 |
||
The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Snapshot
Okay lets let a week pass. Carly is settling into her house. AJ is settling in at ELQ. Ned decided to not go on tour after all. Cook is in New York listening to a chef who she thinks is full of shit and the only thing that would have gotten her here was trying to get some breathing room from the Judge. The Judge is waiting on the results of his investigation into Cook and Johnny is waiting on his investigation of the Judge. Robin is still in town for school holiday but is keeping her distance from Carly and Jason is keeping his distance from Robin. Taggart is up to his ears in an investigation that will blow the cap off Ferncliffe, thanks to Carly Benson.
Jason has been trying to get Carly alone but she never is. Someone is always with her... Bobbie, Emily, or Jerry who Carly seems to be spending a lot of time with. Carly's life has fallen into a routine. A routine that Jason has memorized. He looks down at the watch Sonny gave him. She'd be at the riding academy now with Lucas. In an effort to be alone with Carly he'd discovered that Bobbie was working today. "Man, I'm cutting out of here if you got it handled." Jason tells Sonny from the doorway to Sonny's office.
"You think that you'll finally get to talk to her?" Sonny looks up from the paperwork on his desk. Sonny and Jason split the paperwork but Sonny got the bulk of the dealing with people paperwork while Jason worked the numbers. Sonny had more patience with the suppliers and the account reps. Jason intimidated people all the time while Sonny used his glower discriminately.
"Who knows. But if this drags out much longer I'm going to end up breaking into that house whether AJ is there or not."
"Oh that would go over so well." Sonny rolls his eyes. "Good Luck, I think."
The Judges chambers--
He's up to his ears in motions from overeager attorneys pushing their cases. Most can be settled with a simple yea or nay. There are a few that have merit and that he reads with interest before handing off to his law clerk to do the research on. And there are a few that he puts scathing comments on along with forwarding copies to the bar. Lord knows how some of these idiots passed the bar and it made you wonder about the idiots that were running the bar. Which reminded him-- he picks up the phone and dials a quick four digits on the internal system. "I want Dara Jensen in my office. Then get my investigator on the phone I want to know what the hold up is on that report I requested."
The Judge hangs up the phone and looks at the only photos on his desk: his girls-- Vicki and Rita. For the longest time even before his wife, Bitsy, had been killed by a drunk driver, they'd been his reason for living. Vicki was 18 now and looked just like her mother had: blonde, trim, proper. She was a freshman at PCU and tearing them up. She'd had plenty of offers for schools, ivy league schools, her mother's alma mater Vassar had recruited her heavily but Vicki was hung up on this Lady of the House thing. It had been all the Judge could do to get her to live on campus.
Rita was another story. Tomboy to the core, she was in the middle of everything. Some people had been stupid and unkind enough to wonder if she had been left by elves since there seemed to be nothing of him or Bitsy in her. Judge knew better. Rita was just like he had been. She didn't put up with the bull that people pushed on her and threw herself into anything that interested her with an abandon that seemed reckless on the outside but that the Judge relished and encouraged. The only thing that Rita seemed to have been unable to avoid even though it was a total girly stereotype-- she was horse crazy.
The Judge reaches into the middle drawer of his desk and takes out a worn black and white photo. Curled around the edges and over twenty years old it shows a young couple laughing in a darkened bar. The woman was dressed in an off the shoulder gauzy blouse that showed off her lush full figure and a miniskirt that showed off long trim legs. Cookie had been pragmatic even back then. "Show the customers a little skin and tips go up geometrically." She had told him. Her long dark hair hung in waves framing her face. The Judge traces her face with a finger. The photo had been with him forever. Sometimes he didn't look at it for months at a time but he never got rid of it. Just like he had never gotten rid of her, not really.
"Judge Porter, you wanted to see me?" Dara looks down at her watch hesitantly. She has to be in court in ten minutes but nobody turned down a summons from the head Judge of the circuit court of Port Charles-- nobody that wanted to keep their job that is. If Judge Porter barred you from his court room you couldn't work in this town. All the other judges would follow suit trusting the Judge's opinion.
"Come in and close the door." The Judge growls putting the photograph back in his desk and shutting it sharply. "I want to know what the hell you were thinking in State vs. Anthony Jones." Dara turns away from the Judge briefly to shut the door and winces when she hears what the topic of conversation is going to be.
The Riding Academy--
Lucas is up on Thunder and working a circuit of the ring practicing his posting. Other riders also work at their own pace. Carly leans up against the fence she calls out encouragement to Lucas now and then. She is focused on the busy ring but the hair goes up on the back of her neck. She looks around her and sighs. "Okay Taggart-- what do you want?"
"Let you know that your little tip has panned out." Taggart leans up against the fence as well looking at the little Richie Rich's out there riding in their fancy duds. He takes on a sneer as he looks at the junior version of Port Charles societies elite. Quartermaines, Barrington's, even Judge Porter's little princess was here. And he thought that the Port Charles country club had been whiter than white. He shakes his head. "How the hell did you get messed up with this crew?" He waves his hand around. "I figured you for beer and peanuts at Jakes not..." Taggart speaks through clenched teeth mimicking a mucky muck voice, "champagne and dressage, dahling."
"Do you have to be such an ass?" Carly protests then calls out to Lucas "Keep your heels down-- yeah, like that." She sends Lucas a thumbs up as he makes the correction and turns back to Taggart. "Horse crazy knows no economic boundary; you either have it or you don't. And if you do-- you find a way to ride: own, rent, borrow, beg or steal. Which I did, well not the own or steal but the others. Not that it's any of your business but this is one thing that my mother and I can get along on-- my brother's riding. She doesn't question my judgment when it comes his instruction."
"Must make for a nice change." Taggart says softly.
"It makes it none of your business. What do you want?" Carly tries to bring Taggart back to business.
"Grand Jury is meeting on the information you got me as well as some of the other stuff I pulled together. It's a slam dunk. Lorraine Miller might be a hard, cold, money grubbing bitch but she had the grand jury in the palm of her hand mostly cause she smuggled out pictures of what was going on as well as stealing security tapes, and making copies of invoices. How she got hold of both set of books for Ferncliffe I still have no idea."
"You don't want to know." Carly states flatly.
"Oh but I do." Taggart insists.
"Evans is like any other man-- he can be lead around by his ... privates. I got pictures of that too if you're interested."
"Lorraine and Evans?" Taggart shudders. "That's disgusting. I'll pass."
"Yeah, I'm sure he's wife will think so too when I send her the photos." Carly's eyes take on an evil glint.
"You want him destroyed, don't you?" Taggart says softly. Taggart might be a hard case but his manner with people he perceived as victims was very different than his way of dealing with the crooks.
"Wouldn't you? After everything that he did? And you know better than anyone that I can't trust the system to do it for me. Not after what happened with Tony. And Jason and AJ can never know what happened to me inside that hell hole. I want your word on that, Taggart. I gave you enough stuff to make your career, you owe me."
"You know there are places you can go, people you can talk to... "
"Yeah, right like I'm ever going to step foot in another shrinks office and put my trust in one of those mind benders. I'm dealing in my own way. I'm getting on with my life. This was the last thing I had to get done before I could put it all behind me."
"You want to see me take him down?" Taggart offers finally after a long pause.
Carly laughs and grins. "Oh yeah. I'd like that. I do so want him to know who finished him off."
"I think I can arrange that. As soon as the Grand Jury comes back with the paperwork; I'll pick him up. Where can I reach you?" Carly gives Taggart the number of her cell phone. Taggart departs.
"Timing is everything." Carly mutters to herself. "As soon as Tags calls I'll get the photos of Lorraine and Evans to his wife. No way will she bail him out then." Carly looks out over the arena and never one to mind her own business calls out to one of the people in Lucas's class. "Dammit Rita, You're rushing the jumps; you're going to kill yourself or the damn horse if you don't knock it off. Come here."
Johnny and Jason arrive at the arena in time to see Taggart leave. Johnny takes a quick survey of the building and then gets on his cell phone trying to track down information on the Judge. Benny was working on it too but he was the only one that could call his grandparents and see if they remembered anything. Jason makes his way over to Carly who is talking to a young girl who nods at Carly's emphatic instructions. The girl reins her horse away from the fence and moves into a controlled canter up to the short fence. She takes it smoothly and glances over at Carly who nods.
"What did Taggart want?" Jason asks. Carly jumps.
"Will you knock that off? You're going to give me a heart attack." Carly demands
"What did Taggart want? If he's hassling you, I'll take care of it."
"If Taggart were hassling me, I'd take care of it." Carly says flatly ignoring the first question. Jason turns Carly around so that she is facing him.
"We have to talk."
"Talk, talk, talk. That's all you seem to want to do these days." Carly rolls her eyes. "Big change there."
"I want you to move home." Jason orders.
"You know I'm really getting sick of moving. And I am home-- my home. Get over it, Jason; I'm not moving back to the penthouse."
"Damnit Carly, I know what you're doing and why. You don't have to. I know that AJ is forcing you to stay away from me. We can beat him; he can't make you stay with him."
"Nope, he can't make me stay with him." Carly agrees nodding. "He has never said that I had to stay with him. And you know that. It was right in the custody agreement."
"He can't tell you that you can't stay with me then." Jason frustrated states.
"Why not-- you're trying to tell me that I can't stay with him. Listen to what I'm saying okay. This is your chance to make up with your perfect little princess. I'm out of the picture not that I was ever in it. Just keep her away from our son and I won't say a word."
"I don't want Robin. I want you." Jason finally admits.
"You are such a guy. Now you want me." Carly rolls her eyes again. "Guess I was messing up all those years ago when I cared what you wanted. I should have moved in with AJ ages ago. Who knew that you'd be such a dog in the manger." Carly tries to walk away from Jason and he grabs her arm again not letting her leave. "Take your hands off me. AJ checks me for bruises."
Jason lets her go as if burnt. "I'd never hurt you."
Carly smiles a sad smile. "I know that you'd never hurt me on purpose but I think that AJ defines hurt differently than you do." Carly starts to walk away.
"Damnit Carly, I'm in love you. I want you to be with me. You, me and Michael a family just like you always said." Carly stops in her tracks her back still to Jason.
Keeping her back to Jason, Carly bites her lip then says in a low tone. "We are a family, Jase. And I'm really sorry to hear that you've decided that you love me because it's not going to happen now. We had a lot of time to make it work and couldn't-- and that had nothing to do with AJ or even Robin. Maybe I'm finally starting to think but Michael and I are safer away from you. And if you really loved me, you'd let me be happy... with AJ. He lost a year with me and our son because of what I did-- what we did. I'm going to make it right." Carly walks away; she sees Jerry enter the building to pick up her and Lucas. Carly makes her way over to him barely able to see through the tears. Jerry automatically puts an arm around her.
"Are you alright?" Jerry demands glaring at Jason.
Carly shakes her head and laughs that ends with a sob. "Get me out of here okay? I'm meeting AJ and Michael for lunch."