Story [General Hospital] AU; Echoes of the Past (Scrubs, Scorpios, Cassadines, OC's) Ch. 20 (7.14.17)

Great chapter and with all the revellations. What will happen next?

 

Things are moving forwards in the realm of getting answers and towards confrontations. I can almost imagine Robin had a sisterly sense of RJ's unease and the unconscious feeling of being watched. Born out by Patrick's noticing the silent scrutiny across the street.

 

earlybird-obi-wan Great chapter and with all the revellations. What will happen next?

Thanks.

Nyota's Heart Things are moving forwards in the realm of getting answers and towards confrontations.

We're definitely getting there.

Mira_Jade I enjoyed the edge of the seat, almost calm-before-the-storm vibe of this chapter - especially with Robin and Patrick.

Glad you enjoyed.

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Below is the next chapter. Enjoy!




Chapter Fourteen


“What do you know about our father, Robert Scorpio?” RJ asked point blank.

Victor leaned forward on his desk. “Very little, actually. When last I saw your father, he was a small boy of three, snuggled in the arms of his mother, Larisa. Beyond that, I was informed years ago of his death. In between those events, I never saw him.”

“So, you did know Larisa Liakos?” Patrick asked.

Victor acquiesced. “Yes, I did. Not well, but yes, I knew her.”

“You knew her well enough to go to her and make her give up her son,” Robin said. “We want to know why? What was so important that she gave our father away?”

“Forgive me, but if the three of you are sitting in my office, then surely you already know the answer to these questions,” Victor told them. “Why come here and ask me?”

“We don’t know anything,” RJ said adamantly. “We have theories, speculations; no real answers. We want the truth.”

Victor sighed deeply. He was certain that he was the only person in the family, other than Helena, who knew the real truth about Robert Scorpio and his origins.

“I’m not certain there is much I can tell you,” he revealed.

“Tell us what you know,” Robin instructed. “We just want the truth.”

“Why is it so important to you?” Victor questioned. “He was your father, isn’t that enough information?”

“No!” RJ snapped. He reached into his bag and pulled out the postcards and tossed them onto the desk. “Those are why I want the truth. Someone knows the truth and they’re…taunting me with it. I need to know where to look.”

Victor was looking through the postcards and then got to the photo of Cooper and his eyes widened when he saw the words written on the back.

“Your son?” he asked RJ.

When RJ nodded, Victor stood and walked over to a safe in the corner and quickly opened it. He walked back to his desk and handed a file folder to RJ. When he opened it, he laughed and tossed it back.

“I’ve seen that,” RJ told him. “A friend gave it to me. My father was in Greece a few weeks before he died. A man named Christos Melonakos gave him those papers. He in turn gave them to his best friend and told him to only give me the papers if the situation warranted it.”

Victor frowned. “Your father knew he was adopted?”

RJ nodded. “Yes, he did. He found out then, when Christos Melonakos gave him that file.”

“Demetrios Cassadine,” Victor muttered. “His real name is Demetrios Cassadine.”

Patrick nodded. “We know that. He’s the youngest son of your father, Matthias. At first, we thought he was Robert Scorpio’s father.”

Victor actually chuckled. “I’m sure you came to rule that out fairly quickly, yes? There is only about a decade between their birth years.”

RJ smiled. “Yeah, we ruled that out. We knew that you and your brother Tony had no children at all, so that left one person.”

“Mikkos,” Victor answered. “Since you’ve obviously spoken to Victor Kiriakis, I’m sure you know the story of my brother and a young woman named Larisa Liakos.”

The three nodded in the affirmative, prompting Victor to continue.

“They had a very brief, very passionate affair when Larisa was only eighteen years old,” he told them. “Mikkos was unaware of Larisa’s subsequent pregnancy. He never once tried to find her. However, I kept an eye on her and discovered her pregnancy. I never told my brother, or anyone else in my family. I knew when she gave birth, and I knew it was a son.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Robin asked then. “You didn’t think Mikkos would have been happy?”

Victor smiled at his great-niece. “He would have been ecstatic. I knew that, but I also knew he had commitments to our family and chasing after a teenager who’d had his son did not factor into those commitments.”

“You’re hiding something,” Patrick suddenly said. “You know who discovered Larisa had given birth to the heir to the Cassadine fortune, and the Russian throne.”

Victor couldn’t hide his shock.

RJ snickered. “Did we forget to mention that we know about the rumors that Matthias Cassadine was actually Alexei Romanov? I can see by the look on your face that it’s true. Isn’t it?”

Victor sighed deeply. These were secrets he’d kept since childhood and early adulthood. Secrets he’d never spoken aloud to anyone in more years that he could count.

“Yes, it is true,” he whispered. “My father was Alexei Romanov. My nephew, your father would have been in grave danger had the wrong people discovered his existence and true identity. Just several weeks before I convinced Larisa her child was already in danger, I’d discovered a woman had been asking around about Larisa and the rumors of her dalliance with the Cassadine prince. She had a Russian accent. She was older and she was traveling with a child, her son presumably. When I received word she was questioning people about the possible existence of an heir, I went to Larisa and…for lack of a better word, took your father from her and arranged for a quick adoption. The rest is, as they say, history. You know who he grew up to become and you know how and why he died, and at who’s hand.”

“Who was the woman?” RJ demanded. “Who was asking questions? Was she a Cassadine?”

Victor cleared his throat and thumbed through some old photographs in the contents he’d retrieved from the safe. When he came across the one he was looking for, he handed it to RJ.

“That is her,” he said. “That was a surveillance photo an…associate of mine managed to capture.”

RJ and Robin looked at the picture and gasped at the same time. They knew of this woman. They’d seen photos before. Their father had shown them when they were children.

“We learned only her name. Ekaterina Rostova. The boy, Valentin. Should it interest you, Rostova is Helena’s maiden name.”

The woman was their father’s first WSB teacher and partner. O’Reilly.

 

Wow! All the convoluted connections. Like how more clues are surfacing. One big question though that still remains to be answered is "Why now?"

 

Yes WOW and nice to see more unfolding

 

Thanks to everyone who was, is, reading. Below is the next chapter!!


Chapter Fifteen


“Oh, my God,” Robin breathed. “Oh, my…no, no this…”

“You know this woman?” Victor demanded.

RJ nodded and swallowed deeply. “Yeah. Well, no, not really. We never met her. She was our dad’s mentor when he first became a WSB agent.”

“Brighton O’Reilly was her name,” Robin said softly. “Dad always…always spoke so fondly of her. She taught him…”

Victor stood and began to pace. “All the precautions I took. I took him from Larisa to keep him safe and she got to him even before I…”

RJ stood as well. “I don’t understand. How could a woman you came across in 1949 be the same person my father was partnered with in the WSB so many years later?”

“I…I don’t know,” Victor answered.

“What did you saw her name was?” Robin questioned as she pulled out her cell phone.

“Ekaterina Rostova, born in Moscow,” Victor revealed.

Robin dialed quickly and the phone was answered quickly.

”Donely.”

“Uncle Sean, it’s Robin,” she said in a rush. “RJ and I need your help.”

”Anything, sweetheart, what is it?”

Robin explained the situation as quickly as possible. “Can you look up the names Ekaterina Rostova and Valentin Rostov? We…I think she died in 1981, but I’m betting he is alive somewhere.”

”Of course, I’ll find what I can and have it to you today.”

Robin put her phone back in her bag.

“Why do you think she’s dead?” Victor questioned, already knowing the answer.

RJ smirked. “You’re the one who killed her. During the whole Ice Princess debacle in 1981. You shot and killed Brighton O’Reilly, my dad’s partner. You know, back when you and your crazy big brother Mikkos were trying to freeze the world.”

Victor smiled coldly. “We do what we have to do, my boy. Oh, and please do try and remember that we crazy Cassadine’s are your family.”

RJ and Robin shared a look while Patrick grasped his wife’s hand in his; tightly.

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WSB Headquarters
Brussels, Belgium

Sean hung up the phone and quickly and pressed a button on his desk. His secretary came in and Sean motioned her over.

“Yes, Sir?”

“I need you to pull the files on Ekaterina Rostova and Valentin Rostov from the archives,” Sean instructed. “Bring them to me immediately.”

The young woman flinched. “Sir, I don’t have the required…”

Sean stood and handed her a disk. “This will bypass the security protocols. Go, now.”

Without hesitation, the young woman did Sean’s bidding.

Once she was gone, a side-panel slid open in Sean’s office and out stepped Demetrios Cassadine.

“You’re doing well, Valentin,” Demetrios said between puffs on a cigar. “How are our assets coming along with Dr. Weston?”

Sean cleared his throat. “Dr. Weston informs they are ready for duty. They’ve recovered no memories of their previous lives and they aren’t likely to ever recover them. They are superbly trained.”

Demetrios smiled. “Excellent. Now, tell me, do you know why RJ and Robin Scorpio have gone to Germany?”

Sean sat down and sighed. “No, I don’t. My sources tell me they have been meeting with a man named Marc Berger. He was born and raised in Berlin, attended university in England and returned to Germany, to Hamburg where he built a successful business empire.”

“Interesting,” Demetrios muttered as he took a seat.

Sean leaned forward. “You don’t think Marc Berger is who he says he is?”

Demetrios pulled a photograph out of his pocket and handed it to Sean. It was an old black and white photograph of a tombstone. It read: Marcus Berger.

“Marcus Berger was both born and died in Berlin, Germany in 1940,” Demetrios revealed. “I’ve been…investigating the man calling himself Marc Berger for a few years now.”

“Who do you think he is?” Sean wondered.

Demetrios was quiet for a few moments before answering. “I think he’s the man who killed your mother, Valentin.”

Sean’s eyes practically glowed red in anger. “Victor Cassadine.”

“Yes,” Demetrios said. “I never believed that my dear older half-brother had perished behind bars. Neither did your Aunt Helena, but we could never prove otherwise. Victor, you know, murdered your mother during Mikkos’ unfortunate weather machine debacle in Port Charles.”

“My mother, she…she would not approve of me helping you,” Sean said softly. “Her original mission when she was recruited by the MGB was to find and kill the rumored heir to the throne. She never believed the child actually existed until…”

Demetrios nodded. “Until?”

Sean cleared his throat. “Until she was in Greece in 1949, three years after Robert, Alexios had been born. When she began asking questions, the responses she received convinced her that a child had been born of Mikkos.”

“Why did she not kill him years later when she discovered that Robert Scorpio was in fact Alexios Liakos, son of Mikkos Cassadine?” Demetrios wondered.

Sean smiled fondly, memories of his mother and his friend Robert assaulting his senses. “She tried, once in the late 1960’s, but she came to…to care for Robert once they met officially. She’d been placed in a position of having to trust him with her life. She learned of his honor, his sense of duty and his commitment to doing the right thing. She knew he was unaware of his origins and she did everything she could to make sure he never discovered any of it.”

“Do you think he ever did discover any of it?”

Sean shook his head. “No, I don’t believe so. Anyone else who did, or might have known the truth would never have spoken of it.”

Demetrios smiled. “He was your friend. You said your mother would not approve of you helping me. Why are you?”

Sean shrugged. “My mother adored Mikkos Cassadine; loved him beyond all reason. Had it not been for Larisa Liakos, he would have been with my mother and I would be the heir to the throne, not Robert and his son and grandson. I want what should have always been mine, I want…”

Sean never even saw the gun before Demetrios fired. One bullet was all it took. Sean Donely, born Valentin Rostov, was dead.

 

Oh, yes no honor among thugs, it appears. Sean never saw that one coming, I will bet. Robin, Patrick, and RJ are sleuthing very efficiently but if they only knew what or who aren't exactly how they've been presenting themselves all these years.

 

Thugs are always the same.
Love to see an update

 

Nope, Sean never saw it. They'll be finding out soon about some of those people. Thanks for reading.

They sure are.

Yep, once a bag guy, always a bag guy! They;ll keep hunting.


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Chapter Sixteen


RJ, Robin and Patrick were still sitting in Victor’s office.

“If there’s anything to find, Uncle Sean will find it,” Robin said.

RJ stood and began pacing the office. As he ran his hands through his hair, he noticed for the first time a television in the corner.

He pointed to it as he turned to Victor. “What is this?”

“A television,” Victor answered as he took a sip of his drink.

RJ sighed. “The program. What is it?”

Victor walked towards his great-nephew and listened to the words for a moment. They were in Russian and when he realized what was being said, he turned up the television.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was speaking to parliament. But that isn’t what drew his attention.

“What is he saying?” Patrick asked as he and Robin walked over.

“He’s speaking…about the Bolsheviks and the Revolution and my…my grandfather, Nikolai,” Victor told them as he listened closely. “He’s…oh, my…”

“What?” RJ demanded.

“This isn’t possible,” Victor whispered. “How could it have been overlooked?”

“How could what have been overlooked?” Robin questioned. “I know a little Russian but not enough to translate so quickly. He’s...saying something about…no new laws were made. No…”

Victor sat down heavily in his chair. “The Russian president has just informed Parliament, and the rest of the rest of the world that after the Revolution, the laws were not changed, not rewritten. Any heirs that were left were…they renounced all claims on the throne, others left the country. But the government…the laws…”

Patrick gasped. “That’s it!”

RJ turned to his brother-in-law. “What’s it?”

Patrick grinned. “Someone knew this information before the president went on television just now. Someone knew that the laws were never rewritten and that someone with a legitimate claim on the throne could…take it. Right, Victor? That is what he’s saying, isn’t it?”

Victor nodded slowly. “But that is…impossible. So few people knew the truth of our family.”

RJ tossed the photo of Ekaterina Rostova at him. “She knew. She knew, and you can bet if he did, so did Helena. Maybe her son knew, too. How many others could have figured it out? Were there any rumors about Larissa Liakos? Anything that suggested at all that she’d been involved with Mikkos, that she’d given birth?”

Victor shook his head. “None that could easily be substantiated. Of course there were people who had seen them together. Surely some saw her later with a child and could infer who his father was. But…”

“But nothing,” Robin finished. “We have to assume a lot of people know the truth, the whole truth; the Romanovs, Larissa, my father, all of it. They knew about RJ and Cooper and…”

Victor suddenly sat up. “They don’t want you, my nephew. They want your son.”

“Why?” RJ asked. “Why a child?”

Victor spread his hands out in front of him. “Who would be easier to control? You? Or a small child? He wants the son, not the father.”

“He who?” Patrick wondered, having picked up Victor’s words. “You know who’s doing this?”

Victor stood and breathed a deep sigh. “I have a fairly good idea. However, I was…unaware that he knew any part of the truth of the Cassadine family he was born into. I didn’t imagine that Mikkos would ever have been idiotic enough to share it with him. I never answered your earlier suspicion that I knew who figured out the truth. But, yes, I do believe that I know.”

“Your brother,” RJ answered for him. “Right? I mean, I’ve assumed from the beginning of this that Demetrios knew the truth.”

“Mikkos would never have told him,” Victor assured them. “From the time Mikkos and I were small children, our father impressed upon us the importance of keeping the secret. Divulging it would mean our certain deaths. I don’t believe our brother Tony was ever told, and I know Demetrios was not. But, yes, I believe somehow, he knows.”

“We’ve been speculating that Helena knows,” Patrick said. “Let’s assume that she does, that Mikkos told her the deep, dark family secret. Would she have told anyone else? Which would have served her own agenda better, shouting it to anyone who would listen, or keeping silent so as to keep one of her own sons as the heir?”

“She would have kept such knowledge to herself,” Victor decided. “Knowing that Stavros was a fraud, she’d never have put herself in a position to have to reveal the secret.”

“What do you know about a man named Cesar Faison?” RJ suddenly questioned. “His picture is in that file.”

Victor pulled out the photo and studied it for several long moments. “I know his birth name is not Cesar Faison. I know his ancestry is closely…entwined with mine.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Robin burst out. “Who is he? He’s been obsessed with my mother since RJ and I were children.”

Victor smiled at his niece. “Well. Obsessive tendencies do not surprise me. Downright psychotic behavior from this man would not surprise me. This…Cesar, was born Anton Rasputin. He is the great-grandson of…”

“Grigori Rasputin!?” Robin shuddered.

“One and the same, my dear,” Victor told her. “I heard he perished years ago in your own small town of Port Charles.”

RJ took a deep breath. “I don’t think he did.”

Robin whirled around. “What? You’re the one…”

RJ ran a hand through his hair. “I…this is gonna sound crazy, but…I saw him, Robs. Last night, I was looking out my room window. I couldn’t sleep, I felt like I was being…watched or something. I saw him. He was across the street. The light shined on his face just right, and it…it was him. Faison is alive.”

Patrick wrapped his arms around Robin’s waist and pulled her back against his body. “Tell him, sweetheart.”

“Tell me what?” RJ asked.

“I woke up last night; something woke me, a feeling of…extreme unease. I searched outside but didn’t see anything.”

“But I did,” Patrick suddenly said. “When you went into the bathroom, I pulled back the curtains and…there he was, staring right back at me. It was the man in that photo.”

“This presents a problem,” Victor told them. “The Rasputin family has a long history of…a sort of pull towards the royal family of Russia. Grigori was obsessed with Alexandra, you’re great-great grandmother. She in turn considered him a friend. She brought his madness into their home. I’m sure his great-grandson possesses the same…tendencies.”

“He does,” RJ said. “Especially in regards to my mother. But, my mother is dead. So, now who’s he after?”

“Me,” Robin said. “He’s after me. With Mom gone, he’d have…replaced her in his mind. He’s crazy.”

RJ began pacing. “I called Luke. He knows I saw Faison. He’s on his way here.”

Victor’s dark eyes widened. “Luke Spencer?”

RJ nodded. “Yeah, he’s…a friend.”

“I know who he is,” Victor stated. “He killed my brother and my nephew.”

RJ laughed. “Oh, like you killed O’Reilly? Like that, Uncle Victor? Let’s not debate who killed who and which was worse. My goal here, in all of this, is to keep my family and myself alive. I don’t care about the Russian throne or the Cassadine fortune. I’m a Scorpio, period.”

Victor lit a cigar and took a few puffs before speaking again. “That may not be enough, my boy. We may need to take drastic steps to keep you and your family alive, and it might mean becoming the one thing I’m sure you don’t want to be.”

RJ closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “A Cassadine.”

 

Jen, this is more convoluted and fascinating than ever, although I never would've thought that was possible. Love the talk and revelations in this update. Nothing like someone you thought was dust in the grave actually surviving and being obsessed with your family

 

WOW old history mixing with the new and signs for troule

 

Thanks a lot! It is a mess, isn't it?

Yeah, I know. What a tangled we, huh? Thanks for reading.

Big trouble! Thanks.



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Sorry it's been so long since I updated this story. So many other things have been keeping me busy, along with serious writer's block and little to no motivation/inspiration. Anyway, I'm back to it now. It's not a very long chapter, but some good (I hope) stuff happens. Hope you like it!!



Chapter Seventeen


After leaving Victor, Patrick and Robin had returned to the hotel where they enjoyed a quiet dinner together in the hotel restaurant while RJ had gone straight to his room to retrieve his laptop and had headed right back out to an Internet café a few blocks from the hotel.

“RJ’s not answering his cell,” Robin commented. “Or the phone in his room.”

Patrick glanced at his watch. “We ate dinner three hours ago. He said he’d only be gone an hour.”

Robin sighed. “He’s up to something.”

Patrick laughed. “Probably. Your brother is unique.”

Robin shook her head. “No, he isn’t. He’s…he’s our father all over again. He’s so full of this deep sense of right and wrong, honor, duty, family. That’s why he’s chasing this instead of letting it come to him. Our dad was the same way. It’s how and why…”

When she stopped, Patrick grasped her hand in his. “It’s how and why your parents died, right?”

With a few tears in her eyes, she nodded. “Yeah. When Faison kidnapped our mother, my dad knew he would come after him, too. Faison didn’t just want my mom, he wanted my dad dead. I told you that before.”

“Yes, you did,” he acknowledged.

Robin shrugged. “Rather than let Faison come to him, on his turf, my dad went after him, guns blazing.”

“You think things would have turned out differently if your dad had stayed in Port Charles and waited for Faison to come to him?”

She shook her head. “I really don’t know. I’ve spent my life, since I was fourteen anyway, trying to convince myself that it wouldn’t have made a difference. But I don’t know. All I do know is that RJ is ready to go full force at whoever is after our family.”

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RJ was typing furiously when he felt a gun barrel at his back. He turned around slowly and set eyes upon Cesar Faison. The man had on a long trench coat over an all-black ensemble.

“Faison,” RJ acknowledged. “Or should I call you Anton?”

If Faison was surprised that RJ knew his true identity, he didn’t show it. He simply sat down across from him and gave him a smile.

“Robert Scorpio Jr.,” he said. “Named after such a…a coward.”

“You’d better watch your language, old man,” RJ snapped. “I don’t play nice with people who insult my father.”

Faison laughed. “We shall see. You’re going to come with me. Some…associates of mine have need of you.”

RJ could still see the gun in Faison’s hand where it resided in his pocket. He knew there was no way he could get out of this. He had no doubt that if he tried to fight, Faison would open fire in the crowded café.

“Stand up, pick up your bag and head out,” Faison instructed. “Once outside, there will be a car waiting.”

RJ did as he was instructed. But as he picked up his backpack, he carefully pressed a button on the side of his watch without Faison knowing.

Faison kept the gun pointed at RJ until they were safely inside the vehicle.

RJ looked at everyone’s faces, committing them to memory. He didn’t recognize any of them.

*************************************************************************

Against her better judgement, Robin and Patrick had gone back to their hotel room and tried to get some sleep. It was just past midnight when Patrick was awakened by a beeping sound coming from Robin’s bag.

“Robin,” he said softly, nudging her. “Wake up. Something’s beeping.”

Robin stirred and as she opened her eyes, she too heard the beeping. It registered quickly what it was. She jumped from the bed and ran to her backpack and opened it up. She pulled out what looked like a cell phone.

“What is that?”

“It’s a tracking device,” she answered. “RJ activated the tracking chip in his watch.”

Patrick jumped up from the bed. “Why would he do that?”

Robin watched the blip on the screen for a while before she tossed it down on the bed and began pulling out clothes.

“Get dressed,” she ordered in a voice he’d never heard before. “RJ’s in trouble.”

“What…how do you…?”

Robin spun on her heel and pinned her husband with a glare. “I know. When we were kids, my parents gave us watches with tracking devices in them. There’s a button on the side to activate the microchip inside. We were always told only to use them in an emergency. I know, Patrick. He’s in trouble and he’s telling me.”

Before Patrick could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Patrick moved to open it but Robin’s hand grasping his forearm stopped him. He watched her pick up her handgun and move slowly towards the door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Ahab, Starbuck, open the door,” came a voice Robin knew instantly.

She flung the door open and was quickly in the arms of Luke Spencer. It only took her a moment to realize there were others with him; Sean, Jamie, Frisco and a few men she didn’t recognize.

“What are you…Luke, why did you let them come?” she demanded.

“Hey,” Sean said as he stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. “I’m a Scorpio, too. RJ’s my brother same as he is yours. They were my parents, too. You don’t get a monopoly on going after whoever is behind this.”

Patrick stepped between the siblings. “Arguing isn’t getting us anywhere. Let’s sit down and figure out our next move.”

“Good idea, Drake Junior,” Luke said as they all took seats and began brainstorming the situation.

*************************************************************************

RJ kept track of the time they drove along winding roads. Mountains, he thought. When the car finally stopped and he was ushered out, he looked around for a moment before he was hit across the back of the head and passed out.

“Brave man you are, Cesar, touching the Cassadine prince,” Demetrios Cassadine said as he looked upon his unconscious great-nephew.

Faison snarled. “I did what you asked. I got him here.”

Demetrios smiled. “Yes, you did. When he awakes, he’ll be greeted by a sight he never thought possible. His beloved parents. Alive.”

 

Such darn fun and I am loving your plot. The name 'Scorpio' and all these machinations bring back the days when my mom and I followed this particular soap diligently and I had a major crush on the original Scorpio so keep it up!

 

love where you are leading us. Fun characters

 

Thanks pronker and earlybird-obi-wan for reading!! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.


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Chapter Eighteen

Faison’s expression was one of shock. “What do…alive? How is that possible? I blew that boat…”

Demetrios sneered. “You survived, Anton. Is it so hard to believe that Robert and Anna Scorpio did as well?”

“I saw them die,” Faison said. “I saw my beloved Anna…”

Demetrios chuckled. “You saw what I wanted you to see. You saw what Sean Donely wanted you to see.”

“Donely,” Faison spat. “That incompetent fool. He wasn’t…”

Demetrios pinned Faison with a glare. “Donely was…useful, to a point. Not so regrettably, he is now dead.”

The door suddenly slammed open. “You killed my nephew?”

Demetrios and Faison turned to face an angry Helena Cassadine.

*************************************************************************

“Who are these two?” Robin asked, pointing at the two me she didn’t recognize.

Frisco pointed to the first one. “Former FBI agent and current WSB agent John McBain.”

John inclined his head. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Drake.”

Robin nodded, but her attention had turned to the other man. He was tall, about the same height as RJ. His dark eyes were a match for her own and he had dark, spiked hair.

“You look…familiar,” she said.

He smiled. “So do you. I’m Aidan…Aidan Devane. Newly-minted WSB agent.”

Robin gasped at both his British accent and his surname.

“Devane?” she questioned softly; her brothers and Luke now interested as well.

Aidan nodded. “Yeah, Devane. Why? You know that name?”

“It’s my…was my mother’s maiden name,” Robin told him. “Anna Devane.”

“Anna Devane,” Aidan repeated. “My mum, Lindsay, she had a…a younger sister named…Anna.”

“Oh, my God,” Robin said. “My…a long time ago, my mother mentioned her older sister, Lindsay. I think…”

“…we’re cousins,” Aidan finished.

“Hey, listen, this is all great, really,” Luke said. “But we’ve got a situation to handle. Where’s that tracker?”

Robin pointed and Luke picked it up. “The signal is coming from about 50 kilometers north of here, in the mountains. It’s stationary now. They must have stopped.”

“What do we do?” Patrick questioned.

“You learn how to shoot yet Drake Junior?” Luke asked.

Patrick nodded. “Yeah.”

Sean glanced at his brother-in-law. “Can you do it under pressure? Can you, a doctor, fire at another human being with the intent to kill?”

Patrick looked at Robin. He saw a strong, passionate, obstinate, bold woman. But he also saw his wife, to whom he had made a vow to love and cherish for all his days. That meant protecting her at all costs.

He met Sean’s stare. “Yeah, I can.”

“Good,” Frisco said. “Now, we need to put together groups and decide on our way in. Luke, you and Aidan go together. I’ll lead Sean and Jamie. John, you take Robin and Patrick. Robin knows her way around these things, but…keep a watch on Drake.”

If Patrick was offended, he didn’t let it show. Instead, he like everyone else, began slipping into their combat gear. Weapons were checked and ammo was stored on ballistic vests. Patrick watched as Robin expertly tested a pair of night-vision goggles.

“Okay, folks, this might get a little…hairy,” Frisco said. “Everyone watch everyone else’s backs and we’ll come through just fine.”

Just as they headed for the door, there was a knock. Luke opened it and was stunned to see none other than Victor Cassadine standing there. His eyes widened and he was about to lunge at Victor before he was restrained by Frisco.

“Explain yourself, Cassadine!” Luke hissed.

Victor stepped into the room and gave Robin a smile. “Wonderful to see you again, my dear. I’ve come to offer my assistance in the search for my nephew.”

“How did you know RJ’s missing?” Robin questioned as she stepped forward.

“I put a surveillance team on both of you when you left my office,” he revealed. “Newly discovered we may be, we are family. I…failed in my attempt to protect Larisa’s son. I won’t fail in protecting his children.”

“How magnanimous of you, Cassadine,” Luke sneered, having been let go by Frisco.

Ignoring Luke, Victor turned to Frisco. “The cabin where my nephew is being held is an old Cassadine property. My family have used it for generations.”

“You know the layout?” Frisco asked.

“Very well,” Victor acknowledged. “Our father used to take Mikkos, Tony and myself there as children all the time.”

“Who else knows about this place?” Aidan wondered. “What’s security like? Who are we likely to run into?”

“Other than myself, I’d venture a guess that Helena knows,” Victor answered. “As far as I’m aware, there is no security. My father only employed security when the family was in residence. As for who we may run into, your guess is as a good as mine, young man.”

The questioning went back and forth for the next ten minutes before Frisco finally held up his hands to stop the bickering.

“Look, we need all the help we can get,” he finally said. “We’ve got Cesar Faison, Cassadine’s unknown and whoever else we may run into. Cassadine, you and your men are with us.”

From there, things began to get chaotic again as more plans were laid out. Watching the others with a critical eye, Patrick missed Robin coming to stand beside him. He felt her smaller hand take hold of his.

“Are you going to be okay?” she asked her husband.

He looked down at her, mouth agape. “Me? What about you? This is all so…”

She chuckled. “It’s all so Scorpio.”

She tugged on his hand and pulled him over to the small sofa in the corner of the room. Together they sat down and Robin began to speak.

“When RJ and I were little kids, we didn’t go to birthday parties or skating rinks,” she said softly. “We learned how to tie people up, we took swimming lessons because you never know when you may need to swim away from an enemy. We were taught self-defense and how to handle most firearms. We were…we were sort of built for this kind of thing.”

Patrick just shook his head. “I don’t…”

She squeezed his hand tighter. “I know. You don’t truly understand, even after everything you’ve been told and seen. Maybe because of everything you’ve been told and seen. Me being a doctor and a mom; that’s who I am. But I’m also…this; this person you see now. This is what it means to be a Scorpio. I wish so much, now, that I had told you everything before we…”

“No,” he said with a shake of his head. “Would have, should have, it doesn’t matter now. This is what is, Robin. We’re here now. I just…I worry about Justin and Emma with both of us here.”

Robin looked down at the floor and Patrick knew there was something else he didn’t know. So he took to his new custom and asked the question.

“What is it?” he wanted to know. “Something about Justin and Emma?”

She looked up into his eyes and nodded. “If anything…if anything happens to us, Lucky and Elizabeth have instructions to take Justin and Emma and…disappear.”

Patrick’s eyes widened. “You’re serious?”

She nodded. “Scorpio-Spencer pact. We watch each other’s backs, no matter what. Stefan will make sure Lucky has everything he needs, and he and Elizabeth will take their kids and ours out of the country to protect them.”

Patrick let out a breath as he shook his head. “Okay. Well, while I trust Lucky and I know he’s a great cop, how about we both go home safe when this is all over and…no need for any of that other stuff.”

Robin smiled and held out her hand. “Okay. Scorpio-Drake pact.”

He grasped her hand and pulled her close. Their lips met in a soft kiss as Patrick ran his fingers through Robin’s long hair.

“I love you, Robin Scorpio-Drake,” Patrick whispered as he pulled back.

“I love you, Patrick Drake.”

 

What a great gift for soap dialogue here - the twists and turns and passions really come through well! I am tickled pink that the Robert and Anna Scorpio meeting is coming up. *rubs hands gleefully*

 

more and more is revealed. Love it

 

Thanks to everyone who is still reading. It is greatly appreciated. Below is (finally!) the next chapter.

**********************************


Chapter Nineteen


RJ slowly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and he knew it was from the blow to his head. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. He had no idea how long he’d been out. He’d completely lost his sense of time.

“Well, well, look who’s decide to join us,” Demetrios said as he sat down in a chair in front of RJ.

He focused on the man and instantly recognized him from the photos. “You’re Demetrios Cassadine.”

Demetrios, having lit a cigar smiled. “At your service.”

“What the hell do you want with me?” RJ snapped. “Why give that information to my father all those years ago? What do you want?!”

Before Demetrios answered, RJ heard a noise behind him. His eyes drifted to the left and he caught sight of Helena. Immediately, her finger went to her lips, motioning RJ to stay quiet. Something inside RJ told him to trust Helena.

He averted his eyes from her and looked back at Demetrios. “You know, it doesn’t matter what you want. You won’t get it. My father is dead and when Sean Donely and the WSB find me, you’re gonna be sorry you ever…”

Demetrios laughed. “Sean Donely? Oh, my boy, you can stop waiting for Sean Donely and the WSB to break down the door. Let me tell you a little secret about your godfather, Sean. He was born in Moscow to a woman named Ekaterina Rostova.”

RJ’s eyes widened.

“Ah, I see that name rings a bell,” Demetrios taunted. “His birth name was Valentin Rostov.”

Traitor, ran through RJ’s mind. Sean was a traitor.

Demetrios took a puff on his cigar. “Such a shame, really. He’d given me valuable information over the years. I was a bit sad to have to kill him.”

RJ started struggling against his bindings. “I’ll kill you! You’re a dead man, Cassadine!”

Demetrios chuckled as he reached out and rested his hand on RJ’s leg. “Now, now, calm yourself, nephew-mine. This is no way for the Cassadine prince to behave.”

RJ felt the bile rise in his throat. He already knew the truth, but to hear Demetrios acknowledge it out loud set RJ’s guts on fire. The fact that he had even a drop of Cassadine blood made him want to scream.

“I’m no prince, man,” RJ spit out.

“Oh, but you are,” Demetrios told him. “So was…is your father.”

*************************************************************************

“Doesn’t look too difficult,” Luke said into the headset he wore. “I only see three…no, four guards on the northeast corner.”

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Frisco instructed. “We’ve got all side covered. We’re going in together. Storm the cabin, overwhelm the captors and get RJ out. From insertion to extraction, no more than fifteen minutes. Fire only if necessary and for God’s sake, don't hit RJ. Okay, go.”

Frisco and John moved first with Robin and Patrick behind them. Robin had only taken a few steps when out of the corner of her eye she saw two figures in the distance. They looked familiar, and after a quick study, Robin knew why.

The gun fell from her hand and she was about to yell out when a hand clamped over her mouth. Frisco was right beside her.

“I saw them, too,” he said quietly.

“Saw who?” came over their earpieces; it was Luke.

Frisco didn’t know how to say it. “Robin and I just saw two more people enter the cabin. I don’t know how, Luke, but…I’d swear for all the world it was…it was Robert and Anna.”

*************************************************************************

“Why did you give that file to my father?” RJ asked, his breathing starting to slow as he calmed down.

Demetrios stood. “I don’t believe in secrets. My dear half-brothers Mikkos and Victor never saw fit to mention our own family history to me.”

“How did you find out?”

Demetrios smiled. Oddly, RJ noticed that it was very similar to his own smile.

“My brother Victor didn’t cover his tracks as well as he thought he did when he took young Larisa’s baby boy and gave him away,” he revealed. “A few people had an inkling of what had gone on between her and Mikkos and were watching.”

“You mean Helena’s sister, right? Ekaterina Rostova?” RJ asked, noticing Helena flinch slightly at the mention of her dead sister.

“Exactly,” Demetrios revealed. He was a bit surprised RJ had so much information. “Among a few others.”

“Who?” RJ demanded. “Who else knew the truth? Why did you want my father to know who he was? Who tried to kill him back in…?”

“Enough!” Demetrios yelled suddenly. “I have plans to enact. Cesar, will you please show our guests in?”

Faison was becoming very uneasy in his alliance with Demetrios. The man had become far more unstable than he’d realized. Nevertheless, he nodded and stepped to open the door.

*************************************************************************

“Oh, my God,” Robin muttered. “It’s Faison. RJ was…you and he were right, Patrick. It’s him. He’s alive.”

“We go now,” Frisco ordered. “Now!”

*************************************************************************

“What guests?” RJ questioned as he turned in his chair as much as he could.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw two people enter the room and his heart began beating wildly in his chest. Despite the nearly seventeen years since he’d seen them last in the flesh, RJ immediately recognized his parents.

Tears came to his eyes.

“Mom, Dad,” he said softly, barely managing to contain the sob of joy he wanted to let loose.

*************************************************************************

Demetrios flinched when he heard gunshots. Faison jumped into action, tearing his obsessive eyes from Anna.

“You fool!” Helena spat at Faison. “You were followed.”

RJ managed a laugh. “No Helena, he wasn’t. I activated the tracking chip in my watch.”

Demetrios had just pulled his weapon when the door slammed open and Frisco, John, Luke and Aidan stormed the room.

Frisco’s eyes went immediately to RJ. He had tipped his chair over and was out of immediate danger of being shot.

“Faison!” Luke yelled as he shot in the direction of his adversary.

“Ah, ah, Helena, not another move from you,” Victor said as he stepped up to his sister-in-law.

“Perhaps you should all take a step back,” Demetrios said.

Frisco saw that he had a grenade in his hand. Luke hadn’t taken his eyes off of Robert and Anna while Victor made sure Helena didn’t make any sudden moves.

“Well, well, I didn’t foresee this complication in my plans,” Demetrios said. “However, I can work with it.”

“Um, could someone untie me?” RJ asked from his position on the ground just as Robin and Patrick stepped into the cabin.

Her eyes immediately went to her parents. Tears gathered in her eyes as she looked at them while RJ stood and joined her.

“Mom?” she asked softly.

Robert didn’t take his eyes off of Demetrios, but Anna finally looked at Robin and RJ.

She took a tentative step forward and tilted her head to the side. “Robin?”

Robin let her tears fall at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Yeah, Mom, it’s…it’s me. Oh, my God, you’re…”

Anna pulled Robin into her arms and held her a moment before reaching for RJ as well. He slowly moved into his mother’s embrace.

And it felt all wrong.

*************************************************************************

Luke’s attention had shifted only for a moment to Robert and Anna, but it had been enough for Faison to back up slowly and exit the cabin unnoticed.

“Damn it!” Luke said when he realized what had happened.

“What is all of this about, Demetrios?” Helena asked, never taking her eyes from Victor.

“You don’t know, Hells?” Luke demanded.

“I followed Demetrios in an attempt to discover what he was up to,” Helena revealed. “I knew he was planning something but I didn’t know what, or who it involved.”

Pulling away from their mother, Robin and RJ faced Helena.

“You expect us to believe that you didn’t know the truth the whole time?” RJ questioned, his eyes constantly drifting between his parents and Demetrios.

Helena laughed. “Of course I knew the truth, you daft child. I’ve spent the last thirty years trying to protect that secret; trying to make certain your father never learned his true identity. I believed my mission a success until I heard rumblings from some…associates that a couple calling themselves Robert and Anna Scorpio had surfaced in 2008.”

RJ knew then he and Patrick had been right. Helena had no interest in exposing the truth.

“What about you?” Patrick spoke up, looking at Demetrios.

“Yeah, what do you hope to gain from all of this, Uncle Demetrios,” RJ demanded. “You don’t really believe you can use my father to…”

“I’ve been using your father for seventeen years, boy!” he snapped. “Your mother as well, and your beloved Sean Donely.”

Helena watched her brother-in-law. She hadn’t forgotten that he’d killed her nephew, Sean; Valentin.

“Helena’s dear sister Ekaterina, known better to you as Brighton O’Rielly was quite helpful to me for some time before her attack of conscience,” Demetrios told them. “She tried to eliminate Robert for me once, long ago. When that didn’t work and she later informed me that he and her own son, Sean, had become involved with the WSB, I saw another opportunity.”

“Enter Faison,” Robin guessed. “You knew he was obsessed with my mother. You used that to…”

Demetrios smiled at his great-niece. “Correct you are, Robin. When Ekaterina informed me of your parents’ first meeting and subsequent…involvement and Cesar’s obsession, I saw my opportunity. I had a meeting with Valentin and made certain he understood what needed to be done.”

“He’s the reason they died,” RJ said. “Sean, Valentin set it up, didn’t he? He helped Faison grab my mother and…the WSB set up that explosion. He convinced them that my mother needed to be eliminated because she was a double agent. Right?”

Demetrios tipped his head. “Yes. Only Faison had begun acting on his own. What was supposed to be a WSB sanctioned kill turned into Faison trying to kill your father and take Anna for himself. I couldn’t have that. It had become apparent to me my plan would work much better with your father alive.”

“But Faison blew the boat before the WSB got there, didn’t he?” Aidan joined the conversation. “He wanted to kill my Uncle Robert so he could have Aunt Anna for himself. He didn’t expect her to die, too.”

Everyone was slowly moving around the room. All eyes were still on the grenade Demetrios was holding. If he pulled the pin and dropped it, they were all dead.

“Correct,” he confirmed. “They were both confirmed dead. Imagine my own surprise when I received a call from Valentin informing me of their survival. Oh, they were gravely injured, but they were alive. Over the years they recovered, were re-trained and put to work for me. They eliminated many of my enemies on several continents.”

“So, what now?” RJ wondered. “You have my father and me. Let everyone else go.”

Demetrios laughed. “Oh, no, I cannot do that. They will remain here while you and your father will come with me to Moscow. We have a throne to claim.”

 

What a reunion! It was the perfect example of joy and a touch of hesitance.

Well played, Demetrios, you conniver, you.

 

This was sure a big surprise for everybody.
Nice update

 

Chapters 18-19 -- wowsers, some jaw-dropping reveals. Love Patrick and Robin's solidarity as a couple.