ADVENTURES IN VILLAINY
written by Wisteria
Part One
Officer V. Ardanowski cradled the phone receiver in the crook of her neck and examined her fingernails, "Yes, yes, Jax is fine. Why won't you believe me? I'm taking good care of him."
"Just make sure it stays that way, V." Her boss commanded.
"Mmm-hmm..don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens."
She hung up the phone and looked down distastefully at her hideous clothing, "Gawd, I hope this game is over soon, I'm ready to get back into some designer clothes!"
---
Jax gazed out the window distractedly, not even noticing the pile of work that needed to be completed. Earlier that morning he had taken Brenda's things from storage and set them out for the garbage collectors. Seeing Brenda and Sonny in Florida had opened his eyes and he wanted nothing more to do with her. Sadly, he slipped off his wedding ring, opened the window, and tossed it out.
---
After checking to make sure each of the doors and windows were locked, Brenda finally felt safe enough to turn on the shower. Even then she wished she had some sort of protection. Showers had never been the same since almost being killed in one. She could hear Sonny on the phone conducting business with Jason in the other room and glared. How long could she keep pretending, she wondered. She had realized in Florida that she didn't love Sonny anymore, that the mere thought of him was enough to make her wretch. As she began shampooing her hair she wondered what Jax was doing right now...
---
Stefan smiled, this new computer program was wonderful. It was just as good as the old one, and now he and Alexis could get on with their plan.
He turned to Faison, "Bravo, Cesar, once again you come through for me."
Faison tipped his head as he puffed on a cigar, "It was my pleasure of course."
"And how are our ... er ... visitors doing?" Stefan asked.
"They seem to have finally settled in. And how is your nephew? He still knows nothing of your plans, am I correct?"
"He knows nothing. I could never tell him the truth, he's not a real Cassadine and he acts just like his father, Luke."
Stefan didn't hear the small gasp that came from the door of the room. Nor did he see Nikolas slipping out the front door.
---
Lucky smiled as he talked to his baby sister, "Ok Lu, sounds like you're having fun in Switzerland. Can you put mom on again?"
Laura came on to say goodbye, "Don't worry Lucky, we'll be able to come home soon. Grandma is doing much better and we all miss Port Charles."
"Ok mom, I love you!"
Lucky hung up the phone, and then called to Foster. He decided tonight was a great night to do some exploring in the catacombs. Just as he set foot out the door he was grabbed from behind.
"Don't move!" Hissed an angry voice, "And don't say a word or you'll regret it."
---
Alexis's plan was working perfectly. She and Ned had gotten so much closer these past few days. If she could just gain his trust, then she and Stefan could put the final stage of the plan into motion. By the end of the summer, the Quartermaine fortune, among others, would belong to the Cassadines, and once again, they would rule the world.
---
Part Two: Storm Clouds on the Horizon
Brenda paused in mid-stretch and looked at Sonny, who was standing over her, glaring, "Sonny? What's wrong?"
Sonny dumped a pile of Brenda's dirty clothes in front of her, "This is what's wrong, Brenda. I'm tired of this place looking like a pig sty. Can't you take one moment from your precious modelling career to keep up the housecleaning? We are going to be husband and wife pretty soon, and you should do a few things for me."
Brenda looked at him, open-mouthed, "What are you talking about?! Can't we just hire a housekeeper?"
Sonny tensed up, glaring even more, "NO, Brenda, we cannot just hire a housekeeper. Is it too much for me to expect this little from you? Or are you too shallow to even do this?"
Brenda gasped, then slapped Sonny across his cheek, hard. Sonny grunted, and before she knew it, he had grabbed Brenda by the arm. He shook her hard, then slapped her.
"Don't you dare do that again, Brenda!" He screamed at her, "Or you will be sorry."
He tossed her away from him and stalked out of the room. Brenda kneeled on the floor, shaking and in shock, then slowly began to pick up the clothes Sonny had tossed around her.
---
V glanced through Jax's appointment book, making notes of where she needed to be. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming, and she quickly closed the book and made sure everything was in place. The door rattled, and V hid in a nearby closet. Jax entered, loosening his tie, and tossing his jacket over a chair. With a sigh, he sat down behind his desk and picked up the phone. "Yes, Lydia, Jax here." He spoke into the receiver, "Well, it's very nice to hear from you also. Listen, I need you to do something for me. When does Brenda's contract with this company expire? That soon, huh? Don't renew it. Yes, I'm very serious. Thank you, you have a good day too."
Jax hung up the phone, gathered some papers, and headed off to his next meeting. V let out a huge sigh of relief and came out of the closet. "The boss will want to hear of this." She murmured, then let herself out of the room with the key to Jax's office she had stolen.
---
Lucky struggled to break free of the strong arms that were gripping him tightly, but to no avail. Foster barked and lunged at the figure. The man grunted, then lashed out his leg, kicking Foster away. Lucky was furious, and began struggling harder. Then there was a sharp pain in the back of his head, and everything went dark.
---
Nikolas pulled the unconcious body of Lucky towards the catacombs. His face was smudged with dirt and tear-streaked. Foster followed, growling quietly. "We need to talk...brother." Nikolas said.
---
Faison deftly undid the bolts to his basement door and descended the stairs, balancing a tray of food while he did. The room was damp and the only light source came from a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. "How are we doing tonight?" Faison asked, pleasantly. Robert glared from behind the bars of his cell, "You're going to regret keeping all of us here, Cesar, I'll make sure of it."
Faison laughed, "I doubt it, Scorpio. You have been "dead" for years." "What about the others?" Robert said, nodding towards the other cells.
Sean Donely and Frisco Jones glared out at Faison.
"Jones has been missing for awhile, I'm sure he is presumed dead also,"
Faison continued, "And as for Donely, well...I have his wife, she is the only one who knew that he went off on a mission to find you."
Robert banged on the bars, "Damn you, Faison! I will get out of here and I will kill you!"
Faison laughed, then set the trays just inside each cell, "No, Scorpio, you will never get out. And I will have Anna, and everyone else you care for, to myself.
Robert sat down on the thin mattress in his cell abruptly, and as Faison left the room, he put his face in his hands and began sobbing silently.
---
Faison again carried a tray of food, and unlocked yet another door, this one leading to the attic. But instead of a bare cell, he revealed an elegant apartment, full of plush carpet and the best furnishings money could by. Anna Scorpio sat on the sofa in the middle of the room. She was dressed in a gauzy white gown and her hair was brushed to a silky sheen. She looked up from the book she was reading when Faison entered, and immediately her face clouded up.
"I told you I didn't want to see you anymore." She spat at him, "You can just have your maid bring up my food."
Faison approached her and reached out a hand to stroke her cheek, "Anna...you don't mean that."
Anna knocked his hand away, "Yes I do! You are keeping me against my will, I haven't seen the outside world in years...I haven't seen my husband in years!"
"Your husband is dead." Faison snapped, his face twisting into an ugly snarl.
"I don't believe that! I'll never believe it!"
"Believe it, Anna. Robert is dead. Now all you have is me."
Anna glared silently at Faison, her eyes blazing with hatred.
"Don't look at me like that, Anna. It's not all bad here, I give you the
best I can. And now, I have brought someone to keep you company."
Faison set the tray of food down on a table then called to his men waiting outside the door. The guards dragged in two struggling figures and Anna gasped. It was Tiffany Hill and Holly Sutton. The men released the two women and Tiffany ran towards Anna.
"I knew you were alive!" She sobbed, hugging Anna tightly, "I just knew it!"
Holly stared in awe at Anna. Anna smiled gently and hugged Holly also. "Holly...it's been a long time."
Holly's eyes filled with tears, "Oh...I'm so glad you're alive, Anna. But why did they bring me here? Why are you here?"
"I was captured by Faison when our boat exploded. He nursed Robert and me back to health, then trapped us here. He says Robert is dead, but I don't believe it. I can feel that he is somewhere in this house. I can only guess that you are here...because Robert loved you once. Faison wants to ruin Robert's life by taking away everything he loved. The only person he hasn't taken is Robin, and that is because I begged him not to ruin her life too. He still might kidnap her one of these days."
Anna broke off, too choked up to continue, and Holly hugged her tightly. "We'll get out of here, Anna," Tiffany said, "We have to. Faison capturedSean the same time he took me. Sean was out looking for Robert, he hasn'tbelieved that Robert was dead and neither did I."
While the two women were talking, Faison slipped quietly out of the room.
"What next, boss?" One of his men asked.
Faison thought for a moment, "It's time to bring in Jones's ex-wife, after that we take Robin. Then my...family will be complete."
---
Stefan smiled at Alexis, "You have done well, cousin."
He handed her the disk Faison had made him, "This will allow us to transfer all of the Quartermaine fortune into Cassadine accounts. Then we will work on infiltrating more companies. Soon the world will be ours."
Alexis smiled coldly, "Very good, Stefan. As usual your plan is brilliant."
Just then there was a knock at the door. When Stefan answered it he was surprised to discover Katherine. She grabbed Stefan and gave him a long, slow kiss. Stefan was flustered when she broke it off.
"I know what you're doing..." Katherine gasped, "...And I want to help."
---
The chill icy Swiss wind whipped around Luke as he went out to call Lulu in for dinner. He looked up to the sky to see dark, ominous clouds rolling in. In the distance he could hear the low grumble of thunder. "Something's not right..." He murmured, clutching Lulu to him, "Something is definitely not right."
---
TO BE CONTINUED