Anna was dressed and ready to go when Robert finally got up the courage to leave the guest room. She had her car keys in her hand and was putting on her coat and scarf. "Stay as long as you like," she told him; "just make sure the door is locked when you go." They looked at each other. She sighed. "I know—a stupid thing for me to say. I feel a bit awkward here."

Robert smiled, uncharacteristically shy. "So do I."

Anna tugged at her coat, knotted her scarf, and then strode over, closing the short distance between them. She put her hands on his shoulders. "There's something I need to do this evening. But promise me we'll see each other later today. Or tonight."

Robert nodded.

With that she was gone.

Once she reached her car, she pulled out her cell phone and dialled Duke's number. Her call went straight to voice mail. "Duke, it's me. We need to talk. Call me when you can." And with that, she was off.

"Progress report?" she demanded. Detective Dante Falconeri looked down at his file. "According to ballistics, the shells we found in the warehouse came from six different weapons. And it's conclusive that the bullet taken out of Max wasn't from Sonny's gun. Sonny obviously isn't telling the truth about the shooting."

"Well at least we can now prove what we've known all along," she muttered. "Can you tell me anything new? Has anyone talked? Where are we with the alleged witness? Have we made any progress?"

Dante spread his hands in a gesture of frustration. "He's been put behind a firewall by his lawyer, Alexis Davis. We can't get near him."

"And Mr. Corinthos' story remains the same?"

Dante nodded. "He accidentally shot Max while he was cleaning his gun."

"What bothers me most about all this," Anna growled, "is Corinthos' obvious disdain for the PCPD, and for my intelligence. I'm taking this very personally." She paused. "Have we canvassed the neighbourhood for security footage? Surely there are surveillance cameras posted at the front and freight doors of some of the local businesses."

Dante made a note in the file. "I'll get right on that."

Anna lifted her pen to her lower lip. "I want to see who was in the general vicinity at the time of the shootout. We may not have footage of what happened inside, but we might get a better idea of exactly who was involved. I'd expect to see Julian, Sonny, Shawn, and Max on camera. But I'm very curious about who else was there. We know there were two more shooters—who were they? I doubt one of them was Shawn's nephew T.J. That warehouse must have been full to the rafters with thugs, and if there was one witness, there might be others. Let's try to find out who they are."

As Dante was collecting together his papers and files, Anna's phone rang. She answered. "Commissioner Devane."

It was Duke. "I'm calling back, as requested. What's the problem, Anna? Your message sounded serious."

Anna grimaced. "I didn't mean to worry you. But we really do need to talk. Could you meet me after work? Maybe come by the station at 5:00 or 6:00?"

"I'd love to," he responded; "maybe we can finally have that dinner we've be planning."

Anna felt her heartbeat skip. "Yes, well, let's talk first, and then we'll see. I know you're busy. I'll see you later." She ended the call.

It would be an unpleasant evening.

Across town, Ava Jerome was waiting impatiently outside Julian's suite. Finally the door swung open. "I don't want to know what you were doing, Julian, but god, why did it take so long for you to walk across the room to answer the door? I feel like I've been waiting five minutes out here." She strode into the suite and gave him a withering look. "And why do you insist on answering the door without a shirt? Were you expecting someone else? Someone who would be impressed? Frankly, I find it disturbing that my half-brother takes every opportunity to show off his chest to me. Good thing we were never locked up together in an attic." Ava cackled at her own joke.

Julian said nothing, walked to the bathroom, and came back out with a dress shirt. "Better?" he asked.

"Now I can take you seriously," she answered. "Tell me, what was so important I had to drop everything and come right over?"

As Julian spoke, he buttoned the front and cuffs of his shirt. "I've been told about a particularly intriguing new business venture here in Port Charles. Duke Lavery is helping an anonymous business partner open a new club."

Ava looked unimpressed. "Why do we care at all what Lavery is up to? I don't want you to become obsessed with exacting revenge on that whinging dolt for actions he took against the family twenty-five years ago. We have more pressing concerns; you can't afford to get distracted."

Julian smiled. "We care about what Lavery is up to largely because of his mysterious partner. What you don't know, on account of you being a bastard, is that back-in-the-day Lavery ran clubs here in PC and in New York for our father. Daddy Dearest laundered money through those clubs and used them to sell—how to best say it—'illegally obtained' alcohol."

Ava was intrigued. "And you think Lavery might be setting up his club as a front for someone and something similar?"

Julian lifted the index finger of his right hand and flamboyantly touched it to his nose.

"And you think this someone similar might be Corinthos?"

Julian smiled. "Of course. Who else? Lavery has the knowledge and experience. Sleeping with the police commissioner probably makes him feel immune to prosecution—though, if memory serves me correctly, it didn't help him in the past. Anna Devane tried her best to ignore his mob connections when they were first together, but eventually even she had to acknowledge Lavery was a crook. I can't imagine Duke would be asked to manage a club for anyone but a mob boss. I doubt he knows the first thing about running one above-board."

Ava leaned back against the desk. "But you aren't sure about this?"

Julian was tucking in his shirt and turning up his cuffs. "No, I'm not sure. But I think it's a safe bet."

"How do we find out if Lavery's back in it and who he's working for?"

Julian shrugged. "We find out what we can about the shipments being sent to Lavery's club. We pay special attention to large shipments of booze and deliveries made after hours."

"So we watch and wait?" Ava asked.

Julian smiled. "We watch very carefully and wait."

"And if it turns out Lavery is working with Corinthos?"

"If the shipments are illegal, we can do anything we want to them—steal them, trash them, hit them where it hurts. They won't be able to go to the cops, unless Devane is also on Sonny's payroll, which I highly doubt. The club might be Corinthos' Achilles' heel. His coffee business has been up and running so long he's identified and strengthened all the potential weak points and breaches. But a new venture might offer a vulnerability that we can exploit."

Ava's generous mouth spread into a Cheshire-cat grin. "So once we're sure, we pounce."

Back at the station, Anna was scrolling through pages and pages of witness reports—or, more accurately, non-witness reports—taken in the warehouse district on the night of the shooting. No one had seen anything, no one had heard anything. Anna wondered if any of the accounts were true or if everyone in Sonny's neighbourhood was simply too frightened to tell the police what they knew.

There was a knock at the door. Anna looked up. "Yes?" she called out, and it opened.

Robert stood in the doorway. Anna removed her reading glasses. They shared a look. "Hello Robert. Come in."

He walked over to her desk. "Any chance of you taking a break and coming out for lunch?" he asked. Anna shook her head. "Sorry. I have a meeting with DA Baldwin in fifteen minutes. He'll huff and puff for a while, upset about the lack of progress on the shooting, will probably threaten to blow my house down, and then I'll be able to get back to work. I wonder what he would do to persuade our uncooperative witnesses."

"If there's anything I can help you with," he offered, "just let me know."

Anna suddenly remembered something, pushed her chair back from her desk, opened and reached into one of her drawers. "On that very subject, I have a contract for you to sign. Once you've done that and officially become a consultant to the PCPD, I have a shiny new identification badge for you to wear here at the station. If you need anything from anyone, all you need to do is show it and ask."

Robert took the paper, signed, and accepted the i.d. "You know, it feels pretty good to be back in the business of defending Port Chuck. Feels like old times."

Anna smiled. "Yes, it does. Only you were usually on this side and I was on that side of the desk."

Robert grinned back. "You forget that occasionally we were both on the same side—on top of the desk."

Anna frowned. "Now that I'm commissioner, Agent Scorpio, that kind of funny business is not tolerated. I run a tighter ship than you did. I'm much more professional."

Robert sighed. "Admirable, but disappointing. I came all the way over here in the hope . . . oh well. Now that I've got my badge, maybe I'll get down to work. I don't want it to be a wasted trip."

Anna folded her hands. "What's your strategy, Robert? Now that you've spoken to Stephen Corbett, what's your next move?"

Robert became serious. "Since the possible pregnancy is the only new information we've got, it seems logical to pursue that angle. It makes sense of her excitement on the phone and her attempt to keep her colleague from hearing the conversation. I've been going through the file trying to identify anyone she might have told—family members, very close friends. She had two sisters, but they weren't living in Port Charles at the time of Carolyn's disappearance. I'll get in touch with both to find out what they knew and to confirm neither of them was in town when she disappeared. If they weren't in the loop, she must have told a close friend. Stephen identified four or five women she was particularly friendly with. I'll work my way down the list, I guess. I'll need current telephone numbers and addresses; your shiny new badge will help me out there."

Anna nodded. "Sounds logical. I appreciate you taking the lead on this case. If you need anything from me, just let me know."

Robert smiled. "And if you need any help on the mob shooting, feel free to bring me in."

"Just like old times at the Scorpio-Devane Detective Agency," Anna observed. Then there was a loud, obnoxious knock at the door. "Come in," she called.

It was Scott Baldwin, and he looked angry. "What the hell are you doing here, Scorpio? In case you hadn't noticed, this is no longer your fiefdom. The PCPD isn't your private security firm anymore."

"One of the perks of being a consultant and not the commissioner," Robert said, looking at and directing his comment to Anna, ignoring Baldwin completely, "is that I'm not required to deal with this jackass in an official capacity ever again. Good day, Ms. Devane." He turned on his heel and walked out of the office with a wave of the hand.

Anna had been glancing at the clock all afternoon, watching the hands crawl up and around until they hit 5:00. Her stomach was doing flips as she waited, knowing Duke could walk in at any minute. She hoped he would call first so that she could feel more mentally prepared. But then the phone rang. She answered. "Duke Lavery to see you, Commissioner," she was told.

His promptness, his eagerness, made Anna feel even worse. "Tell him to come through."

When he entered the office, Anna stood and walked across the room toward him. Duke smiled and moved in for a kiss; Anna balked. Duke drew back, his eyes questioning. He asked, "Are you still upset with me for the past few evenings? The problem with operating a club is that your business dealings often take place at night. I'm sorry I've been called away so often."

Anna leaned back on her desk. "I remember what it was like when we were married. I didn't see much of you unless I was at the club, dressed in a gown and parked at a table somewhere central. I hope you're not taking on a similar kind of commitment."

Duke shook his head and reached to take her hands. "No, no; once the club is up and running, I'll step away. I'm only a consultant, not the manager. But I want to do my job right; I'm working very hard to make sure the place will eventually run like clockwork without me. But I've made it very clear that I'm not to be disturbed tonight. You're my priority this evening, Anna. I'm sorry I've let club business keep us apart."

"Yes," Anna spoke softly, "about that, Duke. I want to acknowledge my part in our recent troubles. I haven't been entirely above-board with you, haven't let you in on what I've been thinking and feeling recently, and I really need us to talk honestly about our future. Things have been difficult lately, but not only because of your business responsibilities. I've been asking myself some really tough questions, questions, actually, that Robin encouraged me to think about . . . "

Duke's cell phone pinged. Anna stopped speaking and looked into his eyes. "Ignore it," she told him.

Duke looked back at her. "Of course. Please, Anna, tell me what you've been feeling. I want to know."

Anna cleared her throat and looked down. "Well, I know we both committed to starting over, to exploring whether or not we want to be a couple again. And we have been—have been trying, and have been a couple too—even though, and I think we would both agree on this, it's been quite hard. We're very different people than we were before. So much happened after we were separated—bad things, obviously, but also good things, at least for me and I hope as well as for you. Anyway, we've both experienced some fairly significant traumas since we were married . . ."

Duke's cell phone pinged again. He looked at her apologetically. "I'm so sorry. Don't stop."

But Anna, who had been rambling anyway, had lost her train of thought, and she could sense that Duke wasn't carefully concentrating on what she said either. The phone pinged again.

"Maybe it's better if I just check the messages," Duke offered; "I'll deal with this quickly and then we'll have the rest of the evening to sort everything out." He checked his texts. As he scrolled through, Anna noticed his jaw clench. "What is it about?" she asked.

Duke looked up. "I hate to do this to you again, Anna . . ."

Anna stood. "No, Duke; this cannot happen now . . ."

Duke was putting his phone back in his coat pocket. "I have no choice. A delivery's being made in half an hour and there's no one to meet it but me. Just let me deal with this and I can come and find you later. And I promise, once the club is up and running, I'll dedicate every hour of the day to you and to our relationship." He kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you as soon as I'm done," he promised and hurried out the door.

"Oh no you don't," Anna muttered. She grabbed her coat and bag and followed him, at a discreet distance, out of the station.

Fifteen minutes later, after a convoluted and suspicious stroll through Port Charles' more out-of-the-way side streets and alleys, Anna had followed Duke to a location not far from the docks. It saddened her to see him warily look around and behind him, thinking he was being cautious, thinking he could tell if he was being followed. "You're not as good at this as you think you are, Sweetheart," she muttered to herself. "You've gotten yourself into so much trouble here."

Assuming he was unobserved, Duke opened the door to Sonny Corinthos' restaurant and office. Anna's heart sank. She knew now without a doubt that he'd ignored her request to stay out of the mob war. She wondered how deep he was in it, and how on earth she would get him out. Most of all, she wanted to kick his ass for putting her in the position of having to rescue him.

Once inside the office, Duke slammed the door behind him. "What in hell is this about, Corinthos? I didn't realize when I agreed to help you go after the Jeromes that I'd be at your beck and call twenty-four-bloody-hours of the day. What are you trying to do, make Anna suspicious?"

Sonny smiled. "Of course not, Lavery. I just have various jobs for you to do. As I said earlier, your woman, your problem—you figure out how to keep Anna in the dark."

"How can I protect that woman when I'm never actually in her immediate vicinity?" Duke railed. "If Julian wanted to, he could take her out at any time, and I'd be nowhere near to keep her safe."

Sonny smiled wider. "From what my sources tell me, you don't need to worry about Anna Devane. If she isn't already her own best body guard, she has someone else watching her lovely back. I'd be more worried about Robert Scorpio 'taking her out,' in a different sense, than Julian Jerome. It seems the commissioner's been spending a surprising amount of time with her other ex-husband."

Duke thought about Anna's strange behaviour in her office and the odd conversation she had initiated, her rambling apology, her reference to the difficulties of re-establishing their relationship.

"In fact," Sonny suggested, "you might want to ask her about last night, who her guest was."

Duke stared at Sonny. Sonny shrugged his shoulders in apology.

"Certain information just falls into my lap. Ms. Devane lives at a hotel owned and run by my ex-wife and my current girlfriend. As a result, I'm privy to some interesting facts, for example, the identity of the man who entered the commissioner's suite late last night and didn't leave again until early this morning. If you want to see, I have security footage on file."

Duke turned and was about to leave when Sonny commanded forcefully, "Don't forget to meet that shipment. We've got a truckload of booze coming in from across the state line. And you need to find a place to stash it until the club opens."

Duke walked out of the office.