Chapter Fifty-Six:
Taking the Risk

Jason's Penthouse.

Lucky is sitting in a chair, staring up at the distant ceiling. Jason comes back from the back room, and walks over the chair opposite Lucky, dumping the pile of paper onto the coffee table. He looks at Lucky.

Jason: You Ok?

Lucky: Tired. It's been a long week. (Lucky, with great effort, lifts his head, and looks at Jason) So what do you have?

Jason: This is what I know about every person who has any information that could have been used against me.

Lucky: Impressive. Define "any".

Jason: If they're new... Location, event, people, anything.

Lucky: So this is all it takes to get on the list?

Jason: Yeah.

Lucky: So I'm on the list.

Jason: No, there would be no point in that.

Lucky: I mean, if I wasn't the person doing this, then I would be on the list.

Jason: Yeah.

Lucky: And once I do this..... There is no way -- I know everything bout everyone who works for you.

Jason: (shrugging) Again, if you were anyone else, Lucky, we'd have a problem.

Lucky: But we don't.

Jason: We don't.

Lucky: Fine. (He reaches out and takes the pile of papers). So these dossiers have got to be complete, right? I mean, this isn't the sort of business where people can afford to make any decision too lightly.

Jason: We already talked about this. No way is this happening without someone on the inside.

Lucky: If they've got someone on the inside then why are they messing with your bank accounts and pulling all this stupid small time stuff. I mean, if they want to hurt you, then why don't they just HURT you? It doesn't make any sense.

Jason: That's what you're going to help me find out.

Lucky: You've run this territory for two years. Anyone ever do anything like this before?

Jason: Nope.

Lucky: Not even Morreno?

Jason: No. If it was Morreno, I'd know about it. You can't fight a war when you don't know who your enemy is.

Lucky: So you've got someone who's messing up shipments, but not stealing the merchandise, and is skimming bank accounts without covering it up.... Do you have a list of the people who knew anything about all the events?

Jason: None who knew anything about the bank accounts.

Lucky: (under his breath) This doesn't make any sense. (He looks back at Jason) Well, I'll do what I can over the next few days. After that, it's up to you. I don't know where you want me to go next.

Jason: Ideally, you'll have some information that's useful.

Lucky: I don't like to rely on ideals. (He puts the dossiers back on the table). But I'll see if anything raises any suspicions. (He frowns and looks back at the folders) Hey, your driver... Jacob, right?

Jason: Yeah?

Lucky: He on this list?

Jason: He knows locations. But that's it. He's pretty low on the food chain. (Lucky frowns)

Lucky: Would they need to know more than locations?

Jason: He doesn't know them very far in advance. And he isn't involved in the money at all. Why?

Lucky: He's the guy who tipped me off about Hannah. (He grimaces) I don't like coincidences.

Jason: (grimly) Neither do I. (He shrugs) I trust your instincts. They'd been serving you well.

Lucky: As far as this stuff is concerned, yeah..... (He shakes the series of thoughts threatening to come back on him out of his head) But I guess the rest of it doesn't really matter. (Jason studies him a moment)

Jason: You keep the two separate. One has nothing to do with the other. (Lucky nods, aware that for Jason this is a lot easier than it is for other people. Still, he feels like his brain has that switch. And it seems to be off right now.)

Lucky: (distantly) Ok. Anything else?

Jason: One thing. (he reaches into his pocket, and takes something out. He slides it across the table.) You might not need it, but it's still a good idea to have it. (Lucky looks down at the handgun in the middle of the table. He swears to himself, and looks up at Jason)

Lucky: Yeah... (He stares at it, trying to figure out why he doesn't want to pick it up. He's been around guns all his life. He doesn't even remember when he learned how to used them. Not clearly, at least. Maybe it was instinctual. Either way, guns don't scare him. He takes a deep breath and leans forward) This a loaner?

Jason: It's a gift. Someone comes after you, that's a problem for me. For a lot of reasons. (Lucky smiles slightly.... Emily will not like this.)

Lucky: You think it's necessary?

Jason: Better safe than sorry, right?

Lucky: Yeah. (He reaches out and picks up the gun. He examines it. Good caliber, powerful, simple. He smiles slightly and looks at Jason) Is this standard?

Jason: Pretty much. (Lucky sighs)

Lucky: My Dad would hate this thing. Not enough personality.

Jason: Yeah?

Lucky: He gets a little emotionally attached. (Lucky flips the safety off a moment, absently. Jason watches the strange way Lucky is examining the piece, slowly flipping it over and over in one hand, not taking his eyes off of it, while looking utterly disinterested. He flips the safety back on.) Does this thing have a history?

Jason: Nope. And it never will. Not registered, no serial numbers, it's untraceable.

Lucky: I figured. (He caresses the cold metal slightly with his thumb.) Thanks. I guess I'm set.

Hannah's Apartment.

Hannah is washing the cereal dishes, along with other basics, when there's a knock on the door. She walks over, shaking water off her hands, and opens it.

Hannah: (smirking) I figured it would be you.

Nik: I couldn't go home. (Nikolas, bearing the weight of both family's dysfunction on his shoulders, looks at her without emotion. The smile fades from Hannah's face)

Hannah: What's up?

Nik: (entering the apartment) Just got a couple of heavy doses of reality. (Hannah, well aware that she's been basking in NOT having to think too much about her present reality, makes a face)

Hannah: I hate it when that happens. (She closes the door) Do you want to talk about it?

Nik: No. (He pulls her towards her and gives her a long kiss. She holds her still soapy hand in the air, stopping them from touching him. He pulls back, and presses his forehead against hers) I hate leaving this place.

Hannah: (laughing slightly) It's not exactly paradise.

Nik: No... But it's where you are. (Hannah feels her body got hot then cold, pin pricks on the back of her neck. She pulls away from him)

Hannah: I have dishes to do.

Nik: Dishes.

Hannah: (moving back into the kitchen) Emily was here for.... Well, we called it diner.

Nik: (watching Hannah closely) She came back.

Hannah: I think... she doesn't seem happy at home, I guess. (Nikolas walks into the kitchen, as she sinks her hands back into the water) But I guess it means something that she'd come here. I mean, she could go to the library or something.

Nik: (quietly) That's great.

Hannah: Yeah. (Nikolas comes up behind her)

Nik: What did I do?

Hannah: What?

Nik: You're nervous.

Hannah: (laughing in a short high-pitched burst) I'm high strung. That's not a condition, it's just a state of being for me.

Nik: Not always. (He slides his hand around her waist. Hannah closes her eyes a moment, then opens then and lifts a glass out of the water, washing it with a dish rag.) I thought we were past this?

Hannah: Past what?

Nik: You pushing me away like this.

Hannah: Who's pushing? You're here, aren't you? (Nikolas kisses her neck)

Nik: (murmuring) But you're not. (Kisses her again)

Hannah: (huskily) Let me finish the dishes.

Nik: Why?

Hannah: Nikolas! Just let me do this one neurotic thing before you come in here and get me all confused again.

Nik: Is that what I'm doing? (He lays another kiss on her neck, smiling when she shivers in response)

Hannah: (mildly warning) Stop that.

Nik: Make me. (He starts to unbutton her blouse. Hannah looks down at the glass in her hand)

Hannah: I'm serious.

Nik: So am I. (Hannah dips the glass beneath the water and brings it back up)

Hannah: Don't say I didn't warn you. (She tosses the glasses contents over her shoulder, hitting the side of his face, and a good part of his shirt. Nikolas spring back from her dripping. She turns to see him shaking off his hand, staring at her with a look that clearly says she's going to pay.)

Nik: (stepping towards her) That was uncalled for.

Hannah: (sternly) Nikolas. (He continues towards her. She dips the glass back into the water, and hold it up threatening me) I'm armed. (Nikolas rushes her and she ducks out of his way, spilling some of the water on the floor. Nikolas takes a step towards her, and she flings the water, this time hitting him full on. He sputters and wipes the water out of his eyes)

Nik: You've made a tactical error. (Hannah looks at the sink, which Nikolas is now standing in front of him)

Hannah: Ok, Ok you win.

Nik: I don't think so.

Hannah: Nikolas, come on. (Nikolas reaches into the water and pulls out one of the cereal dishes, filled to the brim with the dish water)

Nik: Are you familiar with the Greek tradition of breaking dishes?

Hannah: Hey! (she steps towards him to rescue the bowl. He takes advantage of her closer proximity to dump the water over her head. She screeches) You freak! (Nikolas, grabbing her wrist, picks up the OJ container that is waiting to be washed. He dunks it under the water. Hannah gasps.)

Nik: You were saying?

Hannah: Ok... Come on. I'm wet, you're wet, it's a draw.

Nik: I don't settle for draws.

Hannah: No, come on! (she struggles to get away from him, but nearly slips on the water on the floor. He throws the filled pitcher of water at her, effectively soaking her. She stares at him, water streaming down her face) Happy now?

Nik: (coming towards her) No.

Hannah: You're impossi-- (Nikolas pulls her into a demanding kiss. He pulls her close to him, the water from her blouse bleeding into the few dry parts left on his shirt. Hannah gives up, forgetting any reason she had to resist him in the first place. Her hands tug at his shirt, so that she can slide them up his back. He pulls back from the kiss finally, and looks at her intently.)

Nik: Still want to finish?

Hannah: (Pulling him back to her) Finish what?

Jason's Penthouse.

Jason sits at his desk, nursing a drink and going over papers, Lucky having left about an hour earlier. He has a strange feeling about Lucky that won't go away. He doesn't doubt the kid can do the work, he's proven himself too many times for that. He's just a little uneasy about the manner in which he took the gun. He gave it both too much and not enough attention, and Jason doesn't have a clue what to make of that. He also can't imagine who to ask about that kind of behavior. The phone rings, and Jason answers it, distractedly, after the first ring.

Jason: Morgan.

Luke: Spencer.

Jason: Hey. Something up about the club?

Luke: No... I just wanted to impress upon you that I need that information about Hannah ASAP. Something's nagging at me about it.

Jason: Uh, right.... Just a second. (He covers the receiver with his hand, and looks around for a sheet of paper Lucky left him. Helps to write these things down. He digs it out from under a ledger and opens it) I got it right here.

Luke: You're kidding. That was fast.

Jason: That's why I used him. (reading) Hannah Hargreaves... not much on her before she worked for you, it's a pretty new alias. Before that she was... Sophia Clark. Not much on her either. The dirt's all under her real name.

Luke: That's how it usually works.

Jason: Corrine Gibbons. Went to university in Boston, then --

Luke: New Mexico, yeah I know. I've been down this road before. She, uh... (he racks his brain) She moved out owing her landlady a bunch of money, or something.

Jason: And a lot of other people.

Luke: Anything else?

Jason: No... Not much. Just that she was pretty irresponsible. And there was some sex scandal at her first university.

Luke: Ah ha. What's that?

Jason: Uh... doesn't say.

Luke: Your guy is pretty sloppy.

Jason: Wasn't a priority, Luke. He left what he thought you needed to know.

Luke: Give me that second name again.

Jason: Sophie Clark.

Luke: Got it. Where was she located?

Jason: New York. That's all there is, Luke.

Luke: (heavily) Great. Looks like a dead end.

Jason: Sorry, there's nothing else to tell you.

Luke: Yeah, I know. It was a shot in the dark. See in the funny papers. (Jason frowns, but is on the receiving end of a dial tone before he responds).

In his office, Luke leans back in his chair. There's been a slow progression with Lucky over the past few years, his good moods getting fewer and farther between, and his communication skills taking a dive. That's been going on so long he's ALMOST used to it. But he has to admit, he kept waiting for the kid to snap out of it. Laura continually telling him that Lucky was fine, and not to push him.... But lately, he barely recognized his son. He can't come up with a reason for the change, but Hannah Hargreaves, or rather Corrine Gibbons is his only clue. He rolls the name around his head. Ok. Corrine Gibbons. A woman he's dealt with on an almost daily basis. It was time to find out more about her, and if Jason's resources were so limited, he'd have to hit the only thing he could think of that was more extensive. He reaches into this desk and searches for the paper with the number of his WSB contact.

Hannah's bedroom.

Hannah lies against Nikolas's chest, his arms around her. She slowly traces a nondescript pattern out on his chest with her finger tips. Nikolas looks down at her.

Nik: Regretting the dishes?

Hannah: Oh, you knew I wouldn't.

Nik: I don't know. You seemed pretty determined.

Hannah: You have a very good record when it comes to weakening my resolve. (Nikolas slides her off of him, and rolls onto his side, looking down at her)

Nik: You're beautiful. Have I told you that?

Hannah: I think so.

Nik: (descending to kiss her) I can't think straight when you're around. (He catches her mouth and gives her a long sensual kiss. Hannah arches towards him. He pulls back and studies her reaction. She smiles slightly, her eyes close, savoring the moment just past.) I think that's part of what I love about you. (Hannah's eyes fly open).

Hannah: Nikolas!

Nik: Don't. (He gently runs his fingers down her frame) I just wanted you to know that. That's all.

Hannah: But--

Nik: No. I don't want to talk about it. (He brushes his lips against her lightly. Hannah, her mind now racing, struggles to figure out where this is going. Nikolas whispers to her) Close your eyes.

Hannah: I can't--

Nik: Don't fight me on this. I just want you to close your eyes and listen to me. (Hannah, her face bearing a look of horror, closes her eyes tightly. Nikolas gazes down at her, taking in how pained she looks. He know, without a doubt, that she must love him too. She just doesn't want to. He leans down and brushes his lips across both her eye lids) Relax. (Hannah lets out a long ragged breath) I have to tell you something.

Hannah: (tightly) Ok.

Nik: (Putting a hand on her throat) Just listen. There's nothing you can do about it, so just calm down and listen. (he stroked her throat very gently as he talks) My life has never been simple. I'm a prince, and I have responsibilities I was born to. Responsibilities and concerns that I can never shake. But when I'm with you, they disappear. I can't explain what it's like, but I'm not reasonable, I'm not rational. And I don't want to be. I can let go of everything else, and just be with you. You can't know how much I need that. (He moves his hand down her frame and slides his arm around her waist) I'm in love with you. (Tears that had been pooling beneath her closed eyes fall down Hannah's face. She drags in a rasping breath) I'm in love with how you make me feel, and with the way things just don't feel real when I'm with you. (He nestles his head against her shoulder) Thank you. (Hannah chokes, unable to speak. She can't do anything else but open her eyes and let a hand reach up to gently stroke his hair. All the shadows of her past and future seem to close in on her from the darkened corners of their room. She blinks the tears from her eyes and struggles to keep them at bay. It doesn't matter what she does now, she's fallen too hard, and his devastation seems assured. The least she can do is let him know how she feels. She clears her throat painfully)

Hannah: (barely audible) I love you too, Nikolas.