Checkmate
Title: Checkmate
Fandom: General Hospital
Rating: PG
Summary: The long game finally comes to an end.
Notes: Spring cleaning the WIP folder. According to the date on the file, I wrote this in 2008. I'm not sure why I didn't post it, except maybe there was more I wanted to add. I'm so far out of the GH fandom now, I don't even remember anymore.
It was risky to come here. Victor Cassadine knew that all too well. He couldn't be seen in Port Charles, he especially couldn't be seen near Lorenzo. Not now, when he was so close. If he were recognized, his carefully planned revenge would be destroyed. He could not allow that to happen, but he was not about to allow anyone to interfere either.
The Syndicate was getting way too close. All his efforts to lure them away from Corinthos had failed, as did the efforts to flush out the spies in his own ranks. The whole organization was a black hole of information, operating more on the principles of espionage, rather than criminal racketeering.
He held one card in reserve- his nephew's bastard son. That was one lesson he'd learned well through the years. Control the child, control the parent. Nikolas would give him control of the Cassadine empire in exchange for his son.
Lorenzo wisely kept his mouth shut and handed his father a drink. Victor was not in the mood for conversation. Not when his plans were being snatched from his hands so close to fruition.
Nearly an hour after she'd been summoned, Samantha McCall finally appeared. Victor hated using the girl, Tony and Alexandria Quartermaine's bastard daughter was an unreliable flake on a good day, but he had little option. Paloma and Helena had done their parts, he had to ensure that the virus spread to the right victims, to guarantee certain eyes would be elsewhere while he made his move. His niece was in the right place to make it happen.
"Took you long enough," Lorenzo scoffed, smirking.
"I had to make my excuses and shake the guards," Sam calmly replied, not rising to the bait.
"That should not have taken you this long," Victor said. "Corinthos' guards are not that good."
"Jason's are." She helped herself to the scotch. "What do you want, Uncle?"
"I want access to Corinthos' house."
She turned to face the two men carefully, her face an expressionless mask. "So why are you coming to me? We both know security is a joke."
"I don't want any trace anyone was there. You have legitimate access."
"Not feeling confident in your people, Uncle?"
Victor forced a smile. "Quite the opposite. Everything is playing out exactly to my design."
She smiled, equally as forced. "Of course, Uncle. What do you want me to do?"
"What do you mean you've got nothing?" Sonny Corinthos snapped. He closed his eyes against the growing headache. "These people have been chipping away at my territory for months and you can't find a single piece of information we can use against them?"
Jason Morgan, a hand on his hip, rubbed his brow in frustration. "All the leads were dead ends. I think one of the companies may be an Alcazar front, but we can't prove it."
"So it's Alcazar that's declared war on me?"
"Not totally. There's front companies within front companies. A few names are rumored to be connected to a group called The Syndicate. They've supposedly been taking bites out of his business as well, amongst others."
"These Syndicate guys are new then."
"According to the rumors, they operate like spies. No one knows whose at the top, not even their own operatives. They infiltrate, then destroy."
"What does that mean?"
"One of our guys is a mole. I just don't know who yet."
Sonny threw a glass, the crystal shattering against the wall. "You find the rat and you put a bullet in his head!"
Sam watched her fiancé and her ex-lover in the study. Clearly, Sonny was already beginning to feel the effects of the virus.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "It's done."
She can't say she hadn't been warned.
Maxie Jones sighed, turning her cell phone ringer off. She couldn't answer it, she couldn't deal with Georgie's questions, not right now. She couldn't deal with the constant lying to people she loved.
God, they'd warned her about this. He'd warned her about this and begged her not to do it.
She wasn't about to crash and burn yet.
"So what is this place?" Jesse asked, looking at the decrepit Pullman car.
"My parents lived here for a little while when they first met."
"Homeless, huh?"
"On the run from greedy treasure hunters, actually. Mom always made it sound so romantic."
"I hope this place was in better condition then."
She smiled sweetly and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go in."
Maxie pulled him inside and distracted him well, planting a steamy kiss on him. Jesse never noticed the man in the corner, until he spoke, pointing a gun at the young man.
"Hi, Princess," Frisco said.
Maxie pulled her own hidden gun and smiled her first genuine smile. "Hi, Daddy."
"Maxie?" Jesse stammered. gulping. "What's going on?"
"Kid," Frisco said slowly, "this is what's called a trap. And you walked right into it. Victor Cassadine will be so pleased."
"Of course, maybe he doesn't have to find out," Maxie added. "All you have to do is talk."
Frisco returned to the cabin, pizza in hand. He dropped it onto a counter and grabbed a slice. "The kid didn't give us anything we didn't already know. Victor's just been using him to feed information to Mac."
"Must you be a slob?" his partner asked, pulling out a plate and silverware.
Frisco grinned. "It's pizza, not champagne and caviar, Vlad."
"Spencer is a horrible influence on you."
"One flaw in that theory. You're assuming I had proper manners before I met him."
"How foolish of me."
Sonny leaned back in his chair, attempting to look like he was perfectly healthy. "Who are you?"
The seductive brunette put her hands on her hips, aware of the power play being made, having her stand in front of the desk. "You may refer to me as Ms. X."
"That's all? Ms. X? Not very friendly."
"I prefer formality."
"Whatever. Make your offer."
"Sell me all of your holdings."
Sonny tried to laugh, but instead began coughing. "Give me one reason I shouldn't throw you out on the street now."
"I'll let the two of you retire to your private Caribbean island and live out a peaceful, Brokeback life as very wealthy men."
"And if I don't?"
"The wiretaps have been running for months. Witnesses are lined up. The warrants are secured. We know every shipment out of every dock and warehouse you have. One phone call, you are doing twenty-five to life in a federal prison and I buy it all at a government auction for a bargain price. It's up to you. Either you get my money or the government does. Either way, your business is mine."
"The feds have nothing on me."
"Are you sure? Any of your collections come up short this week?"
"We'll get back to you," Jason said, cutting off any further conversation.
Katya entered her hotel suite and immediately headed for the bar. She heard sounds coming from the bedroom. Her cousin Stefan came out of the bedroom, fastening the cuffs of his freshly pressed designer shirt.
"Isn't this so much more comfortable than your... friend's fishing cabin?" she asked teasingly.
"What it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in seclusion."
"I miss anything good?"
"They're scrambling to track down the 'rat'. They've already verified the arrest with their contact at the PCPD."
"And the 'rat'?"
"Being secured as we speak. I took the liberty of ordering room service. It should be here momentarily."
"Excellent. You haven't forgotten my cut, have you, Cousin?"
"Uncle Victor's legitimate South American holdings, within agreed limits, upon successful completion of this operation."
"I suppose this Syndicate of yours will take over Lorenzo's arms business and run it into the ground?"
"That's none of your concern."
They were interrupted by the arrival of their meal.
"I'm told the hotel's seafood bisque is quite good."
"Made with lobster, I assume?" She looked at the waiter. "I'll be having the prime rib." She glared at her cousin, who was unabashedly smug. "You seem to have forgotten my shellfish allergy."
"Oh, did I? How foolish of me. You know what the peasants say, the memory is the first to go."
The complete lack of sincerity told her it wasn't a simple mistake, but a warning.
The yacht was dark. It was never supposed to be dark. Victor didn't like the dark, it reminded him of that god-awful prison the WSB had dumped him in.
A lamp turned on, illuminating his chess set. And his supposedly dead nephew on the other side of it.
Stefan picked up a king and placed it on its side. "Checkmate."
Victor's cell phone rang and Stefan smirked. "I'm sure that is Lorenzo calling to inform you your hideouts are currently being raided by the Syndicate. All of them."
"Am I to really believe you have that sort of power?"
Stefan pushed a badge across the table. "It comes with the job."
"You dared give up your own blood to the WSB, after what they did to your father."
"My father was responsible for his own death. And I am protecting my own blood by ridding this family of the evil that has controlled it for far too long."
"Do you really believe you can control the masses without me, without my influence?"
"Did you really believe I would allow you to go unchecked all these years? Like you, I play the long game."
Fandom: General Hospital
Rating: PG
Summary: The long game finally comes to an end.
Notes: Spring cleaning the WIP folder. According to the date on the file, I wrote this in 2008. I'm not sure why I didn't post it, except maybe there was more I wanted to add. I'm so far out of the GH fandom now, I don't even remember anymore.
It was risky to come here. Victor Cassadine knew that all too well. He couldn't be seen in Port Charles, he especially couldn't be seen near Lorenzo. Not now, when he was so close. If he were recognized, his carefully planned revenge would be destroyed. He could not allow that to happen, but he was not about to allow anyone to interfere either.
The Syndicate was getting way too close. All his efforts to lure them away from Corinthos had failed, as did the efforts to flush out the spies in his own ranks. The whole organization was a black hole of information, operating more on the principles of espionage, rather than criminal racketeering.
He held one card in reserve- his nephew's bastard son. That was one lesson he'd learned well through the years. Control the child, control the parent. Nikolas would give him control of the Cassadine empire in exchange for his son.
Lorenzo wisely kept his mouth shut and handed his father a drink. Victor was not in the mood for conversation. Not when his plans were being snatched from his hands so close to fruition.
Nearly an hour after she'd been summoned, Samantha McCall finally appeared. Victor hated using the girl, Tony and Alexandria Quartermaine's bastard daughter was an unreliable flake on a good day, but he had little option. Paloma and Helena had done their parts, he had to ensure that the virus spread to the right victims, to guarantee certain eyes would be elsewhere while he made his move. His niece was in the right place to make it happen.
"Took you long enough," Lorenzo scoffed, smirking.
"I had to make my excuses and shake the guards," Sam calmly replied, not rising to the bait.
"That should not have taken you this long," Victor said. "Corinthos' guards are not that good."
"Jason's are." She helped herself to the scotch. "What do you want, Uncle?"
"I want access to Corinthos' house."
She turned to face the two men carefully, her face an expressionless mask. "So why are you coming to me? We both know security is a joke."
"I don't want any trace anyone was there. You have legitimate access."
"Not feeling confident in your people, Uncle?"
Victor forced a smile. "Quite the opposite. Everything is playing out exactly to my design."
She smiled, equally as forced. "Of course, Uncle. What do you want me to do?"
"What do you mean you've got nothing?" Sonny Corinthos snapped. He closed his eyes against the growing headache. "These people have been chipping away at my territory for months and you can't find a single piece of information we can use against them?"
Jason Morgan, a hand on his hip, rubbed his brow in frustration. "All the leads were dead ends. I think one of the companies may be an Alcazar front, but we can't prove it."
"So it's Alcazar that's declared war on me?"
"Not totally. There's front companies within front companies. A few names are rumored to be connected to a group called The Syndicate. They've supposedly been taking bites out of his business as well, amongst others."
"These Syndicate guys are new then."
"According to the rumors, they operate like spies. No one knows whose at the top, not even their own operatives. They infiltrate, then destroy."
"What does that mean?"
"One of our guys is a mole. I just don't know who yet."
Sonny threw a glass, the crystal shattering against the wall. "You find the rat and you put a bullet in his head!"
Sam watched her fiancé and her ex-lover in the study. Clearly, Sonny was already beginning to feel the effects of the virus.
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. "It's done."
She can't say she hadn't been warned.
Maxie Jones sighed, turning her cell phone ringer off. She couldn't answer it, she couldn't deal with Georgie's questions, not right now. She couldn't deal with the constant lying to people she loved.
God, they'd warned her about this. He'd warned her about this and begged her not to do it.
She wasn't about to crash and burn yet.
"So what is this place?" Jesse asked, looking at the decrepit Pullman car.
"My parents lived here for a little while when they first met."
"Homeless, huh?"
"On the run from greedy treasure hunters, actually. Mom always made it sound so romantic."
"I hope this place was in better condition then."
She smiled sweetly and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go in."
Maxie pulled him inside and distracted him well, planting a steamy kiss on him. Jesse never noticed the man in the corner, until he spoke, pointing a gun at the young man.
"Hi, Princess," Frisco said.
Maxie pulled her own hidden gun and smiled her first genuine smile. "Hi, Daddy."
"Maxie?" Jesse stammered. gulping. "What's going on?"
"Kid," Frisco said slowly, "this is what's called a trap. And you walked right into it. Victor Cassadine will be so pleased."
"Of course, maybe he doesn't have to find out," Maxie added. "All you have to do is talk."
Frisco returned to the cabin, pizza in hand. He dropped it onto a counter and grabbed a slice. "The kid didn't give us anything we didn't already know. Victor's just been using him to feed information to Mac."
"Must you be a slob?" his partner asked, pulling out a plate and silverware.
Frisco grinned. "It's pizza, not champagne and caviar, Vlad."
"Spencer is a horrible influence on you."
"One flaw in that theory. You're assuming I had proper manners before I met him."
"How foolish of me."
Sonny leaned back in his chair, attempting to look like he was perfectly healthy. "Who are you?"
The seductive brunette put her hands on her hips, aware of the power play being made, having her stand in front of the desk. "You may refer to me as Ms. X."
"That's all? Ms. X? Not very friendly."
"I prefer formality."
"Whatever. Make your offer."
"Sell me all of your holdings."
Sonny tried to laugh, but instead began coughing. "Give me one reason I shouldn't throw you out on the street now."
"I'll let the two of you retire to your private Caribbean island and live out a peaceful, Brokeback life as very wealthy men."
"And if I don't?"
"The wiretaps have been running for months. Witnesses are lined up. The warrants are secured. We know every shipment out of every dock and warehouse you have. One phone call, you are doing twenty-five to life in a federal prison and I buy it all at a government auction for a bargain price. It's up to you. Either you get my money or the government does. Either way, your business is mine."
"The feds have nothing on me."
"Are you sure? Any of your collections come up short this week?"
"We'll get back to you," Jason said, cutting off any further conversation.
Katya entered her hotel suite and immediately headed for the bar. She heard sounds coming from the bedroom. Her cousin Stefan came out of the bedroom, fastening the cuffs of his freshly pressed designer shirt.
"Isn't this so much more comfortable than your... friend's fishing cabin?" she asked teasingly.
"What it lacks in comfort, it makes up for in seclusion."
"I miss anything good?"
"They're scrambling to track down the 'rat'. They've already verified the arrest with their contact at the PCPD."
"And the 'rat'?"
"Being secured as we speak. I took the liberty of ordering room service. It should be here momentarily."
"Excellent. You haven't forgotten my cut, have you, Cousin?"
"Uncle Victor's legitimate South American holdings, within agreed limits, upon successful completion of this operation."
"I suppose this Syndicate of yours will take over Lorenzo's arms business and run it into the ground?"
"That's none of your concern."
They were interrupted by the arrival of their meal.
"I'm told the hotel's seafood bisque is quite good."
"Made with lobster, I assume?" She looked at the waiter. "I'll be having the prime rib." She glared at her cousin, who was unabashedly smug. "You seem to have forgotten my shellfish allergy."
"Oh, did I? How foolish of me. You know what the peasants say, the memory is the first to go."
The complete lack of sincerity told her it wasn't a simple mistake, but a warning.
The yacht was dark. It was never supposed to be dark. Victor didn't like the dark, it reminded him of that god-awful prison the WSB had dumped him in.
A lamp turned on, illuminating his chess set. And his supposedly dead nephew on the other side of it.
Stefan picked up a king and placed it on its side. "Checkmate."
Victor's cell phone rang and Stefan smirked. "I'm sure that is Lorenzo calling to inform you your hideouts are currently being raided by the Syndicate. All of them."
"Am I to really believe you have that sort of power?"
Stefan pushed a badge across the table. "It comes with the job."
"You dared give up your own blood to the WSB, after what they did to your father."
"My father was responsible for his own death. And I am protecting my own blood by ridding this family of the evil that has controlled it for far too long."
"Do you really believe you can control the masses without me, without my influence?"
"Did you really believe I would allow you to go unchecked all these years? Like you, I play the long game."