I stand in the shadows outside of Harborview Towers waiting for Morgan to get done with Sonny. It was the deal we made, he could go in alone to see his dad, but I was going to be close by just in case.
I see Ava slink out of the front door, looking around.
Pushing myself off the wall I'm leaning against, I call out to her. She turns her eyes to the shadows I'm standing in, searching for me. I step into the light, and her hand goes to her throat nervously.
"Jason. I'm so glad you're alive. I know Carly must be overjoyed." Her voice quivers, giving away her fear.
I step right in front of her, and in a deadly voice, say, "You had better be careful. You are somehow mixed up with the people I love, the people I would do absolutely anything to protect. Anything, do you understand?"
"Yes…" she begins shaking, "I understand. I don't have any intention of hurting anyone. I swear I'm just trying to survive."
I don't give away what I'm thinking, instead just staring at her stonily. She takes a step back, looking around for an escape, when I step back as well. "Good. I'd hate for you to disappear. Carly cares about your daughter, I'd hate for her to lose her mother. But if you mess with Carly or our kids, if you betray Sonny, I promise you won't like the consequences."
Ava flinches, "I understand. You have nothing to fear from me."
I give her a nod, then add, "Keep quiet about Morgan. If I find out you have told anyone, you will regret it."
She nods, beginning to inch away, when I add, "You might want to share some of that advice with your friend Nina. Let her know her days of messing with Carly and the rest of my family are over. I will enjoy destroying her if she doesn't stop."
"I'll warn her," she says, her voice asking for mercy. I want everyone to know that where my family is concerned, if you hurt them or come after them, there will be no mercy. "I'll try to make her listen."
"If you want your friend to continue breathing, I'd try real hard." Giving a final nod, she rushes away.
I go back into the shadows to continue waiting. About ten minutes in, I see a movement out of the corner of my eye. Moving only my eyes, I see Agent Cates slink up to the building. I consider alerting him to my presence, but I want to see what he's up to first.
He checks his phone, typing up a quick message. Then, he slips in the door to Harborview Towers. Moving over so I can see him more clearly, I watch as he gets on the elevator. Who is he going to see? Carly had filled me in on all the Karen/Kari background, explaining his grudge against Sonny. Is this really all some old grudge against Sonny? Is that why he's creeping around? Hopefully, he doesn't run into Morgan. The less Cates knows, the better.
It burns me up the hold he has over Carly. When he first threatened her, I wanted to pull him apart limb by limb, bury him so deep no one would find the body. I could do it too, but it doesn't get Carly out of trouble. So, I'm stuck playing his game at the moment.
Finally, I see Morgan coming out of the building. His hoodie and baseball cap disguising him as much as possible. He looks tired, an emotional weariness from all he's carrying.
Stepping out of the shadows, I ask, "How did it go?"
Walking over to me, his hands tucked in his pockets, he says, "Good, I think. Dad's all over the place, but I think I convinced him to see a doctor and get his meds checked." He tips his head forward, letting out a sigh, "God, it's all such a mess."
I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to give him comfort, "You don't have to carry it alone. You don't have to fix it alone. You have me and your family. We'll figure it out."
"I wish to God I never got involved with that family. The Jerome's have been nothing but trouble." Then, with a shudder, "Oh, and I got the disgusting joy of walking in on Dad and Ava making out like teenagers. That one is disturbing on so many levels." He groans.
I look over at him, "What do you think is up with that? Do you think she's playing him?"
"I accused her of working with her sister. She seemed genuinely surprised. I don't trust her as far as I can throw her, though." He sighs, "It may not matter. Dad flipped out when I accused her. I had to pull him off her. I sent her away because I was worried what he would do, especially when he's like this."
As we begin walking, I consider the problem. I still don't know all the details, but what we've pieced out is that Olivia Jerome, instead of blowing Morgan up, kept him as insurance. At some point, she had thrown her hat in with Pikeman, providing avenues of distribution and contacts for a price. Convinced he had been entirely broken, and wanting him to become a highly trained killer, they had sent Morgan to work with the mercenaries.
Olivia already paid for her actions. That was one job in which I happily pulled the trigger. And the beauty of it is that her death will be lumped in with the other assassinations. May she rot in hell.
The only information I was able to get out of her was that whoever is running Pikeman now is outside the WSB, and that they are closer than we think. I feel the frustration bubbling up again, that the pieces don't seem to fit, and I'm no closer to getting Carly out of trouble.
Morgan tells me about his conversation with Sonny as we head to Bobbie's. As we are turning the corner to the diner, I stop him with a hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"
He runs a hand down his face, then one shoulder ticks up. "I guess. It was hard seeing Dad. Not only because I feel guilty for even putting the whole medication thing out there. But, there's still that part of my brain that hates him."
I nod, letting out a breath, "Do you think it's part of their brainwashing? Do you think it still has a hold?"
He thinks about it for a moment, then answers, "Part of it, yeah. I felt it for so long that it almost feels weird not to hate him." He looks down in thought, "But I'm also really pissed about how he's treating Mom, and you, and Michael. I keep telling myself it's because they're playing with his brain, but the stuff he did to Mom was before all that. I mean, I love him, but he also makes me absolutely furious."
Pulling him into a hug, I tell him, "I get it. I'm pretty angry about how he's treated your mom too. But, you don't have to decide anything tonight. You have time to figure it all out."
Pulling back, I say, "I also wanted to let you know, we are going to start the next stage of the plan tomorrow. We will go see Anna tomorrow morning, and get word out that you are here."
He gives me a nod, "How long do you think before they show up?"
"We have to expect them immediately. With the two of us, especially working together, the one in charge will hopefully want to make sure we're taken care of himself. And Olivia hinted that he's close." Looking him in the eye, I add, "It will be over soon. Then, you can figure out how to go back to a normal life. Whatever that looks like for you."
He gives a jerky nod. He asks, "What do you need me to do?"
"Just make sure you keep your guard up. Don't let anyone get the drop on you. Keep in mind that there are people who will be destroyed if anything happens to you, so your goal is to stay safe." I urge him. "And only trust your family, me and your mom, Michael and Joss." I take a deep breath, "I don't think we can count on your Dad right now. I don't think he will hurt you, but until he's back in his right mind, I don't know what he'll do."
"Agreed," he whispers in a tortured voice. "I'll be safe, I promise."
Giving him a nod, "Good. Otherwise your Mom will kill me."
Morgan laughs, "Doubtful. She may love us like crazy, but you are clearly her favorite person."
With a grin, we make our way to Bobbie's. It's late enough that almost everyone is gone. I stop at the door, seeing Drew talking to Carly.
I tell Morgan, "Go up to your room through the back. Stay out of sight."
When he nods and heads around back, I take a deep breath, then push open the door. Both eyes turn to me as I walk over to Carly, leaning down to give her a kiss.
"Drew," I say as I pull Carly into my side.
"Jason," he answers with a nod.
"So, what is going on? It looks like you were having a serious conversation when I walked in. What did I miss?" I ask, looking between Carly and Drew.
"I don't have to tell you anything, brother." Drew replies.
I look at Carly, and she gives a half-shrug. "He hadn't really gotten to the point. Something about Nina, I think."
Turning my attention to my brother, I ask, "What about Nina?"
Drew lets out a groan, "Look, I'm not here to talk to you, Jason. So, if you could excuse me and Carly."
"I don't see the point, honestly." I tell him, "She's just going to tell me once you're gone."
His eyes shoot to Carly. When she just nods, he looks down and lets out a breath. Finally, he says looking back to her, "I just wanted to let you know that Nina has some plans in the works to get back into Willow's life."
Carly laughs, rolling her eyes, "What's new?"
Looking at my brother, I ask, "What kind of plans?"
Begrudgingly, he answers, "Yeah, so her first plan was to get on the board at Aurora, thinking she can soften Michael up."
Carly once again lets out a laugh, "Not likely."
Studying his face, "With what leverage? She isn't dumb, so why would she think she could get that from you?"
His eyes shift, and I know he's about to lie, "Who knows why that woman does anything?"
Whatever it is, he's ashamed of it and he doesn't want Carly to know. He won't look at her. It hits me, and I flinch. "You slept with Nina?!"
Carly's eyes focus in on Drew, and what she sees there must convince her because she asks him, shocked, "Really?! Nina?"
He defends, "It was a mistake, and definitely wasn't my finest moment."
Carly lets out a derisive laugh, "I'll say. God, I definitely didn't see that one coming. And, to tell you the truth, I don't even want to know." She gives him a look, "Drew you are better than Nina. Please stay out of her clutches."
Drew gives her a nod.
"I will handle Nina," I tell them, running my hand up and down Carly's back. "I'll get her to back off."
Carly gives me the look that says I'm her hero, but counters, "You have enough on your plate. You don't need to deal with Nina too."
Turning fully to her, I argue, "Anything that impacts you and our kids impacts me too. I will take care of it."
She nods her head, sighing, "Fine."
Drew let's out a sarcastic laugh, "And there, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between me and Jason. I would be getting a lecture about leaving her alone, but not the great Jason Morgan. So, you know what, have a go at it brother. And good luck. Maybe you can work miracles and get her out of my life too while you're at it."
Squaring off with my brother, I tell him in a cold voice, "Apparently, you need the lecture. There's no way I would touch that woman, especially after being with a woman like Carly. So, why don't you back off. You don't get to comment on our relationship or Carly's actions. You are not in a relationship with her."
"And who's fault is that?" Drew asks, getting in my face.
"Yours. You chose to give her up, you chose not to fight for her." I tell him calmly, refusing to let him get to me. After all, I got the girl.
"Yeah, well I don't like fighting losing battles." He says with a heavy voice.
We stand, staring at each other for a moment, my body tensing for a conflict.
"Are we done with this now?" Carly breaks into the silence, a smirk on her face at our behavior. "Because I have questions. What is Nina's plan now? If she's messing with my kids, a heads up is very appreciated."
We both take a step back, the tension diffused. I wrap my arm around Carly when Drew says, "It's a plan to force her way into Willow and Wiley's everyday lives. At the least, Willow would have to choose between keeping her job or having peace from that monster."
"Like I said, I will take care of it. Nina is due for a reckoning." I promise as Carly wraps her arms around my waist. Kissing the top of her head, I begin to plan.
