Chapter 9

Location unknown

Robin tossed and turned in her bed. Her body jerked. Her hands spasmed. Her eyelids fluttered. Her blanket twisted around her like the coils of a snake. The past had her in a fast grip. Her mind went back and back to a memory when her second life had truly begun.

2001 - Unknown Location

Cesar Faison flicked his cigarette in the air. Flecks of ash drifted down on to the tile floor. His lips pursed in concern. Things were not going well. It was not supposed to be like this but his need was urgent. He had to know and she had the information he required. He should have expected resistance. She was her mother's child after all. What he did not expect was the strength of the will she was employing to defy him. She was beating the drugs. The effort was enormous but she was winning and he was losing.

With a regretful sigh, he laid the cigarette down in the ashtray. Casually, he slipped on a pair of latex gloves. They molded to his fingers and hand with a loud snap.

"Robin, please, we are friends, remember?" cajoled Faison. "I have never truly wanted to harm a child of Anna's. Never. If you cooperate, things will be much, much better."

Robin bit down on her lower lip to avoid answering. Droplets of blood dribbled down her chin and onto a towel laid across her lap. Her hands were bound to the armrests of the recliner. Her feet were also bound. All in all, she was comfortable in the leather recliner. She'd manage to relax the rest of body and focus her energy into finding ways to avoid answering Faison's questions.

How long had she been at this? A half hour, an hour, hours? She had lost track of time. She had been walking to her hotel after seeing some casual friends for dinner. She had felt freer and more at ease in Europe the longer she had stayed.

Thoughts of her visit to Pine Valley to see her mother had occupied most of her waking moments. So much so that she barely remembered the progression of days thereafter. Everything gray and dreary had become vivid technicolor in her mind. Her mother was alive. Anna would be joining her as soon as she was able to.

A huge smile lit her face and love radiated from her eyes. Her coworkers in the lab, her part-time job, had remarked that she had been incandescent with happiness. They had suspected a new man in her life. They were not too far wrong. Vincent said he was coming to see her after his latest mission. She couldn't wait to tell him about Anna and Alex. She had many plans to put into motion.

Normally sensible and alert in public, Robin had too many things on her mind vying for attention and consideration. As she walked back to her hotel, she did not notice the darting figures that shadowed her. Opening the door, she had not noticed the two men who paused by the door of one of the other rooms. She had let her guard down and now she was paying the price.

Closing her eyes, she pushed all other thoughts out of her mind except for four things - Do not answer. Do not look into his eyes. Keep cool. It's a game.

Faison dabbed a damp washcloth over Robin's lips and chin with gentle precision. "What I want to know is very simple. Harmless. Why do you not answer?"

"No," said Robin. Whatever drug they had given her compelled her to say something but so far she had been able to exert enough control to answer within the context that suited her and not him.

"Like you, I am very, very happy to know that Anna has recovered from ... the events of the past. Isn't it wonderful to have your mother back?"

"Yes."

"I have promised you that I will not visit her in ... where is it ... Pine something?"

"Valley," Robin groaned. That answer had slipped through. She was tiring. Her concentration was ebbing.

"Pine Valley, yes, how quaint," remarked Faison. "Why can we not be civil about this? I have agreed to not visit her or contact her in any way directly. What more do you want of me, Robin?"

"No ... not enough."

"You are very stubborn." Faison put the washcloth into a sterile container. He kept the gloves on. "I only desire to know how well Anna has ... recovered. What she remembers. Does she recall our time on my boat?"

Eyes downcast, Robin answered. "I don't know."

"Does she remember me at all?"

"Yes."

Faison brightened. "Good. Did she seem well and healthy?"

"Yes."

"All this time, she was alive and dead in the mind. Fate plays with all of us." Faison leaned close to Robin. She had avoided looking into his eyes. He had tried to persuade her with words but she had managed to resist the pull of his hypnotic powers. He had quickly realized that Robin was using a combination of strong will and extreme concentration to ignore his words. He had resorted reluctantly to drugs. The drugs had chipped away at her resistance. Even so, she retained control of herself. It was a remarkable achievement. "Did your father tell you how to defeat me, my words, Robin? Did he tell you how easily I controlled him like a puppet on a string? Dance, Robert, dance!"

Faison smirked as he noticed Robin jerk at the mention of Robert Scorpio. Yes, he thought, Anna was Robin's strength but Robert was her weakness. Her jaw clenched. New droplets of blood formed on her lips.

"He was all talk and no action!" Faison circled Robin heaping words of blame and derision upon Robert. With every barb he threw, Robin grew more and more tense. "He is a hero, isn't he? Going away to find Anna and undoubtedly to kill me. What a hero! Anna lost to you, her beloved child. She has sacrificed so much for her love of you. And me! Obviously, I am alive." Faison ran a finger along Robin arms. "Do I not FEEL real? Sound REAL?"

Robin shivered. "Yes."

"And Robert, he is ... gone from your lives. There is nothing worse than a fallen hero, is there? He did nothing but cause pain to everyone! He was a BAD, BAD man!"

"No," said Robin through gritted teeth.

"He left you didn't he? Anna told me that she was ... glad to know that you were looked after by one parent. She didn't want you to be alone. And look what HE did?" Faison knelt down. His voice he pitched at his most persuasive. "He left you to grow up alone in a harsh world. He left you without the loving embrace of a parent. He left you to get HIV. He left you against your own mother's wishes. He left you when you needed him most. He left YOU behind."

Tears began to course down Robin's cheeks. Faison's every word battered against the walls she had placed around herself. Walls that only recently she had begun to take down herself with help from her mother and one special man. "He loved me."

"Of course, he did. That is beyond question. But ..." Faison paused dramatically. "But he loved being a hero more. Your parents had an agreement. That no matter what happened there would always be one parent in your life. A wise agreement wouldn't you say?"

"Yes."

"Your mother left a message telling Robert to not find her. That he had to stay with you." Faison put his hand on top of Robin's hand. "Anna wanted to spare you pain, you see. She wanted you to have one parent to guide you, to help you, to dry your tears. Anna loved you above everything and everyone."

Robin swallowed. "You took her."

"I did. I do not deny it. But she was ... willing to stay with me. She WAS unwilling to have your father LEAVE YOU. That she could never abide by." Faison squeezed her hand. He lowered his voice as if sharing a confidence. "But Robert ignored her wisdom. He came after us. That was a mistake. We would ALL still be alive if he had stayed with YOU. I would have protected us from anyone. Your MOTHER would have been safe and not lost for so long. You could have visited Anna whenever you wished. To confide in your mother about your hopes, your dreams, your loves. You would have liked that wouldn't you?"

A strangled sob escaped from Robin. "Yes."

"By doing what he did," continued Faison in a low melodious cadence. "Robert took your life away - the life you could have had with your mother, your family. Perhaps, you could have had a brother. I often heard Anna say that you would have been a wonderful sister. You would have loved a brother wouldn't you, Robin?"

"Yes."

"Someone to teach and to have adventures with. Someone that shared your intelligence and wit. Would you like that?"

"Yes." The trickle of tears was now steady. Her walls had crumbled and her emotions laid bare.

"You wouldn't have been alone for all these years. Your mother would have been there for your joys, your heartaches and your triumphs. You would have liked that wouldn't you?"

Robin's body shook with emotion. "Yes."

"What could have been so glorious was not to be, was it?"

"No."

"I am sorry, Robin, for my ... my part. We all must reach for what we want. Sometimes we get it and sometimes we do not. But we must try, don't you think?"

Robin nodded. "Don't be afraid to try and always do your best."

"Who said that to you?"

"Mom. I miss her," said Robin in a broken voice. "It hurts."

"I miss her, too. More than you could ever know," said Faison with a faraway look in his eyes. "A child should not do without a mother. You want to be with your mother?"

"Yes but ... but I can't."

Faison grew alert at hearing this. "Why can you not be together?"

"She's in danger from someone."

"From me?" asked Faison in astonishment.

"She thinks you're dead." Robin added in a singsong way, "Surprise, mom, the scary man is alive and crazy." Her eyes flew open. Her voice hardened and she snarled. "You won't hurt her. I won't let you. Stay away from me!"

Faison stood up. He ran both of his hands through his long hair. "While I admire the strong sense of protection that you have obviously inherited from both parents, I do find it inconvenient." He looked at Robin and said to her, "I promised you that I would not contact her. I will keep that promise if you answer my question."

"What do you want to know?" asked Robin in a weary yet defiant tone.

Faison took a deep breath and enunciated clearly, "Does Anna remember what happened before Robert came for her?"

Robin shook her head. "We didn't talk about that."

"What did she tell you about leaving my boat?"

Robin looked up directly into Faison's eyes. "Answered the question already."

Faison repeated the question. "What did she tell you about leaving my boat?"

"Go to hell," replied Robin.

"Where do you think I have been all these years," sneered Faison. "And willingly."

"Was it nice and hot there?" asked Robin flippantly.

Faison gripped Robin's chin and tilted it up. A cameo locket jingled at her throat. "Another hero in the family I see. But no matter, you WILL answer my questions one way or another."

Faison let her go. He poked his head out of the door. Robin heard him say, "I concede to your methods."

There was silence for a time. Faison replied, "Yes, yes, I understand the risks but I NEED to know. Much of what I do next depends on her answers. Do it. Do it now."

There was another pause.

Faison's tone become commanding and slightly irritated. "And, Peter, turn off the cameras. This was supposed to have been a private session."