Do not own General Hospital or any of the characters.

So the convo between Jason and Franco during this chapter, I kinda took from the show. Just a heads up if it sounds familiar. :P

The Flame of Franco

The Conversation...

"Come on!" cried Sam with desperation as she paced back and forth, watching the door of the warehouse. She was expecting it to open any minute and Jason would appear. She knew her chances were slim but it had happened before. Jason always seemed to come at the last possible second to rescue her from whatever danger she was in. She figured this time would be no different as her eyes shifted over to were the bomb lay, counting down the minutes as they passed.

She had been watching it for the past hour; there were two hours left now before it went off. She had already figured out that the bomb was connected to the base of the glass structure she was trapped in; and when that bomb would go off, she would be dead.

But she wouldn't let herself think about that now as sudden tears sprang to her eyes. It was still too early to be losing hope. There was still enough time for Jason to show up and rescue her from this prison she was in.

She let out a slight whimper of pain as she touched the side of her nose; it hurt like hell. It was broken she knew that. Franco had pushed her pretty hard that last time he had visited her with the coffee, which was about a day ago. He hadn't been back since. Sam didn't know if this was a good thing or not.

Jason's blue eyes studied the smiling face of Franco for a moment, pondering what he had just said. "You're telling me that this painting," he gestured towards the canvas with his free hand as the other still pointed the gun at the artist," Tells me where Sam and Josslyne is."

"And people say your dumb," replied Franco as he moved across the room to the left side.

Jason turned slowly and watched him with caution; wondering what he was up too. He knew that Franco was up to his usual games but he was starting to lose his mind trying to figure out what this guy had up his sleeve. He knew now that there was a bomb involved; meaning that he had little time to find Sam and Josslyne before it exploded.

Franco smiled at Jason, he was totting him now. He wanted to see how far he could push Jason's buttons. "Did you get my gifts I sent you?" asked the artist as he leaned back against the edge of a table. "You can think of them has late Christmas presents. I put much thought and care into them. Everyone I sent I made sure that it had a special meaning for you," Franco then winked at Jason at this before letting out a deep chuckle.

Rage boiled within Jason at this, he wanted to ring Franco's neck at this. But however he stayed where he stood, knowing that killing Franco at the moment would do him no good, he needed to know where Sam and Josslyne were first.

"I must say though your girlfriend is just as stubborn as you. She was not really willing to go along with what I had planned. She was very rude...you should do something about thatt..." his voice was cut off as Jason bolted towards him, forgetting about the gun, he reached out and wrapped his hands around the psycho's neck. Franco's eyes widened in their sockets at the sudden pressure but it didn't wipe the grin on his face away. He was bent over the table as Jason pushed him down; his back digging into the surface.

"You SICK SON OF A BITCH! TELL ME WHERE SAM IS!" Cried Jason as he deepened the pressure on Franco's neck; hearing the artist talk about Sam like that had made him snap.

They stayed liked this for a moment but when Franco still remained quiet, Jason released him. But he wasn't completely done yet. Jason turned away quickly away from Franco, who still lay on his back; his brown eyes filled with mischief as he lifted a hand to rub the side of his neck.

A moment little Jason turned back around and punched Franco in the side of his face.

The artist just laughed at this as he looked down at his fingers as they were covered in blood from when he had touched his nose. "Your girlfriend punched me too!" he commented, not expecting an answer out of Jason who was now stood a few feet away, looking at the canvas.

The gun was now clenched back in his hand, which rested at his side. Jason's blue eyes studied the surface of the canvas once again; intensely looking for an answer. But he could not get past the blue print of the cube figure and the words bomb. He had already guessed that there was a bomb involved, probably two, guessing by how there was two hostages. He figured that Franco had set it up that the two bombs would go off at the same time, meaning that Jason would have to choose on who he wanted to save...Sam or Josslyne. But that still did not answer his question...Where were they? How could he rescue or choose if he didn't know were either was. Another thing that was bothering him was this structure of a cube. It looked like it was made out of glass. Is that where Franco was keeping them...a glass house? No that couldn't be right, there was no glass house near Port Charles that he knew of and if Franco had built one, surely someone would have reported it. Frowning slightly, Jason shook his head before glancing over at Franco again, who was still lying on his back, watching him.

"Do you need a hint?" asked the artist with a smirk as he sat up on the table.

Josslyne lay in the crib that sat in the middle of the warehouse. Her face was scrunched up as she cried into the still air; her voice echoing. The baby was in hysterics as she lay there alone, not knowing what was happening. Her diaper was wet and she was hungry. The Blanket that she had come wrapped had been kicked off and was lying in the corner of the crib; leaving her cold.

"So there is a bomb? And it's going to go off today?" asked Dante as he looked from Lucky, to Spinelli and then back to the cube object.

"I think it means that Sam is being held in a glass box like this of some sort that is rigged to a bomb that is set to go off at a certain time. Meaning if we don't find Sam soon, she is going to be blown up," commented Lucky sadly as he looked down at the object.

"But how do we know that Sam is being held in this glass box? Why not Josslyne?"

"Because in the pictures that Franco sent Jason of Sam lying on her stomach in the chalk outline and of that...video, you can see some sort of glass looking surface in the background. Where in the picture of Josslyne, you can just see the crib and a brick surface in the background. Plus this says that the bomb will go off in six days...Sam was kidnapped six days ago... not Josslyne," continued on Lucky to both Dante and Spinelli, who were beginning to see where he was coming from. Now thinking back to the photographs and the video, both could remember noticing the differences in the background.

"So then that still leaves a question...where are they being kept?" asked Spinelli after a brief pause. The hacker had tried his best to find a possible location to where Franco had taken both his hostages but he could not find a possible place. Franco was like a ghost in Port Charles; appearing here and there but disappearing as quickly as the wind changed.

Just then Lucky's phone went off in his jacket pocket. Turning around from the group, the officer answered the phone, "Lucky Spencer."

"Lucky, it's Mac." Spoke the voice on the other line.

"Mac, what's up?"

"I was just wondering if you and Dante had found out anything on the kidnapping yet. I have Jax here pressuring me, saying that I am not doing enough to find his little girl," began to explain Mac.

"Well, tell Jax that we are doing everything we can to find where Franco had taken Josslyne," cut in Lucky. There was an edge on his voice.

"I have told him that. But he is still not happy with the results. I have told him that I have all the best men on the job," explained the Police Commissioner. "He wouldn't leave me alone, until I called you, asking if there was any news."

"Well, we are closer to finding out. Tell him that. Jason is over at Franco's studio now, confronting him and Franco has sent another clue to us," explained Lucky as he took a deep breath, trying to think and clear his head of what to tell Mac. He knew that Jason had warned him not to involve Mac and the police in this but things were getting out of hand and they needed help. But he didn't know if he should tell Mac about the news about a bomb. Deciding that it was best, the officer let out a sigh before speaking, "There might be a bomb." He spoke these words in a whisper. Looking up, he noticed the eyes of Dante and Spinelli were on him.

Jason just glared at Franco. "What the hell do you want from me?" he asked, knowing that Franco would not just tell him.

"I want to know about you. What is your secrete? What goes through your mind before you kill?" asked the artist in all seriousness as he got to his feet and walked towards Jason. In stopped just a few feet away. "What makes you who you are?"

"I don't know how to tell you any of that," replied Jason, rubbing the side of his face, he was starting to lose his patience.

"Well, try. The Godfather gives you an order. You prep. You confront the victim. You draw a beat on them. Then what?" asked Franco, as he set the scene for Jason.

"I don't know. I'm not really thinking about anything when I kill anyone..." his voice trailed off, he had never really thought about this before. "I just kinda go through the motions. He usually fires first."

Franco looked at Jason and began to laugh as if he had been told the funniest thing ever. "Self defiance! Mmmmm, not always!" spoke the artist making a face and shrugging his shoulders at Jason's answer. "This isn't going to work, if you lie to me."

"Just Tell me where Sam is first and I will tell you anything you want to know," replied Jason, still continuing to point the gun at Franco. He was not giving up just yet but there was a tone of desperation in his voice.

Franco all the sudden seemed to snap at this, "NO! My rules," he all the sudden began to approach Jason, enclosing the distance between them. There was fire in his eyes as he stared down Jason. He wasn't taking his crap any longer. "Now how much is your girlfriend worth to you? Not to mention the baby? You will kill them both sure if Sonny had given the order! "His face was set like stone in determination."Now TALK to me well you still CAN!" he ordered.

Jason stared down at the artist for a second before letting out a sigh at this as he closed his eyes and thought. He had no other choice. If he wanted to get an answer from Franco, he would finally have to play by his rules. Taking a step back, he took a seat on the nearby stool and lowered his gun, staring at his feet. He didn't know honestly how to start, he had never really told anybody this before. "Killing was the first thing I was ever good at," he began, finally looking back up at Franco, who nodded in approval before going on with his story.

For the next half an hour, Jason told the artist about the half of his life he did not remember and how he had become brain dead by the motorcycle accident. How he had met Sonny, how he had saved his life. Sonny had been the only person that Jason could have related too after the accident...the only person who left him to be really. He told the artist about Lily, Sonny's first wife and how she had died in a car explosion. He describe how Sonny had lost all hope and stopped carrying and had wanted to take it out on the world and had put a gun in his Hand. This little moment had been the start of the rest of his life. Jason had found the first thing that he could do really well. "I could be what Sonny needed, that was all I wanted," spoke Jason in a quiet voice. He was staring down now at the gun in his hand, remembering how life had been simple to him back then. How he had been this machine of no feeling or emotion. How things had changed he thought to himself as he felt his heart beat race and sweat run down the back of his neck. He was nervous. He didn't know if confessing all this to this psycho would help find Sam but it was his last resource.

"To be needed?" asked Franco, who was seated in the stool beside Jason, hanging on to his every word.

Jason looked up at this and over at the artist. He couldn't believe he was talking to Franco like they were old friends. There was a brief pause before Jason dropped his gaze onto the floor and continued, "With a gun in my hands, I wasn't broken!"

"I was compliant! That's what I think about when I kill," continued on Jason. His breathing was labour now as he tried to finish. "I do my job. I don't even think about it, I just react!" He looked over at Franco, studying the expression on his face. Only a person who had the job he did could relate to this and he knew that Franco could too in away; both had taken lives before without thinking about it.

His thoughts then quickly drifted back to Sam. He then soon realized that him and Franco were nothing alike. "I'm not like you!" he spoke theses words to Franco but he was also saying them to himself. He had needed to say those words out loud. Sam had been the first to tell him he and Franco were nothing alike but the thought had still continued to eat at him. However now, Jason knew that it wasn't true. Staring into the eyes of Franco, he realized finally that they were two different people. He might kill people for a living but he would never kidnap a woman and rape her, like Franco had done. He would never break into a home and steal an innocent baby. A brief breath of relief had left Jason at that moment. He felt the pressure that he had been carrying on his shoulders the past few months lift off a bit but he knew it wouldn't fully go away until he found Sam and killed Franco.

Franco raised an eyebrow slightly at Jason, it looked like he was trying to decide how to response to all this. After a moment had passed, he spoke, "You would have been better off dying in that crash." His voice was in utter coldness as he looked at the mobster. "You have a gift and you don't honour it," he shook his head slightly from side to side before a low disappointed sigh escaped from his lips. "No, you're not like me. No one is."

He sounded sadden by this thought Jason as he continued to look at Franco, trying to figure out what would happen next. He tightened his grip on the gun, preparing to shoot when needed. He could sense a shift in the atmosphere as the mischief returned to Franco's eyes and a slight smile appeared on his face, "And you don't deserve what I have in store for you."

Jason could sense that the artist was on edge once again as he suddenly rose to his feet and began to pace around the studio. "I should have known," he spoke. "But it's just that I wanted someone who could understand. Someone who felt what I felt... Instead I got you!" he turned suddenly looking at Jason with disgust written in his face and voice. "Someone with talent but refused to accept it. Just a JOB!" There was anger in his voice as he turned away from Jason as if looking at him made him outraged even more then he already was. "You're a FOOL!"

Jason didn't have time for Franco's lecture. He needed to know where Sam and Josslyne were, he knew time was running out. "JUST TELL ME WHERE SAM AND JOSSLYNE ARE!" he spoke firmly, his blue eyes narrowing as he watched Franco move around the room. He had his gun ready and pointed when needed. "And you can be done with me!" he added, hoping that Franco would just tell him, having given up.

But instead, Franco stopped pacing and turned slowly to look at Jason. "You can spare and take life on a whim. Don't you see how GLORIST THAT IS!" asked Franco, ignoring Jason's pleads from before. "WE ARE NOT BOWNED BY DOUBT AND INSECURITY! CHANGE OF CONSCIOUS THAT PARALYZE ORIDNARY PEOPLE! I USE MY GIFT! I TURN DEATH INTO ART! YOU!" he gestured towards Jason. "TAKE ORDERS!

Not being able to take this anymore, Jason suddenly rose to his feet and aimed the gun at Franco once again, "ENOUGH! TELL ME WHERE SAM AND JOSSLYNE ARE!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his hand was shaking as his blue eyes which were dark as coal stared down at the artist. It was a stand down between the two men.

"What a god awful waste you turned out to be!" Franco was not done yet. "You DISGUST ME!" he cried as he took a step forward to where Jason stood, putting himself in the line of fire.

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW THE DIFFERANCE BETWEEN US?" asked Jason, his blood boiling.

"I'M TRUE TO MYSELF!" cried back the artist, pointing at his chest, his eyes widening as he looked on at Jason. "YOU'RE THE FREAK! A GOD WHO WANTS TO BE HUMAN!"

It was now a shouting match between the two men as they stared down one another, their voice echoing off the walls of the studio.

"NO BEING ABLE TO KILL DOESN'T MAKE YOU SUPERIOR! ANIMALS CAN KILL!" shouted back Jason, shaking the gun at Franco. "THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE AN ANIMAL! A SICK TWISTED DELUDED ANIMAL WHO TAKES INNOCENT WOMAN AND CHILDREN AND TORTURES THEM! THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOU AND ME!"

"You don't deserve me!" spoke back Franco, lowering his voice slightly. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at Jason, "But I'm going to free you anyway!"

"SHUT UP!" interrupted Jason; his brow was fussed together as rage wafted off of his body. He was angry. He had never felt so much hatred towards a person then he did at that moment. "ALL I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU IS WHERE MY FAMILY IS!"

Licking his lips, Franco moved towards Jason, until the barrel of the gun was pressing into his chest. "I'm going to leave you with nothing but the purity of your talent and your rage," he spoke smiling his wicked grin at Jason. Their eyes were locked in combat. "Your hatred for me will burn everything else away! That choice we talked about, you're not worthy. Instead I am just going to leave you with a mirror, so that you can stare at your pathetic self and see who you really are. And let everyone you care about burn in HELL!" He pronounced the last words slowly, inching his face closer to him.

Jason snapped at this. That was the last straw as he suddenly pushed Franco down onto the floor, pressing the gun into the side of his neck, while his free hand held the collar of the artist shirt. Jason's foot was resting on the artist's stomach. "You want to know who I am? DO YOU?" asked Jason down at Franco. "I'M THE MORON WHO IS GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T TELL ME WHERE THE HELL SAM AND JOSSLYNE ARE NOW!"

Lifting him by the shoulders, Jason smashed his head into the cement surface of the studio floor. A grunt escaped from the back of Franco's throat as the back of his head came into content with the floor. Jason watched him as he let him go, straightening his back, still aiming the gun at his chest. He wasn't sure if he was dead yet or not.

"I win," whispered Franco in a horsed voice as he suddenly opened his eyes and smiled up at Jason.

"What?" asked Jason in confusion.

"We're the same," replied Franco while breathing rapidly.

"WE'RE NO THE SAME!" cried Jason as he bent down and punched Franco into the side of his face again. "TELL ME WHERE JOSSLYNE AND SAM ARE!"

There was silence after this for a moment before Franco looked up and locked eyes with Jason. He looked tired, noted Jason as he studied the artist face, which was bruised and plastered with dry blood. A sight escaped from the artist lips before he spoke, "Two miles from here, opposite directions."

Jason was confused for a moment but he then realized that Franco was finally telling him what he wanted to know.

"There are two warehouses. 2nd Imperil, one of yours. Sam is there. Josslyne is at 234 Bristol. Both are sitting on bombs. Both timers go off in eight minutes. You don't have enough time to save them both. You will have to choice," that was the last thing the artist whispered before passing out.

Jason stood there for a brief second, pondering all this. His mind was racing a mile a minute. He wasn't sure if he had enough time to save both of them. Leaving the artist, Jason bolted out of the studio. He knew he had come here to kill Franco but at the moment all he could think about was how little time he had to save Sam. He could always kill the artist later. Pulling out his cell phone, he immediately dialled Lucky with the information.

Pressing his cell phone to his ear, he exited the alleyway the way he had come, back onto the busy street of Port Charles, back to his SUV.

"Jason!" spoke Lucky into the phone; he had sensed that the mobster would be phoning him.

"234 Bristol Street that is where Josslyne is, she is in the warehouse." Spoke Jason quickly into the phone as he started the SUV and began to pull out onto the road. "There's a bomb. You have eight minutes to get there!"

"What about Sam?" asked Lucky, who was just leaving the Penthouse now, with Dante in toll. Bristol Street was only about a six minutes away...they could make it, thought the officer.

"She's at 2nd Imperil. I'm on my way now," explained Jason. A moment later both men hung up.

Tears streamed down Sam's face as she stood with her forehead pressed against the plexiglass, watching as the seconds passed by on the clock. There was five minutes left until the bomb would go off and there was still no sign of Jason.

She knew this was the end. There was no fight left in her.

"I love you Jason," she whispered into the cold air as she watched another minute go by. This was not how she wanted to die but she had no other choice.

The SUV pulled up beside the warehouse and both Dante and Lucky jumped out of the vehicle before it came to a complete stop. They didn't have much time to waste. There was two minutes left before the bomb was supposed to go off.

Lucky was the first to enter the warehouse, followed closely by Dante. The entrance was a small foyer which had nothing in it except for a spiralling staircase. Not thinking twice, both men began to climb the stairs two at a time. It didn't take much longer before they reached the top and stood at the side of a wide open room.

Both didn't know what they were expecting to see but however this did not stop them from being shocked as they raced to where the crib sat in the middle of the room. Josslyne's cries were echoing off of the walls.

"Hey there Josslyne," whispered Lucky, smiling down at the baby as he picked her up into his arms.

"We have to get out of here," spoke Dante as he looked down at his watch, they had thirty seconds before it went off.

Nodding his head at this, Lucky adjusted Josslyne so that she was now pressed against his chest before both men raced out of the warehouse and back to the SUV.

Handing the baby over to Dante, Lucky jumped into the driver seat of the car and drove away quickly. As this all happened, Josslyne still cried hysterically. She didn't know what was going on.

Jason was pulling up to the side of the warehouse on Imperil Street when the bomb went off.

Okay I know that is a really crappy ending. But more will be coming soon. Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie

The Conversation...