AN - some explanation is needed. This is set in the past, I'm thinking 98-99. Definitely before the Sonny/Carly hate sex, a little AU (I've cobbled together both Carly new (the incident with the 'real' Carly's dad and the old (i.e. Virginia) pasts - as best as I could remember) and it's sort of Jason/Carly - my first, last & always OTP (one true pairing), but only slightly.
Chapter 13 – Opening Gambit
"Selling you ELQ is easy enough, but . . ." Alexis took a shaky breath," discussing my cases? You want me to betray confidential privilege?"
When Stefan merely stared at her unrelentingly, she tried again, here voice pitched higher than usual, "You do know that merely discussing this is enough to get me disbarred?"
He shook his head, scoffing at her. "The information would only result in your disbarment, if it left this room. Since that outcome is neither in the family's best interest, nor presumably yours, I do not see it as being an issue."
"You are stalling, Natasha. As you have agreed to my terms and I have offered you the Cassadine's protection, which I might point out that you have already accepted, I expect you to follow through. Either comply or see yourself out." Stefan's eyes narrowed sharply, at the need to repeat himself.
Bowing her head slightly, Alexis sighed, giving in to the inevitable. "The Jones case was . . . unfortunate. As a public defender, I had no choice but to accept the case and do the best I could with it, which in this instance, involved playing on the weakness of the State's primary witness, Carly Roberts."
"Yes, you certainly didn't endear yourself to Caroline," mused Stefan aloud.
Alexis' eyebrow rose ironically. "Well, yes, I suppose that is one way to put it. To be quite frank, I'm fairly certain that she hates me, which is why I was surprised when Jason Morgan called me to work on their behalf with the custody case."
"So how exactly did you 'play on her weaknesses'?" Nikolas interrupted her, his tone not exactly harsh, but definitely not as respectful as she was used to from her nephew.
"Ummm," Alexis floundered for a moment, not particularly thrilled with the prospect of elaborating on her tactics, but when neither Stefan nor Nikolas seemed inclined to let her off the hook, she gritted her teeth and continued her explanation.
"Essentially, I did what I had to do get my client off. Carly had a prior relationship with Tony and a history of mental and emotional instability, not to mention a criminal background and I exploited them. It wasn't particularly ethical, I admit, but it was well within the limits of legal tactics."
Nikolas scoffed in disgust and Stefan's reaction was even more violent, as the glass in his hand abruptly slammed down. Alexis flinched.
"For God's sake, she knowingly slept with her own step-father, Jason Morgan and his brother, practically at the same time and, not to mention the endless lies upon lies. I do not understand this sudden interest in her, when she is nothing more than - "
"My daughter and your niece," Stefan's voice cut her off, his voice dangerously silky.
Alexis blanched.
Lucky stared at the black metal in his hand, taking a few moments to slide out the magazine, check it, slide it back in and lock it. He held a gun before, of course, even learned to be an accurate shot, but he'd never been given a gun with the actual intention of using it before. It was still cool to the touch, despite the fact that he'd been holding it for the past five minutes.
For his part, Luke didn't like any of this. If the failed hit on Sonny was an attempt to take over the territory, then that put Morgan, Carly and Michael at risk. Not to mention his own kid, who Morgan just armed. "Don't blow your hand off with that. Your mother would never forgive me," he snarked.
"Oh and God forbid we upset Laura . . . the world might suddenly stop revolving around the freakin' sun and then where would we be?" Carly lashed out at him with a vicious glare. "No offence there, Lucky."
"None taken," he wryly responded.
Luke winced, with the realization of what he'd just said. "Oh hell, Carly, now you know I didn't mean it like that."
"I'd stop right there, dad, before you dig yourself in even deeper," Lucky broke in sharply, hoping to cut this latest argument off, before it started.
Jason and Johnny had left no more ten minutes ago and his father and Carly hadn't stopped sniping at each other yet. Under any other circumstance, if it hadn't been for the fact that Emily was on her way over, the possibility of a mob war breaking out and the fact that Jason had entrusted him to guard both his sister and his cousins, then he would have already booked.
"If you're just going to bait Carly, Dad, then maybe you should go," Lucky sighed.
"Yeah, right," Luke scoffed, "like that's actually gonna happen. Nah, I think I'll stay right here and keep my eyes on everything, if you don't mind."
"Well, maybe I mind," Carly snapped back, but it seemed more out of habit to Lucky's ears than out of any real emotion.
Lucky rolled his eyes wearily. "Dad . . ."
"Settle down, Cowboy. Sweet Caroline just needs someone to sharpen her claws on is all. Isn't that right, niece o'mine?"
Carly sneered at him for a moment, not even deigned to deny his statement. She wandered over to the bar and poured herself a stiff shot of vodka. "Yeah, as if I'd want to get that close to you . . . dream on."
General Hospital was a madhouse - between Scorpio and the rest of the cops, to the press beginning to clamor for information and the obvious mob presence. Looking through the glass doors in resignation at the crowd milling about, Jason could feel a Carly-sized headache coming on.
"You ready for this, man?"
"Not like we've got much of a choice. I'll go in first and find Sonny to do some damage assessment and control, if necessary. You call Alexis and put her on standby in case someone ends up in lockdown. Afterwards, find out what everyone knows, especially Moreno's men, somebody had to have seen something and I want to know what and who. Have a full report by the time we leave."
"You got it, boss." Johnny stepped off to the side, as he watched Jason push open the doors. A sudden path cleared for a moment as everyone got out of his way.
He had to admit there was just something about Jason . . . Love him, hate, fear him or respect – even when the kid had been rank foot-solider, he commanded attention. Johnny shook his head ruefully, before he Alexis finally picked up and then he got back to business.
Jason walked straight to the information desk, keeping his eyes out for Scorpio and Sonny. With any luck, he might get to confront them separately, but the way his night was going it didn't seem likely. He veered off track, when he saw Bobby coming out of the ER rooms.
"Bobby," he called out, keeping his voice loud enough to reach, but low enough not to alert the entire room.
"Oh, Jason!" She exclaimed, rushing towards him. "Thank God, you're ok! No one else got hurt, did they?" She demanded, her eyes bright with anxiety, sighing with relief, when he shook his head in a firm denial.
"Good. No one else came in, but I was worried."
Jason didn't want to get into a conversation with her about Carly and Michael, especially in this crowd, so he quickly diverted that topic. "How's Robyn?"
Bobby winced. "Not good, Jase. She's still in SICU –" At his blank stare, she quickly added, "sorry, the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. It's pretty much still hit or miss at the moment."
"Unfortunately, she took a lot of shrapnel damage from the explosion and given her condition . . . well, I have to say that it isn't a good situation."
"Is she going to die?" He asked, remembering the car-bomb that he had actually witnessed.
"Aww, honey. It's just too soon to tell. I'm so sorry." She shook her head in a concerned motion, patted his arm sympathetically.
Jason's eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. Was Bobby afraid that he was suddenly going to break down? He sighed harshly. Times like this, despite everything that was going on, he wished Carly was here to at least give him some sort clue of how he was supposed to react.
It was true that he had cared about Robin, but that was before. If she died now, well that was one less thing he had to worry about. It wasn't that he wanted her dead, but after everything, he couldn't really say that he'd be sorry if it happened.
Even after that night in the penthouse, he still thought of as important person and wished only the best, but then she'd gone to AJ and Sonny, and that he just couldn't forgive. She'd betrayed his trust and then used that information to try and trash Carly's life, purely out of spite.
Maybe it was his 'damage,' but he couldn't get past that and sure as hell didn't understand Bobby's reaction. He shook his head slightly.
"Do you know where Sonny is?"
"Oh yeah, I guess you'd need to talk to him." Bobbie pressed a hand on his arm as she began to lead him away.
"He was injured too, but obviously not as badly. I had him placed in a private room. Under the circumstances, I thought it best to get him out of sight, with Mac chopping at the bit and all."
She pointed to a closed door. "I'd go in with you but I should go back and see if they need me. When I have more information, I'll stop back and update you, ok?"
Jason nodded at her, before he reluctantly entered the room. Seeing Max, he gestured towards the door and waited as the guard uncertainly glanced over at the silent man sitting on the bed, staring off into the dark window, before he quietly left the room.
Jason's eyes narrowed slightly as he warily approached his partner, taking note of the mess on the floor. "Sonny?"
He didn't even flinch as Sonny abruptly turned to stare him down, a wild glint in his eyes. "Tell me, Jason, did I wreck you too?"
"Wreck me?" Jason warily repeated.
"Yeah, man. I wrecked Lilly, Brenda and now Robin. I wreck everything- nah, everyone - I so much as fucking touch. So now I wanna know, did I wreck you too?"
Jason sighed, trying to figure out what was in Sonny's head.
"I don't know what you're asking me, Sonny."
He winced, hearing his words hang in the oppressively, heavy silence between them.
"Did. I. Wreck. You." Sonny demanded harshly. "Did you fucking betray me, betray Robin over than two-bit, fuckin' whore?!?"
Blue eyes narrowed unconsciously, even as Jason fought to leash his temper.
"Is that what you think, Sonny? Is that what you really fucking think of me?" Jason demanded his voice as cold as Sonny's demand had been furious.
"I know that bitch Carly and -"
"And nothing, Sonny!" Jason cut him off icily. "Carly has nothing to do with any of this and I'm sick of you insulting her and dragging her into shit that has nothing the fuck to do with her!"
When Sonny opened his mouth to respond, Jason cut him off again ruthlessly.
"No, I'm done with it, Sonny. You've been my boss, my best friend and like a brother to me, but I'm not going to listen to you trashing Carly again. She is only a problem between us if you keep putting her there. For the fucking record, I didn't betray you, Robin or anyone. And if you really believe that I would do this to you after I saw what happened to Lilly, then you don't know me at all!"
Jason shook his head is disgust as he turned towards the door, ready to storm out.
Staring out at the Port Charles Harbor, Helena's fist clenched in frustrated rage. It seemed this town was only inhabited by gutter-trash, nouveau-riche and incompetent fools. Never mind entering a mutually-satisfying partnership, you couldn't even find a decent minion or two. She turned and called out to Andreas, "Find and get me Cesar Faison on the phone, before noon tomorrow."
Helena brooded over her cup of coffee, as she contemplated the events of earlier that evening, calculating the outcome of the botched hit of Sonny Corinthos. In addition to Faison's expertise, she was going to need to arrange the disposal of her two former employees as well as the protection of Stefan's whelp and her all-important great-grandchild. Given the politics of the laughable Port Charles mafia, she didn't much care who took the blame, but she wouldn't allow it to interfere with her plans. Taking possession of Caroline and the child was one option, but one she would only choose to exercise when it became expedient for her. To do anything otherwise would only not alert the damnable Spencers, but also incur the unwanted attention of her despicably weak son, both of which were two adversaries, she choose to deal on her terms, never theirs.
Besides, this game was only still in the beginning. Spencer, for example, hadn't even made his opening gambit yet. She wondered if it was time to openly announce her presence and how best to maximize the reveal? Perhaps she should force Stefan into divulging the information, but that would play directly into her plan or be too risky a proposition?
By now, she knew that Stefan had realized that Caroline was his daughter and suspected that she was also in possession of that fact. He had even begun in his typically predictable fashion to take steps to circumvent her, but nothing that she hadn't already anticipated. She still had to determine the odds of whether he might take the plunge and make contact with his prodigal daughter, versus if Morgan and Spencer would allow him anywhere near her.
Knowing Stefan, she was more inclined to bet on Morgan and Spencer as ironic as that fact was, but she'd come too far to watch this blow up in her face. Helena mused over how best to cut off any possibility of her son gaining access to her granddaughter. She was well aware that Morgan was going to up her security in the wake of the botched hit on Corinthos, but wasn't sure that alone would be sufficient for her purpose, when a stop-gap solution occurred to her. Smirking, she picked up the phone and dialed a now-familiar number.
"Simon, I have a new task for you."
Alexis clenched her hands together as she struggled to absorb Stefan's bombshell, her mind for one endless moment completely blank.
Eventually, she looked up at Stefan, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room and gasped, "How?"
Stefan smirked without humor. "If at your age, Natasha, you need me to explain the facts of life, we are in more straits then I had previously assumed."
She flushed wildly at his implication, even as he sighed; only slightly mollified.
"Do you remember the trip I took with father and Starvos to Florida, years ago and I brought you back some saltwater taffy?"
When she nodded her head, he continued. "Well, I left out an encounter I had with young, red-headed prostitute – Bobbie Spencer, as it turns out. Although it's hardily an excuse, I was young and it was a one-time. Afterwards, I returned home and then Laura arrived . . . I never thought of her again, until last week."
He scoffed to himself, as he walked past her to regain possession of his glass of brandy.
"Bobbie had said something odd to me about Caroline, more than she ever meant, I'm sure and it piqued my interest, so I did a little big of digging. I didn't get very far, until I Helena found out about my interest and sent me "a little present" that sparked my memory. I went ahead and a DNA test performed, but I had already figured it out. Caroline is my daughter, not only did they abandoned her into a horrible situation, but when she found Bobbie, that woman sought to continue to hide that knowledge from me."
He turned away from them, nursing his glass, as his voice grew colder with the force of his rage.
"And as if matters weren't difficult enough, in the absence of any kind of a decent father figure, my daughter has embroiled herself with the Quatermaines, the mob, Helena is aware of her existence and making plans I shudder to imagine, and to top everything Laura is running telling maliciously, vicious tales in effort to make sure Caroline permanently loses custody of her son, my grandson!"
Stefan's knuckles grew white, before he suddenly flung his glass across the room and watched as the glass shattered and the amber liquid spilled down the wall. He turned back to stare his sister down.
"Understand me now, Natasha. From this moment on, my daughter and her son are considered Cassadines, with all the privileges they are entitled to and I will not allow anyone – the Quatermaines, Morgan, my dearest mother or even you to stand in the way of that."
Alexis gaped at him.
TBC
Well, the story has now gone completely AU, but I can't say anything more for fear of ruining the surprise, but feel free to guess (although I'm sure it must be making a little more sense now, lol).
This chapter was shorter then intended (& very much delayed), but I blame that entirely on Stefan, he's very anxious to meet Carly & has been very difficult to write unless I let him go ahead. Hopefully, the next chapter will be out much sooner. I've got lots of ideas for this story so if you've gotten this far, leave me a review. It's good karma, you know :D