Just Between Friends - Chapter 31
Title: Just Between Friends
Author: speedy
Fandom: General Hospital
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 30
Carly couldn’t breathe. It was like being hit in the chest, all the air was forced out of her lungs by sheer shock.
He was here. Not just in Port Charles, but here, at the same hotel, in the same room, at the same time.
Lorenzo Alcazar was here.
He hadn't spotted her yet. She could still get away, Frisco would make sure of it. She looked frantically around the room for Frisco, but she couldn't see him. He wasn't anywhere around and now she was in trouble...
Oh my god.
She vaguely heard Liz's voice, but ignored her. She couldn't deal with the twit right now. Not when she was in danger...
Liz grabbed her wrist, knocking Carly back into the present. "Come with me, Robin,” she said worriedly. “I want to know what they're talking about."
"Are you insane?" Carly hissed, but let the petite brunette lead her closer. Intel, Frisco was always preaching. Information is everything, and risky on a good day.
Maybe it'd buy her a little time before Frisco finally rescued her.
Ric was vehemently denying something, but they were too far away to hear what. Liz and Carly tried to get close enough to hear them better, without being seen. They tried to hide behind a large potted plant, but it wasn't large enough to conceal them well.
"Don't think we're just going to forget your debt, Mr. Lansing," Alcazar said coldly.
"What debt?"
"Your life and your freedom after you stole from us. I intend to collect, one way or another."
"I will not help you."
"Maybe I should take this up with Miss Webber," the gangster replied with a knowing smirk.
Ric leaned in. "Go near her and I'll kill you."
Lorenzo just laughed.
"Elizabeth will not be harmed," Ric insisted, a warning in his voice.
"See? He's trying to protect me," Liz whispered to Carly.
Carly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The girl was obviously blind when it came to the psycho. "He's playing with dynamite. And you're the one that's going to end up hurt."
"You're still wrong about him. He won't let anyone hurt me."
"This is the same guy that kidnapped Sonny. Ric's going to get you killed."
"He'll protect me," Liz repeated as the two women were discovered.
Lorenzo looked to Carly and smiled malevolently. He sauntered towards them smugly, Ric following quickly behind.
"Mrs. Jones," he said. "It's so good to see you. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I'm Lorenzo Alcazar."
Carly couldn't say anything. She slowly backed away from him and the wall, losing all sense of reality. All she could see was the evil smile. Her captivity flashed in her mind. The crate, the cruel laughing from outside her cell, the constant taunting, the face in the crowd as Frisco whisked her away to yet another safehouse. She had actually never met Lorenzo, the only one she ever saw was Luis. But without the beard, Lorenzo was a dead ringer for his brother.
After only a few steps, her back ran into something hard. Even without looking, she knew it was Frisco and relaxed slightly.
"Take a deep breath," Frisco whispered in her ear, putting a hand protectively around her waist. She silently complied, closing her eyes.
Alcazar smirked. "Interesting company you've been keeping these days, Special Agent Jones."
"Laugh a minute," Frisco shot back.
"I didn't realize the WSB approved of socializing with criminals."
"The WSB doesn't control my private life."
"Right," he drawled.
Carly may have been totally focused on her tormentor, but it didn't escape Frisco's attention that the arms dealer was being noticed by others. Jason and Sonny were inching their way closer, trying to be inconspicuous; Mac and Felicia were watching him intently; and Luke was trying to calm down Alexis Davis along with a man Frisco didn't know. And that wasn't considering the plain old shocked gawkers.
As quickly as he appeared, Lorenzo walked away, finding other prey. Carly was still panicking, gripping Frisco's hand forcefully, her fingernails inadvertently digging into his skin.
Frisco turned her around, leaving an arm around her waist. The position was deceptively intimate. "Focus on me," he ordered softly. "Deep breath." She did as he told her, twice. "Again." She felt herself began to calm and pulled him closer. "Better now?"
"He's here," she whispered shakily.
"I know."
She noticed his other hand resting on his hip. To most people, it looked like nothing. She knew his hand remained near his gun, prepared to draw it if necessary. He guided her back towards their table. Anna noticed the deliberately casual position of his hand as well, and hers absently reached for her purse.
"Stay near me, is that understood?"
It wasn't a request, but an order. If they had to clear out, he didn’t want to have to go looking for her, nor was it safe for her to be alone. Carly nodded as she shakily sat down, not finding the words to speak. She watched as his eyes searched the room for the girls. He wasn't the only one, Mac was looking them as well.
"Armed and dangerous, secret agent man?" Luke asked jokingly.
Frisco wasn't in the mood for the older man's humor. "Shut up, Spencer," he growled.
Frisco eyed the room again. He'd long since given up the pretense of paying attention to the show. His mind was on Alcazar. He wasn't sure exactly what to do. Part of him wanted to get Carly and get the hell out of dodge. Another part of him what to know exactly what Alcazar was up to and what their role in his plan was supposed to be. And he wasn’t about to leave the girls, not at a time like this.
He felt fingers brush his arm, vying for his attention. Anna was sitting behind him, it had to be her. He leaned back in his chair. "Yeah?"
"Robin told me about..." she whispered, gesturing towards Carly. "You're up to something."
He sighed. He was sure Robin had been discreet and Anna could be trusted. Didn't change the fact he hated this many people knowing the truth. A secret's only truly secret when every who knows is dead. "I wish she hadn't."
"She's concerned." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "You're working, aren't you?"
Lying wasn't a good idea at this point. If there was one person who knew him as well as he knew himself, it was Anna, no matter how many years they had between them. "Yeah."
"Dangerous?"
"Still threat assessing, but..." He shrugged. "Yeah."
Anna was silent for a moment. "I trust you."
He knew his job, she knew that, but she still managed to make him feel like a rookie, even when giving him a vote of confidence. "Gee, thanks."
Anna squeezed his wrist supportively. "I've got your back if you need it. You know that, right?"
Frisco gave his old friend a smile, letting his fingers mingle with hers. "I know."
Jason got Frisco's attention and gestured for the agent to join him. Carly was being annoyed by Luke, and with Anna nearby, Frisco decided she'd be safe for a little while. He caught the two women's attention and walked over to the younger man. As soon as Frisco got into reach, Jason grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the terrace.
"Hey!" Frisco shouted, yanking his arm away. "Get your hands off me!"
Jason released the agent and looked through the doors for anyone who could overhear them. "How'd you know Alcazar was still here?" he demanded.
Frisco snorted. He couldn't believe the gall of the guy. "You expect me to give you information?"
Jason glared at him. "Answer the question."
"Why should I? You haven’t given me a reason to do anything for you."
Jason threw his hands up and groaned in frustration.
They both wanted the same thing, Frisco realized. The means and the ends were different, but they had a common enemy. He couldn't afford to completely alienate a possible asset. "I had no idea he was going to be here tonight," Frisco confessed.
"What does he want?"
"How the hell should I know? Do I look like a mind reader?"
"You gotta give me something to go on, Jones!"
"I don't have anything to give! And even if I did, I'd take care of it myself, not hand it over to you guys."
Jason got in his face. "I don't buy it. You know something and I want to know what."
Frisco looked him straight in the eyes. "I am not going to help you commit a crime, Morgan," he said in a low voice. "I won't put my family at risk like that."
"But you'll leave mine out to dry?"
"Buddy, it was your choice to work for the mob in the first place. Deal with it."
The agent tried to back off, but the younger man grabbed his by the shirt. "You helped us before without a problem."
Frisco ripped Jason's hands away from him and took a step back. "I was doing my job. Kidnapping's a crime, no matter what the kidnappee does for a living."
"Jason, what's going on?"
They both turned at the sound of Sonny's voice behind them.
"We were just discussing Alcazar," Jason told him.
"There's nothing to discuss. We'll take care of him," Sonny told the agent. "We always take care of our business."
"Fine by me," Frisco replied casually. "It's your problem."
Sonny ran his thumb over his lip before putting his hands in his pockets. "We're not going to need your help this time."
"I wasn't offering it. You two are on your own."
Frisco walked off, back to his charge. He hoped he wouldn’t regret those words. Corinthos clearly had no idea of who he was dealing with.
Frisco's eyes made another sweeping glance around the room. From the outside, he looked casual, but he was continually assessing the danger. Anna stayed nearby, her guard up as well. Felicia was trying to keep up with the girls without worrying or annoying them too much.
He'd tried to keep his temper in check as he watched his older daughter's boyfriend… touch her, but he was failing miserably. What he really wanted to do was wring the kid's neck, watch the life slowly fade from his eyes, but Anna was right. His relationship with Maxie was fragile at best and she would hate him for getting involved.
Unfortunately, he could not let this go.
He watched as the kid - Kyle, Tony said his name was - stepped outside. He glared at the doorway, his decision made. He was going to make sure that punk never hurt his little princess again.
"Stay here," he ordered Carly. He touched Anna's shoulder and nodded slightly in Carly's direction.
"Frisco?" both women asked at the same time.
"I have to take care of something."
Carly looked at him in confusion, but Anna shook her head, knowing what "something" was. "Don't do it," she warned. "You're just going to make things worse."
"I have to," he shot back as he followed the path the young man had taken.
The hallway was empty, but Frisco was undeterred. One way led back into the main lobby, the other to a side door to the parking lot. Side door, he decided.
He was right. Kyle was standing along the wall, lighting a cigarette. The agent silently slipped through the door and crept up behind the teen.
It was unfair, he knew, to use his training on a brainless teenager, but screw it. He was going to show this kid who he'd messed with.
He stopped close behind the teen. So close he could almost feel the heat coming off his body. Kyle turned around lazily and jumped back, startled, dropping the cigarette. He'd obviously been unaware that he wasn't alone.
"Shit! You scared me, man."
Frisco said nothing. He stomped out the lost cigarette, glaring at the young man with undisguised hate.
Kyle wasn't completely oblivious. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
"The name's Jones. Frisco Jones."
"Are you…"
"Maxie's father."
"The police commissioner is Maxie's father."
"No, Scorpio is her stepfather. I'm her father."
Kyle tried to move away from him, further down the wall, but Frisco matched his movements.
"You'll find I'm not nearly as nice as he is."
The young man gulped. "Nice?" he asked, shaken.
Frisco took a step forward, getting into Kyle's personal space, and backed him flat against the wall. "I don't appreciate what you did to my little girl. Not cool."
"She's not a little girl, sir."
The sir pissed him off even more. "And that gave you the right to do what you did how?"
"Hey, she…"
"Wanted it? Somehow I doubt she told you to turn on that camera or to put it on the internet for your equally perverted friends. Your ass should be in jail right now."
"I didn't do…"
"She's a minor. That's not only statutory rape, that's also child pornography." He grinned evilly and looked the boy up and down. "They'd love you at Attica."
The teen's eyes widened in horror. "A-att-attica?" he stammered.
"But see, I'm not Mac Scorpio. I won't be satisfied to just arrest you. I will make you pay dearly."
Frisco got an internal chuckle out of the fear all over the kid.
"I'm going to say this once and only once. You hurt Maxie again, I'll wrap you in a flag and drop your ass in the middle of Iraq. Do you understand?"
"Y-y-yes."
He patted the kid on the shoulder. "This is just between me and you, got it?"
"Y-yes, sir."
"And if you're smart, you'll stay away from my daughter. Now, get out of my sight before I change my mind."
Kyle didn't hesitate to run for the door. He rushed back inside, practically running over an eavesdropping Georgie in the process.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to interfere in other people's private lives?" she asked her father, stepping out into the chilly night air.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to listen to other people's conversations?"
"What did you think you were doing? Maxie is going to kill you for butting in. I'd kill you for it. It's her life, not yours."
Frisco dropped his head. That wasn't anything he didn't know. "I couldn't just sit back and do nothing, Georgie. She deserves better than that piece of pond scum."
"What about me?"
"You have better. And if Dillon ever screws you over like that, I'll make his life a living hell, too." He sighed. "Look, I know I haven't given you girls much reason to believe it, but I love you and worry about you. Maybe this wasn't the best way to handle it..."
"I'd like to say I feel bad, but he deserved to be told off like that." She scrunched up her face, a look reminiscent of her mother. "Hopefully, he'll take your warning and crawl back under his rock."
Frisco chuckled. "So, are you going to tell her?"
"Hell, no," Georgie answered, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to let her hate you for Kyle being a sleazebag."
He put his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get back inside before anyone misses us."
Georgie wrapped her arms around her father's waist. "Dad, we know you love us. We've never doubted that."
She meant that to be reassuring, he knew, but her words, the nagging thoughts of what they had doubted, stabbed Frisco in the heart.
Frisco burst through the cottage's door and made an immediate beeline for the secure phone, leaving Carly behind in his wake. He'd been edgy ever since Alcazar's surprise appearance, not that she could blame him.
"Frisco?" she asked.
He held up a finger, a silent indication for her to wait. "Alpha echo juliet 4-5-5-9-4-0-2-5." He waited for confirmation of his security code. The red light lit up when he was cleared. "Jones for Director," he ordered.
Carly settled in and listened as he explained the situation to his boss.
"Please. I need more agents. Something's going on."
The strained expression that said he was getting lectured.
"I'm not looking for trouble. I'm doing my job. I can't do a proper threat assessment running blind."
Frustration.
"He knows I'm the agent protecting her. He knows my family. His brother's already kidnapped my kids. I can't just up and leave again."
Resigned. Defeated.
"Yeah, yeah. I understand."
She watched as he cautiously put the phone down. Calm was not a good sign after a conversation like that. "No backup?"
He took a deep breath, as if he were trying to keep his temper in check. "I need more proof before I get a team. No running off half-cocked."
"Like what kind of proof? Isn't him being here and approaching me enough?"
"Nope. His motives, while coincidental, appear to be focused elsewhere."
"You don't believe in coincidences."
"No, I don't. And considering Alcazar's focus is your ex-husband, I don't believe this will be a coincidence either."
"So what do we do?"
"Get him his proof. Pull up Sonny's FBI file. We're going through that thing with a fine tooth comb. Now."
She didn't hesitate. She quickly hit the power button on the laptop she'd left on the coffee table earlier, and had the files up before he'd even pulled his out.
"Here you go," she told him, pushing the laptop in his direction. "Everything the feds have on Sonny Corinthos."
Frisco set up on the sofa next to her and dug in.
Four hours later, Carly had changed out of her dress and was bored. She'd tried to help, but Frisco's nose was buried in files. She might as well have not been there. Hell, he probably would only vaguely notice a nuclear strike at this point.
If the tense shoulders were anything to go by, he wasn't getting what he wanted out of those files.
"Hey," she said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's late and it's been a long night. Why don't we hit the sack and start fresh first thing in the morning, huh?"
Frisco stopped and rubbed his tired eyes. "You go. I've still got work to do."
Carly curled up close to him. "You're exhausted, too exhausted to make any sense out of this stuff. A couple hours isn't going to hurt anything."
"A couple hours can be a lifetime in this business, Carly."
"Not with research. How many times have you complained about having to wait while the geeks do their thing?"
"The answer is here!" he shouted, gesturing to the computer screen. "I know it is!"
"Well, you're not finding it!"
"I can't just stop! Not until I do find it!"
Carly realized what was really going on in his mind. "This isn't about the case, is it? It's about the girls."
His silence was answer enough.
"You're going to put yourself through hell to get proof for Washington, so you can get protection for the girls."
"An Alcazar already got to them," he said quietly, almost defeated. "I can't be with them all the time. I have to..."
She gave him a supportive smile. She'd do the same for Michael if she could. "I know. But pushing yourself to burnout isn't going to get you answers any faster."
He sighed. "You're right."
"Wow, this is a record."
"What?"
"You just admitted I'm right," she told him, smirking triumphantly. "Again."
"Oh, shut up."
"You first."
Frisco started to close his files and clean the table a bit when something in an open file caught his attention. He picked up it and took a closer look. "Okay, maybe it's the exhaustion talking..." He showed Carly the page. "Tell me I'm seeing that wrong. Adella Corinthos. Isn't that..."
"Yeah," Carly drawled, disbelieving. "Ric Lansing is Sonny's brother? The sainted Adella got knocked up by a married man?"
"Sonny never mentioned this?"
"Never."
"Think he even knows?"
"That the psychotic buttkisser is his brother? Hell no! He'd never treat anything that sprung from Adella's blessed loins like something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe. Not that the psycho doesn't deserve it, but Sonny wouldn't do that. His mother means too much to him."
Frisco ran a hand through his hair. "A personal vendetta. This just keeps getting better and better. I'm so not in the mood to deal with this."
Chapter 32
Author: speedy
Fandom: General Hospital
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Expecting her second child and caught up in a mafia war, Carly Corinthos has a secret that will change the lives of everyone she knows.
Disclaimer: I'm not the Rat, so obviously the characters aren't mine. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.
Notes: Just moving this over from my now defunct website. This veers off canon right before the panic room fiasco in 2003.
Chapter 30
Carly couldn’t breathe. It was like being hit in the chest, all the air was forced out of her lungs by sheer shock.
He was here. Not just in Port Charles, but here, at the same hotel, in the same room, at the same time.
Lorenzo Alcazar was here.
He hadn't spotted her yet. She could still get away, Frisco would make sure of it. She looked frantically around the room for Frisco, but she couldn't see him. He wasn't anywhere around and now she was in trouble...
Oh my god.
She vaguely heard Liz's voice, but ignored her. She couldn't deal with the twit right now. Not when she was in danger...
Liz grabbed her wrist, knocking Carly back into the present. "Come with me, Robin,” she said worriedly. “I want to know what they're talking about."
"Are you insane?" Carly hissed, but let the petite brunette lead her closer. Intel, Frisco was always preaching. Information is everything, and risky on a good day.
Maybe it'd buy her a little time before Frisco finally rescued her.
Ric was vehemently denying something, but they were too far away to hear what. Liz and Carly tried to get close enough to hear them better, without being seen. They tried to hide behind a large potted plant, but it wasn't large enough to conceal them well.
"Don't think we're just going to forget your debt, Mr. Lansing," Alcazar said coldly.
"What debt?"
"Your life and your freedom after you stole from us. I intend to collect, one way or another."
"I will not help you."
"Maybe I should take this up with Miss Webber," the gangster replied with a knowing smirk.
Ric leaned in. "Go near her and I'll kill you."
Lorenzo just laughed.
"Elizabeth will not be harmed," Ric insisted, a warning in his voice.
"See? He's trying to protect me," Liz whispered to Carly.
Carly resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The girl was obviously blind when it came to the psycho. "He's playing with dynamite. And you're the one that's going to end up hurt."
"You're still wrong about him. He won't let anyone hurt me."
"This is the same guy that kidnapped Sonny. Ric's going to get you killed."
"He'll protect me," Liz repeated as the two women were discovered.
Lorenzo looked to Carly and smiled malevolently. He sauntered towards them smugly, Ric following quickly behind.
"Mrs. Jones," he said. "It's so good to see you. I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I'm Lorenzo Alcazar."
Carly couldn't say anything. She slowly backed away from him and the wall, losing all sense of reality. All she could see was the evil smile. Her captivity flashed in her mind. The crate, the cruel laughing from outside her cell, the constant taunting, the face in the crowd as Frisco whisked her away to yet another safehouse. She had actually never met Lorenzo, the only one she ever saw was Luis. But without the beard, Lorenzo was a dead ringer for his brother.
After only a few steps, her back ran into something hard. Even without looking, she knew it was Frisco and relaxed slightly.
"Take a deep breath," Frisco whispered in her ear, putting a hand protectively around her waist. She silently complied, closing her eyes.
Alcazar smirked. "Interesting company you've been keeping these days, Special Agent Jones."
"Laugh a minute," Frisco shot back.
"I didn't realize the WSB approved of socializing with criminals."
"The WSB doesn't control my private life."
"Right," he drawled.
Carly may have been totally focused on her tormentor, but it didn't escape Frisco's attention that the arms dealer was being noticed by others. Jason and Sonny were inching their way closer, trying to be inconspicuous; Mac and Felicia were watching him intently; and Luke was trying to calm down Alexis Davis along with a man Frisco didn't know. And that wasn't considering the plain old shocked gawkers.
As quickly as he appeared, Lorenzo walked away, finding other prey. Carly was still panicking, gripping Frisco's hand forcefully, her fingernails inadvertently digging into his skin.
Frisco turned her around, leaving an arm around her waist. The position was deceptively intimate. "Focus on me," he ordered softly. "Deep breath." She did as he told her, twice. "Again." She felt herself began to calm and pulled him closer. "Better now?"
"He's here," she whispered shakily.
"I know."
She noticed his other hand resting on his hip. To most people, it looked like nothing. She knew his hand remained near his gun, prepared to draw it if necessary. He guided her back towards their table. Anna noticed the deliberately casual position of his hand as well, and hers absently reached for her purse.
"Stay near me, is that understood?"
It wasn't a request, but an order. If they had to clear out, he didn’t want to have to go looking for her, nor was it safe for her to be alone. Carly nodded as she shakily sat down, not finding the words to speak. She watched as his eyes searched the room for the girls. He wasn't the only one, Mac was looking them as well.
"Armed and dangerous, secret agent man?" Luke asked jokingly.
Frisco wasn't in the mood for the older man's humor. "Shut up, Spencer," he growled.
Frisco eyed the room again. He'd long since given up the pretense of paying attention to the show. His mind was on Alcazar. He wasn't sure exactly what to do. Part of him wanted to get Carly and get the hell out of dodge. Another part of him what to know exactly what Alcazar was up to and what their role in his plan was supposed to be. And he wasn’t about to leave the girls, not at a time like this.
He felt fingers brush his arm, vying for his attention. Anna was sitting behind him, it had to be her. He leaned back in his chair. "Yeah?"
"Robin told me about..." she whispered, gesturing towards Carly. "You're up to something."
He sighed. He was sure Robin had been discreet and Anna could be trusted. Didn't change the fact he hated this many people knowing the truth. A secret's only truly secret when every who knows is dead. "I wish she hadn't."
"She's concerned." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "You're working, aren't you?"
Lying wasn't a good idea at this point. If there was one person who knew him as well as he knew himself, it was Anna, no matter how many years they had between them. "Yeah."
"Dangerous?"
"Still threat assessing, but..." He shrugged. "Yeah."
Anna was silent for a moment. "I trust you."
He knew his job, she knew that, but she still managed to make him feel like a rookie, even when giving him a vote of confidence. "Gee, thanks."
Anna squeezed his wrist supportively. "I've got your back if you need it. You know that, right?"
Frisco gave his old friend a smile, letting his fingers mingle with hers. "I know."
Jason got Frisco's attention and gestured for the agent to join him. Carly was being annoyed by Luke, and with Anna nearby, Frisco decided she'd be safe for a little while. He caught the two women's attention and walked over to the younger man. As soon as Frisco got into reach, Jason grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the terrace.
"Hey!" Frisco shouted, yanking his arm away. "Get your hands off me!"
Jason released the agent and looked through the doors for anyone who could overhear them. "How'd you know Alcazar was still here?" he demanded.
Frisco snorted. He couldn't believe the gall of the guy. "You expect me to give you information?"
Jason glared at him. "Answer the question."
"Why should I? You haven’t given me a reason to do anything for you."
Jason threw his hands up and groaned in frustration.
They both wanted the same thing, Frisco realized. The means and the ends were different, but they had a common enemy. He couldn't afford to completely alienate a possible asset. "I had no idea he was going to be here tonight," Frisco confessed.
"What does he want?"
"How the hell should I know? Do I look like a mind reader?"
"You gotta give me something to go on, Jones!"
"I don't have anything to give! And even if I did, I'd take care of it myself, not hand it over to you guys."
Jason got in his face. "I don't buy it. You know something and I want to know what."
Frisco looked him straight in the eyes. "I am not going to help you commit a crime, Morgan," he said in a low voice. "I won't put my family at risk like that."
"But you'll leave mine out to dry?"
"Buddy, it was your choice to work for the mob in the first place. Deal with it."
The agent tried to back off, but the younger man grabbed his by the shirt. "You helped us before without a problem."
Frisco ripped Jason's hands away from him and took a step back. "I was doing my job. Kidnapping's a crime, no matter what the kidnappee does for a living."
"Jason, what's going on?"
They both turned at the sound of Sonny's voice behind them.
"We were just discussing Alcazar," Jason told him.
"There's nothing to discuss. We'll take care of him," Sonny told the agent. "We always take care of our business."
"Fine by me," Frisco replied casually. "It's your problem."
Sonny ran his thumb over his lip before putting his hands in his pockets. "We're not going to need your help this time."
"I wasn't offering it. You two are on your own."
Frisco walked off, back to his charge. He hoped he wouldn’t regret those words. Corinthos clearly had no idea of who he was dealing with.
Frisco's eyes made another sweeping glance around the room. From the outside, he looked casual, but he was continually assessing the danger. Anna stayed nearby, her guard up as well. Felicia was trying to keep up with the girls without worrying or annoying them too much.
He'd tried to keep his temper in check as he watched his older daughter's boyfriend… touch her, but he was failing miserably. What he really wanted to do was wring the kid's neck, watch the life slowly fade from his eyes, but Anna was right. His relationship with Maxie was fragile at best and she would hate him for getting involved.
Unfortunately, he could not let this go.
He watched as the kid - Kyle, Tony said his name was - stepped outside. He glared at the doorway, his decision made. He was going to make sure that punk never hurt his little princess again.
"Stay here," he ordered Carly. He touched Anna's shoulder and nodded slightly in Carly's direction.
"Frisco?" both women asked at the same time.
"I have to take care of something."
Carly looked at him in confusion, but Anna shook her head, knowing what "something" was. "Don't do it," she warned. "You're just going to make things worse."
"I have to," he shot back as he followed the path the young man had taken.
The hallway was empty, but Frisco was undeterred. One way led back into the main lobby, the other to a side door to the parking lot. Side door, he decided.
He was right. Kyle was standing along the wall, lighting a cigarette. The agent silently slipped through the door and crept up behind the teen.
It was unfair, he knew, to use his training on a brainless teenager, but screw it. He was going to show this kid who he'd messed with.
He stopped close behind the teen. So close he could almost feel the heat coming off his body. Kyle turned around lazily and jumped back, startled, dropping the cigarette. He'd obviously been unaware that he wasn't alone.
"Shit! You scared me, man."
Frisco said nothing. He stomped out the lost cigarette, glaring at the young man with undisguised hate.
Kyle wasn't completely oblivious. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
"The name's Jones. Frisco Jones."
"Are you…"
"Maxie's father."
"The police commissioner is Maxie's father."
"No, Scorpio is her stepfather. I'm her father."
Kyle tried to move away from him, further down the wall, but Frisco matched his movements.
"You'll find I'm not nearly as nice as he is."
The young man gulped. "Nice?" he asked, shaken.
Frisco took a step forward, getting into Kyle's personal space, and backed him flat against the wall. "I don't appreciate what you did to my little girl. Not cool."
"She's not a little girl, sir."
The sir pissed him off even more. "And that gave you the right to do what you did how?"
"Hey, she…"
"Wanted it? Somehow I doubt she told you to turn on that camera or to put it on the internet for your equally perverted friends. Your ass should be in jail right now."
"I didn't do…"
"She's a minor. That's not only statutory rape, that's also child pornography." He grinned evilly and looked the boy up and down. "They'd love you at Attica."
The teen's eyes widened in horror. "A-att-attica?" he stammered.
"But see, I'm not Mac Scorpio. I won't be satisfied to just arrest you. I will make you pay dearly."
Frisco got an internal chuckle out of the fear all over the kid.
"I'm going to say this once and only once. You hurt Maxie again, I'll wrap you in a flag and drop your ass in the middle of Iraq. Do you understand?"
"Y-y-yes."
He patted the kid on the shoulder. "This is just between me and you, got it?"
"Y-yes, sir."
"And if you're smart, you'll stay away from my daughter. Now, get out of my sight before I change my mind."
Kyle didn't hesitate to run for the door. He rushed back inside, practically running over an eavesdropping Georgie in the process.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to interfere in other people's private lives?" she asked her father, stepping out into the chilly night air.
"Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to listen to other people's conversations?"
"What did you think you were doing? Maxie is going to kill you for butting in. I'd kill you for it. It's her life, not yours."
Frisco dropped his head. That wasn't anything he didn't know. "I couldn't just sit back and do nothing, Georgie. She deserves better than that piece of pond scum."
"What about me?"
"You have better. And if Dillon ever screws you over like that, I'll make his life a living hell, too." He sighed. "Look, I know I haven't given you girls much reason to believe it, but I love you and worry about you. Maybe this wasn't the best way to handle it..."
"I'd like to say I feel bad, but he deserved to be told off like that." She scrunched up her face, a look reminiscent of her mother. "Hopefully, he'll take your warning and crawl back under his rock."
Frisco chuckled. "So, are you going to tell her?"
"Hell, no," Georgie answered, rolling her eyes. "I'm not going to let her hate you for Kyle being a sleazebag."
He put his arm around her shoulders. "Let's get back inside before anyone misses us."
Georgie wrapped her arms around her father's waist. "Dad, we know you love us. We've never doubted that."
She meant that to be reassuring, he knew, but her words, the nagging thoughts of what they had doubted, stabbed Frisco in the heart.
Frisco burst through the cottage's door and made an immediate beeline for the secure phone, leaving Carly behind in his wake. He'd been edgy ever since Alcazar's surprise appearance, not that she could blame him.
"Frisco?" she asked.
He held up a finger, a silent indication for her to wait. "Alpha echo juliet 4-5-5-9-4-0-2-5." He waited for confirmation of his security code. The red light lit up when he was cleared. "Jones for Director," he ordered.
Carly settled in and listened as he explained the situation to his boss.
"Please. I need more agents. Something's going on."
The strained expression that said he was getting lectured.
"I'm not looking for trouble. I'm doing my job. I can't do a proper threat assessment running blind."
Frustration.
"He knows I'm the agent protecting her. He knows my family. His brother's already kidnapped my kids. I can't just up and leave again."
Resigned. Defeated.
"Yeah, yeah. I understand."
She watched as he cautiously put the phone down. Calm was not a good sign after a conversation like that. "No backup?"
He took a deep breath, as if he were trying to keep his temper in check. "I need more proof before I get a team. No running off half-cocked."
"Like what kind of proof? Isn't him being here and approaching me enough?"
"Nope. His motives, while coincidental, appear to be focused elsewhere."
"You don't believe in coincidences."
"No, I don't. And considering Alcazar's focus is your ex-husband, I don't believe this will be a coincidence either."
"So what do we do?"
"Get him his proof. Pull up Sonny's FBI file. We're going through that thing with a fine tooth comb. Now."
She didn't hesitate. She quickly hit the power button on the laptop she'd left on the coffee table earlier, and had the files up before he'd even pulled his out.
"Here you go," she told him, pushing the laptop in his direction. "Everything the feds have on Sonny Corinthos."
Frisco set up on the sofa next to her and dug in.
Four hours later, Carly had changed out of her dress and was bored. She'd tried to help, but Frisco's nose was buried in files. She might as well have not been there. Hell, he probably would only vaguely notice a nuclear strike at this point.
If the tense shoulders were anything to go by, he wasn't getting what he wanted out of those files.
"Hey," she said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's late and it's been a long night. Why don't we hit the sack and start fresh first thing in the morning, huh?"
Frisco stopped and rubbed his tired eyes. "You go. I've still got work to do."
Carly curled up close to him. "You're exhausted, too exhausted to make any sense out of this stuff. A couple hours isn't going to hurt anything."
"A couple hours can be a lifetime in this business, Carly."
"Not with research. How many times have you complained about having to wait while the geeks do their thing?"
"The answer is here!" he shouted, gesturing to the computer screen. "I know it is!"
"Well, you're not finding it!"
"I can't just stop! Not until I do find it!"
Carly realized what was really going on in his mind. "This isn't about the case, is it? It's about the girls."
His silence was answer enough.
"You're going to put yourself through hell to get proof for Washington, so you can get protection for the girls."
"An Alcazar already got to them," he said quietly, almost defeated. "I can't be with them all the time. I have to..."
She gave him a supportive smile. She'd do the same for Michael if she could. "I know. But pushing yourself to burnout isn't going to get you answers any faster."
He sighed. "You're right."
"Wow, this is a record."
"What?"
"You just admitted I'm right," she told him, smirking triumphantly. "Again."
"Oh, shut up."
"You first."
Frisco started to close his files and clean the table a bit when something in an open file caught his attention. He picked up it and took a closer look. "Okay, maybe it's the exhaustion talking..." He showed Carly the page. "Tell me I'm seeing that wrong. Adella Corinthos. Isn't that..."
"Yeah," Carly drawled, disbelieving. "Ric Lansing is Sonny's brother? The sainted Adella got knocked up by a married man?"
"Sonny never mentioned this?"
"Never."
"Think he even knows?"
"That the psychotic buttkisser is his brother? Hell no! He'd never treat anything that sprung from Adella's blessed loins like something he scraped off the bottom of his shoe. Not that the psycho doesn't deserve it, but Sonny wouldn't do that. His mother means too much to him."
Frisco ran a hand through his hair. "A personal vendetta. This just keeps getting better and better. I'm so not in the mood to deal with this."
Chapter 32