Chapter Nineteen
Athena and Nikolas walked hand in hand back to the Cassadine mansion, each lost in thought. The warm breezes gently moved Athena’s lustrous black curls to the side of her face, giving her a shadowed, exotic, mysterious appearance. Nikolas glanced over at his cousin, and they both smiled as their intertwined hands gripped one another tighter and their steps grew lighter and happier.
Athena was the first to break the comfortable silence. "So I’ll meet some of your new friends at lunch," she said. "Who are they?"
"The one man is my Aunt Alexis’ gentleman friend, Luke Spencer, who ironically is my mother’s ex-husband."
"Ah," replied Athena. "Baby Lucky’s father."
Nikolas tittered. "That’s right. You have a memory like a trap." He made a fierce closing motion with his fist to demonstrate. Athena laughed and tossed her head. "But of course."
"The teenager is Sylvester Eckert. He’s Luke’s nephew. His parents are deceased, so he lives with Luke now."
"How sad," observed Athena with a wistful voice as she reached down to capture a pale blue flower in her left hand while they continued to walk. She raised the flower to her nose and smiled contentedly when she breathed in its sweet fragrance. She tucked the flower behind her ear and asked, "How old is Sylvester?"
"He’s fourteen," replied Nikolas. "He’s a nice kid. We’ve had fun on the trip so far."
"Elektra has been in my hair all week," sniffed Athena. "Perhaps we can introduce her to this Sylvester and gain some peace."
"Your sister is a handful," Nikolas said, shaking his head. "Is it fair to pair them up?"
"Elektra is no more high-spirited than the rest of the Cassadine women," Athena replied. "She is fourteen as well. It would be fun for her to meet a boy from another country. Besides, she needs to practice her English. It is abominable."
Nikolas stopped and kissed Athena as he swung her hand lightly. His eyes sparkled as he regarded her face. "You win. Like always."
~*~*~*~
"Athena! It’s so nice to see you. You’ve become such a lovely young woman." Alexis reached out to hug her cousin. "Athena, I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Luke Spencer, and his nephew, Sly Eckert."
Luke shook Athena’s hand and then raised it to his lips to lightly kiss it. The girl just seemed to inspire such an action – she had a rather aristocratic bearing that complemented her beauty. "Charmed to meet you," he said with a twinkle in his eye. Alexis always picks the sexy ones, Athena thought as she smiled at Luke. Sly blushed as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," he said. The sight of Athena took his breath away, and he thought, So there are goddesses on Cassadine Island, too. Wow. Athena nodded her head at Sly and had a few of her own thoughts. Yes, Elektra will enjoy spending time with this cute young man. He seems very sweet.
~*~*~*~
"So Athena and Nikolas are cousins?" asked Luke while the couple was relaxing in her suite. Alexis nodded. "They’re second cousins."
Luke’s eyebrows rose. "And the important distinction is?"
Alexis sighed and threw a decorative, blue silk pillow at Luke’s head. "The difference is that there is a very long Cassadine tradition of marriage to second cousins. It’s a royal scenario. You keep the wealth in the family so to speak. However, Stefan would go ballistic if he suspected that Nikolas had a relationship with Athena."
"Why?" Luke looked puzzled as he lobbed the pillow back at Alexis.
"Because Stefan is the man who broke with tradition. He married outside of the family and the royal circle of acquaintances, and innovation is very important to him. He and I discussed this several times. He’d like to see Nikolas paired with someone of American royalty, like a Kennedy or a Vanderbilt."
Luke shook his head. "Too much planning. Love has a way of springing up between two willing people." He stole up behind Alexis and grabbed her around the waist, making her squeal with surprise. Luke nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear. "So do you think those two are playing hide the salami?"
"Luke!" Alexis protested, pulling away from him and turning to swat him on the chest.
"What?" he demanded with a smirk on his lips.
"You…you’re so crude sometimes," she complained halfheartedly, part of her secretly enjoying their risqué variety of pillow talk.
"I just call ‘em like I see ‘em," Luke explained. "So is the little dog busy burying his bone?"
"Aaaaah!" screamed Alexis. "Yes, yes! I think they’re having sex!! What else do you want to know?"
Luke shrugged. "Nothing I suppose. I just hope Stefan has had ‘the manly talk’ with that boy."
"Believe me," said Alexis wryly. "The child has had an anatomy book with Latin descriptions from age five I’m sure. But is he versed in the ways of love? Does he realize how a young man’s heart can be broken? Now that I doubt. I do worry about him sometimes."
"You have a very loving heart," Luke stated as he placed his hand over the center of Alexis chest. "I can feel it thumpin.’ Boom-boom." He leaned in and kissed her lips, rubbing and nibbling on them endlessly. Luke pulled back and said in mock surprise. "Your heart! Now it’s going boom-boom-boom-boom real fast." His eyebrows rose in amusement.
"Be still my heart," replied Alexis as she leaned in for the kill, kissing Luke and running her hand down his bare chest toward his crotch. "Ah, I love Speedos," she grinned. "No where to hide."
"The salami?" asked Luke.
"Get out of those Speedos! Now!" Alexis laughed as she stepped out of her own swimsuit and unfastened the bra portion of her two-piece. "You’re such a tease," she complained as the two jettisoned their naked bodies atop her soon to be rumpled bed.
"I can’t get enough of you," she whispered into Luke’s ear as she lay on top of him. Luke rolled her over onto her back and said wickedly, "My turn, darlin. Prepare to orbit."
~*~*~*~
Helga the maid stood in front of her boss, rigid with terror. She had never been so close to the man before. The warts on her chin trembled as her chin shook. Frank stared at her, seemingly amazed at her sheer ugliness and unable to turn away.
Helga had sought out one of the guards in the Smith household to tell him of her horrifying experience. It seems that Master Frankie had taken a shot at her with a gun when she tried to rouse him from his bed. The bullet barely missed her head, and shattered some audiovisual equipment in the living room instead. Helga had been concerned because he didn’t respond to her when she spoke to him. She had only shaken his shoulder, and then this happened.
"And how did he look?" growled Frank.
Helga flinched and took one step back. "I was busy jumping out of der way," she replied in her German accent that only grew heavier the more frightened she became. "I didn’t see him clearly." She paused. "But I did tink that he might be…dead or sometink?" Helga’s pale, watery eyes grew wide when she saw Frank’s face change several colors and finally settle on red.
"You can go now," he dismissed her with a wave of the hand. "Take the rest of the day off and keep your mouth shut."
Helga met Frank’s steely cold eyes and practically ran from the room, her heavy hips swaying with the effort.
Frank turned to Ben the guard. "Get Harry. Tell him it’s an emergency. Meet me in my office within the next ten minutes. We’re all going up there to see what’s the deal with Frankie."
~*~*~*~
Frank stood outside of his son’s door and entered the code into the keypad that opened it. Ben the guard, a tall, muscular man with brown curly hair, and a shorter, older man with a weary face and graying hair, flanked him.
"The kid’s taking potshots at whomever enters his room," stated Frank. "I’m going to open the door and then duck back. We’ll take it easy, hugging the walls and keeping out of sight and range. I’ll do something to distract him and then we pounce. Ben, you take the gun. Ready?" The two men nodded gravely, and the older gentleman unconsciously held his black medical bag closer to his chest for protection.
Frank abruptly opened the door, which banged back into a wall, and then flattened himself to the hallway wall.
BANG! The loud, startling sound of gunfire emerged from Frankie’s bedroom.
"Yep. He’s loaded." Frank confirmed. He pointed to the wall beside the door, and three men dashed into the room, diving for protection. The gun fired two more times, barely missing Ben, who made a larger, easier to see target.
"Frankie!" Frank yelled out. "It’s your father. Put that gun down." Frankie’s only reply was to fire off another bullet, which whizzed over Frank’s head and buried into the wall with a thud sound.
Frank picked up a pillow. "On the count of three," he whispered. "One…two…" Frank threw a sofa pillow in Frankie’s direction. "Three!" yelled Frank. Frankie was distracted by the pillow heading for his face and inadvertently fired off another bullet into his closet door. Frank threw himself over Frankie’s body, flattening him to the bed, and Ben grabbed the boy’s wrist harshly, yanking the gun out of his tense, nearly immovable fingers. The older gentleman sat on Frankie’s legs.
"Got it!" yelled Ben.
Frank lifted himself from his son’s body and frowned when he looked down at Frankie. "What’s up with you?" Frank asked seriously. Frankie lay back on the bed, still in his Bon Jovi teeshirt, sweating and looking up at his father with a dazed expression on his face like he didn’t recognize him. "Too many pain pills," said the older mob doc. "Look." He held up an empty bottle of Frankie’s prescription pain pills that lay on top of his nightstand. Frankie blinked several times. "Frank?" he asked in a weak voice. "Dad?"
"Yeah, it’s me," Frank replied gruffly. "What are you doing taking pot shots at your old man and scaring the servants?"
Frankie looked around the room, grimaced and gasped for air when he tried unsuccessfully to sit up. "Dey’re tryin’ to kill me," he said in a sad, quiet voice. "I’m a Smith. They can’t do that," he whispered. "I’ll take them out!" Frankie closed his eyes and sighed. His body lost its muscular tone, and his hands uncurled slightly from their tense position. Frank patted Frankie’s cheek. "Son?" he asked. He motioned to the mob doc when Frankie didn’t answer.
Frank shook his head and chuckled when he walked over to the living room couch and sat down. Leave it to my kid. Even when he’s down, he tries to take them out. Kid has balls. A real chip off the old block What’s with that teeshirt he was wearing? Slippery When Wet? Sound sexual. Frank’s shoulders shook with his laughter. Taught the boy well.
~*~*~*~
"What’s the news, Harry?" Frank asked conversationally when the older man returned to the living room. Harry sat down on the couch beside Frank and sighed as he leaned back and crossed his leg.
"Well, like I said earlier, the kid took too many pain pills, so he’s doped up quite a bit. He came around a few minutes after you left the room. He’s sleeping now. Frank, I’m concerned about him. He has a raging infection in that gunshot wound I stitched up the other night. Some stitches were torn, and the wound won’t seal up. He has a fever and is dehydrated, probably because he’s been sleeping so much, not getting up to drink or eat. If I were in private practice I’d recommend admitting him to the hospital, but for your purposes, he at least needs to be watched and kept in his bed for a day or two with IV antibiotics. I’m not sure why he’s having so much trouble. It’s odd for a young man his age."
"Thanks, Harry," said Frank as he stood up. "Bring in whatever equipment you require. Frankie can’t tolerate any more hospital settings. Not after what happened to him when he was ten. I promised he’d never have to go back." Frank’s face turned serious. "I need him on his feet within two days, though. He has an out of town mission to complete. It’s imperative that he return soon." Frank promptly exited the suite and slammed the door shut behind him.
~*~*~*~
"Mmmmm!" Robin tried to scream, but the man’s large hand firmly held her mouth closed. She squirmed and twisted back and forth in her seat to no avail.
"You need to be quiet," the young man said calmly from the back seat.
"Demonstrate to me that you’ll be quiet, and I’ll remove my hand. I’m
not going to hurt you. I need a favor, that’s all."
Robin remained still and silent, eager to have the hand removed from her face.
"Okay, then," said the man. He cautiously removed his hand and let her go. Robin looked at the car door from the sides of her eyes, wondering if she could make a dash for it – or would he catch her and become enraged. She decided to test the man’s temperament first.
"What do you want?" she asked coldly. "You’re trespassing. This is my car."
"Turn around," the man ordered.
"What?" Robin asked incredulously.
"Turn around," he repeated.
Robin abruptly shifted in her seat and looked shocked. "Jason?" she asked. Robin hadn’t seen Jason in years. "Why are you doing this?"
Jason’s face shifted, and he looked sad and upset. "I’ve been set up," he explained. "I work for Sonny now, and somebody set me up to look like I was stealing from him. Sonny doesn’t take betrayal lightly. He’s going to kill me first and ask questions later. I overheard Benny having a conversation with someone on the phone and got wind of what’s going down." Jason’s blue eyes eagerly met Robin’s wary brown ones. "I didn’t do it," he insisted. "I would never betray Sonny. We’re like brothers. No way I would hurt him like that." Jason shrugged. "You’re my only chance of getting out of here alive so that I can prove my innocence. Will you help me?"
"How do I know that you’re telling me the truth?" asked Robin suspiciously. "Sonny is my friend, too."
"I wouldn’t lie to you," Jason stated firmly. "Not to you or anyone else. Now, I need you to pull your car out of this garage and help me find a place to hide out."
Robin took another look at his face and relaxed slightly. "Okay," she said reluctantly. "Don’t make me regret this."
A tingle went up her spine when she looked again into Jason’s serious blue eyes. Hmmmm, she thought to herself as she turned the key in her ignition.
~*~*~*~
"Elektra! Elektra?" Sly looked nervous. She wasn’t listening to him. At first, Sly had been enchanted to meet this newest island girl. Elektra was petite and pretty, not a goddess like her older sister, but pleasing enough. Then, it became obvious that he would be spending the entire afternoon with her. It wasn’t so bad, but the girl spoke almost no English. Sly felt like he’d been gesturing and making noises for hours. It had been really embarrassing when he’d tried to tell her that he needed to find a restroom. Sly blushed with the memory. Elektra had laughed mercilessly when she finally figured out what he needed.
For awhile, they’d been walking on the beach, hand in hand, and that was nice. There wasn’t much opportunity for conversation with the same monotonous, although gorgeous surroundings. Sand, beach, ocean. They both knew those words in English as well as Greek. Now, Elektra had excitedly run ahead, and Sly had no clue what was going on. He sighed wearily and wiped the sweat from his brow. He’d forgotten to put on his sunscreen, and now it felt like he was getting a sunburn.
Sly cupped his hand near his mouth. "Elektra!" he shouted. "Where are you?" He stopped when he heard her voice seemingly echoing from a distance. He resumed walking in that direction, and picked up his pace. Eventually, he reached the mouth of a small, shallow cave. Elektra was standing in the cave with a teasing grin on her face. She motioned to Sly with her index finger and giggled. Sly stepped into the cave and looked around, amazed. "Wow, this is neat," his voice echoed around the chamber. "Whaaa? Mmmmph." Sly was taken by surprise by an eagerly kissing Elektra who descended on him without warning. Not that it felt bad, but Sly didn’t appreciate the sneak attack. He took hold of both of her arms and removed them from his waist. "Elektra, no." he said simply. She laughed and nodded yes as she kissed him again. After she stepped back, she said. "Yes. Cute."
Sly blushed furiously at her compliment and wondered what to do. He had strong feelings for Emily – they were going on a date when he returned to Port Charles for heaven’s sake. And this girl wanted some practice, that’s for sure. Heart won out over libido, and Sly stepped away from the cave. He picked up a stick lying on the beach and motioned to Elektra. When she joined him at his side, Sly tried drawing with the stick marking the sand to communicate. First, he drew the universal symbol of a female – the stick figure with a triangular skirt. Next to it, he drew a crude version of the continental United States. He pointed to the girl, next to the US, and then aimed a thumb at himself. "Girlfriend," he said as he motioned again at the girl figure. "America," he said. "Girlfriend, America." Elektra shook her head. She pointed at herself. "Girlfriend," she said, and then waved her hand around to indicate the island. "Yes?" she questioned with raised eyebrows and a hopeful look.
Sly gave up. He was getting nowhere with the English challenged girl, and it was obvious that he wasn’t going to learn Greek anytime soon. "Come on," he said lightly as he wrapped his arm around Elektra’s shoulder in a gesture of peace. "Home," he said simply as he pointed in the direction that led to the mansion.
Nikolas would have some explaining to do if they could ever find him again.
~*~*~*~
For five hours, Frankie had lain on his back, insensibly hovering somewhere between sleep and unconsciousness. There were two IV bags feeding into his vein—one a saline and glucose solution with added antibiotic, and another for morphine. The mob doc had not been able to rouse Frankie sufficiently to question him, but he figured the kid was in great pain if he had misused the pain pills.
Frankie had been motionless as the doc performed the tedious task of cleaning out the wound and restitching it. It had gone much quicker with him out of commission, the doc had reflected. The kid’s fever wasn’t so high that an analgesic was absolutely necessary, so the doc merely left behind a bottle of aspirin for that purpose if he wanted it.
A nurse sat in a chair in his bedroom, watching over him and ready to answer any questions when he woke up.
Frankie finally opened his eyes and blinked slowly. He felt woozy like he’d just been on a magic carpet ride without a seatbelt. He turned his head slowly on his pillow and frowned when he saw the IV puncturing his vein. A shiver passed over him as he remembered being ten years old, all alone in a hospital bed with no one to talk to or reassure him that everything would be all right.
He opened his lips and muttered. The nurse walked over to his bed. "Hi," she said, smoothing his hair from his eyes. "Do you want something?"
Frankie nodded his head slightly. "Johnny," he said a fraction louder. "I want Johnny."