Masquerade Chapters 4-5

Chapter 4 
Hannah had allowed Johnny to take her back to Kelly’s. She had gotten used to having him around and even welcomed the company at times. Because there really wasn’t a good place to keep her car near Kelly’s, she parked it at the Harbor View Towers. For that reason, she hardly ever drove between the two places and she had gotten very friendly with all of Sonny’s body guards. As soon as Johnny left she practically ran up to her room. She opened the door and grabbed her suitcase from underneath the bed. She started frantically pulling clothes out of the drawers and the closet. She is so consumed in the task of trying to pack her belongings that she barely hears a knock at the door. Frustrated, she opens the door to find a pleasant looking middle aged man standing in the hall.

Hannah: *Surprised* What on earth are you doing here?
Man: They sent me to find out why you have not sent in your report.
Hannah: I was busy, but it doesn’t matter now because this game is over.
Man: *Eyeing the suitcase* The decision is not yours to make.
Hannah: You don’t understand, the decision is out of our hands. She is alive!
Man: Who?
Hannah: Brenda Barrett.
Man: How can that be?
Hannah: I don’t know, but she showed up at the penthouse tonight. He knows that she is alive.
Man: That shouldn’t make a difference.
Hannah: It does though, I can’t go through with the plan now. He won’t fall in love with me now.
Man: I think he is already in love with you.
Hannah: I can’t compete with her, even when he thought she was dead I had a hard time competing with her ghost. 
Man: So you’re leaving?
Hannah: What else can I do? I’ve spent 6 months of my life literally being someone else. I’ve paid my dues, and what has it gotten us? I’ve monitored him for you, but he hasn’t done anything criminal.
Man: You’re right, you have done everything that we have asked and more.
Hannah: Then I’m free to go?
Man: Of course, that was the deal. After you monitored Corinthos for a reasonable amount of time and reported back to us, you were gerunteed your freedom. Your right, he hasn’t done anything even remotely illegal or immoral in the last 6 months. You are free to live your life as you see fit.
Hannah: What is the catch?
Man: You have put yourself in a dangerous position by helping us. 
Hannah: What do you mean?
Man: You now have a great enemies, he does as well. 
Hannah: Are you threatening me?
Man: The agency has protected you so far, but once you leave you will be on your own.
Hannah: I can take care of myself.
Man: That I don’t doubt, but you will be exposing Dominic to danger as well.
Hannah: You promised me that Dominic would be protected.
Man: As long as you cooperated.
Hannah: I can’t stay here, not with her around. I’ll just have to try and get to Dominic before anyone else.
Man: I thought you might feel that way.

He hands her an envelope.

Hannah: What is this?
Man: An open ticket to San Diego.
Hannah: Why open?
Man: Because, I’m sure that you will need it sometime, but not anytime soon.
Hannah: What makes you think I’m going to stay here?
Man: Because you know it is the best way to protect Dominic. As long as you stay here, nothing will happen to him.
Hannah: What about me?
Man: Your service to the United States Government is being terminated and your life is in danger.
Hannah: It is that simple, I give 3 years of my life to you people and this is how you repay me?
Man: I’m sorry, that is the way it has to be. My suggestion is that you stay here and allow Corinthos to protect you. It is your best chance of surviving.
Hannah: How many times do I have to tell you? Sonny isn’t going to want me anymore!
Man: For your sake I hope that you are underestimating his attachment to you. 
Hannah: He doesn’t even know that I’m leaving.
Man: Then make sure that he finds out, and when he asks you to stay, do it! 
Hannah: If I stay, will Dominic remain protected?
Man: I can’t see why not.
Hannah: Will I have to continue to betray Sonny?
Man: from what I have seen, you have yet to betray him at all. Have you been holding out?
Hannah: *Nervous* Of course not, he hasn’t done anything.
Man: Your work for us is done.
Hannah: Will I ever see you again?
Man: I sincerely hope not. If we do meet again, I’m afraid that it would be on opposite sides of the fence.
Hannah: You have been a good friend, Lopez, I’ll miss you.
Man: Goodbye, Querida, stay safe and pay attention to what you have learned.

With that he was gone and Hannah realized for the first time how much she had come to rely on him. he had been more than her friend, he had been her teacher. He spent over  two years training her for this assignment, making her realize why it was important, and why she was the best woman for the job. Those first few months of training had been the hardest in her life. She had fought them every step of the way, but finally she had grown tired and just stopped fighting. However, she had always liked Lopez. No matter what happened he had always protected her as best he could. She knew what the game of "good cop and bad cop," was all about. Lopez had always been the good cop, but she sincerely believed that he grown to like her as well. The agency probably didn’t know about the ticket to San Diego he had given her. It was his way of insuring that she always had an out. She could take the ticket and run, praying that she got to Dominic before anyone else. Her second choice was to stay and hope that the agency kept its word and protected Dominic. Then there was the problem of her own protection. If she stayed she would have to hope that Sonny could protect her, which was something that he didn’t have a very good track record with. She grabbed her coat and decided to go for a walk to think things through. She heads down to the docks and almost turns around when she sees Sonny.

Sonny: Hannah, wait! I think that we need to talk.
Hannah: About what?
Sonny: About us.
Hannah: There really isn’t any us to speak of.
Sonny: How can you say that?
Hannah: We were an illusion, Sonny. What I didn’t want to happen, is exactly what I got. So I guess you should know that I’m leaving  town.
 Sonny: Please don’t go, give us another chance.
Hannah: Why just so I can watch you go back to Brenda.
Sonny: I’m not going back to Brenda. Her and I have lost our chance. I need you, Hannah.

The truth was that Sonny wasn’t sure how he felt. There was a chance that Brenda might go after Jax and stay with him. There was also a chance that she might stay in Port Charles. If that happened, Sonny wasn’t sure that he could stay away from her. All he know that for the past year he has felt like he was under water, like his life was sliding out of control. When he saw Brenda standing in front of him and touched her, he felt like he could breath for the first time in a long time. A part of him had died with her, and now he felt alive. He wasn’t sure whether that meant that he could finally move on with Hannah or start over with Brenda. All he knew was that he had to keep them both close by for the time being.
 
Chapter 5
Sonny was quickly coming off of an emotional high that had started early in the evening when he and Hannah and made love and was now ending in much the same way. She was once again in the bed next to him, even though they had not been together physically a second time. He had spent nearly an hour trying to convince her not to leave town. He had finally talked her into returning with him to the penthouse and she had fallen asleep in his arms. He wasn’t even really sure that she was what he wanted, but something had drawn them together and he wasn’t nearly ready to face the fact that his feelings for her might not be real. He was confused by his feelings for Hannah and his love for Brenda. He had reminded Hannah that just because Brenda was alive, it didn’t mean that the two of them would ever be together. Now, he was pretty sure that he had convinced Hannah to stay, but he was worried about Brenda leaving. Even if she only planed on visiting Robin in Paris and not moving there, he couldn’t stand the idea that there would be an ocean separating them. He quietly climbs out of bed and goes into the office. He picks up the phone and calls in a favor.

Sonny: Hello, Marty. I know that it’s late, but I also know that you are a night owl.
Marty: What do you want?
Sonny: I need you to check on the status of a passport for me. The name is Brenda Barrett.      
Marty: Let me check the computer.

Sonny waits impatiently as his friend types in the information.

Marty: Ms. Barrett was issued a temporary passport by the U.S. embassy in Santiago Chile.
Sonny: At least her story checks out. Does she have another passport?
Marty: She did, but it expired.
Sonny: Can you revoke the temporary one?
Marty: All I have to do is hit one key, but why should I?
Sonny: Because I’m asking you too and you owe me big time.
Marty: Yeah, but why would you want to use up that favor on something like this?
Sonny: That is my business. Are you going to do it or not?
Marty: I already did, we’re even now.
Sonny: You’re sure that Ms. Barrett’s passport is now null and void.
Marty: She will hardly be able to move across a state boarder for the next several months.
Sonny: Thanks Marty, you’re a real friend.
Marty: Yeah, whatever!

Sonny hangs up the phone, and then decides to dial Mike’s number. He is completely unaware that his conversation with Marty has been over heard by Hannah, who has quickly and quietly left the penthouse.

Mike: Hello, Corbin here.
Sonny: Mike, can you meet me at Luke’s for a drink?
Mike: *Worried* What’s wrong Michael?
Sonny: Nothing is wrong, at least not yet. 
Mike: You are really scaring me.
Sonny: I told you nothing is wrong. There is something important that I need to tell you face to face.
Mike: Are you at the penthouse?
Sonny: Yeah.
Mike: why can’t I just come over there?
Sonny: Because Hannah is here and I don’t want to talk about it around her.
Mike: Is it about business?
Sonny: *Impatient* No, Mike it isn’t.      
Mike: Is it about you and Hannah?
Sonny: If you are going to play 20 questions we might as well forget the whole thing.
Mike: I’ll meet you at the club in an hour.
Sonny: Fine.

He hangs up the phone and goes back upstairs to put on a shirt. He notices that Hannah is gone and curses under his breath. He buttons up his shirt and goes to the door. He has Johnny watching Brenda, so Francis is in the hall.

Sonny: Did Ms. Scott get home all right?
Francis: I didn’t know that you wanted me to drive her home. She just left, I can probably catch her.

Sonny realizes that she must have overheard one or more of his phone calls.

Sonny: That’s okay, I’ll catch up with her later. Is Johnny settled in outside the Spencer’s?
Francis: Yes, but we aren’t sure what you expect us to do?
Sonny: I don’t want you to spy on her, if that is what you are asking.
Francis: Do you think that she is in danger.
Sonny: I’m not sure. I guess when I figure out what I want you to do, I’ll let you know.
Francis: Johnny is keeping his distance at the moment.
Sonny: That is probably for the best, he doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of either Laura or Brenda.
Francis: Shall I bring the car around?
Sonny: How did you know?
Francis: You look like you are headed out.
Sonny: I need to go to the club.
Francis: I hope I’m not out of line, but I assumed that you would be going to Kelly’s.
Sonny: *Sighs* Not right away, maybe I need to give Hannah some space.
Francis: I’ll get the car.
Sonny: Maybe I’ll check on Johnny while I wait.

Sonny had taken Brenda to Laura’s house because he wanted her to be some place safe and comnfortable and because he trusted Laura to be descreate. In order to prevent any awkwardness he had filled Brenda in on Lucky’s death. He had hoped it would make the situation more comfortable for all parties, but it had actually made Brenda more uncomfortable. Brenda sat on the living room couch while Laura was in the kitchen making tea. Brenda didn’t really know Laura that well, even though they actually had a lot in common. Rather, Luke and Sonny seemed to have a lot in common. So the their commonalties were more of a matter of guilt by association. Laura walks into the room carrying two cups of tea. Brenda takes one cup from her and the two just stare at each other.

Brenda: If it is going to be a problem for me to stay here, I can go to a hotel.
Laura: Not at all, I have plenty of room.
Brenda: You just seem uncomfortable.
Laura: I just don’t really know what to say to a person who has come back from the dead.
Brenda: I don’t really know why Sonny brought me here.
Laura: Probably because he knows that I won’t ask any questions or make any judgments.
Brenda: Why is that anyway, why are you willing to do this for him?
Laura: Sonny has been very supportive and done so much for my family and this is really the first time that he has asked me to do anything for him. It was the least that I could do.
Brenda: I know that you have been through a lot in the past few months.
Laura: Sonny has been an important part of my healing process. He has been a good, supportive friend.
Brenda: Sonny was always a lot better at taking care of other people than he was at taking care of himself.
Laura: He has been through a lot in the past year as well, loosing you was hard on him.
Brenda: I think that my coming back has been even harder. I don’t want to complicate his life.
Laura: Sometimes we can’t help but complicate the lives of those that we love. 

There is an awkward silence between the two of them, which is fortunately broken by the sound of the door bell.

Brenda: Where you expecting anyone?
Laura: No, were you?
Brenda: Sonny is the only one that knows that I’m here.

Laura goes to the door and opens it to find Elizabeth Webber.

Laura: Hello, Elizabeth. Isn’t it a little late for you to be wandering around.
Elizabeth: Is it to late for a visit?
Laura: Of course not honey, you are always welcome here, come in.
Elizabeth: I was feeling kind of lonely and Gram is working late at the hospital. 

Elizabeth comes into the room.

Laura: Would you like some tea?
Elizabeth: Actually I was hoping that I could see Lulu. Is she asleep yet?
Laura: She was having trouble sleeping, so I put on a video for her, I need to check on her.
Elizabeth: Was that one of Sonny Corinthos’ body guards I saw outside?
Laura: I don’t think so.
Elizabeth: I’m pretty sure that it is, Johnny is his name, I know because he drove me home a time or two.

Laura makes a disgusted face.

Laura: Surly he wouldn’t have done that without telling me?
Brenda: He most likely did.

Elizabeth’s mouth drops open when she sees Brenda.

Laura: Do you know Brenda Barrett?

Elizabeth manages to mumble that the two have met.

Laura: Elizabeth was Lucky’s girlfriend.
Brenda: I’m so sorry about his death.
Elizabeth: Thank you.
Laura: What did you say that guys name was?
Elizabeth: Johnny, but he is really very nice.
Laura: Nice or not, he has no business lurking in bushes.

She is about to go outside and give him a piece of her mind, but Brenda stops her.

Brenda: You can go out there and yell all you want, but it won’t do much good. If you run him off from the back of the house, he will just go around to the front. 
Laura: What do you suggest that I do?
Brenda: Ignore him, you get used to it after awhile.
Laura: *Through clenched teeth* Fine, I’ll just go check on my daughter and tell her not to be scared of the strange man lurking in the bushes.

She stomps up the stairs.

Brenda: I knew this was going to happen.
Elizabeth: What?
Brenda: I’ve disrupted her life, and every ones lives. Maybe I was better off dead!
Elizabeth: Nobody is better off dead. I don’t know you very well, but I know that a lot of people missed you.
Brenda: Like who?
Elizabeth: Emily for one, and Sonny missed you a lot. 
Brenda: You seem to know Sonny pretty well.  
Elizabeth: You know, the first time that I met him he kind of scared me a little.
Brenda: *Smiling* He has that affect on people.
Elizabeth: He was really good to Lucky though and that means a lot to me. He also helped me deal with Lucky’s death.
Brenda: Laura said the same thing. I just can’t see Sonny taking part in group therapy.
Elizabeth: He didn’t really, but he still helped me to realize that I wasn’t responsible for Lucky’s death, it was an accident. I like to think that I kind of helped him with the pain that he was in over loosing you. He didn’t loose you though, how is that possible?
Brenda: I guess I’m going to have to get used to that question. The fact that the world thinks that I’m dead is actually news to me though.
Elizabeth: I hope that you don’t think I’m crazy, but sometimes I don’t think that Lucky is dead either. Sometimes, I can feel him and he is alive.
Brenda: I don’t think that anything is crazy anymore.

Laura comes down the stairs carrying Leslie Lu in her arms. There is another knock at the door and Laura opens it to find Johnny standing there with another man. Laura’s first thought is to give him a dirty look.

Johnny: Do you know this man?
Laura: No.
Johnny: I caught him lurking around.
Laura: I see, so while you were lurking you caught him lurking?
Johnny: Something like that.
Laura: Have you asked his name?

The man is middle age with long unkept hair and dangerous piercing eyes. He reminds both Elizabeth and Brenda of a wild animal. When he speaks it is with a very thick accent that turns both of their blood cold. 

Man: I’m sorry to bother you, I was looking for Luke Spencer.
Laura: He isn’t here, nor do I expect him tonight.
Man: If you see him, will you tell him that Heir Krieg called to see him.
Laura: If I see him I will pass on the message.

If Laura hadn’t been so angry she might have felt the same fear that griped Brenda and Elizabeth. All though they didn’t know it at the moment, they had just met pure evil in the form of Cesar Faison. He reaches out and touches Leslie Lu on the check.

Faison: Such a beautiful child.
Laura: *Beginning to feel uncomfortable* Thank you. I’ll tell Luke.
Faison: It would be to his advantage. I have something that belongs to him.

Laura sets down Lulu and she runs to Elizabeth, who grips her tightly.

Johnny: Come on Buddy.
Faison: Again, I’m sorry to have bothered you. I hope you have a pleasant evening, Mrs. Spencer, good night Miss Webber and Ms. Barrett.

Johnny escorts him out, leaving the women frightened and relieved.

Brenda: That was weird.
Elizabeth: *Almost shaking* How did he know our names?
Laura: I don’t know how he knew, but I think you should call your grandmother and have her stop by here and pick you up on her way home.
Elizabeth: Good idea, I really don’t feel like going home alone.
Brenda: I’m suddenly really glad to know that Johnny is right outside.
Laura: Yeah, me too.

Lulu holds on more tightly to Elizabeth.

Lulu: Mommy, what did that bad man want?
Elizabeth: Now, we don’t really know that he is a bad man. He might just be different from what we are used to a person looking like.

She was trying to be brave so that she didn’t scare the child. However, she didn’t believe a word that was coming out of her own mouth. She could tell by the looks on their faces that Brenda and Laura felt the same exact way. Laura knew that the man was evil and the fact that Luke was mixed up with him worried her. Brenda just wished that Sonny was there right now, with his arms wrapped around her.  Sonny had just walked into the club and could see Mike at the bar talking to Luke.  He takes a deep breath and walks over to them.

Luke: There he is, the man with the answers.
Sonny: I’m not so sure.
Luke: Well, you know more than we do. Maybe you can start by telling me what you did to cause me to loose my best waitress.
Mike: Hannah quit tonight and told Luke she was leaving town.
Sonny: When did this happen?
Luke: Less than an hour ago.
Sonny: I was afraid this might happen.
Luke: So what gives?
Sonny: You’re going to need a stiff drink after this one comes out.
Mike: Spill it Michael. 
Sonny: Brenda is alive. 
He says it in a matter a fact tone and  waits patiently for the news to sink in. 
   

Next Chapter
Chapter 7-8