Beneath the Bitter Snow
Day 5-March 10th
8:10 a.m.
On
board the train head southwest from
Jack's excitement was a bit disconcerting as his spoke a little too loudly for Steve's peace of mind. Motioning to his brother to keep his voice lowered and not to disclose to the purpose of their travel, Steve spent several minutes looking out the window at the quickly passing scenery as Jack switched topics and brought up his current work experiences. The London office ran more promptly, but there was no denying the work methods were just as mad and chaotic as any news room in the world. With Steve's focus centered elsewhere, Jack made Kayla his sole audience as he related how easily he accustomed himself to the English way of things.
"I think the hardest part was being called sir all the time." Jack told her. "It was never Mr. Deveraux... but Sir this and Sir that. I'm trying to imagine Vern addressing me that way... would never happen."
"What about Jennifer? How does she like working here?"
"She loves the challenge, no doubt about that. There are also more possibilities with the European arena... but it's also more difficult dealing with a whole new range of readers." Leaning forward, Jack told her how it had been their dream to do this years ago. "We never thought it would happen... but here we are."
"Was it everything you always hoped for?" She asked him.
"Well... yes... and no. It's a little of both, I guess. I mean... I love this job; I love the smell of the news desk in the morning, the printer’s ink... but at the same time... as exciting and thrilling as it is to work here... I do miss my comfy smaller office back home."
Steve looked at him then and wondered if he was having second thoughts about living here. "Does that mean you're thinking about moving back?"
"No... not really... well maybe... sometimes. I haven't been here that long yet. Maybe after a little while, this place will feel more... comfortable."
"You don't have to stay here, if you don't want to Jack" Kayla shifted a little in her seat as Steve's arm came down across her shoulders and she settled herself against him. "... And you don't have to pretend that you don't miss Salem."
""Yeah, well... we'll just have to visit more often then."
Smiling at him, Kayla felt Steve's fingers gently stroking her arm. He seemed lost in thought and had been quiet for several minutes now. Looking around them, she noticed that the most of the passengers had gotten off already and there were only a few staggered ones left.
"Looks like most of the commuters got off on the last stop. There must be a private compartment available now?"
Taking a quick glance himself, Steve nodded to her. "Let's go Jack." Picking up both his and Kayla's bags, Steve stood and followed her out to the next compartment as Jack came up on his rear. The search was quick as the first private room was immediately available and they entered stowing their bags on the rack above. Sitting down, Jack goes straight back to discussing their mission. Casting a worried look at the door, he still acts cautious as they go through their plans and schedule.
"So what do we do first... talk to some locals? I can pretend I'm doing an article or something...?"
"No... I think we should just go straight to Lansing and talk to him." Steve sat back, uncomfortable at the thought of facing the man again. "The faster we can get our answers, the sooner we can leave."
"You're sure he'll answer our questions? Maybe you should let me do the talking. I know how to get people to say things they normally wouldn't talk about."
Eyeing him with an exasperated look, Steve just shakes his head slightly and warns Jack, not to jump the gun on this. "For one thing, it's my questions since I'll be the one asking them. No offense Jack, but I'm the one who needs to do this." After a pause he adds. "Appreciate the gesture though."
"Just trying to help anyway I can."
"You have Billy-Jack... you have. I know I haven't said it... but... thanks for coming and taking care of things. You've made things easier."
Kayla looked to Steve then and gave a quick smile. Checking her watch, she noted another hour left to go before they arrived in Devon. Jack had pulled out his cell and checked for messages, as Steve went back to staring out the windows. The trees and buildings outside streamed by them in blurry images. She felt a little nervous at the thought of what they would find. Unlike Italy, they seemed to be entering the lion's den with very little information. Though Stefano had long ago marked the Brady's as his enemies, they had been familiar with his methods. Greyson Lansing on the other hand was a mystery. What they did know of the man was not too pleasant.
Steve's recollection of the time spent there in Devon had increased nightly, but along with it was the growing realization of what Lansing may have forced him to do.
Steve had disclosed to her early that morning of seeing Billie years ago while being brought to London. He didn't know the extent of his involvement with her, but so far, it seemed to hinge on that single moment where her life was placed in his hands.
"I couldn't do it, Sweetness." He told her. "I spared her life as I did that small child... but how many more times was I tested before I finally did... what I was told."
Fear and uncertainty of what was still unknown was eating away at him, and all Kayla could do was comfort him now. Considering how much more was revealed to him, Steve assumed that the other clue, the letter G, must have referred to him being another of Lansing's Gabriels. There was still the importance behind the meaning of the word green and the doorknob, but so far, all the other clues made sense somehow. For several minutes all three sat in relative silence until Jack spoke, offering to get tea for everyone.
Steve nodded at him. "Be quick and get back here. I don't want to be searching this train for you."
Getting up to leave, he looked down at Steve, but spoke to Kayla just before he exited the door. "He's worried about me." He half joked aloud.
"No... I'm thirsty!" Steve answered as Jack left them alone for a few minutes.
Kayla turned in her seat to face him, seeing the worried look cross his face. "Steve?"
"I'm okay, Baby. Just anxious to get this over and done with so we can get home."
"You know... he may reveal things that you may not want to hear."
"Like I did all sorts of horrible things, Sweetness?"
"More like he'll lie and say you did. There's no way to know if he'll tell you the truth or not."
"I think I'll know... I just don't see the point of having him lie to me now."
Pausing again, Kayla looks down a moment before asking him about what he expects from the man. "Just what do you hope to know? Why he did this to you? What kind of man he is?"
Sighing deeply, Steve looks out at the window again before answering. When he does, he turns to face her fully as he holds her hands in his. "Maybe... I'm looking for something that's best left... in the dark."
11:12 a.m.
Since the rooms were ready, they were allowed to check in and could get a little rest before venturing out again. Kayla suggested a little lunch first and they went down stairs and ordered the pub special which was a meat pie that day. Jack ate heartily, but Steve picked at his as Kayla suggested getting something else.
"I'm not really hungry, Sweetness." Looking at hers, Steve noticed she had barely touched it too. "What about you? You've barely eaten anything."
"Must be the time difference." She said lying to him. "I'm sure I'll be starving later."
Turning to Jack, he saw the man was almost done with his meal. Thinking how Jack managed to remain so calm, while he was just a bundle of raw nerves, he thought again about telling Kayla to remain behind in the room while he went to see Lansing alone. But inside, he was happy to have her nearby. He felt strong and more secure with her near. Both of them turned to watch Jack finish the rest of his meal. "Finished?" Steve asked him.
"Just one more bite." Jack replied, as he swallowed the last piece and wiped his mouth."
"So... how do we get to his home? Do we rent a car or something...?" Kayla pushed away at her plate as she questions Steve.
Jack mentioned getting a taxi as they all stood and left the pub. The ride took only ten minutes as the driver lived in Barnstaple all his life and knew a short cut to Lansing's home. Standing just in front of the man's house, the taxi dropped them off and journeyed down back the lane, disappearing from their sight as it made a left turn onto the road. For a minute they stood staring at the front door, as Steve looked around, almost seeing if he remembered being there. Kayla spoke softly at his side as he turned to her.
"Are you ready?"
Taking a deep breath, he nodded at her. "Well... we're not here for the sightseeing tour... let's go then." He turned and cautioned Jack before knocking. "Stay alert Billy-Jack... and don't wander off anywhere."
"Gotcha! I'll stick to you like glue."
"That's just... what I need." Steve mumbled as
the door opened and a young woman stood just inside, smiling at them.
She was young, probably in her late teens, and looked nothing like Elliot with her dark blond hair and blue eyes. "Hello. Can I help you?"
"We're here to see Greyson Lansing?"
Looking at little startled by Steve's American accent, she eyed him a little warily. "Did you have an appointment sir?"
"No... but this is a personal matter. Can you please tell him that Steven Johnson is here to see him?" Steve tried smiling at the young woman, who looked cautiously back at him. "We're... we're old acquaintances."
Looking to Kayla who held his hand and Jack, she asked them to come in and wait in the foyer as she went to inform Lansing.
As they stood waiting, Steve continued looking around, trying to take note of how the house looked. So far, nothing seemed familiar to him, but it had been several years and changes could have been made since he was there. Jack started to wander off towards an open doorway when Steve called him back and he guiltily rejoined them by the staircase. The young woman returned after a few minutes and asked them to follow her. They went through the living room as she knocked on a door on the far side of the room.
"Enter!" A voice called from within as she opened the door and ushered them in.
Greyson Lansing was seated behind a desk in his office and glanced up just as Steve approached him. There was no doubt as to which Elliot resembled, as he was the image of his father. The years did take their toll on Lansing as deep harsh lines were marked across his face and tiny age lines creased the sides of his eyes. His hair, though still dark, was now sprinkled with grays as his dark brown eyes still looked upon his visitors with an intensity and command that revealed his present strength. Of a larger build than his son, he was fit and quite healthy. His military training kept him in tip-top shape even six years later. When their eyes met, Lansing and Steve came upon a moment of recognition. The one-eyed dude knew his former jailer now realize his memory was returned. Lansing neither smiled nor looked angry, but stared at him dispassionately.
Steve recognized that look. He saw in etched in Portia's face the entire time she was with him. It was the look of someone already dead inside, of a body that lost it's will to live or care. Gone was the heartless, confident jailer who held him trapped for a decade. Perhaps, Lansing had always looked as such, but Steve couldn't remember just then. All he knew was that Earl Grey was still alive and he was the only man left who could tell him what happened during his missing years. Kayla stood uncomfortably beside him as the silence stretched. Only the sound of the clock in the mantle was heard for several long moments, until Jack, inadvertently knocked against a chair, startled everyone into speech.
"Jack." Steve called out first as his brother walked over and stood beside him.
"I tripped!" He explained, but Steve had already turned back to face Lansing. Kayla gave him a small smile as she watched the range of emotions that ran across Steve's face. She didn't need to look at him to know how tense he had become. He stood stiff, his hand grasping hers in a firm grip. Fighting to control his emotions he barely moved from the spot at which he stood as Earl Grey came from around the desk and came up to stand before him. Once again the two men watched each other, both waiting for the right opportunity to speak. It was Lansing who made the first move, stating what he knew to be the reason for Steve's visit.
"I thought... you would have come sooner. It's been a long time."
"Is this how we're going to this?" Steve answered him. "First the pleasantries and then... what? You're going to go secretive and mysterious?"
"I see you still haven't controlled your temper... Gabriel." The dig at his name only fueled the anger within his former trainee.
His jaws tightened and his eye narrowed as Steve took a step closer to Lansing before speaking. "Don't ever... call me that name... again."
Lansing looked at him a moment before answering. "As you wish." He seemed to completely dismiss Jack, who stood just behind Steve, but he did take a quick look at Kayla before sitting down in an easy chair by the open doors. From where Kayla stood, she could see that it led out into an open lawn. There was no grass at present and as a late frost covered the ground. Just noticeable from one side, Kayla was able to make out a part of the stonewall. Steve tugged on her arm just then as he leads her to a seat on the sofa and sat down beside her. Jack followed taking a seat at a chair near them.
For a moment, Lansing seemed troubled as he glanced downwards then out the door, but he turned them, telling Steve to ask what he wanted. "Please don't hold me in suspense. You're here for answers? So ask away!"
Steve eyed him carefully before speaking. "Why was I brought here? It was Stefano... wasn't it?"
Nodding at him, Lansing thought back to the day he was approached. "He showed up unexpectedly one day. I had not seen the man in years... but there he was, demanding to see me." He recalled how angry he was at the intrusion back then. "I basically told him to get out of my home. I blamed him you see... I blamed him for helping Portia." His voice trailed off as the thought of his wife still pained him.
"What do you mean helped her?" Steve wondered then if Portia had been forced to leave her family because of her cousin.
"He... he helped her leave me. He never even tried to get her to change her mind. All she told him was that she wanted to leave and he was here... gathering her bags... as she walked out the door. I had not seen him since that day, yet there he was in my home again... asking for a favor." He laughed bitterly at the painful memories. For a brief moment Kayla felt pity for him as he continued with his story. "He told me... he said he needed my help with a problem. To think... I would ever help him...? He just smiled at me when I told him to leave. He stood there and smiled the evil smile of his."
Pausing a moment, Lansing clasped his hands together as he looked to Steve. "He said he had someone he needed to have trained... and before I could say anything else, you were brought into the room. One of his men led you in. I looked at you and saw immediately that you were drugged. Your eye was glazed over and you looked disoriented. They placed you in one of the chairs as Stefano told me he wanted you trained as his own personal assassin. The man was obviously mad, but he told me... he knew what I did for British military." Lansing told them how he continued to tell Stefano that he wanted no part of his scheme. And even if he were willing, the military would never agree to it.
"But he just laughed and smiled all the more. He claimed he had already spoken to my superiors and they would contact me soon with their approval. Apparently he made a deal with them. He agreed to let them use you for what ever mission they wanted... in exchange... you would be trained and later...returned to him afterwards."
Lansing laughed then at the irony of it all. "I didn't have to accept, even with the approval... there were other men who could do the job. But Stefano... he specifically chose me to do this. It was his way of... controlling me."
Kayla spoke up then. She hadn't meant to, but she was heartbroken at the way they had played with her husband's life back then, as though he was nothing but a puppet to be toyed with. "Why didn't you say no, then? If you didn't want to do it... why did you agree? Why?"
Lansing looked sadly back at her, feeling her pain and anger at him. Her pain was fresh while his was so ingrained in him, that he no longer felt anything but the pain. "Only one thing would have made me agree to bargain with the devil? For my son...Elliot." He sighed deeply then as he looked at her sad face. "Stefano promised me... he said he would take the boy to Portia... that he had spoken to her and if he brought Elliot to see her... she wouldn't refuse him."
He closed his eyes a moment before continuing. "She had left us... left him years earlier. He was only two when… There had been no contact between us. It was as though she died... I had no idea where she was, or what had happened to her. I couldn't believe she would abandon her son like that, without a word. I suppose... I thought if only she would see him… maybe in time... she would eventually return... here. I was hoping for a miracle... because... because, I still loved her."
Looking at Kayla, then Steve, he saw through their actions, their behavior and body language how much they loved each other. It wasn't just in their hearts, but it was on their skin, their looks, their words. Maybe they would understand why he bargained with the devil at the mere thought that he might be with the one he loved again someday. "I know you hate me for what I did... for the choice I made. When I saw you that day, your memory had already been taken. You had no idea who you were or where. You were just an empty shell of a man and most people would have taken pity on you. They would have done something to help... but I didn't. All I saw was the opportunity to get my wife back, to have my son finally know his mother... and I was going to take it. I was sacrificing you to get what I wanted. If I needed to train you to get what I wanted... then I would do just that, plain and simple."
"You’re pathetic!" Steve told him angrily. "You bargained with my life... and what did it get you? Nothing! Portia never returned to you! You destroyed my life for nothing!"
But Lansing answered him so calmly, almost as though he didn't notice any of the anger directed at him. "I would think you would understand... considering how you feel towards your wife. Portia was everything to me. I would have sacrificed a hundred men for her." He stood up then and walked towards the window, his back towards them as he spoke of the only woman he had ever loved in his life.
Jack had been sitting quietly all the while. He wanted to ask the man so many things, he wanted so badly to help, but he just couldn’t make himself move. He saw Lansing glance at him a moment before turning away and stared out the window.
He first saw her while at university. It was during his first year and he was a fresh faced eighteen year old. Fools would call it love at first sight, but it seemed like destiny when he saw her walk across the grass. Her red hair shone brightly that day, and it was one of the few times he saw her in a green dress. He always remembered how that color literally made the highlights in her hair sparkle and her skin glow. She rarely wore green afterward, but the memory of the first sight of her was forever burned into his heart that day. He ended up missing the rest of his classes as he followed her to her living quarters. It wasn't until he tried to enter her building that her housemother shooed him away.
At that point, Lansing wasn't even certain if his visitors would care to hear about his past, but he continued all the same. It may have happened almost thirty years ago, but to him, he relived the moment over and over again as though it was yesterday.
For several hours he had waited outside the building for her. Those who passed by, eyed him oddly, but he wasn't leaving until he could talk to her. When the hour was close to dinner, she finally emerged and he plucked up his courage and spoke to her. Stammering a little at first, he was mesmerized by her gray-blue eyes and could barely get his name out. Perhaps she took pity on him when mumbled out his invitation, or maybe, she had been just as affected. But after that day, they were inseparable as family and friends could attest.
Lansing didn’t stay at university long afterwards but was taken in by the military for officer training. The long months apart were hard for him. Portia, who was four years his senior, had already graduated and was living and working in London. Four years would pass before he would be home and they could be married. It all seemed like a fairytale romance. Lansing assumed she was happy. She always seemed cheerful and content, even when he had to be away for long periods. The changes didn’t become noticeable until he got involved with the special AA unit. At first he thought she was reacting out of fear since his missions were so secretive. But when they found out she was pregnant, he took as pre-motherhood jitters.
There was never any doubt in his mind that Portia loved her son, but he knew how fearful she had been that their child would be like her. He turned then, to look at Steve. “You do know what I’m speaking of?”
Even though he was still angry, Steve just nodded at him. Lansing laughed a little then. “She always felt… cursed. That what she would tell me and she didn’t want her child to be the same. If would be her fault if he was.”
He took a few steps away from the open doors and moved behind the sofa they sat at. “I didn’t buy into this…gift, she claimed to posses. Oh I knew she could be persuasive, but that was just her character. Perhaps I was the only person around that she never worked her magic on.”
He had walked around the room, stopping by the small table at a corner. Displayed were several small, framed pictures. Kayla couldn’t see from her seat whose pictures they were of, but she would venture a guess that many were of his wife and son. Jack made a gesture to stand, but Steve cautioned him with a look to stay seated.
“I visited her… you know. After so many years apart, I finally went to see her.” He looked up towards the air when he spoke, but didn’t see anything, so lost in thought he was. “My son had told me she was living all alone in her house. I just needed to see her again. I just needed to know why… why she left.”
He told them he had arrived to confront her and that she was cleaning up one of the rooms. There was broken glass everywhere. Pieces of wood littered the floors, as she righted up fallen furniture and straightened the dining table. “I had no idea you were there that night too.” He said looking at Steve “From the destruction of the room… I could only guess that you found out the truth.” Smiling a little, Lansing gave them all a strange look before speaking again. “I must say, you showed a lot more restraint than I would have. To come face to face and still retain your sanity… I always underestimated that part of you.”
“Then… you were the one?” Steve stood then and faced him. “The third set of prints that were found… they were yours?”
“Yes, they were. Perhaps… if I had stayed with her… she would still be alive. And to answer the question you’re not asking… No! I didn’t kill my wife. Whoever it was came after I left her.” Looking over at Steve, Lansing saw him with a wary, cautious look. “You don’t believe me?”
“I believe you. I know Stefano had her killed.”
“She told me once that she loved him like a brother. It’s a shame I wasn’t the one to kill him. I would have enjoyed that very much.”
Walking around to where Lansing stood, Steve was confused as to why he bothered seeing his wife again. “I still don’t understand, why see her… after so many years… and then leave again?”
“Don’t you see… really? I needed to know… I wanted her to tell me why she left… why she betrayed me.” Pausing a little to take a breath, he told them how she always felt cursed. “She said she couldn’t bear the day when I would eventually turn and look at her as the monster she was inside. She always believed that… never placing enough trust in our love to overcome her fears. Even at the very end… she still loved me. Maybe… maybe that was what I went there for… confirmation. That all these years apart weren’t spent in vain because she always loved me.”
Thinking a moment, Greyson Lansing remembered the last few second he spent with Portia. How after so many years, he found he could actually smile, in spite of everything. Lansing looked at Kayla and saw tears in her eyes and down her cheeks. She had wept for him all the while. And as she cried, Steve watched him with a sorrowful eye. It was more difficult now to see his jailer in the sad, broken man before him. As Steve had lived an empty, meaningless life, so had he. They were neither truly living or dead, but caught in a tragedy that neither could change nor alter.
“We are all victims… just sad, miserable souls. Are we not to be pitied… sir?” Lansing asked of him.
But Steve would not join in his lament. “If you want to pity someone… pity yourself. I won’t do it for you.” He took a few steps closer to the man and asked him his last question. So far he had not revealed who it was Steve had been trained to kill. “Just tell me who? Who was my intended victim?”
Instead of answering, Lansing turned away and walked back to his desk. He didn’t sit down, but just stood looking down at the papers he had been working on. “Stefano had just one target in mind for you. I always wondered why he went through the trouble of having you trained so diligently all these years, when at the end… there was only one person you needed to kill. All this fuss and bother over a single killing. He was tended to over dramatize things sometimes. That’s one thing I could never understand about the man.”
Steve grabbed and turned him around. He wasn’t going to stand by as Lansing sprouted philosophical arguments on how mad or sane Stefano may have been. He just needed answers. “Greyson!” He looked at him, his eye bearing down on the man’s face. “Whom did Stefano want me to kill? Tell me!”
Greyson Lansing stared back, with eyes so hollow and empty that Steve saw clear down to his lost soul. “I can’t tell you because… I don’t know.”
“You’re lying!” Jack finally found his voice as he stood and walked over to stand by Steve. “Just tell him… tell my brother who it was!”
Greyson looked at Jack then, as though seeing him for the first time. He viewed him curiously for a few second, almost amused by his outburst. But when he turned to Steve, he just repeated the same answer but also offered an explanation that he didn’t want to hear. “Stefano never told me… maybe he feared I would help you. But I can tell you this… if you fail to complete your intended mission, a post hypnotic suggestion will be triggered and you will kill a substitute victim instead or die trying not too.”
“What? There’s another victim?” Kayla said aloud.
“It was Stefano’s way of insuring you would do your job. Before you left here, the first trigger was activated by this.” Lansing went to his desk and pulled out a small box. When he brought it closer to them, they all saw it was a music box. As he lifted the lid, the simple melody played as Steve remembered someone singing the same song to him.
Kayla recognized it immediately. “Steve… the song is Greensleeves.” She looked at him as he stared off into space hearing Portia sing the song to him again.
Alas my love, you do me
wrong,
To cast me off,
discourteously.
For I have loved you
well and long,
Delighting in your company
Your vows you’ve broken,
like my heart,
Oh, why did you so
enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world
apart,
But my heart remains in
captivity.
Greensleeves was all my
joy
Greensleeves was my
delight,
Greensleeves was my
heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves...
“Do you remember… Steven Johnson?” Greyson asked him. "Do you remember?"
Steve looked back at his jailer and nodded. He saw himself in Portia’s library as she played the melody to him and sang the song. Afterward, when she knew he was under, she told him who the other person was, the substitute that he would kill be forced to kill if he didn’t obey his orders. She never said the words aloud, but whispered the name into his ear, as everything around him turned black
He hadn’t realized that he fell to the ground. The tears filled his eye as Steve heard Kayla calling to him. For a few seconds her voice seemed so far away and he turned towards her, looking through the darkness that covered him. He felt someone’s hand on his arms as he was lifted and placed in a nearby chair. When he opened his eye, it was to see Kayla kneeling on the floor in front of him and Jack besides her, holding a glass of water.
Jack thrust the glass up at him, spilling someone on his leg. Apologizing, Steve thanked him anyway and took a deep drink. Seeing her tear stained face, Steve reached out to cup her cheek as he smiled back at his wife. “It’s okay, Baby. I’m fine.” Giving the nearly empty glass to Jack, Steve got up to his feet. Lansing was by his desk watching all the while.
He walked a bit shakily to the man while Lansing stood his ground. “You really don’t know?” Steve asked the single question.
Shaking his head at him, Steve accepted his answer as truth. Pausing a moment, he asks about Cincinnati. “Was it you? Did you bring me to Cincinnati?”
Again the man shook his head at him and looked downward. Steve heard Kayla gasp just then and turned quickly around. Walking towards him looking tired and haggard was Benjy. Before anybody could say anything, Benjy signed to Steve that answer he was asking for. “I took you there… it was me. I’m sorry, Steve. I’m… sorry.”
**********
2:00 p.m.
If it wasn’t for Stephanie telling him of their visit, Benjy wouldn't have known where to find them. He helped Jack as they each took one of Steve's arms and sat him down at a chair against the wall. Kayla pushed her way between them as the pub owner came over asking if they wanted any drinks. Ordering tea all around, he left the group alone as they each took a seat at the table. Benjy had the cab waiting outside his uncle's house and suggested going back to town. Hastily agreeing, Steve started feeling week on the short ride back, but felt a little stronger by the time they arrived. Kayla did a quick examination of her husband who protested that he was tired, but fine.
After bringing some tea and a few small sandwiches and cakes, they were left in privacy as most of the other lunch patrons had already departed. It was too soon for afternoon tea, so they pretty much had the dining area to themselves. Kayla poured tea for everyone as Steve turned to Benjy, demanding to know what he was doing there. While Stephanie may have told him of their intended visit, it didn't explain why he met up with them at Lansing's home. Both Kayla and Jack were still reeling from the news that it was Benjy who eventually took Steve to Cincinnati. Steve had said very little when Benjy told him, but now he wanted answers.
Taking a few deep breaths, Steve turned to the younger man and started signing to him. "Benjy... what you told us back at the house... were you telling the truth? Did you bring me to Cincinnati?"
"Yes. Elliot and I took you there."
Looking more confused, Steve asked him how much he knew about what had happened to him. "When did you know? How long did you know that I was there, at your uncle's home?"
"Only a short time. A couple of weeks before we brought you back to the U.S."
"So you didn't know I had been there for years?"
When Benjy shook his head at him, Steve felt relieved. He always felt that Benjy had helped him somehow. "You helped me escape?"
He shook his head again and sign "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? I don't understand, Benjamin? You must have helped me leave, it was you who saved me."
"No. I was too late." Benjy looked to Kayla, who frowned back at him.
"What do you mean... too late." She asked him. "You got Steve out of there."
But he just returned her confused stare with tear filled eyes. "They already triggered the first hypnotic suggestion... I couldn't do anything. Bringing you to Cincinnati was part of the plan. I was helping... them."
"No! No you couldn't have." Kayla told him.
"I'm sorry Kayla... but I had to go along or Steve would have suffered more."
Kayla cried then, the tears rolling strong down her face as Steve gathered her in his arms. He held her close to him, his hands on her hair, stroking her head and down her back. Steve glanced back at Benjy whose gaze was locked on the cup of tea in front of him. His face was formed of sorrow and shame that he could barely lift his eyes back up. Giving Kayla a few kisses on her brow and cheek, he questions the younger man again.
"I need to know it all. Please tell us everything, Benjamin. It's past the time for keeping secrets."
Forcing himself to face them, Benjy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was hesitant at first with his part, but told them all that he had discovered all those years ago
.
"I was here on holiday from school when I saw you in the gardens. I was in shock finding you. When I approached, you didn't know me right away. It wasn't until Cincinnati that you remembered me. I went to my uncle and demanded to know why you were here. He told me of the deal he made with... with Stefano. That he wanted you trained to kill someone for him, but while you were here, the British military could use you in their missions. I was angry that this was done to you and tried to take you with me, but my uncle stopped me. He said that you had been brainwashed, hypnotized and part of your programming had already been activated. If I tried stopping them now... if I tried to rescue you... someone would die a painful death."
Benjy paused a moment, losing his courage as Steve urged him to continue. Nodding at him, he told them of Stefano's plan. "You were only supposed to kill one person... someone Stefano considered a great enemy. The name of that person would be revealed when the second hypnotic suggestion was triggered. At that same time, your memory would also be returned to you. In the end you would have remembered who you were, but you would also have killed someone... a person known to you." As Kayla looked at him, his eyes faltered again, but he continued on.
"If you tried to go against the initial order, the first trigger would kick in. It was made to be stronger... so that you could not refuse it unless you killed yourself to stop. By the time I found you, they had already let you hear the music box and the name of the second victim was now in your subconscious. If I had tried to stop them, you would have been forced to kill the other victim or yourself."
"But how does Cincinnati fit in to all of this?" Looking confused, Steve pressed him further for answers.
""It was just a name chosen off a map. There was no reason other than it was a city near enough to hide your presence, but not too far to fetch you when the time was right. Elliot was supposed to take you there, but I went along with him. You were to remain in Cincinnati until my... until Stefano decided it was time to exact his revenge. "
"Tell me the name of the person I am suppose to kill."
"I don't know who it is. Only Stefano and Portia knew."
Kayla reached over and held Steve's hand. She was still crying as she searched his face for answers. Jack sat numb in his chair. He had no idea how to help anyone now. Steve was thinking long and hard about Stefano's plan. He still had no idea who his intended victim was to be. From what Benjy had said, at the appointed time, that information would be revealed to him along with the return of his memory. Realizing that Portia had helped him regain it sooner than expected would have thrown Stefano's plan off. No wonder the man had come after him and not just for the company stocks, but also to finish his revenge.
The problem was what to do now. When was he supposed to kill this DiMera enemy? How was the second hypnotic suggestion to be activated? "Benjamin? Do you know when I am suppose to... follow through with this plan?"
"No."
"Do you know... who or how it will be triggered?"
Nodding slowly, Steve's eye widened, as he looked back surprised. "How?"
"Elliot!" Benjy signed back. "Portia left him the other box. When he gives it you to open... you will know."
"Is it another music box?" Kayla asked.
"I don't think so. Maybe? I don't know!"
"That's okay Benjy. I think I understand things now. That's why Elliot wanted his mother's keys. That box must have been left somewhere in her house. Since he didn't have the keys, he could get inside her home to retrieve it." Laughing at the craziness of it all, Steve reminded Kayla who it was that gave Elliot the keys. "If I knew then, what I know now... and to think I just handed it over to the man."
Benjy looked worried when Steve had mentioned that Elliot now had Portia's keys. "That means he'll be giving you the box soon."
Steve looked back at him and asked about his cousin's involvement in all this. "Does he know... was he aware of what I am suppose to do?"
"No. His mother and father both used him. All he was told was to give you the box one day. I was there when Portia gave him his instructions. He had a gotten angry at her, saying she was giving gifts to others, but never to her own son. She treated him badly. It's no wonder he cared so little about her."
"Oh Steve!" Kayla cried out to him. "What are we going to do? How do we stop all of this?" Pulling her back in his arms, she held on to him tight and he stared off at the empty dining room. Jack looked miserably at him as Steve saw past his brother and focused his attention on everything else in the room, besides Jack's grief stricken face
"I don't know... I don't know what to do." Jack told him.
Trying to smile back at him, Steve shook his head and sighed. "I don't know what to do either, Billy-Jack."