Chapter Four

Liz lay on the stiff cot, the irony of her situation like a slap in the face. Her mind threw her back in time, to when it was a pregnant Carly in this room, fighting for her life. She spoke nonsensical words to her belly, trying to calm them both.

"Don't worry baby, your daddy will save us, there has never been a man like him. You will be a better person for just knowing him. Trust in me to keep you safe, and trust in him to rescue us." Liz said in a soothing voice as she gently rubbed her stomach.

"It's funny really when you think about it, you are a miracle above all else. Your daddy and I have a knack for saving each other. It was a cold winter many years ago, when I came across him, wounded badly from a gunshot. I do not know exactly what made me go to the boxcar that day, but I will never regret it. Although I do have to admit that your daddy does have a tendency to end up wounded and most times it is from a gunshot, but one thing you must know, your daddy is strong and fights for those he loves, nevertheless, he is the bravest man I know and the greatest man too." Liz said as the tears coursed invisible lines down her cheeks. Pausing to get control of her feelings, at least marginally, at that moment, it was all she could do.

"Beyond that, he has saved my life numerous times as well, a lot lately though. Perhaps he had a sixth sense about you, because since your conception, he has been there for us, guaranteeing your survival. I do not know how, but during the hostage crisis, after the police stormed the lobby and Mr. Craig's men started shooting, your daddy, he found us, through a haze of teargas and smoke and other people, he found us. It was then that he discovered his impending fatherhood. I had never intended to stay quiet, but circumstances seemed aligned to destroy whatever it is we could have possibly had, I was wrong and I…" Liz said as a cramp ripped a scream from her.

Ric had listened with a growing unease; she spoke of Jason like he was a God. How could he ever change her mind about him, unless of course he killed Jason, then she could not very well depend on him from the grave? He was stuck in past thoughts, fueling his anger more, when Liz's sudden scream tore him from his thoughts. An evil smile played upon his lips, he knew just how he was going to torment Jason. A chilling blood cold laugh reverberated throughout the little house as Ric stepped over to his house phone and made a call.

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Jason's cell phone rang, everyone in the warehouse turned and watched. Jason placed the phone to his ear, not even thinking about looking at whom it was, just hoping that someone had a clue to Liz's whereabouts.

"Well hello there, how have you been?" Ric asked in a mocking tone, not bothering to wait for the other man to say anything.

"What do you want Lansing?" Jason asked vehemently.

"Just listen!" Ric said with a laugh.

Elizabeth's scream of pain was like ice through his veins, but the fear-induced adrenalin was just the ticket to getting through the fog that had once again been trying to settle over him. Liz quieted for a moment and then screamed again, this time in fear rather than pain.

"What have you done, you sick twisted monster?" Jason spat through the phone.

Another bray of shrill laughter was the only answer he received, but the screams continued until Ric had disconnected.

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Head finally cleared; Jason replayed the scream through his mind, trying to detect other noises to pinpoint her location. All of a sudden it hit him, the scream had sounded muted almost, like it was coming from far away, then the memories of Carly's kidnapping flashed to the forefront of his mind, and he knew exactly where Liz was being held.

Everyone in the room had heard Jason say "Lansing", and while being a bodyguard didn't necessarily mean you had to be a mix of both brain and brawn, they all knew what was going on, to some extent at the very least.

Sonny walked quickly back to Jason, he knew that look, the look of murder, he had seen it in Jason's eyes the night Jason had beaten Ric almost to death.

"Let's go get her Jason!" Sonny said.

"Hang on to the cavalry, I'm going in alone. He has lost his mind, and while I don't know what is wrong with Liz or what caused her to scream like that, I heard the lunacy in Ric's voice, there is a few ways that this could go down, and most of those ways do not bode well for Liz or my child." Jason exclaimed.

Those in the room, who did not know, now stood in shocked silence. Most of them did not even have a clue that he and Liz had shared one hot night of intense lovemaking, and while the shocked exhales of breath were rather funny and the gaping mouths, Jason did not even contemplate them at that moment.

Jason ran out of the warehouse and jumped on his bike, relishing the speed and movement that the bike offered. For nothing was more important than to getting to Liz. In a few short hours, she had become his everything once again; he only prayed he was not too late.

Sonny looked at Jason's retreating back, knowing how the man felt, but also wanting to be able to help. However, this was Jason's fight. No, matter how much he wanted to help his friend, he knew he had to listen to Jason, for it was Jason who had saved his butt more times than he really cared to admit.

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Ric knew he had made a bad mistake, all his planning had now been for nothing. For in a moment of insane jubilation, he had given himself away as the kidnapper and more than likely the place he was at. Nevertheless, there was still a chance that he could rectify the situation and turn it once again in his favor. He had never meant to call Jason; it was just a momentary lapse in his judgment.

He watched Liz closely while he waited for dear daddy to come storming in the door. For the sheer joy of watching Jason when he walked in, Ric kept Liz on the large TV screen, the volume was loud enough that you could hear it throughout all the downstairs, but not loud enough to cause someone to call the cops and complain. After his call had ended, Ric moved quickly about, prepared for more people than just Jason, but hoping the boy had some brains and came alone.

He had retrieved his gun from his safe that he had tucked away in the back pantry. However, he had no plan of shooting him when he arrived. He wanted Jason to watch Liz suffer, and should her death and that of the baby be inevitable then so be it. Revenge was bigger than his love now, if you could call his sick twisted obsession of Liz love. And perhaps he would not even need to kill Jason; just maybe the death of his precious Liz would be enough to incapacitate Sonny's enforcer permanently.

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