Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 10

              Todd left Blair in the room, he would meet up with her later that afternoon for Starr’s hearing.  He headed down to the computer center in Carly’s hotel.  He didn’t want Blair to know what he was going to do because he was sure she wouldn’t approve.  He found an unused computer and immediately got in touch with his editor at The Sun.  Within an hour, he had what he needed in his hands and headed for the Corinthos coffee warehouse.  When Hallie called and said the DA was going after Starr with guns blazing he knew he’d have to step in.

              Blair watched Todd leave and then decided she needed to do her part.  Perhaps as Starr’s mother, she could make Michael Corinthos see reason.  She wandered down to the lobby looking for Carly Jacks.  She spotted her and moved to intercept her.  “Carly, I need your help.”

              Carly turned to Blair. “What’s Todd done now?”

              Blair bristled, “I don’t think that was necessary.  You don’t really know Todd.”

              Carly had the grace to look embarrassed.  “I’m sorry.  I was just remembering our first conversation.”

              Blair flinched.  She had been particularly harsh in her description of Todd and she had been so mad at him.  In hindsight, she realized she had done exactly what Todd had said earlier.  She had reacted to him as if he hadn’t changed or been affected by his imprisonment and now she knew that wasn’t true.  “Well, I was mistaken about Todd.  Now I’m trying to show him some support.  He is impulsive, that hasn’t changed, but I think I’ve gotten a better idea what’s driving him these days.  Listen, I didn’t come to you about Todd.  I was hoping you could give me your son’s address.  I wanted to talk to him about Starr.”

             Carly shook her head.  “I don’t want to stop you from hoping, but I know my son.  Once he makes up his mind about something, he can be pretty obstinate.  I already tried to get him to back off Starr.”

            “You can’t blame a mom for trying.  Starr’s trial is today at four.  Will you help me?  I have to try and get through to him.” Blair looked at her watch the day was going way too fast.

             Carly picked up a notepad, wrote down the address and gave Blair directions to her son’s apartment  “I hope he’s willing to listen for your daughter’s sake.”

             ***

             Todd sat down and ordered a small lunch while he waited. Sonny’s man, Milo, wasted no time calling his boss and soon Sonny came in the door.

             “What’s going on?” Sonny looked over at Milo.

             “It’s like I told you. He just showed up here.  He said he needed to speak to you.”

             “What do you want Manning?”

             “I came here to make a deal.  I would like you to ask your son to recant his testimony.” Todd said.

             “Why should I do that?” Sonny said with a sneer.  His second encounter with Manning hadn’t been to his liking and now the man was in his face again.

             “The last time we talked, I believed you had just had a falling out with your girlfriend for sleeping with Carly’s friend Johnny Zacchara.  Although you protested and claimed she meant nothing to you, I sensed you might not be telling the whole truth. I recently came across some information and I was hoping you would be willing to listen to my proposition.”

            “I don’t know why my relationship with Kate Howard is any of your business or why you think it’s going to make me tell my son anything.”

           “I’m trying to keep my daughter out of prison and I know you wouldn’t really want your friend to end up there.  You see, I know what’s wrong with your friend Kate and what she did.  Now you have two options.  Option one, you say nothing to Michael and you can watch Kate waste away in jail.  Option two, you get Michael to recant his testimony and I’ll  forget what I know about Kate and let her get treatment.”

            Sonny looked uncomfortable.  After his talk with Alexis, it was clear Kate was really ill.  Manning appeared to know about his granddaughter.  That wasn’t good.  “You know, I don’t like blackmail.  What if I don’t like your options.  I have a third option.  I’ll simply kill you and make you disappear.

           Todd smiled.  “I don’t think you’ve really thought this through.  I have what you might call, an insurance policy.  Let me show you?”  Todd looked down at his briefcase and back up at Sonny  “Sonny, may I?  Sonny nodded and Todd couldn’t help chuckling.  “ You really should understand where I’m coming from.”  He opened his briefcase and let Sonny see what was inside.

           Sonny stared at the mock-up copy of The Sun.  “Is this for sale?”  The front page was divided into four quarters.  In the top left-hand corner was the word FASHION and in the top right-hand corner. an arrow pointing to a picture of Kate Howard. The lower right-hand corner had the word VICTIMS and an arrow pointing to the lower-left corner where a picture of Cole and Hope was placed.

           “Not yet, this is just one version of the late edition.  The other version has no mention of Kate, only the picture of Llanview’s DA.  But if anything happens to me, this will be the version that goes into print.  The decision is yours, Sonny.  I have no desire to send Kate to prison.  I understand what she’s going through.  I’ve seen it firsthand.   There is a woman, a graceful woman who has lived with this her entire life.  She constantly feels guilty for what her alters have done.  I’ve hated her alters and have blamed them for everything she’s gone through, but I don’t hate her.”

           “I’m touched. “ Sonny scowled. He didn't trust the man in front of him.

           Todd looked at Sonny. “I hate what Connie did to Starr, but Kate is an innocent victim.  It’s up to you now whether she gets help or gets put away for the rest of her life.”  Todd walked out of the door and didn’t look back.  He had to take a few deep breaths.  Talking about Viki had just driven the knife a little deeper into him.  She didn’t hate him, but she wanted nothing more to do with him.  She had always forgiven him before, but the killing of Victor had driven a wedge between them.  He needed to get back to Blair, he couldn’t stand being alone anymore.

           He found himself walking on the dock and frowned.  He should have gone the other way, he had begun to hate the docks.  They were filled with bad memories.  He paused for a moment overlooking the landing for the boats used to get to an island he could see across the way.  The place was way too Gothic for his taste.   He started to call Blair.

          “You know, she’s just leading you on.”

           Todd flinched and looked over toward the bench where the voice seemed to come from. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”

           Irene stood up and walked toward him. “You don’t want to be alone.  I promised you I would always be with you.  You should forget about Blair.  She’ll only end up hurting you again.  Just like she did all those years ago.  You told me all about how she sent you away from your children.  Do you really want to go back to someone that would do that to you?”

          “Shut up.  You don’t know the first thing about Blair and me.  She’s here because she came for me.  She wants me, not Tomas or any other guy. Me!  What do you know of love?  You with your sick twisted obsession for Victor and power.  Go away and leave me in peace.”

            Todd flung his briefcase at her and she disappeared. He collapsed on the now-empty bench, running a shaky hand through his hair.  He gazed out at the open water and for one brief moment felt it beckoning to him.  Stop it, Todd. It’s what she wants. Fight it.

           Blair was just rounding the corner when she heard his raised voice.  Whoever he was talking to had upset him   She moved around the building hoping to get a glimpse of the person, but was dismayed to see there was no one there.  She stood frozen, as he flung his case and dropped onto the bench. This was the second time in two days that he appeared to be talking to someone.  What the hell was going on?  She walked down to the bench slowly so as not to startle him.  “Todd?”  He looked up at her with such pain in his eyes, all she wanted to do was hold him.  Sitting down next to him, she wrapped her arms around him. “Talk to me, don’t shut me out.  I want to help.  Please!”

           He reached up and gripped her arms and turned his face staring out at the water again.  He couldn’t keep it from her any longer.  She was probably going to think he was certifiable.  “She won’t leave me alone.  All my life she wanted nothing to do with me, and now I can’t get any peace.”

          “Who?” Blair felt cold as if someone had just walked across her grave.  There was only one person that she knew who fit that description but that person was dead.

           He met her eyes directly and simply said, “Irene.”  Then he waited.  This was the moment he had been dreading ever since Viki’s cabin.

           Blair couldn’t believe it. “I don’t understand.  You were talking to Irene.  You mean that facetiously, right?”  One look at his face told her he was serious. “You don’t.  You’re telling me you were talking to Irene.  Really talking to her.”

           Todd looked away, he had seen the shock as she realized the truth. “You don’t have to say it.  It’s crazy because she’s dead.  I’m losing it, Blair.”  He left her arms, needing just for that moment to leave her side before he saw pity.   He got up, walking to pick up his briefcase, and checked it out to see if he had broken it.  The silence was deafening.  He turned back to her.  She was sitting there watching him and just waiting. “She’s been with me off and on since the cabin.  The doctors tell me she’s part of my PTSD because of everything she did to me.   I don’t know what to believe, except I can’t take much more.” He turned his back to her and walked to the edge of the dock.  He looked out at the waves lapping softly against the pilings.  “The water’s so peaceful, cool, welcoming.  You have no idea the thoughts that have been running through my head, of ways to get rid of her.  Only one really seems to solve the problem.”  He stopped talking and appeared mesmerized.

           Blair was terrified, the calm matter-of-fact way he was talking, was chilling.  She had always known there was something in Todd that threatened to pull him under.  She only heard about the night he stood on the ledge of the hospital after the hostage crisis, but from talking to Viki, she knew he had seriously contemplated suicide.  She had to put a stop to this way of thinking and quickly.  She stood up and joined him at the dock’s edge.  Putting a hand on his shoulder,  “Don’t jump!”  She whipped him back around to face her.  “Man, you will go to any lengths to win that stupid most pathetic contest.” The look on Todd’s face was almost comical.  “Listen up, Mister.  Whatever is going on with Irene, we’re going to tackle it together.  The man I fell in love with, fought tooth and nail to get back to me and didn’t give in to his mother for eight gruesome years.  Don’t tell me he’s gonna give in to a ghost.”

           Todd shook his head and gazed at Blair, he felt like he was waking from some sort of dream.  Damn, the old witch had almost gotten him.  He suddenly wanted to laugh.  Blair didn’t think he was crazy, just stupid.  She was right, he had been talking like an idiot.  He swept her into his arms and wasted no time finding her lips. “God, I love you!”

           She barely caught her breath before he kissed her a second time, but this time, it was slow and seductive.  She returned the passion and he had to hold her tight when she got a little dizzy.  “Whoo, now that’s the man I remember,” she said when the kiss ended.  She stood there looking into his eyes, lost in the moment.  Then reality hit her.  The time!  “Todd, what time do you have?”

           He was puzzled.  Unable to grasp why Blair was asking that question at that particular moment. “Why?”

          “Starr.  What time is her hearing?”  She grabbed his arm and pushed up his sleeve to see his watch.  She let out a big sigh.  “Thank God.  I would never have forgiven myself if we missed it.”

            Todd felt a little ashamed.  Irene had distracted him and he had forgotten about Starr. “I’m sorry.  We’re supposed to be helping her and I’ve let my problems interfere.  Come on, I want to talk to her before they take her to court.”  He grabbed Blair’s hand and led her off the docks, the call he had intended to make forgotten.



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