Written in 57 minutes.

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Kelly’s: Parking Lot

The SUV passenger door closed with a slam, and Bobbie stood for a minute squinting at the familiar car parked in the spot across from Jason. “Did Carly tell you she was coming here?”

“No,” Jason said. “No, she didn’t, but—”

Pop pop pop—

A smattering of gunshots, mixed with screams that cut off abrutply stopped Jason dead in his tracks, but only for a second. His heart racing, he broke into a run, crossing the small parking lot and running around the brick wall that separated the courtyard—

Then the world fell away. His vision grayed, and he had to swallow hard, had to just a moment for his brain to catch up with the rest of his body, to process what his eyes had already seen.

Carly and Elizabeth crumpled next to a table, lying close together—Elizabeth’s arm slung over Carly’s shoulder, and Carly’s hand flung out near Elizabeth’s head. Beyond them, near the street exit, Ric lay on his stomach, groaning, a dark spot of blood visible on his upper shoulder.

Bobbie stumbled into Jason, cried out, and dashed around him, breaking Jason’s paralysis. She slid on her knees behind Carly, and Jason crouched by Elizabeth, bile rising in his throat when he saw the gunshot in her upper chest, near her shoulder. He carefully rolled her onto her back, and saw blood trickling down her cheek.

But her skin was still warm, and the hand he clutched to his chest still had a pulse, thready, but present. He was already digging his cell phone from his pocket when he looked at Carly.

Her mother had also rolled her just slightly onto her back, and the blood on her forehead continued to ooze from the bullet wound that began at her hairline and furrowed into her blonde hair, the strands changing color.

“Oh my God, oh my god—” Bobbie pressed two trembling fingers to Carly’s neck, muffling a sob. “She’s breathing.”

“D-Don’t move them anymore. Don’t—” He didn’t know what else was hit, didn’t know what damage he might cause—how was this happening? What the hell had happened? How had all three of them ended up with bullet wounds—where the hell were the guards—

Bobbie snatched the phone from Jason and frantically dialed the emergency number. Reluctantly, Jason placed Elizabeth’s hand on her chest and went over to look at Ric. He kicked the man over, hoping like hell to see a gun somewhere in the vicinity. It wouldn’t explain everything, but it would give him somewhere to start.

But there was no gun. Someone else had been here.

Jason returned to Elizabeth’s side, took the scarf Bobbie shoved into her hand from her bag and bunched it up against the shoulder wound, putting pressure on it. They couldn’t do that for Carly—couldn’t chance dislodging the bullet in her—

God. The bullet in her head. Had it penetrated the skull? Was Carly dying before their eyes? Would Elizabeth—

“What the hell happened?” Bobbie demanded, snapping the phone closed. “What the hell is  this?”

“I don’t know.” Sirens whirled in the distance, and Jason swallowed, staring down into the too pale,still face of the woman he loved, praying to a God that had forgotten him long ago. “I don’t know.”

Morgan Penthouse: Living Room

Courtney dumped the suitcase by the door, then went over to the shelf to snatch down some of the things she’d brought over to make it feel like home. But it had never been home. She’d never been more than a rest stop, she thought bitterly. Now that Jason had his perfect Elizabeth back, Courtney wasn’t necessary.

She shoved the things into her suitcase, zipped it back up, then dragged it out towards the elevator. Before she pressed the button, she glanced over towards her brother’s penthouse, and made a face. She should probably check on him, especially since she’d dropped the break up on him and had left. And also mentioned Elizabeth, Courtney thought with a wince. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but maybe it hadn’t been the smartest thing to do.

Not that Courtney gave a tinker’s damn about that damn whore, but it would be another crime Jason would be happy to add to the list of reasons it was okay he’d cheated on her.

“Sonny—” Courtney stopped, frowning when she realized the door was slightly ajar, and she could hear weeping.  “Sonny?” she repeated, pushing it open.

The room was dark, lit only by the barest hint of moonlight through the clouds. Sonny sat on the floor, his knees drawn up, his back against the sofa. His shoulders shook with sobs. Well, this wasn’t good, she thought. She flicked on a lamp at the desk, and Sonny’s head jerked up, his hair and eyes wild.

“Who’s there?” What’s going on?” He lurched to his feet and Courtney fell back a step. “Who are you?”

“It’s Courtney. Your sister.” Courtney held up her hands, backed up again when he came forward. “Courtney—”

“I don’t have a sister. I never—” Sonny dragged his hands down his face, looked around. “Where is she? What did you do with her?”

“With who—Sonny—”

“Lily—” He lunged again and this time, he grabbed Courtney, shook her so hard her teeth rattled. “What did you do to my wife?” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth. She flinched, turned her face away.

“Let me go—” Courtney tried to struggle, but Sonny’s grip was so tight, she could almost feel it down to the bone. “Let me go, Sonny! Lily’s dead! She’s dead!”

Sonny flung her away, and Courtney went flying, hitting the side of the desk with her hip. She winced.

“I know she’s dead! Do you think I’m stupid? That’s what you all think, isn’t it?” He turned back, shaking a finger at her. “You think I’m nothing more than Puerto Rican street trash dragged in by your cousin!”

“My—” Courtney stared at him. “Sonny—”

“You’re no better than all the rest of them, thinking that you’re better than me! Go, go to your damn fancy college. What the hell do I want with some bitch who can’t stand next to me? Who’s too scared?”

“Sonny—”

He grabbed her again, his eyes fervent, filled with rage. “No one walks out on me! Not even you, Connie! You wanna go? You wanna go be some rich bitch who’s too good for Benson hurst, then go! But I’m the one doing the leaving—” And then he shoved Courtney away again and she hit the door, slamming it shut.

Trembling, Courtney just held her hands up again. “Stop, stop!” she sobbed. “I’m your sister! I’m Carly’s best friend Stop!” she screamed, but Sonny had already grabbed her again, throwing her towards the sofa. She hit it with a thud, then fell to the floor, the wind knocked out of her.

“Don’t you ever talk about Carly! Don’t you—” He broke off abruptly. He put his hands at his head, his fingers ripping into the disheveled curls. “Carly. Carly. I killed her.”

“W-What—” Courtney struggled to her feet. If she could just get to the door— “What—”

“I killed her. I killed her. Oh, God. I killed her.” He stared down at his hands. “The blood.” He held them out. “Do you see it—it’s all over me—the blood—”

The door opened behind Sonny, and Max was there, his eyes wide. “Oh, no, Miss Matthews. Are you okay?” He came around Sonny, his foot kicking at something metal. It went flying across the room, slid under the sofa. “Mr. C—” He avoided Sonny’s fists, then came forward with a syringe plunging it into Sonny’s shoulder.

Sonny continued to fight for another minute, maybe two, but then finally slumped, and Max half-dragged, half-walked him towards the sofas, leaving him lying there.

Shellshocked, Courtney just stared at her brother, at the madman. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. We couldn’t find him, but then he just showed up back here like he was never gone—” Max grimaced, looked at her. “He hurt you. He’s going to be so upset when he realizes it. I have to call Jason—Do you—”

“I’m leaving,” Courtney said, backing up. “I’m leaving and I’m never—I’m never coming back here alone. You tell Jason that. You tell him I’m done. This is his problem to fix.”

And then she fled.

General Hospital: Emergency Room

Rage coursed through his veins, but there was nowhere for the anger to go, no one to blame, nothing he could do except pace the length of the waiting area again and again. He’d tried sitting still, but his foot had started to tap, and he’d had to get up.

From one wall to the other, pausing only to scan the parts of the emergency room he could see from here, hoping to see a doctor or a nurse, or someone that could tell him how Elizabeth was, how Carly was—

Behind him, Bobbie sat, pale and shaken, her hands clasped together in a fist that she had pressed against her mouth, her eyes closed. The ride in the ambulance had been like a long waking nightmare with paramedics shouting out procedures and numbers that Jason only half-followed. He knew that Elizabeth’s condition had been more stable than Carly’s, but that could change in an instant.

Hadn’t the whole world crumbled around him in less a few seconds?

What if Carly died? What if she was dead already and they just hadn’t told them? What if Elizabeth—what if she lost the baby—or what if the head injury was worse than they thought—

Tony Jones appeared out from behind a curtain and seemed resigned as he walked towards them. Neurosurgeon, so it could be either woman. Jason didn’t even care that Tony hated him, that he hated Carly. He just wanted the man to tell him that both women had survived.

“Tony—” Bobbie rasped out his name, struggling to her feet. Jason put an arm around her waist, steadying her. “Tony. Tell me.”

“Carly’s still in the trauma room,” Tony said gently, his tone not  giving any hint of the deep history that existed between them, beyond his fondness for Bobbie. “Right now, I can tell you that her condition is critical. They did an X-ray and the bullet didn’t fully penetrate the skull. But they need to take her into surgery to be sure since they don’t have the bullet to remove. A nurse will be out with some paperwork.” He hesitated. “Is Sonny—”

“I have her power of attorney,” Jason said numbly. “In case he’s not available.”

“Of course.” Tony paused. “I nearly called Audrey Hardy as Elizabeth’s next of kin, but she came around in the trauma room—”

Jason’s head jerked up. “She’s awake?”

“She asked for you.” Tony’s lips were thin, disapproving. “And gave consent for you to handle her treatment.”

“She’s pregnant,” Jason blurted out. “The paramedics—”

Tony nodded, looked down at his notes. “There’s no sign of miscarriage, though surgery and anesthesia raises that. Along the stress this kind of injury can do to the body. We’re monitoring, and Dr. Meadows is sending in a resident to observe surgery.” He paused. “She’s critical, but stable condition. We’ll be able to upgrade her if the surgery goes well.”

“Go see her, sit with her until the surgery,” Bobbie told Jason, her hand wrapped around his arm. “You’ll feel better if you can talk to her.”

“I—”

“I’ll stay with Bobbie,” Tony said. “You should go before they put her under. We’ll bring the paperwork for Carly when we can.”

“Thank you.” Jason squeezed Bobbie’s hand, then hurried away.

Tony stared after him, his eyes squinted. “Wasn’t he engaged to another woman?”

“God, Tony. Really?” Bobbie said, then sat back down, put her head in hands and wept violently.

Kelly’s: Courtyard

Scott Baldwin ducked under the yellow caution tape, grimaced as he approached Mac Scorpio and Andy Capelli standing by the entrance to the diner. “Do we have any fucking clue yet?”

“Crime scene’s going over it now,” Mac said. “Right now, all we know is Carly and Elizabeth were both shot from the front, and Ric in the back.”

“Witnesses can’t say how many shots,” Capelli said, flipping through the notebook. “Morgan’s statement was brief and terse. He was climbing in the ambulance and right after he told me to go fuck myself, he said he heard three. Bobbie Spencer thought it was five. I’ve got as few as two and as many as seven.”

“Surveillance camera’s down,” Mac said, with a sigh. “So that’s not much help. Tech thinks there are some ricochets — one of the bullets has blood on it. Carly’s the only one without a bullet in the wound. I’m thinking she got nailed with a ricochet aimed at either Elizabeth or Ric.”

“Well, see, who the hell would want to shoot them both?” Scott demanded. “If it’s just Ric, then it’s Morgan all day—”

“No way he opens fire with Elizabeth and Carly so close. Especially since he told the paramedics Elizabeth’s pregnant.” Mac paused. “And, uh, judging by the way he looked—”

“Great. Morgan and Corinthos Junior at the scene of the crime.” But Scott sighed, crouched down, saw the blood stains from where the women had been laying. “I wish I disagreed with you, but as much as I hate Corinthos and Morgan, this doesn’t feel like them. Especially with Bobbie in the picture.”

“We need to get over to the hospital, get better statements from Morgan and Bobbie,” Capelli said. “And Sonny. Where the hell is he?”

“Probably at the hospital by now.” Scott got to his feet. “You guys take the victim’s families. I’ll wait on Ric. He was shot in the back, but we don’t know anything yet.”

General Hospital: Emergency Room

She was swallowed up by the white surrounding her—the sheets, the pillow beneath her, the pallor of her skin, her lips dried and cracked. The only color was the pale blue hospital gown and her brown hair laying across the stark white of the pillow.

The hospital gown been pulled down off her shoulder, and a protective, temporary dressing over the bullet wound, where blood still seeped. Her heartbeat pulsed from a machine behind them, steady. He let that be a comfort, he thought, lifting her pale hand to kiss the inside of her palm.

Her eyelids fluttered, and just a sliver of blue appeared. “You’re here,” the words falling out in barely an audible whisper. “I told…them…to find…you.”

“I’m here. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He stroked her face, hoping she couldn’t see the fear in his eyes or feel it in his touch. “You’re going to be okay.”

“What…what…happened…”

“I don’t know yet. Don’t worry about that right now. You just focus on getting through surgery.”

Her lashes fluttered, then her eyes opened again. “But…the…baby. Don’t…can’t…won’t survive losing….”

“Tony said so far so good, okay? So we’ll just focus on that. You’ll both be okay.”

“Kay…” Her voice slurred. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

There was a slight clearing of the throat from behind him, and Jason looked to find Tony behind him. “We have to take her into surgery now.  You should call her grandmother.”

“I will. I will.” Jason kissed Elizabeth’s hand once more, then backed away, watching as the hospital staff rolled her out of the room, down the hall—

And out of sight.

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