Chapter Seven
Stefan stops by the Port Charles crematory and picks up the ashes of his departed mother. He pays the manager $200 and gives him a $40 tip for his speedy services. The medical examiner had released the body to Stefan after his autopsy confirmed the cause of death was a combination of strangulation and blunt force injuries to the cranium.
There will be no funeral for Helena – no one would show up. Stefan and Alexis had stopped by the Port Charles Grill late last night for dinner and ordered the best champagne for a mini-victory of sorts. Each had expected to feel much more elation at the death of mother and enemy. It was a hollow victory with Nikolas’ possible involvement and subsequent breakdown. Alexis had moved her things out of Wyndemere first thing that morning and moved back in with Ned Ashton. Stefan is alone again, as always.
Stefan drives his black Mercedes with the aluminum urn on the seat next to him containing the earthly remains of Helena. He glances occasionally at the urn, reaching out to grab it once when he was forced to quickly brake at a traffic light. He doesn’t want the urn to overturn and spill its contents in his new car. He has other plans for mother’s ashes.
Stefan parks his car in the garage and steps out of the car. He walks a short distance to the storage barn and searches for five minutes until he finds a garden spade. He removes the jacket of his black suit and rolls up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. Stefan collects the urn from the car and walks over to the rose garden in the back of Wyndemere. It is a beautiful rose garden with an extensive collection of immaculately maintained roses. There is no more beautiful sight on a sunny June afternoon with the hundreds of blooming roses outlined by the deep blue-green river.
Stefan begins digging around his favorite rose bush, an old damask rose with a heady, long-lasting, spicy fragrance. When he has exposed several holes, he opens the urn and dumps the ashes into the holes. He covers up the holes with the remaining earth and stands over the rose bush, leaning on the garden spade. Stefan sighs and says softly, "At last, mother. You may now contribute to the beauty and harmony of this earth. May the rose bloom better for the addition of your ashes." Stefan walks down toward the river with the empty urn in his dusty hands. He leans his arm back, and his strong arm muscles throw the urn like a football towards the river. The river accepts the urn with a sharp plunk. The urn bobs furiously for a minute as it accepts more and more water into its cavity. Gradually and gracefully, it fills and sinks to the bottom. Stefan turns his back and walks toward the house, clapping the dust from his hands. Today is a busy day for him. He has many plans to make.
~*~*~*~
Nikolas is sleeping peacefully alone in his bed in the locked psychiatric room. His eyes had finally closed after many hours of staring blankly at the wall beside him. His ankle and wrist restraints still hold his body firmly to the bed. He is on a number of medications to relieve anxiety, agitation, depression and psychosis. Kevin hopes that the potent cocktail of meds will finally reach his patient, prying him out of his psychiatric black hole and placing him into the land of the living. A nurse has recently left the patient after tending to his IV. Unbeknownst to her, someone has slipped a small paper card between the door and the doorjamb, and when the door closes it should lock automatically – but it doesn’t.
~*~*~*~
Lucky Spencer is up early this morning. He was restless all night, upset and anxious about the death of his best friend and his brother’s breakdown and possible crimes. He rubs his stomach nervously. The docs won’t let him eat for another day or two because of the effects of the virus on his digestive system. He’s supposed to be resting his stomach so that it can properly heal. Damn, he’s hungry, though.
Lucky shakes his head. He doesn’t know how much more of this restrictive hospital scene he can take, although he does feel pretty puny still. He seems to be tired most of the time and weaker than normal. It takes all he has to get up and go to the bathroom. At least he doesn’t have that catheter thing anymore. Lucky chuckles and looks over at his still-sleeping pal, Todd. Poor Todd, all connected to wires, tubes and who knows what else. Lucky recalls Todd crying out and yelling in his sleep several times last night. He seemed scared. Lucky reflects back to the time when he and Todd were locked in those coffins and the conversation they’d had. Damn, I’m lucky to have my dad, he thinks gratefully.
Lucky gets up to go to the bathroom. When he returns, Todd is up in bed and looking gray and winded. He’s panting and holding onto his abdomen. "Hey, Todd," Lucky says. "What are you doing?"
"I got rid of the ~&@&#^ catheter," Todd hisses through his teeth. Lucky’s eyes bulge and he starts laughing. "I don’t blame you," he says. "Do you need help up?"
"Yeah," Todd admits reluctantly as his white knuckles grip the sides of the bed.
Todd walks like an old man with Boy Scout Lucky gently leading him by the elbow to the men’s room.
While Todd is in the bathroom, Lucky decides that he must see his brother Nikolas - now. He can’t wait. Lucky gasps as he pulls the tape from his IV site and several arm hairs along with it. Todd exits the bathroom and sees what Lucky’s doing. "What are you up to, kid?" he asks.
"I’m going to see my brother Nikolas. It’s early, and I want to see him before anyone can tell me no," Lucky states decisively.
"Are you sure you can make it by yourself? Want any help?" Todd asks. "You still look kinda bad."
"Not any worse than you," Lucky retorts.
"Well, that’s for sure," Todd says laughing derisively, recalling his glance at the mirror and the black circles under his eyes and matted hair hanging around his pale, sunken face.
"Besides," says Lucky, "Who will be here to keep the monitors going?" Lucky removes Todd’s monitors from his chest and promptly places them back on Todd. "Nurse Ratchett would be hot on our trail."
Todd shrugs and looks at the floor. "Need help with that IV?" he asks nonchalantly. Lucky shakes his head no. Todd gets up, leans over Lucky and unceremoniously yanks the IV out of his arm. "There," he says. "All better now." Lucky’s mouth makes a semi-permanent "OW" shape as he glares at Todd and places a finger over the bleeding hole in his arm.
~*~*~*~
The morning sun shines brightly through the blinds on the hospital window. A beam of light graces Nikolas’ bed and bathes him in its gentle warmth. His body absorbs the soothing rays, and his chest regularly rises and falls.
A sudden movement blots the sun’s benefits and leaves a cold, dark shadow over the bed. The shadow lengthens and eventually lies dark and still over Nikolas’ face. "Brephos, oh, my little brephos," sings a falsely happy voice. "Wake up, baby brephos!" Unaware of the changes in his room, Nikolas continues to sleep.
Nikolas’ visitor is dressed in an orderly’s clothing, an effective disguise in the psychiatric wing. Only, no orderly wears black leather gloves covering their hands. Andreas seats himself on the side of Nikolas’ bed and bends over with a gloved hand to smartly slap him on the cheek. "Wake up!" he commands. Nikolas’ eyelids flutter wildly, and his long, dark eyelashes dance like black butterflies against his pale cheeks. His eyes open to meet another pair of dark brown almond-shaped eyes staring at him. Unfortunately for Nikolas, his meds are beginning to work, and the first person he recognizes is Andreas.
Andreas grins wickedly, and his white, even teeth flash menacingly as he removes a black leather cord from his pocket. "The Prince is among us," he sneers. "Or, shall I say Stefan’s b**tard is among us? I think we both know that you’re no prince," he hisses sharply, raking the leather cord lightly across Nikolas’ exposed throat. Nikolas’ lips quiver with fear, and his wide eyes never leave Andreas’ burning gaze. "Do you want to know how Miss Emily felt in her last minutes?" taunts Andreas. "Maybe she felt something like…THIS!" Andreas vigorously grinds out as he whips the cord around Nikolas’ neck and pulls tightly. Andreas lowers his face until it is barely an inch away from Nikolas. "You deprived me of the pleasure of killing Madam," he snarls. "What shall I do to repay you?" Andreas pulls the cord back into his hand and playfully smacks Nikolas on his cheek. "All in the family," he grins. "You’re young, you’re trainable." Nikolas opens his mouth, but the only sound he makes is the dry rush of air from his tight throat.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Andreas turns around sharply to meet the furious blue eyes of Lucky Spencer.
Andreas moves swiftly over to Lucky, and Lucky gulps and backs away when he sees those black leather gloves. Andreas doesn’t waste time, and his hands circle Lucky’s throat and lift him off of the ground, shaking him back and forth. "You little sh**!" Andreas grinds out. He throws Lucky hard against a wall, and Lucky’s head feels like it explodes on impact. His breath hisses out of his lungs, and he sees black spots dancing along his line of vision until they join together as one big blackout. The back of his head leaves a trail of blood as Lucky slides down to the floor in a swift heap. Andreas moves back to Lucky’s body lying on the floor and gives it a vicious kick. "I told you to stay OUT of my WAY!" he yells as he kicks Lucky again and again. As Andreas reaches down with his hands to finish the job, he feels someone jump on his back and dig fingernails into his neck.
Andreas runs in a wild circle like a bucking rodeo horse trying to throw its rider. He reaches behind him to try to pry the hands off of his neck, and he runs backward to slam his attacker into the wall.
"UUHH!" groans Todd as he absorbs the force of the wall into his aching, bandaged back. Determined, Todd achieves a better grip on the assailant and yanks his head back, bashing him in the nose with another hand. Andreas moans as his nose breaks and begins pouring out blood. He runs Todd into the wall one more time and finally succeeds in dislodging him from his back. He kicks Todd in the face, places his shoe on his chest and leans in heavily. As Todd lies on the floor, gasping for breath with hands futilely gripping Andreas’ jutting ankle, an eerie sound fills the room.
"ANDREASNANDREASANDREASNANDREASANDREASNANDREAS!"
Nikolas has found his voice, and he shouts and struggles mightily against his restraints. Andreas’head darts up quickly as he searches for and locates the source of sound. Nikolas continues to shout Andreas’ name. Andreas looks rapidly around the room and decides to take off before the doctors and nurses arrive.
Five minutes later, when the nurse arrives to check Nikolas’ vitals, she finds two bloody bodies on the floor and her patient screaming someone’s name. She races off to find Dr. Collins.
~*~*~*~
Kevin Collins runs into Nikolas’ room with a nearly hysterical nurse close behind him. "Oh my God," he whispers when he sees the still, beaten bodies littering the floor. "Call Dr. Ian Thornhart!" he shouts to the nurse. "These are his patients." Kevin runs a shaking hand over his forehead. "But what are they doing here in this room – and in this condition?" he murmurs to himself.
Kevin kneels beside Lucky and takes his pulse. Good, he’s still alive, Kevin thinks. He frowns when he sees the trail of blood on the wall and the bloody mass on the back of Lucky’s head. Kevin lightly shakes Lucky, but he is unconscious. Kevin moves over to Todd who is sprawled on his back and kneels down. His color looks bad, notes Kevin. And his breathing is labored. Kevin jumps up moves quickly over to his patient. Nikolas is no longer screaming, but he’s still muttering Andreas’ name over and over again in a psychotic mantra.
"AndreasAndreasAndreasAndreasAndreasAndreas," he murmurs breathlessly and repeatedly. Tears are coursing down both of Nikolas’ cheeks, and his eyes dart wildly around the room searching for someone or something. Kevin notes that Nikolas has an irritated, thin red mark around his throat. Nikolas struggles fiercely against his restraints and leaves angry red marks on his wrists.
"Nikolas, what’s happened here?" asks Kevin. "Did someone come in here and try to hurt you?"
Nikolas looks into Kevin’s kind eyes and begins crying more earnestly. Nikolas’ voice is full of despair. "Andreas," he whimpers. "Andreas." Nikolas starts choking and coughing with his effort to speak.
Kevin places a glass of water to his mouth and supports the back of his head so he can drink. "Can you tell me anything else, Nikolas?" Kevin places a reassuring hand on Nikolas’ arm.
Nikolas flinches, cries out, and turns his head to the wall. His whole body trembles with fear. He is finished talking.
~*~*~*~
Dr. Ian Thornhart enters Nikolas’ room. When he sees Lucky and Todd’s still bodies hugging the floor, he slaps his forehead angrily. "Bloody hell!" he shouts. "What are they doing in here looking like bloody punching bags?"
Kevin shrugs his shoulders. "They were here when I came in, both unconscious. I knew they were your patients, so I had the nurse call you. Someone has been in here, beat them and traumatized my patient. He keeps repeating the name Andreas. I’m calling the police."
~*~*~*~
Mac Scorpio finishes his interview with Kevin Collins and closes his notebook with a loud slap. "Someone has decided to exercise a reign of terror over this hospital," he angrily states, shaking his head. "It’s time they were stopped, Kevin."
"Do you know who this Andreas could be?" questions Kevin.
"There is an Andreas who was Helena Cassadine’s manservant. He hasn’t been seen since Helena’s murder. We’ve been looking for him. We have questions that we want answered. Andreas may be the person who is terrorizing your patients. We’ll send over a detective to interview medical personnel on this floor. Someone may have spotted him. In the meantime, we’ll place police guards on Nikolas and the other two."
"Thanks, Mac," Kevin says as Mac exits the door.
~*~*~*~
Carly Corinthos rolls over in the king-size, satin-sheeted bed that she shares with her husband, Sonny. She reaches out an arm to pull her husband closer, but instead reaches out to an empty, cold satin sheet. She wakes up instantly and slaps the sheet.
"Sonny!" she calls out. "Sonny?" she asks a little softer, peering around the corner of the master bath. No sign of Sonny. Carly slips on a robe and slippers and pads out into the hall. "Sonny!" she calls out down the stairs. No answer. Maybe he’s cooking breakfast, she thinks happily.
Carly walks down the stairs, but doesn’t smell bacon cooking or hear any kitchen noises. She walks over to the front door and flings it open. "Ernie!" she says. "Where’s my husband?"
Ernie clears his throat and pulls himself to his full height. "Mr. Cornithos left an hour ago on business," he states plainly.
Carly’s voice quivers. "Did he leave a message for me?"
"No, ma’am," replies Ernie.
"Okay, then," Carly says, shutting the door.
Carly stands there for a minute, and her lower lip trembles as the tears build in her eyes. "Where are you, Sonny?" she asks aloud. "Oh, God, please tell me that Sonny isn’t doing something that will get him hurt." Carly stands there for a moment, plucking at her lower lip with an index finger and frowning. All of a sudden, she turns and runs up the stairs two at a time.
Beware workmen speaking Greek
The tale of the evil twin