A/N: Hey Everyone! Hope you all are doing ok. I have had a crazy day and funny day. I just finished putting this chapter together and I'm working on the next two. This chapter is a little long because I haven't updated in a little bit and in this chapter the plot starts to thicken. Anyway hope you like it. Now there are some characters from some other countries in this and I tried to do some background on the countries and regions I thought they would be from so if they are wrong please bare with me and I will try to make any changes if needed. Like I said hope you enjoy! Happy Reading!
Previously on General Hospital
"Hey Keesha! I think he is done. You sure you don't want to wait just a minute for him?" Lulu said.
"Just tell him I'll be outside. Thanks." Keesha said.
Keesha was so distracted by trying to answer Lulu and hurrying out of there she didn't here the door open. She bumped into a body and it was rock solid.
"I'm so sor..ry." Keesha said slowly.
Keesha looked up into the last face she wanted to see. It was the face of two different people sharing the same body. One was the boy she loved so long ago and the other was the thief who stole him from her. Standing before her was none other than Jason Morgan.
Jason looked at the women in front of him and couldn't believe that Keesha Ward was standing there looking at him like she had seen a ghost. She almost lost her footing when she bumped into him and Jason was quick to grab her and hold her steady. Once he saw that she was able to stand on her own he tried to let her go but couldn't. Something in her eyes had touched a part of him he thought was dead and buried.
"Are you alright?" Jason asked.
For a moment Keesha couldn't answer. She kept looking into those deep blue eyes of Jason's.
"Keesha? Are you ok?" Jason asked again.
Some how Keesha found her voice to speak. "I'm fine. Thank you Jason." she said.
That was the first time in a very long time that his name has crossed her lips. Her heart ached with each syllable of his name.
"You can let me go now Jason." Keesha said.
"Sorry. What are you doing back in Port Charles." Jason asked softly.
That voice of his. That softly angelic voice was tearing at Keesha's heart. For a moment he sounded just like the boy she missed. The boy she used to talk to for hours and become spellbound by his smile. But when she looked at him, the spell his voice cast on her was gone. What stood before her was not the sweet angelic boy she remembered but a man who worked for a devil that stole him from her.
"What do you care why I'm back? You made it perfectly clear that you wanted nothing to do with me when I left. So please don't pretend now that you all the sudden care about my welfare Jason." Keesha said bitterly.
Jason was not surprised by Keesha's attitude and he didn't blame her. The way they left things years ago was not his finest hour. He was trying to get away from all things Jason Quartermain and she was one of the main people who stood in the way of that.
"I can't change the past Keesha. Neither can you. I'll I can do is say I'm sorry." Jason said.
"Save your apologizes Jason. I'm a big girl now and I don't the attention of Jason Morgan to get me through the day." Keesha said heading for the door.
That buried part of Jason started to stir again inside of him. It didn't like hearing Keesha upset with him. Before Jason knew what he was doing he grabbed Keesha's arm to prevent her from leaving.
"Keesha wait! We need to talk about this." Jason said.
"Let me go Jason!" Keesha said.
"Not until you hear me out!" Jason said.
"I believe the lady said to let her go." Lucky said walking from behind the counter. He placed the coffee and pastry box he was carrying on the counter next to Lulu.
"This is none of your concern Lucky." Jason said still looking at Keesha.
"It is now Jason. Keesha? You ready to leave?" Lucky asked walking up next to her.
Jason let go of Keesha's arm and stood there looking at her and Lucky. He was so pissed right now that Lucky was riding in to save the day. Like Jason would ever hurt Keesha or any women for that matter.
"More than ready. To many ghost in here." Keesha said.
Lulu walked over to her brother very slowly with the coffee and pastry box in her hand. She really didn't want to be in the middle of the stare down going on between Jason and Lucky.
"Um...here you go Lucky." Lulu said handing the box and coffee to Lucky.
Lucky took the box from Lulu but still continued staring Jason down. Neither one was willing to back down and blink first.
Lulu looked around and could see that customers in the restaurant could feel the tension in the room and that was not good for business. She decided to take a chance and play peacemaker so this showdown wouldn't end with someone getting hurt.
"Guys, this is not the time or the place for this. Lucky you and Keesha have to get to the PD and Jason you have..you have..coffee stuff to do for Sonny. So how's about you guys just call it even for now and go to your corners. Which I hope are very far away from each other." Lulu said.
"Lulu's right. We both have things to do." Lucky said to Keesha.
"Yeah, we have a meeting to attend to. Let's go." Keesha said then she and Lucky walked out of Kelly's without another word to Jason.
Jason was so angry right now he couldn't see straight. This was not how he wanted to start his morning. He couldn't believe how badly he had lost his cool just now. Jason hadn't been that reckless about anything or anyone in years. Not since his first couple of weeks after the accident had he been so out of control. Keesha had stirred up something in him that he hadn't expected.
That made Jason wonder why was she here. Why now? Did it have something to do with Ric's shooting? Then he remembered that Keesha said something about a meeting. He was going to get to the bottom of what Keesha was in Port Charles and how this might all relate to Ric's shooting. To learn that information he was going to need someone who knew his way around a computer. He needed a jackal.
Jason opened up his cell phone and dialed Spinnelli's number. After several rings he heard what sounded like Spinnelli chewing on chips.
"Yes Stone Cold? What can the jackal do for you?" Spinnelli said.
"First, you can put the Barbecue chips down and the Orange soda. I told you not to eat those for breakfast anymore. They make you way to hyper and I need you to focus." Jason said.
"I'm sorry Stone Cold but you know they are my Kryptonite. My one true weakness in this world. When they call me I must head them and obey." Spinnelli said starting to ramble.
"Ok. Spinnelli. Spinnelli...Spinnelli! I need you to focus! Now shut up so I can tell you what I need for you to find for me." Jason said.
"My apologizes Stone Cold. How may I be of service to you?" Spinnelli said.
"I need all the information you can find on a Keesha Ward. I wanna know when she arrived in Port Charles and why she's here." Jason said.
"When do you need it?" Spinnelli asked.
"Yesterday. Call me when you are done. I gotta go see Sonny." Jason said then hung up his phone.
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Keesha hadn't said a word in the car since leaving Kelly's. She wasn't in the mood for conversation and by the look on Lucky's face she could see that he felt the same way. They arrived at the PD a few minutes later and after delivering Mac his coffee they went straight to work.
Keesha and Pembrooke were working with the department's IT guys taking over one the conference rooms doing god knows what in there. Everytime Lucky and Rodriguez would try and look in they would only get a glimpse of whatever was going on in there.
One hour later Mac walked in the squad room where Lucky and Rodriguez were trying to finish up their reports.
"You guys almost done?" Mac asked. He was feeling much better since having his coffee.
"Yeah, I just finished my report and sent it out to you. So Mac, what's going in there?" Lucky said pointing over to the conference room. "I have been seeing people going in and out of the conference room all day. They were bringing in flat screen TV's, laptops,fax machines, and a couple of other pieces of equipment." Lucky said.
"I think they even brought the kitchen sink in there." Rodriguez said.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I haven't been briefed on what all the equipment is but two more people arrived this morning from the FBI asking for our conference room. Agent Ward said she will call us as soon as they are all set up." Mac said.
"How did all your phone calls with Mayor Floyd go this morning?" Lucky asked.
Mac held the bridge of his nose and felt his head start to hurt just thinking about all the hell Mayor Floyd put him through.
"Let's just say that I just got my hearing back a few minutes ago and a piece of my butt is missing too." Mac said.
"What does he want? We got there pretty quick and we are right on top of this case." Lucky said.
"He doesn't care about that. He cares about how this make him look. It's an election year so Ric's shooting came an inconvenient time for him. His words not mine. The only good thing the Mayor's doing is he's getting with the Feds and trying to get one of the Federal Prosecutors to come down and replace Lansing while he is recovering." Mac said.
"How long is that going to take?" Rodriguez asked.
"A while. In the mean time we will be getting a new hot shot DA from Manhattan. Some guy named Anthony Campbell." Mac said.
"He any good?" Lucky asked.
"If I go by what Mayor Floyd says then yeah he's good. We'll see how he does soon enough. He'll be here in a week." Mac said.
"I'll call some of my old NYPD contacts and see if I can get an idea on what this new DA will be like. See if he is cop friendly. Who knows, he may be an improvement over Lansing." Rodriguez said.
"Good. Let me know what you find out." Mac said.
Lucky looked over to see Keesha walking over towards them. He noticed she looked tired but better than she did in the car.
"Commissioner Scorpio, Detective's, we're ready. If you'll please follow me to the conference room." Keesha said.
All three men followed Keesha to the conference room eager to see what was behind door number #1. When they arrived at the front door Keesha handed them all key cards.
"You've been very busy bees haven't you?" Mac said.
"Yes, we have. Your IT people have been absolutely great. They never complained about any of the task we gave them. Unlike my partner, who complained the whole time. I owe your guys a big dinner. Ok, getting back to the task at hand. Due to the sensitive nature of the equipment in this room we are using key cards for entry. Only myself, Agent Pembrooke, the two analyst from the FBI, and the three of you will have access to this room. Why don't you all try your cards now. When you hear the beep you know that your card works." Keesha.
Mac, Lucky,and Rodriguez tried their cards and all three beeped.
"So that is what the black box in front of the door is for? I always wondered what is for whenever I passed by this door." Rodriguez said.
"The key cards are the exact reason why we picked this room. You can't get in or out without one."Keesha said.
"We've had them for a long time. The city had them installed years ago but never put them into use. It wasn't in the budget for them to get us all key cards they said." Mac said.
"The WSB picked up the tab to activate the key cards. It only took a push of a button for your IT people to get them running so that tells me your city could have activated them at anytime, they just didn't want to pay for the upkeep." Keesha said using her key card.
When Keesha open the door Lucky and the others followed her in and couldn't believe what they saw. The conference room was turned into a mini command center.
"Gentleman, welcome to Operation Take Downs Command Center. Let me give you a quick tour of everything." Keesha said.
Keesha first walked over to the four flat screen tv's. Each screen was marked for the angencies that would apart of the task force. Which were Interpol,NPA,Scotland Yard and Polizia di Stato. Under each screen was a computer terminal and fax machine that would be used to keep in constant contact with all these agencies. Keesha advised that the screens would be used to video conference with the agencies that are assigned to the task force. She then moved over to the two FBI analysts that were working with Pembrooke.
"These are our two FBI analyst Cates and Rodgers. They will be working on inputting all the data we collect and trying to help us find any similarities about our victims." Keesha said.
"Are guys going to sleep here too?" Rodriguez asked.
"No. They will each have twelve hour shifts and be staying at the Metro Court. After Keesha left there were some cancellations and they got rooms right away. Now, Cates will have the morning shift with Keesha while I will have the night shift with Rodgers. This will make sure that no information is missed." Pembrooke said.
"Will we get to learn how to use this equipment?" Lucky asked.
"Of course. You both will be getting a crash course on how all this works. Now since I will be working day shift and Doug on nights, we will need one of you to be assigned to us. That way if anything happens in town we will have local law enforcement that can show where everything is. I mean, I know the town hasn't changed to much but, there are some new places that even I'm unfamiliar with. So who wants to go where?" Keesha said.
"Days!" Lucky and Rodriguez both said.
"What!? No!" Rodriguez said.
"C'mon Cruz, I need days." Lucky said.
"So do I." Rodriguez said.
"For what?" Lucky asked.
"Because I hate nights. No offense Agent Pembrooke." Rodriguez said.
"None taken. I didn't want nights either." Pembrooke said.
"Cruz, you know I sometimes have the kids at night." Lucky said.
"You had to play the kid card didn't you? Fine. Fine. I'll call all my ladies and let them know if they need to see me it's going to have to be during the day." Rodriguez said.
"I'm sure they'll be all broken up." Lucky joked.
"You have no idea." Rodriguez said.
"Knock it off you two." Mac said while rolling his eyes.
As Keesha continued explaining what the rest of equipment was and what it was used for Rodriguez leaned over and whispered to Lucky.
"You owe me." he said.
"I know. Thanks man." Lucky said.
A beeping noise was coming from the computer terminals.
"What's that?" Mac asked.
"You'll see." Keesha smiled.
She walked over to a corner table where five wireless headsets sat. Keesha removed the headsets off their chargers and handed one to Lucky, Rodriguez, Mac, and Doug. She then placed hers on her head and told Lucky and the others to put them on.
"On the side of your headset is a button. Go ahead and press it. Once you've done that you should be able to hear each other." Keesha instructed.
Lucky and the others pressed theirs buttons and tried talking to each other.
"Can everyone hear each other?" Keesha asked.
Everyone but Lucky said yes.
"I can't hear anything." Lucky said.
"Did you press the button? It's the only one on the headset." Pembrooke said.
"Yes. I pressed it." Lucky said trying to hold some of his anger back.
"Let me take a look." Keesha said as she walked over to Lucky.
Keesha removed Lucky's headset and her fingers gentle touched the side of his head. She looked at his headset and found the problem right away. The volume was down. Once she turned it up she placed the headset back on and Lucky was able to hear everyone.
"There you go. See it just needed a women's touch." Keesha smiled.
"I know who else needs a women's touch." Rodriguez said softly to Lucky.
"Rodriguez! We can hear you." Mac said.
"Sorry, my bad." Rodriguez said after turning a shade of red.
"Just a note to all. These headsets are very sensitive and can pick up the smallest sound. Sooo, if you have to say something you don't want anyone to hear, just turn the headset off." Keesha said.
"Agent Ward, we are ready when you are." Cates said.
"Good. If you would all take your seats, we'll begin the de-briefing." Keesha said.
All four flat screens came to life and an image of each agencies shield appeared.
Rodgers quickly went around the table and passed everyone pens and paper.
"Send the signal we are ready." Pembrooke said.
As soon as Cates punched in some commands on his terminal the agency shields were replaced with the images of people.
Lucky looked at the first screen with the man from Interpol. He looked to be about the same age as Lucky. The man had clear blue eyes and blond hair that was cut short on the sides and short spikey hair on the top. Lucky thought the guy used to much gel in his hair. It looked so hard and stiff that if you touched it you might cut your finger. The man was wearing a white shirt, blue suspenders, and had on gold cuff-links. He looked more like a model than a cop.
"Good morning everyone or depending where you are good evening. Before we get started why don't we introduce ourselves. Doug and I know all of you but our friends here in Port Charles don't so we'll start with Interpol. " Keesha said.
" Keesha! It is lovely to see you again. You are still as beautiful as ever. Bon jour my friends. My name is Inspector Alec Le'Claire with Interpol. I'm stationed here in lovely Paris'. As you can see I have a lovely view of the Eiffel tower from my office which is the size of match box in case you were wondering. Now while we all are talking, I will be enjoying my coffee during this meeting from the best cafe in Paris. Please, feel free to envy me." Alec said with a heavy French accent.
Lucky looked at the Frenchmen and hated him already. He didn't like that Alec seemed all to familiar with Keesha.
"Always the charmer. I miss you too my friend. That coffee? Is it from that Cafe' Le'Claire?" Keesha asked.
"Of course. The wife would kill me if I went anywhere else." Alec laughed.
"Yes, she would. Now we move on to the NPA. "Oyasuminasai Nobu." Keesha said bowing.
"Ohayo Gozaymas everyone." she said then bowed. " My name is Officer Kikiyo Nobusaki but my friends call me Kikiyo or Nobu."
Rodriguez looked at the small women on the screen and thought she looked cute. She was wearing a white blouse with the top button undone. He could see that she was wearing some type of necklace that accent her outfit. Nobu looked to be at least the same height as Rodriguez or may be a half an inch shorter. Her long jet black hair was pulled into a tight bun much like the one Keesha was wearing. She had a little makeup on but Rodriguez quickly noticed her lips. He had never seen that shade of red Nobu was wearing before. It called attention to her petite lips. Not in a slutty way but in a very professional yet sexy way. Rodriguez looked at Nobu's eyes and could see that this women was not one to be messed when the time called for her to react. He also saw a playfulness dancing behind those dark drown eyes of hers. Rodriguez hoped one day to get to me the lovely Nobu.
" I'm a police officer with the Tokyo Police Department and have been assigned to the National Police Agency Investigations division while working with this case. Konichiwa and Doug." It is very good to see you both again. I'm just sorry that it always has to be under these circumstances." Nobu said.
"Good to see you again too Nobu." Pembrooke said smiling at Nobu.
"Do my eyes deceive me? Did Pembrooke smile?" Rodriguez wrote on his pad to Lucky.
" He better be careful. His face might break from all that happiness." Lucky wrote back.
"Polizia di Stato your up next." Pembrooke said.
"Ciao. My name is Angelo Gilberti and I'm with the Polizia Di Stato headquartered in Rome. Doug is it very good to see you again. It has been way to long. Who is the lovely bella standing there?" Angelo said looking at Keesha.
"Her name is Agent Keesha Ward." Pembrooke said.
"I think this assignment just got better. Sei molto bella." Angelo smiled.
"Down tiger." Pembrooke said.
Lucky just added another guy to his stay away from Keesha list. He didn't like the way this Angelo guy looked at Keesha either. At least he knew that the French man was married but Lucky knew the look on this Angelo guys face. He saw Keesha as his next conquest. Lucky thought Angelo looked to causal for his meeting. Angelo's skin was bronze like he spent his time on the beach instead of writing reports all day. He also looked like he worked out and the tight white shirt short sleeve shirt he was wearing looked a size to small him and at any moment his shirt was going to explode and all this muscle would spill out. Show off Lucky thought.
As Angelo talked Keesha felt her cell phone vibrate. She looked and saw it was her private cell phone and there was a message on it. It was from Nobu.
"The guy in the back keeps looking at you. I think he likes you." Nobu wrote.
"I think you are seeing things Nobu." Keesha wrote back.
"No, my friend. I'm very observant. He doesn't like the way Angelo is looking at you. Look now." Nobu said.
Keesha slightly turned her head to see that Lucky was looking at her and had a small smile on his face. Then his attention turned back to Angelo and his smile completely disappeared and was replaced with a look of disgust.
"He is kyu-to. Does he have a cute butt? :)" Nobu wrote.
"Kikiyo!"Keesha wrote back.
"Ha Ha! Yes, I'm a wariu neesan." Nobu wrote.
"Yes you are a bad girl. But he is cute right? And yes to your other question. It is very nice. :-)" Keesha wrote.
"Hai. Now who is being a wariu neesan? Let's get back to work before the boys notice. ;-)" Nobu wrote.
Keesha put her cellphone away in time to see her friend from Scotland Yard was up next.
"Hello everyone. My name is Chief Inspector Ian McGuire with Scotland Yard. Keesha my love! It's been to long." Ian said.
"Good to see you two Ian. Like Nobu said, I wish it wasn't under these circumstances." Keesha said.
"Aye las, me too. We missed you this summer. The wife and I went back to Edinburgh for vacation and thought about you." Ian said.
"You guys are still making that treck?" Keesha smiled.
"Of course. I always find time to go home and visit the family. The wife is not fond of the drive but she knows. London is where I live because of work, but Scotland will always be my home." Ian said.
"Next year, I promise I will fly there s we can catch up."Keesha said.
"You all heard heard her. So she can't back out of it." Ian said then winked at Keesha.
"Ok, last but not least are our gracious Port Charles host." Keesha said.
"I'm Police Commissioner Mac Scorpio with the Port Charles Police Department." Mac said.
"You wouldn't happen to be related to Robert Scorpio?" Angelo asked.
"Yes he is my brother." Mac said.
"He's a good man and if you're his brother than I'll enjoy working with you even more." Ian said.
Mac looked at Ian and chuckled to himself. He wondered if there wasn't anyone in the world that didn't know Robert.
"Thank you. You're up Lucky." Mac said.
"I'm Detective Lucky Spencer with Port Charles Police Department." Lucky said.
"Is your dad Luke Spencer?" Ian asked.
Lucky was almost afraid to answer.
"Yes he is." Lucky said.
"I knew it. I have many stories of your dad and Robert saving my tail then drinking the night away. As a matter of fact your dad still owes me money from that last time we went to the pub." Ian said laughing.
"You'll have to get in line sir. He owes a lot of people money." Lucky chuckled.
"Of that I have no doubt lad." Ian said laughing heartily.
Mac thought of the troubles those three could have gotten into and shook his head. He was glad to have Ian in this group. He didn't like the feeling that he was the old man of the group. Ian looked to be the same age or may just a year or two older then Mac. His reddish hair was peppered with grays. Ian had a very broad chest and little bit of a gut. Probably from one to many late night pub runs Mac thought. Despite his age Ian looked like he could still handle himself in a fight and if Mac had to pick anyone in the room to be his backup in a bar fight he would pick Ian. Ian also looked like he brought old school experience to the table and to Mac that was more valuable than any new piece of technology.
"Cruz, your up." Mac said.
"My name is Detective Cruz Rodriguez. I'm also with the Port Charles Police Department and partner to Detective Spencer." Rodriguez said.
"Now that we are all acquainted how about we get to work." Keesha said.
"Right. Ian we'll start with you." Pembrooke said.
"I wish I had more to give you but who ever did this was good and thorough. They didn't leave to much for us to process. Here is what we know. The victim's name is Lord Albert Dennison. The only way we know that is because of his dental records." Ian said.
"What happened to him?" Angelo asked.
"From what we have pieced together so far, Lord Dennison was at his home with his family. His wife and children went to bed at around 9:30pm. The last place his wife saw him was in his study. He told her that he had some research to finish up on a case and to not wait for him. She says that around midnight she thought she heard a noise like a thud but didn't think much of it because her husband is a klutz. When she woke up he still hadn't come to bed. She thought he must have fallen asleep in the study so she went to go get him. When she found the door locked she called one of the servants for a key. When they opened the door the study was a mess and there was blood all over the chair he was sitting in. She immediately called the police. Five hours later we found Lord Dennison's body in a field and it was badly burned. Prelims from the autopsy show that he was tortured for a long time. They believe that he was shot to death before they burned his body." Ian said.
"Do we know what he was doing research on?" Lucky asked.
"Or what cases he was working on?" Keesha asked.
"Not yet. Who ever the killer was destroyed the computer and damaged the hard drive. We have someone working on seeing if they can retrieve any information off of it. As far as his cases, his office said he wasn't working anything. That's all we have so far." Ian said.
"Thank you, Ian." Keesha said
"What do you have Nobu?" Pembrooke asked.
"Our victim was a women, Ikari Tanaka. She was a politician and a rising star in Tokyo. Miss Tanaka was recently dealing with victims rights issues and was very out spoken about she felt about the Yakuza and their crimimal organization at the time of her death. Her body was found in our warehouse and shipping district. It looks like that she too suffered. At first we thought the Yakuza had something to do with her death but my contacts say they had nothing to do with it." Nobu said.
"Anything left at the scene?" Rodriguez asked.
"There was not much physical evidence there Detective but, there was a symbol written on her head." Nobu said then held up a picture of the symbol for everyone to see.
"What does it mean Nobu?" Alec asked.
"It means Inferuno." Nobu said.
"Inferno?" Keesha asked.
"Very good Keesha. I see you are still keeping up with your Japanese." Nobu said.
Rodriguez nudged Lucky to look at his note.
"Quite the worldly woman isn't she?" Rodriguez wrote.
Lucky nodded his head yes then went back to listening to the conversation.
"Anything else Nobu?" Pembrooke asked.
"We believe that the killer was also about to burn the body but was interrupted. There was group of teenagers racing in the area illegally. One of the racers saw a dark figure pouring something that smelled like gasoline over something. When he yelled the person ran away. We have him in protective custody now." Nobu said.
"Was he able to see anything more?" Rodriguez said.
"He saw the killer jump into a black car and then they sped off. He got a partial plate. My people are checking out all plates that could be a possible match. I'm waiting to hear what they find." Nobu said.
"Was she tortured too?" Ian asked.
"We believe so. We are checking the warehouses along the row where she was killed but there are so many that it will take time. It looks like she was tortured somewhere then dumped to be burned near the docks." Nobu said
"What about her computers? Were they damaged too?" Lucky asked.
"Yes. A computer virus was put on her system and all the data has been corrupted. The virus is so bad that if we even try to analyze it on our systems it would cripple our whole system bring it down for weeks. We found that out the hard way when we tried downloading her files onto one of our laptops. It crashed the computer in seconds. So be careful when downloading any files. Make sure you tell your people that Ian." Nobu said.
"I'm letting them know right now love." Ian said while he was sending a text message to his people about the possible virus.
"Good. That's my report." Nobu said
"Alec, what do you have?" Keesha asked.
"Our victim is an ambassador. Ambassador Jean-Pierre Alcard. He was just appointed French Ambassador to Spain . He wasn't working anything at the time of his death except a vacation to Disney World in Florida for his family. Rumor has it that he only got the appointment because of his wife's family ties. I tend to believe the rumors on this one my friends." Alec said.
"Why is that?" Keesha
"Mon Dieu Keesha. I have held better conversations with a mime and I detest mimes. I think they should be banned from our streets. The way they silently follow you around is simply wrong..." Alec was about to continue on his rant when Keesha interrupted him.
"Alec, focus. What else do you have?" Keesha said.
"Sorry. What I was going to say is that, when I met him, he seemed very quiet and not very good with people. He had no personality, no flair, none of the qualities that would make him a good Ambassador. That is what makes this case even more frustrating because he doesn't seem to fit any pattern of what I just heard. The Ambassador was found at his Château. His wife said that he went up there early to relax and that she and the children would be meeting him in about two days. The servants went up to his room him because he had a phone call and that was when they discovered his bed covered with blood. They called us and we found his body in the same manner as Lord Dennison's about one mile away. Before you ask, yes we are searching his computer as well as the one at his office and home. I just sent a text message to my people about the virus. Merci Nobu for the information. That is all we have for now." Alec said.
"Angelo my friend, what does the Polizia di Stato have for us?"
"Our victim a Carlo Giovanni is a self made millionaire. He started out as a lawyer and then one day he decided no longer wanted to be a lawyer and branched into his first love which was making boats. The company started off small but grew in a multi-million dollar business. Now here is where the case takes an interesting turn. Carlo Giovanni was not found in his home or with his family. He was found at the residence a Miss Adriana Muliano. His mistress. She lives in the city Reggio-Emilia in the Calabria region. She was also found dead at the scene." Angelo said.
"How do we know it wasn't crime of passion? Maybe the wife found out and did them both in." Lucky said.
"That is what we thought too but the wife has a solid alibi. She was with her family in Bari sailing." Angelo said.
"Bari? In the Apulia region? They are no where near each other." Pembrooke said
"Right, and there were several eyewitnesses who can place her on the ship at the time of the murder. Not to mention that she seemed genuinely shocked when she was told that he was found at his mistresses home. She had no idea that he was sleeping around." Angelo said.
"Did she have any boyfriends? Maybe one of them found out and killed them." Mac asked.
"She had no boyfriends. Her neighbors say she kept mostly to herself and that her only visitors were her maid who also has a alibi and Giovanni." Angelo said.
"Were they both like the other bodies? Were they totured and then burned?" Nobu asked.
"Yes and no He was tortured she was not. Her death was quick and painless." Angelo said.
"I wonder why she was spared?" Keesha said.
"She's dead. I don't think she was spared in anyway." Doug said.
Keesha rolled her eyes at Doug. He was missing the point.
"No Keesha has a point." Lucky said. He knew where Keesha was going with her question.
"Aye. I think I see what you both are saying. All the others were tortured and burned but not her. Hers was painless. It doesn't fit." Ian said.
"So what made her different? Why did he suffer and not her?" Nobu said.
"That's the million dollar question." Rodriguez said.
"There was one other thing. It was something that Nobu said that made me remember." Angelo said.
"What is it?" Nobu asked.
"It was the symbol you showed us. When we got Giovanni's body to the morgue the medical examiner found a note inside his mouth. It was partial burnt but the word inferno was on it." Angelo said.
"Again with the word Inferno. It must mean something." Alec said.
"Just another clue to very large puzzle." Rodriguez said.
"Oui." Alec said.
"Anything else Angelo?" Pembrooke asked.
"Nothing else except that we are doing the full autopsy on Muliano today. Hopefully we will get a better idea of how she died and that may give a clue to who were are dealing with." Angelo said.
"Thank you Angelo. Port Charles PD, your turn."Pembrooke said.
Mac and Rodriguez motioned for Lucky to take the lead on this. Lucky really didn't like to be the center of attention but in this case he really had no choice but to be in the fore front of it all.
"Our victims name is Richard "Ric" Lansing. He is the District Attorney of Port Charles. From what we have been able to gather Ric was ambushed while walking to his car to go home. He had stayed late that night in his office for a reasons that are still the unknown." Lucky said.
"There is a major difference in this case than all the others." Keesha said.
"What would that be?" Angelo asked.
"Our victim is alive." Lucky said
"Alive!" Nobu said.
" Mon Dieu! He is alive? Have you spoken to him yet?" Alec asked.
"Yes he is alive, but barely. Ric is in a medically induced coma now. It was necessary to place him in this state due to the injuries he suffered." Lucky said.
"What exactly happened?" Ian said.
"Like I said, Ric was ambushed while he was walking to his car to go home. Somehow Ric was able to use his cell phone and dial 911 after being shot. The call went to our call center and it was dispatched right away. Rodriguez and I were at the station when we heard the call. We were close by so we also added ourselves to the call. I went to the garage while Rodriguez checked the lobby area. I must have interrupted the killer when I yelled police. All I got to see was a black car leaving the area." Lucky said.
"Another black car. How is he doing?" Nobu asked.
"Ric suffered two gun shot wounds. One to each leg. One bullet nicked the artery while the other damage his knee. He also was shot in the stomach and another gun shot wound to the shoulder and was hit in the face with a blunt object mostly like the butt of a gun. That blow caused a clot and it traveled to Ric's brain causing swelling. He was placed in the coma to allow his brain time to get the swelling down on it's own. The surgical team was outstanding and was able to repair the damage to his stomach and to the artery in his leg." Lucky said.
"Did he say anything before he was taken away?" Ian said.
"Nothing significant to the case." Lucky said. He felt there was no need to air Ric's private request if it wasn't on a need to know basis. Lucky felt it was the least he could do.
"But he did say something? What was it?" Pembrooke asked.
"Lucky just said it wasn't relative to the case." Rodriguez said turing to Pembrooke.
"Detective everything is relative to this case. The slightest phrase may be a key to solving this case. Now please, what did he say?" Pembrooke said.
Pembrooke was on Lucky's shit list now. He wanted to go over there and knock him on his ass.
"Lucky it's ok. Just tell them and let them judge for themselves." Mac said.
"He asked for his wife Alexis. He wanted me to contact her for him. They had been having some problems lately since she has been sick with cancer and were about to divorce. Look the man thought he was going to die and I think he just wanted to make some peace with a loved one. Now, does anyone think it's relative to the case?" Lucky said looking at Pembrooke.
"I think I speak for everyone hear when I say no. It's not relevant to the case." Ian said.
Lucky looked at everyone and could see they agreed with Ian and understood why Lucky wouldn't want to air that.
"I would just like to add that if it weren't for the quick response to the call by Detective's Spencer and Rodriguez ,DA Lansing may have met the same fate as all the others. Lucky was able render first aid until the paramedics arrived. Those few minutes he aided Ric may make all the difference in this case." Keesha said turning to Lucky and smiling.
"If he lives." Pembrooke said underneath his breath.
"We heard you. The mics are sensitive, remember?" Rodriguez said tapping the headset.
Doug turned a slight shade of red from his embarrassment and decided this would be a good moment to not say anything else.
"Good job lads. Well done." Ian said.
"Yes, well done." Alec said.
"We were just doing our jobs." Lucky said.
"Modesty? You must have gotten that from your mother." Ian laughed.
"Yes sir. That is definitely not a trait of my fathers." Lucky chuckled.
Lucky was about to say that's all they had when he looked down at Rodriguez's pad and saw something he forgot.
"Cruz, you want to talk about the other body that was found?" Lucky said.
"Sure. The second body we found was the night security guard. He was shot in the head and from what we can tell it happened very fast. He never even got the chance to draw his gun. We didn't find his body until we did a full sweep of the building and found his body in one of the broom closets on the first floor. Now, they do have surveillance in the building so we are hoping that the camera caught something." Rodriguez said.
"When will you be reviewing the tapes?" Angelo asked.
"Hopefully later on this afternoon or early this evening. The problem is that the building only has one person with access to the room. He was out of town at a conference for better security." Rodriguez said.
"How Ironic." Nobu said.
"Let me guess. He is also the only one who can operate the machine too?" Alec asked.
"Give the man a prize. Yes, he would be." Rodriguez said.
"Budget cuts. You gotta love 'em." Mac said.
"Are you sending someone to check out his computer's?" Ian asked.
"Not not yet. Ric's office and his home have been under guard since the shooting so we know his computers are safe until we get a tech out to retrieve the information from them." Lucky said.
"I suggest you hurry. The killer knows he made a mistake by leaving your DA alive and his computers intact. He might want to finish the job no matter what the cost." Alec said.
"Right. Mac?" Lucky said. When he turned to look at Mac he saw that Mac was already on his cell phone.
"Already on it." Mac said.
Keesha took her jacket off and walked over to the dry erase board that was near the flat screens. She wrote down the names of all the victims on the board. The ones that were dead she wrote in black. Ric's name she wrote in blue indicating he was alive.
"Alright people, we have seven victims. Out of the seven, two of them seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The other five were the intended targets. We know that they succeeded in killing four out of the five leaving one alive. The question is why? What makes these people such a threat that they had to be taken out? There has to be some kind of connection between them. We need to find out why...and soon." Keesha said.
"Keesha,what is your gut telling?" Ian asked.
"That this isn't over. It's just the beginning." Keesha said.
"Then you all know the drill. This becomes top priority for your agencies. Use all your resources. We need to get a handle on this before someone else gets killed. Also, I think I don't need to say it but I will. Keep. The. Press. Out. The last thing we need is to let these people know we are on to them and what we know. If they ask anything just tell them we are still investigating these incidents." Pembrooke said.
"I think we have covered as much as we can for now. How about we meet back here in a week at 0830 my time? Also, please make sure you send all the information on your pre lims findings to me asap." Keesha said.
"o8:30 it is and you will have all our findings shortly. Until then, Au revoir chére." Alec said.
"Au revior Alec. Tell Marie hello for me." Keesha said.
"I will." Alec said then his screen went black.
"My people are faxing over all we have now and I will also send the same information to your e-mail addresses." Angelo said.
"Good. Thank you Angelo. See you in a week my friend." Pembrooke said.
"Ciao Doug. And you Agent Ward...I cannot wait to see your beautiful face again. Buona Sera, my dear Keesha. Ah..molto bella." Angelo said with smile and his hand over his heart.
"Ciao, Angelo." Keesha said.
As soon as Angelo's screen went black Lucky rolled his eyes. He wrote on his pad then tapped Rodriguez so he could look.
"Really hate that guy!"Lucky wrote.
"He's got game Lucky."Rodriguez wrote.
"I got game." Lucky wrote.
" No... you had game. If you want the attention of the "Bella" then you better get on the ball and step up your game." Rodriguez wrote.
"See you all in one week and just like everyone else I will send you all that we have." Ian said.
"Thank you Ian. Take care." Keesha said.
"Commissioner, Detectives, pleasure to meet you all. When this is all said and done we will have to get together for a pint and I will tell you some stories about Robert and Luke that will have you both in stitches. Keesha, take care love." Ian said smiling then turned Doug. "Pembrooke." Ian said as nicely as he could.
"Ian." Pembrooke said flatly.
Rodriguez wrote on the pad then tapped Lucky as Ian's screen went black.
"Wonder what that was about?" Rodriguez wrote.
"Me too. We'll have to ask Keesha later."Lucky wrote.
Nobu shook her head at Pembrooke. " You still have not apologized to Ian?" she asked.
Pembrooke smiled at Nobu. "There is nothing for me to apologize over. I was right and he was wrong. End of story." he said.
"Buru." Nobu said crossing her arms.
"It is not bull." Pembrooke said.
"One man's bull is another man's truth, eh Doug."Nobu said.
"Wow, that sounds really profound. Who said that?" Rodriguez asked.
"I did. You have my permission to use it anytime Detective. O-ke, I will fax you all that I have and if I find out anything before we meet I will let you know. See you in a week. Sayonara waga miuchi." Nobu said then bowed and her screen too went black.
"What did she say at the end?" Lucky asked.
"Good-bye my friends." Keesha said.
"I like her." Rodriguez said.
"I like her too. That's why she is my best friend. How about we take a break. It was a lot of information to process and I for one need to think about what I just learned." Keesha said.
"Sounds good to me." Lucky said.
"Well while you all are taking a much needed I need to let the Mayor know about what we have learned. Lucky, Cruz, keep me informed. Use whatever resources you need. This is your baby. I'll run the city while you two find this guy. I want him off my streets and if we can take his other crazy friends down too while were at then let's do it." Mac said.
"Yes,sir." Lucky said.
"You can count on us Mac." Rodriguez said.
"That's what I want to hear. One last thing, it's been along day for all of you. As soon as you get all the information we are waiting for I want you to take the rest of day off. " Mac said.
"Commissioner that 's not necessary. I'm fine." Keesha said.
"Yeah, Mac. Cruz and I are fine." Lucky said with Rodriguez nodding behind him.
"Thank you for your concern Commissioner but I think we can handle a few more hours of being awake." Pembrooke said.
Mac looked around the room at the eager faces before him. He admired their dedication and didn't question their willingness to do the job but he knew better. Tired cops make mistakes. They miss things that an otherwise alert person would have caught right away. This case couldn't afford mistakes right off the bat. So he knew he would have to get firm with them if he was going to make any kind of dent.
"You make it sound like it was a request. That was an order. Spencer, Rodriguez, you both have been up more than sixteen hours and the only thing that is keeping your engines running now is caffeine. Ward, Pembrooke, god only knows how long you two have been up. The point I'm trying to get across here is that you all need your rest because tired people make mistakes and we can't afford any mistakes on this one. Your dedication is duly noted and appreciated but I will not have people under my command who are not rested enough to do their jobs. Anyone who wants to fight me on this will be thrown off this case faster than they can blink. And don't even bother trying to go over my head. I have the advantage of being related to your boss so I'm pretty sure that he will have my back over yours. So, are my orders clear?" Mac said.
"Yes sir." everyone said.
"Good." Mac said as he walked towards the door. Before he exited Mac turned back around and spoke.
"If Agent Ward is right, and this is just the beginning, then cherish this day off. Because it may be the last one you have for a long time." Mac said then exited the door.
The room fell silent when Mac left. Everyone looked at each other knowing that Mac was right. They all were tired and a fresh perspective would help out.
Lucky looked at his watch and didn't realize how much time had passed since starting the debriefing. It was now late in the afternoon. Way passed lunch time and very close to dinner.
"Well on that note. I'm going to take my break. We can look at the faxes and sort through them out afterwards then call it a night." Lucky said.
"Cool. I got some phone calls to make so I'll see you guys back here in ten minutes." Rodriguez said.
"Ok ten minutes it is." Keesha said.
"You guys go ahead. I see the faxes are starting to come in. By the time you come back from your break they should all be in." Doug yawned out.
"You sure Doug? You sound like you need a break too." Keesha said.
"I do but, the quicker we do this, the quicker I can get to dinner and my nice big suite." Doug said with a smile.
Keesha nodded her head while she inwardly rolled her eyes at Doug. She would have to speak to Robert when this assignment was over about never pairing her with Doug again.
Lucky and Rodriguez walked out of the room and headed out towards the break room. When Lucky walked in he immediately went towards the soda machine. He was tired of coffee and wanted another source of caffeine to keep him awake. Rodriguez on the other hand wanted coffee and made a bee line for the steaming hot pot of coffee he saw. He grabbed a cup and poured the coffee in letting the steam from it hit his face waking him up a little more. Rodriguez took a sip of the coffee and almost spit it out. It tasted terrible.
Lucky saw the look on his partners face and knew that coffee was not up to his standards.
"That's why I went for the soda. Day shift can't make coffee to save their lives." Lucky said.
Rodriguez shook his head. "Yeah I know but I really need caffeine and soda just doesn't have that same kick for me like coffee does." he said.
"You are just addicted to the stuff." Lucky said.
"You say it like that's a bad thing." Rodriguez said.
Lucky took a seat at the table inside the break room put his head down. Rodriguez took the seat next to him and took another sip from his crappy coffee.
"So what do you think partner?" Lucky asked.
"I think we are in for a rough ride on this one. At first I thought the Feds would be a problem and get in our way. Now I'm glad they are here. After what we just heard I think we are going to need all the help we can get." Rodriguez said.
"I'm glad the Feds are here too. I think we will get a lot more accomplished with them here than we would have if they weren't ." Lucky said.
"Are you glad both Feds are hear or just one in particular?" Rodriguez asked looking at Lucky with his eye brow raised.
Lucky looked at Rodriguez and smiled.
"I don't know what you are talking about." Lucky said.
"Yeah right. Admit it Lucky. You like her." Rodriguez said.
Lucky got up from his seat and walked over to the wall and stood against it. He pushed his fingers through his hair and blew out a breath.
"I don't know man. I haven't seen Keesha in years. I mean the last time we really spoke to each other we were in high school together and I lived in her grandmothers house with my family. I was just starting to go out with Elizabeth when she was going out with Jason." Lucky said.
Rodriguez sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Whoa. Hold up. Are you telling me she went out with Morgan back in high school?" he asked.
"Yes and no. In High School he was Jason Quartermain. The golden boy who could do no wrong. Keesha and Jason Quartermain were really serious from what I can remember. Hell I thought they were gonna get married. They made a cute couple. Well all that changed when he had his car accident." Lucky said.
"You mean the one that caused his brain injury? I never got the full story on that." Rodriguez said.
"All I know is that his brother AJ was drinking and went driving with Jason in the car. There was an accident and while AJ walked away fine Jason was left in a coma. He woke up and went from golden boy Quartermain to bad boy Jason Morgan over night due to the brain injury. I don't know what really happened to them after that. I know they had a really bad falling out then she left town. The next time I saw Keesha was at Justice's funeral. He was her cousin and they were real close. She didn't stay long after the service. Edward said she was pretty broken up about his death and needed to leave." Lucky said.
"Wow. I didn't know all of that. Man, she has got some serious ghost in this town. Well at least she didn't run into Morgan yet." Rodriguez said.
"Um..yeah she did. When we went to Kelly's to pick up Mac's coffee. He came in the shop. It wasn't pretty." Lucky said.
"Damn! I missed that. What happened at Kelly's?" Rodriguez asked.
"Jason wanted to talk and Keesha didn't. He wasn't going to let her leave and I stepped in and told him to back off basically. Then we left." Lucky said.
"That can't be all that happened?" Rodriguez said.
"I'm afraid so my friend. Other than the stare down Morgan and I had that Lulu had to break up, nothing else happened." Lucky said.
"So you rode in and saved the damsel in distress huh?" Rodriguez chuckled.
Lucky chuckled. "Keesha was far from the damsel in distress. She could have held her own against Jason. I was more like backup for her." Lucky said.
"So you do like her?" Rodriguez asked.
"How did you get that I like her from that?" Lucky asked.
"Because I'm a Detective remember. My job is to follow the clues. Clue one that you like her. You practically drooled over her at the airport when you saw her. Clue two that you like her. You offered to let her stay at your house." Rodriguez said.
"At your urging." Lucky tried to protest.
Rodriguez ignored Lucky's protest and waived him off.
"Don't even try it. You could have easily let her stay with Pembrooke and let her wallow in misery on the couch. But, you stepped up, and offered to let her stay in your big empty house. Now clue three that you like her, you went toe to toe with Jason for her. In my book that all equals you like her." Rodriguez said.
Lucky shrugged. "Alright, alright. You want me to admit it. Fine I like her. I like her a lot. I haven't seen the women in years but I feel like there could be something between us and I want to get to know more about her. Now what do your clues say about that?" Lucky said.
Rodriguez was about to answer when he heard something he didn't expect to hear.
"They say you let me make dinner for you as a thank you for letting me stay in your big empty house and for being my knight in shining armor with Jason."
Lucky and Rodriguez both looked at each other shocked. Then remembered. How in the hell could they have forgotten to take off the damn headsets before they left the room? They both cursed underneath their breath.
They heard Keesha giggle in their ears.
"Now boys. I told you the mics are sensitive." Keesha joked.
Lucky didn't want to ask the next question but he had to know. "Keesha, how much did you hear?"
"All of it." Keesha said.
"Oh god." Lucky groaned.
"Cruz, shut your headset off please." Keesha said.
"Yes ma'am." Rodriguez said then shut his headset off.
"I didn't want your partner to hear this part and don't worry. Doug took his headset off long before you two started talking." Keesha said.
"Well thank god for that. Am I in trouble?" Lucky said.
"Far from it Lucky. I wanted to tell you that I feel the same way as you. I felt that same connection at the airport." Keesha said.
Lucky smiled. He was glad that Keesha felt the same vibe he did. "So what do we do now?" Lucy asked.
"I have no clue. I suck at relationships." Keesha laughed.
"Why don't we talk over dinner." Lucky said.
"Sounds good. Now bring your headsets back so we can finish up this work." Keesha said.
"We'll be right there and Keesha..." Lucky said.
"Yes Lucky?" Keesha asked.
"Thanks for being a good sport about this." Lucky said.
"Now what kind of damsel would I be if I got upset with my knight?" Keesha said.
Lucky took off his headset and looked at Rodriguez who had turned a bright shade of red. That was twice today that happened.
"So are we dead?" Rodriguez asked.
"Nah. She was really cool about things." Lucky said shutting off his head set.
"Good. That's the second time today I put my foot in my mouth with her."Rodriguez said.
"I'm sure it won't be the last." Lucky joked.
"Oh ha ha. Let's go give these headsets back and sort out that paperwork because I'm tired and I my bed is calling me and I still got some phone calls to make. Plus, the faster we do this, the faster someone can go on their date." Rodriguez said.
"That's right. My thank you dinner awaits." Lucky said as they started to head out the break room.
Lucky was about to head out first when he stopped.
"Cruz, thanks for the push man." Lucky said.
"You really wanna thank me? Then get Keesha to hook me with Nobu. She is hot! I wonder how they say hot in Japanese?" Rodriguez said.
"I'll ask her at dinner." Lucky said.
"My man. Always looking out for me. C'mon, let's go get this paperwork done." Rodriguez said slapping Lucky on the back as they went down the hall to the Command Center to finish up their work.
-TBC_