Chapter 40

It had been a week since the cabin had been abandoned and everyone had returned to Port Charles. There had been two more late-night meetings between Sean and Alex. Frisco was now watching for anyone suspicious, anyone that might be watching him or Sean. They all knew who Faison would suspect Anna would make contact with. Faison would expect Anna to come home to Robin. That she would not be able to stay away from her only child.

Robert brought over a coffee for Anna, "There's no point stressing. Our team will let us know when it's time for our part."

"I know. I am just so tired of waiting."

Sitting beside her, he said, "It won't be much longer."

"You don't know that, Robert."

"Luv, he will make a move soon."

"Not soon enough! I want to go home. I want to be under the same roof as Robin."

"I know you do. We all want that. We also know Faison will not stop. He wants to take you away again. I won't let that happen. I will not let Robin go through losing you again!"

Anna took his hand, he had told her what it had been like for Robin after Faison had taken her. "You're right, she can't be put through that again for either of her parents."

"Our plan will work. We are going to stop Faison once and for all and then we get to go home. I won't accept any other outcome!"

Anna smiled at him. Robert was right, this plan will work and all they can do right now is wait for it to be their time to switch into action. "Alright." She snuggled in a little closer. "I love the company here."

…

There were five clear pictures and at least twelve the quality isn't great in. All these pictures seem to be telling Faison the same thing. Anna must be back in the Port Charles area. He'd also believed she was in Halifax. Flipping through the pictures, studying each one closely. The fact the man in the picture with this woman was Sean Donely. That made him feel sure this time it was her.

Anna would want to return to her child. She would need help from someone. There are reports that Frisco Jones recently returned to Port Charles as well. Could he have been helping Anna? He was identified as the male out at that cabin. What are they up to if they are trying to hide the fact Anna has returned? That she is still alive.

What is she afraid of? Who is looking out for her, helping her? Why won't she go home to her daughter? What is keeping her from that?

"What if it was her in Halifax?" he asked as Lisle entered.

"What if it was? Why is she hiding? Could it be you she is hiding from?" Lisle suggested as she rolled her eyes.

Faison looked up to scold her but stopped. Could that be it? Would Anna hide from him? Could she be trying to get to her daughter so they can disappear? Vanish where no one will find them? He will not let her do that. If Anna is in Port Charles, he needs to be closer. If she is trying to get to Robin he wants to know about it. "Have they got my townhouse ready?"

"I will have to look into that. Have you done your morning exercise?"

"I have. Now go and find out for me. I will be leaving for Port Charles this evening."

"Are you sure that's the right move?"

"I will not let Anna Devane go. She is meant to be with me and no one will stand in my way. Not even you."

"I would never think of telling you what to do or stand in your way. I just want to ensure you think things through."

Faison accepted this from her. Lisle does look out for him. "I want to be closer to Port Charles. When Anna comes out of hiding I want to be there to bring her home with me."

Saying nothing was the right choice at the moment. His obsession with Anna Devane will be his downfall and when he is like this there is no getting through to him. "I will make some calls and the townhouse will be ready for your arrival this evening."

"Good."

…

"Aren't people going to wonder why there is sudden activity at Katie's townhouse?" Mac asked.

"I doubt it. Whenever she is out of town it is not uncommon for her to rent it out for short periods, like she does with her cabin."

"You forget that was before I got here."

Sean grinned, "That's right. No this should work. It gets them out of their current location and closer to where we believe Faison will show up."

"How can you know that? What makes you believe he's settling over there? It's nowhere near, Robert and Anna's place."

"It's lavish, there's room for him to show off his wealth. Even in hiding, he will want a certain level of creator comfort he is accustomed to. If you listen to the right chatter, you can find out when someone is spending a lot of money in a hurry to make a place fit their needs."

"Is a prison being set up somewhere?" Mac asked

"No nothing like that. Just an already upscale townhouse getting a lot of deliveries in the last twenty-four hours."

"That's enough for you to want to move Robby and Anna? Why do they need to be the ones watching?"

"You don't need to understand why we do things. You need to help make sure what we do goes off smoothly. What can Robert and Anna do by being close to Faison? You don't know them that well yet if you need to ask that."

They were getting more tense as this went on. Mac had snapped at Sean the other day and he knew this was just Sean taking it out on him. "Sorry, what do I have to do to help get them across town?"

"They have that planned. All we need from you is to pick up a rental car a leave it down the block from Olin's apartment building. They need to have a little more mobility now. I will have a bag ready that you will leave in the trunk. After parking you will meet me in the little diner on the corner. We'll have lunch then I'll drive you home."

"Why don't you just drop off the car?"

"We want Faison to think a bunch of us working to try and help Anna get home. We have no idea if he believes Robert is dead but Anna would still turn to her brother-in-law for help. This is where we let Faison start making his own conclusions. Him being reactive is what we need, he can never feel like he is getting the upper hand."

"I know, I know the plan. I just want this to be over."

"You are not the only one. This will be over soon, Mac."

"I know. I'll go get a car."

"Take that bag over there. They're gonna need what's in there."

Mac felt the heft to the duffle bag a knew once they had this Robert and Anna would be armed and ready for anything. "Lunch at two?"

Sean looked at his watch, "Yeah, see you later." Mac turned and left, no point asking a bunch of questions he wouldn't get answers to. He leaned back in his chair, then sighed, "You can take this job back any time now, Robert. I'm tired of being in your shoes."

He could feel it, they all could. This is coming to a head, the showdown that ends this is near.

…

Robert looked at the clock, five o'clock. He then walked over and picked up a duffle bag. Anna stood up and joined him. "I guess it's time to get this started." Anna leaned in and gave him a quick kiss then giggled. "I will not miss all these disguises with whiskers."

"It's almost over." Today they were dressed as a middle-aged working-class couple. No one who would stand out as they make their way down the street together. "Let's get going."

"Alright." Anna walked over and opened the door.

In under ten minutes, they were in the rental car Mac had left for them, driving down the streets of Port Charles. They will make their way to the edge of the city, where Beth and Lyle will check in at a little hotel. There they will change and once it is dark Robert and Anna Scorpio will do a little wandering around Port Charles.

At their first stop, sitting across the street from The Outback, they can see the front entrance, but someone might notice people sitting in a dark sedan. Later they made their way closer to home, again they did not leave the car but they did watch their house for a while. They even saw Ronda return to her car, what she had been doing inside they weren't sure but it was definitely something Anna wanted to ask Mac about at a later time.

After they had seen Robin's bedroom light shut off, Robert suggested it was time to head back to the hotel. Where once again they got to play dress up before settling in at Katherine's townhouse. The odds of Faison picking a place down the street from her townhouse could not have worked out better. It also made them a little more certain that Faison was not taking the time and care he normally would when planning things.

When they left the hotel as a well-dressed older couple and got into a waiting 911. Anna grinned, "I still think I should get to drive."

"Katie said Sean could use it for the afternoon. It's only right I drive it back."

"You just want to drive it."

"So do you."

"I'm not denying that." Anna laughed a little then smiled over at Robert.

He grinned back at her, they had both been in a good mood all day. "Let's go finish this."

…

Arriving after midnight might raise suspicions if anyone happened to be watching Katherine's. Neither of them thought there would be any reason someone would. It did give them some time to figure out where to set up their operation. Luckily the house they believe Faison may be heading for, if he isn't already there is on the south side. There are a lot fewer trees and a tennis court in the yard between that may give them a view of what's going on two doors down.

As they moved around the still-dark house Anna asked, "If he is there, do we wait for him to come at us or do we take him down? We are all dead in the eyes of the law. I'm not sure what the rules here are."

"I think the rules are, we do what we have to. We stop that man and we use whatever force is needed." Robert was not willing to give that man another chance to try anything.

"If we see him do we go over and take him down?"

"No, we have to be smart. We have been careful. If he is there, our team will get him to show himself. There will be a time to face him."

"Alright. Let's get these things off then figure out where we want to set up. Is there a place that looks over that yard?"

Robert thought about it for a moment. "Up in Mary's apartment. There could be a good vantage point there and then if lights are seen in the servants' quarters fewer people will question it," Robert pointed out.

"I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself. I want this to be over."

"I know you do, Luv." Robert took her hand, then grinned.

"Let's get this done, then you are taking me to bed."

"You will get no argument from me."

He followed Anna out of the room. It didn't take long to find the perfect spot to set up their surveillance operation. They watched the house for a little while then agreed it was time to call it a night.

…

The sun was just lighting the room when the phone by the bed started to ring. Gruggly reaching for the phone, "What?" was all Faison said. "Send him up." Then he hung up again. He got out of bed and grabbed his robe. There was a knock at the door then Lisle walked in. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Young Franklin has some information for you."

Franklin then stepped into the room, "Sir, I believe I have seen the woman you are searching for. She was with a man I haven't seen before but she was in a car by The Outback."

"What else can you tell me? What did this man look like?"

"I'm not sure, I was studying the lady's face. I didn't want to come here with bad information."

Faison turned and picked up a couple of folders, then brought over a picture. "Was this the man you saw?"

Franklin took the photo of Robert and studied it. "I believe it could have been him."

Then Faison showed him a picture of Robert and Anna together. "You believe this is who you saw?"

Again Franklin took the picture and studied before answering. "I am confident it was her. The man does look like the man that was with her but I'm not as sure."

Then Faison showed him a picture of Sean. "Could it have been him?"

After taking a good look, "No, it wasn't this guy."

"Talk to the others, find out if anyone else saw anything last night and report back. I expect to see you back here by noon."

"Yes, sir."