| Chapter 12 "Emily! Help me!" Anders cried as he hefted Lucky's limp form through the doorway. The guards stood by uselessly, having been ordered by the senior Faison to offer no assistance. Emily raced out of the bathroom, taken aback to see Anders trying to carrying an unconscious Lucky. "What happened to him?!" she shrieked, helping Anders get her best friend over to the bed. Through gritted teeth, Anders replied, "My father happened..." Emily looked down, tenderly patting Lucky's damp forehead with the bottom of her silk robe. "Lucky...can you hear me?" "I don't think he can, Emily. My father gave him something...a drug of some kind. I think he'll be out for awhile." Emily nodded sadly, pulling the sheet up to cover Lucky's bare chest. She wished that she could save him. He looked almost peaceful in his drugged state, but she knew he wasn't. Whatever had happened, it must have been horrible for Anders to have been so upset when he came in. She caught a glimpse of Faison's son out of the corner of her eye. He paced back and forth beside the bed, his hands balled into fists as his eyes glazed with hatred. She was intrigued by his reaction. What could Faison had possibly done that would have set Anders off like that? "Anders," she said, patting Lucky's arm as she stood and moved away from the bed, "why don't you tell me what happened?" "You don't want to know..." he continued to pace. "Lucky's my friend. Of course, I want to know." "My father was doling out his punishment...that bastard!!" Anders stopped, slamming his fist against his hand. To Emily, he looked completely wild with anger. She flinched at his sudden action, shrinking back against the bed. "No!" he shouted, his eyes growing glassy as he saw her reaction. "Please, Emily...don't be afraid of me...I'm not going to hurt you..." "I couldn't tell..." she whispered. "Sometimes you seem nice, and then other times, you're slapping me around..." "I shouldn't have slapped you," he admitted with a sigh, turning his back to gaze at the closed door. "Do you know what it's like to fight who you are, Emily? To have to constantly check yourself and make sure that you haven't turned into a hideous beast? That's what my life is like...I loathe my father and everything that he stands for...but...Sometimes I think I'm just like him. When you slapped me, my entire mind went red with rage. I had no control over my actions. I just reacted. That's what's inside of me..." Anders turned around, full aware that he had Emily's undivided attention. He allowed his shoulders to roll forward, and his head to droop. "But that's not who I want to be..." Emily could feel tears well up at the corner of her eyes for the tormented man before her. "You don't have to be anything like your father, Anders. It's up to you to make a change." Looking down at his shoes, he said, "I don't think I can make that change. I don't think I'm strong enough. I've already hurt you..." Emily took a step forward, placing her hand on his arm. She sought out his eyes, making direct contact. "I think you're strong enough, Anders." "You really believe that?" She smiled a little. "Yeah...I do. I saw how upset you were when you brought Lucky in. You care. And that's the biggest difference between you and your father. As long as you have that, you'll never be anything like him. "Thank you, Emily," he said, softly patting her hand. He was pleased when she didn't flinch at his touch or pull away. He tilted his head back, his eyes crinkling as he slowly whispered, "You're a ruby in the sky..." "Um, okay...I guess..." she replied, her eyebrow raising. Anders smiled. "It's just something my mother used to say to make me feel better after one of my father's tirades. I guess I thought of that just now because you remind me of her. You're very kind, Emily. Kind and gentle." Emily blushed a bit, pulling away. "Thanks, I guess. So, is there anything we can do for Lucky?" "I'm no doctor, but I think you should just let him sleep it off. When he wakes up, he's probably going to be in a whole lot of pain. My father was not gentle." He looked back at Lucky, expertly contorting his face into a look of concern and sympathy. He pulled the edge of the cover up around the younger man's neck. "I'm sorry, kid..." Emily watched, feeling herself grow even more conflicted about Anders. Once again, he seemed to care about Lucky. Could he really be on their side? "Anders?" "What is it, Emily?" he asked. "You said you would help us..." Anders shoulders stiffened. "Don't start pushing me!" he snapped. "I'll do what I can but it's not like I can just open the door and let you go!" "Hey!" she said, holding her hand up uneasily. "I wasn't going to push you. I was just going to make a request and I thought you might be the one who could make it happen." "I'm sorry...I'm tense...I apologize for cutting your head off. What do you want? I'll see if I can oblige." "Clothes. Can you get me some? This nightgown sucks. I would never where this..." He nodded. "I'll get you some clothes. My father has a negligee fetish. A woman's not a woman if she's not wearing silk and frilly lace. I told you the man was a wacko." "Lucky will probably need some, too..." "Probably..." "Not to push...but do you know when we're getting out of here? When is your father going to let us go?" "I don't know," he answered simply. Emily turned back to Lucky. She felt like crying, but she suppressed the urge, willing herself to be strong. She couldn't fall apart. She wouldn't. Lucky was going to need her when he woke up and there was no way she was going to let him down. Not Lucky. He had been with her through some of the worst times of her life. Especially the previous summer when she had found herself alone with a dead police officer. Most often, he was her rock. And she intended to return the favor. Anders watched the defiant set of her shoulders and understood that she was not as easy a target as he had originally thought. He would have to work very hard to earn her trust. Clearing his throat, he announced, "I'm afraid I must go and face my father, now. If you're as kind as you seem, you'll pray for me." She swiveled around, her eyes opening wide. "He wouldn't hurt you, would he? I mean, you won't say anything about what happened, but I can read people and situations pretty well. The way the guards were looking at you and standing around...you saved Lucky from your father, didn't you? You stopped him from finishing whatever he was doing?" "I have to go, Emily," he said, backing away. "I'll see if I can get you and Lucky some clothes. I'm sure they'll bring some food in." He knocked on the door and it was promptly opened. He tossed her a weak smile before leaving. With Anders gone, Emily went to sit on the beside Lucky. She held his limp and clammy hand in her lap. "It's going to be okay," she said to him over and over again, the words taking on the soothing melody of a lullaby. Eventually, she felt him move beside her. "Lucky? Are you all right?" Lucky's eyes fluttered open. Immediately, he groaned, pain rippling his body. His back felt as if it were on fire. He shuddered as he remembered the crack of Faison's whip in the air. "NO!!!!!!!" he screamed. "Not again..." "Lucky! Let me help you, please!" Emily held onto his hand. "Please!" "Em?" He looked over to see her. Precious Emily. He saw the tears in her eyes and immediately his focus shifted from his own pain to her. "God...did Faison come in here? Did he do something to you?" He tried to sit up, but Emily pushed him back down. "No, I'm fine. It's you...how are you? What can I do?" Lucky closed his eyes against the pain. "Can you help me turn over onto my stomach? I think I'd be more comfortable that way..." "Whatever you want," she answered, kneeling on the bed. He started to shift and she took his arm, helping him to roll over. He was slow and stiff as he moved, causing Emily great alarm. She still didn't know what Faison had done. It had to be more than just the drugs that Anders had mentioned. As Lucky flipped over, she realized that she was right. More than just drugs... She gasped. She wanted to touch him, but hesitated, her shaking hands hovering above his red welted back. "Why would he do this to you?" she squeaked out. "This is inhuman." "Faison is inhuman," Lucky said calmly. He took deep breaths to combat the pain. He tried to smile reassuringly. "But really, I'm okay, Emily. I looks worse than it is..." "Then why did you have to get on your stomach?" Emily snapped back. She laid down on the bed, her face just inches from her friends. "And why do you have to be so tough? There's nothing wrong with admitting that Faison hurt you." "I can't give him that kind of power," Lucky protested. "He already has that kind of power, Lucky. Look at what he's done to us? He's taken us from our families and terrorized us to no end. You have nothing to gain by pretending around me. We have to depend on each other if we're going to make it out of here. We have to be honest. It's just you and me in this." "Maybe not..." Lucky trailed off, thinking of how Anders saved him from Faison. The whole thing was a little fuzzy, but he knew that Anders had stood up for him. The man had saved him. "What do you mean?" Emily questioned. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I just want to lay here and focus on not going crazy." "Okay, you do that. I'll go get some wash cloths and whatever else I can find in the medicine cabinet to treat your back." "No!" he said, latching on to her hand. "What...what is it?" "Don't go, Emily. Can you just stay here right beside me for a while? I...Well, I need to be near you so that I know that you're real. So...so, that I'll know that you're here." "Of course," she soothed, dropping back down and taking his hand against her heart. She lay on her side, looking into Lucky's eyes. He smiled at her gratefully, his pain dulled by the warmth of her touch and the kindness reflected in her eyes. Emily's head was on the same pillow, and her hair fanned out to tickle his cheek. "It's okay, Lucky. You're not alone this time." * * * * * “Well, well, well, Celine in tears. Who would have ever thought that day would come,” came the cynical comments. Celine turned to see the last woman she would have expected. She sighed in exasperation. How could this day get any worse? "What do you want?!" Celine snapped angrily. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you." "Don't get pissy, Celine," the woman replied. "You might hurt my feelings." Celine twisted around in her seat, starting to laugh at the absurdness of the comment. "Come now, we both know that you don't have any feelings. You're as cold as ice." "That's not true! I almost cried once..." the woman replied indignantly. "When?" "Ummm...." the woman thought, tapping her fingernail against her chin. "Well..." She continued to think about it. Finally, she snapped her fingers in triumph. " 1980! ...when my father cut me out of his will." Celine laid her chin against the head rest. "Really? Why are you here? Shouldn't you be off somewhere spending your new husband's money?" "Why are you so distrusting of me? Haven't I proven to be a friend?" the woman questioned, twisting the large diamond ring on her finger. "I suppose. When you're not stabbing me in the back." "Look, Celine," the woman said, trying to muster up as much concern as she was possible for having for anyone but herself, "I overheard the conversation you just had with the "Boss Man." I knew you might need someone to bounce some ideas off of. I didn't have anything else to do, so I figured I'd lend you some support." Celine's gray eyes flashed with reserved gratitude. She didn't really trust the woman, but she knew that the woman didn't trust her either. That's what made their friendship so easy to maintain. They didn't get bogged down with a lot of sentimental crap that they didn't mean. They tended to be honest, straightforward, and at times, mean. This was the only woman who had ever dared to, instead of being intimidated or repulsed by Celine, accept her for what she was. Probably because they had a similar streak of wickedness and selfishness coursing through them. "Thank you, you middle-aged harpy, for caring." "Who said I cared?" Celine groaned, turning back around and starting her car. "I'm leaving. Are you coming or are you going back inside to weasel some more money from your husband?" "I don't have to weasel. He might be cruel, but he's generous with his cash. That must be why I married him. Anyway, I could use a lift." "Where ever you want to go. I've got nothing but time," Celine said, flipping the switch to let the top down on her convertible. The woman crawled over into the passenger seat, griping when her heel got caught on the seat. She settled in, quickly giving her friend directions. "So, where's your new husband? Shouldn't you be off somewhere pleasuring him or planning his demise?" Celine backed out of the spot and then raced like a demon out of the parking lot and onto the street. She picked up her purple sunglasses off of the dashboard and put them on. "Stefan's too busy to be pleasured at the moment..." The woman chuckled evilly. "I can imagine..." "And the planning his demise part..." "What?" the woman looked over quizzically. "You're going to back out of your deal with Helena Cassadine?" "Your husband wants Stefan alive." "Oh boy...you're in big trouble!" "More than you think..." Celine said wearily. "How could your situation get any worse?" Celine took a hard left without slowing down a bit. She flew down the street, running a red light. She thought about the older woman's question and her eyes began to blur with tears. "It's Stefan...he loves me...." The woman looked at Celine as if she were insane. She was the last one who would let a man's love for her or anyone else deter her from her goal. "So?" Celine's foot pressed down harder on the accelerator. Her car shot from 70 to 85 on a residential street. A man crossing the street dove out of her way as she barreled through. She couldn't hold the tears any longer and it slipped from underneath her sunglasses down her cheek. "I love him, too," she said. Her voice was so low that it was lost in the wind that blew through the open car. "Huh?" the woman shouted. "I didn't hear you." Celine took her eyes off the road, turning to face her friend. "I love him!! And I'm not giving him up!" Her friend laughed wildly in her face. "You can't keep him! You'll be lucky if Stefan Cassadine doesn't kill you when he finds out you've been working all sides but his." "Then he won't find out!" Celine proclaimed. She took another right, looking for the right street. "I'll find a way to get out of this. I'll save him! Maybe I'll even have his babies..." "You've lost your mind, Celine." "Okay, so I won't have his babies, but I'll make sure to keep him alive. I have to! I've never really loved anyone before..." "Then what makes you think you love him if you've never done it before?" "I don't know...it just hit me when I was talking to your husband. Stefan always looks at me with love. He loves me!! It's not just something he says. And, well, that is enough to make me love him in return. I figured I have to love him if he loves me, right? The very fact that I would I would forego a kill and sacrifice a heap of money speaks volumes!" "Turn up the driveway at the end of the street," the woman sighed heavily. The last hold out for passage on the "let's have babies" bandwagon had finally fallen. Celine Kanafanas Cassadine was in love. This was truly a sad day for devious women everywhere. She had suspected months ago that Celine was in over her head, but the woman had always denied it. Mentally, the older woman started sorting her wardrobe, wondering what she would wear to Celine's funeral after Helena killed her for double crossing her. The black Chanel suit? Nah. Navy blue Prada? Nah. She shook her head, smoothing her dark hair behind her ears. What was she doing? Knowing Helena's reputation, there probably wouldn't even be a body for a funeral. Celine slammed on the brakes, stopping the convertible in front of the huge and towering mansion. "Who lives here?" "My family..." "Oh...well, whatever. Get out of my car!" Celine's friend smirked, climbing out of the sports car and strutting up the huge marble steps without looking back when she heard the other woman speed away. She tried the door and was pleased to find it open. She walked into the foyer of the mansion, smiling at her good fortune as she saw him. Edward Quartermaine stopped midway down the stairs. "Good lord!" he shrieked. Tracy Quartermaine smiled. "I'm home!" * * * * * "Where's my wife?!" the man demanded of his servant. The woman looked at the floor. "She's not here. I have no idea where she's gone, Sir." The man sat back down in the large chair beside the sofa. "Then what use are you? Get out of my sight and send Porter in on your way out." "Yes, Sir," she said, leaving as quickly as she could. She told Porter, a tall man with graying black hair, that their employer wished to see him. He nodded, walking confidently into the room. "Sir?" The man looked up at Porter with displeased dark brown eyes. "I expect you to succeed where Fillian failed. I want that clock back in my possession tonight," he stated. "Any specific suggestions, Sir?" Grimly, the man replied, "Do what you have to do." "I will do as you command, Sir," Porter replied. "You will have your clock." * * * * * "Perhaps, Miss Quartermaine doesn't mean as much to Ms. Davis as we thought," Andreas suggested politely. "That's why we've taken Lucky, too. Besides Faison's own devious purposes, Lucky is our insurance policy. Alexis has no choice but to comply. Are you sure Nikolas delivered the clock to her?" Andreas had been dreading this question. He cleared his throat, leaning forward in his chair. "Yes, I do believe that Master Nikolas did deliver the clock, however, there was a bit of an incident this morning that should be brought to your attention." Helena's head tilted forward. She didn't like Andreas' hesitant demeanor. "What is it, Andreas?" "The man following Nikolas reported some disturbing news. Apparently, your grandson and his friend found the clock and then were barraged with a hail of gunfire. Both Nikolas and Gia quickly left the area." Helena's face went taut with anger and disbelief. "Luke Spencer?!" she asked in a hard voice. "Is this retaliation for Lucky?" Andreas shook his head. "I have no idea, Madame. Luke has been at the penthouse all day, but there is no way to be sure. We know that he's been in contact with Sonny Corinthos." "Luke could have orchestrated such an attack with the assistance of that hooligan Corinthos..." she thought aloud. Her head started to pulse with hatred. "And Nikolas? He was unhurt?" "He was wounded." Helena stiffened. "How badly?" "We are unable to say. While there was blood, he was able to walk away." Helena stood, her jaw setting in grim determination. "If Luke is behind this, I will kill Lucky myself, the hell with Faison." Andreas stood, too. "That's only fair, Madame." "This must be settled now," Helena breathed. "Have Luke Spencer brought to me immediately! The more bruised and battered, the better." "Yes, Madame," Andreas responded, going to the phone and dialing. "Anything else?" "Nikolas...I want to see for myself that he is all right. I know I need not tell you the penalty for any mistreatment of my grandson." Andreas nodded, making the call. Meanwhile, Helena slipped back down into her chair, impatiently awaiting Luke's arrival. * * * * * He picked up the bottom of the musical clock. He was stunned to see some papers slip out. “What is this?” He asked in confusion. “What?” Stefan cried. Alexis sat up, her body much more calm, and her senses returning. She watched as Stefan took the folded sheets from Luke. She shivered again as her brother examined the documents. Now what? Now what secret was going to implode in their lives? She sighed. At least she was in reality again. What had the doctor given her? Valium? Thank God for Valium. "So?" Luke said, looking over Stefan's shoulder. "It looks like a bunch of gibberish to me." Stefan's eyes scanned slowly and deliberately down the type written pages. He recognized the characters as Greek, but they were arranged incorrectly. "It's encoded." The code was so involved that he'd need to seriously study it before he could break it. "Well, then," Luke said, trying to snatch the papers back, "give 'em here and I'll give it whirl. I'm pretty good with codes." Stefan kept the papers out of Luke's reach. "Certainly not! I will keep the papers and decipher the code. These were hidden in Cassadine property. That makes them Cassadine papers." "That clock was a gift from Mama Bat. That makes it Spencer property. That makes them mine!" Luke snorted, glaring at Stefan. "The clock was sent to Alexis." "What's Alexis' is mine. We're committed." Stefan rolled his eyes, folding the documents. "Commitment or no, the papers remain with me. I will have them decoded and, if any of the information on them is pertinent to this situation, you will be notified." "No dice, Vlad! I want them now! I found them and there is no way you're leaving this penthouse with those papers. If Helena went through all the trouble of stashing them, then they must be about Lucky." "I said I would tell you about anything that pertains to Lucky." "Like I believe anything you say!" Luke yelled. "You're probably behind all of this anyway. Where are you keeping my son and Emily, you rat!?" Stefan looked insulted. His shoulders squared as he tersely replied, "I understand that you are upset over Lucky's disappearance, but I won't allow you to make accusations like that. There is no way that I would abduct my own niece or Nikolas' brother." "Yeah, yeah, and I'm Olara, the belly dancing squirrel, ready to mesmerize you with my undulating midsection," Luke remarked, his words dripping with sarcasm. "You're an idiot." "You're an uptight, anal retentive corpse!" "I'm an uptight, anal retentive corpse with a set of papers to decode, so, if you'll excuse me, I will be going," Stefan smirked, picking up his coat. Luke blocked the doorway. "I told ya you weren't leaving with those papers, Vlad." "Move, Spencer!" Stefan ordered. "Make me!" Stefan put the documents in his coat pocket. "If I must..." Luke made a grab for Stefan's coat, catching the bottom and pulling. Stefan pulled back, his jaw setting in determination. "Give me those papers!" "Never!" Alexis watched the scene in numb fascination. Her brother and her lover were tugging back and forth like two irate dogs fighting over a bone. As her focus came back to her, she realized that, as fun as it was to watch, she should probably break it up. She stood, her eyes widening in surprise as the fight escalated. Stefan shoved Luke against the door, freeing his coat from the furious man's grasp. Luke's eyes blazed as he caught Stefan with a right hook. Stefan's hand came up to his injured mouth. He tossed the coat aside. Luke tried to lunge for it, but tripped over Stefan's upturned foot, sprawling onto the floor. Stefan stooped over, grabbing Luke by the collar of his T-shirt and slamming two successive punches into his jaw. Luke reached up, wrapping both hands around the other man's throat and began to squeeze. Their eyes locked in fierce competition as Stefan brought one hand up to try and loosen Luke's grip and bent the other one, shoving his elbow into Luke's face. The elbow made direct contact with Luke's nose, which started to bleed. They rolled over and over on the floor. "Stop fighting," Alexis muttered quietly as she found Stefan's discarded coat and pulled the documents out of the pocket. She really didn't mind having them occupied while she took a look. She grimaced when she saw Luke bleeding all over her carpet. Her eyes roamed over the encoded Greek lettering. She clutched the papers tightly as a flood of recognition washed over her. She had seen these before. "That's what she wants!" Alexis shrieked. "That's it!!" "What the he-" Nikolas started as he came downstairs. He raced into the middle of the fray to stop the fight. With his good arm, he tried to pull Stefan off of Luke. It was difficult with one of Luke's hands still around his uncle's throat. "You both need to stop! This isn't helping Lucky or anyone else!!!" At the mention of Lucky's name, Luke's grip loosened enough for Stefan to remove his hand. Stefan allowed himself to be dragged away. Panting, he glared at the Spencer with repulsion. "You reprobate!" Luke tried to get up off the floor, but fell back down on his back in exhaustion. "If I could get up, I'd give you more of what you just got, Count No Account!" Standing between them, Nikolas asked, "What is this all about?" "They were fighting over these," Alexis informed her nephew, holding up the papers, sheer glee in her eyes. "Yes," Stefan confirmed. He rubbed his neck, trying to work the dull ache out of the red rings that had formed. "I found those papers in the base of the clock. They seem to be of some importance. I was off to have them decoded when Spencer attacked me." "Don't listen to the lying little weasel! I found the papers and then Steffin here, snatched them away and tried to abscond with them. " "And you're calling me a liar?" Stefan replied in outrage. "I found the papers." "You may have picked them up off the floor, but you never would have been able to do so had I not broken the clock. So, as anyone can see, I am responsible for the discovery of the papers." Nikolas growled, rubbing his temples. The doctor's medication wasn't enough to fight off this. A bullet wound? Sure. Infection? Why not. But a flare up of the Spencer/Cassadine feud? Nothing could take the edge off. "These are papers that Helena wanted you to find and decode?" he asked. "We believe so," Stefan said. At the same time, Luke answered, "Yes." Across the room, Alexis emphatically replied, "NO!! " They all turned to look at her. Luke allowed his head to roll to the side to catch sight. "Of course she did, Alexis," Stefan said. "Why else would she have put them in a clock that she purposely sent?" The Valium had cleared her head, but left her with an impenetrable haze of nonchalance. "Because she didn't put them in the clock!" She skipped across the room to the closet. "Ahhh, Natasha," Luke groaned, wiping at his nose, "don't go back into the closet again. I can't take anymore of that." She opened the door, stretching up to pull a medium sized cardboard box down off the top shelf. She delivered it to the desk and ripped off the top. She pulled out some files, flinging them aside. Stefan and Nikolas came to stand behind her. She handed the documents from the clock over to Nikolas, who flipped through them. Finally, she pulled a shiny wooden box out into the open. She opened it and pulled out an envelope. She handed it to Stefan. He looked at his sister carefully. She nodded, encouraging him to open the envelope. When Stefan did, he gasped. "These are exact duplicates of the ones from the clock. Where did you get them?" Alexis took a deep breath. "A few years back, Jax and Chloe went to see one of Helena's minions in Greece. When they came back, they had been able to steal a few of Helena's secret documents." Stefan remembered. "The paternity test." Nikolas looked to his uncle, and then looked away. He didn't want to go back there. "Yes, the paternity test and a copy of our Father's will. Inside the will, was this envelope addressed to me. Our father wanted me to have these papers. I believe he put them in code in order to protect the information." "You've had these for years, but you didn't tell me?" Stefan questioned. "I had my reasons..." "So," Nikolas said, "have you had them decoded yet?" "I didn’t trust anyone with them, so I've been trying off and on to crack the code myself. Without any success. It's an irregular pattern..." Stefan raked his hand through his hair. "If Father wanted you and only you to have this, then why would he put a second set in the base of Mother's clock?" "I don't think he did. There's a very cryptic message at the end of the will. He says something about The Truth Turns in Threes." "What on earth does that mean?" Luke demanded, having joined the group. He rubbed Alexis' shoulder and his own sore jaw at the same time. "It could mean anything, but I'm starting to think that there may be three copies of this. That maybe he was trying to get certain information to certain people after his death," Alexis suggested. "We have two copies...where's the third?" Nikolas asked. "And who put the second copy in Helena's clock if not Helena? Maybe she's playing with our heads..." "The prince has a point," Luke said. "That sounds like Helena. She goes out of her way to lead us in the wrong direction and then blind sides us." "No, Luke," Alexis said. "Don't you get it? These papers, these are what she wants. This is why she took Emily! She knows I have these papers and, now, for some reason, it's life or death that she gets them back. She's trying to push my hand with that clock. It has always been a symbol of what happens if I don't obey her. Right now, she wants me to hand over these papers like a good little girl. The second copy being in the clock was just her own misfortune." Nikolas was confused, but knew that no one else had any explanations. "So, what do we do now?' "We decode the documents and see what use they are," Stefan answered. "I must be crazy, because I agree," Luke responded. "We have to find out what's on them. There are two copies now, so we each can take one, Count." "Total disclosure?" Stefan asked. "I guess..." Stefan pocketed a copy of the papers and pulled his coat on. He turned to Nikolas, eyeing the bandage on his shoulder. "Luke told me what happened. Are you all righ-" His sentence was cut off by the loud roar of a helicopter as it came out of nowhere and snaked up against the large picture window of Alexis' penthouse. In an instant, the bulletproof glass was blown to pieces by special plastic explosives. Alexis screamed as Luke threw himself on top of her, pulling her to the floor to protect her from the flying glass. Stefan and Nikolas dove behind the desk. No one had time to do anything but react. Through his terror, all Nikolas could do was think about the sleeping Gia he had left upstairs. The helicopter door opened, the pilot maneuvering the body of it right next to the blown window opening. Two men with large guns stepped into the apartment. Luke jumped up, ready to do battle. The sights of the guns gave him pause. Keeping Alexis behind him, he shouted, "What the hell do you guys want?" The first man hit Luke in the head with the gun. "You!" he growled, he and his partner grabbing onto Luke's unconscious form. "The boy comes, too," the man said, looking directly at Nikolas. Nikolas didn't know what to do. He had to make sure Gia was all right, but if the men would be happy to take him and leave everyone else alone, he would go willingly. "Over my dead body!" Stefan yelled, his body tight with dread. "Who sent you?!" The situation went from bad to worse when the front door was kicked in by four thugs in fatigues. "Everybody freeze!" all of the men yelled at the top of their lungs. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the other gruff men with guns. Like some kind of henchmen radar, they recognized that the other men were fellow brother's in arms. "Who the hell are you guys?" The men from the helicopters let Luke drop to the floor. "We have orders!" "So do we!" The helicopter men aimed their guns at the new men. "Put your guns down and let us finish." "NO," the thugs shouted in unison, all raising their guns. The second thug, yelled, "You put your guns down because we won't!" Alexis, Stefan, and Nikolas looked back and forth between the two different set of violent men . This couldn't be happening! The first helicopter man, cocked his gun, stepping over Luke's prone body and saying, "Then, it looks like someone's going to have to die..." |