Jax and Brenda returned to Port Charles to look for Julia, but ran into some trouble. They found Carly gone when she was
supposed to be watching the shop, their files gone, and they barely get away when the cops come snooping around. Here's
chapter 13, which you may have already read. Chapter 14 though, is all new.

Enjoy!!
Victoria L.
 

Chapter 13
 

As Jax drove, Brenda managed to pull the two files from her shirt. Jax
couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at her underclothes. Peach colored, he remembered
well. She saw him staring out the corner of her eye, but she didn’t say anything. She
just smiled to herself.
“What have you got there?” Jax asked. Brenda tossed the files onto the
dashboard and fastened her seatbelt. Then she folded her hands in her lap, very
much satisfied with herself.
“It’s the last of the files from the office. I couldn’t get my hands on
everything, but there isn’t one single piece of incriminating evidence left in that
office. What we have to find out now is what on earth spooked Carly into leaving
like that, and what is making her keep quiet about all of it. Oh, turn here,” Brenda
said, as Jax made is way around a corner that lead to Carly and Jason’s apartment.
“Brenda, I remember where it is. It hasn’t been that long.” Brenda was
about to argue, but she decided against it.
“You’re right,” she said quietly. “Sorry,” she added, even more softly. Jax
didn’t hear her. He pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex and parked
in a space close to Jason’s truck. He got out and helped Brenda get the boxes of files
up to Jason and Carly’s apartment. Jax raised his hand to knock, but Brenda put
her hand on his to stop him. “I’ll do it,” she said.
“I remember that too, Brenda,” Jax said. Brenda looked as though she didn’t
believe him. “Unless you’ve changed it,” he went on, “and if I remember correctly,
it’s three rapid knocks followed by two more, a pause in between.” Brenda sighed
and nodded.
“Right again.” Jax knocked and the penthouse door immediately came open.
Carly stopped short at seeing Jax. Just when he thought she’d be angry with him,
she broke out into a huge smile and threw her arms around him.
“Jax! My God, man, it’s good to see you again.” Jax closed his eyes as he
held Carly in his arms. She had always been a wonderful friend to Jax, and he loved
her like a little sister. He also hadn’t seen or spoken to her in two years, and he felt
immensely guilty about it. She pulled back slightly, and looked him in the eyes. “It’s
been too long,” she said through small tears. He nodded and hugged her again.
“You’re right, and I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?” Carly beamed
again.
“You can come in here and see my son, that’s what you can do!”
“Oh, Michael!” Jax said. “That’s right, you were pregnant when I left. My
God, Carly, I’m so sorry.”
“Never mind, just come in, you’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
“Where’s Jason?” Brenda asked.
“He’s upstairs with Michael,” Carly said, going up the stairs. “I’ll be right
back.” Jax and Brenda could hear Carly’s merry voice urging Jason to come
downstairs. He also heard Jason’s “What?!” and Carly’s laugh. Jason was down the
stairs in no time. He shook Jax’s hand heartily and pulled him into a bear hug.
“Where you been, man? How’s it going?”
“As well as can be expected,” Jax said, shaking Jason’s hand again. “I’m
sorry I stayed away so long.”
“Water under the bridge,” Jason said, glancing at Brenda. “We all
understand.” Just then, Carly came downstairs holding Michael. She held him out
for Jax and Michael took to him immediately. They all had a wonderful reunion, but
the happiness was short lived. Carly put Michael down, and Brenda asked urgently,
“Carly, what the hell happened?”
“Brenda, this is a long story, and I don’t want you to go flying off the
handle--”
“Just tell me already, please,” Brenda urged. Jax put a hand on hers and
quieted her.
“Okay,” Carly said, sitting on top of one of the boxes, “here’s the deal. I was
at BJ’s, minding my own business, and I was going through some more of Julia’s
files, trying to make sense of everything. And then all of a sudden, this woman, this
Drew Jacobs, came into the store. She pretended to be a customer, but she let me
know right away who she was. She knew about us, Brenda. Jason, me, Julia, you,
all of us. She knows who we are and what we do.” Brenda’s face paled and she
cursed to herself, in a similar fashion to Carly.
“Who talked?” Brenda asked, rubbing her forehead in pain.
“We’re working on finding out.” Brenda just nodded and rose, beginning to
pace.
“Did you guys run a check?” she asked, speaking to them as though they were
children. Carly tried to ignore it, but Jason didn’t.
“Of course we did, Brenda,” Jason said, the irritation on his voice.
“Nothing’s come back in yet, but as soon as we know, I’ll let you know.” Just then, a
fax began to come through on Jason’s line in the other room. He excused himself,
and Carly went on with the story.
“Well I pulled the gun, because things were getting a little sticky.” Brenda
didn’t question Carly’s judgment, she knew Carly would never pull a gun unless it
was absolutely necessary. “She wasn’t armed,” Carly went on. “But I thought she
had a gun, and she probably did, and decided against pulling it. Her pockets were
deep enough.”
“So how much do you think she knows?” Jax asked. He was still waiting for
the right moment to mention the message left at Brenda’s apartment.
“I don’t know,” Carly said. “But I’m sure she knows who Julia is, she knows
who I am now, and I think she knows about Brenda. I’m sure she doesn’t know
about you, Jax, and probably not Jason either. She came into BJ’s wanting to know
who killed her boyfriend. So obviously she doesn’t believe the coroner’s report. She
doesn’t believe it’s an overdose.”
“Well who’d want to believe the person they loved was involved in drugs?”
Brenda asked. Jax shook his head, and Carly spoke.
“I’m not so sure she didn’t know.”
“What do you mean?” Brenda asked.
“Well, if she knows what the coroner’s report said, and she already knew
about the drugs, she’d be sad, but she wouldn’t be coming into BJ’s, throwing
accusations right and left without any substantial evidence. So far, we’re not linked
to this case at all with the police. But I know they’re investigating Alexander
Marshall’s death, and as soon as they find out he was a client of Julia’s, they’re
going to be all over us. My guess is that she’s got contacts. She knows somebody, or
she knows how to get to somebody and ask the right questions.”
“Precious few know what we really do in this town,” Brenda said. Just then,
Jason came in.
“You guys are probably right. Drew Jacobs is definitely connected to
someone pretty powerful--but they’re not from Port Charles, and neither,
apparently, is Ms. Jacobs.”
“What does she know?” Jax asked.
“It’s not what she knows, Jax,” Jason said. “It’s WHO she knows. Drew
Jacobs is connected to the Santos family.” A silence fell over the group as they
realized just how deep this whole thing was getting. Carly got to her feet.
“The Santoses? Is she one of them?”
“No,” Jason said, “But her best friend, Michelle, is married to the next in line
to the proverbial family throne. Her best friend is married to Daniel Santos.”
“Well,” Brenda said, “THIS is all we need. Do you think Julia knows she’s
working closely to one of the most influential mob outfits in the country?!”
“Brenda, calm down,” Jax said, coming to stand behind her and put his hands
on her shoulders. She leaned into his embrace without thinking. Jason and Carly
pretended not to notice.
“Read what you got,” Brenda said to Jason.
“I’ve got, Drucilla Jacobs, born April 15, 1975. She owns a club, Millennium,
and she lives in a town called Springfield. She’s from Illinois. As far as I can see,
she doesn’t have any major links to organized crime, but her father is a mouthpiece
for some pretty scary looking people and like I said, her friend’s husband is the head
of the Santos family.”
“She could get information if she wanted to,” Carly said, “but I still don’t
know how she found us. She must have been looking pretty hard.”
“Look,” Brenda said, “we need to make sure we’re all on the same page, here.
I don’t want to be out of the loop on anything, and I--I know--” she said this in a
weak voice, “I know you guys might be keeping some things from me because you
think I’m too scared or that I can’t handle it, so please, if you guys know anything,
please tell me. Let’s just get it all out now, okay?”
“I don’t know anything else,” Carly said, shrugging.
“I’ve told you all I know, too,” Jason said.
“I know something else,” Jax said. Everyone looked at him, surprised.
“When I was waiting for Brenda to come out of BJ’s and just before the cops
came,--”
“Whoa, whoa, cops stopped you guys?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, but it was no big deal, they never suspected anything at all.” Jason
nodded, so Jax went on. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything before, but someone
left a message on Brenda’s answering machine.”
“Julia?” Brenda asked frantically.
“It wasn’t her on the phone, but it was her captor or captors. Whoever has
Julia left a message for you, Brenda. I’m sorry, I--”
“Wait, you’re sorry? Someone called for my sister and you didn’t tell me?
How in the hell could you wait so long, Jasper?!”