Chapter #9 -
Captor's Car, California -
Emily gazed out the window of the car and frowned at all the bright lights. Truth be told, she really didn't want to be in this car, with him of all people. He was like a guard dog; she couldn't even blink without him noticing it. It was very intimidating and scary. She was sure he loved it though.
She has been in her share of messes, of that she was sure and fully admitted, though she still reserved a few of those was out of her control. This would be one of those, but that was an understatement as well.
She had faced mobsters scarier and much more inhumane than Sonny, capable of such damage that the trauma could be considered "scarred for life." She had been blackmailed by her own modeling photographer/best friend's rapist, she had nearly died, been so out of control she still had no idea she was thinking at the time, but none, not any of those instances was anything in comparison to this.
She had never felt this vulnerable even with Juan. Though he could be intimidating at times and given the right time, she could stand up to him, she knew he would never kill her.
Her captor this time, she had no promises or pretensions. This time, everything was on the line. Sending that letter with the secret information, even with Spencer training she had observed throughout the years, was most likely a death wish. She still maintained though that if she was going to die, if it did happen, she was going with a fight and attempt to outlive a rescue.
Was it right to get her brother and friends into this mess…no, but she had faced it long ago- she was desperate. Even the knowledge they can handle themselves didn't help her conscience any. This was a time of faith, she knew she could trust them; she just wasn't sure if she trusted herself.
It startled her when the car stopped rather abruptly and she let out a gasp, which sent a glare her way from him. As the driver stepped out and around the vehicle, he opened the door for her. It was then that Emily called for strength and for a bit of luck, along with the spirit to fight.
Soon she was out, the door closing behind her as she looked at the fortress which lay before her in the distance. She had never liked places like this, and she knew it was no longer what it was in the past. That didn't help much however.
But the one thing she was sure of was that she didn't like Halloween, not anymore anyway. Seeing a horror movie is one thing, living your worst nightmare was another story entirely.
Her captor, dressed like who he really was, pushed her along roughly and impatiently. She started walking, picking up her skirt a bit, knowing fully well this may be one of the longest nights in her life…
Perhaps even her last, especially if her secret message came out.
Hotel Room -
Luke reached for his hat and placed it on his head so a shadow of mystery showed across his face. He walked to the mirror to check out the final effects. He made one good detective, if he said so himself.
He was dressed in a grey trench coat and placed a fake set of glasses on his face. The hat completed the assemble; though he was now regretting the glasses, they were a pain. Always falling off because they weren't fit for his face, and for that matter they were always in his face! He should have got the contact lenses.
"Modeling in the mirror Luke?" Nikolas asked as he came back into the room.
"The reflection happens to love me." Luke replied.
"Yeah, that's for sure, but I also think Sherlock Holmes carried a magnifying glass." Nikolas commented, though Luke was just going for a general detective.
"Well, Zorro, my friend, you haven't seen anything yet, because here it is!" Luke told Nikolas, indeed pulling out a magnifying glass out of one of his many pockets.
"I should have known." Nikolas muttered and looked toward the window. He, himself, had gone for Zorro, wearing the typical black outfit with the black cape and black bandana. His boots and mask was of course black, and he even finished the look with the fake sword that he had yet to put on.
Luke frowned again, and looked to Nikolas. "We're going to get her back." He told Nikolas.
Nikolas's head turned to Luke. "I hope so, but I just have this bad feeling in the pit of my gut. Emily's message sounded so urgent and you know how hard it is for Emily to ask for help as it is. She didn't even want help when it came to her first kidnapping." Nikolas explained.
"Unfortunately, something tells me that this kidnapper isn't an amateur like Smith." Luke responded.
"I know but this still isn't right. I remember when Emily was talking of what she was going to do this Halloween. Brooke Lynn was coming and she was going with Ned to trick or treat with her around Port Charles. She couldn't wait to act like a kid again, and she doesn't see Brooke Lynn enough as it is. And now..." Nikolas said solemnly.
"Emily will see her again, once we get her away from her captor. Don't talk as if you are losing hope, if you do Emily may as well, and that is one thing that she needs to keep." A voice interrupted their conversation.
Reluctantly, Jason emerged from the bathroom in his costume.
He sent a glare of death at Luke and Nikolas, daring them to laugh.
Jason was a Roman Soldier, dressed in a gold helmet, gold plated chest protector/vest, a gold mask, a long, full fitting white toga that fell to his knees, and boots. Jason was able to hide a pair of white shorts underneath to save his dignity.
"Let's just find my sister, find the bastard that took her, and get this over with." Jason replied gruffly.
"Your right," Nikolas sighed and looked at his watch. "The party is starting in a few minutes. We need to be there early to keep a sharp eye for Emily, she's counting on us and we can't let her down." Nikolas said firmly.
"Right, we need to be there early to catch up with AJ as well." Jason replied, still not liking the thought, despite Emily's sake.
"Can't miss seeing that, it's not everyday you get to see a Quartermaine heir dressed up as a waiter and actually doing work." Luke grinned at the picture.
Given the right circumstances Jason would have thought it entertaining too, but it was far from amusing given the wrong circumstances. He wasn't going to go negative right now though. "Yeah, I'm sure it's a story to tell Emily when she's safe." Jason stated shortly.
"Come on, I'll drive us to the port." Nikolas said just as short and grabbed the keys and necessary objects including the tickets and his sword which was only for his costume. 'I hope.' Nikolas thought.
Alcatraz Island –
When they arrived, the party was full blown. Loud music blared from the open windows, lots of colored costumes blurred under the dim lighting, and candles that bordered around the room. Conversation was gentle, and laughing was abundant.
It was still very eerie for the three newcomers.
"What part of early didn't you understand?" Jason grumbled.
"Hey, how was I to know people are indecently early in California? It wasn't my fault that the traffic to the port was so cluttered?" Nikolas argued.
"Boys, lets save the anger for the real evil in all this, shall we? You know Emily's captor?" Luke said, treating them like children. They glared at each other but calmed. "Good, now, ticket boy, go get us in." Now Nik's glare turned to Luke but he stepped up and led the group anyway.
Port Charles -
Kelly's -
(When we last left you...)
Lucky and Liz sat at Kelly's, once again back at the keys of a laptop, Lucky's this time.
"Uh, whoever this guy is, he's good at hiding his tracks. Weeks of searching and we still have nothing." Lucky said frustrated.
"Hmm…Have you tried this one?" Liz asked, pointing at a random website. She also had no idea what to do anymore, but that didn't mean she would give up. She needed Emily back. She was the only one girl friend she had.
"Couldn't hurt, we've tried virtually everything else." Lucky replied almost bitterly but mostly frustrated. He clicked on the link, nothing could surprise him at this point….okay, forget he said anything.
"I never knew something like this existed…" Lucky said in amazement.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Automatic name changer," Lucky replied and decided to test out this site, typing in his own name. He got quite a result; a quite foreign one. "Whoa…"
"It says here that additional letters are added to your name, in addition it is already being scrambled in order for it to look more authentic." Liz read.
"And that if you put in a foreign name, such as what they give you, it has a reverse button to descramble as well. Man, whoever said that 'the internet is a dangerous place' was right. Shall we?" Lucky asked.
"Go for it. I mean, what do we have to lose?" Liz figured.
A few moments later, the search results appeared.
It was bad news, VERY bad news…
Liz stared, absolutely shocked. It was the last name she ever expected to see. She was this close to shaking and Lucky knew it. He wanted to shake as well.
"Liz, okay we can't panic. We're both scared for Em. I'm going to call everyone and make sure they know to look for them both." Lucky said as he began to dial his father's phone number.
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California -
Entering the prison, Nikolas, Luke, and Jason stopped in the hall just to glance at the place. It was huge, built by gray stones, and the walls were adorned with candles. There was a large chandelier above where the dancing was taking place, but other than that, there was little light, not helping their cause any.
"The lighting sure fits the holiday, doesn't it?" Nikolas asked, hiding the bitterness under forced amusement.
"Yeah, you'd think masks would be enough cover." Jason commented and looked around. "I'm going to look around the place for possible escape routes Emily and her captor can take." He told them and left, blending in with the crowd and disappearing from their vision.
"He's taking it a lot harder than he will admit." Luke observed.
"Aren't we all though?" Nikolas sadly thought knowing fully well from the start that Jason was just a complex man to read. "We have to find AJ." Nikolas said. "I'm going to try the main ball room. Luke you take the hall and any back rooms."
"Will do," Luke replied and like Jason, got lost in the crowd.
Entering the main ballroom, the sun had not entirely set luckily; he took a quick glance around. There were few waiters wandering about, which meant, many were still in the back getting ready for the real crowd. Nikolas didn't even want to guess how many people that was, it being hard enough in this crowd to find Emily as it was.
Walking slowly and calmly further into the ballroom where guests were conversing, he was bumped into by a man and a woman. The man had dark hair and wore a black cape, pants and shirt. He had a plain white mask, making his costume identity definite, the phantom of the opera.
He bit back a frown, remembering that play all too well, but studied the young girl next to him. He bit back another frown, as Nikolas guessed that she represented Christine. She was short in comparison to the man, wearing a white ankle length dress with transparent glass beads, high-heel shoes, and had a typical silver mask that went around her head. She had diamond jewelry in numerous places, earrings, hair pins, necklace and a bracelet.
"My apologies," the man offered with a deep voice.
"My fault entirely," Nikolas said generously and then the two guests went on, but noticed the man showed his absolute control, Nikolas guessed more than was necessary or even intended for that matter, almost pulling her with him.
The man muttered something in her ear that gave her face a grim look to it. Nikolas noticed that after his words, she was more reluctant to be with him, but they quickly disappeared.
Shaking his head but being careful to remember the costumes, Nikolas continued on his way.
Jason wasn't having much luck either but then again had little time to search for Emily unlike the other two guys. After identifying all possible escape routes and concluding that stopping them would be difficult, he realized now more than ever, that if they snatched Em to safety, and something went wrong in the process, someone, but Em especially would most likely suffer the harshest of consequences. But that was the worst case scenario, and he's not about to think about that.
Turning a corner, he came to a hall near the kitchen, and by luck ran into AJ without his mask. He was leaning against the wall in a tuxedo, very professional.
Determined, he approached. "Are you in?" He asked, straight to the point.
AJ looked to Jason, but didn't comment on his costume. "Yeah, I'm in. The real serving doesn't start for another few minutes though." He told Jason. "I wasn't able to look around before, there wasn't an opportunity to. Did you see her?"
"No, we got here too late. I don't know where she is and I don't even know where to start." Jason admitted.
AJ took a moment to think before speaking. "Look for brunettes for starters, around 5'7 to 5'10 with heels. And I guess behavior, Emily did send the message so she will be edgy, alert, nervous, but expecting us. Her kidnapper will be a little controlling and very close too." AJ suggested.
"You do realize that there are at least twenty to forty people like that out there, right?" Jason supposed.
"Most likely, but Emily is our sister, we know her just as well as Nikolas. If it's Emily, we'll know it. It's just the searching and frustration part that's difficult." AJ explained.
"Yeah, well, I guess its time for both of us to be doing our parts." Jason said as AJ got a gesture from his "employer".
"Be around, okay? If I see something it's going to need to be repeated and told quickly. We can't get caught, not if we want to risk our little sister's life." AJ informed him.
"I'll relay the message." Jason agreed and they went their separate ways. He went back to the hall and slipped into the ball room. Frustrated would be an understatement, he thought, but was immediately able to identify Nikolas and Luke in the crowd.
With many pardons, he made his way there directly. "Notice anything yet?" He asked gruffly, and very self conscious in his selected costume.
"I found one particular couple interesting, the guy is the phantom of the opera and the girl is dressed in a white dress with lots of diamonds, my guess Christine." Nikolas told them.
"Anything we should know about them?" Luke asked.
"Just that I don't think she wanted to be with the guy, he was a bit controlling." Nikolas explained.
"We'll keep that in mind. I found AJ and he said he would keep his eyes peeled, but we will need to be close to intercept anything he has. We can't be caught and that means a quick sentence. And Luke, please no jokes tonight." Jason informed them.
"I will keep them controlled." Luke agreed.
"Alright, battle plan: look for brunettes, 5'7 to 5'10. Use the code words and watch if their date is close, as if watching her." Jason explained to them.
"Anything else?" Nikolas asked.
"Just Dont. Get. Frustrated." Jason replied and became the first of the men to branch out.
That was how the first hour went; the guys talked, danced and checked out everyone with the specifics Jason gave. While it declined the number of possibilities, it still seemed numerous. It wasn't exactly worthless though, as they at least identified AJ, who had yet to find out anything himself though.
They met in a corner, discussing their finds. "You know those specifics define a lot of these couples." Nikolas commented.
"Yeah, but that one in the short red dress isn't Emily, much too clingy," Luke pointed out.
"Nor that one in the blue tube top dress." Jason included.
"So that leaves, only twenty more to go." Nikolas replied, cynically.
"Not counting the late arrivals." Luke added.
Noticing something, Jason nudged Luke. "We're thirsty." He insisted, glancing to the back opening of the ball room where AJ was.
"Actually I'm not….oh, yes, actually I just realized I'm parched." Luke agreed and the three of them quickly moved to the first approachable waiter.
As the three of them was reaching for their drinks, AJ whispered quickly to Nikolas, Jason and Luke. "The girl in the white dress, with the many diamonds, her behavior and demeanor seems off. She doesn't seem to be very expressive. She's quiet and too accepting."
AJ quickly turned away to offer the last drink on the tray to a middle aged woman in a black dress and a feathered mask.
That left the three other men to look toward where the couple was. The girl in which they wanted to speak to has been full of dance offers and conversation partners in the last hour, but she had not been forgotten. Turning away to their drinks quickly, lowering their voices, they conversed.
"Do you think that's Em?" Nikolas asked Jason.
"She fits the profile, but we won't really know until we speak to her, I think Nik should do it. Didn't you say you spoke with them before?" Luke questioned as an opening presented itself. Nikolas simply nodded, as the three watched the beautiful girl.
"Nikolas now is your best chance. Go." Jason encouraged him and Nikolas quickly took the advantage, coming once again upon the young woman and the over protective date.
"Good evening Mister and Madame." He said, opening conversation.
"Good evening, how do you like the party so far?" The man asked back, though Nikolas sensed some reluctance, the woman however stayed silent.
"It's been enjoyable," Nikolas lied, "but full of vibrant colorful people."
"Yes, that one woman in the short red dress has had a little too much bubbly if you ask me." The man replied, while Nikolas took a quick glance at the young woman at the man's side. She had remained silent, now with Nikolas turning his own attention to the drunken woman. He noticed the young woman next to the possessive man may have been giving extra attention to the man that held the drunken woman. With the possessive man at an angle in front of him, Nikolas saw a skull and cross bones on his neck.
"I agree fully," Nikolas agreed and picked his chance as a waltz came on. "May I have this dance with the lady?" He asked the man and saw the strange reaction of her moving eyes, unsure of what to do, or who to listen to, something Emily would exactly do if put in an awkward position.
"I'd be honored." The young woman very hesitantly replied, with a light accent. She gave a quick glance at the man at her side, and saw the quick nod of approval. Nikolas took the young lady's hand and led her to the dance floor.
"This is an interesting place to have a Halloween party, no?" He asked pleasantly, noticing the man's strict and continuous glare his way. Luckily, he couldn't hear their conversation.
"It certainly makes the holiday scarier." She agreed shortly, yet nervously.
"It does, I never really care for places like these. Who knows what sort of stories and men were here once?" Nikolas commented.
"I don't care either for such places. I've heard stories as well. One too many times in fact." She replied, still not keeping eye contact, her behavior nervous, and gradually losing her accent.
"In New York there is this place called the Catacombs, and I think that would be a great place to host one, that is if anyone could find their way through it. It's a real maze." Nikolas explained to her.
"I am sure I could make my way through it." She declared with a hint of a smile as a dog barked outside loudly, averting their attention and allowing one more clue to be inserted.
"Even though I love dogs, I don't know why they'd be around here." Nikolas commented.
"At a party no less," She equally commented.
"You care for them, then?" Nikolas asked, but knew they had found her, his instincts screamed it. And best of all, she was all right.
"If I had a male I'd name him Raul, if that's what you mean." She agreed eagerly.
"It'd be a sad day if a rattlesnake found its way near it then." Nikolas inserted in quickly, with one last clue to tip her off, knowing they would very soon be done with the dance.
"That it would." She agreed again, their eyes finally meeting.
Brown as chocolate. 'Yes! Thank God you're all right!' Nikolas thought to himself, trying desperately not to hug her tightly while grinning like a Cheshire cat. Nikolas kept his cool as the dance ended and he, with much mental and emotional reluctance let her go, and let her return to the man, while he said his good nights.
Luke was all alone with his drink when Nikolas returned. "What did you get from her?" Luke asked, desperate for some action.
"It's her. She caught on immediately. She said she would name her dog Raul that she'd conquer the Catacombs and that'd she hate to see the dog hurt by a rattlesnake." Nikolas reported, hiding the grin and relief he felt.
Luke nodded his consent. "Great to know. We have to get Jason out of the clutches of that stripper though."
Nikolas looked over and smiled with humor as Jason was trying to get away from the woman he had discussed with Emily's captor, (the drunken woman in the short red dress.)
Suddenly, with a blink of an eye, their whole plan fall apart as she enthusiastically pulled off his mask and Jason could do nothing about it.
Most didn't notice of course, but the right people did, as Nikolas and Luke saw the man grab Emily tight in alarm. That was all they saw though as the lights went out and darkness fell. Women screamed, grumbles and comments rose up from the guys and when the lights were finally corrected, the phantom and the woman in white and diamonds were gone.
Each quickly moved into action as each took one escape route to see if they could catch up. Jason, the one who had ruined the plan unintentionally, found the right one as Nikolas and Luke caught up to him.
Jason was kneeling on the ground and gripping something in this hands, eerily quiet. "Jason did they…" Nikolas didn't even have to finish the question.
"Yeah, they're gone and just like Cinderella, we only have one line of evidence she was here." Jason told them angrily and bitterly as he produced the diamond bracelet Emily had on previously.
Looking down the path, they knew that this was only the start of a long chase. They could run around the prison, but they all figured that Emily's captor was smart, if he had gotten away with kidnapping a rich heiress so far. More so, that it was planned. Seeing the boat lights traveling further and further in the distance, he knew they were too late.
Gripping the bracelet tightly in guilt and shame, Jason and the two guys went back in and went straight to AJ.
"What happened with the black out," AJ asked immediately.
"The Phantom took Emily again and got away." Jason said shortly.
"She was the woman in the white and diamonds like you thought, but our cover was blown when a woman snatched Jason's mask." Nikolas explained quickly.
A worried frown crossed AJ's face, "What do we do now then?"
"I don't know." Luke admitted. "But it would be best to regroup and think up a new plan tomorrow. Tonight, we've lost." He concluded softly.
Solemn and depressed, they returned to the hotel room.
Hotel Room -
The three men were angry and determined. As they stalked to their hotel room, they threw their accessories down. Jason grabbed a chair and stared out the window with hate at whoever had his sister, Nikolas sat on the bed, his hands covering his face in frustration, and Luke fired up his computer.
"We were so close! God I spoke to her, she looked right at me! I should have taken her then!" Nikolas said, upset.
"Not your fault. Had we done that, Emily could have been killed." Jason said a hollow tone to his voice.
"How do we know he won't-?"
"Don't you dare finish that question Nikolas!" Luke growled. "It won't happen okay? Emily's smart. We know she can take care of herself." Luke replied optimistically, although feeling very scared for the girl he felt was his second daughter.
Nikolas shook his head, as he grabbed his cell phone from the nightstand and turned it on. His eyebrows knitted in confusion as he read the message on his cell.
"Fifteen missed calls? All from Lucky, and yet no voice mail? Guys here, check your messages." Nikolas said, tossing Luke's and Jason's cells to them.
"Twenty missed calls here." Luke said.
"Fifteen here," Jason said.
"Any voice mails?" Nikolas asked, while he got the shaking of heads in response. His eyes immediately darted to the hotel phone, where a tiny red light was blinking.
He slowly walked over to the phone, and putting it on speaker, he hovered over the message button. He closed his eyes tightly, as his finger pressed it.
"You have 1 new message at 7:31PM" The voice replied. "Damn, we just missed the call." Nikolas swore. "Yeah, and we missed all of Lucky's from the time we were on the plane." Luke said.
They felt the message would never get there.
"GUYS! DON'T YOU ANSWER YOU PHONES ANYMORE?" An aggravated, scared Lucky came across the machine. "Emily's in trouble! Please call me back ASAP and tell me you have her! Please! Nik, you were right about the ticket seller...God, please, hell have Emily be the one to call me back as soon as you get in, and make sure her captor suffers for it." "Lucky, calm down, please. Just stay calm and tell them what they need to hear." They heard Liz's scared voice in the background. "Okay...guys the ticket seller, and the most likely of candidates for Em's captor...its Tom Baker. He's escaped...Please just find them, and make sure Emily's safe..." Lucky replied as he hung up.
To be in the same room with Luke Spencer, Jason Morgan, and Nikolas Cassadine after they heard Lucky's message, would be the most intimidating few moments ever.
(Author's Notes- We hope that this long chapteris acceptable for our long absence of not updating! Please Review & let us know what you think! -E.B.F.R. and Cleopatra1.)