16
The sun came up just as it did every other morning, bathing the dock in it’s golden glory. It seemed like any other day. Only one thing was out of place. The body, laying at the edge of the water. There had been another murder last night. Another crimes to baffle the already incompetent PC police, who were unaware, that all these deaths were part of a bigger plan. A plan to destroy one of Port Charles most prominent citizens and this time the death hit the Spencer family directly…well at least one of them.
~*~
Luke was in his office, finishing the invoices when the call came in. A call that turned his world inside out once again.
"Spencer here!" Luke answered, unaware of the tragedy unfolding.
"Luke, this is Mac Scorpio. We need you to come down to the station. Your daughter’s here and is quite distraught.
Luke frowned. Portia? At the police station? Why? What had happened? "What’s wrong?"
"Just come down to the station. I’ll tell you when you arrive," Mac hung up before Luke could ask anymore questions.
Grabbing his coat, Luke wondered if he should call Faith, but changed his mind. She had enough to worry about. He can handle this one.
~*~
Portia was wiping the tears from her eyes when Luke arrived. Again that tense throw-up feeling ran through his body. Something was up and he knew he wasn’t going to like it.
"Bubba? What’s going on?" Luke walked up to the commissioner, who was handing Portia a handkerchief.
Mac frowned at the nickname Luke had chosen for him. He once again wished that Luke would use his real name instead.
"I thought you should be one of the first to know that there’s been another murder. Someone that you know."
"Someone I…Bubba, what are you talking about? Who do I know?"
"Follow me," Mack beckoned, leading Luke down into the morgue, where a covered body laid. Silently, Mac lifted the sheet off the body and looked inquisitively at Luke. "Do you know her?"
"Faith," Lulu stared at the pale body of his long lost love. The body of the woman he had spent the night before last making love to. The woman he had found himself falling in love with all over again. The woman he had talked to just the day before, agreeing to give their love another chance. But now, there was no second chance. Once again it was cruelly snatched away, never to be retrieved.
"Portia saw her like this?" Luke’s mind immediately went to his daughter, the only part of Faith he had left. No matter what she was so upset.
"Yes. Maybe you can take her home. Make sure she gets some rest," Mack led Luke back into the office, where Portia was waiting. Her tears were gone and she looked at Luke, grim determination in her eyes.
"Portia…I’m…I’m so sorry," Luke approached her, not really knowing what to say.
"Do you know where my brother is?" Portia stared up at the man who was her father. "Maybe he’s off killing someone else."
"Don’t worry about Lucky. I’ll find him and make sure he owes up to this. For now, I’ll take you home. You can rest there."
Portia snorted and got to her feet. A ride home from Luke Spencer was the last thing she wanted. She needed to be alone in order to execute the next phase of her plan. "No thank you. I’ll do fine by myself."
"Portia…"
She was gone before he could protest. Sighing, Luke turned to the room that contained Faith’s cold corpse. He didn’t know what to do about Portia, but he knew what to do about Lucky. He just had to find him first.
"See ya, Bubba," Luke partly grumbled, leaving the police station, only one thing on his mind. Find his son and get him the help he needed before anyone else got killed.
~*~
The first stop on Luke’s list was
Laura. Lucky might be there visiting Lulu. For the first time,
Luke felt uneasy by the thought of his son being alone with the
little girl. It was obvious that Lucky wasn’t in his right
mind. What if the programming kicked in while he was with Lulu?
"Luke," Laura frowned as she opened the door to see
Luke, who looked as if he was hit by a train.
Luke pushed his way into the house, glaring at Nikolas, who he found setting on the sofa.
"Luke? What’s going on? Why are you here?" Laura asked.
"Where’s Lucky?" Luke crossed his arms, determined not to leave until his question was answered.
"We don’t know. Why?"
Laura didn’t like this. Luke seemed so cold…so
emotionless. Something must have happened, but what?
"Faith’s dead," the answer was straight to the
point. There was no use in beating behind the bush. Laura would
see right through him if he did. "Faith’s dead and I
know that Lucky had something do to with it. I need to know where
he is."
Both Nikolas and Laura were outraged by Luke’s accusation. How could he even suspect Lucky of such a thing?
"Luke…look, I’m sorry about Faith. I really am. I know that you cared about her very much. But Lucky didn’t do this. He couldn’t," Laura tried to reason with the distraught man before her. She had to make him see reason, before he did something to driver her son away for good.
"He did Laura! Helena has him tight! It has to stop right now. Now tell me where he is."
"No Luke. I will not allow you to drive my youngest son away. If you want to find Lucky, look for him yourself."
Angry at her refusal to help him, Luke grabbed Laura roughly and shook her. "Tell me where he is damn it!"
"Get off of her!" Nikolas pushed Luke away, sending him stumbling back against the mantle. "You don’t come near my mother again, until you can calm down!"
"Where’s my son damn it!" Luke glared angrily at Nikolas. He had never liked the young man and now the feeling had intensified. It wouldn’t even surprise him if the kid was part of the brainwashing scheme.
"We’re not telling you Luke. Not until you calm down," Nikolas stood between Luke and Laura, wondering if the older man would try to handle him like he had handled Laura.
But Luke didn’t. He just stood there, glaring at his wife and her son. "To hell with you then. I’ll find him myself," Luke stormed out of the door, leaving both Nikolas and Laura staring after him in shock and dismay.
The shrill ring of his cell phone stopped Luke in his tracks. Who could this be? It had better be good. He had a son to find, murders to prevent. "Spencer," he answered, his voice full of anger at Laura.
"Luke, it’s Portia," The voice answered, sounding a bit rushed. "I’ve found Lucky. Meet me at the boxcar. Hurry, before he leaves."
"On my way Princess. Just hang on tight and what every you do, don’t approach him. I’m not sure what he’s capable of."
"Yes sir. Hurry," Portia hung up, her smile full of evil satisfaction. Her plan was moving along nicely. Luke wasn’t going to know what hit him.
~*~
The boxcar seemed silent from where Luke was standing. No signs of life at all. Did Lucky leave? Was Portia mistaken? Why hadn’t she called him on his cell? Had Lucky done something to her too? Sighing, Luke took a tep towards the boxcar, but was knocked unconscious before he could take a step further.
Two hours later, Luke groaned as he came
to in a place he had hoped never to see again. The place that
haunted his nightmares. The Campus Disco, now a shabby abandoned
warehouse. He winced as somewhere, the song rise began to play,
causing Goosebumps to creep up his arms. What was Cowboy playing
at? Why bring Luke back to this place? Was he trying to recreate
something that should have been forgotten a long time ago?
"Lucky! You might as well come out! I know you’re here
somewhere! Lucky!" Luke called, hoping to bring his sob back
to his right mind.
To Luke’s surprise and horror, it wasn’t his son that appeared. It was Portia, a knife in one hand, a gun in another.
"That’s right daddy dear. It’s me. Portia, your newly found daughter," She laughed at the look on his face, savoring the moment. It was this exact moment that Helena had been working towards. Portia only wished that her grandmother was there to see it. "My plan is coming together nicely, I see."
"Plan?" Luke asked, realizing how wrong he had been. It wasn’t Lucky that was behind the murders after all. In fact, Cowboy had been telling the truth all along. Yet, Luke hadn’t listened. Instead he had sided with the enemy, hurting his son terribly. He could only hope that he got a chance to apologize to not only Lucky….but to Laura and Elizabeth as well.
"Yes. My plan to unravel the Spencer family by using Helena’s programming, making Lucky believe that he was behind the murders, causing his loved one to doubt him. But sadly, Elizabeth found out about my plan, so I had to take some drastic measures. Don’t worry, she’s still alive. I think my sweet brother and Prince Nikki rescued her and hid her from me. Looks like Lucky’s his father’s son after all. But that’s ok. I can finish avenging my grandmother without the programming."
"Portia…"
"Shut up!" She aimed the gun.
As the bullet slammed into his shoulder, Luke prayed that wherever Lucky was, he’d stay there. There was no telling what Portia would to do him if he came out of hiding.