Chapter 6

When Michael arrived at the Lake house, Kristina came out and saw how he was dressed and said "Did they do a lobotomy while they had you in a coma? Why are you dressed like that and driving that car?"

Looking down at his black pants and shirt and then at the car, he said what is wrong with this?

"No one, except Jason dresses in black during the summer and that car is going to stick out like a sore thumb." she said sighing.

"We are leaving the car at Kelly's." he said with a smug grin. "So Nancy, any ideas on how we are going to get the info?"

"We are going to walk into the garage and hope she is there then ask her if she is Georgie."

Rolling his eyes as he put on the sunglasses, Michael said "Yeah, like that will work."

Johnny was under the hood of a '65 Shelby Mustang when Maxie entered the garage annoyed. "I need a job."

Hitting his head on the hood, he backed out rubbing his head. "Why are you telling me this and did Kate Howard fire you?"

"She fired both Lulu and I this morning then I recalled you needed help, so here I am at least until I can find a better job."

"I have a bookkeeper and I still wouldn't hire you if I didn't." When she stormed out hoping to see what Spinelli was up to, Johnny saw his bookkeeper coming down the stairs from his apartment with some papers.

"I am leaving for Diane Miller's, you have to sign all those checks I just left upstairs for you. And did I just hear a woman's voice?"

"No one important, and I will do that right after lunch boss." he said with a grin.

"Johnny, electricity and phone service aren't free, they like you to pay your bills once in a while." she scolded on her way out the side door just as footsteps came in the front.

Watching her leave and appreciating the tighter jeans she was wearing, Johnny never noticed Lulu until she was standing next to him. "What are you looking at?"

"A beautiful woman. What do you want Lulu?" he asked. "I already heard about Kate firing you from Maxie. What did the two of you screw up this time."

"Nothing, some new company bought her out and we are being replaced by some of their staff. Two women with accents showed up today. Just because they speak ten languages and look like models is no reason to replace us. You should have seen it. They acted like we were little more than amateurs."

"I repeat what do you want? If it is the bookkeeping job, I already hired someone."

"I heard from Ethan, some ugly looking girl who looks like a before picture for a plastic surgery ad." she said not caring. "I need a favor. I am leaving town tomorrow, going to Paris with my mother for a while, can I store my car here?"

"Carly's husband owns a whole parking garage, why don't you see if he can store it there." he said not wanting and connection to her any longer.

Georgie was let into Diane's inner sanctum and handed a list. "We do need to talk about something. Is it okay if I come over here like I used to dress for work?"

"Not really, I get that something bad happened but you are a beautiful young woman, don't be ashamed by that. Embrace it. Why is your hair ash gray?" she asked looking up in astonishment.

"It matches the skirt on my outfit." said Georgie twirling a little bit to show off the colors of the skirt. "Besides it is only a wig."

Laughing, Diane said "You must be keeping every single wig store in the black with the number of hair changes I have seen on you."

With an impish grin, she took Diane's list and went to arrange for the various items to be ordered. Two hours later, she was ordered into the main office and served steak and potatoes. Groaning, Georgie said "Thank you but no to the cheesecake. As it is this added another mile to my run."

"Indulgence every once in a while is good for the soul." said the straight faced blond as something clicked, she wasn't sure what it was but she knew that Bellona was not who she said.

Hearing the sound of female voices, Georgie indicated the other office then left to take care of her cat before running. Hitting the trail outside of town, Georgie ran never realizing she had a tail until she saw the same car twice. Looking at the driver through her sun glasses, she swore when she figured out it was Michael Corinthos driving.

Taking the cross path knowing he couldn't follow her she soon lost him and headed straight back to her place. Showering and clearing her mind, she tried to figure out how he had came across her and if it was just an accident.

Deciding it wasn't, she changed clothes and went to her make up table. Ten minutes later, she placed the call from a cell phone, hoping that this would distract him.

Mac went home bone tired. He had had a hellish day and was not in a good mood when he saw the notice. Picking it out of the mail, he called and said "I was informed that you are turning off my cable for non-payment of dues."

Giving them the codes from past paid bills, Mac was annoyed to find that somehow his entire payment history had been erased. Hearing his phone ringing as soon as he hung up, he was upset by Robin's call.

"Your credit card bill, my cable bill, I am sensing a theme here. Do you think Spinelli?" he asked before making plans to visit the geek. Hearing her agreement, Mac went to see the kid.

Knocking on the door of his room, Mac said "Let me in, now!"

"Go away, stalwart defender of the good." he heard.

"Spinelli either open this door or I am going to haul your rear end down to the station."

Spinelli opened the door a crack, flushed and trying to hide behind it. "What may I do for you sir?"

"Let me in, now." he said getting even more annoyed.

"I can't!" he said his voice going a whole octave higher. "Please, I am begging you please don't make me."

Mac pushed the door in and entered to see Spinelli was wearing no pants. "Get dressed."

"No, please anything but that." said the kid feeling the pain already.

Wondering why he was more peculiar than normal, Mac said "Get dressed, I am taking you down to the station, immediately."

"Please, I beg... I can't..." Spinelli was turning red and the computer he was holding in front of him was starting to annoy Mac. Ripping it out of his hands, Mac felt compassion and the urge to laugh when he saw the problem.

"What did you take, Mr. Spinelli and who did you get them from?"

"What are you talking about?" he said shivering as he pulled the blanket around him even tighter and causing his lower body to wince.

"Well which was it: Viagra or something else?" Mac had arrested quite a few men when the drug had first come out for the same problem that Spinelli was having.

"I swear, I have never taken anything like that." he protested. Removing the bottle of pills he was given at GH when he left, he said "I have only taken the aspirin that they gave me at the pharmacy."

Mac looked at the bottle and suggested he put some loose clothes on, "I will take you to GH." Ignoring Spinelli's whimpering he said "Well if you don't want it to fall off we have got to get it treated."

Seeing the kid rush, Mac shook his head and said "I will be down in the car, if you don't want this to be public knowledge be there in ten minutes."

Elizabeth was on the end of her shift when Mac came into the ER with Spinelli. While Patrick took the geek off, she saw Mac walking over. "Elizabeth, are these aspirin."

Comparing the numbers in their database she said "No they are a very powerful European sexual aid. They aren't legal in the states yet."

"Spinelli claims he was given them by the pharmacist." he said. Elizabeth called up and talked to a friend and then hung up saying. "We did have a bottle sent by mistake. They lost it the day Spinelli came to get his prescription filled. They thought it was tossed while getting rid of some out of date medicine in the incinerator. Looks like Spin grabbed the wrong bottle."

"Only he would do that." said an entering nurse. "I was just in with Dr. Drake. They are giving Mr. Spinelli some help. He has been like that for almost two days."

Elizabeth was telling Jason about Spinelli later that night and the mob boss flinched and said "Ouch."

"The strange thing is I talked to Rachel in the pharmacy, she remembers him being there that day and doesn't get how he grabbed the wrong bottle."

Pulling her into his arms, Jason said with a smile, "He will be fine, maybe he will finally learn to think with his big head and not his little one."

Elizabeth leaned in and kissed him saying "Anyhow, between that and Mac accusing him of messing with Robin and his bills, Spinelli had to have had a rough day."

Jason thought about it, then added all the problems that Kate and the break-in at ELQ was having to his list. "Elizabeth, I think that someone is playing games with people."

Georgie listened as Rachel told her exactly what had happened. "Well, he will think twice about things, now. Hopefully. What about the next part."

"That should happen in the next few days. By the end of the week, Damien Spinelli will be wishing to be gelded."

"Are you sure?" she asked hating what her friend was going to do.

"It won't be a hardship, he is kind of cute. Sides, boys that look like that try harder in bed. Trust me, I will be getting plenty of compensation from this." she said looking at the tests that Dr. Drake had run.

"I feel bad saying thank you, but thank you." she said softly.

"Hey, at least with the geek I won't fall for him, something tells me that this hottie of yours is going to break your heart."

Kristina and Michael had given up after losing their jogger. She had the same voice but the body was slimmer than they recalled Georgie being and there was a grace to the woman that Georgie had only seemed to have at Kelly's or playing sports.

"Well what do you think do we trail her again tomorrow?"

"I still think we should do more research on her."

"She was always around, I think I have a pretty good idea about her." said Michael.

"Fine, but I am going to work with my mother tomorrow and see what I can learn about Georgie Jones." she said stubbornly. "Well after working my shift at GH."

Michael returned to the mansion, not wanting to admit that Kristina was right. Finding Tracy in the den, he decided to ask about Dillon as a way to bring things around to Georgie.

Getting Tracy's admittedly twisted version of Dillon and Georgie, he mentioned the stuffed bird and was told that Georgie had objected to it being in the lobby. After dinner, he slipped down to the gatehouse and was soon watching DVD's that Dillon had filmed.

"Your great-grandfather is convinced you are down here playing the piano." said an amused Monica as she entered. "What are you really up to?"

Laughing, Michael said "I found some old DVD's and started watching them. I knew Georgie and of course Dillon slightly."

Monica sat down and watched them with the teenager, laughing at some of the antics on the film. Hearing Michael sigh, she said "What is it?"

"Georgie, being dead. She was always so nice to everyone." he said. "I still don't get why Diego killed any of the people he did. It makes no sense. Leticia never hurt anyone, same thing with Emily and Georgie."

"I know, I wonder all the time about that." she said picking up one of the throw pillows that Lois had used on the sofa. "I know that he claimed to kill Emily to get back at Jason, and Leticia for your dad, but I never got why Georgie. I remember when he had a crush on her and Dillon was so jealous of the fact."

Michael saw the tears and felt guilty at bringing up sad memories for his own purposes. "Do you mind that I am watching these?"

"No, I am actually glad someone is spending time down here." she said with a sigh. "But how about helping your elderly grandmother up to the house."

An hour later, she was back in her studio and comfortably reclining while Leo played with her feet. "Do you think I am making a mistake? Should I just tell him who I am?"

When the cat just purred, she said "What good are you, then?"

Hearing the sound of soft knocking on her door she grabbed the robe kept there and answered it, she was surprised to see Diane standing there. "Okay, Miss Jones, why don't we talk turkey and you can tell me why your family thinks you are dead?"

Georgie let her in, pulling her robe tightly around her. "How did you find that out?"

Stepping in, Diane said "Give me a dollar, first."

After doing so, Georgie said "Well?"

"I have been in your father's office a thousand times since coming to work for Jason. There is a picture of you in there on the back credenza. Now I want an answer to my question."

Sighing, Georgie got up and walked to the window. "Logan Hayes kidnapped me after faking my death. It was supposed to be Maxie. He got the idea from something my sister told Cooper Barrett that she fantasized about. Though I doubt she would have actually enjoyed what he had planned."

Diane felt ill when she heard the rest. "He kept me locked in a cage while I came down off the drugs he used to remove me. He held me in my father's old empty club. He sold me for fifty thousand dollars to a woman who had me stripped naked, paraded in front of a bunch of old perverts who then bid on me at an auction."

Diane went to stop her, but Georgie shrugged her hand off, then said "Luckily for me, I was rescued by a woman whose own daughter had this happen."

"Emira LaChariff?" guessed Diane.

"Yes, to protect the woman she had taken in, we had to stay for eighteen months. But two weeks before I was to be set free, we were invaded. Only ten of the forty girls there escaped." she said thinking of her friends that hadn't made it out and who were now living the nightmare she had escaped from.

"Why is Emira so upset with Kate Howard?" she asked.

"Because the man who sold her daughter, the man who was behind the white slavery ring, was her old boss. Warren James used her and her old magazine to lure women into hell."

"He committed suicide three months ago." she said thinking on what she had read.

"Really, is that what happened?" was all Georgie said. "My life was destroyed, I will never be the same because of something my sister thought was a cool fantasy."

"What is your interest in Johnny?" she asked.

"He was supposed to be a means to an end, until I realized that Maxie's interest in him was dog in manger stuff. Now my staying is all about me." she said.

"Why come to me?"

"Obviously that was a mistake." said Georgie dryly.

"Are you going to ruin the wedding?"

Shocked, Georgie turned and faced her for the first time. "NO! I like Elizabeth, and..." Georgie had an internal debate then continued. "Jason, once helped my mentor rescue a couple of girls. Before I died, maybe I would have gone after him, but knowing he helped save someone like me, I wish him well." she said. "I came to work for you to stop anyone from doing anything to this wedding."

"What do you know about break-in's at the Quartermaines and ELQ?"

"The liquor was for Johnny after his sister died. As for ELQ, there was something I wanted there."

"Okay, but I have to ask, why not tell your family when you came home."

"I'm broken." she said flatly. "I know that, I am well aware that I can't go back to being Georgie Jones, college student and waitress. I don't see life the same way. Before it was all black and white, now I see gray. Trust me, my family won't like this version of me."

"Why not, Johnny does. You know you are playing with his heart." she said.

Swallowing hard, Georgie said "I thought he would be like Sonny. Especially after hearing about his sexual relationship with Olivia, but he isn't like that."

Diane sat down slowly looking at the young girl. "You are in love with him, already."

"Yes, but I will be leaving as soon as I make those behind what happened to me, pay. I will try to keep from hurting him..."

"Then stay." she said softly, they both deserved a chance to be happy. Neither Johnny nor Georgie had had it easy.

"I can't. I spent eighteen months learning things, things that Georgie would have never wanted to learn. Diane, please keep this between us." she pleaded with the attorney.

"As of an hour ago, you are my client. That was what the dollar is for." she said going to the door. "Georgie, not that it is going to be worth much, but I am sorry for what happened to you."

"Please remember to call me Bella." she said. "Georgie Jones was dead and buried, and I intend to keep it that way."

Arriving at home, Diane made a few calls and found out that Warren James suicide was more than likely murder and that it have been covered up. Doing some research from what Geo-Bella had told her she found out that Kate had no idea that Warren had been using the magazine as a cover to lure woman.

Calling her friend, she asked to meet her for breakfast needing to talk to her about the temporary sale of the magazine.

Not able to sleep as too many things were running through her mind, she turned on her computer and logged on. Seeing the e-mail, Georgie felt herself growing numb with pain. As she went for a walk down by the docks she was hoping for trouble, anything to forget what she had just seen.

"Is that your regular hair color?" she heard. Turning she saw Olivia standing there.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Nothing, relax." said the older woman. She had been watching the melancholy girl and had finally realized she was the same girl who had given her such a hard time at the garage. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, so why don't you keep walking." said Georgie wanting to be alone.

"Can't. Look, we got off to the bad start. My name is Olivia. And I just realized I don't know yours."

"If I tell you will you leave?"

"No, because I get the strange feeling you are thinking about taking a swim." said the older woman.

"My name is Bellona, and I have no interest in killing myself. So you can leave." she said coldly.

"Don't think so. Look, I have been where you are. Not that I know exactly where that is." she said uneasily. "But from the looks of things it is a pretty dark place."

Standing to walk away, Georgie found her way blocked. With a mirthless laugh, she said "Do you really think you could stop me."

"Maybe not, but something tells me that you aren't usually the sort to hurt people. Trust me, I know plenty of people who are like that."

Sitting back down, Georgie tuned out the older woman and just sat there until she got the hint to leave. Walking up the stairs, Olivia hesitated then called Johnny.

"I told you I am no longer interested."

"Well the girl you are interested in now, is down on the Elm Street Pier and looks like she wants to take a swim." with that Olivia hung up. Waiting in the shadows until Johnny showed up, she was walking away when she heard the sobs and knew whatever was eating away at that girl, Johnny was more than likely the only person who would get it out of her.

Arriving back at Kate's, she sighed as she joined her cousin in the study. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, where have you been?" asked Kate. Olivia had explained what had happened with Sonny but Kate found she really didn't care either way. When Sonny had married Claudia Zachara he had killed what little love or respect she had for him. Her only concern now was for Olivia.

"Remember that girl from the garage I told you about?" she asked. "The one I said reminded me of you. Well I finally saw the real girl tonight. Beautiful and graceful with a whole boatload of trouble. She looked like she was about to break."

"Did you call anyone?"

"Other than Johnny, no. I waited and watched, he is in love with her." she said with a snort. "He was offering to me what I swore I always wanted, no strings, no commitments. The minute I met her, I knew, yah know."

"At least you healed from Sonny." she said walking over and sitting down next to Olivia. "You have Dante, me, and if you would give it a chance, a new life here."

"No, too many people look at me like that nurse does. A hypocrite who steered you away from Sonny then slept with him myself."

"Elizabeth Webber has no room to talk, there are rumors I have heard about her..."

"Yes, but she was calling me on my shit. You have to respect her for that. Most people say one thing and do another. She tried to be nice and I bet she never said a word about it to anyone until I cornered her."

"My former assistant loathed her but Lulu and her were close. Not that either one of them are old enough to know the truth about life." she said thinking about what the new owners of the magazine had told her about Warren. She truly had terrible taste in men.

Seeing Olivia's restlessness, she asked what was wrong.

"That girl tonight, Bellona. The pain in her eyes, do you remember the girl who lived next door to pop-pop, the one whose mother turned her into a hooker. That was what her eyes reminded me of."

"Dora." said Kate. "Yes, I remember her. Is that why you called Johnny."

"No, I called him because of what I saw in his eyes before her transformation." she said as the two cousins leaned their heads together like when they were kids. "So how are they going to save your magazine?"

Johnny got Bella into her place, then sat her on the sofa. Looking around at the softness and space, he saw her bathrobe was hanging next to the door for some reason. Walking around the screen to what he assumed was her bed, he quickly looked through the drawers for something for her to sleep in.

Finding nothing, he decided the robe would have to do. Taking the young woman's hand, he led her into her room, and slowly undressed her wondering what had caused the fugue state she was in. Thinking on what happened to Lulu, he gave a wry laugh thinking it just might be him.

Georgie felt the hands on her shirt buttons and leaned up, wrapping her hand around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss. As their lips met, she could feel him exhaling like he was shocked. Georgie increased the pressure on his neck as she lay back down and pulled him on top of her.

Wrapping her other arm around his neck, she waited until he pulled back to breathe and opened her eyes. Seeing the conflicted expression, she lifted her head from the counterpane and dragged her slightly open lips across his and then parting them further used her tongue to tease him into opening up his mouth and returning the love play with his own tongue.

Johnny tried to pull back knowing that whatever was going on had little to do with him or even her, but when she wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him down into her, he found himself groaning into her mouth and taking control of the kiss.

As his hands found themselves heading towards her shirt buttons, the sight of her robe recalled to him why he was in her bed. Reluctantly pulling back, he said "We need to stop."

"No." she replied and tried to pull him back down.

"Yes." he said finding the strength to not give in. "Bella, please, I don't want our first time to be like this. You needing comfort for something that I know nothing about."

"First time, huh." she said pushing him off of her. "Get out. This would have been the only time."

"I think we both know better than that." he said sitting down and trying to calm her down. "What happened? What is going on with you?"

"You really don't want to know." she said coolly. "Trust me, you want nothing to do with the real me. I don't want nothing to do with the real me. In fact your friend Spinelli is only one in a long line of rejections. If a geek like that doesn't want to have sex with me, why would you?"

Shocked, Johnny reached out and said "I don't know what is going on, but at some point you are going to have to open up and tell me."

"See, the thing is, I don't. I decided to use you the minute I saw you with Maxie. You were the means to an end. That is all." she said mocking him and hating herself but she knew what she had to do. She had to end this idea he seemed to have in his head of them. Of her as some sort of good person.

"You are lying." he said. He didn't doubt there was a grain of truth in there, Bernie hadn't located anything on her before six weeks ago. "I have no idea why, but you are. Talk to me, please Bella."

"There is something else I would rather be doing." she said "But you aren't interested."

Johnny found himself growing angry and turned and grabbing onto her hands said "Get this straight, I am more than interested, but I want more than a night in your bed. Until tonight, I think you did too. Something happened, let me help you., please."

"If you aren't staying to have sex, do me a favor and get out." she said pushing him towards the door. Not wanting to fight, Johnny left and sat down on the dirty steps. Looking at his watch, he hated to do it, but he was worried about her.

"Morgan." Jason said answering the phone. Getting up so as to not disturb Elizabeth, he went down to the living room of the safe house. After hearing what Johnny wanted, he okayed the guards and the special orders.

"One more thing. I want to hire Spinelli. He seems to know her and I want to know how." said Johnny as he stared at her door. Hearing the arriving guards, he told them he would be down in his car sleeping in about an hour. "If she leaves, wake me while one of you follows her."

Going to Kelly's, Johnny saw Spinelli asleep and thinking on what Jason had told him, felt his mouth twitch as he found himself wanting to laugh. Shaking his head, knowing now wasn't the time, he shook the geek and said "I need to hire you."

"What do you need?" asked Spinelli as he sat up.

"I need everything you can find on a woman named Bellona Bestat. As well as the origins of the names and ... run phoenix and any thing similiar. Also since I doubt you have rejected many women. I want a list, now."

Slipping out of bed, Spinelli pushed his hair out of his face and said "I have never ever been able to reject a woman. No woman has ever approached me that way." he admitted too scared not to.

"There has to be one. A girl from school, I don't know, someone shy, maybe." Johnny was terrified that someone had hurt Bella, and that it was what the incident had been about.

"No one, unless you count Georgie." he said. "But I never rejected her, I never even knew she liked me."

"Wait, the sister that Maxie is always going on about." he said "Her sister liked you?"

"According to Lucky Spencer and the PCPD." he said.

"Well there you have it." he said. Then looking at him said "Didn't that bother you, liking Maxie after her sister dying."

"I never felt that way towards my faithful friend." he admitted.

"Tell me about this Georgie, all I know is that she was a bone of contention between Maxie and Lulu and was accepted into some snotty college program in Italy."

"There is nothing to tell, she was just Georgie. Kind, generous and sweet."

"What did she look like? he asked.

"Uh.... okay, I guess." Spinelli shrugged. "Taller than Maxie, she worked at Kelly's and had brown hair I think."

"I thought she was your friend?" he asked astonished at how little Spinelli remembered.

"She made really good soup for me when I was sick." he said.

Johnny ordered him to work then told him he would be back for the information in the morning. Going back to the studio building, he fell asleep in his car getting a very bad feeling about whatever secret Bella had.

TBC