A/N – Thanks for the comments! I appreciate you taking the time to give me feedback! Glad you are excited to see where this is going!* Guest – Why would Jason has Johnny's number? JZ didn't let Liz carry her real phone so he wouldn't have his either.
Chapter 3 – The Chase
Johnny pulled into a hotel and turned off the engine. "Come on." He said softly. He was tired and needed a break. If she didn't run, then maybe he'd trust her to switch off while they drove.
She nodded and they walked into the lobby. Johnny got them a room with two beds and they went to the car and got their luggage and settled in.
"You can use the bathroom first." He said softly.
Liz nodded and went in and took off her makeup and changed into some pajamas. She walked back out and Johnny went in hoping he could trust her.
It wasn't that Liz hadn't thought of running because she had. But something told her that wouldn't be smart. If dangerous people were after them, then she wouldn't be able to protect herself. So far, Jack had kept his word. She just hoped that everything would work out.
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Taggert got into his rental car and headed to Elizabeth's apartment. He was quite sure that Liz wasn't there and since Spinelli had texted him that the Corinthos jet had left an hour earlier, he knew Jason probably had gone there already. Really, he was fishing for time. He knew Spinelli would be able to find the car. The hacker was trying to get into the rental records and was having some issues accessing it. They expected that Stan had done something to delay Spinelli's access. It wouldn't hold for long though. The strange kid always came through for them. He would catch up to them and hopefully, he'd get to kill Jason in the process.
He hated Morgan because the brain-damaged thug always stole his limelight. It had been that way since he got into the business. Initially, he tried to be a cop after coming out of the military, but he failed the psych exams and was told he had anger management issues. So, he said fuck you and when an opportunity arose to get into the mob, he took it and worked his way up. Luckily for him, he was a sharpshooter and was quickly noticed not to mention the fact that he was completely unrelenting in his pursuit of the enemy. They called him T, not for Taggert but because of the moniker he had earned—Terminator—due to his legendary focus and execution. But even after all he had done to secure his ruthless reputation, Jason Morgan was the golden boy of the mafia world and he didn't even seem to give a shit. Everything seemed to come easy for the tall moody borg and Taggert hoped that death would find him easily too.
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FBI agent James Craig followed Taggert at a discrete pace. They had hacked into Faith's camera feed and knew what was going on. He had a whole dossier on Elizabeth Webber within two hours. They were hoping that Taggert would lead them to her and then they would arrest him. They'd give Elizabeth safe harbor and then see if they could use her to get information on her father; perhaps plant her with Sonny so they could put him away for RICO violations. If he could score this bust, he wanted to retire from the field. He was tired of chasing assholes around the country. The money was good but most of the time, they got off. It was a thankless and often unrewarding job. The long hours and fast food were making him cranky and he was quite sure his arteries were probably clogged. Turning on the radio he sang along with the radio and drummed his hands on the steering wheel. It was going to be a long night.
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Johnny shut off the light. "We sleep for three hours and then we're back on the road."
Liz nodded and shut her eyes. She missed her bed. She missed her eye candy Dylan. At the thought of him, she slightly smiled and fell into a very naughty dream.
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Jason finally pulled up to the hotel, he was getting a little tired but he pushed the urge to sleep away wishing that he had actually slept the night before. If he knew Johnny like he thought he did, he wouldn't spend a long time there. So, he got his gun ready and noticed the light in the window of the room the blue Focus was parked in front of. He braced himself against the wall on the other side of the door. Johnny wasn't known for his brain activity so he figured it would be an easy takedown. He didn't think Johnny would want to hurt Liz. He always had distanced himself from his father. So Jason didn't want to hurt him unless it was necessary. Elizabeth needed to be under his protection. Stan had already notified him that Taggert was close. He looked over at OB who was crouched down a few doors away and nodded.
Johnny looked over at Elizabeth who was zipping up her suitcase. "I'm going to pack the car." He said grabbing their bags. He dropped one at the door, pulled out his gun, and went outside. Jason grabbed him and dropped him as Johnny's gun clattered to the ground. A stunned Johnny lay on his back looking into some very cold blue eyes. "Jason?"
"What were you thinking Johnny?"
"I was protecting her from my father."
Elizabeth had peeked between the curtains and gasped. She quietly opened the door and saw the gun on the mat and grabbed it and yelled, "Freeze."
OB smirked in the distance and with one hand on Johnny's throat, Jason turned and looked at her. Liz's eyes grew big as Jason's icy eyes glared at her. He looked remarkably like Dylan except his hair was almost covering his ears completely on the sides as well his neck in the back. He certainly didn't dress like Dylan either. And there was no sign of sweetness there either. Was that a gun sticking out his waistband? God he was beautiful.
"Put the gun down before you hurt yourself." Jason's voice demanded low and raspy.
She bit her lip. Dear God his voice was sexy too.
"Let him go." She yelled after she snapped out of her lustful haze.
Jason ignored her and turned back to Johnny. "Taggert is right behind me. Call her off, we are wasting time."
A shot rang out, making them all jump, and Jason whipped his head back around to her. She had missed him and taken out a tire on the Ford Focus and Johnny groaned. Now they had to go with Jason.
OB crept up to her and disarmed her as Liz squealed out. "I'm going to have to teach you how to shoot." He said as he smirked which was immediately met with a glare.
"I'm OB, it's Johnny O'Brien but since the twit over there has the same first name, you can call me OB or O'Brien. I'm not fond of John."
"Who are you?" She whispered as Jason helped Johnny stand.
"We work for your father. There is a very dangerous man following us who wants to use you to hurt him, so we need to go now." OB said.
Liz looked over at Johnny who nodded. "It's okay. You can trust them."
Liz went back into the room and grabbed her bag which OB promptly took from her.
"Is this all?" OB asked.
"Yeah, I have some stuff in the car though." Johnny said.
OB went to get their SUV while Jason talked to Johnny.
"Where were you headed?"
"I don't know. We were just going to drive for a while and I was thinking about getting out of the country."
Jason rolled his eyes. The idiot didn't even have a plan.
"We're heading East. Taggert will probably think we'll go the opposite way. We'll get ahead of him and then we're taking a plane to South America." OB said.
"Alcazar?"
Jason nodded. "He'll give us protection."
"What did Sonny have to give him for that?"
Jason smirked. "That you don't need to know."
Liz watched them curiously. OB pulled up and Johnny went into the car and transferred the stuff in the glove compartment and the snacks.
A car pulled up and Jason growled. "Get in the fucking car. Johnny get up front."
They jumped in and OB started the SUV. Jason knelt behind another car.
"It's Taggert." OB yelled.
"Shit." Jason said. He stood up and fearlessly fired at the other car which came to a screeching halt. Elizabeth's mouth dropped open as she watched Jason shooting two guns at once as he moved forward. Johnny yelled for her to drop to the floor and she reluctantly tore her eyes from Jason and got down.
Jason shot out Taggert's two front tires and then jumped into the car. OB took off and Jason looked down at Liz whose eyes were clamped shut and her hands over her ears as she crouched on the floor between the seats. He put his guns away and then held out his hand. "It's okay." He said softly.
Her eyes fluttered open and she took his hand as she stared into his eyes, mesmerized by how they had softened from earlier. She allowed him to pull her up and without a word, Jason reached across and fastened her seat belt. Johnny turned and looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you okay?
She nodded and he slowly turned around. Jason put his head back and closed his eyes, deciding to get some sleep as OB and Johnny chatted up front.
Liz watched him for a moment. His facial structure was incredible and from the looks of the muscles bulging out from under his short sleeved black t-shirt, she figured his body was to die for too. His hair was light brown with dirty blonde highlights. Jason was a walking advertisement for danger. He might look like Dylan but other than that, she wasn't seeing any similarities. Sighing, she looked out the window for a minute and then closed her eyes.
Jason's eyes snapped open and he watched her for a minute. Her hair was brown with lighter brown and blonde highlights which spilled down to the middle of her back. Her lips were full and her skin was absolutely flawless. She was definitely trouble and Jason's eyes narrowed for a moment, resolving to himself that he wouldn't let the little minx take away his focus. He had a job to do and he refused to fail. Closing his eyes, he quickly fell asleep.
Johnny and OB switched and OB caught a few hours of sleep. They had a long way to go to get to the private airstrip which would take them to Alcazar's compound. It would take a while for Taggert to get another car or his tires replaced. So, that would buy them some greatly needed time.
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James had witnessed the whole exchange but had stayed back. Morgan was good. He had mainly shot around the car so Taggert would stay in place and then took out the front tires. He was a smart man. A laugh escaped his lips as he watched Taggert throw a fit outside the car, kicking the tires before making a phone call. Luckily, the enforcer had been quick and he didn't think anyone had heard the shots or called the police. He wondered which way Jason would head. With the delay, they probably could go back to the jet and take off. But, he wasn't so sure that Jason would take that chance. It took two hours before a replacement car was dropped off. He watched Taggert transfer his things and then waited a bit before following him.
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When Jason woke up he looked around and then frowned. He heard OB snicker from the driver's seat. Realizing, his arm was asleep, he looked down and found Liz cuddled into it sound asleep. He looked up at OB and glared which made his partner in crime laugh out loud.
Liz stirred and then ended up moving and putting her head on Jason's thigh as he pulled his arm out of the way. OB turned and practically snorted. Jason looked baffled like he didn't know what to do with a girl. Not knowing where to place his hand, he finally found a space on the seat behind her. The car hit a bump, which Jason figured O'Brien did on purpose and he had to grab her as she went a little airborne. She flopped onto her back and bent her knees. Another bump made her bang her head on Jason's knee and she woke up and rubbed her head. "Ow." She said opening her eyes which immediately met Jason's who was smirking.
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry." She said scrambling up.
He didn't say anything.
"Can we stop and get some coffee and food?" Jason asked.
Liz was almost shocked that he had said so many words at once. Jason took tall, mysterious, and drop dead gorgeous to another level. She just wished he wasn't so freaking quiet. Johnny nodded. There was a service stop coming up so he pulled off the interstate and got some gas. They called Stan and told them where they were so he could hack into the video surveillance and erase all traces of them. They took Spinelli's reputation seriously.
Once that was done, they went to a drive thru and got some food and coffee.
Elizabeth slowly ate and then took some sips of her hot chocolate. Anyone who really knew her was aware of her chocolate addiction. If you wanted to put a smile on her face, that was the way to go.