It was Sunday morning, the second day after Jax and Brenda returned to Port Charles. Jax ordered breakfast and called the Superintendent of the Lakeview Condominium Apartments. Brenda joined him just as room service arrived and he told her they had an appointment within the hour to visit the Penthouse. During breakfast, they planned what their approach would be.
Later that morning, Ben Arnold, the Superintendent, turned over a set of keys for Penthouse No. 3 to Jax and accompanied him and Brenda to the apartment. As he opened the door, he explained that he had a second set of keys which he would give to the Doctors Augustini when they arrived. He requested that the set he gave to Jax be returned to him so that he could deliver both sets to the new residents.
They walked in and looked around. The place was apparently fully furnished, but everything was under dust covers, and the drapes were drawn closed. Brenda walked toward the front and pulled the drapes sharply open, jumping back in the process.
"Ugh! Dusty!" she exclaimed. "Jax! This place will have to be cleaned! Your parents would have a fit if we let their friends come into this!"
"They sure would!" he agreed, as he pulled back some dust covers.
"The furniture isn't bad," he said after looking around a bit. "We'll have to get the cleaners in, but if they want to make changes, they can decide on that after they get settled."
"Yeah," Brenda agreed. "We don't want to get too carried away! After all, we don't know them or what their taste is like, so we couldn't really choose for them, could we?"
As he was about to turn around, in his peripheral vision, Jax became aware of Sonny Corinthos standing in the hallway, outside the still-open door. Keeping his gaze averted, he turned to the Superintendent, saying,
"Thanks, Mr. Arnold! We'll just look around a bit more, make some notes and come to see you on the way out. As I see it right now, we'll be sending in painters, cleaners and probably housekeeping of some sort, as soon as we can round them up. I'll keep these keys for the time being so that either my wife or I can come in as needed to see to things."
"No problem, Mr. Jacks. Just knock on my door on your way out and let me know what you will need."
"Will do! Your new residents will be coming in some time toward the end of the week. We were on vacation, or we could have started on this sooner. It's going to be a bit of a rush, especially with the painting. This place looks like it's been empty for quite a while?"
"Yes, it has. A few years, in fact. The owners live overseas."
"Well," Jax told him, "the place is in sound shape, just the same, and the furniture seems adequate. We'll probably get some new bedding and that should do it until the Augustinis make their own decisions about any changes they want. We'll just arrange to have the place painted and cleaned and, we'll have to figure out where to put some bookshelves.
"After we look around, my wife may have a few other suggestions, but I don't see us doing anything major. We'll be dropping in during the week, just to speed things up. When the Augustinis arrive, we'll just leave them in your hands."
"Anything I can do, Mr. Jacks, you can count on me. I will look out for your friends." And the Superintendent walked out.
Turning to Brenda, Jax said, "It's not a bad place. It's plenty big - too big, if you ask me, for two people who won't spend a lot of time here. Let's make a list and get out of here..." and he turned toward the door, still aware that Sonny was hovering.
Just as he was about to close the door, Jax looked up and appeared to just notice Sonny in the hallway. "Good morning, Mr. Corinthos! Were you wanting to talk with me."
"Just passing," Sonny said. "Are you sure you aren't moving in next door?" he asked.
"No fear!" Jax replied "However, I should let you know, it's likely to be a bit noisy here for the next few days. We've only got this week to get the place in order and there will be painters and probably a carpenter in here in the next few days. There will be cleaners and a decorator, or probably somebody from Wyndham's home furnishings department, whatever Brenda decides. But they'll be all through by the week-end. So I apologize in advance for any noise or inconvenience."
"No problem," Sonny told him. "As long as they don't work all night and keep me from my beauty sleep!" Sonny's smile did not reach his eyes.
"I doubt that you need worry about that," Jax replied. "There's not really a lot to do here. It just has to be done quickly. The people want to move in here on the week-end. If it's not ready, we'll just put them in the hotel for a day or two.
"I don't want to keep you," he continued, "and we want to get out of here." He closed the door, leaving Sonny in the hallway.
Sonny, looking at the closed door, muttered, "Yeah! Don't want to keep you either, Jax-boy!" He turned back into his own apartment.
Brenda, already inside the bedroom, was unaware of the encounter.
"I just saw Mr. Corinthos in the hallway," Jax told her. "He still likes to think we may be moving here."
"Really? We'd be stupid! Take a look here." And she pointed out that all the drapes needed to be changed.
They moved around the apartment for nearly an hour, removed the dust covers and made a list of what needed to be done. They located the entry to the war-room from the diagram which Robert gave them, and after a quick look around there, they secured the wall behind them.
Power to the war-room needed to be connected, but it was clearly very much like the set-up in the Catacombs. Next step would be to get Sean Donelly in there to activate everything and add the necessary modifications to make the entire system compatible with the Catacombs.
A short while later, they locked the apartment and went down to see Superintendent Arnold. They told him their plans. First to come in on Monday morning, or as quickly as they could arrange it, would be the painters. Brenda told him she would try to find somebody to supervise the job and she would also be coming in herself to make sure the work was carried out satisfactorily.
Jax said they would be installing some bookshelves in the den and they asked to be taken to the studio apartment on the second floor, the one that the Augustinis would use as an office.
It took only ten minutes to check the place out, and to agree that it would do perfectly. They organized a lease, got a set of keys, arranged for painters to go in there also, and said they would be sending in furniture as soon as the painting and cleaning was done. They arranged to keep the Superintendent fully informed of all trades people and visitors who would be in and out of the building during the coming week.
Back at the penthouse, Jax called Robert and reported. Robert said the painters and carpenters who would go in on Monday were from an established company in Port Charles, one that the WSB used regularly. The staff for the job would be skilled WSB operators.
The plan was that they would bring their truck into the underground garage and use the service elevator for their ladders, painting equipment and stuff, so as not to use the lobby. The security system in the garage would pick them up, but they would be seen simply as workmen entering to do an arranged job. Jax said he would be sure that Ben Arnold was informed.
Jax then called the Superintendent, told him the plan and asked that he admit the workmen on Monday morning, using his keys, and also later in the day if they should leave at lunch time. "My wife will probably drop in during the morning, to make sure that the job is to her liking," he added.
"As soon as the painting is finished," he told him, "we'll let you know the name of the cleaning firm we hire. "When the decorators' go in, I expect that my wife will be with them. We'll keep you posted. And thanks for your help."
For Jax and Brenda, that took care of the immediate details. With the WSB on the job, it was up to them to know when Sonny Corinthos was out of his apartment, and to get the necessary work in the war- room done with all possible speed.
By the end of the day, a check with Ben Arnold confirmed that all had gone smoothly with the painters who were coming in to do a second coat the next day. He told Jax that a good-looking set of bookshelves was installed on one wall, the carpenter was finished and the painters would be out of there on Tuesday afternoon.
He also reported that the second floor studio would have its first coat of paint on Tuesday morning, and the second in the afternoon. "Those painters of yours are a right efficient bunch, Mr. Jacks," he said.
"They'd better be!" Jax told him. "They're being paid plenty for it! I just wish we had more time. But we can only do our best. And thanks for your help. You've made it possible for us not to have to be there when the tradespeople arrive."
Monday evening - Jax called Robert, telling him that he had not gone near the Penthouse that day, but that Brenda had checked in during the afternoon. Robert confirmed that the war-room power was on, the private elevator was working and accessible from the second and fifth floors, and also from the basement. And the modifications to the medial wall in the war-room were complete.
A row of cement blocks was removed, replaced with triple-glazed glass, as Robert had explained earlier, and the laser-audio-video-monitor was in place. All sounds from Corinthos's penthouse were now being recorded by the WSB. The affected area of the war-room wall was covered with a good quality, almost foolproof Picasso copy, mounted on a pulley, which could be elevated at a moment's notice. That would be important, if it was decided that it was necessary to actually see into the apartment next door. All that remained to activate the war-room equipment and bring it up to par with the Catacombs was a visit from Sean Donelly.
On Tuesday morning, shortly after the painters arrived on the second floor, Sonny Corinthos approached Ben Arnold.
"Ben," he said, "what's with my neighbors? I understand Mr. Jacks has been hanging around?"
"Morning, Mr. Corinthos! No, he hasn't been in since Sunday. He sent us some painters though, and a carpenter to put in shelves. His wife dropped in yesterday, jut to make sure the colors were O.K., and she fussed a bit about the painters using enough drop cloths, to protect the furniture and the carpets. But she needn't have bothered. They seem to know what they're doing."
"They built some shelves, did they? I was thinking of getting some shelves myself. Do you think I could take a look at the job? Maybe I could hire the same guy?"
"I don't see why not," the Arnold replied. "Do you want to look right now?"
"Yeah, why not? It's as good a time as any."
Ben Arnold picked up the phone and called the painters on the second floor. "I've a resident here," he said, "a neighbor of No. 3 where you're painting. He'd like to take a look at the shelves that were built yesterday. I could bring him up in the next few minutes, if that's O.K.?"
He turned to Sonny, "Just give me a minute to tell my man that I'm leaving the desk and we'll go right up," he said.
When they arrived at No. 3, one of the painters was looking around, apparently examining the work from the day before.
"This is Mr. Corinthos. Lives next door," Ben explained. "He's thinking of building himself some shelves and he'd like to take a look at the job that was done here yesterday."
"No problem! This way, sir." And the painter led the way into the spacious den. A well-constructed set of bookshelves, covering one entire wall from ceiling to floor, was painted in antique blue, trimmed with gold. Otherwise, every wall in the room was bare, except for an elegant marble fireplace on the short wall. The smell of paint was strong throughout the space.
"That is going to take an awful lot of books," Sonny said. "I wasn't thinking of anything quite so... big!"
"I gather we have two university professors coming in, Mr. Corinthos," the painter told him. "They probably have a lot more books than you or I would. Anyway, as I understand it, Mr Jacks gave the shelf sizes. He said they were planned to fit their books, and he said to put shelves on the entire wall. Maybe they wanted the look of it.
"So my company sent over one of our carpenters yesterday, and that's what he did. It fits the specs."
"The shelves will stay when the professors move on," Ben told him. "They're attached to the wall now, so that's the way of it."
Sonny took the opportunity to look carefully around and left, satisfied that all that was going on next door to him was painting and carpentry. "By the time that bookcase is filled with books," he thought, "I won't have to worry about any sounds from my apartment being heard in here." He left, feeling he could relax about his new neighbors.
Tuesday evening, Robert, on the phone with Jax, told him about Sonny Corinthos's visit and reported that the painting was finished. He told him that, next morning, a Mr. Elmer Smythe would be coming around to give an estimate for steam cleaning the furniture and the carpets. He asked Jax to meet him at the hotel registration desk the following morning and take him over to the Penthouse.
This would be Jax's first meeting, face to face, with Sean Donelly. Together, they would install the modifications to the war-room, using the equipment that had been left in there for them the day before by the WSB agents from the paint company.
Jax agreed that he would inform Ben Arnold about who was coming in, and he and Sean would go directly up from the garage level.
******
Meantime, on Tuesday afternoon in Port Charles, at Luke's Place, Jason is sitting at the usual table at the back of the lounge. He is waiting for Sonny. Before long, as Sonny approaches, he realizes something is wrong.
"What's up?" he asks, as Sonny joins him.
"It's unbelievable!" Sonny tells him.
"What?"
"The two loans that were to have been repaid today..."
"What?"
"They've both been busted! Arrested! Everything seized, the cash they were supposed to repay on the loans, the balance on the truck leases, everything!"
"You mean it's a bust? We loose? The same as the others?"
"The same!"
"Sonny, there has to be a connection!"
"There's no connection. Every one of these guys I've fronted money to is an independent. Not one of them knows the others. I've had them checked and double checked. Even in jail, they didn't have a connection between them.
"The problem is, our cash-flow is now at critical. We have to make plans... today!"
Just then, the front door burst open and Lucy Coe marched up to the bar, eyes focused on Mike. Just as she was about to speak to him, she looked across the room and declared,
"I knew it! I just absolutely knew it! I knew you were close by, and some instinct told me I had only to come here to Luke's and I'd find out why I was so sure I could feel your vibration."
As she vocalized all that, Lucy was bearing down on the table where Katherine Bell and Madame Maia were quietly talking.
Sonny and Jason, momentarily distracted from their conversation, followed Lucy's progression across the floor and noticed the two women, for the first time.
"Who is it?" Jason wanted to know.
"Don't know," Sonny said. Let's go find out. They both got up and approached the women.
"Afternoon ladies," Sonny greeted them. "We're not open yet..."
"We know that," Katherine smiled at him. "We're having a meeting. Madame Maia is booked in here for a whole week of evenings, starting next week. I'm sure you know all about it, or at least you should..."
"Yeah, I seem to have heard something..."
"We'll be happy to bring you up to speed, if there is anything you'd like to know," Katherine told him. "I am Madame Maia's agent for the duration of her tour in Port Charles, so if there is anything you need to know..."
"I'm sure you've got everything under control, Miss Bell..."
"And I, of course, am Madame Maia's good, old, best friend, so I can vouch for her any time..."
"Thanks, Lucy,..." and Sonny turned to Madame Maia, "I am..."
"Oh, MY! Oh, DEAR! Oh, MY! MY!" Madame Maia interrupted him, looking intently at him, with a most painful expression.
"Wha...? Something wrong?" Sonny asked, confused.
"I should say there's something wrong young man! With all the misfortune hanging over your head young sir, I can only assume your Saturn is in retrograde! You have to beware AUTHORITY, young man! There is an awful lot of trouble in your environment at this time. BEWARE THE POWERS THAT BE!"
"What the... h... are you talking about? I remember now! You're supposed to be that psychic! Excuse me Ma'am, but that's a load of hogwash! I told Luke he was crazy!"
"Beware your tongue, young man! I do not know who you are, and you do not know to whom you speak! I AM a psychic! You will ignore my warning at your peril. You are facing trouble! You have been for some time... I see a great trial! You need to take steps to protect yourself from what seems to be insurmountable danger. Ignore my warning at your peril..."
"The lady is right, Corinthos!" a voice behind him declared.
"I've come to take you down to headquarters. You have the right to remain silent... and anything you say can be used in a court of law!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Mr. Corinthos, we'll be glad to fill you in at headquarters. The Commissioner is anxious to have a little chat with you..." and turning to Jason, "You too, Mr. Morgan... You have the right to remain silent..."
Jason bridled, ready to resist, saying "This is crazy..."
"Don't fight it, Jason. Who the hell are you anyway?"
"Conn O'Flaherty, Detective, PCPD, at your service."
"Sonny, you should have listened to Madame Maia," Lucy started,
"Forget it, Lucy! She could be with the PCPD too for all I know!"
"Sonny, if you're in trouble, you'd better listen to Madame Maia. I've had a lot of experience and I know. She's never wrong. She can help you..."
"How? With a magic want, or a broomstick? Let's go, Jason. Let's get this over with so I can get to kick some butt..." And they were both escorted out to the waiting police car, to be taken down to headquarters.
"You know what to do?" Sonny asked Jason.
"Yeah, don't worry!"
To be continued......
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