Chapter 22- Hostage Crisis

Georgie dragged her feet as she and Maxie arrived on Mac and Felicia's porch.

Maxie sighed. "I'm sorry about your dad. Maybe you can stay with him this weekend?"

Georgie grinned. "Yeah."

"But he knows you're still grounded from the computer," Maxie said.

Georgie's shoulders sank.

"I thought seeing Grandma and Grandpa might cheer you up," Maxie said. She pushed the door open. "Mom, Mac, hi—" Her face went rigid when she saw Esme making herself comfortable on her mother's couch with Ace beside her. Esme was staring at a framed picture. "Why are you here? Where is my mother?"

Esme kept looking at the picture. She mumbled, "In the kitchen. I live here now."

Maxie swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Since when? And why?"

"Just today," Esme said. "We had nowhere else to go."

Maxie shook her head and turned to Georgie. "Sweetie, go to the kitchen with Grandma. No, wait… I need to talk to her too. Go to the playroom, please."

Georgie groaned. "The playroom? I've outgrown all those toys."

"Georgie, please," Maxie said.

"Can I go on the computer?" Georgie asked.

Maxie hesitated before responding. "Okay, just for tonight."

Georgie grinned and ran to the den.

Maxie turned to Esme. "I told my mother that I would be civil with you, unless you give me reason not to. But how can you say you had nowhere else to go? Why not go back to Laura's?"

"I don't want to," Esme said, not taking her eyes off the picture.

"You don't want to?" Maxie asked. "But you barely know any of us and we don't know you. Isn't this a little rushed?"

Esme shrugged. "Felicia invited me."

Maxie clenched her jaw. "Okay…." She stepped a little closer to look at the picture Esme was holding of Felicia with Maxie and Georgie Sr when they were young. Maxie scoffed. "What are you doing with our pictures?" She yanked it away from her.

"Maxie, what are you doing?" Felicia asked. She stepped in carrying a highchair.

"Mom, I tried to be civil, but look!" She held up the photo. "This is a sign right here."

Felicia scrunched her face. "Esme looking at a picture is a sign?"

"Not just looking at it," Maxie said. "She wouldn't stop staring. She looked all sad and forlorn. She's clearly jealous."

Esme blushed a little and lowered her gaze.

Felicia set down the highchair and touched Esme's shoulder. "Oh, sweetie…."

"We all know what happened the last time she got jealous," Maxie said. "She framed Trina!"

"Maxie, that's enough," Felicia said. "You need to start getting along. You're sisters."

"Biologically, yes," Maxie said. "Emotionally, no. Mom, how can you let her live here? You don't know her." She glared at Esme. "But I've heard A LOT about you. And none of it is good."

Esme took a deep breath. "So, you've never made mistakes in your life? You've lived the perfect life? Must be nice. Maybe if you walked in my shoes, you'd do a better job than me if you're so perfect!"

"I've never claimed to be perfect," Maxie said. "I know I've done some bad things in my life, but most of those things were stupid mistakes when I was younger. You, though... it's in your blood."

Esme's lip trembled and her eyes welled up.

"Maxie," Felicia said, gritting her teeth. "Kitchen. Now!"

There was a knock on the door and Cody stepped in. "Hey there."

Felicia smiled a little. "Hi Cody. You've met Esme?"

He nodded. "Hey."

"I need to talk to Maxie for a minute," Felicia said. "Esme, why don't you dig into the burgers. They're probably starting to get cool." She prodded Maxie to the kitchen.

"So, how's it going?" Cody asked, sitting across from Esme and Ace.

Esme strapped Ace into the highchair and cut up some burger for him. She shrugged. "You don't like me either?"

He scrunched his face. "What?"

"Maxie hates me. But I mean, most people do."

"I understand what that's like," he said. "Mac filled me in a bit about you. We actually have a lot in common."

"We do?" Esme asked. "What could we possibly have in common?"

"Well, like I said, I get having a lot of people not trust you and not give you a chance to change," he said. "And I'm also in the same boat as you. I recently found out Mac is my biological father."

"Oh," Esme said. "Felicia said you're her stepson, but I didn't know that part."

"Yeah, we're both newbies in this family. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread this around. We're keeping it on the down-low right now. Only the family knows."

Esme smiled a little. "And I'm… I'm included in that?"

"Yeah, of course," Cody said. "There's a few reasons we're keeping it quiet. It's a long story but I've gotten myself into a legal bind and I could face prison time if the truth comes out."

She swallowed hard. "I know what that's like…."

"Also, I've dealt with rejection pretty much my whole life," Cody said. "Still trying to wrap my head around having a family that would actually want me."

"Same," Esme said. "I'm scared Felicia is just being nice and doesn't really want me. So, uh…." She glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. "Did Mac give you any inkling as to what Felicia thinks about me?"

"He just kind of mentioned that she is relieved that you are her daughter and she wants to help you," he explained.

She smiled, then frowned. "I don't know why. I've done a lot of bad things. If she knew…."

"Hey you're not alone," Cody said. "I had to survive by being a con man, so I know about doing the wrong things for the right reasons. But I'm trying to make a new path for myself. Not many people trust me either but I'm trying to change that. So, you and me, we gotta stick together."

GHGHGH

Sarah stared at Heather's gun and slid Scarlett's carrier under the table.

"Are we playing Cops and Robbers?" James asked.

Wiley shook his head. "That looks like a real gun like Grandpa Sonny has."

"Shh…." Spinelli scream-whispered and pulled Bailey Lou onto his lap. "Get under the table."

James and Wiley crawled under the table as Heather swung her gun around. "Where is she?" Heather asked. "Where is my Es—" A smile spread across her face when her eyes landed on Willow. "There you are, my precious baby girl."

Willow scrunched her face and pulled Amelia's stroller closer to her.

Heather glared at Carly and Josslyn. "Now, I don't want any trouble. Put the phone down!" She pointed the gun at Josslyn. "Or I'll shoot her."

Carly quickly hung up. "Heather, let's—"

"I will do the talking! And you can talk too, Esme," Heather said. "Now, if any of you do anything to hurt my daughter and grandbaby, I will kill all of you." She cleared her throat. "I am leaving here with Esme and Ace. Sweetheart, come."

Willow's eyes widened. "Um…."

"Don't let these lunatics get in your head," Heather said. Her head whipped around when they could hear sirens outside. "You called the cops, didn't you?"

"No, actually," Carly said. "They were already on their way…."

"No cops!"

Bang!

Everyone screamed.

GHGHGH

"Maxie!" Felicia said once they reached the kitchen. "I told you to be nice to Esme."

"I tried, Mom, I really did," Maxie said. "But I don't trust her. That look on her face…."

"When she looked at the picture?" Felicia asked. "Maxie, why wouldn't she feel jealous? She was taken from me and has had to deal with Ryan and Heather. And I've been researching her adoptive father, Claude Prince. Though I wouldn't even call him adoptive since she was kidnapped…. He did not seem like a nice man."

She sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I guess I overreacted. But when I saw her making herself at home here, I saw red."

"I want her to feel at home here," Felicia said. "Maxie, whether or not I am able to bond with Esme, it won't change how much I love you. But I don't want you to scare her away."

"All right, I will try again."

"Thank you," Felicia said. "I want you to start by apologizing to her."

Maxie scoffed. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do, because the way you acted in the living room is not okay."

"Okay, fine."

"And it's not just about me wanting to bond with her and make up for lost time," Felicia said. "Though that is a major part of it. But she's also in danger. Heather is going to Bobbie's tonight with the intention of taking Esme and Ace away."

Maxie stared at her. "What?"

"Esme didn't want to go with her. I'm so relieved she chose to come home with me. Mac is at Bobbie's right now with his team trying to catch her," Felicia said. "Even the customers at the diner are at risk."

Maxie's mouth dropped. "Mom! James and Bailey Lou are there right now!"

Felicia's eyes widened. "What?"

"Spinelli took them there." She pulled out her phone and pressed it to her ear. "Come on, Spin, pick up!"

GHGHGH

Georgie grinned and picked up her grandparents' phone in the den and dialed Jake's number.

"Hello?" Jake answered.

"Hey, Jake. It's Georgie. Sorry it's taken so long. My mom has been annoying. But I got on my grandparents' computer and I finally found something."

"Yeah?" Jake asked. "What did you find?"

"A private flight landed in Lausanne, Switzerland the day after Charlotte went missing," Georgie said. "And I checked the surveillance footage. It looks just like Victor Cassadine and a blond girl getting off the plane along with other men."

"Wow, that's awesome," Jake said. "Do you know where they went?"

"I don't," Georgie said. "That's all I could find so far."

"Okay, well that's a good start. Can you see what else you can find out?"

"Yeah. But I don't know when I'll have access to a computer again."

"Can you come to my house?" Jake asked.

"I can't," Georgie said. "I'm still grounded. I'm not allowed to go to any friends' houses. Only to my dad's and Grandma and Grandpa's."

He sighed. "Okay, well, thanks Georgie. Can you send me the information?"

"I already emailed it to you."

"Perfect. I'll see if there's anything I can do in the meantime."

Georgie hung up and shut down the computer before heading back out to the living room. But she stopped when she heard her mom's voice.

Maxie burst into the living room and darted over to Esme. Felicia followed.

"You selfish little twerp!" Maxie shouted. "You got yourself to safety and to he ll with everyone else?"

Esme gaped at her.

"Maxie, I know you're scared, but this isn't Esme's fault. She did the right thing and told me, so I was able to alert the police. I'm sure they're there now. And Spinelli is with the kids." Felicia rubbed her arm. "Come on, I'll drive you to Bobbie's."

Maxie glared at Felicia. "Is that how this is going to be from now on? You're going to let her get away with everything because you feel sorry for her and guilty and all that jazz?" She turned back to Esme. "If you just left all of us alone and went with Heather, then my children would not be in danger right now!"

Esme burst into tears which made Ace start to cry.

"F-fine, I'll go." Esme rose. "I don't belong here."

Felicia's heart sped up. "No, you do belong here. Stay with Cody. Maxie, let's go. We'll make sure James and Bailey are safe."

"Don't bother," Maxie said. "Just stay with her."

"I can take Maxie," Cody offered and stood.

Felicia nodded. "Okay, as long as she's not alone. Georgie can stay here."

"Fine, but do not leave her alone with her!" Maxie darted out the front door with Cody.

GHGHGH

Nina decided to work late when Willow told her she and the kids were going to Bobbie's with Michael. Once she finished typing up Crimson's latest article, she pulled up her MyFace page. But her heart sank when she noticed a headline in the timeline. She clicked on the video.

"…just outside of Bobbie's diner," the reporter said into her microphone. "Fugitive Heather Webber is allegedly inside holding several customers, along with the owner, hostage. A gunshot was just heard, but no news as to whether or not anyone has been injured."

Nina's breathing sped up and she rushed out of her office.

GHGHGH

Everyone turned in shock when blood gushed from the social worker's chest. She dropped to the floor. Scarlett wailed, while James and Wiley trembled under the table, and Bailey clung tightly to Spinelli.

Heather charged forward and pulled Amelia's stroller to her and she screamed.

"No!" Willow cried. "Let her go. Please."

Carly and Josslyn exchanged frightened looks.

"It's okay, Esme," Heather said. "I have Ace. Now, everyone on that side of the room. Now!"

Sarah lifted Scarlett's carrier and moved to the opposite wall. Carly and Josslyn followed her.

Heather stared at Spinelli. "What are you waiting for?"

Spinelli jumped up with Bailey and held his hand out. "Come on, James." James took his hand.

Wiley darted over and hugged Willow's waist.

"It's okay, buddy," Willow said. "Go with Grandma Carly." She hugged him tightly, then he ran into Carly's arms.

Heather lifted a crying Amelia in her arms. "Why do you keep dressing him in girl's clothes?" She looked over at the hostages against the wall. "You will all stay put while I leave with Esme and Ace. Come on sweetheart."

Willow stared at her. "Please, let the baby go."

"I won't let them hurt you or Ace," Heather said.

"That's not Ace," Willow said. "She's Josslyn's baby. I was watching her today and returning her."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "This isn't Ace? Then where's Ace?"

"Somewhere else," Willow said. "If you give that baby safely to Josslyn, then I will take you to Ace."

Heather gazed at her for a few moments. "You'll come with me, baby?"

Willow nodded. "Just let the baby go."

"Okay." Heather nodded. "Then we'll find Ace?"

"Yes."

"Okay, come here, sweetie," Heather said.

Willow stepped closer to her.

Heather plopped baby Amelia down on the counter, then grabbed Willow and held the gun to her head. "If any of you follow us, I will shoot."

"Mommy!" Wiley cried out as Heather prodded her to the door.