CHAPTERS 50 - 52   CHAPTER 50: DANGER AHEAD Harris glares at Derek when he returns to the front room, "That little twit got loose and was going for the window." "What?!?" Derek shakes his head, "That's impossible. How did she manage that?" Harris pulls out his gun and double checks the ammunition, "I don't know how, but she did it. We're gonna have to kill her. Tonight." Derek sighs, "You can't do that, unless you don't want the money. One of the conditions for the drop tomorrow was that they hear the kid's voice." Harris growls in frustration, "One more night. And if Cassadine postpones this drop one more hour, I'm killing her." "Don't you think the Cassadines will hunt you down if you do that? And even, by some strange chance that they let this drop, Morgan will be on your tail until the day you die." Harris shrugs, "No problem. As soon as it's over, I'm leaving town. For good. I've got a small private island in the South Pacific all lined up where no one will ever find me." One of Morgan's men by the name of Carlson comes up to Lucky and Lisa, "We've got Bowles out of the way, but Harris almost spotted us." "Damn!" Lucky sees the camera, still on the ground, "Did he see that camera?" Carlson looks back, "I don't know." Lisa glares at Carlson, "Well don't just stand there! Get rid of it!" Carlson promptly heads off to retrieve the camera. Anxiously, Lucky sighs, "If Harris caught sight of that, he might shoot you the second you knock on the door. Or, if you're lucky, he'll just take you hostage." Lisa nods soberly, "I know, but this is the only chance we have to get Staci out safely. It's the only way. I'll get Derek out of the room, then it's up to you." "When the lights go off, that's your signal that you're out of the main room." Quickly he asks, "How are you going to get him out?" Lisa smiles, "I know his weak spot. Sex." She gives him a quick wink as Lucky hides. "Be careful," he whispers as she makes her way towards the cottage. Lucky prays silently. They have only one chance to pull this off, and they have to move quickly and even more carefully now. He has to push all doubts about Lisa to the back of his mind and trust that she knows what she's doing. Lisa steels herself for the task at hand. She knows not only does a young girl's life rest in this; but the hopes of her whole family that she'll be returned safely. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She starts pounding on the door, "Derek? Hello? Anyone? Is anyone in there? Derek?" she shouts frantically. Inside, the racket that Lisa's making startles both Derek and Harris. Harris quickly aims his gun towards the door, "Who the hell is that? Man, we've been found out!" he fusses sharply. Derek sneaks a peek out the window, "I don't believe it. It's my ex-wife," he answers, somewhat confused. "How in the hell does she know about this place? What is she doing here?" "We used to come here a lot when we were married. As for the other, I don't know." "She's on to us!" Harris exclaims, "Let her in, then once she's inside, we'll kill her," Harris says steadily. Derek shakes his head, "No, don't kill her!" Then he gets an idea, "We'll just take her hostage. We can always use an extra bargaining chip. Especially if the cops are on to us." Harris growls, "Then she's your problem. Just keep her busy long enough for me to get the kid out of here and on the way to our new location." Harris slowly puts the gun away. "I'll be back there, making sure our guest doesn't make a lot of noise. Once you get your ex-wife out of the way, I'll finish up business with the kid. This better not be a game, Barrington! If it is, you're a dead man," he threatens. Once Harris retreats to Staci's room, Derek walks over to the door, takes a deep breath and opens it slowly. Lisa nearly stumbles through as Derek reaches out to steady her. "Lisa, what happened?" he asks concernedly. She stammers, "I just...and then a...and it was over." She wobbles, Derek puts his arm around her and pulls her towards him protectively. "It's okay now, Sweetheart," he whispers in her ear, "Just relax." Lisa nods, then continues, allowing Derek to still hold her. "I was on my way back from a meeting. I was preoccupied and a deer jumped out in front of me. I struck a tree when I swerved to miss him," she finishes softly. "Are you sure you should be walking around?" Lisa shrugs, "It was a sturdy little car. I'm fine. The airbags all went off." Derek nods and pulls Lisa to arms length to inspect her further, "That explains the burns, but not what happened to your eye." Lisa looks down, "A result of my meeting," she says softly. Suspiciously, Derek says, "This road is completely out of the way to or from anywhere, why did you drive by here?" Not looking in his eyes, she says, "I thought I was being followed. I knew no one would look for me out here. I just needed some time to get away and think, you know? Maybe following in my family's footsteps isn't such a smart thing to do." Derek sighs, "Your business is going to get you killed, honey." Lisa pulls back from him, "Oh, you don't care. I don't even know what I was thinking. I never should've come out this way. I've gotta go." She heads for the door, but Derek grabs her arm and pulls her back towards him. Lowering his face to hers, he whispers, "I've always cared." She looks up at him and smiles slightly, "Really? You mean that?" He nods silently. "I'm scared, Derek," she whispers in his ear. She then nibbles his ear and starts kissing his neck seductively, "Can I stay with you tonight? I don't want to be alone." Moving his body against hers, he entwines a hand in her hair. He plants kisses along the base of her neck, and his voice becomes ragged, "Seeing you now brings it all back. Of course you can stay here. Make love to me, Lisa." "Now?" "Right here, right now." Lisa silently allows Derek to lead her to another room, turning off the lights as they leave the room. The rest is up to Lucky, she thinks. As Derek leads Lisa out of the room, he smiles to himself, thinking he might as well have a good time with his 'hostage'. Harris keeps his ear pressed to the door listening to Lisa and Derek's conversation. He makes a disgusted face as he hears them leave the room. As soon as he hears Derek slam the door to the other room, Harris turns and grabs Staci. He pulls out a knife and cuts the rope connecting her arms and legs in one swift motion. "C'mon, you little brat, we're getting out of here." Roughly, he drags her out of the room and out the front door. Lucky watches the door fly open and sees Harris come out, dragging Staci behind him. He jumps out, gun trained directly on Harris, "Hold it, Scumbag!" Staci screams through her gag. Derek nuzzles Lisa's neck while walking her towards the bed. Lisa hears Staci's scream and senses trouble. She backs away from Derek, "I can't do this," she says quickly. Derek ignores the scream and pretends to be confused, asking, "What's the matter, baby? We could always do it before. Even when we were fighting; we always made up by making love." Lisa shakes her head and purrs seductively, "No, I mean I can't do it without music." Relaxing, Derek smiles, "Oh, okay." As Derek turns to away from her to turn on the radio, Lisa pulls out her gun and cold cocks him on the back of the head. He falls to the floor unconscious; Lisa says with disgust, "You always were a gullible moron." Once she's sure Derek won't be following her, Lisa quickly heads for the door. Harris pulls Staci in between himself and Lucky. He holds his own gun to Staci's head. "Drop your gun, or the little brat gets it!" Lucky tilts his head to one side, "But then you wouldn't get your money." "You got the money?" Harris asks. Lucky nods, "Yep." He spies Lisa coming up behind Harris and Staci. Harris shakes his head, "I ain't that stupid. The drop was scheduled for tomorrow." He waves the gun around Staci's forehead, "And I've got an itchy trigger finger. Now drop your gun!" Lisa comes out behind Harris, gun drawn, "Drop yours, Harris!" Harris wheels around, losing his grip on Staci. "Damn you Smith, you bitch! I should've known you were behind this!" Bullets ring out. As the smoke clears from the guns, Lucky looks around quickly. Three people are lying on the ground; Harris, Lisa and Staci. Then the screaming starts. CHAPTER 51: THE RESCUE As if it was slow motion, the events play out in everyone's minds. As Lisa calls out to Harris, he wheels around, surprised; losing his grip on Staci. He immediately fires two shots at Lisa. With Harris no longer holding her in a vice grip, Staci loses her balance and crumples to the ground with a shriek. As soon as Lucky sees that Staci's in the clear, he fires at Harris. Within seconds, the shooting stops. As the smoke clears, in the eerie silence that follows; Lucky realizes that he's the only one left standing. Lisa took the full force of Harris' shots. Lying on the ground, she slowly and painfully looks down and sees her own blood oozing from wounds in her shoulder and stomach. "Oh damn," she says softly before losing consciousness. Staci shrieks again as the dead weight of Harris' already lifeless body falls on top of her. She opens her eyes slowly and looks directly into his vacant, but open eyes. She feels the warmth of his blood leaking out onto her and realizes immediately what it is. She lets out a blood curdling scream as the weight of Harris' body squeezes the air out of her lungs. Terrified she might be hurt, Lucky bolts to Staci's side in an instant. In one swift motion, he rolls Harris' body to the side. "It's okay babe, it's okay," he says comfortingly as he cuts the ropes binding her arms and legs. After assuring himself that she hasn't been shot, he picks her up off the ground and pulls her to him protectively. He can't help but notice the cuts and rope burns on her wrists and the bruises on her face. Her screaming fades to a whimpering cry as she realizes that the ordeal is over. Then she clings to Lucky for dear life. "You okay, Stace?" he asks, worriedly. She nods silently even though she's trembling all over. "Hey, Lisa," Lucky calls out, looking around, thinking maybe she's just hiding in the woods. Staci sees her first and points shakily, "Sh...She's over there." Lucky quickly picks up Staci and hustles over to where Lisa's lying. Two of Jason's men come out of the woods and run up to them. Staci stiffens and gasps at their approach, but Lucky squeezes her shoulder reassuringly, "It's okay, they're friends. Nobody's gonna hurt you now." The first man, Carlson, speaks, "We've called for an ambulance and the cops." Lucky's busy trying to stop Lisa's bleeding by applying pressure and simply nods. "Barrington's in the house." "We'll take care of him. Harris' body too." "Leave the body, just make sure Barrington isn't going anywhere. I want him to rot in jail for this. And make yourselves scarce, guys, you don't want to be answering to the cops." Lucky suddenly remembers, "Where's Veronica?" "She and the guy are tied up next to Lisa's car, with that damn camera just out of arms' reach," Carlson says with a smirk. As Jason's men rush off, Lucky talks gently to Lisa, "Hang on Babe, help is on the way." Lisa's eyes flutter open, "Did it work? Is...is she okay?" she asks weakly. Lucky smiles, "Yeah Darlin', it worked. Now you just hang on for me, okay?" She uses all her strength to reach out and take Lucky's hand, "Thanks Lucky," she mouths at a whisper. As the sirens wail from the approaching ambulance, Lucky says quietly, "No problem." Then he adds, "Sis." Loud sirens indicate the presence of the police. Lucky silently hopes that Jason's men got far enough away. Garcia and Detective Rick Johnson hop out of the first car. Other officers are right behind them. Garcia starts barking orders and the officers spread out quickly. As a gloved Detective Johnson helps Lucky with Lisa's bleeding, Garcia stares at Lucky, "What the hell happened here, Spencer?" Lucky stands up and keeps one arm wrapped protectively around Staci, "Well Commish, my neice here was kidnapped and this woman," he says as he points to Lisa, "was shot trying to help get her back." Lucky hands his cell phone to Staci, "Here Darlin', call your dad and tell him to meet us at GH. Just push star one and hit send, okay?" Staci nods silently as she takes the phone from Lucky and with trembling fingers, starts dialing. As the ambulance pulls up, one of the officers comes up to Garcia. "We're bringing one of the perps out of the house now." The paramedics jump out of the ambulance and busy themselves getting Lisa ready for transport to GH. Nik paces around the living room at Wyndemere and keeps staring at the phone, "What the hell is taking so long? We should have heard something by now." Gina stands up from her seat on the sofa and goes over to Nikolas. she wraps her arms around him, "I'm sure everything's fine. Lucky will call soon." Nikolas turns towards her, "I know that, Sweetheart; I'm just getting anxious. We're so close to having our daughter back and our family back together. This waiting is driving me insane." Gina smiles sympathetically. "I know it's hard to wait. But just think, Staci'll be excited when she finds out about us." Nik leans down and kisses her quickly, "Our reconciliation is the best Christmas present we could give our daughter." As they kiss again, the phone rings. Nikolas is at the phone in an instant. "Lucky?" he asks quickly. "No Daddy, it's me," Staci's voice says softly. "Anastacia?!?" Nikolas smiles. "Are you okay, Princess? Where are you?" He frowns as he hears all the sirens and noise in the background. Gina rushes to Nikolas' side. He holds the phone so she can hear Staci's voice. "I'm fine, Daddy. Uncle Lucky's right here and wants to talk to you." "Okay Staci, put Lucky on." Nikolas gives Gina a huge smile as he hears Staci hand Lucky the phone. "Hey, Nik," Lucky says, "Can you and Gina meet us at GH?" Concerned, Nik asks, "What's wrong? Is Anastacia hurt?" "No, no, nothing's wrong," he says reassuringly, "Staci's fine, some cuts and bruises; they just want to check her out." "Have you been hurt?" "Nah, I'm like a cat with nine lives, Bro." "What about Lisa?" Lucky doesn't say anything, so Nikolas asks again, "Lucky, what happened?" Lucky breathes deeply, "She was shot twice, Nikolas. It doesn't look good." Nikolas nods, "We're on our way." Hanging up the phone, he turns to Gina, "Staci's okay, but Lisa's been shot. Lucky wants us to meet him at GH." "I'll grab our coats and tell Stefan and Laura the news. I'm sure they'll want to come with us," Gina says quickly before heading out of the room. Lucky watches as the paramedics load Lisa onto the ambulance, "Hold on, Sis," he prays under his breath. As he and Staci walk towards the ambulance, Garcia catches up with him, "Hang on, Spencer, there are a lot of questions that I need you to answer. If I could just have a few minutes of your time." Lucky dismisses Garcia, "I'm sorry, Commissioner, but I'm riding in that ambulance. Any questions you want answered can just wait." One of the paramedics help Staci crawl into the back of the ambulance. Just as Lucky starts to get in, he sees one of the officers leading a handcuffed Barrington out of the house. He makes a dash for them, shouting, "You're dead meat, Barrington!" Before Garcia can stop him, Lucky gets in one sharp uppercut to Barrington's jaw, slicing his lip. Garcia quickly restrains Lucky from behind. "Spencer, calm down! You're not helping matters any!" Garcia orders. Lucky fights against Garcia and is practically spitting nails, "Pray you never get out of jail, Barrington. Cause the next time we meet with no cops around, you are DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME?!" Derek spits out a couple of teeth and blood, "Screw you, Spencer," Derek says quickly as they lead him away. Lucky lunges towards him again, but Garcia's able to keep him under control. He leads Lucky towards the ambulance. "Go if you're going," Garcia says quickly. "Oh, and I kept Bowles and her camera crew out of the way here, but at the hospital, I'm afraid you're on your own." Lucky nods, looking at the blood on his split knuckles with satisfaction, as he gets in the ambulance. They quickly pull away, sirens blaring. CHAPTER 52: REUNITED The ambulance pulls up to the emergency entrance to GH. The ER is a flurry of activity as the doctors rush around to meet the paramedics. The trauma team pulls the gurney with an unconscious Lisa out of the ambulance and wheels her directly to a trauma room. Nikolas and Gina come running in, with Stefan, Laura and Lu hot on their heels. They see Lucky hop out of the ambulance and reach back for Staci. Nikolas and Gina both gasp as they see all the blood on Staci's clothes. Nik puts an arm protectively around Gina as they walk towards them. But seeing her smile, they both light up at the sight of her, alive and reasonably well. Staci beams as she sees her Mom and Dad. Feeling an inner strength that overcomes her exhaustion, she runs up to them, arms extended. "Mommy! Daddy!" Both Nik and Gina fall to their knees as Staci approaches, catching her up in one large embrace. Tears fall down all of their faces. "Oh baby, I never thought I'd see you again," Gina chokes out. "My baby girl, my baby girl," is all Nikolas can say, over and over. Laura and Stefan stay a few steps back and let Staci reunite with her parents before they say anything. They are both wiping away tears of joy and relief Stefan has his arm lovingly around Laura. Laura reaches out and puts her hand on Lu's shoulder. Lucky stands back and smiles, then wipes away a tear. He heads off to leave the family to reunite and find out what the doctors are doing for Lisa. Staci cries, and looks up at her father sadly, not seeing the others standing there, "I'm really sorry about Aunt Lu, Daddy." Confused, Nik asks, "What about Lesley Lu?" Staci blinks back the tears, "I saw her fall off the motorcycle, shot. That bad man told me that she's dead." She starts sobbing, "And it's all my fault!" Nikolas wipes away his daughter's tears, "No, Princess, Lesley Lu is just fine. She wasn't killed." Sniffling, Staci asks, "She wasn't?" He shakes his head, "No, she wasn't. Her leg was hurt, but she's better now. She's right over there." He turns back to Laura, Lu and Stefan. "Lu?" Lu is next to them in an instant. Staci smiles, "Aunt Lu!!!" Lu kneels down and Staci throws herself into Lu's arms. "I....I thought you were dead. I'm sorry." Lu looks at Staci intently, "Staci, it's me who needs to apologize. If I had been paying more attention, you never would have got nabbed." Lu wipes away a tear, "I did this to you, and I'm so very, very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" she chokes out. Staci wraps her arms around Lu's neck tightly. "Of course, Aunt Lu." Laura and Stefan finally approach. Staci looks up at them, while still holding on to Lu. "Grandma, Grandpapa!" She pulls herself away from Lu and quickly hugs both Laura and Stefan. "How are you, Princess?" Stefan asks. Staci smiles bravely, "I'm fine. Now, anyway. Uncle Lucky was so brave getting me away from those bad men." Laura looks around, "Where is Lucky?" Nikolas answers, "I think he went to check on Lisa." "I'll go try and find him," Lu says matter of factly. "Lisa's my sister, too." Laura lets out a small sigh as Lu walks off. "I hope Lu's really okay with all of this," she says softly. "She will be, Darling," Stefan assures her, "She will be." Doctor Joe Scanlon comes up to them, "Mr. Cassadine, Dr. Williams, we need to examine your daughter." Gina nods, "Okay, but we're all coming with you." Joe smiles, "Of course." Nikolas picks up Staci and carries her. As they start to cross the waiting room and into one of the examination rooms, the press comes running in. Dozens of reporters and camera suddenly flood the room. Above the din of all the reporters yelling, one voice can be heard, "Mr. Cassadine, how do you feel about people being killed for the return of your daughter?" The voice is none other than Veronica Bowles. "No comment!" Nikolas yells, pulling Staci's head down to his shoulder to keep her face from being photographed. "Get them out of here! Her especially!" he barks quietly but sternly to Joe. Nikolas and Gina hustle into the exam room and quickly shut the door. Stefan and Laura head in another direction, hoping to draw some of the attention away from Staci. Joe tries in vain to rid the halls of the reporters. "Listen people, respect their privacy and leave them alone!" he fusses. Veronica pipes up, "This is a very public situation and the public has a right to know what's going on," she declares. Joe gives a quick nod to Carly, who rushes over, "Call security. I want the Cassadines to have some privacy," he whispers to her. She nods and rushes off. "Please just allow them some time. I'm sure after that, they will be more than happy to answer your questions. Now please," Joe continues to plead. "We'll just wait here and ask them when they come out. You can't keep them in there forever," Veronica challenges, followed by a chorus of agreements from the other reporters. Several security officers arrive and quickly push the reporters back into a corner. "You can't treat us like cattle, Doctor! The hospital will hear my complaints about this roughshod behavior. It's interference of our rights and the rights of the public!" Veronica threatens. The head security guard gives a quick nod to Joe, who goes into the exam room. "I couldn't get rid of them," he says after he gets in, "But security is out there now." He starts his preliminary examination of Staci, "We want to keep Staci overnight for observation," he says to Nik and Gina. Staci shakes her head and pleads with her father, "No, Daddy, don't make me stay here. I just want to go home." Nikolas smiles at Staci, "Don't worry, you're coming home with us." "I really must insist, it is for the benefit of your daughter. We just want to make sure everything checks out." "No! Absolutely not!" Nikolas insists. "Mr. Cassadine, your daughter has been through a very traumatic situation, we just want to make sure that she's both physically and emotionally okay." "Run all the tests you have to while we're here, but my daughter is NOT going to be away from home one more night!" Gina puts a hand on Nikolas' arm, then turns to Joe, "I have to agree with Nikolas on this one. I don't want Staci to be away from her family any longer. I'm staying at Wyndemere now, and I'll watch out for her emotional well-being. Just do the basic tests and there are any complications, I'll bring her back in myself." Joe nods reluctantly, "All right. But Gina, you're a doctor, if anything unusual happens, bring her back in here instantly." "Of course," Gina says before smiling, "Thanks Joe." Lucky stands outside of the trauma room where Tommy is working feverishly to stabilize Lisa before surgery. Lucky tries to disguise his hatred of Tommy, for Lisa's sake. Lu comes up to him and puts a hand on Lucky's shoulder. Lucky jumps, not knowing she was there. He glances back at Lu before resuming his stare into the trauma room. "How is she?" Lu asks somberly. Lucky shrugs, "She got shot twice, Lu. How do you think she is?" Lucky realizes that he was being too snippy, "I'm sorry. This whole situation has me stressed." "I know." Tommy comes out, "What are you doing here, Spencer? Came to see what your handiwork has done?" He turns to one of the nurses, "We need to find this woman's closest relative to sign for surgery." Lucky raises his hand defiantly, "That would be me, Junior." "Didn't take you long to take up with a new woman, did it, Spencer? And one so much older than you, this time. Get tired of women your own age?" Tommy goads Lucky. "Shut up, Junior, before I rip your eyes out!" he growls. Lu puts a hand on Lucky's arm and stares at him, silently begging him not to start a fight. "Lucky, not here. Remember Lisa." Lucky snatches the clipboard of papers away from the nurse, "I remember Lisa. Just give me the damn papers and keep my SISTER alive!" Grunting, Tommy silently walks back into the trauma room as they move Lisa to a gurney to take her to OR. "I don't even really know her," Lu says quietly. Lucky looks over at his youngest sister, then glances back as the doctors wheel his oldest sister in for surgery. Lucky then hugs Lu tightly, "I don't either, Lulu. But she was willing to give her life for our family, and that says something." "I wish Dad could have known her," Lu admits. Lucky laughs at the thought, "Yeah, that'd be a trip. The only people Dad hated as much as the Cassadines were the Smiths. He'd have a hard time dealing with it, I'm sure." "But would he accept her?" Lucky thinks for a minute, "I think he would, eventually. It would take a while, like with Nik. He would've tested her, I'm sure. But in the end, yeah, he'd've loved her like you and me." Lu smiles, reassured by her brother. Before she can say anything else, Garcia comes in, "There you are, Spencer. You still have lots of questions to answer." Lucky and Lu sit in two of the nearby chairs. He motions for Garcia to do the same, "Ask away, Commish." "First of all, why did YOU endanger the lives of innocent people, instead of contacting the proper authorities when you discovered the location of your niece? We have the manpower and necessary force to handle this sort of thing," Garcia gently scolds, "We might have been able to prevent the loss of life." Lucky sighs, "I did what I had to do to protect and reunite my family. Staci's safe, the culprits are either dead or in custody, so what's the problem? If anything, we made your job easier for you." A voice signals the entrance of a handcuffed Barrington, being led by two officers, "When am I going to be able to call my attorney? I have a right to my attorney, and I want him here now!" The officer looks pathetically at Barrington, "You can call your mouthpiece when we get back to the station. But you have to get sewn up first." "No, I want my attorney while I'm here in the hospital!" Barrington demands. As soon as Lucky sees Barrington, a harsh look crosses his face, "What the hell is that bastard doing here? He should be locked up!" he says, standing. Garcia catches his arm, "Relax, Spencer. He has to have stitches from where you belted him earlier." "You should let him bleed to death," Lucky says scornfully. "That's the guy that kidnapped Staci?" Lu asks incredulously. Garcia nods, and before anyone can say anything else, Lu runs up to him and punches him squarely in the mouth, reaggravating his wound, "You bastard!" she yells as she hits him. One of the officers quickly pulls Lu back, "Calm down, Miss," he says democratically. "Bitch," Barrington returns bitterly. The other officer pulls Barrington out of the way, "You have the right to remain silent, Barrington, I suggest you USE IT!" he says harshly. "Eat sh...," she starts angrily. Lucky interrupts her, "Now, now, Lu." He looks at her and laughs slightly, "Nice to see those Spencer genes still at work, Babe." Lucky escorts her back over to where Garcia is now standing. "Now...where were we, Commish?"