Port Charles Chronicles: Chapter 28

     Starr and Michael were wandering around the Mall when Michael’s cell rang.

     “Hang on it’s my brother,” Michael answered. “Hi, what’s the matter?”

     “Michael, I’m trying to find Todd Manning.  Carly said you were with his daughter, Starr.   Is there any chance I could talk to her?”

      Michael handed the phone to Starr.  “He wants to talk to you.”

      Starr took it, looking uncomfortably at the phone and then speaking. “Hello, this is Starr.”

      “Ms.Manning, this is Detective Falconeri.  It is imperative I speak with your father on a matter that came up yesterday.  Do you have any idea where he might be?”

      “He’s at the Metro Court.  He wasn’t feeling well earlier and my Mom told me he was going to rest for the afternoon.  She asked me to check on him because she needed to go back home for a short time.  You should try the hotel.”

      “That won’t work.  He left the hotel a short while ago.  I hoped you could give me an idea where he would go in this town.  You say he was sick.  Do you think he would try and go to the hospital?”

      “You don’t know my dad.  He avoids hospitals like the plague, and I thought he just had the flu.  He wouldn’t think a doctor was necessary.   Why is it so important to speak to my dad right this minute?”

      “I don’t want to alarm you but something happened yesterday that makes us wonder if your father might be sicker than your mom and he thought.   It’s very likely he should see a doctor as soon as possible.” Dante was frustrated.  He didn’t want to scare Starr and he wasn’t sure what Manning had told his family about the shooting attempt.  “Listen, if you hear from your father will you give me a call?”

      “Sure.  I’ll call my mom after I get off.  Maybe she can give me an idea of where to look for my dad.  I wish I could be of more help.” She was about to hang up and thought of something else.

      “Detective, if I find him I’ll make sure to get him to a doctor.”  Starr hung up and handed the phone back to Michael.

     “That was weird.  He said my dad could be sicker than the flu, but he didn’t elaborate.  It was a strange thing to say.  Mom was awfully worried when she called me earlier.  You don’t think my dad could be seriously sick, do you?”

     “I don’t know, Starr.  Go ahead and give your mom a call and I’ll call my mom.  Maybe we can get some idea where your dad could have gone.”

     “I don’t know Michael, it’s not that small of a town.  He could be anywhere.”

     “Just make the call,”  Michael called his mom watching Starr as she placed her call.  He could see she was worried by the way she chewed on her lower lip waiting for an answer. His mom answered and she verified what Dante had said about Starr’s dad leaving the hotel.  “Mom, do you know if he had a car or anything?.... I see.  Thanks, Mom, that could be a help.  I’ll let you know if we find him.”

     Starr was really beginning to worry.  Her mom’s phone had gone straight to voicemail. “I can’t reach my mom.  What do we do now?”

    “My mom said she was pretty sure your dad was on foot when he left.  We’re not that far from the Metro Court.  We can begin walking toward the hotel from here and I’ll tell Dante to have a patrol search from the other direction.  With luck, someone might spot him.  If he’s sick he’s not going to be moving too fast.”   Michael took Starr’s hand and they left to begin their walk.

     Outside the Mall, Starr felt suddenly chilled even though the day was warm.  “I’m really worried.  If he’s so sick, why did he leave the hotel?  Mom was sure he would stay put. “

     “It could be he’s not thinking straight.” Michael wrapped an arm around Starr’s shoulder.  “We don’t know how sick he might be.  Dante’s a pretty good cop, he’ll get some men out looking if he thinks your father’s in danger.”

     Starr’s cell rang and she answered “Mom?  Oh, it’s you, John, I was hoping my mom was calling.  What can I help you with?”

    “I’m calling about your dad.”

    “Can’t you leave him alone.  You hounded him and got him for Victor’s death.  He’s here trying to start over, I don’t see why you’re still bothering him.”  She knew she was taking her worry out on John, but it still felt good.

     “Calm down Starr.  I’m not trying to get your dad for anything.  I’m concerned about him.  Look, I think you’re old enough to handle what I’m going to tell you.   Someone tried to kill your dad yesterday and although they didn’t succeed, they still managed to harm him.  I’m working with Dante Falconeri and am trying to find your father.  I talked to your mom and she’s headed back as quickly as the Manning jet can get her here.  Dante said he talked to you.  You really have no idea where your father could be?  Your mom said something about water and high places.  Do you know any reason she would be thinking  something like that?”

     “I haven’t the foggiest.  Dad never had the best of luck around water.  I mean Irene tried to kill him on the dock in Llanview.  As far as high places, the only high places he loved was the penthouse and his jet.  I’m not sure what mom was trying to tell you.  Look, Michael and I are walking toward the Metro Court.  I know it’s a long shot, but maybe we’ll run into him.  Where are you?”

     “I’m at the Metro Court, it seems your dad was up on the roof yesterday when all of you were looking for him.  I thought I’d see if he went up there again.  If he’s not there, I’ll start walking to meet you and Corinthos.”

    “Okay.  John, my dad has something worse than the flu, doesn’t he?”

     “Yes.”

     “Will it kill him?”

     “I don’t know.  First, we need to find him, then the doctors can determine how bad it is.”

****

     Todd leaned against the building, he was sweating like a fiend and it was getting harder to walk.  Somehow he had missed the turn to the dock and now he was lost.  You can’t do anything right.  You never learn.  You’ve screwed up your life from the get-go and now you can’t even end it right.  Damn this town. Damn you, Irene.  He reached into his pocket for his cell and realized he no longer had it. He screamed in rage and slammed his injured hand against the brick wall.  Pain flared through his whole body and he sank to the ground, cradling his hand close to his chest.

     “What are you doing, Todd?  Are you just going to give up and let Tomas win?  You sent snakes to Max.  I really expected more fight out of you.”

     Todd looked at Blair, glaring down at him in a long red dress.  She looked like she was ready to take on the world.  “I can’t do it anymore.  What do you want from me?  I fought for eight years to get back to you and you still turned to that bastard.”  Todd used the building and clawed his way back off the ground.  “You lured me in with lies and the minute I fell for them, I got stabbed in the back.  You’re with him right now.  Why should I listen to you anymore.” He stumbled away from her, moving down the alley for another street.

      “Are you so sure I’m lying to you?  Maybe you’re lying to yourself.  There’s only one way to find out the truth. Confront me.  If you end it all you’ll never know the truth.  Don’t give up on me.”

      Todd reached the street and covered his ears to Blair’s remarks, all he wanted was for the pain to stop.   His heart had been ripped to shreds by Tomas’ words. His mother wouldn’t let up and now Blair was adding in her two cents worth.  Lies, truths, he couldn’t tell them apart anymore and he was too tired to try. He reached the end of the street and saw the answer to his problems. Peace and quiet were ahead all he had to do was get there and he could finally rest.

       Starr and Michael had reached the block with Sonny’s restaurant.   Starr grabbed Michael’s arm. “Michael I think I see him about three blocks ahead.”

      “Where?”

       “Oh Damn!  I’ve lost sight of him.  What’s in that direction?”

       “If he’s headed that way, then we have him.  The lake is in that direction.  He’s going to run into a dead end.  That’s where the landing for Spoon Island is.”  They picked up their pace and headed for the dock.

      “We need to hurry.  Even from here, he looked unsteady.  If he’s as sick as John says, he needs to get to a doctor.  If anything happens to him now after everything he’s been through.” Starr’s voice trailed off as she recalled what her mom told her about the trial and some of the things that had come to light. No one had bothered to dig deeper when he got home and as a result, Victor had died.  His actions against Sonny after hearing about Hope just proved how close he was to the edge. Suddenly she felt like running to catch him.  His weird mood earlier was raising red flags.  Something was definitely off.

        Michael was surprised as Starr took off running. “Starr wait.  What’s the hurry all of a sudden?”

       “I don’t know, but I feel like we need to get to him fast.  I know he’s sick but something else is going on.  Michael, I don’t think he’s just wandering around lost.  I think he’s headed for the dock.  Oh God! I pray I’m wrong.”

       Todd stopped as he emerged from between the buildings. His eyes were focused on the cool water in front of him.  He leaned against the building as he trembled with fever.  It was the answer to all his problems.  No more hatred, no more pain.  Starr was moving on with her life and didn’t need him.  Jack wanted nothing to do with him.

       “Todd, don’t do this to us.  This isn’t an answer for anything.”  Blair had reappeared beside him.

       Todd looked over at her. She was dressed in her grandmother’s wedding gown. “I should have stayed in that tomb with my father all those years ago and never married you.  I hurt you more times than I can count and the funny thing was, I just wanted to love you.  I can’t do that, Blair.  I don’t know how.  Victor, Peter, and even my mother, Irene, have finally made me see I really am a lost cause.  Once I’m out of your life for good, you’ll be able to forget me and start new.  You were doing that until I came back.  Jack needs you now.  Starr lost Hope because of me, but she’s recovering.  I’m just so tired.”  He reached for her one last time and she vanished.  He whispered to the air. “I love you.”  He stumbled down the remaining stairs and stood teetering on the edge.  For all his resolve to end it, he found himself hesitating.  “All those brave words but you still can’t do it.  It’s one simple step, Todd.”  He never heard Starr’s scream as he stepped off.

       The water closed in over him and he sank into its embrace.  It felt cool and comforting.  For one brief moment, he started to panic, but he was too tired to try more than a single kick to get back to the surface.  Completely spent from fever and his mind worn out from fighting his demons, he gave in to the lethargy that overtook him.  There was nothing to fear, no more noise in his head, just peace, and quiet. He let go of his last breath and drifted to the bottom of the lake.

       Michael and Starr rushed to the edge but saw no sign of him.  “It’s too murky, Starr.  He’s not resurfacing.”  Michael looked over and saw Starr had already shed her shoes. Before he could say anything else she dove in after her father.  Michael quickly followed her in.  He was worried about Starr. She had no idea how cold the water in the lake was. He swam below the surface and caught a glimpse of her as the afternoon light gave the water an eery greenish glow.  He tried to follow her to stop her before she went too deep, but lost her as the water got darker and harder to see through.  His lungs began protesting and he headed back up towards the light.  A hand grabbed his ankle and he looked down to see Starr gesturing for him to follow her back down.  He caught up her hand and began swimming for the surface even though she tried to break free of him.  As they came up for air, she began hitting him.  She struggled to free herself and was gasping for breath. Catching his own breath, he tried to hold her. “Starr, stop fighting me.  The water’s freezing, we can’t stay in it much longer. He hasn’t surfaced. It could be too late.”

       “No, you don’t understand. Let me go.” Her teeth were chattering but she had to make Michael hear her.  “He’s my father.  I already found him but he’s caught on something.  Michael, please!  He’s almost directly below us.  The current pushed him under a piling, we have to hurry.”  She dove under and Michael attempted to stay right behind her. The dock structure loomed in front of him and he saw Starr’s dad hung up and floating limply under a crossbar, Starr was attempting to free him.  Michael circled around under the dock and began working from his angle.

****

       Todd was walking in a park. Ahead he spotted two young men roughhousing.  As they laughed and broke apart, the taller and if Todd had to guess, older one picked up a football and was tossing it in the air, as the younger man turned and picked up his notepad.

“Oh, come on Brendan.  You have all night to work on your article.  You promised to join me for some fun,”  said the older boy.

“I just have a couple lines left.   Give me a minute.”  Brendan sat down and began writing as his older brother frowned at him.  The young man looked up and spotted Todd.  “Hey mister, want to toss the ball with me while he finishes his paper.”

Todd nodded walking closer to the young men. “Toss it to me and go long.”  Todd caught the ball easily as the young man began running.  He threw the ball in a high arc a little in front of the young man and watched him sprint and catch it with one hand.  “Good catch.  Do you play?”

“Naw, just like to play around.  My dad played football in college. You throw a mean ball.  How about you?  Did you play when you were younger?”

“Some, but it was long ago.  I thought at one time I might like to play pro, but it didn’t happen.  My life took a different turn.  You remind me a lot of me when I was your age. Do you guys come here often? I’m not familiar with this park.”

“No, this is our first time here.  Not a bad place, though.  We’re here to meet someone.”

Todd smiled, the young man was personable and easy-going.  “I see.  You two are friends?”

“No, Brendan and I are half-brothers, Hey?”  He tossed the football into his brother’s lap. “Aren’t you finished with that paper yet?”

Brendan looked up from what he was doing. “I’ll be done in a sec.” he smiled and took the football, sticking it under his knee.  “In the meantime, Grandmother says you need to learn patience.  Good things come to those who wait.” 

Todd’s heart lurched. Brendan’s smile was a carbon copy of Blair’s, along with his emerald green eyes.   He turned and looked into a pair of hazel eyes watching him carefully.

The young man smiled shyly.  “Hi, Dad.”

****

      Michael surfaced. One arm wrapped around Starr’s dad, the other pulling through the water to the edge of the dock. Starr was swimming alongside and held her dad’s head above water as Michael hauled himself out of it. He reached down and began pulling Todd’s body up onto the dock as Starr pushed him from the water.  After getting her father out, Michael extended a hand and helped Starr back onto the dock.

      Starr knelt down beside her dad.  “Dad, it’s me, Starr.”   She felt for a pulse. “He’s not breathing and I can’t feel a pulse.” She looked down at her dad. “ This isn’t happening, you can’t be dead, not again.”

       Michael moved next to Starr slipping an arm around her briefly. “Hey, don’t give up.  There’s still a chance we got to him in time.  Look, we got to get the water out of him.  He can’t breathe if his lungs are full of water.  I learned some things from the lifeguards down at my father’s resort.  Let me see if I can help.  You call 911.” Starr started rummaging through her purse, watching Michael as he started trying to resuscitate her father.

       Michael took a breath, held it, and then pushed the air into Todd’s lungs.  He stopped briefly when he felt how warm the guy was. “Starr, this is weird, your dad’s burning up. His skin is very hot to the touch.  He should be cooler almost cold but he’s not.”  Michael took another breath and repeated his actions again.  There was still no response.

       Starr found her phone.  “Hello, yes, we need an ambulance.  It’s my dad.  He was trapped underwater at the...” she paused looking at Michael.

      “Tell them Spoon Island Landing.” Michael continued his breathing.

      “Spoon Island Landing.  Please hurry, he’s not breathing.”  She hung up and leaned closer to her father’s ear. “Dad, please come back.” Just then her father convulsed and water gushed out of his mouth.

        Michael turned him on his side as more water came out.  “I think he’s breathing again.  Mr. Manning, can you hear me?”

        Starr was grateful he was breathing but he wasn’t coming around.“ She moved her father’s head to her lap. “You need to wake up.  What am I going to tell Mom?” A tear dropped onto her cheek, “He looks so serene.  My dad’s never been serene.” She looked over at Michael. How could she explain her dad to him?  “As far back as I can remember, he’s always been, well, energetic. Always moving.  He was kind of like a wild animal you couldn’t quite tame.  But this last year, when he came home, something in him was changed.  My mom said awful things were done to him when he was held prisoner.  I don’t think any of us realized what that did to him.”  As she sat there smoothing his hair off his face, she recalled watching her father walk off the dock.

        Michael couldn’t figure out anything to say and then he heard the sirens.  “Starr, the ambulance is almost here.  Stay with your dad, I’ll go bring them down.”

        She nodded and as Michael left she whispered. “Why? What made you do it, Dad?”








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