| Subject: Entropy Chapter 12 |
Author:
Becca
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Date Posted: 14:38:59 06/03/02 Mon
In reply to:
HeyBecca
's message, "Entropy" on 19:23:01 02/10/02 Sun
Entropy 12
Where There’s Smoke…
“Shows me colours when there's none to see, gives me hope when I can't believe. That for the first time, I feel love.”
--Bono, “The First Time”
“You’re WHAT?” Steven asked, his voice raising to the level of a shout. Surrounding him was Jax, Carly, Elizabeth, Gia, and Natalie.
“Steven, calm down,” Elizabeth tried, but she could see the anger building behind her brother’s eyes. “Shouting isn’t going to change any of this.”
“My little sister and my fiancée are involved in some sort of kidnapping plot and you are telling me to calm down? How the hell are you all so calm?”
“Fiancée?”
The group turned to face the door, finding Nikolas, Lucky, and Sly standing there. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Lucky and Sly. They both were smiling, sort of.
“Nikolas?” Gia whispered, noticing the slightly jealous reaction of her ex.
“You didn’t tell anyone?” Steven asked, looking at Gia skeptically.
“Hello? Involved in a kidnapping!” she exclaimed in frustration, tossing her hands in the air.
“Yes, back to that,” he sighed. “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”
Carly yawned and said, “To be fair, this whole thing has only been going on for two days. We wanted to involve only those who had to be involved.”
Steven stood up and threw his hands in the air in frustration. “My sister and the woman I love are being blackmailed--.”
“Probably not, we think,” Jax interjected.
“And were holding a woman hostage yet I didn’t have to be involved?” Steven asked. He looked at Maxie. “But some kid was involved? You let her know?”
“I just found out now,” Maxie admitted. “I stumbled upon it.”
Lucky flinched, noticing her for the first time, “Maxie? What?”
“This is getting us far,” Elizabeth muttered. She got up and walked over towards Lucky, unconsciously giving off the hint of ‘coupledom’ even if she knew they were ‘just friends.’
“Everyone is back, good,” Emily said as she entered the room. She had been in the private office with Zander. He had lost a lot of blood and was a bit weak. Something inside compelled the young lawyer not to leave his side. “Natalie, isn’t there something you have to tell everyone.”
“I-I don’t believe so,” Natalie tried, flashing an innocent smile.
Through gritted teeth, “Yes, you do.”
“I was just thinking we’d wait till he gets here,” Natalie rasped back.
“Tell them.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Ok, STOP,” Nikolas demanded, stepping between Natalie and Emily. The women in their verbal back and forth had inched closer to each other. “Em, sweetie, why don’t you just tell us what you want Natalie to tell us.”
“I just don’t want to make her look like a stupid bitch,” Emily seethed.
“I may be a stupid bitch, but at least I’m not mooning over my ex-boyfriend while my current lover is out of town,” Natalie shot back. As if propelled by something unseen, Natalie lunged forward as if to attack Emily.
Lucky jumped in front of his friend and caught her around the waist while Nikolas made sure Emily didn’t try to attack back.
“This isn’t getting us anywhere,” Lucky said, trying to stifle a laugh.
Sly, smirking like his old self, looked around the room and asked, “Whose bright idea was it for these two to hang out together all day?”
“It was by process of elimination. Carly and I were working on the computer, you all were off in London, Gia had business to take care of so as not to raise any suspicion, and Liz and Zander were watching Kristina,” Jax explained.
“Yeah, got to ask—what happened?” Sly questioned the group.
“Big men, guns, they put a knife through Zander’s hand,” Elizabeth brought her hand down as if mimicking what the men did to Zander. She frowned tiredly.
Lucky, still holding a livid Natalie, looked over at Elizabeth. “They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”
She shook her head; “I was getting dinner.” Elizabeth looked over her shoulder into the office, sighing guiltily. She felt terribly that she left Zander alone and he ended up being attacked. “I’m going to go see if he is alright.”
Lucky looked at Natalie and smiled. “Are you calmed down, slugger?”
“Don’t patronize me,” Natalie groaned. “But I’m fine.”
“Good, I want to talk to the boss, find out what she was yammering about on the phone. Something about Helena?”
Natalie shrugged, nodding her head towards Sly. “Is he alright? He looks himself, but . . .”
Lucky looked at Sly, who was teasing Emily. “Nah, he’s good. We had a . . . he’s good.” Lucky kissed Natalie on the cheek and crossed the room to the desk Carly was sitting at.
“Got to hand it to you, kid,” Sly said to Emily. “Trying to take on Nat, there. Woo, that takes guts. I swear, she can kick my ass.”
“Lulu can kick your ass, Sly,” Nikolas joked, draping his arm around Emily’s shoulder. He shook it off, but he could feel her tense slightly under his touch.
“Yeah, well, she has a way of annoying me,” Emily muttered.
“Wait! We never found out what Natalie had to tell us,” Sly declared with a clap of his hands. “Come on, tell me. I swear, I won’t tell a soul.”
“It’s . . . it’s . . .” Emily shook her head, glancing over at Natalie.
“Jason?” Lucky asked questioningly.
“How’d you know?” Natalie asked, looking at her friend with a grimace.
“Because he’s standing at the door,” Lucky said, pointing Natalie in the right direction.
Jason stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his leather jacket covered chest. V stood behind him, a displaced look in her eyes.
“I hear you kids are in a little bit of trouble.”
**
“Oh god,” Zander groaned as he lay on the leather couch. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, flashes of the assault disorienting him. Or maybe it was the drugs Steven gave him.
“You need something?” Elizabeth asked. She gently wiped his brow with a soft cloth. The guilt she felt for leaving him and knowing he had to go through this alone was almost overwhelming. “More drugs? Alcohol, they have Scotch out there. Anything, Zander, you name it, I’ll get it for you.”
“No, no, I’m fine,” he managed.
Elizabeth took his left hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m so sorry. I know you’re a guy and you try to be tough, but it had to be frightening. And I’m sorry you had to go through it alone.”
“Don’t,” he gasped. “It’s not—Liz, it’s not your fault.”
“I know, but, I care about you. You’re my friend, one of the only male friends that I’ve ever had who has never . . . well, you know,” she said with a knowing smile. “And I’d hate to lose you. I’m glad I didn’t.”
Zander closed his eyes, clenching his jaw as he tried to ride through a wave of pain pulsing through his hand.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” Elizabeth paused. “Is it about Emily?”
“What? Emily?” he shook his head. “No, no, not her. Why would you think that?”
“She was just—you must have been asleep,” she muttered to herself. “While I was dealing with my brother she was in here with you. I thought you knew.”
Zander looked at Elizabeth and she was shocked at what she didn’t see in his look. She didn’t see hopefulness or happiness, just surprised.
“I need you to do me a favor,” he said. “I told you about Nicole, right?”
“A little bit, yeah.”
“I was supposed to meet her for lunch . . . today? I think, is it the next day? Well, I was supposed to meet her. Obviously, I won’t make it. Can you do it for me? Tell her I’m sick, not feeling well?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Yeah, sure, I guess. Are you sure you wouldn’t want to call her yourself.”
“Yeah, I would, but it probably isn’t safe,” Zander noted. “The phones, they’re probably bugged. And I wouldn’t trust our cells either. I don’t want her connected to me in case . . . in case . . .”
“I know.” Elizabeth looked at him and grinned. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s crazy, really . . . but, it makes sense. She makes me happy. She looks at me like . . . like I see you look at Lucky,” Zander told her pointedly.
“Like I look at Lucky? I’m not sure what you mean,” she bluffed.
“Like she’s looking at the one person that can put a true smile on her face,” Zander explained. “Well, I’m not sure how real it all is for her. But it’s nice . . . after missing Emily for so long, it’s nice to think that I am ready to move on.”
Elizabeth kissed Zander’s bandaged hand and then looked at him with a warm smile.
“It is nice. And, you know, maybe once this hellish nightmare is over, maybe you and I’ll come out of it a little better than we came into it,” she paused, and added with a sigh, “you know what I mean.”
“This?” Zander asked, holding his hand in the air. “Merely a flesh wound.”
Elizabeth laughed lightly as she stood up. “I’m going to go call my sister, see if I can make contact with her. Are you going to be alright?”
Zander waved her away. “I think the drugs your brother gave me are starting to kick in, maybe I’ll even join the group again.” He smiled and winked at Elizabeth before she left. “Call your sister, tell her I said hi.”
Elizabeth paused and laughed. “Like she’d believe it.”
**
“Where am I?” Sarah screamed. She couldn’t see anything. She couldn’t move. Sarah didn’t know what was going on except she was blindfolded and bound to a chair.
“A secluded . . . place,” a man announced as he walked into the room. He was in his near thirty years old, tall, dressed from head to toe in a black Gucci suit. His dark hair was slightly mussed in a stylish sort of way. “I’m sorry it took so long to greet you. Normally I’m much more sociable of a host.”
“What is going on?” Sarah asked, her voice breaking. “Are you going to kill me?”
“Maybe, probably . . . but don’t worry, it’ll be a while,” he said, smirking for nobody’s benefit. He walked towards Sarah and extended his hand. “I’m Colin.” He looked down at his hand, then cleared his throat. “Oh yeah, I forgot you were blindfolded. And even if you weren’t, and you could see my hand extended as a gesture, you wouldn’t be able to shake it, being tied up and all.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Sarah spat. She could feel his presence in front of her. For the first time she felt actual terror. It was weird. She was bound and tied to a chair for at least twenty-four hours, but her fear remained in check. But now that she was presented with this man she could feel her entire body change, as if it were preparing for something awful.
“I just answered you,” he muttered. “My name is Colin and I’m your host.”
Colin shook his head and paced the room. It was empty, except for a table that sat to the right of where Sarah’s chair was located. She sat in the center of the room, tied to a black chair. The room was all white. White walls, white marbled floor, bright, white lights.
“So, how are you doing, Dr. Webber?” Colin asked as he approached the black table. Spread across it were knives and wires, scalpels and assorted other pieces of equipment that only one use.
“I’ve been kidnapped, how do you think?”
“I’m sure it sucks,” Colin sighed. “But trust me, it can only get worse.”
“Why did you take me?” Sarah asked, trying to calm herself as much as possible.
“Would it make you feel better if I said it wasn’t personal?” Colin asked. He picked up a shining scalpel and studied admiringly. “Cause it wasn’t.”
“Just answer me.”
“It is going to sound so cliched, and I really hate cliches, but you are bate, Dr. Webber,” he explained. “The only thing you ever did wrong was go to Manhattan with your sister. Had you just stayed in Port Charles, you’d probably be at work today, bitching about your love life, reading a good book, doing whatever the hell you do in your life. But, you didn’t, so you’re part of the game.”
“Just let me go.”
Colin smiled and walked towards Sarah. He knelt down beside her chair, the scalpel still in dangling in his fingers.
“Sweetie, don’t cry,” he whispered as a tear escaped from under Sarah’s blindfold. He stroked her face gently.
“Just kill me now, please. If you are going to murder me, just do it now,” she begged, her voice laced with fear.
He cupped her face, so gently it unnerved her.
“Now where would the fun in that be? Plus, can you just imagine all the turmoil it’ll cause our players to know that not only did we get one over on them, but their stupidity was the reason for your long, painful, torturous death?”
“Who . . . what’s going on?”
Colin stood up and walked behind Sarah. He removed her blindfolded and waited for her reaction.
“Don’t gasp, don’t say anything,” he ordered, holding a finger up to her lips once he moved in front of Sarah. “I know what you are thinking, and you’re wrong. So don’t even let that thought cross your mind.”
He walked back towards the table and put the scalpel down. He ran his fingers along the table, picking up a shimmering butcher’s knife.
“It’s a game, Dr. Webber. It is a game that has been going on a long time. It just so happens that this is the last quarter, the final inning, the white flag lap—it’s the end, the real end. I can’t say it is my game, because it isn’t. I’m just along for the ride. My benefactor, if you will, saw something special in me and chose for me to be her representative until she was available. Of course, I was supposed to have help. But that dumb bitch Kristina managed to get herself caught,” he declared angrily. Colin paused, pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself, then continued.
“Anyhow, it’s a game. Some people are more involved than others. And some, sadly, are involved because of the people they are involved with. And you, well, you were just a fortunate little accident for our side. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. You’re Elizabeth Webber’s sister, and nobody loves Elizabeth more than Lucky Spencer. So if she suffers, he suffers. And then, of course, you have been, more or less, involved with Nikolas Cassadine for a long time. You dated Zander Smith. It’s just fortunate that you have ties to so many of the key players. It’ll be fun to see someone like Jasper Jacks tear himself apart over your death, a person he barely knew. The trickle down is just—exciting!”
“You sick bastard.”
“Hey! Watch your mouth,” Colin ordered with a laugh. “You see, Dr. Webber, you’re the guarantee that even we don’t win the game, we’ll still be able to see the other side suffer. Because even if we lose, there will be so much blood on the hands of Lucky and Nikolas and their loyal group of friends that they won’t be able to see straight for a long time.”
Colin twirled the knife in his hands, flicking his thumb across the blade, drawing blood almost instantly. “Oh, that’s a sharp fucker,” he noted with a smile. Colin placed his thumb in his mouth and sucked the blood off. “I’ve heard that a sharper knife hurts less than a dull one. You can be thankful for that.”
Sarah swallowed hard, glaring at Colin.
“You are the devil.”
“Well,” Colin began as he placed the knife back on the table. “At least I am something,” he told her while closing in on her. He stopped in front of her, placing his bleeding thumb on her lips. “Because the longer your friends take in engaging in the game, the sooner you’ll be close to becoming nothing.”
Sarah blinked up at him with fear.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, you have a little bit of time.” Colin leaned down and licked her his own blood off her lip. “I’ll be seeing you.”
**
“I can’t believe you know Nicole Kidman,” Lucky declared as Elizabeth pushed open the door to her hotel room.
“I don’t, exactly. Zander does.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t believe he’s dating her. That’s just . . . I have to admit, it’s pretty cool,” he mused with a chuckle.
Elizabeth began opening all of the drawers of the dresser, growing more frustrated with each drawer.
“Something is wrong,” Elizabeth muttered as she moved through her sister’s hotel room. Lucky stood behind her.
“What do you mean?” Lucky asked, moving into the room.
“I thought Sarah went home, because I couldn’t reach the room. But all of her stuff is here,” Elizabeth explained. She sat on the bed and noticed her sister’s cell phone sitting in the open drawer of the nightstand. She held it up for Lucky to see. “She never goes anywhere without this. Lucky, something is wrong.”
“Calm down,” he urged, sitting down next to her. “Call GH, maybe there was an emergency and she had to leave in a hurry. You know, she was so worried she forgot her cell and didn’t have time to pack.”
Elizabeth nodded her head. “Yeah, that could be it.”
“It has to be.” Lucky reached around her and grabbed the phone. He dialed the number for General Hospital, specifically the nurses’ station. His Aunt Bobbie’s voice greeted him on the other end. “Hey, Aunt Bobbie, it’s Lucky.”
“Hey, sweetie, what do I owe this pleasure? Has my daughter done something?”
“No, no, Carly’s great. The club opening was a hit,” Lucky explained quickly. “I need to know if Sarah Webber is at work today. Was there an emergency or something?”
“Let me check the computer,” Bobbie explained. “But to be honest, I haven’t seen her all day, and it’s been rather quiet.”
“I really appreciate you checking,” Lucky smiled encouragingly at Elizabeth.
“No, Lucky, I’m sorry. She hasn’t been here all day. Is something wrong?”
“Nah, nothing for you to worry about. Elizabeth is here and she thought Sarah went back to Port Charles without her.”
“Elizabeth? Lucky, is there something I need to be telling your father? Are things . . . good?” Bobbie asked hopefully.
Lucky sighed happily. “It’s getting good, in a weird sort of way. Listen, I really want to talk and fill you in on everything, but I am in a hurry. I’ll call you soon.”
“You better, Lucky. Bye.”
“Bye,” Lucky said quickly, then hung up. He looked at Elizabeth and frowned. “Just because she’s not at GH doesn’t mean something bad has happened.”
“Do you promise?” Elizabeth asked, looking up into Lucky’s blue eyes.
“I want to, Elizabeth, but I promised you I wouldn’t lie. And things are so bad right now, I can’t promise anything . . . anything except we’ll figure it out,” he looked at her and added, “together.”
**
“Stop looking at me like that,” Jason told Carly. As the group split up, Jason went with Carly, Jax, and Natalie to the club to explain to them exactly what he was doing in town.
“Jason, you are my oldest friend, and you are responsible for this hell we are going through. How do you want me to look at you?”
“I…Carly, you can’t possibly think I’ve done this on purpose,” he tried.
Jax and Natalie exchanged a glance. They both knew Jason and Carly’s history had been one where Jason helped Carly out of trouble brought on by a plan of hers. The roles had been reversed.
“It was your idea. V said you didn’t wait for her to get back from a holiday and went ahead with this asinine plan. Jason, for god’s sake, what did you think kidnapping Kristina and framing us for it would accomplish?”
“I was buying time. And I did.”
“Yeah, you also bought a nice big hole through Zander Smith’s hand,” Jax pointed.
Carly glared at Jason. “Let me guess what your response is going to be—‘nobody was supposed to get hurt.’ Right?”
“Ok,” Jax said with a sigh as he crossed the room and placed a hand on Carly’s shoulder. “Why don’t we go for a walk so you can calm down.” He paused and whispered into her ear, “Maybe Nat can crack him.”
Carly took a deep breath and grabbed Jax’s hand.
“I need some air. And I want to check in with Nikolas, see if he’s tracked down any Cassadine information,” Carly noted as she followed Jax out of the room.
Natalie sat in Carly’s desk chair and placed her feet up on the desk.
“So, we meet again.”
“I’m not staying here with YOU,” Jason told her coldly. “I’ll go downstairs and wait for my partner.”
Natalie jumped up and ran in front of the door before Jason could leave.
“I don’t think so. We are going to have a talk,” she informed him with an icy stare. She slid her hand over the doorknob and clicked the lock shut.
“You’re fuckin’ out of your mind, Natalie,” he pointed out with a smirk. “Get out of the way.”
Natalie looked at Jason with contempt. Nobody in her life had ever annoyed her quite as much as Jason Morgan. At times she had wished great bodily harm on the former mobster. Now she just wanted to see him cry like a child and beg forgiveness.
“People I love are involved in one messed up . . . thing. You are WSB, Morgan, you and your partner the saucy redhead know something. So you are going to tell me, understood.”
Jason laughed and took a step closer to Natalie. “What are you going to do to make me? Make fun of my fashion sense.”
“You don’t know anything about me, Morgan. I have ways of getting information.”
“I don’t know anything. If I did, I wouldn’t tell you. I’d tell Carly, or my sister, or Liz, or even Jax. But I wouldn’t tell someone like you,” he spat. Jason placed his hand firmly on the door, closing almost all the space between them.
“Someone like me? Care to explain?” Natalie asked, not backing down an inch.
“Well, for one, you’re a bitch.”
“Oh, I’m wounded, Morgan. Nobody has ever called me a bitch before,” Natalie said sarcastically. “Try again.”
“You’re a phony, and don’t deny it. You want to be one thing, but you’re something else entirely,” Jason looked into her eyes and smiled. “For instance, you’re little infatuation with Lucky. Has he ever seen the real you? The Natalie Mason I get to see. He thinks you’re just a quirky, fun, dark haired version of his cousin. He’s too fucked up in the head to be able to see who you really are. You make Carly look like a innocent schoolgirl.”
A dangerous smirk spread across Natalie’s lips. She ran her hand down Jason’s chest, talking slowly as she did. “Lucky has no misconceptions about me. He loves me for who I am, not who he wants me to be.”
“That still doesn’t change the fact that you will never have him.”
“But I can have you,” Natalie noted. Her hand slipped down from his chest, clamping onto a region further south. Jason winced slightly before a pleased laugh escaped his lips. “I can do things to you, things your damaged little brain couldn’t even fathom.”
“Really?” Jason asked before closing the rest of the space between them and taking her mouth into a rough, passionate kiss.
“Maybe . . .” Natalie said breathlessly. She reached behind her and unlocked the door. “Some other time, Morgan.”
Jason stood in the middle of the office, staring at Natalie who was standing under the doorframe.
“Hope I didn’t get you too excited, Jason. But I do have standards. I’m not about to stoop down to your level,” she hissed and left.
Jason bawled his hand into a fist and brought it down hard on the table. “Fuck.”
**
“Hi, I’m Zander, you probably don’t---no, no, that won’t work,” Zander muttered. He stood outside Alison Barrington’s apartment. His left hand was bandaged and in a sling, and hidden in the front of his jacket was a pistol.
Steven and Gia had given him a ride to Alison’s building, but he insisted they stayed in the car.
He rose his hand to knock on the door, but as his fist touched the door in slid open.
“Shit,” he muttered and grabbed his gun with his good hand. “Hello, Alison, you here?”
Zander stepped into the apartment. Sunlight was streaming in lightly through the blinds, showing the apartment in complete disarray. The bookcase was turned over with the books spread all over the floor. Picture frames were broken. The cushions on the couch were scattered around the room.
“Who the hell is there?” Alison’s small voice asked from the kitchen.
“It’s just--.” Zander stopped as he turned around to see Alison aiming a gun at him. “Whoa, put the gun down.”
“Put yours down,” she ordered, pulling the hammer back on hers.
“Ok, calm down,” he said while slowly lowering his pistol to the floor. “I’m here as a friend, I want to help.”
“You can’t help me, nobody can help me. I can’t even call the cops!” she screamed, waving the gun in the air.
“I know what is going on, Alison. I can help, my friends, we can help you,” Zander explained. “Do you remember me? Zander Smith, we went on a date once, like four years ago.”
“Like that means anything? Kristina was just a roommate and now I’m being terrorized because of her,” Alison told him. Her face was tear stained and wild. “I came to New York to escape the bull shit that haunted me in Port Charles. So much for that.”
“I know the feeling, I swear to god, I do,” Zander said soothingly. “Just put your gun down, I won’t hurt you. Look at me, I’ve only got one good hand.” He rose his wounded hand in the air. “And I have a feeling that the men who did this to me, are the ones who did this to your apartment.”
“Oh god,” Alison cried. She placed the gun on the counter, allowing Zander to step closer to her. “What is going on? I don’t even understand this.”
“I’ll explain everything,” he said, taking her into a protective embrace. “But we have to get you out of here first. I’ll take care of everything, you can trust me.”
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