My Slumbering Heart - Chapter Thirteen

Jason eyed the new arrival with renewed respect. He wasn't sure if the young man before him would follow through with the enforcer's silent plea when he had made the call, but the youngest Zacchara proved worthy of the blonde's trust… at least for the moment. The hard part was still yet to come. Nodding at the brunette, Jason addressed the young man calmly. "You understood my phone call, thank you."

Johnny briefly removed his gaze from his father to the stoic blond before him, acknowledging his words before quickly returning his eyes to the older gentleman before him. Smirking slightly, his lips turning upward just a bit, the young Zacchara replied, "yeah, you had me confused for a second, but then I realized you wanted me to contact Spinelli and meet you here." Then, shrugging his shoulders, Johnny continued, "I did assume you wanted me to be here as well."

Jason again nodded in confirmation of the young man's assumption. Now, eying the elder Zacchara, the ex-enforcer, without shifting his gaze, pointed towards the old man and asked the son, "what would you like to do with him now?"

Johnny, without hesitating, said, "I say we let him go..."

Spinelli, who had been observing the interaction up until that point, rapidly jumped from his seat, knocking his chair out from underneath him, the sound of it crashing to the ground reverberating throughout the small, run down garage and garnering the attention of the other three occupants, as he squealed, "what?! No, we cannot let this evil doer go! Why would you even say that? I fear, Stone Cold, you have been taken in by the mob prince, and he soon will get us both killed."

Jason, who had shifted his eyes to Spinelli, now turned back to John Zacchara, his arms casually crossed over his chest. The mob boss then quirked his eyebrow in question at the brunette. Gesturing with his right arm for the young Zacchara to continue, the blond then observed the young man lick his lips and take a deep breath before proceeding.

"What I was trying to say before being interrupted," Johnny then turned his stare from Jason to Spinelli and then back to the blond, "was that we should let him go." Then the man took another deep breath, released it, and continued. "But not before he tells Jason what he needs to know."

And, with that, the young Zacchara reached around his father, keeping his weapon fixed against the man's neck and removed the weapon from his old man's grasp. Once finished with removing the gun from his father's fingers, the brunette shifted to face the elder Zacchara, his gun now against the older man's chest.

"Now, Dad, you will tell Jason what he needs to know to find Ms. Webber, or you can kiss any chance of freedom goodbye." Then Johnny took his gun and cocked it for the whole room to hear.

Anthony, raising both hands in the air, tried to appeal to his son's loyal nature, saying, "John, you wouldn't shoot your old man now, would you?"

His previous smirk now spreading out to a full-fledged smile, the younger Zacchara looked at the man who had raised him and said, "oh, like you weren't going to shoot me when I was a young boy, only you killed my mother instead. You may be my father, old man, and there is truly a part of me that loves you, but I don't respect you, I certainly don't trust you, and I sure as hell don't ever want to become just like you!"

Jason looked on, closely watching and listening to the interaction between father and son, and it brought a burning ache to his heart. The mob boss swore, then and there, that there was no way he was ever going to have Cameron and Jake look or feel that way about him. Once he found Elizabeth, and the ex-enforcer knew he would find her, things were going to change; they were drastically going to change. Shaking his head out of his musings, the stoic blond returned all his well honed attention back to the two men before him.

Johnny's hand was starting to twitch. The young man was either starting to get impatient or very nervous about possibly shooting his father. Jason concluded it was probably a little of both. Wanting to assist the young man who had, in essence, saved his life, the mob boss approached the brunette. Standing beside him, but giving him room so as not to make him feel crowded or out of control, Jason asked, "would you like me to take over?"

Johnny's eyes shifted towards Jason, his head never moving, and the younger man ever so slightly shook his head no, saying, "no, Jason. Anthony is my father, and I will deal with him. Now, Dad, I'm not going to ask you again. Tell Jason what he needs to know to find Ms Webber, or you can die here today, and I promise you that I will never look back."

Sighing dramatically, the elder Zacchara lowered his hands and said, "alright, alright, but I need to know, John, that, once I reveal my information, you will promise to let me leave here and flee as I had planned when I entered the building."

Not lowering his weapon but disengaging the trigger, Anthony's son nodded in acquiesce and said, "I promise. Once you give Jason the information he needs, you may leave here, of your own free will, and head to parts unknown, promising me that we will never have any form of contact again."

Smiling at his son, the elder Zacchara said, "that won't be a problem." Then, directing his attention to the blond, Anthony nodded to Jason and said, "Mr. Morgan, what you are looking for is being held in Martha's Vineyard, and we both know the significance of that place now, don't we?" Then Anthony began to laugh, his evil sinister laugh, and proceeded to wipe away imaginary tears streaming down his face. "But I wouldn't guarantee you that your prize is still there. Most likely it's been moved, where I have no idea, but that's not my problem now, is it?"

Turning to face his son, the man's smile quickly faded from his face, and he said, "may I go now?"

Johnny turned his attention to Jason, asking with his eyes what the mob boss wish to do. Jason nodded to the young man, letting him know this was his decision to make. Johnny then removed the weapon from his father's chest, gesturing with his gun towards the door, lowering his head so as not to look at the man before him as he said, "alright, you can go."

Anthony held out his hand, signaling for his son to return his weapon. Johnny only shook his head and quietly whispered to his father, "not going to happen. Now, go, old man, before Jason changes his mind and most likely kills you."

Lowering his hand, Anthony then shifted to leave. Spinelli, though, wasn't in agreement, and, once again, jumped up. This time, though, he was already standing, so no furniture was in danger, but he himself almost fell on the dust ridden floor, shouting, "Stone Cold, I must protest! To let this man loose on the world would be making a grave error in judgment."

Jason, his arms crossed over his chest, his stance now relaxed, eyed his roommate and said, "Spinelli, I have to trust Johnny on this one. We need to let Anthony go."

And then the three men watched as Anthony Zacchara scurried out the door, heading to parts unknown. Then all of a sudden the three occupants heard a loud voice over a megaphone shout, "STOP! This is the FBI. Don't move, or we will shoot." Another shout came next, and it sounded more like a roar. "JOHNNNNYYYYYY!" And then it was eerily quiet.

Jason and Spinelli then looked at Johnny, both shocked by what had just occurred. Johnny merely smiled at the two gentlemen and shrugged. "So, I made another phone call, after I contacted Spinelli." His smile quickly fading, the young Zacchara explained, "look, Jason, I know my father was a bad man, and he needed to pay for what he has done. Plus, if I got to help Spinelli in the process, so be it."

Spinelli, too excited for words, rushed to hug the mob prince and his mentor. Both men quickly held up their hands to the computer hacker with steely gazes, letting him know not touch either of them.

Then the three saw Agent Raynor with another unknown male enter the garage. Addressing Jason, and ignoring the other men, the agent said, "well done, Mr. Morgan. We now have Anthony Zacchara in custody. Now, it's time to work on Mr. Corinthos.

Jason, his patience wearing thin because there were things he needed to do and do fast, stared at the elder gentleman before him, his hands clenching into tight fists next to his body. He said, "you got Anthony Zacchara. That was the deal. He's been delivered. Now, BACK OFF!"

Agent Raynor just shook his head at the angry mob boss and said, "now, Mr. Morgan, you wouldn't want Mr. Spinelli here to go to federal prison, would you?"

Spinelli, looking back and forth between his mentor and the law abiding one, started to open his mouth, but quickly shut it as he heard Jason speak. "Not a word, Spinelli. Agent Raynor can't send you to prison. We had a deal, and that deal has been delivered, so either I go public that the FBI reneges on their bargains, sending your agency into chaos, or you let the three of us walk out of here right now."

Stepping forward, the other man with Agent Raynor who, since entering the garage, had remained quiet, extended his hand to the stoic blond. "Agent Murphy," he greeted. Jason just looked at the man's hand, neither extending his own nor showing any interest in the other gentleman. Lowering his hand, the man continued, "I just wanted to personally thank you for your assistance in bringing Anthony Zacchara to justice, and I assure you, as Agent Raynor's boss, there will be no more contact concerning this matter. Mr. Spinelli is free to go about his business." Turning to face the young man, Agent Murphy continued, "but keep this in mind, Mr. Spinelli: we hacked in to your computer once; we can do it again." And, with that, the man nodded to the three males and turned to leave, Agent Raynor hurriedly following behind him.

Once Jason heard the federal agents start their cars and drive away, he turned to the two younger men and said, "I am going to Martha's Vineyard..."

Spinelli interrupted, "but, Stone Cold, how do you know where to look?"

Jason, pinching the bridge of his nose, turned to his computer hacker with a steely gaze and said, "Spinelli, Ric has a house on Martha's Vineyard. He's the one who took Elizabeth. I know the house. Anthony is probably right, though, and Ric has most likely moved Elizabeth to a new location, but I need to go check it out. I need you and Johnny…" The enforcer paused, looking at the young Zacchara. Seeing the brunette nod, he knew that the mob heir wanted his continued assistance, so he proceeded to direct the two twenty-some-things. "I need you and Johnny to go back to the penthouse and wait for my call. If Elizabeth isn't there, then I will need the two of you to assist me in finding out where Ric may have now taken her."

Spinelli opened his mouth, about to argue the need for the mob prince's assistance, but Jason quickly held up his hand, causing the hacker to instantly shut his mouth once again.

Sighing, Jason said to his friend, "Spinelli, I just need you to do as I say. Johnny may be able to help us. He has proven to me that he can be trusted, and, right now, the most important thing to me is to find Elizabeth."

Spinelli, his gaze softening, realized that this was his mentor's chance to find his one true love, so he nodded his head in acceptance of his boss's wishes.

Jason then retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and made a call. As the phone was ringing, he brought his index finger to his lips, signaling for the two other occupants to remain quiet while he spoke. When the other line had been picked up, the blond, as calmly as he could, said, "Sonny, I wanted to let you know that the Zacchara matter has been dealt with. Anthony is now in the custody of the FBI." Remaining quiet as Sonny spoke, Jason then took a breath and let it out when his ex-boss was finished and continued, "I also wanted to let you know that I will be going out of town for a couple of days. Once I return, we can talk about the Corinthos/Morgan organization and the Zacchara organization, but we are also going to discuss how we are going to bring John Zacchara into the fold." Nodding his head, finishing his call with Sonny, Jason hung up the phone and looked at the two young men indicating that it was time to go.

Neither Spinelli nor Johnny questioned why Jason had not mentioned Elizabeth in his phone call. Both knew that the ex-enforcer probably had his reasons, and those were his reasons to address. The three men then left the garage with the knowledge that Spinelli was now safe from federal prosecution and that Jason was one step closer to finding Elizabeth.

~~~

Elizabeth had frantically searched for over an hour for something, anything, that might help with her escape. The kitchen knives were not an option. Ric had locked them up, probably when he had come here once before, and the fire place equipment was nowhere to be found. Realizing she needed to take a shower before Ric came home, the brunette decided to cease her search, at least for now, and take pleasure in the simple act of cleansing her body of the filth that had covered her since waking up in her ex-husband's company. Unfortunately, because she had spent so much time hunting for any type of weapon, the young mother did not get to linger under the welcome relief of the water pounding against her silky skin for long. Her hair still wet, curling at the ends, Elizabeth dressed in the clothes Ric had purchased for her. She then wandered into the kitchen, hoping that a cup of tea might calm her nerves. At least her ex remembered her size, and the brunette felt somewhat more relaxed in the well worn blue jeans and soft sweatshirt, but the young nurse needed to think, and a soothing drink was just the thing to help her regroup and map out what her next move might be.

Elizabeth had discovered during her quest that the cabin did have some essentials still stocked in the kitchen. Reaching for the tea kettle that was stationed on the stove, the brunette lifted the lid and went to place it under the kitchen faucet, but, before she could begin to run the water, Elizabeth noticed something in the bottom of the pot's base. Reaching her hand down into the opening, the young nurse discovered a small pouch. Lifting it from its confines, Elizabeth turned it over in her delicate hand. She found it to be a small bag filled with a modest amount of white powder and, written on the pouch, were the letters GHB. Elizabeth gasped in shock. Ric's father, she realized in that moment, used to administer a date rape drug to his mistresses in order to have them more submissive to his desires.

Like father, like son.

The thought made the young mother's stomach churn. Before his death, Trevor had probably never gathered just how alike he and his son truly were. Pocketing the pouch in the front pocket of her jeans, Elizabeth inwardly smiled at her stroke of good luck. Now, she had the ammunition she needed to formulate her escape plan.

Just as she returned to her task of making a hot cup of tea, the petite brunette heard the front door open. Turning to see her ex-husband enter, Elizabeth tried not to look too happy. Wandering over to assist the man with the groceries, Ric eyed her with barely veiled wariness.

"I see your shower has put you in a better mood."

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and replied, "it does me no good to fight you, Ric. Do I want to be here? No, but I realized that nothing is going to change anytime soon, so I might as well make the best out of the situation."

Ric scrutinized his ex-wife carefully, trying to decide if she was playing some sort of game. Not really trusting her but knowing there was nothing in the cabin that could assist her with any type of escape, Ric decided to go along with her newfound resolve. Placing the bags he still carried on the counter, Ric turned to the brunette and gently grazed his knuckles over the young woman's cheek. Elizabeth used all her recently discovered determination not to flinch under her ex's touch.

"Well, that is very wise of you, Elizabeth."

Stepping slightly away from Ric's grasp and laying the bag of groceries she had grabbed onto the counter next the others, the young mother then turned to her ex-husband and asked, "would you like me to cook some dinner for us?"

Ric smiled at his ex-wife and said, "that would be wonderful." The man then turned and headed towards his bedroom. "I think I will take a shower myself now. I will look forward to joining you for dinner soon."

As soon as Ric closed the door to his bathroom, Elizabeth released the breath she had been holding. Turning towards the bags on the counter, Elizabeth started to unpack the food, and, as she meticulously continued with her task, her mind systematically picked out the menu you for that evening, she knew that whatever she cooked would most definitely consist of a little extra something that would add some flavor to the meal… at least, to Ric's.