Villa Scorpio
The laboratory was quiet except for the light tapping of keyboard keys. On a lab bench was stacked four small fish tanks, sacks of soil and other equipment to build several terrarium gardens. These mini-gardens would house the plants Robin needed for her work on the reagent solution to fight the effects of Fly.
"We missed you at breakfast, sweetheart," said Robert coming into the lab.
Robin looked up from her terminal and gave her father a small smile. "'Morning, Dad. I ate here. I wanted to get an early start after the call from Dr Quartermaine about the Fly cases. I'm pretty sure I can get small quantities of the reagent done. I hope it helps. You can tell Mom that the morning check up is good."
"Andrew told us what happened with you and Emma. That must have been like a ... a slap in the face. I'm sorry."
"It's nobody's fault. I can't stay mad at a baby anyway," said Robin. "Whatever I may feel, she's part of this family. And it's obvious that you and Mom love her to pieces. Andrew's like her lap dog. What's he going to build for her when she starts crawling and walking?"
Robert chuckled. "We might need another building."
"I'm fine, Dad. I know you and Mom have a full schedule. Just leave me in here to get my stuff done." Robin turned back to her terminal.
Robert didn't budge. He observed his daughter silently for a few seconds. "You're keeping things together pretty well but everyone has a breaking point. I know that a lot of the recovery is up to the person. All the rest of us can do is to be there if you need something or someone to talk to."
"You think I need something?"
"Normally I do pick up things. I'm not dense but right now you're a blank to me," said Robert. "Your mum told me she sensed the wall but I ... I wasn't convinced. Now I am."
"No walls, Dad."
"Not conscious ones. Look, sweetheart, you're talking to the wall expert here," said Robert. "They can be good or bad. If you have walls around you, they can keep you standing when all you want to do is hide in a corner and cry. They can keep the hurt away. They can keep you in a world that you want to be in. But they can keep you out of the world that you NEED to be in. You're letting us in but just on the surface."
"Dad, I'm okay. Really. Adjusting is going to take time but I'm handling it."
"On the outside, yeah. Vincent as your buffer zone is working out," said Robert. "I was locked away for some time. I completely broke down. Coming out wasn't easy. In some ways, it's harder than staying inside. No one is EVER the same afterwards. You know that trip Down Under wasn't just for a wedding. Your mum wasn't the only one watching you. Our bit of time there was only the first step in getting to know each other again. Awkward and silly as it was, it was necessary."
"Here come the psychoanalysis."
"No. Just this." Robert enveloped his daughter into a hug. "These are the only walls you need. The only ones that matter."
Robin nestled deeper into her father's warm embrace. "I love you, Dad, even when you're being a pain in the ass."
"I'm set on slow today but I'm not stupid. Your mum and I are going to be pests in our children's lives for a long time. Family is all we got." Robert eased his embrace. "You're a lot braver than I was."
"Brave about what?"
"Going out to meet the real world head on. Andrew was a good reason for staying away but if I'm brutally honest with myself it wasn't the only reason." Robert pulled out stool from under the lab bench and sat down on it. "I was afraid. Pure and simple."
"Of what?"
"Rejection. Anger. Lots of one word answers."
"Rejection? Dad, come on."
"It was a very real fear to me," said Robert. "You're like your mum. After she recovered from the amnesia, she tackled life head on. You're doing the same thing. I hid away for years. I focused on Andrew. I kept myself in that version of the world right before Faison kidnapped Anna. That world was it as far as I was concerned. Then I found out about you and your mom finding each other again, her getting remarried and you living it up in Paris. Fear became a habit I guess. I kept myself busy and that was the excuse to not deal with my real problems. I see some of that now with you."
"I'm adjusting. I'm sorry if I'm not doing it fast enough to suit you or Mom or anyone," said Robin. Her frustration was evident on her face.
"There's the anger. Let it out. Use me as a punching bag. Go ahead. It might make you feel bettter," said Robert. "Your mother is afraid of pushing too far. I'm not. I know there's something you're hiding from us. Whatever it is, it's keeping you from getting better."
Robin bit her lip to keep from saying what was on her mind. Her father's earnest words were getting to her. She stayed silent.
"It's early days yet so I won't push very hard. But I wouldn't be much of a parent if I saw my child hurting and did nothing," said Robert. "Vincent is a good man. I trust him. I'm glad that he's here for you. But, sweetheart, I'm hopeful that you'll trust me and your mum like you used to. Whatever is bothering you, I want to know about it."
"A bullet can't fix everything," said Robin softly.
Robert's eyes narrowed, "So there IS a problem."
"I haven't admitted to anything."
"Don't have to. Poke around long enough and you'll likely to hit something. You do have a problem that you're not telling us about. Don't deny it," said Robert.
"It's personal, Dad. It's something I ... I have to work through," admitted Robin.
"How personal?"
Robin insisted, "Very. Time heals everything. That's what i need. Time."
"Mental, physical or spiritual?" asked Robert. "I don't know any exorcists but I can Google it."
Robin laughed at the joke then sobered. "You want trust but you have to give it first. Trust me to deal with this on my own."
"But-"
"If I can't, then I promise to let you and Mom help me out. Okay?"
"I'll get what I can. Fine. You got it but there's a time limit on that."
"How long do I have?"
"That's up to your mum's patience," said Robert.
"You can't tell her. She'll hound me every day, every hour."
"We have that little thing called a no secrets pact."
"And you told me before that you wouldn't tell her if I asked you not to. I'm asking," said Robin.
Robert grimaced, "This is not a good precedent."
"But you love me and you'll do what I ask," said Robin.
"Maybe I will if you give me a tiny hint why you don't want your mother knowing," countered Robert.
"It's a woman thing."
Robert's expression darkened. "You said he didn't rape you."
"He didn't." Robin sighed. "If it helps, I have asked Monica's help for ... for treatment."
"I don't like the way this sounds, Robin. Anna needs to know," pressed Robert.
"I said no," said Robin "I know it's a lot to ask. That's all I'm going to tell you. You have to be satisfied with that."
"Now, I REALLY don't like this."
"Please. I don't need any more pressure. If you involve Mom that's what I'm going to get," said Robin. "I'm getting help, Dad. I'm not ignoring it. It's not permanent or critical. It has no effect on my HIV. None. It's not life threatening in any way."
Robert let out a breath. "Oh, well, that's a load off my mind."
"See it's not necessary to tell Mom."
"Not yet but I do want her to know. I can't help but she could."
Robin shook her head vigorously. "Oh, no, no, no. Mom would be ... just no."
"I'll keep your secret. Promise me that you'll tell her when you're ready to," said Robert.
Robin extended her hand. "Deal. Shake on it."
They shook hands. Robert left the office only slightly more disturbed. Robin returned to her work. She could hear a clock ticking in her mind.
Highway heading into Port Charles
The sleek Jaguar seemed to own the highway. There were hardly any cars around. The entrance and exit ramps were slowly being opened by the Sheriff's department.
"Aunt Anna, is the bad thing inside Andrew gone? Gone for good?" asked Belle.
"Yes. Faison deactivated it. Why do you ask? Did something happen?" asked Anna sharply. "I won't let on to Andrew that you told me anything."
"That's all right if he knows," said Belle. "At the dance, this boy said some rude things about me. After one particularly hateful comment, Andrew started staring at the idiot. Thirty seconds later he was dragging him to the hallway and shoving him against the lockers."
"He tried to hypnotize him?"
"I think he was but it didn't work. That part doesn't bother me as much as the other thing," said Belle. "The look on Andrew's face after the idiot said what he said was exactly the expression on his face just before he ... he killed Agent Polk in the ambulance."
Unconsciously Anna slowed the Jaguar. "What kind of expression, Belle?"
"Like the ... the lion just before it rips the gazelle's throat out," said Belle.
"He was angry and-"
"No. He was cold. Inhuman."
"Inhuman?"
"No emotion. His eyes had nothing in them."
"And this was same expression he had at the dance?"
"Yes. I don't think he knew what he did. He just did it," said Belle. "I was afraid for him if that ... that thing took him over again. So it's gone, right?"
Anna digested this new bit of information. She tried to ignore the maternal bells pealing in her head. "I watched Faison remove the persona. Andrew lost his hypnosis skills in the process. Faison did begin training Andrew to protect himself from a young age. Some things he does without thinking from habit or training."
"Maybe but what if the persona is already a part of him like a shadow is to a person. It's there but you don't really know it," said Belle. "When he's that way is the only time I'm scared OF Andrew. I told him I was scared FOR him but that was ... was a lie. I didn't want him to feel bad."
"You're definitely Sean's child. Thinking of all the angles," said Anna. "You shouldn't be afraid. He'd never hurt you. Would it be okay if I told Tom Hardy about what you just told me?"
"Sure, Aunt Anna. Maybe Dr. Hardy can help Andrew," said Belle. "I'm glad I got it off my chest."
"I don't want you to worry about this. I'll do all the worrying ... for ... for everybody," said Anna.
"You can't tell Dad or Mama. They already think that being close to Andrew is dangerous for me."
"I know they do and I do understand. If I was in their place, I would feel the same. If you don't want me to tell them, then I won't." Anna looked at the clock on the dashboard and sped up. "Aside from the storm and the idiot, did you enjoy the dance?"
"Those were the best parts, Aunt Anna. The dance itself was boring," said Belle.
"Another adrenaline junkie," said Anna under her breath.
Emergency Room - General Hospital
BANG! CRASH!
The headlights were blinding. The noise deafening. Tom felt himself being pulled to the right. He landed hard on his side. The breath knocked out of him. The car careened into a supporting beam and finally stopped. The driver was slumped over the wheel.
Matt bent over Tom. "Tom? It's Matt." He perused the chief of staff for blood, cuts or other obvious injuries.
"S'okay. Just ... out ... of breath," said Tom trying to get to a sitting position. "H-H-Hollis!"
"Don't move. Let me examine you first," said Matt putting a hand on Tom's shoulder keeping him on the floor.
Hollis issued orders in the background. His security team jumped to action preventing waves of desperate patients from swamping the emergency room entrance.
Tom leaned on Matt and limped to a gurney. "I don't feel anything ... broken."
"You're getting x-rays just in case," said Matt.
"I need to ... get Monica ... and ..." Tom fell sideways as he passed out.
Donely Shipping Warehouse
Sean led Anna to Bay C making small talk all the way. When they reached the bay, Sean locked the main doors assuring them of complete privacy.
"A confession is it?" asked Anna looking around while memories of what had transpired in this room decades ago played in her mind.
Sean looked at his watch. It was eleven on the dot. "I thought I'd have more time but-"
Anna nodded. "You're in a wicked jam from something or someone from the old days and need help getting out of it. I'm here. What can I do?"
"The question is what I can do for you. I have three pieces of information. First, I know the exact whereabouts of Peter Sinclair at this very moment. Second, I can help you fill in the blanks on Eve Montrose and the treatment that turned her into Robin. Lastly, I know of a ... a certain threat to Emma and Andrew that you have no idea of. None whatsoever. All of this has a price. One price."
"Which is?"
"Something that I will do my best to make easy on you. I need your full obedience of any and all orders coming directly from me for a specific period of time. Give me that and I can solve a lot of your problems."
"What kind of orders, Sean?"
"Cooperate with me without telling Robert a word. Be a witness to my death, testify to it if you have to and, most importantly, convince Tiffany and Belle that I'm not ... not coming back," said Sean. "Do this and the information is yours."
Anna's reply was immediate and explosive. "Keep your information. I won't do it. The price is unthinkable."
"How long are you going to spin your wheels wasting time and resources to find Sinclair, Charlotte and Helena? I can't think that the alliance with Faison is sitting too well with Robert either," said Sean. "My information can make all that go away, Anna."
Anna touched Sean's arms. "Whatever you're involved in, I'm sure Robert and I can help. We've always helped each other."
"Anna, we, all three of us, will very shortly be on opposite sides of the chess board in a Game of who can outsmart who and who has the guts to go for it all. We're halfway there already!"
"Chess board? Game?" asked Anna. The words were making connections to what they had learned from Augusta's data. Connections that Anna found entirely possible given what she knew about Sean but had never considered until now.
"Never mind. This is the ONLY time I will make this offer. What do you say?"
"Say? Say? I say you're completely mad and ... and cruel! You can't do this to your family!"
"Robert asked me to make sure that Robin and Mac didn't have any false hopes if he and you couldn't make it back. I'm asking the same thing," said Sean.
"It's entirely DIFFERENT! Good God, Sean. No. I won't do it. And if you continue on this path, I WILL tell Robert," said Anna. "Maybe he can talk sense into you. Whatever this is let us help you figure it out!"
Sean took a breath then began, "I've thought and thought of ALL the permutations of strategy to keep Tiffany and Belle safe. Only this way works out to the scenario I want. You're one of two people that I'm entrusting with the most important people in my life, Anna."
"Two? Robert?" asked Anna.
Sean grinned, "The Swede." At Anna's shocked expression, he added, "Like I said this is very old business."
When Anna found her voice, she asked, "What's his part in this?"
"He's to make sure that after things blow up, which they will, that Tiff and Belle and you and Robert know the truth ... about me," said Sean. "Posthumously, I won't have any honor left or much of a reputation. That's the way it has to be. But I ... I need to know that the truth is told ... somehow to those I love."
"You don't really need me do you?" asked Anna.
"No but my family will. And having you as witness makes things convenient. No one will question what you say or believe that you'd have a hand in my demise," said Sean.
"There has to be another way. If you won't tell Robert, then tell me. Tell me everything! Tell me how deep you're in."
"Robert paid when he went into Black Ops. You paid by raising Robin by yourself and then enduring the amnesia. You and Robert lost so much time. Me? I got an inflated reputation in the Bureau. I got wealth and social status. I got a family and the love of my life. I've never paid until now. It's my turn," said Sean.
"We paid for the decisions and actions we took, Sean. You never put a gun to our heads."
"Do you remember when you asked me if there was anything you could do to avenge Gabriel's death? Do you remember what I turned you into? Do you remember the times you cried and cried not wanting to return to the mission and each time I forced you back? I was a mean, driven son of a bitch who got results. That man disappeared when I found happiness. That man is back in front of you. That man is the one who has to pay."
"We'll fake your death. Clear your name then bring you back," said Anna. "I'm sure Tiffany can play the part of grieving widow for a short time."
"No, Anna," said Sean quietly.
"Why not?"
"Because I will be playing hard to win and so will you and Robert. Winner takes all literally. And I don't know who WILL win," said Sean. "I can't chance losing and having my family be the forfeit. So, I change the conditions. My way puts my family far away from me and safe."
"Tell me more about this game," said Anna. "What's it about? What part do you play?"
Sean ignored her questions. "I've told you what you need to do and you're going to do it."
"I'm not that naive girl anymore. Or the operative eager for glory in the eyes of the great and mighty Donely," said Anna.
"No, but you are a mother and a wife who will put HER family above all other considerations in every scenario," said Sean. "Peter is in cahoots with Charlotte and Helena. Where he is, they will likely be, too. You can catch all the birds in one swoop."
"We have our own leads. I don't need your information."
"There's another team who know what I know. They're sending a team to extract Sinclair tomorrow. You know them - the Gem Group," said Sean. "I know that business in Vladivostok was sloppy but they're usually extremely professional."
"Been holding out on us?"
"They want Sinclair for their own reasons. They want him as badly as you do. In fact, if they don't get him, they may, at some point, put two and two together or, maybe, Peter will inform them that Robin is the answer to their prayers. There's a bad formula problem I hear."
Anna let out a long breath. "You HAVE been holding out. How DARE you?"
"I dare because it was the only way to stop you two from stumbling into a mess of trouble! I was trying to keep my friends SAFE. But, no, you and Robert are so ... so dogged when you get righteous and stupidly shortsighted when you go off riding to the rescue! I was holding the shield up but you two kept stepping around it!" raved Sean. "So here we are in a big fat mess!"
"You should have told us. Trusted us to understand and-" began Anna.
"Nothing I said would have made a difference because you and Robert were set on your course."
"You should have told us what you knew."
"Same back to you," said Sean. "I'm not the only one hiding secrets. You and Robert have excluded me, consciously or not, you know you have."
"We were protecting our friends. The less you knew, the better," said Anna.
"Kettle meet black." Sean leaned on a tall crate and crossed his arms. "This is the only time I will make this offer. What will it be?"
"You'd really leave Tiff and Belle behind? Really, Sean?" asked Anna.
"I'd do anything to keep them safe. I want your help but I don't need it. You want AND need my information. What will it be, Anna? Draw or checkmate? Win or lose?"
"No one wins in this," said Anna. "I need more time to decide."
Sean looked at his watch. "In less than hour, I set things in motion that I have to see to the end. I'm going to pass the point of no return like it wasn't there. I need your answer in the next five minutes."
Anna began to pace thinking hard. "How do you know all of this?"
"Because I sold my soul to the Devil or, in this case, the Committee," said Sean. "I am the man I am because of them."
At the mention of the Committee, Anna's face lost all expression. In a flash of insight, her mind connected the dots and drew big arrows linking Sean to the Court's rival, the Committee. We are at opposite sides already, she thought.
"Anna, your answer?" asked Sean.
"How soon would you need to disappear?" asked Anna.
"Right after the pearl exhibit," said Sean. "That seems to be the best timing."
"That's around the corner."
"Yes, it is. See why I need an answer."
"You'll NEVER come back?"
"If events follow my predicted path, then I can't. I'll be truly dead, tucked away somewhere unpleasant for the rest of my natural life or be on the run with no end in sight. I can survive anything as long as I know Tiffany and Belle are safe," said Sean. "I know I'm asking a lot. You're going to be in a terrible position."
"Insane is what it is," said Anna.
Sean's voice softened. "It's because I trust you that I ask. It's because I know you that I know you're the right person for this."
Anna faced Sean. "You always knew I'd say yes. Why this pretense?"
"I wanted to give you a chance to refuse."
"You knew Robert would say no."
Sean nodded. "He's always been predictable."
"Not any more." Anna touched Sean's face. "You should have given him a chance to be your friend."
"In a fight, my friends would try to save me. But I can't be saved. I've escaped too many times before," said Sean. "I should have been convicted and gone to jail for the Aztec treasure alone. Pile on what happened behind the scenes - harboring Prescott, kidnapping Holly, supposedly killing Robert, breaking you and Robert up and the list goes on and on. I can't be saved but my family can. You can keep them safe. Tell them I'm dead. Help them move on without me. You're the only one I completely trust. The only one."
"I know. For that, we are equally damned."
Sean pulled out a flash drive from his coat pocket. "Once I hand this to you, our deal starts. Not a word to Robert about our deal or about any instructions I give you from here on out. You can tell Robert that I got this from a passing little bird."
"That won't satisfy him," said Anna crossing her arms.
"Too bad. I can stonewall him until doomsday," said Sean. "Tell him it's in exchange for purging my WSB records. We're even." He held out the drive towards Anna.
Anna looked at it as if it was a cobra about to strike.
"I wouldn't bluff about threats to any child. Robert thinks he's got things figured out. He hasn't," said Sean. "You want to protect him and the kids, then this is the best chance you've got."
"How's the Swede? Did you blackmail him into helping you?" asked Anna.
"No. I just told him I needed his help," said Sean. "His current identity is on the drive. He's happy. He's got a family. He got his happy ending and so can you and Robert. Stop stalling. I know all your tricks. Take it."
Anna reached for the drive. "Damn you, Sean."
"Yeah, a long, long time ago." Sean zipped his coat. "I have things to do and so do you. Let's get out of here."
A few minutes later, Anna left the warehouse. In her pocket was a flash drive containing Sean's files on the location of Peter, of Project Minerva and of the test of Eve and Compound A. She drove home in a daze.