Day 8 - March 13th
8:22 a.m.
When Steve walked inside the Brady pub, he saw Caroline at the bar talking to a customer. The early breakfast crowds were in full swing that morning as he walked passed the tables and met his mother-in-law. She was pleasantly surprised to him there and offered his usually black coffee. Asking about Kayla and their trip to England, he told her that was a part of the reason he was there that morning. Looking slightly confused, he calmed her fears with an ever ready smile and asked if they could talk in private. She mentioned talking upstairs as he agreed and followed her out the room.
"Thanks for seeing me Caroline. I know breakfast is always a busy time."
"Don't worry about it. Lisa usually handles things downstairs. So, you just got back yesterday? How was the trip? How are Jack, Jennifer, and JJ?"
"Everyone's fine... doing really well. Jack said they�d be here for the wedding."
"Will they? That's great news!"
"Yeah... it is." He told her smiling. Caroline looked back at him, happy and excited about the wedding.
"I just can't tell how much we all... look forward to this Steve. Having you back... well... it's been an answer to all our prayers."
Feeling somewhat embarrassed, he takes a seat on the sofa as she sets down a plate of Danishes on the coffee table. Caroline sits across as she watches him, remembering how he was so many years ago. She was ashamed to think how she regarded him before, as someone she never thought would be good enough for her daughter. But after all these, she knew what a good, fine man he was. His scary exterior hid a heart of gold that Kayla always saw and treasured. Caroline knew she had a wonderful son-in-law and it just made her happy he had come home to them.
Steve started to feel a little uncomfortable as Caroline watched him. Maybe it was the wrong choice to go there that morning, but hers was the first name that popped into his head when Benjy said to find someone to trust. He was certain Caroline would be someone who could trust with his life. Now, he just had to be as certain, she would trust hers to him. He took another drink of his coffee before asking her his favor.
"That trip we took, it wasn't just to see Jack and Jennifer. I also met up with someone who... was part of my life when I was missing."
"Oh!" Caroline looked back in surprise. "I didn't know."
"Well we, Kayla, Bo and I decided to just keep things quiet until we can find some things out."
"And did you... find out what you needed to know? Were you able to talk to your friend?"
When she said the word friend, Steve felt himself stiffen as his heart beat strong in his chest. It was hard not saying at loud that Lansing would be the last person on earth he would consider a friend, he held himself steady and just gave her a small smile.
"We talked and now know where I was taken too after... after I left here. There are some things I still have to remember, but my past is no longer a great mystery."
Caroline eyed him carefully before inquiring about what happened. "Can you... do you want to talk about it. Because I'm right here for you if you need someone to talk too."
"Thank you Caroline. It's nice knowing that." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "What we did find out... is the part of Stefano's plan that concerns the Brady's. That insane, crazy monster considers someone here... his great enemy. What he did... was have me trained all those years to... to... kill this person for him."
After he said it, he lowered his eye. Caroline sat in momentary silence after what Steve just told her sunk in. When she looked to him again, it was to see his eye focused on his lap, as though he was afraid to look at her.
"Dear God!" She said aloud and faced her son-in-law again. "Who is it?"
He hesitated a moment before replying. "I'm afraid I don't know just yet... but it's someone here in Salem." Watching her from beneath his half lowered eye, Steve saw Caroline look away from him, as she contemplated the news. Asking her for help now started to feel wrong, but he took a couple of deep breaths and did what came there to do. "Caroline...? That's the reason I'm here. I need to ask you for your help in this."
She placed her hand over her heart as she spoke to him. "My help? But... but what could I do?"
"You could trust me. It's what I need... your unconditional trust."
"But you have that Steve!"
"And I do need it... but I may need a little more. I need for you to trust that what I will have to do is the right thing... that I need to finish it in order to save lives. There is something I must do... and it's something that I was trained and held captive for years to do. If I don't follow these orders...?� He stopped himself, unable to tell her what could happen. �Caroline, I need for you to trust me with your... life. Can you do this for me?"
She looked worriedly back at him. His manner and expression seemed so troubled that she was tempted to tell him that maybe he should ask Bo for help rather than her. But the longer Caroline looked, the more she felt the turmoil brewing inside of him. Perhaps it was her motherly instincts that called to her, but she knew she would do whatever it took to help him. Nodding at him, she was more certain she had done the right thing. His sigh of relief was great that he let out the breath he held as he waited for her answer. Not knowing what was required of her, she asked Steve what he wanted her to do.
"For now... just go along with what I end up doing... even if it seems strange or unusual. And please... don't tell anyone that I asked for your help. This has to be between just you and me. No one... absolutely no one must know I spoke with you."
"I can't tell Shawn or Roman, or even Bo?"
"No one can know Caroline. No one!" For a couple of minutes, he saw her think over his request and wondered if she would refuse him. She had stood and walked over to the mantle, looking at the family pictures. When she finally turned to face him again, her expression was determined and decided. "It's going to be hard, not saying anything, especially to Shawn... but you have my word. Just between you and I." As she came back to sit down on the chair. Steve stood and told her he needed to get to the station.
"Thanks for the coffee Caroline... and thank you... for your help."
"Well... I don't know if what I'm doing will really help you... but... I'll do it. I just wish it would make more sense."
"You and me both." He gave her a quick smile before heading downstairs and exiting out through the restaurant.
**********
11:04 a.m.
Down at the station, Bo's eyes were glued to the clock, as he noted each passing minute with the tapping of his pen. Other officers had been casting annoyed looks in his direction as his incessant taps was rapidly testing the patience of his fellow workers. When someone finally remarked about the noise, Bo apologized and began tapping the table with his fingers instead. Steve finally stood and motioned for him to talk outside. With the empty room next door, they both entered and closed the door behind them.
"Your driving every one here crazy... will you just relax." Steve told him, as he went and sat down on the table.
"I can't! This waiting is driving me crazy. When did you say you were meeting him?"
"At one thirty."
Bo walked around the table, pounding his hand along the edges as he paced the room. "I should go with you, Man. Elliot may try something."
"No, it's better I go alone. You might scare him off."
"What if it's a trap? What if he's up to something?''
"Like what? He doesn't know... any of this."
"Still don't like it. You need back up, Steve!"
"Look, it's just a box. As fast as the man is concerned, his mother left me a box and he's supposed to just give it to me."
"Yeah... well don't open it... I mean don't open it right away."
Sighing deeply, Steve turns to him as he jumps from the table. "I don't ever... want to open it."
Nodding him, Bo places a few hard knocks before asking about Kayla. "Is Kay working today?"
"No, she's still off. She mentioned seeing Hope and the baby, then going to the hospital to see how John is doing."
"Oh that's right. Hope did say she would be over for lunch."
"I guess there's no change with John's condition?'
"It still looks grim."
"You know, somehow I think Stefano may have had a hand in his shooting. I know Benjy already ordered Stefano's men home, but... maybe one of them just doesn't want to follow orders."
"I was thinking the same, since it happened right after you left. I guess he doesn't realize the game�s already over."
"Probably... or maybe he's finishing an old one and won't stop until... the queen is dead."
Giving him a troubled look, Bo walks the length of the table one more time, tapping his hand all the while before Steve tells him they should get back to work.
**********
1:39 p.m.
Entering Elliot�s office, the man stood up from behind his desk and shook his hand before asking him to take a seat. Elliot seemed very cordial that afternoon, smiling briskly at Steve while offering him coffee or tea as they engaged in trivial matters. Going along with things, he saw no reason not to respond in kind. Though remembering the younger man had been an innocent bystander too was hard to overlook, now that he was just minutes away from turning Steve�s life upside down.
Turning down the offer of coffee, Elliot asked about his recent trip. �I hear you went to London� to visit family?�
�My brother and his family just moved there last Fall.�
Smiling at him, Elliot brought up his former home from not too long ago. �London�s a marvelous place. I spent several years there after graduating from University. Father wanted me closer to home, but when you�re young� London�s the place you�d want to live at.�
�Yes. I see what you mean.�
�I take it you did the local sightseeing then. Most tourist do that sort of thing.�
�No, not really. I wasn�t there as a tourist.�
�Then it must be a family visit. How does your brother find London?�
�Jack seems to like it. So far he�s adapted really well� except for the weather.�
�Oh yes! Our rainy London days� I�ve yet to find someone who actually enjoys them� so he is not alone in his complaint.� Pausing a moment to take a drink of tea, Elliot leans fully back in his chair, observing Steve who sits stiffly across from him. He supposed the man might be aware of why he called him over. If he went to England, chances were high he also visited Elliot�s father. And if that were true, then Steve was actually expecting this meeting to happen.
�It didn�t rain when I was there.�
�Then you were lucky. I haven�t been there since coming to live here in Salem. I might have to plan a return visit soon, before I get too homesick for the place.�
Steve wondered about his decision to move here. When Bo told him it was to be nearer his mother, it would make sense. Except that Elliot wasn�t close to his mother at all, so that analogy, didn�t work. �You plan on making Salem your home then?�
�For now� of course no one can predict the future, so there�s no telling if I will remain here or move elsewhere. Anything can happen� when you least expect it.�
�Or even when you do expect it.� Steve added.
�Yes.� Elliot smiled back. Their small talk was able to get them through several minutes, but Steve was having more than his fill of their nonsense banter. He went there for a reason, and it wasn�t to play twenty questions with Elliot.
�Look, not that it hasn�t been pleasant or anything like that� but we both know what happened to me when I was in England. My memory may have been erased, but yours� is intact. I don�t know why you�re playing this pretend game of not knowing anything, but fine� what ever makes you tick.�
�I can see that you are well aware of the situation. I had not intended for any of this to be a game, rather, I chose not to bring up any past deeds that maybe� unpleasant for you.�
�Unpleasant? That�s not exactly how I would define ten years on captivity.�
�Mr. Johnson, please recall that what was done to you was perpetrated by my father and mother and not by me. If I chose not to speak of those times� perhaps� it�s because I found them unpleasant as well?� He wasn�t angry at all when he explained himself, which Steve found alarming strange. He had pretty much insinuated that Elliot could have been a party to all that happened to him. In fact, it was just the opposite. Elliot looked a bit amused by it.
�I realize you were just a child then.� Steve answered him. �You probably didn�t fully understand what was going on.�
�I suppose I knew enough to be interested, but yes� it was all quiet strange, wasn�t?�
�Yeah. Very strange.�
�Well� you�re here for a reason, so let�s get to it then� shall we?� He stood and took an oblong box that had been sitting on the shelf behind him. Steve had not noticed it earlier. He had not expected that it would be out in the open for him to see. As Elliot brought it over to him, he placed it down on the table and stood waiting for him to take it.
The box was slightly larger than an average shoebox. It was made from Cherry wood with a picture on the top. From where Steve sat, he could not make out the image, though it seemed to shimmer slightly in shades of green and gold. He glanced up at the standing man and nodded his thanks for the present. For a moment Steve�s hands shook as he continued sitting, making no attempt to take the box. Taking a few deep breaths, he was able to speak calmly as he stood and extended his hand to Elliot.
�Thank you. I um� don�t know what to say. This wasn�t something I expected to get from Portia. I guess you find it all weird.�
�I was never privy to my mother�s thoughts. She never found it in herself to confide in me� about anything. But she did say was that it holds all your answers. For your sake� I hope it does.�
�Yes it does contain answers� but as you told me earlier� perhaps it would have been best if some of them were left in the dark and remained unknown.� He reached down and took the box in his hands, paying only a momentary glance at it before he held it to his side. Facing Elliot once more, Steve thought to how strongly Elliot resembled his father. But as strong as the resemblance was, he was not his father, nor his mother. �Thank you.� Steve added before turning to leave.
Elliot called him back before he had a chance to take more than two steps. "Mr. Johnson? I forgot add my congratulations to your daughter."
"Stephanie? Congratulations for what?"
"Well I heard she made it on several racing lists. That's quite an accomplishment."
Steve was caught off guard by his interest. He wasn't aware that Elliot knew Stephanie or visa versa. "I didn't know you two knew each other."
"We've never been formally introduced, but I do know of her. The racing circles are not very large, Mr. Johnson. New comers are especially the topic of conversation among seasoned pros. It always helps to know who your competition will be in a few short years, or months."
Steve looked back at him. "Her mother and I are very proud of her. We were actually thinking of seeing one of her races very soon."
"I'm certain she would enjoy that. Perhaps we will become better acquainted this summer. You see I will be in a few races myself. It's about time I got to know my competition."
"I had no idea you still raced." Steve grew more confounded by Elliot's interest in Stephanie. While there was nothing he could hold against the younger man, just the thought that his baby girl was on Elliot's mind did not sit well with him. There were hundreds of other women Elliot could think about. Why did he have to focus his attention on Stephanie?
"Only occasionally. Though this year, there were just three races I could not pass up."
"You know Benjy has been attending her races in Europe." Steve stopped and pointed out how he considered Benjy to be like family. "He has made things easier for my wife and myself. Knowing he's there at Stephanie's races really eases our peace of mind... and they have become really good friends."
"Benjamin's a good man. I have no doubts he would be a good friend to your daughter... and perhaps in time... she mights consider the same of me." When Elliot said that, he made it sound more of a fact than a possibility. Try as he would, Steve was just too stunned to even tell the man, that Elliot wasn't his idea of a whom he wanted as a friend to his baby girl. He wanted to tell Elliot to stay away, to keep his distance, but the words wouldn't come out. For the first time in a long time, he was completely speechless.
As Elliot calmly waited for a response, Steve knew he couldn't say what he wanted too, so he just gave the man a half smile and said that it all would depend on his daughter. "Well, you'll have to ask Stephanie about that. It's not for me to say who her friends should... or shouldn't be."
"But you do have great influence with her."
"Well if I do, then I have no worries that she'll chose someone... I would never aprove of."
"I doubt she would either." He answered and smiled knowingly back at Steve. "Good day Mr. Johnson. Perhaps we can meet again in a more... social circumstances."
"Sure. Any time."
Steve turned and walked quickly out the door. By the time he reached his car, he felt more like himself again. He stood facing the trunk of his car a moment thinking about Elliot's interest in his baby. He'll have to go through me before he can get anywhere near her, he thought. "Just try something Elliot... and you'll see how unreasonable I can and will be." He looked in the direction of Elliot's office windows once before opening the trunk and putting the box under the pile of emergency blankets. Shutting the trunk door, Steve got in his car and drove back to the police station to finish out the remainder of his shift.
**********
4:38 p.m.
He tried calling the house, but there was no answer. Steve assumed Kayla must still be at the hospital visiting with John and Marlena. Bo had been badgering him about the box, but he kept replying the same answer he gave him when he first returned back to the station. Yes, he got it. No, he had not opened it yet. Yes, it sort of looked like a big music box. No, he did know when he would open it, but he knew it had to be soon. He could just feel it almost calliing to him. Steve was surprised Bo hadn't wanted to see the box himself, not that he would go and bring in in their office. But somehow, he felt he had to do this alone, without an audience.
Checking the clock, he still had another hour to go. Bo was eyeing him again from across the room. and he was tempted to tell the man to just stop looking at him like he was a time bomb waiting to go off. His constant stares were not helping at all. Luckily a disturbance call came in which sent Bo and a fellow officer out for a while. Maybe it was long enough for Steve to get some work done.
**********
6:17 p.m.
When he reached the house, he didn't see Kayla's car in the driveway. Retrieving the box from the trunk, Steve walked into the empty house and placed it quickly on the dining room table. Checking for message, there was one from his wife, apologizing for being late and telling him she would be home within the hour. He went upstairs to freshen up and put away his holster and gun. After a few minutes, Steve came back down and walked towards the kitchen to prepare dinner. As he passed by the table, his eye immediately focused on the new oblong shape and he stopped. He told himself he should wait. Now was not the time to open it, but his hands would not listen as he stepped closer and scrutinzed the picture on the box lid. It was of an angel, surrounded by shimmering lights of green and some gold. What was strange was how the figure popped out as though suspended in air.
It reminded him of those old hologram type, religious cards he used to see as a child. When he ran his fingers across the picture, he realized this was the same type of image he saw while hypnotized. As the word Green had been lifted in air, so this picture emitted the same likeness. For long minutes, he stared down at the box, taking one deep breath after another. A dryness was in his mouth as he ran his tongue across his lips to moisten them. His fingers raced the picture a couple of more times until they halted and stopped just to the small indent space where the opening met.
He breath was jagged and his hands shook, but Steve decided then and there and lifted the cover open. The first notes of Greensleeves played again, as he grew slightly dizzy. When he looked down it was to see a small, light green knob on top of another compartment in the box. The knob was shown to him already when Elliot hypnotized him. And as he inhaled deeply, a slight scent tickled his nose reminding him of soap. He saw dried pieces of wood shavings and flowers along one corner and realized it was potpourri. His hand hoovered over the knob a second before he took hold and lifted it up. Beneath lay a six barrel gun, it's pearl handle glowing eeriely at him. He reached in and took it in his hand. Closing his eye, Portia's voice spoke to him again and gave him the name of his target. When he opened it again, several tears fell as he clutched the gun to his chest. Beneath the gun was a a small piece of paper. Steve reached for it with his other hand and read the note left for him before letting if fall back into the box.
Steve started to shake, as his face grew taunt and menacing. He went and got his jacket, and finding his car keys from one of the pockets, replaced it with the gun as he walked out the door and into his car. It was only a matter of minutes before Kayla's car parked in the same spot her husband had vacated moments ago. She entered to find the lights on but no one was at home. When she placed her things on chair by the staircase, she looked across the room and spotted the box on the table. She walked slowly, finally standing before the empty box left behind. The music no longer played, but the message left for Steve was now open for her to see as well. She carefully picked up the paper and read what Stefano had written to her husband.
"A Queen, who holds the heart of two Kings, must die." Stefano DiMera
But written below, in small print was another message, hastily added on later. Kayla frowned when she read this addition. She knew not what to make of it.
Checkmate! PBL