date and area code. The program blinked its way through each phone number, sorting and coding as it went, mapping out the coordinates across the map.
Quite a few of them were mapped out around the Whiteville area. Sonny frowned as he leaned forward and saw that name. Something nagged at him from the back of his mind. There was a missing link there. He raised his eyes and met Jason's.
"Whiteville. There's something about that name. There's something I should know…" Sonny said, feeling the frustration rising up in him. The worry over Alexis was messing with his mind, he knew it and felt himself beginning to burn with anger. But he fought it down, knowing it would do him no good, and maybe cost in the search for Alexis. He couldn't afford to lose it now. Sonny walked away from the gathering around the computer. He walked to the porthole window and gazed out across the water. Unthinking, one hand twisted itself into a fist. He brought it up and hit the wall. "What am I missing?"
Jason had come up behind him. "Whiteville – that's where Carly was."
Sonny turned to look at Jason, waiting for the explanation.
"You didn't want to know anything after Carly appeared after the car crash." Jason said, his voice carefully neutral. "Before she showed up, we had men out looking for her, checking everywhere in a fifty mile perimeter of where she'd disappeared at - and some things came up that didn't quite jive together. "
"Like what?" Sonny asked. An ugly suspicion bloomed in him, making him sick.
Jason shrugged. "Nothing in particular I could point at, or else I would have told you. The timelines of our search and Carly's appearance didn't connect. But she was home, and you and Bobbie and Michael were so glad to see her back alive and well… well, you told me not to worry about it, it didn't matter. Don't you remember?"
Sonny did. There'd been so much going on, so many things on his mind. When he'd thought Carly had died, he'd been so sure that God was punishing him one more time. And fool that he was, he'd been so eaten up by it, that he'd convinced himself that to keep Alexis safe, he had to push her away before she was as dead as Carly had been. And then Carly had walked into her own memorial service and everything had to gone to hell – until Alexis had reached out to him, in love. But one thing was sure and he couldn't deny it….The fact remained – Carly had lied to him. Again.
And that's not all he remembered. Finally, the key slid into its place in his mind. Whiteville - that had been the name of one of the files that had been in Alexis' briefcase. That's why the name had stayed in his mind…it clicked together with what Jason had told him… had Alexis discovered Carly's secret? And if she and Mason were involved, maybe Alexis had uncovered more than that. Sonny told them the same and they all digested that fact in silence. Before they could say anything, Luke turned from the computer.
"Uh-oh, boys and girls," Luke said suddenly. "Listen up. I recognize a number on the screen and it ain't gonna make anyone a happy camper."
"What is it?"
"Who's number?" Sonny and Jax demanded almost simultaneously.
"Helena Cassadine."
Sonny looked to Jax, a thrill of fear went through him as he saw the other man's face go pale at Luke's answer. "How can you be so sure?" Sonny asked.
"Trust me I got the old bat's number. She calls me from time to time, Asks about my health." In spite of his words, Luke grinned cockily under their incredulous stares. "What can I tell you, sometimes she wants me dead, sometimes she doesn't. Women. Fickle creatures, aren't there? But one thing I've figured out over the years, if I'm gonna die, I figure Hells has assumed lese majesty – my death is only permitted if I die at HER hand." In spite of the situation, he grinned again. "Being in her so-called good graces is better than an insurance policy. I think she'd murder anyone else who even dared think of harming the merest hair on my head."
"And she doesn't try and conceal it?" Sonny asks. "Is she crazy, or what?"
"Was Attila the Hun crazy? Or the Borigas?" Luke shrugged. "Crazy like a fox." He answered his own questions. "Helena is ruthless and murderous, and maybe even a touch psychopathic, but never underestimate her. But she might have made a mistake this time around with the phone calls. Maybe the old bat doesn't have caller ID in Transylvania, or wherever she and her coffin has used for her permanent mailing address. But since I haven't heard from her lately, maybe this explains why. She's working my home turf and doesn't want me to know it. The question is why is she back in Port Chuck and what does she want?"
"Where she's calling from?" Sonny demanded.
"Let's see what my darlin' personal piece of hells-on-earth has been up to – and where, shall we?" Luke punched in some new commands. "A few places around PC. He looked up at Sonny and then Jax. "Seems like a few calls to Carly's cell as well as Mason's. In fact," Luke paused while he studied the screen's information. "… all three of their cells are connected."
"And the last calls?" Jax asked.
"Mason's…as far as I can tell...from the docks. Hells..her last call came from the island."
"How soon can we get out there?" Sonny said to Jason even as he was turning towards the door..
Before Jason could answer him, Luke did. "Hold it, Sonny. You're not going to go in there guns blazing. Unless you want to kill Alexis."
Sonny had continued towards the door as Luke had begun to speak, but his last words halted him in his tracks.
"You don't understand. Alexis knew something. Whiteville…I remember seeing a file marked Whiteville in with her other stuff. I put it in her briefcase….I had my hands on it." Sonny swore quietly. "It was right after Stefan died. Alexis was torn up, so I took her home to my place. I came back and got some of her stuff and that's when I saw it. But I didn't think to ask about it. How could I have been so stupid? She had the truth about Carly right in her briefcase and I didn't know it. Maybe we could have stopped all of this before it happened."
"I doubt it;" Jax said. "Helena's plans were already in place. There was no way any of us could have known. I wonder what else Alexis had on Carly though; there could be some clues as to what Helena and Mason have in mind to do next.."
"Breadcrumbs." Luke said. "Alexis was checking on Carly. And whatever she'd found out, she wasn't done, otherwise I think it's a sure bet that she would have told you." He said to Sonny.
"I know that. Alexis knew something else. And mason found out about it and took her because of it." Sonny said.
"Whatever she found out, could lead us straight to the old bat. And if we can get to her, maybe we can bargain for Alexis with it. So we need to go into Wyndemere swift and silent. We need to find out what Alexis knew before she disappeared."
"I don't remember seeing her briefcase in my apartment." Sonny said.
"She had it with her at Windermere." Johnny said suddenly. "But she left it there when we took the ferry back to the mainland."
"We can't go out to the island without a plan." Luke said. He reached for and lit a cigar, then puffed on it heavily, obviously lost in thought. "Let's go over what we know so far. Helena has Alexis. And obviously went through great lengths to set up a scenario to get her. Why?"
"She must have been behind Stefan's murder as well." Jax said. "She arranged for Sonny to be accused for that."
"She took me out so she could go after Alexis." Sonny said.
"It's obvious this was a long-range plan, a long
time in the making, and with a long term goal in mind. Helena
wouldn't have taken her time otherwise. So," and here Luke began
counting points off on his fingers. "One, Helena has been watching
over Alexis long enough to realize that you and Alexis were more than
friends. Two, that made you a player in the game. Hurting Alexis
through you was a side-benefit. Three, Mason is obviously in on it,
probably bought and paid for to come to Port Charles to distract
Alexis with a little fake romance – all the better to not just
stick a knife in Alexis' heart but to twist the blade once it was
in by having her lover betray her, but Helena hadn't counted on you
two having more than attorney-client privileges. But somewhere along
the way, she got wind of it. After that, you became not only an
obstacle to be removed, but a pawn to be sacrificed. The thought of
Alexis getting a happily ever after wouldn't sit well with Hells at
all.
"So – four - you become a target. Five, is Carly's
involvement." Luke held up a hand to stop Jax's protest. "I'll
pose the question: Was Carly a willing participant, or is she a
victim of Hells' machinations? For now, we'll give her the
benefit of the doubt. Helena loves nothing more than to use
unsuspecting pawns in her little games. I'm sure it amused her to
use who she perceives as Alexis' rival to her own ends."
"Why go through all this?" Sonny wanted to know.
"Helena thinks ahead. But her aim is always the same. She wants my whether-I-like-it-or-not step-son, Nikolas - the Cassadine Prince - under her thumb. She wants to be the power behind the throne. So remove Stefan, remove Alexis, and who else does she have to thwart her influence?"
Jax looked at Sonny, who was looking sick. "That's too simplistic. Nikolas won't bend to Helena that easily. If anything, killing Stefan and Alexis would destroy any hope of her influencing Nikolas. I think that the point was made by murdering Stefan. She'll hold Alexis – and use her to keep Nikolas in line." Jax stared at Sonny. "She's not dead."
Sonny turned to him, his eyes black with pain. "She can't be."
"I hate to say it, but lucky for us – and Alexis - the Aussie is probably right. Helena wouldn't have bothered to involve you." Luke pointed at Sonny. "If she hadn't planned on keeping Alexis alive for her own purposes. If she'd wanted Alexis dead, well let's just say that we'd be planning the funeral, picking out the casket, etc. etc…."
"You're being a regular blast of sunshine, here." Jason commented quietly.
"You've never dealt with Cassadines, Young Morgan." Luke exhaled a long stream of smoke. "I've been doing it for decades. So sit still and learn from the master."
Jason didn't rise to his taunt. "So what do you think we ought to be doing?"
"Exactly what we are doing – planning our work and working our plan as they say. We're going to figure out every step Helena has taken and then figure out what steps she's going to take and then beat her to the punch."
"And what about Alexis?"
"We're going to get Natasha back, safe and sound and in one piece. That's the important thing."
"The most important thing." Sonny said..
"No argument there." Luke said.
"We need to go now - tonight."
"Not necessarily." If Luke was surprised to find himself the voice of reason, he didn't show it. "We need to know just what it is we're walking into."
"But you know, more than anyone else, what Helena is capable of." Jax added his voice to Sonny's. "We can't leave Alexis in her hands."
"I already told you - if Helena wanted Alexis dead, then she would be." Luke stated brutally. He didn't like hurting Sonny, but the man had no real idea of just how lethal Cassadines could be. "The question is, how long before Hell's men realize that Johnny isn't where he's supposed to be?"
"They only came once to check on me. I played like I was still out of it." Johnny told them. "Lucky for me, they didn't search me as well as they should have. They took my gun, but missed the pick pack I keep at the back of my belt." he grinned viciously. "Lucky for me."
"Unlucky for them if Helena finds out." Luke said. "But we need to use every advantage we got. So yeah, we go to Windermere tonight. But only for reconnaissance purposes."
He turned to look directly at Sonny. "Remember that. We ain't the cavalry and you ain't John Wayne." When Sonny said nothing, Luke continued. "We don't know where Alexis is. Windermere has more secrets than you know. We don't even know whether or not the mama bat is in residence at the moment. If she isn't, then things could go smoothly,. But if she is, that just makes the whole situation that much more dangerous. So we go and have us a look around. After we know more, we do what we gotta do. Now, let's put our heads together and do what we came here to do. We need a plan."
Thirty minutes later, they had one.
