Chapter Five

Tuesday, November 4, 200

Disney’s Boardwalk Villa: Suite

Johnny set a small suitcase on the end of the king-sized bed and turned to Nadine. “It’s still early afternoon. Did you want to go to the park today or would you rather hang out at the resort tonight?”

Nadine ignored him and disappeared out onto the terrace, which overlooked the pool. Johnny exhaled slowly and warned himself to have patience. In the last three days, Nadine’s entire life had turned upside down and she was still angry at him for his decision to allow Jason to handle the Kate situation. She just didn’t understand that it was safer for everyone if he stayed out of it.

She hadn’t spoken to him since the morning before and he was aware enough of her personality to know that it was very odd for her to be silent for so long. Oh sure, she’d snarked with Claudia about her clothes for this short vacation and she’d held her own against Anthony regarding her statement to the PCPD, but to Johnny, she had nothing to say.

And after spending the night in the same bed — Claudia decided until further notice that it was for the best to have the same bed (one never knew when Scott Baldwin would pay a visit) — and then driving to the airport, the flight to Orlando and the drive from the airport…complete silence.

“Are you really going to ignore me for the next two days?” Johnny demanded. He stalked out onto the terrace. “We’re supposed to be selling this newlywed crap and you’re wrecking it.”

“Oh, give me a break!” Nadine whirled around and jabbed him in the chest. “I have more than upheld my end of the bargain. I am not the one who decided, after he got the benefit of my lies and cooperation, to renege on the agreement–”

“I didn’t renege,” Johnny interrupted. “All I did was take the safest route. I told you that we would find out what happened to Kate. And we will. Jason will find out–”

“Jason has other things on his priority list,” Nadine snarled. “Sonny’s out of commission, okay? Jason’s got his own organization to run, he’s got Elizabeth and Spinelli and Carly to worry about. His top priority is not going to be to clear your name; it’s going to be keeping the people that matter to him safe. You’re not one of those people, Johnny, and neither am I. I’m sure he’ll try to find out what happened, but what if Sonny gets better, leaves the hospital, and comes after you again?”

Johnny opened his mouth to respond then abruptly snapped it shut. He frowned at her. “I don’t care for the fact that you make a very good point.”

“Well at least you’re man enough to admit it,” Nadine grumbled. She bumped her hip against him to shove him to the side so she could go back inside the room.

Johnny scrubbed his hands over his face and turned to follow her. “Nadine, I’m just trying to keep everyone safe. On a normal day, it’s difficult enough to keep my father and Claudia from killing one another and with this situation with Sonny Corinthos, I’ve had to talk them down too many times over this last month. I didn’t want either of them going after Sonny, or God forbid Jason, and winding up dead. And now I have you to worry about.”

Nadine chewed on her bottom lip and flopped onto the end of the bed. “You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“Just because my father and Claudia are behaving themselves now,” Johnny said slowly, “doesn’t mean they will forever. You’re a liability to them.”

Nadine drew her eyebrows together in a frown. “Why? I’m doing exactly what I promised to do. And then some.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Johnny responded. “You’re in possession of information that could put me in prison and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re a bit protective of me.”

“Hard to miss it.” Nadine sighed. “Okay. I get it. You’re in a crappy position. I just…” she hesitated. “I want to feel like I’m doing something worthwhile here. If I just sit back and let someone else fix all of this, it’s like the only thing I’m doing is protecting someone who is technically guilty, and I don’t really like that feeling.”

“Okay.” Johnny paused. “Okay,” he repeated, “we can come up with some sort of compromise. I want to know who shot Kate as much as you do, okay? So I’ll make inquiries. I just can’t go gung ho the way I think you want me to do. It’s not safe.”

Nadine pursed her lips. She was a fan of the idea that when you put yourself into something, you put everything into it, but this was Johnny’s world. And surely he had a better idea of how to go about that than she would. “Okay. I think I can agree to that.” She hesitated. “I don’t mean to make your life difficult.”

For the first time in hours, Johnny found his lips curving into a slight smile. “No, I imagine it just comes naturally.”

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Wyndemere: Study

“Miss Claudia Zacchara, sir.”

Nikolas glanced up at this interruption and frowned at his long time butler. “Who?” he inquired.

“Miss Zacchara,” Alfred repeated, his dislike for the visitor dripping from his voice. “She wishes to speak with you. Shall I turn her away?”

“Oh, relax, Jeeves.” Claudia passed by him and patted him on the back. “I’ll take it from here.”

“It’s all right, Alfred,” Nikolas sighed. He stood and moved from behind his desk. “I’ll see to Miss Zacchara.” He waited until Alfred had left the room before continuing. “What brings you out here, Claudia?”

“I wish I could say it was a social call, but unfortunately, it’s business.” Claudia stripped her leather jacket from her shoulders and tossed it on the chair. “That nurse you had stitch me up last spring.”

“Nadine,” Nikolas murmured. “What about her?”

“Can she be trusted?” Claudia said briskly. “Can she take directions?”

He tilted his head to the side. “What has trouble has Nadine managed to find this time?” he asked, resigned. “Did she stowaway on a freighter that belongs to you? Perhaps she followed one of your guards?”

Claudia stared at him, a little nervous. “She’s not really that reckless is she?”

“She can be,” Nikolas replied. He leaned against his desk. “Particularly when she thinks she’s doing the right thing. What has Nadine done now?”

“Nothing,” Claudia admitted. “I mean, she didn’t technically do anything.” She paused, trying to decide just how much to tell this man. “I mean, it’s not like I blame her for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I just blame my brother for being soft-hearted.”

“John Zacchara, soft-hearted,” Nikolas scoffed. “Right.”

“Hey, Johnny sacrificed his freedom to bring your lunatic sister back for some help,” Claudia retorted. “He’s just not used to eyewitnesses, you know. Or how to deal with them.”

Slightly alarmed, Nikolas straightened. “What did Nadine see?”

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m just saying that in this business you either make it worth the witness’s while to keep their trap shut or you make sure they do.” Claudia shrugged. “But you know, some guys have a hard on for a damsel in distress.”

“Claudia, I’m not amused,” Nikolas retorted. “What did Nadine see and what did your family do to her?”

“How is it you haven’t heard about this?” Claudia demanded. “Where have you been? On Mars?”

“I was in Greece,” Nikolas replied shortly. “This is not my favorite time of year and I didn’t want to be in this house during the last week or so. Stop playing word games with me, Claudia. What’s going on and what does Nadine have to do with it?”

“Fine, it’s not like you’re not going to hear about it tomorrow,” Claudia replied, rolling her eyes. “Your little nurse stumbled across Sonny Corinthos attempting to kill my brother. Unfortunately for Nadine, she saw Johnny shoot back.”

“Oh, God,” Nikolas scrubbed his hands over her face. “I swear, she just has a magnet attached to her face. If she’s not getting herself into trouble, it finds her.”

“Johnny took advantage of her shock, grabbed her and put in a car to bring her back to the house.” Claudia paused. “I think he was probably trying to keep her quiet at first but it’s possible he realized that she’s not exactly in a good position right now. Sonny probably saw her and it’s not like he’s the most stable man in the universe.”

“And what was Johnny’s bright solution?” Nikolas said scathingly. “Did he run off her with her? Are you here asking for me to get him out of the country again?”

“No.” Claudia wrinkled her nose. “Johnny thinks she’s in danger from Sonny and from my father so he did the only thing he thought it would fix everything. To protect her from my father and Sonny and to keep her away from Scott Baldwin and the rest of the PCPD.”

Nikolas suddenly had a very good idea where this was going. It was an approach that Sonny Corinthos had used himself–twice with Carly. “He married her.”

“That very same day.” Claudia tapped her lip thoughtfully. “Of course, everyone knows why he married her, or thinks they know, so it’s not like we’re getting away with much. Except the nurse knows how to lie. I’m just asking you if you think she can hold up under all of this.”

Nikolas crossed his arms, irritated. “And what if I tell you no? That Nadine has a penchant for finding trouble and dangerous situations? That she lets her mouth run without thinking and usually manages to offend most people. What happens to Nadine if you determine she’s a liability to your brother?”

“Oh, you make it sound like you think I’m trying to decide whether I should make her disappear or not,” Claudia said. She rolled her eyes. “Let’s get real. If I think she’s going to be a problem, I’ll just deal with it.” She sighed, a little wistfully. “It’s not like Johnny would let me get rid of her anyway. He’s got principles about that sort of thing.”

Orlando, Florida: Walt Disney World

Johnny Zacchara had eaten in the best restaurants in the world, had attended the best schools and universities in the world, and had partied with celebrities and models. He was a man of sophistication and culture.

He was married to a woman who was wearing mouse ears.

“No,” Johnny shook his head and ducked when Nadine attempted to place a matching pair on his head. “I’m drawing the line.”

“Oh, come on.” Nadine pouted. Her eyes lit up. “Just think of how seriously Baldwin would take our marriage if you were wearing the ears.”

“I’ll take the risk,” Johnny replied, backing away from her slowly. “I should think the Disney World honeymoon is enough proof of my devotion.”

“But it has your name on it and everything.” Nadine held the ears out to him. “Don’t be such a spoilsport.”

“I’ll find a way to live with myself.”

“I’m going to make you wear them,” Nadine told him firmly. She tucked the ears into her large tote bag and readjusted it over her shoulder. She scanned the surrounding park. “Where to next?”

“How about the hotel?” Johnny suggested brightly.

“Oh, stop it. You’re having fun and you know it.” She pulled the park map from her tote and studied it. “Let’s see. We’ve been on the Goofy roller coaster and Snow White’s Scary Adventures. ”

“You wanted to see the castle right?” Johnny said. He gestured towards the north end of the park. “We can head over there.”

“No, we can’t!” Nadine refused. “I want to see it at night, lit up with the lights after the parade.”

“The parade?” Johnny said weakly.

“Yep. There’s a parade of all the Disney characters and we missed it yesterday because you didn’t want to leave the hotel.” Nadine leveled an accusatory glare at him. “Some honeymoon.”

“You know, a lot of people would assume that it’s better to stay in the hotel on a honeymoon,” Johnny said dryly.

“Oh, please,” Nadine rolled her eyes. “We could have had sex back in New York. Why would we want to pay all that money for a hotel room at Disney World just to stay inside?”

Johnny stared at her. “I’m not even sure how to argue with that,” he said finally. “You’ve never spent a day or two in bed with someone?”

Nadine flushed. “Well, no. Not exactly. I mean, I have, you know,” she waved a hand. “I just…I have stuff to do, okay? I have a job, it’s not like I could call Epiphany and tell her I need a day off for sex.”

Johnny nodded slowly. “I’ve met Epiphany. I don’t imagine anyone would get away with that excuse to call out sick.”

“I don’t even know how we got on that subject,” Nadine coughed and cleared her throat. “We should go on the teacups.”

“The teacups,” Johnny repeated dubiously.

Nadine nodded with relish. “The teacups. I’ve seen them on television. They look like a lot of fun.”

Coffee House: Jason’s Office

Jason glanced up as Cody opened the door and looked in. “I got Miss Webber here to see you.”

Jason set his pen down and sat back in his chair. “Neal’s with her, right?” he asked, knowing Elizabeth had a tendency to pop over and not wait for her guard to show up. It wasn’t that she didn’t care for her own safety, but that any guard he assigned to her found it difficult to keep up as she flitted between the hospital, the penthouse, her house, and all the wedding plans in between.

Cody grinned. “He’s two inches behind her, but for someone with short legs, Miss Webber moves very fast.” He stepped back out and a few seconds later Elizabeth strode in, her somewhat beleaguered guard right behind her.

“I didn’t mean to forget to tell you I was going somewhere,” Elizabeth protested. She flashed a smile at Neal. “I just had this thought while I was in a patient’s room and I was going on break anyway and–”

“She didn’t make it to the parking garage,” Neal informed his boss with a resigned air. “Sam’s stationed there and stopped her until I could catch up. We may need to consider guards on every street corner.”

“Very funny.” Elizabeth dug a notebook out of her purse. “Don’t worry, Jason will yell at me and I’ll remember everything for about a week. I promise.”

Neal gestured over his shoulder. “I’m going to go stand next to Cody. Don’t go out the back.”

“Tried that,” Elizabeth huffed. “Cody sends Harry there as soon as I get here.” She waited until Neal left the room before looking at Jason in earnest. “I don’t do it on purpose–”

“I know. You’re not used to having someone with you all the time,” Jason said. He stood and rounded the desk to greet her with a kiss. “It’s barely been a month. We’ll get it ironed out. Things are quiet enough that we can make adjustments.” He leaned against the desk and drew her closer. “How’s Sonny?”

“Holding steady,” Elizabeth answered. “He’s out of the woods and Monica thinks it’ll be at most, another day or so before he wakes up. Probably less.” She bit her lip. “How is everything going here?”

“It’s okay,” Jason said. “Like I said, things are quiet. The Zaccharas are behaving themselves and Karpov is lying low.” He squeezed her hands. “I’d tell you if anything changed.”

“I know,” Elizabeth replied. “I also know that this isn’t really a good time to talk about the wedding, but if we’re keeping to the February date, there are some things we need to talk about soon.”

A little resigned, Jason sighed. “I told you, I don’t really care about any of that. You just tell me where to show up–”

“Jason,” Elizabeth cut in with a martial light in her eyes. “You don’t really think I’m here to talk about flower arrangements or the color of your tie, right? I’m not insane.” She arched an eyebrow. “Kelly and Lainey are handling all of that with me. I’m here about the security at the church.”

Jason sobered and nodded. This was an extremely important point for him. When Kate had been shot, he’d been on the verge of pulling back from Elizabeth yet again and he probably would have been able to succeed if not for the car accident.

Driving back from the airport to the hospital, Elizabeth had been broadsided by another car that had run a stop sign. Her own vehicle had been totaled but, miraculously, she’d emerged with only scrapes, bruises, and a dislocated shoulder.

It had driven home the point Elizabeth had been trying to make for nearly a year. No one was safe one hundred percent of the time and the only thing that Jason could do was to give her the best security money could provide. He’d originally wanted to marry her in a private ceremony, but Elizabeth convinced him to have a somewhat larger ceremony. They’d compromised by deciding to wait a few months in hopes that things would remain calm. It would be the first real test of their security system and Jason wanted to iron out any problems now.

“Father Coates is used to this sort of thing,” Elizabeth was saying, “because I think he handled one of Sonny and Carly’s ceremonies or something, so he told me that anything we needed to secure the premises, he would be happy to provide.” She reached into her large tote bag and drew out a rolled up set of papers. “So I asked him for a copy of the church plans when it was remodeled a few years ago, and Father Coates had them delivered to the hospital today. I wanted to bring them right over.”

Jason took the set of architectural plans from her and set them behind her on the desk. “I’ll have Spinelli look at them and work out the number of men and their positions. Once I have them chosen, I’ll send Maxie to take care of their outfits.” When he saw Elizabeth wrinkle her nose at the mention of her ex-husband’s ex-mistress, he sighed, “I know you don’t like her–”

“No, no, I know she comes with Spinelli,” Elizabeth responded. “It’s a package deal. Kind of like Carly.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “I have to go back to the hospital. My break’s over.”

He kept his hold on her hand and stopped her from drawing back completely. “And who’s driving you back?”

“I won’t forget Neal, I promise.” Elizabeth grinned. “Hey, what do you think about asking Edward to walk me down the aisle?”

Crimson Manor: Study

“So what did the prince have to say?” Anthony rolled his chair to the foot of the couch and glared at his daughter. Claudia had walked in a few moments ago, ignored his initial demand, and stretched out on the sofa.

“We may have a problem.” Claudia propped herself up on her elbows. “Nikolas refused to say much but I got the general impression. I think the nurse will hold up for a while, but apparently she’s got a tendency to ramble when she’s nervous. I don’t think Nikolas thought she’d be able to handle this because he seemed to think we had nefarious plans for her.”

“I won’t let anyone threaten John,” Anthony muttered. “She’s doing her part for now, but I won’t let her be a liability. I’ve come too far to let this get between us.”

“Well, there’s no need for any preemptive action,” Claudia said after a long moment. “For now, Nadine is holding her own and is doing what we ask her to. Plus, you know how John feels about damsels in distress. He will not take kindly to us interfering.”

Anthony pursed his lips, considering his daughter’s words. “We wait. And we watch.”

General Hospital: Sonny’s Room

Leyla Mir hummed under her breath as she made a few notes about Sonny Corinthos’s vitals on his chart. She sneaked a glance at the notorious crime lord under lashes. This man was the reason her best friend was currently embroiled in yet another scheme. If it wasn’t sneaking into bedrooms at the Commissioner’s house or onto Russian freighters, it was marrying young mobsters.

Nadine didn’t know how to live a quiet life.

She heard a soft groan from the bed and turned to look at Sonny. His eyes slid open, just a enough to see a slit of his dark eyes. “I’m not dead,” he said hoarsely.

“You don’t appear to be, no,” Leyla murmured. “Shall I send for Dr. Quartermaine?”

“Mac,” Sonny licked his cracked lips. “Get Mac Scorpio.”

“The police commissioner?” she repeated, feeling a sense of dread grow in her belly. Oh, dear. Nadine was in trouble now.

“Johnny Zacchara,” Sonny said. “He did this.” He blinked. “And the blonde…that works here. She saw everything.” He closed his eyes and lapsed back into unconsciousness.

“Bullocks,” Leyla muttered. She paged Dr. Quartermaine as a matter of procedure, but her first loyalty was never going to be to Sonny Corinthos. It was to her best friend.

Her second call was to Nadine’s cell. She left a voicemail.

And told no one else what Sonny Corinthos had confessed.