Dreams Change by MaggieWood

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 39

Elizabeth entered the courtroom through the side entrance and walked nervously towards the witness box. It was only until she was sworn in and could take her seat that she was able to look over to the defence table. The person staring back at her made her heart stop. She had never seen Jason in a suit before. It wasn’t right. He looked great. The suit fit him like a glove, but it wasn’t right. Jason was a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy, not Armani suits. Elizabeth could just imagine how uncomfortable he was. She wished she could walk up to him and undo the silk tie around his neck and unbutton his shirt. She wished they could be anywhere but here, in this courtroom.

Dara stood and approached her. “Miss Webber, can you, please, tell this court what happened in the park the day you were shot?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath risked another glance at the man on trial. “I was walking through the park and I came upon Lucky and Jason.”

“Lucky Spencer, the deceased and Jason Morgan the defendant?” Dara questioned wanting to make sure the jury knew just who Elizabeth was referring to.

Elizabeth nodded and gave the jury a nervous look. “Uh, yes. Lucky was pointing a gun at Jason. He was crazy. He blamed Jason for our problems and was going to kill him. I tried to get him to put the gun down, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Was that when he shot you?” Dara interjected.

“No, no, Lucky shot at Jason and I jumped in front of him.”

Dara looked over to the jury before asking, “Why would you do that?”

Elizabeth glanced at Jason. “I couldn’t let Lucky hurt Jason.”

Dara followed Elizabeth’s gaze to the defence table. “Was Lucky right, then? Was Mr. Morgan the cause of your problems?”

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. “No, Jason wasn’t the cause of our problems. We were having problems before Jason even came back to town.”

“Just what kind of problems were you having?”

“After Lucky came back from his kidnapping, he became controlling. He wanted us to do everything together. He pushed me to become the next Face of Deception so that we would be working together. He got me to move out of my studio so we could be closer. He would get upset when I spoke to male friends. He thought I was having an affair with every man I saw.”


“If you weren’t happy, why didn’t you break up with him?”

Elizabeth looked to the jury hoping they would understand how she had felt. “When I thought Lucky was dead, I thought my life was over. I had loved him so much. When he returned, it was a miracle. The idea of leaving Lucky never entered my mind. I just kept thinking he would go back to the man I once knew.”

“But he didn’t,” Dara stated matter-of-factly.

“No, he didn’t.”

“Was Lucky jealous of Jason Morgan?” Dara asked pointing to the defendant.

“I told you. Lucky didn’t like me talking to any man.”

“But Jason Morgan isn’t just any man, is he? You have a history.”

“We’re friends,” Elizabeth insisted.

“Friends? Nothing more, are you sure?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth said confidently even though she knew where the DA was going.

Dara waved her hand back and forth between Elizabeth and Jason. “Two years ago, we weren’t romantically involved with each other?”

“No, we weren’t.”

Dara dropped her hand to her side a little dumbfounded by Elizabeth’s answer. She walked back to her desk to pick up a folder lying there. She scanned the information written there to be sure the facts before asking, “You and Mr. Morgan didn’t live together during December 1999?”

Elizabeth nodded, “Yes, we did, but nothing was going on between us.”

Dara looked up from her folder. “Didn’t Nikolas Cassidine announce at the GH Christmas party that the two of you were sleeping together?”

“Yes, he did, but he was wrong.”

“Did either of you deny his claim?”

“No.”

“Why not if it wasn’t true?”

“It wasn’t anyone else’s business. It was between Jason and me, no one else.”

“Where did Mr. Cassidine get this idea from in the first place if it wasn’t true?”

Elizabeth paused and shifted in her chair. “I told him Jason and I were sleeping together.”

Dara crossed her arms in front of her, a confused look on her face. “Miss Webber, which is it? Were you romantically involved with Jason Morgan or not?”

Elizabeth took a deep breath to keep her nerves under control. “Nikolas had barged into my studio one night when Jason was there and started making accusations about Jason taking advantage of me. He picked a fight with Jason and insulted me. I was so angry at him that I told him what he wanted to hear. I told him that Jason and I were about to have sex when he burst in and that Jason was my boyfriend before I pushed him out of my studio.”

“So, you lied to your friend about the defendant?”

“Yes.”

“Do you make a habit of lying about your relationship with Mr. Morgan?”

“Objection,” Alexis was on her feet before Dara could finish her question.

“Overruled,” the judge wanted to hear the answer to that question.

“No, I don’t,” Elizabeth insisted.

“If you were able to lie about the defendant before, how do we know you’re not lying about your relationship now?”

“I’m not,” Elizabeth replied weakly.

“You didn’t spend the night with Mr. Morgan the night Joseph Sorel was murdered?”

"What! No, I didn’t.”

“You didn’t go to the PCPD and provide the defendant with an alibi claiming he was with you the entire night?”

“Yes, I did, but...”

Dara wouldn’t let her finish, “Were you lying?”

Elizabeth was getting flustered. She hadn’t expected the DA to bring up Joseph Sorel. “I wasn’t lying. Jason was with me that night. We just didn’t spend the night together the way you meant. We didn’t have sex.”

Dara could see she was getting to the witness. “What were you doing all night then?”

Elizabeth ran her hand through her hair. “We went for a ride on his bike.”

“All night long?” The DA knew there had to be more to it than that. “You expect this court to believe you and Mr. Morgan spent the entire night riding his motorcycle? Nothing more?”

“Yes.”

“Did Mr. Spencer know where you were that night?”

“No, he didn’t,” Elizabeth admitted.

Dara smiled and gave a little chuckle. “Miss Webber, you are making it very hard for me and the jury to believe you when you’ve now admitted for the second time to lying about your relationship with Jason Morgan. Is anything you’ve said today the truth?”

“Ojection, your honour.” Alexis couldn’t sit and listen to the DA attack Elizabeth anymore. “The DA is badgering her own witness.”

“Sustained.”

Dara took a few moments to gather herself before continuing. “Miss Webber, when you found the two men in the park, did the defendant say anything?”

Elizabeth didn’t know how much more she could take. She couldn’t look at Jason afraid to see disappointment in his eyes. She’d wanted to help him, but the DA was twisting everything she said. “Jason wanted me to leave. He didn’t want me to get hurt.”

“What was his demeanor?”

“Uh, he was calm. He refused to argue with Lucky. He wasn’t worried about himself. He wanted me to leave before anything happened. He told me he had the situation under control.”

The DA looked to Jason. “Lucky Spencer was pointing a gun at him and Mr. Morgan said he had everything in control?”

Elizabeth nodded not sure what Dara was getting at. “Yes.”

“What did you think he meant by that?”

“Objection, speculation.”

“Overruled.”

“I don't know. I didn’t think about it. I was just trying to talk Lucky into giving me the gun.”

“What was the last thing you remember?”

Elizabeth tried to think. “Jason was leaning over me telling me to stay awake. That’s all I remember.”

“Where was Lucky?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Lucky fire a second time?”

“I don’t know.”

“Did Mr. Morgan go after Lucky?”

“I don’t know. I told you I don’t remember.”

Alexis stood. “You honour,” she looked to the judge for some intervention.

The judge nodded in agreement. “Councilor, the witness can’t answer your questions when she was unconscious. Move on to something else.”

“Yes, your honour,” Dara said. She turned her concentration back to the witness. “Miss Webber, when you woke up were you surprised to learn Mr. Spencer was dead?”

Elizabeth tried to stretch out her body without getting up. She didn’t know how long she’d been in the witness stand but it felt like hours. “I was sad that Lucky was dead.”

Dara shook her head. “That’s not what I asked you. Were you surprised?”

“No,” she admitted. “I thought Jason had killed Lucky in self defence.”

“But he didn’t,” the DA said. “Mr. Morgan killed Lucky Spencer in cold blood hours after he shot you. Mr. Morgan hunted the deceased down as punishment for what he did to you.”

“No,” Elizabeth yelled just as Alexis jumped up in objection.

“Councilor, may I remind you you are questioning a witness not making your closing arguments. The jury is ordered to disregard the last statements. Ms. Jensen, you’ve been warned. Another incident and you will be in contempt of this court.”

“Yes, your honour,” Dara said innocently as if she didn’t know what she had just done. “Elizabeth, have you ever seen the defendant become violent because of you?”

Elizabeth was still thinking about the DA’s former comments. “Jason didn’t kill Lucky. He wou...”

Dara interrupted her before she could say anything else. “Miss Webber, that’s not what I asked you. Have you ever seen Jason Morgan become violent because of you?”

Elizabeth wanted to argue but knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere. “He got into a fight with Nikolas at the GH Christmas party, but he didn’t start it. Nikolas started that fight.”

Dara nodded. “This is the same Christmas party where Mr. Cassidine declared you and Mr. Morgan were lovers?”

“Yes, Jason was just defending himself.”

“Was there any other times?”

Elizabeth took a few moments to think about the question. She remembered the incident with Sorel but didn’t want the jury to know about it. “We first met when a man in a bar I was in wouldn’t leave me alone. He grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go. Jason came and got him off of me.”

“How romantic,” the DA said.

“Your honour.”

Before the judge could say anything Dara apologized to the court.

She looked back to the witness sure there was more. “Anything else?”

Elizabeth hesitated. Did the DA already know about the altercation? Is that why she was pushing? “No, those were the only times.”

“Really?” Dara asked. She grabbed another folder from her table. “The defendant didn’t attack Joseph Sorel in January 2000 after approaching you on the docks?”

Elizabeth tried to keep her face void of emotion. How did she know about that? “Sorel had threatened me and Jason was just trying to protect me.”

Dara put down her folder. “He seems to do that a lot.”

“Jason is my friend,” Elizabeth said. “He protects his friends.”

“Would he kill for them?”

“Objection.”

“Withdrawn,” Dara said before the judge say anything. “I’m done with this witness.”

Alexis waited until the DA had retaken her seat before rising and approaching Elizabeth. “Elizabeth were you having an affair with Jason?”

“No, I wasn’t,” she stated firmly. “Jason was my friend. He listened to me when I needed someone to talk to about Lucky. It was what he did when I thought Lucky was dead. I was so unhappy and Jason saw that. He could see I wasn’t being true to myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was pretending to be happy when I wasn’t. When Jason came back, he could see right through me. He knew I was faking being happy. He wanted me to tell Lucky what I was feeling. He wanted me to stand up for myself.”

“Did you?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes, it took me a while, but in the end I realized I couldn’t do it anymore. I was going to end things with Lucky but before I could he went after Jason.”

“Were you breaking up with Lucky because of Jason?”

“No,..., yes. I wasn’t leaving Lucky for Jason, but I wouldn’t have left him without Jason.” Elizabeth knew she didn’t say that correctly. “What I mean is, it would have taken me a lot longer to realize that I wasn’t happy. Lucky and I would probably have gotten married before I gathered the courage to stand up for myself.”

Alexis nodded her understanding hoping the jury also saw the internal struggle that Elizabeth had been going through. “You stated that you thought Jason didn’t kill Lucky. Why are you so sure?”

Elizabeth looked over at Jason and smiled. “I know Jason. He wouldn’t do that. Not to me.”

Alexis stopped her. “What do you mean?”

“Ever since Jason returned, he’s had to listen to me talk about Lucky. He knew how hard everything was for me. He was also there when I was mourning Lucky when I thought he was dead. I almost didn’t survive. There is no way Jason would put me in that place again. Even though we were having problems, I still loved Lucky. He was my first love. I wanted him to get help.

“I admit Jason probably would have beaten Lucky senseless for hurting me, but he would never have killed him. Not only was Lucky important to me, he was Jason’s sister, Emily’s best friend. Jason wouldn’t have been able to face his sister if he had killed Lucky. It’s that simple. That’s not who Jason is,” she stated confidently.

“Thank you, Elizabeth,” Alexis said. She didn’t know if it was enough to convince the jury, but it was exactly what she was hoping for. Elizabeth was able to give the jury another side of Jason the DA did not want them to see. The human side, the family side. Jason wasn’t just some killing machine. He was a friend and brother.

After looking towards the DA for any redirect questions, the judge addressed Elizabeth. “The witness is excused. You may step down.”

Chapter 40

Elizabeth stepped out of the witness box and walked out the room without a backward glance. She didn’t want the jury to see just how much the DA had gotten to her, and she was afraid to look at Jason. She didn’t want to look into his eyes and see the disappointment she knew would be there. She was supposed help Jason, convince the jury that Jason did not kill Lucky. Instead she showed them that she was a liar. What jury was going to believe anything she said? Alexis had been counting on her, instead she had let both Alexis and Jason down.

Elizabeth found the nearest empty bench and buried her head in her hands. This couldn’t be happening, she thought. Any minute now she would wake up and this nightmare would be over. It had too, didn’t it? Jason really couldn’t be convicted for killing Lucky. Where was the justice? A small giggle rose from her stomach that she couldn’t suppress. A hitman was going to be convicted for a crime he didn’t commit. Maybe this was what they meant by a blind justice. Jason had killed many people - she didn’t even know how many - but the one murder the DA was going to win was one he didn’t do. And she was the reason it was going to happen.

The small giggle soon became a quiet laugh. She thought back to Jason’s worry about her being hurt because of him, how his enemies would use her to get to him. He’d been right. They did use her. They didn’t bomb her studio or kidnap her and use her for leverage. They just left her alone and let her bring Jason down all on her own. Maybe she should write a book - ‘How to Rid Yourself of an Enemy Without Lifting a Finger’ - a must have Christmas present for every powerful mob Don and two-bit wannabe. You don’t need explosives or guns or drugs; you just need a stupid little girl who doesn’t know what she wants.

Elizabeth was laughing hysterically now. People walking past her were openly staring but she didn’t care. She couldn’t control herself. It was either laugh or cry, and crying wasn’t an option right now. She could cry later, when she was alone, where no one could see her. She couldn’t break down right now. Not in the middle of the courthouse, where reporters were around every corner. Yes, laughter was better than crying. It was the best medicine, right? Then, why wasn’t it working?

Carly couldn’t believe what she was seeing. When she’d decided to check on Elizabeth, this wasn’t what she’d expected. Depressed Elizabeth, teary eyed Elizabeth, even denial Elizabeth, but hysterical bordering on crazy Elizabeth was something else entirely. She approached the other woman with care not wanting to scare her. Elizabeth didn’t seem to notice that she was standing in front of her. After calling her name didn’t get her attention, Carly grabbed Elizabeth’s shoulders and gave them a little shake. Still, the younger woman wouldn’t stop. Carly tightened her grip and shook her harder.

“Elizabeth,” she yelled, “stop laughing.”

Elizabeth stopped instantly and looked at the older woman seeing her for the first time. “You were right, Carly. I’m poison for Jason,” she said quietly as tears began to run down her face.

Without thinking Carly wrapped her arms around Elizabeth and let her cry on her shoulder. It was a surreal moment. Carly was comforting a woman she normally would be tormenting. Maybe it was the pregnancy. Her body was betraying her. Yes, she’d decided to be nicer to the little twit for Jason’s sake, but she didn’t think it would mean consoling her. God, the things she did for her friends. Jason better appreciate it.

Elizabeth pulled away wiping the tears from her eyes shock covering her face. What was she doing? She was crying on Carly’s shoulder, and Carly was letting her. The world must have turned upside down when she wasn’t looking. Maybe she’d entered an alternative reality without noticing.

“What are you doing here, Carly?”

Carly could see the other woman’s back straightening preparing for an attack. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Yeah right,” Elizabeth scoffed. “You hate me. You wouldn’t even spit on me if I were on fire. Why should I believe you care if I’m okay?”

Carly sighed seeing the younger woman wasn’t going to make this easy. “Look, I was in the court room. I saw that bitch of a DA make mince meat of you.” She shrugged, “I was worried about you.”

Elizabeth was starting to get angry. “I’m not in the mood right now for your stupid games. Just throw your insults at me and leave me alone.”

Carly frowned. “Elizabeth, I’m not here to insult you.”

Elizabeth stood needing distance between her and Jason’s best friend. “Why not? Today proved that everything you’ve ever said about me was true. I am bad for Jason. I would think you would be on cloud nine, jumping for joy.”

“No,” the blond said shaking her head, “I was wrong. You’re not bad for Jason. You make Jason happy.” Carly could see the shock she felt reflecting in the other woman’s eyes. Damn this pregnancy. What else is it going to make her do?

“God, you really do hate me,” Elizabeth whispered the tears she’d just got under control threatened to fall again. “I know I made a lot of mistakes when it came to Lucky and Jason, and I will always feel guilty over Lucky’s death, but I don’t deserve this. You have no right. I’ve never done anything to you. You and Jason were already broken up when we became friends. I didn’t come between you. I mean, you love Sonny now anyway. Why are you being so mean to me?”

Carly felt a gnawing in her stomach. She’d felt it during Elizabeth’s testimony as well, but she wasn’t sure what was causing it. It wasn’t a pregnancy thing, she was sure, so what was it? She looked at the teary-eyed woman and the feeling intensified. It couldn’t be guilt, could it? God, look what she had become. A person with a conscience. Maybe hell was freezing over. She would have laughed but she didn’t want to upset the other woman more than she already was.

“Elizabeth,” she said not sure where to begin. It wasn’t every day she apologized to someone. Hopefully, it wasn’t the beginning of a trend. “I know I haven’t been the nicest person to you in the past and for that I apologize.” Carly could see Elizabeth didn’t believe her. “Really, I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you - the insults, the photo shoot, everything.

“You’re right. You didn’t come between me and Jason. I ruined that relationship all on my own. I didn’t need any help. I blamed you because I couldn’t blame myself. I didn’t want to admit how stupid I was. All I could see was that Jason was moving on with his life and I wasn’t a part of it, not the way I had always dreamed about.” She smiled at the old memory. “We were supposed to be the happy family - me, Jason and Michael. I couldn’t get that dream out of my head. Even though I knew deep down it was never going to happen, I kept fighting for it. You were the person getting in the way of that dream.

“After I married Sonny, I finally let the dream go, because I had found what I was really looking for with him. But I guess, I didn’t let go of my hate for you. And it got worse when all I could see was Jason hurting because you. Jason deserves to be happy and you weren’t giving him that. I wouldn’t let myself see that you were hurting too. I didn’t know what was going on with Lucky. If I had known ... No,” she said shaking her head, “that’s not true. I still would have been cruel to you, probably even more so. That’s who I am. I fight dirty for my friends. Jason was hurting so I wanted you to hurt. I can’t change what I’ve done. All I can say is I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth was speechless. She didn’t know if she could forgive this person for all the hurt she had put her through. Was she a strong enough person to do that? She wasn’t sure, but if Carly had the strength to apologize, maybe she had the strength to accept it. “Thank you, Carly. I know it must have taken a lot for you to say all that. I can’t really tell you that I’m okay with the photo shoot - next to the actual rape it was the worst experience of my life - but I think I can let it go. For Jason. I know how much you mean to him, and I know it would hurt him if we continued to hate each other. Jason’s been hurt enough because of us, don’t you think?”

Carly nodded in agreement. She couldn’t believe Elizabeth was going to put everything she had done to her aside. If the situation was turned around, Carly knew she wouldn’t have been able to do that. “You’re something else, you know that. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I guess I just refused to see it before, but you really are the right woman for Jason.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure. Did you see me in that courtroom just now?”

“Jason’s not going to hold what the DA did against you and you shouldn’t either,” Carly told her. “You did your best. Don’t let this discourage you and make you change your mind about being with him. He deserves the best and since I’m not available, you’re it.” She laughed, “Seriously, you fight for Jason and that’s all I ever really wanted. Someone who will put Jason first. As long as you make Jason happy, you won’t get anymore trouble from me.”

“Thank you,” Elizabeth said, “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. It doesn’t seem real.”

“Yeah well, don’t get used to it. We’re not going to become friends. There’s only so much I’m willing to do for Jason and that isn’t one of them,” Carly told the younger woman.

Elizabeth nodded. “We don’t have to be friends, Carly. We just don’t need to be enemies, especially since we’re on the same side. We both just want Jason to be happy.”

“Good, then we agree,” Carly said putting out her hand. “A truce.”

Elizabeth took Carly’s hand. “A truce,” she said as they shook hands.

An awkward silence followed the exchange. Neither woman knew what to say to the other. After several excruciating moments, Elizabeth put them out of their misery by excusing herself under the guise of searching for her grandmother leaving Carly alone in the hall way. The gnawing feeling had disappeared. She smiled and rubbed her stomach.

“There you are,” Sonny said coming up behind his wife. “I’ve been looking every where for you.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and gave her a quick kiss on her neck. “Court’s in recess until tomorrow.”

Carly turned and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I was talking to Elizabeth.”

Sonny moved to look around the area. “There’s no blood, so it didn’t come to blows,” he said jokingly.

Carly smacked him in the stomach. “You’d be proud of me. I apologized to her for the way I've treated her.”

Sonny was dumbstruck, “You did?”

“Yes, and for Jason, she let everything go,” she admitted. “We’ve agreed to a truce. I don’t think we’ll ever be friends but we won’t be fighting anymore.”

Sonny smiled at his beautiful wife. “I love you, you know that.”

Carly smiled in return. “I love you, too.”

“Let’s go home,” he said taking her hand.

Carly nodded and started following her husband down the hall. “When we get there, I have something wonderful to tell you and Michael.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 41

Elizabeth walked through the courtroom doors as casually as she could. She raised a nervous hand to the blond wig covering her hair making sure it was straight for the hundredth time. She hoped this plan worked. When she’d left this morning, she hadn’t been able to recognize herself, so she hoped no one here would be able to either. This was the lat day of testimony for the prosecution and Elizabeth wasn’t going to miss it. Tom Madigan would be taking the stand. She wanted to hear exactly what he had to say about the shooting and about Jason.

She took a seat in the back row behind the prosecution. Even if someone looked in her direction, no one would expect her to be sitting there. The room was filled with all the family and friends of the two men involved in this murder trial - Jason and Lucky. During her testimony the day before she hadn’t really looked at the people in attendance. She’d been too afraid to. Plus, she’d already known what she was going to see - Luke and Laura would be disappointed she chose to defend Jason, Nikolas would be seething with control anger, the Quartermaines would be leery with suspicion of her connection to Jason, Emily would be sad, Sonny would be worried and Carly would be full of hatred.

The latter made her stop. No, she was wrong about Carly. Elizabeth wasn’t sure what she would have seen in Carly’s eyes yesterday but she was sure it wouldn’t have been hatred. A day later and she still couldn’t quite believe that Carly had apologized to her. They had agreed to a truce for Jason’s sake. It made sense. He was the only thing they had in common. He was also the reason they’d hated each other in the first place, but she wouldn’t think about it that way right now. They’d agreed on a truce and it made her feel good. Even a little optimistic. If she and Carly could put aside their mutual dislike for each other then it must be a sign that Jason was going to be found not guilty. She knew it in her bones. She just needed the proof.

“All rise, court is now in session ...” the bailiff continued as the judge entered the courtroom and brought in the jury.

“Is the prosecution ready to call it’s next witness?”

Dara stood, “Yes, your honour. The prosecution would like the call Thomas Madigan to the stand.”

Tom Madigan entered the courtroom from the same doorway Elizabeth had used the day before. He walked confidently across the room to the witness stand. If he was nervous, he didn’t let it show. He didn’t appear to have any reservations about testifying against one of the most feared men in the city. To Elizabeth it just didn’t seem right.

“Mr. Madigan, can you please tell the court where you were on March 14, 2001 around 5 in the afternoon?”

He nodded at Dara but directed his answer to the jury. “I was on my way home from work and decided to cut through the docks to save time.”

“What happened when you got there?”

“I saw two men standing on the docks. One was holding a gun.”

Dara retrieved a picture from her table and held it up for the witness to identify. “Was this the man you saw holding the gun?”

“Yes.”

Dara showed the picture to the jury then addresses the judge. “Let the record show the witness has identified Lucky Spencer.” At the judge’s agreement, Dara turned back to her witness. “Is the other man in the courtroom today?”

Madgian nodded and pointed toward the defence table at Jason. “He was the other man I saw that day.”

The DA turned to look at who he was pointing to. “Let the record show the witness is pointing to the defendant Jason Morgan.”

“Were you able to hear what was being said between the gentlemen?”

Madigan nodded again. “Yes. The younger man, uh, Spencer yelled, ‘She’s mine. She belongs to me.’ Then he started blaming Morgan for what happened.”

“Did he say what had happened?”

“No, but Morgan then said, ‘You’re going to pay for what you did.’”

Dara looked over to Jason once more before asking, “Did Mr. Morgan appear nervous at having a gun pointed at him?”

“No, no,” Madigan replied shaking his head, “far from it. He was calm. Spencer was the one who was nervous. His hand was shaking and I think he was crying.”

“What happened next?”

The witness ran a hand through his hair giving the DA a dismayed looked. “It was amazing. Everything happened so fast. One minute the kid was holding the gun another minute he was on the floor and Morgan was standing over him with the gun in his hand. Before Spencer could do anything Morgan pointed the gun and fired.”

“So at the moment the defendant pulled the trigger Lucky Spencer was not a threat to him?”

“No, he was sprawled on the ground. It didn’t look like he was able to get up. Morgan had done a number on him.”

Dara walked over to the evidence table and retrieved the gun she had earlier entered into evidence. “Was this the gun you saw Jason Morgan use to kill Lucky Spencer?” She asked handing the gun to the witness.

Madigan studied the gun for a minute then nodded, “Yes, this is the gun.”

“Thank you, Mr. Madigan,” the DA said taking the gun from him. “I have no more question, your honour.” She handed the gun to the bailiff then turned to Alexis. “Your witness.”

Alexis waited for Dara to take her seat before looking up from the folder she was studying. She closed the file but remained seated to ask her first question. “Mr. Madigan, did you stay and speak to the police about what you saw?”

The witness shifted in his seat. “No, I didn’t.”

“In fact you didn’t come forward for a week, isn’t that correct?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Alexis stood and began walking toward the witness stand. “Why did it take you a week to speak to the police?”

“I was afraid,” he replied looking at the defence table. “I knew who Jason Morgan was. Everybody does. He’s Corinthos’ enforcer. He kills people. I saw it with my own two eyes. I would have to be crazy to talk to the police.”

“So why did you then? The police didn’t find you, you went to them.”

“I, uh, I,” he stuttered having no answer. Finally he said, “I didn’t think they would need me.”

Alexis shifted her gaze from the witness to the jury and back confused at his response. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean. Why wouldn’t the police have needed you, you were their only witness?”

Madigan shifted again. “The papers were saying Morgan shot the girl too. They said the police were sure that once she woke up, she would be able to identify her as her shooter.”

He paused and looked over to the jury. “But that didn’t happen. The girl said that Spencer shot her. Morgan was going to walk and I couldn’t let that happen. I was afraid he would come after me. So I went to the police before he could.”

Alexis opened her mouth to ask her next question but nothing came out. Instead she walked back to her table and reopened the file she’d left on the table. Keeping the file in her hands she turned back to the witness. “How did you know what Miss Webber said in her statement?”

“What?” Madigan hadn’t expected Alexis to ask that question.

Looking through the file she said, “Detective Taggert took your statement approximately an hour after Elizabeth Webber made her statement to him and myself in her hospital room. How could you possibly have known what was said?”

“I, uh, I,” he shifted uncomfortably not sure what to say. “I overheard Detective Taggert at the police station.”

“You were already at the police station?” Alexis asked. “What were you doing there?”

“I was just checking things out. I wanted to know how the investigation was going. I was talking to a police officer when Detective Taggert came in upset and I heard him talking to another detective.”

“And right then and there you decided to come forward. Just when things weren’t going well for the police, you appeared. What an amazing coincidence! If I didn’t know any better, I would swear it was planned.”

“Objection!” Dara stood immediately.

“I’m sorry your honour, I withdraw that comment,” Alexis said before the judge could respond to Dara’s objection.

“Ms. Davis, I don’t want to hear any more comments like that from you or you will be charged with contempt.”

“Yes, your honour. It won’t happen again,” she replied innocently and turned her attention back to the witness.

“I told you, I was afraid for my life,” Madigan insisted.

Alexis looked at him quizzically, “Why?”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “If Morgan got out of jail, he would have come after me.”

“But you said neither man knew you were there. You left the scene without talking to the police. No one knew you’d witnessed the shooting. Your life wasn’t in danger until you spoke to the police. If you were afraid for your life, why come forward?”

“Morgan was going to get off. I couldn’t let that happen.”

“So you’ve put your life at risk for the sake of justice?” She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Yes, I have,” he said insulted by her tone.

“What would you say Mr. Madigan, if I had evidence placing my client across town when you say he shot Lucky Spencer?”

Madigan was visibly shocked for a moment but recovered quickly. "I would say you were lying. I know what I saw.”

Alexis raised her eyebrows. She didn’t like being called a liar. “Really, then how do you explain my client’s fingerprints found on the roof of Genereal Hospital with traces of Elizabeth Webber’s blood?”

“I,..., I,” he stuttered losing some of his earlier confidence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alexis walked over to the defence table, put down the first folder and picked up another one. “An independent forensics lab was able to find my client’s fingerprints on the door knob leading to General Hospital’s roof. These fingerprints were made with Elizabeth Webber’s blood. They could only have been placed on the door the night of the shooting. The night you say you saw my client kill Lucky Spencer.” She paused and handed to file over to the witness. “Can you explain how these fingerprints got on the roof if Jason was on the docks?”

Madigan took his time reading the file. No one had briefed him on this new evidence. “I don’t know. Maybe he went up on the roof after he killed the Spencer kid.”

Alexis nodded in agreement. “That’s possible but when the gun was found it had been wiped clean. How could my client do that then be able to leave traces of Miss Webber’s blood on the door knob?” She brought a hand to her chin rubbing it as if she was in deep concentration. “When you were looking at the gun was there any blood on my client’s hands?”

“I’m not sure,” he said adjusting his tie.

“You’re not sure? Didn’t you get a good look at the gun?” She asked pointing to the gun on the evidence table. “You were able to identify it as the murder weapon.”

“Yes,” he replied a little louder than he intended, “I did get a good look at the gun but I didn’t look at his hand. I only concentrated on the gun. If his hands were bloody or not I couldn’t say.”

“I can,” Alexis confidently. “If my client had attacked Lucky Spencer the way you claim, then forensics would have been able to find Elizabeth Webber’s blood on Lucky’s body and they did not.”

“Maybe he went to the roof before he killed Lucky Spencer,” Madigan argued.

“And still be able to make it across town by the time you say you saw him?”

“Maybe he’s a fast runner,” he suggested, “or he took a taxi. I don’t know and I don’t care. It’s not my job to figure out how he got there. I leave that up to the police and people like you. All I know is that I saw your client kill Lucky Spencer in cold blood that day. What he did before or after doesn’t concern me.”

Elizabeth wanted to stand up and call him a liar, but she couldn’t. Tom Madigan was a great actor. She was sure the jury was buying every lying word out of his mouth. God, it made her sick. She couldn’t listen anymore. She quietly stood and discretely made her way out of the courtroom.

She walked towards the witness holding room she had been in the day before hoping the policeman would not be standing by the doorway. Luck was on her side, he wasn't. After checking both corridors for anyone watching, she entered the room and began searching for anything Madigan might have left. A jacket was lying across one of the chairs. She searched it but only found a match book from some bar just outside of town. Disappointed she replaced the jacket and turned to leave when she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Without thinking she scrambled behind the window drapes in the far corner just as the door opened.

“I’m telling you, I was great. I had the jury eating out of my hand.” Elizabeth couldn’t see him but she knew that voice belonged to Tom Madigan.

“Would you keep it down someone might hear you,” said another voice. Elizabeth could only assume it was the policeman from yesterday.

Madigan laughed. “You need to relax man. It’s in the bag. I nailed it. Morgan won’t be a problem anymore.”

“Hey, Tommy, nothing’s over yet. It’s not done until the verdict is read. Morgan hasn’t been convicted yet.”

“You’re exactly right, my man, and I am the only thing that’s going to make that happen. Without me Morgan would walk.”

It was quiet for a while making Elizabeth wonder what they were doing. She resisted the urge to take a quick look. It wouldn’t help Jason if she got caught.

“Tommy, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I sold myself too short, Tony. Morgan’s going to jail and I’m getting nothing. I think I’m worth a little more than that, don’t you?”

“Are you insane?”

“Relax, I’ve got this under control.”

There was another period of silence where Elizabeth thought she heard sounds of a cell phone.

“Hey, it’s me. I just got off the stand. Everything went great. Yeah, so great in fact I think we need to renegotiate our original deal.”

“I want more money that’s what I’m talking about. And I want it now not after the verdict.”

“You think I’m stupid. Once Morgan’s convicted, you won’t have any need for me. I’ll be disposable. There’s no way I’m going to let that happen. I want $10 million now or else I’ll go to the DA and tell them I lied about everything.”

“Yeah, just try me. I’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“You try to kill me now and the police might actually figure out what’s going on. Not to mention Corinthos. You wouldn’t want that now would you.”

“Well that’s a chance I’m willing to take, are you? Tomorrow. The park. Midnight. Be there with the money or I speak to our favourite police detective.”

“You’re out of your mind, do you know that?” Elizabeth heard the other man say. It was the first time he’d spoken since the start of the telephone call. “Corinthos isn’t enough for you, you have to go up against the boss, too.”

“Tony, Tony, Tony,” Madigan replied, “I told you. I have everything under control. This is my ball game now. He may be your boss but he isn’t mine. In a few days this trial will be over and I’ll be richer than I ever dreamed possible.”

“The money won’t mean anything if you’re dead.”

Madigan chuckled. “Tony, you have no faith.”

Elizabeth could hear the two men moving around the room then opening the door and closing it behind them. She waited a few more minutes to be sure they didn’t return before leaving her hiding place. She slowly opened the door and checked the hall. When she was sure they weren’t in the hallway, she left the room and made her way to the exit.

She didn’t stop until she’d reached her studio where she removed her wig and sat down on the couch. She should call Alexis. Or Sonny. Someone needed to know about she’d just heard. But it was only her word against anything Madigan would say. The DA wouldn’t believe anything she said especially if it was something that proved Jason’s innocence. No, she needed physical evidence, and the only way to get that would be to go to the park tomorrow night. If she borrowed her grandmother’s video camera she could record the money transfer and then even Detective Taggert couldn’t say anything against it. Jason would be free.

She smiled. Jason was going to be free. The nightmare was about to be over.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 42

Alexis closed the file she was studying and turned her attention to the man sitting next to her. He sat quietly as usual with his characteristic blank expression. To most everyone in the courtroom he looked cold and unfeeling, but she knew it was just an act. Jason was worried about the trial. He just refused to let anyone see it.

She reached over and squeezed his hand. He shifted his gaze to look at her dropping the mask he wore to reveal the anxiety he was feeling. She wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, but she couldn’t lie to him. Instead she squeezed his hand again and gave him a reassuring smile. She wanted him to know that she would protect him as best she could. He nodded his understanding but was prevented from saying anything by the judge’s entrance.

“Ms. Jensen, do you have any further witnesses to call at this time?”

Dara stood to address the court. “No, your honour, the prosecution rests.”

“Thank you,” Judge Torrie said. “Ms. Davis, you may call your first witness.”

Alexis stood and spoke with a clear confidant voice. “The defence would like the Jason Morgan to the stand.”

A collective gasp reverberated throughout the courtroom. No one had expected Jason to take the stand in his own defence.

Jason slowly rose to his feet and walked around the defence table to reach the witness stand. With each step, he wondered again if this was the right thing to do. He was vulnerable on the stand. The DA, he knew, would try anything to get him to implicate himself in any of the crimes they suspected he was involved in. Alexis insisted that wouldn’t be the case. She told him Dara Jensen could only question him about Lucky’s death, nothing more, but he wasn’t as confidant as she was. He knew the DA wouldn’t be able to pass up the opportunity, especially regarding Sorel’s death and Elizabeth’s involvement.

Jason had originally opposed the idea of testifying for that reason alone. He knew the police couldn’t charge him with no evidence, but if he admitted Elizabeth had lied about his alibi, the police could go after her. He knew Taggert would find some reason to punish Elizabeth just to get back at him, and that was something he couldn’t let happen. The image of her behind bars charged with obstruction of justice was one he didn’t want to see become reality. He would plead guilty to Lucky’s murder before that became a possibility.

Alexis had pushed for him to testify, though. She insisted he had to take the stand and tell his side of the story. The jury needed to know what kind of man he really was behind the image. They needed to look past the hitman stigma and see the man he only let a select few know.

Once he took his seat, Alexis approached the witness box. “Jason, can you tell us what happened in the park that day in March?”

He nodded and took a deep breath. “I was on my way to General Hospital when Lucky came up behind me with a gun. He wanted me out of Elizabeth’s life. Before I could do anything Elizabeth appeared asking him to give her the gun. He refused and pulled the trigger. Elizabeth stepped in front of me and was hit in the chest.”

Jason closed his eyes to the images of that day. Since Elizabeth came to the prison, he hadn’t dreamt about the day she was shot. Now everything was coming back to him. He could see Elizabeth’s lifeless body lying on the ground, blood covering her chest.

“What happened after Elizabeth was shot?” Alexis’ voice seemed to be coming from miles away rather than only a few feet.

He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the woman standing in front of him. “I, uh, I caught her in my arms and lowered her to the ground. At first she was conscious, but then she stopped breathing. I called for an ambulance and started CPR.”

Alexis disappeared from his vision again replaced by Elizabeth’s dying body. He ran his hand over his eyes to shake the image. He needed to concentrate on his testimony not get drowned in memories.

Alexis could see Jason was struggling with this part of the testimony, but she knew it would benefit him in the long run. The jury needed to see this side of him, or else he would be spending the rest of his life behind bars. “Where was Lucky while you were helping Elizabeth?”

He didn’t respond immediately. She wondered if he had even heard the question.

Just as she was about to ask her question again, he responded. “I don’t know what happened to him,” he said his voice deep with emotion. “My only concern was Elizabeth. He must have left but I never saw him go.”

“Did you see Lucky Spencer again that night?”

“No, I didn’t,” he replied clearing his throat. “I went with Elizabeth to the hospital. When she was taken up to surgery, I went to the roof to wait for news. When I came down, Detective Taggert was waiting to arrest me.”

“Jason, why did you go to the roof? Why didn’t you go to the surgical waiting area?”

“I, uh, I don’t like hospitals. A while ago I was in an accident, and I had to spend a long time at the hospital recuperating. Since then I’ve tried to avoid the hospital as much as possible,” he told her begrudgingly not wanting to admit a weakness.

“Then, why stay at all? Why not go home and wait?”

He looked at the jury and shifted uncomfortably. He knew Alexis wanted him to be more personable, but he didn’t want these people to know the depth of his despair over the thought of Elizabeth dying. “Elizabeth is my friend. She has been there for me when I’ve needed it the most. I couldn’t leave her. Not until I knew she was going to ba okay.”

Alexis seemed to accept his answer and didn’t push for more. “Jason, if you were on the roof the entire time, how could Thomas Madigan witness you killing Lucky?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “He must be mistaken.”

“But the murder weapon was found in your room at Jake’s?”

He shrugged. “Jake’s doesn’t have any security. Anyone could have gone into my room and left it there.”

"But why would someone kill Lucky and leave the murder weapon in your room?"

“Lucky’s had a problem with me for over a year. If Lucky knew his killer, then the killer probably knew about that. Especially with Elizabeth getting shot. I am the perfect fall guy.”

Alexis nodded in agreement. “Thank you, no more questions,” she returning to her seat.

“Ms. Jensen, you may cross,” the judge declared.

Dara stood to ask her first question. “Do you have a suspect to go with this theory you have?”

“No, I don’t,” he said shaking his head.

“So, you would like the jury to believe some unknown killer just happened upon Lucky Spencer just after he shot Elizabeth Webber then left the murder weapon in your room to frame you for murder?”

“Yes, it’s the truth.”

“The truth,” she said in amazement. “The truth is that you hated Lucky Spencer. He had the woman you wanted. When he shot her, you went after him to punish him. You appointed yourself judge, jury and executioner. You...”

“Objection. Does the DA have a question or is she practising her closing statements?”

“Ms. Jensen, please refrain from pontificating and just question your witness,” ordered the judge.

Dara tried to look as innocent as possible but couldn’t quite achieve it. “I’m sorry, your honour.”

“Mr. Morgan, are you in love with Elizabeth Webber?”

“She is one of my closet friends. Of course, I love her,” he answered to the best of his ability without lying.

“I’m not talking about friendship love,” Dara countered. “I’m talking of a more romantic relationship. Did you have a relationship with her during the winter of 1999?”

“No.”

She looked at him suspiciously. “You didn’t live together for a period of a month at the end of 1999?”

“Yes.”

“But you weren’t in a relationship? Was it just sex?”

“We weren’t sleeping together,” he said with more emotion than he wanted.

“Nikolas Cassadine certainly thought you were. He announced it a the GH Christmas party.”

“He was mistaken,” he said with gritted teeth. “Elizabeth already explained. She was angry and said something she shouldn’t have.”

“Does she do that a lot?”

“You’ll have to ask her that. I don’t speak for her,” he said.

“But Lucky did, didn’t he? He tried to control her. I bet that made you angry - as a friend, of course,” she asked adding the last part after a small pause.

“It upset me that Elizabeth was letting Lucky make decisions for her,” he admitted, “especially when she wasn’t happy with them.”

“And she told you she wasn’t happy?”

“Yes.”

“When did she tell you that? Was it the night Joseph Sorel was murdered?” Dara asked with a gleam in her eye.

Jason, prepared for the question, didn’t show any surprise over the mention of Sorel’s death. “We discussed it many times.”

Dara refused to leave it like that. “But that night particularly? The night Elizabeth lied to her boyfriend to be with you giving you an alibi for Sorel’s murder?”

Jason was unfazed. “We might have. I don’t remember. We did go for a ride on my motorcycle. It helps to clear her head.”

“And this ride lasted all night?” She asked in disbelief.

“Your honour, Miss Webber has already testified that they were riding all night. Is she suggesting her own witness is lying?” Alexis knew the answer but the judge didn’t. She needed the DA to move past this line of questioning.

“That’s what I would like to know,” said the judge. “Councilor, unless you have evidence to show both Miss Webber and Mr. Morgan are lying about that night, I suggest you move on.”

Dara knew she wasn’t going to succeed. Jason wasn’t going to slip up and Alexis wasn’t going to let him. She needed to concentrate on the trial at hand and putting Morgan away for killing Lucky. “What did Lucky think about these rides you used to take?”

Jason seemed to relax at the change in question. “He wanted Elizabeth to end her friendship with me.”

Dara raised an eyebrow at his answer. “Really? Did she?”

“Yes,” he replied with a nod.

“How did you fell about that? Were you angry?”

“No,” he said. “I was sad. I could see how unhappy Elizabeth was. She wasn’t doing what she really wanted.”

Dara looked over to the jury. “And you weren’t angry at that? The woman you love was being controlled by her boyfriend. You didn’t want to confront Lucky and beat some sense into him, tell him to treat her right.”

“Yes, I wanted to do that,” he admitted, “but I didn’t want to compound Elizabeth’s problems. She didn’t need me fighting with Lucky.”

“How noble of you,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure Lucky Spencer was relieved. The last person you got into a fight with ended up in the hospital with a concussion and broken ribs. But that was better than the person before that who suffered a fractured skull and broken arm.”

“Objection, your honour, in both of those cases my client was defending himself and was not charged with assault.”

“Sustained.”

“Would you say you’re a violent man Mr. Morgan?”

Jason thought for a moment then said, “No more than anyone else.”

Dara appeared shocked by his answer. “Really? Has anyone else been arrested more than twenty times in the past three years on a variety of assault and murder charges?”

He shrugged. “I guess I’ve had an unlucky streak of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Is that right?” The DA looked across the courtroom to one particular person sitting in the front row. “Or maybe there’s another reason. Mr. Morgan, what is your connection to Sonny Corinthos?”

Jason followed her gaze to the man in question. “We are business partners in a coffee import company.”

“Are you not also Mr. Corinthos’ enforcer for his illegal mob activities?”

Alexis immediately objected. “My client does not have to answer that question.”

Dara moved to stand in front of the judge. “Your honour, I am not asking the witness to confess to a crime. I am asking him to admit to something the entire town already knows is true.”

Judge Torrie considered it for a moment and agreed with the DA. “The witness may answer, but Councilor, you’re walking a fine line with the law. Make sure you don’t cross it.”

Dara turned back to the witness box and waited for Jason to answer the question.

“I am head of Sonny’s security,” he admitted.

“Is that what you call it?” she said with a smirk. “Tell me, in your security role, are you familiar with fire arms?”

“Yes, I am licenced to carry a gun and am certified in a variety of weapons.”

Dara stood directly in front of him and made direct eye contact. “Have you ever killed anyone in your position as head of security?”

“Objection!”

“I’m already way a head of your Ms. Davis,” said the judge. “Ms. Jensen, you’ve just crossed that line. The witness is instructed not have to answer that question. Councilor, unless you want to be charge with contempt, I suggest you stick to the issue at hand.”

“Yes, your honour. Mr. Morgan, if you had gone after Lucky Spencer, you wouldn’t have had any difficulty relieving him of his weapon, would you, with all your experience as head of security?” Dara said the last word as if it was a bad word.

“No, probably not,” Jason confessed.

“You wouldn’t have had any difficulty using the 9 mm gun to shoot Lucky?”

“No,” he said sitting up straight in the chair.

“So, you’ve admitted to being upset over Lucky’s treatment of Elizabeth Webber, I have a file as big as a phone book showing you to be a violent man, you are familiar with fire arms, and you have no difficulty disarming a man,” she listed off each point with her fingers. “What is stopping the jury from believing you killed Lucky Spencer because he shot Elizabeth Webber, the woman you love, over some theory of an unknown killer who just happened to pick the day Lucky went after you with a gun and shot Elizabeth instead? Why should the jury believe you?”

Jason looked at her directly and said, “Because I’m telling the truth.”

“Truth!” Dara countered, “You don’t know the meaning of the word.”

“Objection!”

“Withdrawn, no more questions,” Dara said returning to her seat.

Alexis was standing before Dara could take her seat to redirect. “Jason, did you kill Lucky Spencer?”

Jason shook his head. “No, I did not,” he stated firmly.

She gave a pointed look to the jury and sat back down. “Thank you.”

“The witness may step down,” the judge instructed before hitting the gavel.

~*~

She was cold and she was tired, but she wasn’t ready to give up. After walking through the park for the third time, Elizabeth was afraid she’d missed the exchange between Tom Madigan and his boss, whoever that may be. They were supposed to meet at midnight, and it was already ten after. In all the scenarios she’d gone through the night before, not one was her not getting the evidence she needed.

She wondered how the trial had gone that day. Alexis had told her Jason would be taking the stand. She hoped everything had gone okay. Not that it mattered. After tonight, the trial would be over and Jason would be free. That is, she thought, if she got the evidence. If she didn’t, she didn’t know what would happen. She sighed. Maybe she should have told Sonny, she wondered as she looked around. He would have been able to have people covering the entire park.

“You’re late.”

Elizabeth turned, her heart beating wildly. There was no one behind her.

“I needed to make sure I wasn’t followed,” a voice replied. Elizabeth was sure it was Tom Madigan. It seemed to be coming from behind the bushes to her right. She ducked under the bushes and pulled out the video camera. Two men were standing on the opposite side of the bushed by a tree. They were in partial light but she was sure she could get everything she needed on tape. She pulled out her video camera and positioned herself on her stomach to film the encounter.

“You have my money?” Madigan asked.

“You seem to think, Mr. Madigan, you control this situation,” the other man scowled pulling out a gun from his jacket pocket. “I’m here to tell you, you don’t.”

“Hey, you can’t kill me,” Madigan said arrogantly not afraid for his life. “You need me. Morgan hasn’t been convicted yet. If I'm found dead, people will realize the connection.”

The unknown man raised the gun and pulled back the hammer. “Who said they’d find the body? Mr. Madigan, you’re importance in this endeavour is slowly diminishing.”

Elizabeth could see the uncertainly in his eyes, but Madigan still wouldn’t drop the bravado. “If I don’t return tonight, I left instructions to have all the tapes I recorded of our conversations handed over to the police. When they hear how you hired me to implicate Morgan in Spencer’s death, Morgan will be out before sun rise. Then he’ll come looking for you.”

“You’re bluffing,” the other man said keeping his gun pointed at Madigan ready to pull the trigger.

“Just try me,” Madigan said with a smirk. He took pleasure in seeing the other man’s face fill with doubt. Did they really think he was stupid?

The other man took a few moments before lowering his gun and turning to retrieve a briefcase leaning against the tree. “This is half. You’ll get the rest once Morgan is convicted.”

Madigan smiled and took the briefcase. “I don’t think so. I have no control of the jury. If Morgan is acquitted it won’t be because of me. I’ve done everything you wanted. I deserve that money. If not I’m sure the police would be glad to know who paid me to lie.”

The man grabbed Madigan and shoved him up against the tree. “Don’t threaten me. You better pray Morgan is convicted. Because if he’s not, you won’t have any need for that money six feet under.”

Laughter interrupted Madigan’s retort. He shrugged off the man’s hands, pushed him back and took off with his briefcase. The other man stared after him then disappeared into the trees.

Elizabeth let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding as she saw a couple walk by hand in hand. She got it all. Madigan’s admission, the other man’s threats, everything. She tried to push down her excitement. She needed to keep herself under control. She wasn’t out of the woods, yet. She would leave the celebration until she got back to her studio.

She slowly crawled out from under the bushes and stood. She placed the camera into her bag and checked to make sure no one had seen her. Quietly she made her way to the path. As casually as she could, she followed the path towards the park exit.

She wasn’t prepared for the hand to come from behind and cover her mouth.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 43

Sonny poured himself another drink. What was he going to tell his best friend? He had promised Jason, he would look after Elizabeth. It was a simple request from a man who didn’t ask for many things and this was how Sonny honoured it. Grant it, she was the one to slip by her guards, but it was still Sonny’s responsibility to make sure she was protected and he failed. What was she thinking? Now he was going to have to tell Jason tomorrow when that could very well be his last day in the country.

First thing tomorrow morning closing arguments were going to be heard, and then the jury would be sent out for deliberation. If they came back with a guilty verdict, Sonny was prepared to get Jason during the prison transfer and fly him out of Port Charles. But would Jason go if he knew Elizabeth was in trouble? Would Jason even care about spending the rest of his life in prison if Elizabeth was dead?

He stared at the phone while he finished off another drink. Elizabeth wasn’t dead. He refused to think about that possibility until he heard from his people. If God had wanted Elizabeth to die, she would have from her gunshot wound. He wouldn’t bring her back from the brink of death only to take her again so soon after. No, Sonny was sure God had plans for Elizabeth and death wasn’t it. But what exactly were His plans. Was Elizabeth going to be another person to suffer for Sonny and Jason’s crimes?

He gripped the empty glass. After weeks of digging, he still didn’t know who was behind this whole mess. Whoever it was, they were covering their tracks so well Sonny was beginning to think Lucky going after Jason was planned. Someone was using Lucky to get to him, which made Sonny wonder just how long this was going on without he or Jason knowing.

The shrill of the phone brought Sonny out of his thoughts. “Yeah,” he said answering the phone.

“She’s safe,” replied Johnny on the other end.

Sonny breathed a sigh of relief. “Is she okay? Where was she?”

“Yeah. In the park. She was following Madigan.”

“What!” Sonny screamed into the phone. “Where was our guy?”

“I don’t know. Madigan must have gotten out without him knowing.”

“Dammit!” Sonny was pissed. What else was going to go wrong? “What happened?”

“He met with someone and money passed hands.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know,” Johnny told him. “I only arrived after the fact. Elizabeth told me of the meeting.”

Sonny sighed. Nothing was going their way. “Where is Madigan now?”

“I don’t know,” Johnny answered again. “He hasn’t returned to the safe house and I don’t think he will. If this was his payoff, he’s probably at the airport by now.”

“I want Marco at the airport in case he hasn’t left yet and Stan checking all flights out of Port Charles. I want to know where Madigan goes,” Sonny ordered.

“Miss Webber is insisting on seeing you. I’m bringing her back to the penthouse.”

“That’s fine,” Sonny replied before hanging up the phone.

He couldn’t believe she would be foolish enough to follow Madigan. Anything could have happened to her. What could she possibly be thinking putting herself at risk like that? For that matter, how did she even know of the meeting in the first place?

Sonny didn’t have to wait long for Elizabeth’s arrival as she entered the penthouse without knocking a few minutes later.

“Sonny, Johnny’s getting Alexis,” she said quickly, “so hold off all questions until she arrives.”

A dumbfounded Sonny watched as Elizabeth walked passed him and over to his computer at the same time digging for something that was in her bag.

“Elizabeth, what were you doing following Madigan?” he asked as she plugged what looked like a video camera into the computer.

“I told you to wait for Alexis,” she said continuing with her task without looking up at him.

Before he could say anything else, the penthouse door opened again.

“This better be good,” Alexis muttered half asleep as she entered the penthouse.

Elizabeth turned with the biggest smile on her face. “I have it, Alexis. I can prove Jason is innocent.”

Alexis was instantly awake. “What do you mean?” she asked looking between Elizabeth and Sonny.

“Yesterday, I overheard Tom Madigan set up a meeting tonight. He wanted more money for his part in convicting Jason. They arranged to meet tonight in the park. I went and taped the meeting,” she told them trying to contain her excitement. “Alexis, I got everything. Madigan admitting he was lying and that the other guy was paying him to lie. Madigan even implicated the other guy in Lucky’s death.

“It’s all here,” she said pointing to the computer screen.

All three were quiet as the scene unfolded in front of them. They watched as the exchange between Madigan and the unknown man played out. When it came to an end, they didn’t move or speak. They were overwhelmed at the implications of what they had just watched.

Sonny was the first to speak. He faced Alexis and asked, “Will this be allowed into court?”

Alexis continued to stare at the blank screen. “I’ll make sure of it,” she said assuredly. “Even if I have to use every connection I have or call in every favour, that video will be in evidence first thing tomorrow.”

She turned to face Sonny. “Do you know who the other man was?”

At Sonny’s hesitation, she stopped him. “You know, it doesn’t matter who it is. I don’t need to know,” she said as she walked over to the computer and unplugged the video camera.

“Elizabeth, you did good,” Alexis said giving the younger woman a quick hug. “Everything’s going to be all right now. I promise.”

Without a second glance, she left the penthouse already thinking of previous case laws she would need to support her introduction of the video into evidence. She had a lot of work to do and didn’t have a lot of time before court was in session.

Both Sonny and Elizabeth watched Alexis leave without comment. Once she was gone, Elizabeth turned back to the computer to turn it off and waited for Sonny’s wrath.

“Why didn’t you come to me when you learned of Madigan’s meeting?” he asked quietly. Elizabeth could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Did you not trust me to do the right thing?”

Elizabeth sighed. She hadn’t expected Sonny to take her actions personally. “I don’t know why I didn’t tell you. No, that’s a lie. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to handle this myself. I was tired of other people telling me what to do and having other people fixing my problems. I refuse to be some perpetual victim, Sonny. I wanted to take control of my own life.”

“I understand your need to control your life, but anything could have happened to you tonight. You could have been discovered and taken against your will. You could have been shot again. You could have been bleeding to death in the park and no one would have known where you were,” he told her closing his eyes to the images that had haunted him earlier.

“None of that happened,” she said defiantly. “I can take care of myself, Sonny.”

“I know you can. That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point?” she asked frustrated over Sonny’s attitude.

“The point is when I found out you had snuck away from your guard, I was frantic,” he said revealing just how important Elizabeth was to him. “You are more than just Jason’s friend, Elizabeth. You’re my friend, too. You’re a part of this family. Did you not think I would be worried? Did you not think that I would be concerned about you? I thought the people behind all this had taken you. I thought you could be dead or worse and there was nothing I could do.”

Elizabeth was overcome with emotion. She knew Sonny cared about her, but she never knew he considered her a part of his family. Now she regretted not telling him what she knew.

“I’m sorry,” she said wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. “I never meant for you to worry. I only thought about Jason and getting him free. I’m sorry that I caused you so much heartache.”

He tightened his arms around her waist before letting her go. “Promise me you will never take off from your guard like that again.”

“I’d like to, Sonny. I really would, but you know that I can’t,” she said wiping a tear from her eye. “But I can promise that I will think before I do anything reckless again.”

Sonny nodded knowing that was the most he was going to get. He gave a small chuckle thinking of Jason. He would have his hands full with Elizabeth.

“Alexis will get the video into evidence, won’t she?” Elizabeth asked a little worried the DA may do something to stop Alexis.

He shook his head, “You know Alexis. If she said she can do it, she will.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Jason’s going to be free tomorrow,” she said as the reality of the situation finally sank in.

Sonny returned her smile. “Yes, he is.”

With a final hug of happiness, Elizabeth left the penthouse, leaving Sonny alone to worry about the importance of Elizabeth’s video. He wasn’t worried about Alexis’ ability to introduce it into evidence. He was more worried about who was on the tape. Anthony Roscoe was the man paying off Madigan, Sonny recognized him immediately. But it didn’t make sense. Roscoe didn’t have the kind of money or clout to set up this entire situation. Once Sorel was killed, Sonny had taken control of the other man’s holdings. Roscoe had nothing. He had disappeared and Sonny had assumed he was running scared, but now he could see that was far from the truth.

Roscoe had to be working for someone else, Sonny decided. But who would be foolish enough to hire Roscoe after the mess he had made of Sorel. Unless, Roscoe had been working against his old boss this whole time. Had this entire thing been in the works before Jason even came back to town? Both Sonny and Jason had thought Sorel was behind the incidents that had plagued their organization earlier in the year. Incidents that had caused Jason to return to Port Charles and investigate their own people. Jason had seen Roscoe paying off one of Sonny’s trusted guards. But what if Roscoe had been setting Sorel up to take the fall? What if Sorel wasn’t behind the warehouse bombing as they had originally thought? That would mean Jason killed Sorel for no reason and more importantly, their real enemy was still out there and they didn’t know who it was.

That didn’t sit well with Sonny. He didn’t like the unknown, especially when it came to an enemy. Whoever it was, he’d been playing them for a long time, and Sonny wasn’t going to allow it anymore. He was going to find this person, even if he had to turn over every rock in this town.

~*~

Alexis was tired. No, she was more than tired, she was exhausted. But she was ready and that was all that mattered. She could sleep after Jason was free. She looked over to the prosecution’s table and gave Dara a small smile as Jason was escorted to her table.

Before Alexis could reassure Jason of her new evidence, they were called to rise and the judge entered the courtroom. The jury was brought in and the judge asked if both attorneys were prepared for closing statements.

“Your honour,” Alexis began standing to address the judge, “new evidence has been brought to my attention that will prove my client’s innocence.”

Dara stood immediately ignoring the whispers coming from the gallery. “I object. The defence rested her case yesterday. If she had evidence, she should have introduced it then.”

“I agree, Miss Jensen,” Judge Tory said, “This is highly irregular, Councillor.”

“Your honour, the evidence I speak of is a video tape that was made last night,” Alexis informed the judge. “I could not introduce something that had not been made yet.”

“That is irrelevant,” the DA insisted. “Miss Davis was given ample time to present her case to the best of her ability. This is –.”

“I have precedence, your Honour,” Alexis interrupted. “In New York State v. McCafferty in 1995, the prosecution was allowed to introduce wire tap evidence obtained after they had presented their case. All I am asking is for the same consideration as the defence.”

The judge nodded. “I am aware of that trial, Miss Davis and the judge who presided over it. Had I been its judge, I’m not sure I would have reached the same decision. However, before I can make any decision, I would like to see this tape in my chambers. There will be a fifteen minute recess.”

Alexis handed the tape to the bailiff as the judge hit her gavel to begin the recess. She retrieved the tape from the bailiff and exited the courtroom from a side door.

“Alexis, what’s going on?” Jason asked. “What is this tape? Where did it come from?”

Not wanting to be overheard, Alexis leaned over and whispered, “Someone who loves you a great deal followed Tom Madigan last night and video taped an exchange between him and another man where money passed hands. She got Madigan’s confession of perjury on tape.”

Alexis’ news did not make Jason happy. “Was she hurt? Did they know she was there? Where was her guard? How could Sonny have let her do this?”

Alexis gripped his hand reassuringly. “She’s fine, Jason. Nothing happened to her. You know her, an army wouldn’t have stopped her from doing what she wanted to do, and she wanted to prove your innocence.”

Jason agreed with his attorney’s assessment but didn’t like it. “She’s already been hurt enough. She shouldn’t risk her life because of me.”

“And you wouldn’t do the same for her?” Alexis countered. “You cannot have it one way and not the other. She has proven she’s not some helpless woman needing you to save her. She is strong and able to fight not only her battles but yours as well. Don’t fight against her, Jason. Fight beside her.”

Jason didn’t know what to say. All he wanted was to protect Elizabeth from everything that would hurt her. What was wrong with that? Before he could figure out the answer, the judge returned to court.

“I have viewed the tape and I do see its importance to the defence. After careful consideration, I have decided to grant the defence’s petition and let the jury see the tape. Bailiff, please bring in the TV,” she instructed as one side, the Spencer Cassadine side, of the gallery erupted at her decision.

“Order, order in this court,” Judge Torrie demanded striking her gavel. “There will be silence in this courtroom.”

Once the room quieted down, the lights were dimmed and the tape was played. When it was done, shocked silence filled the room. Jason Morgan was telling the truth. Tom Madigan, the person everyone thought was an upstanding citizen, was really perjuring himself for money.

Alexis gave the courtroom a few moments to digest what they had just seen before standing and addressing the judge again. “Your honour, I have a motion to dismiss all charges against my client. The prosecution has not been able to prove my client guilty of any charges against him. They have no physical evidence placing him anywhere near the crime and their star witness has now been shown to be anything but. It would be a travesty of justice to allow this trial to continue.”

“I agree,” the judge said. “Miss Jensen, do you have anything to add before I make my ruling?”

Dara slowly rose seeing her case crumble around her. “No, your honour.”

“Then, Jason Morgan, the charges against you are hereby dismissed. You are free to go,” Judge Torrie ordered striking her gavel for the last time.

Jason was surrounded before the judge even exited the courtroom. Carly reached him first almost knocking him down from the impact of her embrace and refused to let go. Sonny had to pry her arms away from Jason to give Emily and Monica equal chance to hug the man of the hour. Once they had had their turn, Carly went back for seconds. Jason smiled and returned the hug with equal abandon. He was free.

He turned Carly over to Sonny and held his hand out to Alexis. “Thank you.”

She shook his hand acknowledging his gratitude, but the said, “Don’t thank me, Jason. I can’t take credit for this. It wasn’t me that proved your innocence.”

Jason looked between Alexis and Sonny. “Where is she?”

Sonny was the one to answer. “She said you would know where to find her. Something about a statue?”

Jason smiled. Without a backward glance, he raced from the courtroom almost knocking down a TV reporter waiting to question him. At the doors, he could hear Carly yelling about a celebration dinner at The Grill but didn’t stop for the details.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 44

Jason broke every speed limit to reach Elizabeth stopping only when he came to the boundary to the estate. Elizabeth was sitting at the base of the girl statue on a picnic blanket holding a sketchbook. She looked so beautiful his chest ached. He thought of the danger she put herself in to prove his innocence. Did he really deserve to have this woman love him? He was a killer and that wasn’t going to change. Did he really have the right to have something as good as Elizabeth in his life? the right thing for him to do would be to turn around and never see her again. But he couldn’t do that. He promised to never hurt her and leaving, he knew, would do just that.

At that moment, Elizabeth raised her head and looked in his direction. She rose slowly to her feet trying not to blink in case he disappeared when she wasn’t looking.

“Jason?” she called out. “Are you really here? Alexis did it? You’re free?”

“No, you did it,” Jason said as he held out his arms to her.

She said something incoherent and rushed forward.

He received her hungrily, and his mouth came down on hers. There was no gentleness in his kiss. No restraint, either. The lips that parted hers were deeply and passionately sensual, and they demanded an equal response.

His hands parted her thin woollen shirt to find her breasts, stroking her nipples to exquisite arousal through the satin bra she was wearing. She moaned her pleasure into his mouth, her entire body melting with her need.

When at last he raised his head, they were both breathless. Without saying a word, Jason lifted Elizabeth into his arms and carried her to the picnic blanket.

He laid her gently onto the blanket and began removing her clothes. When she was naked, he began kissing her body, his mouth hot and urgent. His tongue lapped at her breasts, turning the engorged peaks to flame.

At the same time, his hand was caressing her belly, moving down over her quivering thighs and parting them. Her body arched under the exquisite intimacy of his touch demanding more.

As his fingers continued their intense erotic play, she could feel the last vestige of her control slipping away. Then suddenly, her body imploded, consuming her totally with wave after wave of pleasure.

Jason said her name huskily. She felt him strip off his clothes, then lifted himself over her, and entered her. She enfolded him rapturously, her whole body alight with the warmth and strength of him inside her, her hands clinging to his shoulders, her legs locked round his waist in total surrender.

It was a lovemaking born from a stark and compelling need, and Elizabeth answered every powerful thrust with passionate completeness, her body as wild and driven as his own. Deep within her, she sensed the inexplicable build of delight beginning once more, and felt her body quiver and shatter into a renewal of pleasure.

And at the height of her pleasure, as she was overcome by sensation, she heard him cry out in his own release.


~*~

Vincent knocked tentatively on his boss’ door. The news wasn’t good and he wished he wasn’t the one who had to tell it. He didn’t know his boss well enough to know how he would react to finding out Jason Morgan was free. Madigan had been found out – the rat bastard.

Hearing the command to enter, Vincent opened the door to find the room cloaked in darkness. He hesitated unsure of what he should do until he saw the silhouette of his boss by the window. He advanced into the room stopping by the desk.

“Sir, Jason Morgan was released today. His charges were dropped,” he told the man’s back.

“I am aware of that,” replied the man as he stared out over the city’s landscape.

“I was there. What I would like to know is what has been done to handle the situation?”

“Madigan has disappeared. I have the men working on it, but he seems to have left the city without us knowing. Even Corinthos doesn’t know where he is,” Vincent said.

“I want him found and taken care of,” the shadowy figure commanded. “I want nothing leading back to me, is that understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Where is Roscoe?”

“On ice in the warehouse on 53rd street,” Vincent informed his boss.

“Good. First thing tomorrow, I want his body on Corinthos’ doorstep,” the man turned to face his employee. “I want Corinthos to know that he is no longer in control of this town and soon his whole organization.”

“Yes, sir,” Vincent replied before exiting the room.

AJ Quartermaine faced the window once more his hands clenched into tight fists. Jason was free. His plan had failed. Once again, his younger brother had beaten him.

For the last two months AJ suffered through the constant bickering in his family over Jason’s arrest. It gave him a silent thrill seeing his family members torn at the thought of Jason facing the death penalty. Every day, he secretly rejoiced as he sat with his father and grandfather in the courtroom as they watched their golden son fight for his life. Grandfather would curse Sonny Corinthos and Lucky Spencer. He even blamed Elizabeth Webber for the travesty that had befallen his precious grandson, as he called it. Little did he know that AJ was the cause of all of their heartache.

It was fate really. Fate has brought AJ and Roscoe together well over a year ago. AJ was trying to find some way to destroy Sonny Corinthos after he forced AJ to relinquish his rights to his son, Michael. Roscoe was looking to take over Sorel’s operation and join the big boys of organized crime. It was a partnership made in revenge heaven.

Fate also brought him and Lucky Spencer together. What else would you call a chance meeting on the docks one day where they got to talking and AJ realized Lucky’s hatred for his brother? It was so easy to feed on Lucky’s paranoia. Jason wants your girl. Jason’s going to take you girl from you. You need to get rid of Jason before that can happen. Only the snivelling idiot couldn’t do the job right. He shot Elizabeth instead. It didn’t matter though. After AJ took care of the Spencer kid, the idea of prison was even better. Why kill Jason, when he could suffer for the rest of his life behind bars?

But that didn’t happen. His brother was free and probably enjoying the comforts of the freedom right now in the arms of the lovely Miss Webber. The very idea made his blood boil.

AJ was so deep in thought, he didn’t here the woman enter the room until she gripped his shoulders.

“My, my, my, aren’t we tense,” came a sultry voice from behind him. AJ looked to the window to see the woman massaging his back.

“My brother’s charges were dropped,” he told her.

“Yes, I heard. I’m sorry,” she purred into his ear. “On the brighter side, my husband is dead.”

AJ turned around and grabbed the woman’s wrists. “Dammit, Faith, Jason is free.”

“Yes, I know,” she replied yanking her wrists out of his grasp. “This is only a temporary set back. Our plan is still working. Sorel is dead and my husband, Corinthos has absolutely know idea that we are responsible for the trouble he’s been having and soon ELQ will belong to you.

“Trust me, baby. We are about to get everything we’ve ever wanted,” she said before pulling him down into a savage kiss.

~*~

Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes loving the feel of Jason’s arms wrapped tightly around her and knowing that it wasn’t a dream. Jason was free. She wasn’t going to lose him.

“Are you mad I didn’t let Sonny handle it?” she asked quietly knowing instinctively that he was awake.

“No,” he replied lifting himself up on one elbow to look into her face, “just worried. Anything could have happened to you, and I wouldn’t have been able to help you. You almost died before. I don’t want you to ever get hurt again.”

Elizabeth reached up to caress one side of his face. “I don’t want to get hurt again, either. But I can’t guarantee I won’t and you can’t guarantee you won’t get hurt, either. All I can say is that I promise not to take any unnecessary risks.

“Besides, it’s not like I’ll be working for Sonny now and asking to carry a gun. You were in trouble and I could do something to help you. How often do you think that’s going to happen?” She asked with a smile on her face.

“Elizabeth,” he said taking her hand in his linking their fingers.

“I’m serious,” she insisted. “I needed to take control of my life and finding the evidence to free you was my way of doing that. But I have no intention of taking those risks again. I want to go back to school and paint. I want to go shopping with Emily and dish about our boyfriends. I want to have Sunday dinners at my grandmother’s house. I’ll leave all the danger stuff to you.”

“You know it’s not that simple,” he said thinking of the obstacles they still had to face - Carly, the Spencers, Nikolas Cassadine, the Quartermaines and his job to name a few.

“I know it won’t be, but at this moment I don’t care about all that,” she said. “You are free and we are together. Everything else is secondary to that.”

Jason looked at her face and saw the happiness radiating from her every pore. He didn’t want that happiness to ever diminish. There would be time to deal with all the hurdles they would have to face but not now. They didn’t need to solve everything right that second.

“I love you,” he told her.

“I love you,” she answered back just before Jason claimed her mouth again with a sweet gentle kiss that promised her what she already knew in her heart. Nothing was going to separate them again.

[kaydimz]

Aj and Faith I wouldnt have guessed it . This is a great story and I love it Update Soon.

[eygirl33]

WOW! I enjoyed this story very much. Look forward to reading more. congrats on a job well done ;D

[jcmcdo8]

Wow. You really threw me a curve ball with AJ and Faith working together. I didn't expect that. I loved how you rewrote that horrible GH script. This was a great story. I am glad that I found it.

[lrwright091]

Love this story. I hope you update it someday.

[djcarnation]

please update this .would like to know what happens next