She gripped her belly. “Okay, Baby, it looks like we have to go in to get it. Your daddy is going to owe me big time.” Holding onto a tall planter just off the sidewalk, Blair slowly dropped down to her knees and began crawling under the bushes. It was a tight fit since the baby was so far along and she was finally forced to stop, unable to go farther because the bushes were too thick “Damn it! I know I can reach it. Stretch Blair.” She lowered her head and reached forward, her fingers catching the edge of the card. Using her long nails, she pinned the card to the ground and pulled it closer until she could get her whole hand around it. “Yes! I‘ve got you. Now I’ve just got to get out of here.”
She started to back out slowly but suddenly her hair got tangled in some branches. “Shit!” she said as she tried to free her hair. Having freed it, she started to back out again only to feel someone tap her rear end. “David, get your paws off me. Wait until I get out of here. We are so going to have a talk.”
“Darling, if anyone is going to have a talk with David it will be me. Blair, what are you doing down there in your condition? “
“Dorian?” Blair squeaked and finally brought her head out of the bushes. She turned around to look up at her Aunt. “Where have you been? Tony’s been trying to find you since you left his house.”
Dorian looked down at her niece. Her hair was every which way, and there were a few twigs sticking out at odd angles. She smiled gently and reached to remove them. “I went to see Adriana. After helping out Tony,” she frowned and cleared her throat. She reached down to support Blair as she pulled herself off the ground and helped her dust off. She continued. “well, I just needed time to think about things. Somehow I’ve got to make David understand about Carl without losing him.”
Blair looked down at the card in her hand. She grinned mischievously and then giggled. “I think I know exactly what we can do. Dorian, if we play this right, there is a good chance we’ll both get what we want.”
Dorian recognized the gleam in Blair’s eyes. “Well let’s get inside. Something tells me you’re about to resurrect the Helmore twins.”
Blair laughed. “That might be a little hard to pull off given my condition but, believe me, you’re going to love this idea.” She linked arms with her aunt, and they entered the house.
****
Bo sat there stunned. "Clint was being drugged. God, how did we all miss that?”
Natalie had been sitting quietly as her mother explained about her father She tried to remember back to the night he had been taken to the psych ward at the hospital. She had insisted on seeing him. Matthew had left, and the doctor had walked her back to where they had her father. As she walked around the curtain, she saw him struggling, and the orderlies were holding him down as the nurse pulled out a syringe. Natalie struggled to remember what happened next; suddenly she wasn’t looking at a nurse, instead, standing in her place was Alison Perkins. “Oh my God” She looked at her mother and Uncle Bo. “They did something to me that night. I remember now. Alison Perkins was standing over Dad. She even looked at me and began to laugh. I remember screaming but then I was back in the waiting room, and a nurse was shaking me, telling me I was having a bad dream. I just believed her.”
Bo stood up. “Natalie, I think we need to know if Jeffrey King’s fingerprints are on that basket. I like the young man but if he has anything to do with this organization, it’s time we found out. Viki, you said Clint was still in danger from Alison and her people and that's why he can’t come home. Tell me where he is and we’ll put him in protective custody.”
Viki shook her head no. “I can’t Bo. According to Ms. Vance, Alison Perkins has many people looking for him. We have no idea how deep the organization goes. For all we know, they may have someone in the department. I trust her. She’ll keep him safe. For now, we must continue to show our concern for Clint and act like we're trying to find him. It’s what the organization expects us to do.”
Natalie stood up and donned some latex gloves. She then picked up the basket. “I’ll take this down to forensics. I should have an answer for you shortly.”
Bo opened the door for her and told Fish to help her. As he shut the door, Natalie, in a hurry, walked directly into John McBain.
“Fish, help! I don’t want to drop this.” She then turned her anger on the man blocking her. “Idiot, why don’t you watch where you’re going?” Natalie struggled to balance the basket in her hands and then stopped stunned as she realized who steadied it. She stared into two mesmerizing blue eyes. “John?”
“Hey Lieutenant McBain, long time no see,” said Fish with a smile. “Where have you been?”
John stared at Natalie, then he responded to Fish’s inquiry. “It’s Agent McBain now Fish. I’m back with the FBI. Is the Commissioner available?”
“Sure, he’s in his office with Mrs. Banks.” Fish turned to Natalie. “Here let me take that. Sorry, I was putting on gloves when you bumped into the Lieutenant. Just tell me where you want this to go.”
Natalie looked at Fish. “It’s going to my lab,” as she started to follow Fish she glanced back and saw John knock on Bo’s door. “Great, now the basket has another set of prints. Looks like I’ll be wading through more than a couple of sets. I’ll have to exclude John’s, and Nigel’s from the other ones. At least theirs are in the system.”
****
Bo was handing a cup of tea to Viki. “Come in,” he said in response to the knock. He looked up and was surprised to see John McBain standing in the doorway. “John, what brings you to Llanview? The last I heard, you had left Port Charles for parts unknown.”
John looked at Viki and back at Bo. He glanced at Bo’s desk and noted that a file was opened on the desk. He also noted that Bo made no attempt to hide the file from Viki. The only conclusion he could come to was that Viki already knew what was in it. He then realized Bo had asked him a question. “That’s true, but it seems my case just became entangled with another one. I’ve been looking into the attempt on the life of one of the Supreme Court Justices and I was following a lead concerning a particular tattoo. During my investigation, I found out you made inquiries about that same tattoo. I was already headed here to talk to you when I received a call from my superior. He informed me that an anonymous file was delivered to our federal offices and it has stirred up a hornet’s nest. He told me some of the contents of the file and wanted me to find out what you know. What he described to me sounds exactly like the file I see on your desk. Bo, out of curiosity, where did you get that file and why is Viki involved?”
Viki took a sip of her tea, she could see Bo was trying to decide how best to answer, so she spoke up first. “John, have you seen Natalie?”
John looked at Viki curiously. He had a feeling Viki’s question was more than it seemed. “Yes, I just ran into her out in the squad room. Don’t worry Viki, I’m only here on business, I won’t make any attempt to see her or Liam while I’m here.”
Viki frowned. “That would be a shame, John. I think Natalie would very much like to see you. But if you saw her in the squad room, then I’m sure you also saw the basket she was carrying. You see, the basket was sent to me.” She waited patiently for her words to sink in.
It took a moment but then John realized what Viki was saying. He glanced again at the pictures on Bo’s desk. Pictures of baskets similar to the one sent to Viki. Now he understood. “But why target you? From what I’ve been told they’ve targeted Congress. What possible reason would they have to get you?”
Viki shrugged. “Perhaps it has to do with the fact that they targeted Victor, Todd, and Clint. I’m not sure. Luckily, the same source who sent these anonymous files warned me. Now Natalie is trying to find out who was responsible for getting my basket to me.”
“Wait a minute. What do you mean they targeted Victor, Todd, and Clint? Victor’s dead, the last time I saw Todd he was taking on Sonny Corinthos in Port Charles, and Clint’s the reason everything went sour between Natalie and me. What do they have to do with this Organization?
Bo slid a chair towards John. “Sit down, there’s a lot you need to catch up on.”
****
Across town, Blair and Dorian finished their lunch. Much to Dorian's frustration, Blair had kept the conversation about Adriana. Now Blair started to clear the table and she put a finger to her lips indicating Dorian needed to be quiet. As Dorian watched, she pulled an electronic bug out of the floral centerpiece and proceeded to put it inside a jar and closed the lid. Then she stuck the jar in the dishwasher and turned it on. She wiped her hands and turned to Dorian. "That should give us some privacy. I know you've been chomping at the bit wanting to ask questions about Tony," Blair quickly changed her words after seeing Dorian's face, "okay Todd, but believe me, they can wait. While you were in Paris, Todd was able to find out a little bit more about Carl's plan. He believes it's a plot to gain control of Congress."
Dorian's shock at seeing the bug turned to annoyance at Todd's fanciful imagination. "Really, Blair, I know Carl is Alison Perkins' brother and that he deceived me, but do you seriously believe he's planning something so outrageous."
"When you arrived, you asked me why I was down on the ground. I was looking for this, it belongs to a basket David has in his room" She passed the card to Dorian.
Opening it, Dorian read the sentiment and who sent it. "David has a basket that was sent to me?"
"Yes. Last night he was drinking some of this when I arrived home." She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the leftover wine.
"Blair, that's a very fine wine. Of course, I'm a little upset David started drinking it without me but I don't see why this gift from Carl is anything to be alarmed about."
"Todd has proof that Carl's organization is putting the drug from the compound into numerous bottles of this very wine. Those bottles were placed in gift baskets and sent out to members of Congress. He thinks Carl wants control of you. Before you laugh at the idea, you should know David's been acting extremely weird even for him. Do you know he's out looking for a job because of something I said to him last night? Todd thinks David is following my suggestions because of the drug."
Dorian looked at the card in her hand and back at the bottle in Blair's. "You really believe that, but you can't know for sure that the wine is drugged."
Blair nodded, "that's true but how else do you explain David's behavior. Shh, there's the front door. It's probably David. Now you can see for yourself."
Moments later David walked into the kitchen. “I did it, Blair. Dorian’s going to be ....” He stopped when he realized Dorian was there. “Dorian! You’re home. I thought you were staying away because you were regretting getting back together. I’ve got a surprise for you. I’ve got a job. A real one. I wanted to show you that I’ve changed.” He put his paper down on the table. “I’m going to sell insurance again,” he said proudly.
Blair was trying hard not to laugh at David’s declaration. He was so sincere and Dorian was looking at him like he had two heads.
David noticed the bottle of wine in Blair's hand. “We should celebrate, don’t you think. You’re home and I’m going to show you I can be a better husband.”
Before Dorian could say anything. David took the bottle and grabbed two glasses from the shelf. He poured the wine and handed a glass to Dorian. “Cheers,” he chugged his down and poured a second. “Drink, it’s good stuff. I’ve got another whole bottle that I’ve saved so we can have a nice reunion.”
Dorian pretended to take a sip. “David, maybe you should slow down and tell me all about your day. I’m really excited to hear about this new job, why don’t you sit down. I’ll be right back, Blair wanted me to look at something right before you got here. I promise I’ll be right back.” She patted his cheek, and David got a big goofy smile on his face.
“Sure Dorian, I’ll just sit down here and wait for you.” he drank some more of the wine and sat down.
“That’s good, don't move.” She walked over to Blair, took her elbow, and moved her out of the kitchen. “My God, how fast does that drug work?”
“I’m not sure how fast it works, but I do know it last a while in your system. David had several drinks last night, and he was still under the influence this morning when he went looking for the job. I’m betting this latest dose will just keep him pliant even longer.” she giggled. “I can just see him selling insurance. Don’t worry, Dorian. Sooner or later the drug will leave his system and he won’t be any the wiser. For now, go enjoy it and remember he’ll do whatever you tell him, including leaving you alone to spend time with Carl this evening. Don't you see Dorian? We can use this wine to our advantage now. We'll pour the second bottle into another label and you can serve it to Carl tonight. If we play our cards right, by the end of the evening, we'll be able to make Carl do whatever we want
.
Dorian thought about what Blair just suggested. Blair's comment about getting what they both wanted suddenly became clear. The wheels began turning in her mind. She smiled wickedly as she envisioned what she would do to Carl and gave Blair a little hug. “I hate what I’m going to do to David, but if this works, Carl Peterson will never know what hit him.”
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Provide us with feedback, but be courteous in your comments and criticism. Thanks!