Hey, you know they’re all the same
You know you’re doing better on your own
So don’t buy in
Live right now
Yeah, just be yourself
It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough
For someone else
– The Middle, Jimmy Eat World

---

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Istanbul: Maslak District

“There’s something—” Drew stopped at the corner, and Jason hesitated, just a few steps ahead of him. He turned in a circle, then squinted at the cafe across the street. “There’s something about this place. You know about déjà vu, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets. “The sensation of experiencing something twice. What about it?”

“You’ve never—you’ve never been here, right? I’m not remembering something about you.”

“No.” Jason shook his head. “Istanbul was on my list a long time ago, but then Carly was in a car accident. I came home, and—”

“Elizabeth was single,” Drew finished, and Jason’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Sorry. Probably didn’t need to say that part out loud.” And it wasn’t fair for Drew to dip into his brother’s memories to state the obvious. Jason had been in and out of Port Charles for a few years until Elizabeth had broken up with Lucky, then he’d stayed to see if anything would happen. “Right, so—”

“You said you knew Turkish, right?” Jason interrupted. “And Arabic. You were in the SEALs, maybe you’re the one that’s been here before.”

“Yeah—maybe.” Drew nodded. “I’m gonna go get coffee. You want one?” Without waiting for Jason to answer, he crossed the street and went inside the cafe. At the counter, he ordered in flawless Turkish, then seeing that Jason was behind him, doubled the order. He went over to the window and sat at a table. Jason followed

“Do I get to ask?”

“Uh, no. I just—I knew this place had the best coffee in the district.” He stared down at the dark liquid. “And I take it black. I do. Not because of you. But Drew Cain. I always drink it black.” His throat felt oddly thick, and he couldn’t look up. There was a moment of silence

“It was after the shooting at Luke’s for me. The first time I felt connected to who I’d been before.”

Drew looked up, blinked at Jason. “What?”

“Nikolas was shot in the throat. Choking on his own blood. I knew he needed an airway. I knew how to do it. Later I found out I’d seen it in medical school. It was the first time I really felt like Jason Quartermaine and Jason Morgan were the same person. And that I was him.”

“Yeah. Everything has mostly been…I figure it’s been you. I eat pastrami on rye from Kelly’s because I remembered ordering it. But this—” Drew looked around the cafe. “I must have been stationed here or something. Because I know for a fact that I’ve sat at this table before, drinking coffee.”

“Maddox said he mapped and transferred memories,” Jason said. “But he never said anything about removing what was already there.”

“Maybe mine are just underneath yours like a layer cake. And—I wouldn’t have known that,” Drew realized. “Because everywhere I go in Port Charles — that’s yours. I don’t think I’d ever been there before. But this place? This isn’t yours. It’s mine.” He laughed, a bit in disbelief. “This is mine,” he repeated. Then lifted his coffee. “Let’s head over to the lab and see what we’re dealing with.”

Maslak: Sumer Sokağı

Luke slammed the door on the white van he’d rented, and stepped around the hood, doing his usual quick scan of the street before going about his business. His heart skipped a beat, and he whipped around, flattening himself against the van, staring hard at the building in front of him.

Strolling out of an alley connecting this street to the larger one on the next block were the damn brothers, walking like they didn’t have a damn care in the world.

Why the hell were they there? Lucky had been so sure—

Luke pulled the cap lower on his forehead, then slid inside the white van again so that he could get a better look at them from behind tinted windows.

They stood shoulder to shoulder, scanning the street. Exchanging a few brief remarks that Luke obviously couldn’t hear over the passing cars and distance. Drew gestured, pointing at the building that enclosed the lab. Jason nodded, continued to say something.

Fucking disaster. His damn kid had had one job and he’d failed. Luke shoved the key into the ignition, switched it on, shifted gears, and got the hell out of Dodge.

——

“Ten bucks that’s Luke peeling away like a bat out of hell,” Drew said, as they watched the white van disappear into traffic.

“He’s losing his touch,” Jason said. The old man had stopped dead across the street, then whirled around and gotten into his car. “He used to be better when his cover got blown.” He furrowed his brow. “But that answers one question.”

“Yeah, no way Luke knew Lucky was gonna tell us about this place. Unless that’s an act, but I doubt it. Luke would have to wait around all day, hoping we’d come by.” Drew folded his arms. “So Lucky’s going against his father, and Luke doesn’t know it. Wish I could say I felt sorry for him, but—”

“Not a chance in hell.” Luke Spencer was a long way from the man who’d given Jason a break and a job parking cars all those years ago. He’d once been a confidante, but he’d lost his way somehow. Now all Jason felt for the man was a simmering rage. “What do we do now?”

“Not really sure. I think I half-expected Lucky to be lying. There’s no way in hell either one of us gets inside. We’re risking enough just standing here with these faces.” And with that reminder, they started walking back towards the main road and the public transportation routes. “Valentin being here confirms he’s working with Klein. That’s the connection we were waiting for.”

“Could be Klein relocated after I escaped, and Valentin just continued his work,” Jason said. Drew shot him a look. “No, I agree that Valentin is part of it. I don’t think Robert or Anna will be able to use this to get more help from them. And without the WSB backing us—” he grimaced. “I’m not sure what we can do. If this were the Caribbean or even South America, I’d have connections. We could storm the damn building.”

They emerged back out on the main road and headed for the streetcar stop. “But this is Turkey, and we’re flying blind.” Drew paused. “I’m thinking we turn the lab address over to Robert anyway. Have the WSB watch it. And maybe once he hears that Luke kept his mouth shut and ran from us when he realized we were here—” He scowled. “Sons of bitches. The one time we actually need something from the damn Spencers and they’re running their own game—”

“Luke coming back here over and over again means he’s either still trying to get in or he’s trying to get something out.” Jason paused. “Lucky told us the lab is moving back to Port Charles this week. I think, given that he was playing it straight about this place, we have to believe that.”

“Yeah. Which means if Luke gets what he wants, he’s the one who has it. We can lean on Lucky, maybe, to get more information. If he fails—”

“Whatever it is ends up back in Port Charles—on our turf. The lab is probably at Wyndemere. Maybe where Elizabeth was taken the night she saw Jake.”

“And in Port Charles, we’ll have the upper hand. Especially if Valentin doesn’t know we’re on to him. Maybe he knows we came to Turkey. Hell, maybe he even sees us on security footage if that’s how it goes. But what are the odds he finds out we know he’s moving his operations back home? No. This works for us.”

“So what now?” Jason wanted to know. “Do we go home? We just got here.”

“Well, we weren’t counting on Lucky handing us everything we needed in the first time conversation.” Drew grimaced. “That’s a shame. I was really hoping I’d get to throw a punch. And don’t say you weren’t hoping for the same.”

Jason focused on the bus as it came towards them. “Wouldn’t have ruined my day if it happened, no. We still have some unanswered questions, though. Let’s head back to the hotel. I’ll call Spinelli and see if we can get something more on this lab.”

Kiremit House: Study

Luke paced the room, tossed another dirty look at his son who sat slouched in the chair. “You were so damned confident—”

“Always a risk that they wouldn’t believe anything I said and just start at the top,” Lucky said. He looked at Nikolas. “It’s not my fault.”

Nikolas opened his mouth, but Luke interrupted. “It doesn’t matter. They’re too damn close—”

“Too close to what? A building?” Britt rolled her eyes. “You know, they say women are the dramatic gender but—”

“You—” Luke stabbed a finger in her direction. “You shut up. I don’t need to hear from you.”

“I’m sorry.” Britt held up her hands in mock surrender. “Continue to overreact and play the blame game. When you’re done, we’ll move on.”

Luke squinted at her. Little smug bitch. And he just knew she was twisting his boy’s mind, just like she’d done to everyone back in Port Charles. “How do you know they didn’t follow either of you back to this place? They get one look at Nikolas, and we’re all screwed—”

“Don’t say it,” Lucky said as Britt opened her mouth, and she grimaced, folded her arms. “They didn’t follow us. We didn’t come directly back here, and they checked into their hotel. We talked about splitting the list, but there wasn’t much I could do, Dad. If I had insisted on going on with them, they’d be more suspicious. Britt’s got a point. All they have is a building. They can’t go inside because they’d be recognized. Do you think you got away without them seeing you?”

“They were looking at the building, so I think I’m good.” Luke looked at Nikolas. “You got anything to offer, or you gonna just sit there?”

“It’s time to put the next part of the plan into motion. We need Jason and Drew out of Turkey as soon as possible. They’re here because Valentin is. Or they think he is.” Nikolas focused on Lucky. “Valentin left last night. He’s probably already in Port Charles. I imagine that he’s keeping his return low-key, so maybe it takes some time for that to filter back to the troops.”

“He’s gone?” Britt asked, alert. “When did you know that?”

“Guy from the airport called me after you left for the mosque meeting.” Luke folded his arms. “So, Cowboy, you’re gonna set up another meet with the brothers. Tell them Valentin is gone. I’d be shocked if they hung around much longer. They’ll look through the addresses, but that can be done in a day. That’s how we’ll get them out. And we’ll set the lab break for tomorrow evening. That’s the last day, anyway.”

“And when Stefan disappears the same day Jason and Drew leave, you don’t think Valentin is going to make that connection?” Lucky asked carefully. He rose to his feet. “You don’t think that puts people we love in danger back home?”

“Nikolas and I discussed that. We’re pretty sure that it’s a risk worth taking. Jason likely has the boys secured, and Elizabeth is pretty hard to shake.”

Lucky stared at him for a long moment, then nodded. “Okay.”

Luke squinted. “Okay?”

“Okay. This looks like it’s the plan. So let’s see where it takes us.”

A bit confused at how quickly Lucky had dropped his opposition, Luke stared after him as his son went towards the door and opened it. “You’re okay with it?”

“Does it matter?” Lucky asked coolly. “You’re throwing my kids under the bus again. At least it’s not literally this time.”

And then he walked out, Britt on his heels, leaving Luke speechless.

Sultanamet District: Grand Ambiance Hotel

“The next time we do this, we’re getting two rooms,” Drew muttered as he squeezed between the double beds on his way to the bedroom. “Or I’m making the reservations.”

Jason fought the urge to roll his eyes. He sat at the tiny table where they’d dumped their electronics and other materials and dug through the bag for a copy of some of the files he’d not yet read.

“Seriously, who found this place and thought one room would be—”

“Do you always complain this much?” Jason asked, not looking up from the records. “How did anyone ever think you were me?”

“Yeah, it boggles the mind since only one of us has an actual personality.” Drew disappeared into the bathroom, and moment later, Jason heard the shower.

It was easier than he thought it would be, Jason reflected. Drew’s dislike of the accommodations aside, they’d been able to talk and exchange theories easily. Maybe there’d been a shift on the plane when they’d talked about the past.  When Drew had told Jason there was a chance Monica had played a role in separating them and putting Drew into the system.

Jason had put it out of his head after they’d talked about it, hoping that by ignoring it, it would somehow go away. But it was harder now after spending the entire day with Drew. With his brother.

They weren’t identical anymore, but they were the same height. The same build. They’d both gone into professions that required similar skills, though their careers were very different. And family was important to them. By all accounts, Drew had been a great father. And certainly a better husband than Jason had been.

What would it have been like to have had a twin all his life? After the accident, if he’d seen someone with his face instead of AJ, who’d only looked like him a little bit? Would it have been easier on the Quartermaines if Drew had been there when Jason had walked out? Would Jason have walked away at all?

Jason rubbed his eyes, put the WSB records aside. The last thing he wanted right now was to think about the past. To think about the mistakes that had been made by and around him. He reached for another folder — the one Drew had given him. He opened it and saw the first record — Robert Scorpio’s summary of the night Susan Moore had been murdered.

Absorbed in the reading, he didn’t hear the shower switch off or Drew opening the door. But eventually, he looked up and saw him sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone, his hair damp.

“Robert keeps referring to me as Jason Baldwin,” Jason said, and Drew glanced up. “I didn’t have Alan’s name then.”

“No. I guess not.” Drew put the phone aside. “You’re reading the file.”

“Yeah. I guess I just wanted—I never thought much about Susan,” Jason admitted. “I knew I was adopted, that Monica wasn’t my birth mother, but it seemed like a forgotten fact. She only brought it up after the accident to make a point about blood not making a family. No one ever talks about Susan.” He exhaled slowly. “When you told me that they thought I went missing that night, it didn’t really hit. But it’s different reading it in Robert’s words. Alan was upset. He wanted to know where I was.”

Drew said nothing, and Jason set it aside. “I remember that feeling,” he murmured, more to himself than to the other man. “When I went into the interrogation room, Elizabeth was already in there. She told me Jake was missing. The world stopped. And I couldn’t breathe—” Jason cleared his throat. He closed the folder, set it aside. “Sam didn’t care that Jake was gone.”

“No. She didn’t.” The simple, bitter truth of it hung between them.

“And Monica didn’t care about me.” Hell of a parallel to draw. He’d wanted to believe his mother was innocent of what Drew suspected — but he’d loved Sam. He’d wanted to marry her. They’d planned a family. And Sam had been just fine with an unstable woman taking his son and walking away. Monica hadn’t cared that Alan’s son was missing either. What could she have been able of?

“I don’t know if I want to know the truth,” Jason said finally.

“Yeah, I’m with you on that.” Drew flattened his hand against the mattress on either side. “But once it was in my head, I didn’t know how to put it away.”

“What if I say no?” Jason asked. “What if I don’t want you to look into it more?”

Drew tipped his head. “Could you put it away? Let go of the suspicion?”

“Maybe.” He’d done it for Sam, and he’d known the worst of it, hadn’t he? “Monica’s lost a lot in her life. Three kids. She’s had cancer. Buried a husband.”

“Curtis mentioned it. Like it was karma. The universe holding her accountable all long.” Drew nodded. “Yeah, there’s something to that. Are you saying no?”

“I’m saying I don’t know what I want. But this didn’t happen to me. Monica—she’s not the reason I was missing that night. And I was safe. She didn’t care where I was, but she didn’t hurt me.” His chest tight. “But if she did this, you’re the one she hurt. I don’t know if I have the right to say no.”

Drew sighed. “Maybe we both need to sit with it. It’s barely been a day since I told you. I’ve had almost a month to think about it. If we find out she was part of it, Jason, we don’t get to unring that bell.” ”

“I just—” Jason’s brows knitted together. “I don’t understand why you’d stop if I said so—I mean, I know what you said on the plane—”

“I don’t know if we’re ever going to look at each other as family,” Drew interrupted, and Jason fell silent. “I don’t know if you’re ever going to consider me a brother the way you do Spinelli or Sonny. But I know that if I do this, if we find out Monica and maybe Tracy,  if they were part of why I got put into the system, if I do this, and you’re not on board? I don’t think we ever get the chance to find out if we could be brothers. And maybe that’s more important to me.”

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