CHAPTER 7
Johnny heard one of Jason's men knocking on the window of his car. "Sir, we have a strange car parked on the side of the building. We can't track the plates."
Johnny was tense as he approached the vehicle and saw two shapes in the back seat but when he saw the blond hair of the person on his side. He opened the door and said "Michael if you don't want me to go to your Uncle and your stepfather, you better have a damn good reason for being here."
"I told you taking one of the fleet cars was a bad idea." Said the brunette as she turned to scold her brother.
"No, you said driving my Mom's Mercedes was a bad idea."
"Why don't the two of you give me an explanation as to why you are here?" Asked Johnny exasperated with both of them.
"Uh, I don't think so. You are not my mother or in no way shape or form do I answer to you." Said the teenager.
"Kristina, do I need to get Mac Scorpio to take you to your mom again?" Threatened Johnny. "Remember that I am not Jason. I wasn't there when you were a little kid. I have no problems busting you."
"Okay, enough!" Said Michael. "We are staking out your bookkeeper."
"Stop, go home and meet me at Jason's office tomorrow, well at four today. Now go get some sleep." Ordered Johnny.
Turning to the guard with him he said "Follow Michael while he drives Kristina home, then make sure he gets back to the Quartermaine's. By the way, where are your guards?"
"Right here." Admitted the two men. "Jason said we were to just protect them from danger, otherwise let their parents police their movements."
"Fine, but from now on, if they are near something we are doing. Let someone know." He said before heading back to his car. His nightmares were full of horrible ideas of what could have possibly happened to Bella and he really didn't want to go back to sleep.
When it was light, Georgie headed to the garage; ignoring the man following her as she went through the plan that had given her her hard earned peace early this morning. Once there she started the coffee and went straight to work, she soon had the tax papers prepared for the garage to keep them up to date on sales tax and went to take care of what would be one of her final responsibilities here.
Two hours later, she went down to the garage and said "Sign these."
Johnny bumped his head as he looked up. Bella hadn't said a word since they had started work that day. Instead she had made sure they both had plenty of coffee as they pretended to not notice each other. "What are these?"
"So that your utilities are automatically deducted from your bank account." She said thrusting the pen into his hand as soon as he had removed the gloves.
"Why do I need these?" He asked. "I have you to take care of all of that."
"Fine, either way it will be handled. I was just trying to make things easier around here."
Johnny looked up and saw the dark circles under her eyes and just signed the papers. "Can we talk while eating lunch?"
"I won't be here. I am helping Diane with the wedding plans." She said walking away with the paperwork. "I will file these with the bank on my way to meet her."
"Bella, this talk is going to happen. You need to stop and face that. Eventually you are going to have to trust me, stop acting like you are in this alone. Everyone needs someone." He said maneuvering it so that he surrounded her. Seeing her tense, he backed away not wanting to crowd her.
"No, I don't need ANYONE! What is it going to take to get through to you, you mean nothing to me. You were nothing more than a way to get some revenge then you became an idea of how to scratch an itch. That is it. But you said no, so it is time to move on to someone else. Maybe that Aussie down at the Haunted Star."
"Stop this, I don't know what happened but you are lying to yourself and me. We both know where this was heading." He said stalking after her and ignoring the sound of the front door.
When she arrived at the side door, Georgie leaned in and said "You can delude yourself all you want, but you mean nothing to me, you will never mean anything to me, so whatever ideas you have in your head, it is a solo game, not a duet. Got it."
When Johnny saw her leave and slamming the door, he realized he had done what he had sworn he wouldn't do last night. He had pushed her past her comfort zone. Picking up the box of nuts and bolts, he threw them across the room then went to pick up the next one, furious with himself for letting her goad him into a fight.
"You know you might not want to do that. Someone might start making comparisons to your father." said Lulu from the front of the car he had been working on.
"What the heck do you want?" he asked. "I thought you were going to be on a plane to London or was it Madrid?"
"Paris." she replied annoyed. "What is eating you?"
"Thankfully not you. Now why don't you go away." he replied.
"Sorry, but I am curious as to what has the ability to send you over the edge since your sister is dead and your father in prison."
"Someone you wouldn't understand. Someone with some actual depth to her. Now once again, what do you want?"
"I just have some free time. For some reason Holly Sutton is coming into town and needs to meet with my mother. I don't know why, after all, I mean she slept with my father and had his kid while still married to my mom. What could the skank possibly have to say to my dad and her?"
Johnny thought about what the file had said and replied "I don't know, but I figure you are in a better position than most to figure it out."
"Yeah, I mean, I was here when the truth came out." she said with a smile.
"That isn't what I was talking about." he said coolly. "I just meant after all you were the skank that slept with Georgie Jones' husband and got pregnant. What did you say to her and him?"
Lulu had a coughing fit as she said "That isn't the same thing."
"Why not?" he said mocking her. "Wait, let me guess, because you are a Spencer so that makes it okay. Go away, Lulu. I am not in the mood to deal with your shallow idea of right and wrong."
Maxie headed up the stairs to see Spinelli and saw the tall blond leaving his room, but when she turned and kissed the man on the lips before leaving, the younger girl grabbed her and said "What the heck do you think you are doing?"
"Oh, Miss Jones, just the person I was looking for. I was asked to give this to you. Once again, Mr. Spinelli, I am sorry you had that small problem." she said with a secretive smile at him.
Maxie entered the room with the envelope in her hand and slammed the door "What did she want?"
"Maxiemesta, that was the nurse at GH who was working in the pharmacy the day the unfortunate mishap happened with my aspirins." he tried to avoid discussing it with her. She still had no idea that a certain body part was even now sprained. He hadn't even been aware it was possible to sprain that particular item.
"We need to talk about how we are going to keep you in town. I think you need to go to Jason, by now he must know the mistake he made by not helping to keep you in town. Who knows maybe he has come to figure out what a bore Elizabeth Webber is, after all he hasn't married her yet and I haven't even seen an invitation as Mac or Robin's house."
"I am sorry, but the blond one needs to leave. I am working on a special assignment for the Dark Avenger who now works for Stone Cold."
Thinking on it, Maxie said "I told you Jason would take you back, this is his way of doing it so that St. Elizabeth doesn't know about it."
"Alas, the former mob prince made it very clear that my mentor didn't want me involved with this. He hired me on his own. I must get back to work now."
Rachel saw Bella on the pier and walked over to sit next to her. "What is it?"
"They found four more of the girls. Dead."
Rachel found herself sick at heart. "That same way as the others?"
"Yes. That leaves just the five of us here. I am shutting this down. So far the ones who are off by themselves are safe. He is going after clusters and those that return where they are from. Go, flee now. I will make sure that Fiona and Gwen get away this afternoon."
"That is what those invitations are about." stated Rachel. "Don't do this alone, okay."
"I won't be. I will be in the beloved bosom of my family." said Georgie ironically. She saw the pity in Rachel's eyes and knew what she was thinking. Of all the remaining women, Georgie was the one in the worst shape. She had hidden in the air ducts, she had seen what had been done to her fellow classmates and friends when their hideout had been found.
"Bella..., talk to him." she had been aware of the way that her friend felt for the man she had been planning on using against her sister. She had seen it the first day she saw them together. "I think of all the people in this world, with what we learned about his family... he might be the one."
"No, he will want a family someday. I can't do that. I can't imagine living that American four-square house, white picket fence life. Not now. A parent has two jobs, to love and protect their kids. I froze, I didn't protect my friends, how can I expect to someday protect my family."
"I will let it go for now, but Bella, no... Georgie, you are the same person. You want to be different, you want to be Bella because Bella's pain numbs you. Georgie's is still there, it is something you can heal from and that scares you."
Diane was talking to Kate and asking if she had ever heard about her former boss and mentor's side profession.
"I am sorry, but I don't believe it. I think it is a rumor that someone started to discredit him now that he is dead." she said. She refused to accept it, the more the she heard the more ludicrous it was to believe that Warren James had ANY thing to do with a white slavery ring.
Diane shifted through the thoughts in her mind and said "Kate, I have talked to a few people, people in the know like Anna Devane and a few others from that world. It looks like it was the truth."
Seeing Elizabeth approaching with Robin, she said "You might want to keep quiet that you think he was innocent until all the facts come out."
Standing she intercepted Elizabeth and said "How are you doing? You looked a little sick this morning when I saw you."
"Fine, just pregnant." she said with a slight laugh. "Jason had just found out this morning when I took the test."
"That explains that arrogant grin on his face, here I thought he was channeling Sonny." she replied with a smile. "So are you ready for this weekend."
"Yes, I only wish I knew why Jason is doing all the planning himself." she said with a laugh. "All I had to do was pick a gown from a group of them you arranged. I am so going to owe this woman you have working for you."
"I might call that favor in on her behalf, someday." said Diane grimly thinking about what she had learned, four young woman dead. All suspected victims of the former white slavery ring.
Hearing her phone ring, Diane saw that it was Mac Scorpio and when she heard his requesting her to come to his office, she asked "Which client?"
"Me." was all that was said before he hung up.
Arriving at the station she went into his office and closed the door. "What do you need."
"To hire a lawyer." he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I am being sued by the city. They want to fine me for letting Matt live at my place, fine. I can accept that. But now they are upset about the flowers Robin and Maxie planted in memory of Georgie. Those flowers are not coming out."
Diane sat down, feeling sick. She knew that the man still grieved for the daughter he thought he had lost, but she was well aware that Georgie/Bella was right across town. "Tell me what is going on."
When he had done so, she felt even worse as she got why Georgie felt the way she did. This man's view of his daughter was such that she knew it would hit him hard to find out what had happened to her. "I will make a few calls, Mac, but I can't promise anything. Can I ask why you didn't ask Alexis for help with this?"
"She is still dealing with fallout from the Sam/Lucky situation."
"Are you sure that Sam was her daughter, I thought DNA tests weren't run?"
"We never ran any after her death either, but Alexis believes it to be the truth."
"More likely she is scared that if it isn't the truth, what happened to her real child. Like I told her earlier, I believe she should find out one way or the other." she said walking to the door sick at heart.
Johnny saw that Bella was in the spare office off of Diane's and brought in the food. "Here, you didn't eat when you left the garage earlier."
"What do you now have people spying on me."
"Yes, I have had a guard on you since last night. I don't want to find you trying to swim out to Spoon Island."
"I would never make a trip out to that Gothic monstrosity if I can avoid it."
Johnny walked away, his brows crinkled as things started to add up and he needed a little more proof, proof that hopefully Spinelli had gotten for him.
Seeing the geek at a table with his laptop, he sat down. "What did you find?"
Handing the man the data, he said "Minor deity, she was the goddess of war in Roman mythology. Bellona is where the word belligerent comes from. Bastet on the other hand is Egyptian goddess associated with a cat. She was the protector of women, children, and domestic cats. She was the goddess of sunrise, music, dance, and pleasure as well as family, fertility, and birth."
"What about the other items I asked you for."
"Like I said, I have never rejected any girls. EVER. And I sent you the phoenix information earlier. Does any of this help?"
"Yes, but I can't explain why." said Johnny. "Can you keep this to yourself, no Lulu, no Maxie, just keep your mouth zipped."
"Sure." said Spinelli as he realized he had no idea what it meant.
"What about the names?"
"I uh, I have a problem when I try to access those names." said the geek blushing. "It keeps leading me to the same website."
"What site and why are you so flustered?" asked an annoyed Johnny.
Turning his computer back on, he hesitated then typed in the first name and showed Johnny the site. Then the second name, had the same thing happen. As well as the third. "Okay, I get the picture." said the man trying not to laugh as he saw the same site. Barney, why Barney who was this purple dinosaur?
Johnny left Kelly's and went to see if he could find Maxie Jones. When he finally ran the girl down she was talking to Jasper Jacks about getting her old job back at the boutique. "I need to talk to you right now."
"I'm busy." she hissed.
"Now, or I let Mr. Jacks know about how you used your work station to try and sedu..."
"Fine what do you want?" she said watching as Jax went to talk to his wife.
"Tell me about Spinelli and your sister, more specifically about her non-relationship with him."
"Its simple, Georgie was shy, she liked Spinelli and tried to let him get over his crush on Lulu. It didn't work, he chased after Lulu just like the cretin Dillon did. It did a number on her self-esteem. She was killed. What more could you possibly want to know?" she asked.
"Doesn't it bother you to be sleeping with someone your sister had feelings for?"
Maxie thought about it then said "Spinelli and her didn't really date, so it is okay. I mean she would be happy for me. Georgie was like that."
"Sounds like she was a push over and you of course used your sister like you do everyone else in your life." he replied wanting to get her angry.
"You have no idea about anything involving my sister and me. Georgie loved me, she would have been happy for me." she snapped.
"But my question is did you love your sister, because from what I have heard from people makes me wonder. I mean I know you claim that the reason you went after me when I was seeing Lulu was because of her, but seriously, I think you had to have had another reason. Otherwise this Spinelli thing would bother you more." he said walking away.
Maxie saw Robin approaching with Elizabeth Webber and dragged her cousin off ignoring the other woman. "What is up with this party?"
"I have no idea. Patrick and I received our invitation today. Are you okay, you seem a little out of sorts even for you."
"Yes, I just realized that Johnny still wants me, why else would he be so concerned about my relationship with Spinelli. He claims it is because of Georgie's feelings for Spinelli, but he never even knew my sister."
Robin looked at the retreating man and then said "I have no idea what is going on, but I get the feeling you have the wrong end of the story."
Mac had no sooner gotten back to the station from a late lunch with Alexis who told him what was going on with the lawsuit facing the city from someone Lucky had arrested the day of his attempted murder, than he was told that the New York County CSI leader was on the phone for him.
"Scorpio." he said sitting down in his chair and looking at the photos behind his desk.
"I need to have you send a new sample through the DNA database. We had a sample from a murder scene that is a match to someone your files declared dead."
"This is Port Charles, dead is a relative term. Who is it?" stated Mac wondering which of his undead criminal minds was now elsewhere.
"File 200712004. The name is Georgiana Jones. We have a sample from a murder scene that matches hers."
Mac just about fell out of his chair and said softly. "I am assure you there is a mistake. I saw Georgie's body. She was dead. I held her in my arms."
The CSI from New York got the feeling this hit a nerve and said "We have an almost perfect match to a sample. Could there have been a mistake in your lab? We know there is a connection to Port Charles in the Warren James case, could your killer for that case be the murderer? Was it a woman?"
"No, that was a man named Diego Alcazar. One of the undead I mentioned. My daughter is dead, sir. I assure you, she didn't kill this man. Even if she was alive, Georgie is the last person I would think capable of killing anyone."
TBC