Chapter 24

Scorpio Ranch, Australia

"And I see him - Faison," said Salim. He looked at Anna then Robert. "When I see his face, I have the urge to seek him out. It is not strong, yet, but enough for me to notice my behavior and feelings. I am afraid, deathly so, that I will be compelled to bring Andrew to Faison. Like a puppet helpless on a string, I do not believe that I shall have the strength to resist. If that comes to pass, then you must kill me. You must promise me that you will."

They all gaped at Salim. For a moment silence was all.

"That's not an option," said Robert.

There came the sound of clattering feet on the stairway followed by the back door banging shut. Anna and Robert shared a look and a bit of silent communication. It had to be Andrew leaving the house for some air.

Anna looked at Salim. "We'll find another way to deal with your problem. We have to." She rose from her chair and moved towards the hallway. "I'll go see about Andrew."

"What if there is no other way?" asked Salim. "Robert, you know Faison as an adversary. I lived with him. I saw facets of his life and personality that few ever have. He had a plan for every contingency. I have grown to believe that everything he has done to Andrew and to me was part of some plan known only to him."

"You're probably right but it doesn't mean that we're going to outright decide on a termination of you or anyone on the team," said Robert. "It was so much better in the old days when all we worried about was getting shot, stabbed or barbecued. Having your head messed with is far worse. The images alone can drive you crazy." He looked at Edgar. "We got a heads up on this. Let's use it to our advantage. Debrief Salim as thoroughly as possible on this. I'll defer to both your judgment on what items to redact before passing the report on to Tom Hardy. Next to Andrew, he's the next best person we have for this sort of thing. Speaking of Andrew, I think it will be best, Salim, that you're never alone with him. One of us will need to be around."

Salim took a chair. The strain on his face seemed to lessen. "I agree, Robert. We should not take unnecessary chances. I am entirely at your disposal."

"Alex has also been doing further research on this," said Edgar.

"She has?" asked Robert.

Edgar nodded. "She had Giles send her copies of all of the Portland materials such as Sinclair's research notes. Also, I am aware that she and Tom Hardy collaborated significantly in treating Anna."

"Could I look at that material?" asked Robin. "I did have a front row seat to Faison more than once."

"Well, um, isn't it all a bit fresh for you? You should be resting and recuperating, sweetheart," said Robert.

"Dad, I really appreciate this whole family vacation thing but I AM rested. You have no idea how much." Robin glanced briefly at Vincent. "I NEED to be doing something useful."

"You've already committed to helping out on the Compound X stuff. That's a pretty big project and-"

"But all that is mostly stuff I'm already familiar with plus getting up to speed with what's already been done by the team to date. I need something completely new to sink my teeth into. Hypnotherapy sounds challenging."

"But I think you should be-"

Robin pressed her case. "I'm in the unique position to be the ONLY person to know BOTH Peter and Faison. I know how Peter thinks and I can tell you that there are many similarities between the two. I know that I can be more objective than Andrew is in approaching the overall problem of which Salim's issue is a part of."

"Robin, you'll have to be in Port Charles to do this work properly, yes?" asked Vincent.

Robert tried and failed to keep his hopes from rising. "You'd have to be around Andrew. We have all the facilities you'd need and we could build whatever else is required."

"A permanent 24/7 satellite link to Alex at Vadsel is also available," added Edgar. "And, SIMON does host all the data from the Foundation on site."

Robin grinned. "It looks like you're getting your way after all, Dad."

"It does doesn't it." Robert grinned back. "We have a few more things to do then we can head home."

"Things? Like what?" asked Robin.

"If it involves a beach, hot sands and good company in bikinis, I'm in," said Genji.

"Ditto but I shall forgo the bikinis," added Edgar.

"It's a surprise, no, two surprises," said Robert.

"Does Mom know what you have in mind?" asked Robin.

Robert looked uncomfortable. "Not in detail. Not that she didn't try to get it out of me, mind you."

"Oh, Dad, have you learned nothing about surprising Mom?"

Robert chuckled. "I've learned a lot. The most important lesson being not to put off things. Do it today or not at all. I've been letting some critical things slide. Well, not any more. With this new information from Salim and everything else, we'll need to be at our best to deal with Faison's legacy. I can't think of a better word than that. So, I've planned for us to get some REAL rest and relaxation before we return home."

"Um, Dad, what do you have in mind? You can tell me. I won't tell Mom. I promise."

"Trust me, Robin. You're going to have a great time. We all will," said Robert. "And, I'm sure that your mother will forgive me once she gets into the spirit of the thing. Eventually."

The sound of footsteps was loud in the still air. Andrew waved one hand in the air to dispell the smoke and with the other threw the cigarette to the ground to be grounded under his foot.

"Too late for that," said a voice from behind him. It was his mother.

"It's for my nerves," said Andrew. "Sometimes they get the better of me. I know it's unhealthy."

"I didn't come looking for you to give you a lecture," said Anna.

"I would make for a poor audience in any case,"

"As it happens, I'm up for being a very good listener."

"Should we wait for Father to come along for some tandem psychoanalysis?" asked Andrew.

Anna shook her head. "He has his hands full with Salim. It's just me I'm afraid. Go on, talk it out. It's best to you know."

She began to walk following the line of fencing that enclosed a large corral. Andrew matched her step for step.

"I refuse to do as Salim requests categorically and absolutely. Nothing you can say or do will change my mind," said Andrew. His voice wavered. "I don't believe I could survive another one like Simms, Mum. I can't. I could damage Salim's mind like I did Papa's."

"What are you talking about?" asked Anna moving closer to Andrew. "Simms was a … a tragic accident. As for Faison, he hurt you and not the other way around."

"When I went to him to say goodbye at the resort in Mohonk, he was inebriated and more depressed than I'd ever seen him. I tried to … to help him. He was drowsy and raving about things. I wanted him to be happy, Mum, that's all," said Andrew. "I think … I know I did something wrong."

"What did you do exactly?"

Andrew sighed. "He had his defenses down. It was easy for me to plant a suggestion or two in his subconscious."

"What suggestions?"

"Rather innocuous ones I thought," supplied Andrew. "I told him that he should appreciate his fans more and realize how well-regarded he was by them. Secondly, I … I said … suggested … commanded him to fall in love with someone else and not to see you anymore."

"I thought he'd given up on me after I … I told him off but it was your work that did it. I just sent him towards the bottle apparently," said Anna. She cupped her son's face in her hands. "You had good intentions, Andrew, and you're an accomplished hypnotist. Why do you think you made a mistake?"

"An opportunity presented itself and I took it. I didn't think about the consequences. I just did it," said Andrew. "I should have stopped at the first suggestion. It was careless and reckless. These are things that a hypnotist should never be with a subject."

"Spur of the moment decisions, hmm, I know all about those," said Anna. "Let's suppose that you did do something. What could it have been?"

"I went up against Papa's strongest motivation - you - and I tried to force him to do something that is completely against his inclination regarding that motivation," said Andrew. "It's … like when a mother is asked to … to harm her own child. It's an enormous contradiction for the subject in every way. He was in a mentally weakened state and so offered little resistance at the time and the suggestion took root. Tenuously perhaps but it was planted. That I'm sure of."

"Manipulating a person's most deeply rooted instinct - marital love, motherhood, protection for a child or the basic drive for survival," said Anna. "And if the subject allows it, then it can be successful."

"Been doing your homework, Mum?"

"Your father explained it somewhat when he released my memories. Alex and I have read up on the subject since then," said Anna. "Forcing a person to behave against their primary instincts and inclinations is never easy. That's why Faison had to take his time with me to make me forget you. And, because he was using my instinct to protect you, my subconscious wanted to keep it a secret. In a way, I was complicit in my memory loss. Elegance and brutality combined."

Andrew nodded. "Using nature and character to get the desired result. That's always the best way but I did the opposite with Papa. I suppose I underestimated his love for you."

"I think your suggestions did work. He stayed away from us. He had all those readings and appearances all over the world and -"

"But he still came to Port Charles, Mum," said Andrew. "That appearance was arranged at the last minute. Why?"

"He said he heard about Eve's death and wanted to express his condolences in some fashion. Maybe he wasn't going to actually see me but leave a letter or card," said Anna. She smacked her palm against her forehead. "It was MY fault not yours. I went to see him at the bookstore spoiling for a fight. Do you think my presence removed your conditioning?"

"Perhaps. Two bullets to the leg does tend to focus one's attention," said Andrew. "Still, my suggestions should have held if I'd done them right. But him seeing you couldn't have helped."

Anna was sheepish. "I couldn't ignore his connection to Peter and your sister. If I had gotten a lead, I could have stopped your father's assault on the Foundation. I wanted answers and Faison was playing games. I had to let him know I wasn't fooling around."

Andrew glanced at his mother. "Desperate times call for desperate actions. You went mad … a bit in the … the h-h-heat of the moment."

Anna gave a rueful smile. "That's an easy excuse, Andrew, but I'm afraid I didn't go mad."

"Not even a little?" asked Andrew. "You were provoked, Mum. Baited."

"He pushed me at the start but I went the rest of the way on my own. My decision to see him was impulsive. And I pushed him to wake up the crazy man, didn't I? You tried to stop me but I didn't stop. Maybe it was a mistake to continue. I'll never know for sure," said Anna. "But I do know that whatever you think you may or may not have done to Faison, what happened afterwards isn't all on you. It's on both of us."

"You left the room. You didn't see his expression or hear what he said," said Andrew. "When you left the room, he was only pretending to sleep. I knew then that my suggestions had been torn to shreds. I doubt that I could have any control over him now."

"With Faison being so well-trained himself, wasn't there always a chance that it wouldn't hold?" asked Anna.

"Maybe but-"

"Or that he would counter it somehow if he found out about it?"

"Maybe but it-"

"Or that some other event, for example, seeing me, would force Faison's mind to reject the suggestion?"

"Maybe-"

"Or that you refuse to allow for these other possibilities and insist on blaming yourself because it makes you feel better?"

Andrew stopped. "That's ridiculous."

"For better or worse, everyone in this family has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility," concluded Anna. "Don't mock me for I know of what I speak. I know the signs, Andrew. Let's assume the suggestions didn't hold. Fine. It's over. We have Robin back and for that I would have paid anything, lied twice as fast and manipulated Faison even more than I did. God help me, if I had a chance to do everything again, I doubt I would change any of my actions. All we can do now is move on. Let Faison be responsible for himself from here on in. It's the only way to set yourself free. Don't you understand that?"

Andrew turned and stared out at the wide country horizon. "He's alone, Mum. He always will be I think. His books give him a form of escape but his fans could have been a … a balm to his solitude. I only wanted him to taste the h-h-happiness that I have. Is that so wrong?"

Like her son, Anna stood looking towards a faraway point but her inner thoughts were in another time and place. She remembered Faison, finally caught and charged with his crimes, lying on a cot in a prison cell half in the light and half in the shadows. Between them, there had been whispers of regret, tears of frustration and earnest words defiant of reality and spoken truth. "Wishing the best for someone isn't wrong. Sometimes that's all you can do. You hope that things work out mostly for the other person's sake and, maybe, a bit for yourself, too."

"My mind keeps going back to when he asked me to remove some memories. I … I'm not sure that's what I really did," admitted Andrew. "And my later suggestions made it worse because of it. The pieces are all j-j-jumbled but … I KNOW that they all fit somehow, some way. If I could only remember more of what he had me remove!"

Anna looked anxiously at her son wanting to solve his problems for him but powerless to do so.

Andrew ran a hand through his messy hair. "I can't sleep sometimes for trying to remember. It's vital that I remember."

Anna touched his forearm. "Please, don't agitate yourself. Tom said you're supposed to stay calm."

"With all this going on? How can I?" exploded Andrew. "Whatever he had me remove, it all came back when the crazy man was awakened. I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. He tried to hypnotize me but I refused to look at him."

"It was his voice for me. It was so … so persuasive," said Anna. "I couldn't help listening and then he had me under his control."

"I used to like his voice when I was little. He would have different voices for the characters in the books he'd read to me. I loved his voice until-"

"Until when?" asked Anna watching her son's face closely. "You like to keep things to yourself. All my children tend to be secretive in their own ways. That's fine but when things become too much then isn't it time to share, to ease the burden?"

"You're not going to let me off the hook are you?"

"Not a chance," said Anna. "Mother's prerogative. Until when, Andrew?"

He slumped against the trunk of an old tree. "Until I began hearing his voice in my n-n-nightmares. Before I hit Alex, I was having more and more bad dreams. I didn't think much of them 'til I realized it was his voice I was hearing saying the same thing over and over again."

"What was he saying?"

"I can't remember, Mum. I've tried to visualize the dreams and catch a word but I recall nothing. I only know that he WAS saying something and I was hearing it."

"A trigger phrase?"

"Yes, I suspect it is. What Salim said earlier about the tape recorder merely reinforces my suspicions."

"Have you told Tom?"

Andrew shook his head.

"Why for ever not?" asked Anna heatedly.

"I always have a lot on my mind. I forget. Besides, I simply did not believe it was anything beyond dreams," said Andrew. "After hearing what Salim said earlier about the tape recorder and headphones, I've changed my mind. He had to have been implanting the suggestion or whatever it was while I was asleep and most vulnerable. That's the voice I dream about but can't hear."

"If Tom knew the phrase, he could de-program you like he did me. You have to remember. Don't you realize how critical this could be?"

"Don't you think I KNOW that, Mum?" asked Andrew.

"Then … then have Tom hypnotize you and see if he can-"

"NO! Absolutely not!" cried out Andrew.

"Why not?"

"B-b-because Crazy Andrew will be set loose and I won't have that!"

"What? What are you saying?" Anna gripped Andrew by the elbows. She forced her voice to a pretense of calm even as fear flooded her heart. "Tell me, please. You can tell me anything."

"You know who Crazy Andrew is, Mum. He's the one that assaults women, cripples people mentally and he kills with no mercy or remorse."

"You're not any of those things!"

"But HE is! Don't you see?" asked Andrew urgently. "The words I can't hear can never be said out loud b-b-because it will open HIS door all the way. My own crazy person. Father and son each have one - a matched set don't you think?"

Anna gasped. She began to shake her son then tried to pull him back towards the house. "Let's get back. It's cold here."

Andrew didn't budge. "I'm right on this. I … I realize it now."

Anna pulled harder. "Please, please, Andrew, come with me."

"Situation normal, Mum. I'm all right."

"You are NOT all right. We're going back to the house," insisted Anna.

"I'm in control. Before, I didn't know what I was dealing with but now I do. I can keep the door shut. He'll never get out as long as I never use the key and stay focused."

Anna stopped pulling at Andrew. "Never is a long time. We need to get you help before it's too late."

"I passed late a while ago, Mum. Papa said something to me about the djinn being let out of the bottle and the start of new beginnings," explained Andrew. "I didn't understand what that meant but now I think he knows what's happening to me. I think it's one of those memories he remembers."

"We're going to get the best help possible. This … persona will be destroyed. We'll find a way," vowed Anna. "We've been putting all our energies into finding Robin and now we're going to concentrate on getting you well. Whatever it takes."

"Faison created the poison and the cure both. One and the same," said Andrew. "I've never been afraid of Papa before. Ever since the shooting, I've seen his face in my dreams and … and I'm terrified."

Anna touched her son's face. "I promise you we'll help you through this. We will do WHATEVER we need to do."

"Why would he hurt me like this, Mum? If he loved me like a son, why?" asked Andrew in a soft voice. "You're not supposed to hurt the ones you love."

Anna's eyes flashed. "Faison is a mad, evil man who I wish I HAD killed when I had the chance. I won't make the same mistake again." A gust of wind ruffled their hair. Anna took Andrew by the hand. "Come on. We're not going to solve this on our own, are we? Let's get back."

"I'm not touching Salim's mind, Mum," said Andrew following his mother's lead towards the main house. "In fact, I believe I shall refrain from using any of my hypnotherapy skills in future."

"Why?"

"I suspect the door opens a little wider each time I do. It's a … h-h-hunch."

"You? You who loathes to speculate without supportable facts?" asked Anna playfully.

"There's a first time for anything."

"I agree. I have a theory, too."

"You, mother of mine?" asked Andrew copying Anna's previous tone.

"I remember you said that Faison wanted you to remove things from his past. Clutter was the word you used I think."

"Hmm, yes, that's the word," said Andrew.

"It seems to me that we have quite a bit of his former clutter in our possession," said Anna.

"Like what?"

Anna grinned. "The curiosity boxes, of course! I have to ask Giles how his cataloging of them is doing."

"You don't like them. You find them distasteful."

"And disturbing," said Anna. "But if it's going to help you, then I'm willing to put up with whatever comes."

"I can take care of this. I just need more time," said Andrew.

Anna halted in step. Faison had uttered nearly the same words on the Nereo. She shook her head clearing her mind. She turned to face Andrew. "You're not alone and you're not facing this alone. Families sticks together, especially this one. Don't stop us from helping you."

Andrew smiled. "I couldn't. This family is full of meddlers and managing females."

"Don't you forget that." Anna's expression turned serious. She looped an arm about Andrew's forearm as they walked side by side. "Nothing and no one will ever change the fact that you're the son of my body and of my heart. The rest of my life will never be enough to replace the time we didn't have together. I will move heaven and earth to keep you close by because I will not lose another day or another hour with you and our family together."

"You could end up with a terrible monster for a son."

"And I could learn to truly cook some day."

"We have minions for that." Andrew chuckled at the well-known family joke. "Can you convince Father to lift the no working rule? I need to do more research."

"I've tried. He won't change his mind," said Anna. "In fact, he said he had a surprise in the works."

"Like what?"

"No clue. The possibilities range from dreadful to embarrasing."

"How do you know?"

"There was a glint in your father's eyes and he rubbed his hands together in great anticipation," said Anna. "He said he had the best idea for some close family bonding."

"That sounds ominous," said the son.

"My thoughts exactly," said the mother. "We'll have to humor him whatever his idea is."

"Do we have to?" whined Andrew.

"Your father has had some wonderful ideas in the past," said Anna. "I'm sure it will be suitably entertaining and fun."

"Famous last words methinks," said Andrew.

(84-b2c24)