GEM HQ, Milton Keynes
Anna glanced at her watch. Time was going by too fast. Her two hour window would be up before she knew it if she didn't hurry things along. She returned to the receptionist and asked for pen and paper. She scribbled something and handed it to the anxious receptionist.
"Please give this to Mr. Masters or Mr. Vandenberg. And don't say there's no one here by those name. Don't waste my time," said Anna.
"Yes, ma'am. Right away!" The receptionist scurried away.
The note had a doodle on it. It was the GEM's logo with a big "X" over it.
The Court, Milton Keynes, England
Robert put his coffee down. "I'm well aware that I'm Abelard by default."
"You were not first choice, no, but Jacques did not settle upon you so lightly or lastly," said Elyot. "Abelard was supposed to be no longer or Scarecrow but here we are."
"Jacques gave me this … this responsibility and I want to do it justice. I'm not. I know I'm not."
"That is not my impression."
"The last operation was planned with Jacques next to me. It succeeded largely due to him and his unerring crystal ball. I just made sure all the pieces were in the right position at the right time."
"But you pulled the trigger. That is no little act for anyone," said Elyot. "The will and vision was yours from the beginning. It remains so still."
"My focus was always on Faison. That will never change. But, Elyot, I never planned on becoming Abelard. Jacques, Andre and I discussed it a few times but never in much depth. I thought I would have … have time to find someone else," said Robert.
"I'm afraid to admit that most of us begun our duty in a similarly unexpected fashion, Robert."
"But you were Scarecrow beforehand like Jacques and the rest, I wasn't. I'm trained to pretend to be other people, other roles. That training is only carrying me so far. I need to go further especially as I get closer to shutting down Faison. I need to BE Abelard the way Jacques was. Or you are," said Robert. "Despite your wheelchair, I look at you and my insides quiver."
Under his trimmed beard, Elyot's thin lips formed a crooked smile. "The air of menace does become unconscious after some time."
"Whatever trick you use, I want it. I need it."
"There was a reason why Jacques and I made the decision to retire Abelard. We were both adamant that there would be no more. It is unfortunate that you must bear the consequences of our decision."
"Unfortunate?"
"Your compass is firmly set, Robert. Your own nature is preventing you from transitioning fully."
"You're saying I can't do this? I'm the wrong man?"
"I am saying that you are unwilling to surrender to darker impulses," said Elyot. "Abelard must be cruel. I understand that by circumstance and the dictates of others you have been called upon to kill, destroy and corrupt. However, you are not one to take any satisfaction from the acts or the results."
"I've never found pleasure in doing the wrong thing. Blame my upbringing," said Robert.
"Abelard finds a measure of pleasure in the cruelty. He feels no guilt in the doing. It is an unnatural state of mind or spirit," said Elyot. "As you found, creating a persona to be Abelard is of limited effect. You must become Abelard. That is the only solution."
"I agree. Show me how to do that."
"No."
"No? But you said-"
"I shall not teach you to be Abelard for life. I refuse to be THAT cruel," said Elyot.
"Then we have nothing left to discuss." Robert rose to his feet.
"You would be mistaken." Elyot maneuvered his chair so he was in front of Robert. "I shall teach you to be the Abelard we need for the immediate future. He will be a mere shade but he shall be sufficient. Then, you and I, Robert, must bury him once and for all. His time has passed. He must not return. Do you agree?"
Robert extended his hand out. The two men shook hands. Elyot led Robert to his antique oak desk.
"Your first lesson begins now. I am sorry to say that it shall be a most difficult one for you. Traditionally, to be at his most effective, Abelard's loyalty must be only to one thing - his goals. Nothing else has a higher priority. Not love. Not friendship. Not oaths or vows. Not family. I am not saying that you must ignore your family but you must train yourself so your every decision is in the best interests of your strategem." Elyot took a folder from the desk and handed it to Robert. "This folder has all the information we have on the Committee. It is out of date by two decades but the information on its inner circle is accurate. In fact, we have added information to it only this morning."
Robert opened the folder and began to sift through its contents.
"The Committee moves even slower than my Court however it has had a marked increase in activity in the last month. So marked that we became curious," said Elyot. "It seems that it has welcomed a prodigal son. Someone you know."
Robert stared at the picture in front of him. His voice was a harsh whisper. "Sean."
"Yes, Sean Donely. That is the name you know him best by," said Elyot.
"What?"
"He has another name but we have not been able to find it. Mr. Hare is most perplexed. He's usually a dab hand at ferretting out information from his sources," said Elyot.
"I've known Sean most of my life. If he had an alias, I'd know about it," said Robert. A vein in his temple began to throb. The contents of the folder plus the information on the flash drive was too much to process. However one thing was clear - everything somehow led back to one Sean Donely.
"Donely IS his alias, Robert. His real name is unknown for now," said Elyot. "It is not unheard of for the players in the game to use aliases. But it is exceptional that one player has had a hidden name all these years."
"Years?"
"My mistake. Decades."
Robert's head was swimming. Facts, conjectures and suspicions were all colliding head on with each other. "Anna and I found out he was … was in the Game but you're saying that he's been in on it for … for decades?"
"Hare never forgets a face. Hare saw Donely and Ambassador Coughlin deep in conversation at your theater. Once he returned, Hare went through some of our oldest records on the Committee. Age changes us all but Hare confirms Donely as the same man the Committee used to infiltrate the World Security Bureau and-" began Elyot.
"Wait a minute! Infiltrate? He was European bureau chief. How could he be … be …" Robert's voice trailed off.
Elyot added softly, "The perfect mole. Highly placed, above suspicion and loyal."
"He was under orders?"
"Naturally.
"And everything he did was for the benefit of the Committee?"
"Undoubtedly."
Robert nearly slammed the folder on to the top of the desk. "How do you know he's back in? That implies that he was out before. What proof do you have?"
With his good hand, Elyot fished out a tape recorder from a drawer and placed it on the desk. "I miss the Lafayette restaurant in Washington D.C. The view was always inspiring. The conversations illuminating. The head waiter is very accomodating and loyal to us." He pressed the play button.
Two voices belonging to Ambassador Philip Coughlin and Senator Steven Ungaro were heard. The longer the damning conversation went, the darker Robert's expression became.
GEM HQ, Milton Keynes
Both Arnold and Chase retrieved Anna from reception and led her back to Chase's office. The two men had studied Anna's every move and gesture since she had arrived. Arnold took Anna's trench coat revealing a gray business suit and sharp black ankle boots. Arnold was in no doubt that Anna had a shoulder holster on under her suit jacket.
"You should have told us you were visiting. We would have made arrangements. PIcked you up from the airport. You and Mr. Scorpio. Is he with you?" asked Chase.
Anna took a seat in an armchair. She crossed her legs and leaned against the seatback. "He's busy elsewhere. I'm here because there are a few things that Robert forgot to mention when last he spoke with you."
"Th-there was?" asked Chase. "I mean, of course, there was." Under his desk, he wiped his clammy palm against his pant leg. "That affair in Vladivostok got messy. We apologize for our part in it. All of it. Everything."
"That's what you said to Robert and what he told me but do you mean it?" asked Anna.
"Of course we do," said Arnold seated at an armchair opposite Anna. "Why wouldn't we mean it?"
"Two reasons. One, you didn't say it to me. Second, I know how squirrelly and evasive Sean's people can be. You'll say one thing to save yourself and not mean a word of it," said Anna watching Chase and Arnold's changing expressions as she talked.
"Does Sean know you're here?" asked Chase.
"What do you think? Go ahead. Tell Sean I'm here. I dare you," said Anna.
"That won't be necessary. We're all friends here. How can we be of assistance?"
"I'm here to make sure a message is delivered and received."
"Mr. Scorpio has already told us to-" began Chase.
"We may be married but we're not the same person. Robert has his way. I have mine. Robert doesn't speak for me nor I for him. We do however feel the same where our family's safety is concerned. We have no higher priority," said Anna. "Robert gave you a warning. I'm here to tell you what will happen if you ever jeopardize my family in any way ever again."
"We won't be. I promise you," said Chase.
"You've got the blank liar's face down cold. Very good," said Anna.
"It's the truth, Mrs. Scorpio, um, Ms. Devane," said Arnold.
"Devane. This is strictly professional," said Anna. "I know what you told Robert and our people. I know that for now you do mean what you say. But what about later on? What if we have another … Sinclair situation? Or anything at all?"
"We will be diligent in future to assure that we have no conflicts with you," said Chase.
"Extra diligent," said Arnold.
"Mistakes happen," said Anna.
"That debacle was due to a lack of real intelligence and misdirection by Sinclair himself. Once we discovered the identity of his hostage, we ceased cooperating with him," said Chase. "We won't make the same mistake again."
"I suppose it wasn't your men in the GUM department store pursuing my daughter as if she was a wanted, dangerous criminal?" asked Anna. "Was Sinclair so valuable to you that you would become his lackeys? Robert told your man to stop and you didn't."
"Your team stopped ours cold," said Chase.
"Like I said - priorities," said Anna. "We asked you once to back off. You didn't. There won't be a next time. Are we clear?"
"Clear," said Chase.
Arnold could feel the growing chilli in the air. Chase's charm had no effect on the lady and the lady was pressing them into a corner as easy as pushing a pat of butter around on a plate. Chase didn't like being cornered. This conversation was rapidly entering hostile territory and he didn't want that. He posed what he hoped was a neutral question. "Satisfy my curiosity, Ms. Devane. What really happened with Sinclair? Who killed him?"
"It wasn't us but it wasn't for lack of … of a desire to. He left us quite alive so I must assume it was done by the person he was with last - Cesar Faison," said Anna.
"Another name from the past," mused Chase.
"Another person to avoid," said Anna sharply. "That's free advice I'd take seriously despite the past dealings you've had with him. Faison is our problem, mine and Robert's."
"We do not have any dealings with him," said Chase.
"Not now, no, but you did in connection with Sinclair's work," said Anna. "An amnesia drug, yes?"
Chase grimaced.
"How did you … never mind," said Arnold.
"I strongly suggest that you put anything related to Sinclair and Faison out of your minds. One is dead and the other isn't your concern," said Anna. "Stick to corporate espionage."
Chase took a deep breath and said, "We can be useful allies if you give us a chance."
"Why?" asked Anna.
"We have access to people and places you don't and-"
"I meant why are you so eager for an alliance?" asked Anna. "We're not an agency. We have no interest in commercial shenanigans. What do we have that you want so badly?"
The Court, Milton Keynes, England
Two pictures of the man known as Sean Donely were displayed on the laptop screen. One was grainy with age showing a young Sean having coffee with a younger version of Ambassador Coughlin. The other was a clear image taken from a recent interview from a Port Charles TV station. Scattered on the desk were more file folders some stuffed to their limits.
"Are you satisfied, Robert?" asked Elyot.
"Satisfied of the truth, yes. Of other things, never," replied Robert. "I want answers and I know I won't get them from him. Not the right answers anyway."
"His loyalty was settled long ago. He is held fast and there is no changing that."
"You know he warned me that we would be on opposite sides one day."
"That day is here," said Elyot. "We must move in concert. Match them stride for stride."
"I'm all in," said Robert.
"My Augusta is well used to my methods. What of Anna? What will you tell her?"
"Very little. She'll understand that Abelard needs to keep secrets. She advised that I had to be the role as fully as I could. I'm following her advice. We'll be fine," replied Robert. "I'm ready, Elyot. Let's get things rolling."
Elyot smiled. "The sooner done the better. Do you have further questions?"
"You said that you and Jacques disagreed about the Game. What did he want to do?"
"I wanted to destroy the Committee and he wanted to cripple the Committee and thereby restore the balance."
"That's a valid option."
"No, it is not. We should not be afraid of creative destruction," said Elyot. "The Court and the Committee are dinosaurs, Robert. We had our purpose and now that purpose is done."
"And the Game?"
"There are other players to fill the void we leave behind. It is too addictive a pursuit to give up. It continues to serve a purpose."
"But isn't there-"
"I do foresee a time when a livelier, younger Court arises amidst the ashes of mine," said Elyot. "Not in my lifetime but it shall happen."
"I thought you meant something permanent."
"Times change and so must we. That is one aspect that Jacques and I differ. The baroque and ancient always held more appeal to him."
Robert's eyes narrowed. "I would think it would to you more than him."
"Jacques' world view was formed by his life's travails. Revenge is a skewed glass indeed," said Elyot. He looked at Robert. "May I suggest that you look upon Faison with different eyes."
"Hate works for me."
"When I lost … everything I thought the same of the Committee, of Coughlin himself. I've seen the error of my ways," said Elyot. "My Court has watched, gathered knowledge and hidden in the shadows afraid of risk and loss. We have obsoleted ourselves by our timidity. No more. Today is our children's present. Our actions should be towards bettering their course rather than our own. You have children. Surely you see my point."
"Yes, I do. Everything I do is for my family." Robert stood up and moved towards the tall windows. "You're right. We all need to look forward. Move on."
"And Faison?"
"The Committee first then Faison. Maybe he'll die in the meantime."
"I am wary of him. His actions are opaque. I can only react. I do not like that," said Elyot. "The Kriegs have a way of changing the very landscape of the Game. If nothing else, they are unpredictable."
"It's only one man now. Anna suspects that he has family out there somewhere. I don't think so. Faison is a loner and he doesn't share well with others. He'll come out to play when he's ready or has a good reason. I owe him for playing me. That is a lesson I won't forget," said Robert.
"Speaking of lessons, it is time for lesson number two." Elyot led the way out of his study and into the hallway.
He entered what Robert knew to be a closet. In the cramped closet, Elyot slipped his hand under a shelf full of umbrellas and galoshes. Robert's ears picked up on the slight hum of electric motors. The shelf in front of him slid to the side revealing a tiny elevator. Robert followed into the elevator and it descended downwards.
"Jacques had his Paris tunnels and you have what? Dungeons?" asked Robert.
Elyot grinned. "I prefer the term cellars."
"Wine?"
"Among other things," said Elyot. The door opened soundlessly. As the wheelchair moved out of the elevator, the lights came on.
With its wood paneled walls and beamed ceiling, the room was a masculine haven. Books and glass lined shelved were arrayed against one wall.
"Abelards have had many interests through the years. I have gathered the fruits of our … hobbies here amongst the true records of our activities," said Elyot. "This material is separate from the Court's data, Robert. None exist in electronic form anywhere."
Robert eyed a comfortable recliner. "I'm in for some reading?"
"A little bit but I have acquired your favored brand of cognac. You will read in comfort." Elyot moved towards a wall panel with an electronic identification panel. He pressed his face to the panel. Robert saw the telltale light of a retina scanner. "Before reading, I wish to show you our inventory of tools. Before you depart, you shall store your retinal scan and biometrics with the security system of this room."
Robert found himself in a room that made him feel that he was inside a submarine cruising at five thousand feet underwater. His mind and eyes boggled at what Elyot revealed.
Robert grinned a little boy at Christmas again. "Damn! I have my own curiosity boxes."
Knowing the reference, Elyot laughed. "Yes, you do. I hope you will put it to good use."
"You know I will," replied Robert.
Emergency Room, General Hospital
Vincent placed an unconscious Andrew on to a gurney which Frisco pushed into to the reception area. Robin and Maxie trailed after them.
"Need a doctor here! C'mon!" yelled Frisco. "Maxie, I want you examined too."
"I'm fine, Dad," said Maxie.
"You're having chest pains. That is not fine."
The ER was nearly cheek to cheek with waiting patients. A nurse and a clerk moved towards them. The nurse began a quick triage of Andrew's condition.
Vincent and Nyssa were having issues with the nurse.
"Please contact Dr. Tom Hardy or Dr. Monica Quartermaine. They'll know what to do," said Nyssa.
"Unless the patient's condition is critical, you'll have to wait in line," said the clerk. "Dr. Quartermaine is in surgery. Dr. Hardy is in a meeting. He's not available."
"Let me talk to him. Just for a minute," said Vincent.
"We're doing all we can. We are in a disaster zone. You have to be patient," insisted the clerk.
Nyssa went outside to update CnC. It wasn't a call she was looking forward to. Andrew was hurt. They had to break cover. Vincent rushed to the elevator heading for Tom's office.
A disguised Robin hovered around Andrew. "He was, um, shocked. Electrical shock I think. His vital signs are weak but steady."
"Are you a doctor?" asked the nurse.
"There was a sailor on the boat we came in on that took vitals," said Robin. "His records should be here - Andrew Scorpio."
The nurse backed away. "Ah, um, let me get someone else."
"What? He's unconscious. Get him inside now!"
"Not him. I was here when he went crazy before." She yelled at the clerk. "Page Dr. Hardy!"
"He's with the CDC!" yelled the nurse back.
"Get somebody! Anybody!"
Robin looked at Andrew. To her, he seemed paler than before. He had to get treatment fast. "Frisco, we have to get him inside. And Maxie, too. There's just so many people in here."
"Okay, let's rush the doors. I'm game," said Frisco positioning himself at the head of the gurney. "Maxie, hop on."
"You're insane!" said Maxie.
"See where you get it from!" replied Frisco.
Robin put a hand on Frisco's arm. "Wait. There's another way. You're my witness."
"To what?"
"Desperate measures." Robin removed her wig and glasses. "Nurse! Get this patient inside. Stat!"
The nurse froze. Eyes wide. Everyone else within earshot also goggled bug-eyed. A few crossed themselves. Dead people didn't come to life every day. In the corner, a news cameraman aimed his camera on Robin.
"Yes, I'm alive. Standing right in front of you. It's a really long story." Robin began to pull the gurney towards the big double doors into the triage rooms. "Right now, I need to get my brother triaged. Excuse me!"
The doors opened wide and Matt stepped through.
"What's the deal here?" he asked absently. He looked up. "Robin?"
In her best casual voice, Robin said, "Hey, brother-in-law, get Andrew inside please."
Confused, Matt fell on routine. "Um, yeah. 'Kay. Room five. What happened?"
"Electrical shock. Unconscious for at least twenty minutes. Spoon Island," said Robin.
"I hate that place!" said Matt. "Any seizures?"
"None. He's really out."
Matt whispered. "So are you. Planned or accident?"
"Improvisation. Desperation. Lunacy. All the above," said Robin.
Matt and Frisco lifted Andrew on to the triage bed. A nurse and an orderly loitered in the room not doing anything but staring at Robin.
"Yeah, it's her Dr. Scorpio-Drake. Nothing to see here. We all have work to get back to." Matt began to bark orders and the triage area resumed some kind of normalcy. To Robin, Matt said, "Go upstairs to the Lab. It's safe."
"I'll go with her," said Maxie.
"You're staying here. Chest pains and a headache," said Frisco.
"I'll page a cardio. Get Robin upstairs then come back down. No wait. I'll send the cardio up there. I think this place is about to become a circus. Again," said Matt.
On the bed, Andrew began to stir.
Robin touched his arm. "Andrew, I'm here. It's Robin. Wake up."
Andrew's eyelids fluttered rapidly but did not open. One word escaped his lips. "Papa?"