Living Without
Part Seventeen
Thursday, Sept 7th
Danny glanced down at his watch as he approached the entrance of the thirteen story building that entirely housed SanCorp. Reaching the revolving door that lead into the corporation, Danny was hooked by the arm and dragged away from the building.
"What the?! Juan?? What's going on?" he asked as his friend held his grip and dragged him across the street with him. They walked some distance before stopping a deli that had tables shaded by umbrellas outside. "Where the hell have you been for the past two days??"
"Around," Juan answered nonchalantly as he sat down at a table and directed Danny to do the same. "Come on. Take a load off. You won't want to be standing to hear what I've got to say."
"I shouldn't even bother trying to fill you in on all the drama that has taken place during your absence, should I?" Danny asked and Juan shocked his head no. Of course not. The man already knew. "Ramírez is watching me like a hawk."
"I've noticed. We're being watched right now."
Danny sighed as he sat back against his seat and then he sat back up again. "This is worse than prison, Juan. I can't live like this! Do you know that family came by yesterday and insisted on staying until my kids went to bed? They even went to my pre-cana session!"
"Yikes!"
"And seeing my kids around them makes me want to spit nails now more than ever!"
"You're in some deep shit, man."
"No kidding," Danny remarked just as a waitress came over with two cups of coffee, bagels, and some cream cheese.
"Thank you," Juan said to her as he took one bagel for himself and a cup of coffee. "Drink up," he told Danny. "Can't go to work on an empty stomach."
"I'm not hungry. And if you don't tell me what you know right now, I swear I'll pour this hot coffee all over your ugly face!"
"That'll just make me angry," Juan said before biting into his bagel.
"Spill it, Alvarez! What did you find out? I know you know something!" Danny asked and he leaned in closer to ask, "And where's Michelle?"
"She's safe," Juan replied with a full mouth. "You don't have to worry about her, but I do think you should take some, if not all, of what she said into consideration. Hear me out, alright? I think she may be telling the truth," he said and waited for Danny to throw him a rebuttal, but none came. "Did you hear what I said? I think she may be telling the truth-"
"I heard what you said!" Danny cut. "So what did she do to convince you of this truth?"
"Actually, it's what she said during your friendly conversation the other day. She mentioned there being a set up of some sort that involved that ugly guy that works for Carmen? What's his name? Dietz! She said that he had a gun registered under her name and that there was some video that placed her at the scene of the crime. Those items were to be released to the Springfield PD should your guest venture to show her face in town again. Well, guess what happened. I found out that the police now have that video and gun. The gun IS registered under her name. It's not coincidental that the police have reopened Santiago's murder case and has the gun and video as evidence! That's why they have a warrant out for her supposed 'questioning session.' This was all carefully planned," Juan told him. "As soon as I got that information, I took girlfriend and we split like a banana."
"So where is she now?"
"Don't worry about it. She's out of harms way for now, but what I'm telling you is that this set up could very well have happened. From where I'm standing, it did happen. There is no way she would have made any of this up. Let's be real! To further add to matters, she thinks her brother is in on it. That he's got some kind of involvement with mommy dearest's latest boy toy."
"What?! Oh, come on! You have got to be joking!" Danny exclaimed. "Set up his own sister?! Now that is a very far stretch! The guy would never EVER work with Warren!"
"You'd be surprised the things people do when they're desperate. You should know."
"Yeah? Well, what the hell had gotten this guy so desperate that he'd work with an enemy?"
"That's what you'll have to find out. Maybe you should pay the good ol' doc a visit," Juan said as he took a sip of his drink.
"Man, this is crazy."
"You can't tell me that you still believe she's lying, that she really did kill your cousin. There's a lot that we still don't know at this point, but I believe that she is being truthful. And I think you do too. Why are you being so pigheaded? You owe it to your kids to find out, right?"
Danny glanced over at him, watching his friend for a moment before looking down at his breakfast and silently taking up his cup of coffee for a sip.
**
Cedars Hospital: 10 am
"I'll be right with you in a minute," Rick said without looking up from the chart he was filling out when he heard the door of the room close softly.
"Take your time," Danny replied and Rick's head whipped up at the voice.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" he spat.
"I just thought I'd pay my brother-in-law a little visit," Danny remarked as he stood against the door with his feet crossed at the ankles.
"I'm no kin of yours. I want you to get out!"
"Oh, come on, Ricky! Don't you miss me? I know you miss your wife and your kids....and your sister."
"You stay the hell away from my family!! Do you hear me? You stay away from them!"
"Your family is keeping their distance these days, aren't they?" Danny continued to taunt. "I heard that your sweet wife learned of the brilliant scheme you and Ben Warren pulled to keep Michelle away from me."
"What scheme?" Rick played dumb. "You divorced my sister and you took her children away from her! You're the one who pulled a fast one on her not me! You didn't give a damn about Michelle! All you did was put her in danger day after day! You hurt her countless times over!"
"I didn't hurt your sister, Rick. You did that on your own," Danny said to him. "And what do you take me for? Some idiot?!" he asked as he stepped away from the door and approached him. "You must think everyone is stupid! I know that you and Ben Warren did something to me and Michelle and I want to know what it is!"
"You...you are crazy," Rick stammered.
"I've been called worse, but coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment."
"I'm going to save you the trouble of trying to scare me into submission and tell you this. I am NOT helping you!"
"Look, you bastard!" Danny attacked him, holding the man against the wall by the neck. "You WILL help me, because not only does my life depend on it, but yours does as well. Should I even bother mentioning what would happen to Michelle? Your niece and nephew?"
"I am not helping you," Rick managed to say again through his restricted voice box.
"You are going to tell me what I want to know or else I'm going to start breaking your perfectly manicured fingers one by one until you do!! DON'T take this as a bluff," Danny told him as he took one of his fingers and bent it back without warning and Rick yelled out in pain. "And if that doesn't persuade you to talk, I'll break your face. And if you still choose to remain mute, there's always the option of attacking one's family. Hopefully, I won't have to go that far," he threatened, sounding very much like his arch nemesis Escobar Ramírez, who made a living out of making threats. "So, my brother. Are you game or do I have to break another finger?"
"You asshole," Rick barely breathed.
"I take that as a yes," Danny let off of him and Rick held his neck as he gasped for air. "I want the whole story from beginning to end. I've got all day and now so do you."
Rick stood upright, careful not to touch his injured finger or hit it against anything. His hand was throbbing and he could feel the blood surge through his arm to that part of his hand. Damn it, it was in so much pain.
He stared at Danny with such hatred. Rick didn't think he could despise the man any more than he already did. How could he have broken his finger?
Rick sighed as he made his way over to a chair. He sat down carefully and then looked up at Danny, who had come to sit adjacent to him. This was insanity! He made a promise to Harley to finally put an end to this and his chance to do that was now. Love or hate the man, he had to help Danny no matter the consequences. He owed his sister that much. He'd rather lose his family to divorce than to a bullet.
"I'll help you under one condition. You don't come anywhere near my family and that my sister...that you can assure me that she is and will continue to be safe. That she will stay alive and that you'll do everything in your power to prevent her and her children from getting hurt anymore than they already have."
"That's more than one condition, buddy. And besides, you're not exactly in a position to outline terms of our verbal contract here," Danny remarked and he paused in thought before adding, "My kids, your sister, your family. They won't be touched. My children will be safe and so will your sister. I just want to get to the truth."
"My sister is alive."
"Yes, she is. And she'll stay that way as long as you tell me exactly want you know. Everything! Nothing is to be left out or glossed over. If you choose to be fancy with me, I'll just have to go with the wedding finger this time."
**
SanCorp: sometime after 11am
Upon arriving at SanCorp, Danny was about to enter his mother's office when he was informed that she was in a very important meeting and that asked not to be disturbed. He questioned Carmen's assistant about the meeting, but she hadn't any idea. All she knew was that Carmen was speaking with some very important people.
Important people indeed. Anyone who made it past Carmen's office and into her conference room was important. He was curious to know who she was speaking with, but he had other things to worry about. An idea came to him.
"Hello, Darling," Danny greeted once he walked into the reception area of Ben's office. "You're looking pretty good today," he added and the young woman at the desk turned her chair around to look at him.
"Are you speaking to me, Mr. Santos?" the attractive lady asked as she leaned on her desk with her elbows.
"Are there any other Darlings around here?"
"I suppose there aren't any other DarLENEs," she responded with a huge grin. "Thank you for the compliment."
"You're welcome."
"So what has brought you to this side of the building? Did my boss die in some freak accident?"
"As much as I wish that were so, no," Danny replied. "He's still breathing. I came to see you."
"Me??"
"Yeah. Are you surprised?"
"To say the least," Darlene replied. "You've been brushing me off for the past two years."
"Well, you know. I'm a committed man."
"Of course. Everyone knows that."
"But I wouldn't mind having a little fun every now and then," Danny said, a sexy smirk plastered on his face.
"Sounds interesting," Darlene smiled back. "I wouldn't mind that myself. So what have you got in mind?"
"I was hoping you could help me with something."
"I'd help you with anything, baby. You having a little trouble getting out of your pants?"
"No, but I'll let you know when I do. Where's Warren anyway?"
"At a meeting with your mother. A meeting I'd think you'd be in on," Darlene replied.
"I wasn't in the mood to sit in a room full of tight-assed clients who come to discuss figures and numbers anyway. Do you have any clue how long the meeting will last?"
"They've been in there for about an hour and it seemed really important, so I'm guessing they'll be out in another hour or two. Why? What's going on? You wouldn't want to talk to my boss by any chance, would you?" "Me talk to Warren? Give me a break!"
"You'd rather crawl on broken glass. I know, but Ben is not that bad of a guy! You should really give him a chance," she was saying when her phone beeped. "Yes? He'll be unavailable for about another hour. No, I have not been able to speak with him this morning, but... Sir, there is nothing I can do. When he comes out, I will pass him the message and let him know that you called," she said to the person and then hung up. "That guy is so persistent. I don't know why he's so determined to talk to Ben right now."
"What was he yapping about?" Danny asked.
"Some disks," Darlene replied, fed up with the caller. "He said that Ben should get them out of the office and to him ASAP!" she said, pushing her red hair behind her ears. "You'd think the man had his life on the line because of some stupid floppy disks! I told him that I'd give Ben the message, but he insists on calling me every ten seconds! What more do they expect from me?"
Just then the phone rang again and Darlene reluctantly picked it up. "SanCorp International. Ben Warren's office. This is Darlene White speaking. May I help you?" she answered and after listening for a few seconds, she pulled the receiver away from her ear to speak to Danny. "Could you excuse me? This is very important."
"No problem. I'll just see you later," he said and Darlene nodded before turning her seat back around. Once he was sure Darlene wasn't paying him any mind, he made his way past others, who were too busy to notice him slipping into Ben's office.
Once inside, he hurried around Ben's desk and sat down at the computer. He turned it on and waited impatiently for it to load up. He then decided to take a tour of the office. He pulled open the different compartments of the desk and looked through papers, pens, books, paper clips and weird gadgets in search for anything that could connect Ben to Rick and that set up theory everyone seemed very fond of embracing as of late.
Danny checked all over the desk but found nothing. He was growing more frustrated by the second. He sat back in the big leather seat and searched the room with his eyes when he was drawn to the file cabinets. He went to them and pulled out every drawer, going through each file as fast and as carefully as he could.
He jumped when he heard voices, but the people just walked by and he exhaled his relief. Not seeing anything in the files, he closed the drawers and stood up to open the last of them. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He dug into his pocket for a handy tool and proceeded to pick the lock until it clicked. He opened the drawer and found a number of unlabelled disks.
"What have we got here, Warren?" Danny asked as he picked up the mini disks and examined them.
Danny returned to the desk and took a seat, inserting one of the disks into the drive and he attempted to view what was on it. His eye was constantly looking up at the door as he tried to crack the code needed to open the disk.
"Good morning, Ben," Darlene could be heard greeting and Danny looked up at the door.
"What is your problem? I told you I'd get them for you. I don't appreciate you calling and harassing my secretary the way that you did," Ben walked in with Dietz just as Danny quietly shut the door to the closet.
"Do you take anything seriously, Warren?" Dietz asked him as Ben turned on the lights. "Those disks are very important! If they end up in the wrong hands, it will be the end for us both!"
"I'm very aware of that."
"And that Ramírez is becoming a real pain in the ass! He's determined to have this wedding pull through. If it does, all power will be transferred to him."
"You tend to underestimate Danny Santos," Ben said as he went to one of his file cabinets and inserted a key to unlock it. "I'm very confident that everything will go accordingly."
"I'm glad someone is! I got word that he had a little chat with our friend Rick Bauer," Dietz informed him. "You don't look worried."
"Why should I be?" Ben asked. "If he did talk to the doc, we should be expecting Danny to come snooping around. Unfortunately for him, we're already a step ahead," he said, showing him the group of disks and Dietz was quick to snatch them from him.
"I've told you to put these things some place safe," Dietz commented.
"What makes you think this isn't safe enough?" Ben asked. "What are you so worried about? We need to go celebrate! We'll soon have this entire empire to ourselves!"
"By the way you keep vital information, I won't hold my breath," Dietz said. "I don't know how important this is to you, but to me, this is everything! You slip up, I'll kill you."
"Don't be such a sour apple, old man," Ben remarked. "Trust me when I say that both Ramírez and Santos won't know what hit them," he was saying as he turned off the lights and they left the room.
Having waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone, Danny came out of the closet and pulled out the disks that he now had in his possession.
"Juan Carlos, what would I do without you?" he asked, referring to the disk swapping trick he managed to pull off. "I learn from the best."
On his way out, Danny saw a figure in the door and he hid behind the door just as Ben came back in. He didn't bother turning on the lights as he headed straight for his desk. Once there, he noticed that his computer was on. He instantly flicked the lights on from a button at his desk and looked around. He peered in the closet and behind doors. No one.
"Darlene, did anyone come into my office while I was gone?" he came out to ask.
"No. Why do you ask?" Darlene looked up at him, but he gave her no reply. He just turned back around and went back into his office.
"I got a few disks, but I'm not sure what they are. They must've been important. Warren had them locked up tight and I overheard he and his best friend talking about them. Those two are definitely working together to bring down my family. I didn't get the chance to check these out, but I think they might be just what we're looking for. I'll see you at the park."
Danny walked into his mother's huge office located on the upper most level of the building and was almost immediately greeted by Carmen.
"Danny," she came out of the conference room. "I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been all day? You were supposed to be here for the Rodriguez meeting."
"Sorry. Something came up. You in a meeting now?"
"Yes," she said, glancing back at the closed double doors. "It's nothing big. I can handle it. There's something else that requires your attention though."
"What is it?"
"It's your uncle. He called about an hour ago, saying that he needs you down in Florida."
"Why? Is everything okay?" Danny asked as he leaned against his mother's huge desk. "Is he sick again?"
"No, he's fine. He just needs your help in dealing with an emergency that has come up in the division down there. I would go myself, but you know that your uncle's wife and I aren't exactly the best of friends. Besides, he wants to see you and the children."
"How long is this trip supposed to be?"
"A few days. Three at the most," Carmen replied. "Don't worry. You'll be back before next Saturday. Your uncle isn't crazy enough to keep you from meeting your own wedding day. Speaking of which, have you thought of what you're going to get Alejandra for a present?"
"Not exactly, but I'll keep that in mind," Danny cut her off before she could go on. "Just call Uncle back and tell him that he should expect to see us there sometime tomorrow afternoon."
**
Memorial Park: 12:40pm
"Danny, you know this food is no good for them," Pilar said, referring to the bags of McDonald's and other junk he had brought with him. "Those two will be hopping around like grasshoppers for the next four hours," she remarked as her brother watched them running about in the distance with other kids.
He wasn't even listening to her. He couldn't hear her. All he could hear was the beautiful sounds that his angels were making, their little giggles and shouts of enjoyment. He never wanted to take that away from them. Never.
"Danny? Danny," Pilar shook him and he snapped out of his daze. "Are you okay?"
Danny stared at her for a moment and then out at the noisy kids playing afar. "Yeah," he answered. "Yeah, I'm good."
"You don't have to lie to me," Pilar said and he looked at her with a sad smile.
"I have to protect them," he said as he continued to watch his children play in the distance. "They are all I've got."
"Danny, you are protecting them. That's why you're marrying Alejandra."
"If I make one wrong move, I'll have not only their blood, but their mother's blood on my hands. I can't live if my kids are taken away from me-"
"You are talking crazy! Nothing is going to happen to them. As long as-"
"I stay away from Michelle. I know," Danny cut in. "How am I supposed to do that? I owe it to my kids to tell them the truth about who they are-"
"They already know who they are!"
"They know only a part of it. They don't know a damned thing about Michelle! I have kept her away from them for so long and I can't keep lying to them."
"Then don't!"
"It's not that easy, Pilar! Once I tell them about their real mother, they'll be asking plenty of questions and they'll want to see Michelle and maybe even want to be with her," he explained. "They won't even want me anymore."
"That is so ridiculous! That will never happen. Your children love you so much! They adore you! Look at them, Danny," she ordered. "They are so happy and safe because of you."
"They are in danger because of me," Danny remarked and Pilar sighed hopelessly.
"Hey," Juan sat down with them at a picnic table. "You got them with you?"
Danny pulled out the disks and passed them to his friend. "I want to know what are on those by tonight. I'll be leaving for Florida in the morning."
"What for?"
"Family emergency."
"I'll see what I can do. We're going to get to the bottom of this no matter what it takes," Juan assured him.
"Thanks."
"Yes, thank you, Juan Carlos," Pilar echoed her brother's sentiment. "You have no idea how much this means to us."
**
Elsewhere:
Michelle lifted herself up from where she had been sleeping for the past ten hours and stretched and then yawned. Her eyes fluttered open and the image of a man slowly came into focus.
"Gustavo?" she called with uncertainty. "What...what are you doing in Springfield?"
The older man gave her a comforting smile and ordered her to relax, telling her that all was okay now.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked as she looked around her and not immediately recognizing the place, she came to her feet. "Where am I? Where is Juan?"
"Calm down, child," Gustavo said to her.
"Where is Juan?!" she demanded to know.
"He stepped out. He'll be back," he was telling her when she walked over to a window and pulled the curtains apart.
Once her eyes adjusted to the sun's bright rays, she could see that she was in a house that overlooked the ocean. She turned to Gustavo and after a moment of allowing the scenery to sink in, she went over to sit down beside him.
Following a short pause, she asked, "I'm not in Springfield, am I?"
"You're safe here," Gustavo held her hand. "You shouldn't be afraid. No one will hurt you."
"How did I get here? I don't...I don't understand," Michelle was confused.
"I'll tell you after lunch," he told her and he took her by the hand as he stood up. "Right now, you should go wash up. You remember where the bathroom is?"
Michelle stared at the man for a long time before speaking up. "Um, yeah," she replied and Gustavo smiled before leaving her alone.
She looked around her and then laughed at the fact that she didn't recognize where she was at first. What Juan Alvarez was up to now didn't matter. She knew she was safe with Gustavo. He didn't have to tell her that. She was glad that Juan had thought of him.
She began to cry. Juan must really believe her if he went this far to keep her out of harm's way. It was now a matter of Danny having the obvious bashed into his head and she finally getting to see her children.