"Have you gone insane, Francesca?"
"No."
"Francesca, this is not the time for such harsh behavior," Argento said grimly.
Drawing herself up in her chair, Frankie stretched tired arms above her head to loosen the knots within her shoulders. She and Vincent had been in meetings since early this morning, going over how to put the business back into the flow of operation. Somehow, Vincent had tricked her into revealing her one honest goal.
The death of Sonny Corinthos.
"No one has been able to get rid of Corinthos. Not your father, not Sorrel. Do you think you could just walk up and pull the trigger," Argento asked seriously.
Frankie shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Right now, he doesn't even know I exist. Would Corinthos expect a beautiful women as myself to want to hurt him? Murder him? I think not Vincent."
"But still..."
"Anyway, a bullet would be too tame for my dear friend Mr. Corinthos. I want him to suffer for what he has done to my father. For moving into his territory. For taking away business from our operations and forcing father to resort to drug trafficing. For the death of the only living parent I had left. No, Vincent. For all Mr. Corinthos has given me, I should be able to repay him with something much more creative than a bullet."
Argento watched her silently. All through her speech, she had remained smiling, almost as if her words brought her some great pleasure. And in all honesty, he supposed they did. Though Moreno had never shared a great closeness with is only child, Francesca had lived for the moments when she could be with her father. His death had not come as a surprise to her, but she had been angered by it nonetheless.
"As your second in command..."
"Vincent, really. Must we go through this," Frankie asked. She pulled the black ribbon holding her hair up out, shaking the ebony strands free.
"As your second in command," Argento continued, undettered, "I must insist that you hear what I have to say on this topic."
Her light mood diminishing rapidly, she discarded the ribbon on the table. "Alright," she told him quietly with a nod.
Argento stood, his own legs tired from being confined under the table for so long. He thought his words over carefully before he spoke. "I understand your dislike for Sonny Corinthos."
Frankie raised an eyebrow but remained silent.
"And I also understand your need to seek revenge for your father's death, even though it came at the hands of someone you have already disposed of. I will not stand in your way of doing so. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't warn you of the danger involved."
"Danger, Argento," Frankie murmured, clearly uninterested in what he had to say.
"Yes, Francesca. Danger. Danger as in Sonny Corinthos is one of the major heads in the North East operations. Danger as in he is so well known, and so well liked by others, that it would be almost impossible to find a way within his operations. That is the only way you would be able to dispose of him Francesca. You try anything else, and you will end up buried next to your mother and father."
Frankie looked down at the papers draping the table. As much as she hated to admit, Vincent was right. Sonny Corinthos was all he had mentioned and more. It was with only luck that her father had been able to keep the business moving with the number of workers Corinthos had been attracting over the years. But if there was one thing she had learned from her father, it was to never give up. For as long as he had kept the operations moving, she would do the same and more. But Corinthos would suffer unmercifully for what he had done to her father. All he had done to her.
"I understand completely, Vincent."
"Do you, Francesca," he asked, seating himself back in his chair.
She tilted her head, studying the older man quietly. "Yes, Vincent. I do. But you must also understand where I am coming from."
"Completely. But the means of which you intend to reach your goal, they are not accepted."
She nodded, trusting his word. "Not accepted, but nonetheless used."
"She is a complete innocent in this Francesca."
"But the child she carries is the one thing Mr. Corinthos wants. Desires. Taking that away from him would only be the icing on the cake. I intend to blow out candles as well."
Vincent shook his head. "So, you think Corinthos won't find out that the woman his girlfriend works for is daughter to his arch rival for years? He is smart. His operation is even smarter."
Francesca stood, walking around the table to sit in front of Argento. Leaning her face in, she gave a slow grin. "That is why you will become my cover Vincent. I have already sent out soldeirs to announce."
The man frowned, not liking what he feared would come out of her mouth.
"To our world, you will be announced as the next head of the Moreno organization. Or should I put it, the Argento organization." Leaning back, Frankie continued to smile as she watched her words sink in on her old friend's face.
"But Francesca..."
"Uh, uh, uh," Frankie said, wagging a playful finger in Vincent's horrified face. "You gave your word to stand by my side and help me Vincent."
Pursing his lips, Argento nodded grimly. "Yes, I did." The words were barely heard.
Frankie stood, walking around the chair he was seated in to the window on the far wall. "Sonny Corinthos will pay dearly for his sins to the Moreno family. First his child. Then, his empire. Seeing him gasp for breath will be a triumph only I will enjoy."
Sonny watched silently as Carly continued to shift in her seat. They had arrived moments ago and had been asked to be seated until called in by the nurse. Carly had quickly found an unoccupied seat in the corner, whereas Sonny had been forced to stand stoicly by the door with Francis.
The truth was, he wasn't feeling all so stoic.
Carly's eyes had been trained on anything but him for the end duration of their ride up until this moment. Not only keeping her sight trained away, she had also kept her mouth shut. And as much as that was welcomed at times, he wished she would quit with the silent treatment so that they could at least have a normal visit with the doctor.
"Mr. Corinthos," a soft voice asked. Sonny turned his glance away from Carly to the door leading back into the inner offices.
"Yes," he answered, stepping away from the wall.
"Dr. Hutchinson is almost ready for your appointment. If your wife is here," she shooting a glance towards Francis and back to Sonny, "she can go on back and change for the exam while you wait in the doctor's office. Someone will come in to give you some forms to fill out while you're waiting."
Sonny didn't hear much past the word wife. His gaze immediately shot over to Carly, who now sat examing her fingernails.
Wife?
Before any more thoughts could run through his head, he pointed in her direction. "That's her," he nearly croaked through the dryness of his mouth. "Francis, you stay with her," Sonny told the guard before making his way to the door.
"Only the expecting parents are allowed back, Mr. Corinthos," the nurse told his retreating form.
Sonny stopped and turned. "He's her guard. He stays with her," he delivered before disappearing behind the door.
Flustered, the nurse shot a look in Francis' direction before making her way through the waiting room. "Mrs. Corinthos," she asked, stopping a few feet in front of the woman he had pointed to.
Carly looked up into the face smiling down at her. "Excuse me," she asked, not sure if she had heard the woman right.
"Your husband is already waiting for you in the doctor's office. If you can just follow me, I'll take you back to get changed and ready for the tests we need to take."
Husband? "He's not my..." she began before seeing that the nurse was leaving, Carly shot up out of her seat and followed. "Tests," she asked, hoping the woman would slow down enough to hear her.
"Here were are," she said opening a door. "And yes, we will need to have a urine sample, some blood taken, and then Dr. Hutchinson will perform a preliminary exam. You can change in here and go through the door on the other side into the exam room. I'll be in shortly," she finished before turning to leave.
Carly looked into the room, and then over to Francis who had followed, probably on Sonny's instruction. "So, you need to come in here with me," she asked teasingly. Seeing a light blush crawl up his face, she smiled and handed him her purse. Walking into the small change room, she closed the door.
It seemed like hours later before she was through with all the tests. Dr. Georgia Hutchinson had been a middle-aged woman who'd had lots of tips to give her on staying healthy throughout her pregnancy. It had even surprised Carly that the woman had known everything about her pregnancy with Michael, but she guessed it was her job. Coming out of the changing room, she found Francis standing along the opposite wall, holding her purse.
"Thanks Francis," she told him with a smile as he handed her the purse.
"Is it over," he asked hopefully.
"What? Are you scared? Big, bad, gun toting Francis scared of a Woman's Clinic?"
Embarrased, his face immediately went back into guard mode, void of all expression.
"No, its not over," she told him, though she was beginning to feel the need to spring out. "I still have to meet with the doctor and Sonny." She looked down the hall, spotting another nurse. Walking towards her, she asked "Do you know where Dr. Hutchinson's office is?"
"Yes. It's back three more doors on your right, ma'am," the young woman told her. Carly smiled breezily, walking back towards the door. Stopping in front of the closed door, she hesistated in going in. What if she turned and bolted from the scene? Francis would have to tell Sonny before they came after her. She'd be gone by then.
"Johnny's out in the hallway," Francis said, stopping beside the door.
Carly turned to look at him. "How do you read minds?"
He shrugged. "Its my job."
Rolling her eyes, Carly turned to knob, walking in to the office.
Sonny lifted his head from the forms he had been trying to fill-out to look at Carly. The two just stared at each other momentarily before Sonny waved her in.
Closing the door behind her, Carly made her way to the chair beside Sonny. Sitting down, she took in the office's decor, with its many plants as well as books.
"How did the tests go," came Sonny's quiet voice.
She looked over at him seeing his attention caught on some papers he held.
"Fine, I guess. What's that," she asked, nodding towards the clipboard he held.
Sonny shifted in his seat. "Just some papers they're making me fill out. I don't know... It seems kind of pointless to me. "
"Do you need help," she asked him.
He looked up at her. "No."
She was about to say something when a door opened, gaining both their attentions.
"Oh, good, you're here Carly," Georgia said, making her way behind her desk to a cabinet. "I guess we can now begin with the question and answer segment of the appointment." She opened the cabinet door, taking out several pamphlets and a bag, before closing it and returning to her desk.
"These are just some basic pamphlets discussing things that are important to know during the first trimester of pregnancy. Though, with Carly, I think the main concern is spotting any dangers to her or the baby in order to make the pregnancy safer for them both. Now, we've already conducted an ultrasound, which the results--"
"Wait a minute," Sonny interrupted. "You already did the ultrasound?"
"Don't worry Mr. Corinthos. It was just a transvaginal ultrasound, used in the first trimester of pregnancy to visualize the cervix, the uterus, gestational sac, embryo and other deep pelvic structures. That procedure is done more for my purpose of seeing exactly what is going on rather than for you or Carly. What you're thinking of is the transabdominal ultrasound, during which both parents are allowed to see their child's movements. But we only conduct those during the second and third trimesters, and on a need only basis. Carly will probably have at least one, along with an amniocentesis to detect genetic information about your baby as well as information about its health and maturity."
The doctor sat with them for thirty more minutes going over all their questions, most of which came from Sonny. In fact, the man seemed to know more about her own pregnancy than she did, Carly mused, drifting in and out of their conversation. She had questions herself, but they paled in comparision to the detailed ones Sonny threw at Dr. Hutchinsion. She guessed she should feel lucky that she has such an active partner in this pregnancy, but his interest and knowledge also angered her.
By the time they left the office, Carly was in the same foul mood she had been on their arrival.
"You want me to take you home," Sonny asked her when they reached the limo. He noticed her quietness, but decided to ignore it.
With Michael spending the afternoon with Bobbie, the thought of her empty apartment didn't sit well with Carly. Returning to work was not an option, since she'd told Dani she would be out all day. She didn't have anywhere she needed to be and that thought upset her the most.
"No. Actually, I think I'll just take a walk." Carly turned and began down the sidewalk.
Sonny almost went after, but decided against it because it was pointless. He nodded for Francis to follow her as he slipped into the front of the limo. Maybe she needed some time alone to think. There were too many unanswered questions rolling through his own head to deal with her right now anyway. But sooner or later, he knew he'd have to face the questions. Face her.
Right now, he just wasn't ready.