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The Quintessential Q
Chapter Eighty Three
Got to ff. Can't deal with Em being in the cast it's slowing her down. It was real don't get me wrong but talk about inconvenient from a story telling point. Just like when you really break something. I've been lucky and only broken a finger (right hand middle finger-- talk about an interesting splint, knocking on wood now.) but being right handed I can tell you that was a bitch royale. So this takes place four days after the last chapter.
The Honeymoon Is Over.
Saturday Morning, Port Charles Airport. The Quartermaine Private Jet throttles down smoothly, touching down as light as well... down. Taxing to the hanger and shutting down the engines. "Thanks mate."
"No problem, sir." The pilot converted to copilot for the landing replies to Jerry. "You're an excellent pilot."
"So are you, I just like keeping my hand in." Jerry pats the back of the captain's chair as he exits. He is gonna have to get one of these babies. The year is up. The feds are off his ass. He's free to start pirating again. Look out Wall St.-- Jerry Jacks is back. Jerry walks to the cabin area to collect his bride. "Bobbie, you ready to get back to reality? Pick up the munchkin, check in with your girl and invite them all over for a fish fry?"
"Jerry, you know Carly hates fish." Bobbie continues gathering her stuff from the luxurious accomodations of the Q jet.
"She'll eat it and like it! I caught it myself. It's salmon." Jerry grins. He cuddles Bobbie close to him laying smooches on the side of her neck. The time away had been just what they needed. No parents, no kids breathing down their neck-- a real honeymoon. No pressure just two weeks of fun in glorious Iceland. Jerry can hear the sound of the stairs being moved up to the jet and as they fit up to the plane he opens the back door. The person greeting them is not who he expects.
"PCPD. I have a warrant to search this plane." Taggart slaps the warrant in the middle of Jerry's chest.
The phone rings at the gatehouse. It is Alexis' cell phone. Alexis reaches over the back of the couch to grab it. "Alexis Davis-- Ashton.... Yes, a new development. What can I do for you, Jerry?" Alexis feet hit the floor searching for her shoes. "I'm on my way. This wasn't your one phone call was it?"
The phone rings at the Happy Family house. Emily picks up. "Hello? Bobbie hi!... I'm fine. How's your honeymoon; where did you go?... Iceland?! Are you kidding? What am I saying? What else could you expect from a Jacks!... No, Carly isn't here. She and AJ are out of town I don't expect them back until later. Lucas decided to go to Jason's with Michael for the weekend. It's a guy thing. Or at least that is what Lucas told me. When are you going to be home? ... Taggart did what? Oh Carly is going to be hot! Did Taggart say why? ... Oh Gees. Look call me when you get to the brownstone. If Carly calls I'll find out exactly when she is back.... Right. Take care." Emily bites her lip after hanging up the phone. Taggart isn't going to let go of the kidnapping.
"Was that Carly's mother?" Maddy asks looking up from the book she is reading.
"Yeah, Bobbie Jacks. She and Jerry just got back from their honeymoon and were greeted at the airport by Lt Marcus Taggart with a warrant to search the plane."
"Oh boy. What does Marcus think they are up to? More money laundering?"
"This has to be about the kidnapping. Bobbie and Jerry left the day after I was rescued. The day the kidnappers disappeared. It's logical. Wrong but logical."
Maddy looks at Em. So Nik told her about making Orchid and the photographer disappear. "Marcus will ask a few questions make a mess of MrQ's plane and be on his way... no worries."
"I wish he would drop it. I just want to try to forget the whole thing. I have enough of a reminder as it is with this." Emily taps her cast with a cane. Her last doctor's appointment she'd been upgraded to a walking cast and Lila had given her a choice of her old canes. "I'm going to call Jason and let him know Bobbie is back. I'd call Carly but AJ made her leave her cell phone home this weekend for some reason." Emily picks up the phone and starts dialing.
Maddy rises and grabs the two empty glasses on the coffee table. She and Em were spending the afternoon working on an academic assignment in the quietest place available. And with everyone out of town or on sleep overs the Happy Family house was the place to be. Em had gotten back in the habit of staying there when AJ and Carly are out of town. Once in the kitchen Maddy puts the glasses in the dishwasher and pulls out her cell phone. She quickly dials a number. "Nikolas."
"What's up?" Nik asks quietly. Maddy never called him by his full name. "I'm kind of in the middle of an auction here." Nik gets up from the back row and excuses himself over the glares of the surrounding patrons.
"Taggart is searching the Q jet as we speak. Evidently it left PC about the same time as Emily's kidnappers dropped off the face of the earth."
"Does Emily know?"
"Emily told me. She got the call from Carly Quartermaines' mother. Evidently she and her hubby had been using the jet to go on their honeymoon."
"Bobbie?"
"Yes, Bobbie that's the name. She was evidently calling her to check in with her daughter and Lucas."
"Where are you?"
"Em calls it the Happy Family house. Carly and AJ's. She's house sitting while they are out of town. Evidently really out of town. Em has no way of letting them know that Bobbie and Jerry Jacks have been detained."
Nik looks over the patrons of the auction. Carly and AJ are sitting in the middle of the assembly. "I'll take care of that. Let Em know Carly is on her way back. Thanks for the heads up, Maddy."
"How are you going to tell Carly and AJ, find them?"
"It'll be a piece of cake." Nik hangs up.
"Now that's a trick I'd like to see him pull off." Maddy mutters putting away her cell and going back to the study where Em is still on the phone to Jason.
Nikolas puts his cell into the inside pocket of his jacket. Flipping his program over he writes a quick note on it. A page is walking by. Nik grabs her by the arm. He whispers in her ear and then hands her the program and a twenty. The page nods tucking the twenty into her slacks pocket. Walking up the center aisle she leans over and whispers in Carly's ear and hands her the program.
<<< Family Emergency. Meet me at the back of the room. Michael is fine.>>>
Carly looks over her shoulder and sees Nikolas standing there. family? Bobbie! Carly is on her feet and moving. She drops the program as she goes. AJ picks it up and glances at it as he is moving to follow his wife. Carly is in Nikolas' face. "What happened to Bobbie?"
"She's fine... sorta. She and Jerry were detained by the PCPD when they came back from their honeymoon. Em didn't know how to get hold of you." Nikolas looks over Carly's shoulder to AJ. "Evidently Taggart had a search warrant for your plane."
"Taggart? Taggart arrested my mother?" Carly fumes. "Give me your phone." Carly dials the number she has memorized after snagging Nikolas' phone. It would be easier on her own since Taggart was on her speeddial but a girl's got to make do. When she hears Taggart on the other end of the line. "Who the hell you think you are arresting my mother? She's on her honeymoon for goodness sake. If my brother was there so help me..." Nikolas and AJ watch with fascination. AJ had seen Carly around Taggart before but Nik never has.
"Your mother isn't under arrest. She can leave at any time and your brother isn't here. Any other factual errors you want to pass along." Taggart tells Carly slowly as if to a two year old.
"Don't be a wiseguy. What about Jerry? Let me talk to Jerry." Carly breathes a little easier knowing that Bobbie isn't in custody.
"This is a police phone, not your personal party line." Taggart retorts.
"Either hand the phone to Jerry or I'm on my way down there." Carly trumps.
"It's for you." Carly can hear Taggart hand the phone to Jerry.
"No Jason. Everything is fine. It's just little mixup kind of like an extended customs inspection.... We should be home soon. So how did you end up with both boys and I hope they aren't running you ragged?... How is Lucas getting along without video games?.... You'll be happy to know Alexis is here. She'll straighten things out. And Ned came with her must be because of the plane belonging to the Q's." Bobbie is keeping up the patter of chatter while Alexis is in conference with Taggart. Alexis looks at the warrant carefully. Bobbie looks at her husband expecting to see him talking to Taggart too but he is on a cell phone. She focuses on what he is saying for a second and hears him say Carly's name. "Jason, I have to go. I'll call you when we leave the airport and are on the way to the brownstone. Jerry is going to be cooking a big dinner tonight and you're invited."
Jerry frowns at Bobbie having heard the last but he returns his focus to Carly. "No, we don't need a lawyer. Alexis is already here. No, we don't need bail money. And for goodness sake keep Luke out of this." Jerry vetos all of Carly's suggestions. "Your mum and I are fine. Look I'm cooking tonight so just bring your hubby and we'll all have a good laugh over this one." Jerry sees Bobbie motioning for the phone. "Your mum wants to talk to you." He hands the phone to Bobbie.
"Hey sweetie! How are you? How did you find out what was going on? Emily said you didn't have your phone with you?" A shadow falls across Bobbie and she looks up to see a disgusted Taggart with his hand out. "Honey, I'm going to have to talk to you later. Lt Taggart wants his phone back." Taggart takes the phone before Bobbie can disconnect the call.
"And don't call me. You'll only slow things down." Taggart tells Carly and then hangs up. It's about the only way he can get the last word in.
Happy family house. Maddy watches as Emily does a lame version of pacing. "Okay we can play this a couple of different ways." Maddy tells Em.
"Play what?" Em wonders.
"We can stay as far away from the situation as possible to keep the heat off of you..." and Nik. "You got to figure that the press are on this one. One of them have to have a scanner and heard the call. Or we can just say screw it and head to the airport. I bet they need a ride home."
Em looks at Maddy. She thinks about it for about half a second. "Screw it."
"Lets go." Maddy says cheerfully grabbing her keys. She waits while Em locks up, sets the codes and then they climb into the van for the short trip to the airport.
Alexis rolls her eyes while looking at the warrant partly because Taggart expects it and partly because she figures she is going to be doing this again when the Cassadine jet got back from Greece. "You're wasting everyone's time, Taggart. This is so thin I could sneeze through it. What would be Bobbie and Jerry's motive for kidnapping kidnappers? They aren't related to either of the victims. Bobbie is an upstanding member of the community and her husband's history has nothing to do with this kind of behavior. It's stretched beyond belief."
"It's the Quartermaine jet; it split the day after the girls were recovered. I have the warrant; I'm going to search." Taggart says flatly. He knew he'd have a better case if when the plane doors had opened it had been Sonny, Jason or one of their goons in the plane. "Jacks does have ties to the mob."
"No, I had ties to the mob's money. With emphasis on HAD." Jerry protests.
"Jerry, shut up." Alexis directs her client. "Are you abdicating law enforcement to the mob, Lieutenant? That's what it sounds like to me. The mob kidnapping kidnappers. I say again this is stretch. You don't know that the kidnappers are out of the country. All you know is that you can't find them. You don't know anything happened to them only that you can't find them. You are wasting everyone's time."
"It's mine to waste, counselor."
"Fine. This warrant is to search the plane and it's contents not my clients. Cut them loose." Alexis demands.
"My pleasure." Taggart turns to Bobbie and Jerry. "You're free to go." Bobbie starts collecting her things again. "The stuff stays until it's been gone through."
"Oh no, boyo." Jerry protests. "I've got forty pounds of freshly caught salmon on ice. And it's not going to go bad while you're taking your sweet time."
"A compromise, Taggart." Alexis suggests. "Jerry and Bobbie leave with their bare necessities and the perishables." Alexis looks over at Bobbie. "The rest of the things can be sent to the brownstone when the officers are through with their wild goose chase."
Taggart sighs. "Let me see the ice chest."
Maddy pulls into the private jet area of the airport. They wouldn't have gotten clearance if Emily hadn't pulled out her ID with the magic name Quartermaine on it. After seeing that the guard waves them through. Maddy can get close enough to the plane to pull up to the base of the moveable stairs. Maddy runs up the stairs her access is blocked to the plane by two uniform officers. Craning her neck around them she calls out. "Anyone need a lift back into town? The EBQ express is here."
Marcus turns around. "The what?"
"Emily Bowen Quartermaine express. She'd have driven but who needs the ticket right? You're Bobbie Jacks right?" Maddy slides between the two guards and then stretches a hand to Bobbie. "I was with Em at Carly's when you called. She thought you might need a ride home." Bobbie takes the hand and shakes it. "I'm Maddy Reynolds. I got to meet your daughter last week."
"What did she do?" Bobbie asks automatically.
"Nothing why?" Maddy looks at Taggart questioningly wondering where Bobbie is going with that comment.
"That's good to hear." Jerry also takes Maddy's hand. "Jerry Jacks pleased to met ya. You said something about a car?"
"Engine running, copilot waiting." Maddy says cheerfully.
"Second best offer I've had today." Jerry plants a hand in the middle of Bobbie's back urging her along. As soon as she starts moving, he grabs the searched ice chest and heads for the door as well.
Ned kicks back in one of the seats in the cabin. "I think Alexis and I will stick around to make sure the plane is still in working order when the cops get done. Tell Junior I want to talk to him about this one when he gets home. You'll see him before I do I'm sure."
"See ya, Marcus." Maddy waves as she exits the plane.
"Be good, Maddy." Marcus warns.
"Yeah, yeah right." Maddy keeps moving. At the base of the stairs she throws open the sliding side door of the van and then goes around to the drivers seat.
Bobbie climbs into the van settling into a plush chair in the back. Jerry slides in the ice chest and then climbs in himself shutting the door behind him. Emily turns in the front passenger seat. "Carly is going to be so bummed she missed all this."
"Carly called-- on Taggart's phone about fifteen minutes after I talked to you." Bobbie tells her. "I really appreciate you getting hold of her."
"I didn't." Em admits. "The only person I told you were back was Jason. Maybe Jason knew how to get hold of her since he had Michael and all."
"I called Nikolas." Maddy looks in her rearview to see the passengers in back. "He said he could get hold of Carly and her husband."
"Well that's curious." Bobbie looks at Jerry. "Carly doesn't really know Nikolas. How would he know where she was?"
Em tells Jerry and Bobbie a little bit of news. "Nikolas asked Carly if he could board Sheba in her stables. He said he'd been working such crazy hours at the hospital that Sheba was feeling neglected out there alone at the cottage all day every day. He and Lucky moved Sheba out there on Monday I think. So maybe Carly told him her plans."
Jerry and Bobbie look at each other. What the hell happened while they had been away. Bobbie hints around a request for information. "So what's been going on? What did Jerry and I miss?"
"Nothing." Emily says cheerfully. "Everything is back to normal."
Jerry groans. "That's what I am afraid of."