A/N – Thanks for the comments and understanding. The drama picks up.

Chapter 36

Taggert rubbed his temple as Alice hid her mouth to crack a smile.

"Mr. Taggert, would you like some freshly brewed coffee," Lila purred. While she wasn't happy that her daughter had been duct taped, the fact that her grandson had been kidnapped deeply upset her and once informed of the plan, she made them take her downstairs so she could participate.

She handed it over.

"Thank you, Mrs. Quartermaine."

"You may call me Lila. Now, what did you need again?"

Taggert's jaw slightly dropped. He had at least tried to question them four times and after each question, they somehow diverted his attention. He isn't sure if it's on purpose or if they are just that exasperating.

Alan slightly turned, unable to hold back his smile.

"There was a man shot in your driveway."

"Yes, I am aware of that, dear. You said so twenty minutes ago."

Taggert briefly stuttered.

"How is he by the way?"

"I don't know."

"Will you check?"

"Yes. Please, if you would just answer my questions."

An irate Tracy crawled towards the stairs gasping. It had taken a fall to the floor and some unbelievably awkward positions to get the tape off, but she had finally escaped with the intention of having Alice arrested.

Taggert attention went to the looked up as Tracy stood and stumbled forward, her face beet red and a furious expression.

"I'm so glad you're here."

Everyone stared daggers at her which gave her pause.

"Ah, another Quartermaine. Did you happen to know why there was a shootout and an injured employee of the Corelli family was shot?"

She slowly smirked. "I think I just might."

Lila shot her such a furious look that Tracy almost choked on her tongue.

"Tracy, dear. You've had a lot to drink tonight and was conscious when the shootout occurred. What could you possibly offer to this conversation?"

Just the succinct, but polite way Lila asked while her eyes conveyed a totally different tone was enough to shut Tracy up.

"Are you drunk?" Taggert asked.

Tracy growled and then slowly nodded.

"Were you awake when it happened."

"No, but—"

"If you try to blame my son when we all know he's incarcerated, I will walk you back up those stairs and throw you back down them," Monica said, making Taggert's eyes grow wide.

"Are you going to let her threaten me like that?"

"For God's sake, Tracy, go to bed," Alan said.

"This isn't over."

Lila slightly smiled. "Oh, I think it is."

Tracy muttered under her breath before going back upstairs.

"Now, where were we?" Lila said sweetly.

Taggert handed Alan a card. "If you remember anything, or if anyone contacts you, please give me a call."

"Okay."

He left and Lila grinned widely.

"Mother, you were outstanding," Alan said proudly.

"Thank you."

Edward chuckled. "God, I love you."

She yawned. "Acting so vacuous has made me tired. Help me upstairs, darling."

Edward pushed her to the elevator.

"Now, we wait and see what happens with Jason," Monica said.

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Helena's eyes openly perused Jason's face. "He is almost beautiful," she said as she perused his face.

"Elizabeth is still sleeping, but she should wake up momentarily," Helmut said.

"Excellent. Make sure that you keep Jason sedated. Where is Lucky?"

"He's next store sleeping peacefully."

"Good, we'll wake him once Jason and Elizabeth are reunited."

"And when will that be, madame?"

"I want her to be alone for a day. By tomorrow evening, she'll be scared and very clingy when Jason shows up."

He slightly smiled at her devious mind. "Excellent."

"Will you get me some tea, Helmut? I want some refreshments as I observe Elizabeth coming to terms with the reality that her situation is impossible."

"Yes, madame."

She turned back to Jason. "I don't think she's enough woman for you, but it will be interesting to see Lucky's head explode and then, he'll be so much easier for me to manipulate. Luke won't stand a chance."

She took the tea that Helmut offered her and then sat in a chair as he turned up the volume on the monitor. Now, they wait.

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Luke smirked and then took a sip of his drink as he sat at the bar. "Caroline, what are you doing here, slumming?"

She locked eyes on the bartender. "Wild Turkey 101 on ice."

Luke made a whooshing noise. "Someone isn't playing. What has your panties in a bunch? Aren't you on pain pills?"

She glared. "Since when do you care about my welfare?"

"Caroline, don't be like that. Seriously, why are you drinking at this hell hole?"

She took a sip and slightly grimaced as the cool liquid scorched her throat. "Why not?"

"I think you're hiding out. Don't you have a guard?"

"Yes. He's over there somewhere. I swore him to secrecy. If he tells Sonny, I'll cut his dick off."

Luke frowned. "That's horrible."

She smirked. "Why are you here?"

"My sons a wreck and Helena Cassadine is back on the prowl."

"Isn't she like two thousand years old?"

"Pretty much…"

"What's wrong with you? Isn't Laura back? Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Laura is at home. She understands that I have business to take care of."

Carly laughed and then held her side as she groaned.

"You're a hot mess, Caroline."

"I learned it from you."

"Touche."

They tapped their glasses together unaware that they are being photographed.

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Evangeline sipped her wine. "Do you ever get used to this?"

Nicole sighed. "Not really, but I've learned to live with it. Francis keeps us as safe as possible."

Piph moved from the window. "She has to be okay."

"Elizabeth is strong," Nicole said.

"That, she is, but she has been through far too much for her age."

"It's really late, you guys should try and get some rest," Frank said. Francis had asked him to go to the house so he didn't have to worry about the women.

Piph looked at the clock. It's 1:00 A.M.

"Did you reach Stan?" Nicole asked.

"He was in Philly and should be here any minute."

The door swung open and he rushed inside.

"What happened?"

"My computer fell out of my backpack and crashed down a flight of stairs."

"Ouch."

"I saved the hard drive, but without a working computer, I can't help find anyone."

Frank made a call. "Nick, Stan's computer got trashed, but he still has the hard drive. Can you hook him up?"

There is a slight pause.

"Great. I'll send him over."

Stan smiled. "Nick is the man."

Francis ended the call. "Go with your guard. He knows where it is."

"I will do whatever I can to find them."

"Thank you."

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An hour later, Elizabeth starts to stir as Helena watches via the infrared video camera she had installed.

Liz groans and then begins to panic, thrashing inside the sleeping bag Lucky had placed her in before sitting up as she panted.

She tries to adjust to the darkness, not understanding where she is and then pats her pants and grabs her phone. Her battery is low, but she turns on the light and then gasps. The room isn't very big. Shaking off her fogginess, she stands and moves towards the wall and reads the writing as her eyes grow big. Apparently, she's in a crypt which means no service. No one will probably find her. Quickly, she moves to what looks like the opening, but the door is locked. Turning she leans against it and wonders how the hell she can escape. Her light falls on the water bottles and she quickly makes her way over to them and cracks one open and sips from it, hoping it's not drugged. The only other object in the room is a bucket in the corner and she figures if she has to pee, that's where she'll go. Wanting to conserve her battery, she turns off the light and crawls back into the sleeping bag before softly crying. Whoever brought her here could come back and that sent a burst of fear through her body. Someone had gone out of their way to kidnap her and if it's Helena, she knows she is screwed.

Closing her eyes, she thought about Francis and Jason. Surely, they'll look for her, but chances are bleak that they would ever look in a crypt. A shiver runs through her body as she ponders her fate and then she moves further into the bag and covers her head, scared that maybe a mouse or something else could get to her. It took another hour before she finally fell asleep.

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Johnny and Manny got into an SUV and took their phones out of the glove compartment. When they saw all the missed texts, Johnny threw the car into reverse and then raced towards the interstate to the nearest airport.

Manny called Francis and let him know they are on their way.

"They have Jason too. This was definitely Helena."

Johnny hits the steering wheel with his hands. "She is probably scared to death. Do you think she'll put them together?"

"I don't know. It's a possibility because Jason is convinced she is trying to force a fight between him and Lucky."

"She needs to die," Johnny said lethally.

"She will. Fortunately, people who have massive egos usually make mistakes along the way due to their arrogance. I don't think she'll be any different. Stan is helping Nick and we're hoping that we get something soon.

Alan appeared in the doorway.

"Johnny, I have to go. Let me know when you land."

"I will."

Alan moved forward and shut the door. "Jason was at our house last night."

"Enzo told me."

"So, he made it?"

"Yes. Luckily, the bullet just hit him in the arm. He'll recover. Have a seat."

Alan sat across from him. "Jason knew Helena would take him."

Francis brow creased. "What?"

"He was counting on it. He told me not to tell the police anything and the family covered for him. If he's gone more than three days, he wants us to get the police involved."

Francis sighed. "That will blow his cover."

"He knows, but saving Elizabeth was all he cared about."

"Thank you for telling me."

"I'll call you before we do anything. Have you gotten any leads?"

"No, but I'm going to talk to a few people to see if he confided in them about his plan."

"I don't think he did. Edward hired some guards. He's going to go talk to Nikolas about helping them map out the tunnels at Windemere."

"That's great. Keep me informed. I can always send some men over there."

"I don't think she'll be hiding them there. It's too obvious and she likes to play games."

"You're probably right." Francis stood. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you."

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Manny and Johnny land and head towards the office to meet with their tactical group. Time is of the essence and they really need to find Elizabeth and Jason fast.

When they arrive, they quickly make their way to a large conference room.

"Welcome back," Francis said.

"Thanks! Fill us in."

"We're waiting for one more person."

Edward enters the room making Johnny's mouth drop open.

"Edward and the Quartermaines covered for Jason. Apparently, he confided that he wanted Helena to take him."

"How would she know that he would go there?" Manny asked.

"Our theory is that she would have had a couple of places covered. I'm guessing Jake's would have been watched and maybe Sonny's as well."

"Do you think he had an elaborate plan?" Johnny asked. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to spend any time with Jason so he's not sure what Jason has planned.

"We don't know."

Stan cleared his throat. "I had been working on a GPS program and had talked it over with him months ago. I gave him a key ring. If he pulls out the stem, there is a very small button he can press and it will activate. My new computer is up and running and I checked my software. There hasn't been anything yet, but he could be biding his time for some reason or incapacitated. I'm just hoping he remembered it. He had it on his regular keyring before he went to jail, so I'm assuming he still has it."

"We need a break," Francis said.

"I have two men checking out Kelly's right now for clues," Edward said.

"How did you get in there?"

"The police finished up and they were able to question a few tenants."

"Did they get anything?" Johnny asked.

Edward slightly smiled. "Yes. Apparently, about two weeks ago, Bobbie hired a temporary cook because the regular one had gotten ill. The substitute was German and in his forties. There are only two tenants there right now. The room above the bathrooms is empty. The cook, who they called, Rolf, had told them they needed to do some construction and paid them to not be there for a few hours one day and they couldn't tell anyone because it's a surprise for Bobbie. They agreed."

"That must have been when they made the alterations to get her out," Johnny said.

"It's really the only explanation."

"Nothing has come up on surveillance cameras in the area," Stan said.

"If this GPS software doesn't work, we're screwed," Johnny said.

"It does seem like our best hope," Edward said.

The men were quiet as they thought about their options.

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Later, Jason started to stir. He couldn't focus very well, but someone is talking to him and trying to get him to stand. His body is partially limp, but the man manages to get him to a bathroom and when he finally can focus on the toilet, the man turns around and Jason goes to the bathroom. He doesn't understand where he is, but after washing his hands, he decides to cooperate because Elizabeth's life is in danger.

"Thank you, Mr. Morgan."

He sits on the bed and is immediately injected with a milder dose, causing him to fall backward. Suddenly, he feels as though he is being moved and then promptly passes out.

Helena's move him to a transport vehicle and head towards the crypt.

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Elizabeth sits up, bends her knees, and then hugs them. She is exhausted. Sleep hadn't come easy because she is so jumpy. Her drowsiness had left her feeling discombobulated as she tries to calm herself.

When the door suddenly opened, she jumped and then moved towards the corner. It's dark outside, so it provided her very little light. Something hits the floor with a thud and then she's alone again, debating with herself if she should go check it out.

Finally, she pulled out her phone and powered it up and then turned on the flashlight and shined it towards the lump which is clearly a body. Getting on her knees she moves the face and gasps when she realizes it's Jason.

"Oh my God," she said as she starts to shake him. "Jason! Come on, wake up!"

Helena smiled as Lucky's face fell.

"Why?"

"I thought seeing them together would give you some incentive."

Lucky's eyes are glued to the screen as he watches Liz feel for Jason's pulse.

When he doesn't respond, she gets up and retrieves the sleeping back and opens it and with some difficulty, she manages to roll him onto it and then gets on her side and covers them up.

Jason slightly stirs.

"That's it, Jason. You need to fight it." It's hard to fathom why someone had taken him too. It has to be Helena and that realization scared her more than anything. This will probably not end well.

After a half hour, when he didn't move again, she cuddled next to him and listened to his heartbeat until she finally settled down and drifted off.