Written in 58 minutes.

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PCPD: Squad Room

Mac lifted his brows when Scott stalked out of the interrogation room, folder in hand, a scowl firmly etched on his face. “So,” he drawled, “how did it go?”

“You think this is funny?” Scott demanded.

Mac snorted, just shook his head. “No. I think it’s tragic. You can’t ever just to be content with the little guy, can you? You have to go for the kill, for the headlines—” He shrugged, took the folder from Scott. “What did I tell you about making a dramatic arrest in front of Elizabeth Webber?”

“Look—”

“I said if you want to piss off Jason Morgan, then go ahead and make a scene in front of the woman pregnant with his child and at risk for a miscarriage. Go for it. Hope it’s worth it.” He cocked his head. “Are we ready to do this my way yet or are you going to keep chasing your tail—”

Scott leaned in. “You keep making your jokes, Mac, but I’m on the side of the angels here. I got an iron-clad case that’s going to wrap two major criminals up at once—I get to charge Lansing with kidnapping, Sonny of attempted murder, and as a bonus, I get the stupid blonde for obstruction of justice and, hey, if I play my cards right, maybe I get Lansing and Goldilocks for aiding and abetting after the fact. Maybe you don’t want to clear a case—”

“Maybe you should kiss my ass because my officers handed you that kidnapping case in July, jackass. And you not only told me to disregard it, you hired the primary suspect! So if you want a reason Jason Morgan doesn’t trust this office to do diddly squat, look in the goddamn mirror.” Mac slapped the folder against Scott’s chest. “You do what you have to do. We’re going to keep investigating the weapon turned over, and when I find the evidence that links Sonny to the shooting, I’ll handle the arrest. Stick with tanking your own career, and leave me out of it.”

Harborview Towers: Morgan Penthouse

Max dragged his hands down his face. “What? What do you mean Jason was arrested? Are these guys high? I know the PCPD doesn’t have a lot going for it, but come on!”

“Yeah, I’m kind of at a loss.” Mike perched on the edge of the sofa, exhaled in a slow breath. “Scott kept talking about witnesses, but how is that possible? Bobbie and Jason were together the whole time! And you and I—well, shit, Max, we both know what’s going on here, don’t we?”

“Yeah.” Max put his hands at his waist, looked down. “Yeah, we do. I could look at the security footage to be sure, but Mr. C was no where to be found around the time this happened.”

Mike frowned, got to his feet. “You haven’t looked yet?”

“Well, I didn’t want to know, okay? And Jason—I figure Jason will come here and he’ll tell me what to do. Okay? I am not the decisions guy, Mr. Corbin! I follow orders! And no one’s giving me any orders!”

“Okay. Okay. Okay.” Mike took a deep breath, looked around the room. “Walk me through last night. You found Sonny missing.”

“Yeah. I called Jason right away. I looked in every room. He wasn’t here. We think he took the stairs. I looked on the elevator, and he wasn’t there. We don’t have cameras on the stairs.”

“Well, that’s a bit of an oversight, don’t you think?” Mike demanded.

“Hey, what part of not the decisions guy are you not getting? I’m doing my best, man.” Max huffed. “I called Jason. He was with Bobbie. He said find him, and I figured he was going to look or maybe check on Carly. I don’t know. But he went to Kelly’s, obviously.”

“To secure Elizabeth first. That would have been priority. Carly—if she’d been with her guard the way she was supposed to—” Mike closed his eyes. “But Elizabeth didn’t have anyone.”

“That tracks. Okay, back to me. I go down to check security footage. I’m watching the elevator, he’s not on it. But then I found him in the the parking garage, leaving. I went to go call Stan, our tech guy. Maybe we could get something on traffic cameras, you know? By the time I get back, security is telling me we got Sonny back in the building. I go upstairs, and he’s in with Miss Matthews—”

“Courtney?”

“Yeah, yeah, she was here, I think to get some things. She had to come back later. But when I came in, she was crying. Upset, and she left. Sonny was destroyed. Just crying. Sobbing,” Max remembered. “So I got the sedatives and I did what Jason said. And we’ve kept him sedated ever since.”

“Courtney came back twice? She hasn’t answered any of my calls,” Mike said. “I know she must have heard about Jason and Elizabeth, about the baby, but I figured she’d be with Carly. Did she know about the shooting?”

“Yeah.” Max frowned. “She left the first time, and came back. She’d forgotten a suitcase. And then she came back a few hours later. She was in the living room across the hall when I came down from checking on Sonny. She said she wanted to see how he was. She had some clothes in her arms, she wanted to get some things for Carly, for Michael. I didn’t think anything about it.”

“Okay. I’ll track her down. Right now—” Mike considered the options. “My instinct is to go to the PCPD, to come clean. But they’ve complicated all of this by dragging Jason in there. I don’t know if telling them about Sonny right now would help or hurt. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to screw things up for Jason more than they already are.”

“Totally fair. So maybe we just keep things status quo until we hear from Jason?”

“Keep Sonny calm. Whether that means you just keep—let’s just keep him where he is. Full-time guard. Christ, I don’t know. This is such a mess.”

“It’ll be okay. Jason will get out of jail, and he’ll tell us what to do. I’m just the orders guy, Mr. Corbin, and I think maybe you are, too. Jason’s the decisions guy. I’m not doing anything without his say.”

“Good. I’ll update Bobbie on this, and I hope like hell his lawyer is here by now.”

“Oh, yeah? Who are we going with? I figure we’d run through most of what PC has to offer.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Scott heard a familiar voice, and winced. He turned to find Bobbie striding through the double doors with Justus Ward hot on her heels. Well, this wasn’t great news, he thought. He’d never worked with Justus, but he’d heard enough to know that the cooperation he wanted from Jason wasn’t just on life support, it was dead in the water. For now.

“Bobbie, I hope you’ve had some time to rest—” Scott’s words were cut off when her hand connected to his cheek and his head snapped to the side.  A few officers rose from their desks, but he held them off. “Settle down, fellows. She’s had a long night. And, uh, I had that one coming.” He rubbed his jaw. “I see you brought Junior a lawyer.”

“My daughter is in a coma, and might never wake up. My grandson is at home alone with a nanny, and you have me here fighting you when I should be fighting for them,” Bobbie hissed, and he had to look away from the fury—from the disappointment in her eyes. “Jason is here when he should be with Elizabeth. Did you know she might have nerve damage? That while you’re here playing games with her case, with Carly’s, that Elizabeth might never pick up another paintbrush? Does it matter to you that my grandchild might be born and my daughter never knows? Never holds him?”

“Bobbie—”

“No! No! Because I know you know this is bullshit. You know I’m not lying. You know Jason was with me the whole time. So whatever you’re doing, it’s a game. You’re thinking about winning! How dare you play these games? Wasn’t it enough what you did this summer? Did you have to continue to prove how little I matter to you? Don’t think I know that after all these years?”

Scott flinched, dropped his gaze to the floor, swallowed hard. Then he lifted his head, looked at her. “I promise you, Bobbie, that I’m doing what I think is best for everyone to get justice. Carly and Elizabeth are not far from my thoughts. They’re the reason I’m doing this. And as angry as you are with me—and as much as I deserve it for what I’ve done, for the millions of ways I’ve disappointed you—” He paused. “I’m doing what’s right. I can’t fix Carly, okay? I can’t fix any of that—it’s not in my power. But punishing the man who caused it? Who started all of this? That’s what I’m doing. Now you can either get on board with that, Bobbie, or you can get out of my way.”

She searched his eyes, then only scowled more deeply. “You actually believe that, don’t you?”

“I don’t know, Bobbie. Why don’t you tell me where your son-in-law is? Why don’t we have a conversation with him about this case? His best friend, his wife—” Scott lifted his brows when she just pressed her lips together. “Who’s playing games now, huh?”

He looked past her to Justus who had remained quiet throughout the exchange. “Your client is in the room. But she stays out here. You know, pesky privilege and all.”

“Bobbie’s going to come in for a few minutes to pass information about my client’s—” Justus shifted his eyes to Bobbie. “She has a health update. If you care so much about Carly Corinthos and Elizabeth Webber, I’m sure you won’t mind that. And then she’ll leave so that I can get to work.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want. You will anyway.” Scott stalked off in the other direction, bitterly disappointed in Bobbie. Maybe he wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t protecting a crime boss who was hiding from something and if it was the last thing Scott did, he’d find out what that was.

General Hospital: Elizabeth’s Room

Elizabeth looked in the doorway expectantly as Audrey stepped in, then closed the door. “Is there an update? Did the police release Jason yet? Can I go home?”

“All I know about Jason, dear, is that Justus Ward has arrived, and they’re at the PCPD right now. We just have to trust that Justus and Bobbie will look after him now, all right?”

Elizabeth closed her eyes, nodded. “Justus. Jason trusts him. I know he does. It’ll be okay if Justus is here. Alexis would be better.”

“No doubt, but she’s having her own troubles.” Audrey took a seat next to the bed. “I spoke at length with Tony about your case. He wants to keep you here another three or four days. Your risk of miscarriage is not zero, though no one has any serious worries on that score. But you did have a head injury. I reminded Tony that those extra days are about observation, and I am fully capable of doing that.”

“And?”

“He will allow you to check out tomorrow afternoon if your condition remains stable or continues to improve. I think that’s very fair, darling. And as for your worry about Ric Lansing down the hall—” Audrey pressed her lips together. “Well, I just spoke to a very nice man outside. It seems Jason had already made arrangements prior to all this. You’ll have someone on this door until you leave. And then at the house.”

“Oh. I should have known Jason would—” Elizabeth exhaled slowly. “All right. All right. Um, if Jason—if they don’t let him go, he has to be arraigned. I want to go to that if I’m out in time, but if I’m not, you’ll go. You’ll tell him I’m all right. I don’t know if they’ll let him out on bail. I mean, they arrested him for nothing—”

“Don’t get so upset or worked up. Jason is an adult with a strong support system. I spoke to Alan and Monica, and it seems Edward is working behind the scenes. But yes, if you are not able to be there—and I’m strongly encouraging you to stay home—then I will be there, in your stead. On one condition.”

“That I rest, eat when I’m supposed to, and not get upset,” Elizabeth muttered. Audrey smiled.

“Precisely. How wonderful that we don’t even have to argue.”

PCPD: Squad Room

“How’s Elizabeth? Carly?” Jason asked, half-rising as soon as Bobbie and Justus stepped inside. He blinked, seemed to actually realize who Bobbie had brought with her. “Justus. I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“You had other priorities. That’s fair.” Justus set the briefcase on the table. “Bobbie?”

“Carly is unchanged. The baby is stable. I spoke to Leticia, she’s going to keep Michael out of school this week to avoid the news. Right now, he just thinks Carly is getting some help for his little brother. I thought—well, I’d hoped we could talk to him together when this madness has ended.”

Bobbie paused. “Elizabeth is fine. Stable. So is the baby. Everyone is all right, Jason. I want you to focus on getting out of this mess. And I want you to do whatever Justus says will make this go away.” Her eyes found his. “Whatever that is. Do you understand me? You are the priority. I need you with me for what happens next. Elizabeth needs you. Your child needs you.”

“I hear you, Bobbie.”

“Good.” Bobbie looked at Justus. “Get him home. Whatever has to be done.”

Justus watched her leave, furrowed his brow, then looked back at Jason. “Okay, yeah, you’re going to start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. Because I got a feeling there’s some fuckery afoot.”

General Hospital: Ric’s Hospital Room

Capelli nodded to the officer on duty, then closed the door behind. “Ric. Doc says you might be up for more questioning.”

Ric winced as he adjusted himself in the bed. He looked like hell, Capelli noted, with deep lines in his face, his hair disheveled across his forehead. “They won’t tell me. Elizabeth. Carly.”

Capelli tipped his head to the side. “Elizabeth is stable. Carly’s in a coma. Why don’t you tell me what happened last night? Start with why you were at Kelly’s.”

Ric cleared his throat. “It’s…fuzzy. You know? Like—” He gestured weakly with his hand. “A film is over it in my head. I went there to talk to Elizabeth. The divorce—”

“Don’t you have attorneys for that?”

Ric grimaced, closed his eyes. “Yes. Wish I’d stayed home. But I know if I just could just talk to her, just the two of us—”

“You mean get her alone?”

Ric opened his eyes, squinted. “What?”

“Never mind. You got to Kelly’s to talk to your ex-wife.” Capelli jotted a note. “Was she alone?”

“N-No. No. Um—Carly was there already. And Courtney. I think—they were arguing. All of them. About the affair. Courtney knew about it,” Ric said. He furrowed his brow. “But Carly didn’t. This—she was just learning about it. I stepped up behind them. Then—then I heard footsteps, and I turned—and it was Jason. He was angry that—” Ric closed his eyes. “I didn’t care. I turned away from him, I walked towards the women—and then I felt the pain. The shot.”

“So you didn’t see Jason shoot you?” Capelli asked, lifting his brows.

“No, but I saw him an instant before I was shot in the back, so you do the math.”

“Don’t worry, Ric.” Capelli made another note. “That’s exactly what we’re doing.”

PCPD: Squad Room

Justus strolled out of the interrogation room, found Mac waiting for him. “I wish I could say it was good to see you,” he said dryly.

“Feeling’s mutual. Look, I don’t know if Jason told you what Scott’s plan is—”

“Oh, he did. I’ve never worked with Scott Baldwin, but his reputation for being…” Justus pursed his lips. “Ethically loose, shall we say? That’s pretty well-known. But you, Mac? You’d never go along with this. My client and I are calling bullshit. And we’re calling your bluff. We want an arraignment, and a bail hearing. My client has places to be, and people counting on him.”

“Scott’s on the level, I promise. He’s an idiot, but—”

“If what Scott told my client is accurate, then you don’t need him to prove anything about your so-called witnesses. We both know that’s not the plan. So maybe Scott knows Jason is innocent, but he sure as hell isn’t being straight on what he wants. You have to what you need to discredit your witnesses. And my client is here for nothing. So book him and let’s set some bail, or let’s all go home. Your choice.”

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