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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Seventy
All over Town.
With a careful gait Emily makes her way from the bedroom to the kitchen. It isn't the first time she's been on crutches but it seems she has to relearn the technique every time. Monica seems a million miles away. "Hey Mom."
"OH God, Baby!" Monica runs over to Emily hugging her close. "I was so worried, so scared." Monica brushes a shaking hand over Emily's face.
"Me too." Emily hugs her back but winces.
"Are you okay?"
"Sore. Very sore." Emily admits. She limps to the dining room table. "What do you know?"
"I know it was Orchid, whoever the hell that is. I know she shot you up with drugs. And I know your dad casted your foot and gave you narcan." Monica takes a seat next to Emily. "Is that going to be enough, sweetie?"
"I hope so." Emily sighs. "I ache, Mom. From the bones out but I have to try on my own first. I have to hold on to it only being three days, three days after being clean for over a year."
"And it wasn't your choice." Monica reassures her. "It wasn't the addict in you breaking your program. It was sabotage. Like what that gold digging, bitch did to AJ, drugging him and then dumping him in that laundry cart." Monica adds bitterly.
"Mom, that was over two years ago. AJ made peace with it."
"I'm not going to talk about her. She just makes me furious." Monica tries to shake it off.
"Believe me I know." Emily looks over to Johnny who was just coming from the downstairs into the Kitchen. He has a newspaper tucked under his arm. "How bad is it?"
"Could be worse." Johnny says cheerfully.
"Oh that's comforting. Let me see." Johnny hands her the Herald. Pictures of Emily and Orchid are above the fold. The headline reads Quartermaine Heiress Rescued; Kidnappers still at Large. Emily skims through the article. "Okay-- this is not too bad. They don't mention Rita by name. Someone at the PCPD got chatty mentioning Sonny though." Emily hands the paper to her mother. Johnny goes into the kitchen to start preparing french toast.
Monica glances through the front page too. "We have to make arrangements to get you back to the house."
Johnny pauses mid whisk. "I really think that's a bad idea. At least until the kidnappers are found or the press presence dies down. One or the other sure but both?!"
"Mom, you aren't going to like hearing this, and I'm sorry if it hurts but it's quiet here. I just want a little time. Time to catch my breath, time to get ready for the house."
"I'll take you to Italy!" Monica suggests enthusiastically. "We had fun there. And it gave you a breather from the disaster before."
Emily flips her casted foot up onto a nearby chair. "I'd love take you up on that but as you can see a walking tour of Italy is kind of out right now. In fact I think it's out for at least six weeks. And realistically Mom, the press in Europe is actually nastier than the press here. When we went to Italy before, I might have been a Q but only a minor one and the modeling thing hadn't really hit yet. But I'll make a deal with you."
"What kind of deal?" Monica asks.
"Thanksgiving. It never goes right at the mansion anyway. If you want to go to Italy then, I'm your girl." Emily promises. She crosses her fingers for luck. "Hopefully everything will have died down by then."
Monica slowly grins. "What a brilliant idea. We should make a new tradition."
"And maybe do a little, pardon the expression, kidnapping of our own and steal Lila away too. Let the guys bach it for a week. It's not like they wouldn't be having pizza anyway."
The Quartermaine mansion. Edward, Lila and Alan gather around the table. Ned and Alexis come through the french doors having walked up from the gatehouse. Edward harrumphs at their cozy hand holding. "That's it. I'll pay you two to elope. We have an impressionable teenager living here and you two shacking up is setting the wrong example. I've only one condition-- Emily can't be at the ceremony."
"Darling, you're being superstitious." Lila teases.
"Mother, she is three for three." Alan reminds her ruefully.
Ned pours himself and Alexis some coffee. "Where is Emily? With the press out there standing guard I figured she'd be in the house."
"The damn press is exactly why Emily isn't here." Edward mutters. "Girl isn't safe to come home to her own house. Instead is staying in a safehouse, without her family, afraid of the dark..."
"Afraid of the dark?" Ned stops in mid pour. The others could be pushed off as Edward's ranting but that was too odd of a comment.
Alan explains. "She and Rita were kept in a boarded up apartment with no or very little light. Only water to drink. Emily was injured in the actual abduction. When the kidnappers cut her off the motorbike fell on her, breaking her ankle and leaving it untreated the entire time. Luckily Emily had the forsight to not remove her boots. It provided a little support. And the leathers and helmet protected her from any other injury. Rita was injured while trying to escape."
"Those poor girls." Alexis sympathizes. "Are they both being kept in a PCPD safe house until the kidnappers are caught?"
"Actually the PCPD didn't find the girls. Cook's son, Johnny found them." Lila tells Alexis. "He called Jason, and Jason brought Alan in to check on the girls." A horrible situation to be sure but the silver lining had to be Jason asking his father for anything.
"While I was setting Emily's ankle, Sonny Corinthos drove Rita to her father's house. The PCPD is guarding the Judge's house like it's fort knox since he is still on that case."
"Oh that's right." Alexis nods wondering still where Emily is. Nikolas is going to want to know. "It should be going to jury anytime."
Ned pulls Alan aside. "This doesn't make sense. Emily should be home. We have security. What aren't you saying?"
Alan looks over at his parents before answering Ned in a tone so low it is almost a whisper. "They were shooting Emily up with drugs. So in addition to the ankle she is going through withdrawl. She didn't want to upset Mother and Father. While I want her home, I have to respect her need for peace and quiet. Both of which are in short supply in this house. Where she is at, she controls who has access to her."
Ned looks around. "Is that where Monica is this morning?"
Alan nods. "Mother and Father saw her last night but Monica was still at the hospital so she swung by there this morning. A few days-- by then Emily will be over the worst and be able to deal with this house. Hopefully by then the kidnappers will be in custody and the press will move on to something else."
Reggie enters and draws Edward's attention. He holds a brown bag by his side. Edward promptly drops what he is doing and goes out to the foyer with Reginald. "Did you get them?"
"One for every outlet." Reggie admits. He opens the bag for Edward to see inside there are an assortment of nightlights.
"Good make sure everything is ready when Emily gets home. And she said something about wanting an internet access set up in her room. But there should be some kind of filter thing on it so those cybersmut mongers won't be contacting her."
"Right. I'll take care of it." Reggie had already touched base with Lila and wasn't going to give Edward a ration for exposing his sensitive side. "And Miss Lila and Cook got together and got a name of a person who can take on the cooking duties." Edward is about to ask. "You don't want to know where." Reginald walks up the stairs to put away the nightlights.
Edward walks back into the front room closing the double doors behind him. "Was it eclairs, dear?"
"What? Oh no. Reginald just ran a small errand for me." Edward blusters. "Now about the tutors and driver for Emily."
"Excuse me, Father?" Alan protests. Who does his father think he is parenting his daughter?
"Well she won't be able to ride that....hog until she gets out of the cast. Or drive either for that matter." Edward defends himself.
"And one of the things that came out while listening to Taggart..." Ned hates agreeing with the old man. "Things aren't great for Em at the high school. She gets a ration on her best day and this is going to stir up alot of stuff. Her best friends, Lucky and Elizabeth, have both graduated and it sounds as if she has only one friend left there."
"Maddy Reynolds." Edward tells Alan. "Great girl, a real go getter. Totally wasted in that factory of mediocrity."
Down at the docks, Maddy sets up the kiosk for the day. She glances down at her watch. Damn Johnny. He should have been here an hour ago or at least sent someone around with the pastries. How in the hell was she suppose to find out what's going on? In answer to her question she looks over and sees Nikolas Cassadine sitting on the bench by the launch to Wyndemere. "Yo Eye Candy!" Maddy hollars and waves him over.
Nikolas groans but goes over to the kiosk. He orders a coffee for the heck of it. When he pulls out the money to pay a piece of paper comes out with it. The reverse directory number of the apartment above the restaurant. Ignoring Maddy he pulls out his cell phone and dials the unlisted number.
Cook.
Nik hangs up the phone. "Damn. I knew it."
"Knew what?"
"Emily is at Johnny Cook's apartment... and so is he." Nik's eyes narrow. It's the one of two places he can't talk himself into. If she'd been at the mansion, or at the PC Hotel or even at Carly Quartermaine's but no.
"Well that explains it." Maddy mutters.
"Explains what?"
"Why the pastry delivery is a no show." Maddy starts automatically rearranging the coffee kiosk to cover.
"You have to do something for me."
"Have to? I don't think so." Maddy shakes her head. "The last time I did something for you I ended up in Saturday School for talking on the phone in the library. I was supposed to work this Saturday. I had appointments. I had to reschedule all those appointments. You know how unprofessional that makes me look? And you try to find someone to cover a Saturday morning shift!"
Nikolas winces but recognizes a negotiating position when he hears one. "What do you want?"
"A favor to be named later-- two. One for the Saturday fiasco and then this."
"Deal." Nikolas hands her the cell phone. Maddy hits redial.
Cook.
"Yo Cook's Confections, this is your pastry and information deprived partner."
Maddy, did you just try to call here?
Maddy grimaces; she raises three fingers waving them emphatically in Nikolas' face. He hurridly nods. "Yeah, that was me--sorry about that. The battery was going dead on the cell. I had to change it so I could hear you. So any chance of getting some stuff down here?" Maddy can tell that Johnny is walking around she can hear a couple of women's voices in the background before Johnny covers the mouthpiece. He is back in a couple of moments.
Yeah, I can whip up a few things and be done there in about an hour.
"An hour." Maddy nods to Nik who is listening. "Hey if you happened to run into our other partner have her give me a call."
If I happen to see her. Johnny disconnects the call.
Maddy folds up the phone and hands it back to Nikolas. "Thanks I owe you." Nik tells her.
"Yeah, you do and I'll collect." Nik starts walking off. "Hey Niknik, if Emily was there-- she isn't the only one. I heard a couple of different women's voices."
The Judges house. JD slowly and carefully opens the door to Rita's room not wanting to wake her. He smiles at the familiar sight. Rita is sprawled out in the middle of her bed on her stomach. Covers are this way and that, her pillows are thrown to the floor. Rita sleeps the same way she goes through life, full speed ahead and into everything. He sits down on the edge of the bed brushing a shaking hand over Rita's butchered hair. He'd almost lost her. Rita arches her neck moving from her right cheek to her left cheek grinding her nose into the mattress in the process and then back again. Slowly she opens her eyes. "Daddy?"
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake you."
"'s okay." Rita tucks her legs underneath her and rising to her knees and gives a little stretch. She looks at what her father is wearing. "You're going into work?!"
"I have a sequestered jury, baby." Rita knows exactly what that means. Even if her father was in the hospital on his deathbed he'd hauling himself to the courthouse. He hated sequestered juries and thought it was unfair for any lolligagging to make their duty longer.
"Well it's a good thing I got kidnapped on a weekend." Rita rolls her eyes.
"Don't say that." JD already feels rotten. "I'll be home as soon as I can."
"Put exlax in their coffee, Daddy. They'll decide fast enough."
"I'd have to check the precedents but I'm fairly sure that would be considered Jury tampering. Tempting but tampering none the less. Carly is downstairs with Cookie waiting for you to wake up."
"Wow." Rita straightens. "Carly would be the Queen of Snooze Alarms if she didn't break them instead. She only wakes up for something important like shopping or going anything to do with the horse."
"Or checking on you." The Judge brushes a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "I'll seriously consider the exlax." Reluctantly he leaves shutting the door behind him. Rita jumps up from the bed and with the skill of long practice remakes the bed and throws on her robe. She goes down to the kitchen where sure enough Cookie and Carly are sitting at the kitchen table having a cup of tea. Rita slides into the seat next to them.
Carly runs a hand over Rita's hair and then standing up presses a kiss to the top of her head. "Great Hack Job, kid. And extremely smart thinking. You saved yours and Emily's bacon both. I talked to her last night. She is doing okay. Em is staying over at your brother's place but that is just between the three of us."
"Have they caught them yet? The kidnappers I mean?"
"Nope, not last I heard." Carly looks at Cookie for confirmation. "But they are so screwed. Everyone is looking for them: the cops, the FBI, all of Jason and Johnny's friends. Everyone knows who they are. There isn't a rock small enough for them to crawl back under. And if there isn't enough problems for those two, they kidnapped the daughter of the one impartial judge in the world. So screwed." Carly smiles at the thought an evil malevolent grin.
Rita sees the blood lust in Cookie and Carly's eyes and decides to change the subject. "Where is Michael?"
"Michael is home with his papa. AJ is working at the house today because we're under seige by the press again. But now for the reason why I'm really here." Carly hands Rita a present. Rita tears open the package and holds up a pendent.
"What is this?"
"It's a panic button. It's hooked up to Arrow Security. That's the security guys for my house. If you get a flat tire on your bike, break your arm, see an accident or a guy gets frisky with you on a date when you start dating..."
"In about a million years if your father has anything to say about it." Cook interjects.
"They have someone monitoring 24/7. Once you activate it you can tell the monitoring station what the problem is and they can locate you. I got one for Emily too." Carly strings the pendant around Rita's neck. "And now for the second reason... I've come to break the two of you out of here. Mr Roberts hasn't been ridden since the show and he is starting to get frisky."
"I don't have to go to school?" Rita questions Cookie not believing that her stepmother is going along with this. The last time she had voluntarily ditched school she had ended up scrubbing pots and pans at the restaurant.
"Your dad already checked in with the school and they are sending your homework via email to his office at the courthouse. It's not like either of us can go to the restaurant. That would just draw attention there..."
"Yes!" Rita races from the kitchen to get changed.
"She sure bounces back." Carly grins at Cook. "After the riding we can go to the spa. One of the stylists there can trim up the ends on her hair. Give her something topical to cover the bruising. Let me guess though the school didn't want her there today?"
Cookie nods. "They don't trust those bastards any more than any of us do. The school isn't equiped to handle being staked out by newscrews. They've given Rita the week off. She has to start back on Monday. Hopefully things will have calmed down by then."
As soon as Rita gets back, they all shrug into their coats and climb into Carly's SUV. Rita is already familiar with the procedure having seen how Carly hid Michael from the press. She ducks down behind the seat, covering herself with a blanket. With Carly driving and Cookie riding shot gun they make their way through the gauntlet of press surrounding the judges house barely slowing down. As they pass by Carly gives them her nonverbal opinion of their job with a one fingered salute. Cookie makes sure the press on the passenger side get the message as well.