Chapter 26

The sun was slowly coming up on the horizon, with it the start of another day. The morning light that started to come through the window, found Anna lying in bed with her head on Robert's chest. She had been awake for a while but wanted to let him sleep. Today they would have to contact Alex. She needs to know that soon Faison will be here. Anna was also wondering how Robin is doing. It wasn't that she was worried about her being with Ronda, their daughter is in good hands. What's bothering her is that Faison had gone to Port Charles specifically for Robin. He still wants to use Robin as a way to control her. As a way to make her do what he desired.

Anna let out a slow breath. That was not going to happen, they won't let it. She would never be that man's prisoner again. He will never take her away from her family again. She stroked Robert's bare chest, away from him. This is the man she loves and no one will separate them ever again.

"Are we getting an early start this morning?" Robert asked sleepily.

"I'm in no rush to get out of bed and I doubt anyone wants a phone call this early," Anna answered without moving. They still had to contact Alex and warn her.

"What has you awake? Too much going on in this head of yours?" he asked as he stroked her hair.

"After we get out of bed, I think the vacation portion of this latest adventure will officially be over. Ross is leading Faison here, Alex will be a target and we need to stay hidden but I want to protect her." Anna looked up at Robert, "I want a chance to get to know my sister. We can't let anything happen to her."

"We can't force her to let you protect her but I think she understands how much danger she is in. When we tell her this is happening soon, her reaction should tell us if she wants our help."

"Yeah, I know. We need to work out a way for Alex to contact us. I know we can't tell her exactly where we are but if we give her a number and a name to ask for she could at least tell us if something does happen."

He reached up and stroked her hair, "Or if she needs our help." Robert smiled down at Anna, "We can give her a name to ask for and give the front desk the same name to use. If we give them a nice tip they won't ask questions."

She rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him she smiled glad he agreed with her about this. "It was great talking to Tiff yesterday. I want to get home. I want to see our friends. I want to be in our house with our daughter right there with us." Then she sighed, "For all that to happen we need this showdown to happen, I'm just concerned about how it's actually going to play out."

"I know Luv." He touched her cheek, "Once we get out of bed, this does change. We will basically be agents waiting to spring into action. I say we don't get out of bed for a couple more hours." Anna grinned up at him then moved closer and kissed him tenderly. There was no rush to get up this morning.

…

As the city faded into the darkness around her, Alex sat at her dinner table in her little apartment. It has been several hours since Anna had called her but Alex was unaware of how long she had been sitting staring at her own hands. All she ever wanted was to help people she didn't want to be involved with her mother's world. Could she even call it that now? Charlotte Devane had more than likely kidnapped her at birth, or had a hand in that happening. What could have been the reason for that? why were there all these questions now in her head? There was enough going on in the present so there was no need to be thinking about those other things.

Now she is mixed up in the kind of thing that Charlotte Devane would thrive on. There is someone after someone else and there are people trying to stop that while others want it to happen. That training Alex could only partially remember would come in handy right about now. What had Charlotte said? Alex would never know when self-defence would be needed but the type of things she was expected to learn. That was more than self-defence. Alex even realized that when she was young. Whatever it was that Charlotte had wanted Alex to pursue would have been these types of situations. The world Anna and Robert were a part of. Anna is a secret agent or she was, and so is Robert. Would Charlette have wanted that lifestyle for the girl she was raising as a daughter, Alex wondered. With a sigh, she shook her head slowly, none of that matters now. You can't change the past. What she needs to keep in mind is that she is not a target, she is only part of a WSB trap. Alex ran her hand through her hair. Part of a trap that she would have known nothing about if she hadn't accidentally met her twin's husband. That still seemed so crazy, her twin. Please let this be over quickly and with everyone coming through it safely.

It had been almost four hours of mostly quiet contemplation when Alex finally stood up again. This day may have been a waste but Alex knew she can't hide in her apartment waiting for this to blow over. The worst part was, for any of this to work Alex had to put herself at risk. It may have been better to stay oblivious about this. Tomorrow she had to work and if there are people watching for her she needs to make herself visible and go about her day as normally as possible. Even if she will be on edge all day.

Alex decided she had better eat something, realizing she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. If she ends up on the run or as someone's prisoner she should eat now because she might not know when her next meal will come. What an odd thought that is, Alex realized. Then she opened her cupboards to see what she felt like making.

…

Sean lay in bed, unable to sleep. Tiffany was there, snuggled in beside him. "Why aren't you sleeping?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"I'm thinking about what will be happening in Halifax soon. I want it over so they can come home. I want Faison stopped so Robin can come home. I want this to all be over." It had been a few days since Robin had left Port Charles.

Tiff stroked his chest, hearing the frustration in her husband's voice. "It's out of your hands at the moment. When you are needed they will contact you or one of your connections in the WSB will. You need to relax and get some rest."

"I know." Sean ran his fingers along her back, the silk easily slipping through his fingers.

Tiffany leaned in a little closer and started kissing his neck. "I could take your mind off all that for a while."

"Mmmm."

"Or we could talk about it." Sean shook his head, no. Tiff kissed him passionately, as she moved over his chest more, leaning into him as he pulled her closer.

"Baby, we won't be talking about any of that." Sean kissed her back, then rolled them so Tiff was more on her back. With a sexy look in his eyes, "You're right, I need to take my mind off that other stuff and concentrate on my sexy wife."

Tiff smiled as her nails ran down his back, "Come here, lover."

Sean leaned in, "Oh, Baby," then claimed her lips.

…

It had been six days since Robin had gone into hiding with Ronda, four days since Anna and Robert learned that Faison was headed towards them and three days since Alex felt like she had received her death sentence.

Well that was what it now felt like to her. For the last two days, if she wasn't at home Alex was on edge, a bundle of nerves. Just waiting for something to happen. Everywhere she went she expected someone to come out of the shadows and grab her, drag her into their waiting van. Would that even be how Faison came after her?

He knows Anna, there is a history there. She would know him if she saw him so this would have to be a sneak attack if Faison does it himself, wouldn't it? When Alex didn't expect it, someone is going to come out of the darkness at her and then she will be a prisoner. That is unless whoever set this trap is actually around and stops that. Why is she even in this situation? Alex hated getting worked up about this but what else could she do?

Alex checked her watch, she was almost done work for the day and that meant she would have to leave the security of the lab. Walk outside and possibly be abducted. She put her hands over her eyes, stop thinking like this, she scolded herself.

"Hey, Alex. This came for you, sent from that other lab." Mark, one of the other doctors working on this project was standing by her desk with an envelope in his hand. They always joked about the other lab, as if this lab was somehow better because they worked in it. It was silly but it was fun too, and when you spend a lot of time going over test results you need some silliness. "What could those want-to-be vampires tell you, that we couldn't?"

"Want to be vampires? I see you put a little thought into the insult today, I appreciate it." Then Alex smiled and reached for the envelope.

"Is this something you're worried about? I've noticed you've been a little distracted lately. Ever since that new subject booked it out of here to get away from you."

Alex knew some of the other doctors had seen Robert run out of here but Mark was the first person to bring it up with her. "Yeah, that was an interesting day." Alex tapped the envelope on her palm. "I think I need to read this in private," then she stood up.

"If you need to talk or drink or whatever, remember you have people here."

"Thanks, Mark, you always seem to know what to say." Then Alex turned and walked towards one of the small offices to read the DNA results Mark had just delivered. Closing the door behind herself, Alex fumbled for the light switch finally clicking on the light. Stepping a little further into the space, Alex tried to steady her hands so she could rip open the envelope. Once it was open she took a deep breath before pulling out the sheet of paper.

"Well, that's no surprise." Alex saw exactly what she expected, 99.99%, the two samples are indeed twins. Putting one hand on her hip, the other to her mouth. Why is this happening now and why had they been separated? "I guess, I'll have news for Anna besides I've been kidnapped when I have to contact her." Alex then sat down in the chair by the desk. As if one or the other isn't a big enough development to deal with. No, Alex has to get news like this because she is in danger for looking like the twin she didn't know she had.

Alex decided staying in here until her shift ended was for the best. She didn't need to talk about these results, well not with anyone here that is. Sitting quietly, in that small office for forty-five minutes was the little recharge Alex needed. Now it was time for her to act like everything was normal and she was just heading home for the evening.

After gathering up her things Alex started for the door as she did, Mark appeared. "You don't look like it was bad news, you doing alright?" he said then gave her a little grin.

"It's not bad. I'm a little confused by what those told me. Not by what they said but because I don't understand why this was a test I even needed to take. I know you don't understand that, Mark. That's okay for right now. Thank you for looking out for me. I discover family I didn't know about and it's strange."

"That does sound strange. Did you want to grab a coffee or a drink?"

Alex almost said yes, but then she thought, what if being near her puts Mark in danger? He's always been nice to her and they flirt a little. Alex would hate it if anything happened to him because of this messed-up situation. "Can we do it another time? I think today I just need to be alone to process all of this."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll walk out with you." They turned and started walking down the hall together. "So what kind of family did you find, a long-lost uncle or something like that?"

"That would have been so easy compared to this. Mark, I don't know if I can talk about this yet."

"That's alright. When you're up to it, I'll take you out for dinner if you like."

"I would like that." Alex grinned and glanced over to see him grinning as well. They talked a little about their days and when she got to her car they said goodbye and parted ways. As she drove Alex couldn't help smiling, and it felt nice to be thinking about something different for a change. Mark is rather attractive and Alex wouldn't mind going on a few dates to see what could happen there. Then it hit her, that really has to wait a little longer. Before she knew it Alex was pulling into her parking spot at her apartment building. As she stepped out of her car Alex was thinking about whether to cook or order in.

From the left, in the shadows, she heard, "You are a sight for sore eyes."

Alex froze on the spot. Who was speaking? That voice sent a shiver up her spine. Slowly she turned, there was someone standing so they would go unnoticed in passing. She watched as a cloud of smoke billowed around their head.

"I thought I had lost you when those men showed up. I'm glad to see you again and to find you are alright, Anna."

Alex didn't know what to do or what to say, she stared at the figure unable to move. This is the man she had been warned about. He's here for her, this is really happening.

"Are you really that surprised to see me? You couldn't believe I wasn't going to find you. Oh, did you believe those lies about my death?"

"I, I, ah." Alex's mind was racing. What does she do? Where does she go? Shouldn't people be here, watching her?

"I know, you're speechless." Then he stepped out of the shadows. "We are meant to be together, Anna. It's our destiny. I was always going to find you."

"I'm, I'm not Anna." Alex didn't know what else to say. Would he leave her alone? Is he going to hurt her?

"Freeze! Hands up, Faison!" boomed from behind them. Alex looked around and saw a dark-haired man walking around a parked car, gun drawn, pointed at the man in front of her. "This is the end of the line. Cesar Faison, you are under arrest."

"I don't think that will happen. Anna and I will be leaving and you, Agent someone unimportant, I assume. You are going to die."

"Stop! What is going on?" Alex had no idea who this second man was or where he had actually come from. Was he WSB? Were there other people here? She glanced around frantically, trying to figure out what really was going on around her.

"You aren't getting out of here Faison. Not this time." He stepped closer, keeping his gun pointed at Faison the entire time.

"Who are you? I have seen you before," Faison said dismissively. "I know, you're WSB but not a good enough agent to have made an impression."

"I'm Agent Colin Ross." Not good enough? That made Ross' blood boil.

"Ross, right. You're the inept one I so easily slipped away from while in custody the last time." Studying the man in front of him, he slowly took a drag on his cigarillo. "What makes you think the same thing isn't going to happen this evening?" Faison calmly let the smoke cloud around his head as he exhaled.

"You walked straight into my trap."

This agent was far too confident and that amused Cesar. It would be entertaining to toy with him before killing him.

Alex watched the two men taunt each other, neither seemed like they were about to back down but neither was being the aggressor. They are sizing each other up, looking for that opening that will give them the upper hand she realized. Were there other people here? Alex looked to see if there was someone there to get her out of here. Shouldn't someone protect her now, get her to safety? Then she heard the first gunshot, then another. Alex covered her mouth as Agent Ross fell to the ground.

"What have you done? Why did you shoot him?" Alex wanted to scream and run away but she didn't want to leave that man lying on the ground bleeding. Call 911, she told herself and started to turn.

"Where do you think you're going?" Faison said as he grabbed her arm.

When had he gotten so close? "I need to call for help. He could die." Her training took over and all Alex was thinking was she had to save this man's life.

Roughly Faison turned Alex so she was facing him more. That was not Anna's voice. "What is this? Who are you?"

"Dr. Alexandra Devane. I can help him. Please!" Her voice was shaky as she spoke.

Then he raised his gun to her, "You are not Anna!"

"Who's Anna?" Alex was so scared but she knew she couldn't let on that Anna was here in Halifax somewhere.

He touched her face and Alex tried to pull away. "You look like her but you don't have her spirit."

"What? Why are you talking like this, you just shot someone. Let me help him, I'm a doctor."

Then another shot rang out and Faison grabbed at his arm as he yelled out in pain. His gun was still in his hand but he was unable to lift it. Whoever this Devane was, she is not Anna and there must be other agents moving in. For a moment he was unsure what to do then he shoved her hard causing Alex to fall backwards. As she fell, Alex hit her head against her car and was knocked out cold.

When she opened her eyes the man was gone and someone was talking quietly to her. Focusing, Alex realized who was talking to her. "Anna, what are you doing here?"

"We got restless and didn't trust that you were actually going to be protected by the WSB," Anna admitted.

"Where's Faison? He was here." Alex tried to sit up but her head started to spin and she stopped.

"He took off right after Robert shot him and he gave you that shove. How's your head?"

"It hurts, but I'm alright. What about that agent, is he going to make it?" Alex tried to look around slowly.

"Robert is looking at him, we've called an ambulance but we really should not be here when they get here."

"We can go up to my apartment," Alex suggested.

"No, we need to get away from here, now," Robert said as he walked up behind Anna. "Ross should make it, I think the bleeding is under control. I only winged Faison so he might not be far either."

"Robert's right, we need to get out of here."

Alex stood up and went to turn towards her building. "I need to get some things."

"No, we have an ID you can use and we can get you clothes later. We need to move, ladies."

"He's right. Come on." Anna started to move but stopped and turned back to look at Ross. He was awake but hadn't really said anything since they had arrived other than ask for help. Anna wanted to walk away but she had to do this. She walked over to him and knelt down beside him. Ross was clearly in pain, he looked scared as well. Anna didn't care, she needed to get this out. "You did this! You put all of this in motion and if you die, you got yourself killed, Ross."

"Anna, I'm sorry," he said weakly.

"Save it, it's just a lie. You wanted to be the big hero. Your lies almost cost me everything. Robert and I were BlackBoxed because of your lies. You put an innocent woman in danger because she looks like me. You had the WSB tell my daughter her parents are dead!" As she was talking Anna put her hands on his wound to help keep pressure. "You are a selfish asshole and I hope this is the end of your career. I want you to survive this so you have to live with being a complete failure. I want people to know how badly you messed everything up and I want you to have to live with that. You wanted to destroy my life, Robert's life. All you did was destroy your own life. You sad, pathetic little man."

"Anna we need to get out of here, now," Robert said. The sirens were getting closer.

Anna walked over to Alex who was white as a ghost. Still in shock about what had just happened. As Anna's arm went around her shoulder they started to walk. That was when Alex noticed Robert was holding a gun. "Where did he get a gun?"

"Let's just say we confiscated it." Anna casually glanced over at Robert.

"Why am I not surprised only Faison showed up with backup? Ross is nothing if he's not arrogant." Robert stated as he looked around once more before they all left the parking lot. They needed to be long gone before anyone else showed up. They could hear the sirens getting closer and wanted to be long gone when they got here.