Wyndemere. Basement.

Phil was scared out of his mind. And confused. He didn't know how long he had been down here. All he knew was that people kept coming into his room and yelling at him in a language he didn't understand. And they looked serious and angry. And seriously angry. And every so often some woman down the hall would laugh.

Working for the Corinthos organization used to be easy. You went around in packs, and intimidated people. Then all of a sudden all these foreigners came in and things got rough. And no one relieved you on a job. Used to be two of you would cover someone -- you know, either guarding someone or tailing someone or threatening someone or "collecting" money or whatnot. You could get a bite to eat when you wanted to, because you were covered. And you got a good night's sleep. It was like being in a union; unless there was big trouble, you got a solid twelve hours away from the job. Nice benefits. Then Sonny's family got bigger and bigger. Too many people to cover. Then Sonny got more suspicious. Too many people to tail. The business got bigger. People started having to threaten and "collect" on their own. And you didn't get as much free coffee as you wanted anymore. Just a few pounds at Christmas.

And now this. No one had hit him yet, but he was sure that was coming. He had a bruise the size of a lemon on the back of his head from where he'd been knocked out. Every time some new big guy came down to harass him, Phil would check him out. Was this the guy who had clocked him?

One thing was for sure. When he got out of this -- if he got out of this, Phil was going straight to one of the Five Families and begging to be taken in. Cavallo always looked pretty tough. Phil would bet anything you never saw any of his men taken down. He'd start with the Cavallos. And beg hard.

*******************************************

Wyndemere. Study.

Nikolas came into the room to find Alexis waiting for him.

"Hypothetically," she said, "If there was a man in your basement right now being interrogated -- which, by the way, I refuse to believe is true because that would mean I'd have to have you arrested -- because I am the district attorney -- but if there was a man in your basement right now being interrogated, I would say he was most probably not one of Helena's people. I would say that this hypothetical man probably does not understand a word of Russian. Because I would say that hypothetically he is in fact one of Sonny's men."

Nikolas sat behind his desk, calm and collected. "I would say that you're hypothetically correct. And I would also say that he's reconsidering staying in his current position. Which suits your job just fine. It will make the citizens of Port Charles feel just a little safer."

"Hypothetically."

"Of course."

*******************************************

The Office Behind Sonny's Coffee Shop.

Claudia rooted around in the soil of the plant next to Sonny's desk. Only one day of digital recording to collect, but she never knew when she could get back here, so she might as well do this now.

Sonny and Jason looked really upset. She wasn't sure, but it seemed like someone had one-upped them at something. Which was great for her, because they were pre-occupied and it gave her more time for all the work she had to do.

Hopefully, Sonny and Jason would say something soon in this office, and she could do away with all spy equipment. For now, she had evidence that would most likely result in a large fine, and a minimal sentence, thanks to Diane Miller's legal savvy. Claudia needed something that would either put everyone away for life, or scare Diane Miller into thinking that was the most likely outcome.

Messy soil. She rued the day she'd poured out her coffee in this plant. Those were probably coffee stains of her own making on her hands right now. She removed the device from the plastic bag. Replaced the flash memory. Wiped her hand clean with a tissue and stuck the used flash memory in her bra. She hoped she didn't smell like coffee. Or soil. She re-potted the plant and the recording device. Checked the microphone attached to the inside of the desk. All clear. Now she just had to clean her hands without anyone noticing.

******************************************

Wyndemere. Basement.

"What do you have?," Nikolas asked the guard.

"He's talking now. But I can't understand him. Half the time he's talking about someone named Cavallo ripping my head off. The other half of the time he's saying that he'll nail me to the wall and then I'll be sorry."

"What does that mean?"

The guard shook his head, confused.

"Anything else?"

"Mrs. Cassadine keeps laughing. I'd tell all the guards to keep an eye on her."

Nikolas started to nod, but was interrupted by Phil shouting from his room. "Sure. Even your guys get relief!"

Nikolas took out his keys, and went into Phil's room.

"You've mastered the American idiom, I see," he said to Phil. "Very clever."

"The last laugh's on you, my friend," said Phil. "You think you're free and clear? There are things in this house that nobody knows."

"Really? Such as?"

"Let me out of here and I'll tell you."

Nikolas laughed. "You're going to have to do better than that."

Phil was silent.

Nikolas left the room. Then he left the basement.

**********************************************

GreyStone.

"He's never went home, he's not out in his usual places, he hasn't called anyone. We have to do something."

"We have to put another tail on Nikolas Cassadine."

Jason was getting exasperated by Sonny. They had a little over two months to go before dealing with the Claudia situation and that was all he wanted to talk about. Meanwhile, Phil was missing and there was something off about Puerto Rico. All Sonny would say about anything not Claudia-related was "Look into it."

It looked like Phil was going to be another thing Jason would have to look into.

"What's going on?," Claudia said, standing at the living room door.

Sonny looked at his watch. "Where've you been?"

"Gym. Then the office. Uncle Rudy had a question about the Rome shipment that I couldn't answer. Do you have a minute?"

"Not now."

"Okay," Claudia said. She had reached the bottom of the stairs and was looking up at the top like it was Mount Everest.

Jason went to her side. "Give me the bag."

Claudia looked suspiciously at Jason.

"Give me the bag. I'll take it upstairs for you."

Claudia studied Jason. She gave him the bag. "Chivalry is not dead. Thank you."

Jason was silent. Then he began making his way up the stairs with the bag. Claudia followed him.

Sonny watched Claudia. She looked very tired. "Claudia."

She turned to look at him. "What?"

"You drinking enough water?"

"Yes, master."

She really was tired. She only got feisty these days when she didn't have the energy to contain herself.

Claudia finished making her way up the stairs. She took the bag from Jason and went into her bedroom.

************************************************

Wyndemere. The study.

Alexis and Sam sat waiting for Nikolas.

"I think I'm going to move back to my place soon," Sam said.

"I don't blame you," said Alexis. "If I had your self-defense training, I'd be right behind you."

"Don't get me wrong. I love being with you and the girls. And Spencer and Nikolas. But..."

"Too much family and too much gothic furniture."

"Right."

"See? Not so great being a Cassadine princess. Just think, it could be worse. If we're all eliminated one by one and you're left holding the Heir bag, this could be your life."

Nikolas came in.

He sat down across from Alexis and Sam.

"I have to go to Russia," he said. "Alone."

"Are you out of your mind?," Sam asked.

Nikolas just stared at her.

"Nikolas," Alexis gently said, drawing his attention. "Why alone?"

"I'm going to be doing some business that requires me to be alone. I want whomever I run into to not perceive me as a threat. And I want all of you safe."

"We all agreed that we don't know who we're looking for. And we don't know what kind of reinforcements he has. And Claudia says he's dangerous."

At that, Sam's head whirled toward Alexis. "When did you talk to Claudia?"

Alexis shook her head at Sam, and continued with Nikolas, "All right. I can understand you not wanting to be in limbo. But don't you think it would be wise to have a plan?"

"I have a plan. I'm just not sharing it."

"Why?"

"Because the less people there are who know about what I'm up to, the less danger I'm in."

Sam interrupted, "Actually, I think that's wrong. I think the more people who know what you're up to, the safer you'll be. Just saying. With this one thing."

The room grew silent.

"All right," said Alexis. "If you're bound and determined to do this, just listen to me. This is the information Claudia put together -- and I think she's right: He's 44. He probably did not know he was a Cassadine until we changed the line of succession. And Claudia thinks he's dangerous because he's working with Helena, which, she says, means he wants the power for himself or he's been brainwashed. All right?"

"All right."

"And you should let us know how to get in touch with you."

"I'll be available by phone."

"No matter what?," Sam asked.

"No matter what," Nikolas said. "Just remember: it's imperative that no one knows where I am. Just you two."

***********************************************

Johnny's Garage.

Johnny worked on a carburetor by a single worklight. There was a knock on his door. He doubted a murderer would knock first.

"Come in!"

Olivia came in. Johnny turned back to the carburetor.

"I know you're upset," she said. "I understand why. There is no excuse for what happened the night of the car accident. But I need your help."

Johnny did not look at her. "Yeah?"

"Dante has been missing. For months. Sonny won't tell me anything. I need to know that he's okay. I need to know that he's alive."

Claudia had said to not close the door on Olivia. She had said they might need Olivia later. And yeah, he cared about that. But her voice sounded broken. And that was what he cared most about. Johnny looked at Olivia. "I don't know where he is," he said. "I don't know how he is. But I'll help you."

************************************************

Port Charles docks. Night.

The launch landed and Sam got off. Jason was waiting.

"What's up?," said Sam, but she looked distracted.

"Do you have one of my men on Spoon Island?"

"I don't know. Why would we?" She checked her watch.

"Sam. Look at me. This is important."

"Then answer my question. Why would we have one of your men on Spoon Island?"

"You know why. Because he was following Nikolas and he probably got caught."

"Why was he following Nikolas?"

"So you do have him."

"I didn't say that. I asked why you would have someone following Nikolas."

"Because Nikolas is up to something with Claudia Zacchara."

Sam sat down on a bench. "Come here," she said to Jason.

Jason sat down next to her.

"I can't do anything about your guy until Nikolas is ready to deal," she said. "Which will probably be soon, but I don't know for sure. I can tell you this. Claudia is helping Nikolas with Helena. As far as I can tell, Claudia likes Nikolas, she loves Spencer, and she wants to make sure they're safe. I have been living with Nikolas. And that's all I've gotten. You need to back off. In fact, if Sonny wasn't so sensitive, we probably would've caught the guy we're looking for already, between Claudia, Alexis, me and Nikolas."

"I don't think that's it."

"Well, there's only one way to find out. Wait it out. You and I both knew the consequences of Sonny finding out about Michael and Claudia. And you went ahead and told him. She's got, what, two months? What does he care about two months? You know what I think of all this. I think killing Claudia is overkill. But it's his call now. Because you let it be. And now I'm going to give you some advice. Are you listening?"

"Yeah."

"Leave Nikolas alone. You're interfering in things that could end up with my entire family dead. Anyone with Cassadine blood. And if we don't end up dead, and you interfered? Then I'm sure whoever survives is going to make you very, very sorry. And I'm not threatening you. I'm just saying this whole Cassadine Empire is bigger than you ever imagined. I know what I've seen staying on the Island. You do not want to go up against it."

*******************************************************

Cassadine Jet.

The jet was ready for takeoff. They had one stopover for re-fueling, but the total trip would take ten and a half hours. And then he'd be in Russia.

He'd lied to Alexis. He shouldn't be going alone. He was unprepared for anything Cassadine. But this was the last step, the key to making sure Claudia lived. So he had to go now. The only life he was risking was his own.

******************************************************

Port Charles Airport.

A tall, dark man spoke furtively into his cell phone. "Он оставляет для России. Я буду следовать. Скажи ей." He leaves for Russia. I will follow. Tell her. The man hung up. He would need to get to New York City as soon as possible. And find a flight.

*****************************************************

Wyndemere. Basement.

The guard unlocked Helena's door.

"Your grandson is leaving for Russia now. The contact said he'd follow. Are you ready?"

"Not now," Helena said. "You may let me out when the contact reaches Russia. Not before."