Chapter 66

Nikolas stared out the window as the limousine hurtled down the highway. They were moving further away from where he wanted to be, further from his objective and it enraged him. The man in the car next to him had overpowered him and taken control – two things he could not stand. Struggling to stay calm he fidgeted with his watch, the one Nathalie had given him for Christmas, twisting it around in his hands. How would he ever be able to explain all of his failures to Nathalie? He had not protected her from his grandmother and he was unable to get her son back. He wondered if she was thinking of him, if she knew despite their argument in the hallway that he still loved her and he was working to bring her home or did she think that she was truly alone, that no one would come for her. His heart ached and then hardened. He would kill his grandmother with his bare hands if Nathalie or their baby was hurt in any way.

"Enjoying the view?" Aidan remarked. With Nikolas still pinned, he instructed the driver, his driver to take off and the car peeled from the street and headed out of town. Letting go of the young prince, he waited to be peppered with questions or punched but neither came. Instead he just stared out the window turning his watch around his wrist. Nikolas turned his head at Aidan's question and glared at him before turning back to the window.

"Look, mate I know you are all kinds of pissed at the moment but I just saved your life back there."

Nikolas rolled his eyes. "Really? What were the Harders going to do – talk me to death?" he asked dryly.

Aidan shook his head. "See this is the problem when you civilians decide you want to play superhero – you don't do any recon work you just dive right in like it's some kind of videogame and you can hit replay if it doesn't go your way."

Snapping his head around Nikolas' eyes burned with fury. "There is nothing, NOTHING about this that is a game. You have no idea what's at stake."

Undeterred by the flash of passion Aidan shrugged. "Trust me, I know it's not a game Nikolas. Your pregnant girlfriend is being held by dear old granny who is planning to snatch the baby for herself and kill Nathalie."

"Who ARE you?" he repeated.

"Same person I was 20 minutes ago – I'm Adian Devane."

As though hearing his name for the first time, Nikolas raised his eyebrows. "Related to Anna?"

"She's my aunt and Robin is my cousin."

"And they hired you?"

"No," he said simply indicating he would not divulge his client's name. "They don't even know that I'm working this case. I've been tracking dear old gran for over a year now."

Nikolas nodded. "So what was this big trap I was supposedly walking in to?"

Aidan rubbed his hand over his face cursing the beard he had grown. Traveling on a false identity he had been forced to make some changes to his appearance and was looking forward to the day he could revert back to his clean cut self. "Helena has had a bit of a desperate time of things lately – some bad investments and poor choices have reduced a significant portion of her wealth."

"What does this have to do with the Harders?"

"She wants your money Nikolas."

"What's she going to do, kill me? That doesn't make any sense." He shook his head. "She needs me to carry on the Cassadine line."

"Technically she doesn't. She has your little boy and now your girlfriend is pregnant – gives her an heir and a spare. If you are out of the way - dead or in jail – then she controls your fortune and has all your voting proxies. She's back in the game then."

"So what? She had a team of assassins waiting for me at the Harders?"

"Too obvious mate. Your moves, to date, have been predictable – anyone who knows you would know that you would go for Nathalie's kids. Your confrontations with the Harders have been well documented. They were given a heads up that a kidnapping attempt would be made on the wee one and their house was filled with FBI agents."

"What do you mean well documented?" he asked as he tried to process the lengths to which his grandmother would go to achieve her goals.
"You – all of you – Robin, Patrick, Nathalie – have been under surveillance for months now and every move you've made – every punch that's been thrown, threat that's been uttered – it's all been recorded. One misstep on your part and you'll find yourself in federal prison."

Nikolas blanched as he started to understand the peril his friends were in as a result of him. "Does…does Robin know?"

Adian shook his head. "Not yet but I've been in touch with Robert – sharing the latest intel that I have."

Rage coursed through Nikolas as he wondered if any of this could have been prevented or Aidan and others let this play out to serve some broader agenda. "If you've been following Helena then where the hell is she?"

He winced as he scratched his head. "Well we lost track of her after you placed her in that facility. She had a number of operatives on the inside who were able to ferry her out without raising any suspicion among my people until it was too late."

Nikolas slammed his head against the back of the limousine furious at his role in this. His heart hammered in his chest and his head pounded. Once told of a Cassadine curse, he had dismissed it out of hand but was beginning to believe that he was held in great disfavour with the gods. "So this is my fault" he said simply.

"No. This is Helena's fault. You were just a pawn in her game."

"She's going to kill Nathalie once the baby is born."

"Well lucky for us we'll have Nathalie back to you long before that happens."

"How? HOW?" he slammed his hands down on the leather seats. "By your own admission you don't know where she is."

"Helena is not as unpredictable as she likes to think she is. She's working with a partner and as soon as I get my hands on him, we will be much, much closer to getting your girlfriend home to you and my cousin reunited with her husband."

"I'm going to kill her" he seethed "limb by brittle limb"

"Easy there champion" Aidan warned. "You leave the killing if there is to be any to the professionals. Concentrate on your girlfriend and your baby - leave the rest to us."

Nikolas returned his sights to the window, watching as car after car passed them along the highway. He could concentrate on nothing else other than his girlfriend and his baby and what he would do if any harm came to them at all.

Aidan pulled out his cell phone and sent a quick text message.

Subject contained. Ready 4 next phase.

*******

Noah strode down the hall, book in hand. Lulu had called him after her visit with Grace letting him know that she had confirmed Grace's questions about her mother having the flu and that all in all the little girl seemed to be in good spirits. Having left Brenda with Robin, he stopped at the hospital library to pick out a new book and headed towards Grace's room. As was his habit, he stopped at the Nurses Station and reviewed her chart before going on. Her progress, post-marrow transplant was remarkable and she was getting very close to being discharged. The inevitability of that day worried him as it meant two things: Grace would be leaving the hospital with her grandparents and Nathalie might not be rescued by the time her daughter is to be released. Thoughts of Nathalie and Patrick haunted him during his waking hours and during sleep. Brenda's return had made things a little less overwhelming but when he allowed his mind to go there, the fear was crushing. Nathalie had been so hopeless and desperate when he had seen her last – she had been coming apart at the seams and he had been truly concerned at what she might do. He hoped that whatever she was feeling that she and Patrick were leaning on each other and working together to survive.

Shaking the dark thoughts from his head, he closed Grace's chart and walked to her room. He froze as he saw a vaguely familiar man leaving her room. He called after him but the man ignored him and hurried down the hall. Noah started after him until, looking in to Grace's room, he saw the little girl in a flood of tears. He glanced once more down the hallway before going to see Grace.

"Gracie-Lou" he said gently "Why are you crying?" Bending down, he kissed her on her forehead.

"No-No-Noah" she stammered, gulping air.

"Yes sweetheart?" Sitting in the chair at her bedside he stroked the fine downy hair that had grown on her head.

"Is Patty disappeared?"

Stunned momentarily, Noah turned his head back to the door wondering exactly what the person in Grace's room had been doing. "Why do you think that?"

"I heard" she sniffled. "Patty's missing. Did he die like my daddy?" she asked as the tears flowed freely down her face.

Noah's heart shattered into a million little pieces as the little girl who had already lived so much faced yet another nightmare. "No Gracie" he said gently, brushing her tears away. "Patty's not dead – I would tell you."

"Wh-whe-where is he?"

Sighing, he hoped he could be forgiven for lying to a child. "He's on a trip – he had to go on a doctor's trip sweetie. He took a big airplane and is on the other side of the world. As soon as his trip is done, he'll be back here to see you."

"Really?" she asked her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Of course" he smiled reassuringly. "You know that you're Patty's favourite person."

"He's mine" she replied confidently.

"I know" Noah grinned. "But we won't tell him that too often or his head will get sooo big he can't walk through the door!"

Grace let out a small giggle. "Like a balloon!"

"Exactly!" Noah let out a small steady breath as it appeared he managed to avert a crisis. "I hear Lulu came to see you today."

She nodded. "An' Ethan too. He likes Lulu."

"What about you, do you like Ethan?"

Grace shrugged. "Yeah but he's not as good as Patty."

Noah's breath hitched slightly at her pronouncement. "That's true Gracie. Very few are as good as Patty."

"Is mommy okay?" she asked, searching his face they way kids do when they look for the truth.

"She is" he nodded. "She just is too sick to come to the hospital."

"I love my mom" she said, pulling on her bottom lip.

Noah cupped her face. "And she loves you – don't ever doubt that Gracie –she loves you very much." The young girl nodded and squirmed in her bed. "I brought a new book, would you like me to read it to you."

"Yes please" she said clapping her hands together.

"It's called 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish'" he said as he cracked it open.

"Noah?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Can we cuddle like I do with my mom?"

Noah swallowed thickly. "Of course we can." Getting up from the chair, he stretched out on the bed beside her as she snuggled into a little ball under his arm, putting her head on his chest. "Ready?" he asked as he pulled her tightly to him, tucking her blankets around her. She nodded and Noah began.

"Black fish, blue fish, old fish, new fish. This one has a little star. This one has a little car. Say! What a lot of fish there are."

Deeply concentrated on reading the story, Noah was oblivious to the long lens snapping photo after photo.