Episode 5: The Cartel
Previously
Cassie and Guy found Jake unconscious in a bar and took him on the Wheeler jet to Las Vegas where Cassie married him in a quickie ceremony. Tommy and Jessica were nearly involved in a car accident. Stephanie attacked Julia in the mansion and tried to kill her but Lauren returned and saved her. A bewildered Tommy arrived and took Stephanie home. Morgan introduced herself to Mark and the pair set to work on his new book. Julia was disgusted to find out that Jake had married Cassie. Morgan made romantic advances towards Mark but he turned her down flat. Jake's body was found floating in the pool with Cassie by his side...
Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley
Hearing
the screams, Michael races round the side of the mansion from his
car and sees Cassie by the side of the pool hysterical. Without
knowing who the person is in the pool he jumps in and drags Jake
to the side where he lays him down on his back.
"Is he breathing?" Cassie screams.
Julia runs outside, "Oh my God. Michael, do something!"
"No he's not breathing." Michael replies. He clamps his hands together and pushes down violently on Jake's chest before breathing through his mouth. The tension builds and Julia begins to cry as Michael repeats. Within a minute, a jet of water spurts out of Jake's mouth and he begins to moan.
"Julia call an ambulance!" Michael orders.
Oakwood Medical Center: Napa Valley
As Jake is
tended to in the ER before being placed in a private room, Julia,
Jessica and Cassie are gathered in the waiting room.
"What the hell happened?" Julia screams at her daughter-in-law.
Cassie turns round, "He was still drunk from last night...I guess he just..."
"Drunk??"
"Yes, he was...celebrating."
"And he just accidentally fell in the pool with you watching I suppose." Julia pushes her way past a silent Jessica and walks towards Cassie.
"Are you insinuating I would try to murder my own husband?"
"Why not? You married him and now you can get the money. What little there is less after that farcical will."
"I love Jake. And if I'm not mistaken the police are still investigating your husband's murder. So perhaps before you start throwing wild accusations around, you should think about what you're saying."
"I had nothing to do with Douglas' death. You know that."
"Please!" Jessica interrupts. "Why do you have to talk like this? Isn't it bad enough that Jake is lying in a hospital bed after he nearly died? You should be thankful that he is still alive, not squabbling over this."
"You're right," Julia exhales, "Thank God he's still alive."
Wheeler Corporation: San Francisco
Lauren left the
house after Jake was taken away in the ambulance and now she is
sat at her desk trying to concentrate on her work. A knock on the
door ends her concentration span.
"Come in."
Michael walks into the office clutching a folder and shuts the door behind him.
"Hey hero. Where were you last night?"
Michael frowns, "I was here looking up some information that I thought might help us. It's about an organisation...the Delta Group. Have you heard of them?" He drops the file on Lauren's desk and opens it up. She pulls it over and begins to read.
"No I haven't. What is this? $4 million? Douglas paid $4 million to this organisation before his death?"
"Yes. It says in the file that they are involved with our financial services division. Yet I went to see Albert Prentiss who heads it and he has never heard of them. I was thinking perhaps extortion...or blackmail."
"Well whatever was going on it looks like Douglas was involved with some pretty shady people."
"Which is why you and I are going to New York, today."
Lauren double-takes, "What? I can't go to New York now. I have meetings all day every day for the next week."
"And I got your secretary to cancel them."
"Gee, thanks. Right fine. I'll come with you if you want to look into it. What time is the jet leaving?"
"It's a two hour journey and we're leaving in...an hour."
Michael grins and Lauren rolls her eyes. "Oh for God's sake. Do you just love to annoy me or something?"
"Yes."
"What am I saying, of course you do. You're my brother."
Oakwood Medical Center: Napa Valley
David Elliott
walks quietly into Jake's hospital room. There is nobody in there
apart from Jake. David has been thinking all morning about how
convenient it would be for Jake to die. He could just slip away.
There would be no claim to the fortune. Then Julia would have
everything and eventually...so would he.
He looks around. No life-support machine. No drip. Jake is well on the road to recovery. We'll just see about that David thinks to himself. He picks up a spare pillow from the chair and holding it up, walks towards a sleeping Jake menacingly. He doesn't notice the door opening behind them.
Suddenly there is a shout "David, what the hell are you doing?" Jessica had entered the room.
Elliott House: San Francisco
Stephanie is
pacing the hallway impatiently and looking at her watch. He's
late she thinks to herself. Hearing a car pull up outside she
opens the door.
"Where have you been?" she demands.
The man walks into the house and shuts the door behind him. He is about 6" with a great dress sense but penchant for cheap aftershave. His name is Deke Vochek and he is a cheap private detective.
"Mellow babe. I'm here now."
"About god damn time Deke. What have you found out?"
"Nothing. Zip. If your husband is having an affair with this Julia Wheeler woman, then they're doing a good job of hiding it. I really think they're clean."
Like hell they are, Stephanie thinks to herself. "How can you say that? I know they are having an affair that's not what I needed you for. I needed you to get me proof!"
"Well there ain't any. Look sweetheart, I am a busy man..."
Stephanie eyes him up and down disapprovingly and mutters sarcastically, "I can imagine."
"So you would be able to 'imagine' that I have other business to attend to. Real business. From people paying better money than you."
"Don't get smart Deke. I paid you and damn it you will get me proof."
Deke edges towards the door worried by Stephanie's new tone of voice. "Look lady, you need to chill or something. Have you ever thought that you might just be paranoid?"
Stephanie's eyes widen, "I beg your pardon?"
"I said paranoid. Because it looks that way to me."
Stephanie yanks open the door, "Then get the hell out of my house you third-rate piece of scum." She hisses.
"Whoa okay." In his haste to move quickly, Deke almost trips on the doorstep. "See ya around."
"Yeah if I'm ever cruising around cardboard city I'll be sure to look you up. Now leave!" She slams the door and puts her back against it sighing. Paranoid? We'll just see about that, she thinks.
Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley
Mark types out
a few words on the keyboard. But damn it he can't concentrate.
Not now that Lauren is going away to New York...and leaving him
with Morgan. She is sat by his side, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt,
her raven hair held up with a pencil. She has made no effort, yet
Mark still finds her attractive.
"You still having trouble?" she asks softly.
"Um yeah."
"Well take a break. You've got six months to write the book, don't stress." She stands up and moves behind him. "Maybe I can help you relax."
She begins to rub his neck and shoulders with expert hands. Mark relaxes but feels guilty. It's only a neck-rub he tries to convince himself.
Then the phone rings. "I'll answer it." Morgan says breezily. She picks it up, "Hello? The Wheeler Estate, Morgan Janssen speaking."
The velvet voice is unmistakable, "Morgan? It's Julia. I'm at the hospital. I want to know how the plan is going."
Morgan looks round and luckily Mark isn't paying any attention. "Um, fine."
"Is he there?"
"Yes."
"But you're not in the middle of anything."
"Unfortunately not." Morgan tries to speak casually and not make Mark suspicious.
"Well I didn't expect this to take long, Morgan. I'm paying you a lot of money. So speed it up. I want you to seduce him today!" Julia hangs up and Morgan clears her throat.
"Who was that?" Mark enquires.
"It was Keith Cannell. He wanted to know how we were getting along."
Mark frowns, "Oh. Well maybe I'll call him back later."
"Yep. Good idea." Morgan sits back down and tries to come up with a plan.
Oakwood Medical Center: Napa Valley
Jessica stands
at the door. "Well David? Did you hear me?"
He drops the pillow on the floor and kicks it under the bed praying in his mind that Jessica did not see him.
"Yes I heard you. I was talking to Jake."
"Oh." Jessica walks over and grabs the hand of her heavily sleeping brother. "Sorry. I'm just nervous about him."
"I understand." David walks out cursing to himself under his breath. If that little twit hadn't walked in, he could have finished the job.
Cassie is nowhere to be seen but Julia has obviously just finished a phonecall and puts the mobile in her purse.
"Hey baby." David creeps up behind her.
"Oh my God David you nearly gave me a heart attack." She looks round. "Okay perhaps not the best thing to say given the setting." They giggle but Julia becomes serious. "I needed to talk to you. About your nutcase of a wife."
"I heard about what she did. Tommy told me. I really don't know what got into her."
"A bout of psychosis, that's what got into her. I'm warning you David. Keep her away from me."
"I don't think she'll be a problem. She hired a private detective though.
"What?" Julia yells.
"I found out one evening when I accidentally heard her on the phone. A cheap gumshoe. She wanted proof about us."
"And did she get it?"
David laughs, "Oh no. I paid him off. He's going to tell her there is nothing going on."
Julia's eyes light up, "Which makes her look paranoid."
"Exactly."
"Brilliant. I wish I could see her face when she meets him."
"So do I." David grins but behind the smile lurks something darker.
He remembers her face. Contorted and pale as her body lay at the bottom of the staircase...her neck broken.
He looked up and saw her standing there smiling. She did it.
"What have you done?" David screamed in disbelief.
But she said nothing. She just watched the dead body like a child.
They buried the body together that night.
"You know I did it for us." She pleaded but he did not say a word. He was too shocked. Too disgusted. His wife...was a killer.
New York Hilton Hotel: New York
Lauren enters the suite followed by an elderly porter. He places her bags by the walk in wardrobe and waits attentively whilst she fumbles in her purse for his tip.
"There you go."
"Thank you Ma'am."
There are two bedrooms and Michael is already in his, unpacking. Lauren takes it all in. The trappings of wealth. They are on the highest floor, in the largest suite available. A year ago, Lauren was living a reasonably ordinary life in Los Angeles and never even got a glimpse of the champagne lifestyle. Now she was living it.
"Michael?" She calls out, "Let's do some shopping."
Oakwood Medical Center: Napa Valley
Jake is still
asleep as Jessica and Cassie sit silently by his bedside. It
struck Cassie how she barely knew her sister-in-law. Maybe
Jessica would be able to help her fight off the witch Julia.
A quiet knock on the door is followed by the entry of Dr Philbin. He is a typical middle aged doctor. Balding, slightly overweight and bespectacled. Cassie stands up.
"Hi I'm Cassandra Wheeler. Jake's wife."
"I'm Dr Lester Philbin. I just came in to notify you about your husband's condition."
Cassie couldn't care less about Jake's condition. But she knows that if anything happened to Jake after she arranged a quickie marriage in Las Vegas, it would look like she tried to kill him. "What can you tell me doctor?"
"That your husband is a very lucky man Mrs Wheeler. If he had been in the water for a few more minutes he would probably be in a coma. There is no lasting damage but there is a slight loss of sensation in the legs. We checked this out before your husband was sedated. It isn't anything serious. But he will need to be in a wheelchair for a short period whilst he recovers."
"As long as he makes a full recovery, I'll be happy." Cassie smiles.
"Good. Well I better go and see my next patient. When your husband wakes up could you call a nurse? He might feel a bit dehydrated. The sedative has that effect."
"Will do."
Dr Philbin walks out and Cassie turns round to survey the scene. An invalid? Like I don't pander to him enough, Cassie looks at Jake. He is completely out of it and Jessica is doing her martyr act again. What a family.
5th Avenue: New York City
Michael follows Lauren, his hands aching from the baggage which she has piled onto him.
"Can we go back to the hotel now?"
Lauren turns and laughs, "Yeah sure. I'll get a taxi."
She waves her hands in the air to a passing taxi but does not see the dark grey sedan edging along the other side of the street. Michael does. He sees the barrel pointing out of the window and yells,
"Lauren get down!" He throws himself on top of her as gunshots ring out around them, smashing the glass and setting off an alarm. Several women scream and the car roars off down the street. Michael jumps up hoping to catch the license plate number but to no avail.
Spluttering, Lauren pulls herself off the ground in disbelief. "What the hell happened?"
Michael turns, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Nobody else is injured, but Lauren takes out her cellphone. "I better call the police."
Wheeler Estate: Napa Valley
Morgan walks down the corridor with her latest revisions to give to Mark. Although she is no literary expert, her father was a movie producer. She uses her 'Hollywood knowledge' to help. Mark is lying on the bed fully dressed, perusing his first chapter.
"Where is everyone?" she asks.
"They're staying at a hotel near the hospital. They'll be back tomorrow morning."
Morgan tries not to smile. A perfect opportunity. She slips the revisions on the bed. "You hungry?" she asks.
"No." he tries not to look up at her. Damn Lauren for going away and leaving him alone with this woman. He knows he can't trust himself.
Morgan is dressed in her night-clothes. David Elliott picked them out for her in LA. Sexy but not too revealing. That was the look he was going for and he got it right. Morgan lights a candle on a table near the window and turns off the light.
"Morgan what are you doing?" Mark throws his work down on the bed.
"You know what I'm doing Mark. Don't pretend you don't want this."
She gets onto the bed and kisses him. He sighs. " I don't. Really...I..."
But it is too late. Caught up in the moment he responds and pulls her into an embrace.
New York Hilton Hotel: New York City
Michael drops the bags
on the floor and walks over to Lauren.
"At least the police are looking into it."
"They won't find anything Michael. This city has shootings like that every day. What makes this one any different. It's got something to do with the cartel hasn't it. The Delta Group."
"We don't know that..."
"You think someone would just randomly shoot at me through a car window? Am I that unpopular?"
"Lauren, until we check into it, we can't jump to conclusions."
"I know. I'm going to go to bed." Lauren doesn't wait for a reply and enters her bedroom. She throws her clothes on a chair, pulls on a silk nightgown and jumps onto the bed in darkness where she falls asleep...
* * *
It is an hour later and Lauren begins to stir. She can hear a clicking sound and waits for her eyes to adjust to the darkness to see if she can identify the cause.
"Michael?" she whispers. Her heart starts to pound.
Suddenly, she sees the glistening blade in front of her face and screams...
Next time on Power and Deception...
Michael and Lauren are in danger and have a confrontation with Julia...
Julia appeals to Lauren to help Jake...
Morgan has a shock for Mark about their night of passion...
Stephanie finds out about Tommy's relationship with Jessica...
Jake's homecoming pushes Cassie closer to Guy...
A dead body is discovered in San Francisco...
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