V takes a hard look at Jason Morgan and quickly decides that
talking
to him about this any further is not going to get her anywhere.
His
eyes were filled with a cold fury and the vein in his neck was
starting to bulge out. She throws her hands in the air in
surrender
"Okay Mr. Morgan, you win. We can't use the girls as bait
but I'm
still want to work closely with them. Even with your protection
they
need to know how to protect themselves so that they won't be like
'lambs to a slaughter' as you put it."
V turns to Dara gives her a wry smile and whispers, "Well,
there's
always plan B."
"Which is what?" Dara whispers back.
"I haven't figured that out yet", V raises her voice to
a normal
level, "Gotta go Dara, dream boy is here to escort me to the
prom."
Giggling, Dara and V glance at Johnny who has walked over to V
and
gently but firmly starts guiding her out of the office. V stops
at
the doorway and turns around.
"Take it easy on her, Mr. Morgan, it was my idea and she
really did
her best to talk me out of it. We'll do it your way. For now. And
do
me a favor, Please don't blow my cover unless it's absolutely
necessary, okay?"
Jason just stares woodenly back at her.
"Okay fine, I'll just take that as "A sure thing, V!"
Heh heh, well,
Oh! Look at the time, it's been real, gotta go "
With that V and Johnny leave the office leaving Dara cracking up
and
Jason asking "What? What are you laughing at? Was that
funny?"
*********************************************
Out in the living room...
"So, Johnny, Mr. Morgan said I should talk to Carly about my
sleeping
arrangements. Any idea where I can find her?"
"Why don't you have a seat, Officer "
"V Johnny, just call me V"
"Uh, yeah, sure. Well, why don't you have a seat, V, and
I'll get her
for ya."
"Thanks Johnny."
In a small room off the kitchen There's a soft knock on the door.
Carly gets up from her bedside chair to see who's there.
"Hi Johnny, what's up?"
"Hey Ms. Roberts. How is she today?"
"Well, she's hanging in there. You know Robin, nothing will
keep her
down." Carly lets out a heavy sigh and shrugs, "I'm
giving her stuff
for the pain she feels from the broken collarbone and that puts
her to
sleep but then she's got to be woken up every couple of hours to
make
sure she's okay from the concussion. Is that why you're here? Did
Jason send you for a report on her?"
Johnny looks closely at Carly. He sees a mixture of pain, anger
and
sadness in her eyes. He wonders if his boss has a clue of the
strain
this is putting on Carly. Having to take care of the woman that
defended the kidnapper of your baby and who the boss had up on a
pedestal, well that's a lot for anyone to take and especially
hard for
someone as hot tempered and insecure as Carly has shown herself
to be
in the past.
Johnny gives Carly a sympathetic smile, "No Ms. Roberts,
this isn't
about Ms.Scorpio, it's about Officer Ardanowski. She's waiting in
the living room... to see you."
Carly's eyes widen as she steps out of the room and shuts the
door.
"What is the hell is she doing here, Johnny? What does she
want? God!
Don't they ever give up? If they're not harassing Jason they're
after
me! Does she have a warrant?"
"Relax Ms. Roberts, it's not like that. Jason told her to
see you
about sleeping arrangements."
Carly laughs in disbelief, "What? Did I hear you say
sleeping
arrangements? For the PCPD? Oh this is rich! This is really rich.
"
Johnny just shrugs and starts heading back to the living room.
Carly
rolls her eyes, and follows him.
**********************************************************
In the living room, V tires of waiting and starts looking around
the
periphery of the room. "It's here somewhere, it has to be!"
she
mutters. All of a sudden her fingers found what they'd been
searching
for.
*Click swish* V could hardly contain a squeal of excitement as a
panel of the wall opened to reveal a small room. V's adrenaline
started pumping, her breathing sped up just a little, and she
broke
out into one of her ear to ear grins. "Yessss!" she
whispers to
herself and with a quick glance over her shoulder to make certain
she
was alone, V popped into the secret room that had been created
years
ago by Robert Scorpio. She turned on the light, and shut the door
behind her. Thinking better of it, V opened the door again, just
a
crack so she could hear if someone coming. "If Robert built
this it's
gotta be soundproof" she thinks. V looks around "I
wonder if Jason
even knows this room is here?" She spots the computer,
"Hmmm, wonder
if this still works?" Just as she's about to press the power
button V
hears Carly's voice coming from the hallway. She slips out of the
room and shuts the door behind her. Walking over to the buffet, V
pours herself a glass of water, takes a sip and with a knowing
smile,
waits.
"Is everything in order, Officer?" Carly sneers from
behind her.
V, not liking Carly's tone of voice gets a mischievous glint in
her
eye and gasps as if startled, whips around which promptly sloshes
the
water from her glass all over Carly.
"OH! Ohmigosh! Ms. Roberts! Um, oh! Sorry! I... you startled
me.
Oh geeze,ah, here! Let me help you!" V sets her glass down,
grabs
some napkins and starts to go to wipe off Carly's blouse.
Carly grabs the napkins from her, "No, really. You don't
need to do
any thing else." She tells V through gritted teeth, "Why
don't you
just have a seat...OVER THERE!" Carly offers pointing at a
chair
across the room.
"Oh! Sure thing Ms. Roberts. Sorry about that again. Really"
V says
as she backs away from Carly. V thinks, "Okay, about 4 more
steps
and..."
"V! LOOK OUT!" Carly cried out just as V backs into the
coffee table
knocking over a crystal vase. Subtly, yet with the grace of a
cat, V
bounces off the table and twists around and "falls"
just managing to
catch the vase before it hits the ground. "Ohmigosh! I am so
embarrassed.
Ms. Roberts, I don't know what to say!"
Jason and Dara came running out from the office "Carly is
everything
okay? Why is your blouse all wet? What happened?"
Dara looks at V's innocent face and finds it very difficult to
suppress a
chuckle. She'd seen V in action on many occasions. She actually
envied
V's ability to perform her klutzy routine. It was flawless. Dara
had even
tried to imitate it a few times only to realize the intense
control it took to
perform was beyond her ability.
Carly lets out a deep breath "Yeah Jase, everything is just
ducky!
Thanks for asking"
"You're mad."
"I'm not mad, Jase."
"You're lying; what's going on?"
"Fine. You want to know what's going on? I'll tell you
what's going
on mister, I'm taking care of Robin practically full-time, and
now I
find out that you've invited this walking accident, a COP no
less, to
stay here?"
Dara walks over to where V's still sitting on the floor and helps
her
up. V placed the vase back on the table and whispered to Dara,
"This
is sooooo cool! I found the Robert's secret room!"
"Yeah? I was wondering about that. No one around here
mentioned it.
I wonder if they know about it?" she whispered back. They
continue
their conversation in hushed tones.
"I don't think so. It was pretty dusty in there." V
nods towards Carly.
"Anything I need to know?"
"Yeah V, Carly runs this place like a well oiled machine.
Jason gives
her free reign. If you take your harem reference to heart,
consider
Carly #1 wife. She can be pretty cool. Give her a chance. You may
even grow to like her. But whether you like her or not, do not
mess
with her!"
"Hmmmm, the big question is will she give ME a chance. She
isn't too
fond of the PCPD you know"
"True but she is fond of Jason. Just don't piss him off
anymore and
you'll be okay. Don't even mention Em or Liz to him for awhile"
"Gotcha"
Across the room Carly fills Jason in on what happened with V.
"So you startled her right? And when she spun around you got
wet.
Well it doesn't sound like it was done on purpose. And the vase
didn't
break, right? Look Carly, I know you're not happy about this. I
need
her to be here. I can't explain this right now but don't worry,
she's
not here as a cop. Tell you what. Why don't you stash her
somewhere
and then she can help you take care of Robin. In fact, have V
take
over for you and then you can spend more time with Michael. How's
that sound?"
"Well, since you put it like that okay."
V murmurs to Dara "Jason has quite a way with her. He didn't
even
blow my cover. This may work out after all"
Carly walks over to V, "C'mon, let's get you settled in. You
don't
mind having a roommate do you? Do you like Fruit Loops?"
Carly takes
V by the arm and leads her over to the Penthouse across the hall.
"Fruit Loops? Is there any nutritional value in Fruit Loops?
"
Dara smiles thinking 'Oh! THIS is gonna priceless. I'm not gonna
miss this!' "Jason, I'm going go help V and Carly. Later!"
and she
takes off after them. Carly, V and Dara enter Penthouse B.
Alexis,
Liz and Em are sitting at the dining room table "Alexis, I
don't
understand. If you could get Liz declared emancipated why can't
you
do the same for me? How hard could it be? I mean, we go before a
judge and as soon as they hear that I'm trapped in the House of Q
they'll be sympathetic. It'll be a piece of cake!"
Alexis sighs, "Em, it's just not that simple. With Liz, her
parents
were in Bosnia and well, the circumstances are completely
different.
The Quartermaine's would never allow it."
"Hey, who's that?"
Em and Alexis turn to look at the person Liz was referring to. Em
turns to Alexis, "The cops can't make me go back there can
they?"
V is the one to respond, "Yes Em, they could but don't worry.
That's
not why I'm here so relax. Just think, this could be to your
advantage. Next time you get a call from your grandfather and he
starts harassing you just tell him that I'm here with you and
looking
out for you." V walks over to the table, and sticks her hand
to Liz,
"Hi, V Ardanowski, nice to meetcha."
"'Lizabeth Webber"
V turns to Alexis and gazes at her coolly, "Alexis"
"V"
Carly and Dara watch the exchange between Alexis and V and both
are
wondering what the deal is. Dara plans on getting the dirt on
that
just as soon as she and V can get a minute alone while Carly
plans on
doing the same with Alexis. "Whoa! So if I tell Grandfather
that
you're here maybe he'll lay off! Cool! I didn't think of that!
But
Um, is that why you're here? Because of me? I mean, did Ned ya
know,
did he hire you to baby-sit me or something?"
V laughs, "No Em. I haven't seen Ned in ages. Too bad
really, he's
kind of cute-- he's kind of single, I'm kind of single. Anyway,
why
I'm here isn't anything you need to concern yourself about okay?
But
that doesn't mean you can't use it to your advantage. What do you
say
we get together later. Dara says she's been teaching you guys
some
stuff and I could use a partner for my daily training. You can
fill
me in your hunky cousin while we train."
"I don't know V, I'm really awful at all this stuff. I feel
like such
a geek. Why don't you train with Liz? She's really gotten good!"
"Yeah! I'll do it! I can't believe how much I love this
stuff! So
why would it make a difference if you were here or not?"
"Because I'm a cop. No offense to you Liz, but I really want
to get
some dirt on Ned if ya know what I mean. Besides, Dara already
told
me that she's planning on training with you a little later."
Dara shoots a glare V's way when she hears this. "Damn!
There goes
my time with Rinaldo", she thinks.
Carly gets a little impatient. While the mystery of why V and
Alexis
are so cold to each other's intriguing, Carly really wanted to
see
what would happen when V and her roommate came face to face. It
was
time to move things along.
"Okay you guys, this has been nice and all but I need to get
V settled
in. C'mon V, I 'll show you where your room is."
"Oh, sure thing, Carly." V picks up her stuff and
follows Carly
upstairs.
"Well, looks like your roommate is out for a smoke again, so
just make
yourself comfortable. I'm sure there's some empty drawers and
closet
space."
"Smoker? Um, can I just stay on the couch or something? Do
you know
how high the instance of cancer from secondary smoke is? I read
this
article..."
Carly smiled. Yup, this is gonna interesting! "V, it's okay.
House
rules. No smoking inside the penthouses. We won't let anyone
smoke
around Michael."
"Oh! Well, then, good." V looks around the room, the
closet door was
open revealing a lot of tiny black clothing and a few pairs of
Doc
Martens, the dresser was covered with all kinds of make-up,
mostly
M.A.C. and Lancome . On one of the beds there were issues of
Vogue,
Elle, Cosmopolitan and Soap Opera Digest and in the corner was a
tripod? V groans inwardly, "Like I even need to ask this"
she thought.
"So, Carly, who exactly is my roommate anyway?"
"Roommate? Did I hear that right? ROOMMATE!?! No! I refuse!
NO
ROOMMATES!"
V and Carly turn to see Brenda standing in the doorway, hands on
her
hips, jaw jutting out and fire in her eyes.
Carly smirks, "Yeah? Well I say you guys are rooming
together, if you
don't like it you can always leave; isn't that right, Brenda?"
As Carly steps out of the way, Brenda gets a really good look at
her
new roommate. "YOU! Did Jax send you after me? Well, forget
it.
You can just tell him to go to hell! I'm through with both him
and
Sonny! Between the two of them it's a wonder that I ever got out
of
the funny farm!"
"And hello to you too, Miss Barrett. Geeze, what truck ran
over you?
That's a nasty shiner there! And is your nose broken too?"
"That's none of your business, V! You can just leave now and
tell Jax
to back off!"
"I hate to interrupt this happy reunion but I need to get
back to
Michael. V, why don't you come by later. I could use your help
taking care of Robin."
"No! She's MY little sister and if anyone is going to help;
it'll be
me!" Brenda roars.
"Fine whatever, as long as one of you do it. I've got other
things to
do. Have fun you two and don't break anything!" Carly leaves.
"Look Brenda, let's get something straight. I am NOT here
because of
Jax. I haven't worked for him for awhile now. I'm a cop again.
And
even if I was still working for him, you should know that he's
been
over you for a very long time. He finally realized what a fool of
himself he made over you. He paid for your hospital stay because
he
felt partly responsible for your condition. But that's it. He
does
not love you. He does not want you."
"Oh, and I suppose you're gonna try to make me believe that
he's in
love with you right?"
V smiles at Brenda, "The ONLY thing I'm gonna try to make
you believe
is that you have absolutely nothing to do with why I'm here.
What's
between Jax and me is just that. Between Jax and me. Now are you
gonna tell me what happened to you?"
"Oh, that would be me, excuse me Brenda", Dara pushes
past Brenda into
the room. "She pulled a gun me, I got pissed. What can I
say?" Dara
plops down on the bed.
"Brenda, is that true? Wow! You really are crazy!"
"Arrrrrgh! I can't take this!" Brenda stomps away.
Dara and V laugh and Dara fills V in on the whole sordid story up
to
and including Dara's sexcapades with Rinaldo who Brenda claims as
her
own. The two get V unpacked , catch up on things and set a time
for
their work-outs with the girls. Once Dara leaves and V is alone,
she
pulls out her laptop, plugs in, gets herself comfortable on the
bed
and goes online to check her email.
"You have mail"
V smiled. Maybe it was Jerry with more info. She opened up her
mail
file and saw that there was a message from Jerry but the one that
intrigued her was the one from tattletale@hotmail.com . She
clicked
that one open first. "Yes! I knew I'd hear from you again
Sonny!
Now, then what do you have to tell me " V hunkers down to
read the
message. She was so focused that she was almost caught by a left
hook
from an out of control Brenda. V shoves the computer away from
her
and rolls off the bed in the nick of time.
"Geeze Brenda! Get a grip! You do NOT want to do this, trust
me!"
"YOU BITCH!" Brenda yelled, "You're not here to
get me for Jax,
you're after me for SONNY! Well, let me tell you something, you
are
NOT gonna get the satisfaction of telling him I'm dead DO YOU
HEAR
ME?" Brenda screams and lunges for V again who deflects her
attack
easily.
"C'mon Brenda, calm down. Let's talk about this okay? I'm a
third
degree blackbelt in Akido among other things. Don't make me hurt
you.
Please? I am NOT after you! Now lets talk about this."
"Shut up! SHUT UP! I am not some stupid little girl anymore,
V. I
know that you're up to something and I'm not about to sit here
and let
you or anyone else control my life. Not now, not EVER"
Brenda throws
herself at V and tackles her. V uses her momentum and flips
Brenda
without barely a movement. By this time Dara, Em, Liz and Alexis
are
in the doorway watching.
"Dara, aren't you gonna do something?"
"No Em, I'm not. Now watch V. Watch how she uses Brenda's
movements
against Brenda. See how easily she's handling the attack?"
"I'll say! She's dumped Brenda on her butt at least 6 or 7
times now?
Why is V taking this anyway?"
"I don't know Em but I don't think she will for much longer
look!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Carly asks as she comes
bounding up the
stairs.
V was pretty fed up by this point. She'd tried to reason with
Brenda
as best she could but nothing was getting through. Brenda swung
at V
and again V dodged it. V shook her head muttered "I'm sorry
Brenda"
just before she hauled off and slammed her fist into Brenda's
face.
Brenda fell like a ton of bricks and this time didn't get back up.
V rolls her eyes. "Brenda, you're being totally irrational.
Now
c'mon, I'll explain things okay?"
Brenda just nods. V helps her up and looks at the crew by the
doorway. " Okay ladies, demonstration over. "
Carly laughs and thinks having V around may not be such a bad
thing
afterall.
**********************************************************************
The next day all seems pretty calm. Brenda and V had cleared the
air.
V had just finished a session with Emily and hit the fridge for
some
water. When she came out she saw Brenda sitting in the living
room
reading a magazine.
"Hey Brenda, listen. I really am sorry about yesterday."
"Yeah, well don't worry about it. I guess I kind of went off
the deep
end."
"You know, if you could channel that rage of yours you could
kick some
major butt. The only thing holding you back is you're too
emotional"
"Yeah, Dara said the same thing after she threw me on my
butt a few
times. How's Em doing?"
"Better. She's got a lot of potential physically but she's
so filled
with self-doubt"
"Mmmm, I know all about that"
"Me too"
Dara walks to her room in a daze walking past V without a word.
"Excuse me-- I need to see what's up with Ms Jensen."
V's movements are
quick and sure in contrast with her earlier clumsiness. Closing
the door behind
her she asks quietly, "Dara?"
"Jason found Moreno-- okay a way into Moreno; it's going
down."
"But that's great! That's what you've been working on since
you got here."
V studies Dara. "What else?"
"Jason made a connection between what happened to Emma and
her sister to
Moreno."
V's jaw drops. "That bastard! Pardon my french. And the WSB
was dealing with
him? What happened to Emma's sister wasn't human. That isn't
right, animals don't
do that either." V paces the room her fury rising, her hand
gestures growing. "I want in.
I want to shoot him like the rabid dog he is! He's the kind of
thing that my daddy would
have taken hunting; if you know what I mean..." V looks over
at Dara giving her both a
significant glance and a nod. "And I won't even tell you
what Grandmother Ardanowski
would have done. He's a butcher!" With every word Dara grows
progressively calmer,
her spine straightens and a steely glint returns to her eyes.
"He's going down-- HARD."
"Damn straight, pardon the expression. When do we leave?"
"We don't. I'm the bait. You're the backup. If this goes
south call Jerry. Hell, call
Corinthos. But whatever happens Moreno or his goons NEVER get on
this floor.
Jason is ice except where three people are concerned and they're
all here-- Robin,
Emily and Michael. When Michael was kidnapped he set Albany on
fire. I need him
cool not crazed."
"What about Carly?" V asks momentarily distracted.
"Jason has as big a blind spot where Carly is concerned as
he does with Robin. He
thinks that nothing will ever beat Carly over the long run. That
she is invincible,
always bounces back. And she lets him or doesn't realize. What
ever Jason needs
she makes happen." Dara shakes her head. "Jason doesn't
think about things like
that but if he did he'd probably be more worried what Carly would
do to Moreno
than what Moreno would do to Carly."
"Wait a minute... Bait? Like Emma's sister?" V's eyes
go wide. "What
are you going to wear?"
Dara shrugs. "This kind of undercover wasn't what I packed
for. You had better get
Carly." V goes to open the door and Brenda practically falls
in. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that you need my help." Brenda replies
smugly before going back to the
room that she shares with V to get her makeup kit. Lugging it
back she flips it open
exposing about a million different compartments. So what kind of
look are you
going for: girl next door, sophisticated lady or... tart?"
"Tart"
"My specialty-- cheap or expensive?"
"Expensive, very expensive."
"OH! Well, if that's what you want, let me do it. You'll
need to put it on heavy like
for a photo shoot and I can do this."
Dara looks at V who shrugs her shoulders. "Why not Dara?
While she's doing your
makeup and hair I'll go scope out some of the others for clothes."
Dara agrees and V goes to see Carly.
V goes across the hall to find Carly. Rinaldo is standing guard
and lets her in. As
Rinaldo heads back out the door, V gives him the once over.
" I just love a man in Armani", V sighs. When the door
closes V gets back to
business. There isn't much time.
"Hello? Carly?"
The door to Jason's office opens and he sticks his head out.
"V, good you're here. I was just about to send for you, come
in."
As V enters the office she sees Carly who is visibly upset and
Alexis who is busy
looking over some papers and making some notations.
Jason clears his throat to get her attention, "V, has Dara
filled you in?"
"Yes, she has, Mr. Morgan. She's getting ready now. In fact,
that's why I'm here.
Well, not to see you sir. To see Ms. Roberts here. See, Dara
thought that she
recalled Ms. Roberts wearing a leather skirt and bustier and
well, she thought that
maybe she might borrow it." V turns towards Carly "Ms
Roberts, is that okay?"
Carly wipes away a few stray tears, "Yeah, sure. Jason, do
you need me here or
should I go get the clothes for Dara?"
Jason walks over to Carly and looks her straight in the eye,
"Carly you know this
has to happen. I'm picking the time and place rather than getting
ambushed Now,
go ahead and get Dara whatever she needs, I need to talk to V for
a minute."
Carly nods " Just be careful, Jason. Michael needs you. I
need you," she says
softly and leaves.
Jason turns to Alexis, "Are we done here?"
"Yes. I'll go draw these up. It'll take me just a couple
minutes and I'll be back for
your signature." Alexis gathers up her papers and leaves the
office.
"V, I don't know what kind of fallout to expect from what
we're about to do.
I'm pretty certain that most of Moreno's men will be at his
compound but you
never know. Can you handle things here? Can you keep everyone
safe?"
"Dara and I have already discussed my role in this, Mr.
Morgan. Will Miss Roberts
try to stop me from taking control if need be?"
"No. I'll let her know that if an attack is made on this
place that you will take
charge. I doubt she'll question it. If she does, I not going to
promise you that
I'll keep your cover. I don't lie. In fact, I can't lie so don't
expect me to."
"I understand and thank you. Now, if we're done here I'd
really like to get back to Dara."
Jason nods. As V is about to open the door Jason calls out to her
"V, please. Don't let ANYTHING happen to Michael."
V smiles at Jason, "Don't you worry, Mr. Morgan. If anything
goes down I know
the perfect place to put Michael where nothing can harm him. Did
you know you
have a secret room in this penthouse?"
"I think Robin may have mentioned it to Sonny a long time
ago. You know where
it is?"
V's smile turns into a grin "Sure do Mr. Morgan, that was my
first order of
business. Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort if it comes to
that"
With that V leaves the office and bumps into Liz who's carrying a
pair of thigh high
boots.
"Hey Liz! Whatcha got there?"
"They're for Dara. Turns out we wear the same size."
"Great, let's go see how things are going over there"
Liz and V walk into whirlwind of activity. Brenda has her makeup
spread out all
over the place and is checking out tube after tube of lipstick..
"Oh! Here Dara! This is perfect! Put this on!" Dara
grabs the lipstick from Brenda.
She had to admit, it was a perfect shade of red. Liz's jaw
dropped. "Wow! Never
in a million years would I have pictured you looking like that!"
"Is that good?" Dara inquires.
"Yeah, if you're trying to get the attention of every man in
a 5 mile radius! Here's
the boots."
Dara smiles at Liz and take the boots from her. "Thanks."
"Yeah, well don't mention it, just bring them back. With you
still wearing them!"
Dara goes to put the boots on ..."Damn!"
V looks up, "What? what happened?"
"I've got a huge run. Anyone got an extra pair of stockings?"
From the doorway they hear "Will these do?"
They look over at the door and there Emily holding a pair of
black fishnet
stockings in one hand and a belt with a clasp made from handcuffs
in the other.
Brenda starts to giggle, "Em! Where did you get those?"
Em blushes.
Dara looks in the full length mirror from the teased out Tina
Turner wig (from
Emily's school talent show) to the thigh high boots with the six
inch heels from
Liz (who lives in keds but seems to have a serious and expensive
yen for Italian
leather footwear) to the leather mini and bustier from Carly that
emphasizes her
assets. Carly and Brenda look on.
Brenda tilts her head and studies Dara's reflection before
quipping. "Well if I were
a guy, I'd do ya."
"I think that the skirt looked better on me" Carly
shrugs, "but you look hot." Carly
hands Dara a light raincoat that covers the outfit. "No use
in giving the doorman a
heart attack."
V from the doorway silently communicates a need to speak
privately. Carly picks
up on the nonverbal and ushers Brenda out. Pausing at the door
Carly tells Dara,
"I know Jason will be watching your back, but watch his too
OK?" Dara nods.
As the door closes Dara asks. "What's up?"
"My contribution." V hands Dara a small neatly wrapped
cylinder. Dara looks at
her blankly then awareness dawns.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Ardanowski Special.-- I figure that they'll search you for
the obvious weapons.
If it's a guy searching you, you know he won't even touch this. I
should know.
How do you think I got it in here?"
"Thanks V!" Dara gingerly places the cylinder at the
top of her stocking for easy
access and concealment. "Okay, now get going. Jason's
waiting. And Dara? Good
luck!"
A little "massage parlor" on the outskirts of town .
"We can do business when you let me see some money--and I'm
talking the
kind that folds, not the kind that slides." The woman looked
to Jason
who nodded his approval, as if to say she was doing just fine.
"And
that'll be 10% extra on top of what you're paying--I gotta call
her in
from home. What's her name?" The woman looked to Jason, her
eyes
wide. "Whatever you WANT it to be, shug," she stalled.
"How 'bout Lola?" Rinaldo volunteered.
"Lola. Her name's Lola. And I want her back just like I sent
her to
you--you don't do nuthin' to the face, you hear? She's one of my
prettiest and most popular girls. I'm gonna have a hard enough
time as
it is explaining to all her regulars that she's not gonna be
available
tomorrow night--if she comes back banged up, it's gonna be real
bad for
business." The woman smiled, then laid it on thick. "But
you up that
bonus to 15%, and I can see to it that she's yours for an extra
day."
No answer. The room was silent as Jason, Dara, Rinaldo, and the
Madam
waited for a response--from the man running the trace on the call.
"Know
what? On second thought, I don't know if I CAN spare her for that
long ."
"Give her to me for 3 days and I'll up your bonus to 25%,"
Moreno
replied. "I send over half now, including your bonus--you
get the rest
when I give her back. Deal?"
The Madam let out a low whistle, stalling for time as she looked
to
Jason, whose attention was focused on the contact who, try though
he
might, couldn't get a trace on the call. "Damn," Jason
hissed. He's
using some kind of scrambler." Turning his attention back to
the Madam,
he nodded his head, signaling to take the offer.
"Deal."
As the Madam and Moreno finished their transaction, Jason turned
to face
Dara. "No go on the call. We're gonna have to follow you
there."
"I thought Rinaldo was gonna pose as the driver?" Dara
inquired. "If
he's scrambling his calls, you can bet he's not gonna let anyone
not in
his regime bring a visitor out to his hideout."
For the briefest of seconds, Jason saw Dara's face contort into a
mask
of worry. "Hey," he said softly. "You KNOW if
there was any other
way--"
"Yeah, I know," as she raked her hands through her hair.
"Sending in a
real hooker would be too risky---if she knew someone was waiting
in the
wings she might get nervous and say or do something to tip
Moreno's boys
off." Dara was silent for a few seconds, then turned to the
Madam.
"You got somewhere for me to hang my coat?" The madam
nods pointing to
the back room.
~*~
"Damn!" Again, the Madam let loose with a low whistle,
this time, as
she took in the sight of Dara emerging from the back room. "If
only I
had girls in my crew that looked THAT good in leather."
Ignoring the woman's comments, Dara turned her attention to Jason
and
Rinaldo, both of whom seemed to be momentarily speechless. Dara
had to
admit the Tina Turner-esque getup - high heels, fishnet hose,
black
leather skirt and matching bustier-styled top, all topped off by
a dark
blonde Tina-like wig - WAS a bit much--but she had to look the
part.
When she was done reviewing the plan with Jason and Rinaldo and
was
ready to leave, Jason pulled her aside, slipping something into
her
palm. She opened her hand to find a small button-shaped object. A
state of the art homing device.
"I know it's not much," Jason said quietly. "But
it'll give us SOME
contact with you, until we can get inside."
"Every little bit helps," as she headed for the door;
Moreno's driver
would be arriving shortly. Just as she was about to step outside,
she
turned and looked back at Jason and Rinaldo. "You guys make
sure the
calvary is on time, okay?" Again, she forced a smile.
"Don't worry," Rinaldo replied. "It WILL be."
"I'll be waiting!" as she managed a light laugh. She
glanced over at
Jason, his face set like flint as usual. "Hope to see you
back at the
Penthouse."
"You will." Again, Jason caught a glimpse of that look
in Dara's eyes.
Fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. Then just as quickly, it was gone.
"He's going down, Dara," Jason replied, matter-of-factly,
then paused.
"And you're coming back. Period." The slightest hint of
a smile
crossed Jason's lips. "Besides, who else is gonna help me
deal with the
WSB when they come to town; Ardanowski talks too much and gives
me a
headache."
"I'm gonna hold you to that, but don't judge V by her babble
that's part
of her camouflage." as she returned the smile. Pausing, she
gripped the
doorknob, pressing her head against the door. Turning to take a
final
look around, she took a deep breath, steeling herself, then
stepped
outside.
Moments later, Rinaldo received a call on his radio that the
driver had
picked Dara up. "Time to roll, Jase."
Jason nodded, then turned to face the Madam, handing her a wad of
bills. "You never saw us; we were never here," he
replied, his gaze as
piercing as his tone.
There was no need for him to ask the Madam if she understood. The
money
on this deal was good but getting on Morgan's good side was a
bigger
benefit knowing that while Jason didn't have his fingers into the
prostitution rackets that he could make her life in Port Charles
unbearable. She liked the hands off way that he handled his
business
and the way that he had never butted into hers and no way she was
gonna
mess with that.
~*~
The Warehouse .
"You got everything set up?" Moreno asked.
"Yeah," his Lt. replied. "All your "toys"
are in the room," he sneered.
"Not that. I'm talking about the explosives. You get 'em
moved?"
"Not quite. C-4 may look like bricks of playdough but it
isn't exactly
the kinda stuff you can throw in a box and haul around, you know?"
Jeezus, the Lt. mused; for a former friggin' Secret Agent you'd
think
he'd know how delicate the stuff was to handle.
"That's NOT the answer I'm looking for," Moreno replied
evenly. "Now
I'm tired of excuses--I want RESULTS. And damn it C-4 is exactly
like
playdough, you moron, as long as there are no detonators involved."
Moreno rubs his hands together his mind already back on the fun
to come.
"The men know where to send this Lola chick when she gets
here, right?"
The Lt. nodded. "Good. Unless it's a life and death
emergency, I am
NOT to be disturbed. Understood?"
"Yeah," the Lt. muttered.
With that, Moreno headed down the hall towards his "playroom."
~*~
"So, you're Lola, huh?" the driver asked.
"Yeah--what of it?" Dara snapped.
"Jeezus, you don't gotta take my head off, Lady. I'm just
trying to
make conversation."
"Show me some green, and we can conversate about anything
you like,
Boo," Dara smiled. "Otherwise, bugger off!"
"Bitch."
"That's Ms. Bitch to you, sugar. Do I need to come up there
and show
you how to drive this tank? Move it--you're costin' me and your
boss
money!"
As the driver raised the glass partition, he shot Dara a venomous
look--which told her, her act was going over quite well. With her
right
arm resting on the back of the seat, she pretended to glance at
her
watch--all the while sneaking a peek out the rear window. So far,
so
good. Jason, Rinaldo & Co. were keeping a very discreet
distance. They
were still on the city roads, but the further along they went,
the less
and less urban the surroundings became; Dara knew it was only a
matter
of time before the driver would be hitting a back road--and when
he did,
it would sever all visual contact between her and Jason.
Moments later, Dara was jostled about the back seat as the car
veered
off the asphalt onto the soft shoulder of the road. They were
almost
there. As the limo inched closer and closer to the hideout, Dara
closed
her eyes and sent up a silent prayer. She was on her own now,
nothing
but the wireless transmitter in her earring and the homing device
she'd
slipped under the car's rear bumper keeping her in touch with
Jason.
Taking one last glance back, she saw Jason's car sail by. Of
course, he
couldn't follow her down the dirt road--not right away, anyway.
In
about 10 or 15 minutes, she knew they'd be on the scene but until
then,
she was solo. As the warehouse came into view, Dara clasped her
hands
together, this time, not in an act of prayer, but to keep them
from
shaking. Seconds later, the car came to a stop. Slowly, the
driver's
footfalls could be heard heading in her direction.
Again, she sent up a silent prayer that the calvary would be on
time.
"Well," she sighed. "I guess this is where the
rubber meets the road,
DaraLee."