Chapters 46 & 47   CHAPTER 46: GAMES PEOPLE PLAY Jason walks over and answers the ringing doorbell. Mark is standing there. Frowning, Jason asks, "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Florida." Mark shakes his head, "Harris isn't in Florida, he's here." Jason steps outside, closing the door behind him, "Where?" "It took some doing, but I traced him to a small house on the edge of town. It's rented under the name Barrington." Jason raises an eyebrow, "Barrington?" Mark nods, "Yeah, Derek Barrington." "Damn! There's our connection. I should've guessed." Confused, Mark asks, "What connection?" Jason nods back towards the house, "Come on in, I need to make a phone call that will help fill you in." They walk in the house and up to Jason's office. Jason picks up the phone and quickly dials a number. "Lisa? It's Jason. Get Lucky and get over here, we've got our connection." He hangs up and look at Mark, who still looks confused. "We're fairly certain that Harris is involved in the Cassadine kidnapping." "Why would somebody like Harris get involved in something as potentially as messy as a kidnapping? I thought he focused on just collections." Jason nods, "This is a new hobby for him." Harshly he adds, "And I don't like it. Especially in my territory." "Is Harris the brains behind this?" Mark asks. Jason looks blankly at Mark, "You've been following Harris for a while now. You tell me." Mark shakes his head, "Harris may do a lot of stupid stuff, but he's not likely to come up with this kind of stunt on his own. Especially if he knows we're watching him." As an afterthought, Mark adds, "What is Harris getting out of all of this?" "I would be willing to bet that he collects on the past due bills from Barrington, plus a substansial bonus." "Should I try and find out how they got together?" Mark offers. Jason nods, "See what you can find on anyone Harris is associated with. And put Rico outside the house. Tell him to stay invisible." Mark nods and starts to leave as Jason adds, "Mark, Harris is a walking body bag. No one uses innocent kids in my territory." Mark nods silently and leaves. ***** Nikolas frowns as Lucky sits across from him. "Associating with the criminal element isn't usually your style, Little Brother." Lucky shrugs, "I'm doing what I have to do to get your daughter back, man." Nik concedes with a nod, "True. So what have you found out?" "A lot of little things that add up to nothing." Nik nearly growls, "I want my daughter back! She's been gone far too long." Lucky nods, "I know, I know. And I think we're on to something. It's possible that your ex-employee Derek Barrington is trying to pay off some overdue gambling bills." "WHAT?!? He's not smart enough to do something this elaborate." Lucky nods, "That's what we've been told. We're trying to find out who he might be working with. That's the reason for the meeting with Lisa and Jason. We hope to have something more concrete soon." "I hope so. The authorities are not treating this with the proper concern. In fact, I don't see that they're really even pursuing it actively." After a pause, Nik adds, "I have more faith in your abilities." Lucky laughs slightly, "I don't know if that's an insult or a compliment." Nikolas blankly says, "In this situation, it's a compliment." Lucky's cell phone rings, "Spencer." He listens briefly to what Lisa tells him. "I'm on my way." Hanging up, he smiles at Nik, "This could be it. I'll call you as soon as I know something." Lucky heads out quickly before Nik can say anything else. ***** Lu flips on the TV in her room. She sees a local news special come on. Thinking it's about Staci, she starts to turn it off. Before she can, though, pictures flash on from the Quartermaine mansion. Curiously, she continues to watch for a minute. "I can't believe it. It's Emily's wedding!" she says as it hits her what's going on. Lu sighs as she sees Dylan in the background, looking strikingly handsome in his tuxedo. "Oh Dylan," she says softly, "I can't believe how much I miss you." Finally she spies Emily. Noting Em's larger figure, Lu exclaims, "Omigod, she's pregnant! No wonder we haven't seen her in months. Figures." The phone rings, breaking her reverie. "Hello." "Hey Lu!" the familiar voice exclaims. "Georgie! How was your dad?" "I have tons to tell you," Georgie says, "So, what's been happening with you and Dylan since I left?" Lu sighs again, "No scoop. We're not together anymore." "What happened?" "Why don't you come over here and I'll fill you in. I could use the company." "I'm on my way, Lu. Any word on Staci yet?" Lu shakes her head, "Nope. But I'll explain that when you get here too." **** Emily and Tommy head towards the waiting limo to take them to the airport for their honeymoon. As soon as they get seated, Tommy asks the pale Emily, "Em, you okay?" Emily smiles, "Of course I am, honey, we just got married in a beautiful small ceremony on the grounds." "With tons of reporters swarming the place," he adds. Emily nods, "Yeah, well, there is that. But that's just par for the course in this family." Tommy puts his arms around her, "You're my family now, Em. You, me and our baby." "I'm just tired, that's all," Emily grimaces as a sharp pain lingers in her abdomen. Figuring that it's just the baby kicking, she continues to ignore it. ***** "Fewer reporters here, eh, Jase?" Lucky asks as he and Lisa sit down in Jason's living room. Jason shrugs, "Most reporters are covering Emily's wedding now anyway." Lucky's eyes grow large, "That's today?" Jason looks at his watch, "Should be over by now." "Why aren't you there?" "Pressing issues. I called and talked to her earlier. She understands." "So what kind of connection did you find?" Lisa asks. "A bone crusher by the name of Wilson Harris is staying at a place on the edge of town rented to none other than Derek Barrington." Lucky stands up, "Then let's go, what are we waiting for?!?" Jason waves Lucky back down, "I've got two of my guys on the house right now. There's no one there." He turns to Lisa, "Is there any other place they might go? Maybe a little further away." Lisa thinks for a moment. "There is a small fishing cottage near the river north of here. But Derek hasn't used it in years." Lucky smiles, "It's perfect." "We have to be careful. The Barrington's own all the property surrounding it. And last I knew, they kept it well guarded," Lisa cautions. "But I have an idea. I just need some help with a couple of the details." Lucky nods, "You name it." "I would like for Gina to help me with my make up, while you fix my car." "Your car? Make up?" Lucky repeats. Lisa nods and smiles, "Yeah, the car's making this funny noise. Perhaps you can tell what's wrong with her." Realizing she's up to something, he smiles, "Let's go." Jason stands up, "You two be careful. And I'll have back up standing by if you need it." Lisa and Lucky stand up, "We'll keep you updated," Lisa says as they leave. ***** Outside Mac and Felicia's house, Georgie heads for her car as Dylan comes up behind her. "Georgie!" he calls out to her. She wheels around to face him, "Oh, hi Dylan. How's it going?" Dylan begs, "Georgie, you have to get me back on Spoon Island so I can see Lu. I haven't seen her since that night you smuggled me in. I really need to see her." Georgie shrugs, "That's up to Lu. I'll ask her next time I see her." Dylan nods reluctantly. "Would you tell her that I love her?" Georgie smiles, "Sure. See you later." She quickly gets in her car and drives off. "Something's up," she remarks to herself. "maybe Stefan's up to something." ***** Gina opens the door to her apartment slowly. She just needs to pack a few things, then it's back to Wyndemere. She smiles slightly, thinking about her and Nikolas' reconciliation. She walks over and presses the play button on her blinking answering machine. "Hey Gina, it's Scott. I've been trying to catch up with you for a while. I just wanted to let you know that I know what you're going through. If you need anything, and I mean anything, just call me. I'm thinking about you. Bye." Gina sighs, "Yeah right, give me a break," she mumbles under her breath.   CHAPTER 47: IS IT AN ACT? Gina sits in her room at Wyndemere, helping Lisa with her make up. "Are you sure we can make this work?" she asks. Lisa nods, "Of course we can." She hands Gina the blush, "Now just put this in blotches on my arm. It'll look like a burn from the air bag." "Why did you need my help?" Lisa shrugs, "You're a doctor, you know what bruises and burns would look like more than me. And you're Staci's mother; makes sense for you to know what's going on. Besides, Lucky is downstairs filling Nikolas in on what we have planned." Gina raises an eyebrow, "Which is?" "We're going to find out if Staci is in that cottage on the Barrington property. If she is, get her out. It just takes a little subterfuge on our parts. Derek is a suspicious guy, but I know what makes him tick." Lisa continues, "Lucky and I ran my car into a tree earlier, and we're gonna tow it to the road nearest the cottage and position it to make it look like I swerved to miss a deer and smacked into a tree. Then I just pull my damsel in distress routine." Gina laughs slightly, "This is impossible. It'll never work." "You got a better idea? It doesn't have to fool the experts, just Derek. And trust me, he's no expert. On anything. Besides, we'll have back up." Gina applies the last of the blue and brown eyeshadow around Lisa's eye, finishing the "bruise", "There, that should do it." Lisa looks in the mirror, "Perfect. Derek won't know what hit him. And if all goes well, we should have your daughter home by midnight." Gina smiles, "I hope so. You just can't know how much I miss her." Lisa also smiles, but sadly, "Actually, I do," she says almost silently. Gina caught Lisa's statement, "What do you mean?" Lisa sighs, she feels like she needs to tell somebody. "Just swear to me that you won't say a word." Gina nods, so Lisa continues, "I have a son that I haven't seen in months." "Aww," Gina says sympathetically, "How old is he?" Lisa pulls the picture of her son out of her pocket, "14 months." She fights back tears, knowing she can't mess up her make up. "So in a way, I'm doing this as much for myself as I am for you." Gina gives Lisa a quick hug, "Thank you." ***** Nikolas looks skeptically at Lucky, "She's gonna make it look like she wrecked her car? How is this going to get Anastacia back?" "It will get her into the house, man. That's the best shot we've got without putting Staci in more danger," Lucky says. "Your confidence in Lisa is inspiring, but I'm still not sure about this," Nik says hesitantly. "Jason's sending back up." Lucky says before sighing, "I have to admit, I'm treating this like a test of her." "Of Lisa?" Lucky nods, "Yeah. She's doing this for the family. There's something you need to know about her." Lucky pauses, trying to figure out how to phrase it, "Lisa is my father's daughter." "Your sister?" Nik says incredulously. Lucky shrugs, but says nothing further. Changing the subject, he says, "We'll have your daughter back to you before the sunrise." Nik nods, "Good." ***** Lu and Georgie are sitting in Lu's computer room. The computer is gone, replaced instead by a weaving loom. Georgie looks around, "So what happened to your computer?" "I had Daddy take it away. I don't need it anymore." Georgie nods, "What about Dylan?" Lu sighs, "I decided to quit seeing him. It's my fault that Staci was kidnapped. I was spending time with Dylan when I should have been watching Staci. Now she's gone, and I have no idea whether we'll ever get her back." Not knowing what to say to convince Lu that it's not her fault, Georgie squeezes Lu shoulder comfortingly, "Of course you'll get her back. Lucky's working full time on it, isn't he?" Lu says despondently, "Yeah, but I haven't heard anything." Just then, there's a knock on the door. "Come in," Lu says. Laura walks in, "Hi honey. Hi Georgie. Lu, sweetie, would you come downstairs a minute? There's someone you should meet." Lu nods, "Sure." She stands up and turns to Georgie, "Coming?" Georgie gets up to follow; Lu turns back to her mother, "So who is it?" Laura turns to face her daughter, "Her name is Lisa, and she's been working with Lucky on getting Staci back." After a pregnant pause, she adds slowly, "And she's Luke's daughter." "What?!?" Lu asks disbelievingly. "She's your and Lucky's half sister." Lu flops back down in the chair, "Whoa, this is too heavy." Laura walks over to her and kneels next to the chair, "I know it's difficult, sweetie, and Lucky's having a hard time dealing with it as well, but you should at least meet her." After a moment, Lu nods. "Okay. Just give me a minute, then I'll be down." "Okay," Laura says quietly before leaving. "Wow," Lu says, "I always wanted an older sister, but not like this." "Maybe it won't be all bad," Georgie offers. "Or maybe it will." Lu runs her hands through her long brown hair. "Oh well. I guess I'd better get this over with. I can put on the nice act anytime." Lu smiles ingratiatingly, closing her eyes. Georgie laughs slightly at Lu's face, "Just at least see what she's like." Lu nods, "Yeah. Besides, I'm the Angel, remember?" Both girls break out laughing as Georgie says, "How could anyone forget? You won't let them!" ***** Emily and Tommy are sitting in the Quartermaine jet, heading towards Europe, their honeymoon destination. Emily's pangs start to come in regular intervals. As another pang hits her, she realizes what's going on and panics, "Get the pilot to turn around! NOW!" Alarmed Tommy says, "Em, what's wrong?" "I'm in labor!" she exclaims as the next contraction gets stronger. Tommy grabs the intercom and has the pilot return to Port Charles. "But it's too soon," he says to Em afterwards, his voice tight with concern as he holds her hand. Her face white with fear, she nods quickly, "I know, Tommy, I know."