Chapter 19

Chris was on board the fastest passenger jet that had ever been made – the Concorde – and he dearly wished it was even faster. Not just because he wanted to catch up to Ryan, or get to Erica sooner so he could ensure her safety - though they were certainly sufficient motivation. He just wanted to get the hell away from David Hayward.

He wasn't sure why he allowed David to come along. Like Ryan, he could have simply refused. He had a feeling, though, that David was capable of causing an ugly mess if he didn't get what he wanted. The last thing Chris needed was someone mucking up the works even more. It certainly wasn't because he felt any sympathy for the shmuck. Chris stood by the decision he made all those years ago, and David's feelings in the matter were just as irrelevant now as they were back then.

He did give in and explain to David how it all came about. It took several weeks for Leo and Vanessa to recover from the injuries sustained when they fell off the bridge and their later unskilled rescue by Chris's men. Leo had been worse off than Vanessa, and remained in a medically-induced coma for quite some time. By the time he came out of it, the people of Pine Valley had long since given he and his mother up for dead. Chris convinced an eager Vanessa to work for him in lieu of jail time. He'd wondered at first what he was going to do with Leo, but the more he talked with Vanessa and learned of her and her son's former partnership in crime, the more he realized that Leo could be quite an asset.

When Leo awoke, he was apprised of their present situation. Everyone thought they were dead, and Vanessa was planning to work for Chris – he explained that he didn't work for the FBI, but rather a more covert branch of the government. Leo wanted immediately to be taken to Greenlee. Chris lied and said they were in Washington D.C. at the moment, and he wasn't well enough to fly. Leo demanded to have Greenlee brought to him, and Chris said that was out of the question. Greenlee would surely find out about their plans for Vanessa, and she would surely not be okay with it. She would blow their top secret plans sky high. Chris said his superiors would not allow such a possibility to happen. Leo reluctantly agreed to wait until he was healed.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Chris and Vanessa worked on him psychologically. Leo couldn't understand why Chris would want someone psychotic working for him. He warned Chris that Vanessa could not be controlled. He still believed, at the time, his mother's pretense of madness. Chris knew she was faking it, and told Leo that there was an experimental drug that they had been giving to Vanessa that would correct the chemical imbalance in her head. He pointed out to Leo that it seemed to be working. Vanessa appeared to be cool as a cucumber, which resurrected an old hope in Leo that she might really become the loving mother he had longed for. He began to worry about her going off in the world alone to con information out of dangerous men. Chris assured him that he would be there occasionally to help her, when he wasn't maintaining his cover in Pine Valley. Vanessa shared with Leo her secret concerns that she wouldn't be able to pull off cons without him. She also pretended to worry that her medication might stop working at the wrong time.

Finally Chris proposed the idea of Leo teaming up with his mother to take down the bad guys. Leo was resistant at first, but his mother was there as a constant influence. Chris insinuated that David was continuing to make trouble in Pine Valley, and with a baby on the way, the last thing he needed was to be put in jail for his many crimes. He also mentioned the possibility of reducing his brother Trey's sentence, and making sure he got protection from the more dangerous inmates while he was in jail. The psychological warfare was more than he'd been able to bear.

David listened to Chris's explanations, and shook his head. "Leo's biggest weakness is his family, there's no doubt about that. But he promised Greenlee he would put her first. After all that they'd been through, I can't believe he would have chosen anyone else over her."

Chris shrugged. "I told you everything I know about the situation. There's a lot that went on between Leo and Vanessa that I don't know about."

David's face paled. "Of course. Vanessa. As many times as she went after Greenlee, I wouldn't put it past her to make some sort of threat to get Leo to cooperate." He shook his head. "I can't believe you set that monster loose on the world, with my brother tagging along."

"They have saved hundreds of lives with the work they've done. The world is a better place because of them."

David didn't buy Chris's spin on the situation, and ranted at him for a couple more hours. Sick of hearing him go on and on about the same thing, Chris decided to piss him off in another way. He shared with David all about how he had helped Dixie under the name Ian Wells. Hayward clearly wanted to strangle him to death.

Eventually they landed, and Chris began an immediate search for Ryan and Zach. He asked a passing technician if he knew where the Cambias jet was parked. The man pointed it out in the distance. Chris headed in that direction, David on his heels. A few yards from the jet, he stopped when he saw two men that he thought might be them. David crashed into the back of him. Chris shoved him away. "Watch where you're going, you idiot!"

"Well, why the hell did you stop?"

"I thought I spotted Ryan, but it isn't him. Wrong color jacket." Chris was about to start towards the jet again when he heard a cell phone ringing.

David pointed to the ground. "You dropped your phone."

Chris looked down and saw a phone at his feet. Frowning, he stooped down and picked it up. "This isn't mine. Someone must have lost it." He pressed the answer button. "Hello?"

"Ryan? Oh thank God I finally got ahold of you!"

Chris was stunned. "Dixie? Is that you? This is Chris." David gave him a startled look.

"Chris? What are you doing with Ryan's phone?"

"That's a good question. I'm at Charles de Gaulle airport. I found this phone on the ground just now."

"So Ryan isn't there?"

"No, and neither is Zach." He spotted another cell phone lying nearby. "Hold on a minute, Dixie." He looked at David. "This is Ryan's cell phone. Check that one to see if it belongs to Slater."

David gave him a what-the-hell-is-going-on look and picked up the phone. He flipped it open and found the phone book feature. "Yeah, I think this is Slater's phone. There are entries here for Kendall, Myrtle, the casino. Even Ethan is still listed."

Chris sighed. "Dixie, we've now got two more people missing. It's unlikely that both men would have accidentally dropped their phones at the same time. I need to go, but first could you tell me why you were trying to get ahold of Ryan?" Chris listened as she explained that the child Madden told them about wasn't Kate, and that he needed to be taken alive so they could have another chance at finding their daughter. She also mentioned that Tad was with Josh grilling Hazel. Chris assured her that they would make every effort to keep Greg in the land of the living. He hung up and stared at the cell phone for a moment.

David held up Zach's phone. "We must be close if Madden's snatched them."

Chris slowly shook his head. "Why would he be at the airport again a day later? Something isn't right here." He started walking, hoping to see if Madden's Retcon jet was still there. After awhile, he stopped cold when he saw the nickname emblazoned on the side of one of the jets. He knew that it belonged to Victor Lazare. He had a sudden suspicion. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Vanessa's number. After four rings it went to voice mail. Her phone was on, but she wasn't answering. "Hayward, I need to borrow your cell phone." David gave him an incredulous look. "There's no time to explain, every second counts."

David looked extremely doubtful, but nevertheless pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Chris. Chris opened it and dialed Vanessa's number. He entered a text message, "Mother? David." Then he hit send. He hoped it would work.

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Erica and Greenlee jumped when they heard banging on the kitchen door. "Erica!!!! Damn you, woman! I know you're in there. Just what do you think you hope to accomplish by barricading yourself in the kitchen? You know I'll get in there eventually. You couldn't possibly be delusional enough to think that you'll be rescued soon. No one could possibly have any idea that you are here. This whole thing is an exercise in futility. Must I remind you that the more you fight against me, the less I will be able to trust you with your grandchild."

Erica shook her head and then called out, "I like how you word it so that it doesn't sound like blackmail. Why don't you just come right out and say that if I don't do your bidding, you'll bar me from seeing Spike?"

"Gregory Junior! Do not dare call him by that ridiculous appellation your imbecilic daughter came up with." There was a long silence on the other side. "Open the goddamn door!" He banged on it repeatedly for a minute. "You fool! All I have to do is call my men to come and break the door down."

"Go ahead. Try and explain to them what's going on here. I know you'll tell them we're crazy, but the more incidents like this happen, the more you'll have to justify your behavior. It's a slippery slope, Doctor Madden. Can you say for sure that every one of your employees will be 100 loyal and never question your motives?"

There was another long pause. "I will get through to you, Erica. And once I do, I'll make sure you pay dearly for your actions."

They heard his footsteps recede. Erica held up the frying pan. "Oh I hope you do get in here, Greg. I want the satisfaction of hearing your skull crack."

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The ringtone on Vanessa's phone indicated that she had a text message. She'd ignored the call from Chris Stamp moments ago. Apparently he was trying a new tactic. She decided to see what he had to say. When she looked at the screen, she froze. "Mother? David." She checked the number it came from. The area code was Pine Valley. Was this really David that just contacted her? Less than a minute after Chris tried to call her? Did that mean David was with Chris? Her older son was the one most likely to turn on her, even though they were so much alike. Probably because they were so much alike. She looked up from the cell phone, wondering if she should respond. Slater was looking back at her. She leveled the gun at him. "Eyes forward."

Ryan glanced back from the driver's seat. "Someone really wants to get in touch with you, Vanessa."

"Shut up and keep driving! We're almost to where I'm going to drop you off." Drop their bodies off, that is. There was no way she was going to let them live. Not only did their interference derail her escape, but they knew too much. She didn't want the world to know that she was still alive. Chris probably wouldn't say anything. She'd gotten to know him well enough to know that he never told his superiors when he fucked up. She was also hoping Leo wouldn't say anything. He would never put her in that kind of danger. Would he?

She suddenly wondered if Leo was the one who gave David her phone number. No, that still didn't explain the coincidence of his text message right after Chris's call. Unless…both Leo and David were with Chris.

The cell phone warbled again. Another text message. Vanessa looked at her phone. This time the screen read, "2 4 1 deal. Your kids for mine." Despite the fact that it was the same Pine Valley area code, she knew that Chris was the one sending her the message. He had both Leo and David, and he knew she had Ryan. How did the bastard find out? She was in deep now. If he knew she had Ryan, he could know any number of things. "Stop the car! Pull over, right now!"

Startled, Ryan swerved and came to a rough stop by the side of the road. Vanessa dialed Chris's number. He answered, "Hello Vanessa. Ready to work something out?"

"Look, I wouldn't have grabbed your precious son if he hadn't messed up my plans. All I want is to be left alone. I want you to leave my sons alone, too."

"You know how this works, Vanessa. An eye for an eye. As soon as Ryan is safe, your boys will be too."

"I want more than that! I want your promise that you won't come after me. I'm sick and tired of doing your dirty work for you."

"Why should I let you get away?"

"Let's just say that my freedom is more important to me than my sons. I'm calling your bluff, Stamp. If you want your son to live to see another day, you have to promise me that you won't track me down."

"You got it, babe. Just let Ryan and Slater go."

"In case you've got your fingers crossed, let me leave you with this: If you do find me and try to bring me to justice, I will make sure that your superiors know everything you've been up to ever since I've been under your thumb. Everything."

"As long as you don't commit any brand new shiny felonies that result in lives lost, I don't give a good goddamn what you do with the rest of your miserable life. Now let Ryan go."

She would have to be content with that. Vanessa looked up at Ryan and Zach. "Get out of the car. Both of you." She pointed the gun at them for emphasis. Ryan and Zach climbed out and stood next to the car. "Close the doors and walk ten yards that way." She pointed towards a field. There was a barn and silo in the distance. Zach and Ryan did as they were asked. Vanessa got out of the back seat and quickly slid into the front seat. She spoke into the cell phone. "I've let them go, Stamp. Have a nice life." She tossed the cell phone out the window and peeled away in the car. She watched in the rear view mirror as the two men sprinted for the phone. If they were unable to get transportation, Chris would locate them through the cell phone's GPS. She certainly didn't want him locating her with it. Hopefully she would be far enough away by the time they reconnected, and she would never have to deal with them ever again.