Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 27

        Carly picked up the phone. “Metro Court, Port Charles.  Oh hi, Dante.   Todd Manning?  I gave him your message earlier.  I take it he didn’t call you back.  What’s this all about Dante?  I have a right to know if a patron of mine is in some kind of trouble.”

        Dante rolled his eyes.  As always, his father’s ex-wife was sticking her nose into something that was none of her business.  “Carly, I assure you, Todd Manning isn’t in trouble with the law.  You say you saw him earlier.  How did he seem?”

       “The man was downright rude.  I’m not surprised he didn’t call you.  His ex, Blair Cramer, said he doesn’t like the police too much. She also said he was under the weather.  I didn’t talk to them after that.  I believe they went up to his suite.   Do you want me to ring him?”

       “Give it a try, Carly.  I really need to talk to him.”  He waited impatiently.  It sounded like his forensics guy was right.  Manning could already be feeling the effects of the compound.  Malaria was nothing to play with and this compound had that added unknown.  No one could tell what the hallucinogen would do either.

       Carly came back on. “He’s not answering and neither is Blair.” She paused as she saw Todd exiting the elevator and striding across the lobby. “ Oh, wait a minute, he’s here.” She looked over and called to him. “Todd, you have a phone call.” Carly watched as Todd continued out the door without even looking back. “You won’t believe this Dante, but the man just walked out of here, ignoring me completely.”

       Dante didn’t like that. “Carly, go try and stop him.  It’s important.”

       Carly heard the concern in Dante’s voice and suddenly wondered what was really going on. She laid down the phone and rushed to the door.  Going outside, she looked around but Todd was nowhere to be found.  She went back in and picked up the phone.  “No good, he disappeared.  What’s got you so worried?  The guy’s a jerk.”

       “Someone tried to kill that jerk yesterday.  I don’t want him to succeed today.  You have no idea where he went?”

       Carly was still trying to process his first statement.   “What do you mean someone tried to kill him?  He appears fine.”

       “He’s not.  How do I get in touch with his ex?”

       “I don’t know, she wasn’t with him.  Call Michael, he’s with Manning’s daughter, Starr.  Maybe she knows some way to reach her mother.”  Carly hung up her thoughts going back to earlier.  Blair had said Todd wasn’t feeling good and Dante was worried about him.  Now that she thought about it, Todd hadn’t looked good.  Who wants to kill you, Todd?  Carly shook her head. Sonny might.  It probably wouldn’t hurt to give Sonny a heads up about the attempt on Todd’s life.  He was probably going to be one of Dante’s first suspects. She reached for the phone to make a call.

****

      Blair reached the top of the stairs in time to overhear Tomas.

      “I’ll tell her you called, but I wouldn’t expect a return call.”

       A chill ran down her spine.  The foyer came into view and she watched Tomas put her phone back into her purse.  “Who were you talking to, Tomas?”

      “No one you know, some telemarketer.  You really should block those calls on your cell phone.”  Tomas loved Blair and she should never have to deal with the likes of Todd Manning.  He was only protecting her from herself.  Dorian had told him she needed someone like him to take her away from her obsessions with Todd, and he was determined to show her he was the better man for her.  If Todd manages to survive the next day or so without killing himself, I’ll just finish the job when I go to Port Charles as Alcazar.  He pictured a distraught Blair in his arms, looking for comfort. “Can we have that talk now?”

       Blair sensed he was lying about the call, but she had to get him to leave.  The boys would be coming down with their bags soon and she didn’t want Tomas to know they were all leaving town.  “Tomas, there really isn’t anything else you can say to make me change my mind.  You’ve been after me all along to see Todd the way he truly is and I have, but I’ve also seen you the way you truly are.  I can’t be with a man who would so callously hand another man over to be tortured for eight years.  You say you’ve changed, but Todd used to tell me that, too.  He can’t change and neither can you.  You were a killer and you’ll always be a killer.  It doesn’t matter to me that it was government-sanctioned or not.  You were sent to kill Todd.  The only reason you didn’t is that Mitch Laurence got to him first and your handlers changed their minds.  I want you to leave.  Go back to France.  It would be best for all.”  She walked to the door and opened it.

      Tomas knew he had lost, for the time being.  He still had his ace in the hole.  Blair didn’t know how sick Todd was.  He would be there to pick up the pieces when Todd finally gave in to his demons and destroyed himself permanently in Blair’s eyes.  He knew the man.  Todd would self-destruct.  It was inevitable.  “Very well Blair, but I’m always here for you if you ever need me.”  He started to give her a kiss but she backed away from him. Tomas smiled regretfully and left.

      Blair shut the door, leaning her head against it.

      “Is it true?”

       Startled, Blair turned around to find Jack standing with his suitcase.  “Is what true?”

      “Did Tomas really give Scarface over to Evil Irene?”

       Blair sighed, she wished with all her heart Jack hadn’t overheard that.  She knew he had started to like Tomas.  “Yes, it’s true.  Tea doesn’t know that about her brother and I don’t want you telling her.”

      Jack couldn’t believe his mom.  “I heard you say he was sent to kill Scarface.  Jeez Mom, you really know how to pick them.  How come he’s not in jail?  Scarface was arrested for kidnapping him.  For what?  Like six weeks?  Heck, Tomas wasn’t even hurt when he came back, but he didn’t have any trouble sending Scarface to jail.  How come Scarface didn’t just have Tomas arrested, too?”

     “Tomas worked for the government.  He had people in high places that kept him out of jail.  It doesn’t matter now.  Your father is out of jail and decided not to pursue Tomas.  That was his choice.  It’s my choice to tell Tomas to go take a hike.  Don’t think about it right now.  Remember, we’re going to Port Charles on an adventure.  We’ll get Starr all set up and have some fun while we do it.  Go get your grandmother and brother.  We need to leave.”

     Jack had more questions about Tomas, but he could see his mother wasn’t going to tell him anymore.  As he walked upstairs, he remembered the witnesses talking about the treatment Scarface had received when he was held captive.  Could it have been true after all?  He looked down at his mother.  She had been pretty angry at Tomas.   Come to think of it, Tomas had lied to him.  All the time his mom had been gone, Tomas had acted like he was still her boyfriend.  As he walked down the hallway to Sam’s room, his thoughts went back to that day in the courtroom when the witnesses had finished.  He had called them liars.   Scarface had turned and looked at him.  He had seen the pain in the man’s eyes and been glad.  He had wanted Scarface to hurt the way he was hurt.

     Jack paused before walking into his brother’s room.  If the witnesses hadn’t been lying, then the man who was his real father had really been tortured.  Jack’s thoughts went back to the time Scarface let him have a quiet lunch with Neela, and how he had dressed up as Santa just for Sam.  He had been trying to make up for being gone so long, even though he couldn’t have prevented it.  Jack leaned against the wall.  He didn’t like the way he was beginning to feel.  Scarface had killed Victor, but suddenly Jack couldn’t hate him any longer.  Starr was right.  He had clung to his hatred so he wouldn’t have to admit he had started to like the guy.  It didn’t matter.  Scarface left right after the trial because everyone in town hated him.  He had gone away again.  This time on his own. I’ll probably never see him again, anyway.  Jack stood up and opened the door to finish helping his grandmother and brother.

     Blair listened to Jack’s footsteps and walked over to her purse.  Fearfully she reached into it and drew out her phone.  Her heart plunged as she recognized Todd’s new cell phone number.

      Immediately she called him back but it rang for about five rings and then went to voicemail.  “No!  Why aren’t you answering.”  She dialed the front desk at the MetroCourt. She felt relief when Carly answered.  “Carly, this is Blair Cramer.   Could you please ring Todd’s room, it’s important.”

       “He’s not there, Blair.  He left here about twenty minutes ago.  I was on the phone with Dante Falconeri and he walked past me and disappeared.  Where are you?  Dante wanted to talk to you since he couldn’t talk to Todd.”

       “I’m in Llanview.  I came home earlier and I’m getting ready to come back.  Please, how did Todd seem when you saw him leave.”  Blair waited anxiously, afraid of what she might hear.

       “I don’t know.  He didn’t look too well and he was obviously distracted.  He completely ignored me when I called out to him.  I just assumed he was still under the weather.  Isn’t that what you said earlier?”

       “Yes, you say he was distracted.  Are you sure he didn’t hear you?”

       “He could have, but I don’t think he did.  Everyone else in the lobby looked at me, but he didn’t even stop walking.  I can give you Dante’s phone number if you’d like to call him.  I know he’s concerned about Todd, too.”

       Blair punched the number into the phone and thanked Carly.  Then she searched to see if she had missed more than the one call from Todd.  The only other new call was the one she had ignored when she was driving through Philadelphia.  It was from John.  It looked like he left her a message.  She hit the button to listen.

       “Blair, I hope you get this message.  Dante Falconeri has been trying to reach Todd all morning.  It is urgent you get Todd into a Doctor’s office as soon as possible.  The bullet that nicked Todd was coated with a compound containing a virulent strain of malaria.  According to Dante’s sources. It will attack Todd quickly. It’s possible he’s already been feeling its effects. there’s another problem, it also contained traces of an unknown hallucinogen.  No one knows what that might do to Todd.”

        Blair stopped the message and punched in John’s number.  It rang and she prayed John would answer.

       “Hello, Blair, I’m glad you called.”

       “John, there’s no time to explain.  I need your help.  I’m not in Port Charles, I’m in Llanview.  I just heard your message and you’re right, Todd is sick.  If I had known how sick, I never would have left.   Even if I take the Manning jet, I won’t be in Port Charles for at least two hours.   I’m afraid Todd might hurt himself or do something even worse.  He’s not at the hotel any longer and he’s not answering his phone again.  You saw him last night.  Please, you need to find him.” Blair waited hoping John could hear how upset she was.

       “Okay Blair, I’ll go look for him.  Any ideas where I should start?”

       “He seems to be fascinated with water lately, and he was up on the roof of the hotel last night.  I’m not sure.  I’m scared John.  I don’t want to lose him again.”

       “Get yourself back here.  I’ll find him for you.”  John hung up, staring across the street at Sonny’s restaurant.  Their business would have to wait.  Opening his phone, he called Falconeri.
“I just got off the phone with Manning’s ex. She confirms what we were afraid of.  Manning is sick and from the sounds of it, his mind may have been affected too.  She said he was no longer at the hotel... I see... you talked to your brother and Starr?  Okay, I’ll see if I can reach her.  Send some officers to patrol the warehouse docks, I’m going to check out the rooftop at the Metro Court... I know, but it’s possible he went back there and he might not have been seen returning.  I’m not taking any chances.”

****

         Blair was grateful for Todd and Victor’s insistence that the jet was kept fueled and ready at a moments notice.  Vince had assured her there was no problem getting permission for the flight.  They arrived at the private airport and entered the plane.

        Sam was tickled pink.  This was his first flight on the Manning jet. “Look, Grandma,  it looks like a living room.  Wow.”

       Jack looked around, he had never been on his father’s private jet either.  He had heard stories about it.  How his dad had proposed to his mom before Starr was born.  He knew that the proposal led to the famous Gold Balloon wedding.  He also knew that his father had taken a small boy to Boston on his jet for an organ transplant.  He looked over at his mom.  She had told him those stories when he was younger.  Whenever she had talked about it, he had always heard the love in her voice as she talked about his dad.  If he remembered the story right, the trip to Boston had ended in the plane going down in a snowstorm.  “You never told me that my father replaced the jet after the crash.  Why Mom?”

       Blair looked at her son. She hadn’t really thought about the fact that this was the second jet.  “There was so much that happened after that crash.  Starr developed Aplastic Anemia, I lost your half-brother Brendan and in the process, I lost your father.  There was a lot of pain and hurt for both your father and me during that time.  I didn’t find out until years later, that he replaced the original jet. The last time I almost took a ride on this jet was just before you were born.  Your father tried to take me and Starr down to Santa Domingo so I could get a quickie divorce from Max Holden and then he planned for us to get married.  I was stubborn and refused to go.  Once again, everything got messed up.”  Blair looked away from her son.  “If only I had gone then, it could have been so different for us.  There would have been no reason for the lie I told your dad which caused him to give you away.”  She turned back to her son.  ”In some ways, I’m as much to blame as your father for what he did to you.  I forgave him a long time ago.  I hope, with enough time, you forgive him too.  Buckle up Jack, we’re about to take off.”

       Jack sat down and buckled up.   He studied his mom.  He thought she was mad at his real father but she didn’t sound like it.  Maybe the plane had just brought back some memories she found hard to forget.

       Once the plane reached its level, Jack got up and joined Sam and the pilot in the cockpit.  Blair looked at her mom using the time to nap and heard the boys laughing and talking excitedly to Vince.  To them, this was the start of an adventure, for Blair it was the longest flight imaginable.  She had been unable to reach Starr before takeoff, but it was clear Starr hadn’t gotten back to the hotel before her father had woken up.  What had Tomas said to him?  She was sure it hadn’t been good.  Their new relationship was so fragile because of Todd’s state of mind.  He was so uncertain about himself.  He was doubting everything, especially Blair’s love.  By taking the jet she had cut off half of her travel time, but it was still too much time to be gone.  John had said there was a hallucinogen introduced into Todd’s body.  He had been hallucinating before that, would the new drug push him over the edge.   She glanced down at her watch and prayed they would be landing soon.

****

       He had no idea where he was.  All he could think of was Tomas’ tone when the bastard had rubbed it in that Blair was back together with him.  He had no thought but felt compelled to flee from the sound of Tomas’ voice as it echoed in his head. followed by his mother’s voice. “You’re too late”  He stumbled and fell against another pedestrian.

      “Hey you, watch where you’re going.  Stupid drunk.” The man pushed him aside and muttered angrily as he walked away.

      Todd clung to the lamppost he had been pushed against and watched the man leave.  “Drunk!  Mister, I’m as sober as a dead man.” He chuckled at that. Sober as a dead man.  Well, maybe not quite dead.

      “But you long to be, it’s about time you came to your senses.  Come with me and you won’t have to worry about lying fiancees or murdering assassins.”

       Todd blinked and pushed himself away from the lamppost. “Just like a dog. Ever faithful.  I knew you weren’t too far away.  You’re one bitch, I would gladly put down.  Oh, wait a minute I already did that.  Go away, Irene.”  The people going past looked at him funny and kept walking. “You’re drawing glances, they can’t believe you could show yourself in public like that.”  He snickered as he met Irene's smug smile.

      “Is that any way to speak to your mother?  I‘m just here to help you.”

       “You don’t want to help me, and you were never a mother to me.  Leave me alone.” He swayed and grabbed the post again.   He looked around trying to get his bearings.   He spotted the front of Sonny’s restaurant.  “Now I know where I am.” He moved toward the restaurant and then continued past it, his steps uneven and weaving.  From the corner of his eye, he knew she hadn’t left him but was keeping pace.  Good ole mom. He could count on her to stay with him. Blair had failed him.  She had promised him and she had broken her promise.  Why Blair?  Why Tomas?  You said you wanted to be with me.  He turned a corner and saw the lake.  “Don’t worry, I won’t burden you with my presence any longer.  Go ahead, stay with the bastard. I don’t care anymore.”  Up ahead the water beckoned.

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