They’d
been waiting for a couple of hours.
Jaime had been prepped and had gone into surgery at around 11 p.m. Elizabeth couldn’t believe the myriad of ups
and downs Jaime had been put through in the last month: first the kidnapping
and then this shooting. She wanted to
tell Taggert everything and have Rosco put away for life. That was her gut reaction to the situation.
He
had waltzed into Port Charles like nothing had happened in Italy. As Elizabeth sat slouched on the
uncomfortable waiting room chair, she’d studied the older man. He hadn’t moved from his seat since he’d
gone to the washroom. Rosco sat motionless
for the past hour and a half.
If
Elizabeth hadn’t known better, she’d have thought that he cared about
Jaime. She pushed that thought out of
her mind and looked over at Jason who was on the phone with Sonny, she
suspected. Part of her worried about Jason’s
decision to keep Nam and the other goons away from the crime scene; they could
have possibly explained to Taggert that it had been an accident. But Elizabeth knew that Taggert would have
been sure to find out about Nam’s connections to the mob or triad, or whatever
they called it in the East.
“Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth
spun around to see Jason standing over her.
“What? Did Jaime come out of
surgery yet? Is she all right?” Elizabeth knew she was rambling, but she
thought she had a right after finding Jaime shot on the steps of the docks.
Jason
shook his head. “She’s not out of
surgery yet. I thought I’d talk to you
about tonight. There’s going to be an
investigation and until Jaime comes out of this all right, we’ve got a lot to
figure out,” he explained seriously.
Rosco’s
eyes darted over at the couple. “What’s
your story going to be?” he sneered.
“Blame it all on me?”
Jason
glared at the unbelievably obtuse lackey.
“If I wanted you in jail, you’d be there already,” Jason
threatened. “As of now, I haven’t
decided if it’d be worth the trouble to frame you. I think I’d rather leave it up to Lee to have his way with you.”
He
was filled with rage. An emotion that
he’d left behind when becoming Sonny’s right hand man. Jason turned away from the pathetic goon
whose reputation was nothing in the criminal underworld. The thought of that made Jason feel a little
bit better.
“Jason,
you don’t mean that do you?” Elizabeth asked worriedly.
She
knew he was angry and how worried he was about Jaime, but Elizabeth couldn’t
believe Jason would frame a man for something he didn’t do. That wasn’t who Jason was. Or at least, that wasn’t the man Elizabeth
knew.
As
she peered up at her best friend, his blue eyes, which at one moment had been
as cold as ice, now gazed down at her with a warm intensity. He smiled at her briefly and shook his
head. A wave of relief flooded over
her. Elizabeth chided herself for even
thinking that he might do such a thing.
Just
then, Elizabeth noticed out of the corner of her eye, a petite blonde woman
approaching the waiting area. “Jason,”
she whispered. “It’s Monica!”
Every
anxious person in the room stood up.
Elizabeth kept an eye on Rosco, whom she could see out of the corner of
her eye. “Monica,” she sighed. “Is she all right?”
Monica’s
face was somber and clouded. She tried
to lift the corners of her mouth into a reassuring smile, but found it a
half-hearted attempt. “To tell you the
truth, I don’t know,” she muttered.
“It’s a 50-50 chance going either way.”
Elizabeth’s
heart sunk. “What do you mean?”
Monica
sat Elizabeth down and wrapped her right arm around her shoulders. “She lost a lot of blood and the bullet was
lodged very close to her heart,” she explained. “We managed to get the bullet out and repair most of the damage
the bullet did…” Elizabeth didn’t like
the sound of this. “But she’s been
touch and go throughout the entire surgery.”
Suddenly
a strong voice spoke. “Can I see her?”
Everyone
turned towards the sound of the voice and saw an elderly Asian man standing
before them. “Mr. Nam,” Elizabeth
gasped. “What took you so long?”
The
older man didn’t say a word and studied the blonde doctor who had been
explaining his daughter’s condition to everyone in the waiting room. “Can I see my daughter,” he repeated in a
mono-toned voice.
Monica
stood up and shook her head regrettably.
“I’m sorry Mr. Nam, she’s in intensive care recovering from the
surgery. We’re hoping that she will
regain consciousness and then we could possibly move her into recovery, but
we’ll have to see.”
Nam
nodded his head morosely. “Fine,” he replied,
his face expressionless.
Monica
returned to her rounds and the unlikely group of allies, or conspirators,
depending where you were standing, were left to stew in the aftermath of their
confrontation. “Mr. Morgan, could I
have a word with you?”
Jason
nodded and Elizabeth watched anxiously as the two men talked. Elizabeth briefly glanced over at Rosco who
seemed deep in thought. However, he
must have felt her eyes on him because he suddenly turned his eyes up towards
her uneasy gaze. “What?” he growled.
Elizabeth
swallowed. “You seem worried.” She motioned over to the whispered
conversation between the tall blonde and short Asian.
Rosco
rolled his eyes and scoffed, “They’re the last thing I’m worried about.”
Elizabeth
furrowed her brow. Now what did he mean
by that? Elizabeth looked furtively
between Rosco and Mr. Nam. She didn’t
know exactly how this was going to work.
Someone would go to jail wouldn’t they?
As
she pondered the large mess, Elizabeth understood the reason why Jaime loathed
her father’s business. Elizabeth didn’t
know if she could have ever lived with the knowledge that her father was in the
business of killing people.
Mr.
Nam interrupted her thoughts, asking her to step into the conversation he and
Jason were having. Elizabeth strode
uneasily toward the tête-à-tête. “What
is it?” she swallowed, her throat dry.
Jason
gazed at Elizabeth unhappily. He didn’t
seem overjoyed that Mr. Nam had invited her into the fray. “Elizabeth,” he said somberly. “Mr. Nam has decided to inform the police of
Jaime’s kidnapping.”
Elizabeth
frowned. “But what has that got to do
with explaining the shooting?”
Jason
turned his eyes from hers, while Mr. Nam continued to explain their plan. “It’s going to be self-defense,” he stated
firmly. “We saw my daughter with her
kidnapper and feared for her life.”
“But
Jason,” Elizabeth hedged. “Won’t
Taggert wonder why the place was cleaned up, and why Mr. Nam and his men
disappeared?”
Jason’s
eyes were closed and he seemed frustrated unable to voice his concern. It obviously wasn’t his choice and Mr. Nam
seemed bent on telling this to the police, though he didn’t know how aggressive
Taggert was on sending Jason and Sonny to jail. “This is the plan,” Jason sighed gravely.
Elizabeth
couldn’t help but feel a growing lump in her throat. She couldn’t bare it if Jason went to jail all because of Mr.
Nam’s need for revenge. With the pull
of a trigger, all of the people she cared about, lives’ were hanging by a
thread.
***
“Ah,
Jason,” Taggert exclaimed boisteriously.
“Who might these friends be?”
Taggert was pointing to Nam and his men who were hidden in the
background, trying to be inconspicuous.
He smirked at the well-dressed men in Italian suits. “Are you and Sonny dealing in the foreign market
now?”
Jason
couldn’t believe the cop’s timing. He
hadn’t had time to warn Nam about Taggert before the loud and irritating police
detective showed up. Jason just hoped
that Nam had dealt with guys like Taggert before.
Mr.
Nam turned to face the slanderous, black detective, who now made unsavory
remarks about him. “Excuse me,
detective, is it?” he inquired coldly, his face remained expressionless. “Are you accusing me, and this man of some
criminal behavior?”
Taggert
brow creased and Jason assumed the detective was trying to get a read Mr. Nam
and if he was a part of the underworld of crime. He seemed to awaken, like that from a dream, shaking his head and
smiling politely. “I’m sorry, but are
you from around here?” Taggert asked, pulling out his notepad. “I’m sure I would have seen you before.”
Mr.
Nam snorted and whispered something to Lien, his right-hand man. Turning back to the inquisitive detective,
Mr. Nam smiled the same polite smile he’d received from Taggert. “Well detective, I hope you treat other
family members of the victim with less hostility than you have treated me,” he
queried. “I am, for you information,
Mr. Nam. Jaime’s father.”
Jason
took it upon himself to interrupt the conversation. “Taggert, what do you want?” Jason asked. “We’ve got a waiting room of people who are
just hoping that Jaime will make it out of this! Can’t you bother some other poor sap who doesn’t know he doesn’t
need to take this crap?”
Taggert’s
eyes narrowed at Jason’s disrespectful tone.
“Look Morgan, this girl, whom you’re so obviously worried about got shot tonight. So maybe you’d like to know who shot her, if
you’re so worried.” The detective
turned back to Mr. Nam. “Do you know
anything about this Mr. Nam?”
Nam
glanced briefly at Jason, who knew that this would be the perfect time to
implement their plan. He nodded towards
Jason, revealing that was his intention.
It was however, unnoticeable to Taggert. “Actually, what was your name detective?” Nam asked curiously.
“Detective
Taggert,” he answered respectfully, hoping that Mr. Nam’s information might
incriminate Jason.
“Well
Detective Taggert,” Mr. Nam said reservedly,
“I must now inform you that Mr. Morgan was not a part of this tragedy. It was my fault.”
Jason
watched as Taggert frowned with every word that passed Nam’s lips. He hoped Taggert would buy it. Jason had been kicking himself ever since
he’d ordered Nam to leave the scene of the crime. Now he had to backtrack on the situation. The only thing Jason was glad about was that
he hadn’t said anything about another party, not being there.
It was a mistake he never should have made.
“What
do you mean? You weren’t at the docks
this evening were you?” Taggert pressed suspiciously.
Nam
nodded solemnly, a look of regret passed upon his face. “Yes.
I was there with my bodyguards.
We were looking for my daughter,” he explained. “I was worried about her.”
“Why
were you worried about her?” asked Taggert.
“Because
about a month ago she was kidnapped in Italy.”
Taggert
shook his head in confusion.
“What? What was she doing in
Port Charles then? I’ve seen your
daughter around, and she didn’t look like she was being held captive.”
Nam
sighed and shook his head in frustration.
He pretended to search for the words, but in reality the man spoke
perfect English. “She was rescued by
Mr. Morgan, and his friend, here.” Mr.
Nam pointed over to Elizabeth. “They came
back to Port Charles after they found her.”
“Then
why were you worried about her?”
“Because,
this man here,” Nam motioned over to Rosco, who sat hunched over in a
chair. “He hadn’t been captured.”
Taggert
was furiously scribbling the information down in his notepad. “So, are you saying that this man here is
the kidnapper and he was stalking Ms. Nam?”
Jason
didn’t know what to say. He felt elated
that Rosco might be taken off the streets, but he couldn’t help but remember
Jaime’s adamant protest that Rosco be ‘taken care of’. Jason peered over at Elizabeth, who seemed
embroiled in her own thoughts. He was
just glad that she was safe and out of this whole mess.
Jason
finally heard Nam identify Rosco as Jaime’s kidnapper. “Yes.”
Taggert
sighed loudly. “So what does this have
to do with Ms. Nam’s bullet to the chest?” he asked conspicuously. “Did this guy shoot her? And if he did, then why the heck didn’t
Morgan and Ms. Webber I.D. the guy before?
I mean he’s been tagging along for the ride. It doesn’t seem like he’s the perp.”
Nam
gave Jason a withering shot and then turned back to Taggert, his face patronizingly
gentle. “Well, Mr. Morgan and Ms.
Webber arrive at the docks until later.
Mr. Morgan arrived just before Jaime was accidentally shot. And Ms.
Webber arrived after the incident,” he replied, trying to explain the
complicated web of lies and truth intermingled.
But
Taggert had had enough. “Stop,” he
commanded, shaking his head and shooting an irritated glance at a near by
footmen. “Take Mr. Nam here, and his
boys downtown. That scruffy guy too.”
Jason
watched as a few of the officers rounded Mr. Nam, his men, and Rosco up into a
neat little group. Taggert turned around and spied Jason. “Take Mr. Morgan downtown too. He’s still got to give us his statement,” he
smirked.
Jason
pushed off one of the arrogant men in blue as he tried to grab Jason’s arm and
guide him towards the elevator. “Am I
under arrest Taggert? Because if I’m
not, then get your goons off me!” Jason warned.
Taggert
had a feigned look of concern on his face.
“Aw, Morgan, the police department doesn’t have goons. You and Corinthos have the corner on that
market,” he chuckled.
“What
are you doing?” Elizabeth exclaimed, pushing by Taggert and standing a few feet
away from Jason.
Jason
turned his head and realized he’d almost forgotten that Elizabeth would have to
watch this play out. But however
regrettable it was that she would have to suffer through this, there was
nothing Jason could do at the moment.
Jason turned around and followed Nam and his men onto the elevator.
Elizabeth
scrambled to the doors and held them open.
“Jason, what are you doing? What
about Jaime?”
Jason
leaned out the elevator door and rested his hand on top of Elizabeth’s. “You’re gonna have to be the one to look
after right now. I’ll be back as soon
as I can.”
Elizabeth’s
eyes hardened and she shook her head in protest. “No! I’m coming with
you.”
Jason
gently pried her fingers from the elevator door. “I’m sorry Elizabeth. You
have to stay here, in case Jaime wakes up,” he explained softly. “I’ll be back before you know it.” In the back Jason heard Taggert scoff and
mumble something under his breath.
Jason ignored the tactless detective.
“Elizabeth, I’ll be fine, he reassured.
Elizabeth’s
shoulder’s slumped and pushed back the large metal doors that were closing in
front of them. “You’d better,” she
warned, pointing her finger at him. “I
need you here.” Jason nodded and
squeezed the hand that held back the elevator door.
“Aww,
can we all get a tissue here?” Taggert groaned.
Finally
Elizabeth released the elevator door and Jason watched as she slowly
disappeared behind the muted silver metallic doors.