Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I'm just borrowing for a little while. I'll give them back. Someday.
Author's Notes: This one took me longer than I expected. I want to say thank you to all of those who took the time to read and reply. They keep me going.
I apologize in advance if there are mistakes/typos in this chapter. My beta is on vacation, so I may have missed some errors.
--
Jason could tell something was bothering Sonny. The older man had been pacing the small office since his arrival, barely speaking, and gesturing wildly to himself. He was debating waiting him out and seeing if Sonny finally just came out with whatever it was he wanted to ask. Finally Sonny burst out, "How the hell do you know Claudia Zacchara?"
"I told you, and she told the Families at the meeting. I did business with her uncle when I left town years ago," Jason returned, eyeing his former friend critically, "Were you listening last night?"
"Don't you question me!" Sonny blasted him, sending the glass he'd held across the office. Jason didn't flinch as the glassware whizzed by his head and smashed against the door, falling in slivers to the floor.
The two former best friends, former self-proclaimed brothers, each standing ramrod straight, simply stared at each other. There was no caring, no regard in either of their gazes. Rage and resentment permeated Sonny's glare; while the icy-cold emotionless indifference now held Jason's face in the concrete stare. Neither spoke, simply stared across the charged atmosphere of the office.
Timidly the door creaked open, and Max stood in the opening, with Diane hovering behind him, "Everything all right in here?"
Sonny, for once, remained silent. His eyes bore into Jason's, but Jason would not be the first to look away. Sonny's dark eyes widened, then the older man looked from his former friend to the bodyguard and lawyer in the doorway, "Things just got, y'know, just got a little heated, that's all. Right Jason?"
"Right," Jason ground out, shouldering his way out of the office, past Max and Diane. He didn't look back as someone called out his name, simply headed straight for the door, and his motorcycle. He needed to get out of there. Fast.
The three left in the office stared after the retreating leather clad back. Finally long, tense moments, with both Diane and Max wanting to bring their curiosities to light, were broken by Sonny's bark of, "Max, get a broom in here and clean this mess up, now."
--
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Spinelli slumped back in his chair and gazed around the bright, friendly, family diner. He sat alone, which wasn't a new occurrence, but it just made his current mood all the more lonely. Grumbling to himself, he reached for his glass of orange soda and slurped for long minutes through the straw, until there was nothing left in the glass and he was met by that empty sucking sound.
He sighed, thumping his glass back onto the table, and dropped his eyes back onto his keyboard.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Hey kid," Mike wiped his hands on the dishtowel he kept hanging from his apron, "You doin' okay?"
Spinelli forced a smile, "I am quite well, Esteemed Father of Mr. Sir. I am simply," He gave a short, guffaw that sounded off, "The Jackal is simply working on a project for," He paused, tried to quell his
nervous stutter as he made up his excuse right on the spot, "For Stone Cold, and it is all not going exactly as planned."
"You'll get it Spinelli," Mike encouraged, "You always do. How'bout another orange soda to keep you going huh?"
With a real smile this time, Spinelli effused, "That would be extremely refreshing. Many thanks."
Mike smiled, amused. He reached out and lightly picked up the glass, "Comin' right up."
Tapping a few keys, holding the grin as long as he could; Spinelli waited until Mr. Sir's esteemed relation disappeared back into the kitchen before he released the heavy breath with a whine and dropped his face to the tabletop.
Absolutely nothing.
--
"And—you must really want a drink," Jason glanced quizzically at his companion as she grinned slowly, "This is the third place you've shown me with a bar. If I had of known, that when I asked you to show me around, we were going on a pub crawl, I'd of—ugh," Groaning, she gripped his shoulder and arched to slip one stiletto heel off her aching foot, "I'd of worn flats." Wrinkling her nose at the thought of placing her foot back on the ground, she stood like a flamingo; looking ridiculous in her short, red designer dress, with one shoe-less foot in the air.
He watched her with a mixture of confusion and morbid curiosity, "Put your shoe back on."
"Why?" She huffed, waving her shoe in his direction, "They don't smell."
"No shirt, no shoes, no service," Jason quipped, hiking a thumb at the MetroCourt's front entrance, "It's one of those fancy places."
"Ooo," Claudia faked excitement, then let it drop, "You mean like MacDonalds?"
Quirking a brow, he ordered tersely, "Put your shoe back on."
"Fine," She dragged her shoe back into place, "But you're--"
"Buying—I know," He interrupted, gesturing towards the door. Pulling it open, he waved her inside a head of him, "I wouldn't have expected any less."
--
"Mommy?"
"Yeah baby?" Elizabeth was kneeling beside her son's bed, tucking the covers around his shoulders as he clutched his ragged stuffed puppy to his chest and watched his mother's every move with big, brown eyes.
"When's Jason gonna come over again?" Cameron asked quietly, hugging his toy a little tighter, "When can I see him again?"
"Soon sweetheart," Elizabeth promised, smoothing his riotous curls back from his face, "Soon." Placing a kiss on her son's forehead, she asked him, "You really like Jason don't you baby?"
Cameron nodded vigorously, a grin coming to play on his sweet little face, "Yeah. He plays bikes and trains, and he—he reads good books. I like Jason. Wanna keep him."
"You want to keep him?" Elizabeth chuckled as Cameron again nodded, "You miss him don't you?"
"Yeah," Cameron said wistfully, snuggling down in his covers, "When?"
"Soon baby, very soon," Kissing him good-night again, Elizabeth stood and walked to the door of her son's bedroom, flipping the switch to turn off the light, "Good-night baby."
"Night Momma," Cameron yawned, and as Elizabeth turned to leave the room, she heard her young son's voice whisper, "Wish we could keep him forever."
--
"Hey Jase, what're you up to?"
Carly Corinthos-Jax folded herself into a chair at the bar to the left of her best friend. He turned, still drinking his beer, straight from the bottle. But before he could answer, the woman in red beside him (whom Carly quickly decided was not a date; Jason didn't date) answered for him,
"He's playing tourguide for me, being new in town and all."
"I see," Carly slung one leg over the other, "We met the other day right? Claudia, is it?"
"Yeah, and you're Carly," Claudia saluted with her glass before lifting it to her lips, "Nice place you got here. A regular hot-spot."
"Thank you," Carly preened, nudging Jason with an elbow as he remained silent, "What's up with you? You're quieter than usual."
"Lot on my mind," He answered simply, hoping to leave it at that. And while from the look in Carly's eye, she was going to doggedly pursue her line of questioning, he was saved as Claudia began to survey the crowd, giving her opinion without any kind of reserve.
"Who's the finely tailored grease-monkey?" Claudia asked over the rim of her glass. Carly sputtered into her drink while Jason followed their line of sight, then took a hearty pull from his beer to cover his reaction. Widening her eyes, Claudia gave a smug grin, "Opps."
Carly dabbed at her mouth with a napkin, "I was married to him y'know."
Jason nodded grimly, adding in a choked voice, "Four times."
"W—what?" Claudia exclaimed, gaping at Jason and Carly, then across the room at Sonny as she burst into robust laughter, "Why?"
Feeling as though he was being watched, Sonny looked over; finding Claudia's eyes on him. Realizing she'd been spotted, Claudia wriggled her fingers in a wave. Jason laid his forehead against his hand, while Carly snorted as she giggled.
--
He'd settled at the bar, a tumbler in his hand, looking around the casino and taking in his surroundings. It was a nice place, small, but nice. The lights were dimmed, the corners hazed in smoke from the cigars some patrons puffed at as they blew their money on card games. He ran his palm over the dark wood of the bar, liking the smoothness under his hand. Facing the wall behind the counter, he found the same rich coloring in the wood on the walls, a few paintings and prints distributed around the room for ambience. It was a nice place. Perhaps a little quaint, but the Haunted Star brought in a tidy bundle of profits at the end of each night, and lured everybody to its door; from dockworkers on a Friday night, to businessmen trying to schmooze their clients, to businessmen who were schmoozing another type of clientele entirely.
All in all, he liked it. And as it had received his stamp of approval, the Haunted Star would soon be making him a tidy profit as well.
"Do you know what a little birdie told me?"
Sipping his drink leisurely before turning, Johnny found Lulu Spencer leaning against the bar, a Cheshire cat grin on her face, "What'd you hear?"
"My dad says that you're thinking about buying into this place," Lulu shook her hair over her shoulder, leaning in so she could get closer to John.
"Did he now?" Johnny evaded, while taking another sip of his drink. He hadn't touched anything alcoholic yet, but if this oh-so-witty conversation was going to last, he might just have to. Lulu Spencer was a one-time thing. A night, maybe two. Just a little bit of fun and then move on. There was no way he would ever think of something serious with this girl. Not after he'd walked into this very bar not two weeks ago and discovered her with Maxie Jones, the two making a bet over the roulette table on which got to date him. He'd spent years, nearly his entire life, having his father decide and arbitrarily control his every move, every step, every decision; he wouldn't let some blonde strumpet continue the cycle. Just listening to her talk made him wonder why the greatSpencer name was supposed to inspire such legend. He hadn't seen anything worthy of the title from any of them so far. The patriarch, Luke, was always running away from his problems; never actually facing a thing as he mooched off whatever woman was careless enough to end up linked to him. The son, Lucky, while oddly named, was a bumbling and half-assed police officer, and as far as John could see, hadn't actually solved a crime in his career. And then there was Lulu, who flitted through life much like her father, expecting everyone and anyone to fall in line because she was the daughter of Luke and Laura, which meant she was all kinds of
special, "It's a good investment. Trevor says that something like this could really diversify the family portfolio."
"Really," Johnny could tell her interest in that particular piece of information was phony, "So that explains his interest, but you know what I think?"
He couldn't wait to hear, "What?"
"I think that you're investing in the Haunted Star because," She paused, leaning closer again to lay a hand on his arm, drawing her fingers up and down the corded muscles lightly, "Because you want to be close to me."
"What gives you that impression?" He too leaned in; cocking his head to one side so their faces didn't exactly meet, but were close enough. Maybe he'd have that little bit of fun with Special Little Lulu.
"We had fun, that night you picked me up," She smiled sultrily; probably believing their little 'flirtation' was going somewhere, "We could have fun again. What'd you say?"
"I say," He paused, this time inclining his head in the other direction so that their faces met head on. They were nearly nose-to-nose. Lulu pushed her puckered lips forward as her eyes slid closed; feeling with absolute certainty that he was about to kiss her. She could feel his breath fanning over her face. He was going to kiss her.
As the entry-way doors slid open, Johnny's face folded into a grin. He looked once more at Lulu's awaiting pucker, and pulled his face away. He had her right where he wanted her.
"Hey Nadine! Nadine, over here!"
The blonde in purple turned, and Johnny was taken aback as she faced him. Loosely curled ringlets framed her face; slight and neutral make up highlighted her blue eyes and pale skin. The dark purple
dress she wore cut her at the knees, and the sweetheart neckline modestly emphasized her bust. As her gaze lighted on him, she broke into a grin and started making her way in his direction.
"Johnny, hey," Unceremoniously, she lifted a handful of curls from her face, "I got your message. I-uh-I-am I dressed okay?" She extended a hand to either side of her slim skirt, "Because I know that the Haunted Star is a fancy, dressy kind of place, but I-uh-I-I don't really have all that many really, you know, dressy clothes, so I really hope that I-"
"Shh," Johnny pressed his fingertip to her lips, her eyes drawn downward to see his forefinger cut off her ramblings, "You look amazing."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," He grinned, then snagged a cocktail from a tray carried by a passing waiter, "Drink?"
"Oh, no thanks," Nadine waved a hand, before planting the other at her waist, "Too many of those, and I end up teetering all over the place, waving my hands ever so emphatically, and mindlessly quoting Aunt Rayleen."
"I like," He began, pressing the drink into her hand, "Aunt Rayleen."
"I'll be sure to tell her," Nadine snickered, cautiously sipping the pink liquid in the glass she'd been handed, "This place is amazing."
By this time, Lulu had removed herself from her puckered lip, cartoon character stance; and crossing her arms over her middle, sauntered to Nadine and Johnny who were chuckling at their own, sad joke.
"Yeah," Lulu smiled smugly, "This place is my dad's baby. A true Spencer family treasure."
If it's a Spencer family treasure, it's the only one, Johnny thought, but remained silent.
"Wow," Nadine appeared genuinely impressed, "That's really amazing."
"Dad really puts his heart and soul into this place," Lulu boasted gleefully.
"And, apparently, all his liquor too," Johnny muttered, only to be cuffed in the chest, his petite blonde friend admonishing,
"Johnny."
He laughed, and then threw his arm over her small shoulders, "C'mon, I'll show you how to play roulette. Because you, my friend, are far too wholesome."
"Me?" Nadine asked, pointing to herself.
"Yeah you," He replied seriously.
"You know what pretty boy?" Nadine stopped and turned, poking him in the chest. He raised his eyebrows as he waited for her to finish, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
Staring her off again, he smirked, "Oh really?"
"Really," She affirmed with a smirk of her own. Letting him lead her away, she called over her shoulder, "See you later Lulu."
"Bye," Lulu returned, though they had already been swallowed up by the crowd and were no longer in earshot. She drew in a heavy breath, watching Johnny drape his arm around the nurse and demonstrate
how to spin the roulette wheel. It should be her. Lulu was definitive as she mentally prepared herself for her eventual victory; it would be her.
--
"Me and-" She pointed at Sonny, "Ew. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole," With that resounding statement, Claudia wore her cat-cleaning-the-canary-out-of-her-teeth-grin, and turned to Carly, "So tell me. Is he short all over?"
Jason squeezed his eyes shut before pounding back the last few mouthfuls of his beer, "I'm out of here."
"Weenie," Claudia shrugged, somehow managing to keep a straight face.
He held off a tremor, "I really don't want to have to bail you two out of the PCPD tonight."
"Lighten up Jason" Carly gave a one-shouldered shrug, "We're just having a little fun."
"Yeah Jase. Besides, we've got lawyers," Claudia agreed, "When you're this tense you suck the fun out of everything."
Pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the surely impending headache; Jason slipped from the stool, and threw his jacket around his shoulders. He realized then that such headaches would be plentiful if, god forbid, Carly and Claudia were to befriend each other. He headed for the exit, nodding to the security guard who offered him a quick greeting as he passed. He was nearly to the door of the hotel, literally about to step from the building when he heard a voice call him back.
"Jason. Man, hold on a minute."
Damn it. He'd nearly made it out unscathed.
"What Sonny?" Jason bit out frostily, "I'd rather not be a standing target if you want to practice your aim again."
For once, Sonny looked something close to contrite, and while Jason would have liked to hope his partner was there to apologize for his earlier behavior, he was a logical thinker.
"Listen, Jason, I shouldn't have thrown the glass," Characteristically, Sonny cocked his head to one side, rubbing at his forehead with one hand while planting the other on his hip, "I lost my temper, and that shouldn't have happened."
"Good," Jason nodded, releasing a pent-up breath, "Okay."
"But, y'know, man you shouldn't have disrespected me like that," Sonny switched it up so that both hands were firmly tucked onto his hips, "We've known each other for a long time, and you should know how little I can take of that kind of disrespect."
Jason could almost hear himself spouting; apology, my ass; but managed to refrain, "Seriously Sonny? Because I've taken it from you for years. But that fact doesn't seem to matter, unless you need me for something."
"Look, Jason," Sonny declared, frustrated. He'd expected Jason to fall into line, do as told like he should. But over the past few months especially, it was like something had gotten into him, and the loyal, obedient employee Jason had been had been replaced by someone who constantly questioned his orders, "This just needs to be dropped. You need to drop it. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you Sonny," Jason once again gritted his teeth, and pushed by the man for the second time that day, "Loud. And. Clear."
--
It had been another long day in a long list of long days. The kids had been difficult first thing in the morning, she'd had to stay over on her shift at the hospital; which meant that the boys had to stay late at daycare, so they were cranky when she picked them up. Jake had been a terror to settle down, and that left her even more frustrated, as usually he had his father's temperament; quiet and long-suffering. But tonight he'd been on a marathon of fighting dinner, fighting bath time, and fighting bed time. And Cameron's questions just made the huge missing piece in their lives all the more apparent and gaping.
She missed her husband. She wanted him beside her right now, helping her undress, listening to her rant about the crazy, everyday antics of the residents of General Hospital. She wanted his arms wrapped around her as they crawled into bed, her head cushioned on his shoulder, his breathing soothing her to sleep. She wanted to smooth the worry lines from his face, and to listen to him talk about his day. She wanted to see him with the boys; reading the travels books they both loved to Cameron, and bouncing Jake in his lap as his son screamed with laughter. She wanted her family all together, under one roof. The boys needed their father, and Elizabeth needed her husband. And he needed them. This easing into a full-blown family situation they were slowly working towards was pure torture.
She rolled over in her too-large for one person bed, wrapped her arms tightly around her pillow and sighed heavily. There wasn't much she could do about this at the exact moment. Which made her even more disheartened.
The blinking red light from her cell phone drew her attention in the dark room. Picking it up from where it lay on the nightstand, she flipped the cell phone open, finding a new message left for her.
"Hey baby, it's me. Just wanted to check in, hear how your day went. Things—things were a little rough on my end, and I guess—I guess I just wanted to hear your voice. Give the boys a hug and a kiss for me. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."
I love you too. Elizabeth sighed again, and clutching her pillow and her cell phone, she curled into a ball and listened to the message again. I love you too.