It took a few seconds for the realization of what she was seeing to set in. To take hold in her mind. At first it had just been a picture. A photograph of a burning building. But as her eyes began to drift to the next photograph and the next, Laura understood what she was seeing. The night that had taken away her son. Frame by frame. Horrific image after horrific image.

The pictures showed the men carrying his body out. One at his feet, another at his legs as Faison looked on in devilish amusement.

Lucky didn't look conscious. She supposed for that she should be grateful. That he hadn't had to endure a struggle. Yet her brain quickly reminded her that that didn't have to be the case. Knowing her son, the struggle had taken place immediately. Inside.

Woken from his own bed. Maybe from a nice dream about his future with Elizabeth. In the still of the night..... When he thought he was safe. She rubbed her arms as goosebumps prickled over her flesh.

She reached back down towards the folder, her hands starting to shake more violently with each turn of the page. Each sheet bringing with it a different stage of terror. There were pictures of everything. From the time they'd taken him from his room, to the time they'd deposited him in a new room. The steel room she'd only heard minute details about. The one she'd imagined as some unthinkable torture chamber. Looking at it now, it didn't seem that way. But she knew it had been a prison nonetheless. Cut off from his family, cut off from his friends. How the Hell had he survived?

A flash of her own imprisonment on the island in Greece ricocheted through her mind. She would have never wished that on anyone. She would have done anything to protect her baby from that kind of torture. Yet, obviously she hadn't. Helena had taken her sons life and turned it upside down.

Anger caused her fists to clench at her sides as she read the words before her. Helena had documented everything as if it were some sort of damned science experiment. As if her baby had been the subject of some bizarre study. A stronger hatred than she'd felt ever before rose in her throat, threatening to choke her.

It was nothing in comparison to the emotion that the next page would bring.

It wasn't a photograph. It wasn't another map of the "compound." It was simply an email message. A message regarding the plan that had been so expertly pulled off before all of Port Charles. It was a message between mother and son. Helena and Stephan.

The hate she had felt seconds ago was a pale, distant reminder of what she felt now. The feeling that quaked through her entire body at a slow, consuming speed lent itself to no words in particular. The only term that even half described it was "a mother's rage." But even that was too simple. Not descriptive enough. Not indicative of what would cause her to wrap her bare hands around Stephan's neck the next time she saw him, and squeeze until she saw the life slip from his very soul.

~~~~~~~~

Lucky watched as the guards got ready to change shifts. The night crew giving way to the morning crew. If ever there were a time to sneak into the compound it was now. Things were at their most vulnerable.

The night crew guards were dead on their feet and most of the morning crew didn't exactly relish coming to work. Aside from that, all the electronic security was about to be reset. Timers reprogrammed. Codes reentered. He'd camped out all night in the surrounding perimeter just waiting for this moment. It was now or never.

He pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants and held it behind him as he slithered against the side of the building. Pressing himself against the concrete until he was almost nothing. All he had to do was make it to the vent, and have it open before the guards got around to this side of the building. This was the quickest way in. This was the easy part.

The hard part lie inside.

Lucky sank down in the dirt as he spotted the metal vent. Big enough to crawl through. Small enough to make you lose your mind. He remembered the one time he'd gotten half way through it. He also remembered the punishment. Soundless, dark, cold....

Lucky blinked hard and shook it off. He pulled the automatic screwdriver from the pouch in his backpack, switching it to silent immediately.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he went from one screw to the next, collecting them in his hands as he progressed.

'Jeez man, whatever made you think you could do this by yourself?' He questioned, using his arm to wipe the moisture from his face. 'You're fine,' he reminded himself. 'Just take a deep breath and relax...you can do this.'

It was already turning out to be a scorcher of a day. Funny how the night before had been so cold. The desert was a tricky place.

He sighed thankfully as the last screw dropped from it's hole. The thankful feeling left as soon as it came. The sound of footsteps not far away. 'Move it Spencer!' He thought, shoving his body into the tight space before him. He reached down quickly and pulled the vent up to the gaping hole in the wall. He held it there as the first guard passed. 'Hold it steady...hold it steady,' he chanted to himself. Praying to the heavens above.

Lucky let out a breath as the guard moved along, obviously deciding that the sun shone too brightly on this part of the building. Lucky watched as he moved slowly down to the other end of the wall.

He reached back with one hand and began screwing the metal fasteners back into their slots. It had to look as if nothing had been tampered with. Helena would know he was here soon enough. He needed as much time as possible to get inside. To get to Elizabeth.

~~~~~~~

Elizabeth pushed herself to her knees and then slowly, painstakingly to her feet. Every muscle hurt. She glanced at the tray of food that sat on the wood bench next to her. If the food hadn't been poisoned the day before, she was certain it was now.

Now when she felt like if she didn't eat she most assuredly was going to die. She wrapped her fingers around the bars in front of her face, needing to steady herself. The air felt cool and soothing against her face.

She closed her eyes, and let it blow against her. Letting her mind wander to cold cherry coke, hot cheese fries, and mild Port Charles nights. God, what she wouldn't do to be in their crappy bed at Jake's right now. With it's rough sheets, and squeaky springs....soft hands.

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip and tried not to think about him. Tried not to let the tears overtake her again. She'd dreamt about him the whole night before. Longed for his touch. The sound of his voice. Her throat tightened up on her now.

Her breath shuttered through her body as she tried to will him away. She knew he was out there. Helena hadn't been bluffing the day before. As much as her body and soul ached for him, she couldn't put him through this Hell again. Whatever Helena had planned wasn't good. Chances were that neither she or Lucky would make it out of this house of horrors alive.

She looked back towards the food and groaned aloud. Why had she been so stupid?! To think she could actually escape from this place by stabbing someone. Her hands started to shake as she envisioned the blood once more. Soaking her hands, staining Lucky's shirt.

Elizabeth looked down at the flannel that she still wore and started to cry. The tears unstoppable in their torrent down her cheeks. It was the one thing she had of Lucky's and it was ruined, not just by blood but by the memory. "So stupid," she sobbed to herself, grasping the edges of the shirt and holding it away from herself.

She was paying for her actions now. Stuck in a cell that made the stainless steel room look like the Port Charles Hotel. Helena would make Lucky pay too, and it was all her fault.

~~~~~~~~

Luke slapped Nikolas hands away from the control panel, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Don't touch anything!"

Nikolas glared back at him, and shook his head. "Are you sure you know what you're doing here?...This is a jet. Do you even know how to fly this?"

"We're up in the air aren't we?" Luke asked, throwing a glance his way. Never taking his eyes too far away from the sky in front of him. "Nobody asked you to tag along Princeboy."

Nikolas grunted and rubbed his clammy hands along his pant legs. "It's just that...I've never heard anything about you knowing how to fly...I mean, Lucky never mentioned - "

"Hey! I'm sure my son never mentioned a LOT of things to you. That don't mean they never happened."

Nikolas looked down at his hands, and then slowly up towards the window at his side. "That's not true," he whispered, looking out at the wild blue yonder. They were floating above the clouds now. "Lucky used to tell me a lot of things. Before..."

"Before what, Nikky?....Before your grandmother kidnapped him, or before you tried to steal his girl?"

Nikolas bit his lip and swallowed hard. "Both...I guess."

Luke muttered something under his breath and shook his head. Why did he even care? Hadn't he always wanted Lucky to hate his "brother." To disown Nikolas for what he really was? A Cassidine, through and through. In some ways, Nikolas going after Elizabeth should have been the answer to Luke's prayers.

"My son thinks that Elizabeth Webber is the best thing that ever happened," Luke began, never looking in Nikolas' direction, yet knowing he had his full attention. "And he doesn't just think that she's the best thing to ever happen to him........He thinks she's the best thing that ever happened to the world.....ever."

"Luke I -"

Luke continued, not allowing Nikolas to interrupt. "Now, I'm not saying that you don't like Liz. That your royal palms don't get all sweaty when she walks into a room.....but let me tell you something Nikky....If you can't say the same thing about her - that's she's the best thing that ever happened to the friggin' WORLD.....you need to step away. You need to back-off because...those two - those two have got something that's simply beyond your understanding....It's even beyond MY understanding."

He continued at Nikolas' silence.

"For some reason my son loves you. Yeah, he pulled a gun on you...but he loves you. I don't understand it. I never have. I probably never will. But I do understand one thing about my son....when he loves - he loves with all his heart. He doesn't know any other way to do it. But ya see, Nikolas...he feels things so deeply, that when you hurt him. When you abuse that love...that complete trust that he has in you.........." Luke's voice trailed off, his own pain bubbling too close to the surface.

"Look, all I'm saying is - be worthy of it...Just be worthy of it."

Nikolas lay his head against the seat cushion behind him. Powerless to stop Luke's words from ringing in his ears. Or the thick density of guilt that seemed to overtake him at every turn lately.

Worthy. What would it take to be that again?

~~~~~~~

Lucky crept down the hall, the fluorescent light gleaming off of the spotless floor beneath him. 'Still a clean freak, huh Helena?' Lucky thought as he took a deep breath, reminding himself to take it slow. All he needed was to start rushing things and get careless.

He wanted to run down the hall, and burst through the door of that damn room. He'd grab Elizabeth and they'd get the Hell out of there. The whole place was already starting to make him itch. The thought of going into that room again made his chest tighten.

He stopped for a moment and held his breath. Listening for every sound. All he could hear was the beating of his own heart. Loud. Rapid.

Sliding along the wall he moved closer. He knew this space like the back of his hand. The few times he'd gotten to "take a walk" it had been up and down this corridor. Two doors away...

His breath suddenly caught in his throat. "What the Hell?" He gasped aloud, his eyes widening at the sight of the open door. The door was never open. Never...why would it be now? Unless she'd taken Elizabeth somewhere else. Unless...

Lucky ran up to the door, all thoughts of slow and quiet thrown out the window. He grasped on to the door frame, as his eyes scanned the room. Just as he'd left it.

He crossed over the threshold, his entire body tensing immediately as he took in his surroundings. The shine of silver making him want to cover his eyes. He moved about the room, his eyes surveying every thing. Same bed, same radio, same everything........brushes.

He walked towards the vanity set that sat before him. The only thing in the room that he'd never before seen. His hand trembled as he picked up a silver plated brush, and then the comb. Silken strands of chestnut brown wound through the bristles of each of them. He stared into the mirror and imagined her sitting there, combing her hair, waiting....

Something slippery beneath his shoe broke him from his reverie. He looked down, moving his foot slowly, as a cold chill swept over his body with bony fingers. As the dark liquid that he already knew to be blood spread across the polished floor under the direction of his foot.

A blinding fear pushed her name from his dry lips. "Elizabeth..."

~~~~~~~~

Helena turned away from the monitor, a look of sheer glee dancing in her eyes. "Our guest of honor has arrived dear," She cooed, motioning towards her boytoy, Julius to come and take a look for himself.

"He looks absolutely devastated....again," she joked. "Lucky Spencer does devastation like no one I've ever seen before. It truly is remarkable."

Her smile faded, as she looked at the clock on the wall. "I was hoping Luke and Laura would be here by now...we need to start soon."

"Does madam want me to apprehend Master Spencer?"

"No, no...let him sweat it out a bit longer. We have bigger things to attend to............Has anything been picked up on the radar?" She asked, distractedly.

"No madam...Not since Master Spencer landed."

Helena tapped her fingers together in concern. "Be sure to notify me as soon as something does....I don't want there to be any hitches in this plan." She added looking down at the big red button that sat on the control panel. It seemed to beckon to her.

She ran her hand over it, almost lovingly. Caressing the smoothness of it. "If this works Julius....I'll be rid of the Spencers forever...all of them."

~~~~~~~~~

"Lasha?" Stephan called, crossing into the dark room. His hand stilled upon the doorknob as he took in the disarray around him. Boxes overturned. Cassidine relics, and paper strewn haphazardly along the floor.

He called her name urgently again, as the magnitude of what he'd done in his carelessness hit him with full force. In his haste to keep her at Wyndemere.

His eyes widened at the sight of pictures from that night piled in a neat little stack against the far wall. She knew.

"Lasha where - "

"I'm right here," Laura growled, ambushing him from her place in the shadows and wrapping the antique phone chord around his neck. Pulling and tightening as she listened to him gasp for air. His arms flailed about, his hands grabbing at his neck. His fingers trying desperately to dig their way between the choking plastic and his own flesh. She heard her name on a tortured breath from his throat and only pulled harder.

"Shut up!" She cried, her own fingers aching from the strength at which she tried to stifle the life inside of him. "What did you think Stephan?! Did you think you could just take my baby from me? Kidnap him and make me think he were dead, just so you could have me all to yourself?" She taunted, jerking at the short ends of the chord she held in her hand. She pulled again as he struggled against her.

Laura moved closer to him, her breath in his ear. "You're going to tell me the rest Stephan. You're going to tell me what your bitch of a mother has planned for my family....and then, then I'm going to kill you."

Chapter 56

Laura moved quickly around Stephan's limp body as he lay unconscious against the dark, musty floor. He'd finally passed out under her grip. She grabbed at old pieces of rope and large, woven curtain pulley's from inside of various cardboard boxes. He wouldn't be "out" for long. There was no time to waste.

She'd already rigged his hands. His wrists were bound tightly together, by rough, twine. She used a longer length of the material to tie both hands to the door knob. If he came to and tried to pull with his arms, the door would inevitably hit him in the head.

Laura smiled in glee at her work. His eyes were closed. His lips shut. Somehow he'd never looked better. Luke would have been proud.

His feet were next. She used the rope from the heavy, antique curtains for the task. The mixture of satin and dust caused it to slip through her hands time and time again. It wouldn't be strong enough to hold him for long, but long enough to get what she wanted out of him.

Stephan would tell her everything. He'd divulge everything he knew about Helena's evil plot or he'd die withholding the information. Either way he would pay. Either way she was going to make him suffer for all that he and his family had put hers through. This was the end of the line.

"Wake up Stephan," she whispered, leaning down next to his ear. The golden hair he'd always dreamed about, swaying against his cheek. Too bad it would remain a dream for the rest of his life. "You and I need to have a little chat."

~~~~~~~

Luke and Nikolas stepped off of the jet and into the scorching hot desert sun, immediately spotting Sonny and Jason.

Sonny was the first to speak, walking over to his friend and...Nikolas. "What's the kid doing here?" He asked, not bothering to lower his voice in the least.

Nikolas rolled his eyes, as Luke smirked slightly. "Who knows...he had some insane need to tag along. I figured if we're lucky, Helena will lock him up in their on accident or something."

Luke said the last as his eyes set in on the compound he'd visited for the first time, only a few months ago. He never wanted to see it again, yet here he was, looking at Hell in the distance once again. He licked his lips and turned back to Sonny. "Speaking of kids...how's mine? He in there yet?"

Jason nodded. "We watched him go in from back here," he said, holding up his binoculars. "Lucky's stubborn you know that...but it looks like he got in ok."

Sonny glanced behind him. "Yeah, none of the guards have even picked up his scent yet. They've just been milling around all afternoon. No sign of trouble yet."

"Good," Luke sighed, picking up his backpack. He looked inside, checking to see that he had everything one last time.

Sonny caught his attention by clearing his throat. "Hey, man...I thought you were hanging around Port Charles to find Laura....Did she decide not to come?"

Luke ran a hand over his head. "She took LuLu and headed out to the Carolinas with Leslie...it's better that - "

A strange look crossed over Nikolas' face. "What?" Luke asked, stopping mid-sentence.

Nikolas shook his head, trying to shake the strange feeling that had just come over him. He suddenly felt as if a memory were trying to work it's way to the forefront of his brain. Some conversation that he'd had with his uncle? He coudln't be sure. It was as if whatever it was that wanted to be remembered couldn't make it past the tip of his tongue. "N - nothing," he stuttered.

"Look, kid if you're starting to get cold feet about this, get back in the damn jet right now," Luke bellowed, picking up his sack again. "I don't have time to baby-sit."

Nikolas shook his head once again. Vehemently this time. "No. I'm coming with you."

"Fine," Luke said, throwing a glance at both Sonny and Jason. He knew they both thought he was crazy for bringing the prince along. "Let's go then...we don't have anymore time to waste. Lucky's already in there, and it's only a matter of time before your uncle-father sends out the hounds for you."

~~~~~~~

Lucky stared at the floor for a long moment, his whole being rigid with fear. Ironically it was no longer the fear of being back in this place that immobilized him. That horror had been replaced by yet another, deeper kind of terror. The idea that maybe, Elizabeth had survived the fire at Jake's only to be killed here...in the room where'd he spent the last several months of his life.

A shudder ran through him and caused him to take a shaky step backwards. Away from the blood that seemed to be spreading. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but it seemed to be everywhere now. Consuming the floor.

His vision began to blur in the pools of tears that collected in both eyes. He raised his head to where he knew *she* was watching. Looking straight into the camera that had watched every moment of his life for months. He knew she couldn't hear him, but he didn't care.

"Where is she!?" Lucky screamed, his entire body shaking with fury. The tears beginning their journey down his cheeks.

He walked closer to the camera. "Where the Hell is she?! Huh? What have you done Helena?"

Taking a deep, steadying breath he stepped back, brushing away the hair that had fallen into his eyes. He had to calm down. Had to think.

Elizabeth wasn't dead. She couldn't be. Her presence in the room was so strong. It was almost like he could feel her. An indescribable feeling seized him just then, pushing his legs into action.

He began to search the room. Turning down the covers of the bed, opening the drawers. Nothing. There was no sign of her anywhere. "Come on Elizabeth," he whispered, his eyes moving franticly over every surface of the room. "Come on baby, you're still here...I feel you....Say you left me a clue...somewh - "

His words stopped mid-sentence. The sound that he'd come to recognize in his sleep, halting his actions before he even turned around. Lucky began to turn slowly, already knowing what it was. Knowing he was once again shut in. Locked away from the rest of the world.

He turned around, just as the huge, steel door clicked in to place once again.

Trapped.

~~~~~~~

"Rise and shine, dear." Helena said. A smile in her voice as she tapped on the bars that allowed the only bit of light into the cell that housed her current guest.

Elizabeth mumbled from somewhere in the dark. "I'm not asleep."

"Splendid! It seems our visitor has finally arrived."

The words yielded their desired effect. Elizabeth sprang from her spot on the rough wooden bench where she sat. "Lucky's here!? Where? Where is he?!"

Helena clicked her tongue as if to admonish the girl. "No, 'thank you Mrs. Cassidine for leading him to me?' No, 'thank you for allowing me to have a visitor?'...Really Elizabeth, I don't know where your manners are.

"No, dear. First things, first. Lucky has been away for a long time. We must allow him to get reacquainted with his surroundings."

Elizabeth's eyes widened at the implications of Helena's words. "What have you done?"

Helena's mouth dropped open to convey shock. "What are you accusing me of?...I assure you I have done nothing malicious to the dear boy. I'm really quite fond of Lucky....No, no. He's fine. I've just given him some time to adjust to things in his old room."

"You can't!" Elizabeth screamed, not knowing where her voice or the energy for such an outburst had come from. "You can't do that to him. Helena...he can't be in that room again. He'll go crazy. You can - "

"Miss Webber!" Helena shouted. Her tolerance snapping. "Do NOT presume to tell me what I can and cannot do. I will do whatever I please....However, I have no intention of keeping Lucky in that dreadful little room that Faison designed again. I merely want to give him time to think about things...strategize. It is a game afterall. I'm really being quite thoughtful if you think about it.

"Not to worry, Elizabeth...you'll see your beloved very soon."

And with that she was gone.

Elizabeth sank back down to the bench, leaning her head against the wall behind her. Lucky had come for her, just like she knew he would. But now it was his life that was in danger. He was the one that stood to lose everything in this 'game' of Helena's. Whatever the game was...

"Be careful Lucky," she whispered. "Be careful."

~~~~~~~

Laura placed the phone back in it's cradle and watched as Stephan began to stir. His eyelids fluttering, moans of pain escaping through dry lips. "Wake up," she stated quietly. "You have to wake up now Stephan. We've got so much to discuss."

"Lasha."

The first word to escape his mouth. The title that she'd actually grown accustomed to at one point in her life. It made her cringe in disgust. Anger boiled in her gut yet again. 'Stay cool Laura,' she reminded herself. 'It's the only way you're going to get anything out of him. Your son and your husband are depending on you.'

She crawled over to him, brushing a hand softly against his cheek. Letting her fingertips linger against his goatee. "Yes, I'm here Stephan."

He blinked hard, trying to adjust from the darkness that was unconsciousness, to the darkness that was reality. "Where are we?"

"In the attic. Right outside the belltower," she whispered. Her voice gentle. "Where you locked me remember?"

Stephan closed his eyes and rolled his head from side to side against the floor. "I'm sorry, Lasha. It was the only way to keep you here."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," she stated coolly, glancing at the ties that bound his wrists and legs. "We all do what we have to do."

Stephan caught her glance and for the first time noticed his predicament. "You attacked me."

"Like I said...we all do what we have to do."

"I'm sorry Laura."

"For what exactly Stephan?...For locking me up in this room? For making me miss a chance to help my son? Or for orchestrating my son's kidnapping."

The question seemed to take him by surprise. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was that very realization that had caused Laura to fly into a blind rage in the first place.

"I didn - "

Laura stood up immediately. "Do not deny it! Do NOT insult my intelligence."

Stephan struggled against his restraints. "Laura. I swear to you that I did NOT know that my mother planned on kidnapping Lucky. I would have never went along with something like that. You have to believe me."

"I don't have to believe a damn thing that comes out of your mouth. The ONLY thing I believe is that you have played me for a fool for years now."

"Lasha, I have loved you for so long. For years, I've - "

"Love!" Laura shouted, moving a few steps backwards. She didn't trust herself not to hurl something atop his ankles like in some Stephan King movie she'd seen. "You wouldn't know love if it bit you in the ass Stephan! You can't lock someone in a room and tell them it's because you love them! You can't STEAL someone's child in the name of love!"

"I didn't steal him!" Stephan yelled. He took a deep breath, a pain ripping through his throat. His voice was much lower when he spoke again. "Yes, it's true that I kept the truth from you Laura. A few months before Luke rescued Lucky from my mother, I began investigating Cesar Faisons' ties to my mother. It didn't take me long to realize what had happened. That Lucky wasn't dead. That my mother had him in her possession."

Laura sank down to the chair beneath her. Her voice merely a whisper. "Why....Why would you keep something like that from me?"

Stephan's throat began to tighten as he watched heartbreak unfold in Laura's blue eyes. "You and I were finally beginning to have the life that we'd always wanted together...Nikolas was finally getting everything he wanted: Elizabeth.....his mother's complete attention. Everything was going so well - "

Laura nearly jumped out of her chair, exploding with anger. "How DARE you! How dare you, use my other son as a reason for your maliciousness! For EVIL!

"Everything was going so well?! What the Hell does that mean! How could you do this!? How could you...." Laura's voice trailed away as emotion began to overtake her. She brushed away her quick in falling tears, but she couldn't camouflage the sobs that wretched forth from her gut. "How could you keep my baby from me?....I thought my son was dead....I thought my son was dead."

She repeated the words several times as she fell back into the chair that she'd sat in earlier. Chancing his life, Stephan whispered from across the room.

"I'm sorry...I know it means nothing. But I'm sorry."

Laura looked up, staring straight into the eyes of a man she know longer knew. Maybe she never had. "You're right. It means nothing....and I don't want you to be sorry. I want you to fix it. I want you to tell me exactly what your mother has planned for my family.

~~~~~~~

Lucky looked up from his seat on the bed as the wall in front of him slid open to reveal the television screen he'd watched so many of Faison's home movies on. Yet, this time it hadn't been operated by remote from inside. Someone from the outside was operating it. Helena.

Her face popped up on the monitor laced with a glowing smile. "It's so nice to see you again Lucky," she cooed. Her smile only widening with each word. "I do hope you're not too angry with me for that little fire...it was the only way I could get you here you see?"

She watched as Lucky began to mouth a word and then stopped. "By the way...you can speak Lucky," she said.

"Since Faison's demise I had the most state of the art technology installed in the compound. You'll love it! You'll find you can talk naturally from where you're sitting and I'll hear you just perfectly!"

Lucky shook his head, not attempting to even play along with her charade of niceties. "Where is she?...What have you done with her?"

Helena clicked her tongue in disapproval. "All in due - "

"Where the Hell is she!?" He shouted, standing up and walking closer to the screen before him, as if the new technology would allow him to walk through it and wrap his fingers around Helena's throat. Thus, squeezing the life from her dark soul.

His entire body shook with fury. "You had your fun! You tricked everyone into thinking Elizabeth was dead! Are you happy? I mean, you pulled it off once again. You played your little game!! Well, guess what Helena? I'm not playin' anymore."

Helena's entire being seemed to harden before his very eyes as her smile faded. "You'll do whatever I say, whenever I say, if you ever want to see your precious Elizabeth ever again."

Lucky licked his lips, and then tucked the bottom one under the top. Biting down as hard as he could to keep from spewing the anger that seethed within.

A grin returned to Helena's face. "Good...I've always liked the strong, silent type.

"No...the game is just beginning Lucky. Although unfortunately for you, there is no possible way you can win."

Lucky shook his head. "Well what fun is that? What's the use of playing then?"

"Oh believe me, Lucky it will be very entertaining for all of us. Especially once your father and mother arrive," she said, tapping her fingertips together.

Lucky wracked his brain as the implications of her words began to take root in his mind. He suddenly hoped that his father was still in Port Charles looking for his mother. He suddenly hoped it would take him forever to find her.

"What are you talking about," he asked finally. "Leave my parents out of this. You want me remember?...Not them. It's me you took in the first place."

"Oh contrare my darling. I took you to get to them. And now I've taken Elizabeth, to get to you - to get to them. It's all a vicious cycle isn't it?" She laughed at her own morbid sense of humor.

"Truth be told Lucky, I want all of you. All of the Spencers in one place at one time....Poor LuLu....she'll end up an orphan. But who knows...maybe it will end up like that wonderful American musical where - "

"I swear to God if you even touc - "

"Ah-ah-ah, Lucas. I don't think you're in any position to make threats. Afterall I do hold your dear Elizabeth's life in my hands. If all goes as I think it will, the little bird will make it out of here alive and intact.

"Then the original plan that you and your father foiled months ago will still come to fruition...You will be out of the picture, and Elizabeth will be free to be with my grandson....Then, Nikolas will thank his loving grandmother for giving him what he's always wanted, the love of a Webber woman," Helena chuckled again at the last of her words.

Lucky ran a hand through his hair and shook his head in disbelief. Is this what it had all been about? 'Giving' Elizabeth to Nikolas? The woman was fucking insane. Not that he hadn't known that already. 'Well, none of that is gonna happen Helena....you damn well better be ready to kill me first.'

"Where is she?" Lucky asked again upon finding his voice.

Helena sighed. "I'm afraid you've passed on that hot temper of yours to Elizabeth. She attacked one of her guards. Can you believe that!? Oh well...she had to be punished."

She watched as Lucky's eyes darted to the floor beneath him. To the blood that she'd had Julius purposely leave there. His eyes were wide with horror when he looked up. "Don't worry that blood doesn't belong to Miss Webber...she's fine," she said finally.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Such distrust," Helena moaned, shaking her head. "I suppose, I'll let you see her. But only for a few moments, she really isn't looking her best."

With that, Helena disappeared. The screen going black for a short minute before popping up again. This time the picture revealed a much darker shot. It took him only a second to recognize the setting.

It was a place where he'd only gone back to in his nightmares. A place he shuddered to think that Elizabeth was being subjected to now. Yet, there she was. Huddled in the corner, her knees pulled to her chest. Her head down. Alone in the dark.

His lips formed her name without even asking his permission. "Elizabeth..."

It could have been her imagination or the silence beginning to drive her insane, but she thought for sure she'd heard her name in the midst of the dark nothingness that surrounded her. She looked up. No one there. Just ghosts. Just her thoughts. Still she said his name aloud. "Lucky...Lucky is that you?"

Lucky hurried closer to the screen. She couldn't hear him could she? Maybe..? "Eli - Elizabeth can you hear me?"

She tried to stop it, but the torrent of tears were to great to be halted. To strong and impatient to be squelched. Elizabeth brought a hand to her mouth and covered it as she began to sob. "Oh my God...where are you?!"

Lucky smiled through the soft downpour of tears that trickled down his own cheeks. He moved even closer to the monitor and touched it, hoping by some miracle that she'd feel his touch. That he'd feel her.

His voice came out in a harsh whisper. The product of a tight throat. "I'm right here...I'm right....," his voice trailed off as she stood slowly and looked around. She didn't seem to see anything.

"There's no monitor in there is there?....You can't see me?"

Liz panicked. Was she hallucinating afterall? "No, I can't - Oh my God Lucky...." She started to cry again. The rest of her words lost.

"It's ok," Lucky whispered, lying his cheek against the monitor. He could feel her panic start to rise. See her mistrust of her own ears. Was she imagining things?

He squeezed his eyes shut. The sound of her crying ripping shreds out of his heart. He remembered the feeling of being completely lost. Damn Helena.

"Shh...it's ok."

He listened as she calmed down a bit, knowing Helena would cut their connection at any moment. "Are you ok?"

She nodded and dabbed at her tears with the long sleeves of what he could see was his own shirt. The one she always slept in.

"You're sure? Eliza - " He asked again. The silence unnerving him.

"Yeah..Yes. I'm fine," she said through a hiccuping breath. Trying to smile in reassurance. "Now. I'm fine.

"But Lucky...she's crazy. You shouldn't have come here - "

"You don't worry about any of that ok? I'm gonna get to you....I promise you that Elizabeth."

Elizabeth nodded and closed her eyes. Knowing the words that came out of his mouth were as good as the gospel. He'd do whatever it took to get to her. That was what worried her the most.

Helena's harsh voice interrupted the moment over the intercom. "How touching...now say goodbye to each other."

Elizabeth looked towards the seemingly nonexistent ceiling above her. "Oh, God no! Please...Just a few more - "

Lucky bit his lip against an obscenity as the screen began to darken. "Just hang on Elizabeth! I'm gonna get you out of there ok!? Ok?!"

The connection was lost.

~~~~~~~~

Mac pulled Laura to the side as Taggert bent down close to a tied up Stephan, reading him his rights. Every last one of them. There would be no getting off on technicalities for this Cassidine. Not this time.

"I'm actually impressed that you didn't kill him....That you had the presence of mind to call us." Mac whispered, glancing backwards over his shoulder and then turning his attention back on the shaken woman in front of him.

He and Taggert had heard the whole sordid details of Lucky Spencers kidnapping and Helena's evil plots from outside the door. "This should be all the evidence we need. Right here in this room....Were gonna send him away for a long, long time Laura."

Laura shook her head, not truly believing that Stephan would be made to pay as much as he should for keeping the truth about Lucky's 'death' to himself. She ran a hand through her long golden tresses and tried to focus on the matter at hand. "We need to get to Cairo."

"All the proper authorities have been notified Laura....There's really nothing else we can do now. It's out of our hands."

"Like Hell it is!" Laura spat, her eyes going wide.

"Laura, he didn't say anything specific about what his mother is planning to do!" Mac reasoned. "We were right outside that door. We heard it all."

"He said that Helena planned on killing my family! She'd be killing me too if I were there right now! How is that nothing?!"

"It isn't nothing Laura, and I don't mean to be flippant, but Cairo is WAY out of my jurisdiction. I promise you, that I've notified everyone that should be notified. Luke and Lucky are going to have more help than they probably even want."

Laura sighed, and let her head drop back. "What am I supposed to do in the mean time? Sit home and twiddle my thumbs?"

"Just keep the faith Laura."

Laura watched as Taggert led Stephan out of the room in handcuffs. Keep the faith? When her husband and son were both walking straight into some sort of desert Hell hole? A giant booby trap made especially for them. How the Hell was she supposed to do that?

~~~~~~~

Luke handed the silent screwdriver to Nikolas and watched as the young man's hands shook while trying to pry the screws out of the vent. He looked towards the heavens and said a quick prayer to a God he didn't even believe in. Hoping that the kid didn't muck this thing up.

Sonny and Jason looked on from a few yards away, ready to give the signal at the first sign of trouble. The thick cloak of desert night was falling slowly upon them. Although it was best till wait till morning, there were certain benefits to the night.

The element of surprise. The chaos that might ensue if the power were to be cut once they got inside. Jason checked his pack now for all the essentials needed to disable the electricity once Nikolas made it inside that vent.

He and Sonny exchanged weary glances as Nikolas pulled the grating off of the vent and climbed inside the narrow space. Luke glanced out into the desert and gave his partners the thumbs up sign.

No turning back now.