People were always underestimating Ric Lansing. That was their biggest mistake. For what people didn't realize was that Ric was smart… very smart. He always had a backup plan, one that would always benefit him. The mob lawyer was always thinking ahead, and, now, all his forethought had paid off. Not that finding Elizabeth Webber had been his original plan, but, once this unexpected turn of events landed almost literally in his lap, Ric was intelligent enough not to turn down a gold mine opportunity when he saw it.

Oh, the man had no illusions of the nurse's feelings for him. Yet, even knowing Elizabeth's true feelings didn't deter the lawyer from thinking of 'what could have been.' The misguided female had always harbored an unhealthy, insane devotion to that brain damaged thug, one Ric would never understand or want to try, but what the plotting male did know was that, in the right situation, any one's feelings could be manipulated and redirected. And Ric knew there were times when he could be very persuasive.

Although even if he couldn't sway the petite brunette to see the error of her ways, it truly didn't change anything for Ric. He was determined and driven to receive the power and respect that had always eluded him, and this time no one was going to stand in his way - not his father, not Sonny, and especially not Jason Morgan, for as much as the two 'more than friends' tried to hide their connection, Ric knew it was there, and he was definitely going to use it to his advantage.

The plan initially had been simple at first. Ric knew his life was in danger due to Claudia's betrayal, so the mob consigliere planned to flee the hospital during the commotion, transfer funds into an offshore account, and escape to parts unknown as expediently as possible. Yeah, he would have regrets, especially about leaving Molly, but, at that point, it was all about survival.

The first part had been simple. The ever thinking male had easily escaped the hospital before the fire had spread to the stairwells making them impassable. But then the helicopter crash occurred. Ric hadn't planned on assisting anyone; he was solely focused on putting as much distance between Port Charles and himself as quickly as possible. Yet, during his departure, the lawyer came upon Elizabeth, unconscious in the snow. It would have been so easy to leave her there to possibly die, but, as heartless as Ric was, he couldn't do it. Elizabeth didn't deserve to die.

So, once he made the decision to help the single mother, he realized she was a solution to all of his problems. Having Elizabeth gave him power over his one true enemy: Jason Morgan. First, though, he had to get her medical attention and then out of Port Charles. Initially taking her back to his place, Ric had made a call to a doctor he knew from his many mob dealings, one who could easily be paid off to keep his mouth shut.

Once the physician had been procured, Ric had left a message for Alexis letting her know he was going out of town to grieve his father's death and would call her upon his return. Using his family's home in Martha's Vineyard seemed like the perfect solution. No one would question Ric going there after his father's untimely demise. Plus, it gave him the privacy he needed to keep Elizabeth out of sight.

The doctor had met Ric on the island and, after completing a thorough examine of the brunette, deemed the young woman uncharacteristically well considering the plane crash the lawyer had described to the medical professional. Elizabeth had no internal injuries, just a concussion and some bruised ribs that would heal with rest. The physician wrote out a prescription for pain and informed Ric to call if the patient started to spike a fever. The doctor then left, taking his fee, never once asking for the patient's name.

Everything had been going well except for the fact that Elizabeth had yet to wake up. The doctor had assured the lawyer that her body was just healing and she would wake when ready. It had been a week, and, again, Ric was growing concerned. Ric demanded that the physician return and examine her once more. Upon the doctor's arrived, Ric informed the man that he had to go out for a couple of hours and he would pay him generously to stay with the patient once he completed his examine and until Ric returned. The greedy physician readily accepted, for he had three children in college. The doctor would not turn away any sufficient payment, especially one that was tax free.

The once mob lawyer hated to leave Elizabeth alone with a stranger, fearing she would wake up, but he needed to make an appearance at the young mother's Memorial Service. It would have looked suspicious, in Ric's mind, if he had not been there to pay his respects. As it was, it had been well worth the trip to watch one Jason Morgan get, in his mind 'thrown out' of Elizabeth's service. Then, as he was heading back, Ric got the call he had been waiting for: the brunette had awakened. She was still groggy and unsure of her surroundings, but she was awake. The physician assured Ric he had told her nothing and had asked nothing from the patient. The doctor was greedy but not stupid. He knew of the lawyer's mob connections, and he did not want to get involved. Once the man had returned, the doctor was to make a hasty exit and never to speak of his association with Ric ever again.

Yet, once Ric returned, things started to spiral out of control. Well, not at first. Elizabeth, initially, was extremely grateful for Ric's help. Hell, she was thankful and kind, knowing it was because of him she had survived the helicopter crash, but, once the young mother realized her ex-husband was not allowing her to leave, things began to unravel. He remembered her pleas.

"Ric, please just let me go home to my children. They need their mother."

The ex-husband had tried to reason with the young mother, promising her that she would be reunited with her children in due time, but the stupid girl wouldn't listen. Ric attempted to alleviate her fears by saying, once it was safe, he would bring them and then they could be the family that had once dreamed of with Cameron, Jake, and even Molly. He took her hands, caressing them, trying to soothe her, but it only seemed to make her madder. So, he had lifted his hands to caress her beautiful, angelic cheeks and leaned in to kiss her, and she spat in his face.

"Don't ever touch me like that!"

Elizabeth had yelled with more fury then he had known her to posses, and then she said the words he always loathed to hear.

"Only Jason touches me that way. There will never be a you and me, Ric, NEVER!"

It had taken all the Ric's control to not slap her at that moment, to teach her a lesson, but he wouldn't, couldn't lose control, not now, not when he was so close to getting what he wanted. But the lawyer couldn't control his tongue and he lashed out with a fury he, too, could possess.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Elizabeth, about your children, because they and everyone else in Port Charles thinks you are dead. Did you hear me? DEAD! No one is coming to find you. There will be no white knight coming to your rescue, so, 'Beautiful,' you better get acquainted with you accommodations really good, because you are going to be here for a long time. We could have been good together, Elizabeth, but you've ruined it, and, now, you are going to have to live with the consequences of your actions."

Ric watched as the Elizabeth paled with the knowledge that everyone thought she was dead. He saw the fear behind those gorgeous, sapphire eyes, and he found great joy in that emotion. Fear. She needed to fear him now. Ric had all the power and it was about time EVERYONE started to realize it.

Ric had, though, underestimated the determination of a mother, a mistake the lawyer would not make again. He had caught Elizabeth venturing out of bed to escape. Luckily, she hadn't hurt herself during her unsuccessful attempt to flee, for Ric needed her healthy, but he also realized he needed to contain her as well, and, to do so, drastic measures needed to be taken. Knowing she would drink and eat if only to sustain life in the hope that she would one day be reunited with her children, her ex-husband drugged her drink and, as she slept, he handcuffed her to the bed.

Now, aligned with the knowledge that, for the moment, Elizabeth was contained and going to sleep for hours, Ric decided it was time to make another visit back to Port Charles to begin the second phase of his plan.

~~~

"Diane, there has to be something we can do!"

Jason couldn't contain his fury. The need to break something was becoming so intense. His hands were balled into fists by his sides, his nails digging into his palms from how tightly he held them closed. The mobster was itching to grab something, anything, just to hear it shatter into a million pieces. The sound would hopefully ease the anger that continued to well up inside of him. But, in his heart, he knew it wouldn't change anything. In fact, all it would do was bring Spinelli scurrying out of his room to come and inspect what damage his employer had now created.

After the Memorial Service, the don had come home, planning to tear his penthouse apart. Saying goodbye to Elizabeth had been one of the hardest things the onetime enforcer had ever done. How could he say goodbye to her? The man had never been good with words when she was alive, and, now, ironically, he found himself pouring his heart out to a picture. A picture! The woman he had loved longer then he could remember deserved better than that. Elizabeth had warranted more from him. All she had ever done was support, listen, and trust him. And what did he do? He kept pushing her away. The only comfort Jason had felt was that, at least, before her death she had known, without a doubt, how Jason felt about her, that finally he was ready to take responsibility for his actions and have a life with her, have a family with her.

But, when he got home, Spinelli had been waiting, knowing 'his master' would be in agony, and immediately sent him upstairs to his gym to pour out his frustrations on his punching bag. And Jason had. He keep hitting, and hitting, and hitting until his knuckles bled, until he dropped down to the floor from exhaustion and wept. Jason Morgan, tears pouring down his face, mourned his loss, and, when he could cry no more, the man got up to take a shower to start his life again with a heavy heart, without his Elizabeth.

The next day Jason received the call from his lawyer, reluctantly informing him that he was not mentioned in Elizabeth's will and should not appear at the reading. Jason wasn't surprised. He and Elizabeth had been apart up until the last moments of her life. Her last will and testament wouldn't have had him mentioned, for they were apart, agreeing it would have been too dangerous for him to have been a part of her life and her young children's lives as well. Yet, it still tore him up inside to know that Lucky had been given guardianship of Cameron and Jake. He wasn't angry with Elizabeth. The mobster was angry at himself for all the poor choices he had made since learning the truth about Jake's paternity. It should have been then that he declared his love for Elizabeth and made her realize that a marriage to him wouldn't be one of convenience but one of love. But he hadn't, and, now, he was paying the consequences.

Jason realized that, for a man who had always preached you can't look back and think of the 'what ifs,' that was all he had done since Elizabeth's death. Yet, knowing he was responsible for the fate that had now been instilled upon Jake and Cameron only angered him further.

The past week, since Elizabeth's will reading, Jason had been checking up on Cameron and Jake, and what he found infuriated the mob king only further, for every time he had received a report or witnessed himself the actions of the supposed 'great' father Lucky Spencer, he found the young man lacking in every way. Lucky was either ignoring the two young boys or pawning them off on whoever would watch them. Jason himself witnessed him drop them off at his grandmother Leslie's house on Monday, then at Bobbie's on Tuesday, then at Audrey's on Wednesday and, on Thursday, the guard he had tailing the kids reported that the father had deemed them worthy of his company only to take them to Sam's apartment and have them watch videos while he and his 'girlfriend' engaged in other activities in a locked bedroom not fifteen feet from where they were.

It was after this last report that had Jason contacted Diane to start taking action, but his lawyer was not producing any viable solutions to the problem at hand.

"Look, Jason, we can petition the courts to take a paternity test on Jake, proving to the courts that you are his biological father. Once that is proven, you can make claim to Jake, but you have no claim to Cameron. He would have to remain with Lucky, and we both know Elizabeth would never want her boys separated."

"Damn it, Diane, I know this. I don't need a dissertation on what can't be done; I need to know what can be done."

And, then, not being able to reign his anger in any longer, Jason, who had been standing by the bar, the bar where he had grabbed two shot glasses for him and Elizabeth so long ago, took what was probably one of those same shot glasses and sailed it across the room towards his fireplace, hearing it smash into those million pieces he had been craving so much. The sound eerily calmed him. But, then, Jason heard Spinelli's racing footsteps and watched as Diane moved slowly towards his front door, readying herself to flee at any moment, never witnessing her employer lose control that way, and, immediately, he regretted his actions.

Moving slowly towards Diane, placing both hands in the front pockets of his jeans, Jason calmly spoke. "I'm sorry, Diane. I didn't mean to lose my temper and sca… startle you," for Jason knew very little scared his attorney.

But, before Diane could respond, Spinelli came bounding down the stairs, his computer attached at his side, ready to take flight from the disturbance he had heard below. Realizing it was just his master releasing obvious tension tightly wound within his body, the Jackal decided to see if he could be of some assistance. Calmly he asked, "Stone Cold, what now has caused you this most obvious, grievous distress?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Spinelli. I am sorry to have lost my temper again."

As Jason turned to head to the kitchen to retrieve a brush and dustpan to clean up his mess, he missed his attorney mouth to his employee "again?," and all Spinelli could do was raise his eyebrows and shrug his shoulders saying 'well, what did you expect?'

Before the mobster could make it in to the kitchen, however, he heard Spinelli call out to him, "Stone Cold, is there not something I, the Jackal, can do to help, say something that the most law abiding one could not?"

Yet, before Jason could say anything, he heard Diane very pointedly respond to Spinelli, "No sir, Mr. Grasshopper, are you to do any hacking. Do you have any idea the lengths to which Jason has gone to keep you out of Federal Prison? No more!"

"Oh, come on Brusque Lady of Justice, I know I can help if only you tell me what the problem may be."

This time it was Jason to speak first. "No, Spinelli, Diane is right. You shouldn't be hacking into anything. Plus, this isn't something you can help me with. The only thing that could help me was if some way Cameron Webber was my biological child and not Zander Smith's."

And before the words were out Jason's mouth, he knew he had said too much, because, as he looked at Spinelli, the mobster could already bear witness to the wheels turning in the hacker's head.

"Spinelli, no, do not even think about doing whatever you are thinking of doing." And, as Jason was talking, he moved to reach for Spinelli's laptop. But, for once, the computer geek outwitted his employer and moved before he could reach his intended target.

"Stone Cold, it would be so easy for me to change said history, for I can only assume that you and the Fair Elizabeth were close back then. It wouldn't be hard for me to hack into the hospital's main frame and add a paternity test stating you were Cameron's father."

As Spinelli spoke he saw a sadness gleam over his master's eyes, "Stone Cold...?"

Before Jason responded, the two roommates heard their feared legal eagle speak up yet again. "Enough, you two! I do not want to be privy to any 'alleged' hacking of any kind. Even though I have no doubt it would be in the best interest of Elizabeth's children to be under Jason's care, there is nothing we can do at this time. But you don't pay me the big bucks for nothing. I didn't earn every pair of Jimmy Choos in my closet by wringing my fingers and taking the easy road. If there is something..."

Yet, before Diane could finish what she was about to say, Jason's front door opened, and Sonny walked in. "Jason, we need to talk." Then Sonny took in Diane and Spinelli's presences in the room and asked, "am I interrupting something, because, if I'm not, I really need to talk to Jason. Alone."

Diane, knowing the implications from Sonny's statement, grabbed her briefcase off Jason's desk and gave her one time employer a heated glare and said, "I no longer take orders from you, but Jason and I were finished... for the time being." Looking pointedly at her new employer and his employee, she cautiously implored them, "remember what I said. Jason, I will take care of this. Just give me a little more time." And, with that, she was gone.

After watching Diane hastily exit Jason's penthouse, Sonny, for a moment, wondered why she had been there, but quickly put that out of his mind and turned to Spinelli to roughly bark, "you're still here? Go! I need to talk to Jason. ALONE!"

With that, Spinelli quickly retrieved his coat and messenger bag from the coffee table and swiftly departed.

Once Spinelli was gone, Sonny turned to Jason and said, "we need to discuss business."