Written in 59 minutes. No time for spell check.

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Mykonos, Greece: Flat

Luke checked his watch, wincing. “I gotta get back to my place. Lucky will be wondering where I am, and if he starts thinking I’m against him—” He looked at Laura. “What do I do with Cowboy?”

“Bring him here,” Laura said reluctantly, shooting Elizabeth an apologetic look. “If Helena does have him under her control again, seeing Elizabeth might shake him into saying something. And if it doesn’t, well—”

Elizabeth wrinkled her nose at being volunteered to play even a small role in Lucky’s nonsense, but it would be important to learn whether or not Lucky was being his normal jackass self or a new breed of brainwashing had taken hold. She left the Spencers alone to determine the best way to deal with Lucky and went back over to Spinelli’s computer desk where Jason and Sonny were studying some of the prints they’d made.

“Hey, Luke is gonna bring back Lucky,” she warned them. “But Patrick should be here—” she checked her watch. “In about an honor—”

“Spinelli’s getting closer to the security cameras,” Sonny reported. “He’s found the network—” He hesitated, looked at Spinelli. “What did you say?”

“I found the network, but decrypting it might take a while,” the younger man said. “Unless Robert and Anna can do this faster—”

Elizabeth started to reply, but her phone beeped and she picked it up. “It’s Dante,” she said as she pressed play on the speaker. “Dante?”

“Listen, I don’t want you to worry—”

“Where are the kids?” Elizabeth demanded.

“I got to Patrick’s place and found Maxie and Lulu tied up,” Dante said. Sonny scrubbed a hand over his face. “Apparently, Joss hitched a ride to the house—and distracted them—they can’t really explain it—”

Elizabeth hissed. “Are they gone? How long?”

“No more than half an hour,” Dante assured them. “They left Aiden in the living room with a Lunchable and the remote. He’s watching cartoons, so he’s fine—”

A Lunchable and remote. Elizabeth shoved the phone at Jason to put her head in her hands. “They could get into a lot of trouble in thirty minutes—”

“Clearly, but Carly and Michael are on it. Joss thought she turned off the tracker on her phone, but apparently Carly put one on something else Joss carries because, well, she doesn’t trust her. They’re on their way to the airport, and Michael is meeting them there.”

“The airport,” Jason repeated. “What were they planning to do, hijack a plane?—”

“They didn’t give details because, and I’m quoting Cameron here, only dumb villains monologue and give away the plan.”

Sonny snorted and turned away before Elizabeth could set him on fire with a glare. “Ask Carly where she got the tracker because I’m gonna need to lojack my kid when I get home. Thanks, Dante.”

“Honestly, tying Maxie up and gagging her is probably the best thing that’s happened to me,” Dante said easily. “I’ll keep you posted, and we’ll put the kids under closer watch. We underestimated them.”

“You have my permission to use the handcuffs.” Elizabeth took the phone from Jason and hung it up. She looked at Laura who came over now that Luke had left. “Cameron, Emma, and Spencer — with help from Joss — tied up Maxie and Lulu and made a run for it. They’re tracking them to the airport.”

“Oh.” Laura couldn’t fight the giggles. She pressed her hands to her mouth, but the mirth slipped out. “Oh, my. Did Dante take pictures?”

Jason put an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders. “It’s okay. Carly and Michael are on it,” he assured her. “You’ve always wanted to gag Maxie.”

“This is insane. The kids are trying like hell to throw themselve in the middle of the nightmare and you’re all laughing— ” Elizabeth stalked away, storming out onto the terrace. Jason winced, and followed.

“I shouldn’t have laughed,” Laura said, her humor sliding away. “She’s scared for Jake—”

“Jason will take care of it,” Sonny assured her. “Let’s look over these maps. Tell me how much this has changed.”

Port Charles Airport: Drop Off Entrance

Cameron slammed the door on the taxi and shoved a pile of cash at the driver while Spencer lugged their duffles out of the backseat. “Okay,” he said. “We got to the airport. How do we get to Greece?”

“I reserved tickets,” Spencer said. “I used my father’s credit card, and we’re traveling as unaccompanied minors—” He peered at his phone and the email with the information. “We just gotta avoid everyone until the flight to Mykonos—”

“Oh, balls,” Jocelyn Jacks said with a sigh as she saw the tall, blonde man leaning against the glass entrance. “How’d he get here so fast?”

“What?” Cameron turned, his stomach sinking as he recognized Joss’s older brother. “Damn it! Your mom must have put something on you.”

“Going somewhere?” Michael Corinthos asked, sauntering over, his hands in his pockets. “How were you planning to get to Greece?”

“Unaccompanied minors travel all the time,” Spencer said loftily. “And my father never pays attention to credit card bills. I stole one last year and he never noticed. I only use it in emergencies.”

“Passports?”

“I brought mine,” Joss volunteered. “Spencer always has his because he’s a Cassadine. We were at Emma’s house, and—”

“I grabbed mine when we were packing. I never used it before,” Cameron explained, “but one time, my mom was going to take us on a trip and we all got one.” He’d had to slide it out of a drawer where it sat next to Jake’s. Aiden didn’t have one—his mom must have gotten them before Aiden was born.

Michael frowned. “This might have been dumb enough to work.”

“But Mom doesn’t trust me,” Joss complained. “What did she put the tracker on? Oh my God, did she like, open me up while I slept and slap it on my ribs?”

“Yeah, not telling you. Let’s go. We’re going home.” Michael looked at Cameron. “Dante had to call your mother in Greece, Cam. And she was not happy.”

His stomach sank. “He’s my brother,” Cameron said, dully. “I gotta help bring him home. Wouldn’t you try everything to bring Morgan or Joss home?”

“I would,” Michael said, “and part of me is pretty impressed by the four of you.” He met Cameron’s eyes. “But your mom has been through enough, Cam, and you know that. Don’t ask her to worry about you. And Spencer—”

“I’m a Cassadine—this is a matter of honor.” Spencer sniffed. “You have no right to tell me what to do—”

“Really? Because your mom and my mom were best friends,” Michael said. “And my mom wouldn’t want Courtney’s son getting hurt. You’re not just a Cassadine, kid. You’re my cousin, too. And Aunt Courtney took real good care of me.”

“My dad took off with my grandparents,” Emma complained, “and I don’t get to know anything.” She pouted as Michael picked up her duffel bag. “I just wanted to help.”

“I brought the rope,” Joss said when Michael started herding the four of them towards the parking lot. “Would you believe Dr. Patrick didn’t have none?”

“Shocking.”

Mykonos, Greece: Flat

The sun was just starting to set over the Adriatic Sea as Jason joined Elizabeth at the terrace as she looked out at the distant lump of land where the Cassadine estate could be found.

“He’s just across the water,” Elizabeth said. “And he’s sitting in the middle of some of the worst people in the world, Jason. It was one thing when it was just Helena and Stavros. I was scared, but I didn’t think they’d hurt him. But I don’t know Mikkos. And this Valentin—Luke said Helena is terrified of him.” She looked at him. “If we get this close to getting Jake back and lose him—”

“We won’t,” Jason told her. “We’re not going to get this close and go home alone,” he added. “I might not know much about the Cassadines, but I’m a pretty good shot, and I know how to follow orders. Robert and Anna—Luke and Laura—you were right. This is what they do. And you and I—Spinelli and Sonny—we’re smart. We think on our feet.” He tipped her face up to his. “We’re going to get our son back,” he promised her. “And we’re going to stop the Cassadines from coming back.”

Elizabeth leaned forward, her forehead resting against his chin. “And then Dante calls, and Cameron’s trying like hell to get here because he wants to help. Part of me is just so angry and scared—”

“And the rest of you is proud,” Jason said. “Because you’ve raised a really great kid who’d put his life on the line for his little brother without even blinking.”

“He’s just a baby.” Elizabeth swiped tears from her cheeks. “They’re all just babies. He shouldn’t be worried about this. He’s barely eight years old, Jason.”

“Barely eight, and without even taking a minute, he and Spencer put together plan to get to Greece, and Emma and Joss agreed to help because they’re best friends. There are worst in the world than finding out you’ve got a strong, independent kid who could take on the world.”

“I know.” Elizabeth’s mouth twitched. “They left Aiden with a Lunchable and a cartoon.”

“Resourceful,” Jason said and she laughed. Her phone rang and he handed it to her. “It’s Michael. He probably has them.”

Elizabeth took the phone and put it on speaker. “Michael?”

“Mom?”

“Cameron—” Elizabeth closed her eyes, relieved. “Baby. You’re with Michael?”

“He found us at the airport. I—I’m sorry. I just—” There was a pause as Cameron’s voice faltered. “I just want to find Jake. I want to bring him home.”

“I know you do. I’m so proud of you, and I love you so much. Jason and I were just talking about how amazing you and Spencer and the girls are to get that far. Did you have tickets? What about passports?”

There was a pause. “Dante said you didn’t want to reveal your plan,” Jason said, “but I think it’s safe now.”

“I found my passport in your room, Mom. I saw it once when you were getting my birth certificate. It was next to Jake’s. Spencer got tickets on a credit—” There was a scuffle. “Uh, I don’t know how Spencer got them.”

Tickets and passports. If Michael and Carly had been ten more minutes behind the kids, would they have been able to stop them? Elizabeth sighed. “Michael, are you there?”

“Yeah, hey. We’re on our way to Mom’s place. Dante is coming over to hang out. For some reason, Lulu and Maxie are tapping out.”

“Please, I did the world a favor,” Joss said from the background. “They should always be gagged.”

“Anyway, Mom’s got this. She’s always one step ahead of Joss mostly because Mom already did worse than Joss is ever gonna try—”

“I’ll find that tracker!”

“I’ll call you if they break out again,” Michael said.

“Okay, thanks. Cameron, I love you,” Elizabeth said. “But if you decide to tie up Carly and gag her—”

“Make sure you take pictures this time,” Jason offered.

Michael snorted. “We could make a lot of money selling those.”

“Bye, Mom. Bye Jason.”

She hung up the phone, looked at Jason. “We’re going to get our little boy, aren’t we?” she said softly. “We’re going to get Jake and bring him home.” She slid her phone in her pocket, then reached up to kiss him fiercely. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They stood there for another minute, looking out over the island but then Laura came out on the terrace. “Before you decide to just swim over,” she said, “Luke’s on his way up with Lucky.”

“Well, I guess I’m back in the Saving Lucky business,” Elizabeth muttered, but Laura shook her head.

“No. It’s not like that, sweetheart. If Helena has control again, it’s not on you to take care of it. It’s me. And Luke. We should have finished this a long time ago.” Laura lifted her chin. “But I think seeing you—with Jason—it might shake Lucky enough. If he thinks giving Jake back to you will win you back—”

“You always did piss him off just by breathing,” Elizabeth said even as Jason made a face. She focused on Laura again. “Michael called. They have the kids.”

“Oh, good. How close did they get?”

“Honestly, ten more minutes, and we’ve have a child army ready to go to war,” Elizabeth admitted as they went back inside. “I think they might stay put for a while, but—”

The door opened and Lucky stumbled in, blinking at the crowd of them. Spinelli got to his feet, Sonny angling himself slightly in front of the younger man, unsure what Lucky might do or say.

“What’s—” Lucky looked around. “Mom—” His eyes found Elizabeth. “Why—you came. You came to help. Dad told you? He told you Nikolas stole our boy—”

“No, Nikolas stole my son,” Elizabeth corrected, gently. “Min and Jason’s. We’re here to get him back. To take him home.” She slid her arm through Jason’s, smiled up at him. “Together.”

Lucky shook his head. “No—No, that’s not—” He looked at his father who sighed. “That’s not how this is supposd to happen.”

“Cowboy—”

“She—” Lucky’s hands fisted at his sides. “I’m supposed to—I’m—” He glared at Elizabeth. “You’re doing it again. You’re ruining everything!”

“How am I ruining anything?” Elizabeth said coolly. “You left Port Charles and made it very clear that you didn’t want me or any of my boys in your life.”

“No, no, no—this is wrong.” He took a step towards her, and Jason’s hand tightened around hers, tugging her back slightly. “I’m supposed—you’re supposed to come back to me.”

“According to who?” Elizabeth asked. “I’m telling you how it is—”

“Damn, she said that if I killed Nikolas, I could have Jake back!” Lucky raged. “If I could bring him home, you’d love me again! She promised!” He turned his fury to Jason. “You’re always ruining everything—”

He lunged at Jason, pulling a knife from beneath his jacket. The room exploded in chaos as Jason tried to shove Elizabeth aside just as she pushed him away—over balancing them both—Lucky crashed into them, sending them all to the ground.

“God damn it!” Sonny growled as he waded in. Luke grabbed Lucky by the back of the jacket—just as blood began to pool on the floor. “Who the hell—”

“It’s not me,” Lucky said dully—his face crumpled as Jason rolled over and shoved Elizabeth on to her back—the knife shoved into her gut. Elizabeth stared blankly at the knife, then at Lucky before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.

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