Chapter 13
Monday morning Anna was running late, she should have met Robin half an hour ago. Anna had gone to a meet with her former supervisor. When she had phoned to say she was resigning he hadn't wanted to accept it. So Paterson had flown in to talk to her in person to try and convincer Anna to reconsider. Anna was rushing from the office they had met in when she was sure she heard a large dog snarling and growling. She looked around but didn't see a dog anywhere, she thought it must just be in one of these buildings. Just the sound of that angry dog sent a shiver down her spine. She wrapped her arms around herself and quicken her step, big angry dogs could sometimes still bothered her.
When she turned the corner and was out of sight a man stepped out of one of the doorways with a smile on his face. The reaction she'd had to hearing his recording proved she still remembered Satan. He was going to enjoy taking her away from Scorpio again, but this time he wouldn't get her back.
When Anna got to Kelly's she was still a little shaken by what had just happened and wasn't really sure why. She wasn't afraid of dogs, but there was one she would never forget and the snarling had reminded her of being held in a cage while being guarded by a large Rottweiler. When she saw Robin the thought was put out of her mind. "Hi sweety sorry, I'm late."
"That's OK how did your meeting go?" Robin asked.
"Like I thought it would. Paterson doesn't want me to accept that I'm quitting so this was his attempt to get me to reconsider. When I told him that wasn't going to happen, he wasn't happy but eventually, I think he accepted it," Anna told Robin. "I'm sure they will contact me again to see if I've changed my mind."
"Have you and dad thought about what either of you wants to do now?"
"Yeah, but we haven't come up with anything that really interests us, we have a little time before we get antsy from not having anything to do," Anna told her with a smile.
"Do you want to do something together or have your own ventures?" Robin seemed to have lots of questions.
"I think it would depend on what it was," Anna said. These were all thing she had been wondering herself.
When they were done their drinks they decided to go for a walk, Robin had to be at work soon. As they walked Anna had the feeling of being followed again, and she kept looking over her shoulder. "Are you all right mom you seem a little jumpy?" Robin asked.
"I just have a feeling like we're being followed. The same thing happened when I was out with Tiffany the other day," Anna admitted. "They just left last night but I already miss them."
They walked a little longer then Robin asked, "Why did he stay away?"
"Your dad?" Robin nodded, Anna knew they would have to talk about this sooner or later, so she stopped and faced Robin. "I think there were a few reasons for that. He told me he wasn't the same man anymore, I think that was true at one point. He said he was cold and uncaring, as much as he wanted to see us he felt we were better off without him. You know he was getting updated about what was going on with us?" Robin nodded again, "Well he knew about me getting married, and I think that hit him very hard. He had told me about his drinking but it wasn't until Sean came here that I knew how bad it really was."
"When he came to my place to talk he called himself a drunk," Robin told her.
"Robert really struggled with what he was having to do, he was also dreaming about us and what he had lost. He said he would drink to help himself sleep, it sounds like at some point the drinking became more of an issue though. I think when he found out I had moved on, it really hurt him and he gave up hope. He told me his drinking and anger got really bad about five years ago, two years before the WSB let him out of the agreement."
"Around the same time, you married David."
"Yeah that's what I think too, Sean said he found Robert down in Mexico in some bar. According to Sean, he was well on his way to drinking himself to death and getting into drunken bar fights. Who knows what could have happened. Sean got him cleaned up and gave him a reason to stay sober by telling him about the medical rescue agency. I think the shame of what he thought he'd become was what kept him away after that."
"He didn't want to be a disappointment in our eyes," Robin said and wiped away a tear. "That's what he said."
"He hates the thought of ever letting us down, but that's exactly what he believed he had done," then Anna hugged her. They started walking again Robin was thinking about what she had just heard, they had all suffered so much while they'd been apart, it had been hard on all of them.
They were both smiling again by the time they parted ways, Robin was heading to the hospital and Anna back to where she had parked, she wanted to run to the market before heading home. She was walking through the parking lot and had to stop when a car started to back out in front of her. She didn't pay attention to the man that got out of the car parked close to her own. She had just pulled her keys out when the tranquilizer dart hit her and she fell beside her car. There was no one else in the lot except the man that picked her up and put Anna in his car. He looked around to see if anyone had noticed what had just happened, he didn't see anyone. He smiled, put the car in drive and drove away quickly quiet pleased with himself.
...
It was just after five when Robert went to General Hospital. He found Robin at the second floor nurses station, "Hi dad what brings you here?" Robin asked when she saw him. As soon as he was close she could tell he was upset about something.
"Hi, sweetheart. You meet with your mother this morning right?"
"Yeah, she was a little late so we went for a walk, then I came to work. Why what's going on?" Robin asked.
"She never came home after, I've tried calling her but she's not answering," Robert told her.
"Her meeting took longer then she thought it would, she might have forgotten to turn the ringer back on," Robin suggested.
"Yeah but that was hours ago, she should have realized that and turned it on by now. Did she say whether she was planning to do anything else today?" Robert asked.
"She wanted to go to the market, but I think that was it. Sorry I can't be more help dad." Then she remembered how Anna was acting, "Mom was a little uneasy she said she felt like someone was watching her."
"She had the same feeling this past weekend, maybe she's home now. Her phone might have died, and that was why she didn't answer," they said goodbye, and Robert turned and left. Robin watched him walk away, she could tell he was more worried then he wants to let show. Hopefully, her mom would be waiting for him at home. Neither one of them needs this kind of stress again.
When Robert got home Anna still wasn't there. Something was wrong, there is no way she wouldn't have called him by now. If something had come up Anna would make sure he knew where she was. Robert started pacing, Anna had felt like someone was following her. Had she been right, was there someone here that wanted to harm her or him for that matter and Anna was the way to do that. Robert waited a while longer then decided he had to do something. Robert thought he would go look for her car, then at least he would know what area to look in. Anna had met Robin at Kelly's and then they went for a walk, he might as well start there.
Robert knew which lot Anna would usually park in so he started there. It didn't take him long to find her car either. When he walked over to the car he found that it was locked and everything seemed normal, so he walked around it once to see if he noticed anything out of the ordinary. When he came back around to the driver's side he spotted something on the ground. Just under the car by the driver's door were her keys. Fear shot through him, she had been right here, something must have happened. Had someone grabbed her as she was about to get to her car? He had better go talk to Mac, he puts her keys in his pocket and heads to the police station.
...
When Anna came to, she was tied to a chair in the middle of a room, there was a gag in her mouth. The only other thing in there was a table. There was a pitcher of water and a glass on it, she also saw her cell phone on the table. The phone looks like someone had smashed it with a hammer. How long had she been here? There was only one window in the room but it had a blackout curtain over it so she had no way of knowing if it was day or night. The door to the room must be behind her.
The last thing she remembered was taking her keys out as she got to her car. Who had done this to her? Then she heard the same snarling and growling she had heard after her meeting that morning. She tried to look around more but she was tied too tightly to allow for much movement, the high back of the chair kept her from seeing much behind her. She thought she was alone in the room so where was that coming from?
A new fear took hold of her. If she had been missing for any length of time, how was Robert? He must know by now that something had happened to her. If a dream of her being taken away from him could send him into a rage what is going to happen now that she really is missing?
...
Robert went right to Mac's office, one of the officer's on duty told him that the commissioner was out on a call and that he didn't know when he would be back. "I'll just wait for him here, thanks."
"Like I said I don't know how long he'll be out, sir," Wiliams told him.
"It's fine I need to talk to my brother about my wife she's missing, so I'll just wait, thanks," Robert told him.
"Has she been missing for 48 hours? Until she has we can't do anything," the officer told him.
"Do not tell me police procedure. I know it backward and forwards I was commissioner here when you were still in grade school. If I was reporting a missing person I would have gone and talked to one of the officers. I am Robert Scorpio and I need to talk to Mac Scorpio because his sister-in-law has not been seen since this morning," Robert snapped at the young officer.
"Again sir we can't do anything until she's been missing for 48 hours," Officer Williams told him.
"I am here to talk to my brother not to file a missing person report, do you understand?" Robert yelled.
"If you do not calm down sir, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave."
Mac and Robin had both arrived at the police station at the same time. Robin had thought of something and she wanted to talk to her dad but he wasn't home and he hadn't answered his phone so she thought he might have gone to see Mac. Mac told her he had just gotten back so they could go see if Robert was waiting for him together. They could hear the argument as they got closer to his office.
"You have no idea who I am. I will not leave until I have spoken to the commissioner," Robert yelled. Three more officers had come over to aid their fellow officer. When one of them grabbed his arm Robert pulled away quickly. "Do not touch me! I just want to wait to see my brother, why is that so hard for you to understand?"
Mac and Robin saw it at the same time and rushed over to them. Robin ran right up to them and stepped in between the officers and Robert. "Miss step away from him, we don't know what he's capable of," said Officer Taylor then he tried to pull her away from Robert.
The second the office touched her, Robert snapped. "TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF OF MY DAUGHTER!" Then he went to lunge at the officer. Robin spun around and stopped him, she put her hands on his chest and Robert stopped immediately.
"Dad look at me! I need you to calm down. We'll find mom. You aren't helping her like this." Robin said calmly. Robert was still glaring at the men behind her, she could feel the tension in him. What had her mom told her? She had to make him listen, he would let her in. Robin reached up and touched his face, "Dad I need you. Mom needs you. Focus on me." Robert looked down at her, but he was still very tense. "Daddy, I need your help." Then she put her arms around him. Robert relaxed and hugged her back.
"Alright men you can get back to work," Mac told the officers.
"Sir I think we should stay here, he could be dangerous," Taylor said.
"He's hugging his daughter. The next time my brother shows up here to see me, let him into my office no questions asked. Do you understand me?" Mac told them sternly.
"After I told him you weren't here and that he couldn't file a missing person report yet he just seemed to lose it," Williams told him.
Mac was starting to understand why Robert had been yelling at them. "Why would he come to the commissioner to file a missing person report, Williams?" The officer just stared back at him not sure what to say. "Did he ask to see me? Did he tell you he's my brother? Did he say he's was once the commissioner here?" Mac questioned, the answer had been yes to all of them. "If you had just listened to him this scene could have been avoided. Now get out of my sight," Mac ordered.
Robin leads Robert into Mac's office. "Are you OK now dad?"
"I'm OK. Your mom is missing, someone took her." Robert told her. Mac had entered as he spoke.
"Are you sure Robby?" he asked.
"Robin was the last one to see her, that was this morning." Robert pulled her keys out of his pocket, "When I went looking for her I found her car where she would have parked this morning, these were just under her car. Someone most likely grabbed Anna as she got back to her car."
"Dad I might have an idea about who did this. I need to see a picture of the man that caused Filomena's death and took mom first though."
Robert was shocked, then looked at Mac "1988, Grant Putnam, that should be in the database right." The anger was gone, now he had to get to work finding Anna.
Mac went right to his computer to find the file. He opened it when he found it, "Robin is this what you needed?" Mac asked.
Robin walked around his decks to look at the computer screen, the color left her face when she saw the picture. "I saw him yesterday," looking up at the two men. "He walked into me at the Metro Court, I thought I recognized him but I couldn't place him. After you talked to me today, for some reason I started thinking about Grandma then it clicked."
"Are you sure Robin? You were traumatized by that night," Robert asked.
"That was why I had to see his picture, his hair is thinner but he still had the beard, that was thinner too, but yes this was who I saw," Robin told him.
Out in the squad room, the officers were talking about Robert. "Man I thought he was going to deck me when I touched his daughter," Taylor said with a laugh.
"He was acting like his wife is the first person not to make it home in time for supper. I didn't know the commissioner's brother is a nut," joked Lowell.
"Are you talking about Robert Scorpio?" Baker asked when he came back to his desk having overheard them talking.
"Yeah he totally lost it, Mac just tore into us for not calling him. Apparently, his wife has been missing all day."
"Wait, Anna's missing! The next time he comes here and Mac isn't here you come and get me, do you understand?" Baker was almost yelling. "Robert Scorpio is the finest cop you will ever know as well as one of the best WSB agents they have ever had. If he thinks something has happened to Anna I guarantee it has." Baker was right in Lowell's face. "He has every right to freak out, the last time she was kidnapped they were both believed to have been killed in a boat explosion. Where is he?"
"In the commissioner's office," Williams told him, then Frank Baker rushed out of the squad room, the four young officers just stared after him.
There was a knock at Mac's door, then Baker poked his head in. "Robert I want to help, what do you need."
They all looked up, "I need you to track Anna's cell phone. It was on earlier, now it's either off or dead. That should at least give us somewhere to start the search," Robert told him.
"Yes, sir." Baker left and got to work immediately.
"Robert I'm going to go get a few men to work with you on this, oh and I'll deputize you when I get back," Mac told him. He knew it would be easiest to just give Robert control of this.
"Thanks, Mac." Then he turned to Robin. "We'll find her I promise," he hugged her. "Thank you, Robin. I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in like you did. I was fighting the rage inside of me, but I was starting to lose the battle."
"Mom told me you'd let me in. So I just had to figure out what to say so you'd hear me." Robin told him.
"She is a very smart woman and we are very lucky to have her," he said.
Mac walked into the squad room, "Robert Scorpio needs help finding Anna Devane, who in? He's running the show." Two of the detectives that had gone for drinks with them and one young officer got up. "He's in my office," Mac told them and they all left.
"Sir you're letting him run an investigation?" Williams asks.
"Did you see how quickly Clayton, Young, and even Lewis got up to help him. Why do you think they did that?" Mac asked.
"I'm not sure sir," Williams admitted.
"They've worked for him before including Baker, Lewis was just a kid but his father was Robert's right-hand man and has surely told him all about Robert. They know Anna as well, what you just saw was loyalty," Mac told him. "You saw my brother fighting to control his anger, the things he has had to do to keep his family safe changes a man, as a result he sometimes has trouble controlling his temper, he is trying to find ways to deal with that. The thought of losing Anna again is the biggest trigger he has. I am letting him run the investigation into her disappearance for two reasons. One, he needs to stay busy so his anger doesn't consume him and two, he is 10 times the cop I am. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No sir," Williams answered. With that Mac walked back to his office.
There was another knock at the office door, then three more police officers entered Mac's office. Robert knew two of them but didn't know the third. He went over and held out his hand, "I'm Robert Scorpio, thank you for offering to help."
Shaking the offered hand, "It's been a long time, but we have met before and my dad would disown me if I didn't help you, sir, I'm James Lewis."
Robert smiled, "You're right, Guy would have your head. As soon as Baker has that trace we are going to start planning the search. We believe Grant Putnam is behind this. Clayton, find out where he was being held. If he is no longer in custody find out why and how long he has been out. Young, I want a map of the waterfront I know where her car is and I believe that is where she was abducted, something tells me she wasn't taken that far." Then they all got to work.
...
Jonathan de Salva had rented three apartments in Port Charles to use as his headquarters. Tonight his men were doing surveillance at the Corinthos Coffee Warehouse. They expected that there will be guards and surveillance cameras. They want to find the weaknesses, when the time is right there will be a magnificent explosion that takes down the warehouse.
There was a knock at the door, Pauly went to answer it. When he opened the door a man demanded to be let in, he had to talk to de Salva. "Let him in Pauly, he might have an update on my side project here," Jonathan called from the living room. "So Putnam, I hope you're adjusting to your new found freedom. Do you have any news for me?"
"I do, but first thank you for getting me out of there, it has been too long since I have enjoyed freedom. Earlier today I took her away from him, Scorpio will suffer for putting me away," Putnam told him.
"Devane had better not be dead. It's too soon for that I needed them distracted, I don't need Scorpio on a warpath." de Salve snapped.
"She's not dead. I have left her with water and some not so soothing sounds to keep her company. I guess she won't be able to drink the water since she can't really move, but she should last a few days," Putnam told him proudly.
"Tomorrow you go and make sure she gets to drink something do you understand? I need time before I'm ready to take my revenge on them. If you do everything I want you can have the honor of killing them both," de Salva told him.
"Thank you, sir, I'll keep her alive for now."
"Good, now you should leave we don't want people noticing the comings and goings here," de Salva told him. When Putnum had left de Salva looked at Pauly, "You will take care of him when his usefulness has ended, he is unstable and we don't need to be connected to anyone like that."
