A/N: Thank you for the great reviews! Ok, so I should tell you there are about five chapters left before this story comes to an end, so that's plenty of time for more to happen between our two lovers. Alright, on to the new chapter before I say too much!

I don't own them…

Chapter 21 – Jackal and Jones PI

-- Jason's office --

After a few methodical clicks on his computer, Spinelli was able to uncover who had taken the indiscreet pictures of his boss in company of Sam McCall at the Metro court. The photos were by a certain Johnny Z, which was an easy find for the Jackal. The photograph was proud of having the scoop on Jason Morgan's latest bed warmer as it seemed to him and to the gossips of Port Charles that the businessman constantly switched partners. But Johnny Z, or Zacharra, like Spinelli later found out, didn't complain; Morgan's playboy ways were good for business, as long as it kept people talking.

"Come on! We have to go talk to that guy!" Maxie told the computer genius.

"Um… the Jackal believes he should wait for further…" The young man saw Maxie run out of Jason's office and instinctively followed her, clutching his laptop under his arm.

-- Johnny Z's apartment --

Spinelli and Maxie drove up to the paparazzo's apartment in a shabby side of town and Maxie wondered why the man would choose to live in such a dirty looking place when he probably made thousands of dollars on shots like the one he took of Jason.

"This is the humble abode of the phantom photographer." Spinelli declared as they arrived in front of the man's door.

"Humble? You're nice! This place looks like a dump!" Maxie added before knocking loudly on the door.

A dark haired man quickly appeared in front of the duo. "That was fast, for once you'll deserve you tip… Wait, who are you?" The young man said realizing that the attractive young woman standing at his door wasn't delivering him his pizza.

"The Jackal and the fair Maximista, here to ask you questions of the most confidential nature." Spinelli hastily explained.

The brooding man was not amused. "What the heck?"

"Oh never mind my… brother here, he likes talking in codes. My name is Maxie, and Spinelli here just said that we want to ask you a few questions about the picture of Jason Morgan you took a few days ago."

"Sorry, I don't talk about any of the shots I take… you know, I try to respect my subjects privacy." He sarcastically said before trying to close the door on the odd pair.

"No wait!" Maxie yelled, preventing him from shutting the door. "Please, we just have a quick question and we promise not to make any problem for you. All we want to know is if a woman named Sam or Carly tipped you on this picture."

The man hesitated a few seconds wondering why that young woman was interested in this. "Why do you want to know?'

"Well it's that we have a reason to think that they've plotted to mess up my boss and Jason Morgan's relationship."

"Well Morgan is a real manwhore, and frankly you should tell your boss that she's better off without him." The man said trying to close the door again.

"Please, you have to help us. It's really important; just tell us if one of these women asked you to take this picture and we'll leave you alone."

Johnny contemplated the idea for a few seconds weighting the pros and cons of helping the young woman and her awkward brother out. She seemed like a nice girl and he had received his money from the infamous picture which clearly was all he cared about. It was that other woman's mistake not having explicitly told him not to talk to anyone about their arrangement.

"Alright, you're pretty nice so I'm gonna tell you. You're right, a woman called me and asked me to be there at a certain time and that I would be really glad if I did."

"I knew it!" Maxie exclaimed. "Do you have a name by any chance?"

"Yeah, but it's not going to be free…"

"We don't have any money…" She started to say.

"Will a hundred be worth this most wanted name?" Spinelli offered.

The Jackal raised Johnny's interest. "Make it two and I'll talk."

The computer genius took out two hundred dollars from his wallet and handed it to the photographer.

"Angela. Now if you would excuse me, I'm missing the end of my game."

"Oh thank you so much! You've been a great help!" Maxie said and the man finally closed his door leaving the two investigators perplexed; Angela? Yet another woman to add to the mix.

They regained the fashionista's red Mini Cooper where Spinelli kept tapping more keys on his laptop, while Maxie tried to make sense of their discovery. "Ok, now I am completely lost! Who is this Angela? And what does she have to do with this Sam, or Carly? Don't tell me he just threw out this name just to get rid of us. And how come you walk with all this cash on you anyway?"

"Simple precaution, taught to me by my master." Spinelli said while playing with his keyboard. "Well, well the Jackal once more exceeded all expectations! I ran a cross search of Sam McCall and the mysterious Angela whose full name is actually Angela Monroe and was surprised to see that the two women are actually only one!"

"What? What do you mean? That Angela is in fact Sam?"

"The fair Maximista is correct!" The young man said with a large corky smile.

"Ok, so now we know that Sam plotted this whole thing but how does Carly fit in all this?"

"Give the assassin of the Internet a few more minutes and he'll be close to a revelation."

"Hurry up Spinelli! Elizabeth has been a mess since she saw this picture! And if Carly has something to do with all this then we need to know now!"

Spinelli went back to tapping various keys on his computer and was able to dig up interesting information on both Sam and Carly. He surely would have operated faster if Maxie hadn't been babbling in his ears all along to fill him in on the events, but Spinelli had to admit he enjoyed her company very much.

The young man found out that Sam and Carly had a couple of very short phone conversations in the past week and video surveillance from the Metro Court had shown the two women talking in the lobby then exchanging some kind of document. When Spinelli found that footage, Maxie screamed that it must have been the pictures. Also, Carly had very recently withdrawn $10,000 from her bank account, in cash, which caused two pairs of eyes to open wide.

"Ohhhh! I can't believe these two conniving harpies! Doing all this just to break up Elizabeth and Jason! I feel like I'm back in high school. I know I've done my share of rotten things but not nearly as elaborate as this!"

"That was a convoluted plan indeed, but not enough to mislead the Jackal."

"Well the Jackal is awesome!"

"The fair Maximista is not bad herself! We sure make a good team."

-- Metro Court Hotel, lobby --

After leaving his meeting, Jason saw a message from Spinelli detailing the findings of his investigation with Maxie. Jason knew Carly could go to great length to get her way but this time she had crossed an irreparable line. His personal life was off limits and she just might have ruined the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to him. He had a few words to tell Carly before anything else.

"I believe this is yours." Jason threw the magazine with the picture of him and Sam under Carly's nose.

"Oh thanks, you know I like my daily gossip." Carly flipped the magazine pages feeling Jason's cold glare on her. "Oh my god Jase, I had no idea you were back with Sam." Carly then innocently said while standing up from the sofa where she was seating.

Jason wasn't amused. "So did you enjoy messing up with my life? Because it is a game for you obviously…"

"Oh what Jason? Ok yes I showed this to your precious Elizabeth but you have you and only yourself to blame here. You let Sam put her hands all over you and apparently enjoyed her company and that wasn't my fault." The woman said then started walking away before being halted by her friend's dry words.

"What is wrong with you Carly? You're so unhappy your marriage failed that now you want everyone to be miserable like you?"

She turned around to face a furious Jason. "I didn't do anything wrong Jason, she would have seen these pictures no matter what, so stop acting like I'm responsible for the problems in your relationship. I told you Elizabeth wasn't the woman for you, and all this could have been avoided if you had followed my advice."

"So you're going to stand here and keep lying to my face?"

The blond woman crossed her arms above her chest. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"BULL!" Jason yelled out with no regards for the place where they were having this conversation. "You know exactly what I am talking about!"

"Calm… down Jason." Carly stuttered. "You're not going to cause a scene in the middle of the hotel. Why don't I come by the penthouse later, when you're not so pissed off?"

"I know all about your deal with Sam and how you paid her to come between me and Elizabeth. Are you that stupid you thought I wouldn't find out?"

"Wait Jason, it's not what you think, I can explain the money… Sam blackmailed me." Carly declared with a straight face. "She showed me the pictures and told me she would leak them to the press if I didn't pay up. I… I know how much you like the designer so I paid up, to protect you. Of course she did it anyway, but everything I did was for you and you know that. I love you so much Jase."

"Carly please, you are so transparent. You've had only negative things to say about Elizabeth from the beginning, you absolutely hate her and you went gloating about the magazine to her face. This whole mess has your name written all over it!"

Carly felt backed up against an imaginary wall with no more recourse but to come clean. "And so what if I did it Jason? You're my best friend and I can't bear to see you waste your time with that pitiful girl." The busted woman spit out.

"What if I tell you I am in love with that pitiful girl? And that you'll never, ever be half the woman she is. Carly, you are the pathetic one here. Doing all this for no other reason but to be hateful; you need help."

"Ok Jason, I know you're mad at me right now but you have to see what is best for you." She cried out. "She isn't a right fit for you, and she's way too insecure to be in your life! And I proved it to you. I… I felt guilty because I forced you to take me to fashion week and that's where you developed this fixation for that designer. I admit I didn't like Sam at first but she is ten thousand times a better match for you."

"You are crazy Carly and thank you really. You finally made me realize who you really are and that I cannot trust you."

"Don't say that, you know you can trust me. I would do anything for you Jason. Anything." Carly pleaded on the verge of tears.

"I am done Carly; I won't accept you manipulating my life any longer. All you care about is Carly and you know what, that's it. You're gonna have to find yourself a new best friend to obsess about. And if you come anywhere near Elizabeth again, you'll seriously regret it."

The man started walking away but suddenly turned around to add a few words. "And Carly?" The woman's eyes fixed Jason, hoping he would take back a few of the most hurting words he had ever sent her way. "You can forget about my contribution in your different business ventures… I'm out." He said and this time walked away from her, ignoring her pleading voice begging him to rethink his decision in the background.

-- Morgan Enterprises, Company Jet --

Jason let Maxie know that he would prefer being the one to talk to Elizabeth and explain what had really happened that evening. The young assistant agreed, thinking it would be best for her boss to hear everything from Jason's mouth. Jason feared she would react the same way she had in her office, mind clouded out by the anger so much that she hadn't wanted to hear his explanation, but hopefully she would accept to hear him out now that he was in measure of exposing the whole truth.

The businessman left work behind and was now on his way to Los Angeles, to hopefully save a relationship that shouldn't need saving in the first place. Jason had made excuses for Carly all these years because of her claim that all she did was because they were friends and that she cared about him, but it was the last time he let the woman meddle in his life. She had a crazy possessive fixation on him and he was happy to be rid of her and her incessant drama.

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Next: "Where the heart takes you"