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When Cassadines Fall
Late Night Caller
Jerry sits at the dining room table of the brownstone a beer at his side looking over prospectus he's going to share with Carly at their next round table. There is a rap on the french doors. Jerry looks over at the doors and rolls his eyes. Sighing, he goes over and unlocks it. "You think 'cause my wife is at work, and the kid is asleep that I won't kick your ass?"
"Yeah." Jax crosses the threshold.
"Good call." Jerry admits. "You want a beer?"
"Sure." Jax takes a seat.
Jerry looks at him. "Your feet broken?"
Jax laughs and gets up getting the beer and grabbing another for Jerry. Work had always been a semisafe subject for them. "What are you working on?"
"Prospective projects for Carly." Jerry says absently. "You?"
"Got controlling interest of Helen of Troy today." Jax says with false modesty buffing his nails on his sweater.
"Gonna part it out?"
"Nope. Merge with Deception. Emily wants their distribution network."
"Really?!" Jerry looks up. Jax nods. "Well good for her."
"Carly's got a piece of it too; I think young Spencer put some funds in as well."
"You keeping Cassadine out?"
"Hasn't come up. Suppose I'd let 'im in if it's a match or less. They do have a habit of taking over but the kids seem to work well together. Dear Heaven! I'm babysitting." Jax realizes.
"How do you think I felt all those years with you? At least Em wants to keep things in the US. Last time I talked to Carly she still wants to buy up all of Darwin bit by bit."
"She ticked ELQ is still doing business in Jakarta?"
"Oh yeah, she thinks its too high risk." Jerry laughs. "But she wants me to give her flying lessons."
Jax chokes on his beer. Jerry beats him on the back with enthusiasm. Jax finally chokes out... "door." and points.
Jerry looks around and sees a dark figure about to leave. He goes to the door and opens it ready for about anything. "Ricky? What the hell are you doing here in Port Charles?"
"Freezing my ass off! You got company. I'll come back another time."
Jax points at the guy. "I know you." Then realizes he should have kept his mouth shut.
"Yeah, you're the guy who answered the door in a towel over at that Ardanowski chick's place."
"Oh Really!" Jerry grins and draws out the comment. Jax studies his beer.
There is a cry of total agony from upstairs. Jerry races up the stairs two at a time bursting into Lucas' room and flipping on the light. "It hurts... it hurts." Lucas cries. "Jerry, make it stop!"
Jerry rips back the covers and grabs Lucas into a tight hug. "What hurts? Where?"
"My legs... everywhere... they hurt."
Ricky winces from the doorway. "You got to tough it out, man. I know it hurts just hang tough."
"He's diabetic!" Jerry snarls.
"Yeah-- so? I don't think that's what it is. Been there, man." Ricky tells Lucas. "You got to rub them out. Maybe a hot shower but it's gonna hurt until it stops."
"I want my Mom!"
Jerry reaches across Lucas to the phone and dials the hospital a quick glance has him praying she is following her routine and is charting at the nurses station. "Bobbie? I'm bringing Lucas in."
"Your wife, she's the nurse right?" Jerry nods impatiently torn between the two conversations going on. "Tell 'er it's growing pains... bad ones."
Jax winces as he realizes Ricky is probably right. He sits down on the other side of Lucas and starts rubbing Lucas' lower leg firmly. "This keeps up and you might as well cancel the boot order. You'll be out of them by morning, tomorrow at the latest." Jax exaggerates.
"I need those boots before the next show. I'm gonna beat Rita for sure." Lucas hiccups. The leg that Jax was working on was feeling better some. He sits up and starts rubbing the other one watching the way Jax does it.
"Rita? You know Rita? "Bout this tall." Ricky indicates with his hand about five foot.
"Real bossy." Lucas nods. "She thinks she's hot 'cause she rides my sister Carly's horse."
Jerry says in an overly calm voice. "Your mum wants you to check your sugar. If it's fine and you're feeling better then she'll come straight home. Anything out of wack and she'll stay where she's at and we'll go to her."
Lucas sighs and reaches over on his bedside table and into the drawer. He does a quick test. Ricky and Jax flinch at the needle even if it's just a little stick and a drop of blood. Lucas reads it. "I'm cool."
"A couple tylenol then." Jerry relays from Bobbie. "I'll go get them. Here talk to her." Jerry hands the phone to Lucas and walks from the room.
"Be right back." Jax indicates with a pat of a hand. He walks out in the hallway where Jerry is sagging against the wall.
Jerry looks up and exhales. He holds out his hand and the tremors are obvious. "Jesus. I'm a wreck."
"It's your kid." Jax reassures. "And those things hurt like a dozen charley horses. All the worse in the middle of the night."
Inside Lucas' room he's hung up from talking to his mom and starts rubbing again. Hard like Jax had. "So you had these too?"
"The worst. My dad freaked and took me into the hospital the first night it happened. Xrays, bloodwork the whole nine yards convinced I was dying or something and none of the doctors would tell him different." Ricky pulls up a chair. "This nurse finally got fed up with all the poking and prodding and took my dad aside. Told him she was probably out of line but that she'd gone through it with her kid. You're what... twelve going on fifteen or something right? That's when guys start having major growth spurts. I grew like four inches in one year. And everything grows at different rates... bones, muscles, tendons. If the bones are growing faster than the muscles can keep up-- WHAM! Wake up screaming."
"So what do you do?"
"A lot of stretching." Ricky nods. "Got to keep the muscles loose. They get tight and bunched and you're setting yourself for an evening of agony."
"You must think I'm a big baby." Lucas is feeling better enough to be embarrassed.
"No way, man. I swear I think I screamed loud enough for my mom to hear and she was a continent away. I caused such a ruckus which is what got my dad to freaking."
"Four inches?" Lucas inquires greedily. He was really getting sick of being the shortest person in his class.
"One year." Rick nods. "Let me guess your mom's been telling ya... don't worry you'll grow give it time." Ricky fakes a feminine voice.
"Yeah."
"'Well time just hit. Girls stop growing up about Rita's age. She might get a couple of inches that's it and she's done. Guys start your age and keep going til my age maybe even older."
"No way."
"David Robinson. I rest my case."
"The basketball player?"
"Yep. Under six foot when he entered the Naval academy-- that's college.. six foot eight when he left and had to defer his being drafted in the NBA cause he had to do his time in the Navy. They finally let him out to go to the NBA when he hit seven foot one. I don't think he could fit through the hatches on the ships anymore. Do the math-- that means he didn't stop growing until he was like what...24?"
"Whoa." Lucas yawns, leans back against his pillow and changes the subject. "You talk like Maddy. Who are you?"
"Rick Robideau. My dad is friends with Jerry. And about Maddy- Yeah well, we're from the same town. You're quite the ladies man, I guess. Rita, Maddy-- probably know Emily Quartermaine too."
"She hangs with Carly and Rita." Lucas yawns again. "They got kidnapped together... Rita and Emily I mean. They were riding home from the last horseshow together on Emily's Harley. The bad guys forced Emily to dump her bike. It landed on her foot and then they dragged them both off to an abandoned building. Carly was freaking out. I had to take care of Mom and Michael, that's my nephew, while everyone was looking for them. Em knew her foot was broken so she told Rita to make a run for it the first chance she got. Rita did, but the guy grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the wall to stop her from kicking his ass--cause she would have kept fighting until she was either able to get away or out cold. She had a black eye for weeks." Lucas exaggerates slightly.
"The Rita I know doesn't have long hair. It's kinda short and curly."
"Now. She used to have hair all the way down her back. Rita used a shard of mirror to cut off all her hair and then busted out one of the windows where they were being held and hung the braid from it. That's how her brother found her. He looked up and saw the braid."
"Wow. Kinda ballsy."
"Yeah, she's always thinkin'."
"What about her sister Vicki? She seems like kinda a fox. I'm new in town... maybe I should ask her out." When hell totally freezes over.
Lucas laughs. "Oh man. You'd have to ask my sister Carly about her. Or Jerry. She's a bitch."
"Master Stefan?" Mrs Lansbury knocks softly on her boss' bedroom door before entering. She'd seen the light under the door and knew he was probably up reading as was his habit.
"Yes, Mrs Lansbury."
"Lucky Spencer is here."
Stefan looks over at his clock and frowns. It was after midnight. "I'll be right down."
"Yes sir." Mrs Lansbury retreats.
Stefan carefully places a bookmark in the first edition he'd been reading and rises from the highback chair next to the fire in his room. He tightens the belt on the gray silk robe he is wearing over his pajamas. Stefan goes down the stairs to the main room of Wyndemere. "Lucky? Isn't it rather late?"
"You think I want to be seen here during the day?! You wanted progress reports on the backgrounds I was doing on Ford and Larkin."
Stefan lifts a brow. Already. Young Spencer had been busy. "What have you discovered?"
"Ford is boringly clean. He was probably born to be an FBI beaurocrat. Wife, kids steady progress up the chain. Decent grades in school middle of the road through the academy." Lucky hands Stefan a sheaf of papers. Some of them have coffee stains on them but the work is solid and detailed. "He's no rocket scientist. He's a plodder. Bit by bit, clue by clue he builds cases and while he doesn't have as many cases as other agents his age-- he hasn't lost any major ones either. Kinda like a bloodhound. He isn't gonna set any speed records but he is going to get what he is after eventually. He transferred into Albany from Kansas City bout a year ago."
Stefan grunts as he reads through the information. Lucky's summation appears on target. "What about Larkin?"
"That one has question marks all over him." Lucky winces as he says the next. "He's a cowboy. There was some sealed stuff from before he went to college that I can't get to. We're talking needing a real B&E to get the hardcopies from his hometown. Apparently became a choir boy in college and law school. Joined the FBI and first assignment pulled Miami."
"Florida correct?" Stefan murmurs.
"Right... big city... port of entry for lots of drugs, illegals. Guess for one of those Fed types it can really make a career. Made some big busts, punched a few guys tickets.... started building a rep. Next stop Los Angeles. Did the same thing there. Real rising star and then he hits New Orleans. And evidently New Orleans means Robideau. Kinda like getting you or Granny Helena would make any WSB agent's day."
"Thank you. I think." Stefan says wryly. Granny Helena? What has Madeliene been up to?
"But he got burned a couple of different times trying to place someone in Robideau's organization. The snitches either doubled and were giving more info to Pete than they were giving to Larkin or they just relocated to nobody knows where. He got pulled back to Quantico for some more training. There are some blank years that I couldn't get hold of and then he was back in New Orleans. No wife, no kids, no steady girlfriend or boyfriend, no house, leases his car."
"So he could become the invisible man." Stefan snaps his fingers.
"And has. I figure at least a few of the holes where he dropped off the map he was doing undercover stuff. He knows the OCB is the ticket to getting ahead but..."
"What?"
"There is a pattern of cases that kind of just disappear off the map... he's gung ho on them and then they just dry up. He had some kind of IA investigation on him when he was in LA came back unfounded. That's all I got... one line item-- Allegation unfounded."
"Excellent progress." Stefan compliments. "What is your next line of inquiry?"
"Follow the money, man." Lucky rolls his eyes. "I happen to know a couple of Swiss bankers." Stefan looks down and runs his hand over his face to disguise his smile. He recalled perfectly Lucky's introduction to those bankers. Lucky frowns his intuition hard on the problem. "That's not right. If this guy is messing up-- he'd be doing it with stuff he knows. Like his home town. Or his first tour was Florida... I bet he'd go Caymens. This would be a hell of lot easier if I had some credit card numbers. See where he goes on vacation... what he's spending his frequent flier miles on. I'm outta here. I'll swing by if I find out anything interesting."
"Are you informing Madeliene of your progress?"
"Nah. She knows what I'm doing. If I find anything then I'll let her know but I figured you for the anal type." Lucky needles before leaving.
Stefan scans the papers then gets on the phone. "Reese? Yes, I am well aware of the time. I have a task in need of a personal touch. I need copies of a closed juvenile file of a John Larkin and any collaterial information related to the contents." Stefan gives the name of the hometown. "When you have completed that fly directly to Los Angeles and request further instruction. You can sleep on the plane." Stefan hangs up. He glances over to the clock on the mantle. He'll call Madeliene in six hours and arrange for a chess match today after her instruction. Granny Helena indeed and she has yet to cash the insurance check.
Taggart rolls onto his back and exhales heavily. He tugs Dara closer to him. "You sure you don't mind me coming over so late?" He murmurs softly against the top of her head.
"It's not like I have to be up early in the morning. I was up watching the elections results anyway." Dara says practically. "We'll have a new president in the morning. Heck I might even make you a real breakfast to celebrate. After you go to work I can sort through some closets. I've been putting off spring cleaning for a couple of years now. No time like the present."
Taggart winces. "This is so screwed. The guys know you've already gone to Alexis."
Dara stops her tracing of Taggart's tattoo. "Damn. Who needs the Herald?" She untangles herself from her lover and grabs her robe sliding it on quickly. She goes to the adjoining bathroom and fills a couple glasses of water from the tap. She comes back and curls up on top of the bed handing one of the glasses to Taggart.
"Most of them figure it was a smooth move considering. But..."
"Where there is smoke there is fire." Dara mutters. "I might as well start prepping my resume for Podunk, Outer Mongolia."
"You talk to Maddy lately?"
"Not really. I called her using the L&B phones. We kind of agreed to keep off our own turfs. Mine because it's being watched and hers so that the feds won't find it. The only real constant is her time at the mansion when she is going to school. The rest of the time she is all over town. She isn't just running coffee stands, is she?"
"I'm thinking not. It's got something to do with that book of hers she always carries around." Taggart agrees. "If they really want her they can get her. All they have to do is stake out one of the kiosks and then tail the van. Sooner or later she'll go to ground. You know what she did after she left here that night?"
"What?"
"Went to look for one of her customer's dog. He got locked up and she was worried about his pooch. I hope to hell she is being careful."
"I told her to put you on her speeddial so you can get there until I can." Dara tells him.
"What she should be doing is wearing the medallion she wears when she is working the coffee stands."
"What medallion?"
"It's one of those panic buttons that connect to 911." Taggart hates asking it but feels he has to. "What does Maddy know about Robideau?"
"Nothing." Dara says with emphasis. She'd been expecting this question for days. "Maddy says she likes it that way and so does he. While I believe her-- frankly, she could have been a witness to him doing the Valentine's day massacre, and I don't think she'd say anything." Dara sets her empty water glass on the table next to the bed. Taggart cuddles her in close again. "I really screwed up, Marcus. I'm about ten years too late to be any kind of confidante for my niece. I found that out down in New Orleans-- loud and clear. Lisette passed on all the bad blood that my mother fostered between us. I would have been the last person Lisette called for help. She never did call. Maddy was the one who called finally when she wanted to disappear. And even then I didn't know the whole story. Robideau's mother and Miz Sophia did any raising that got done with Maddy."
"What about her father? Is he in the picture at all? Another place for Maddy to jet if we can't protect her here?"
Dara shakes her head. "I have no idea who he is. Lisette may or might not have known. It was Scarlet Letter time at the old homestead when she came home from Mardi Gras pregnant. Mom let her stay at the house but I was constantly getting calls up at school of Mom bitching about Lisette and how she couldn't hold her head up in church after what her wayward daughter had done. If Lisette knew she wouldn't have told-- just to jerk my mother's chain. I don't think Maddy knows. But then her not telling me is not any indication of her knowledge."