Nikolas was trying desperately to keep up with Lucky.  They had
been running for forever it seemed, but probably just a few minutes in
reality.  Looking behind his shoulder, he didn’t see anyone following
them.  He reached out and grabbed Lucky’s arms, and brought them both to
a stop.  “Do you think it’s possible to just start walking at a brisk
pace now?”  Nikolas asked between breaths.  “There’s no way they could
get that van to move, and I doubt Daniel or Helena are marathon
runners.”
Lucky let out a small nervous chuckle as he swallowed hard and tried to
make words come out.  It proved impossible, though.  He just nodded at
Nikolas.  Then he smiled at him broadly.  All he could think about was
that they had gotten away.  He chuckled again, longer, than he was
laughing as hard as he could.  Tears came to his eyes, and soon Nikolas
was worried he had become hysterical.  “Lucky, are you okay?”  He asked.
Walking over, he laid a hand on Lucky’s shoulder, which his brother
pulled around him, hugging him.  Nikolas stood there awkwardly for a few
seconds, than smiled and embraced his brother back.  They had gotten
over their feud for awhile now.  It might have taken forever, but they
had even eventually become friends and cared about each other.  But
Nikolas knew now this moment had changed them even more.  Now they were
brothers, in every sense of the word.  He realized blood had little to
do with it.

Pulling back, he laughed as he messed up Lucky’s hair, and they
continued walking down the road.  “So what do we do now?”  Nikolas
asked.  “We’re pretty much out of danger, but Daniel was right.  We’re
in the middle of nowhere.”
Lucky nodded.  “Well, we need to keep moving, just in case.  Daniel will
have people coming after us, but Dad and Mom and Stefan should get to us
before then.” He replied.  Your medallion has a tracking device in it
too, so they know right where we’re at.  They were probably only about
ten minutes behind Daniel’s van, so I guess we just keep walking and
wait for them to come.”  Nikolas took his medallion off and dangled it
between him and Lucky.  “Well then, they should know that we’re both
really hungry.”  He said, grinning wickedly at Lucky.  “And we expect a
four star meal when they get us, and rooms in the finest hotel they can
find.”  Lucky smiled, and played along.  “Yep, and don’t forget we want
to be waited on hand and foot for the rest of our lives.”

Stefan, Alexis, Luke, and Laura all cried and laughed as they listened
to Lucky and Nikolas making their demands more extravagant and
ridiculous.  Luke looked at Laura with a sparkle in his eyes.  “They did
it babe, they did it all on their own.”  Smiling back at him through her
tears, Laura slid over and rested her head on his shoulder.  In the
front, Alexis put her hand over Stefan’s on the wheel as she got out her
cell phone and called Jason.  She told him how Lucky and Nikolas had
gotten free, laughing over how their rituals from the slumber party had
helped.  On the other end she could hear Liz and Emily screaming and
jumping up and down, and Jason telling them to sit down and put their
seat belts on.  She put the phone away happily, and they all sat
impatiently as they drove to the boys, none of them able to take the
smile of their face.

Ten minutes later, Lucky and Nikolas lay crouched in the ditch as they
watched two vans approaching.  The moment they were sure it wasn’t
Daniel, they ran to their parents.  They had all barely gotten out of
the van before they were giving hugs all around.  In the ecstatic
confusion of everyone going from one person to another, Stefan found
himself hugging Luke.  Both quickly pulled back and walked away, trying
not to acknowledge it, but everyone saw and were in stitches.   After a
few minutes, Luke looked anxiously down the road.  “Look, I don’t want
to break up the reunion here, but we need to get going before we get
spotted.”  He said, and everyone agreed.  Not wanting to let her sons
out of her site, Laura insisted they ride in the first van with her.
Liz and Emily were sad to not be able to stay with Lucky and Nikolas,
but knew they needed to spend time with their parents.  To even the
passenger numbers a little, Alexis rode with the girls and Jason.  Laura
shooed Luke and Stefan up front, and rode content in the back between
her sons, holding a hand of each.  Soon all three of them were asleep,
the boys leaning their heads on each of Laura’s shoulders.  Quietly,
Luke picked up Laura’s camera and took a picture of them.
“Laura will treasure that picture.”  Luke explained to Stefan.  “She
always liked sentimental stuff like that.”  Stefan only smiled.  “All
right, I kinda think it’s cute too.”  Luke sighed.  “Give me a break, I
just got my son back.”  Stefan smiled wider and kept on driving.
 
“Sir, I’m sorry, but it appears the boys have been picked up by their
parents.”
Daniel frowned at the news told to him by one of his guards.  “That at
least means you have an idea of where they are, right?”  He asked.
“Um, not exactly.”  The guard said, shifting uneasily.  “We saw them all
getting into the vans, but then, well, my men were not trained enough to
keep up with them.  They were experts at losing people.”
“Of course they are experts, you idiot.  They lost people for a living
for ten years!”
Daniel paced back and forth.  “Wait a minute, you said two vans?”  He
stopped pacing and looked at the window.  When he spoke again, it was
more to himself than to his guard.  “I suppose it would be more
comfortable with four adults and two children if they had two vans.  But
the boys would want to stay together, and I doubt either Cassadine or
Spencer would stand for being in a different vehicle.  Alexis might, but
Stefan and Luke and Laura would stay near their sons.  So, then, who is
in that other van?”  A small, mischievous smile spread across his face.
“Who indeed?”  He repeated, as he turned to face his guard.  “Please
tell Helena to come see me at once.  I have a few plans to run over with
her.”  The guard nodded and left, as Daniel sat down and chuckled to
himself.

Chapter 30

     Early the next morning, the Spencers, Cassadines, and friends piled
into yet another emergency safe house.  They all collapsed into chairs
or couches.  Luke checked his watch.
“Well, why don’t we all get some sleep for a few hours, then we’ll plan
what we do next.”  He said.
“Next?”  Nikolas asked.
“Ya.  Sorry kid, but as much as we all want it to be, this isn’t over
yet.  We know why Helena and Nikolas took you, but that won’t stop them
from coming after you again.  We’ll have to beat them at their own game
if we want any peace.”  Luke replied.
Nikolas nodded, and then looked over at Liz and Emily.  “I’m sorry we
got you two involved in this.”  He said.
“Don’t be.”  Emily said.  “If I wasn’t here, I’d be going out of my mind
with worry.  This way, I get to have a little adventure, while I drive
my family crazy.”
“It’s still dangerous for you to be here.”  Lucky said.  “Dad, is there
a possibility that Liz and Emily could go home before something
happens?”
“Lucky, we don’t want to go!”  Liz exclaimed.  “I know you don’t want us
to get hurt, but we feel the same way.  We have to be here to know
what’s happening.”
“Well, I’m going to have to side with the girls on this one.”  Luke
said.  “By now, the Quartermaines and Audrey have alerted the police to
your absence.  I know you each called home once, but I doubt letting
Edward know that his granddaughter is off on another adventure with the
Spencers put him at ease much.  So, if Helena is smart, and I have to
admit she is, she knows your both gone.  It won’t take her long to
figure out where you are and who you are with.  I’m sorry to say this,
but that means that you both are targets.”
Lucky sighed, and leaned his head against the couch.  “So what do we do
to get this all over with for good?”
“I believe I have the answer to that one.”  Stefan said.  “We must take
away the so called ‘trophy’ that is won by whoever has control of both
of you boys.  Which means we go on to Polk, and get the Ice Princess
before Helena or Daniel can.”

Helena stared out the window of her hotel room.  She turned when she
heard the door open, and frowned at Daniel.  “I’m surprised you have the
nerve to show your face.”  She said coldly.  “A man of your reputation
should know better than to leave his gun by his feet.”
Daniel walked forward, standing face to face with Helena.  “And a woman
of yours should not let mistakes of her employees ruin her plans.”
“My plans?”  My employee?  I’m sorry, but I thought you said time and
again that you were in charge now, and you would someday ‘rule’ the
Cassadines.”  Helena replied.  “So what are you saying now?  Since we
have messed up, suddenly you don’t want to be responsible for
everything?”
“My dear, I have not messed up.  You maybe, by letting the control of
your family slip through your fingers.  But I have just run into a snag.
This will all be made up for soon.  Not only will I get the boys back,
but they will come to me on their own.”  Daniel said.
“How in the world do you plan on accomplishing that?”  Helena asked.
“Simply by changing my targets.  To catch the prey, you just need the
right bait.”  With that said, Daniel turned and walked out of her room.
Helena stared after him with contempt.  They may all have the impression
that she had gone soft at the moment, but she would never lose sight of
her number one goal.  She would rule the Cassadine family.

“So how far away is Polk?”  Alexis asked, as she and Laura looked over a
map of Colorado.
“Well, we drove a lot last night, so it should only be about six hours
from here.”  Laura replied.  “If we take off soon, we should be there by
nightfall.  Then we can check in somewhere, and get the Ice Princess
tomorrow morning.”
Alexis nodded, then looked up at Stefan.  “So, once we get the ‘trophy’,
how do we keep Helena and Daniel from still trying to take it and the
boys away from us?”
“It shouldn’t be that hard, actually.”  Stefan replied.  “Once we get
back to Port Charles, we can press charges against both of them.  Not
only for taking Nikolas and Lucky this time, but for kidnapping Lucky
before, too.  Helena would have had to get custody of them before, in
order to become head of the family.  She probably would have bribed a
few judges, but that won’t even work if the boys testify against her.
Since they are in our care, she can’t keep that from happening.  So it’s
just a time race, really.  We need to get back to Port Charles and get
Lucky and Nikolas on the stand, before she is able to grab them again
and keep them quiet.”
“I wish we could find some other way, though.  It was hard enough for
Lucky to open up to us, but how can he repeat all that in a court room?”
Laura asked.
Luke squeezed her shoulder.  “It will be hard, babe, but he’s strong.
We’ll be there to support him, and he’ll get through it.”
“Speaking of them, where are they?”  Jason asked.
“They’re outside talking with the girls.”  Alexis replied.  “I think it
would be nice if we gave them about an hour to relax before we took off.
This might be the only break they have for awhile.”
The others agreed, and they sat to eat lunch.  Jason grabbed four extra
sandwiches, and went outside to join the teens.  They talked casually
for awhile, joking and laughing, until curiosity got the best of Liz.
“What happens after we get the Ice Princess?”  She asked, unknowingly
echoing Alexis' words.  Jason explained that they would have to press
charges against them, trying to make it sound easier than it would be.
“That means I’ll have to get up on the stand, then, doesn’t it?”  Lucky
asked, a little pale.
“Yes, it does.”  Jason said sympathetically.  “But don’t worry.  I have
a few friends, and I’ll make sure it’s closed to the public.  The story
will still probably get out to the papers, but I’ll just beat up anyone
who says anything to you, all right?”
Lucky smiled and nodded his head.  “It will all be worth it to get
Helena and Daniel behind bars, right?”
Nikolas laughed.  “Yeah, can you imagine Helena in stripes?”
They all chuckled, but they were still a little uneasy.  They were all
in for quite a ride.

Chapter 31

     The next morning, Luke woke up first and walked to the window.  He
glanced to the floor to make sure Lucky and Nikolas were still there.
They had driven to Polk yesterday, and now were camped in two adjoining
hotel rooms.  Looking through the two open doors that separated the
rooms, he did a quick check to make sure all the girls were okay.  He
turned back around as he heard Stefan getting up.
“When shall we leave to get the Ice Princess?”  Stefan asked in a
whisper.
“Well, the bank doesn’t open until 9, so we have about an hour to eat
breakfast before we head out.”  Luke replied.
Stefan nodded.  “And then we fly straight home, correct?”
“Yeah.” Luke said. “Straight home, and straight to the police station.”
He looked at Lucky again.  “I wish I could come up with another way.”
“It has to be done.”  Stefan said.  “Lucky testifying can put Helena and
Daniel away, otherwise they will never leave all of us alone.”  He
paused a little, and then continued.  “If that doesn’t work, though, we
will find other means to get rid of them.”
Luke looked at Stefan, and saw an understanding and determination in his
eyes that mirrored his own.  He nodded, and then they began to order
breakfast and wake everyone up.

“So what is your plan?”  Helena asked.  “They’ll have the Ice Princess
in less than an hour.  Are you just going to let them walk away with
everything we both want?”
“Dear, you’ve underestimated me.  If I snatched the boys back now, I’d
still have to get them to the bank to get the Ice Princess.  Why not
just wait until they get it for me?”
“Well then, how are you going to get the boys after that, even?  Stefan
and Luke will be more cautious now.”  Helena said.
“The boys will come to me on their own, once they find I have their
girlfriends in my care.”  Daniel replied.
“Let me warn you, Daniel.  You are getting just a bit cocky.  You have
no idea how determined and dangerous a Spencer can be when you get them
mad enough, even if the Spencer in mention is merely a boy.”  Helena
said.
“You are warning me to watch out for Lucky?”  Daniel asked laughing.
“Please, I think we both know I can handle him.  I’ve shown that in the
past.”
“Only in the past, you could scare him.  Now you only make him angry.”
Helena got up and turned to walk out of the room.  “I won’t want to be
around you when he and Nikolas come after the girls.”

Stefan, Luke, Nikolas, and Lucky walked into the First National Bank of
Polk.  Stefan talked quickly to a clerk, and they were all shown into
the room where the safety deposit boxes were kept.  After confirming
that Stefan was Stavros brother, and that he was the legal owner of the
box’s contents since he was dead, the clerk handed them the key and left
them alone.  Opening it quickly, Stefan pulled another box out of it.
He laid it on the table, and they all studied it.  It had no lock on it,
but two clear plastic spots on it.  Under one was an ‘N’, under the
other was an ‘L’.  Nikolas looked at Lucky, and nodded.  The boys
brought their thumbs up to the spots, and pressed down.  The lid of the
box cracked open.  Stefan pushed it back all the way, and withdrew the
Ice Princess.  They stared at it for a moment, and then Luke helped
Stefan place it in a bag, and they left the bank.

At the hotel, Jason, Alexis, and Laura were in the middle of some boring
conversation.  Liz and Emily stared at the ceiling blankly.  Emily
picked a pillow and hit Liz playfully with it.  Liz smiled, and picked
up another pillow.  In seconds they giggling and shouting.  They stopped
suddenly when they looked up and saw the adults frowning at them.  They
put the pillows down slowly and sat back down.
“Can we go get something out of the vending machines?”  Liz finally
asked.
“Sure, there’s some change on the dresser.”  Laura answered absently.
The girls picked up some quarters and walked out the door.  They found
the vending machines at the end of the hallway in an isolated room by
the stairs.
“So are you looking forward to going home?”  Emily asked.
“Well, I miss Gram, but if you take the stress of worrying out of this
trip, it was lot of fun.”  Liz replied.
“Yup, I know what you mean.  After my family gets over being glad I’m
back, and then starts lecturing me for taking off, I’ll be wishing I was
back to the night of our slumber party.”  Emily said.
They both began remembering details of that night and laughing.  They
never heard anyone coming down the hotel steps and walking into the room
behind them.  Before they knew what was happening, they were both out
cold.

“Shouldn’t the girls be back by now?”  Alexis asked, looking at her
watch.
“Yeah, they should.” Jason replied.  “It shouldn’t have taken more than
five minutes, and they’ve been gone for ten.”  A little worried, they
walked down the hall, but the girls weren’t at the vending machines.
Panicked, Laura nervously rubbed her hands together.
“Oh God, where are they?”  She asked.  They began to search for them
when they saw Luke, Stefan, and the boys walking down the hall towards
them.
“Mom?”  Lucky asked worriedly.  “Mom, what’s wrong?”
He and Nikolas looked at her anxiously when she didn’t respond.
“Jason, what’s going on?”  Luke asked.
“We can’t find the girls.”  He replied.  “They came down here to the
vending machines, but that was at least fifteen minutes ago.”
“All right, they probably just went for a walk or something to check out
the hotel.” Luke said with calmness that he didn’t have.  “Let’s just
look for them, I’m sure they will turn up.”
They looked everywhere, but with no luck.  The girls were nowhere to be
found.

Chapter 32

     Leaning his hand against the wall to try to cover up the fact that
he was shaking, Lucky spoke softly.  “They’re gone.”  He looked at
everyone, without really seeing them, and fell against the wall, sliding
down to the floor.  “They’re gone.”  He repeated.
Luke walked over and knelt down beside him.  “Lucky?”  He asked gently,
laying a hand on his shoulder.  “Cowboy, don’t worry.  We’re going to
find them.  It’s going to be ok.”
Lucky looked up at his father with his lower lip trembling.
“Helena has them, Dad.”  He choked out, fighting the tears.  “Helena,
and Daniel.”  Pausing, he swallowed hard, and looked at the floor dazed.
“Daniel will just use them as bait.  He doesn’t need them.  All he
wants..”  Crying freely now, he had to force the words to come.  “All he
wants is me and Nikolas.  Once he has us, he’ll… he won’t have a use for
them…..he-he’ll kill them.”
Luke brought his hands up to Lucky’s face and pointed his head so that
they were looking eye to eye.  Blinking back his own tears, he managed
the best smile he could.  “No.  No, that won’t happen, son.  We won’t
let it.  Ok?”  He asked, searching Lucky’s eyes.  “We’ll make sure
they’re all right.”
Lucky nodded dully, but didn’t really believe him.  A thousand thoughts
raced through his mind, but he could only grasp a few.  Daniel had
Emily.  Daniel had Liz.  Processing it slowly, he held on to one more
thought.  He would die before he’d let anyone hurt them.
Laura stepped forward and stood beside Luke, looking down at Lucky.
“How about we go back to the room and figure out what we’re going to do
next, ok honey?  We’ll have them back in no time.”
“Yeah, let’s go work on finding them soon so we can all go home, all
right Lucky?”  Nikolas asked, trying to assist his brother in standing
up, but nearly having to pick him up all the way.  He put his hands on
his shoulders.  “Come on, you have to stay strong for Liz.  She needs
you, Emily too.”  Finally Lucky seemed to respond and regain something
in his eyes, determination probably.  Nikolas sighed, relieved.  Liz and
Emily weren’t the only ones he wanted Lucky to be strong for.  He felt
like his world was collapsing knowing that Emily was in danger.  He
would need his brother now more than ever.

Turning over slowly, Liz opened her eyes, blinking at the light.  She
clutched the side of her head, and tried to remember why it hurt so
much.  Pushing herself to her knees, she saw Emily lying beside her.
Shaking her shoulder and calling her name, she eventually got her to
wake up too.
“Where are we?”  Emily asked groggily.  “I don’t know.”  Liz replied.
“I don’t know how we got here, either.”  Emily sat up, and both girls
suddenly remembered going to the vending machines, and hearing people
behind them too late.  They stared at each other with eyes wide, and ran
to the door.  They knew it was useless, but they still had to try.
Locked.  They turned to the windows.  Barred.  Trying to beat the fear
and feeling of helplessness coming over her, Liz failed and sank to the
ground sobbing.  Trembling, Emily fell beside her.  “It’s going to be
ok, Liz.”  She said, to Liz and herself.  “Nikolas and Lucky are going
to come and get us.”
“What if it’s not?”  Liz asked.  Suddenly she realized why they were
taken.  “Oh, Emily, he’s after them.”  She said.  “That awful man,
Daniel, he’s after Nikolas and Lucky.  He’ll get them to come here with
the Ice Princess.  Then he’ll kidnap Nikolas and take control of him and
the Cassadine Empire.”  She stopped short suddenly, and looked Emily in
the eye.  She saw her own fear she was afraid to voice reflected.
“Daniel doesn’t like Lucky.”  Was all she could get out.  Sliding across
the floor to a corner farthest from the door, the girls wept and clung
to each other.  Closing her eyes, Liz prayed with all her might for her
and Emily’s safety, as well the boys.

“So your saying your men have no idea where they’re hiding?”  Stefan
asked.  Jason nodded.  “It seems they’ve caught on a bit, and are being
more careful now.”  He replied.
“Well they can’t be too far.”  Luke said.  “Daniel wants the Ice
Princess and this is just his way to get it.”
“Well doesn’t that mean they’ll make contact with us?”  Laura asked.
“Like what, a ransom note?”  Alexis asked.  “That’s too simple for them.
Helena and Daniel are bad enough by themselves.  Their plan is taking
them longer than they thought it would, and they’ll want more now.”
“More like revenge.”  Jason said, more like a statement than a question.
“Exactly.”  Stefan said.  “Now they’ll be out for more than control,
they’ll be out for blood.”
“Well isn’t this a surprise?”  Luke asked.  “The elder of the Addam’s
family is hungry and has decided to feast on my family!”
“Luke, please, the last thing we need right now is to fight.”  Laura
sighed, getting cut off by Stefan.
“I believe if we take an accurate look at history, we will find that you
have terminated more Cassadines!”  He yelled.
Standing up from his seat in the corner, Lucky walked quickly onto the
balcony, shutting the door behind him.  Placing his elbows on the
railing, he closed his hands over his ears.  Nikolas walked out after
him, and stood observing him for a while.  He looked like he was trying
to shut out the whole world.  Moving a little closer, Nikolas cleared
his throat.  Lucky looked up, and gave him a weak smile.
“I just kinda needed out of there for awhile.”  He said.
“I can understand that.”  Nik replied.  “It’s like old times inside.  I
thought we were over all that fighting.”
Lucky nodded.  “Yeah, me too.”  He stared down at the ground.  “I guess
Dad and Luke just called a temporary truce to take down Helena.  I
should have known better, I think I did deep down.  Still, part of me
thought we’d be one big happy family when we got to Port Charles.”  His
eyes faded out once again.  “I suppose that’s just too much to ask for.”
“No it’s not, Lucky.”  Nikolas said.  “We shouldn’t even have to ask for
that.  Leading a peaceful happy life, and being close to all your family
is something everyone should have a right too.”  Feeling himself getting
increasingly upset, Nikolas started to pace back and forth.  “We were
cheated, Lucky.  Both of us were cheated our whole lives.  We deserved
to know each other, and grow up together.  Instead we were raised to
hate one another.”  He stopped and looked at Lucky.  “It’s time everyone
realized we are brothers, and we are going be brothers, and no one can
stop that.”
Lucky smirked.  “You know, it’s nice to know that their fighting bothers
someone else as much as it does me.”  He said.  “I’ve always hated
violence, believe it or not.”
Nikolas laughed, and then stopped.  “You can’t be serious.  I mean, who
started most of our fist fights?”
“People sometimes do things they hate, Nikolas.  They get this thing
that grows inside them, called guilt, and they unconsciously try to
punish themselves for it in the worst way they know how.”
Nikolas stared at his brother incredulously.  “What in the world could
you have to feel guilty about.”
“You.”  He replied softly.  Giving a quick glance up, he continued.  “I,
uh, I was curious about you.  When you first came here, I knew I was
supposed to hate you.  You were a Cassadine, and I just thought that was
the way things had to be.  But deep down, I knew I didn’t, I couldn’t
hate you.”  Lucky took a deep breath and continued.  “For the first time
in my life, I had these two separate things that I believed in
completely that totally contradicted each other.  I was taught that
Cassadines were evil, but also that nothing was more important than
family.”  Taking a few steps, Lucky grabbed Nikolas by the arm.  “You
have to believe that I didn’t mean any of it.  I thought that wanting to
know you was wrong, that I was failing my father by going against what
he believed.  And that was just something I couldn’t let myself do.  My
whole life, all I had was him and mom.  I was too afraid of losing them.
So you see, I had to try and stop the feelings I had toward you.  When I
attacked you, I was attacking myself.  It was the worst punishment I
could think of.”
Nikolas looked at him in wonder.  “Lord, Lucky, I never knew any of
that.  You shouldn’t have had to feel like that.  Neither of us should
have.  I was taught that you were evil too, but I think I always felt
more jealousy towards you than anger.  In my eyes, you had the perfect
life because you had the one thing I always wanted, our mother.  It was
like my life was an unfinished puzzle that you held the last piece too.
It took me forever to realize that you were another missing piece
yourself.”
Nikolas extended his hand to Lucky.  “From now on, though, no matter
what happens, we don’t let anyone else tell us how to feel.”  Lucky
nodded and the brothers shook hands.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucky saw something lying near the edge of
the balcony.  Walking over to it, he picked up what he recognized as a
book Liz had been reading.  “This is Liz’s.”  He told Nikolas.  Opening
the cover, Lucky frowned when he saw a letter inside it.  Throwing Nik a
curious glance, he opened it up.  Nikolas moved beside him and read over
his shoulder.  Both their eyes widened at what it said.  It was from
Daniel.  He had the girls, and would release them only when they both
came to get them, alone.  An address was scribbled at the bottom.  The
boys looked though the balcony door to see the adults still going ten
rounds about foolish things.  An understanding passed between them as
Lucky shoved the letter in his pocket, and they walked inside to wait
for nightfall to leave.

Chapter 33

     Slowly, the door to the room opened, flooding the now dark room
with light.  Smiling evilly, Daniel walked across the room to stand in
front of the girls.  They were still huddled together as if to ward of
danger, but their sleeping faces held a look of peace.  As if they
believed they would get out of this.  Daniel grinned even wider at that
thought.  This would certainly all come to an end for them soon, but not
in the way they hoped.
“Lucky will soon learn how wrong it was to defy me.” He whispered as he
knelt down.  “How much he loves you is obvious.” He said as he lightly
trailed his fingers across Liz’s face.  “When he see you killed because
of him, it will break him.  And you, my dear Emily, will teach Nikolas a
lesson.  Your death will give me control of Nikolas and the Cassadine
Empire.  I might keep Lucky around, and I might not.  Nikolas may
cooperate better if his brother’s life is at stake.  Of course, I can
always find another means if Lucky proves to be too much trouble.”
Daniel laughed.  “Oh, soon I will have everything I want, and I have you
two to thank for all of it.  Sleep tight now, and try not to dread the
inevitable.”  With that, Daniel walked out of the room, leaving the
girls in darkness once more.

“Are you sure this is the best way?” Laura asked again.
“Darlin’, I know it seems like we’re not doing anything, but we can’t
just go out striking with our eyes closed.  Since we have no idea where
they’ve taken the girls, I’m afraid the best thing we can do is just
wait.”  Luke said.
“But it’s like we’re not even trying!” Laura exclaimed.  “Those girls
risked everything to come with us.”
“Laura, believe me, we all know that.” Alexis said.  “All any of us want
is for them to be back here safe.”
Stefan nodded.  “It may seem frivolous to stay still, but attacking
Helena and Daniel could just bring the girls harm.”
The boys listened quietly.  They both almost preferred that the adults
would fight again.  The fact that they were being somewhat agreeable
with each other was making it hard to think of leaving for the girls
without them.  But if they didn’t go alone, well, it was something they
couldn’t risk.  Lucky got up and followed Nikolas into the vacant of the
two adjoining rooms.
“It’s getting dark.” Lucky said, looking out the window.  “We’ll wait
till they go to sleep and..”
They jumped as they heard the door between the rooms close.  They looked
up to see Jason standing in front of the entrance with his arms crossed.
“We’ll wait until they’re asleep and what?”  He asked.
Nikolas looked at Lucky, who sighed.  There was no way he could lie to
Jason without him knowing it.  “All right Jason, we all know it will be
no use to try and pretend nothing is going on.  So I’m just going to ask
you to trust us and not say anything.  We can handle ourselves, and
that’s all you need to know.”
Jason crossed the distance between him and Lucky and stood right in
front of him.  He stared him straight in the eyes for a long time, with
no expression on his face.  Lucky was a little nervous, but didn’t break
eye contact.  Finally, Jason spoke.
“Don’t get yourself killed.”  Lucky looked at him questionably.
“I’m not agreeing with this at all.”  Jason explained.  “But I don’t see
anyway to stop you.”
“Thank you Jason.”  Lucky said.  “You won’t regret this.  We’ll get the
girls and ourselves back here before morning, and then we can all go
home.”
“I hope so.”  Jason replied.  “Listen, if you get in trouble, you let
Daniel know that I have connections, and he’ll never have any peace if
any of you are harmed.”
Lucky laughed as he handed Jason the letter he and Nikolas had found.
“I will.  And if we aren’t back tomorrow, the address is inside this.”
Jason nodded as he put the letter in his pocket.  “I’m counting on you
to bring my sister back.  You too.”  He said, directing his last
sentence at Nikolas.
“I can promise you I’ll do everything I can to get her back.”  Nikolas
replied.
“I’m not sure if that should reassure me or make me want to make sure
you stay away from her.”  Jason joked.  They sat down then, and actually
had a reasonably light conversation, as they waited for the others to go
to sleep.

Walking out onto the balcony behind his wife, Luke stared at her and
smiled.  The moonlight shining around her matched her hair, and brought
out the sparkle in her eyes.  Sneaking up on her, he grabbed her around
the waist and held her close as he listened to her laugh.  Closing his
eyes, he thanked whatever force it was that gave him Laura.  They might
have a few problems right now, but then, when didn’t they?  One of the
things he could always count on was her.  They may sometimes fight, and
make each other madder than anyone else could, but their love was always
strong enough to stand it.
“I love you Laura.”  Luke whispered in her ear.  “Every time I see you,
I fall in love again.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Laura smiled as she too closed her eyes and leaned back against him.  “I
love you too, Luke.  I’m so glad we have each other.”
“And we always will, Laura, no matter what.  This is just one more thing
life is throwing out to test us, but we show them up every time, don’t
we?” Luke asked.
“Yes we do.”  Laura whispered, her face lighting up.  “Everything that
has ever happened, we’ve beat it, and we’ll beat this too.  The girls
will be back here in no time, and we’ll no longer have some silly feud
to worry about.  Everything will be perfect.  We’ll have our children,
and their friends, and we’ll have each other.”
“Add Skillethead and we’re on our way to Brady Bunchdem.”  Luke said.
“Aren’t we missing an Alice?”  Laura asked.
“Well I don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought Jason would look
good in an apron.”  Luke said grinning.
Grabbing one of her wrists, Luke suddenly twirled Laura around, catching
her by surprise and getting her to laugh once again.  Holding her by her
hand at arm’s length, Luke gave her his most irresistible Spencer
smiles.
“Dance with me Laura.”  He said, a twinkle in his eyes.
“Luke, there’s no music.”  Laura said.
“Oh, sure there is.”  Luke replied light heartedly.  “If you stop and
listen hard enough, there’s always music when you’re around.”
Unable to resist his invitation, Laura moved closer to him and they
seemed to float around the balcony.  Tilting her back into a quick dip,
they stayed that way for a moment until Luke leaned down to kiss her.
The stars shone brightly above them, and the wind blew gently.
Everything was ok for the moment.
Neither of them saw the boys creep out onto the balcony next door, and
jump down to the one below it.  They also didn’t see when they ran
around to the front of the hotel and quietly backed the car out onto the
street and took off.  By the time they looked up the night was peaceful.

Chapter 34

Stopping the car about half a mile from their destination, Lucky and
Nikolas got out a little hesitant.  This was a trap, and they knew it.
But they also knew they didn’t care what happened to them if the girls
made it out safe.
“Look, their going to be expecting us, but the letter said to come an
hour from now.  Hopefully we can stake the place out first.  We’re in
the middle of nowhere, so there won’t be many places to hide, but there
also won’t be any nosy neighbors around to spot us.”  Lucky said.
“Won’t Daniel be expecting us to show early?  He knows we don’t trust
him.” Nikolas said.
“He’s underestimated us before, though.” Lucky replied. “The letter he
sent said to come alone.  See, he expects us to be so worried right now
that we will follow every direction to the letter.  The biggest thing
about Daniel is his ego, and it will be the key to his downfall.”
“All right, why don’t we cut across this field and come up behind that
line of pine trees beside the house.” Nikolas said.  “We should be able
to see three sides of the place from there.”
“Wow, you’re catching on to this sneaking around stuff pretty quick.”
Lucky said grinning. “Before you know it, you’ll be a full blown
Spencer.”
“I’m not sure if I should really take that as a compliment, but thanks.”
Nikolas replied.
“Don’t mention it.  Now let’s go.”

“Shhh!” Laura whispered as she swatted at Luke.  “The others are asleep
by now, and we’re going to wake them up.”
“Stop nagging me woman.” Luke said playfully.  “Can I help it that my
heart screams when I’m around you and I sometimes have to voice it?”
Luke continued, his voice rising at each word.
“I’ll put a muzzle on your heart if you wake up the boys.” Laura said.
“Come on, let’s go inside.  It’s getting rather chilly out here.”
Sliding the door open as quiet as she could, Laura crept inside with
Luke behind her.  Alexis and Stefan were both asleep.
“I’m going to go to bed too, just let me check on the boys first.”
Laura said.
Luke nodded at her, and she carefully opened the doors separating the
rooms.  It was completely dark, and she didn’t want to wake them up, so
she turned around to leave.  Then she got a feeling telling her to go
back and look.  Just to be sure.  She tried to tell herself she was just
being silly and paranoid as she fumbled for the light switch.  She
gasped when she saw the empty beds, and yelled for Luke.

“They're in the middle room upstairs.” Lucky told Nikolas, as they
crouched under the trees.  “There’s a vine creeping up the side of the
house leading to a window next to theirs.  If one of us could climb up
that and..”
“Wait a minute.” Nikolas said to Lucky, who was still staring at the
house working things out.  “How do you know they're in that room?”
Lucky looked at him as if he had three eyes.  “There’s bars on the
window.  You think they're just for decoration?”
“Ok, next question.” Nikolas continued.  “Daniel wasn’t be expecting us
early, but we can’t get them out of there that fast.  We’re supposed to
meet him in half an hour.  And how are we supposed to get them out
without anyone hearing anyway?”
“Just follow me, ok?” Lucky said.  “I’ve got a plan.”
“Great.” Nikolas mumbled, as he hurried to catch up with his brother,
who had crept up to the back of the house.
Pulling on the vine to see if it would hold, Lucky began to climb it.
Nikolas did his best to follow him up, getting tangled more than once.
At the top, Lucky cautiously peered in the window.  It was dark, and he
didn’t see anything.  Nikolas watched him take some tool out of his
jacket, and pry the window open.  Slipping into the room, Lucky ducked
his head back out and helped Nikolas in.  The room they were in was
empty, and they walked quickly to the door.  Peering out and seeing
nothing, they went out into the hall and stopped at the next door.
Lucky quickly and expertly unlocked it, smiling to himself as the door
slid open.
“Remind me to have you show me how you do that sometime.” Nikolas
whispered.
“You got it.”  Lucky replied, glancing around him, and then at his
watch.  “Look, go in and get the girls, and get them out of here, ok?
You’ll probably have to climb back down the vine again.”
“Wait, where are you going?” Nikolas asked.
“Look, Daniel is going to be watching for us, and when he doesn’t see
us, he’ll suspect something and come up here.  I’m just going to go down
and stall him to buy us a little more time.”
“How do you plan on getting out after that?”
“I’ll figure that out when the time comes, all right?” Lucky said.
“Just get the girls to the car.  Wait for me for twenty minutes tops,
and if I’m not there, go get my dad.”
“Lucky, no.” Nikolas still resisted.  Lucky turned around and looked at
him.
“Nikolas, do this for Liz and Emily.”  With that, he turned and
disappeared down the hall.
Reluctantly, Nikolas walked in the room without his brother.  Closing
the door, Nikolas turned on the lights.  He glanced around the room and
saw the girls huddled in a corner.  He quickly walked over to them and
shook Emily.
“Em, wake up.” He said gently.
Emily slowly opened her eyes, which widened when she saw Nikolas.
“Nikolas!” she screamed as she threw her arms around him.
“Shh!” Nikolas warned.  “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Emily said as she pulled back.  “What’s going on?  Why isn’t
Lucky with you?  Is he okay?  Does Daniel know you’re here?”
“Slow down.” Nikolas said chuckling.  “Everything’s all right.  We just
need to get you two out of here.”
Liz woke up and smiled when she saw Nikolas.  “You came after us.”  She
said.  “Where’s Lucky?”
“He had to take care of something, but he’ll meet us later.  Let’s go.”
Nikolas replied.
The girls followed him into the hall and the room next door.

Sliding into a study downstairs, Lucky sat down and put his feet up on
the desk.  Closing his eyes for a moment, he said a silent prayer in his
mind that he had the courage to go through with this.  Hearing the door
open, Lucky leaned back and smiled at the person who came in.  “Hello
Daniel.”

“Luke!  Luke!” Laura continued to shout until he came rushing in, Stefan
and Alexis behind him.  “Luke their gone!” She screamed.
Luke frowned at the vacant room as he tried to calm down Laura.  “Hey,
we don’t know they're gone, they're just not in here at the moment, ok?”
Stefan walked over and opened the curtains and door to the balcony.
Holding their breath, all four of them felt fear take over them when
they were greeted with just Jason.
Luke glared at him.  “All right Jason, where did they go and why didn’t
they tell us?”
“They were told to go alone, and they asked me to trust them.”  He
replied.
“You let two teenage boys go after a hit man with a grudge against them
alone?”  Alexis asked incredulously.
“I don’t see what age has to do with it.” Jason said.  “There was no way
they were going to be stopped.”
“Luke, they're in trouble, I know it.” Laura cried.  “We have to go
after them.”
Looking up from his wife to Jason, Luke gave him a pleading expression.
“Jason, I understand how determined they were and I know they can handle
each other, but everyone can use some help sometime.  Now please, tell
me where they went.”
Jason looked at Luke and Laura, and debated in his mind what to do.  By
now the boys had gotten there and Daniel knew they had come alone.  If
they hadn’t made it out immediately they probably wouldn’t without help.
But then what would happen if they showed up and Daniel did something
drastic?  Jason shook his head, he knew what he should do.  Walking over
to Luke, he pulled the letter from his jacket and handed it to Luke.

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