"If I promise my head won't spin all the way around, will you go find some loser friend to hang out with?" Maxie begged Georgie. She had her back propped up on two pillows and a third pillow under her ankles. She looked like a nightmare but she didn't care enough to put on the adequate amount of makeup. She had been stuck in this same spot for days now.
"And miss all this fun? fNever." Georgie returned to painting her nails a pink shade that Lindsay would have made fun of her for choosing. Ever since Maxie came home, she had been a grump but today she was worse than usual. Sighing she brought her fingers up toward her mouth, blowing on them lightly to speed up the drying.
"I'm so tired of being in this bed!" Maxie slammed her fists into the mattress.
"You heard the doctors and you heard Dad. You only got to come home if you stayed in bed and followed orders."
The doctors, Maxie thought morosely. A lot of good those had done her so far. It had been only silence since the day that bitch of a reporter had come to visit her. She had gotten through the exchange with the idea that she would get to tell Ric all about it. But had he come to see her once? No! And she knew he wouldn't visit her here. "But I'm fine now. Look, no tubes, no needles. Why must I stay in this bed? "
"You got hit by a car Maxie. Can't you let us worry about you for a little bit?" Georgie tried not to roll her eyes at her sister's annoyance. She would rather be anywhere, doing anything besides listening to her sister complain about not being able to move. However being annoyed with Maxie was an effective way to keep her mind off of Steven. Had he landed in Paris yet?
"I'm fine. We should be focusing on the kids." What more do you want, a voice asked her. She identified the car. The DNA was mere hours from being released. They would know soon. Maybe she wouldn't have to tell the rest of her family about Ric being here.
"When we get them home, we will. But until then you get to be the center of attention."
Maxie recognized the ploy. The quickest way to her heart, or at least the organ that most resembled it, was to start with her ego. She figured this was why she and Ric got along, that and she couldn't stop fantasizing about him in that baseball uniform. "I wish this channel didn't insist on showing garbage. Whatever happened to quality Daytime television?"
"It died when they hired that moron to run the network." Georgie sighed. At least in Paris the show was three years behind so she could still fool herself into thinking it was still worth watching. Steven had teased her mercilessly for days when he caught her watching it one afternoon. Biting her lip, she snuck a glance at her watch, trying to work out the time difference. It would be early evening. Did he go straight home? Did he sleep on the plane? Was he asleep in his bed right now? Why did she have to think about him in bed right now?
"Are you blushing?"
"What? No. You're crazy." Georgie turned her face away quickly.
"You are! Aww, who are you thinking about?"
There was no way she could tell Maxie about Steven. Not that her sister would freak out over the age difference but use it as leverage to get her way? In heartbeat. Glancing at the TV screen, she saw the face of one of the show's actors flash on. "Him. He's cute."
"It's the doctor's uniform. It's deceiving." Maxie assured her. "Did you meet someone in Paris?"
"When would I have time to meet someone? I'm there to study." Georgie protested.
"That's true. There's never been a guy that came between you and your books." Maxie recalled.
"There you go." Spying an opportunity to get the focus off of her, she motioned toward her sister. "What about you? Meet anyone since I've been gone?"
"In a fashion committee? Right." Maxie rolled her eyes.
"Like I think that's the only thing you've been keeping busy with? Robin told me you've been scarce and I know it's not for work."
"This is my future you're talking about. When I'm not in a meeting, I'm coming up with new designs." Maxie replied smoothly.
Georgie looked at her sister skeptically. There was something in the answer that made her think her sister was evading her questions. She brightened when a long ago news item flittered across her memory. "Hey Dad told me you were designing one of Lucy's dresses! How's that going?"
"It's a disaster." Maxie admitted. She couldn't concentrate on it. Her fingers shook every time she picked up her sketch pencil.
"I thought you were working with someone? Aren't they helping?"
"No." Maxie grumbled. "They are not helping at all. Would it kill...this person to call and work out a meeting with me? My God, this is the most important thing I've ever worked on and he can't take it seriously!"
"He? I thought you said there was no men on your committee?"
Shit. Fuck. Shit. "I didn't say that."
"Yes you did. I asked if you met anyone and you laughed and asked if you would meet any guys on the fashion committee."
"Well, he's obviously gay." Maxie deduced.
Her sister had a point, but still something just wasn't sitting right with Georgie. "True, but if he doesn't want to help, he's not a very good gay guy."
"Then he shouldn't have signed up for the committee." Maxie pointed out.
"Good..." Georgie felt her words leave her throat as her cell phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text message. Flipping her phone open she smiled when she saw the simple message on the screen. I'm back. I'm fine. Miss you.
"There's that blush again. What's it say? What's it say?" Maxie insisted.
"Nothing. It's my roommates. You'd like them. Lindsay reminds me of you a lot."
"So she has wonderful fashion sense, cute hair, and a killer body?" Maxie assumed with a smirk.
"And a modest attitude to boot."
"Alright, go away. I have a lot of work to do. Hand me that pad and pencil, will you?"
"Sure." Georgie handed her sister the items and slipped out of Maxie's eye sight to return the text message. She couldn't help but wonder where exactly he had been when he had texted her. Still on the plane? In the airport? The subway? His room? She cut her thoughts off before it veered into more dangerous territory. Good. Miss you too.
This wasn't working, Lulu thought morosely. If she had a lock-picking set, this would be a lot easier. What she would give for a tension wrench right now. All she had was a bobby pin, a paper clip, and aching fingers. She had been at this a lot longer than she cared to admit. Sure, Lucky could do it with his eyes closed but her knowledge had come second-hand: through a book. She had practiced for several hours a day when she should have been playing piano for whichever recital was coming up, but she had thought perhaps she'd mastered it that last time. Sticky golden strands stuck to her forehead and cheeks as she willed her hands to stop shaking.
The strain on her neck and shoulders was beginning to make itself known; every few seconds, pain would shoot up her spine and she would have to sit back and take a few breaths. She glanced at her watch. It was already eleven; that left her one hour before they delivered lunch. They might not have been the best hosts, but they were strict when it came to the meal schedules. They had been smart enough to separate her and the kids. Did that mean she wouldn't find her way to them sooner or later? They had underestimated her and that hurt a little. Logan might not know her, but he knew what her last name was. There was no giving up; stubbornness was in the blood. Better that they not know what she was capable of, she figured. What a shock it would be—to the four of them as well as to her friends and family she assumed—when she busted them out of here. Her father had said that guests stunk after three days and she wasn't taking any chances. She didn't want to know what their plans were. She simply wanted to get the kids and herself out of here before they could be carried out.
Hearing the satisfying click of the lock depressing, Lulu allowed herself a half-second smile and cautiously pulled the door toward her. Poking her head into the hallway, she found what she had expected to: nothing. The cabin was deathly quiet as it always was when they weren't being served food. Lulu had been able to hear Morgan scream at one of them when they offered to read him a bedtime story so she knew he couldn't be that far away. If she accomplished nothing else right now, she wanted to know where they were. She wanted to be able to calculate exactly how many steps there were between her room and theirs. The most important thing was that she didn't get caught. If they figured out what she was doing, they would move the kids and she'd never find them. They were altogether in the same house; she knew because she had heard Kristina crying in the dead of night.
Lulu walked for a few minutes. She had no destination in mind because there were about five bedrooms covering the hall and any number of them could contain one of the kidnappers. Fucking Logan, she thought grimly. After what he had done to Robin, she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. She wasn't supposed to know about that, but she had heard Lucky on the phone to Patrick the morning after. Patrick had been calling to give him an update. It was kind of insensitive, Lulu mused, but it wasn't like either of them had spilled to the rest of the family. She wished she could depend on even one of her family members the way her brother and cousin relied on each other.
Snap out of it, Lulu! You have two little kids depending on you. Get it together! Feeling her second wind approaching, Lulu bent down and looked through the lock hole of each door, one by one. It wasn't the most technical thing, but her mom always said the best secrets were exposed this way. It was amazing she wasn't jumping out of planes or diffusing bombs with the stories Lucky and her parents told. Once she showed up, it mostly dwindled away, but they told her about a shootout involving the notorious Corinthos-Morgan tag team and some of their enemies. The only reason she had listened to the story from start to finish was because her house just happened to be one of the settings for the retaliation. She still couldn't picture her mother of all people standing at the top of the stairs with a shotgun. Three doors and there wasn't a single moving object.
The fourth door revealed a tiny brunette sitting in a circle of hand-me-down Barbie dolls. She tucked her caramel hair behind her ears and spoke to the dolls in the same way Alexis talked to the PCPD officers. "Why don't I have that report on my desk? Do we have him in custody? The last thing we need is that whacko running around the streets with a gun." Kristina reiterated through the plastic lips of the lone Ken doll. The police station was composed of multicolored Lego's and washcloths.
Lulu lightly tapped on the door with her knuckles. "Kristina, come to the door." She whispered.
"Lulu?" Kristina looked up.
"Yes, shh, come to door." Lulu ordered again.
"Lulu, how did you get out of your room? They locked mine." Kristina complained matter-of-factly.
"I'm smart." Lulu answered arrogantly. "Now, listen, I can't stay for very long, but I wanted to check on you—"
"Can't stay? But I want to go home, Lulu!" Kristina snapped.
"Shh, I know. Kristina, I know. You will. We're all going home. Listen..." Lulu squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of Kristina sobbing. "Listen, I have to find Morgan. I need to know where both of your rooms are so I can bust you out when I get the opportunity. Do you know where they took him?"
"I think they took him downstairs."
"Ok. I'll have to try to get to him later. Don't tell anyone I was here."
"Of course I can. I'm no rat." Kristina promised. "Come back soon okay?"
"I promise." Lulu replied. "I have to go now. I love you. If you remember nothing else, remember that."
"Love you too Leslie Lu." Kristina sounded like she was going to start crying again.
Flipping her hair behind her ear with a practiced precision, Emily connected her cell phone to her newest electronic toy. While Nikolas hadn't been good for much, at least he had the good sense to give a girl useful presents, she giggled to herself. As the lights blinked on, she waited the few moments for the machine to indicate it was ready before she dialed.
That stupid bitch Robin, she grumbled as she caught sight once again of her broken nail. She hadn't planned on sending the locket just yet, it was supposed to be a little fuck you after she got rid of the other two, but the other woman's ridiculous attempt at being intimidating had pushed up the timetable a bit. Let her be all big and bad with that, she mused with an evil gleam in her eyes.
Making sure to turn on the signal scrambler, she pressed the now familiar numbers. As much as Lulu and Kristina said otherwise, she, Emily Quartermaine, was not stupid. She had learned from the best and she was going to do him proud. There was no way she was going to let something as elemental as a phone trace ruin her plans and connect her to Logan the Moron and Courtney the Spineless. Waiting patiently, she smiled when the call was finally connected.
"Miss Davis." She announced calmly before Alexis could get a word out. "So nice of you to answer your phone."
"Are you ready to tell me what you want or is it back to mind games?" Alexis challenged in a steady voice.
"Tsk tsk. You are in no position to make demands."
"I want to talk to my daughter. I don't believe you really have her." Alexis stated.
Bored already, Emily examined her nails again. "If you look outside your office door, Miss Davis, you will see a package." If Logan hadn't screwed up yet again, he should have left it just minutes ago. "All the proof you need will be inside."
Alexis had no choice but to set the phone down and hurry to the door. Yanking it open, she noticed a small square box wrapped in brown parchment paper. She closed the door and returned to the phone. Putting it to her ear, she asked, "What is it?"
"Now where's the fun in that?" Emily taunted.
Alexis tore apart the paper and flipped open the box, her heart in her throat. She had to laugh at her hysteria when she picked out the box's contents. "A Teddy Bear?"
"Take the bear to your fiancé and you will find your daughter's hair and DNA all over it. I do hope she doesn't lose any sleep tonight without it."
"You son of a bitch! Why are you doing this?" Alexis shrieked helplessly.
"You took something unjustly. You deserved to be punished."
"No, actually that would be you." Alexis corrected harshly.
"I call it leveling the playing field." Emily laughed. "Now if you want your precious little brat back, you'll pay attention."
"I'm listening."
"Three things. First, fifty thousand dollars. No funny business with dye bags or trackers. Anything funny and I don't release her."
"Fifty thousand dollars? I don't have that kind of money!" Alexis countered.
"You'll find it." Emily responded calmly and continued, "Two, you will prepare your resignation from the DA's office."
Alexis would have had to do the second one even if it weren't a stipulation. The doctor had told her she could come back to work only long enough to get things ready for the next DA. After every "I" was dotted and ever "T" was crossed, she would undergo major Chemo. "That is a very strange request." Alexis said aloud.
"You disgraced your office. I'm doing a civic service. Three. You will release the following people you imprisoned for unjust reasons. Jermaine Heridia. Stan Johnson. Benito Goodman. Jason Morgan."
"WHAT? Jermaine Heridia shot and killed twelve people in cold blood. Jason Morgan is a pedophile—" Alexis pointed out. Who did this guy think he was, making such obscure demands? Benito Goodman had been shipping cocaine through baby formula powder. Stan Johnson had hacked into City Hall and stolen over two point five million dollars from its employees.
"It's called justice. You have forty-eight hours to complete everything. Once I am convinced all the men have been freed, I will let you know where to deliver the money. When I have my money, you will get your little brat back."
"What about Morgan? And Lulu?" Alexis urged. There was no point in whining about how impossible those releases would be in the time given, because she would move Heaven and Earth to get Kristina back.
Alexis stared at the phone, the buzzing in her ear the loudest sound of all. How was she going to explain to Robin and the Spencers that nothing had been said about their children? They would insist that she hadn't tried hard enough. There wasn't time to worry about their reactions; she had to comply with the orders because she was too scared to do otherwise. She pressed her intercom speaker and paged her secretary, Lainey Winters. She handed over the Teddy Bear with explicit instructions to send it to the lab and put a rush on it. Her next call was to Mac.