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When Cassadines Fall ~ The Detour
It had taken longer than he hoped to track down Henry Chow's daughter; there had been false leads that had put her in Toronto and then in New York City. It turned out that she'd never left Port Charles. If this lead panned out then she was never more than six blocks away from her aunt's house. It could have been 6000 miles. Dumb luck.
"You get undressed; she be right in--give massage." The proprietor hands Jason a thin robe and then leaves. Undressed would be easier. It's January and it's over 80 degrees in the massage parlor. Sure, some people might get a massage here, but it's a whore house. And it made sense to keep it that warm if the clothes that the girls were wearing downstairs are any indication: bikini tops, short skirts and flip flops. Nobody would be going for a walk-- not in Port Charles, New York.
The girl that comes into the room is beautiful. That had been her curse, every red blooded man's fantasy of a china doll: slim, with delicate features and long straight black hair. Maybe if she'd been ugly she'd have never made it onto the boat, or would have been apprenticed to a sweat shop sewing tshirts with fake union labels. "You still dressed."
Jason answers in French knowing it was actually her second language back in Shanghai. "Your mother is safe in Hawaii."
The girl looks at him, really looks at him for the first time. "Comment?" What?!
Jason nods. "Yuen Chow's staying with friends there until it's safe for her to come to the mainland. We missed you in Shanghai by a couple of days."
The girl walks away over to the barred filthy windows. If you strained your eyes long enough you could almost see the snowcovered sidewalk outside. A couple of days. A couple of days between life and death. It had been too late for her before she'd even gotten off the boat. "My Father?" She asks in French.
"He's still alive." Jason doesn't make more of it than what it is. Henry Chow was alive and that was about saying all. "We're working on getting him released but it might not work."
Nodding her head, "Don't tell them you found me."
Now it's Jason's turn to wonder what the hell. "Comment?!"
"Tell then what you like. Tell them you no find me. Tell them I die."
"I don't lie." Jason declares flatly.
"Then kill me and make it true."
"Suicide is a sin." Jason counters. Volunteering to die is about the same as suicide in his book.
The girl flinches. Her father is a missionary, she'd been raised in the faith and the idea of sin still bothered her.
The first real emotional response Jason had seen from her. But it is soon followed by an expression of fear as the door opens and the proprietor walks in to see them both clothed. He starts castigating her in Chinese for not pleasing her customer, a very powerful man. The proprietor turns to Jason. "She is new and clumsy. I find you good girl very hot, very tight."
"I want this one." Jason says flatly. "How much?"
"You already pay."
"She's leaving with me. How much?"
"All girls stay here."
Something seems to be getting lost in the translation. Jason pulls his pistol from the back of his waist band and puts it at the head of the proprietor. He enunciates clearly just so there isn't any misunderstanding. "She's leaving. She's not coming back. You can either tell me how much or you can have a thirty cent bullet. I don't care."
"Fifteen thousand. I pay fifteen thousand for her." The man says in a rush.
"Do you take Visa?"
Jason looks over at the girl who is sitting at the very far side of the back of the limo. If it was possible to carry someone and not touch them then she's got it down. Even before his credit card had cleared he'd stripped out of his sweater and handed it to her. He doesn't feel the cold so a tshirt and his leather is just fine for him. It hung down to her knees and she didn't need gloves because the sleeves extended past her hands. He'd ended up carrying her because the only shoes she had were those idiotic flip flops. She's going to need clothes. Carly would handle that if he asked. "We'll stop at my place, get you a change of clothes. Then I'll drop you off at your Aunt's place.""I can't go there!" The girl turns and looks at Jason. "You don't understand. They won't want me.. not after..." She turns back to stare out the window.
Jason realizes he is in over his head. This isn't just a *girl* thing but also a *Chinese* thing. So he's double screwed. "Fine. One step at a time. Get things straightened out. Get your dad out of prison. The whole family reunion thing can wait. I'm not a big fan of forced family reunions either."
"I owe you $15,000. As soon as it paid, I be gone."
Jason blinks. He reaches for his cell phone and hits a preset. "AJ, put Carly on the phone." It's a sign of the detante they'd reached since Carly married AJ that AJ actually does it. "Help."
"What is going on?"
"You know that package I was looking for that was detoured from China..."
"Oh my GAWD! You found her!"
"She needs clothes, shoes, probably a medical checkup... hell I don't know what she needs."
It's the first time that Carly has ever heard Jason be at a loss for anything. Jason always knew what to do. He is just annoying that way. "What size does she wear?"
"Carly." Jason's voice has an element of impatience.
"Let's come at it from a different angle. How big is she?"
"Rita Porter sized. We're on the way to Harborview now." Jason hangs up. He switches back to French. "A friend of mine is bringing some clothes over for you."
"Where is she?!" Carly demands as she walks into Jason's penthouse at the Harborview towers.
"Spare room taking a shower." Jason points to the stairs.
Carly starts up the stairs but Jason call her back. "Carly..."
"Yeah?"
"She was in that whore house ever since she got off the boat. She wanted me to kill her. She doesn't want her mother or family to know where she was."
"How did you get her out of there?" Carly winces. Maybe she shouldn't ask. It probably involved blood or The Business. Even if technically, Jason was out of it and only ran Sonny's legit operations like the coffee warehouse.
"I bought her."
Carly sits down on the stairs. That was not the answer she was expecting.
"And now she says that she isn't leaving until she pays me back the money she owes."
"You aren't going to like this."
"Like what?"
"I think you should call Jerry. He would know what to do."
"You're right. I don't like it." He'd really had enough of Jerry in China. And there had been the excursions into the Toronto and New York City brothels that had made Jason so popular with Bobbie.
"Let me go talk to her." Carly grabs the railing to the stairs and pulls herself up. It's a good thing they are reinforced. It gave her a little more confidence. She'd kept on riding for as long as it was comfortable before handing Mr Roberts over to Rita to keep exercised. But for some reason stairs just gave her the willies in her condition. Maybe she'd had a problem with them in another life. Once back on her feet she adjusts the weekender bag on her shoulder. It gets a frequent workout because Jason has Michael every weekend-- AJ makes every weekend a honeymoon figuring that once the new baby arrives it's going to be harder to get out of town.
"Good luck with that. She doesn't speak much English." And he didn't want to think about what English she did know having picked it up in a whorehouse.
Carly raps on the door to the spareroom and then finding it unlocked opens the door. She can hear the water running in the bathroom and see the steam coming out from the door. That she could understand perfectly. Her first thing to do once getting out of Ferncliffe, other then the ride on the back of Jason's motorcycle was a shower. And she'd stayed in until the hotwater at the cottage had run out. Carly heaves the weekender up on the bed and unzips it. Inside is a combination of her skinny clothes, not that she had any use for them right now, and since she'd taken Jason seriously-- a collection of clothing Rita had left at her house. A quick stop at a supercenter had finished the provisioning with toiletries and underwear. A real shopping spree would have to wait until Wyndams opened.
The water turns off and a few moments later a girl comes out of the bathroom dressed in an oversized robe. She stops as she realizes there is someone else in the room.
"Hi!" Carly says cheerfully. "I'm Carly. Jason told you I was coming over I hope. What's your name?"
"Li."
"Me too! Caroline Leigh Quartermaine but everyone calls me Carly. I brought you a few things." Carly holds up some of the clothing as a nonverbal cue of what she is talking about. "It won't fit me." Carly pats her ever expanding stomach.
Li hesitates for a moment but then comes over to the bed. She finds the plastic wrapped underwear, grabs a turtle neck and a couple pairs of jeans, one of Carly's and one of Rita's and goes back into the bathroom. When she comes back out she is dressed in the turtleneck and the pair of Rita's jeans.
Carly comes up behind her and checks the tag in the back of the turtleneck to find out the size. Definitely was going to need a coat. Anything of hers would swim on this girl. "Shoes." Carly grabs a pair of socks and a couple pairs of shoes some out of her closet and a pair of athletic shoes that had managed to be left behind by Rita.
Li puts on the socks but then rather than putting the shoes on she starts measuring them against her foot sole to sole. One pair of shoes look as if they might fit especially if she uses thick socks.
Carly takes one of the shoes from her and checks the size and then hands it back expecting that Li will put them on. Instead Li puts them next to the door. "Ah. No shoes in the house right?" Carly realizes. At Li's nod she mutters under her breath. "Well then you're going to love it when Jason takes his motorcycle apart in the living room." Carly starts gathering up the things that aren't going to fit and stuffs them back in the duffle. She hands Li a brush.
Taking the hint, Li lets her hair down. It's so long and thick it takes forever to dry. It would be impossible to wash it everyday without giving up a chunk of her life just to taking care of her hair. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Carly indicates with a hand. "I'm going to go back downstairs come on down when you're ready." Carly picks up the stuff that didn't fit and starts down the hallway to the stairs.
"You get her settled?" Jason looks up from the pool table.
"Li's got something to wear and I have an idea of her size now at least." Carly shakes her head. "Jase...."
"Sonny and I sponsored Henry Chow and his family in China, Carly. This is our responsibility."
"I get that-- but, Jase..." Carly sighs. "Fine. I hope you know what you're doing. I'll tell Jerry and Mama. I think you're going to need them."
Jason grimaces he really doesn't like the idea. But maybe Jerry could get thru to her... or at least fill him in on the minefield. "Fine." He says reluctantly.
"I'll be back tomorrow with clothes that fit. Good luck." Carly states. "You're going to need it." And that Jason was willing to take Jerry's advice only proved it.
Jerry is the one that arrives the first thing the next morning. He raps on the door. Jason is the one that answers. "Lets talk out here." Jerry says quietly.
"Carly called you early enough." Jason shuts the door behind him.
"Shopping is the exception to the sleeping in rule. Besides I think this baby doesn't have the Spencer nightowl gene. It gets her up whether she wants to be or not. She'll be by later I'm sure." Jerry shakes his head this isn't what he'd come over to talk about. "She wanted you to kill her?"
Jason nods. "And she doesn't want her parents or family to know she's alive."
"I was afraid of that."
"You knew that this would happen?!"
Jerry grimaces. "It's a different culture. I'm not making any judgement calls... it's just different. Hell maybe you'll understand it. They've got the whole honor thing going on too. The last thing any proper Chinese would want to do would be to bring shame or dishonor on their family. They'd rather be dead. And the attitude toward women is... different. Girl babies end up in the orphanages to be adopted by rich Americans because mainland Chinese couples are allowed one kid and it had better be a boy. A son carries on the family name-- a girl lives with her husband's family. They get brag points when a daughter marries well-- not when she's been tricking in a whore house, and no decent fellow would marry her now. Even if Harry Chow was the exception to the rule and thinks the sun rises and sets in his baby's eyes-- that doesn't change the culture. It's what they learn in school, in the neighborhood."
"There has got to be a way to fix it." Jason declares.
Jerry nods. "Yeah. But you're not going to like it."
"What?"
"Well things are already looking up." Jerry shrugs. "It's not much of a silver lining but in the scale of things it's better to be a rich man's mistress than a whore. Specially the son of the First Son which puts you up higher in the family pecking order--even if you're just the second son since you've got money and power-- and don't have a wife already. Course the slate would be wiped clean if she was married to a rich man. And that would solve her problems and her families too... once you got Harry Chow out of prison." Jerry lifts both hands in a who knows type gesture. "Do you want me to try to talk to her?"
"Yeah, I guess." Jason opens the door to the penthouse. He looks around and sees Li standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She has that same look on her face as she'd had when the proprietor of the massage parlor had walked in on them. "Probably expecting me to pimp her out." Jason mutters.
Jerry nods. "Hello, daughter." He says clearly in Chinese.
Li looks at him suspiciously but takes a step toward him. "You speak Chinese."
"Not enough." Jerry admits. "This one's older brother is Carly's husband. Carly is my daughter." It's easier than explaining that Carly is Bobbie's daughter, especially since she'd never met Bobbie. "Jason thought I could explain the situation more clearly." Jason looks at Jerry when he hears his name. But Jerry keeps his focus on the tiny woman who is still trying to decide if she should stay or run. "You have brought shame on your family."
The Mandarin word for yes sounds like a drunk saying sure. "Shi." Li agrees looking down. Finally someone that understood.
"But your death will not end the shame or make things easier for your parents." Li looks up at that. Jerry can tell now that he has her undivided attention. "Your mother is in Hawaii but she is illegal; she can be sent back to China any time. Your father is still in prison. This is a powerful man from a rich family with many powerful friends. He is the reason why your mother is not still in China. He has no wife, no mistress, no children." Jerry pauses to let that sink in. "If you really want to make things easier for your parents, you know what to do... how ma?" Understand?
"What are you telling her?" Jason asks suspiciously.
"Just that if she kills herself that you'll make her parents pay back whatever you paid to get her out of the whorehouse, cause you're a mean cold sonofabitch." Jerry looks at Jason and his eyes narrow. "That confession thing that you catholics do... that's all about dropping the sin... the shame... on God and going bout your business right?"
"Yeah." Jason shrugs. That's one way of putting it.
"Then maybe that priest..."
"Father Frank?"
"Yeah. He might be the way to go. Let her get it all out to him. Have him do whatever mojo he does. As long you as you don't think he will make it worse?"
"He counsels her Aunt and her cousin does to Queen of Angels with Johnny's sister."
"Thought that confessional thing was supposed to be confidential anyway." Jerry shrugs. "Don't think she'll be threatening to kill herself anymore. I'll give Leilani a call and have her send some pictures of her mom in Hawaii. That should help too." Jerry lets himself out.
When Jason looks back toward Li she quickly looks down but not before he'd seen a considering look in her eyes. He could bet and win that Jerry had said something different than what he'd told him. "Are you hungry?"
"Shi." Li replies. "Oui."
"Got it. Shi is Oui is yes." Jason answers.
"Yes." Li repeats.
"Great. Lets find out what is in the fridge. As soon as Carly gets back with a coat that fits I'll take you to see Father Frank."
Jason waits until school is out to bring Li by Queen of Angels. It gave them time to for him to take her over to Mercy Hospital for a full check up. If he'd taken her to GH or to the Elm Street Clinic, his business would have been back to the Quartermaines before they'd left the building. At Queen of Angels it's Li side of the family that's a problem. None of the Quartermaines would be caught dead in a Catholic church, except for Em. Li might have never met her cousin Mei but there are pictures of Li in Mei's grandmother's house. "Thanks for clearing the place for us, Father."
"Of course, of course it's no problem."
"This is Li Chow. Harry Chow's daughter. She speaks some French."
"This is very exciting! We've been so worried about you! Welcome. Welcome." Father Frank takes Li's hand and starts patting it with his other.
"Li, why don't you have a seat here." Jason instructs in French, pointing out a pew. "I just need to talk to the priest for a sec."
Father Frank follows Jason. "What is it?"
"Things didn't go quite like I wanted." Jason admits. "She was off the boat for a couple of months before I found her. They had her working in a massage parlor. She's got a whole guilt, shame thing going on about what she had to do to survive. Jerry says its part of her being Chinese but that if she talked to you maybe she'd be able to let some of it go. As long as you're real clear that what she did she had to do or she would have died."
"Then it wasn't a sin, it was an assault." Father Frank nods his brow furrowed.
"Okay." Jason is relieved that they seem to be on the same page. He goes back to Li. "He'll hear your confession. Just let it all out and put it behind you so we can work on getting your parents to The States." Jason orders.
Li nods and goes over to the confessional booth and shuts the door behind her. Jason takes a spot on the pew and closes his eyes. Might as well get comfortable. This might take awhile. Just translations at minimum would make it take longer. He stretches his legs out and crosses them at the ankle and crosses his arms. It isn't praying exactly. It's more like planning. But for some reason there was just more clarity when he planned in church. It's like all the blanks just worked themselves out. After he'd visited every whorehouse, massage parlor, outcall service in Toronto and New York he'd come here to plan his next move. It was then he'd decided to look one more time in Port Charles and found Li. Now Sonny is working on leveraging the people holding Chow: who they were sleeping with, what they're drinking, what they're drugging, how much money they're spending. As long as Henry Chow is alive there is a shot.
He hears the sound of the door opening to the confessional. Li comes out and wipes at her face rubbing in the tear tracks so they aren't noticable. "You okay?"
Li nods. "Do you have a rosary?"
Jason reaches into his pocket and pulls out a rosary bracelet that in addition to the cross and the Medallion of the Virgin Mary has the key to his motorcycle. "Here you go."
Li holds the rosary up by the key and shakes her head in disbelief. Pulling the kneel bar down she kneels and rests her arms on the pew in front of her, Li starts on the first of the rosaries that the priest had given her as a penace.
"How many did he give you?" Jason leans forward to ask.
"Many. I will have to hang onto this for a while." Li says softly. Even as she is talking to Jason the rosary echos thru her head and she moves on to the next bead.
"Why?! We talked. He agrees with me. Nothing that happened was your fault. It wasn't a sin." Jason is starting to get pissed. He'd gone along with this because it was supposed to make Li feel better not punish her for something that was out of her control
"Except for thinking about killing myself." Li reminds. "For asking you to kill me. That is the sin for which I do penance. This is what I beg God's forgiveness. I questioned His plan for me."
"Yep. That would do it." Jason nods. Sounds as if Father Frank had come thru again. Definitely going to have to take that guy out for a beer.
In the kitchen of the Happy Family house, Carly is filling AJ in on the most recent developments. "AJ, she is tiny. Smaller than that bitch from hell whose name shall never be mentioned in this house. Rita is going to love her because she's not going to be the shortest one anymore. Rita's got her by about half an inch." Carly gets out all of the fixings for her welcome wagon cookies. "And I can't BELIEVE it. He found her. Went over to China found the one needle in the 23 million straw haystack-- found her mother. Came back here found Li. Maybe there was something to that whole blessed by God rap that Emily was doing about Jerry and Jason going to China. And she's impossible to buy clothes for-- anything that fit her would make anyone looking think that Jason was cruising the jr high for chicks. I'm talking tiny. I had to go to Wyndams as soon as they opened up and find like the size zero clothes."
"You sound like you're... okay with this." AJ says hesitantly. Bringing up Carly's history with Jason wasn't too healthy for a guy's ego.
"Well I don't know her. She could be a total disaster." Carly admits as she sifts the dry ingredients together into the batter. "I think it might be a good sign though, AJ. I mean he called us for help." After she folds them in she adds the white chocolate and the pecans. "Jason's been so alone for so long. I've got you. Em has Johnny. Even your parents are getting along." Carly grumbles.
"Mom will come around." AJ winces as Carly gives him a look. "Okay she probably never will."
"So what I have to do is get my story in first." Carly nods. "Get Li on my side."
AJ comes around and wraps his arms around Carly's waist. "Honey, I do want you to have friends, lots of friends. And I do like it better when they are female friends: Em, Maddy even Elizabeth now. But she was a missionary's daughter. You might not have too much in common."
Carly smacks AJ's hand as he starts reaching for a spoonful of cookie dough. "Guys who snitch cookie dough. It's a start."
Friday after work, AJ swings by the penthouse at the Harbor View Towers. Juggling Michael, his weekender bag and also the box of cookies Carly had sent along with him-- AJ knocks on the door. Jason answer the door and Michael dives for him giving him a hug around the knees. "Daddy!"
"Whoa Mister Man." Jason picks Michael up even thought he's getting too big for that.
"I didn't know if we were still on for this weekend." AJ hands over Michael's bag. "But you didn't call."
"Yeah, everything is fine. Em will bring him back on Sunday."
"I have a present here for Li from Carly."
Jason sniffs the air appreciatively. "Come on in." Jason steps back into the living room and calls out. "Li!"
Li comes out of the kitchen wearing jeans and an off the shoulder blouse that wasn't supposed to be quite that off the shoulder. "Oui?"
"This is Michael and his papa, AJ. AJ, this is Li Chow."
"I'm pleased to finally meet you." AJ takes his cue from Li and answers in French. "These are for you. Although I'm sure my brother will want you to share." AJ hands over the gift wrapped box.
"What are you saying, Papa?" Michael demands.
"I am saying hello to Miss Chow."
"Hi." Michael says softly and then buries his head in Jason's neck.
"Rita's got a show coming up next month, so we're staying in town." AJ tells Jason. "You'll be able to reach us up at the stables or on the cell."
"Right." Jason's more than ready to be rid of AJ. The guy is already cutting into his time with Michael.
"Be good, buddy." AJ gives Michael a caressing hand over his flame red hair and then leaves.
"Li, this is my son, Michael."
Li is confused. "But when Carly's father was here-- he said that you have no children."
And it just about kills Jason to say it. "AJ and I share him. I have him until Sunday after church and then he goes back to Carly and AJ. And Jerry isn't Carly's father, he's her mother's husband."
"What are you saying?!" Michael demands.
"I think having the two of you together is going to be good for you both if frustrating. You can work on your English and he can pick up some French." Jason tells Li. "Michael, Li only speaks a little bit of English. So you're going to have to show her what you want rather than just asking for it. And it would be good for you to read to her so she can see what English looks like."
"Okay." Michael agrees.
Jason puts him down and Michael grabs his weekender bag and starts hauling it upstairs to his room bumping it up the stairs as he goes. Jason looks over at Li. "Are you okay with this?"
"I used to take care of the children during services and bible study. I am... okay. I should make a snack for the boy?" Li hesitates in asking.
"Open the box." Jason grins. "I think Carly sent one along. If I'm not mistaken those are her famous welcome wagon cookies. You're going to like these."
Two days later on Sunday morning everyone is up bright and early for church. Michael if anything had made things easier in the Penthouse in the two days he's been there. He'd thrown himself into the role of smart child holding up objects and announcing what they are: cookie, milk, giraffe, book-- lots of books. Some words he would spell out: cocoa, bed, nap. Some words resulted in a drop of hot pepper oil being put on this tongue.
Already all of the shoes had managed to end up in the hall closet and Michael and Li race thru the house in either their socks or house shoes. Li is now at the bottom of the closet trying to find Michael's church shoes. "These?"
"Oui!" Michael grabs the shoes from her and sits on the floor and shoves his feet in the proper shoes. "Merci, Li." He gives her a hug around the neck that practically strangles.
Li runs a hand over his jacket. "You are... very handsome."
Michael wrinkles his nose but doesn't go back onto the carpet now that he has his shoes on. There is a rap on the door and then it opens without anyone saying anything, a darkly dangerous man comes into the penthouse. Li quickly rises to her feet and hugs back against the wall. "Uncle Sonny!" Michael escapes Li's grip on him and gives Sonny a hug.
Jason comes down stairs and is sliding on his jacket as he does. "When did you get back?"
"This morning." Sonny is tired and it shows. "I came straight from the airport."
"Did you find out anything?"
"There is are a few promising leads. Things are finally starting to come together. Should see some movement soon."
"Li, this is Sonny Corinthos, my best friend. He was in Washington, DC. following up some leads on your father." Jason says in French then he switches back to English. "Sonny, this is Li Chow. Harry's daughter."
Too slick, eyes are too dark, hard with pain. Li takes a step back into Jason. "My Father?"
Jason reads Sonny better than anyone. "After church, when Michael is back with Carly." Li nods. "I have something for you." Jason reaches into his pocket and pulls out a jeweler's box. He opens it up. "I think you probably lost yours on the trip over." Jason can feel her shudder and knows that he had guessed accurately. Going around behind Li, he moves her hair to one side and carefully fastens the chain of the cross at the back of her neck. He rests his hands on her shoulders while he talks to Sonny. "Li and I will sit upstairs. She's keeping a low profile until we know more about what's going on with her father."
"Am I late?" Em knocks on the door. "Are you guys ready to go?" Her curious gaze passes over the guys quickly and lands on Li. Carly never was one to keep a secret.
"Right on time." Sonny replies over Michael's greeting of his aunt. "The limo is still warm from my trip from the airport."
The troop gather in the elevator: Sonny, Jason, Li, Em and Michael. The trip to the heated garage under the Harborview is done swiftly and silently. Michael breaks from the adults and makes a run for the limo where Francis already has the door open. Michael jumps into the backseat of the limo and into a booster seat. Francis had used the time from when Sonny went up for the rest to pull the booster seat from the trunk and hook it in. After a few shifts and bumped heads they are off to Queen of Angels.
The party coming from church is a regular sight at Porter's restaurant. Mike had joined the after church crew along with Father Frank. Neither one is the type to turn down a free meal especially one prepared by one of the best chefs in Port Charles. And with Porter's you always had to say one of the best... because between Johnny and his mother you had the bases covered. What is unusual is that Rita isn't at the door greating the brunch crowd. "Where is Rita?" Em asks the waitress.
"She's on sleepover with Carly this weekend."
"Oh... the show."
"Exactly. They are already doing that T minus thing and there is a month to go. I think the Judge had to put his foot down or Rita would have moved into the stable already." The waitress jokes. She doesn't bother with menus but instead leads the party to a table that is already set up in the most private part of the dining room. The only way it could be more private is if they ate up in the boss' apartment over the restaurant.
As soon as everyone is seated the wait staff gets to work making sure that everyone has coffee, tea or juice. Not understanding most of the conversation, Li focuses on Michael who tells her what everything is. When the food starts coming out, Li's eyes go wide. "Mon Dieu! It is like a wedding banquet!"
Emily blinks and does the mental translation. "I saw that movie! Chinese with English subtitles. It was great. Grandmother and I did a double feature one night of that with Eat, Drink, Man, Woman." Em realizes then that Li doesn't understand a single thing she's just said and probably doesn't have a chance of understanding it either if she tried to tell her in French. Her French sucks and as soon as she started being homeschooled she'd dropped it. "Jase, tell her that Johnny is showing off because he used to work for you and he's dating me."
To give Jason time to the translation, Sonny changes the subject. "So what are you up to now, Emily?"
"Graduated as of the first of the year. Big party at the mansion. Maddy and I even did the cap and gown thing because Grandmother insisted. There will be pictures. Jase, you were out of town." Em decides to skim over that one fast since he'd been out of town looking for Li. "For a graduation present to ourselves, Maddy and I went down to New Orleans and stayed with Granny Sophia. There is no way she could handle a New York January to come up to see us graduate. About half way into the week, Johnny and Nik threw in the towel and they flew down together to surprise us." Everyone starts laughing at that, 'cause there is no love lost between Johnny Cook and Nikolas Cassadine. The only reason they even pretended to get along is because of all the people they have in common.
"Anyway-- I'm at Deception full time now. I won't start college until the fall. It's almost like a vacation to just have one job." Em sighs. "Although it is driving Maddy crazy. She's finally caught up on all her sleep. She doesn't have another major holiday until Valentines and that is nothing compared to the busy season she just finished. I think she's looking for a project. There is an abandoned gas station down the road from Nikolas' place. They really want to turn it into a corner store, like across the road from Maddy down in New Orleans. Of course there is no way either one of them would run it."
"Your parents ran a fish market back in Shanghai, right?" Jason asks Li.
"Shi." Li nods.
"Tell Maddy to stop by the warehouse tomorrow." Jason tells Emily.
Father Frank nods. "That would go a long way toward cementing Henry and Yuen's emigration. If they had a business here in the US."
"I'll talk to Maddy tonight." Em realizes what is going on.
The next day, Jason looks at his watch impatiently. He didn't need to be here. The place ran fine without him. All he had to do was review the books and sign the checks. Course the threat is always there of him cracking a few heads if it became necessary-- which is one reason why the place ran so smoothly. The only reason he was sticking around is because Maddy Reynolds is supposed to be stopping by this morning.
"Hi, Sorry I'm late." Maddy races up the stairs and into Jason's office with a pitbull at her heels.
"Maddy, how many times do I have to tell you?! You can't bring the dog into the warehouse! One of these days you're going to show up while the health inspector is here."
"I carry a pair of dark glasses and a white cane at all times."
"And does your seeing eye dog help you drive?" Jason counters wryly.
"Okay, okay, okay you got me. I have groceries in the van and if I would have left Cinnamon in there on her own it wouldn't have been pretty. I'm just trying to multitask."
"You always try to multitask."
"But this time it works for you. This is why I'm late." Maddy pulls a pamphlet out of her bag and hands it to Jason. "Port Charles Institute of Technology. They have an English Language Program. Very intensive but at the end they pretty well guarantee you can speak English well enough to get by. And they also tailor instruction to the application-- toefl if the person wants to go to college, business, computers... whatever. So you can take it more than once. You know-- once to get the basics down and then as needed."
"How long?"
"Eleven Weeks. Four hours of classes a day and an hour of lab. Total emersion. They don't care what language you spoke before because it's all about the English. And the Benjamins. It's not cheap."
"Okay."
"Then there is this." Maddy sets one of her Aunt Dara's business cards down on Jason's desk. He is already shaking his head. "She's not working for the DA's office and hasn't been since everything that went down with the FBI. She's working out of her house. If she needs a law library she uses Nikolas' Aunt's over at the L&B building. And I'm not saying she'd rep for you just that this gal is going to need a lawyer. Sooner or later, and probably sooner. I didn't tell Mei or her grandmother because I didn't want to worry them but I did hear a few things from Aunt Dara about the crew that brought Li Chow into the country. Jase, she's already up to speed. She was hearing things from the FBI all along. She called Jerry while you guys were out of the country to warn you about the danger Li Chow was in. She'd know what buttons to push to work Li a good deal. The FBI owe her. That's all I'm saying."
"And now the reason why I asked you to be here?" Jason asks.
Maddy pulls out a thick folder that is marked Corner Store and starts her sales spiel even though it isn't her property. It's her idea even if Jason is the one that might make it happen. "Ideal location in a neighborhood that is starting to revitalize. It's on the mid point between the residential..."
"Where you and Cassadine live."
"Right, and the more commercial district where your Grandmother has her theater."
"And if it's such an ideal location why is it still for sale?"
"Gas tanks." Maddy states simply. "They need to be removed and the soil tested. If the tanks have been leaking and the ground is contaminated all that dirt needs to be removed. It's some federal law that passed awhile back. Whoever owned the station just shut it down and walked away cause he didn't have the..." Maddy rubs her fingers together. "... to get the work done."
"How soon could you get it ready for business?"
"How soon do you want it?" Maddy counters.
"Eleven weeks." Maddy had unwittingly set her own timetable.
"Depends on if they can break ground in April to get the tanks out. But if money is no object then I could have everything done except for the tanks."
"Money is always the object. Do you speak French?"
"Just the swear words. But Nik does-- fluently of course. And he's got the connections as far as remodeling is concerned because of what he did with his place."
"I haven't spoken with Father Frank yet but I'm sure that the church is going to sponsor the Chows here. Whether it is Li and her parents or just Li and her mother, I'm sure there are going to be all kinds of hoops to jump thru."
"Probably the same kind of thing as when I got emancipated." Maddy nods and pulls out her notebook and starts scribbling a list. "Place to stay, job, proof that you're a earner and not a burden on society, community support system. If they were going to crash at Mr Chow's sister's.... Well I'm sure they could but it would be very crowded and zero privacy. Grandma runs her sewing business out of the apartment. So there is all of that and MeiMei too."
"Place with easy access to the store. I have no idea if they drive or not."
"On a busline with a route mapped out to Queen of Angels." Maddy mutters.
"And to the Harborview Towers. Li will be staying with me."
That doesn't even phase Maddy who is already on her feet. "I'll make the calls on the site. Get inside to see if there is a prayer in hell of making it work. I'll screw them down as far as I can but then you'll have to be ready to move."
"Call the cell when you're ready for the wire transfer." Jason nods.
Maddy holds out her hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Jase."
"Eleven weeks, Maddy. Starting now." Jason shakes her hand.