05
Jason Morgan paced on worn boards of the docks, his brows furrowed as he scanned for his informant.
The call that he had received earlier that day had been surprising to say the least, but not unwelcome.
"Mr. Morgan I presume? You may call me Sabi. You don't know me, but I have some information for you about your newest case. The one with the girl and the politician and the missing pound of cocaine… yes, that one. I can't be seen around; if this information got back to me it could be disastrous. Meet me at the docks tonight at 11. I'll tell you everything I know."
The phone had hung up before he could even respond. Yet, Jason had spared no time in making it to the meeting spot. This case had been driving him up the wall. He knew that Spencer was sniffing around it like a dog in heat, and he wanted to crack it wide open and show him just who the best private eye in town was.
And if that meant emasculating him in front of his pretty little secretary, then so be it.
Jason's head snapped up as a set of footsteps echoed along the boards. He stood straight and shoved his hands into his pockets, straightening his shoulders into one hard line. As he waited, his eyes fell onto a shadowy figure that emerged from beneath the lamppost.
As the figure approached, Jason took in the basics. Somewhat tall, slightly broad shoulders, narrow waist, draped in a tan trench coat with a large hat.
He smirked.
How cliché.
The informant stepped up to him and removed the hat shadowing her features, revealing a beautiful woman. Blond hair fell in waves around her face, and green eyes glittered.
"Mr. Morgan?"
The voice was similar to the one on the phone, yet deeper and sultrier. Jason chalked up the differences to crappy reception and held out his hand.
"Correct. And you are?"
The handshake was firm, her fingers long and sturdy against his palm.
"No one of consequence."
Jason nodded, accustomed to the cloak and dagger aspect of new informants, the need for total secrecy.
"What do you got for me?"
"Whatever you want. It's located right here." Reaching down with one hand, she patted the side of her trench coat.
"Hand it over then."
She smiled. "Not so fast Mr. Morgan. I don't give it up for free you know."
Jason's eyes narrowed. While it wasn't uncommon for informants to ask for some type of payment, something about the way she said it set him on edge. And while normally he would listen to his instincts, this information was too important to him.
"Of course. How much?"
Her eyes glittered at him as she shifted her feet. "Five hundred. Up front. Then the fun can begin."
"Fine." He frowned as he grabbed his wallet, pealing off five hundred dollar bills. The price was a little steeper than he had wanted, but in range for what he had estimated.
Her hand closed over the money he offered and she slid it into the pocket of her coat. Then, to his astonishment, she opened her coat to reveal a corseted figure. The corset was bright red and covered in lace, topped with a tiny red bow between the modest rise of her cleavage.
"What the…"
"Everybody FREEZE!!" The shout came from the shadows, and Jason automatically held his hands up as he stepped back from the scantily clad informant. Lieutenant Marcus Taggert of the Port Charles Police Department and his backup stepped from underneath the steps. Taggert trained his gun at the two standing near the water.
His eyes took in the scene, Morgan standing with hands in the air and a nearly naked woman next to him with money in her pocket. He grinned and dropped his gun to his side.
"Damn Morgan. I knew you had strange tastes, but I never thought you'd stoop to solicitation."
Jason starred at Taggert.
Then at the woman.
"What?"
"Jason Morgan, you're under arrest for solicitation of a prostitute." Taggert grabbed his handcuffs and secured them around Jason's wrists, closing them with a metallic snap. Looking over his shoulder towards the prostitute, Taggert smirked.
"Hello Frank. Or are you going by Francine now?"
The prostitute smiled at Taggert as she was handcuffed by one of the random cops, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "Francine. I'm almost saved up for my operation now."
"Good for you. But keep it off my streets."
"Of course Lieutenant."
"Wait. She's a man?!" Jason's voice rang out as he struggled in Taggert's grasp, his eyes wide with shock. "She told me that she had information for me… I didn't know she was a hooker."
"Of course she had 'information' for you Morgan. In her pants, right?" Stepping back, Taggert nodded at one of the boys in blue. "Take them both downtown and book 'em."
"Right away sir."
Jason scowled. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."
Elizabeth snickered as she watched Jason Morgan be led away by the PCPD in handcuffs. She ducked out of sight behind a building and rubbed her hands together, an evil grin upon her face.
"Game, set, and match."
Elizabeth leaned back in her chair and smiled, absentmindedly twirling her hair around her finger. When the phone rang, she languidly reached out a hand and lifted the receiver to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Elizabeth?"
"Hey Francine. Did it go down?"
"Exactly like you said. Morgan was booked for solicitation, and Taggert let me off with a warning once they dropped the charges against him."
"How long was he sitting in the cell?"
"Over night. And I made sure that he got the envelope before I left."
"Perfect. Thanks Francie. You kicked ass."
"No problem. You've helped me out many a time. If I hear anything about the cocaine case, I'll send it on your way."
"Great. Take care."
As she hung up the phone, Elizabeth let a devilish grin curl onto her face.
"Who's sweet and simple now Morgan?"
Cackling with glee, Elizabeth leapt from her chair and strode into Lucky's office, a tune on her lips. Time to celebrate.
Elizabeth frowned as she examined her nails. The crimson polish she had just applied yesterday had a large chip in the center nail, and it threw the whole look off. Looking around the office, she shrugged her shoulders and reached into a drawer. Pulling out the bottle, she opened it and began to deftly apply the red, filling in the hole.
While in mid-stroke, the door to the office hit the wall with a loud crash and she jumped, streaking polish across the back of her hand.
"Oh son of a – !"
"Where is Spencer?"
Elizabeth looked up and saw Jason Morgan standing before her, his eyes hard and angry. He was breathing heavily, and a crumpled envelope was clutched in his hand. When Elizabeth saw the corner of the envelope, she blanched slightly.
Oh shit.
"Morgan, what the hell happened to you? You look like a whole nest of bees got into your bonnet." Lucky's stance was unconcerned as he leaned languidly against the frame of the door.
Jason's eyes narrowed to slits as he approached. "You."
"Me."
"You duplicitous evil fucking bastard."
"Now, I'm not quite sure what I did to deserve this glowing review of my character, so why don't we get on with it and you can inform me?"
Jason's hand flew out and smacked the envelope into his chest, pinning it there with three fingers and a sneer.
Lucky pealed the envelope from his grasp and extracted a wrinkled piece of paper. As he read, his eyebrows rose.
"Wow Morgan. When I heard about you soliciting a tranny prostitute, I was a little dismayed. To think, you've been into dudes this entire time and you never hit on me! I'm hurt, really. And all this time, I just thought you were friends with your partner. I guess Sonny really is your… partner. Hope your time in jail was pleasant, don't drop the soap! Love and Kisses, Spencer Investigations."
Lucky looked over Jason's shoulder to Elizabeth who was pale under the florescent lighting. She lifted one shoulder into the air and smiled ruefully, her lip pinned between her teeth.
Glancing back at Morgan, who was clearly waiting for a reaction, Lucky crumpled up the letter and threw it into the wastebasket near the door.
"Man, if I knew you were that sensitive about your love for man meat, I would have never said anything. My apologies."
Jason slammed a fist into the door frame, cracking the wood.
Leaning forward, he snarled. "This means war Spencer. I'm taking you down." Turning, he stalked across the floor and exited, slamming the door with such force that the glass cracked right across the Spencer name.
Elizabeth and Lucky stared after him, Elizabeth's mouth open.
Looking over, she winced at the look Lucky gave her.
"Um… oops?"