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When Cassadines Fall
Connectors
"L&B, how may I direct your call?" V asks confidently with a smile on her face. There were studies that said that the person on the other end of the line could hear the smile. She transfers the person and then looks up to see who is there. "Hey Nikolas."
"V. Is my Aunt in?"
V looks at her appointment book. "She is not only in-- she is on a break and since Mr Ashton is out of the office-- it's safe to go up."
Nikolas laughs. "Great thanks." Nikolas runs up the stairs and enters Alexis office with a brief rap on the door. "You busy?"
"Up to my ears but I always have time for you." Alexis waves him in. She gets up to greet him, kissing him on one cheek and then the other and finishing with a hug. "So how have things been since you got back from New Orleans?"
"Hectic, but not as busy as Maddy. She has been going nonstop since we got back to get caught up"
"Oh I know that feeling. Even the short time I was away when Ned and I got married..." Alexis shudders. "My desk was unbareable when I got back."
Nikolas looks around. "I do like what you've done with the place. It's hard to believe you have a rock and roll record studio down on the first floor."
"Top of the line soundproofing." Alexis nods. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Nikolas sees the framed sketch hanging on the wall of a group of people singing and playing instuments. "This is nice."
"V drew that. She was going to tear them up but Ned stopped her and confiscated them. Makes you wonder where she's been hanging out to get that kind of scene though doesn't it?"
"Where ever it was it looks like fun!"
"Oh my-- words never seen in close proximity... Cassadines and fun."
"Unless you throw in murder and mayhem as connectors." Nikolas corrects.
"True. All true." Alexis agrees. "So what can I do for you, dear nephew."
"I have a list somewhere." Nik bitches. "I believe you have some estate documents that need my signature. And then there was another matter I wanted to discuss with you."
"Sounds serious." Alexis goes back behind her desk and puts on her reading glasses getting into Lawyer mode. She pulls a file from her desk drawer. "Lets get these out of the way. They are standand renewal contracts and leases. The regular weekly paperwork." She passes the papers to Nikolas along with a pen.
Having been trained from the cradle for this, Nikolas quickly scans each document before signing. He has total confidence in his aunt's ability but there were other lawyers that worked for the Cassadine. There were enough lawyers to fill a firm on this continent and two others. Most of the paperwork was done at a lower level. He just had to deal with the major property and money issues. There is one that draws his interest and he sets it aside. "I want to talk to Stefan more about this one."
Alexis scans it and nods. "There is some play in the timeframe." She pulls out a highlighter pen and marks up a few sections. "I think these are probably the troublesome elements."
"Yes, as if ,as Lucky would put it, someone is trying to get over on us. Since this firm is Helena friendly I think it needs a little more investigating. I'll talk to Stefan." Nikolas says again.
Alexis puts all the other documents back in the folder and in the outbox. "What was the other matter?"
"It has come to my attention that an FBI agent is targeting Madeliene through her aunt, Dara Jensen. I would appreciate it if you contact Dara and offer your assistance."
Alexis laughs and shakes her head. "Do you know how much Dara hates me?"
"I realize it would be awkward...."
"Actually it's already done. Dara came to me and we're already investigating Agent Larkin." Whoops there went confidentiallity out the window. But it sounds as if Nik has info she needs for her client. And it wasn't like she was talking about Dara... she was talking about Larkin.
"What have you found out?" Nikolas leans in.
Alexis reaches over to the intercom and buzzes the reception area. "V could you put the phones on voice mail and come up here." While they are waiting Alexis goes on to explain. "A delivery was made to V's apartment. Documents with numbered offshore accounts with a significant amount of cash in them. There was a cover sheet with the names of all the cases that Larkin worked with the dates... dates of cases corresponding with dates of deposits."
"How did you get this information?" Nikolas demands.
V replies from the doorway. "A guy delivering beignets. The info was taped to the inside lid of the box."
"Describe the delivery guy."
"I didn't actually see him. Black guy twentyish."
"Ricky." Nikolas murmurs.
"Excuse me?" V and Alexis both ask for clarification. Alexis continues. "Nikolas, you know who did this? Is the information valid?"
"I suspect who did it. And yes, the information is valid but probably not useable in court. Of course, you are the attorney you'll manage somehow. The information came from Pete Robideau."
"Well that sucks." V blurts out. "Dara is screwed 'cause she has an association with Robideau that she denies, and it's Robideau that provides the information that blows the primary accuser out of the water?! It kinda proves there is an association!"
"Unless..." Nik frowns.
"Unless what?" Alexis prompts.
"Unless Robideau sent the information to V for me or rather the Cassadines. He had no reason to think that Dara would come to you and every reason to think I would. You are the most trusted family attorney."
"Thanks." Alexis says absently. "Nice hair split. Maybe you should be going to law school. It sounds as if you know more about this than you are letting on, Nikolas."
"I'm surprised that uncle hasn't already contacted you on this. He is not about to lose his chess partner to a dirty cop. Maddy packed up in the middle of the night to avoid Larkin and his local connection before. He is working to insure she doesn't do it again. He wants Larkin destroyed. He wants Larkin destroyed so badly that he has enlisted Lucky's computer skills to make it so."
Alexis raises a brow over the rim of her glasses. Evidently big brother was pulling off the gloves and going for allies where ever he could. "So we might still come up with this information independant of Robideau and never have to bring his name into it."
"Perhaps." Nikolas nods. "But I would rather have Robideau on the hotseat than my brother for his hacking. Is there anyway to keep it anonymous?"
"I'll do my best." Alexis agrees. Nikolas stands and takes the contract he has question about with him. He waves bye to his aunt and departs. Alexis turns to V. "How could you not see the delivery guy but know what he looked like?"
V turns bright red and starts stuttering. Finally she get her composure together enough to say, "I think I hear the phone ringing." She flees the room.
Nikolas is at the jag ready to unlock it when his phone rings. "Cassadine."
"Nikolas? Is that you? Is everything alright?"
"Granny Sophia?" Nik looks around. "Yes, everything is fine. Why do you ask?"
"I was on the phone with Madeliene... she was rather upset about me giving you her things."
Nik winces. "Actually it's taken her quite sometime to find them they've been displayed all weekend."
"That's not what I'm worried about... she hung up on me saying you were there and she was going to kill you... I tried to call her back and there was no answer on the cell phone."
"Granny I'm going to have to call you back." Nikolas hangs up. He calls Maddy's cell phone... no answer. He calls the house phone... no answer. He calls the carriage house and finally connects. "Lucky, get up to the house... there is something wrong. I know Maddy is there; but nobody is answering. It could be Larkin making a move. I'll be there in less than five." Nikolas jumps into the jag and starts it with a flick of his wrist... tearing down the street toward his part of town.
His cell phone rings. He jams it into the holder and puts it on speaker. "What?"
"You aren't going to like this, bro. The house is locked and the chains are on. I went around the front and guess who's here. " Lucky hands the phone to Ari. "Say hello."
"Master Nikolas, your grandmother...."
"Give the phone back to Lucky." Nikolas interrupts. As soon as it is so. "Break down the door. If she's done anything to Maddy, I'll kill her myself."
"Let me try something first." Lucky starts pounding on the door. "yo Madeliene, I know you're in there... it's Lucky let me in."
Madeliene rises from her seat across from Helena in the front room. "Please excuse me." She goes over to the front door and unfastens the chain. "Yes."
Lucky refers to the phone. "Nik was starting to get worried when you didn't answer." He can hear Nik talking on the phone and holds it to his ear... "What?" Lucky offers the phone to Maddy. "He wants to talk to you."
"Well I don't want to talk to him. Are you coming in or are you going to stand here in the cold with the help?"
Lucky steps across the threshold and slams the door in Ari's face. He doesn't set the chains cause he wants Nik to be able to get in. "Where is the old bat?"
"Nikolas' grandmother and I are having tea. Perhaps you'd like to join us?"
Lucky winces. "Nah thanks I'll get some coffee from the kitchen." Nikolas screams in his ear to not leave them alone together. "And then I'll be right in." Lucky walks into the kitchen. "Oh man is she ticked at you or what? What did you do?" Lucky asks into the phone that is still pressed to his ear. He winces when he gets the reply and then pours his coffee. "Well I'll chaperone until you get here." Lucky carries the coffee into the living room. "How is everyone doing here?"
"Just fine." Maddy says calmly. She has retaken her seat across from Helena.
"Lucky." Helena says tersely. Spencers always spoiled her fun. "Aren't you going to finish your tea, my dear."
"I'm afraid it's gone cold." Maddy replies not even touching the cup that she had left unattended while she answered the door. "Would you like me to refresh yours?"
"No, that won't be necessary."
"Then you were saying... the purity of the Cassadine line? Centuries of princes..." Lucky winces at Maddy's summation. damn that must have been a nasty conversation. How long had the old bat been here?
"I think I have made my point. You strike me as a bright girl."
"Oh no, Mrs Cassadine. I never claimed to be anything special. I know exactly what I am-- a bastard out of Louisiana with a drunken mother and a checkered collection of friends. But that's okay because unlike the pure line of Cassadine princes, you and I both know what it's like to start at the bottom and work our way up now, don't we? The princes might be pure but their consorts seldom are, are they? I mean it's so unlikely that somebody pure would have posed nekkid for that portrait that hangs over Luke's mantle at his club. And I'm sure that Lucky's mother is very nice but all american. Not a princess or a countess or even the CEO of a major corporation."
"How dare you!" Helena snarls.
"How dare I what? Remind you of a past you've rewritten? I respect what you've accomplished, Mrs Cassadine. Nikolas might have had the silver spoon like his father before him and his father before that. But you didn't. You did what needed to get done to get where you are now. And I understand that." Maddy drags out in a slow drawl. "I don't like you, I don't trust you. But I do respect you, and I'll never turn my back on you."
"Maddy." Lucky has a warning in his voice. He figures she is in her own way taunting Helena.
"Do you have any idea to whom you are speaking?"
"A woman who has been getting away with murder for a long, long time." Maddy nods. "Good for you. Just don't think you're gonna get over on me. I was raised to respect my elders not to be blind to their faults."
"Get out of my house." Nik snarls from the doorway. He's still out of breath from racing up the walk and into the house.
Maddy rises from her seat. "Now, Nik is that any way to talk to Granny Helena when she was kind enough to stop by to see her only grandson in his brand new house? Why he sounds positively ungrateful, doesn't he?" She picks up the tea cup from the table next to her chair and walking over to the fireplace throws it against the back shattering it in a million pieces. Making both Lucky and Nikolas jump. "Y'all have a nice day." Maddy turns around when she is right next to Nikolas. "Granny Helena, I've been thinking of getting together a mahjongg game for some of the seniors I know... You interested in playing if we ever need a fourth?" Maddy doesn't wait for the answer before leaving with Cinnamon right on her heels.
"You've seen me... You've seen my house. Now get out." Nikolas demands again.
"Nikolas, my darling."
"You have your yacht, Stefan has wyndemere. This is my house. And nobody comes in without an invitation. In your case it had better be in writing from me. Respect my privacy, Grandmother or I will show you the same lack of consideration."
"But that... girl, Nikolas, first with your uncle now with you... it's just so american and so distasteful. She's not good enough for you. If you ready to settle down." Helena looks around at the house. "I can find you some suitable women to... date."
Lucky grins; he can't pass this one by. "Oh I don't know, Granny Helena, I don't think that Nikky needs you to pimp for him. But if he gets really hard up I'm sure you'll be the first person he calls."
"You are disgusting just like your father!" Helena rises to her feet and puts on her coat and gloves in quick vicious movements.
"I'm wounded." Lucky quips holding his hand to his chest. "Like I've never heard that one before. Let me walk you to the door."
Lucky walks back into the living where Nikolas is still trying to get his breathing under control. He hadn't been this furious since he waited in the no-tel out of town for Emily's kidnappers. "What happened." He growls.
Lucky shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine. When I got in they were having tea and conversation. The little summary that Maddy gave I would guess it was on Cassadine bloodlines. Depending on how long she was here she might have gone back to Erik the Red."
"Damn her." Nik growls. "I need to talk to Maddy." He stalks into the kitchen with Lucky on his six. "Are you alright?" Maddy doesn't answer and instead pours herself a cup of coffee. Tea was fine iced during the summer but she really preferred coffee. She'd only had the tea earlier to be sociable. "I asked you a question!"
"Do you really want me to get into this with you with your brother here?" Maddy says coldly.
Nik realizes she is furious but not at Helena. At him. "Lucky."
"I'm out of here." Lucky says quickly. He heads to the door only pausing long enough to tell Maddy. "Nice touch reminding her of the portrait."
"I saw it on the ladies night out I had with Em, Carly and Liz." Maddy says absently her focus totally on Nikolas.
Lucky shuts the back door and whistles quietly to himself. "WWIII is about to commence. Everyone batten down the hatches." He sees Liz walking up the path to the house and goes down the stairs to meet her. "They're really not up to company right now, Elizabeth."
"But.."
"Trust me on this, Baby. You don't want to go in there right now. In fact I should have brought Cinnamon with me. Maddy found out about Nik bringing all her stuff up from New Orleans and putting it all over the house."
"Oh. Well lets go to Kelly's then. You can buy me a death by chocolate shake. Maddy will fill me in, in the morning."
"If she's still there." Lucky exhales. He hasn't seen anybody that ticked in.. well since his mother had pulled the gun on the goons who'd broken into their house.
Inside the kitchen, Nik asks again. "Are you alright?"
"Do I look like I'm f'ing alright?" Maddy snarls. "Larry's gone. The VA kidnapped him out of General Hospital. I have no idea when he'll be back all I know is that he is locked up. Locked up He can't stand a closed door how is he suppose to stay sane with locked doors?"
"Maddy..."
"And then I come back here... you're not here... you didn't leave a note. You freak out when I don't leave a note. I go out to your house and my stuff is all over it. Things that belong to me. Granny Rosa's quilt, Granny Sophia's crochets, My great grandmother's family quilt. My mother's costumes are on dummies up on your second floor landing. How in the hell did you get my mother's costumes?!"
"They were in her closet. You were throwing everything out. I just took a few things that you might want later when you'd been able to work through your grief. You were on autopilot, Maddy."
"Then give them to Granny Sophia-- you don't take them and then take all the other stuff she'd been saving for me. I feel like I've been hijacked."
"You live here now. Your things needed to be here with you. This is your home."
Maddy shakes her head and waves a hand. "Un uh. This is your house. I'm living here temporarily just until things cool off and then I'm so gone."
"You promised."
"You lied! You set me up. Put my things all over the house... gaslight me make me think I'm going crazy and then you say I promised not to leave? I was so mad at you that I opened the door to that woman." Maddy points toward the front of the house and the street.
"What did she say to you?" Nikolas slides in closer to Maddy. She'd really had a horrendous day. He starts to rub her back in a gentling motion that always seemed to work for Lulu when she got fractious.
"Cassadine blah blah blah... lineage dating back to adam and eve blah blah blah... standards blah blah blah."
"Well you didn't seem too upset about that." Nik walks over to the table and keeping a hand on Maddy's hip brings her down to sit on his lap. Maddy sets her coffee on the table. "Most girls would get furious but then you're not most girls...."
"True. And I swear to God in heaven above you Cassadines are the conclusionist jumping bunch. Of course she assumed I was doing you. So she was giving me the you're not good enough speech. Lucky showed up right when she was probably going to try to buy me off. I figure you and Lucky probably cost me a cool million bucks."
"Why did you break the cup?"
"Same reason I didn't answer the phone. You think I was going to let that bat alone with anything I would eat or drink out of? She might count the silver when I'm around... I'd rather make sure she doesn't touch anything I'm going to be ingesting later. I've heard the stories."
"I'm sorry you had a bad day. I'm sorry about Larry. I'm sorry I didn't leave a note. I'm not sorry I brought your stuff from New Orleans. I want you to be at home here. I'm sorry that you lost a million bucks but I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll talk to Alexis again and see if there is anything she can find out about getting Larry brought back here."
"I'm still mad at you." Maddy reminds. Cinnamon comes over and rests her head on Nikolas' thigh staring up at Maddy. "But Cinnamon was a good girl today. She wanted to bite that boytoy your granny has but restrained herself to a growl and big old smile."
"A smile?" Nikolas grins.
"Oh yeah." Maddy reaches down and eases Cinnamon's lips from her teeth. Showing Nikolas' the dog's arsenal. "A big ole full toothed grin." Maddy reaches over to rub the itchy spot that the dog could never quite reach. "What ya want as a reward, smart dog? Do you want a walk?" Cinnamon's tail starts going about 90 miles an hour. Maddy uses Nik's shoulder to push off from his lap and goes to get her coat.
"You're going to go for a walk? Now?!"
"It would help me cool down. We'll be back in awhile."
"I'm going with you." Nik insists. "You've gotten to tell me about your day. But I have yet to tell you about mine." He slides into a coat by the back door and grabs a lead that Maddy had bought while out on her route. He snaps the lead on the dog and holds out a hand to Maddy. "Remember how we said that Larkin was something that my aunt and yours could agree on? Well they've already teamed up and that is just the start of the good news..." Maddy takes Nikolas' hand and with her free hand pulls the back door shut.