Chapter Seventy-Four:
Down In It

Lucky's car, through the streets of Port Charles.

Nikolas stares out the window to avoid looking at the drive, but also to figure out where it is they're going. He glances at Lucky, whose eyes are trained steadily on the road. He shifts finally, looking at him directly.

Nik: Do you want to tell me where we're going?

Lucky: Not really.

Nik: Do we HAVE to do this again?

Lucky: Do what?

Nik: This thing where I ask you a question and you refuse to answer in the most obnoxious way possible.

Lucky: Obnoxious? Me? (Lucky turns a corner sharply and bites his lip to avoid smiling when Nikolas grabs the dash board for support. He doesn't usually drive this way, but he's noticed it's annoying the hell out of Nikolas, so... why not?)

Nik: Look. I'm going to find out eventually, why don't you just tell me?

Lucky: I don't think you're going to be thrilled with the answer.

Nik: All the more reason to just spit it out, Spencer.

Lucky: Look, you don't like how I'm doing things, I can slow a little, you jump out, game over.

Nik: If I could open the door on this death trap.

Lucky: Opens from the inside just fine. Wanna try it out? (Nikolas sits back, crossing his arms across this chest.)

Nik: Fine. Do it your way.

Lucky: I'll trade you information, how's that?

Nik: (groaning) How old are you, again?

Lucky: You tell me why the hell it is you WANT my help with and I'll tell you what help it is you're getting.

Nik: I told you. If you have some way to protect Emily, then I want to make sure it'll extend to Hannah.

Lucky: I can do that.

Nik: Good.

Lucky: Don't understand why, but I can do that.

Nik: What is so complicated?

Lucky: I've seen how you... You're not usually this accepting of things, Nikolas.

Nik: What is that supposed to mean?

Lucky: Never mind. Drop it.

Nik: Is that supposed to be designed to get me to press the matter?

Lucky: God, do you always analyze everything I say like this?

Nik: For the most part the things you say don't require a whole lot of deep thought to understand.

Lucky: (wryly) I'm hurt. (Nikolas and Lucky fall into silence. Nikolas continues to stare out the window. Finally Lucky clears his throat) You wanna tell me exactly how it is that your family doesn't have the resources to protect Hannah themselves? I mean, you'll excuse me if I don't want them within forty feet of Emily, but Hannah --

Nik: They don't know about her.

Lucky: Don't know she exists, or don't know she's involved with --

Nik: They don't know any of it.

Lucky: Might be a good time to enlighten them. (Nikolas shakes his head firmly)

Nik; It wouldn't be safe.

Lucky: How do you figure that? Helena already knows all about her --

Nik: I don't know what Helena knows.

Lucky: more than either of us, you can guarantee that.

Nik: Look. I'm investigating my options. My uncle tends to make his own decisions about what's important and what's not. I want to have control over this. That way I know exactly what's going on.

Lucky: Does your uncle know?

Nik: No.

Lucky: Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I mean, he's not likely to be forgiving. I'm still in shock YOU'RE being this forgiving.

Nik: What are you talking about? It's not her fault she's related to Emily, Lucky.

Lucky: I'm not --

Nik: You always do this. Put blame on people for things they have no control over.

Lucky: *I* always do this?

Nik: I'm sorry Emily is involved. You'll never know how sorry I am, but you can't blame Hannah. If you want to blame someone, blame me! (Lucky looks over at Nikolas)

Lucky: She didn't tell you.

Nik: Tell me what?

Lucky: God damn it, I knew you were too calm.

Nik: What are you going on about now? (Lucky, having turned onto the road that follows the lake, pulls over onto the shoulder. He kills the engine, leaning his head against the steering wheel) What are you doing?

Lucky: Give me a sec. (He takes a deep breath. A threat is a threat. And he made it for a reason. He let this go on too long as it is. He looks up at Nikolas) Look. I want you to know I gave her about a million chances.

Nik: You have about two seconds to tell me what you're talking about.

Lucky: Hannah. I'm talking about Hannah. I'm talking about who she really is, what she's doing here.

Nik: I know everything I need to know, Lucky.

Lucky: No, you don't. You really don't, if you think it's YOUR fault that Emily's being threatened, then you really are missing a major piece of the puzzle.

Nik: I know that Hannah has some stuff in her past --

Lucky: I couldn't care less about her past, Nikolas! It's her present that's the problem.

Nik: I'm not listening to this --

Lucky: NIKOLAS! I swear to you, man. I am not doing this to hurt you. (Nikolas looks at Lucky in shock. Lucky actually looks upset... about something involving him)

Nik: Hurt me? (Lucky backtracks, realizing the emotional nature of his words. He looks away)

Lucky: You really want to protect her, then you have to know about this.

Nik: (darkly) What is it, Lucky?

Lucky: She isn't here by accident, Nikolas. She was sent here. (Nikolas's face registers no reaction) By Helena. (Nikolas just stares at him blankly. Lucky waits a moment for him to speak. He doesn't) Look, she didn't really have a choice, Ok? But that's what she's doing here. She came to the club last night to tell Helena is in town, so I knew about that. And she swore to me she was going to tell you this--

Nik: Shut up.

Lucky: Fine. But it's the truth.

Nik: The truth. From you.

Lucky: Nikolas --

Nik: (Pulling open the door) This was a really bad idea. (Nikolas gets out of the car, slamming the door violently behind him. Lucky watches him walk along the shoulder, then stop, buckling over. Without a thought Lucky is out of the car and moving towards him)

Lucky: Nikolas! (Nikolas stands up and turns to face him)

Nik: You're lying! You're lying to me again.

Lucky: When the hell have I ever lied to you, Nik?

Nik: You're kidding, right? “Your uncle killed my mother”, those word ring a bell? (Lucky closes his eyes. Here we go again)

Lucky: That was ages ago, man.

Nik: Sorry. Am I supposed to be over that by now? Jesus, I can just imagine what your family would have done if my family had pulled that on you.

Lucky: WHAT? You mean your family who drugged my grandmother and held her hostage for years while my mother kept laying flowers on her grave? That family? You're right, Nikolas. We would have crucified you.

Nik: She's my grandmother too, Lucky.

Lucky: Great. Guess that makes it Ok.

Nik: That's not the point. The point is why the hell are you trying to get me to turn against Hannah?

Lucky: You tell me. She's Emily's aunt, Nik. She's also not exactly thrilled with her current position. AND before she went back on her promise to tell you the truth, I thought she was on my side.

Nik: She CANNOT be working for my Grandmother.

Lucky: SHE IS! Think about it, Nikolas. She came here from Greece. You've been to her apartment, right? You must have seen the photograph she has on the wall. The one of the Aegean Sea?

Nik: Get away from me.

Lucky: She was told to get a job working at the club. She was told to spy on my family. She was set up to come across Emily, she was set up to be Helena's weapon against us. I'm being more honest with you than anyone else in your life, Nikolas. I know that must kill you, but it's the truth, Ok?

Nik: You have no idea what it means to me.

Lucky: (giving up) Yeah. You're right. I don't know, I don't care. And I'd love to stand here and fight with you about this, but I gotta get somewhere and make sure your LUNATIC grandmother isn't pointing rifle views at my girlfriend instead of camera lenses, Ok? And you better decide right now, Nikolas. Is Hannah going to die for her sins, or are you going to help her? (Nikolas glares at him. Finally he moves back towards the car)

Nik: Where are we going, anyway?

Lucky: Morgan Penthouse.

Nik: Jason Morgan?

Lucky: You got a better idea?

Nik: The guy who got me shot.

Lucky: (Getting back in the car) Yeah. I'd say he owes you one.

The Quartermaine Mansion.

Emily pushes the remains of her lunch around her plate. Monica is watching her closely, while trying to look like she's not even looking at her. Alan is watching Monica in turn. The meal hasn't been too painful, as meals go. They didn't mention the last few days at all. It seemed to be a planned bonding session with the three of them. With no mention of Lucky, or curfews, or the fact that she had them both completely stressed out. It would have been all right if the tension between her parents hadn't been so palpable. They've now run out of questions to ask her, she has no idea what to say to them, and they aren't communicating with each other either. Emily feels herself tense with every scrape of metal against china. She's close to letting out a scream of agony when Reginald appears.

Reg: Emily? You have a phone call. (Emily looks over at Monica and Alan)

Em: Oh...

Monica: Go ahead, sweetheart. (For a moment, Emily feels like she's back in a time warp to being fourteen. Or maybe they are as eager to get out of this meal as she is. She nods)

Em: I'll be right back.

Monica: We'll have cook bring in desert. Emily shivers involuntarily. Another course? Ugh. she gets up and walks down the hall to the phone, picking up the receiver)

Em: I've got it. (The extension clicks. She waits a moment) Hello?

Hannah: I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get you.

Em: Hannah?

Hannah: Yeah. I... I need to talk to you.

Em Again?

Hannah: I think... there's just some stuff we should say. Straighten out. Don't you think?

Em: I guess.

Hannah: Can I meet you?

Em: Uh... (she glances back at the dining room. What a choice life is giving her these days) Yeah, I can probably get out of here. Give me half an hour.

Hannah: Should I come there?

Em: No, I need air. Can we meet at the park or something? Where we did last week, Ok?

Hannah: Ok.

Em: All right. See you then.

Hannah: Emily?

Em: Yes?

Hannah: Thank you. (Emily frowns into the phone)

Em: It's Ok. Half an hour. (She hangs up and heads back to her parents.)

Luke's Club.

Luke angrily slams around behind the bar, getting increasingly tense. THIS CLOSE. This close and he let the kid walk right out of here. He sits down heavily at a table towards the back. There is a sick feeling that's been churning inside him for weeks.... Not even true. It's been there for years. He doesn't even remember when it started. It must have happened slowly. A long and slow process where Lucky went from being someone who's every thought he could read as clearly as his own to being closed and vaguely hostile to everyone who ever tried to get him to open up. That it was behavior worth worrying about hadn't been something he'd been actively aware of until about the middle of the last year. The problem was, every time he thought he'd found a reason for his distance, things would improve briefly and then a few months later he'd be acting just as dark and brooding as he had before. Lucky had gone this black on him before. Last spring Luke had been terrified the kid was going to do something really stupid just for the sake of suffering. But he had a reason for that -- good old fashioned heartbreak. Right now, the girlfriend was still in the picture, he was out of the house, so it wasn't parental inference. The thing with Hannah had turned into a dead end. The only other thing that didn't add up was Nikolas. Nikolas who's contact with Lucky over the past few years had been minimal at best. Now he's showing up demanding to talk to him about... what? About Women? What the hell was that? And how stupid was he for letting Lucky walk out for even a minute when he'd actually had something to say to him.

The whole thing was making him feel increasingly helpless. Lucky was becoming an unknown entity and that simply not acceptable. He'd wasted too much time here. So many times he'd come up with excuses, reasons, justification for things his son did that simply didn't make any sense to him. At this point he was willing to consider anything -- from alien abduction to manic depression -- just if it would give him some kind of clue as to how to help the kid. Or at least let him know who he should go after. There are no words for the kind of havoc he knows he will wreck when he finds out what's going on. And if it is about that Cassadine kid, not even Laura will be able to talk him out of kicking serious ass. Luke gets up, his hands shaking slightly as he considers these things. He moves over to the bar and pours himself a shot, downing it in one gulp. As he slams the glass down on the bar the door opens and a man, one of Jason's goons, obviously, enters. Luke eyes him with typical contempt as he walks over to the bar. He's about to open his mouth to inform the man that Jason's not here when it speaks.

Jacob: Hey.

Luke: Salutations, stranger.

Jacob: I'm looking for Lucky Spencer. He in this afternoon? (Luke blinks. His heart stops, his blood running cold. The whole rooms seems to suddenly tilt. He shakes his head slowly)

Luke: Lucky Spencer? No, man. Haven't seen him.

Jacob: You expect him?

Luke: Tonight. Yeah, he'll be here if you want to wait.

Jacob. No. He just... I'm supposed to leave something for him.

Luke: Well, I'll see he gets it. (Jacob eyes him careful)

Jacob: I should give it to him directly.

Luke: Well, then have a seat.

Jacob: No time. (He looks over his shoulder than back at Luke.) You'll make sure he gets it? Cause there will be hell to pay, otherwise. (Luke nods)

Luke: Like I said, he'll be in shortly. (Jacob nods. He drops an envelop onto the counter).

Jacob: Tell him to call in after he gets it.

Luke: Sure thing. (Jacob turns and walks out of the bar with forced calm, hoping to hell the old man bought it. Luke waits for the door to swing shut, then pours another shot. He downs it in record time and looks at the envelop, his guts twisted. He picks it up) Ok, Cowboy. What have we here?