A/N – Thanks for the comments! Okay, some new drama starts.

Chapter 15

Jason parked the car and then sighed heavily.

"You are being ridiculous," Elizabeth said.

"What's wrong, mommy?" Cameron asked.

"Jason is being silly."

They got out of the car.

Cam grinned. "Is Jason my daddy now?"

Liz and Jason's gaze locked. They didn't think Cam would have brought it up already.

Jason lifted him. "I would like to be."

Cam smiled. "What about my other daddy?"

"Well, he had to go away for a while on a trip."

"Is he coming back?"

"I don't know."

Cam's brow furrowed. "Why did he leave?"

"Well, he wasn't happy after we moved."

Cam eyed Jason. "Are you going on a trip too?"

"No. I'm staying right here if that's okay."

Cam vigorously nodded. "Okay."

The door swung open, and Alice moved forward with a smile.

"Hey, Alice," Liz said.

"Come on in. The natives are restless."

"I should have bought muzzles," Jason muttered.

"What's a muzzle?" Cam asked.

Alice cracked up. "Cam, Cook made you some cookies for dessert."

Cam's eyes brightened. "Really?"

Alice nodded.

"Oh, boy," Cam exclaimed as he held out his arms to Alice who laughed as she scooped him up.

"Do I have to worry that my son will do anything for chocolate like his mother?"

Liz grinned. "Probably. It's in his DNA."

Jason shook his head as the din rose in the living room as everyone greeted Cam.

"Hello, Elizabeth," Monica said as she hugged Cam who was talking a mile a minute.

"Hi. He missed you."

Monica is beaming as Edward watches.

"Don't get any ideas, old man."

Edward scowled.

"He looks like daddy Jason," Cam said making everyone but Jason laugh.

"I thought you liked me," Jason said.

Cam laughed. "I love you, silly."

Jason couldn't even speak he was so floored.

"I love Jake, Gram, and mommy, and Jason, and Nana."

"Nana?" Jason asked.

"That would be me," Monica said blushing, "I had high hopes that you two would get it together."

Liz grinned. "That's okay."

"Let's eat!" Alice said.

Everyone went into the dining room.

She brought Cam's dinner first which was mac and cheese, chopped broccoli with a little bit of cheese sauce, and chicken nuggets.

"This looks good."

Monica smiled. "It does."

The adults are having beef tenderloin and cheese pasta with broccolini.

"Yum," Liz said after tasting it.

"Cook is the best," Edward said.

Tracy took a sip of her wine. She still can't believe that Jason is willingly sitting at this table. She can't help but wish that Alan was there to witness it.

"Where has Audrey been?" Monica asked.

"Oh, she went on a trip with some friends. She'll be back in a few days."

"I'm glad she's having some fun."

Liz smiled. "She's texted a few times. I think she's addicted to the kids."

"I can understand that."

"It feels good that they are so loved."

Monica still doesn't understand how Jeff could walk away like he did. He's missing out on so much.

"When she returns, we'll have dinner at the house so she can give us all the gossip."

"That sounds great."

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For the next week, Jason worked hard to try to hire the new staff and get informants situated. They were disappointed that Ric had disappeared and not shown up for his hearing. It was disturbing. He picked up his phone.

"Hi, Jason. This is Amelia returning your call."

"Hi. I heard you were moving into Ric's house."

"Yes. I need a temporary stop while I figure out what is next for me."

"Have you seen him?"

She frowned as she closed a box. "No. Is there a problem?"

"He didn't show up at his hearing."

"Oh. Do you know if they fired him?"

"Yes, they did."

"Good." From all she has seen, Ric is a blight and has done a horrible job.

"Can you let me know if he shows up?"

"Of course, I can."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome. He gave me the keys early. I'm going to start moving in a few days.

"Just be careful. He could be dangerous."

"I will. I may take a trip to see my father's grave for some closure."

"Be careful."

"Later."

He eyed Francis. "Try to get eyes on Ric. He's not staying at his house. Amelia is moving in soon and then may go on a trip." Unfortunately, Ric has been flying under the radar. "I don't like that we could be seriously blindsided right now."

"I know. I'm already on it."

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The move went well, and Amelia settled in. Ric had given her the address and number of a management company that will handle her rent.

She eyed the wine bottle he had left her, and muttered, "What the hell," as she opened it and then retrieved a glass. Tentatively she sipped it. It's good, so she drank some more as she turned on the television and settled on a crime show. It was the last thing she did before she drifted off.

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Jason answered his phone as he strolled along the docks. "Hey."

"Are you on the way?" Liz asked as she shoveled some food into Jake's mouth.

"Yeah."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"What's up?"

"Can you swing by the pharmacy and get Jake a teething ring?" For the life of her, she couldn't find the one she had bought.

Jason smiled. "Yeah. Anything else?"

"Nope, just you."

"That I can do."

"Love you."

"Love you too. See you soon."

As he moved down the alley and shoved the phone into his pocket, everything went completely black.

A man gazed at him. The side of Jason's head is bloody, and he hopes he didn't hit him too hard. He motioned to another man, and they quickly moved Jason to a car and sped off.

Stan walked into a surveillance room and frowned before immediately dialing Francis. "We've been breached."

Francis froze. "What do you mean?" He is walking around the perimeter of the property doing a check.

"Camera feeds from the docks and warehouses areas are all down."

"Shit. I'll call Johnny. Sound the alarm. Everyone is on lockdown. Make sure all are accounted for."

"The feeds are back up. I'll get back to you."

Johnny picked up his phone. "What's going on?"

"Get to the house. Something is going down. The camera feeds were tampered with around the warehouse and the docks." He got a text message. "Stan said it hit everything in the area."

"Holy shit," he said jumping into his car.

"Do you know where Jason is?"

"I think he was returning home."

"I'll check with Liz."

He quickly moved into the house and Liz froze when she saw his expression.

"What's going on?"

"We have a security breach. You can't leave, okay?"

Emily is sitting next to her. "Was anyone hurt?"

"We don't know. Do you know where Jason is?"

"He was on his way. I asked him to stop at the store. I think he was just leaving." She swallowed hard.

He feverishly typed to Johnny asking him to go to the docks and warehouse. "I'll have Johnny check on it."

"Should we go into the panic room?"

Francis sighed heavily. "Can you? You can come out once we know there is no further threat."

Liz moved around the kitchen getting some snacks together and then they went to get the kids while they eagerly awaited Jason's presence.

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Ric snuck into the back of his house. He had made some changes since Sonny and Jason had destroyed the old panic room. He had built a small building in the back that served as his office, which had a secret basement. It can be accessed via an entrance on the floor of the office, or a hidden staircase outside in case they need to bring in bigger equipment or bodies. There is also a working toilet in the corner, a sink, and a screen folded in the corner so there is some privacy when using the bathroom. The other side has a small fridge. He had been hiding out there. There is a small table with food on it including a hot plate, and the fridge has been stocked. Both the prisoners have a chain attached to one ankle that will allow them to move around the room, but they won't be able to escape. The retractable door can only open via the remote in his hand. There is no release switch.

Amelia is passed out on the couch. After moving into the panic room, he said, "How is he?"

"I hit him hard. He may need to see a doctor."

"Great… He's breathing, right?" He wants Jason to suffer.

"Yeah."

"Change of plans." He had knocked Amelia out and then planned to have Jason rot away in the panic room, but now that he's injured, he'll need someone to watch over him. There are two beds in the room. One is a hospital bed and the other is regular. "Put her in the room with him. She can take care of him and hopefully will keep him alive. If he has a concussion, she can deal with it."

The other man nodded and then moved her.

Ric grabbed some of her clothes, threw them in a suitcase, and then put them in the room. Looks like he's going to get a little payback where she is concerned. In the end, she'll get to see her father sooner than she thinks. He had the men take her car and drive it through the next town so it would be caught on a traffic cam. After that, he headed out, knowing that once they discover that Jason is missing in action, it will be the first place that they check.

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Elizabeth's head snapped up when Francis opened the door.

"Everything is quiet." He didn't want to even say the next sentence. "There is no sign of Jason. There was some fresh blood found in the alley near Kelly's. We're having it analyzed."

Tears welled in the women's eyes.

"This has to be Ric."

Francis nodded. "More than likely, it is. He disabled cameras in the area."

"How far out?"

"All of Port Charles."

"Which means that he may still be in the around."

"Yes. Johnny is heading to Ric's house now."

"Does it still have a panic room?"

"No. We shut that down after what happened to you."

Liz blew out her breath and then pressed her eyes shut. Jason has to be all right. They are finally a family. "It could have been Sam too."

"We are checking that out as well." He likes that she is smart and hopes a lead pans out.

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Johnny knocked on the door, but Amelia didn't answer. The car is gone, so he goes around to the back and picks the lock before entering. There is no alarm, so he goes room by room before checking out the basement but finds nothing.

In a building not too far away, Ric watches with glee as Johnny checks out the office by looking through the window and then puts his hand on his hips. Sighing, he heads back to his car and takes off.

Ric takes a bite of his meal. "They'll never find them." The men who helped him are paid off and out of the country. He made sure there weren't any clues left. He wants Liz to suffer for choosing a thug. Eventually, she'll get over him. In a few months, he'll pipe some gas into the basement, and it will become a grave. He'll seal off the vent pipe, relocate somewhere, and start over. Sonny will lose his enforcer and hopefully, the business will fail. Finally, he'll have his revenge.

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The next morning, Amelia fought the fog in her head and tried to focus. After she pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, she gasped when she spotted Jason.

Ric pressed a button on his computer. "Good Morning."

"Ric?"

"That's right. Check on him."

She slowly stood and wobbled. "What did you do to him?"

"He has a head injury."

She closed the distance quickly and checked for Jason's pulse. "He's breathing."

"It's your job to watch over him."

She turned around. "I'm not a nurse or doctor."

"There's a first aid kit under the counter. Do your best."

"Are you going to kill us?"

"I have to go. If you want to stay alive, then you'll keep him alive." He isn't going anywhere, but it's best to keep her guessing. "There's food in the fridge and on the table. Make it last."

She briefly eyed the area. "Why do I need the chain?"

"There is no escaping, but if there is a time that I have to send someone in, I want to make sure that Jason can't hurt them." He can remotely retract the chain to shorten it.

She gripped Jason's hand. This is a mess, and she has no idea if they'll be able to get out of there.

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A bleary-eyed Elizabeth sipped some coffee as Audrey fussed around the kids.

"How much sleep did you get?"

Liz shrugged. "Not much."

Audrey sighed. Her fear had always stemmed from Liz getting hurt. She hadn't thought a lot of Jason because he normally can take care of himself.

Cameron can sense something is wrong. "I want Daddy Jason!"

His lip pushed out as Liz rushed to his side. She couldn't help it and tears began to pool.

"I'm sorry, Cameron."

"He left us!"

"No baby, it wasn't his choice."

"Don't understand, mommy."

Liz hugged him. "Someone was mean and took him and hid him, but everyone is trying to find him."

"He must be scared."

"He's very brave just like you. We'll say extra prayers, okay?"

"Okay, mommy." He hugged her as tight as he could.

"You are the best. I love you so much," she said pulling back.

"Cameron, your Nana said she could meet us at the park," Audrey said.

"Okay. I can look and see if Daddy is there."

"We can try."

He smiled and got down to go wash his hands.

Liz let her tears fall and then quickly wiped her face.

"Where are you going to go?"

"The guys are meeting at the warehouse, so I'm going there."

Audrey hugged her and then kissed her on the head. "I'll text you when we're done."

"Thank you."

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Sonny paced back and forth in his office, only stopping when Johnny entered the room. "Anything?"

Johnny shook his head. "No. We put out a reward like you wanted. If someone's info leads to his safe return, then they get 100k."

Sonny nodded. "We'll up incrementally. Did you put it out there that we're looking for Ric sightings too?"

"Yes. We've searched several warehouses overnight and there is no sign of them. We're also going to look into more recent vacation rentals."

"Sounds good." He feels a lot of guilt. If he had let Jason put Ric down years ago, then his friend would not be in danger now.

"You know that Ric needs to die, right?"

Sonny faced him. "Yes."

"Good." It sickens him that Sonny has been so lax after all the loyalty Jason has shown and what Ric did to Carly.

"It's time for the meeting. Let's go."

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Amelia glared as Ric checked in. "He could have a brain bleed or start having seizures. He needs a doctor, not me."

"Just make it work. You have no choice. If he dies, there is no reason to keep you alive."

"It's not like you're planning on letting me go. You can't. We both know where this ends."

"And I can either make that painful or fast. It's truly up to you."

Her stomach turned as she eyed Jason. His blood pressure is fine, but he hasn't moved, and she's scared.

"Jason is like a cat. He'll be fine."

She truly hopes so.