This is where the action is going to pick up and surprises are in store. As always, read and reply. It makes the story come from my brain to the page much easier.
Chapter 5
"What happened?" Mickey called as he ran towards Angela and Alfred. It had been five minutes since he received the call and he had made it to the pier in record time. Alfred sat on the bench as Angela paced the dock. He could tell by her stance that it was taking all of her restraint not to jump into the river and swim to Spoon Island, no matter what time of year it was.
It was Alfred who spoke. "I had just left from escorting Mr. Lansing into the conservatory when I heard Mrs. Cassadine in the room. I saw that there were armed men wearing masks and I made my way down to the back dock. There is a small boat there. I untethered it and rowed it across to the piers."
"Yes, I was just about to go to the launch when he stopped me. He told me what happened between breaths. That was when I called you," Angela finished explaining.
"All right. First, Alfred, are you okay? With your heart condition?" Mickey asked.
"I am fine, sir," Alfred assured him.
Mickey nodded. "Who was in the house when you got out?"
Alfred thought for a moment. "Mr. Lansing, of course. Master Nikolas was there, and Master Spencer was in his room. Princess Natasha was there as well, as was her father." Angela and Mickey glared at Alfred, who smiled wisely. "You did not think I knew, I see. My Princess, Count Villianov, I have known who Alexis Davis was from the moment I was hired. I have known that Prince Mikhail Cassadine was alive since the two of you were born. And I knew this day would come. I was only surprised it would be this long."
Angela was shocked. "How...how did you know?"
Alfred continued to smile. "You do not think that I have been a butler all my life?" Looking at the two young people, he sighed. "For many years, I was a WSB agent. Though I was never involved in any of the cases involving the Cassadines, I was aware of them. When I retired from the agency I was posted here, just to keep an eye on them, just in case anything interesting turned up."
"Such as Helena Cassadine?" Mickey asked.
"She was one we wished to keep an eye on," the elderly butler confirmed. "When this is over, I will explain all. But we must stop her now."
He and Mickey looked towards Angela as she inhaled. She looked at the two of them and added, "When this is over, all of us will have a lot of explaining to do." She turned to Mickey. "What do we do about the problem in hand now?"
Helena stood in the parlor of Wyndemere and could not believe her own luck. Here was her beloved grandson, her bastard stepdaughter, said bastard's husband and her long-lost husband, all in one place! It wouldn't have been better if she had arranged for all of them to be here herself. She strode over to Ric Lansing as her minions went to secure the rest of the house.
"Mr. Lansing, it is a pleasure to have your company here today," Helena cooed.
Several years of living in Port Charles had enabled him to read Helena Cassadine. By far, she was the deadliest woman he had ever met. Her crimes were legendary in town, surpassing anything his brother Sonny, Jason Morgan or Lorenzo Alcazar could commit together. He replied cautiously, "Mrs. Cassadine."
To the surprise of everyone, it was Mikkos who responded for Helena after Ric's acknowledgement. "Oh, she hasn't been Mrs. Cassadine, or anything else Cassadine, for many years."
Helena turned to him. "The years have not dimmed you, my darling," she said with a smile.
"Nor have they dimmed your beauty, or your deadliness. How may we help you today, Helena?" he asked.
Her smile widened. "I've come for what is mine. What you took from me, Mikkos."
Mikkos put his arms behind his back and walked towards the desk. "What would that be, I wonder? Would that be your money? Your brother has kept me informed that you have not touched the inheritance your father left you, yet Cassadine money has vanished for years. What about your family? Stavros, your pride and joy, died a psychopath while your other son killed himself because of your poisonous malice. Your grandson wants nothing to do with you and would kill you if you so much as looked at the woman he loves and his son."
Alexis thought she saw where her father was going with this and tried to head him off at the pass. "Father, I'm sure that Helena is merely confused." She turned towards the elder woman. "It happens with age."
Mikkos ignored what Alexis was saying. "What about what you have taken from me?" he asked. He turned to Alexis and Nikolas. "This was why I called you here. I had hoped that Angela would be here, but considering that Helena is here, perhaps it is safer that she is not." He turned back towards Helena. "Let us tally what you have taken from me and those I love. That would be my wife, my daughters, my parents, my brothers, my titles, my estate and very nearly my life."
At that declaration, Alexis and Nikolas looked stunned.
On the dock, Angela was still pacing, trying to come up with a strategy. Her thoughts were interrupted by the approach of several pair of feet. She looked up and saw Sergei Villianov and Lorenzo and Diego Alcazar, as well as a strange, yet familiar face.
"What has happened?" Sergei asked immediately.
Alfred explained to him and the others what had transpired as Angela gathered her thoughts. There was no way of telling what was happening right now over there. She was the most frightened she had ever been in her life. She then turned to the men.
"This is how it's going to go from here." Angela turned to Lorenzo Alcazar. "I heard that we are family. I need family loyalty more than anything right now. Above ambition, above any rivalries with any local businessmen, above anything. Do I have your loyalty?" she asked him desperately.
Lorenzo looked at her and saw what she needed. "As I told Mickey as he left our meeting, you have from me whatever you need."
Angela nodded and sighed. "You need to go to Greystone and get Sonny. Tell him what has happened but tell him to come here. I will tell him what I need from him when he arrives."
Lorenzo understood that this was no mere retrieval she was sending him on. It was a test of his vow of loyalty. He nodded and left the docks with his son.
"Mickey, Sergei, go to the Haunted Star. We need someone as ruthless and cunning as Helena Cassadine herself," Angela ordered.
Sergei looked confused. "And we will find that person there?"
Mickey smiled though, understanding Angela's thinking. "Of course we will. We need Luke Spencer." With that, the Villianov men left Angela alone with Alfred and Victor. Alfred could tell that Angela needed to speak to her great-uncle alone and informed them he would make contact with his WSB contacts. As he left, Angela stared at the last man standing. She ran to his arms as they embraced.
Pulling apart, Angela looked at Victor. "I should have known you would be here."
Victor smiled at her. "Where else would I be?"
Angela shook her head. "I don't know, Monte Carlo? Hong Kong? Vegas?"
Victor let out a very undignified snort. "Please, Vegas? We Cassadines have far too much class for Vegas." He released her and moved down the dock. "So he is there, with his daughter."
Angela walked towards him. "That was the plan. If I hadn't dawdled, I would be there now."
"Well, amen to dawdling." Victor turned back to the view of Spoon Island. "How has he been?"
"He's..." she searched for the words. "He's survived. His whole purpose for the last twenty-eight years has been to survive. He's succeeded. Now he hopes to give my mother what was her birthright and this has happened."
Victor turned to her, taking her hand. "It will be hers, princess. On my honor, I swear this." There was no humor in his voice, only the most devoted urgency. She took his hand and they waited for the others to return, to put into action a plan that would make his words come true.
I like this fic. It keeps getting more and more interesting.
