Pictures of you, pictures of me
Hung upon your wall for the world to see
Pictures of you, pictures of me
Remind us all of what we used to be
Confess to me, every secret moment
Every stolen promise you believed
Confess to me, all that lies between us
All that lies between you and me
– Pictures of You, The Last Goodnight

---

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Kiremit House: Study

It was peculiar how quickly the world could shift, Nikolas thought, waiting for Luke to unfold the map across the desk for one last review of the plans for the evening. Only a few days ago, he’d been despairing that they’d ever have a true lead — that there would one day be a light at the end of the tunnel —

That he could go home.

But then Luke had brought home the stunning news that Stefan was alive. Stefan, his uncle and for so long, his moral compass. The center of Nikolas’s world. Stefan had controlled his universe for the first sixteen years of his life — personally overseeing every facet of his education and setting the physical limits of his world. The island just off the coast of Mykonos with just his uncle, Alexis, and the occasional visit from Helena —

It hadn’t prepared him well for his first years in Port Charles, and there were times Nikolas wished they’d never come at all. His uncle had lost some of that sheen during those years in America, some of that moral fiber that had set him apart from the rest of the Cassadines. And by the time, he’d thrown himself from the cliffs in an attempt to once again bring some damage to Luke, Uncle had become the very Cassadine he’d warned Nikolas about.

But now Nikolas had learned that fatal plunge from the cliffs had not been the end of his uncle’s tragic story. Like so many other Cassadines before him, death had only been the beginning.

Had Stefan been lingering in a coma since those days? Or had Helena nursed him back to help and found a place for him? Had his uncle turned to the dark side? What manner of man would Nikolas find when they met face to face again?

Would Stefan be proud of the man Nikolas had grown into? Would Stefan understand the choices he’d made? Or would Nikolas be condemned?

“The timing is tight,” Luke said, and Nikolas tuned back into the older man. Luke rubbed his mouth, considering the map. “And it all hinges on whether Cowboy can sell the brothers Morgan into skedaddling out of Turkey tonight. Our best bet to get away clean is to be sure they take the fall for it—” He stopped when he heard something behind him — and of course, it was Britt, making her discontent clear.

It chafed a bit at Nikolas, as well, to assume that Valentin wouldn’t inflict real damage on those Nikolas still held dear. Would he go directly for Jason or Drew? He’d gone straight for Nikolas once upon a time, or so they’d thought. Or would Valentin want to make an example of them—would he take his rage out on someone else?

But he had to trust that Drew and Jason had secured their family before they’d left the country. Jason had always pushed to keep Elizabeth and the boys safe. And Nikolas knew Elizabeth would insist that Laura and Spencer be protected as well.

It was an uncomfortable feeling to know so much rested on a belief in Jason Morgan and his brother.

“If Little Obrecht doesn’t have anything useful to add—” Luke said, his tone low and irritated as it often was when Britt reminded him of her existence. “I’ll continue. I’ll monitor the lab as closely as I can today, but I don’t know if the brothers will come back. At seven, there’s a shift change at the clinic, with a clear path from Stefan’s room to the exit in the back of the building. We’ll have two identical vans parked. I’ll take the one with Stefan directly to the airport, and Cowboy will drive the other. If it works out the way I think, I’ll be able to get maybe a minute head start —” He looked at Lucky. “And you’ll head out a minute later in the opposite direction.”

“Hoping that anyone who comes out will catch sight of me and not you, yeah.” Lucky folded his arms. “I’ll take them on a bit of a ride through Maslak and get into the warehouse where Britt will be waiting with the Etox. She’ll have it running. I abandon the van, get in the car, and we’ll head for the airport.”

“I still don’t like you driving — and not for the usual reasons,” Luke added when Britt opened her mouth. “You don’t have the background in defensive driving. What if it’s not a clean get away?”

“We thought about having it running with me in the passenger seat, but it’s an extra ten, maybe twenty seconds for Lucky to get behind the wheel. He can slide in the passenger side more easily. We need every second.” Britt folded her arms. “And if he does his job right, maybe we’ll have the time. But why take the chance?”

“I’ll be right in the car. If she needs to do a chase, I can handle it from my side. I know every alley in the area. Unless you have a better plan—” Lucky shrugged. “I gotta head out to meet Jason and Drew and convince them to leave, so if there’s nothing else?”

“We’ll all meet at the airport. As soon as we’re together, we’ll leave. Once we get where we’re going,” Nikolas said, “you can both head out. Britt will remain behind to wake my uncle.”

“Seems like we should at least wait that out,” Lucky said. “If Stefan wakes up and has information we need, no point in me being in Russia or Eastern Europe. Easier if I’m right there. Dad?”

Luke considered Lucky carefully, before flicking his eyes to Nikolas. “He’s got a point. We still got those files to go through. Might as well see what the zombie has to say before we split up.”

Shish Bar & Roof: Roof Terrace

The rooftop restaurant didn’t boast much of a view, Drew thought, but it wasn’t half bad all things considered. The Sea of Marmara was in the distance, the water a dark blue-gray during the winter months. The Blue Mosque on the other side, and a scattering of brightly colored roofs surrounding the area.

“I think I liked to travel,” Drew decided, sipping his coffee. Jason dug into the menemen dish he’d ordered, scooping the eggs and peppers onto a fork. “I mean, up until now, I thought I did but I didn’t know if it was because I remembered you traveling or because—”

“Did you always talk this much?” Jason asked. Drew just shot him a finger as it echoed their conversation from the night before. He glanced at the phone next to his plate. “He’s late.”

“He could be seeing how far he can push us. But—” Drew glanced over at the staircase leading to the elevator. “Why would he want to do that? What else could he be lying about?”

“Their location, for one thing. And his relationship with Britt.”

“Could be we’re overthinking that part,” Drew considered. “Objectively speaking, Britt’s a gorgeous woman, and he’s an idiot. He’s done stupider things for women before.”

“That’s for sure,” Jason muttered, remembering Lucky and Sam’s botched attempt to investigate the Russians, leading them directly to Elizabeth and the boys.

“I think it’s more interesting that Lucky has turned on Luke. You weren’t around when they brought Jake back,” Drew said, “but they seemed like a team. Which I don’t understand. Up until that summer, Luke was to blame for Jake’s accident. And, uh, I don’t know about you, but finding out Jake was alive didn’t exactly fix that for me.”

“Me either.”

“How could Lucky just let it go enough to work with him over these last few years? But now he’s turning on him? That’s more suspicious to me than Lucky being an idiot for a pretty girl.”

“Unless he was using Luke all along,” Jason said.

“There’s a good point.” Drew furrowed his brow. “But are we supposed to believe Lucky managed to fool his father? I don’t remember him being that quick.” He grimaced. “This would be easier if we could get Luke in the room and get a better sense of their relationship.”

“I’m not surprised Luke won’t meet with us. Think about what he’s been lying about — all we’ve wanted is a hint about Valentin’s location here, and he’s known for days. He’d never be able to carry that story. He was never much good at lying to my face.”

“No?” Drew shook his head. “I don’t really know Luke that well. He wasn’t around much, and then he left town entirely.”

Jason hesitated, his fork stopping just above his plate. “You don’t know Luke that well? What about my memories?”

“What about them?”

“Luke and I were friendly enough until the garage fire. And even after that, he and I didn’t have any issues. Not until—” Jason’s face tightened. “Not until Jake’s accident. You don’t remember that?”

Drew frowned, searched his—Jason’s—memory. “No,” he said, with a touch of confusion. “Not really. I don’t remember a time you and Luke were close. That’s—” He stopped. Set down his coffee mug. “Actually, that’s strange. I used to remember the time after the accident more clearly.”

“But now?”

“Now if I try to pull out a specific memory—” Drew rubbed the side of his face. “It’s like a fog has settled over a lot of it. You know, I had amnesia when I came to Port Charles for more than a year. It wasn’t until May of 2016 that I started to remember more than a handle of things. Almost two years ago.”

“Maddox said he did the procedure again.”

“Maybe it’s not permanent.” Drew considered this. “Yesterday, I remembered something from my own past. Maybe all I needed was to be around a place that you weren’t. Huh. Wonder if Maddox knows that. Might be a good way to get the WSB to let us talk to him. Anyway. You were saying you’re a Spencer lie detector.”

Jason made a face. “Not exactly. But I used to work closely with Luke. At the club and when Sonny left town. Luke’s not a genius, but he’s…” He paused, clearly searching for the right word. “He’s practical. Realistic.”

“Yeah—” Drew stopped when he saw Lucky winding his way through the tables. “You’re late.”

“Sorry.” Lucky dropped into the third seat, stifled a yawn. “Dad dragged me out of bed to meet with a guy at the airport.” He grimaced. “Valentin’s gone. He left Turkey yesterday morning, around the time you landed. Maybe a bit before.”

Jason and Drew traded a look, then Jason looked back at Lucky. “We know.”

“You—” Lucky’s eyes widened. “You know.”

“Yeah. Caught a break, I guess. Nina complained to Maxie which led to Spinelli. We couldn’t find out how he got out under the radar—”

“Oh. Okay, well that’s something I can help with.  He disguised the flight path and chartered the flight under a different holding company. We didn’t have this one on the radar,” Lucky added. “I think it’s interesting that he didn’t bother to hide his arrival here, but he was more careful to hide his exit. Up until this trip, he’d kept himself pretty much out of it. We didn’t even know for sure he was involved beyond a gut feeling.”

“And the only reason why Valentin would want to keep himself hidden on the way back—” Drew said, stopping as he considered the question.

“He knows someone is here looking for him. Whether that’s me or you guys—” Lucky shrugged. “We don’t know. But he went to a lot of trouble to make sure we didn’t know he was gone.”

“Where are you going next?” Drew asked. “Are you sticking around town?”

“I think we’re heading to St. Petersburg to look into the clinic again. Britt’s on board this time, and like she said, she worked there, so we might get some insight.” Lucky tipped his head to Jason. “You’re welcome to tag along since you were a patient there. You might be able to help,”

“I told you everything I knew,” Jason said in a clipped tone. “No thanks.”

“Fair enough. What about you? You going to stick around, try to get into the lab now that he’s gone?”

“Maybe the rest of today,” Jason said after a minute. “Valentin’s been back for twenty-four hours and nothing’s happened.”

“I don’t have to ask if you’ve got someone on Elizabeth and the boys,” Lucky said, and Jason eyed him, a bit intrigued by the tension in the tone. For someone who had appeared to wash his hands of his family back in Port Charles, it was an interesting question.

“Yeah. Spinelli’s upgraded all the security everywhere the boys go. And they never go anywhere without an adult.” Jason paused. “Other than the bus stop to the garage or to the house, but I’ve got a guard trailing them.”

“I didn’t know that,” Drew said, surprised.

“I don’t want them to feel like Michael and Kristina did—trapped by the security,” Jason said. “We also have someone on Laura’s place.”

“Good. Good. Mom’s pretty handy with a shotgun, but I don’t know if her reflexes are as good as they used to be.” Lucky sighed. “I’ll be in touch if I find anything. Something big has to break soon.” He got to his feet. “We’re working too many angles for something not to shift loose. I’ll be in touch.” He loped back towards the staircase, and Drew watched him.

“I’m gonna follow him,” he told Jason. “Catch up with him and take the elevator down. “Then when—”

“Don’t explain, just go.”

Drew rolled his eyes but followed after Lucky. Jason dumped some lira on the table to pay for breakfast, waited about five minutes, then headed back to their hotel.

Kennedy Avenue: Street

Drew followed Lucky as the younger man wove his way through the tight streets in the Fatih district and managed to keep up with him through the first few alleys, but as the roads curved towards the Sea of Marmara, he lost him.

“Little bastard,” Drew muttered, scanning the street around him, checking to his left, then to the right. Whatever truths they’d been told the day before, there were clearly more secrets being kept. Otherwise, why the wild goose chase? Lucky had clearly known he was being followed and instead of confronting Drew, he’d chosen to shake him loose. He was clearly protecting their base of operations, wherever it was.

He exhaled slowly, scanned the area one more time, but had to admit that he’d lost the moron. By now Jason would be on his way back to the hotel, but Drew wasn’t quite yet ready to admit defeat.

The breeze by the coast was strong, and the sun overhead glinted on the water. Drew walked down the avenue, wondering if maybe Lucky had ducked into one of the small cafes or shops that lined the street.  He passed a stone wall covered in grass and other greenery, and then just past it—

There was an outdoor cafe with a courtyard lines with tables shaded by umbrellas. Semaver Cafe. Drew stood there for a long moment, then went inside to the counter. He didn’t even look at the menu.

When the cashier asked for his order, Drew didn’t hesitate. “Ben isterim Patlıcan Kebap ve…” Now he did look at the menu, considering Jason’s tastes. “Ve Altı Ezmeli.”

He paid for the order, and when they handed him a brown paper bag, Drew headed for the street, a wave of something that nearly felt like dizziness swept through him, though he didn’t think he was in danger of losing his balance. He was sure that wasn’t the only time he’d ordered an eggplant kebab from this place, and he was even more certain that beef and lamb special he’d ordered for Jason had been another one of his favorites.

He walked back out on the street, looked at it with new eyes. He’d definitely been to Istanbul before. He’d walked these streets. Drank coffee in Maslak, ordered kebabs from Semaver—

Drew exhaled slowly, thought about the day before. Jason relating that the first time he’d felt any real sort of connection to who he’d been before the accident had been wielding a knife to save Nikolas Cassadine’s life in Luke’s parking lot.

Today, Drew felt certain that he’d been the man who’d raised Oscar. Who’d been married twice before. Had served in the military. Today, he knew he’d been Andrew Cain.

And maybe tomorrow, he’d start to remember what that meant. Who he really was, and not just who he was trying to be.

Akbıyık Caddesi: Street

Jason walked past their hotel, just a few steps away from where they’d eaten breakfast, and continued up the quiet street towards the louder and more crowded intersection.

He needed to think, and the small hotel room would only feel more confining. He hadn’t really known what to expect on this trip, only that it had to be done. They hadn’t learned much, but what they knew changed things. The Spencers had located Valentin, told no one, and were keeping even more secrets.

Jason believed that Lucky had broken with Luke to a certain extent, but he was still protecting someone or something. Otherwise, what was the point in holding back anything? If Luke wanted to chase the Cassadines, Jason wasn’t going to get in his way. They were only looking for evidence that connected Valentin to the experiments. The memory experiments were part of the Cassadine legacy. Their goals weren’t that different at all.

And if Lucky was telling the truth about what he knew, why did Jason still feel like there was an air of deception around him? The story about Lucky going to the airport that morning — it didn’t sound right. And the invitation to tag along in St. Petersburg felt calculated—

Jason heard a familiar roar of an engine and turned to see a motorcycle whipping past with a couple on its back. Not for the first time, he thought about what a mistake it had been to leave Elizabeth at home. She knew Cassadines better than he did — and she might have been able to force Lucky into bringing Luke to a meeting.  It had made sense for her to stay, but what if Valentin already knew they were gone? And why did it matter if he knew? They could have kept the boys safe somehow.

She’d been so angry and hurt not to even be considered. He knew they’d needed to have that argument for all the times he’d shut her out before, but Jason was going to have to get used to how things were now. This wasn’t Manny Ruiz or the Russians looking for Jason’s Achilles heel to break him into pieces. Elizabeth was part of this, and he wouldn’t forget it again.

With that in mind, he headed back to the hotel, frowning when he saw Drew coming from the other direction — a paper bag in his hand.

“I got lunch,” the other man said. He stared down at the bag. “Uh, they’re pretty good cold. At least from what I remember.”

Jason blinked at that statement. “What you remember?”

“Yeah.” Drew cleared his throat, raised his eyes to Jason. “It was like the coffee place yesterday. I knew what to order. So, yeah. I remembered it.” He exhaled slowly. “Maybe this trip was a bust when it comes to Valentin, and knowing I like eggplant kebabs and Turkish coffee isn’t that important, but it’s something. It’s…” He shook his head. “It’s the only thing I know about me.”

“Spinelli can get your military records,” Jason said after a minute. “So you can see where else you’ve been. Maybe it would help to go to San Diego.”

“Yeah, maybe.” They went towards the hotel entrance. “Lucky knew he was being followed and I lost him after the third or fourth alley he dragged me through. So either he was just being an asshole—which we can’t rule out—or he’s still not telling us everything.”

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