Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 15

       Todd had spent the morning talking to his investment advisors and detailing his desire to pick up the Port Charles Press.  “You don’t say.  What else do they own?  Get me that company and don’t take no for an answer.  I want to own the paper by tomorrow.”  Todd hung up and made a note on his laptop.  He glanced over at the still rumpled sheets on the bed and smiled to himself.  He was glad Blair had gone to meet Starr.  He wanted to keep remembering something happy.  If he told Blair what his latest plan was, it was sure to start an argument and he didn’t need that.  Although she was adamant about helping him, he knew she didn’t want to leave Llanview.  He would have to tread carefully and not push her too hard.  After the last couple of episodes with Irene, he realized how close he was to letting everything go.  If he scared Blair away, there would be no one to stop his freefall.

       Starr had called earlier and wanted to go shopping.  Blair had jumped at the chance to spend time with her daughter, especially after everything Starr had been through in the last months.  Todd had encouraged her to go with Starr because he felt they both deserved some girl time.  He had hated seeing Starr behind bars.  He still couldn’t get over the feeling that Hope died because of him.  Getting found not guilty of his brother’s murder, and then finding out Starr was accused of attempted murder, only added to his guilt.   Todd slammed his laptop shut and got up, angrily moving toward the window.  You thought you were so smart.  You escaped your mad mother and only ended up falling back into old habits. He closed his eyes as the memory of his brother’s death played in his mind again.

        He slumped against the wall.  He had disliked his brother on sight.  He remembered listening in on the conversation Tea had with Victor over Jack’s part in the death of Gigi Morasco.  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and even worse, he realized Victor had just gotten Jack off the hook by buying the father of Jack’s friend and letting the friend take the fall.   Todd had had to ask himself, if he would have done what Victor did or if he would have finally done the right thing and insisted Jack pay for his crime.   After all those years in Irene’s hands, he wanted to see himself as a better man, but the truth was he probably would have made the same choice Victor had.  No matter what, he loved his son.  He didn’t want the boy to go to jail.  So why had he hated Victor so much?  Face it, Todd, he was you and you’ve always hated yourself.  Todd leaned his forehead against the cool wall.  Admit it,  you were killing yourself that night, and you did such a good job, you blew yourself out of the water with Blair and Starr, and everyone you loved.  He stared a moment longer out the window then glimpsed the bed out of the corner of his eye.  Snap out of it, you idiot.  Blair’s right here, right now, and she’s not going anywhere unless you make her.  You just need to get your act together.  Suddenly, he remembered his appointment.   Todd left the suite determined to get through the session and get the help he needed.

          A short time later he entered a rather austere office.  Minimalist, I like it.  There was no receptionist, which was odd given he had talked to one the day before.  Now there was only a note by a bell.   What the hell!

The Doctor is in.  Ring if you ‘really’ want to talk.  Otherwise, go away.

         Are you kidding me? Todd wanted to laugh, the doc had a  weird sense of humor.  He rang the bell and waited.

        Dr.Kevin Collins heard the bell go off.  He looked at his appointment book and saw it was his caller from the day before.  He had done a little research on the guy the previous evening. The file sat in front of him.

        Todd Manning was the publisher of The Sun, a millionaire, a rapist, and most recently the man accused of murdering his own brother after returning from an eight years absence.  He claimed to have been held prisoner by his own mother, who had replaced him with the brother he killed. He was a real peach of a guy; who was walking around free because he had been found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity caused by PTSD.

        Dr. Collins shook his head, he had already agreed to see the guy, but he seriously doubted the guy really needed his help.  By all accounts, the man was a real live wire and would need careful handling.  He picked up his coffee and walked out of his office to see the man who claimed his life was on the line.  If nothing else, his phone call the previous day had been intriguing.  The man had sounded serious.  If he was, then Kevin felt obligated to at least see him.  He stood in his doorway and watched as the man appeared to be checking out the office.  He took in the overall appearance of the man in front of him.  At first glance from the back, Todd Manning looked remarkably normal, he looked altogether and certainly didn’t seem too concerned with the fact that he was snooping. Then he turned around and Kevin’s expert eyes picked up on some of the more tell-tale signs of someone with a problem. The fidgeting hands, the eyes wary and sunken from lack of sleep, his whole body was wound tighter than a drum.  The man looked like he really wanted to turn and run.  “Good Morning, Mr. Manning isn’t it?  I’m Dr. Kevin Collins.” He held out his hand wondering if the man would shake it or not.

       Todd had been caught a little off-guard when the doctor had first walked out.   He had been doing what he normally did when left alone in an office.  He had been looking through some papers on the desk behind the counter.  If the guy was going to leave a front office unmanned. Todd would never turn down an opportunity to check what might be lying around. He always liked to know his opponent.  Todd was trying to regroup his nerves.  He really didn’t like shrinks, because he hated anyone knowing too much about his inner thoughts but this time, for the first time, he had no choice.  There was no way he was spending time in St. Ann’s or any other institution like that.  He was not crazy.  He turned around to face the doctor and instead saw her.

      “Are you so sure of that?” His mother asked standing just beside the doctor. She had on a white doctor’s coat and a clipboard in her hands.

       Todd reacted instantly by backing away from her, completely unaware that the doctor had just put out his hand.

      Kevin had been expecting the man to either take the hand or not, but he hadn’t expected the man to pale and back away.  At first, he thought he had just startled the man, but then he realized the man wasn’t looking at him.  “Mr. Manning, are you alright?”

      “Tsk, Tsk, seeing things.  Obviously, this patient isn’t well.  It appears he’s not quite right in the head.” Irene wrote on her clipboard and smiled at her son.

       Todd swayed and backed up a few more steps until his back hit the counter. “Leave me alone!” His head had started to pound again and he closed his eyes to block her out.   With one hand pressed against his temple and the other holding him upright against the counter, Todd never saw Dr. Collins approach him.

        Kevin moved cautiously to Manning’s side.  He hadn’t gotten an answer to his question and the man’s behavior seemed to indicate there was a problem. Carefully he tried to get his attention by laying a hand on his shoulder. He was totally unprepared for the response.

        Todd felt like he had been scalded. He hissed and pushed the doctor away. “Don’t touch  me!”
 He was back in that sterile white room.  They were approaching.  Baker held the syringe in his hand and nodded at the men with him. Todd was helpless to stop them as the two men grabbed his arms and held him.  He watched Baker move in and felt the injection.  Then it was as if his veins were on fire and Baker began asking his questions. “Get away from me, all of you!   What do you want from me?” The pain was unbearable, he was burning up.  “Please, could I have some water?

        Dr. Collins was stunned.  Whoever Manning was talking to, it wasn’t him.  He seemed to be reliving something.  Whatever was going on was painful, Kevin heard it in his voice.  It appeared the diagnosis of PTSD was true.   He knew from experience that he had triggered something when he had touched the man.  Now he had to decide how to bring him out of the event.

        “Certainly, all you have to do is answer the question.  Where is it?  You tell us and I can make all this go away.”  Baker held up another syringe.

          Todd looked at that syringe knowing it would take away all his pain, but he also knew he would never get it. “I can’t, I don’t know where it is. Why won’t you believe me?”  His head began to throb and Todd was helpless to do anything. He was strapped in a chair, on fire with whatever they had injected into him and he felt himself slipping away.

         “God, my head.”  Todd dropped to his knees, trapped in his vision.  Holding his head, he slumped against the lower counter and began his mantra. They would make the pain go away, they always did. “ I have a daughter, her name is Starr. Starr has a mother. Starr’s mother is Blair.  Blair is my wife. …”

         Dr. Kevin Collins was alarmed and debated calling for help, the man at his feet was obviously in pain.  He listened and came to the conclusion that Mr. Manning had been telling the truth the day before.  The man in front of him was at his breaking point.  He reached for his phone and was about to make the call when he began noting a change in Manning’s voice.  Manning was close to breaking, but something inside him was keeping that from happening.  His voice was getting stronger as he recited his words.  He was fighting back against his demons, it appeared.  Kevin didn’t know the man, but he realized the man wasn’t ready to give up the fight just yet.  That was a good sign.  Now he just had to figure out a way to get the man to trust him long enough to help him.  He put the phone down and waited to see what would happen next.

        As Todd recited his litany, the image of the room along with Baker and company dissolved, it was replaced instead with a picture of Starr standing in the police station, defiant and ready to take her punishment for going after Sonny. She was his daughter through and through.  Then he saw Blair berating him on the dock.  She told him in no uncertain terms that she would help him fight Irene.  There wasn’t much she could do on that front, Irene was his battle.  He loved Blair for wanting to stay by his side. The pain in his head lessened.   He opened his eyes to discover he was on the floor.   Worse yet, it was the doctor’s office.  You’ve done it now.  There are probably men with white jackets waiting for you.  Better get up and face the music.  He noticed a pair of shoes off to one side of him and his eyes traveled up, taking in the man in front of him.  The man was holding out a hand, and Todd took it and rose to his feet.  Dr. Collins was older than him, with some graying beginning to shade his hair.   He was about Todd’s height and in pretty good shape judging by his grip.  Todd released the hand as soon as he was up and looked around the room.

         “It’s just you and me, Mr. Manning.  There’s no one else here.  Perhaps you’d like to come into my office and sit down for a moment. Some coffee might help?”  Kevin waited to see whether Todd Manning would turn and leave, or stick around for the help he needed.

         Todd ran a hand through his hair.  He wasn’t sure what to say or do.  He had come for help, not because he wanted to but because he was ordered to.   Now after what had just occurred, it was a different story.  “You didn’t call for help.  Why?  Is what just happened, normal around here?”

         Kevin smiled at that. “No, it’s far from normal.  I have to ask a question, though.  Is it normal for you?”

         “I’m not sure I know what’s normal for me anymore.  Have you got anything stronger than that coffee?”  He moved to grip the counter.  His legs felt a little rubbery.  Even though he knew he had been in an episode, he still felt like his insides were churning.  His eyes met Dr. Collins’ eyes. “I can’t live like this.  Can you help?”





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