| �Ow! That�s my arm. Stop it.� �Will you pick up the pace? This isn�t a field trip.� �Aw, really. I thought we were looking for tadpoles like in kindergarten.� Brenda stuck her tongue out at him. �Move it.� Brenda turned around to face him. �STOP shoving me!� �Then MOVE!� �You said we could rest when we got to the woods.� �We need to keep��.� �I�m thirsty.� �I told you to take a drink from the creek.� �Eww. No.� �Brenda, it�s spring water. It�s cleaner than the tap water at home.� �Pfft. You think I drink water from the tap?� �Fine, drop dead from dehydration.� �How can it be clean when there is all that dirt and rock���.� �Shhhh.� Jason grabbed her arm again. �ENOUGH! With the touchy feely�.� Jason clamped his hand over her mouth and Brenda froze when she heard it too. The rustle of leaves, a twig snapped, something heavy was moving, a horse. Jason dropped his hand away from her mouth when it was apparent she got the point. His hand automatically grabbed hers and they began to move quickly, but as quietly as possible, through the brush. Brenda�s heart was racing again. Damn this was a miserable way to start the day. She wished she was in a spa, getting a sea weed rap, sipping a mimosa���.. Jason looked around for a route that would be more difficult for someone on horseback. The undergrowth was thick the deeper they went so they had some advantage. The thing that was troubling him was, it only sounded like one horse. But maybe they were being surrounded, he didn�t know. This was hardly his kind of turf. Allys, docks, warehouses. He felt at home in the city. He�d traveled extensively and even gone on a safari, but he was the one doing the hunting, not the other way around. They were headed toward a steep incline, perfect. It would be a bitch to climb but doable. Doable for people, not horses. They came to the creek, just before the incline. He leapt across easily but Brenda had to get a running start. He waited on the other side and she made it but immediately wobbled on the edge and started to fall backwards. Jason reached out and grabbed her, pulled her close. She�d managed the whole thing with out a sound. Impressive. They were staring at each other. He frowned. She seemed to be asking, �What next?� �I hate to interrupt. But you see����..you are trespassing.� Dante had left the horse behind, but not his rifle, which was aimed directly at them. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Sonny took a small break. Waited for his breathing to return to normal, his heart rate to slow. He was half way up the face of the cliff. Don�t. Look. Down. He wanted to laugh, but didn�t dare make a sound. If the heads of the five families could see him now. He�d eyed the climbing wall at the gym for months. It just seemed to call to him. But really, it wasn�t his kind of work out. He went to the gym with Johnny two or three times a week, doctor�s orders. They pumped iron. Only kids and thrill seekers climbed the wall. It had taken a long time to build his strength back up after he�d nearly died outside the PCPD. And then the knife wound from Sorel had slowed him down yet again. It was a blow to know he�d never be back to 100%. He couldn�t lift as much as he used to, he became winded more easily. But he watched the people climb the wall. They took their time. There was nothing rushed about it. And unlike the weights, there was a sense of accomplishment in it. If I could make it to the top, maybe I�d be okay. If I could do that���. So he�d bribed a guy at the gym, got in late one night and tried it. He set his own pace, he was alone. He�d reach the half way mark and a kind of peace would settle over him. If anyone wanted to get to him, they�d have to climb up, the same as he had. He had to concentrate on what he was doing, so everything else floated away. Alone, no worries except finding his next hold. No body else got hurt if he made a mistake, only him. He went twice a week. Late at night, snuck out, lost his guards. He�d imagined it was saving his sanity. Now it was saving his life, literally. The two dobermans at the base of the cliff were ready to make a meal of him. No where to go but up. He looked for another hold. He liked to imagine things waiting for him at the top. Carly and Michael. His family safe��. Now he imagined a baby. God, what did she look like? He had no idea. He�d only seen her once, a brief glimpse of her. Tiny body, hooked up to machines, her chest rising and falling too fast, like a bird. And then the alarm, and Alexis panicking��.screaming at him to leave. Which took on a whole new meaning now. His child. She was healthy enough to travel. Alexis wouldn�t take any chances. Did that mean she was out of the woods? His girl had made it��� Grass. He felt it soft and cool in his hands. He�d reached the top. He was so high, the dogs had given up, or someone had called them off. He found a foot hold, tested his weight, one more pull and he was there. He lay flat on the ground and tried to catch his breath and then he heard it, someone cleared their throat. He looked up. �So nice of you to join us Mr. Corinthos.� Sonny gritted his teeth and climbed to his feet, trying to be as dignified and calm about it as possible. There was no escape, unless he wanted to jump. He was completely surrounded by an odd assortment of people. All on horseback, he recognized two of them. Guards from the boat the previous day. Still wore their caps pulled down low, they looked bored but menacing. An older woman, had her rifle trained on him, looked a bit crazy����.hell they all looked crazy. A younger woman, striking. Tall and elegant, hair neatly tied back, cool blue eyes. Had to be the woman Brenda had described to him, the one who brought Alexis to this god forsaken place. And finally��� �Lucian Cane, or should I say your majesty? Forgive me if I don�t bow.� �You are not forgiven. If you had any sense you�d be back on your hands and knees begging for your life.� �I don�t beg.� �Not even for your daughter�s sake?� Sonny sucked in a breath and remained cool. You never got anything out of a situation like this by losing your head. �So you admit she�s mine?� �Biologically, yes, I�m afraid it�s true. Breeding aside, with proper care she may turn out to be more than her parents.� �Where is Alexis?� �Alas, my sister likes to sleep in. She�d sleep �til noon if we let her, must get it from her Mother. I�m afraid she missed the hunt.� �Is that what this is?� �Oh, yes. Allow me to explain. You�ve brought quite a bit of excitement to my little island. Everyone is out chasing down the foxes this morning. We�ve found one, now where are the other two?� �What? And spoil your psychotic version of fun?� Stavros sighed, �I suppose you are right. We�ll find them soon enough. Now then, what to do with you����.hmmm����.Xenia, darling, what were those rules again.� �When it has been decided that a fox is to be killed, it should be done in a humane manner.� �Yes, and I threw those rules away, didn�t I?� �You aren�t going to kill me.� Stavros tilted his head. �I�m not?� �You brought Alexis here for a reason, you must need her. She�d never forgive you if you killed me.� Stavros weighed the matter for a moment and looked to Xenia. �What do you think?� Xenia looked Sonny up and down, the man was covered in dirt and sweating profusely. �Alexis would be quite annoyed.� She nodded. Stavros smiled, �Yes, she would.� He picked up his rifle, aimed, and fired. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Jason moved Brenda behind him and reached for his gun. �Ah�ah. Pull it out slowly, drop it in the water.� Dante was smiling. Unlike the guards they had encountered previously, this was a thrill for him, personal on some level and Jason didn�t like it. He did as he was told and dropped the gun in the water. �Step aside, I want to see her.� �She stays where she is.� �Now, Mr. Morgan, I am the one with the gun so I make the rules.� Jason started moving backwards, Brenda stumbled and fell back, she hit the ground with a thud. Jason froze. �Brenda���..you okay?� �No. Ouch, I fell.� �Ms. Barrett. Are you injured?� �Ya, I think I broke my ass.� Brenda snarked. Great time to get bitchy. And she was doing so well. �Where are the others?� Jason asked. �Looking, somewhere else. Guess I win the prize.� �Will you kick his ass already?� Brenda hissed at Jason. �Kind of hard, big ditch, big gun. You wanna try? Go for it. Otherwise, shut up before you get us both killed!� �Come now, what are you two whispering about?� �Guess you will have to come over here, to collect your prize.� Dante looked for a better means across the creek. He couldn�t jump and keep the rifle trained on them. �No, you will have to come to me.� �And if we don�t?� �I really only need one prize and Ms. Barrett��..� �That�s Barrett-MORGAN!� Brenda was still sitting on the ground and peered around Jason�s leg to glare at Dante. �Well, then. Mrs. Barret-Morgan looks far easier to transport back to the compound than you. And I dare say, the journey would be more enjoyable without you around.� Dante took up his rifle and aimed at Jason�s heart. Brenda squinted and tightened her grip on the rock in her hand. Softball suddenly seemed like a very worthy past time. But noooooo, she was too prissy for that. Doctors notes had gotten her out of gym most of the time. She only had one shot and she knew she didn�t stand a chance in hell of making it. She heard him pump the rifle and drew her arm back in the most embarrassing and sissy of girl throws. Jason couldn�t even move, if he moved the bullet could hit Brenda. His eyes were wide, his life flashed before him and�����it was too short, without a whole hell of a lot of meaning. The last time he�d been in this position, he�d thought of Carly. Thought of how much time he�d wasted pushing her away because she was complicated. Made a vow to stop, and he�d been too late. He found Carly with Sonny. He told himself it was a sign, complications were best avoided. Problem was, when his life flashed before him, it was the complicated parts that he realized he would miss. The rock was easily the size of a softball and Brenda watched it sail through the air in almost slow motion. She fought the urge to close her eyes when it became obvious it was going to miss its target. But her mouth literally fell open when her pitch sailed straight into Dante�s right temple and like mighty Goliath, he fell and he fell hard. She looked at Jason, ready to smirk but it would have to wait for later, she�d hit the mark, but not in time, Jason was hit as well. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Alexis watched as the nervous maid cleared her breakfast tray. The clatter of dishes made her cringe for the girl. Okay, so her little warning to Williams had been heard, now the whole staff was scared of her. Except Adonia. But Adonia seemed to be avoiding her. The girl cleared out and Alexis went to the wardrobe to look for something to wear. Her luggage still wasn�t back, slackers. They automatically took luggage down to the laundry room so everything could be pressed, but it should have been back by now. She half expected to find her old clothes inside. School girl uniforms and riding attire. But instead she found an assortment of light summer clothes, more suited to the island than the sweats and business suits she�d packed. No pants. Where the hell were the pants? Xenia wore pants, they weren�t outlawed or anything. But no, she was stuck with skirts and dresses. She sighed and chose a long, wrap around, linen skirt and a soft silky tunic. Pale aqua. She slipped into them and felt light, airy, close to carefree, but not quite. Today would be about confrontations. She�d have to take on Stavros and settle things. Explain that there was no way to prove his innocence. Whether it was true or not. She looked for sandals and found a pair and was about to strap them on and stopped. She looked out on the lawn. Soft green grass. How many years had it been since she�d gone barefoot? She dropped the sandals and headed for Kristina�s nursery. The nurse already had her dressed. �You�re sure it would be okay?� The nurse smiled. �The weather is lovely, take the blanket but I think it will do her some good to be outside. This little one has spent far too much of her life cooped up in hospital rooms. Dr. Lee checked her this morning before he left and he said she�s fine, he doesn�t think we need to stay much longer.� �Left?� �Oh, several of them went for a ride this morning. I don�t ride but Dr. Lee seemed rather happy to be getting outside. I don�t think he likes it here as much as I do. I hate to go back.� Alexis shook her head. �Well I don�t how much longer we�ll be here ourselves. But for now, I�m taking my daughter for her first glimpse of the ocean.� The nurse grabbed a book and took a seat near the window. �Have fun.� Alexis made her way through the house quickly. She was surprised by the lack of activity. It looked like everyone had gone out for the ride. Even little Lydia had disappeared, but she�d taken off for her lessons at 8:00. Alexis wondered if they used the same school room she and the boys had been taught in as children. The marble floor was cold in the foyer but she relished it. She felt a bit wicked rushing around barefoot. She looked back up the stairs suddenly and in a flash she saw a little golden haired girl running past her. "Xenia, come back here and put your shoes on! You can�t go out like that��.." Alexis smiled, Xenia would never wear shoes. She did have some memories of the girl. Kristina squinted when they made it outside and Alexis shaded her eyes with her hand but then she seemed to adjust to the light and smiled. She made sweet little cooing noises as they made their way to the cove. The breeze was soft, some days it would nearly knock you down but today it was soft and pleasant and the sun was strong, Alexis was thankful for the light clothes. They passed the stone bench and made their way down the steps. She could smell salt air and flowers, something blooming near by. She could never remember the name of the plant, Stavros would know. He�d enjoyed the gardens more than she and Stefan had. Stefan liked to sail, she liked to swim, Stavros liked to ride. Funny the things that came back to her. Xenia liked to run. She remembered that now too. But following her? She had no recollection of that. Why did it bother her? The Professor was nearly out of his mind, he probably had her confused with someone else. Kristina smiled at the water and her eyes followed the waves. �Will you like to swim like me? Your Daddy likes to swim too.� Sonny. There was another confrontation waiting to happen. If she ever got off the island, anyway. A sound caused her to look to the sky. A helicopter. Headed her way. Could be off to another island but���no�.it appeared to be headed toward the compound. Great! The minute she left someone shows up who might be able to get her out of here. But who? One of Stavros�s business associates? Hardly anyone who would help her. Seven shots were fired in rapid succession. Seven. Alexis froze. The shots came from the highest point on the island. The very top of the compound. Xenia and Stavros, still on horseback, exchanged a glance. Brenda covered her ears. Did they find Sonny? Not Sonny too. And Alexis looked back down at Kristina, held her close and made her way back to the compound as quickly as she could without jostling the baby too much. But she�d be too late, she knew it. Seven shots from the highest point. The Prince was home. And since Stavros was already on the island, that meant only one thing. Nikolas. |