Chapter 7
Setting: Street corner in New York City
Misty had been working the streets for months. She couldn't go home - and she didn't have anywhere else to go. All she wanted was to be an actress, but she couldn't seem to get a break. She hated being a prostitute - but it was better than the abuse she had suffered at home. Maybe - if she saved enough money - she could go to Los Angeles and try to make it there.
Brenda looked around at the different prostitutes standing on the street corner. Most were too common, coarse or cheap. But that one girl, near the back, didn't look like she belonged here. She had a sweet, innocent face. She looked honest. She was the right size. She'd be perfect for the job.
"Can I speak with you in private for a moment?" Brenda asked the girl.
Surprised, Misty replied "Um......No ladies. I don't do the kinky stuff.....ask someone else."
"No, no. You don't understand. I don't want you to sleep with anyone. I have a job that requires someone pretty and who can act. Think you can do that?" Brenda asks.
"Well, I am an actress, but I....." Misty begins.
"Come on, lets talk in private." Brenda says. She takes Misty's arm and together they walk to the coffee bar across the street.
Neither one sees the young woman across the street pull a cell phone out of her purse.
Setting: The Jacks suite at the Port Charles Hotel.
Jax is on the telephone. "Look, miss - I know I'm not an authorized user on that account. Its my wife's card. Can't you just tell me when and where she last used the card? She couldn't have too much cash with her so she has to be using her credit cards. Its very important that I found her." Jax tells the woman, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. The woman will not give him any information on the account. Jax slams the phone down.
The private investigator he'd hired hadn't turned anything up yet, it was as if she'd vanished.
"Where are you, Brenda?" Jax asks softly.
Setting: On a commercial airplane, heading to Kennedy Airport
"I don't believe this." Suanne mutters to herself. "What is she thinking? This is not what I
meant when I told her to keep an eye on Jerry and Sarah knows it." Suanne sighs deeply,
knowing from personal experience how hard it is to resist Jerry's charms.
Setting: a Coffee Bar in New York
Brenda and Misty are sitting at a table at the coffee bar. Neither notices the group of women come in the door and sit down at the table next to them.
"I won't do anything illegal no matter how much money you offer me." Misty tells Brenda.
"Good, because I don't want you to do anything illegal. And I can't pay you cash, I was mugged earlier today." Brenda tells her.
"Well, I don't work for free." Misty tells her, standing up.
"Sit down. I don't expect you to work for free. I just said I can't pay you cash." Brenda tells her.
"I don't take credit cards, either." Misty says as she sits down again.
"Good, since those were stolen too." Brenda tells her. Brenda reaches down into one of the shopping bags and pulls out a small box. "How's this for payment?" she asks Misty.
Misty opens the box and nearly drops it when she sees the contents. "These can't be real!" she exclaims, her pretty eyes wide open.
"They better be real, I just paid a small fortune for them." Brenda tells her, taking the box with the emerald earrings in it back from Misty.
"So, do we have a deal?" Brenda asks.
"What do I have to do?" Misty asks, intrigued.
"I need you to talk to someone, a woman, for a few minutes. I just need an address. It will only take you a few minutes. And in return, I will give you the earrings and some decent clothes to wear." Brenda tells her.
"How do I know this is on the up-and-up?" Misty asks, "I'm not going to jail for a pair of earrings and a dress."
"Don't worry, you won't be doing anything illegal." Brenda assures her. "So, are you in?"
"The earrings are worthless to me. I can't sell the earrings, the police will think I stole them. And a pawn shop wouldn't give a fraction of the value." Misty tells her.
"I'll give you the receipt. It won't be a problem." Brenda tells her.
Misty thinks it over for a moment. "All right, I'm in." she says.
"Good. Lets get going." Brenda says with a smile as she gets up from the table. "Do you have some place where you can change clothes? This will never work the way you're dressed."
"You two follow them. And if they split up, each of you take one." Lenore whispers to Holly and Oceangirl, who are seated at the table next to Brenda and Misty. "I've got to find Suanne and tell her we've found Brenda."
Setting: Corporate headquarters of Jacks Enterprises.
Addy is not at work today, instead a temp is trying to fill in. The phone is ringing off the hook from people frantic to reach Jax and Jerry. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jacks is not available at the moment. (pause) No, I have no idea when he will be available."
Misty, wearing her new emerald earrings and Brenda's new gray suit with black trim, matching pumps and purse, walks into the office. She's nervous, but she's a natural born actress.
"Good morning, I have an appointment to see Mr. Jacks." she tells the temp.
"Which Mr. Jacks?" the confused temp asks.
Brenda hadn't prepared Misty for this. More than one Mr. Jacks? Now what? "I'm not certain," she tells the temp, stalling for time. "All he said was that his name was Jacks." Misty glances around casually, trying to find something that would give her a clue as to Mr. Jacks' first name.
"Jax? Oh, he's not expected in the office today. Are you sure your appointment was today?" the temp asks.
"Jax, right I have an appointment with Jax." Misty says, nodding her head. "I was supposed to meet him at the Penthouse, not at the office. Unfortunately, I misplaced the address. I was hoping you could help me." Misty tells her, just as Brenda instructed her too.
"Oh, I don't think I'm supposed to give out that address." the temp tells her.
"Jax all ready gave me the address," Misty lies, "I simply misplaced it. He's expecting me there within the hour. He'll be upset if I'm not there. Very upset. "
"Oh.....um.....well...um, I .... I suppose its all right. Since he is expecting you anyway." the temp says nervously. She rights the address down for Misty.
Misty takes the address and leaves. She heads for the lobby where Brenda is waiting for
her.
Setting: The lobby of the J&J Jacks of Alaska building
Brenda is waiting for Misty to come down with the address of the Jacks' penthouse. She is holding Misty's belongings, since Misty is wearing one of her new outfits.
"I need a shower," Brenda thinks, "and a chance to lie down and rest."
Brenda thinks about Misty. Misty reminds her a lot of Robin. Beautiful and sad. "I hope she's cautious about HIV." Brenda thinks. "I wish there was some way I could help her." Suddenly, Brenda smiles. She takes the emerald necklace and bracelet out of her shopping bag and slips them into Misty's purse. Just as she zips shut the purse, Misty steps off the elevator.
"How did it go?" Brenda asks, grabbing Misty's arm as soon as she steps off the elevator.
"Nothing I couldn't handle. You might have warned me that there was more than one Mr. Jacks, though." Misty tells her, handing her the address.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot about John and Jerry." Brenda says as she looks at the address. "Well, thanks for all of your help, Misty. I mean, I really appreciate it." She hands Misty her clothes and belongings.
"I'm sure there's a ladies room around here somewhere. I'll change and give you your clothes back." Misty tells her.
Brenda shakes her head. "Keep them. You know, consider them a bonus for a job well done." Brenda tells her.
"Thanks." Misty says, surprised. "These clothes are classy," she thinks, "and exactly what I need for job interviews and auditions." Misty had never planned to make her living on the streets, and wanted out as soon as she could.
Brenda looks at Misty, "I could send you some money, you know, once I get settled....."
"I may not have much, Brenda, but I do have my pride." Misty says. She turns and leaves.
Setting: The Jacks' Penthouse in Manhattan
Jerry and Sarah are relaxing in the sauna, wearing nothing but towels. Jerry is leaning back against a wall, holding Sarah in his arms.
"Hmm.......I really do need to get some work done. All work and no play makes Jerry a very poor man." he tells her.
"Oh. I was hoping we could see some sights today. The only thing in New York I've seen is your apartment." Sarah says, running her fingers along his chest.
"That's not the *only* thing in New York you've seen." Jerry reminds her playfully, grabbing her hand. "Shall I remind you?"
* The camera pulls back and we see two towels fall to the floor.
Kennedy Airport - New York City
Suanne sighed as she stepped off the airplane in New York. She was not a happy camper. Jax and Brenda were having serious problems with their marriage, all because of Jerry and Miranda. Trying to get Jax and Brenda back together was giving her a major headache. First she'd flown from Washington, DC to Los Angeles to check out the situation with Jerry and Miranda, only to find out that Jerry had dumped Miranda for Sarah - one of Suanne's own people who'd been assigned to keep an eye on him. Now Suanne had to fly back across the country to New York, to track down Sarah. Suanne sighed again as she lugged her flightbag through the terminal.
"Suanne!" Lenore called out, running forward. "Thank God you're here. We found Brenda!" Lenore called out.
"How did you know I was coming? I didn't have a chance to call you." Suanne asked.
"Oh, Kathy and Lidia told me you were coming." Lenore said. "What was Sarah thinking?" she asked, taking some of the luggage from Suanne. "But, I guess Jerry's pretty hard to resist when he puts his mind to it." Lenore says.
"Tell me about it." Suanne mutters to herself, thinking back.
Setting: Streets of New York
Misty, still wearing her new clothes, is walking down the street. She stops at a restaurant and goes into the bathroom. She takes off the earrings and opens her purse to retrieve the box. The clothes she would keep, but the earrings she would return to the store. Dressed in these expensive clothes, the clerks shouldn't question her returning the earrings - especially since Brenda had given her the receipt.
Misty opened the purse and looked inside, surprised at the contents. Rather than one jewelry box - there were three! Hands trembling, Misty opened the larger box and found a beautiful emerald necklace. She quickly opened the next box and found a matching bracelet. "I don't believe this!" she thinks. "Brenda must have put these in here, but why?"
Misty thought quickly. Making sure that no one else had seen the emeralds, she put the
boxes back in her purse. "The store will never let me return these for cash." Misty thinks.
"And I won't get more than a fraction of their value if I pawn them. Why did you do this,
Brenda?" Misty, though a prostitute, is basically a decent and honest person.
Circumstances had forced her to make choices that were appalling to her - but she still had
her pride. She never took anything she didn't deserve. And now there was only one thing
she could do, return the jewelry to Brenda. Luckily, she knew just where to find her - the
penthouse in Manhattan.
Setting: The apartment building on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where the Jacks' Penthouse is located.
Jerry is in the elevator, heading down toward the lobby. He has some urgent work to do on his latest acquisition. Sarah is sound asleep up in the Penthouse. She'd be disappointed about the sightseeing - but he'd make it up to her later.
Brenda has finally arrived, shopping bags in tow, at the apartment building. She tells the doorman that she is Brenda Barrett-Jacks, wife of Jasper Jacks. Surprised, he lets her in.
Brenda walks over to the elevators and presses the up button. Just then the bell dings, indicating that the elevator has just come down. She walks over to the doors. Jerry steps off the elevator. He and Brenda stare at each other in shock.
"Oh my God! Jax! What are you doing here?" Brenda asks, dropping the shopping bags on the floor.
Jerry stares at Brenda. "Uh oh." is the only thing he can say.
Setting: Jacks' Suite at the Port Charles Hotel
"No, Lucy, she isn't here. No, I don't know where she is. No, I don't think she will be at the shoot today. I don't have time for this, Lucy." Jax runs his fingers through his hair. Speaking with Lucy required patience he just didn't have at the moment. "Look, I'll have Brenda call you as soon as I see her." Jax hangs up the phone, cutting Lucy off mid-sentence.
Jax picks up the phone and begins to dial a number, but just then there is a knock at the door. Jax hangs up the phone and goes to the door.
"Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day." Jax says, stepping back to let the private investigator in.
"I've been trying to find your wife." the investigator, Grady, tells him. "And, I think I've got a lead."
"Where is she?" Jax asks, closing the door.
"New York. I had better luck tracing her credit cards than you did. Apparently she went on a shopping spree. Clothes, shows, jewelry - you name it, she bought it." Grady tells Jax.
Without a word Jax turns away from the investigator. He picks up the telephone, "Have
the jet ready in 15 minutes, we're going to New York." he tells the person on the other end.
Setting: The lobby of apartment building on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where the Jacks' Penthouse is located.
"I don't believe this. I go to all of this trouble to avoid you - and here you are! What are you doing...following me? How do you think you are???" Brenda yells at Jerry, still thinking that he's Jax.
"Avoid me? Why would you......Oh right, Miranda." Jerry says, remembering that Jax never had a chance to explain to his wife about the mix-up.
"Miranda? So you're finally admitting it, you son of a ...." Brenda says, a fire kindling in her eyes.
"What? No, no. I can explain everything." Jerry starts, but Brenda interrupts him.
"Look, I'm tired. I'm sore. And I am not in the mood for this. I am going to go up to the Penthouse, have a long hot shower, and relax. You can do whatever you want." Brenda says, pushing past Jerry.
"NO!" Jerry says loudly, blocking Brenda. "Um....You can't do that." Sarah was in the Penthouse, and the last thing Jerry wanted right now was another confrontation. As much as Jerry loved creating trouble and playing jokes, he didn't like to be in the middle of them when they exploded. He preferred to stay at a safe distance. Besides, Jax already had a lot of explaining to do to his new bride.....what's-her-name. The last thing Jax needed right now was to explain away yet another woman.
"Why not? What, do you have another woman stashed here too?" Brenda asks him sarcastically.
"Another woman? Of course not, I would never do that.......darling. Um.....its uh, its....being redecorated....for you. As a surprise. I thought the place needed a new look. Its a mess right now. You couldn't relax there. We keep a suite at the Plaza for business purposes. Why don't I take you over there.....darling." Jerry tells her, steering her towards the main doors.
Brenda sighs deeply, too tired to argue. "Fine, I don't care anymore." Brenda says,
following Jerry out of the building.