| She walked into Luke's appearing not to look around herself, but in actuality taking in everyting around the club. She walked over to the bar and ordered herself a drink. "So?" A voice asked from behind her. "Are you new in town?" She glanced at him quickly. "Not that it matters to you," she replied coldly. He laughed. "Everything that happens in this town matters to me." "Oh really, and who would you be?" "You! I told you to get out and not come back," a man's voice said coming over to them. "Get out, you drunk." The man beside her mumbled something incoherent before walking away and leaving the club. "Sorry about that ma'am," the new man said. "Name's Luke, I own this joint." She nodded but didn't say anything as her cell phone began to ring. "Sanchez," she said coldly. "Where are you?" A man's voice said from the other end of the line. "Anywhere you want me to be." "Can you find a bar named Jake's?" "I'm sure I can." "Good, do it. There are some apartments above the bar. A man will meet you there at midnight in room 5." "Okay, I'll be there." "Make sure you are." There was a monotone beep, signifying that her caller had hung up. She sighed and slid her phone back into her pocket. She looked up at Luke. "Can you tell me where Jake's is?" ~~~ Three hours later, she walked into Jake's and ordered a beer. She was there thirty minutes before her rendezvous with the lackey of an unknown associate. She chose a dark corner and sat down. From her position, she could see both the door of the bar and the stairway clearly. After a few minutes, she saw the door of the bar open and a man enter. He walked over to the bar and got a key. As he walked past her, she could tell that he was carrying a gun. She checked her watch; it was 11:45. She'd wait another ten minutes before going up to the apartment. ~~~ Mac Scorpio sat in his office at the PCPD. He sighed when his phone rang. "Scorpio." "Hey, Mac, it's Frisco." Mac groaned. "What now?" "I got something for you." "What?" Mac asked wearily. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ria Sanchez." Mac's eyes widened. ~~~ Ten minutes later she walked up the stairs and found the apartment. She knocked once briskly. The door was opened and she walked inside. "You Sanchez?" The man's voice said disbelievingly. "Yeah, got a problem with it?" "Not if you don't." "I don't." He nodded and walked to the opposite side of the room and turned on the lamp. It cast a pale glow around the room. She could now see him. He had dark brown hair and sharp features. She committed his face to memory. He walked back over to her and handed her a picture. "His name is AJ Quartermaine." She nodded. After taking a minute to memorize the face she handed it back to him. "You don't need it?" "Photographic memory," she stated. He nodded. "I do believe that my employer outlined the specifics of this transaction." "Yes. Half now, the rest after the job's complete." "Good." He handed her an envelope. "That's 50,000." She nodded but opened the envelope anyway and counted the bills. Satisfied, she gave him a brief nod. "Tell your employer that it will be taken care of." "Of course." She put the envelope in her jacket pocket and walked out of the room. ~~~ "Okay Frisco, do you mind telling me why Ria Sanchez is in Port Charles?" Mac asked. "My guess is to assassinate someone. Who there in PC wants someone killed bad enough to hire Sanchez?" Mac thought a moment. "Sonny Corinthos." "Okay, I'll put someone on his accounts, see if any large withdrawals are made." "And if Sanchez is seen?" "Don't do anything, but put a tail on her." "What about guards on the intended vic?" "No, she'll pull out and find another way." "Just how good is she Frisco?" "One of the best. She's never been caught, hell, we don't even have a good picture of her. And," Frisco added quietly, "she seems to have more lives than a cat." Mac sighed. "Okay, thanks." He hung up the phone and put his head in his hands. ~~~ Inside Frisco's office at WSB headquarters, Frisco hung up the phone and looked at the man sitting across from him. "Do you think this is going to work?" Frisco asked. "I know it will Frisco. Come on, you know Felicia better than I do, and I know Mac. He'll tell Felicia about Ria." "I hope you're right Robert." "I know I am. Mac will tell Felicia and she'll start looking." "But what if Ria slips out again? She has done it before when we've gotten too close Robert, you know that." Robert sighed. "Yes, I know, but I also know what kind of people are in Port Charles, they won't let Ria slip out." "You better be right." "I am." ~~~ Felicia Scorpio walked into her husband's office and saw him sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands. "Mac?" She asked approaching him. He looked up and smiled. "What's going on?" "Nothing," he said quickly, covering up the notes that he had taken from his conversation with Frisco. "Yeah, Mac, I really believe that," she replied sarcastically. "What are you working on?" "Nothing." "Oh, okay, if it was nothing you wouldn't be acting like this." She moved his hands away and looked at the tablet that they had been covering. "Ria Sanchez?" She asked. He nodded relunctantly. "You think Sonny hired her to kill AJ?" "Maybe." "How'd you find out about this Mac?" "Why does it matter?" "I just want to know." "Frisco." "Frisco?" He nodded. She sighed. "He can't call his daughters to say hello, but he can call you and say that an international fugitive is in Port Charles." "Yeah, I know," Mac replied wearily. "Look, Felicia, I need to get some people on this..." "How are you going to find her if you don't even know what she looks like?" "Check the hotels, see who's rented a room for an unspecified amount of time, compare those pictures to the one's that Frisco's going to fax me." |