Jason left Mac's a little while later so he get back to work. There was a lot to be dealt with and most of it involved Sam. Jason had filled Sonny in on what John had found out and he was concerned as well. He had ordered Jason to take Sam off the schedule for tonight and bring in someone they could trust. It made sense of course and he immediately asked Johnny to go with him instead. Sonny didn't trust John as much as Jason did but right now they all trusted him more than they did Sam.

"It's time to confront this head on" Jason stated aloud to himself. He grabbed his phone and called John Zacchara.

"Can you come up with a legitimate reason to get Sam out of her apartment in the next hour?" Jason asked without preamble when John picked up.

"Yes" John assured him immediately. He wasn't sure how yet but he was very good at thinking on his feet and knew he could come up with a good reason quickly enough. John did not like Sonny very much but he liked Jason well enough. More than that, he had respect for Jason.

"I don't want her to be the least bit suspicious" Jason told him. "I need enough time to search her apartment thoroughly."

"I can get her out no problem" John told him confidently.

John had not let him down yet so Jason accepted his word at face value and headed out. A little while later Jason watched Sam exit her apartment building and get into her car. She was careful he noted to himself as he watched her look casually around for anything out of the ordinary. Jason had figured she would be careful and had taken the precaution of securing a rental car before heading over. He was glad now that he had.

Breaking into her apartment had been trickier than expected. She had installed some additional security measures which made him wonder if it was because she was cautious or because she had something to hide. He certainly hoped he could gain some insight by searching her apartment.

Over the years Jason had found that nearly everyone had things hidden in their homes that they didn't want anyone to find. Most of them tended to be kept in one of a few spots like in a waterproof container in the water storage part of a toilet, in the freezer, or in a safe. He found some money and a fake id hidden under a layer of frost in her freezer. It was a good idea because she could tell at a glance if someone had searched her freezer. She was smart he had to remind himself. The fact that she had some money and a fake id hidden away did not bother Jason at all. It was simply a reasonable thing to do in their line of work. Always be ready to make a quick getaway if need be.

Jason was very methodical but not neat in his search. He had already disturbed her stash in the freezer so she would know her apartment had been searched. It made it faster on Jason since he didn't have to put everything back where it had been to cover up his presence. While searching under the bed Jason found a loose board. He pushed the bed aside and pulled up the board. Inside he found a notebook and a photo album. Inside the photo album he found pictures of her and Lucky Spencer together as well as pictures of her and another young man. He also found some additional money as well as new id's and passports for her and the other young man in the photo album. This was very curious.

He sat down on her bed and began reading the journal. It was a listing of many of the shipments she had piloted into the harbor since coming to work for Sonny. Jason could tell at a glance that it was not a comprehensive list because she had done hundreds of shipments for them in the past few years. Her notebook only listed the details on 30 of them. He wasn't sure what, but Jason felt that something was off about the shipments listed. He called Spinelli and told him to research every one of those shipments and then get back to him.

There was nothing else in her apartment that was out of the ordinary. He had proof that she knew Lucky Spencer but that was all. There was nothing wrong with her knowing a police officer.

"So what if she knows a police detective," Jason said out loud. "I know the Police Commissioner. What is the big deal?"

The answer came to him immediately. She was hiding it. He didn't hide any of his contacts with the police from Sonny. He was open and honest about all of it. He had shown Sonny that he could trust him. They had thought they could trust Sam too but now they find out she is lying about her involvement with the police. He had to have some more answers. Searching her apartment had not yielded as much information as he hoped. It was time to confront Sam.

Jason's cell phone rang. He checked the caller i.d. and saw that it was Spinelli.

"Spinelli, tell me you have something." Jason said.

"Something of a unique and curious nature Stone Cold."

"What is it?"

"I investigated each shipment like you asked and they all had several interesting facets in common. Fair Samantha was the harbor pilot for each one a…"

"I already knew that," Jason announced quickly. "Tell me something I don't know."

"None of these shipments were illegal Stone Cold," Spinelli announced in a rare display of directness. "She only made notes on the legitimate coffee shipments to Corinthos/Morgan."

Jason shook his head. This was not making any sense. She had seen and heard more than enough to put him in prison for the rest of his life. Yet the only notes she had were of the legitimate shipments? He was even more confused as he hung with Spinelli. He definitely needed to talk to Sam.

It wasn't too long afterward that John called Jason to let him know that he and Sam had finished their meeting. Jason decided it was time to get the answers from her and he did not feel like going about it the nice way. It was time to compel the answers from her.

He just had to figure out how. He didn't particularly enjoy beating the answers out of anyone but it had proven to be a very effective tool. It was usually a fast way to get at the truth. He needed the truth and he needed it fast. There was just no way that Jason could ever set out to hurt a woman. Sam knew the rules and the risks she was taking by being involved with the mob. Anyone involved with the mob risked their life on a daily basis it was a known risk. Anyone informing to the police on the mob was not only risking their lives, they were risking being tortured before they died to find out what information that had given up. Sam knew all this when she joined up.

Jason shook his head. No way. He just could not intentionally hurt a woman. He just couldn't do it! He respected women way too much. If he hurt a woman intentionally he would never be able to look Monica or Robin in the eye again. What was he going to do? He needed the answers and he wasn't sure how to get them. No way would he involve Robin in anything mob related. The same went for Monica. A moment later Carly popped into his head. He could ask Carly without giving her too many details. She was Sonny's ex-wife and knew a lot about how it worked and he knew she would never say anything to the police. He quickly dialed her phone.

Occasionally Jason would forget how protective of him Carly had become. She depended on him to keep her and her kids alive from Sonny's enemies and he always came through for her. Somewhere along the way she had become fiercely protective of him too and woe to any woman she thought was trying to come between her and Jason. Jason almost laughed out loud because Carly believed every woman even those he was friends with were out to get him and posed a threat to her relationship with him. Had he told her who he was suspicious of, Jason was certain that she would have charged over there to handle Sam herself.

Despite her over-the-top behavior, Carly had good instincts. She had insights that he hadn't thought of. Ultimately she provided him with the answer he needed by asking him one question.

"Does she believe you will hurt her?" Carly had asked him at one point. Immediately he had known that was the answer. He didn't have to actually hurt Sam to get the answers he needed. He just had to make her believe that he would hurt her.

It wasn't too long before he saw Sam walking toward her apartment door. He knew she would have to fumble a little with the lock because he had unscrewed several of the light bulbs in the hallway. It made it difficult for her to see the lock clearly.

Jason slipped silently from the stairwell and stayed in the shadows. Sam bent over to get a closer look so she could put the key into the lock. She heard the gun cock just as she felt it press firmly into the hollow spot at the base of her skull. She left the key dangling in the lock and raised her hands. Sam offered no resistance as he reached into her waistband and removed her gun.

Moving quickly before she could mount a resistance, Jason dropped Sam's gun into the pocket of his leather jacket. Then he slipped his gun into his right hand while he continued pushing it firmly into the back of her head. He immediately snaked his left hand firmly around her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

"Open the door." He ordered with a fierce whisper into her ear. He was certain that she did not know who was holding her at gunpoint yet.

She complied quickly. Once she pushed the door to her apartment open Jason felt her set her left foot and realized she was going to resist. He had figured she would. She was simply too good in this business to let someone hold her at gunpoint without trying to regain the upper hand. Jason raised his foot and firmly kicked the back of her left knee. She buckled immediately and tried use the momentum to pull her and her attacker to the ground. Jason had been prepared for this move and simply picked her up and stepped into the apartment. He kicked the door closed behind him.

Two minutes later Jason had wrestled the struggling Sam into the chair he had set in the middle of the living room and managed to tie her securely and put a gag on her. The gag was going to be temporary of course since he needed her to answer some questions. In the meantime however it managed to convince her that he was the one in control of this situation. He knew she was frightened and was going to use it to his advantage. He needed the fear of violence to get the truth out of her. She needed to think he would really hurt her. He had to apply just enough force to show her that he could and hope that she would cooperate. In the end he would never really hurt her. His plan hinged on her not calling his bluff.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Please be sure to review.