Chapters 44 & 45   CHAPTER 44: MEETINGS Lisa sits in the Outback waiting for Jason and Lucky to show up. Her cell phone rings. "Smith." "Where the hell are you?" Tracy's bristled voice demands. "You're still in Port Charles, aren't you?" Lisa rolls her eyes, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." "WHY?" "Because Tracy, I'm doing some spin control. When you didn't show up for the meeting you sent me here to schedule, I had to do a lot of fancy footwork to cover you. Needless to say, Jason is jumpy, so I'm smoothing things out a bit." Tracy ponders that for a minute. "Okay," she says resignedly. She changes the subject, "How's Dylan? Ned called me, but he was vague about it." "He had a minor concussion and a broken arm. But he's healing nicely, and is staying with the family." "Good. Make sure you get back to New York quickly. I have business for you to take care of here." "I'll be back as soon as I can, Tracy." Tracy's voice is cold as ice, "Don't think of crossing me, Lisa. Or someone you care about will disappear forever." Lisa closes her eyes, blocking away the images and tears, "I know, don't worry," she says, stronger than she feels. She hangs up the phone and quickly puts it away. She pulls a small picture out of her pocket and looks longingly at it before putting it away. She sighs, closes her eyes and massages her forehead with her hand. "Rough morning?" Lucky's voice asks her from across the table. Lisa jumps, "How did you sit down without my hearing you?" Lucky sits back and regards her for a second, "You're about a zillion miles away, babe. A herd of elephants could've sat down and you wouldn't have noticed." Lisa shrugs, "Okay, so sue me. I didn't get much sleep last night." Lucky yawns, "Yeah, me either. Imagine that." He looks back at the door, "Oh good, here comes Jason, maybe we can get some answers." Jason sits down quickly, "Now, you want to explain what all this is about?" "I think Lucky, you and I should hash out our theories on the Cassadine kidnapping and see what we come up with," Lisa says bluntly. Lucky regards Lisa with an odd expression, "What's up with you two?" He turns to Jason, "I thought that she wasn't working for you." Jason puts up a hand to Lucky, "Just hang on a minute." He raises an eyebrow to Lisa, silently getting her to continue. She clears her throat, "A couple of questions first. Did the girl's parents receive any ransom notes?" "Yeah, so?" Lucky says, crossing his arms. Jason supplies the answer, "Then the kidnappers aren't just going to disappear. They'll want their money. Have they arranged for a drop somewhere?" Lucky shakes his head, "Not that I know of." Lisa looks from one to the other, "What are they waiting for?" "They?" Lucky repeats, "What makes you so sure this isn't a one man job?" Jason looks him square in the eyes, "Kidnappings with ransoms rarely are. This is probably an inside job." Lucky agrees, "If you mean someone that knows the family, I think so too." Jason nods, thinking. "What was the ransom amount?" "200.7 million dollars. I think somehow it's connected to the year 2007." Lisa recalls one of her earlier conversations with Derek, her suspicions suddenly becoming more real. "Do you think it could have been a disgruntled employee?" "It's possible. But the personnel records were pretty clean. It would have to be a first time offender." Jason looks over at Lisa and sees the wheels turning, "Lisa?" "I was talking to Scott Baldwin..." Lucky cuts her off, "Oh yeah, he's a good one," he says sarcastically, "He just LOVES my family." Lisa glares at him, "Just wait a minute! Scott said he was approached by a former college chum about a revenge plan against the Cassadine. But I don't know the details. Scott was turned off by the plan and told him so. Scott's right though, this guy doesn't have the guts or know-how to pull off anything this elaborate." Lucky balls his fists, "You know who this scum is!?" Jason puts his hand on Lucky's shoulder to calm him, "Hang on, Lucky. Don't go off half cocked, you'll get somebody killed." Lucky looks at Jason, "My first priority is getting my niece back. After that, I won't promise you anything." Jason nods, then turns to Lisa, "Who are you thinking about?" "Derek Barrington," she says simply. "He was released from Cassadine Inc. in 2007." "And who do you think is working with him?" Lucky asks. Lisa shrugs, "That, I don't know." Lucky frowns, "I want to know more about this Barrington character. He's related to Amanda Barrington of Barrington Enterprises, isn't he?" "Her grandson," Lisa says. "I doubt Barrington Enterprises enters into this equation at all, but there might be some sort of correlation between people that worked there and guys he went to college with. Especially if they have a history of trouble with the Cassadine." "I'll check into the records of both the college and Barrington Enterprises," Lucky volunteers. Nodding, Lisa adds, "I'll see what I can find out from Derek himself." "How do you know this turkey?" Lucky asks. "I've known him a while," Lisa says dodgingly. Jason looks at her, "There's more to it, Lisa." Lisa looks down, "He's my ex-husband." "Whoa," Lucky says, "if this is some sort of lover's vendetta, and you're just framing an innocent man, I'm not having any of it." Lisa shakes her head, "Nope. Believe me, if I wanted to, I could stick it to him good. I wouldn't have to frame him." Jason regards Lisa carefully, but Lucky is the one that says, "What's the scoop on him then? Why do you have it in for him?" Lisa fills them in on the details, "Derek and I were married 8 years ago. A couple of years later; he found out about my ties to the organization. He was afraid that it would jeopardize his position with Cassadine Inc., so after many nasty fights, we split up. Derek has problems of his own. One of which is playing the ponies. He's gotten in over his head once too often. I know that he had some knuckle crusher go after him right after our divorce." "That's one way to collect alimony," Lucky quips. Then he thinks about something, "Do you think that Derek kidnapped Staci just to pay gambling debts?" Lisa shakes her head, "I don't know. Kidnapping isn't Derek's style. He doesn't have the balls to pull off something like this." "What if he cut a deal with this bone crusher?" Lucky asks, concerned. "Then Staci could be in danger." Lisa shrugs, "I just don't know. The one thing I can tell you is that they're nearby. Derek wouldn't let his money get out of sight. I'll get close to Derek and we'll find her." Jason adds a warning, "Remember, hired bone crushers leave no evidence or witnesses." Lucky nods, his throat constricting with fear, "Then the sooner we find them, the better." Jason looks from Lisa to Lucky, "Whatever the two of you need, just let me know." Lisa and Lucky both stand up and at the same time say, "Thanks, Jason." They look at each other nervously. "Maybe we're more alike then you want to think," Lisa says to Lucky before heading out. Lucky just stares after her. Jason stands up and looks at him as they walk towards the door, "What was that about?" "Lisa is my father's daughter." "Your sister?" Lucky shakes his head, "Jury's still out on that one."   CHAPTER 45: IT'S A PROBLEM Emily sits in the gatehouse, with a notebook in her hand, going over the final details for the wedding the next day. Tommy comes in smiling, "Hey beautiful!" Once he reaches her, he touches her expanding stomach, and kisses her cheek at the same time. "And how's that little baby of mine?" She smiles, "Both of us are just fine." She hands him the notebook, "Is there anything else you care to add?" He looks over the list, "Nah, this looks like it." After handing the notebook back to her, he pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket, "I picked this up today," he says as he hands her the paper. "Our marriage license," she says as she looks at it. Smiling, she continues, "I can't believe that all of this is happening tomorrow." He beams at her, "You betcha!" He notices a stray look of sadness cross Emily's face, "What's wrong, Em?" She smiles again, "Nothing. I was just thinking." "About Lucky," he asks, trying to hide his jealousy. "And Nikolas. They must be worried sick about Staci," she says. "Everyone in the family is worried about her." Tommy shrugs, "I know you care about both Nikolas and Lucky, but these kinds of things happen to that family. This isn't the first time, and it won't be the last. You remember what happened to their youngest brother." "Of course I remember. I was right there for the whole thing. I've made more trips with Lucky on wild goose chases than I care to remember right now." She thinks to another topic, "Which reminds me, when we get back from our honeymoon, I've got a conference scheduled in California on holistic medicine." Concernedly, he asks, "Aren't you worried about traveling so close to the baby's due date?" Emily shakes her head, "Nah, I checked with Dr. Goldstein and she said that it shouldn't be a problem. It's only a two day thing. Just lectures, no real physical activity, just using my brain." She smiles, "But I'm glad that you're so worried. Thank you, Tom." Tommy smiles, leans over and kisses her, "Of course I worry, Em. I love you and our child." Emily smiles, ignoring the small but lingering pain in her abdomen. It's not a problem, she tells herself. Lu is sitting in bed, reading a romance novel when Stefan comes in. She looks up at him, "Oh, hi Daddy." He sits gingerly on the edge of the bed, "How are you, Angel?" She shrugs, "Fine." He looks at the title of the book, "Long Lingering Lust?" he asks dubiously. Lu blushes. "I wanted something mind-numbing." "Looks like you found it," he remarks wryly. "Something's wrong, I can tell." She shakes her head, "Not really. I'm fine, Daddy. Don't worry." He leans over and kisses her forehead, "That is a tall order, Angel. If there's anything you ever want to talk about, you know you can come to me." She smiles, "I always have, haven't I?" Stefan nods, "Ever since you were little. You were never shy about sharing your feelings with me. I hope that won't change now that you're getting older." "Of course not, Daddy. I love you." She hugs Stefan tightly. "I know you only want what's best for me." "I hope you always remember that, Angel," Stefan says almost silently. Laura sits in the game room, watching the evening news. She frowns as she sees Veronica Bowles doing a live report from the Outback. "This is Veronica Bowles of WVPC, reporting to you live from outside the Outback. Inside, a suspicious gathering including Jason "Stone Face" Morgan, reported mobster; Lisa Smith, the "Casino Queen of New York" and Lucky Spencer, brother to Nikolas Cassadine of Cassadine Inc. We can only speculate that this meeting had something to do with the kidnapping of Anastacia Cassadine. Could it be that the kidnapping was done by someone in the mob? Perhaps this was a meeting to arrange her return? None of the parties involved had any comment, but we will keep you updated as soon as we hear anything further." Laura glares at the TV as she turns it off. "Damn her!" She walks over the phone. Quickly dialing a number, she waits for an answer. "Spencer," Lucky's voice finally replies. "Lucky, honey, you need to come over here..." Before she can say anything further, Lucky interrupts, "I know Mom, I'm already on my way. I saw the news broadcast. Make sure that Nik's there. There's something I need to discuss with him." Laura glances over as Nik walks in the room scowling, "Is that Lucky?" he demands. She nods and talks to Lucky on the phone, "He's here and waiting for you." "Okay. Bye." She hangs up the phone and turns to her oldest, "He's on his way." "What is he up to?" Nik wants to know. Laura shakes her head, "I don't know. You'll just have to wait and ask him when he gets here." Nik glares at the blank screen of the television. "I hate that woman." Laura agrees, "You and me both, Nikolas. You and me both. She's going to get somebody killed with that bounty hunter mentality of hers."