Chapter 31
The next morning, Luke woke up first and walked to
the window. He glanced to the floor to make sure Lucky and Nikolas were still
there. They had driven to Polk yesterday, and now were camped in two adjoining
hotel rooms. Looking through the two open doors that separated the rooms, he
did a quick check to make sure all the girls were okay. He turned back around
as he heard Stefan getting up.
“When shall we leave to get the Ice Princess?”
Stefan asked in a whisper.
“Well, the bank doesn’t open until 9, so we have
about an hour to eat breakfast before we head out.” Luke replied.
Stefan nodded. “And then we fly straight home,
correct?”
“Yeah.” Luke said. “Straight home, and straight to
the police station.” He looked at Lucky again. “I wish I could come up with
another way.”
“It has to be done.” Stefan said. “Lucky
testifying can put Helena and Daniel away, otherwise they will never leave all
of us alone.” He paused a little, and then continued. “If that doesn’t work,
though, we will find other means to get rid of them.”
Luke looked at Stefan, and saw an understanding
and determination in his eyes that mirrored his own. He nodded, and then they
began to order breakfast and wake everyone up.
“So what is your plan?” Helena asked. “They’ll
have the Ice Princess in less than an hour. Are you just going to let them walk
away with everything we both want?”
“Dear, you’ve underestimated me. If I snatched the
boys back now, I’d still have to get them to the bank to get the Ice Princess.
Why not just wait until they get it for me?”
“Well then, how are you going to get the boys
after that, even? Stefan and Luke will be more cautious now.” Helena said.
“The boys will come to me on their own, once they
find I have their girlfriends in my care.” Daniel replied.
“Let me warn you, Daniel. You are getting just a
bit cocky. You have no idea how determined and dangerous a Spencer can be when
you get them mad enough, even if the Spencer in mention is merely a boy.”
Helena said.
“You are warning me to watch out for Lucky?”
Daniel asked laughing. “Please, I think we both know I can handle him. I’ve
shown that in the past.”
“Only in the past, you could scare him. Now you
only make him angry.” Helena got up and turned to walk out of the room. “I
won’t want to be around you when he and Nikolas come after the girls.”
Stefan, Luke, Nikolas, and Lucky walked into the
First National Bank of Polk. Stefan talked quickly to a clerk, and they were
all shown into the room where the safety deposit boxes were kept. After
confirming that Stefan was Stavros brother, and that he was the legal owner of
the box’s contents since he was dead, the clerk handed them the key and left
them alone. Opening it quickly, Stefan pulled another box out of it. He laid it
on the table, and they all studied it. It had no lock on it, but two clear
plastic spots on it. Under one was an ‘N’, under the other was an ‘L’. Nikolas
looked at Lucky, and nodded. The boys brought their thumbs up to the spots, and
pressed down. The lid of the box cracked open. Stefan pushed it back all the
way, and withdrew the Ice Princess. They stared at it for a moment, and then
Luke helped Stefan place it in a bag, and they left the bank.
At the hotel, Jason, Alexis, and Laura were in the
middle of some boring conversation. Liz and Emily stared at the ceiling
blankly. Emily picked a pillow and hit Liz playfully with it. Liz smiled, and
picked up another pillow. In seconds they giggling and shouting. They stopped
suddenly when they looked up and saw the adults frowning at them. They put the
pillows down slowly and sat back down.
“Can we go get something out of the vending
machines?” Liz finally asked.
“Sure, there’s some change on the dresser.” Laura
answered absently.
The girls picked up some quarters and walked out
the door. They found the vending machines at the end of the hallway in an
isolated room by the stairs.
“So are you looking forward to going home?” Emily
asked.
“Well, I miss Gram, but if you take the stress of
worrying out of this trip, it was lot of fun.” Liz replied.
“Yup, I know what you mean. After my family gets
over being glad I’m back, and then starts lecturing me for taking off, I’ll be
wishing I was back to the night of our slumber party.” Emily said.
They both began remembering details of that night
and laughing. They never heard anyone coming down the hotel steps and walking
into the room behind them. Before they knew what was happening, they were both
out cold.
“Shouldn’t the girls be back by now?” Alexis
asked, looking at her watch.
“Yeah, they should.” Jason replied. “It shouldn’t
have taken more than five minutes, and they’ve been gone for ten.” A little
worried, they walked down the hall, but the girls weren’t at the vending
machines.
Panicked, Laura nervously rubbed her hands
together. “Oh God, where are they?” She asked. They began to search for them
when they saw Luke, Stefan, and the boys walking down the hall towards them.
“Mom?” Lucky asked worriedly. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
He and Nikolas looked at her anxiously when she didn’t respond.
“Jason, what’s going on?” Luke asked.
“We can’t find the girls.” He replied. “They came
down here to the vending machines, but that was at least fifteen minutes ago.”
“All right, they probably just went for a walk or
something to check out the hotel.” Luke said with calmness that he didn’t have.
“Let’s just look for them, I’m sure they will turn up.”
They looked everywhere, but with no luck. The
girls were nowhere to be found.
Chapter 32
Leaning his hand against the wall to try to cover
up the fact that he was shaking, Lucky spoke softly. “They’re gone.” He looked
at everyone, without really seeing them, and fell against the wall, sliding
down to the floor. “They’re gone.” He repeated.
Luke walked over and knelt down beside him.
“Lucky?” He asked gently, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Cowboy, don’t worry.
We’re going to find them. It’s going to be ok.”
Lucky looked up at his father with his lower lip
trembling.
“Helena has them, Dad.” He choked out, fighting
the tears. “Helena, and Daniel.” Pausing, he swallowed hard, and looked at the
floor dazed. “Daniel will just use them as bait. He doesn’t need them. All he
wants...” Crying freely now, he had to force the words to come. “All he wants
is me and Nikolas. Once he has us, he’ll… he won’t have a use for
them…he...he’ll kill them.”
Luke brought his hands up to Lucky’s face and
pointed his head so that they were looking eye to eye. Blinking back his own
tears, he managed the best smile he could. “No. No, that won’t happen, son. We
won’t let it. Ok?” He asked, searching Lucky’s eyes. “We’ll make sure they’re
all right.”
Lucky nodded dully, but didn’t really believe him.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but he could only grasp a few.
Daniel had Emily. Daniel had Liz. Processing it slowly, he held on to one more
thought. He would die before he’d let anyone hurt them.
Laura stepped forward and stood beside Luke,
looking down at Lucky. “How about we go back to the room and figure out what
we’re going to do next, ok honey? We’ll have them back in no time.”
“Yeah, let’s go work on finding them soon so we
can all go home, all right Lucky?” Nikolas asked, trying to assist his brother
in standing up, but nearly having to pick him up all the way. He put his hands
on his shoulders. “Come on, you have to stay strong for Liz. She needs you,
Emily too.” Finally Lucky seemed to respond and regain something in his eyes,
determination probably. Nikolas sighed, relieved. Liz and Emily weren’t the
only ones he wanted Lucky to be strong for. He felt like his world was
collapsing knowing that Emily was in danger. He would need his brother now more
than ever.
Turning over slowly, Liz opened her eyes, blinking
at the light. She clutched the side of her head, and tried to remember why it
hurt so much. Pushing herself to her knees, she saw Emily lying beside her.
Shaking her shoulder and calling her name, she eventually got her to wake up
too.
“Where are we?” Emily asked groggily.
“I don’t know.” Liz replied. “I don’t know how we
got here, either.”
Emily sat up, and both girls suddenly remembered
going to the vending machines, and hearing people behind them too late. They
stared at each other with eyes wide, and ran to the door. They knew it was
useless, but they still had to try. Locked. They turned to the windows. Barred.
Trying to beat the fear and feeling of helplessness coming over her, Liz failed
and sank to the ground sobbing. Trembling, Emily fell beside her.
"It’s going to be ok, Liz.” She said, to Liz
and herself. “Nikolas and Lucky are going to come and get us.”
“What if it’s not?” Liz asked. Suddenly she
realized why they were taken. “Oh, Emily, he’s after them.” She said. “That
awful man, Daniel, he’s after Nikolas and Lucky. He’ll get them to come here
with the Ice Princess. Then he’ll kidnap Nikolas and take control of him and
the Cassadine Empire.” She stopped short suddenly, and looked Emily in the eye.
She saw her own fear she was afraid to voice reflected. “Daniel doesn’t like
Lucky.” Was all she could get out. Sliding across the floor to a corner
farthest from the door, the girls wept and clung to each other. Closing her
eyes, Liz prayed with all her might for her and Emily’s safety, as well the
boys.
“So your saying your men have no idea where
they’re hiding?” Stefan asked.
Jason nodded. “It seems they’ve caught on a bit,
and are being more careful now.” He replied.
“Well they can’t be too far.” Luke said. “Daniel
wants the Ice Princess and this is just his way to get it.”
“Well doesn’t that mean they’ll make contact with
us?” Laura asked.
“Like what, a ransom note?” Alexis asked. “That’s
too simple for them. Helena and Daniel are bad enough by themselves. Their plan
is taking them longer than they thought it would, and they’ll want more now.”
“More like revenge.” Jason said, more like a
statement than a question.
“Exactly.” Stefan said. “Now they’ll be out for
more than control, they’ll be out for blood.”
“Well isn’t this a surprise?” Luke asked. “The
elder of the Addam’s family is hungry and has decided to feast on my family!”
“Luke, please, the last thing we need right now is
to fight.” Laura sighed, getting cut off by Stefan.
“I believe if we take an accurate look at history,
we will find that you have terminated more Cassadine's!” He yelled.
Standing up from his seat in the corner, Lucky
walked quickly onto the balcony, shutting the door behind him. Placing his
elbows on the railing, he closed his hands over his ears. Nikolas walked out
after him, and stood observing him for a while. He looked like he was trying to
shut out the whole world. Moving a little closer, Nikolas cleared his throat.
Lucky looked up, and gave him a weak smile.
“I just kinda needed out of there for awhile.” He
said.
“I can understand that.” Nik replied. “It’s like
old times inside. I thought we were over all that fighting.”
Lucky nodded. “Yeah, me too.” He stared down at
the ground. “I guess Dad and Luke just called a temporary truce to take down
Helena. I should have known better, I think I did deep down. Still, part of me
thought we’d be one big happy family when we got to Port Charles.” His eyes
faded out once again. “I suppose that’s just too much to ask for.”
“No it’s not, Lucky.” Nikolas said. “We shouldn’t
even have to ask for that. Leading a peaceful happy life, and being close to
all your family is something everyone should have a right too.” Feeling himself
getting increasingly upset, Nikolas started to pace back and forth. “We were
cheated, Lucky. Both of us were cheated our whole lives. We deserved to know
each other, and grow up together. Instead we were raised to hate one another.”
He stopped and looked at Lucky. “It’s time everyone realized we are brothers,
and we are going be brothers, and no one can stop that.”
Lucky smirked. “You know, it’s nice to know that
their fighting bothers someone else as much as it does me.” He said. “I’ve
always hated violence, believe it or not.”
Nikolas laughed, and then stopped. “You can’t be
serious. I mean, who started most of our fist fights?”
“People sometimes do things they hate, Nikolas.
They get this thing that grows inside them, called guilt, and they
unconsciously try to punish themselves for it in the worst way they know how.”
Nikolas stared at his brother incredulously. “What
in the world could you have to feel guilty about?"
“You.” He replied softly. Giving a quick glance
up, he continued. “I, uh, I was curious about you. When you first came here, I
knew I was supposed to hate you. You were a Cassadine, and I just thought that
was the way things had to be. But deep down, I knew I didn’t, I couldn’t hate
you.” Lucky took a deep breath and continued. “For the first time in my life, I
had these two separate things that I believed in completely that totally
contradicted each other. I was taught that Cassadine’s were evil, but also that
nothing was more important than family.” Taking a few steps, Lucky grabbed
Nikolas by the arm. “You have to believe that I didn’t mean any of it. I
thought that wanting to know you was wrong, that I was failing my father by
going against what he believed. And that was just something I couldn’t let
myself do. My whole life, all I had was him and mom. I was too afraid of losing
them. So you see, I had to try and stop the feelings I had toward you. When I
attacked you, I was attacking myself. It was the worst punishment I could think
of.”
Nikolas looked at him in wonder. “Lord, Lucky, I
never knew any of that. You shouldn’t have had to feel like that. Neither of us
should have. I was taught that you were evil too, but I think I always felt
more jealousy towards you than anger. In my eyes, you had the perfect life
because you had the one thing I always wanted, our mother. It was like my life
was an unfinished puzzle that you held the last piece too. It took me forever
to realize that you were another missing piece yourself.”
Nikolas extended his hand to Lucky. “From now on,
though, no matter what happens, we don’t let anyone else tell us how to feel.”
Lucky nodded and the brothers shook hands.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lucky saw something
lying near the edge of the balcony. Walking over to it, he picked up what he
recognized as a book Liz had been reading. “This is Liz’s.” He told Nikolas.
Opening the cover, Lucky frowned when he saw a letter inside it. Throwing Nik a
curious glance, he opened it up. Nikolas moved beside him and read over his
shoulder. Both their eyes widened at what it said. It was from Daniel. He had
the girls, and would release them only when they both came to get them, alone.
An address was scribbled at the bottom. The boys looked though the balcony door
to see the adults still going ten rounds about foolish things. An understanding
passed between them as Lucky shoved the letter in his pocket, and they walked
inside to wait for nightfall to leave.
Chapter 33
Slowly, the door to the room opened, flooding the
now dark room with light. Smiling evilly, Daniel walked across the room to
stand in front of the girls. They were still huddled together as if to ward of
danger, but their sleeping faces held a look of peace. As if they believed they
would get out of this. Daniel grinned even wider at that thought. This would
certainly all come to an end for them soon, but not in the way they hoped.
“Lucky will soon learn how wrong it was to defy
me.” He whispered as he knelt down. “How much he loves you is obvious.” He said
as he lightly trailed his fingers across Liz’s face. “When he see you killed
because of him, it will break him. And you, my dear Emily, will teach Nikolas a
lesson. Your death will give me control of Nikolas and the Cassadine Empire. I
might keep Lucky around, and I might not. Nikolas may cooperate better if his
brother’s life is at stake. Of course, I can always find another means if Lucky
proves to be too much trouble.” Daniel laughed. “Oh, soon I will have
everything I want, and I have you two to thank for all of it. Sleep tight now,
and try not to dread the inevitable.” With that, Daniel walked out of the room,
leaving the girls in darkness once more.
“Are you sure this is the best way?” Laura asked
again.
“Darlin’, I know it seems like we’re not doing
anything, but we can’t just go out striking with our eyes closed. Since we have
no idea where they’ve taken the girls, I’m afraid the best thing we can do is
just wait.” Luke said.
“But it’s like we’re not even trying!” Laura exclaimed.
“Those girls risked everything to come with us.”
“Laura, believe me, we all know that.” Alexis
said. “All any of us want is for them to be back here safe.”
Stefan nodded. “It may seem frivolous to stay
still, but attacking Helena and Daniel could just bring the girls harm.”
The boys listened quietly. They both almost
preferred that the adults would fight again. The fact that they were being
somewhat agreeable with each other was making it hard to think of leaving for
the girls without them. But if they didn’t go alone, well, it was something
they couldn’t risk. Lucky got up and followed Nikolas into the vacant of the
two adjoining rooms.
“It’s getting dark.” Lucky said, looking out the
window. “We’ll wait till they go to sleep and..” They jumped as they heard the
door between the rooms close. They looked up to see Jason standing in front of
the entrance with his arms crossed.
“We’ll wait until they’re asleep and what?” He
asked.
Nikolas looked at Lucky, who sighed. There was no
way he could lie to Jason without him knowing it. “All right Jason, we all know
it will be no use to try and pretend nothing is going on. So I’m just going to
ask you to trust us and not say anything. We can handle ourselves, and that’s
all you need to know.”
Jason crossed the distance between him and Lucky
and stood right in front of him. He stared him straight in the eyes for a long
time, with no expression on his face. Lucky was a little nervous, but didn’t
break eye contact. Finally, Jason spoke.
“Don’t get yourself killed.” Lucky looked at him
questionably.
“I’m not agreeing with this at all.” Jason
explained. “But I don’t see anyway to stop you.”
“Thank you Jason.” Lucky said. “You won’t regret
this. We’ll get the girls and ourselves back here before morning, and then we
can all go home.”
“I hope so.” Jason replied. “Listen, if you get in
trouble, you let Daniel know that I have connections, and he’ll never have any
peace if any of you are harmed.”
Lucky laughed as he handed Jason the letter he and
Nikolas had found. “I will. And if we aren’t back tomorrow, the address is
inside this.”
Jason nodded as he put the letter in his pocket.
“I’m counting on you to bring my sister back. You too.” He said, directing his
last sentence at Nikolas.
“I can promise you I’ll do everything I can to get
her back.” Nikolas replied.
“I’m not sure if that should reassure me or make
me want to make sure you stay away from her.” Jason joked. They sat down then,
and actually had a reasonably light conversation, as they waited for the others
to go to sleep.
Walking out onto the balcony behind his wife, Luke
stared at her and smiled. The moonlight shining around her matched her hair,
and brought out the sparkle in her eyes. Sneaking up on her, he grabbed her
around the waist and held her close as he listened to her laugh. Closing his
eyes, he thanked whatever force it was that gave him Laura. They might have a
few problems right now, but then, when didn’t they? One of the things he could
always count on was her. They may sometimes fight, and make each other madder
than anyone else could, but their love was always strong enough to stand it.
“I love you Laura.” Luke whispered in her ear.
“Every time I see you, I fall in love again. I don’t know what I’d do without
you.”
Laura smiled as she too closed her eyes and leaned
back against him. “I love you too, Luke. I’m so glad we have each other.”
“And we always will, Laura, no matter what. This
is just one more thing life is throwing out to test us, but we show them up
every time, don’t we?” Luke asked.
“Yes we do.” Laura whispered, her face lighting
up. “Everything that has ever happened, we’ve beat it, and we’ll beat this too.
The girls will be back here in no time, and we’ll no longer have some silly
feud to worry about. Everything will be perfect. We’ll have our children, and
their friends, and we’ll have each other.”
“Add Skillethead and we’re on our way to Brady
Bunchdem.” Luke said.
“Aren’t we missing an Alice?” Laura asked.
“Well I don’t know about you, but I’ve always
thought Jason would look good in an apron.” Luke said grinning.
Grabbing one of her wrists, Luke suddenly twirled
Laura around, catching her by surprise and getting her to laugh once again.
Holding her by her hand at arm’s length, Luke gave her his most irresistible Spencer
smiles.
“Dance with me Laura.” He said, a twinkle in his
eyes.
“Luke, there’s no music.” Laura said.
“Oh, sure there is.” Luke replied light heartedly.
“If you stop and listen hard enough, there’s always music when you’re around.”
Unable to resist his invitation, Laura moved
closer to him and they seemed to float around the balcony. Tilting her back
into a quick dip, they stayed that way for a moment until Luke leaned down to
kiss her. The stars shone brightly above them, and the wind blew gently.
Everything was ok for the moment. Neither of them saw the boys creep out onto
the balcony next door, and jump down to the one below it. They also didn’t see
when they ran around to the front of the hotel and quietly backed the car out
onto the street and took off. By the time they looked up the night was
peaceful.
Chapter 34
Stopping the car about half a mile from their
destination, Lucky and Nikolas got out a little hesitant. This was a trap, and
they knew it. But they also knew they didn’t care what happened to them if the
girls made it out safe.
“Look, their going to be expecting us, but the
letter said to come an hour from now. Hopefully we can stake the place out
first. We’re in the middle of nowhere, so there won’t be many places to hide,
but there also won’t be any nosy neighbors around to spot us.” Lucky said.
“Won’t Daniel be expecting us to show early? He
knows we don’t trust him.” Nikolas said.
“He’s underestimated us before, though.” Lucky
replied. “The letter he sent said to come alone. See, he expects us to be so
worried right now that we will follow every direction to the letter. The
biggest thing about Daniel is his ego, and it will be the key to his downfall.”
“All right, why don’t we cut across this field and
come up behind that line of pine trees beside the house.” Nikolas said. “We
should be able to see three sides of the place from there.”
“Wow, you’re catching on to this sneaking around
stuff pretty quick.” Lucky said grinning. “Before you know it, you’ll be a full
blown Spencer.”
“I’m not sure if I should really take that as a
compliment, but thanks.” Nikolas replied.
“Don’t mention it. Now let’s go.”
“Shhh!” Laura whispered as she swatted at Luke.
“The others are asleep by now, and we’re going to wake them up.”
“Stop nagging me woman.” Luke said playfully. “Can
I help it that my heart screams when I’m around you and I sometimes have to
voice it?” Luke continued, his voice rising at each word.
“I’ll put a muzzle on your heart if you wake up
the boys.” Laura said. “Come on, let’s go inside. It’s getting rather chilly
out here.”
Sliding the door open as quiet as she could, Laura
crept inside with Luke behind her. Alexis and Stefan were both asleep.
“I’m going to go to bed too, just let me check on
the boys first.” Laura said.
Luke nodded at her, and she carefully opened the
doors separating the rooms. It was completely dark, and she didn’t want to wake
them up, so she turned around to leave. Then she got a feeling telling her to
go back and look. Just to be sure. She tried to tell herself she was just being
silly and paranoid as she fumbled for the light switch. She gasped when she saw
the empty beds, and yelled for Luke.
“They're in the middle room upstairs.” Lucky told
Nikolas, as they crouched under the trees. “There’s a vine creeping up the side
of the house leading to a window next to theirs. If one of us could climb up
that and...”
“Wait a minute.” Nikolas said to Lucky, who was
still staring at the house working things out. “How do you know they're in that
room?”
Lucky looked at him as if he had three eyes.
“There’s bars on the window. You think they're just for decoration?”
“Ok, next question.” Nikolas continued. “Daniel
wasn’t be expecting us early, but we can’t get them out of there that fast.
We’re supposed to meet him in half an hour. And how are we supposed to get them
out without anyone hearing anyway?”
“Just follow me, ok?” Lucky said. “I’ve got a
plan.”
“Great.” Nikolas mumbled, as he hurried to catch
up with his brother, who had crept up to the back of the house.
Pulling on the vine to see if it would hold, Lucky
began to climb it. Nikolas did his best to follow him up, getting tangled more
than once. At the top, Lucky cautiously peered in the window. It was dark, and
he didn’t see anything. Nikolas watched him take some tool out of his jacket,
and pry the window open. Slipping into the room, Lucky ducked his head back out
and helped Nikolas in. The room they were in was empty, and they walked quickly
to the door. Peering out and seeing nothing, they went out into the hall and
stopped at the next door. Lucky quickly and expertly unlocked it, smiling to
himself as the door slid open.
“Remind me to have you show me how you do that
sometime.” Nikolas whispered.
“You got it.” Lucky replied, glancing around him,
and then at his watch. “Look, go in and get the girls, and get them out of
here, ok? You’ll probably have to climb back down the vine again.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Nikolas asked.
“Look, Daniel is going to be watching for us, and
when he doesn’t see us, he’ll suspect something and come up here. I’m just
going to go down and stall him to buy us a little more time.”
“How do you plan on getting out after that?”
“I’ll figure that out when the time comes, all
right?” Lucky said. “Just get the girls to the car. Wait for me for twenty
minutes tops, and if I’m not there, go get my dad.”
“Lucky, no.” Nikolas still resisted. Lucky turned
around and looked at him.
“Nikolas, do this for Liz and Emily.” With that,
he turned and disappeared down the hall.
Reluctantly, Nikolas walked in the room without
his brother. Closing the door, Nikolas turned on the lights. He glanced around
the room and saw the girls huddled in a corner. He quickly walked over to them
and shook Emily.
“Em, wake up.” He said gently.
Emily slowly opened her eyes, which widened when
she saw Nikolas.
“Nikolas!” she screamed as she threw her arms
around him.
“Shh!” Nikolas warned. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Emily said as she pulled back. “What’s
going on? Why isn’t Lucky with you? Is he okay? Does Daniel know you’re here?”
“Slow down.” Nikolas said chuckling. “Everything’s
all right. We just need to get you two out of here.” Liz woke up and smiled
when she saw Nikolas.
“You came after us.” She said. “Where’s Lucky?”
“He had to take care of something, but he’ll meet
us later. Let’s go.” Nikolas replied. The girls followed him into the hall and
the room next door.
Sliding into a study downstairs, Lucky sat down
and put his feet up on the desk. Closing his eyes for a moment, he said a silent
prayer in his mind that he had the courage to go through with this. Hearing the
door open, Lucky leaned back and smiled at the person who came in. “Hello
Daniel.”
“Luke! Luke!” Laura continued to shout until he
came rushing in, Stefan and Alexis behind him. “Luke their gone!” She screamed.
Luke frowned at the vacant room as he tried to
calm down Laura. “Hey, we don’t know they're gone, they're just not in here at
the moment, ok?”
Stefan walked over and opened the curtains and
door to the balcony. Holding their breath, all four of them felt fear take over
them when they were greeted with just Jason.
Luke glared at him. “All right Jason, where did
they go and why didn’t they tell us?”
“They were told to go alone, and they asked me to
trust them.” He replied.
“You let two teenage boys go after a hit man with
a grudge against them alone?” Alexis asked incredulously.
“I don’t see what age has to do with it.” Jason
said. “There was no way they were going to be stopped.”
“Luke, they're in trouble, I know it.” Laura
cried. “We have to go after them.”
Looking up from his wife to Jason, Luke gave him a
pleading expression. “Jason, I understand how determined they were and I know
they can handle each other, but everyone can use some help sometime. Now
please, tell me where they went.”
Jason looked at Luke and Laura, and debated in his
mind what to do. By now the boys had gotten there and Daniel knew they had come
alone. If they hadn’t made it out immediately they probably wouldn’t without
help. But then what would happen if they showed up and Daniel did something
drastic? Jason shook his head; he knew what he should do. Walking over to Luke,
he pulled the letter from his jacket and handed it to Luke.
Chapter 35
Jumping down the remaining distance between him
and the ground, Nikolas turned around to help the girls.
“All right Nikolas, now where is Lucky?!”
Elizabeth whispered harshly.
“He’ll be here in a minute, I swear.” Nikolas
answered, averting eye contact.
“You’re lying.” Liz said blankly, staring at Nikolas,
then the ground, and back again. “Do you know if he’s okay?”
Emily stared at him as nervously as Liz. “Nikolas,
you have to tell us.” She said.
“He, uh, he went to distract Daniel while we got
to the car.” Nikolas said. He then quickly grabbed one of their hands in each
of his and ran toward the car. In his head he knew he had to get them to safety
before what he said sank in and the fear took them over. It hurt his heart just
as much to have Lucky in there, but he wouldn’t let his brother risk his life
for nothing.
“Lucky. What a pleasant surprise.” Daniel said
cordially. “I was hoping you would drop in tonight. I thought your brother
would be along, too.”
Swiveling back and forth in the chair, with his
feet still on the desk, Lucky gave Daniel a un amused look. “I didn’t tell
Nikolas of the letter, I don’t want you near him. And sending me a letter
threatening two of my closest friends’ lives if I don’t show is hardly hoping
I’d come, it’s more of a threat.”
“A threat you brought all on yourself.” Daniel
replied. “If you had just cooperated the first time, this wouldn’t have been
necessary. But no, you have to keep fighting me.”
“Just what is it you want from me?” Lucky asked.
“I know this isn’t all about the Cassadine Empire and the Ice Princess anymore.
One, the Princess is out of the bank and you could easily steal it, and two,
you only need Nikolas for the Empire. We both know this runs deeper.”
“I’m impressed, young Spencer.” Daniel said. “I
would have thought with your up bringing, you wouldn’t be so ‘learned’.”
Swinging his feet to the floor, Lucky glared at
Daniel. “I have more brains than you could ever pretend to have.”
“But you weren’t smart enough to escape me for
good, were you?” Daniel persisted.
Slowly, a smile spread across Lucky’s face. “Wrong
again. See, I know what true power is for you. Getting someone to do everything
you say, and giving in to you completely. You want to have complete control of
their mind. That’s why you’re still so determined to have me here. Taking over
the Cassadine's is a good cover story, and I truly believe you want that. But
there is something more, something you can’t have.”
Daniel frowned at him. “Enough of this chit chat,
why don’t we get to why I requested you come.”
“I got a better idea. Why don’t we get to why I
came.” Lucky said, continuing quickly before Daniel could interrupt. “You
noticed the first time you kidnapped me, I’m sure, and you knew the last time,
that you didn’t control me. My mind is my own. Come clean, Danny boy. Tell me what
it is you love most about being a hit man.”
Daniel searched his eyes back and forth,
menacingly, but Lucky never looked away.
“Ok. If this is the way you want to play it out,
I’m game. It’s sort of refreshing to have a challenge, really. What do I love
most about it? Seeing the fear in their eyes, and knowing I put it there.
Taking over the whole world would not hold the satisfaction that I get from
determining the way a person feels. It’s the highest control one could
achieve.”
Standing up inches from Daniel’s face, Lucky
dropped his voice to a whisper. “I’m that last mountain now, right? I’m that
one peak that you just can’t seem to climb. I’m not afraid of you, and you
can’t change that.”
“I think I can. Remember that little girl I have
upstairs? Not the Quartermaine, though I’m sure you care for her. I’m talking
about Liz, your ‘true love’. Her life is hanging in the balance of you
cooperation.”
Stepping back, Lucky began to laugh. “Once again,
you think you have control. Like I told Nikolas when we got here, your ego will
be your downfall.”
Daniel glared at Lucky. He didn’t have to check;
he knew the girls were gone. Lucky’s eyes told him that. But he would not lose
yet.
“What about your own life? You can’t possibly
think you’ll get out of here.”
“No, from your point of view I can’t. But remember
my last name? Spencer’s know how to handle situations like this, it’s what they
live for.” Lucky reached behind his back and lifted the gun hidden under his
jacket out of his jeans. He pointed it crookedly at Daniel. “I think I’ll leave
now. I’ll see you soon in court, after I and everyone else press charges.”
Turning to leave, he stopped when he heard the other door to the room open and
a way to familiar voice call his name.
“How long has it been since you last saw him?” Liz
asked from the backseat.
Nikolas glanced down at his watch. “Eighteen
minutes.”
“That only leaves two before we’re supposed to
leave.” Emily said quietly. She turned to Nikolas with tears coming to her
eyes. “We can’t do that.” Looking at her, and glancing back at Liz’s terrified
face in the rearview mirror, Nikolas couldn’t take it anymore. Quickly, nearly
in one motion, he got out of the car and pulled Emily into the driver’s seat,
and ducked his head back in the window. Emily stared at him with wide eyes, and
Liz looked at him with hope. Reaching up, Nikolas took Emily’s face in her
hands. \
“If any one comes, you take off, okay?”
Looking at him with frightfully, Emily began to
open her mouth when Nikolas brought his finger to her lips.
“I can’t leave my brother in there Emily, I can’t.
Now don’t worry about me, because I’m not going to give up until we both come
out of there. But listen, if anyone finds you out here, you get yourself, and
Liz, to safety. Lucky and I will find another way.” Watching the tears slowly
raining down her face, Nikolas wiped one away with his thumb. Leaning in, he
gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “I love you Emily.”
Shocked with everything that was happening, Emily
could only get her voice out in a whisper. “I love you too, Nikolas.”
He smiled at her, and then turned and looked at
Liz, who leaned forward and stuck her hand out the window to grab Nikolas’ arm.
“You’ll come back with him?” She asked in small,
yet assured voice.
“Yes, I’ll come back with him, Liz.”
Liz leaned back and nodded as a smile appeared on
her face. “Tell him I love him.”
“I will Liz, but I know he’ll want to hear you say
it himself. He loves you too.”
Turning back to Emily, he reached in and turned
the ignition. The car purred softly in response. He then grabbed her hands and
placed them on the wheel. “Just push the pedal on the right and steer, ok?”
Without waiting for her response, he took off to the house.
Turning around to look at Liz, the girls locked
hands and sat nervously for a few minutes. Emily rolled up the window, and put
the car in drive with her foot on the brake. Each second that went by brought
with it more worry than the last. Suddenly, someone pressed their face and
hands up to the window behind the driver’s. Liz screamed, and was quickly
joined by Emily. Pushing the accelerator to the floor, the car sped down the
road.