The Compound

Courtney props up her chin on her arm that is resting on Jason's chest. Jason is tracing a random pattern on her bare back, his mind is far away. "She's really alright?"

"For now." Jason looks at Courtney and gives her a tight smile.

"Whatever Sonny has I can take." Courtney bites her lower lip. "That's what Alcazar said to me." She doesn't tell him that minutes later she had tried to escape and Alcazar had fired a pistol at her too close to really be called a warning shot. Her first experience with being a hostage was still echoing thru her relationship with Jason. "It was what happened in Leon, when Carly almost lost the baby. He was already fascinated by her but that's when it all changed. It wasn't supposed to be personal but Carly got to him."

Jason resumes with tracing. "It's Carly. I told her so when I was down there. There is just something about her when she's pregnant that drives men crazy. And they don't get over it. Carly and Sonny didn't fall in love straight away. There was an attraction there but he didn't actually fall for her until she was pregnant. The government should bottle it as a secret weapon."

"But you're immune, right?" Courtney teases.

"Do you see me putting up with anyone else what I put up with, with Carly?" Jason says dryly.

"No." Courtney laughs.

"Carly's trapped, Courtney, and she knows it. She's not the hostage-- not her or even the kids, not really. Alcazar isn't going to hurt them-- he's just not going to let them go. We're the hostages. Alcazar has got her convinced that he can reach out to any of us." Jason snaps his fingers.

Courtney shudders. "It sounds like he can. He knew about Faith. He knew about Sonny. Before he took Carly back, Jase, he had people reporting what she was doing every hour! You saw the way he was in Leon. Insane about describes it. It wasn't about the drugs anymore or the distribution network or even about Sonny."

"Yeah. The thing is Alcazar has only really seen Carly when she was trapped in the panic room. He doesn't realize how much things have changed now. Carly might have put up with being hostage before. She won't now. Things are going to get hairy."

"So me going to the island has a couple of purposes?"

"I don't want you in the middle, not again-- not ever. Sonny can't defend himself right now. As far as I know, Alcazar doesn't know about the island."

"Michael was on the island with me." Courtney reminds.

"I doubt Michael gave him longitude and latitude. That's the other thing, Courtney."

"What's that?"

"Michael is back to calling Sonny Uncle Sonny not Daddy."

"What does that mean?" Courtney brow is furrowed as she wonders what is going on in a little boy's head. "What does he call Alcazar?"

"Jefe... It means Boss."

"Jefe?"

"What are you doing up?" Alcazar looks up from his breakfast.

"Do babies wake up all night long?" Michael pulls up a chair.

"You think I know? Your sister is the first baby I've been around in a very long time." Alcazar says with a laugh in his voice. "I know your Mother was up with Morlee at least once last night. I checked on them." Alcazar shrugs. "We can always hope that as she gets a little bigger then she will sleep a little longer."

Michael sighs and rolls his eyes.

Alcazar leans in. "Your Uncle Jason told me that you were also a night owl when you were a baby. So perhaps this is something your sister got from you." Alcazar keeps his voice cool and disinterested as he asks, "Is your Mother awake?"

"She's asleep on the couch with Morlee."

Alcazar frowns at that and gets to his feet. "Show me." Michael leads the way and Lorenzo has to slow him down when they get to the doors of Carly's quarters. Once there he holds a finger to his lips to indicate the need to be quiet and then quietly opens the door. Carly is laying on the couch asleep. Morlee is asleep in her carrier which is sitting on the coffee table within arms reach. Something is going to change. And not tomorrow-- today. This is unsatisfactory. Carly should be getting her strength back, not falling asleep on the couch in exhaustion. "Watch your sister." Alcazar orders as he slides his arms underneath Carly and picks her up. She slumps against his chest bumping her head against his shoulder, murmuring something in her sleep but doesn't appear to wake up. Alcazar takes Carly up to her room, laying her down in her bed and pulling the covers up over her. Unable to resist, he brushes her hair back and runs a knuckle along the smooth perfection of her face.

"Lorenzo?" Carly asks sleepily.

A part of him he hadn't realized eases. She hadn't asked for Sonny or Jason but knew it was him. "Go back to sleep."

Instead Carly rubs her eyes. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. Michael just told me that you'd fallen asleep on the couch and I was... concerned."

Carly yawns and starts to get back up out of bed. "Morlee woke up again a couple of hours after you left. I didn't want her to wake Michael. I guess it didn't work."

"Don't get up." Lorenzo interjects putting a hand to her shoulder and then almost automatically running it down her arm before he lets his hand fall to his side. "The baby is asleep and you might as well rest while you can. The nanny should be here by the time Morlee wakes again."

"I think I was dreaming about Florence. What was the name of that place?"

"The Pitti Palace?"

"Was up on a hill overlooking a beautiful city. It was nowhere I'd ever been before. I've never been to Europe. Emily used to go on vacation with Monica to Italy. I guess they filled in the blanks of what you told me."

"Emily? Monica?"

"Michael's Aunt and Grandmother." Carly lets her eyes half close and she adds sleepily. "Tell me more. Where would we have the picnic? Does it get cold there? I used to dream about snow when I lived in Florida. What is it like there now?"

"It might snow." Alcazar keeps his voice low and soothing. "It can be cold and windy. Not as crowded as it is during the summer with all the tourists." He keeps telling Carly about the sights of the city until her eyes close and her breathing goes deep and steady. Then he quietly gets up and goes back downstairs to check on Michael and Morlee.

As soon as the the door is quietly shut, Carly's eyes pop open. "Gotcha." If she can get him to take them to Europe it would definitely be easier to get away. All she'd have to do is get to a major city and call Jase. He'd have tickets for the next flight out waiting for them wherever they were. Sonny needed her and she was going to get there.

"I'm coming!" Bobbie calls out as she goes to the front door of the brownstone. When she opens the door she is surprised to see Jason standing there. Well she ought not to be surprised. But the fine cut Italian suit definitely is. She takes a long look at him. "You've taken over."

"I have pictures from seeing Carly and the new baby." Jason holds out the envelope of pictures.

"Come in." Bobbie half pulls Jason into the brownstone and deciding that there is too much window in the living room brings Jason into the family room. Bobbie curls up on the couch and starts going thru the pictures. "ohhh. She's precious! And Carly named her after you?" Bobbie looks up from the pictures. She was going to frame the one with Carly holding the baby with Michael right there.

"Morgan Leigh." Jason nods. "I'm her godfather. Michael picked her nickname. Everyone calls her Morlee now."

"Morlee." Bobbie murmurs the nickname finding the music of it. "Alcazar let Carly call me yesterday. She's supposed to call back today. To find out how Sonny's doing."

"No significant change." Jason shrugs. "I stopped by after dropping Courtney at the airport."

"Jason?" Sean Donnelly comes into the family room in search of coffee and is surprised to see a face he'd only seen from school pictures on Monica's desk. "Jason Quartermaine?"

"Morgan. Jason Morgan."

"Right. Sorry." Damn, I knew that.

"Jason, this is Sean Donnelly."

"The WSB agent you called?" Jason looks the older man over. "I wish you would have talked to me first."

"And why would I do that when I wasn't getting the same respect? You had to know I'd get fed up with not knowing what was going on and find out myself." Jason grins at her. Bobbie snarls at him. "What?!"

"You sounded just like Carly."

"Are these of your daughter?" Sean interjects trying to get back on subject.

"And my granddaughter, Morlee." Bobbie starts handing pictures to Sean as she finishes looking at them.

Sean swears under his breath as he gets a good look at Alcazar. "Yeah, had to see it to believe it. Did you hear anything while you were there? Any clues about the location of the compound: name of the Church, Town, where my son is?"

"Your son?" Jason shakes his head. "Last time Carly and I pissed off Luis Alcazar we ended up on his island. In his jail. Waiting to be executed at dawn."

"Can you draw me a map?"

"No." Jason says flatly.

Sean is about to be offended when Bobbie interjects. "But he could probably give you directions?"

"Yeah. It would be a waste of time. Bobbie says Alcazar's supposed to call today. You'll either get your agent back or he'll be moved. That's what I would do if I had him."

Sean's brows go up. Bobbie winces. "Jason, do you have to be so... never mind." it's not worth it.

"I need to talk to you. Privately." Jason tells Bobbie finally. They go out into the courtyard. "I spotted Alcazar's goons up the street. They are keeping an eye on the house." He shrugs. "I couldn't tell you if that is a good thing or not. You won't get pulled into the crap going down in Port Charles with Sonny. Alcazar will make sure that absolutely nothing touches you. Until he wants something from Carly."

Bobbie grabs Jason's arm. "You know she'll do anything to get back to Sonny. Anything. Sonny can't know, Jason. Whatever Carly does-- leave it there."

"You think Sonny doesn't know that too?"

Early in the afternoon, Carly uses the shopping bags from her trip into the village filled with cans to do arm curls. Being a mob wife had made her soft. Courtney had the right idea hitting the heavy bag and taking kickboxing. But everyone dealt with things differently. Both Sonny and Jason had been more comfortable with the idea of the tough going shopping rather than the tough getting into their business, if the tough was Carly. I can't remember the last time I did a tumbling run. And Carly feels guilty about it. That would have been something that would have even impressed Michael in the park.
But now it's about getting some upper body strength. Swimming would help but she is out of the pool at least for a couple of weeks to give her body time to heal. There was no way to take some time off now if she planned on getting back the kind of strength she had back when she was working in the PT gym. Carly knows better than anyone, cept maybe Bobbie, exactly what it was going to take to get Sonny back on his feet after a major stroke. He was going to need help with everything. Getting in and out of bed. Getting to the bathroom, getting dressed. Everything would be a challenge for awhile. And Sonny would probably be mean as a snake-- helpless men often are.

"Mama, what are you doing?" Michael watches her curiously.

"I'm getting back in shape." Carly makes a muscle to show Michael. "Wanna arm wrestle?"

"No." Michael says flatly. "You're a girl."

"Mister Man! You better never say anything like that to your Aunt Courtney or she will kick your butt!" Carly says jokingly.

"Mama, you're not Aunt Courtney."

Carly's eyes narrow at that. There was a dis in there somewhere. And she can't decide if it's to her or Courtney or both.

But she is stopped from calling Michael on his budding male chauvinism by Lorenzo's appearance. "No, she is certainly not. There is nothing wrong with your shape. You just had a baby."

"I don't know what it is about men reminding me of that all the time. Jason did it too when he was here. I know. I was there." Carly looks at Michael. "I need to talk to Mr. Alcazar for a few minutes, Michael. privately."

"I'll make sure nobody comes in, Mama." Michael nods and goes outside standing guard on the closed door.

"I don't want you to over do. You are exhausted." Alcazar announces.

"Lorenzo..." Carly thinks about what she is going to say which is rare enough. "You've never known me when I wasn't pregnant. You really have no idea what... overdoing is for me. And if I'm tired... well I'll adjust, or I'll take a nap. I have two children and a husband who just had a stroke. I have to step up. There is no other option. You told me already that Jason is going to have his hands full."

"There is the nanny."

"She's got her hands full too. She's with Morlee right now." Carly cocks her head to the side. "This isn't what you came here to discuss."

"The call to your mother."

"Oh. Okay. Lets go do that now." Carly starts walking toward Lorenzo. But Lorenzo doesn't turn around or start walking and Carly walks into him.

He reaches out to steady her placing a hand on her hip, letting it linger there before taking a half step back. "Before I place the call I wanted to talk to you about this WSB agent."

"What about him?" Carly shrugs. She might need him if she couldn't get Alcazar to take them to Europe. If she actually had to escape from the Compound it would be handy to have someone along that was actually comfortable with driving. "I don't know him. If you think he's going to be a hostage for me, you can forget it. Mama may care or the guy's boss. Not me. You're the one who told Mama you'd dealt with the WSB in the past."

"Luis did."

"Okay. Luis." Carly plays it casual. "Can't imagine that your relations with the WSB will be decent in the future if you start making their agents disappear. Especially if they already know you have them." Carly adds wryly. "If you planned on just..." Carly waves a hand in a brushing off motion. "I'm sure you just would have informed The General about the fly in his soup."

Lorenzo's eyes light. Carly is too casual about the agent. Too studiously unconcerned, she has a reason for not wanting the agent harmed even if he doesn't know it yet. But the way she'd phrased her counsel shows a remarkable flexibility of thinking. "My men tell me that your mother is not yet back from the hospital and checking on Sonny. We have time for a walk around the compound if you'd like."

Bobbie is just hanging up her coat and putting away her purse when there is a knock on the back door that leads from the family room to the landscaped space behind the house. Bobbie recognizes the man as the guy who had handed her the cell phone before and goes to the back door.

"Senora Spencer." He nods his head respectfully. "The Jefe should be calling in about ten minutes if you wanted to notify Senor Donnelly? Or would you prefer me to go knock on his door?"

"No. Thanks. I'll do it." Bobbie takes the cell phone from the goon and shuts the door in the man's face. These guys were getting way too nosey. Sure they might be handy in a pinch if an all out war started around Jason but until that happened it was just too in her face. Bobbie walks to the door of Sean's apartment and knocks on it. "Well they know you are here." Bobbie holds up the phone. "He offered to come knock on your door to let you know that Alcazar would be calling in ten minutes."

Sean's brows go up at that one. "You starting to feel like an exhibit in a zoo?"

"Yeah. That's a good one. It's about exactly how I feel."

"That's exactly how they want you to feel, Bobbie. If they didn't want to be seen then they probably wouldn't be. This... intrusive surveillance sends a couple of different messages."

Just then the phone rings. Bobbie opens the call. "Hello?"

"Mama? How is Sonny doing?" Again the call has a tinny quality as if the caller is on a speaker phone.

Sean ushers Bobbie into his apartment and shuts the door.

"He seems to have stabilized. We can start doing assessments now. Still looking like paralysis on the right side and speech difficulties."

"Okay. Could you get a list of everything that Sonny is going to need for a home gym. Jason is going to need the information as soon as possible. There is going to have to be structural modifications. Not just a gym." Carly thinks aloud. "Need to change beds, put in some supports in the bathroom. Access. Need access no stairs. Need a whirlpool and a pool. They are only going to release Sonny to a rehab facility. So Jason needs to have a list of everything a rehab facility has. And it's going to take a while to get set up even if Jason promises them the moon."

"Right." Bobbie starts taking notes.

"Is Tony still Sonny's doctor?"

Bobbie grimaces and then answer. "Yes."

"That's not going to work. I want Jason to be in charge of Sonny's care until I get home. Tony would probably want to talk only to Mike and that's not going to work, Mama. I don't want to cut Mike out of the loop-- I just don't want him to be only getting his information from Tony. Tony won't talk to either me or Jason. Or he'll talk to Jason like Jason is an idiot just one time too many."

"And Jason will kill him."

"Yeah, that's occurred to me." Carly agrees.

"I'll talk to Alan and get a recommendation. He doesn't care for Sonny but he won't want Jason in jail for a homicide on GH property either. I assume you want names of therapists both physical and speech."

"Need treatment plans." Carly agrees.

That has Bobbie frowning. Carly didn't want therapists; she wanted consults. She wanted treatment plans. That sounded as if Sonny wasn't going to be around long enough to do the therapy in Port Charles. "I'll take care of it, Honey. Tell me how you and the kids are doing?"

"We're fine." Carly dismisses the concern. "One of the ladies from the village is helping so that I can get some sleep. Michael is growing like a weed. He's probably inches taller than the last time you saw him."

"Jason brought the pictures from the baptism. Courtney made sure there were plenty of sets made so that everyone could get some. I wish I had been there."

"Me too, Mama. But on the plus side the Quartermaines weren't there. So no voodoo water comments from the gallery." There is a murmur on Carly's side of the call. "I have to go, Mama. I'll call back when I can to see how things are going."

"Give the kids a kiss for me!" Bobbie says quickly. The next thing she knows Alcazar is on the phone.

"Please put the WSB agent on the phone, Mrs. Spencer."

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