Chapter 21

Shane met Bo at his house. He didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation. "Look Bo, I know we've been trying to come up with some kind of clue to find where Stefano has stashed your wife and daughter. I think I might know where that is.""Tell me." Bo was impatiently waiting to hear what Shane had to say.

"You told me when Alicia first came here she had been running from Stefano's men. She was held somewhere near here?" Shane asked.

"Yeah. I believe it's where…" A light bulb went on in Bo's head. "Vito was taking her to Stefano when he kidnapped her from here. They were headed long I-80. The same highway we found Stefano's abandoned car. He wasn't taking them to the airport."

"No. Stefano has a place not far from there. It's quite remote a place too. I believe it's where he has Hope and Alicia." Shane glanced over at Steve who was sitting quietly listening to the conversation. "What's your theory on this Steve?"

"I think you might be right. We already figured finding his car near Littlefield's was probably a decoy to make us think he flew them out of here. He had to have had someone waiting for them. Someone must have seen something." Steve said.

"I agree. I'm going to send a few men to check it out. See if anyone saw anything. I think we need to come up with a plan to get into Stefano's place and get my family out." Bo walked over to the mantle and picked up his wedding photo. "Hang on Fancy Face. It won't be too long now."

"I'm already ahead of you on the plan. There's a back way into Dimera's which isn't used much. It's old and run down, but it will serve our purpose of a sneak attack. I've been going over some blueprints of the house I found on the disc. Seems it's typical Dimera style. There are tunnels leading in and out of the house. There's even a dungeon." Shane was rattling on about the details of the house and surrounding property.

Bo stopped listening after he mentioned the dungeons. Alicia mentioned she was kept in a dungeon on the island where Stefano held her captive. He couldn't help but think how scared she must be now. He made a promise to her he'd always be there for her. He'd protect her from the bad guys. He wished he had been able to keep her safe. Why had he taken away the guards? He should've known Stefano would get even with him for locking up two of his men. There was no point in beating himself up over what he should've done. He had to think about what he was going to do now to get Hope and Alicia back home where they belonged.

……

Alicia tossed and turned all night. She wanted to see her mother. Even though she knew she was still alive, she just needed to see her. Alicia looked at the surrounding walls remembering the last time she was there. She had been moved to several different locations in her life. She was born at Maison Blanche and lived there until shortly after her mother disappeared. Then Stefano moved her to the island. She grew into a teenager before he moved her again. Stefano was in and out during that time. She knew he was up to something then, but didn't know what. She knew now he had been spending time in Salem and other places when he wasn't her prison warden. About nine years ago he disappeared for several months. It was the longest he had ever left her without checking in. She had no way of escaping the island and was too young at the time to really do anything about an escape. She bided her time learning everything she could from her surroundings and her teachings. She was a sponge for life and learning. Alicia thought she would spend the rest of her days on the island training to be Stefano's weapon. Then one day, he moved her again. She lived at Dimera manor for two years before the opportunity to escape arose. ……

……Vito was leering at her in that sick way of his; like he was undressing her with his eyes. She kept moving around crossing her arms over her breasts feeling naked under his gaze. There was this look in his eye that scared her. "Stop looking at me." She told him after it got to be to much.

"I can't help it." He said twirling strands of her hair in his fingers. "You've turned into such a voluptuous young lady. I'd like to do more than just look at you." His breath was hot on her face. "Get off me!" Alicia pushed him and scurried to the other side of the room.

"You like it. I know you do. I see the way you walk; the way you sway your hips when you pass by me. I know you want more too." Vito grabbed her arms and placed them above her head pinning her against the wall.

"Stop it!" Alicia struggled against him. "Leave me alone!"

"What's going on in here?" Vanessa, one of Stefano's servants, entered the room carrying a tray of food for Alicia. "Vito you know Stefano doesn't want you here with her." She reprimanded him.

"Mind your own business. Just leave the tray and go back to cleaning the house. That's your job, not reporting my whereabouts to Stefano." Vito glared at her.

"I know what my job is. And I know you're not supposed to be in here with her." She pointed at Alicia. "I'm not leaving here until you do."

Vito lunged at the servant causing her to cry out as she cowered under his attack. Alicia saw her moment and raced out of the room down the long hall. She knew of a door at the end of the hall which led to the dungeons. She ran down the stairs looking over her shoulder to see if Vito was behind her. When she saw he wasn't, she ducked into one of the many underground tunnels and raced down it until she came to a door. Alicia couldn't believe how easy it was to pull it open and get away from Stefano and his men. She ran until her breath was gone from her body before collapsing on the ground panting wildly. She was hidden by the trees and the night. She knew Stefano wouldn't stop until he found her again. As soon as her breath returned, she rose and raced off again coming to a highway. She kept her distance from the road but followed the path of it keeping her guard up looking for signs of Stefano's men. Several cars passed by illuminating a sign which read: Salem four miles. Alicia couldn't believe her luck. "Salem? Mom said she was from Salem. My family is there." …..

….. Alicia turned on her side remembering that first night she spent in Salem looking for her family. She came across the Brady Pub soon after crawling into town. She wondered if it was family owned and if the family was related to her. She walked up to the door and read the closed sign. "Guess it will have to wait until morning. Alicia walked away and down to the pier. She found a cozy spot behind some cargo and huddled up falling fast asleep. ……

Alicia rose from her bed and went to the door trying the handle. It was locked. She didn't know why she should expect anything less. She let go of the handle and watched as it turned and the door opened.

"Good morning, Alicia. I have your breakfast." Vanessa locked the door behind her and carried the tray over to a side table. "Can I get you anything?" She asked before turning to leave the room.

Alicia though quickly before responding. "Have you seen my mother?"

Vanessa turned to face her eyeing her suspiciously. "I just brought her a tray of food."

"Is she alright?" Alicia asked her.

Vanessa could see the worry in her chocolate brown eyes. "As far as I could tell, she's doing just fine."

Alicia looked down at the floor and then back up at Vanessa. She had always been nice to her and she knew after her escape, Vanessa must have taken some of the heat from it. "Can you do something for me?" Alicia asked her earnestly. "Can you take a note to my mother from me?"

"I'm sorry. I can't help you." Vanessa told her.

"Please. I just need her to know I'm okay. Can you at least tell her for me?" Alicia pleaded. Vanessa nodded before leaving the room securely locking it in her wake.

……

Hope was sitting on the edge of the bed, a food tray sat on the bed beside her. She couldn't eat anything without knowing how Alicia was. She was worried about her being back here with Stefano. Alicia looked so petrified the night before when she told Hope Stefano was watching from outside. She wanted to hold her in her arms and comfort her. She knew Alicia must be frightened being here again. Hope looked up to see the door to her room opening.

Vanessa poked her head in. "You didn't eat anything?" She asked her. "You should really try to eat a little. It's not good for you or your daughter."

"Alicia? Have you seen her?" Hope asked anxiously pleading with her eyes. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, just worried about you. She wanted me to tell you she's okay. Now will you please eat something or Mr. Dimera will be upset." Vanessa told her.

"I don't care if I upset Stefano. I'm not hungry. Just take the tray away please." Hope pushed the tray away from her. "Is Stefano here?" She asked. She wanted to see her daughter.

"Mr. Dimera left to take care of some business. He won't be back until later this afternoon." Vanessa told her.

"Will you take me to see my daughter?" Hope asked her.

"I can't ma'am. I'm sorry it's the rules." Vanessa picked up the tray and turned to the door.

"Please." Hope said stopping her. "You can blindfold me, tie my hands behind my back if you have to, but please let me see my daughter. I need to see her. I need to hold her and know that she's alright." Hope pleaded with her as tears streamed out of the corners of her eyes. "You seem like a really nice person. Won't you please help me? No one has to know. I swear I won't tell anyone, just please let me see my daughter."

Vanessa opened the door without saying a word and silently closed it behind her. Hope sat back on the bed pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. Her silent tears turned into sobs. "Brady I need you. We need you."

Hope jumped when moments later the door opened and Alicia stood in the door frame.

"Hi Mom." Alicia said with a bright smile.

……

"Bo wait up." Steve said in a loud whisper. They were scaling the walls of Dimera Manor. "Where's Donovan?" He asked him.

"He went back to the car to get the map of the dungeons. We'll need it once we get into the underground tunnels. I had a look at it earlier. There are close to twenty tunnels leading in all directions." Bo explained in a low voice.

"I'm here." Shane whispered from behind Bo. Let's get moving. I saw Dimera's car leaving when I went back to get the maps. We just might be able to get in there and pull them out before he gets back." Shane, Bo, and Steve climbed over the wall and snuck along the grounds to the back tunnel entrance.

"Well Donovan I think it's time for you to pull out that trusty map and see which one of these entrances is the right one." Steve stood looking dumbfounded at six different doors all lined in a row.

"Whoa. What the…?" Bo scratched at his head. "Why would there be so many doors all in one spot when they all lead to the same dungeon?" Bo shook his head and went to look at the map Shane had pulled out.

"Could be traps in all but one of these to keep people from getting in." Shane looked over the map. "We have to figure out which one is the right one."

"What do you say we have a look behind door number one." Steve jokingly said as he went to open the first door.

"Steve wait!" Shane called out to him. "We don't know what we're dealing with here. We need to be absolutely sure we have the right entrance. We don't want to set off any alarms alerting the staff we're here." Shane cautioned him.

"So which door will it be?" Steve asked.

"According to this map, I'd say it's this door here." Shane pointed at the third door in from the right. "We should still proceed with caution."

"Are you sure it's this one and not that one?" Bo asked pointing at the third door in from the left. "We could be reading the map wrong and it's the one on the left, not the right."

"So now we play the guessing game." Steve said. "Or we could flip a coin?"

"This isn't a game we're playing." Bo said angrily. "My family's life is on the line here."

"Relax Bo. I know what's on the line here. I just think we need to open one of these doors and get in there to rescue Hope and Alicia." Steve walked over to the two doors in question looking for any clues.

"I still think it's the one on the right." Shane told him.

"All right then. Let's open the door." Bo proceeded to open the door. It eased open without any problems. "That seems almost a little too easy." Bo looked inside cautiously. "Doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Let's go, but be careful."

Bo, Shane, and Steve entered the tunnel. "So far so good." Steve said. Bo made a face at him. "What? I just mean so far we're in the clear."

"Keep your voice down. I can hear something up ahead." Bo whispered to Steve. He grabbed his gun and moved cautiously along the tunnel with Shane and Steve following closely behind him. They walked until they came to a door. Bo placed his fingers on his lips motioning for them to keep quiet.

"Stefano wants extra security place along the perimeters of the grounds. No one is to get in or out." They could hear people talking just beyond the door. "I want you to take five men with you to patrol the grounds.""Will do." Footsteps retreated away from the door.

"Let's go." Bo motioned for Steve and Shane to follow.

Gun shots rang out all around. Bo fired his gun ducking bullets all around him. Someone was pushing him from behind. Steve pulled the guy off Bo and started punching him in the face. Shane fired off rounds from his gun as bullets hit and rang off the surrounding walls. Bo jumped out of the way of a passing bullet. It skinned his forearm. The fighting continued until several of Stefano's men lay writhing on the ground.

"Someone radio Mike and get more men in here!" One of the men called out. Bo grabbed the guy from behind and held his gun to his head. "Make them back off or I'll blow your brains out."

"Milo, Jake, Vinny, back off." He hollered to the few who were still left standing.

"Drop your weapons or he's a dead man!" They dropped their guns. "Kick them over here and stand up against the wall." Milo, Jake, and Vinny did as they were told. Shane and Steve patted them down to see if they held anymore weapons. "Let's get them over there to the dungeons and lock them up." They dragged Stefano's men over to the dungeons. Some of the men lay unconscious on the ground bleeding to death. Bo, Shane, and Steve made their way to the stairs. At the top, they came face to face with Vanessa who was curious about the shooting.

She screamed at the sight of them. "Don't hurt me!" She backed away until she hit the wall.

"I won't as long as you tell me where my wife and daughter are." Bo told her.

"Your daughter is right in here." Vanessa pointed to Alicia's door. I have the key right here. She pulled it out of her pocket with shaky hands. Bo grabbed the keys from her and unlocked the door. Alicia was sitting on the bed staring at the walls when her father entered the room.

"DADDY!" She ran to him, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. "I knew you'd save us." She threw her arms around his neck sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's okay. I got you." Bo soothed his daughter. "Sh. It's okay baby. I'm here. You're safe." Bo held her tightly in his arms thankful she hadn't been hurt. "Listen, I know you're going through a lot of emotions right now, but we need to go get your mom so we can get out of here before Stefano gets back." Bo grabbed Alicia's hand and led her out of the room. "Where's my wife?" Bo sneered at Vanessa who was being held by Steve.

"She's right down the hall on the right. The last room at the end." Vanessa pointed down the hall.

Bo and Alicia went to find Hope. Bo unlocked the door and let Alicia enter before him. "Hi Mom." Alicia grinned through her tears before running to grab her in a hug. Hope was shocked to see Bo follow her into the room. "Brady." She smiled at him. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. Let's get out of here." She held Alicia and they both walked over to Bo. She kissed him and reached for his hand as they mad their way back out of the room.

……

Bo and his family met up with Steve and Shane. "What should we do with her?" Shane asked motioning to Vanessa.

"Lock her up in the room Stefano held my daughter in." Bo told him. Steve shoved her in the room and locked the door. "Let's get out of here now." Bo turned to take Hope's hand and noticed Alicia was missing. "Hope? Where's Alicia?" Bo asked looking around.

"I'm right here." Alicia poked her head from around the corner. "The tunnels are this way."

"Where did you go?" Bo asked her.

"I just went to make sure the coast was clear." Alicia walked ahead of the group leading them down the stairs to the dungeons. "What happened here?" She asked noticing all the dead bodies on the ground.

"We had a little hold up." Steve chuckled.

"Dad, where are you going?" Alicia asked her father as he turned down a tunnel. "This isn't the way out. We have to turn left here." She told him.

Shane opened the map to look it over again. "No Alicia. The way out is down this tunnel to the right of us." he examined the map intently. "The left tunnel leads to nowhere.""You seriously think that map is accurate?" Alicia asked him. "Where did you get that anyway?"

"I have my sources. Look we made our way in here just fine and I believe if we follow back the way we came we'll do just fine." Shane persisted.

"Dad, I know how to get out of here. I've been here before. Remember? I escaped. I know the way out." Alicia went to turn down the left tunnel. "This way is much easier."

"I still think we should follow the map. You can't be sure which way you left here the last time. You were trying to escape Stefano's men so it's possible your memory might not be as accurate as these maps." Shane told her.

"I have a perfect memory." She hissed. "I know the way. Dad, trust me on this."

Bo looked from his daughter to Shane to Hope. He didn't know what to do. He knew they had no problem getting in using the map. "Alicia we made it in just fine. I think we should head back out the same way we came in."

"But I'm sure some kind of silent alarm must have been set off when you came in. It might have been easy to get in, but I'm sure the security has been doubled and it won't be as simple to get out." Alicia was growing impatient.

"There was nothing in the tunnel that hinted at an alarm of any kind."

"So then all the gun shots I heard going off were just my imagination? As well as all those dead bodies back there." Alicia cut him off. "Why do you think they were down here in the first place? Stefano has one maybe two men patrolling the underground tunnels and dungeons. You guys set off an alarm."

"Let's not argue about this." Hope said trying to keep the peace. "Listen, Alicia knows this place better than any of us. I say we trust her and go this way." She said pointing to the tunnel Alicia wanted them to go down.

"I still don't like this. You might trust her, but I don't." Shane followed the group down the left tunnel. Several feet in all chaos broke out. Smoke filled the air blinding them.

An ominous laugh was heard in back of them. "You think you could get away that easily?" Stefano's voice boomed through the tunnel.

Hope turned in all directions trying to find Bo and Alicia. "Bo! Alicia!"

"Hope! I'm right here." Bo called out from afar. "Alicia!!" Bo heard the safety clip of a gun being released.

"I'm right here!" Alicia called out. The smoke began to clear.

"ALICIA! NO!" Bo's face paled as his eyes adjusted to the scene before him. Alicia had a gun aimed at her mother's head. "Don't do this. Come on kid. This isn't what you want.""Don't tell me what I want!" Alicia shouted. "I wanted a family, but instead I was raised in hell!"

"Alicia. Please. Put the gun down." Bo pleaded with her. "Don't do this. Your mother loves you. You know she does."

"She loved me so much she forgot all about me." Alicia scoffed at him. "She made me promises she could never keep. Isn't that right Mummy?" Alicia whispered in her mother's ear.

"Looks like I have the last laugh after all." Stefano laughed.

"Alicia. Please." Hope cried. "I love you. You know that. I never meant to leave you. Stefano was the reason we were kept apart." Tears streamed down Hope's face. She looked over to Bo. Her body shook with sobs. "Sweetie. Don't do this. We can still be a family."Alicia grabbed her mother's arm tighter behind her back. "YOU DON"T LOVE ME! YOU NEVER DID!"

"Pull the trigger Alicia!" Stefano ordered. "DO IT NOW!"

"NO!" Bo ran forward to try and stop her. They struggled with the gun. A shot rang out during the struggle. "Oh God. What have I done."

……

Bo's face paled as he saw the blood pouring out of Alicia's stomach. "I'm sorry." He grabbed her lifeless body as she fell forward and gently laid her on the ground holding her in his arms. "Alicia. Open your eyes." Bo held his daughter gently tapping her cheek to wake her. He hugged her close and cried. "I'm sorry baby. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Hope sat beside them in tears. "Alicia. I know you didn't mean any of what you said. Please wake up." Hope looked up to see Steve and Shane running off after Stefano. "Bo, we need to get her out of here. She's losing too much blood." Bo picked up Alicia gently cradling her in his arms. "I don't get it, Bo. She never said anything like that before. She's so loving. What could Stefano have done to her to make her change like that?"

"I don't know. We need to get her well again before we find out. We should head back the way I came in. I don't think Alicia was leading us out of here." Bo and Hope walked back to the beginning of the tunnel. They could hear Steve and Shane hollering to Stefano.

"Get back here you bastard." Steve yelled out.

"We need to get help." Bo said as he came face to face with…"What the hell?" Bo and Hope stopped dead in their tracks. He and Hope both did a double take. "It can't be." Bo nodded his head repeatedly as he looked at the girl standing in front of him.

"Mom? Dad? Who's that?" Alicia pointed at the lifeless body Bo was carrying. She looked at them with confusion in her eyes. "What happened? You were with me and then I got shoved into a wall. When I came to I was lying on a bed and you both were gone. Where did you go?"

Bo and Hope looked at the girl before them and then down at the one in Bo's arms. "What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"

"Daddy? It's me." Tears welled up in Alicia's eyes. "You just rescued me and mom. What's going on here?" She looked at her mother's face and went to hug her. "Mom?"

Hope held her back. "I don't know what's going on here. I can't be sure you are who you say you are." Hope looked at the girl in Bo's arms and then back up to the one standing before her. They were identical. "Did you have a twin sister?" She asked her.

"NO! Mom it's me! I swear I'm Alicia! Ask me something you know only I could know the answer to." Alicia pleaded with her. "I'm your daughter! Not her." Alicia pointed at the motionless body.

"Right now, all I know is she's bleeding to death. We need to get her help. As soon as we get out of this place and get some help, we'll get to the bottom of this." Hope said.

"Let's go." Bo walked down the tunnel he and the guys had come in earlier. They made their way to the car and Bo placed the girl he was carrying on the back seat. He turned to her look-a-like. Could she be the real Alicia? After everything that just happened down in the tunnels, he didn't know what to believe. The Alicia who held a gun to her mother's head was irrational, but she said things that made sense. Her anger for being left behind all those years; he couldn't be sure. The Alicia before him was more rash and her eyes were so sincere. He had been fooled once before by Stefano when he believed Princess Gina was Hope. He didn't want to take any chances.

They all got in the car and Bo radioed for backup. "We need to get to the hospital."

Hope looked over at him wondering if he was thinking the same thing she was. Who should they believe.