Chapter 11: Warnings
Crest, France
Hotel Room
1:56 a.m.
“Would you quit lecturing?” Tom’s words came out more as an order rather than a plead. He took a seat on the couch, and buried his face in his hands for a few minutes, before lifting them back up. The bags underneath his eyes, specified that he was tired and was in need of some sleep. “Thank you. I got enough of that from Alexis.”
“Well you sure as hell deserve it,” Brady scoffed, looking down at him. “You said this trip was going to be harmless. That we would just pick up Luke and leave.”
“That was the intention and still is,” Tom said softly.
“Then how the hell did your pilot wind up dead on his seat?!”
“Keep your voice down,” Tom structured, knitting his eyebrows. “I don’t know. The only person who got injured and killed was the pilot, not us. That could mean, that this was personally between the pilot and someone who obviously disliked him very much.”
“Yeah. Or someone purposely killed the pilot so that we couldn’t make it to Paris, where Luke probably is right now.”
“You have a point.” Tom grunted. “I told him to stay where he was, but knowing Spencer he probably didn’t listen to me.” He looked up at Brady, who had ambled towards the mini-bar to pour himself something to drink. “You need a drink too, huh?”
“How’s Gia?” Brady asked from the mini-bar.
“She’s in my room sleeping. And by the way, we have to watch out for the staff. Make sure no one gets suspicious and decides to call the police on us.” Tom shook his head. “You know what? I think you and Courtney should go back to Port Charles.”
“What?”
“Look, this is more than just a game that I planned it out to be. I brought you and Courtney along to help me out with simple stuff, but if this gets dangerous I don’t want anyone hurt in the process.”
Brady shook his head. “I’m not leaving. You can’t do this by yourself. Courtney, on the other hand, I don’t want anything to happen to her, so yeah I’ll convince her to go. What about Alexis, Gia, and Carly?”
“Well, I’m going to try and find some aspirin before I talk Carly into going back. Gia has to stay in the country anyway. And as for Alexis, I need her to stay for legal assistance. But I still think you should leave Brady. It’s not worth risking your life just because you’re afraid to go back home. Besides, think about Belle, your father…”
“I’m not afraid to go back to Salem,” Brady affirmed, pulling up the desk chair and putting his feet on the table. “There’s nothing there for me.”
“Please,” Tom derided, “You’re angry. You’re angry and hurt because Chloe chose your Uncle Phil over you. You’re probably using Courtney as a distraction.”
“Shut the hell up, Tom. Yeah, your right I am angry and maybe hurt, but I’ll get over it. And as for my family, they’ve lived without me before; so now shouldn’t be any surprising.” He sighed as he tried to calm his anger. No one would ever understand what Chloe and him had. “And I wouldn’t use Courtney,” he included.
“Don’t tell me you’re going along with this because we’re such good friends?” Tom sneered.
“Honestly,” Brady took a shot, “I’m doing this because I have nothing better to do. Sad isn’t it?” He snickered.
“No,” Tom yawned again, “What’s sad is that I got myself into this mess just for money. Its funny what money does to people. Its like something important to you; once you have it, you don’t want to lose it.”
“I know what that feels like,” Brady swallowed another shot before standing up and heading for the door. “I’m going to check into my room. I think its best that we start looking for Spencer tomorrow. Though I doubt that we’ll have any luck.” The expression on Tom’s face agreed with him. Brady stopped at the elevator. The doors opened and he bumped into the man walking out of it. “Excuse me.”
“It’s alright,” Luke said disappearing into his room, while Brady got into the elevator.
Tom peeped his head through the door, glimpsing at the dark bedroom, and found Gia sitting up on the bed, hugging her knees, with a blanket covering her waist down.
“Hey,” he knocked on the door as he went in, “I thought you were still asleep.”
“I was,” she murmured, pushing her braids over her shoulders.
“How are you feeling?” He asked sincerely.
She could still remember the hole of blood circling around the side of the pilots’ face; it jolted her to the very core. “I’m fine.”
He walked towards the end of the bed and sat. “I’m sorry you saw what you saw. I know it was terrible.” He waited for a response, hoping that she would say something.
After a few minutes passed by she turned on a lamplight. “Its not that I haven’t seen a dead body before,” she said, remembering the Dead Ted situation. “But that was just plain disgusting.”
“I know,” he said softly.
Gia looked at him intensely. “Is that all you can say? Don’t you think you owe me an explanation about why your personal pilot winded up dead? It was a murder, Tom. You are going to report this aren’t you?”
“No.” Tom said instantly. “I mean, why? If we do turn this in to the police, we’re all going to be suspects.”
“But no one did anything—Wait a minute. You know something about this don’t you? What did you? First your being followed by a FBI agent, then you have to get out of the country. And now this happens?” He sat there silent and looking away from her as if she wasn’t even there. “Tom,” she put a hand on his shoulder making him look at her, “What’s going on here?”
“I—Well--,” he staggered. “I think you need your rest, you know. You have to get to Paris soon.” He shrugged off her hand and walked swiftly out the door. But Gia was hot on his heels.
“You know what?” She commenced loudly as she followed him into the living room. “You are a real jerk Tom! I understand why you wouldn’t tell me anything when you first came to see me. It wasn’t my business, well now it is. So, will you tell me what’s happening? Why I had to witness a dead man? And quit being such a damn jerk.”
Tom turned his head wrathfully at her. “I’d rather be a jerk, than a selfish bitch.”
“Like I don’t already know that,” Gia sneered.
“No, I don’t think you do. You’re over here forcing me to tell you things that I shouldn’t, all because YOU were the one taken aback. If this had never happened—if you hadn’t walked in and saw that man dead then you wouldn’t have even cared. And you wouldn’t bother pestering me with all these questions. Why don’t you just go to Paris and spend your time pretending that you’re over your ex-husband?”
“Your wrong. You are so wrong.” Gia asserted. “Okay, yes I am selfish and a bitch sometimes but I would still be pestering you because believe it or not, lord knows why, I actually happen to care about you. You’re the one who’s keeping me from the truth.”
“Since when have you ever been a supporter of truth, Gia? I could name numerous times when you’ve kept secrets and told lies.” Tom scorned.
“That’s what got us together in the first place,” she smirked.
Tom ran his hands threw his short hair. “Don’t you see that I’m trying to keep you safe?”
“Safe? Your giving me clues but no facts. What do I need to be secured from?”
“I can’t tell you.” He saw Gia roll her eyes for the hundredth time this week.
“Figures. What else am I suppose to expect from an asshole?” She said with her usual attitude.
“You know what you can do you can just--.”
Brady and Courtney both stormed into the room before Tom could finish. He looked between the two, “Uh, everything okay?”
“FINE!” Tom and Gia both shouted in unison.
Brady and Courtney looked at eachother with intriguingly. “Okay. That’s good.” Brady said, shutting the door and facing both of them directly. “We have a problem.”