Risk

Chapter XLVIII

E-me

Alexis comes back into the compound. Andreas gets the door for her. As soon as she is in the door she kicks off her heels and strips off the too heavy diamond and pink tourmaline earrings. "I'm going to go change into something comfortable." She says tersely.

Andreas nods. "I will prepare a brandy and some... real food and have it brought to the study if that meets Madame's approval?"

"Fine." Alexis starts rubbing the back of her neck. The strapless evening gown in a pink so light it's actually the color of ice is covered with a royal blue sash fastened with the Cassadine insignia. Tonight had been a command performance at the Presidential palace. And it wasn't that the food hadn't been good just that she hadn't gotten to eat any of it while she was providing the Cassadine presense for the project. And getting cornered by a number of other more than worthy charities who must have figured the Cassadines coffers were open. She's been using all her verbal skills to not make any promises.
Going into her room she looks for something comfortable to put on and sighs. Sweats would be sweet about now. Comfort clothes even if it was too warm for them really. She grabs the next best thing... a pair of satin pj's and a robe and heads back down to the study. Andreas rises from behind the desk when Alexis enters and begins to serve the brandy and light repast but Alexis waves him back to the computer. "Any mail?"

"They are printing off now." Andreas informs her. He rises from behind the desk and goes behind the couch where Alexis is sitting. He rests both of his hands on her shoulders feeling the tension in her shoulders and neck. Alexis instinctively stiffens under his hands but doesn't say anything. Andreas begins digging the knots out one by one. "This evening was difficult for Madame?"

"They need so much. And I can't make any promises to them."

"They will send proposals... probably tomorrow. You will find other resources for them, Madame."

"Other resources?"

"The Cassadine Estate has deep pockets. But they are not the only pockets."

"There is no way I can find funding for the projects and not let it be known that I'm in Uganda."

"It is unlikely we will be here much longer, Madame." Satisfied that Alexis is a little more relaxed. Andreas goes over to the printer and as is his custom slides the emails into a leather bound folder and brings them to Alexis and then steps back standing at the ready if she should need him.

<<< Was over at your place today. K was packing up your stuff. Jax is buying a house as big as the Quartermaine Mansion and says you're going to move in there. That it's the only way your vacation will get cut short. Jason is out of town so I have to keep on top of things here at the warehouse. I f'd up and said something in front of Jax. I hope he doesn't try to mess with Jason. Jax and Sonny never got along. I bet it's the same with Jax and Jason. Jason doesn't get on with anyone anyway.
But with Jason out of town, I think I'll go over to the new place and help K. unpack too. That way I'll get more of an idea of what is going on. I wish you could tell me where you are. Not that I can afford to come get ya. Figure you have your purse with you. At least this time I wouldn't be out on bond. (that was a joke. I know-- not funny.)
Anything I find out... I'll pass on.

Zander.>>>

Alexis flips swiftly to the next email. Kristina is packing up her apartment? Jax is buying a house? What the hell is going on?!

<<<
The bridegroom is eager. The date for your renewal of vows has been set. I hope you are nearly completed with your trousseau shopping but it seems he will take you as you are. Don't worry your little head about the marriage contract. I'll handle everything.

Thinking only of your happiness,

Stavros>>>

The slivers of chicken prepared in a honey'd ginger sauce forms into pit in the bottom of her stomach. Alexis groans. Marriage contract?! Worry my little head?!

<<<
Jax was just over this afternoon. He is requesting a guest list for our side of the family. Not normally something I'd inflict on anyone... even Spencer. Jax is pushing for a wedding within a week unless I can locate you before. Does Mr Jacks know what he is getting into really?
Laura was over earlier as well. It was my day for unexpected visitors. The contract you drafted for Nikolas has her... disquieted. While I know that Nikolas must have requested it, I was... surprised by the contents. A little forewarning would have been appreciated.

Stefan>>>

The horror just continues to grow-- an occasion with all the relatives there? Last time that had been attempted... Katherine Bell had gone off the parapet and that hadn't even been all of the relatives-- just the ones that had the reputation for being well behaved. Alexis tries to remember. "Andreas? What happened the last time the whole family got together?"

Andreas considers his answer. "It's been quite a few years, madame. I believe you were away at boarding school." After a thoughtful pause he continues. "One of the distant cousins attempted to poison the appetizers. The taste tester discovered it. His autopsy indicated there was enough styrichnine in the tray of appetizers to take out the whole party. Helena was quite annoyed."

"Oh?"

"In addition to the distruption of the party, it foiled her own plans for the dessert." Andreas says wryly.

"Ah." Alexis nods. "Now I remember, She was trying to kill Stefan again. Stefan wrote me about that one at school but not about how he discovered the plot. It was the year before Stefan took over as Regent."

"Master Stefan sent out all of the food to be analyzed in a lab. I'm sure whatever was used in the appetizers was different than what was in the dessert. And only one of the desserts was tampered with--his. Madame, if I may be so bold... why are you inquiring about Cassadine gatherings?"

Alexis hands Andreas the email from Stefan. "Why do I get the feeling that Jax is setting the scene but he doesn't know who he has for extras."

"One week." Andreas repeats. "Your husband moves swiftly." Andreas sets down the email on the table next to Alexis and moves again behind her. Madame always seemed to get so stressed when discussing her upcoming nuptials. Sure enought the knots he'd rubbed out earlier were returning.

"Ex husband." Alexis' head falls forward as Andreas hits the spot at the base of her neck that always seems to tighten up on her.

"It is unhealthy... for him... to think of him so. shhh.... relax.... You seem to still hold this man in some affection. Since he appears unwilling to follow your direction and absent himself from your family business..." Andreas voice is low and rhythmic. The weeks had shown gradually but persistently that Alexis is subject to suggestion... when in the right frame. "He is what he must be..."

Alexis answers sleepily. "My husband."

"Sleep now until morning and dream of him." Andreas demands softly. He brings one hand out to catch Alexis, supporting her head as she slumps over on the couch. Then he goes over to the computer and sends a quick email to Jax.

<<<
I know it is forward of me to be emailing you. My apologies. Your wife shared her concerns with me about sending wedding invitations to her... extended family. I hope you won't find it presumptious when I suggest that you send instead announcements to the Cassadine extended family and invitations to only immediate family. The Prince is probably unaware of what happened at the last... family reunion. It is not something that Mrs Corinthos would know, or something the Prince's mother would have shared in that brief period of time before the Prince took up the reins of the family again.

Your humble servant,

Andreas Andropolis>>>

Andreas hesitates and then hits send. Rising from the desk he goes over to Alexis. He brushes back a lock of her hair. And prepares to carry her up to her rooms. Once he gave her the suggestion to sleep nothing would wake her until she was completely rested. There is an annoying beep on the computer. Andreas sets Alexis back on the couch and goes back to the computer.

<<>>

Typing quickly Andreas answers. It is as Andreas had feared. The little warning he'd given Madame's husband had him pushing for more. And more would endanger them all.

<<< Mr Jacks. You know exactly where your bride will be. Just notify her of the time and place. I expect to hear from you soon.>>>

The next morning, Carly is kicking back in her suite in Milan. The pot of tea was already a cup short as she reviewed all the incoming messages on the computer. Printing off what Stavros would need to make decisions regarding the estate. Stavros had been properly impressed with the glass vase as had Michael who'd demanded to see where it was made. The boys were off exploring the glass factory now. Jason had to get back to Port Charles and had taken Penny, Liz and Uncle Luke all back with him. Carly smirks. Oh that is going to be a fun trip. There is a knock on the door. Carly stiffens. The boys were at the glass factory. Jason and company had already left this morning the only people still left in Milan are Nikolas, Gia and Lucky.

"Carly, it's me. I know you're in there." Nikolas calls out.

Carly rises to her feet and belts the robe over her pj's. She opens the door. It's not only Nikolas but Gia and Lucky too. "If I knew y'all were coming over I would have ordered a pot of coffee." She says wryly. Leaving the door open, she walks back into the room and over to the phone. Ringing room service she orders coffee. Covering the receiver. "Already had breakfast?" At their nods she shrugs and talks back into the phone. "That'll be great. grazie." She hangs up. "So what's up? You waited until Stavros was gone for this little ambush."

"No ambush." Nik denies. "I have to get back to Port Charles... work Deception from that end."

"What does that have to do with Carly?" Lucky demands.

Carly and Nik exchange a glance. Carly catches Nik's abbreviated shake of his head. Lucky doesn't know about their deal. "Yeah, Nik, what does that have to do with me?" Carly smiles sweetly. Let him get out of this one.

"Lucky and Gia are going to finish the Milan shoot. I was just thinking if there were any questions you could assist. If you don't have other plans." creative input... part of our agreement.

"How could Carly be of any assistance?" Lucky snarks. He might now know of Elizabeth's deceptions but it didn't mean that Carly was going to be his new best bud. "She hasn't been involved in Deception in almost a year."

Nik is reluctant to get into it but knows he has to if Lucky is going to have any clue as to the depths of Laura's mismanagement of Deception. "Carly developed the concept for the Milan shoot while she was still at Deception."

"That was a year ago!" Lucky repeats again not believing it.

"Yeah, it was my idea." Carly shrugs. "Your mother is the one with the brilliant idea to have Gia make the rounds of the car shows." Carly sees that Lucky has his digital camera with him and endruns Lucky's protests. "You already took the background shots? Do you have your vid cards on ya?"

"Yes, but..."

"Well lets take a look at them." Carly holds out her hand. Lucky pulls the card out of his camera. Carly uploads them onto the computer. While she is waiting the coffee arrives via roomservice and Nikolas signs for it. Carly goes thru the images quickly sorting the ones with Liz in them to a separate cd. Pulling them all out and deleting them from her computer. She goes sorting thru the Tutor's bag of tricks and finds a sharpie permenant marker and labels the CD-- elizabeth in Milan. While Carly figures it's a waste of a disc, she was getting what she wanted and could afford to be gracious-- sorta. She sticks it in a jewel case and tosses it back to Lucky. "Here do whatever with this. Let's look what we have left." Lucky comes to stand over her shoulder and start flipping thru the images culling anything that the lighting is off or blurred or otherwise flawed.

Gia goes over to the coffee pot and pours herself a cup. Nik walks over. "I can stay if you want." say you want me to stay.

"It would be faster without you, Nik." Carly says absently her focus still on the laptop screen. "Lucky, where did you take this one?" Lucky explains the shot to her.

"It would be faster without you, Nikolas." Gia repeats Carly's interjection, grateful for the emotional reinforcement.

"Yeah, I figure we only have a few days here." Carly turns from the computer. "Nik, have you talked to Stefan today?"

"No. Why?"

"Big Cassadine to do in Port Charles at the end of the week. He's going to want you home to rep the family."

"What do you know?" Nikolas demands.

"Ask Stefan or your father. It's Estate business." Carly says absently. "Lucky, these are really great if you're doing a travelogue or something like that but they are for shit for a fashion layout. What the hell was she thinking. Putting Gia in these..." Carly shakes her head. "I know you're good but how in the hell would you have inserted Gia in, make it look like something other than a paste job and made the focus Deception?"

Lucky winces. That problem had colored his thoughts with every picture he took. "It would have been a challenge."

"Um... yeah." Carly finds some she likes. "What about this. Get you and Gia back in here and take some more shots."

"That was the estate that was the big todo. It'll be impossible to get back in. The permits were done weeks in advance."

"Great." Carly says tersely. "You'll have to blue screen some shots just in case I can't get them to change their mind. But you can get shots of Gia... here, here and here." Carly pulls out some of the images. "Gia?" Carly calls out bringing Gia over to the table. "We're going to need makeup and wardrobe."

Gia shakes her head. "I don't have any of that here. I just had time to grab my passport before hitting the plane."

"Okay we'll take care of that this morning." Carly says decisively. "Lucky, plan on making a go of it for this afternoon."

Lucky looks around and Nik is nowhere in sight but then Lucky spots him out on the terrace. He goes out on the terrace. Nik is just hanging up his cellphone. "What the hell is going on?"

"Carly's right; there is a big to do at the end of the week. Alexis is getting married. We're all going to have to be back in Port Charles."

"She actually going to make it down the aisle to Ashton this time?" Lucky teases.

Nik winces. "She is remarrying Jax."

"But..."

"Yeah, I don't want to talk about it. I need to talk to my father first."

"Then why don't you tell me what the hell is going on with Deception? How you got a piece of it? And what the hell Carly has to do with all this? We've got time. Carly is going to work on wardrobe with Gia. Damnit Nikolas! Mom is going to freak when she finds out."

Nikolas sighs. "She isn't the only one."

Gia comes out on the terrace. "Carly is getting dressed now. We're going to go out. She says meet back at Lucky's suite at noon."

Nik nods. "We'll be there." Nik turns back to Lucky. "Let's go back to your suite. I'm sure you'd rather have the conversation there than risk running into my father again."

Stavros, Michael and the tutor arrive back to an empty suite. Michael goes running back to his room he shares with his mother and then runs back into the living room. "Where is Mama?"

Stavros picks up a note that had been left on the table. "It appears your mother went out with Gia and then is going to take pictures with her and your cousin Lucky." Stavros hands the note to Michael.

Michael slowly sounds out all the words and then puts the words into sentences. "Why didn't she say anything earlier?"

"She was asleep when we left." Stavros reminds. "Your mother says she has the cell phone if you want to call her... otherwise she'll be back in time for dinner."

Kris Windsor, the tutor, interjects for Michael's benefit. "It sounds as if your mother is taking care of business. If we do the same then when she gets back there will be no delays in exploring tonight."

"You got business you can do too, Stavros?" Michael asks not wanting Stavros to be left out.

"I'm sure I can find something to occupy me while you work on your studies." Stavros agrees. He sees the folder on the table. "In fact I think your mother left me a stack of things to do."

Kris holds out his hand. "Come on, Michael. Lets get all your impressions of the glass factory in your journal while they are still fresh." Michael takes Kris' hand and goes off to his studies.

Stavros opens up the folder Carly left him. It is hard copies of the email correspondance up until Carly left. He begins reading thru them rapidly but grows impatient with the duplication of hardcopies and then having to get into the computer anyway so he starts working directly off the laptop. His decisions are swift and as is his nature-- arbitrary. Anyone on the other end of his decision would probably strain under his directions but that is of no interest. Everything is moving toward the greater picture... the vision of the estate, he has in his head. And all the pieces would fit. Even if he had to take a sledgehammer to them. With a flick of the enter button, he sends off all the correspondance that will bring him current on the Estate business. And then curses when even more email is downloaded. It is neverending.

"Okay we're alone. No more ducking, Nik. What the hell is going on with you and mom? How did you end up with a piece of the company? The controlling part? This isn't like you. Scratch that. This isn't the way you wanted to be."

"What did Laura tell you about the personal appearances she was sending Gia on?"

"Just some glad handing... meet the public stuff." Lucky shrugs. "I know it was make work cause she wanted to get Liz out of town. I knew it back then."

"She never wanted Gia as the Face of Deception."

"I know."

"So she set Gia up to quit. Sent Gia off to a car show... without any protection of any sort. If Jason Morgan hadn't been there... there were two men who were trying to get in Gia's room. And they didn't plan on hearing the word no."

"Who did you hear that from? Jason? Mr I can't tell a lie?" Lucky says sarcastically.

Nik goes into his wallet and pulls out a note that hasn't been out of his possession since Jason had thrown it in his face. "Here."

"What this?"

"Gia's room number in Atlantic City. The number that Jason took off the two drunks. no protection, Lucky. Gia could have been assaulted, raped... worse. And Laura put her there. Our mother put her there." Nik's voice escalates as his fury increases.

Lucky reads the truth in Nik's face. "Mom... mom couldn't have known, Nik. Rape isn't something she would set anyone up for. After everything that happened to her, to Elizabeth. It wasn't intentional."

"You and I have both been in the business long enough, Lucky, to know better than to send a model into a situation without backup. After everything that happened to Emily, to Liz. If we know-- how could Laura not know? There is no excuse."

"Okay, I know it looks bad. It is bad. Mom screwed up. And you're pissed. I get that. But how did you get controlling interest in Deception? There is no way Mom would go for that. It's a big thing for her to have the company. Something independant of my father. And Sonny sold out Carly's half. It's Mom's company-- not yours."

Nik nods. "Right. Sonny sold out Carly's half. And he financed Laura's half. Only Laura fell behind on the payments. Jason told me she'd be coming to me to ask to borrow money to pay the back payments and interest. I thought he was full of it until that is exactly what she did."

"Sonny would never..." Lucky shakes his head. "He likes Mom. He's a friend of the family."

"Jason would. And Morgan is in charge now. Evidently the money that Sonny loaned Laura was part of Michael's money... the so called clean money. Thing is... Jason holds Michael in higher regard than our mother. And it is more important to him to protect Michael's interests. The same time Jason told me Laura had set up Gia to be raped in Atlantic City he also told me he was going to get Michael's money back from Laura.
I bought the mob out of Deception and in return I received controlling interest in the company. I didn't buy what was formerly Carly's. I bought Laura's. And Laura sold it to me because she knew Jason not only could but would take over the company if she didn't-- and get his money back one way or another." Nik says coldly.

"Okay." Lucky exhales. "So you saved Mom's ass. Great. But that isn't what is going on. Carly, Nik? Mom is going to freak. Okay. So you can get in Mom's face using Deception. Hell-- veto Mom picking Liz as the Face of Deception. You can make sure Gia stays under contract and is protected. You could have done all that without involving Carly. Without ever involving Carly. Putting aside for a moment that she is a nutcase. Putting aside that if you look up drama queen in the dictionary her picture is there. Putting aside all the bad blood between Mom and Carly because of Deception. You still have the fact that Carly is palling around with Stavros. And while Mom and Stavros are your parents... I think you can agree that having them in the same hemisphere is a bad thing. Very bad. Spencer/Cassadine War revisited material."

"You know that lovely crystal paperweight in mom's office?"

"The Clio?"

Nik nods. "Given for excellence and innovation in advertising. Deception won it for the first campaign with Gia."

"Yeah, I've seen it."

"And you've seen who it was given to. Deception and Laura Spencer."

"Yeah, so?"

"So it was Carly's work. Carly's unacknowledged work. As part of getting up to speed I read all the past campaigns. I knew some of it of course from living with Gia. But I never realized how much Carly had contributed to the partnership at Deception. All the notes were in Carly's handwriting. All the storyboards had her initials on them. All the notes for this campaign are in Carly's handwriting."

Lucky shakes his head. "That's impossible."

"I'm sure it's quite legal. Carly was part of the company when she developed the campaigns. It is the intellectual property of Deception." Nik shrugs. "As I'm sure it was quite legal for Laura to go along with Sonny and buy Carly out for a dollar and leave her with nothing for the work she put in the company. Also quite legal for mother to take the credit for Carly's work-- Laura is Deception now afterall. But if you were a nutcase and a drama queen with bad blood how would you react to someone taking credit for your work?"

Lucky groans. "What did Carly do?"

"Started dismantling the company from the outside. Of course Laura would prefer to believe it was me scheming all along getting in touch with my inner Cassadine than Carly getting in touch with her inner Spencer. She still doesn't know, hasn't figured out that Carly was behind the wildcat strike here in Milan at the glass factory. Or the shortage of essential essence in Istanbul. She doesn't perceive of Carly as a threat. Just like she didn't think there would be any consequence of not paying her debt to the mob. Laura has a degree in social work. She has experience running a diner. Putting her in charge of Deception was like handing a three year old a pistol."

Lucky winces. "So you are going to hand the gun to Carly instead?"