Through The Branches: Chapter 3
“Hey Jase,” Max Giambetti called as Jason Morgan bursted through the doors of Pozzulo’s, frowning as he entered the small dining room of the neighborhood Italian restaurant his friend and business partner, Sonny Corinthos, owned and operated as an office.
Jason looked around the room, stunned to find no irregularities in the pale yellow walls or the rows of white dining tables. He looked to Max then, scrutinizing the stocky bodyguard as he grinned and stood protectively outside the door to Sonny’s office.
He furrowed his brows, perplexed by what he’d just walked into. All day, he’d been trying to find Sonny, seeking his help on a business endeavor that was tearing into shreds of chaos. He’d already been to Pozzulo’s earlier that morning before checking Sonny’s home and Sonny’s father’s diner, Kelly’s, but could never find Sonny.
While running around town, Jason had imagined Sonny in his head, flipping out wherever he was, breaking things and yelling at the people that worked for him. In truth, Jason dreaded finding Sonny; the dilemma they were now in made their business vulnerable and now they all were at risk. And the mistakes that had been made were sure to make Sonny none too happy, and Sonny unhappy was something no one ever wanted.
Sonny had such a deep volatile temper. When he was enraged, it changed atmospheres. Anyone who entered a place Sonny was in could feel his rage seeping from the walls, bowling them over with a forceful air that transformed the place into a cage where everyone was held prisoner.
Yet, Max didn’t seem like a prisoner. In fact the body guard looked positively cheerful and that wasn’t something he’d be if Sonny was present or mad.
Jason cocked his head and nodded towards the door with mixed feelings.“Please tell me Sonny’s here.”
“Here,” Max raised a dark brow. “Yeah, he just got in.”
Jason contained a heavy sigh. Finally, his search was over, Sonny was here and together they’d find a solution to the problem. But if Sonny was here and Max was cheerful and the room was intact, it meant that Sonny wasn’t aware of the problem.
Grimly, Jason eyed the office door. Which meant that Jason would have to be the one to tell him.
Daunted by the task, Jason took a deep breath and started towards the door. Max, being the ever competent employee that he was, leapt eagerly to open it for him and in seconds Jason was over the threshold and into Sonny's office.
“Jason,” Sonny rendered with surprise as he stepped into the extravagant space.
Sonny was standing behind his large mahogany desk, decked in his usual fine suit, a black phone pressed to his ear as he peered down at some papers that lay before him. He nodded towards Max who hastily shut the door, promptly leaving them to their business.
“I was just about to call you,” Sonny said and lowered the phone back to its base.
“I’ve been trying to reach you all day,” Jason said, “Alcazar–”
“I already know about Alcazar,” Sonny enunciated grimly, placing his hands on the hard surface of his desk, frowning as he hunched over, peering back down at the papers.
It wasn’t uncommon in their business to make enemies. They’ve had many enemies over the years and would surely garner more as the years went on. However, it was very uncommon for their enemies to affect their business, especially when they were usually eliminated on threat.
“And,” Jason inquired with an impatient exhale.
“And right now,” Sonny breathed, “We have even bigger problems to solve.”
Jason swallowed, struggling to keep his face devoid of anger. For years, Jason had worked for Sonny, enforcing his commands and handling his enemies, specifically so that there would be no problems. He’d changed completely for the job, growing cold, distancing himself from the world as though he were an atomic bomb, ready to blast all around him in pain if they were too near when he exploded.
He knew his life was dangerous and took great responsibility in that fact. He didn’t have a wife or a family like normal men and he certainly didn’t roam around town without a heavy piece of metal holstered to his person at all times. He’d always taken great precaution with this job and because of it, he did it well.
So well, in fact, that people stared when they heard his name in the streets, passing it around in warnings, printing it in newspapers and articles, and sometimes even damning it everyday for the rest of their lives. No one dared to cross him, many were terrified to clash with him and because of this, their business was left problem free for the last 10 years, making him the most infamous mob enforcer there ever was.
But why now? Why now all the problems?
Irritation yanked at his brows as he dropped himself into one of the seats in front of Sonny’s desk. “What kind of problems?”
“Sam’s been arrested,” Sonny said simply, plopping down as well into his brown leather desk chair.
“W-What,” Jason stammered, his brows snapping together as he stared at Sonny in disbelief. “Sam? For what?”
Sam McCall was Sonny’s mistress and though Jason didn’t like her for various reasons, he couldn’t imagine what she possibly could have done to get herself arrested. Sam was an average looking woman with brown hair and brown eyes and very little intelligence. She was years younger than Sonny’s wife, Carly, and had no guilt about ruining Sonny’s family and marriage or helping Sonny to betray Carly, which was one of the reasons Jason didn’t like her.
But the main reason that Jason didn’t like her was because of her job. Sam worked as a clerk for the Port Charles Police Department, a place both Jason and Sonny frequently visited, unfortunately, without an actual polite invitation. Jason hadn’t trusted Sam from the moment he'd first met her. To him, she was a con, how could she not be, she lied all the time. She lied to her job and the people she loved about her relationship with Sonny and was constantly betraying her morals for him. Yet, he couldn’t imagine her breaking the law, unless of course, Sonny asked her to.
“For what isn’t important,” Sonny dismissed, lifting a hand to loosen his tie. “What matters is that she’s being framed.”
Jason slid his gaze to Sonny’s, fighting the skepticism that dripped inside of him with every thought of Sam being innocent.
“She’s being charged with theft,” Sonny continued calmly. “Ric claims that they found a stolen flash drive from the PCPD in her apartment.”
“Do you know what’s on the flash drive?”
“No,” Sonny grumped, shooting him an annoyed glare for even asking the question. But he had to ask. If Sam was the person he knew she was, she would have stolen anything from the police station that would have incriminated Sonny, knowing full well the risks. “But what I do know is that Ric is FULL OF IT!”
And there it was, bursting into the room without warning, charging at him from every direction. The suffocating rage Sonny had been sitting on for much of their conversation now enclosed around him and allowed no escape. Jason stared into Sonny’s seething dark eyes, wincing as they glistened with scorn.
“Ric is trying to get to me through Sam,” Sonny declared with a snarl.
“Well,” Jason replied warily. “How can Sam being arrested affect you?”
A muscle twitched in his cheek and his eyes only blackened more as they held Jason’s.
“Because,” he slammed down a hand on the desk, the sound quaking the room. “I love her! And Ric, that bastard,” he rocketed from his seat, “knows it and just wants to see how much! He planted that flash drive in Sam’s apartment, Jason! I know he did! But if we can prove that he’s lying, if we can prove that whatever evidence that bastard has is concocted, then they’ll have to let Sam off!”
Jason’s eyes followed Sonny as he moved tensely from behind the large desk to the drinking sideboard. He swallowed, quite uncomfortable at the notion that he was to be included in the “we” that proved Sam’s innocent.
There wasn’t much he could do and there was even less that he knew how to do. He enforced rules, he took commands and saw that they were carried out with little dispute. But Jason knew his limitations, he had one purpose, and outside of that, he had nothing, he was nothing. He wasn’t a leader or an investigator or a hero, he was simply Jason Morgan, mob enforcer, nothing more.
“W-what do I have to do with this,” Jason uttered reluctantly.
“Don’t start,” Sonny hissed, whipping around, his face a hard grimace.
Jason’s eyes rounded as he carefully stood from his chair. “I’m not starting anything, Sonny,” he opposed. “I’m just being realistic here! What could I do–”
“Help me–”
“I know my own abilities, Sonny,” he said. “And in this, short of threatening Ric, there’s really nothing I can do!”
“There’s a lot you could do,” Sonny cried, the gnawing tension in the atmosphere escalating. “This doesn’t just involve me, Jason. Ric is trying to take this business down! First, he’s starting with Sam, then he’ll go after my family, and then he’ll go after you!” Sonny turned sternly away from the cart. “I won’t let him do this! I can’t let him do this to Michael and Morgan!”
“Then end things with Sam,” Jason shouted, disgusted that Sonny would even attempt to win his support by using a family he’d already destroyed.
Michael and Morgan were Sonny’s sons with Carly, and were so very young. Everyday, Jason witnessed Michael and Morgan’s lives be rocked by the nature of the business their father was in. The two boys were swarmed with guards, completely exposed to violence, and heard shameful things said about their father all the time. And while Jason didn’t agree with the fact that Sonny had had kids, he’d sworn to protect them with his life from any pain their business would cause them. But, what he certainly couldn’t do was protect them from this. No, he wasn’t fast enough, strong enough, or big enough to shield them from the pain their father’s indiscretions would cause them.
Sonny charred him with a glare, his chest rising and falling as he mulled over his words in a silence that ticked around them.
“I can’t do that,” Sonny spoke finally , his voice torn and subdued, ripe with turmoil. “I can’t let her rot in prison because of me. She needs me and I have to save her from Ric.”
Jason sighed, defeated by his friend’s obvious distress. He might not always agree with Sonny, but he was loyal and would do anything for him. “What can I do?”
Sonny’s eyes fluttered closed as he sighed with relief then snapped open again as he pushed away from the sideboard and started for his desk.
“I’ve been trying to figure this out all day.” Sonny ran agitated fingers through his dark black hair. “I sent someone to talk with that Detective,” he paused, his eyes dropping to the papers. “Cruz. And he told us that Ric met with...” he inclined his head towards Jason. “Can you guess?”
“Alcazar,” Jason posed, the severity of the situation weighing in, more and more. If problem two, Ric, was working with problem one, Alcazar, then Jason would have to be way more involved than he thought.
“We think Ric or Alcazar used a boy named Damien Spinelli to make the flash drive.”
“Who is he?”
“A hacker,” Sonny said. “He’s been working with Alcazar for like a while now. I need you to bring him to me,” Sonny instructed. “Alive.”
“Alright.”
“The second you get him into town is where it gets crucial,” Sonny conveyed intensely. “I’ll be pressing Ric, seeing if he’ll drops the charges. You need to be invisible, if Ric or Alcazar know or even hear you have Spinelli, they’ll start trying to cover their tracks.”
Jason nodded, imagining scenarios in his head, already seeing the outcome. He’d get this Spinelli, watch as Ric and Alcazar choked on their hopes and excuses then see Sam released. Then, he’d deal with Ric and Alcazar for good.
Jason looked to Sonny, solemn as he spoke. “You know that your brother will have to be handled, right?”
“I know.”
They’d appeased Ric Lansing long enough for the simple fact that he was Sonny’s blood. The two brothers hadn’t grown up together but they shared DNA and for Sonny, that was enough not to eliminate Ric on instinct. Ric had made Sonny an enemy however and being the district attorney of Port Charles and being completely bitter about their childhoods, he was intent on destroying Sonny.
“He should have been dealt with a long time ago,” Sonny said genuinely, accepting his own mistakes for being gentle with his brother all the times he'd interfered in his life.
“This isn’t my job,” Jason started, “But–”
“You’ll do it,” Sonny grinned knowingly, solace overwhelming him now that Jason had agreed to help. “I knew you’d do it,” He chuckled and looked to the man who had given up his life years ago to enforce Sonny’s. “You’ve never let me down.”
* * *
“CAMERON,” Elizabeth called as she dashed around her brand new kitchen. “BREAKFAST!”
“I’M NOT HUNGRY,” Cam cried as the timer for the toaster sounded and the smell of warm frozen waffles permeated the air. Hastily, Elizabeth moved to the toaster, ripping the two pastries from the slits and placed them onto a plate.
“Oh would you quit your sulking about your bike,” Elizabeth groaned, “And–”
“NEVER,” Cam shouted down the steps.
Elizabeth eyes widened but she finished, “And come down and eat! Grams is going to be here any minute to drive you to school!”
It was the morning of Cam’s first day of school and the morning of Elizabeth’s first day at work. And while there were millions of people in the world, Elizabeth was sure there was no one more nervous that morning than she was.
It’d been a year since Cam had last attended any type of proper schooling. A whole year that he’d been out of a process that so many other kids got to experience everyday. Cam had been in pre-school before they’d left and had been home schooled ever since. Cam wasn’t exactly her favorite student in her short stint home teaching career. He was moody, smart-mouthed, and quick to point out her every mistake. And while she was happy that she would no longer have to be his teacher, she was terrified for the person who would.
She’d already sat down with Cam and explained to him how this time at school would be a lot different than before. He wouldn’t get to be Cameron Spencer, rude boy wonder anymore. Now, he would have to remember that he was Camden Hardy, the young orphaned great grandson of Audrey Hardy and an angel to all who met him. Or so Elizabeth hoped.
It had been Audrey’s idea to get Cam back into regular schooling, probably to help Elizabeth shovel the guilt she’d been feeling ever since she’d left Lucky. Audrey was very good friends with a headmaster of a small private school and had called in a favor. And, to Elizabeth’s surprise, without hesitation, the headmaster had graciously agreed to that favor, accepting Cam and agreeing to be very discreet and had even insisted upon the use of an alias.
The only downside to Cam going back to school, however, was that Elizabeth could have no involvement in his school life. They would both have to take great measures not to be seen too much together in public. Elizabeth wasn’t too sure who Lucky had out there looking for them or where he was looking or if he was even close to finding them. But she did know that there was a search going on and that in this little quiet town, he’d be able to find them on description alone. Audrey had agreed, that for both her and Cam’s safety, it was best if she were seen as Cam’s guardian, and not Elizabeth. And so, it was Audrey who would have to drive Cam to school everyday and go to every school function and be apart of his brand new life, now that it wasn’t so flipped upside down.
Elizabeth was happy; Cam’s life was now going to be a little bit more normal. Still, it tore at her heart that while their lives were returning back to normal, their involvement in each others would be a lot farther apart.
“Why do I have to wear a uniform to this school like I’m in the military,” a whiny voice complained from the kitchen doorway. Elizabeth jumped, having not heard the bitter stomps of her young son’s feet finally come down the steps for breakfast.
“Because,” Elizabeth said, glancing over her shoulder to see that Cam was appropriately dressed in the standard Queen of Angels private school attire. Her lips wobbled as she bit back a smile. She knew that Cam was still just a tad bit mad at her for his bike and certainly wouldn’t enjoy hearing how absolutely adorable she thought he looked in his white polo shirt and black slacks.
He looked so grown, so ready to go out into the world and be apart of it without her. It was only days ago that he still needed her help tying his shoes and brushing his hair, and now here he was ready to go off to school. Her heart choked with warmth, her eyes pooling with joy, and unable to help herself, she beamed, so proud of the child she’d raised and all that he could become.
But it seemed what he didn’t want to become was any kind of civil with her. Cam glared as she smiled at him, his thick brown brows diving into a menacing bend as he pouted. Elizabeth sighed heavily, completely unaffected by the cursed daggers that were being thrown into her side. All of this morning and all of last night, Cam had been this way, angry with her about his stupid bike even though it had been rightfully taken from him!
Elizabeth’s smile fell as she assessed Cam’s small pale face. And if her instincts were right, her son deserved a far worse punishment than having his bike taken from him.
“Because,” Elizabeth cooly stated again and turned from the counter, placing a hand on her hip. “You’re in military school,” She said, enjoying the roundness of Cam’s eyes. “ It’s where mommy’s send bad boys who lie to them.”
Cam’s jaw dropped and his brown eyes bulged
“Anything you’d like to tell me?”
“Erm,” came from his dropped open mouth. “I didn’t really run over that strange man’s foot yesterday.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “I knew it!”
Cam swallowed and took a step back. “I’m so sorry, I lied, Mommy! Please don’t send me to the military!”
But Elizabeth couldn’t hear him, she was still relishing in the victory of being right. She knew she couldn’t have mistaken the sound of those grunts to be anything other than grunts! They had been loud and sounded painful. Whatever Cam had done to their neighbor had to be a lot worse than she’d thought for him to hurt a man so big.
Elizabeth’s stomach sank to the ground as she pondered the damage Cam could have possibly done to that man and his ligaments. Her breathing halted as she thought about how adamantly he’d denied being injured, which for a man, only meant one thing, that it was very very serious.
“Cameron,” Elizabeth gasped in a burst of terrified breath.
“Camden,” Cam corrected smartly, enunciating each syllable.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. He’d need this alias for all the trouble he was about to be in.
“What did you do to that man!”
“I hit him,” Cam explained simply, wincing as the truth left his mouth. “...with my bike.”
Elizabeth gasped again and felt her face drain as plain horror poured over her features.
Cameron was a small boy. He probably weight about 50 or 60 pounds. He couldn’t possibly have hurt the man too terribly right?
“Where,” Elizabeth demanded.
“Right here,” Cam provided and pointed jauntily to his knee.
“Cameron Steven–”
“Camden,” Cam corrected again.
“What did I tell you about lying to me!”
“Um,” Cam looked around helplessly. “Something about not...lying to you.”
“Cameron!”
“He was in the way, mommy,” Cam cried, inching himself farther and ducking behind the chairs.
“Then you say excuse me or let him pass,” Elizabeth shouted, stomping towards him. “You don’t just run him over! How could you, Cam! How could you? You could have seriously hurt him, did you know that?”
“No,” Cam cried and cowered even further behind the chair.
His bottom lip wobbled as he stared up at her with wide teary eyes. And though he’d looked so grown only moments before, he was still her little boy. Elizabeth sighed, releasing an angry stream of breath and felt her fury receding.
It was a struggle everyday to look into Cam’s eyes and teach him grave lessons for the future and not think of his father. Lucky was Cam’s dad and as his father had many things he wanted to teach and relay to him. Lucky was supposed to be her partner in this; together, they were supposed to raise a man.
But now that Elizabeth had ripped Lucky from Cam’s life, she wasn’t so sure she could make a man all on her own.
“D–Do I still have to go to military school,” Cam sniffled.
Elizabeth inhaled. “No. But it would do you a lot of good.”
Cam sighed and stepped away from the chair. “I’ll just go and take off this uniform!”
“No Cam,” Elizabeth chuckled and stopped him as he attempted to race across the room and out the door, probably hoping to escape more punishment. She caught him by his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him turn rigid in her embrace. “You’re going to private school.”
“Private school?”
“Yes.”
“What’s that,” Cam asked.
“It’s a school that’s not public,” Elizabeth said.
Cam sighed against her, relaxing in her embrace. And with a final squeeze, Elizabeth let him go.
“What are you gonna do all day, Mommy,” Cam asked and climbed onto one of the kitchen chairs.
“I’m going to work,” Elizabeth told him and grabbed the plate of waffles from the counter. “Your Uncle Steven got me a job with one of his old patients.” She placed the plate in front of him. “I’m going to be a private nurse.”
“A private nurse,” Cam said, “Is that like a public nurse but private?”
“Erm,” Elizabeth said. “Yes. Yes it is.”
“Private School! Private Nurse! Private Parts,” Cam sang and picked up his fork. “Private Charles,” He cackled and stabbed his fork into one of his waffles.
Elizabeth stood, rolling her eyes at the juvenile song and turned back towards the counter, intent on getting herself a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long, unpredictable day, one that Elizabeth really had to prepare herself for. But just as she was about to take a step towards her much needed cup of caffeine, the sharp chimes of the doorbell stalled her movements.
She halted and looked to Cam. His eyes were wide, his fork frozen in midair, his face and fears mirroring hers. She fought for control of her nerves, telling herself that she was being ridiculous and that there was nothing for her to be scared of. But, as she started for the front door, she knew that no matter how comfortable her life got here, she’d never be able to hear the sounds of a doorbell without fears of who was on the other side.
“That must be Grams! You’d better eat fast,” She called and left the kitchen, walking across the bare living room.
There wasn’t too much in their new home; Cam and Elizabeth didn’t really have too many possessions. There were no boxes to be opened, no art to hang on the walls, no photos to trap their memories in and make their house truly homey. Still, the house was beautiful and bright. It was small but breathtaking and everything Elizabeth had ever dreamed of in a house.
There was so much potential for it, so many things that Elizabeth could have done in every room to it make it her own. But it wasn’t hers and she had no idea how long she’d be able to stay there. And so she left it bare, deciding to leave no mark on any place in this world as long as Lucky was after her.
Elizabeth climbed the steps to the front door and with a deep breath, placed her hand on the knob and turned it.
“Hello, Dear!”
Elizabeth couldn’t help her smile as the tall, cheery, thin frame of her grandmother filled the doorway.
“Hi Grams,” She returned, stepping aside to let Audrey in and set a light kiss against the older woman’s cheek.
She had no idea what inspired the kindness that Audrey Hardy had so often bestowed on her. They were strangers, though strangers who shared a distant familial connection, but still strangers. Audrey didn’t know Elizabeth. They’d never met, spoken, and for one, never even knew of the other. But somehow, Audrey had been able to completely set that all aside and do so much for someone she knew so little of. And for that, Elizabeth would always love and be grateful for her.
“Is Cam ready, dear,” Audrey asked.
“Private School,” Cameron was singing, loudly, from the kitchen. “Private parts!”
“What’s this about private parts?”
Elizabeth chuckled and called, “Cam, are you almost finished?”
“Yes,” He cried back, the rattling and clanks of dishes in the sink echoing his reply.
“Thanks again Grams,” Elizabeth said, “You have no idea how–”
“No thanks necessary, Elizabeth,” Audrey scoffed and stopped her.“You’re in a place now where people care about you!” She placed a hand on her arm. “You’re safe. That’s all the thanks I need.”
Elizabeth bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably. She wanted so badly to believe that she was safe, that she could stay here with Audrey and never have to think or worry again. But wishes weren’t granted because people wanted them badly and as much as Elizabeth wanted this life, it couldn’t be hers for long.
“Well, doesn’t someone look ready for their first day of school,” Audrey cooed and beamed across the room.
Elizabeth turned and grinned as well, watching as Cam entered the room from the kitchen, wiping his sticky hands on his new black trousers and dragging his new motorcycle backpack behind him.
“Who,” Cam replied sarcastically.
“Cam,” Elizabeth snapped.
But Cam only rolled his eyes at her warning and huffed. “Do I have to go to school?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t know anyone,” Cam whined.
“You’ll make friends.”
“How do you know,” Cam shot as Elizabeth moved down the steps to adjust his collar and right the buttons he’d fastened wrong.
“Because,” She said, “You’ll go there and meet some boy who likes motorcycles and cars and you’ll talk about them with him and become best friends.”
“How do you know there’ll be a boy that likes motorcycles?”
“Because,” Elizabeth said and released him from her grooming clutches, steering him up the steps. “All boys like motorcycles.”
“That they do, dear” Audrey chuckled and opened the door.
“NUH UH” Cam fought.
"UH HUH," Elizabeth said and dropped a kiss on top of Cameron’s soft brown curls and with a little push, edged him out the door.
She watched as Cam and Audrey walked across the front lawn, careful not to step fully out onto the porch. She waved and smiled from the doorway, already too eager to hear about Cam’s first day of school though it hadn’t even started yet. Cam climbed into the backseat of Audrey’s car, and waved at her, his bottom lip lost in his teeth, telling her just how nervous he was.
But Elizabeth wasn’t worried for him. Cam was going to love school and he was going to make lots of new friends, friends he would never have been able to make in his old life. After all, all boys liked motorcycles, she told herself, her eyes drifting to the driveway across the street. And they always would.
“Hey Jase,” Max Giambetti called as Jason Morgan bursted through the doors of Pozzulo’s, frowning as he entered the small dining room of the neighborhood Italian restaurant his friend and business partner, Sonny Corinthos, owned and operated as an office.
Jason looked around the room, stunned to find no irregularities in the pale yellow walls or the rows of white dining tables. He looked to Max then, scrutinizing the stocky bodyguard as he grinned and stood protectively outside the door to Sonny’s office.
He furrowed his brows, perplexed by what he’d just walked into. All day, he’d been trying to find Sonny, seeking his help on a business endeavor that was tearing into shreds of chaos. He’d already been to Pozzulo’s earlier that morning before checking Sonny’s home and Sonny’s father’s diner, Kelly’s, but could never find Sonny.
While running around town, Jason had imagined Sonny in his head, flipping out wherever he was, breaking things and yelling at the people that worked for him. In truth, Jason dreaded finding Sonny; the dilemma they were now in made their business vulnerable and now they all were at risk. And the mistakes that had been made were sure to make Sonny none too happy, and Sonny unhappy was something no one ever wanted.
Sonny had such a deep volatile temper. When he was enraged, it changed atmospheres. Anyone who entered a place Sonny was in could feel his rage seeping from the walls, bowling them over with a forceful air that transformed the place into a cage where everyone was held prisoner.
Yet, Max didn’t seem like a prisoner. In fact the body guard looked positively cheerful and that wasn’t something he’d be if Sonny was present or mad.
Jason cocked his head and nodded towards the door with mixed feelings.“Please tell me Sonny’s here.”
“Here,” Max raised a dark brow. “Yeah, he just got in.”
Jason contained a heavy sigh. Finally, his search was over, Sonny was here and together they’d find a solution to the problem. But if Sonny was here and Max was cheerful and the room was intact, it meant that Sonny wasn’t aware of the problem.
Grimly, Jason eyed the office door. Which meant that Jason would have to be the one to tell him.
Daunted by the task, Jason took a deep breath and started towards the door. Max, being the ever competent employee that he was, leapt eagerly to open it for him and in seconds Jason was over the threshold and into Sonny's office.
“Jason,” Sonny rendered with surprise as he stepped into the extravagant space.
Sonny was standing behind his large mahogany desk, decked in his usual fine suit, a black phone pressed to his ear as he peered down at some papers that lay before him. He nodded towards Max who hastily shut the door, promptly leaving them to their business.
“I was just about to call you,” Sonny said and lowered the phone back to its base.
“I’ve been trying to reach you all day,” Jason said, “Alcazar–”
“I already know about Alcazar,” Sonny enunciated grimly, placing his hands on the hard surface of his desk, frowning as he hunched over, peering back down at the papers.
It wasn’t uncommon in their business to make enemies. They’ve had many enemies over the years and would surely garner more as the years went on. However, it was very uncommon for their enemies to affect their business, especially when they were usually eliminated on threat.
“And,” Jason inquired with an impatient exhale.
“And right now,” Sonny breathed, “We have even bigger problems to solve.”
Jason swallowed, struggling to keep his face devoid of anger. For years, Jason had worked for Sonny, enforcing his commands and handling his enemies, specifically so that there would be no problems. He’d changed completely for the job, growing cold, distancing himself from the world as though he were an atomic bomb, ready to blast all around him in pain if they were too near when he exploded.
He knew his life was dangerous and took great responsibility in that fact. He didn’t have a wife or a family like normal men and he certainly didn’t roam around town without a heavy piece of metal holstered to his person at all times. He’d always taken great precaution with this job and because of it, he did it well.
So well, in fact, that people stared when they heard his name in the streets, passing it around in warnings, printing it in newspapers and articles, and sometimes even damning it everyday for the rest of their lives. No one dared to cross him, many were terrified to clash with him and because of this, their business was left problem free for the last 10 years, making him the most infamous mob enforcer there ever was.
But why now? Why now all the problems?
Irritation yanked at his brows as he dropped himself into one of the seats in front of Sonny’s desk. “What kind of problems?”
“Sam’s been arrested,” Sonny said simply, plopping down as well into his brown leather desk chair.
“W-What,” Jason stammered, his brows snapping together as he stared at Sonny in disbelief. “Sam? For what?”
Sam McCall was Sonny’s mistress and though Jason didn’t like her for various reasons, he couldn’t imagine what she possibly could have done to get herself arrested. Sam was an average looking woman with brown hair and brown eyes and very little intelligence. She was years younger than Sonny’s wife, Carly, and had no guilt about ruining Sonny’s family and marriage or helping Sonny to betray Carly, which was one of the reasons Jason didn’t like her.
But the main reason that Jason didn’t like her was because of her job. Sam worked as a clerk for the Port Charles Police Department, a place both Jason and Sonny frequently visited, unfortunately, without an actual polite invitation. Jason hadn’t trusted Sam from the moment he'd first met her. To him, she was a con, how could she not be, she lied all the time. She lied to her job and the people she loved about her relationship with Sonny and was constantly betraying her morals for him. Yet, he couldn’t imagine her breaking the law, unless of course, Sonny asked her to.
“For what isn’t important,” Sonny dismissed, lifting a hand to loosen his tie. “What matters is that she’s being framed.”
Jason slid his gaze to Sonny’s, fighting the skepticism that dripped inside of him with every thought of Sam being innocent.
“She’s being charged with theft,” Sonny continued calmly. “Ric claims that they found a stolen flash drive from the PCPD in her apartment.”
“Do you know what’s on the flash drive?”
“No,” Sonny grumped, shooting him an annoyed glare for even asking the question. But he had to ask. If Sam was the person he knew she was, she would have stolen anything from the police station that would have incriminated Sonny, knowing full well the risks. “But what I do know is that Ric is FULL OF IT!”
And there it was, bursting into the room without warning, charging at him from every direction. The suffocating rage Sonny had been sitting on for much of their conversation now enclosed around him and allowed no escape. Jason stared into Sonny’s seething dark eyes, wincing as they glistened with scorn.
“Ric is trying to get to me through Sam,” Sonny declared with a snarl.
“Well,” Jason replied warily. “How can Sam being arrested affect you?”
A muscle twitched in his cheek and his eyes only blackened more as they held Jason’s.
“Because,” he slammed down a hand on the desk, the sound quaking the room. “I love her! And Ric, that bastard,” he rocketed from his seat, “knows it and just wants to see how much! He planted that flash drive in Sam’s apartment, Jason! I know he did! But if we can prove that he’s lying, if we can prove that whatever evidence that bastard has is concocted, then they’ll have to let Sam off!”
Jason’s eyes followed Sonny as he moved tensely from behind the large desk to the drinking sideboard. He swallowed, quite uncomfortable at the notion that he was to be included in the “we” that proved Sam’s innocent.
There wasn’t much he could do and there was even less that he knew how to do. He enforced rules, he took commands and saw that they were carried out with little dispute. But Jason knew his limitations, he had one purpose, and outside of that, he had nothing, he was nothing. He wasn’t a leader or an investigator or a hero, he was simply Jason Morgan, mob enforcer, nothing more.
“W-what do I have to do with this,” Jason uttered reluctantly.
“Don’t start,” Sonny hissed, whipping around, his face a hard grimace.
Jason’s eyes rounded as he carefully stood from his chair. “I’m not starting anything, Sonny,” he opposed. “I’m just being realistic here! What could I do–”
“Help me–”
“I know my own abilities, Sonny,” he said. “And in this, short of threatening Ric, there’s really nothing I can do!”
“There’s a lot you could do,” Sonny cried, the gnawing tension in the atmosphere escalating. “This doesn’t just involve me, Jason. Ric is trying to take this business down! First, he’s starting with Sam, then he’ll go after my family, and then he’ll go after you!” Sonny turned sternly away from the cart. “I won’t let him do this! I can’t let him do this to Michael and Morgan!”
“Then end things with Sam,” Jason shouted, disgusted that Sonny would even attempt to win his support by using a family he’d already destroyed.
Michael and Morgan were Sonny’s sons with Carly, and were so very young. Everyday, Jason witnessed Michael and Morgan’s lives be rocked by the nature of the business their father was in. The two boys were swarmed with guards, completely exposed to violence, and heard shameful things said about their father all the time. And while Jason didn’t agree with the fact that Sonny had had kids, he’d sworn to protect them with his life from any pain their business would cause them. But, what he certainly couldn’t do was protect them from this. No, he wasn’t fast enough, strong enough, or big enough to shield them from the pain their father’s indiscretions would cause them.
Sonny charred him with a glare, his chest rising and falling as he mulled over his words in a silence that ticked around them.
“I can’t do that,” Sonny spoke finally , his voice torn and subdued, ripe with turmoil. “I can’t let her rot in prison because of me. She needs me and I have to save her from Ric.”
Jason sighed, defeated by his friend’s obvious distress. He might not always agree with Sonny, but he was loyal and would do anything for him. “What can I do?”
Sonny’s eyes fluttered closed as he sighed with relief then snapped open again as he pushed away from the sideboard and started for his desk.
“I’ve been trying to figure this out all day.” Sonny ran agitated fingers through his dark black hair. “I sent someone to talk with that Detective,” he paused, his eyes dropping to the papers. “Cruz. And he told us that Ric met with...” he inclined his head towards Jason. “Can you guess?”
“Alcazar,” Jason posed, the severity of the situation weighing in, more and more. If problem two, Ric, was working with problem one, Alcazar, then Jason would have to be way more involved than he thought.
“We think Ric or Alcazar used a boy named Damien Spinelli to make the flash drive.”
“Who is he?”
“A hacker,” Sonny said. “He’s been working with Alcazar for like a while now. I need you to bring him to me,” Sonny instructed. “Alive.”
“Alright.”
“The second you get him into town is where it gets crucial,” Sonny conveyed intensely. “I’ll be pressing Ric, seeing if he’ll drops the charges. You need to be invisible, if Ric or Alcazar know or even hear you have Spinelli, they’ll start trying to cover their tracks.”
Jason nodded, imagining scenarios in his head, already seeing the outcome. He’d get this Spinelli, watch as Ric and Alcazar choked on their hopes and excuses then see Sam released. Then, he’d deal with Ric and Alcazar for good.
Jason looked to Sonny, solemn as he spoke. “You know that your brother will have to be handled, right?”
“I know.”
They’d appeased Ric Lansing long enough for the simple fact that he was Sonny’s blood. The two brothers hadn’t grown up together but they shared DNA and for Sonny, that was enough not to eliminate Ric on instinct. Ric had made Sonny an enemy however and being the district attorney of Port Charles and being completely bitter about their childhoods, he was intent on destroying Sonny.
“He should have been dealt with a long time ago,” Sonny said genuinely, accepting his own mistakes for being gentle with his brother all the times he'd interfered in his life.
“This isn’t my job,” Jason started, “But–”
“You’ll do it,” Sonny grinned knowingly, solace overwhelming him now that Jason had agreed to help. “I knew you’d do it,” He chuckled and looked to the man who had given up his life years ago to enforce Sonny’s. “You’ve never let me down.”
“CAMERON,” Elizabeth called as she dashed around her brand new kitchen. “BREAKFAST!”
“I’M NOT HUNGRY,” Cam cried as the timer for the toaster sounded and the smell of warm frozen waffles permeated the air. Hastily, Elizabeth moved to the toaster, ripping the two pastries from the slits and placed them onto a plate.
“Oh would you quit your sulking about your bike,” Elizabeth groaned, “And–”
“NEVER,” Cam shouted down the steps.
Elizabeth eyes widened but she finished, “And come down and eat! Grams is going to be here any minute to drive you to school!”
It was the morning of Cam’s first day of school and the morning of Elizabeth’s first day at work. And while there were millions of people in the world, Elizabeth was sure there was no one more nervous that morning than she was.
It’d been a year since Cam had last attended any type of proper schooling. A whole year that he’d been out of a process that so many other kids got to experience everyday. Cam had been in pre-school before they’d left and had been home schooled ever since. Cam wasn’t exactly her favorite student in her short stint home teaching career. He was moody, smart-mouthed, and quick to point out her every mistake. And while she was happy that she would no longer have to be his teacher, she was terrified for the person who would.
She’d already sat down with Cam and explained to him how this time at school would be a lot different than before. He wouldn’t get to be Cameron Spencer, rude boy wonder anymore. Now, he would have to remember that he was Camden Hardy, the young orphaned great grandson of Audrey Hardy and an angel to all who met him. Or so Elizabeth hoped.
It had been Audrey’s idea to get Cam back into regular schooling, probably to help Elizabeth shovel the guilt she’d been feeling ever since she’d left Lucky. Audrey was very good friends with a headmaster of a small private school and had called in a favor. And, to Elizabeth’s surprise, without hesitation, the headmaster had graciously agreed to that favor, accepting Cam and agreeing to be very discreet and had even insisted upon the use of an alias.
The only downside to Cam going back to school, however, was that Elizabeth could have no involvement in his school life. They would both have to take great measures not to be seen too much together in public. Elizabeth wasn’t too sure who Lucky had out there looking for them or where he was looking or if he was even close to finding them. But she did know that there was a search going on and that in this little quiet town, he’d be able to find them on description alone. Audrey had agreed, that for both her and Cam’s safety, it was best if she were seen as Cam’s guardian, and not Elizabeth. And so, it was Audrey who would have to drive Cam to school everyday and go to every school function and be apart of his brand new life, now that it wasn’t so flipped upside down.
Elizabeth was happy; Cam’s life was now going to be a little bit more normal. Still, it tore at her heart that while their lives were returning back to normal, their involvement in each others would be a lot farther apart.
“Why do I have to wear a uniform to this school like I’m in the military,” a whiny voice complained from the kitchen doorway. Elizabeth jumped, having not heard the bitter stomps of her young son’s feet finally come down the steps for breakfast.
“Because,” Elizabeth said, glancing over her shoulder to see that Cam was appropriately dressed in the standard Queen of Angels private school attire. Her lips wobbled as she bit back a smile. She knew that Cam was still just a tad bit mad at her for his bike and certainly wouldn’t enjoy hearing how absolutely adorable she thought he looked in his white polo shirt and black slacks.
He looked so grown, so ready to go out into the world and be apart of it without her. It was only days ago that he still needed her help tying his shoes and brushing his hair, and now here he was ready to go off to school. Her heart choked with warmth, her eyes pooling with joy, and unable to help herself, she beamed, so proud of the child she’d raised and all that he could become.
But it seemed what he didn’t want to become was any kind of civil with her. Cam glared as she smiled at him, his thick brown brows diving into a menacing bend as he pouted. Elizabeth sighed heavily, completely unaffected by the cursed daggers that were being thrown into her side. All of this morning and all of last night, Cam had been this way, angry with her about his stupid bike even though it had been rightfully taken from him!
Elizabeth’s smile fell as she assessed Cam’s small pale face. And if her instincts were right, her son deserved a far worse punishment than having his bike taken from him.
“Because,” Elizabeth cooly stated again and turned from the counter, placing a hand on her hip. “You’re in military school,” She said, enjoying the roundness of Cam’s eyes. “ It’s where mommy’s send bad boys who lie to them.”
Cam’s jaw dropped and his brown eyes bulged
“Anything you’d like to tell me?”
“Erm,” came from his dropped open mouth. “I didn’t really run over that strange man’s foot yesterday.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “I knew it!”
Cam swallowed and took a step back. “I’m so sorry, I lied, Mommy! Please don’t send me to the military!”
But Elizabeth couldn’t hear him, she was still relishing in the victory of being right. She knew she couldn’t have mistaken the sound of those grunts to be anything other than grunts! They had been loud and sounded painful. Whatever Cam had done to their neighbor had to be a lot worse than she’d thought for him to hurt a man so big.
Elizabeth’s stomach sank to the ground as she pondered the damage Cam could have possibly done to that man and his ligaments. Her breathing halted as she thought about how adamantly he’d denied being injured, which for a man, only meant one thing, that it was very very serious.
“Cameron,” Elizabeth gasped in a burst of terrified breath.
“Camden,” Cam corrected smartly, enunciating each syllable.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. He’d need this alias for all the trouble he was about to be in.
“What did you do to that man!”
“I hit him,” Cam explained simply, wincing as the truth left his mouth. “...with my bike.”
Elizabeth gasped again and felt her face drain as plain horror poured over her features.
Cameron was a small boy. He probably weight about 50 or 60 pounds. He couldn’t possibly have hurt the man too terribly right?
“Where,” Elizabeth demanded.
“Right here,” Cam provided and pointed jauntily to his knee.
“Cameron Steven–”
“Camden,” Cam corrected again.
“What did I tell you about lying to me!”
“Um,” Cam looked around helplessly. “Something about not...lying to you.”
“Cameron!”
“He was in the way, mommy,” Cam cried, inching himself farther and ducking behind the chairs.
“Then you say excuse me or let him pass,” Elizabeth shouted, stomping towards him. “You don’t just run him over! How could you, Cam! How could you? You could have seriously hurt him, did you know that?”
“No,” Cam cried and cowered even further behind the chair.
His bottom lip wobbled as he stared up at her with wide teary eyes. And though he’d looked so grown only moments before, he was still her little boy. Elizabeth sighed, releasing an angry stream of breath and felt her fury receding.
It was a struggle everyday to look into Cam’s eyes and teach him grave lessons for the future and not think of his father. Lucky was Cam’s dad and as his father had many things he wanted to teach and relay to him. Lucky was supposed to be her partner in this; together, they were supposed to raise a man.
But now that Elizabeth had ripped Lucky from Cam’s life, she wasn’t so sure she could make a man all on her own.
“D–Do I still have to go to military school,” Cam sniffled.
Elizabeth inhaled. “No. But it would do you a lot of good.”
Cam sighed and stepped away from the chair. “I’ll just go and take off this uniform!”
“No Cam,” Elizabeth chuckled and stopped him as he attempted to race across the room and out the door, probably hoping to escape more punishment. She caught him by his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him turn rigid in her embrace. “You’re going to private school.”
“Private school?”
“Yes.”
“What’s that,” Cam asked.
“It’s a school that’s not public,” Elizabeth said.
Cam sighed against her, relaxing in her embrace. And with a final squeeze, Elizabeth let him go.
“What are you gonna do all day, Mommy,” Cam asked and climbed onto one of the kitchen chairs.
“I’m going to work,” Elizabeth told him and grabbed the plate of waffles from the counter. “Your Uncle Steven got me a job with one of his old patients.” She placed the plate in front of him. “I’m going to be a private nurse.”
“A private nurse,” Cam said, “Is that like a public nurse but private?”
“Erm,” Elizabeth said. “Yes. Yes it is.”
“Private School! Private Nurse! Private Parts,” Cam sang and picked up his fork. “Private Charles,” He cackled and stabbed his fork into one of his waffles.
Elizabeth stood, rolling her eyes at the juvenile song and turned back towards the counter, intent on getting herself a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long, unpredictable day, one that Elizabeth really had to prepare herself for. But just as she was about to take a step towards her much needed cup of caffeine, the sharp chimes of the doorbell stalled her movements.
She halted and looked to Cam. His eyes were wide, his fork frozen in midair, his face and fears mirroring hers. She fought for control of her nerves, telling herself that she was being ridiculous and that there was nothing for her to be scared of. But, as she started for the front door, she knew that no matter how comfortable her life got here, she’d never be able to hear the sounds of a doorbell without fears of who was on the other side.
“That must be Grams! You’d better eat fast,” She called and left the kitchen, walking across the bare living room.
There wasn’t too much in their new home; Cam and Elizabeth didn’t really have too many possessions. There were no boxes to be opened, no art to hang on the walls, no photos to trap their memories in and make their house truly homey. Still, the house was beautiful and bright. It was small but breathtaking and everything Elizabeth had ever dreamed of in a house.
There was so much potential for it, so many things that Elizabeth could have done in every room to it make it her own. But it wasn’t hers and she had no idea how long she’d be able to stay there. And so she left it bare, deciding to leave no mark on any place in this world as long as Lucky was after her.
Elizabeth climbed the steps to the front door and with a deep breath, placed her hand on the knob and turned it.
“Hello, Dear!”
Elizabeth couldn’t help her smile as the tall, cheery, thin frame of her grandmother filled the doorway.
“Hi Grams,” She returned, stepping aside to let Audrey in and set a light kiss against the older woman’s cheek.
She had no idea what inspired the kindness that Audrey Hardy had so often bestowed on her. They were strangers, though strangers who shared a distant familial connection, but still strangers. Audrey didn’t know Elizabeth. They’d never met, spoken, and for one, never even knew of the other. But somehow, Audrey had been able to completely set that all aside and do so much for someone she knew so little of. And for that, Elizabeth would always love and be grateful for her.
“Is Cam ready, dear,” Audrey asked.
“Private School,” Cameron was singing, loudly, from the kitchen. “Private parts!”
“What’s this about private parts?”
Elizabeth chuckled and called, “Cam, are you almost finished?”
“Yes,” He cried back, the rattling and clanks of dishes in the sink echoing his reply.
“Thanks again Grams,” Elizabeth said, “You have no idea how–”
“No thanks necessary, Elizabeth,” Audrey scoffed and stopped her.“You’re in a place now where people care about you!” She placed a hand on her arm. “You’re safe. That’s all the thanks I need.”
Elizabeth bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably. She wanted so badly to believe that she was safe, that she could stay here with Audrey and never have to think or worry again. But wishes weren’t granted because people wanted them badly and as much as Elizabeth wanted this life, it couldn’t be hers for long.
“Well, doesn’t someone look ready for their first day of school,” Audrey cooed and beamed across the room.
Elizabeth turned and grinned as well, watching as Cam entered the room from the kitchen, wiping his sticky hands on his new black trousers and dragging his new motorcycle backpack behind him.
“Who,” Cam replied sarcastically.
“Cam,” Elizabeth snapped.
But Cam only rolled his eyes at her warning and huffed. “Do I have to go to school?”
“Yes.”
“But I don’t know anyone,” Cam whined.
“You’ll make friends.”
“How do you know,” Cam shot as Elizabeth moved down the steps to adjust his collar and right the buttons he’d fastened wrong.
“Because,” She said, “You’ll go there and meet some boy who likes motorcycles and cars and you’ll talk about them with him and become best friends.”
“How do you know there’ll be a boy that likes motorcycles?”
“Because,” Elizabeth said and released him from her grooming clutches, steering him up the steps. “All boys like motorcycles.”
“That they do, dear” Audrey chuckled and opened the door.
“NUH UH” Cam fought.
"UH HUH," Elizabeth said and dropped a kiss on top of Cameron’s soft brown curls and with a little push, edged him out the door.
She watched as Cam and Audrey walked across the front lawn, careful not to step fully out onto the porch. She waved and smiled from the doorway, already too eager to hear about Cam’s first day of school though it hadn’t even started yet. Cam climbed into the backseat of Audrey’s car, and waved at her, his bottom lip lost in his teeth, telling her just how nervous he was.
But Elizabeth wasn’t worried for him. Cam was going to love school and he was going to make lots of new friends, friends he would never have been able to make in his old life. After all, all boys liked motorcycles, she told herself, her eyes drifting to the driveway across the street. And they always would.





