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When Cassadines Fall
Sunday, Sunday
Jax arrives back at V's apartment after his morning run. Some mornings he can drag V out with him but she prefers to run in the evenings after work. He juggles the paper and bag of sunday doughnuts as he opens the door. Dunkin' was the only thing open this early. Going into the kitchen, he sets up the french press and puts the water in the kettle to heat. The Sunday Herald is fat with ads and extra sections. He sorts through it rapidly skipping the business to go to the People section. Opening up the bag he absently grabs a doughnut taking a big bite as he turns to the top of page two. There it is-- the write up of the fund raiser the night before. Amanda Barrington's file picture is at the top next to the headline. "Bull's eye."
Ricky knocks on the window to get Rita's attention. She nods and lets him in to the closed restaurant. "Hey."
"How did last night go?"
"Profitable. How bout you? Did you find a job and a place to stay?"
"Yep. Nothing fancy and it's nights but I have the weekends off. I'm staying over Jason Morgan's motorcycle shop. I really appreciate you clueing me in about the Q's being here last night."
"How much longer is you being here going to be a secret?"
"That's up to the bad guy. He starts moving and so do I. The fewer people who know that I'm in town the better."
"Well then you'd better eat and run. I've got a full book for Sunday brunch and lots of stuff to do."
"You got time to see my car?"
"Let me go tell Cookie you're here. You want her to just fix you something?"
"Sure."
"Kay. I'll be right back." True to her word, Rita comes back zipping up an oversized parka. "She said five minutes. Then I have to get back to work."
"You don't get much slack do you?" Ricky holds the door open for Rita.
"What do you mean?" Rita asks defensively.
"School, work, they even pick what you read. You're just a little girl. Sounds like alot of pressure."
"You don't know ****." Rita says angrily. "I pick what I want to do. I work cause I want to and Cookie isn't going to play favorites cause I'm her stepdaughter. If you're going to do something-- then do it right. I like coming to the restaurant. I like going to work with my Dad. And I like my school; the other school was boring."
"Whoa! I didn't mean to tick you off." Ricky holds his hands up in a surrender motion. "I was just wondering what you did for fun. So far all I've heard about this place is the mall or icefishing."
"I have fun. I go riding all the time up at Carly's place." Rita relents a little. "Look, my stepmother is new at this or rather out of practice since Johnny's all grown. She knows better than anybody it's a big bad out there and wants to make sure I'm safe. Getting kidnapped didn't help any. You see this?" Rita pulls out a medallion from under her parka.
"What is it?"
"It's a panic button that connects directly to the Arrow Security offices. Carly gave this to me after the kidnapping. It's like a mini telephone. I press it and they can hear everything going on and track where I am. If I had, had it before Em and I got snatched then those sickos wouldn't have been able to shoot her up with drugs and everyone wouldn't have been scared to death looking for us."
Ricky grimaces as he sees it. If he had to wear something like that he'd freak. The kid is tagged like some kind of wild animal. But he figures that is not what Rita would appreciate hearing. "Emily Quartermaine shot up with drugs, everyone else scared to death... what about you?"
"It wasn't about me." Rita shrugs.
"Weren't you scared to death?"
"I knew Johnny would find us and he did."
"Then why did you make a break for it?"
"How did you know about that?"
"I have my sources.... Jerry Jacks okay?"
"A couple of different things could have happened before Johnny found us." Rita muses. "They could have killed Emily with those drugs. Or they could have started shooting me up with them to make her do what they wanted. That's what they threatened. I had to try."
"Where are they now?" Ricky asks quietly.
"Nobody knows. Or whoever knows isn't talking. Like I said. Some people just need killing. Lt Taggart gave Emily back her motorcycle. He figures they'll never come in front of the court. Is this it?" Rita points to an old car.
"Yep. Looks like nothing from the outside but everything works underneath." Ricky pats the roof of the car affectionately.
"Kind of like you eh? An incognito car for an incognito guy."
"Exactly. Anyone ever tell you you have a real criminal mind?"
"That's why Cookie doesn't want me reading the true crime stuff anymore. She thinks it's bad enough when I sit in on my Dad's big cases and read his books. Daddy thinks it's kind of cool though. He told her I was becoming a lawyer the old fashioned way."
"How's that?"
"Reading the law. That's the way they did before they had all the law schools. You could study with a lawyer and then just take the test. You still can in some states. I did a lot more of that when I was at my old school. Cause it was boring. I had plenty of time for other stuff."
"You're not really thirteen are you? You're like a forty year old midget."
Emily knocks on the back door of Wyndemere Lite. Because of this errand before church and then taking Michael over to AJ and Carly's she'd grabbed one of the family cars. Maddy is up and dressed already. She looks over and seeing Em opens the back door. "Hey."
"Good you're up. Sunday morning and I figured you all might sleep in. I can't stay long. I normally go to early mass with Jason and Michael."
"I did sleep in... but I've already been to the kiosks that are open on Sunday to help with set up.... and I picked up this." Maddy holds up the Herald. "You want some coffee?"
"Sure." Em shrugs out of her coat hanging it over the back of the chair. She reaches for the paper.
Maddy snags it out of her hand. "uh-uh. You were there. I'm the one playing catch up."
Em looks around. "There is something missing. Where is Cinnamon?"
"After we got back from the kiosks she went to check on Nik. Making her own rounds thing. Haven't seen her since. It's kind of sweet. It's like she's claimed Niknik as her peeps. I think she really misses Larry and the whole guy vibe."
"That is so cute!" Em exclaims. "Come on start reading I can't stand the suspense."
Maddy brings over some fancy coffee drinks and slides on over to Em. She pulls apart the paper and grabs the People section. Front page has some stuff on the fundraiser. She turns the page and there on page two... "Bingo. Gotcha."
"Let me see. Let me see."
"I can't believe you didn't read this at the mansion."
"Reggie confiscated the paper early for the grandparents and their meal trays. They were having breakfast in bed. And I really didn't want to join them."
Maddy looks up from the article. "You don't think they actually..."
"As ticked off as Grandfather gets when she won't let him in her bedroom... yeah. Whole other reason to get ticked at Amanda. I was going round spreading the cheer of grandmother. At the same time she was whispering in peoples ears how old and frail grandmother is. You should have seen the way she was all simpery around Grandfather." Emily flutters her eye lashes and then makes gagging noises.
"It's the curse of their age group, girl. The women seriously outnumber the guys. A guy makes it to Mr Q's age and he is in dog heaven. Here it is..."
Mrs Amanda Barrington informed this reporter that Barrington Industries will be sponsoring the next major charity event-- The General Hospital Nurses' Ball....
Maddy holds out her hand and Em slaps it. "Poor Lucy."
"Good news for Deception though. You know what Lucy Coe will be doing for the next six months."
"I am so going to be up to my ears." Emily nods. "This take over thing of Helen of Troy and merging the assets of the new companies... Other than the trip to Italy with Mom I'm going to be working night and day making sure this works-- probably all the way through Christmas!"
"Oh you and me both. I'm already in my busy season and it's going to just get hairier after Thanksgiving all the way to New Years. I swear I must have thirty plus messages a day in my voice mail. And I have to vet everycall to make sure it isn't Larkin related."
"You thought what everyone is getting in their Christmas corporate packages for ELQ and Deception?"
"Let me show you what I have." Maddy gets up and grabs her dayplanner/work bible. She flips to the lists. "This one is for Deception. Three different levels/ Annual bonus based on the formula you gave me. I figure use the bonus checks to individualize the baskets. Some actual stuff, some gift certificates. Each different level is priced. All the stuff in the baskets will be gift wrapped but the tag will say what it is."
"So the guys can turn around and part out their gift baskets as Christmas presents and stocking stuffers."
"Yep. Save them shopping time. Some people I know would consider that the real present!"
"Let me see ELQ's." Emily demands.
"I could get more creative with that one." Maddy admits as she pulls out the list. "ELQ has a broader base of products: Flier miles, hotel stays, different restaurant packages. But since it's also worldwide I also had to stay away from specific things."
"This is definitely no fruit basket!"
"Yeah, I'm really going to have to sell it with your grandfather. But he should see the benefit of ELQ employees using ELQ products and services."
Emily glances down at her watch. "Dang, I'm going to have to get going. I have to meet Jason for church. I'm going to be tied up with family and church stuff for the rest of the day."
"I'll talk to you tomorrow then." Maddy pours Emily's coffee drink in a to go cup that she'd snitched from the kiosks and tops it off with fresh coffee from the vacumn pot.
"We did it." Emily grins taking the cup.
"Yep. But no more outside projects until after the new year. We have got to sleep sometime."
"Deal."
The door bell rings at the Brownstone. Lucas comes out of the kitchen where he is helping Jerry make waffles to see who it is. Jerry's parents. He opens the door and lets them in catching the box out of Jane's hand as it slips.
"Thank you, Lucas." She says with a sigh. They should have driven over rather than carrying the stuff over from the house down the street.
"What's all this?" Lucas looks at it curiously getting out of the way so that the Jacks can enter.
"Things Jerry sent for us to hold while he was out of the country."
Lucas looks at the boxes with renewed interest. Some of them are postmarked the foreign countries. "Whoa Kewl!"
"Lucas, who is at the door?" Jerry calls from the other room.
"It's your parents and they brought stuff! Check it out, Jerry! This one is from the Phillipines!"
Jerry is wiping his hands when he comes into the front room. He'd like to send them away but sees how excited Lucas is from the postmarks. "What's all this?"
"Your things from Alaska that you've sent over the years. Lady Jane thought that now that you've settled you'd like to sort through them. She had all those rolls of film developed over the years and put them in albums for a travelogue of your life." John explains.
Bobbie comes down from upstairs. She is wearing a long silky robe over her PJ's. "That sounds great. I can't wait to get my hands on them. Other than a trip to the Dominican Republic and then our honeymoon in Iceland-- I don't think I've ever left the country."
Jerry sighs. "Have you had breakfast?" When his parents shake their head no (they'd have said no even if they had), Jerry turns to Lucas. "Set two more places."
Maddy wonders at the continued silence in the house. Still no sign of Cinnamon. She decides to check on the situation. She pours a cup of coffee for Nik and goes wandering. The door to Nik's bedroom is ajar. She eases it open with her shoulder and then swallows to hold back her laughter. Cinnamon had made herself right at home. The big dog is stretched out over the other half of Nik's bed with her head on his spare pillow. Nik had evidently turned over in his sleep and thrown an arm across her. Cinnamon hears Maddy at the door and lifts her big head up looking back at Maddy. Then allows her head to collapse back against the pillow with a sigh. Maddy bites her lip and retreats waiting until she is at the base of the stairs to crack up. Oh to have a camera. That was too cute for words.
The Carriage house. Lucky stretches behind the computer table. He peeks out the window and groans. The sun is up. Liz had reminded him that Audrey had the day off and was expecting them over at her place for brunch. She'd evidently gotten letters from her son and Sarah and wanted to share them with Liz. Course it would have been nice if Liz had gotten her own letters. But Liz's folks were so busy off saving the world that they seemed to have blown off that they had a younger daughter still back in the states. If it weren't for Audrey's periodic nagging you'd think Liz was an orphan. Hell if she was an orphan then her parents might pay more attention!
Lucky picks the phone up on the first ring. "Yeah?"
"Lucky, it's Mom. I wanted catch you before you went to bed to let you know I'm in town. I had to be back for the Wardhouse fundraiser last night. Any possibility of getting together today? I know Lulu would love to see her big brother. We're going to have to leave tonight to get back in time for school tomorrow."
"Lulu's registered for school down in Carolina?"
"Well of course. I didn't want her to miss anything."
Just all of her family. "Sure, Mom. Elizabeth and I will swing by the house." Lucky looks down at the broken pencil in his hand. Snapped clean in two and reviews Laura's call.... she'd been in town since last night... okay that big brother rather than brothers could be she was going to call Nik. And then them leaving again tonight. What in the hell is Mom thinking?
Liz stirs from the behind the gauzy hanging that surrounds their bed. The hanging serves a dual purpose. It kept the sunlight diffused when Lucky slept during the day and diffused his work light when she slept at night. "Who was on the phone." She mumbles into the pillow.
"My mom."
"Let me guess it's like seventy and shining and she wishes you were there?"
"Nope, she's in town and has been for at least a day. She and Lulu are flying back tonight."
Liz comes awake in the time it would take to snap a finger. She flips over and sits up holding the thick down comforter to her. "Rewind and replay. What did you say?!"
"She and Lulu were in town so Mom could go to the Ward House Fundraiser. She's flying back tonight to make sure that Lulu doesn't miss any school down in Carolina."
"You have got to be sh...." Liz bites her tongue. if you can't say something nice... this is his mother.She reminds herself. Liz reaches for the flannel shirt that hangs from the bedpost and shrugs into it. It covers her to a thigh level. She kicks off the covers and carefully puts her feet into her slippers so that her feet don't touch the icy floor. "I'll call my grandmother and let her know that Lulu is only in town for the day. She'll understand if we make it dinner instead of brunch. She's mellowed out on the family pressure thing since she got the invitation to Thanksgiving." if she had Lulu stay with a babysitter when we were all home last night I'm going to rip her bald. Liz reaches around Lucky to grab the phone. He pulls her down into his lap and listens to her side of the conversation while Liz revises the plan for the day with Audrey. "Okay. That's done. Hmm. We've got a little time. You want to crash for an hour? You're going to be up all day."
Lucky nuzzles on her neck. "Actually what was sounding good is a nice hot tub... with bubbles and someone to scrub my back."
"Well the someone had better be me. And you have to mop up any water that spills this time."
"Deal."
"I'll start the tub. You going to call Nik and arrange for him to go with us?"
"Yeah, I think that would be best."
"Casa Cassadine." Maddy answers the phone. "Lucky, why are you calling? The coffee is on I figured you to be here to get some." Maddy listens as Lucky fills her in. "For his little sis? I'm sure that Nik will rearrange whatever he has going today. 'Course he's going to have to kick that bitch out of bed that he's got with him. Talk to you later." Maddy hangs up before Lucky can say anything. Oh it's gonna hit the fan now.
Maddy goes to the base of the stairs and hollars up them. "Candy! Lucky is going to see your sister today and wants to know if you are going to go too?!" There is a rush of movement above and the clack of nails on hardwood floors as Cinnamon comes out of the bedroom upstairs and down the stairs. Nik is right behind her running a hand through his hair. Maddy's mouth goes dry. Damn the guy is fine. All muscle and a little treasure trail that leads right to the drawstring of his flannel bottoms. Even his feet... Don't go there, Reynolds. Rebound guy.
"What about Lesleylu? Lucky is going down to Carolina?" Nik questions from the landing above.
"Nah, your mom is in town. Lucky wants to know if you want to do the whole park... swings thing."
"I'll get dressed."
"Take your time. Lucky sounded like he was going to be busy for awhile getting ready. The coffee is on." Maddy goes back into the kitchen. First things first. She opens up the freezer compartment of the fridge and sticks her head in it. If that boy doesn't start wearing clothes around the house she was seriously going to jump his bones. She feels the sudden addition of about 90 lbs to her foot and looks down to see Cinnamon sitting on it. "You want outside? I'll go out with you. I need to cool off anyway."
Carly and AJ show up at the brownstone at a decent hour. The evidence of the early morning waffle fest has already been cleaned up and Jerry and Bobbie have gone upstairs to take a morning nap. "Hello family." Carly announces as she enters. "What are y'all doing this beautiful day?"
"Carly, come check this out!" Lucas hollars from the dining room. He has a stack of photo albums on the table. "This is so cool. Where ever Jerry went he would send his folks menus and a roll of film. Lady Jane made them into scrap books. See this is Jerry with a monkey in Macao. And here he is at a buddist temple in Japan getting to ready to hit this mondo bell with a bigass log."
"Whoa slow down." Carly pulls up a chair next to her little brother. "And quit swearing. I still have the LAVA soap in the car. And AJ will hold you down this time." She looks at the spines of the albums. Each of them are ID'd by year and places. She grabs the one for Indonesia and Darwin. "Honey, look." She grabs AJ's hand. "Here is Jerry blowing up ELQ Jakarta and he has the menu for the Greek place in Darwin I like!"