A/N – Thanks for the comments! * lrobinson01 – Just like the mob guys, she comes prepared and knows all the players for the most part. * ilovedana53 – Don't know yet re: chapters. I'm at 35 right now but it will probably in the low 40's.

All the players are revealed in this chapter….

Chapter 22 - Machinations

Elizabeth looked at her plate and said, "thank you," before popping some grapes into her mouth.

"Shouldn't you be eating more than that?" Sarah asked.

"I'm fine."

"You need some protein Elizabeth," Sarah chided.

Liz groaned.

"What do you suggest?" Jason asked.

"Well, you probably should drink some milk or have some yogurt. Eggs or cottage cheese would work. You're eating fruit so that is fine. It's better to eat than drink it actually," Sarah said.

Jason got up and went back into the kitchen.

"I have so much to learn," Liz said.

"You'll get it down," Sarah said. Her specialty was pediatrics.

"How's Patrick?" She asked.

Sarah smiled. "As insatiable as ever."

Liz chuckled.

"Why don't you two come over for dinner tomorrow night?" Sarah asked, "I miss you."

Liz smiled. "I'll check with Jason but I don't think we have any plans so it should be fine."

"Good. I'll look forward to it."

Jason walked back in with an omelet.

Liz smiled. "Thank you. You're good at spoiling me."

Jason smiled. "I have some spoiling to make up for."

Sarah watched them interact. She was glad that Elizabeth was happy. Jason's dark side worried her but as long as he was treating Liz right, then she wouldn't interfere. As much as she and Elizabeth teased each other, she loved her sister and would have her back.

Liz gave him a quick peck before diving in her eggs.

"I invited you two over for dinner tomorrow night," Sarah said.

Jason shrugged. "Sounds good."

Sarah stood up. "Alright, I have some shopping to do. I'll call you later."

Liz smiled. "Bye."

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Maxie slid into a booth at a diner on the outskirts of town. "Hey," she said to Susan.

"Hey," Susan said squinting, "Have you heard anything?"

Maxie shook her head. "Nothing at all. I'm really worried about him. No one has heard anything."

Susan nodded.

The waitress took their drink orders and then left.

"Maxie, I was reading a lot of things in the paper this morning. Do you think that the mafia got him?"

Maxie shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't think EJ was involved with all of that but it's a possibility," she said coyly.

Kristen had to fight not to smirk. Maxie knew more than she let on. "Well, maybe they thought he knew something. That Sonny guy looks awfully mean."

Maxie smirked. "You don't know the half of it. Jason is back and he's even worse."

"How so?"

"He's a stone cold killer," Maxie said.

"He seemed really nice to me and really dreamy," Susan said blushing.

Maxie chuckled. "Oh, I won't argue that he is hot. I know for a fact that he's very good in bed." Sam was drunk one night and spilled.

"Maybe we could spy on them."

"I do know their computer geek. I could go visit him and see what he knows," Maxie said.

"I think EJ will be very happy with you when he finds out that you helped me," Susan said laying it on thick.

Maxie smiled. That is what she was counting on.

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That evening, Kristen made a few calls. She was going to need backup and drugs if she was going to pull all of this off. No one seemed to suspect her at this point. She needed to get closer to Elizabeth to gain her confidence. Tomorrow, she'd check in at the hospital again. She had contacted the landlord of EJ's office building and they were going to let her access it in the morning. Since she knew that EJ had been up to something, she hoped that he had left her some kind of clues to what they were planning. Other than knowing her father wanted some properties, she wasn't privy to anything else.

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Sonny looked up as Jason walked into his office. "What's up?"

"Just stopped in to get some paperwork done."

"How's Elizabeth?"

"Good. She and the baby are healthy," Jason added.

Sonny sat back in his chair. "We still haven't found Kristen and Johnny has been keeping an eye on Susan. I guess she's met Maxie a few times."

Jason rolled his eyes. "We probably should move Spinelli to a safe house. He can't seem to keep his mouth shut around her."

Sonny nodded. "Done. Anna Devane paid me a visit a few hours ago."

Jason frowned. "For what?"

"She's looking for Stefano," Sonny said.

"Why?"

Sonny shrugged. "She wouldn't say. I get the feeling he must have been involved in something pretty serious for Anna and the WSB to get involved."

"Maybe that's why he wanted the docks, to move some kind of illegal cargo," Jason said.

"Which means that he could have been working with a partner."

Jason sighed. That meant, that this probably wouldn't be over by a long shot. "It could have been Kristen."

"True but Johnny went to Salem and asked around and I don't think Kristen and Stefano were on the greatest terms," Sonny said.

"Sometimes family is complicated," Jason said, "We need to find out who Stefano was working with. See if we can move Spinelli today."

Sonny nodded as Jason stood up. "I'm on it."

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The air was thick and the man looking out over the thick expand of the bridge inhaled sharply before turning to face the footsteps that approached him.

"Kristen Dimera," he said softly to the beautiful and sexy woman that now stood before him.

She smirked. This was the first time that she had appeared as herself. Of course, she had her Susan disguise in the car. She had made sure that she wasn't being followed when she left the hotel in a red wig and dark sunglasses.

"Hello Marcus," she said smiling before motioning over to a picnic table.

He followed and they sat down.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out you were working for my father," Kristen said, "Do tell me why an officer of the law would go to such lengths," she said knowing that this would be juicy.

Marcus Taggert sighed. "Former officer. Your father sought me out. I was down on my luck and he offered me money although that wasn't my only incentive."

"Go on," Kristen said.

"I wanted revenge on Jason Morgan. He's the reason I lost my job," Marcus said disgustedly.

"You mean your inability to focus on anything else but him is what ended your career right?" she said as Taggert looked at her angrily, "Sorry, continue."

"There's not much left to say. I was the foremost authority on Jason and the business that he could find. So I fed him information and helped him avoid the cops when necessary."

"All under the guise that you would be the one that got to take Jason out?" She asked.

"Yes."

She nodded. "I need to know who else my father was working with."

Marcus sighed. "I can't tell you that."

"Oh, you will tell me because your life depends on it," Kristen said smirking.

Marcus felt a butt of a gun against his temple and barely flinched. "This will not end well," he said firmly.

"Are you threatening me?"

Marcus's eyes darkened. "Yes."

Kristen decided to heed his warning. She knew what kind of physical harm Marcus was capable of. She had done her homework and her father had made sure that Marcus was pretty much a killing machine.

"It's okay Freddie," she said to her goon.

The man nodded and took a couple of steps back.

"I want to work with you. I need your help in acquiring Elizabeth Webber," Kristen said.

"Jason's new girlfriend." Marcus said. He too had done his homework.

"Yes. I need her out of the picture and then I will start drugging him. He'll then be open for suggestion."

Marcus head tilted. "You want him?"

Kristen nodded. "Oh most definitely and then he'll have a choice to either stay with me or die. If he chooses to die, then that is where you'd come in."

Marcus studied Kristen. Stefano had warned him that she was a little off to say the least. He had no intention of letting Jason live. If that meant that Kristen had to die to, then oh well.

"What exactly am I doing with Elizabeth?" he asked.

"I don't care if you fuck her, kill her, maim her—all three—she just needs to disappear for good," Kristen said.

Marcus nodded. "I'll do what you ask but I swear to God if you don't let me be the one that ends Jason…"

Kristen held her hand up. "I get it. You'll either kill me or die trying," she said standing up, "Marcus, I think it would be in your best interest to tell me who it is Stefano was working with. I have a feeling that it's someone in town."

"Again, that I can't divulge," he said walking towards the tree line. And right before he disappeared he turned and looked at her, "I'll be in touch."

She watched him leave and sighed. He was going to be a tougher nut to crack but one thing Kristen had was patience.

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Marcus pulled out his phone. "The meeting is done."

"What does she want you to do?" A man asked.

"Make Elizabeth Webber disappear."

AJ grinned. "This is perfect. Do it and then make sure if anyone goes down for it, it will be her."

Marcus cleared his throat. "Done." he said.

AJ sank back into his chair. He was finally going to get revenge against the golden boy. They had already come up with a plan to take Elizabeth. While he led his life in banished isolation, Jason, the man who could do no wrong, had a fucking baby on the way as well as the approval of the Quartermaine family.

After the accident, his family had basically abandoned him. Even when he agreed to go to rehab and change his life around, they didn't care because of all of their energy was focused on Jason. When the golden boy turned his back on them, AJ thought that they would forgive him, but they didn't. Instead, they found a way back into Jason's life and Edward threw some money at him and asked him to leave; for the good of the family.

He took the cash and went on a binge, angry because his family wouldn't do anything they could to stand by him like they did Jason. It was in a small town in Thailand that AJ ran into Stefano. The older man ended up taking him under his wing and giving him a job and a purpose; much like Sonny did for Jason. For years, they worked together. AJ had no idea that eventually, when Stefano realized his connection to Jason Morgan that he was going to be used to get the properties. When Stefano finally approached him and told him the plan, AJ's heart was so hardened against his brother that he laughed loudly and agreed to whatever Stefano wanted.

It was AJ's idea to enlist Taggert. He remembered the amount of hatred the man had for his brother and knew that he was definitely the right man for the job. Stefano had changed his will to make sure that Kristen wasn't the one running his empire just in case he and EJ fell during battle. AJ was now in charge of the business. Kristen hadn't made any movements to even contact the executor of the estate. She was a lose canon but AJ was having her watched and knew her every move. He would use her to get what he wanted. She would help him avenge Stefano's death and then he would kill her; something Stefano was not opposed too.

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The next night, Jason and Elizabeth went over to Sarah and Patrick's apartment for dinner.

"Hey," Sarah said smiling as she stepped back from the doorway.

"Hi," Liz said. "Sorry we're a little late."

Sarah shrugged. "It's fine."

They went into the living room and Patrick appeared from the bedroom.

"Elizabeth and Jason it's good to see you," he said before giving Elizabeth a hug and then shaking Jason's hand. "Please, have a seat. Jason can I get you a beer?"

"Yes. Thanks." Jason said.

Patrick went into the kitchen.

"Why don't I smell food?" Liz asked.

Sarah grinned. "It will be delivered any minute. Sorry, we both had a double shift and were too exhausted to shop."

"You should have called. We could have done it another night," Liz said.

"It's fine. We had a good sleep before you came," Sarah said, "Patrick can grill another time."

Patrick handed Jason a beer and then sat down next to Sarah and took a swig of his.

"I had someone come in today with several detached fingers. It was pretty cool. You want to see?" He asked Elizabeth.

"Uh no," She said frowning.

"I do," Jason said.

Liz looked at him with surprise as Patrick chuckled and grabbed his phone and then showed Jason.

"Did you get it reattached?" Jason asked.

"Of course I did," Patrick retorted making Jason chuckle.

"I clearly forgot who I was talking to," Jason added.

Sarah smiled. "Clearly."

"Elizabeth, you are practically glowing," Patrick said taking notice of her appearance.

Elizabeth blushed and Jason smiled at her.

"If you start flirting with her…..," Sarah said.

Patrick feigned innocence. "Woman, I can behave," he said thinking for a moment, "for five minutes."

Sarah chuckled. "The only girl you're allowed to look at is Epiphany, and that is only because I know she'll never take you up on your advances."

"You hurt me to the core," he said pouting.

"Whatever," Sarah said rolling her eyes.

Elizabeth shook her head. Patrick was a mess but when he looked at Sarah, she could tell how much love he had for her and it made her smile. Even though they were both nuts, it was clear that they were deeply in love and she was really happy for her sister.

"So, how's the coffee business?" Patrick asked.

"Slow but it's good," Jason said, "Nobody has lost any fingers."

Patrick smiled. "If I ever get a chief of staff position, my first order of business will be to put Corinthos/Morgan coffee in the cafeteria. You'll give us a deal right?"

Jason slightly smiled. "Sure."

Patrick grinned. "Oh yeah. I'm not sure what the hell you put in the blend, but I won't go into a long surgery without drinking some."

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you," Jason quipped.

Sarah chuckled. "There will be no killing or maiming tonight, only fun."

"Fun?" Elizabeth asked.

Sarah grinned. "Don't worry, I won't make Jason play charades."

Jason tilted his head and frowned.

"Relax. I thought poker would be more fun, although the idea of Jason playing charades is quite entertaining," Sarah said as Jason rolled his eyes.

"That's fine, prepared to get your asses whooped," Liz said.

Patrick grinned. "I like it when you're feisty."

Sarah looked down at her watch. "Four minutes and thirty seconds….."

Patrick frowned as Elizabeth laughed.

"You're hopeless Drake," Sarah said as Patrick's eyes filled with amusement.