Chapter 9

~December 27, 1999~

Luke drummed his fingers against the arm rest of the plush seat, and stared
at Helena, the witch that sat steel-faced across from him. He suddenly
stopped drumming and stared directly into her cold eyes. "You better not be
leading me on some wild goose chase, woman."

Helena turned towards him. "I promise you Luke. This is not a wild goose
chase. Your son will be waiting for you at the end of this journey."

Helena was not complying with Luke out of the shear good will of her evil
heart, but rather out of spite for her partner, Faison. He'd been careless in
underestimating the Spencer boy and now everything could be ruined. However,
she'd make sure that she emerged unscathed.

Luke peered out of the window of Helena's jet. "Yeah...well Sonny's got a gun
aimed at your pilots head right now..so I guess that's all the reassurance I
need," he finished, smirking at her.

He then looked down at his watch. Right about now, if everything was going
according to plan, Cesar Faison was in Port Charles and just about to walk
into a trap. Luke had called him finally, telling him that he wanted to make
"arrangements" for their dealings together. He'd told him to meet him at the
docks outside of the Morgan Corinthos coffee warehouse. He'd told him there
would be more privacy there. Little did Faison know that Luke would not be
there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Faison turned around slowly, the unfamiliar feeling of fear washing over him,
as he heard the clicking of a gun being cocked behind him.

A grin pulled at the corners of Jason's mouth as he watched Faison's
expression change to one of surprise. "Hello, Mr. Faison...oh, I'm sorry. I
meant, Heir Kriegg. Mr. Spencer has asked me to um...keep you company until
he gets back..You see, at the last minute he had to go out of town. It was an
emergency. You know how it is when somebody comes back from the dead."
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Nikolas you're my friend. I just don't wanna see you get hurt," Emily
sighed, placing her hot chocolate down on the table, as she and her friend
ate outside of Kelly's.

Nikolas ran a hand through his hair. "Emily, isn't Liz your friend too?"

Emily thought about it for a moment. Eight months ago she could have said,
"yes..without a doubt," but now she wasn't quite sure. Was she Liz's friend?
Liz had made it abundantly clear that she wanted to be left alone after Lucky
died. For the first few months, they'd still hung out like always, but soon
Liz's rapid mood swings started to become too much for Emily and they'd
stopped talking. Emily also secretly resented the fact that Nikolas had begun
spending more and more time with her.

She leaned back in her seat. "Nikolas...I am Liz's friend, but it seems to me
that she doesn't want a friend right now...she wants a punching bag."

Nikolas shook his head. "I realize that's she's difficult...but Em, she's not
always like that. Sometimes the old Liz comes out, you know? The Liz that we
all know and love. The Liz that went undercover at Downtown Faces for you,
Em."

Emily sighed. "Nikolas I know that she's going through a tough time...but we
ALL lost him, you know."

Nikolas thought back to Liz's behavior on Christmas. "You don't know the half
of it," he mumbled under his breath.

"Huh?" Emily asked. "What does that mean?"

"Nuthin', " Nikolas sighed, not wanting to volunteer the extent of Liz's
"problems".

She didn't push the issue. "You know..Nikolas. I see her around sometimes and
she says "hello,".....usually...but then she just gets withdrawn again, you
know? Sometimes I wonder what things would be like if Lucky were still here,"
Emily said, sipping at her drink. "Nikolas, Liz was so happy....THEY were so
happy. There's no doubt in my mind that if Lucky were still alive, they'd be
living in New York. Just like they planned...maybe even married..."

"Yeah, well he's not here anymore!" Nikolas said, his voice rising suddenly.

Emily looked up in surprise at his outburst.

Nikolas immediately realized what he had done. "I'm sorry," he said quickly.
"I guess I just miss him, you know?"

Was it that? Was his hostility based soley on the loss of the brother he was
only just starting to know? Or was there more to it? Had his love for Liz
gave way to animosity towards Lucky, the man that still held her heart?

Chapter 10

December 29, 1999

Laura rolled over in bed, staring up at the high ceiling above her. She'd
been awake for hours, yet the sun was just beginning to permeate the thick
curtains that hung over the large windows.

Stephan sensed her tension and turned towards her, running his fingers
through the golden strands that lie across the pillow.

"Good Morning Lasha," he said, kissing her on the forehead.

Laura grinned slightly, obviously distracted. "Good morning."

"Lasha, I can see that something is troubling you greatly. What is it?"

Laura sighed and looked up at the ceiling once again. "I don't know
exactly...but I wasn't able to sleep all night...I had this wierd feeling..."

"What type of feeling?"

Laura shook her head slowly, her eyes beginning to brim with tears," I don't
know...it's wierd...I've had the feeling before...but it's always had to do
with..."

"With what?" Stephan asked, growing concerned.

"With Lucky," Laura answered, looking into his eyes. "I used to get this
feeling when Lucky was a little boy...whenever he was in trouble...but this
time it's different..it feels...if feels like it used to when I knew he was
safe...when I held him in my arms and knew he was safe."

Stephan cleared his throat, trying to come up with something to say. Anything
to take Laura's mind off of her "dead" son. "Lasha...this is probably all a
result of the Webber girl's outburst on Christmas...it reminded of you of
your loss...it simply brought back those old feelings...I'm sorry that she
upset you."

Laura nodded slowly, even though she knew it was more than that.
"Yes...you're probably right."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke and Sonny followed Helena through the cool, dark corridor of mazes that
lay beneath Faison's mansion. Helena led them through the halls, turning this
way and that, knowing that if she stopped for even a moment, the barrell of
the gun that pressed into the small of her back would release a deadly piece
of steel into her flesh.

"Hurry up!" Luke barked as she turned yet another corner, revealing yet
another door. Luke could feel his chest beginning to tighten, as the air in
his lungs became trapped. It was the feeling you got when you were waiting
for someone at a bus station or airport, someone you hadn't seen in years.
But it was amplified. It was one hundred times more intense. Luke's eyes
darted from door to door, wondering how many other captives Faison held
behind them, and which one of those doors led to his son.

Suddenly, Helena came to a door and quickly unlocked it, sliding a card into
the electronic safety lock. She pushed the steel door open swiftly, revealing
a control room.

Luke surveyed the room, as Sonny followed closely behind Helena, his gun
still aimed at her spine. Luke had seen many things in his life, but he had
never seen anything as intricate and complicated than the layout of this
room. There were panels upon panels of buttons and switches, lights blinking
here and there, and the constant beep of some distant mechanical device. Luke
looked up at the walls suddenly, noticing the row of monitors that stood
above the control panels.

He pointed to the vacant screens and walked towards them. "Let me see my
son," he said flattly, never taking his eyes away from the screens, scanning
each one quickly.

Helena looked up. "Luke, I don't think th - "

"Now!" Luke yelled. "Before I let you lead me any further into this Hell hole
Faison likes to call a mansion, I have to know that my son is alive...now
Helena! Do it!"

Helena narrowed her eyes, as she felt Sonny's pistol dig farther into her
flesh. Her fingers slowly moved to the control panel, punching various
numbers in sequence, stopping now and again to recall a number or letter in
the complicated code. Suddenly her fingers moved away, and she lifted her
head. Luke looked quickly back at the screen before him.

As the crackling of the screen gave way to clarity, Luke's breathing gave way
to the pounding of his heart. A heart that most assuredly stopped beating for
a moment as his son slowly came into view. His hand covered his mouth as his
tearing eyes moved furiously over his body, checking for any signs of harm.
Any sign of an even slower death for Faison. There was none. He lay there on
the bed, his eyes to the ceiling, his ankles crossed...still the most
beautiful child ever created. He'd imagined what it would be like to see him
again. He'd thought of nothing else on the plane ride over, yet nothing could
have prepared for him for what lie ahead. What would he do? What would he say?

Luke cleared his throat and found his voice. "Take me to him...now."