The Devil You Know: Chapter 45

The entire way to the hospital, Blair held Todd’s hand, imploring him to wake up.  The scene playing before her eyes made her remember the awful few days in the late summer when she and Carly had found him shot in his suite at the Metrocourt and the coma he had fallen into afterwards.  His blood had so stained her outfit that night, Cord had gotten her a change of clothes at the hotel later on that night.  Now, dressed in a red halter it was like he was bleed all over her again.

“Come on, Todd, wake up.  I’m here and I can help you with whatever it is you are dealing with.  Just come back to me,” she cried, running her fingers over his scar.

He didn’t answer.

They got to GH and he was taken into a cubicle.  Nurse Johnson grabbed Blair’s arm, but this time, she didn’t fight the woman.  Logically, she knew he was in no physical danger.  It was his mental state that had her worried. 

As she sat in the emergency room, waiting for word, Starr and Jack hustled in with Victor.  “Mom, any word?  Did Dad wake up on the way over?” her daughter begged her for answers as he son just stood there, shaken by the whole episode.  She knew he had already been concerned with his father mindset and this was confirming those fears.

Blair shook her head, unable to say the words.  She opened her arms and took comfort in her children’s embraces.  Over Starr’s head, she mouthed a thank you to Victor for bringing them to her.  He nodded back as he said, “I think I’ll be needed here soon anyway.”  Then he took a seat.

It was then that Viki and Clint came in.  “Has there been any word?” Todd’s sister asked.

“No, nothing.  And nothing changed the way over.  He was just staring…into nothingness,” Blair told through her tears, still clinging to her children.

Victor got up then and pulled Viki away from Blair.  “We…need to talk.  It’s about Todd, something I…actually remember.”

Viki and Clint followed Victor and he began to explain his memory from the night before of literally running into his seven year old brother as a boy.  “I don’t know why, but I think that may have something to do with what is happening to Todd right now.”

“That he is remembering it too?” Clint asked.

“It’s possible.  Whatever this is, I’d bet my half of the trust that it’s all link to that recital.  He still hasn’t been totally honest about anything regarding that day, has he?” Victor asked, looking imploringly at his sister and brother-in-law.

“No, not really, now that I think about it.  I think you should talk to this Dr. Collins.  He seems to be aware that there is something going on,” Viki told him.  When he gave her a scowl, she returned a look and he tried to look cowed, but it wasn’t very sincere.

As they finished their conversation, the ER doctor came out and over to Blair.  She stood there, calmly and to Victor estimation, too calm.  The doctor spoke.  “I can tell you that all his vitals are stable, even good.  He is just unresponsive to anything.  Has he been through any trauma recently?”

Victor could help the snort that came out.  If only the doctor knew.  When four nasty looks were thrown his way, he reined himself in and replied, “Yes, a lot actually.”

“Can you be more specific?” the doctor next asked.

“How much time do you have?” Victor asked back.

Viki rolled her eyes and then asked, “Is there any way we can bring him out of it?”

“I don’t think so,” a new voice said.  The family turned around and saw Kevin Collins approach.  “If he hasn’t come out of it yet, it’s buried deep in his psyche for a reason.”  He looked around.  “Would anyone have an idea about it?”

Blair turned to the ER doctor.  “Can I go in and see him, please?”

He nodded and she hurried in, having been apart from him for too long already.  If not for the fact that his eyes were open, she would have thought he was sleeping peacefully.  She walked up to him and took his hand.  “I want you to wake up Todd, right now!  Don’t you know how much I need you?  I know something must have scared you.  We can face whatever it is together.”

He remained unresponsive. 

A hand reached out and touched her shoulder from behind.  She looked up and saw Victor there.  If she didn’t know better, she’d say he looked sorrowful.  “Blair…”

She pushed him aside.  “Get out, Victor!”  Right now, she couldn’t bare looking at his face.  His sneering, insufferable expressions haunted her to this day, especially when she had thought for those long eight years that he was Todd.      

Victor held up his hands and back out.  He knew how she was when she got like this.  The mother lioness had come out, and pity anyone who tried to get near her protecting those she loved.  He turned around and pointed towards the cubicle.  “Starr, Jack, your mom…she needs you.”

That was all it took for the kids.  They hurried in and went to their parents.

Back in the ER, Victor watched them go as Kevin approached.  “I get the impression you know more than most about what’s going on.”

Victor heaved out a sigh.  “I need a drink, or at least a cup of coffee.”  He began to walk away then noticed the other man was not following him.  “You coming?” he asked snidely.  Kevin looked at him and followed.

After the got their coffees, they found an empty conference room.  “It’s a long story,” he began.  When the other man was about to say something, Victor held up his hand.  “No I mean really, it’s a long story.”

“Well, if it helps, I know about your sister’s case.  Lot of papers written about it.  Books, even,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, I saw them.  Didn’t even get the name spelled right.  It’s one ‘K’ and not ‘C’,” he mumbled.  Then he sat back.  “No, what my father…our father did to Viki is a cakewalk in comparison.  What was done to my brother and I, it’s all on Mommy Dearest.”  He took a breath, but hesitated.  “You gonna bill me for this?” Kevin mouth turned up and he didn’t answer.  Victor took that as a sign to begin.

“Okay, despite appearances, we’re identical twin, down to our DNA.  He has a daughter that when the test was run on me, it came back positive.  We had samples run off an old test of his, same DNA.  Almost a decade ago, he was kidnapped and brought to a hidden lab.  There he was tortured for eight years.  But before they did a number on him, they made me memorize his life, down to the minutest detail.  When that was finished, I was sent back to Llanview to live his life.  I was married to his wife, several times, raised his children, and ran his paper.  And all that time…”  Victor voice trailed off.

“Has he ever said what was done to him?” Kevin asked   

“Not to my knowledge.  Then in August of 2011, he came back to town.  He had escaped and made his way back.  He didn’t tell anyone, just lurked around.  Saw our sister, saw his kids, saw Blair, but didn’t reveal himself.  The people who held him were after him.  One of them wanted to harm my son, Sam, and Todd killed the guy.  He eventually confronted me.  He swore he was Todd Manning, but I didn’t believe him.  Then the goons who took him came to get him back.  He got away from them again and made contact with a local cop who hid him.  But, Mr. Impatient that he is, he revealed himself to us and threatened me.”

Kevin held up his hands for a minute.  “Is there any way to shorten this?”

Victor scowled.  “Fine!  Eventually a DNA test was run, which was a match, so we ran a second one, same result.  Then for the big kicker.  The cop that Todd sought help from, he came back to town with our mother, who were had all thought was dead.  But she wasn’t and it was revealed she was the head of some rogue CIA group.  She was the one who had orchestrated the kidnapping and switch eight years ago.  I was supposed to be her puppet and Todd supposedly had info that belonged to her.”

“So this is all tied into your mother?”

“Don’t get all shrinky on me yet, there more.  See, we all thought the woman had died like, thirty years before.  And she had left a diary where she sounded sorrowful about abandoning Todd to an abusive adoptive father.”

“Which wasn’t the mother you eventually met, I’m guessing?”

“Nowhere near it.  Then to make matters worse, our mother made Todd and the rest of the family think he killed me and I was kidnapped.  Then Todd killed her thinking she had taken out his entire family which lead to hallucinations, which led to him trying to cover his ass about what he thought he had done, which led to an arrest and bail jump when his daughter was in an accident, which led to a trial where he was found not guilty due to post-traumatic stress which led him to stay in Port Charles and deliver my son who he thought was stillborn, which led to a baby switch and more ass covering which eventually led to him being shot.”

Kevin’s mouth just hung open.

“So, yeah, there may be issues there,” Victor said, a smirk forming on his face.  “And let’s not get into his childhood, which I remember in every detail.”  Victor took a sip of his coffee.  “In all honesty, that is, I think, the root of all this.”

“What is?  Is there something specific?” Kevin asked.

Victor nodded.  “I think he’s remembering the night his father beat up his mother.  It was the same night we met, but neither of us ever remembered it...until now.  Because of everything our mother did to us, I don’t have many memories I can call my own.  But I did just remember…”

Kevin felt he was getting somewhere.  “What do you remember?”

“I remembered standing in front of a boy who looked exactly like me.  I think he remembers and that is what is scaring him the most,” Victor concluded.  Then, he a quiet, almost boyish tone, he asked, “Is that possible?  Could that have scared him the most?  That it confirmed everything we now know.”

Kevin shrugged his shoulders.  “It’s entirely possible, but the only way we would know is if we asked Todd.  And right now, with the state he’s in, no one can reach him, although Blair is trying her damnedest.”  With that, Kevin got up and headed out.  He noticed that Victor hadn’t followed.  “Mr. Lord, are you coming back?”

Victor looked at him a curious expression on his face.  “Hey doc, what if there was a way we could talk to him?”     
  
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