Just Between Friends - Chapter 33
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 32
Lucky was helping Claude behind the bar when Frisco arrived. He hadn't really wanted to leave Carly alone, but the cottage was the safest place she could be and if not, she was armed. She'd promised to stay home, but somehow he guessed he would be seeing her before the day was out.
"Claude, go home."
"You know Dad wasn't really serious with the whole firing thing," Lucky said, glancing at the bartender.
"Consider it a free day. I'm just trying to mess with Luke's head. I'm sick of him firing everyone and never meaning it. Takes away from the real thing."
"Did you ever hear back from..." Lucky asked, trailing off.
"I shouldn't. I gave them your name, they know you're the contact on this."
"I'm just a little nervous."
Frisco gave the young man a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine. Just give it some time. They'll get back to you."
Lucky waved at someone just walking in. Frisco glanced that direction, trying to look casual about it.
"Hey, Uncle Tony," the young man said. "How's it going?"
"Frisco," Tony said, barely acknowledging Lucky with a nod.
"Tony," the agent replied coolly.
"Can we talk?"
"About?"
"You've been avoiding me."
Whatever Tony had to say, Frisco didn't want to have it out in public. "Let's go back to the office."
Carly slammed the phone down, harder than necessary. She was frustrated to the point of ripping hair out, figuratively speaking. Tracking down the original witnesses in her case had turned out more difficult than expected. Not exactly surprising, considering where Charlotte was living, but incredibly frustrating all the same.
She stood up, ignoring the stiffness in her muscles, and began to pace.
The witnesses, no one really existed. She wasn't sure if it was just the type of people that building was attracting, or if something else was going on. Frankly the odds were pretty even either way.
"Okay, who can really be confirmed?" she asked herself out loud, chewing on her thumb.
She stopped, an idea coming to her. "The manager, he had to have gotten paid..." she trailed off. She sat back in front of the computer and started typing furiously.
Frisco dropped into the desk chair, deliberately casual. "So, talk," he said, looking his big brother in the eye.
"I don't like fighting with you."
"Your point?"
Tony's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms defensively. "I'm not going to apologize again."
"Fine. Thanks for coming."
"Step off your high horse, Frisco. If you hadn't have left, you wouldn't need to be told."
"I'm glad things are so simple in your world," Frisco sneered.
"It's the truth. You're not innocent in all this." Tony exhaled sharply. "Look, can we call a truce? I have no idea how long you're going to stick around and I'd rather not spend the whole time arguing with you."
Frisco studied his older brother's face. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"You know about her boyfriend?" Tony asked and Frisco nodded. "Then, no. Not to my knowledge."
Frisco didn't like fighting with his brother any more than Tony did. "You win."
"Want to have dinner? Lucas is off work tonight. The four of us can finally get together for a family dinner."
Carly was going to hate him, but oh well. He nodded. "Sure. Call me later with the details."
Luke strode into the office hours later, angry. "What is this I'm hearing about you sending Claude home?"
Frisco barely looked up, concentrating on his laptop. "You fired him."
"I always fire him. I fire everybody. Doesn't mean they get out of work."
"How do they know when you're serious?"
"Never happen." Curiosity overcame the older man. He moved behind Frisco to get a look at the screen. "What are you up to?"
"Echelon."
"Finally figured out how to get to the imposter's phone, huh?"
"Locking onto Sonny, Jason and Courtney's phones instead. She calls all of them enough, I think I can trace the signal that way. Maybe." Frisco shrugged and looked up at the older man. "It's been interesting."
"Any of that admissible in court?" Luke asked, stepping towards the liquor cabinet.
Frisco snorted. "Don't you think if it were, someone would've used it by now? There are very strict rules about using it for domestic monitoring because it so thoroughly violates the Fourth Amendment."
Carly entered the office, not bothering to knock. "Hello," she said, casually sitting down on the edge of the desk.
Frisco didn't even bother looking up. "Why am I not surprised you didn't stay home like I asked you to?"
"Um," she scrunched up her face and looked up, as if giving the question serious thought, "'cause I never do what you ask me to?" She flashed her husband a sweet smile. "I need you to get me access to some records. Your ID wasn't working."
"What kind?"
"IRS. I want to check on who the leasing company was paying to manage the building."
"The statement should be in your file."
"I'm having a difficult time tracking any of the witnesses, including the building manager. Thought I'd double-check the information with the official records."
Luke nodded, sipping his drink. "Bureaucracy is good for something, I guess."
Frisco nodded, ignoring him. "I'll make the call. By the way, we're having dinner with Tony and Lucas tonight."
Carly groaned and Luke handed her his drink with a smirk.
Frisco walked into the cottage, expecting Carly to be downstairs and ready. She wasn't. The living room was dark and the whole house quiet. Too quiet. He reached for his gun, just as a precaution.
He stuck his head through the kitchen door. That room was empty as well.
He wouldn't put it past Carly to go into town and lose herself long enough to avoid dinner. Or to hide herself somewhere in the house.
He slipped upstairs silently. No lights were on, but only one door was closed. Carly's bedroom.
"Carly," he said, opening the door.
"I'm sick," was the muffled response from inside.
Strands of brown hair peeked out from underneath the lump of covers on the bed.
"Bull." He pulled off the comforter, letting it fall to the floor. "Get dressed. We're going to be late."
"It's Tony," she whined.
He sighed. "And Lucas."
"Why do I have to go?"
"You're my wife and he wants to see you."
"I'm not going."
"You are."
"Not."
"Are."
"Not."
Frisco exhaled sharply, frustration and irritation seeping through. "Carly, don't do this! He's my brother and he's actually trying."
She sat up reluctantly. "Where are we going?"
"Port Charles Grille."
"I hate that place," Carly said, a slight pout on her lips.
"No, you don't."
"I do now."
Frisco turned back to the door, heading to his own room to change clothes. "Too bad. You're going."
Dinner was as awkward as Carly had expected. Lucas had been quiet and distracted, something obviously on his mind. Carly hadn't known what to say to him and she couldn't say any of the things that she wanted to Tony. That left Frisco to drive the conversation, who ended up telling several WSB anecdotes that seemed to only upset Tony. They didn't exactly argue, but spent half the meal sniping at each other. It was the most uncomfortable ninety minutes of her life. And it was still going, as Frisco was now bitchy.
"Hey man, don't bite my head off. I'm not the one you're mad at."
"I'm not mad."
"And denial is not just a river in Egypt."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've been in a mood all day and it's just got worse since the appetizers. And as I haven't done anything, I know it's not me."
Frisco scoffed and walked to the car, not replying.
Carly put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Don't take your bad mood out on me, Frisco."
"Get in the car, Carly."
"No," she replied forcefully, shaking her head. "I'm not getting in the car while you're like this. I'm not going to be your verbal punching bag."
"Just get in the goddamned car."
"No." She turned on a heel and walked off.
Carly shouldn't have been surprised when she ended up at Jake's. It wasn't the first time. It had been a regular hangout at one point. She stepped up to the bar and flagged down the bartender. She ordered a beer and glanced around. She spotted Jason at a pool table and suddenly it was like no time had passed at all.
She'd met him here. They'd become friends here. She'd boldly propositioned him at that same pool table.
Frisco would kill her, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. She took her beer and strolled over to Jason's table. "Hey stranger," she said, smiling seductively. "How much?"
He looked up from his shot. "For what?"
"To get into the game."
He looked at her, then shrugged to himself. "I'll rack 'em up."
She dumped her purse and her beer on the shelf along the wall and picked out a pool cue she liked.
"You look nice," he told her.
She met his eyes, but his face was as unexpressive as ever. "Family dinner."
"You break," he said, gesturing to the table. "Port Charles Grille, I'm guessing by the dress."
She smiled uncomfortably. "It's doomed to be forever remembered for terrible family get-togethers."
"Yeah?"
"Last time I was there, it was the Quartermaines."
Jason nodded. "They'll make a scene anywhere, especially if they own the place."
Carly's attention was drawn to a young woman rushing through the door to behind the bar. A waitress, late for her shift. She lined up her shot and sunk a solid colored ball.
They finished the game, making idle conversation, asking about their respective spouses. Jason sunk the eight ball and gulped the last up his beer. "You want another one?"
She grinned. "If you're buying, sure."
He flagged the waitress over and held up the empty mug. "Two more."
"Sure," the waitress replied, taking the empty mug. She reached for Carly's, but stopped suddenly. "Charlie?" she asked, hesitant.
It took Carly a second to realize the waitress was talking to her. She shook her head. "My name's Robin."
The waitress smiled, apologetic. "I'm sorry, it's just you look so much like her. Except the hair. She was blonde. I'll be right back with your drinks."
Carly watched the young woman walk back to the bar, the name Charlie bouncing around in her head.
The next game went to Carly, even with her attention straying elsewhere. Jason took a break to visit the men's room and Carly offered to buy the next round. She waved over the waitress. "Two more please," she said, smiling nicely. "So, this Charlie's a friend of yours?"
The waitress looked at her, surprised, but answered anyway. "Sort of. She used to work here a couple years ago. One day, she just didn't come to work. Never heard from her again. I thought Mrs. Corinthos was her too the first time she came in. Dead ringer for Charlie."
Alarm bells went off in Carly's head. In all the times she'd been in Jake's, she'd never been mistaken for anyone named Charlie, not before tonight. Which left Charlotte.
The waitress continued, wistfully. "I guess she got a better offer. Lord knows I'd be out of here if I got one."
Mrs. Corinthos. Dead ringer. Charlie. Charlotte.
"Charlie have a last name?" Carly asked, a little too quickly. She added, "I do a little investigating on the side, I could try to track her down for you. Make sure she's okay."
The bartender passed by and interrupted them. "We don't need that kind of help. That girl was trouble with a capital T. Better off without her."
The waitress' face fell. "I'll just go get your beers."
He tried to give Carly a menacing look, but she wasn't fazed. Jason appeared behind him, equally as unfazed.
"Coleman," Jason said, injecting more than just a greeting into the name.
Coleman left and they played another game of pool. Carly chatted up the waitress some more, trying to get more information out of her, but nothing particularly helpful. Nothing pointing towards Cortland Street. Nothing that matched Charlotte's WSB file. Nothing that made the alarms in her mind go away.
Carly shouldn't have been surprised when Frisco finally showed up. She had her cell phone, which included a GPS chip. Pool had fallen on the wayside to dancing. After a few more beers, she dragged Jason out on the very small dance floor. She was admittedly a little drunk and hanging off him, but it was no reason for Frisco to manhandle her.
"Hey!" she shouted, as Frisco pulled her off Jason.
Frisco ignored her protests and dragged her out the back entrance by the arm. As soon as the door closed behind them, he started in on her, furious. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Me? You're the one behaving like a caveman!"
"I'm supposed to ask nicely when I find my wife all over another man?"
"Oh please! It's not real!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "This has to look completely legit to work, Carly!" he growled. "You can't go around acting like this is nothing, like we're nothing."
"It's the truth."
"Not in public, it's not. No matter how much you want him, you've got to control yourself. Jason is off limits."
"And Felicia?" she shot back.
Frisco's head dropped and he let go of her, taking a step back. "Off limits for the same reason," he replied softly. "You're risking your cover, Carly. You know damn well what that means."
She crossed her arms across her chest, blinking back tears. He was right, he was always right. She couldn't risk it, not when she was so close to being free. "Well, tonight wasn't a total bust. I got a lead."
Chapter 34
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 32
Lucky was helping Claude behind the bar when Frisco arrived. He hadn't really wanted to leave Carly alone, but the cottage was the safest place she could be and if not, she was armed. She'd promised to stay home, but somehow he guessed he would be seeing her before the day was out.
"Claude, go home."
"You know Dad wasn't really serious with the whole firing thing," Lucky said, glancing at the bartender.
"Consider it a free day. I'm just trying to mess with Luke's head. I'm sick of him firing everyone and never meaning it. Takes away from the real thing."
"Did you ever hear back from..." Lucky asked, trailing off.
"I shouldn't. I gave them your name, they know you're the contact on this."
"I'm just a little nervous."
Frisco gave the young man a reassuring smile. "It'll be fine. Just give it some time. They'll get back to you."
Lucky waved at someone just walking in. Frisco glanced that direction, trying to look casual about it.
"Hey, Uncle Tony," the young man said. "How's it going?"
"Frisco," Tony said, barely acknowledging Lucky with a nod.
"Tony," the agent replied coolly.
"Can we talk?"
"About?"
"You've been avoiding me."
Whatever Tony had to say, Frisco didn't want to have it out in public. "Let's go back to the office."
Carly slammed the phone down, harder than necessary. She was frustrated to the point of ripping hair out, figuratively speaking. Tracking down the original witnesses in her case had turned out more difficult than expected. Not exactly surprising, considering where Charlotte was living, but incredibly frustrating all the same.
She stood up, ignoring the stiffness in her muscles, and began to pace.
The witnesses, no one really existed. She wasn't sure if it was just the type of people that building was attracting, or if something else was going on. Frankly the odds were pretty even either way.
"Okay, who can really be confirmed?" she asked herself out loud, chewing on her thumb.
She stopped, an idea coming to her. "The manager, he had to have gotten paid..." she trailed off. She sat back in front of the computer and started typing furiously.
Frisco dropped into the desk chair, deliberately casual. "So, talk," he said, looking his big brother in the eye.
"I don't like fighting with you."
"Your point?"
Tony's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms defensively. "I'm not going to apologize again."
"Fine. Thanks for coming."
"Step off your high horse, Frisco. If you hadn't have left, you wouldn't need to be told."
"I'm glad things are so simple in your world," Frisco sneered.
"It's the truth. You're not innocent in all this." Tony exhaled sharply. "Look, can we call a truce? I have no idea how long you're going to stick around and I'd rather not spend the whole time arguing with you."
Frisco studied his older brother's face. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"You know about her boyfriend?" Tony asked and Frisco nodded. "Then, no. Not to my knowledge."
Frisco didn't like fighting with his brother any more than Tony did. "You win."
"Want to have dinner? Lucas is off work tonight. The four of us can finally get together for a family dinner."
Carly was going to hate him, but oh well. He nodded. "Sure. Call me later with the details."
Luke strode into the office hours later, angry. "What is this I'm hearing about you sending Claude home?"
Frisco barely looked up, concentrating on his laptop. "You fired him."
"I always fire him. I fire everybody. Doesn't mean they get out of work."
"How do they know when you're serious?"
"Never happen." Curiosity overcame the older man. He moved behind Frisco to get a look at the screen. "What are you up to?"
"Echelon."
"Finally figured out how to get to the imposter's phone, huh?"
"Locking onto Sonny, Jason and Courtney's phones instead. She calls all of them enough, I think I can trace the signal that way. Maybe." Frisco shrugged and looked up at the older man. "It's been interesting."
"Any of that admissible in court?" Luke asked, stepping towards the liquor cabinet.
Frisco snorted. "Don't you think if it were, someone would've used it by now? There are very strict rules about using it for domestic monitoring because it so thoroughly violates the Fourth Amendment."
Carly entered the office, not bothering to knock. "Hello," she said, casually sitting down on the edge of the desk.
Frisco didn't even bother looking up. "Why am I not surprised you didn't stay home like I asked you to?"
"Um," she scrunched up her face and looked up, as if giving the question serious thought, "'cause I never do what you ask me to?" She flashed her husband a sweet smile. "I need you to get me access to some records. Your ID wasn't working."
"What kind?"
"IRS. I want to check on who the leasing company was paying to manage the building."
"The statement should be in your file."
"I'm having a difficult time tracking any of the witnesses, including the building manager. Thought I'd double-check the information with the official records."
Luke nodded, sipping his drink. "Bureaucracy is good for something, I guess."
Frisco nodded, ignoring him. "I'll make the call. By the way, we're having dinner with Tony and Lucas tonight."
Carly groaned and Luke handed her his drink with a smirk.
Frisco walked into the cottage, expecting Carly to be downstairs and ready. She wasn't. The living room was dark and the whole house quiet. Too quiet. He reached for his gun, just as a precaution.
He stuck his head through the kitchen door. That room was empty as well.
He wouldn't put it past Carly to go into town and lose herself long enough to avoid dinner. Or to hide herself somewhere in the house.
He slipped upstairs silently. No lights were on, but only one door was closed. Carly's bedroom.
"Carly," he said, opening the door.
"I'm sick," was the muffled response from inside.
Strands of brown hair peeked out from underneath the lump of covers on the bed.
"Bull." He pulled off the comforter, letting it fall to the floor. "Get dressed. We're going to be late."
"It's Tony," she whined.
He sighed. "And Lucas."
"Why do I have to go?"
"You're my wife and he wants to see you."
"I'm not going."
"You are."
"Not."
"Are."
"Not."
Frisco exhaled sharply, frustration and irritation seeping through. "Carly, don't do this! He's my brother and he's actually trying."
She sat up reluctantly. "Where are we going?"
"Port Charles Grille."
"I hate that place," Carly said, a slight pout on her lips.
"No, you don't."
"I do now."
Frisco turned back to the door, heading to his own room to change clothes. "Too bad. You're going."
Dinner was as awkward as Carly had expected. Lucas had been quiet and distracted, something obviously on his mind. Carly hadn't known what to say to him and she couldn't say any of the things that she wanted to Tony. That left Frisco to drive the conversation, who ended up telling several WSB anecdotes that seemed to only upset Tony. They didn't exactly argue, but spent half the meal sniping at each other. It was the most uncomfortable ninety minutes of her life. And it was still going, as Frisco was now bitchy.
"Hey man, don't bite my head off. I'm not the one you're mad at."
"I'm not mad."
"And denial is not just a river in Egypt."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've been in a mood all day and it's just got worse since the appetizers. And as I haven't done anything, I know it's not me."
Frisco scoffed and walked to the car, not replying.
Carly put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. "Don't take your bad mood out on me, Frisco."
"Get in the car, Carly."
"No," she replied forcefully, shaking her head. "I'm not getting in the car while you're like this. I'm not going to be your verbal punching bag."
"Just get in the goddamned car."
"No." She turned on a heel and walked off.
Carly shouldn't have been surprised when she ended up at Jake's. It wasn't the first time. It had been a regular hangout at one point. She stepped up to the bar and flagged down the bartender. She ordered a beer and glanced around. She spotted Jason at a pool table and suddenly it was like no time had passed at all.
She'd met him here. They'd become friends here. She'd boldly propositioned him at that same pool table.
Frisco would kill her, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. She took her beer and strolled over to Jason's table. "Hey stranger," she said, smiling seductively. "How much?"
He looked up from his shot. "For what?"
"To get into the game."
He looked at her, then shrugged to himself. "I'll rack 'em up."
She dumped her purse and her beer on the shelf along the wall and picked out a pool cue she liked.
"You look nice," he told her.
She met his eyes, but his face was as unexpressive as ever. "Family dinner."
"You break," he said, gesturing to the table. "Port Charles Grille, I'm guessing by the dress."
She smiled uncomfortably. "It's doomed to be forever remembered for terrible family get-togethers."
"Yeah?"
"Last time I was there, it was the Quartermaines."
Jason nodded. "They'll make a scene anywhere, especially if they own the place."
Carly's attention was drawn to a young woman rushing through the door to behind the bar. A waitress, late for her shift. She lined up her shot and sunk a solid colored ball.
They finished the game, making idle conversation, asking about their respective spouses. Jason sunk the eight ball and gulped the last up his beer. "You want another one?"
She grinned. "If you're buying, sure."
He flagged the waitress over and held up the empty mug. "Two more."
"Sure," the waitress replied, taking the empty mug. She reached for Carly's, but stopped suddenly. "Charlie?" she asked, hesitant.
It took Carly a second to realize the waitress was talking to her. She shook her head. "My name's Robin."
The waitress smiled, apologetic. "I'm sorry, it's just you look so much like her. Except the hair. She was blonde. I'll be right back with your drinks."
Carly watched the young woman walk back to the bar, the name Charlie bouncing around in her head.
The next game went to Carly, even with her attention straying elsewhere. Jason took a break to visit the men's room and Carly offered to buy the next round. She waved over the waitress. "Two more please," she said, smiling nicely. "So, this Charlie's a friend of yours?"
The waitress looked at her, surprised, but answered anyway. "Sort of. She used to work here a couple years ago. One day, she just didn't come to work. Never heard from her again. I thought Mrs. Corinthos was her too the first time she came in. Dead ringer for Charlie."
Alarm bells went off in Carly's head. In all the times she'd been in Jake's, she'd never been mistaken for anyone named Charlie, not before tonight. Which left Charlotte.
The waitress continued, wistfully. "I guess she got a better offer. Lord knows I'd be out of here if I got one."
Mrs. Corinthos. Dead ringer. Charlie. Charlotte.
"Charlie have a last name?" Carly asked, a little too quickly. She added, "I do a little investigating on the side, I could try to track her down for you. Make sure she's okay."
The bartender passed by and interrupted them. "We don't need that kind of help. That girl was trouble with a capital T. Better off without her."
The waitress' face fell. "I'll just go get your beers."
He tried to give Carly a menacing look, but she wasn't fazed. Jason appeared behind him, equally as unfazed.
"Coleman," Jason said, injecting more than just a greeting into the name.
Coleman left and they played another game of pool. Carly chatted up the waitress some more, trying to get more information out of her, but nothing particularly helpful. Nothing pointing towards Cortland Street. Nothing that matched Charlotte's WSB file. Nothing that made the alarms in her mind go away.
Carly shouldn't have been surprised when Frisco finally showed up. She had her cell phone, which included a GPS chip. Pool had fallen on the wayside to dancing. After a few more beers, she dragged Jason out on the very small dance floor. She was admittedly a little drunk and hanging off him, but it was no reason for Frisco to manhandle her.
"Hey!" she shouted, as Frisco pulled her off Jason.
Frisco ignored her protests and dragged her out the back entrance by the arm. As soon as the door closed behind them, he started in on her, furious. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Me? You're the one behaving like a caveman!"
"I'm supposed to ask nicely when I find my wife all over another man?"
"Oh please! It's not real!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "This has to look completely legit to work, Carly!" he growled. "You can't go around acting like this is nothing, like we're nothing."
"It's the truth."
"Not in public, it's not. No matter how much you want him, you've got to control yourself. Jason is off limits."
"And Felicia?" she shot back.
Frisco's head dropped and he let go of her, taking a step back. "Off limits for the same reason," he replied softly. "You're risking your cover, Carly. You know damn well what that means."
She crossed her arms across her chest, blinking back tears. He was right, he was always right. She couldn't risk it, not when she was so close to being free. "Well, tonight wasn't a total bust. I got a lead."
Chapter 34