Chapter 7: Arrangements
The Beach House
9:30 a.m.
“Hey Gia,” Tom called as he entered the house. He was slightly surprised to find a variety of kids board games and popcorn bowls encircled on the living room. “Uh, Gia.” When no response came, he walked over monopoly board pieces and flopped himself on the couch. He could already tell that it was going to be one hell of a few weeks. He grabbed the remote on the edge of the coffee table, and decided to amuse himself with television. “Wonder what’s on HBO.”
Daisy skipped into the living room and wondered who the man sitting on her mother’s sofa, watching TV was. Tom stared at the screen blankly as if it weren’t on and the pictures were blank. He sighed and turned his head swiftly around the room before back to the TV. He tilted his head again and finally became aware of the little girl watching him from the doorframe. She looked somewhat familiar. “Yes?” He said vacantly.
Without bothering to ask who he was, Daisy shrugged. “Can I watch?”
Tom shrugged and held out the remote to her, suggesting her to go ahead. Daisy took the remote from his grasp and jumped on to a seat next to him before switching to the Cartoon Network. They both watched cartoons in silence, neither of them looking at each other. After thirty minutes went by, Daisy decided to ask. “Do you know my Mommy?”
Tom nodded. “Yes. Is your Dad here?” Daisy shook her head. “Good.”
“That’s good?” Daisy asked confusedly.
“It is for me.” Tom yawned.
“I’m Daisy,” she introduced with a smile.
“I know,” Tom said, recurring the casual grin.
“What’s your name?”
“Tom.”
“Like Tom & Jerry,” she said genially.
Tom gave a bemused look on his face. “Who?”
“What’re you doing here?” Brady asked Courtney as they stood on a hallway a few floors up the PC Hotel.
“My father’s in town. I came to visit him,” Courtney explained. “So…” She sighed, hoping to get threw with the small talk and sprint to the door as fast as she could. She didn’t have much to say; she had already thanked him a dozen times and didn’t know him at all. “Uh, nice to see you again.”
“Yeah you too. Especially now that you’re sober.” Brady smiled as Courtney chortled. Brady didn’t know her well, but now that she wasn’t drunk, Courtney seemed charming and sincere to him.
“Mm-hmm. You’d make a great designated driver,” Courtney put back.
Brady rubbed his chin and pretended to think about it. “Nah, I hate the smell of throw up on my car seats.”
“Most people do,” she informed.
“Tell me, what are you up to today?” Courtney threw him a curious look. “I’m not that genuine with pick-up lines, so it’s my way of asking you out,” he clarified.
Courtney tried to hide her smile. “You’re asking out a girl who you hardly know and threw up in your car seat?”
“I’ve been with worse.”
Crest, France
Hotel Room
“Alright, fork it up.” Luke said as he laid out a flush.
“Damnit Spencer! Your hustling me,” Asa Buchanan snipped as he handed Luke eight thousand. The two associates had just finished an hour’s worth game in Asa’s hotel room.
“Yeah. Yeah. Quit whining, Buchanan.” For the first time in two years, Luke let out a triumphant smile. “Besides, it’s not like your bank account has ever been empty.”
“That’s why I have the right to whine. Hell, I earned the right to whine,” Asa said, leaning back on his chair and lighting a cigarette. “I heard you were finally going back home.”
“Don’t worry with any luck, I’ll be out of you and Renee’s back.”
Asa cleared his throat and waved the match off. “Speaking of Renee. It would probably be best if you didn’t mention my gambling junctures when she gets here.”
“Old man, you seriously are this close to being whipped.” Luke shook his head.
“Who are you calling old?” Asa scowled.
“Ready for another round?” Luke asked, ignoring his comment.
“Why? So I can let you hustle me again?” Asa’s mouth protested, but his hands were complied with the cards. “How do you think your family’s gonna handle this?”
“I don’t know and to tell you the truth, I’m kind of afraid to find out. How did yours take it.”
“They grew to accept it-.”
“They did?”
“After a few years that is. And Jessica still refuses to call me Grandpa,” Asa added. He looked from his hand and noticed Luke’s angered expression. “What?”
“Aww, shut up and play,” Luke snapped.
Laura’s House
10:01 a.m.
“Hey Mom.” Lucky sighed and pulled his mother into a wriggled hug. “You look good.” He said, although what he meant was she had at least looked healthy. The past years had been hard on Laura, and everyone expected her to move on leisurely.
“Lucky, you shouldn’t lie to your Mother like that.” Laura smiled.
“You look better,” he rephrased. He continued to watch his mother try to tidy up the house.
“So is Daisy with you?” Laura asked, as she fixed up her hair and gestured him to sit next to her on the couch.
“Well, no,” he said, taking the offered seat, “She’s with Gia.” Lucky noticed both of his mother’s eyebrows arch. Despite their many attempts to get along, he knew that Gia and his mother would never quite see eye to eye. “We’re trying to be civil to one another for Daisy’s sake.”
“But?” Laura added. She might have been depressed but she knew her son all too well.
“But it might be more than that. I don’t know yet.” Lucky got up and walked towards the window, merely looking out the drapes.
Laura didn’t stand but simply observed him. “Elizabeth’s in town.”
“Yeah, I know. I talked to her. She’s happy now with Jason.”
“And you?”
“I’m glad,” Lucky said candidly as he turned to look at her. “Mom, why are you bringing this up? I explained to you years ago, that me and Elizabeth are over. She finally found someone to love her. Something that I couldn’t and still can’t do anymore.”
“I see. I’m sorry. I know you don’t love her anymore. But—I don’t know, I just don’t want you to get hurt again. I mean, Lulu’s not around, Nikolas left to Greece, and—I don’t want you to go.” Lucky moved towards her, and took her hand like a little boy grasping on to his mother while walking down the street. Laura sighed forlornly. “So what did you come here for?”
Lucky bent a grin on his face. “I’m taking you on a trip.”
“A trip?” Laura shook her head
“Yes you are. When was the last time you had a vacation?” Laura didn’t respond. “That’s what I thought. Well,” Lucky clasped his hands together, “I’ll help you get packed.”
“Wait a minute,” Laura refuted but Lucky was already half up the stairs. “Where are you taking me?”
“An all expense-paid trip, first class, accompanied by me and your grand-daughter to France.”
The Beach House
11:08 a.m.
“Okay. What illegal providence have you gotten yourself into this time?” Alexis asked as she walked into the Beach House.
“Could you keep your voice down,” Tom said, signaling to the little girl watching TV. “I’ll be right back, Daisy.” Tom took Alexis’s hand and escorted her to the untidy guestroom. He shut the door and put his hand up in the air, not giving his lawyer a chance to rebut. “Gia’s asleep. I don’t want to wake her.”
“Did you have to drag me by the hand?”
“I didn’t hear you complaining right then.” Tom grunted and put his mind back to the subject. “I need your help.”
“Who doesn’t?” Alexis shrugged. “Now, what did you do?”
“Well two years ago, I kind of got myself into—some sort of partnership, lets say.”
“Uh-huh,” Alexis mumbled as she put down her bag.
“And now I have to get out of this partnership. But you see the only way I can do that pay back my end of the bargain.”
“And just who exactly is this partner of yours?”
“Now I want you to keep in mind, that I was going threw financial difficulty during this time--."
“Tom.” Alexis interrupted. “Be straightforward. Who?”
“Damn.” Dillon shouted while slamming both hands on the steering wheel. He erupted the car door opened and covered his mouth while passing the smoky engine as he walked towards the other car in the same condition.
“You alright?” He asked, as he banged on the woman’s car window. The lady nodded her head, but Dillon smelled lawsuit.
He moved aside and allowed the redhead to open her door. Kristina Cassadine came out coughing and trying to catch her breath. Once she finally stopped coughing she looked at the two cars, who’s heads were collided together and then faced the man who caused it all. “Did you not see that nice little sign that said, STOP?!”
Dillon sighed. It had been a stupid yet classic accident to spill coffee while driving. “Look lady, the pharmaceutics are already on their way and I’ll pay for the damage as long as you don’t fake any injuries when the police get here.”
Kristina looked at Dillon pragmatically, she could tell he was very tense and distraught. “Forget it,” she waved her hand. “I just got back to town and the last thing I need is to threw insurance agencies. How about we both pay for our own wrecks and call it even.”
“Really?” Dillon’s asked astonishingly, but Kristina only nodded. There weren’t many people in the world that was so cooperative or there were plenty of people like that but he had hardly ever met one. “Yeah that be good. But, uh, I’d be too guilt-stricken if I got out this easily.”
“You would?”
“No not really. But I think I should at least make it up to you.” He offered. “We’ll see.” Kristina said, moving a few steps away from the smolder. “I’m Kristina Cassadine.”
“A Cassadine?” Dillon vaulted a brow; for a while, he had thought that the Cassadines were practically extinct. “I’m Dillon Quartermaine.”
“ A Quartermaine?” She said in a stunned voice before muttering, “Isn’t this going to be interesting?”
The Beach House
11:36 a.m.
“Let me get this straight, and by all means clarify if you must.” Alexis paced back and forth as she absorbed the information in her head. “Luke is alive.” Tom nodded. “Helena framed him before she died.”
Tom nodded again. “Apparently, the old dame had allot of debts. And when the Cassadines supposedly cut her out of the family fortune the people who she owed money too, weren’t so happy. I mean haven’t you ever wondered how Helena died?”
“I know its wrong to speak poorly of the dead, but Helena’s been an exception. Once I heard she was dead—well, lets just say I preferred to leave it that way.”
“I think she realized that the Cassadines weren’t going to cover for all her luxury expenses for much longer. That’s probably why she started hunting for extra money.”
“Who were the people she owed money to? A mob? Or any other sort of organization?”
Tom shrugged. “I’m not sure. But whoever they are, they’re much more dangerous than a you’re ordinary gang of mobsters that your probably used to. They’re probably the ones who killed the old lady. Not that she wouldn’t have rotted in hell anyway.”
Alexis tried to hide a slight motion of laughter. “How did she frame Luke?”
“My guess is fake, useless checks. Or forgery on certain contracts. At first Luke didn’t realize anything was going on. But after awhile he got threatening phone calls, letters. And that night, when he was presumed dead in Llanview, it was a drive-by shooting. He managed to escape. I have no idea how.”
“And for the past two years he’s been in hiding. Where did you hide him?”
“I started hiding him in places where I expected no one would find him—Texas, Salem. But now, he’s off on his own. Like I said, somehow he’s coped his way into getting out of the country.”
“Why were you stuck helping him and not someone else? Luke has many associates--.”
“Associates that are all very well-known. If this is an organization, then don’t you think they’d do a background check on him? Who he’s connected to? I wasn’t a likely suspect and I—I needed the money.”
“How is that possible? Luke probably didn’t have that much money with him.”
“No, but he had allot of information on people who would have money. The Quartermaines, for example. You’d be surprised how many secrets that family has that they wanna keep quiet.”
“You forget, I’ve had to live threw the Cassadines. As a matter of fact, I still do.” Alexis frowned.
“Once I got a hold of a few stocks of ELQ, I was able to get a few chars of Alamain Industries.” Tom continued. “That’s why I came back. My intention was to bring Luke back with me, but it didn’t necessarily work out as planned.”
“Did anyone else know about this arrangement?”
“Of course. Laura knew.”
“Laura?”
“Yeah, but after a year Luke lost contact of her. I suppose she thinks he’s really dead by now.”
“With all the information you’ve just told me, he just might be. You said he’s in Europe, right? It’s most likely that Helena loaned money from a European organization, which could possibly make him a closer target.”
“Great.” Tom sighed exhaustedly brushed his hand threw his hair.
“What are you going to do?” Alexis asked.
“I’m going to have to go to Europe. I’ll need you to come with me.”
“What? Why me?”
“You are my lawyer,” he reminisced. “And in case I run into any complications, I can trust you to help me. Besides, from what I’ve heard you’re used to defending people who are involved in violent irrational tribulations.”
“Absolutely not.” Alexis waved her hands sideways.
“Don’t be so abrasive. Especially when I’m paying you by the hour.”
“Just what am I supposed to tell Jax?” Alexis muttered.
