And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I’m dying
Are the best I’ve ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It’s a very, very mad world, mad world
– Mad World, Gary Jules & Michael Andrews

---

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Coffee House: Jason’s Office

“Isn’t this a cozy scene?” Lucky growled, sweeping his eyes around the room, taking in the remnants of Jake everywhere, then focusing again on the sofa.

“Sorry, boss, we didn’t know if we should stop him,” Francis said, glaring at the younger man malevolently.

Jason’s arms tightened around his son reflexively, his adrenaline spiking for a minute before remembering that it was different now. That everyone knew who Jake was to him— and that Lucky couldn’t take him anywhere.

“What do you want?” Jason asked, closing the book, and rising to his feet, bringing Jake with him.

“I wanted to see my son,” Lucky said flatly, striding forward, but Jake, after five weeks of zero contact and a year of sporadic visits, didn’t recognize Lucky right away. He curled into Jason’s chest, throwing his arms around his father’s neck. “Jake, it’s me, it’s Daddy.”

“You need to go,” Jason said, careful to keep his tone even, calm. “You don’t have any business here.”

“The hell I don’t. You and Elizabeth think you can erase me from Jake’s life, you’ve got another thing coming—”

Jake. Not Cameron. Even now, even with the truth fully out that neither boy was his biological son, Lucky only thought about Jake. What kind of man could do that, Jason wondered, the anger rising. But he forced himself to remain calm.

“Jake, tell the man you want to see your daddy,” Lucky said again. “Jake—”

Jake turned to look at him, then looked at Jason, then at Lucky, then put his head in Jason’s chest again, his body trembling. Jason stroked his back.

“You’ve poisoned him against me, you and Elizabeth acting like I don’t exist—”

“You’re not a member of the PCPD anymore, Lucky,” Jason interrupted. “I can and will have you forcibly removed if you don’t leave on your own.”

“I’m not going anywhere without seeing my son. I’m his father,” Lucky repeated. “Jake, Jake, you know me. Come on, buddy.” His voice softened. “Remember when I took you to Thunder Island this summer? You, me, and Cam? We rode the GoKarts, and you dropped your ice cream.”

Jake’s trembling subsided, and he peeked his head out, looking at Lucky. “Chocolate. I like chocolate.”

“I know. We had to get you another one. And the second time, you got a Waffle cone, remember?”

“You go away,” Jake said. He shifted, more comfortable now, the memory anchoring him. Jason kept his expression clear, not wanting to give Lucky any hint of what this was costing him. “Why you leave?”

Coffee House: Parking Lot

Elizabeth closed the car door, rolling her neck and shoulders as she approached the double front doors. It had been a long first shift back, and Epiphany had refused to let her work the full ten hours, sending her home after six. She wanted to pull her weight, she’d told her supervisor, but she knew Epiphany was right. Elizabeth was barely up to the six hours she’d put in today, much less adding on four more.

And she still had three more days in this rotation. How had she managed to do this and still maintain a life?

Elizabeth hesitated for a moment, her finger resting on the silver door handle, her heart skipping a beat when she recognized the blurry figures behind the tempered glass of the door. Then heat crawled up her neck, and she jerked the door open.

Nikolas, sitting at a table with Sam, jumped to his feet when he saw Elizabeth there. “Elizabeth—”

Sam slowly rose, a smirk playing on her lips. “Well, isn’t this fun—”

“One more word, and Mac gets Amelia Joffee’s contact number,” Elizabeth said flatly. Sam’s smile slipped slightly. “She’s on standby, you know. Just waiting for us to pull the trigger. And when we do, Sam, because clearly it’s a when, she’ll be just the first domino to fall.” She stepped towards Jason’s ex-fiancée. “Because Angela Monroe is one of many, isn’t she?”

“Who’s Angela Monroe?” Nikolas asked, looking at Sam, then at Elizabeth again. “What’s going on?”

Sam glared at Elizabeth, the hatred burning in her dark eyes, then finally looked at her cousin. “Nothing. I think I should wait in the car.”

“That’s what I thought.” Elizabeth waited until Sam had left the coffee shop before looking at her former brother-in-law. “He’s back there, isn’t he?”

“Elizabeth—”

“Shut up and get out of my way.”

Coffee House: Jason’s Office

How much it hurt to see Jake remembering Lucky with any fondness, remembering him at all.

“Aunt Lu was sick. You remember Aunt Lu. She was with us that day, remember? She took you to clean up so Mommy wouldn’t get mad we messed up your shirt.” Lucky took another step towards them. “Aunt Lu is sick, and so I had to go help her.”

Jake’s lips trembled, and Jason wished he knew what to do. He wouldn’t give Jake to Lucky willingly, terrified Lucky might try to leave with him, and they’d have to stop him. But what if Jake wanted to go?

“I’ve missed you,” Lucky continued, sensing he was winning, that Jake was thawing towards him — and that Jason wasn’t going to have him thrown out now that the toddler remembered him. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“So much you didn’t call?”

Lucky spun around and Elizabeth stepped between Francis and the other guard, her cheeks flushed, her eyes brimming with fury. Just behind her, Nikolas stood, his shoulders hunched.

“Go ahead, Lucky,” Elizabeth said, crossing the threshold, putting herself between Jason and Lucky. “Tell Jake how long you’re staying.”

Lucky pressed his lips together, looked away.

“Jason, take Jake out front,” Elizabeth said, not taking her eyes off her ex-husband. “Let him choose some doughnuts to share with Cam when we get home.”

Jason hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I guess we didn’t finish things last night. But we’re going to do it now.” Elizabeth caught Nikolas by the sleeve when her former brother-in-law tried to follow Jason and the guards out of the room. “No, don’t you dare— You brought him here, so you’re going to listen to what I have to say.”

“I have every right to see my son,” Lucky retorted. “You can’t keep me from him—”

“Yes, I can, and now? I’m going to enjoy it.” Elizabeth folded her arms. “We signed an agreement to keep custody out of court. You’d have generous visitation, as much as you wanted, and I’d make sure the boys were available to you within reason. I didn’t want child support, but you insisted.”

“That’s right, because I’m a good father—”

“You’re a little late, by the way, on that child support.” She looked at Nikolas who dipped his head. “Did he mention that? In addition to dumping the boys with my grandmother early in the morning while I was still unconscious after a terrible car accident, Lucky quit his job, moved across the country, didn’t leave a forwarding address or phone number, and hasn’t contacted me. Not to talk to the boys and certainly not to pay child support.” She returned her gaze to Lucky. “I wonder what a judge will think about that—”

“I wonder what a judge will think about you taking my sons and shacking up with a gangster five seconds after I left. Do they both call him Daddy now?” Lucky bit out.

“Did you go to Cam’s school first and try this?” Elizabeth asked. Lucky said nothing. “No, you didn’t. You didn’t go to the son who absolutely would have remembered you. Would have been ecstatic to see you. He’s asked for you every day — including yesterday by the way. And you’re still his emergency contact. I didn’t think to change it. So if you’d gone to get him, Lucky, I’d have no leg to stand on.”

“I didn’t—”

“We weren’t going to take Jake anywhere,” Nikolas said, throwing his brother a silencing glare. “Lucky just wanted to see him. We’re on the way to the airport—”

“Leaving without saying goodbye to Cameron again? Why doesn’t that surprise me? How did you know Jake was even here today?”

“I’m not—”

“Sam overheard Diane and her mother talking about it,” Nikolas volunteered, and Lucky glared at him.

“Of course she did. Well, I’ve already dealt with her,” Elizabeth said, then focused on Lucky again. “What did you think you were doing coming here?”

“He brought his son to a place where he meets with criminals—”

“Spare me your self-righteous crap. We both know why you’re here. You’re on your way out of town, so you’d thought you would stick it to Jason one more time. Make sure he knows that Jake sees you as his father.” Elizabeth demanded. “Because if you really cared, if you really wanted to see your sons, you’d have asked to see Cam. I might have said yes. Might have,” she repeated scathingly. “Because he’s the one who watched you leave. He’s the one who still asks for you.”

“I told you this wasn’t a good idea,” Nikolas told Lucky, turning away from Elizabeth, pitching his voice low. “Let’s just get out of here.” He looked at Elizabeth. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be. I hope you’re happy, Lucky, I hope this was worth it. Because it goes on the list of terrible choices you’ve made as a father. Come near Jake or Cam again, and I promise you that you’ll regret it. I will take you to court, and I will humiliate you–”

“Won’t be the first time, will it?” he demanded. “You told the whole world you screwed that criminal, and no one believed Jake was mine after that!”

“Yeah, well, this time I won’t feel bad about doing it! I will drag you into that courtroom and I will make sure every single terrible thing you’ve done will be put on record. The drugs, the affairs, the dangerous criminal you put my boys around waiting for you in the car. So get out of this office, Lucky, and get out of my life. This is your last warning.”

Lucky glared at her for another beat, then stormed past her out the door.

“Elizabeth—”

Elizabeth looked at her old friend, at her former brother-in-law, her eyes burning. “Shame on you for coming here with him, for putting my son through this. Forcing Jake to remember him just for a few minutes, so Lucky could make sure to twist the knife. One more jab at Jason for the road. Is that what you think a good father does?”

“Elizabeth—”

“You left and I understood it. I did. What Lulu’s facing is awful, and I’m sorry for it. I understood that she needed more treatment. I’m not angry at you or at Lucky for doing what was necessary for her. But you didn’t have to do it the way you did. Leaving without a word to me. I was awake when you left,” she reminded him, and he nodded, avoiding her gaze. “And you still said nothing to me. You and your brother are selfish right down to the bone, and this will be the last time I ever speak to either of you.”

“Liz, please, I just didn’t handle it well—”

“You make sure that Lucky knows if he comes near my children one more time, I will make him regret the day he was born. Get out of my life and take your worthless brother with you.”

Nikolas looked as if he wanted to argue but then nodded and left. Elizabeth followed him to the front of the coffee house, which was, as normal, mostly empty. Jason had Jake behind the counter, their backs to the door and to the hall, and she hoped that meant Jake hadn’t seen Lucky leave.

Nikolas made his way out of the double doors, and Elizabeth went to her son and to Jason.

“Hey, there’s my guys,” she said, lifting Jake into her arms, cuddling him. “Did you have fun with Daddy today?”

Jake furrowed his brows at her, looking so much like his father she wanted to weep. Then at his father, as if unsure which man she was talking about.

Jason stroked Jake’s back. “Do you want to show Mommy the pictures you made her?”

“I color,” Jake said, grinning and returning his gaze to his mother. “Daddy read me Chuggin’ Charlie, and I eat.” He held up his hand, the remains of a powered pastry on his fingers. “See? We gots more for Cam. And chocolate for you.”

“Chocolate, huh? That’s my favorite.” Elizabeth looked at Jason over their son’s head, hoping he could read the apology in her eyes. “Sounds like you guys had a great day.”

“It was,” Jason said. He leaned down, brushed his lips against her forehead, lingering. “Better now that you’re here. Why don’t we get Cam and go home?”

“I can’t think of anything I want more.”

Zacchara Estate: Study

Claudia sauntered into her father’s study, headed straight for the mini bar. Wine wasn’t good enough tonight, she thought, reaching for the decanter of vodka. “You bellowed, Daddy?”

“Took your sweet time in answering,” Anthony growled, rolling his chair from behind the desk towards the center of the room. “Your brother still hasn’t called or visited. You were supposed to fix that.”

She sipped the drink, looked at him. “I talked to him, but I’m not a miracle worker.” She’d done what she could to make Johnny see how few options they both had. Short of making the nurse disappear herself, Claudia was limited in what she could do.

Demanding Johnny turn on Jason without a good reason was a nonstarter, and she’d known that from the beginning. Johnny was too soft-hearted to do what was necessary for his own survival. He’d remember that Jason had protected him even to his own detriment, and well, maybe he wasn’t in love with the nurse yet, but Claudia knew he wasn’t far off.

No, demanding that Johnny get closer to Jason in order to ultimately turn on him — that was never going to happen to save himself. Or even his sister.

But he might be persuaded to do it if he thought Nadine was in trouble.

“Listen, Jezebel—”

“He’s wrapped up in the nurse, okay? He’s totally gaga for her, okay?” Claudia jerked a shoulder. “You’d be sick with how happy he looks.” She tossed back the rest of the vodka, poured another tumbler full. “Isn’t that what all the reports say?”

“Yeah.” Anthony studied her for a long moment. “You think he forgot Looloo so easy?”

Claudia considered the question for a long moment, staring at the clear liquid in the glass. “No,” she said finally. “I think Johnny liked that Lulu lived a little close to the edge, that he fancied them star-crossed with you trying to kill her and that boy she ended up killing — but this nurse — she’s different. You saw her in court, right? And here. She’s a do-gooder. A pure heart.”

Anthony folded his hands in his lap, looking away. “His mother was like that.”

“Yeah, not that Johnny really remembers that, thanks to you.” Anthony shot her a dirty look but didn’t dispute the jab, not that he could. “Right now, the nurse thinks Johnny’s worth her time. And he’s gonna try to live up to the man she already thinks he is. I guess we’ll see which one of them wins.”

Anthony grunted, gripped the wheels again. “Yeah, well, I’m not gonna sit around much longer. You tell him he better make time for me.”

“I’ll give him a call,” Claudia said, then watched Anthony roll out of the room, her stomach rolling. Once again, her actions were making Johnny the target of a lunatic’s actions, but this time she was dragging that stupid girl along for the ride. Her brother would never forgive her if this went wrong.

It was time to remind Johnny just what was at stake. She headed for the phone on the desk, picked it up and dialed.

Nadine’s Apartment: Kitchen

Johnny saw his sister’s name on his cell phone notification screen but slid the phone back into his pocket unanswered. He lifted the glasses of wine he’d poured and headed for the sofa where Nadine was already curled up, waiting for him.

He handed her a glass, then sat next to her, kicking off his shoes. “I’m glad you and Nikolas left things on a better note.”

“Me, too. And it made me think that maybe I should start visiting Jolene again.” She sipped the wine. “At least once or twice a month. I stopped because I hated seeing her like that, but you know, there are all those studies that say people in comas can hear you. Maybe they get lonely.”

“You are a much better person than I am,” Johnny told her, reaching for the remote for the DVD player. He pressed play and waited for her reaction to the movie he’d chosen from the store that afternoon.

Nadine laughed when the title came across the screen. “Made of Honor? You rented a romantic comedy?”

“Yeah, well, I figured we’d start with something you like. I got Al Pacino for tomorrow,” he told her.

“Only fair.” Nadine snuggled in, and they leaned back to watch the movie — Johnny ignoring every vibration of his phone.

Claudia had gotten herself into trouble, and she was going to have to get herself out of it. He’d stick close to Nadine and make sure she was safe, but his sister would have to fend for herself.

Warehouse

Jerry sidestepped a stack of pallets that had fallen at some point and now lay scattered towards the loading dock at the back of the building. A rat scurried past him, disappearing into the dark shadows. He wrinkled his nose, looked at the man waiting for him. “Was there really nowhere else we could have met?” he asked.

The man turned to face him. “I find that no one truly expects the villain to take up residence in an abandoned warehouse. It is, how do you say, too cliche?” Andrei Karpov quirked a brow.

“Ah, still pretending to have a poor command of the English language. Does that work for you?” Jerry wanted to know.

“It does, yes. The only accent anyone respects is the British one,” Karpov muttered, and Jerry just smiled. “Do we banter more, or do we get to business?”

“I could banter all afternoon, my friend, but all right. Let’s get down to it.” Jerry folded his arms. “I’ve made contact with Claudia Zacchara. I’m confident she’ll carry out my command, she has few options. But we can’t have any more screw ups from your end. I warned you Sonny Corinthos was too unpredictable.”

“I had no choice. The other one will not see reason. I had thought I could make Corinthos angry enough to join me. To demand my resources. It would have been a pleasure to watch him, Jason Morgan fight each other while I took advantage of their distraction.”

“It would have been, but I also seem to remember reminding you that Jason Morgan has a troublesome ability to compartmentalize. He managed to balance the loss of his best friend and the near death of his paramour, organize an FBI raid on your cargo ship and still find time to take a child to preschool.” Jerry lifted his brow. “It’s a shame we can’t find a way to bring him to our side. We’d take over the world in a matter of weeks.”

Karpov’s face creased with fury. “He had his chance to join us. Now I grind him beneath my shoe—”

“Yes, of course, but will you take my advice this time? You sought me out because I knew the players,” Jerry reminded him. “What point is there in collaboration if you refuse to listen?”

The other man was clearly unhappy with Jerry’s conclusion but admirably fought it back. “You tell me Claudia Zacchara can get me what I want, but you don’t tell me how. Explain and maybe I will agree you know best.”

“It’s simple. Jason Morgan can’t be dealt with in the usual ways. We could go after his family. Relieve him of the nurse or one of those kids. It’s a tried-and-true method that clearly broke Sonny Corinthos. But Morgan? I think we’d only make him more angry. He’d murder you in your sleep, Andrei, and grieve his loss when you were dead. Look at Manny Ruiz. Spent months targeting the lovely Samantha and was shoved off a roof for his troubles.”

“Yes, yes, you tell me this, and you still—”

“You need to destroy Jason from the inside. Take him apart when he least expects it. Johnny Zacchara has already proved to be a nick in Morgan’s armor. He let the boy live after shooting Sonny. And helped him escape all blame by facilitating the wedding to the witness. Johnny will protect his sister. And we hold a very terrible truth over Claudia’s head. She’ll try to scurry around, think of how to get out of our hold for a day or two. But she’ll ultimately realize the only way to save her skin—and her baby brother’s—is to do business with us.”

“This still doesn’t get me Morgan or the territory. I want those shipping lanes—”

“You Russians have no appreciation for flair or dramatics. Honestly. If you were half as interesting as the Sicilians and Italians, you’d see movies made romanticizing you.” Jerry paused. “May I continue?”

“Get to the point. Quickly.”

“We will make sure Johnny knows we can get to him at any point. Not just him, but his wife. He’s protective of the girl. And she’s walking around without any security. I can think of a dozen ways to use her as a message. Johnny will have no choice but to work with us. He’ll either have to do our bidding or come clean to Jason Morgan about his sister’s role in Michael’s shooting. And his knowledge of it. It’s perfect, really. Johnny Zacchara is already on record hating his father, wanting to escape. We’ll push him right into Morgan’s arms.”

“You put a lot of weight on this boy choosing us. How can you be sure he won’t flee and abandon the girl and his sister?”

“That’s an excellent question.” Jerry smiled. “He can’t resist a damsel in distress. Fortunate for us, isn’t it?”

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