Notes - - -

GH and its characters: I love ‘em, but I don’t own ‘em, just my little story.

Making A Memory

Chapter 24

Skye came downstairs to find Sonny on the phone. One hand covered his eyes as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the call. She’d noticed he seemed stressed since yesterday; even more than he already had been.

It wasn’t clear what was wrong, but she couldn’t help but hope he would share it with her. She knew that was a naïve and unfair hope on her part, considering his business as well as the short amount of time they’d actually been friends, but couldn’t help it all the same.

To give him some privacy, she walked out onto the patio to get a little air.

Skye was familiar with “the code” when it came to living with a mob boss. Ask no questions, and expect to be kept in the dark.

With Lorenzo she’d found it pretty easy to do. Somehow she hadn’t been as interested in what he did, which made it easier to be detached about it. He’d never treated her much like an equal, more like a beautiful accessory to keep protected and out of sight until he had need of it.

They hadn’t talked much and he wasn’t interested in anything about her or what she thought and felt. She had been so burned by love and the men she sought it from that her standards of treatment for herself had apparently dropped to substandard levels. If a man was halfway decent to her and managed not to physically injure her, pretty much anything was fine.

The thought saddened her and made her feel ashamed of what she’d settled for. That was not the kind of life or low sense of self worth she wanted for her daughter. She wanted Lila to be confident and believe that she deserved the best life had to offer.

Her mind drifted back to what Sonny said to her the other day.

“Lila will learn what to expect from life by watching you. If she sees you being unhappy, she’ll think that’s all she can look forward to for herself; that the world holds nothing good in store for her. You don’t want her to feel that way, do you?”

It had surprised her that he was so sensitive to her feelings and her child’s. What was even more surprising was how right he was. She’d decided then and there to get her life together, to make an effort to enjoy her life so Lila would want that for herself.

After the mess with Zacarra was handled, she needed to sit down and figure out her next move. She already knew that she didn’t want to go back to the house she’d lived in with Lorenzo. There were too many ghosts there that she would rather not live with.

Maybe she could move to Europe or Australia; somewhere no one knew her, and she could start fresh. Unfortunately, there was nothing really holding her in Port Charles. The Quartermaine’s had disowned her and Adam Chandler couldn’t care less what happened to her. Though she had found her birth mother not long ago, they weren’t close and barely spoke to each other.

The first place she’d felt at home in a long time was at Sonny’s, but she couldn’t stay there forever. He was only looking out for her safety, along with a bit of personal motivation concerning his desire for her waterfront property. Their living arrangement was only supposed to be until he had Zacarra under control and was sure he wasn’t a threat.

The comfortable companionship they’d forged with one another was unexpected and refreshing. The burning attraction she tried her best to ignore was still there just under the surface, waiting for her to give in to it. Her heart was simply too fragile to engage in a relationship yet. But being friends was a new and refreshing feeling for her.

They found they actually liked talking to each other, about inconsequential things like what kind of food they each liked, to important things such as his father’s condition.

As far as she knew, it hadn’t changed for the better or worse. Sonny felt awful for his part in it and for some reason, which she was grateful for, he had trusted her with his feelings about Mike and what happened. She felt at ease enough to reciprocate with the tragic tales of her youth and disastrous romantic past.

There seemed to be something that was so damaged in each of them that they were comfortable exposing it to each other in a way they hadn’t been with anyone else. As sad and disheartening as that was, it was equally helpful and a relief. Releasing all those demons with someone who understood made her feel lighter.

His interest in her as a person gave her hope that she wasn’t too far gone to care about; that one day she might want to try and love and be loved again. It was still an uncertain discovery, but one that was welcome.

The thought of leaving the new friend she’d found made her want to cry. She didn’t want to lose this connection to another human being that she’d forgotten was even possible.

It was also scary that she could come to rely on it.

A touch to her shoulder brought her out of her head and back to the sad eyes she now looked into. Sonny stood before her in a somber mood. Though she knew she probably wouldn’t get an answer, she asked the question that was in her heart.

“Is something wrong?”

He nodded slowly and looked down. Something that didn’t relate to his work came into her mind that might be the matter.

“It’s not your father is it? Is he worse?”

Sonny lifted his gaze to hers at the concern in her voice. It warmed him that she cared about him.

She and Lila were a calming presence in his home. He noticed he didn’t feel as restless lately with them around. He even enjoyed the sound of a baby crying in the middle of the night.

It meant there was life in the house again.

Skye somehow made him unafraid of looking inside himself. Though they hadn’t ever been in a position to be on speaking terms before, she was one of the few people who knew the good and the bad about him and didn’t run in the other direction. Being with Alcazar made her privy to the dark element of his business life. She wasn’t really scared of it, except where it affected her daughter’s safety. That was rare for him.

Most of the citizens of Port Charles just saw him as a criminal, and that was one of the more flattering descriptions. The rest probably thought he was the devil and on the verge of permanent residence at Shadybrook. That made it easier to become a virtual recluse.

Except where business was concerned, he kept to himself. He’d gotten used to being on his own, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it. He remembered being happy when he was married to Carly and she and the boys lived with him. It was however a conditional happiness, and the condition was that he and Carly were both in a good mood at the same time; which was as rare of an occurrence as seeing Haley’s Comet.

He and his ex-wife were definitely better off divorced, though it had taken him longer to realize that than it did her. The two of them were too volatile to ever really work as a couple.

Skye was more of a balance for him. She could keep a cool head were he mostly suffered from a hot one. Her insights never felt like digs meant to get a rise out of him, but like the caring observations they were. He didn’t feel as defensive and angry with her, because he could sense that she understood when he told her things, that she truly listened.

It was hard for him to recognize the man he was around her. He actually liked to talk to her. His psychiatrist, Dr. Lainey Winters, couldn’t even claim that distinction, and he paid to talk to her.

His conversations with Skye didn’t feel forced, they came easily and he at times initiated them. Sonny knew he had a habit of seeing women as extensions of him, and treating them as afterthoughts; but though he was attracted to Skye, he also respected her and her feelings.

She wasn’t just some woman he wanted to sleep with, although the thought never traveled too far from his mind, she was his friend. He was surprised to note that he didn’t want to lose that, and that it was more important to him than them being lovers.

He could also tell that she wasn’t ready to jump into a relationship anytime soon. So he’d further surprised himself with the decision to not pursue her romantically. He was willing to be there for her and Lila in anyway they needed him, no strings attached. It was a drastically different modus operandi for him; but he felt that whatever it was that might grow between them naturally, without him pushing for it, was worth waiting for.

That was the type of relationship he knew that Jason had with Elizabeth. They had been friends for years and it grew into something more than either expected. He’d always known that love existed between them on some level, even though they never admitted it to anyone. He just hadn’t seen how strong it was until the night of the break-in at their house.

The feelings they had for each other were apparent to anyone who saw them together. It had been very apparent to Ric, if the scowl he’d worn was any indication.

Sonny felt horrible for his friend. When Jason called and told him about Elizabeth’s kidnapping, he’d wanted to string up the bastard responsible. But Jason was his usual level-headed self and stayed in control, even though he must have been incensed at the thought of her in danger.

He let Jason take the lead on what to do in this case, since it was his wife whose life was on the line. Sonny’s first instinct had been to take the war to Zacarra’s doorstep and demonstrate what happened to people who crossed him. It did occur to him that his father’s condition played a big part in his reaction, but he hadn’t cared. Jason’s reasoning was all that made him stop and think.

He was certain that Zacarra was behind the shooting and the kidnapping and was more than ready to cause the man extreme amounts of pain. It was only Elizabeth precarious situation that held him back. Jason wasn’t sure what Zacarra might do to her if provoked, so they’d decided to hold off until they could find her.

So far nothing promising had been found besides the info Spinelli gave Jason. Sonny barely contained his rage at finding out that one of the men he hired had so thoroughly betrayed his trust. That would buy him an even more severe punishment than Zacarra had coming.

He’d just gotten off the phone with a guard from one of the groups he’d sent out to search for Elizabeth. No news was bad in this case.

He hadn’t told Skye about it yet, and found he was still reluctant to. Yesterday, he’d waited at first, hoping it would be a simple mistake. Now he hated to scare her and make her more worried about her own safety, but he knew she deserved to know what was happening.

“No, Mike’s still the same,” he responded to her question. “I spoke to Bobbie early this morning and she said there’s no change.”

“I’m sorry. You do look more worried though.” Skye hesitated a second then decided to just ask what she wanted to know. “Did something else happen?”

Sonny took a breath of the cool air and broke the news he’d known since yesterday.

“Elizabeth Morgan was kidnapped yesterday morning.”

She gasped and brought her hands to her mouth in shock.

“Oh my God! Do they know who did it?”

Sonny’s silence spoke volumes. She guessed at what he was trying not to say.

“It was Zacarra, wasn’t it?”

At his nod she put a hand to her forehead. Her head hurt at the many possible things that could mean. The man was getting bolder. If he was willing to take a mother in broad daylight, he was capable of anything.

“Do you think she’s still …”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Zacarra may be an evil bastard, but I don’t think he’s stupid. He’d have to know that if anything happened to Elizabeth, he could count on one finger how many minutes he has to live. She’ll be fine, we just have to wait and see what he wants.”

He wanted to reassure her, but in truth, he couldn’t guarantee Elizabeth was fine. Zacarra was turning out to be a loose cannon. Sonny was finding it hard to predict what he would do.

That usually spelled disaster for anyone in the crossfire, but he kept that to himself.

“Have there been any demands?”

“Not yet. But no one does something this drastic without expecting something.”

It worried him that Zacarra hadn’t contacted them yet, but he figured the man was just trying to make them sweat first. He was notorious for being a twisted son-of-a-bitch. “Once he tells us what he wants, we’ll make sure he gets it and get her back home to her family safe and sound.” He attempted to sound optimistic, as much for his sake as hers. A defeatist attitude wouldn’t help anyone.

“I can only think of one thing he’s shown that he wants.”

Skye rubbed her arms to ward off a chill, though it was more on the inside than out. She turned and walked back into the living room with Sonny not far behind. It was obvious to her what might help and she only hoped she was right.

She spun on her heels and faced him, determination shining in her eyes. “I want to offer him the waterfront property.”

“Skye,” he said in a warning tone, “No.”

“It’s my property,” she returned defiantly. “I can give it to whomever I please.”

“This is not the way. We don’t even know if that’s why he did it.”

She gave him a skeptical look. “Of course you know why he did it, or you wouldn’t have had such a difficult time telling me.”

Sometimes she was just too intuitive for his taste.

“Look … he’s probably just sending a message. Trying to show he‘s in charge.”

Shaking her head while he was talking, Skye was quick to disagree. “I hate to bring it up, but what happened to Mike was the message.”

She hated the expression that brought to his face, like someone had kicked him in the stomach. However, the only way he would see things her way was if she was blunt and to the point; in the same way he usually was.

“Kidnapping is the opening of a negotiation. It is the first step to getting something you want. It’s the same thing Lorenzo did to me by taking Lila. He wanted me to prove I was loyal, so he took away what was most important to me.”

He could see her point, and she was most likely right, but there was still one thing that bothered him about that theory.

“But why take Jason’s wife? I run this organization. I should be the target of any attempt at a ransom. Jason doesn’t have access to what he wants, I do.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Maybe it was a matter of opportunity.”

“No. This was planned. He got one of my men to help him. It was carefully thought out. So why not take a member of my family if he‘s going to go to the trouble?”

Though he felt badly for Jason and Elizabeth, he couldn’t help but be grateful his kid’s were safe.

Skye gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know. The who and why don’t really matter now anyway. All that matters is getting Elizabeth back. I still think the waterfront property is the way to do it.”

He eyed her carefully. She was very strong, more so than she gave herself credit for.

“I know it’s going to make it more difficult to fight him later on to give him control over the piers, but …”

“I don’t give a damn about that! A woman’s life is at stake. I’d give the bastard whatever he wanted to get her home to her family. Dealing with the aftermath is a concern for later.” He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly before acquiescing. “I’ll run it by Jason and see what he says. I’m not doing anything without his approval in this. He’s the one with the most to lose.”

She agreed with the way he was handling it. Jason should have control over what steps were taken to get his wife back. It pleasantly surprised her that Sonny realized that and was willing to give up control for someone else’s well being. Many of her assumptions about him had been proven wrong since she’d moved in, and she wanted to learn what else she didn’t know.

- - - -

Jason rubbed his hands briskly over his stubbly face as he sat in his SUV. He hadn’t gotten any sleep, choosing instead to stay out and search for Elizabeth.

He and his men had been to every hangout, dive, motel, and home that could be associated with Mark and his pals. There were even some associates of Sonny’s who were searching in Miami, Zacarra’s home base, for any information on his wife’s disappearance.

It was driving him crazy to not know where she was or what was happening to her.

He did take comfort though from knowing that she was alive. No one had told him that or could confirm it; that was something he just knew, the way he knew his name or how to breathe. If she were gone, he’d feel it like a blow to his heart.

As long as his was still beating, hers was too.

His eyes went to the phone he just tossed on the passenger seat. Sonny had just called to inform him of Skye’s offer, and ask what he wanted to do about it. He was grateful for her willingness to part with the piers for Elizabeth’s sake.

Jason struggled with all his decisions right now. He’d never been this indecisive about anything, but the fact that Elizabeth’s life hung on every move he made gave him pause.

He wanted nothing more than to go straight to Zacarra and torture him until he told where he was keeping her. It was only the uncertainty of her situation that held him back.

It was possible there was a plan in place for what to do if something happened to Zacarra. That was a chance he couldn’t take. Skye’s offer of the waterfront property may be his best option.

It still bothered him that Zacarra hadn’t made any demands yet. What could he be waiting for? Stalling in no way worked in his favor. The best course of action was always to state your intent and end things as quickly and cleanly as possible.

He didn’t like that Zacarra was turning out to be such a wild card. There was no telling where his head was.

Shooting Mike was sick, but at least it made sense. A family target close to the boss sent a message loud and clear. ‘Don’t mess with me.’

Taking the wife of an enforcer had no distinct meaning or rationale. It just served to piss off said enforcer and put a giant target on your back.

His reason didn’t really matter, just what Jason did about it. He’d decided it couldn’t hurt to make Zacarra believe he was interested in negotiation. With Sonny keeping him occupied with that thought, he’d have more time to find Elizabeth.

An idea popped into his mind then. If one of Zacarra’s goons could get into Jason's house, he might as well return the favor; only his attempt would be successful.

He had a secret weapon; Spinelli.

The hacker could get into any place that was electronically protected. Anthony Zacarra struck him as the paranoid type that would have state of the art, everything.

He picked up the phone and called to get him started on finding out where Zacarra was currently staying and how to get in undetected.

His next call was to Sonny to ask him to set up a meeting with Zacarra. Perhaps the prospect of getting what he wanted would distract the man enough to make him sloppy and give Jason a new lead.

He’d tried to find Elizabeth by looking for the muscle who’d been ordered to take her. Getting nowhere on that front, he knew it was time to go to the source.

It was a risk, but one he felt was necessary. Elizabeth had been gone more than a day now. The longer she was missing, the lower her chances became of surviving. He had to take action, and pray it was the right one.

- - - -

Elizabeth was restless from all the quiet.

She’d managed to get some sleep last night and was sure the drugs had worked their way through her system. The groggy feeling seemed to have gone away when she woke up.

Most of her morning was spent exploring her cage. Besides the door at the top of the stairs, there was no means of escape she could see.

Being at the mercy of Sam just made her circumstances appear more dire.

The woman was obviously a couple fries short of a Happy Meal.

It was unbelievable that she had been willing to marry a stranger, kidnap, and kill a woman in order to get Jason back.

The thought of that whackjob being with Jason and raising her kids made Elizabeth want to throw up. Only the knowledge that he wouldn’t allow it helped her keep it together.

She was certain that her husband would do anything to find her. But even in the event that Sam succeeded in killing her, Jason wouldn’t fall for Sam’s act. He was very good at reading people and would see right through her manipulations.

A big sigh of relief escaped her lips as she sat down on the cot. Her family was the most important thing in the world to her, and she could handle dying if she knew they were safe.

That didn’t mean she would lie down and let it happen though. She had everything to live for, and would fight until her last breath to get home.

The clicks of the lock on the door pulled her attention to the stairs. Her body tensed at the sound. Sam made it clear what her intentions were where Elizabeth was concerned. There was to be no ransom demand or opportunity for her to be released. Basically she was waiting for the woman to order her death. When it would happen was the only thing in question.

A pair of men’s shoes descended to reveal Mark; food tray in hand.

She cautiously remained in the slightly curled up position she’d taken up on the bed, prepared to defend herself if necessary.

He placed the tray on the table across from her, but stayed at a distance to put her more at ease.

“You look a little better than yesterday,” he said gently.

His attempt at small talk when he was holding her against her will was galling. She was smart enough to know not to antagonize him though. He’d once been considered a friend, a might be her only hope of possibly getting out of this alive.

“I feel a bit better. The little sleep I got helped.”

Mark was glad to see she was not suffering any ill effects from the drug he’d used. He didn’t want to do it, but it had been the only way he could think of to make her stop fighting.

Her strength was one of the things that he admired about her, among many others. He had volunteered to bring her food so that he could talk to her. She didn’t know it, but they had a lot to discuss.

“There’s some water and chips and a microwave burrito,” he informed her, gesturing to the table. “They’re all unopened, so you don’t have to worry about what’s in them.”

She looked at him rather suspiciously. Why would he care whether she worried or not? The prospect of being shot by one of Sam’s guards was more worrisome at the moment than anything in her food.

Sam seemed eager to make her suffer with the uncertainty of when she would die and didn’t strike her as the type to be humane about how she did it. A spiked burrito was too tame for a woman who’d go to such extremes to get what she wanted.

“Thank you.”

He backed up some to give her room to approach the table. When he was a reasonable distance away, she went to the food and started eating; her gaze staying on him as she chewed.

His eyes traveled up the stairway to be sure no one was their. It was important that no one hear what they were about to say.

He took a step closer to her so that he could speak in a low tone. She took a step back in surprise.

Mark held his hands up in supplication, willing her to trust him despite all logic to the contrary.

“I know you have every reason to hate me, but I swear I’m not your enemy.”

Somehow managing to keep from screaming at him, she answered calmly in the same low voice.

“Considering you can leave here while I can’t, why should I believe you?”

“I’m going to tell you something … and I’m going to trust you not to say anything to the others; for your sake as well as mine. I’m the only chance you have to get out of here.”

She hated having to rely on his word, but really had no choice.

“Go on.”

He suddenly found himself feeling nervous. It was important to him that she understand why he did what he did.

“Do you remember I mentioned having a twin brother during our talks in the car?” At her nod he continued. “Well, he’s always been more of a trouble maker than me. He has a tendency to get into situations he thinks will benefit him without considering the consequences.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. Just thinking about his brother gave him a headache. Cane was the reason he was even caught up in this mess. Mark had been living a fairly normal life until he’d discovered what he and James were planning.

“He was here on what I thought was visit to see me, when I overheard him and an old friend of ours talking. I heard them planning a kidnapping. The three of us have skirted the edge of law since we were kids, but I never thought they’d do something so, drastic.”

The conversation had replayed in his mind repeatedly long after he’d heard it, especially the part where they mentioned the name of their target. Cane and James were hired, along with another old partner in crime named Kevin, to kidnap a woman from her home.

It was to be a quick in and out. Collateral damage was acceptable.

Mark knew he couldn’t let that happen. He had become friends with the guards on Jason Morgan’s payroll they were good guys and didn’t deserve to be hurt because of his brother’s greed.

Cane was reckless and had no conscience when it came to people who got in the way of his desires, but he was still Mark’s brother. When their parents died when they were sixteen, they were all each other had.

He was sure that if Cane went in guns blazing he could also get killed. The men hired by the Corinthos organization were good at what they did and would do their best to take him down.

The other motivating factor to him getting involved was Elizabeth.

Over the time he’d worked as her driver he’d come to care for her very much. More than he knew an employee should for his boss’s wife. She had been kind to him and treated him like a friend instead of a glorified taxi driver.

The thought of her being hurt ripped his guts out.

He came up with an alternate plan and admitted to cane and James what he’d overheard. After convincing them of his interest in getting in on the money action, he told them about his connection to the Morgans.

They were sure they had the best luck and listened to his idea to make the kidnapping easier and less messy. In truth he just wanted to drastically reduce the chances of anyone getting hurt.

If he told Jason about the plan, his brother was dead; period. If he threatened Cane with what he knew, that would just tip off whoever was bankrolling the plan and make them wait for another opportunity; at a time when Mark couldn’t intervene.

He decided his best chance was to go along with it and keep Elizabeth safe himself.

Cane had hidden in Mark’s trunk before he went to pick her and the boys up from the hospital. It wasn’t checked as they drove onto the property. In the garage, Cane got out and hid until it got dark.

After awhile he took out a gun full of tranquilizer darts and silently knocked out the guards around the house, according to Mark’s chart of their stations. When they were all taken care of, he’d gone in for Elizabeth.

Thinking he’d be able to go in and get her easily, Mark had convinced Cane not to take a weapon and risk her getting hurt accidentally.

They’d all underestimated her.

Having never been in the house and with no access to schematics, Mark had to send Cane in flying blind. Neither was aware of the gun or the panic room.

When Cane informed him and James of what happened, sporting a bloody and broken nose, Mark couldn’t help but feel proud of her for defending herself. That meant though that a new plan had to be enacted.

Plan B came from him. It seemed an easier way to do things in the long run, even though it would be obvious to Jason and Sonny that he was involved.

He couldn’t go back to his old life now, but he could protect this woman he’d come to care for.

Hearing his accounting of what happened left Elizabeth speechless. She was however a bit relieved to find out that her friend wasn’t a complete traitor.

“Why didn’t you just tell us what was going on? Jason would have kept me safe, and I’m sure we could have worked out a compromise concerning your brother. My husband’s not a monster, with you having the decency to warn us he wouldn’t have hurt him.”

“I had no guarantee it wouldn’t happen anyway, just with different players. I couldn’t take the chance of you getting hurt.”

The way he was looking at her made her nervous, not exactly out of fear, but it made her wary of his motives. He was looking at her with more affection than a friend would.

Determined to keep him on her side, she pushed the worry from her mind. All that mattered was that she now had an ally in her effort to get home.

She took a breath and rubbed her hands together in preparation.

“So … how are we getting out of here?”

Mark gave her a look that brought her newly acquired confidence back down a few notches.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“You’re not going to like what I have planned, but it’s the only way I can get you out of here without Mrs. Zacarra and her guards being any the wiser.”

His tone wasn’t helping to settle the sudden shift in her stomach. A burrito might not have been the best meal choice.

“Look, I want to get out of here. How that happens is inconsequential at this point. So whatever you have in mind has to be better than staying here.” She gave him a dogged look, letting him know she was ready to do whatever it took to survive. “What’s the plan?”

His eyes traveled upward briefly before meeting hers again.

“I’m going to have to kill you.”

To be continued …

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