A/N – Thanks for the comments! Liked all your guesses! You should find out who the sleeper is by Monday (at least that's my goal)

Chapter 62 - Strategy

Kristina sat on the docks watching Molly walk towards her. She looked tired and stressed and it seemed like she had used all her strength just to plop onto the bench beside her.

"Why did you want to meet here?"

"I figured if you're up to it, we could eat at Kelly's or something."

Molly nodded.

"Look, you can go on like this Molly. What if I promise not to tell another soul—not even mom. I just know what it's like to let something eat you up inside. It's not healthy and it certainly isn't helping."

Molly started to cry. "If I talk about it, then it will make it more real."

Kristina held her sister and let her cry it out. When she was done, she fished a tissue out of her purse and handed it over.

"I overheard some men talking about my dad. It was brutal. And then they talked about mom and Sam. It just made me feel like I don't know anyone anymore. Right now, I don't want to talk to my dad. I hate what he did. What kind of a person does that? Mom is all judgmental about who we date, but she hops into bed with my dad, Sonny, Jerry, and now Julian. What a hypocrite."

Kristina smirked. Her mom apparently liked the bad boys.

"Then there's Sam and what she did to Elizabeth. It was so hateful. Jake and Cam could have been hurt. I mean how did Jason forgive her?"

"From what I understand, they all forgave her, but when Jason came back, he couldn't believe that he had. That's the reason they're not together anymore and his love for Elizabeth."

"How did Elizabeth go back to my dad over and over knowing that he almost killed her? I don't get it. Why would she do that? He was willing to endanger Carly's baby and because of him working and sleeping with Faith to get back at Sonny, Liz lost her baby too."

Kristina didn't know about that last fact. "Wow. You know, Elizabeth was raped when she was fifteen and her family abandoned her for the most part. She didn't have the best self-esteem. Sometimes you believe the lies because you can't deal with the truth. You make mistakes because of fear and wanting to be loved. Ric is a smooth talker. He played her. I don't think it's something she's proud of."

Molly wiped her face. "I get that people make mistakes, but what my father did was more than just make a mistake in judgment. I mean, is that who he is fundamentally?"

"I don't know. You're going to have to talk to him to find out. I think he loves you Molly, but there was a lot of bitterness between him and my father. Maybe now he can let that go and try to be a better person."

Molly shook her head. "I don't think he's capable of it."

"Are you going to talk to Sam?" Kristina asked.

Molly looked up at her. "I'm scared it will hurt her too much right now. I'm wondering if her past is why she and Patrick broke up."

"I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to her in a while. She had called me to say Jason was alive and that was the last time we spoke."

"I'll talk to her soon. Everything is such a mess. I feel like I just lost my dad too."

Kristina hugged her. "I love you Molly. Trust me that it will be okay. You just need to process this and then try to move on from it. The one thing I learned with my dad is that parents can't always be who you want them to be. I had to just except him for him and limit my expectations. It sucked, but it's just how it was. He was a flawed person. There's always a reason someone acts out. It's not an excuse, but sometimes it helps put things into perspective."

"Can we go get a milkshake?" She was exhausted but she was grateful that Kristina made her talk because she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

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Elizabeth, Jason, and Georgie went over some details about the café in the dining room.

"We've decided we're going to call it Java," Liz announced.

Jason liked it. It was short and to the point. "Sounds good. You'll have to order some signage unless you want me to take care of that."

"Sounds like it's more up your alley."

"I'll handle it then."

Georgie looked over the numbers again. "I think we can make this work. We're close to the hospital, so that is definitely a plus. Kelly's gets crowded, so we could take on the overflow." She figured they could cater to those who wanted lighter food that was a good quality. They would provide fast service and reasonable prices.

"They're doing prep work now. On Monday, the major construction will begin. I've put a rush on it, so it should be done within a few weeks."

"That fast?" Georgie asked. She still needed to hire a cook and some register people.

"Yup. I wanted to get going on everything. We're still shipping coffee to our suppliers. It won't interrupt that." They had a secondary warehouse that they were using for now.

Liz was getting excited. She was trying to get her recipes and ingredient proportions down. That was the hard part. The industrial machines could churn out a lot of dough and she wasn't used to it. Instead of stressing, she was going to meet with a consultant so she could get help.

"The only other thing I need to know is a color scheme. Diane sent over some swatches and suggestions. Let me know what you think," he said handing them a big envelope. He smiled as he watched them separate them into two different piles.

"Daddy, I'm thirsty," Jake yelled.

"Me too," Danny chimed.

Jason got up and walked into the den. "What do you want to drink?"

"Juice," Danny said.

"Me too."

Jason smiled at his sons who were lounging on the couch watching a video. "Alright, I'll be right back."

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Michael walked into the house and Georgie smiled. "Hey."

"Hi Michael. What's going on?"

"Just taking a lunch break." There was a lot to do at ELQ and his brain was full.

Liz smiled and gave him a hug. "Come eat with us."

"Okay."

Liz had always thought Michael's shyness was cute. Around the Morgan household, it didn't always translate well because of the craziness. Michael usually hung with Jason or Dylan due to their temperament.

"Where's Jason?"

"Den."

He went back to the den and laughed at the scene. Jason was lying on the floor and the boys were taking turns attacking him. He was throwing them onto the couch as they laughed.

Jason saw him from the corner of his eye. "Incoming."

Jake was tossed onto the couch and Michael reached over and tickled him.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Just taking a Tracy break."

Jason laughed. "Good luck with that."

Michael smiled.

"How's your dad?"

"I think he's struggling a little bit but he's staying sober."

Jason nodded. "Good. I was thinking about asking him if he wanted to manage our second warehouse. We don't move as much product through it, but it would give him something to focus on."

"You'd do that?"

"I'm willing to help. We have to start somewhere."

"I really think he'd like that," Michael said, smiling.

"Why don't you bring him over here Friday night? I figured we could play some poker or pool. You could bring Sabrina if you want." He had been impressed with the information she had gotten on Obrecht. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. Now, it was just a matter of getting some evidence together so that she couldn't dispute it. He wanted her fired first and foremost and then he would strip of her of everything.

"Sounds good."

"Uh, Kristina will probably be here and maybe Molly." Elizabeth had suggested that just in case Molly needed to talk.

"Really?"

"Kristina and Johnny are "friends"."

Michael laughed because Jason used air quotes. "I see. Do I need to have a talk with him?" he asked, trying to look serious.

Jason grinned. "That would be epic." Danny jumped on him and he groaned because he accidentally kicked him in the stomach. "I need to pay attention."

Liz walked into the room. "Alright boys, you can torture your father later. It's time to eat."

The boys jumped up and ran towards the kitchen.

"You never have to tell my kids to come eat more than once."

"Are you starving them?" Michael joked.

"Very funny. Just for that, you're getting an uncrustables and a sippy drink. Have fun at the kids table."

Jason frowned. "Is that a punishment?"

Michael grinned. "I love uncrustables."

"Me too, I think I could eat like ten of them," Jason said.

Liz shook her head. "Boys…"

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Johnny had contacted Victor regarding some contacts he might have in Ireland who could help him research where his mom could be. He knew that Victor would be discrete so that they didn't attract any attention.

Nicholas walked into his dad's office. "Hey."

"Well hello. What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering how mom's appointment went. She's not picking up her phone."

Victor looked over at his computer screen. "Hold on for a minute. I was expecting a call."

He pressed a button. "Mr. Spinelli. You come highly recommended."

"Formidable One, it is my pleasure to be of service to you. Please let me assure you that I am extremely good at my craft. In fact, I am known as the Ace of Cyberspace."

Victor frowned and Nick chuckled. "Did you get that?" he asked his son.

"Yes," Nick said, pulling his chair next to his dad's.

Spinelli smiled. "Ah, Disgruntled Prodigy. Stone Cold holds you in his highest regards."

Nick smiled. "Thanks Spinelli."

Victor gave his son a funny look and Nick chuckled. "What do you have for me?"

"Well, it appears that there are only a few people near Mr. Freeze's mom that could have accomplished such a feat as to make her disappear. I emailed you their names with a brief synopsis of their criminal records. From what I can gather, Bruno Rhys is probably responsible."

Nick looked over at his dad. "Did you get that?"

"I think so. Are you on some kind of medication?"

"No. Stone Cold always frowned on herbal stimulation. I prefer barbecue chips and orange soda."

Victor's eyebrow shot up. "Perhaps you should actually try to eat something that is in one of the recommended food groups."

Spinelli made a face. "While I am flattered that you are concerned about my well-being, I can assure you that I am medically sound."

Victor grunted. He didn't know how Jason had the patience to deal with Spinelli. "Anything else?"

"No, but I'm sure I'll find out more," Spinelli said, worrying that Victor was not impressed with his cyber expertise. "I did find one of Johnny's cousins. From what I could gather, she was close to his maternal one during the few years before she vanished."

"Keep me informed. Once you have all her contact information, we can proceed."

Victor closed the laptop.

"You know closing that doesn't make him go away right?" Nick opened it again. "Bye Spinelli."

Spinelli waved and Nick ended the call.

"That boy was high on sugar or something."

Nick grinned. "Want to go have some chips and soda?"

Victor chuckled. "That would be a sight wouldn't it?"

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Cam was playing at school and he looked up and he swore he had seen Lucky. He started to panic and Emma grabbed his hand.

"Cam, what's wrong?"

"I need my guard."

Mike was watching Cam and could tell he was upset, but he wasn't supposed to approach him unless absolutely necessary.

Emma waved to the guard and Mike looked around to make sure they were waving at him and then walked over to the grassy area they were standing in.

"Mr. Morgan, how can I help you?"

Cam almost smiled at the sound of that. "I thought I saw Lucky."

Mike knelt down. He knew the kind of kid Cam was and trusted him outright. "Show me where."

He pointed to some trees. The bell rang, making both kids jump.

"I'll check it out Cam. Go to class with Emma and I promise I'll be here when you get back okay?"

Cam nodded. He watched them run off and then called Jason to let him know.

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Jason ended the call and looked over at Johnny. "Let's go for a ride."

Johnny nodded and followed him outside. "What's going on?"

"Cameron thought he saw Lucky outside of school today."

Johnny frowned. "Do you think he would be that stupid?"

"I think he might be trying to mess with Cameron; maybe get him wound up so that he can catch him off guard."

They got into the car and took off.

"He really needs to suffer."

Jason nodded. "If given the opportunity, he will. I'm also more than prepared to put a bullet in his head if pushed." He was done. No more. His family needed to be safe and anyone trying to do that, would be dealt with.

It was the first time that Johnny had seen a flicker of his old friend since he had woken up. It wasn't the same, but it was enough to handle business.

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Cameron walked out of school and smiled. Jason and Johnny were waiting for him. Mike walked him to the car.

Johnny gave him a high five. "Hey Cam."

He smiled. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought that I'd keep your dad company. He gets lonely you know."

"Were you sad?" Cam asked, trying not to smile.

"Very. There were too many women in my house today—Johnny included."

Cam laughed.

Jason waved at Emma and got in the car. "We need to swing the pendulum back the other way, like it's supposed to be."

"Boys rule," Cam said.

"Exactly."

"I've got a surprise for you when we get home."

Cam's face lit up. "Do I get a hint?"

Jason thought for a moment. "There's a girl involved."

Cam made a face. "Now I'm scared."

Johnny chuckled. "Don't let him psyche you out. It's a good thing. Is Josslyn behaving?"

"Pretty much. She says Spencer is her boyfriend now and then stands there waiting for me to explode or something."

Jason shook his head. "Did you say anything?"

He nodded. "Good luck with that."

Johnny laughed.

They drove back to the house and Cam ran inside to get his prize.