Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty Five

CHAPTER 35

August, 2013

In the order of things Todd liked, talking to Natalie was not in the top ten.  It was probably not even in the top one hundred.  Since the redheadeded interloper got to Llanview, she had rubbed him the wrong way.  It went beyond the fact that she had taken Jessica’s place in the family (and led to years of confusion afterwards, as well).  Todd knew what it was like to learn about your roots later in life.  He had gone through pretty much everything Natalie went through.  Unlike her, however, Todd hadn’t barged into Llanfair like Natalie had.  It took him years to feel at ease with the rest of the Lords and, to be honest, he still didn’t feel like part of the family.

Still, he needed that phone number and, by the conversation he had had with Natalie a few days ago, suspected she had it.  It made him uncomfortable, but not nearly as much as the idea of his daughter with that slick haired sugar daddy.  No, he wasn’t going to think about that right now.  Now, he had to deal with his disliked niece and her possible new boyfriend. 

He stepped into Natalie’s office, not even trying to be charming as he had with Clint earlier.  “I need to get a phone number from you,” he demanded bluntly. 

Natalie was a bit startled to see Todd even in her office.  It took her a minute to process what he was saying.  “I’m sorry, you need what?”

“A phone number.  Jeez, did you not hear me?” Todd asked, irritated that he had to repeat himself.

Natalie offered him nasty smirk.  “Why do you need something from me?  And, do you actually think I’ll give it to you?”

Todd rolled his eyes.  “I think you will, because it can help us catch who or whatever is after our family.”  He then decided to go for a gentler approach.  “Yes, I actually do consider you family.  And your name was on that list, as I’m sure you know.  Look, give me the number and you can even stay and listen to the conversation.  I may…I may actually need your help eventually.”

“Whose number do you need?” she asked, resigned. 

“Nick Jobek’s.”

Natalie paused her scrolling through the contact list on her phone.  “Why do you think I’d have his number?”

“Well, he is your latest boyfriend, right?  I figured you’d have exchanged it by now,” Todd commented.  Natalie went back to her task, not referring to Todd’s intimations.  “Hey, at least I approve of this last one.  Cutter was really not the type of guy I’d want around my nieces, even the ones I don’t like.  And John…the less said about him, the better.”

Wordless, Natalie showed Todd the number.  He dialed it and turned the speaker on.  After a few rings, the other end picked up.  “Nick Jobek speaking,” he announced.

“Nicky, Todd Manning.”

“Hey there, bruiser.  What can I do for you?”

“When are you heading back to Llanview?”

“As it just so happens, I’m at the gate at Midway, waiting to board.”

“And when do you start with the Keystone Kops?”

“Buchanan told me of your loathing of the police,” Nick said.  “I’m not supposed to start for another couple of weeks.  I’m just heading out early because I have time off and I wanted to catch up with you.”

It had been so long since Todd had anyone he could come close to calling a friend, especially another man, that it sounded strange to his ears to hear anyone wanting to ‘catch up’ with him.  “When you get here, come to Llanfair as soon as you can.  I have a deal I want to make with you and several people who are there already.”

“What kind of deal?” Nick asked.  “Has there been a break in the case?”

“Yeah, there may be, but, in his infinite wisdom, your soon to be boss doesn’t believe me and won’t pursue it.  So, I need help from someone who will at least think for a split second about giving me the benefit of the doubt.  There are so few people who are willing to do that here,” Todd said as he eyed Natalie.  “And, hey, if you help, you’ll be working with that hot readhead you were asking me about.”

“I thought you didn’t like the idea of me and your niece?”

“Well, truth be told, you’re a step up from her last boyfriend.  He was a cop too, and he arrested me,” Todd explained.  “And the funny thing is, I never even broke the law!”  Todd glanced at Natalie and caught her narrowed eyed gaze.

From the other side of the phone, a flight was being called.  “Look, that’s me.  I’ll be there soon and you can explain this all to me, because I am so confused right now,” Nick said.

Todd shook his head.  “Okay, call me when you land, I’ll have a car waiting for you.  Talk to you soon.”  He ended the call abruptly, putting his phone in his jacket pocket.  “When he gets here, meet me in the carriage house at Llanfair.  And find your sister and her boyfriend.  I think he could be useful.”

“Useful in what?” Natalie asked, not sure she even wanted the answer. 

“In my investigation.”  With that, Todd left Natalie looking more confused than usual.

He skillfully avoided running into Bo Buchanan at the station, but, as his hand was about to reach the handle on the door, he heard one of the most unpleasant voices.  “Todd Manning, what brings you down here?  Shoot your brother again?” Nora Buchanan asked.

Todd took a deep breath as he turned to the Llantano County District Attorney.  “Hi, Nora.  Um, no, I haven’t even shot my brother once, if you want to bring it up.”

“What are you doing here, Todd?” she asked again, as she began to lose her patience.

“I was here visiting my niece, if you must know.”

Nora crossed her arms at that.  “You have to be up to something.  You don’t even like Natalie!”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t visit her in the place where she works,” Todd retorted.  “Look, I have a busy schedule to keep. Remember, big newspaper publisher.  I’m sure there’s some scandal in the DA’s office that’s just waiting to be uncovered.  Tootles!”  With that, he made his escape. 

Blair was waiting for him in the car.  “What took you so long?  You said it would be an in and out.”

“Natalie was being a bit uncooperative and Nora stopped me and accused me of some crime.  Same old, same old.”  He checked his phone when he heard a message beep.  “Jack’s back at Llanfair, said he has some information that may be useful.  We should head there.”  He very deliberately avoided using the word home.  He had never, nor never would, consider the Lord estate as his home.  And he was getting anxious for the renovation on the penthouse to be complete.  He wanted to be back in the only place he’d ever come close to considering home as soon as possible. 

“You know, Jack’s been getting very good with the computer.  I’m sure you heard he hacked the hospital’s security,” Blair said with a touch of pride. 

“Yeah, he had mentioned it.  And he asked me about the blackout,” Todd said, a smile on his face.  “That was a fun night.”

“Yeah, it was,” Blair said.  They drove in silence the rest of the way back.  When they got there, Jack was in the library going through a trunk with Jessica.  “Hey, your dad said you had something for us?” she asked her son.

Jack looked up.  “Yeah, Jessica helped me with it,” he said.

“Well, it was Jack’s idea,” Jessica replied with a reassuring smile.

Jack blushed a little bit.  “It was just something I wanted to follow up on.”  He stepped back from the trunk.  “After Mom gave me the note you sent her, the one with the papers giving her control of the paper, I did a little investigating of my own…about Victor Lord.”

Todd looked like he didn’t comprehend.  “What did you want to know about him?  I think we know all we need to about him.”

“Well, did you know that he was a World War II vet?” Jack asked.  “And that he was in the OSS?”

“I’ve never really cared about him, so, no, I didn’t.  What’s the big deal about that?” he asked.

“The OSS was a forerunner of the CIA.  As in, whatever group Irene was working for.  They supposedly had ties to the CIA.  Maybe that was even how she got connected,” Jack answered.

“And we went through Grandfather’s trunk of wartime memorabilia.  There were some files in it that had an interesting name come up,” Jessica said as she handed it to Todd.

“Elizabeth Dalton,” Todd said. 

Jack nodded.  “I ran the name through a web search.  She was a young private who, it looks like, served as Victor secretary during his time in the service.”

“Another conquest?” Todd asked sarcastically.

“Not quite.  Elizabeth Dalton returned to the States after the war and married a Charles Peterson,” Jessica began to explain.  “He died about seven years later and she remarried, this time to a Walter Perkins.”            

“Peterson and Perkins?” Blair asked.  “You’re not saying…”

Jack took over.  “We went further.  With Peterson, she had a son, Carl.  With Perkins she had a daughter…”

“Allison Perkins,” Todd concluded.  “Now that’s an interesting turn.”

“What’s an interesting turn?” Viki asked as she came into the room.

“Nothing, sis,” Todd answered too quickly.  “We were just talking about…the chances for Jack’s soccer team this year.  Turns out the captain broke his leg, will be out for the season.”

“Okay, what’s really going on…and why do you have Father’s Army trunk out?”

“Um, well,” Jessica began.

“I…I wanted to look into something I learned about him,” Jack said.  “Look, I don’t like bringing him up with you or anyone else, but I mention to Jessica that I saw in his obituary that he was in the Army and Jessica mention that this was up there.”  He turned and waved back to it.  “She helped me get it down and go through it.”

Jack could tell his aunt wasn’t buying it, but was shocked when she said, “You should know about your grandfather, all there is about him.”  She went to the trunk and started shifting through the items in it.  “I really don’t even know that much about his time in the war.  He never talked about it to me.”  Then she stood up.  I need to get a room ready.  Clint may be released tomorrow and I think it best for him to stay here with us.”

“I agree, Sis,” Todd said as Blair added, “If you need any help, let us know.”

Viki nodded and left the room.

Todd turned to Jack.  “Let’s get this into the carriage house.  I really don’t want anything around here that reminds her of the old man.” He turned to Jessica.  “Where’s your latest boyfriend?”

“Brody?  He had a meeting with Uncle Bo at the station, but he should be back soon,” she answered.

“When he gets here, have him meet us in the carriage house,” Todd told her.  “Nick should be landing in Philly soon, and I need to have a car meet him at the airport and bring him back here.  When he’s here, Natalie should be here as well.  I want all of us, including Starr, to gather there.  I think it may also be a good idea to have Victor and Tea here as well.  We need a firmer plan here, and we will put make one…together.”     

Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty Four

CHAPTER 34

August, 2013

Blair brought Todd to the hospital instead of the EMTs.  He refused most of the treatment they were giving him, but Blair wouldn’t let him off so easily.  Jack stayed behind with Victor to give a statement.  When they got to Llanview Hospital, unfortunately, they saw Viki first.

“What happened to you?” she asked, concern in her voice.

“Uh, I, um” Todd stuttered, unprepared for dealing with this sister.

“Well, Victor stopped by Todd’s office today,” Blair began.

However, before she could continue, Viki rolled her eyes.  “Oh, Todd, I had hoped you two could have waited to start with the fight over the money!  There are many more important things to worry about than the inheritance.”

Todd, who still wasn’t so peachy keen with his brother that he wouldn’t take advantage of a situation, grinned at that comment.  “That was what I said, but he attacked me, and may I say, it was unprovoked.”  Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Blair’s disapproving look.  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to press charges against him, though.  He did apologize for losing his temper before we left to come here.”

Viki continued with the disapproving look.  “I still have hope that you two will at least come to some understanding.  I don’t expect you to ever be close.  Lord knows Tina and I have had our issues over the years,” she said. 

Todd at least looked suitably chastened.  “I’m sorry, I really am.  You know, we are working on our relationship.  It’s just, it’s going to take a lot of time.”  Then he looked over at Viki.  “Is there any more word on Clint?”

“Yes, actually, he regained consciousness a little while ago.  The girls are in with him now,” she answered.

“Have you been in to see him?” Todd asked. 

She eyed her brother again.  “It’s more important for Natalie and Jessica to see their father, I think.”

A nurse then came over and Todd and Blair moved over to an exam room.  Larry Wolek followed them a few minutes later.  “You’re getting to be a regular here, aren’t you Todd?” he asked.

“Not by choice,” Todd grumbled as Larry examined his shoulder. 

“What happened now?”

“Rough housing with my brother?” Todd tried.

“Somehow, Manning, I doubt that,” he heard Bo say as he came in.  “I just got the report from the officer who was at the incident and, sorry, I just don’t buy it.”

Todd turned to Larry.  “Look, can you give us a minute?”  Larry looked between the two and left.  Todd turned back to Bo.  “I do need to talk to you…about some things.”

“Like the fight that was just reported to the station between you and Victor?” Bo asked in his usual suspicious tone.  “You’re going to tell me that it was completely unprovoked, right?”

“It was, Bo,” Blair chimed in.  “We may have gotten closer to some of what happened to both Todd and Victor.”

“Okay, then, what did you find out?” Bo questioned.

Todd gave him a rundown of the day’s events, with the exception of Jeffrey King’s possible involvement.  “Jack found the video of Carl Peterson’s speech and when Victor heard his voice, he got…weird.”

“Weird how?”

“He went rigidly straight when Carl was talking on the video.  I tried to get his attention, tried to shake him out of it,” Todd explained, waving to his limp arm.  “That was what the outcome of that was.”

“And once Jack shut the video off, Victor went back to normal,” Blair added.

“Well, normal for him, at any rate,” Todd commented snidely.

“What are you saying?” Bo asked, looking disbelieving.

Todd had to roll his eyes.  “I’m saying that right now, my prime suspect in all this is Carl Peterson.”

Bo turned around, trying to rein in his anger and collect his thoughts.  “You don’t even have circumstantial evidence at this point.  I still don’t even know what you are trying to say here.  What do you think Carl Peterson did, if he had anything to do with this, and I don’t buy that now?”

“I think he brainwashed Victor,” Jack said as he joined the group. 

Bo turned to Jack.  “Come again?”

Jack rolled his eyes, the very image of his father.  “When Victor heard the voice it was like a switch went on.  When I turned the video off, it went off.”

“And I tried to shake him out of it and he attacked me,” Todd said. 

“Todd, what you are telling me is fanciful at best, insane at worst.”  Bo began to walk away.  “Look, if you can bring me solid evidence, I can pursue it.  But right now, in a competition between you and Carl Peterson about who I believe, I’m sorry, it’s not you.”

When he was gone, Todd turned to Blair.  “Why does that not surprise me?”  Blair offered him a sympathetic smile.  “Well, I do have a reputation, as does Victor.  And I’m not so sure how much I want to awaken the Hulk to prove my point.  In fact, that’s my last option.”

“What’s your last option?” Starr asked as she came in. 

“Hey, Shorty.  Uh, we may have found something out about Victor today.  Unfortunately, I had to confront him about it and that’s why I’m here.”  Todd gave Starr a quick update as to the day’s events.  “And, shock of shocks, Bozo doesn’t believe me.”

“Well, this may interest you.  My lunch today, with Aunt Dorian, wasn’t just with her,” Starr said.  “Carl Peterson also joined us.”

“Well, that’s not a big surprise,” Blair commented.  At Todd’s looks, she said, “He’s being hanging with her for a while now.  They were seated together at the dinner, he bought her portrait for a quite frankly ridiculous sum…”

“The overly romantic one that used to hang at the top of the stair’s at La Boulaie?” Todd asked, making a face.  “Why would anyone want that painting?”

Blair chose to ignore his comment.  “She was also having drinks with Carl at La Boulaie and they went to DC together.  Also, he seemed overly interested in Victor Lord.”

“Yeah, he seemed impressed by the fact that Victor Lord was my grandfather,” Jack said with a measure of disgust.

“And he alluded to the fact that Dorian was married to him, which she did seem to want to forget,” Blair added.

“Well, on that one, I have to agree with Dorian,” Todd said.

“At lunch today, he kept harping on it too.  Like Victor Lord was someone who you should strive to be,” Starr said.  “To her credit, Dorian kept trying to steer the conversation away from that subject.”

Todd felt the bile threatening to rise in his chest.  He had been all too aware of how similar he had the potential to be to his biological father.  He shook the thought from his head.  “Look, Bo’s not going to even look at Peterson unless we find something solid.”  He then got a thought.  “I need to see Natalie,” he declared as he moved off the exam table.

“Hey, wait, Larry needs to finish checking you out,” Blair told him, holding her hands up to stop him. 

“Fine,” Todd grumbled.  “Let Larry fix me up.  But right after, I need to talk to Natalie.”     

  

Larry came in then and finished his exam of Todd.  Once it was over, Todd hightailed it to the waiting room.  He didn’t see Viki so he asked a nurse where she was.  The nurse pointed towards a room, where Todd found Viki sitting beside Clint’s bed.  A part of him didn’t want to disturb them, but he needed answers.  Putting on his most charming demeanor, he knocked on the door.  Viki saw him and beckoned him in.

“Well, it’s good to see you,” Todd managed to say without any sarcasm.

Clint didn’t look to be buying it.  “What do you want Manning?”

Letting out a breath, Todd answered, “Well, I wanted to check in on you.  I know…I know Viki was really worried about you.  Despite a lot of the craziness I heard went down, she’s really been worried about you.”  Viki looked at him wide-eyed.  “Come on, sis, like I said, you’re about as done with him as Blair is with me.”

“You and Blair?  Give me strength!” Clint exclaimed.  “What is it with you and your sister?  You just can’t get over your exes?”

Todd was usually loath to admit to having anything in common with Tina, but this time, he actually wanted to defend her.  “What can I say?  They’re in our blood, in our head, in our heart.”  Then he turned to Viki.  “Where’s Natalie?”

“She had to get back to the office and Jessica went home to check on the children.  Have you been looked at?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.  I got to go,” he said as he turned to leave.  “Look, Clint, I hope you get better.”

He walked back into the hall.  “Viki said Natalie went back to her office, so can you drive me there?” he asked Blair.

She nodded, smiling at him.  “I heard what you said in there to Clint.”

Todd gave her a bashful smile.  “Well, a wise woman told me it once and I guess it also applies to my idiot brother-in-law as well.”

Blair gave him a soft kiss on the lips.  Then, she asked him, “Why do you need to talk to Natalie?  You so often actively avoid her.”

“I need to get a phone number from her.  If Bo wants a formal case built, I know a cop who may be helpful in that.’”

“You know a cop?  Who would be willing to help you with that?  No cop on the LPD likes you.”

“Well, conveniently, he’s not on the LPD.  Well, at least not yet,” Todd said with an air of mystery.  “Come on, I’ll explain it on the way there.”  With that, they left the hospital.    

Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty Three

CHAPTER 33

August, 2013

“So, what do you think?” Blair asked as she walked into the main bar.

“You would just give up the club?” Rama asked.

“Not totally, but the day to day running of it?  Yes, I would,” she responded.  “Look, I started this place to escape the crap in my life.  I don’t have to do that anymore.  And, well, someone pointed out to me that this is a younger person’s game.  Besides, the acts you’ve brought in, Cutter, they’re great, but they, they haven’t been my style.”

“Well, I have to say, the night you saved us all by singing, it got the most rave reviews from the clubbers than anything else.  I’d hate to lose that,” Cutter answered, a sly smile on his face.

“Well, as I’ll still be the owner, I would be gone completely.  And I’m sure I can plan a date once a month or so,” she replied. 

They were about to continue their conversation when Diego’s voice could be heard from atop the stairs.  “Sir, we’re closed until later.  You’ll have to come back then.”

She didn’t hear a response, only scuffling.  Getting a sense of déjà vu from the night of the opening, she half-expected to see Todd at the top of the stairs as she went to investigate.  When she went to see, it was the next likely suspect there.  She called to Diego to let the guy go and Victor approached her from down the stairs.  “You know, you two are getting very creepy.”

“What do you mean?” Victor asked.

“The night of the opening, Todd pulled the same stunt you just did,” she explained.  “What do you want?”

“A drink, for starters,” Victor answered, ignoring the comment about Todd.  

Blair went behind the bar and pulled out a bottle of scotch.  After it was poured into the glass, Victor took it and swirled it around the glass.  “No warnings about the hour of the day?”

“I gave up pointing stuff like that out to you a long time ago,” Blair replied.  “Why are you in my establishment at this hour?”

Victor downed the glass then looked at her.  “I’m hiding.”

“Hiding from whom?”

“Everyone,” he answered as he took the bottle and poured another glass.  “Bo wants me in for questioning, Tea wants me to give her answers, Viki wants to check up on me.”  He downed the glass again.  “I don’t want to deal with any of it.”

Blair grabbed the bottle before he could go for it again.  “Victor, you can’t do that.  They all need you.  You have a lot of the answers to all this.”

“Why do you al think I do?” he shouted.  “What if I don’t have any of the answers?”

“Victor, you are at the center of all of this.  It was your abduction that started all this,” Blair told him.

“No, it was Todd’s.  He was taken and I was sent in to play him,” Victor replied softly, getting up.

“Victor…” she called and he stopped.  “If you can’t tell any of them, do you think you can tell me?”

Victor looked around then he said, “I’ll do you one better.  I’ll tell you and Todd.”

Blair nodded and went to her phone.  The other end picked up.  “You coming in any time soon?  Or am I going to have to dock you pay?”

“I had some business at the club and Victor showed up.  You may want to come, he wants to talk to the both of us,” Blair explained.

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Todd answered, ending the call.  Ten minutes later, he entered the club.  Looking from Blair to Victor, he said, “You wanted to talk?”

Victor nodded.  “Anywhere private here?”  Blair led the brothers to her office.  On the way there, she told Rama and Cutter they were not to be disturbed.  They went into the office and Todd and Victor stood at opposite ends of the room, with Blair strategically between them.

“So, what do you want to tell us?  And shouldn’t you be telling this to, like Bo or someone?” Todd asked.

Victor remained quiet for a minute, then seemingly ignored Todd’s question while asking one of his own.  “What do you want to know?”

Todd looked to Blair, confused.  She shrugged her shoulders back to her husband and he turned to his brother.  “If you can, everything.”

Victor nodded.  “I was in and out for…a long time.  I’m not even sure how long.  But I remember being strapped to a chair and feeling intense pain on my wrist.  I struggled against it, but nothing happened.  And I looked down and it was there,” he explained as he looked at his wrist.  “And a voice said, ‘Now you’re one of us, brother.’  I looked up and I just remember being scared.  It was, maybe, a day later, I made my escape.  I knew I had to get out of there.”

“What led them to tattoo you?” Todd asked.

“I…I don’t even know.  I’ve tried to remember and I can’t,” he answered, his eyes wild.     

Blair could sense Victor was about to do something.  She wasn’t sure if he would explode or pass out.  “Why did you leave town?  You were ready to leave even before you went to see Todd.”

“I was in the coffee shop and I saw another man with the same tattoo.  I thought he was sent after me.  I couldn’t let him get near Tea or the kids.”

Todd took a deep breath before asking, “Why didn’t you tell me this?  I ask you, I wanted a sign that I could trust you.  You telling me this, it could have warned me.”

Victor just shook his head.  “I don’t know.  And I wanted to tell you, but I thought…I thought that you were coming after me.”  At Todd’s look, he clarified.  “I thought they sent you after me.  Remember, I still thought you had shot me.  I thought you were part of them.”

Todd gave his brother what Blair would have thought was a look of pity.  Then, he seemed to move on.  “Do you remember any of the faces of the people who were holding you?”

Victor closed his eyes.  “Besides Allison….no one.”

Todd pulled out his phone and pulled up The Banner’s app.  After a minute, he handed the phone to Victor.  “Does he look familiar?”

Victor took it and his eyes narrowed.  “There’s something about his face.  I’ve seen it before, I know that.”

“It’s Viki’s savior for The Banner.  A digital media, blogging whiz.  Got the scope of the century that got Dorian ousted from the Senate,” Todd said.

“Where she never belonged in the first place,” Victor commented.

“I know!  And who in their right mind put her on the intelligence committee?” Todd added, then was chastened by Blair’s faux pissed look.  “Anyway, after I was kidnapped, Jack heard a suspicious call he was making.  Jack’s looking into it now.”  He looked at his brother.  “You want to come and help?”  Victor looked like he gulped.  “Look, I did mean most of what I said.  We need to put the past behind us.  We need…we need to work together.”  He held out his hand.

Victor looked at it and then, without hesitation, shook it.  Todd smiled at him genuinely, and, to Blair’s surprise, Victor returned one that was just as warm.

“Well, let’s get to The Sun, see how Jack is doing,” Todd said as they left the office.

A few minutes later, Todd, Blair and Victor walked into Todd’s office.  Jack looked up and didn’t actually look that phased at all by the three coming together.

“You got anything?” Todd asked without preamble.

“I think I…might,” Jack answered as he pressed a few keys on his laptop.  Then, he said, “Yeah got something there.  That school he went to, where he met Matthew and Dani?”

“The Warwick School,” Victor answered.

“Yeah, that’s the one.  It’s pretty pricy, but not outrageously so.  I,” he looked at his parents, “checked out their alumni list and he was there.  In fact, when he graduated, the keynote speaker was Carl Peterson.”

“Who’s Carl Peterson?” Victor asked.

Blair straightened.  “He was the keynote speaker for the Man of the Year dinner.  Ah, businessman, philanthropist, I think he’s generally involved in government, military type groups.”

“You have a video of the speech?” Victor asked.

“Yeah, hold on,” he answered as he typed in a few commands.  “You also wanna see Clint’s freakout?” Jack asked slyly. 

Todd and Victor each looked at the other like they were seriously considering it before Blair said rolling her eyes, “Just bring up the speech.”

All three men had looks of disappointment on their faces as the video was playing.  As Carl began to speak, Victor’s posture went straight as a pin. 

“Victor, what is it?” Todd asked.  But his brother seemed to be in a trance.  “Victor, do you recognize him?  Damn it, tell me--” Todd said as he grabbed his brother's shoulders.  What happened next caught everyone by surprise.  Victor wrenched Todd’s hands off his body and spun Todd around, pinning his arm behind him as he was tossed against a wall.  Blair could see the pain in Todd’s face and she moved to try and pull Victor off of Todd.

But, it was all happening too quickly to stop.  Victor wasn’t having any of it.  With an almost inhuman strength, he kept Todd pinned there.  Blair tried anything to stop Victor.  Jack paused the video to try and help his father and then…Victor stopped. 

Todd collapsed to the floor, his arm in pain and he suspected with a dislocated shoulder.  Blair crouched down next to him, checking him out.  He tried to wave her off, but she went to the phone.  “You need an ambulance,” she told him.

Todd didn’t answer, just looked at Victor.  “What the hell was that?” he yelled through the pain. 

Victor seemed to shake himself out of the moment.  “What…what just happened?”

“You don’t know?” Jack asked.  He looked to his father, then back to Victor.  “I started playing the video and you went…blank.  You stood up straight, like a soldier.  When Dad tried to talk to you, you attacked him.”

Victor just stared at the three blankly.

Todd took control of the moment.  “Look, the police are going to be here with the EMTs.  The story is we got into an argument.  I’m not…I’m not pressing charges.  But you are talking to Bo…or a shrink…or both!  Deal?”

Blair looked to Victor, who looked truly spooked by what happened.   But he seemed to understand Todd.  He nodded as the emergency techs got there.

Through the Darkness, Chapter Thirty Two

CHAPTER 32

August, 2013

Blair could tell that Todd hadn’t slept a wink that night.  He was normally an insomniac, but this time it was worse.  When she had come down to the kitchen and found him pouring a cup of coffee, it wasn’t even six in the morning.  “I’m not even going to ask you how you slept,” she said.

“Third cup of coffee already,” he told her.  He took a long sip as he moved to the carafe and poured some for Blair.  She accepted it as he continued.  “I kept going back to that night…what I did wrong.  And I’m not even thinking about what happened after I met the crazy lady in the woods.”  He looked to Blair.  “What if there was someone else there, waiting to snatch Tea?”

“Then you saved her from being kidnapped and held by whoever had Victor,” she said quietly. 

“What if, in saving her from that, I got her kid killed?  What if…”

“Todd,” she began, putting her hand on his cheek, trying to calm him.  It seemed to work.  “’What ifs’ will kill you.  You can’t go back.  But we can go forward and try to protect the family in the here and now.”

Todd took her hand and kissed it.  He was about to move on to her lips when Jack and Starr came bounding down the stairs.  “Hey, is there any news from the hospital?” Starr asked her father.

“Ah, no, nothing since I left last night.  But, when I did leave, they were saying Clint had the same tattoo as Victor,” Todd told them.

“What does that mean?  Did he become part of the same group as Victor?” Jack asked

Todd shrugged his shoulders.  “We don’t really know.  Victor is still not talking about what happened to him, even as Bo was pressing him last night.”  He looked at his two children and then at his watch.  “What are you two doing up so early anyway?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Starr said.

“I was going for a run.  I haven’t been doing a lot of training for soccer,” Jack replied.

Todd nodded.  “Look, you want to come into The Sun with me today?  I’d like your input on some things,” he asked.  Jack nodded and left.

“So, the Manning men are running the paper?” Starr asked.

“You know, you could come too.  Your mother’s still on staff and we could just make it a family affair,” Todd said to his daughter.

Starr smirked at him.  “As much as I like the sound of that, I never really had any interest in the publishing business.  Besides, Aunt Dorian’s been texting me for the last few days.  She wants to have lunch with me.  Probably figures I’m the weakest link in the chain and be more willing to hear her side of things.”  She shook her head turning to leave.  “Who does she think she’s dealing with?”

Todd had to chuckle at that.  He went to sit at the table when the door opened and Viki walked in.  “You’re all up?” she asked, concern in her voice.

“We are a family of insomniacs,” Todd declared.  “Here, sit down, I’ll get you some coffee, if you want.”

“Thank you,” she said. 

Blair could see she was tired.  “Has there been any change since Todd left?”

“No,” she answered as her brother set a coffee cup down in from of her.  “The doctors are trying to figure out what he’s been given still.  They don’t want to just take a shot in the dark and have it react to any drugs he may have been given.  Larry’s running every test known to man right now.”

“You should rest,” Todd said in his best advice-giving voice.  “Seriously, you’ve been up, how many hours straight?  Sleep for a bit, take a shower and go back out.  If there’s any news, I’m sure your daughters will call you.”

“You have a point,” she answered.  “By the way, how was Victor when you left?  I know the two of you went off for a while.”

“He’s dealing with some things,” Todd hedged, not wanting to answer further.  “Look, I have to get into the office.  Blair, you’ll be there?”

His wife nodded and he headed upstairs.

“Dealing with some things?” Viki asked her.

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think either of them has processed everything that’s happened to them in the last few years.  Really, how do you handle finding out that you had a long lost twin brother, then think you killed him and find out you had a false memory planted in you about that?” Blair asked.  “And think about it from Victor’s point of view.  He comes home and finds out his wife was pregnant and the baby was stillborn.  That’s not even taking into account everything else that happened in Port Charles!”

“You have a point there,” Viki agreed.  “I just hope that they can eventually find some common ground.  I really don’t like the idea of them squabbling over The Sun or the inheritance.”

“Do you think it would come to that?  I mean, I remember the hoops Todd had to jump through to prove he was Victor’s son.  And they were tailored to him…his medical history, his memories.”

“A good lawyer could challenge it,” Viki said matter of factly.  “Once everything is calmed down, though, I think I may just talk to the trustees about it.  See if I can’t find a way for a provision to be made for Victor.”

With that, she left the kitchen as Todd returned.  “You coming in later on?” Todd asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be in a little later.  I want to check some things out at Shelter.  And I want to run an idea by you about the club, but I have a few things to do first,” Blair said.  “I’ll meet you before lunch, okay?”

Todd nodded.  “That sounds like an idea.  And I have some ideas about your place at The Sun.  I want to run them by Briggs when I get in.  Hopefully, we’ll have everything line up for you by then.”  He turned to leave but faced her again.  “Hey, wanna crash Dorian and Starr’s lunch date?”

Blair smirked at Todd.  She had to admit she was sorely tempted to do just that, but she shook her head.  “Let Starr deal with her on her own.  She’s more than capable of that, trust me.”

Todd nodded and headed back to the door.  Then he stopped, turned around and went back to her, kissing her with a passion that nearly knocked her off her feet.  When he broke away, she looked to be catching her breath.  “See you later,” she said.

“See you soon,” he answered.”

**********

Jack turned the corner by the coffee shop when he noticed Jeffrey King having a seat at a nearby table.  He remembered Tea’s explanation of the description of the messenger at the hotel in Port Charles.  He wondered, briefly, if it could have been Jeffrey.  It made sense, as he was a reporter with a story and knowing any of the history between Todd and Dorian.   He had heard his aunt mention his father’s congratulations on breaking the news about Dorian’s scandal.  But he also remembered hearing Jeffrey on the phone a few days before and he hadn’t liked what he heard.  Jack stopped and thought about how to approach the other man then made his way over.

“Hey, Jeffrey, isn’t it?” Jack asked.

“Yes, you’re Viki Lord’s nephew, Jack Manning, right?” Jeffrey answered and asked.  When Jack nodded, Jeffrey said, “I heard your father was rescued?”

Jack nodded.  “Yeah, from up in New York State.  He and my uncle made an escape from wherever they were being held.  My dad was shot but he’s recovering.”

“Viki must be relieved.  I know she was really worried about the both of them.  She thought their kidnapping may have been linked to the scandal with Senator Lord,” Jeffrey said.  “Isn’t she also related to you?”

Jack made a face.  “Yeah, she’s my mother’s aunt but also, well, my step-grandmother, I guess.  She was Victor Lord’s last wife, hence the name, even if she doesn’t remember the relationship well.”

“I haven’t really met her, but I have seen her and Viki interacting a bit.  Viki looks like she’d rather have a root canal,” the reporter commented.

Jack thought about it and nodded, smirking a bit.  “Yeah, that’s a pretty good description.  Their issues with each other, well, they predate me, my sister and even my dad knowing he was Victor Lord’s son.”  Then, Jack paused, thinking of what to say next.  “By the way, if he hasn’t said anything yet, I know my dad was impressed with the story you broke.  I think he’s a little jealous The Banner got it.”

“Well, when I learn of it, I knew she was from Llanview, so I figured her hometown should be the one that got the story.  I didn’t even really know the full history of Viki and Senator Lord,” Jeffrey explained.  “Besides, at the time, The Sun didn’t seem to be doing a whole hell of a lot.  Your dad was out of town, right?  Up in New York somewhere.”

“Port Charles,” Jack supplied.  “Ever been there?  Dad said it had a load of good news stories.  Backstabbing family business deals, mobster galore, even international spies.”

Jeffrey shook his head.  “No, I’ve never made my way that far up.”  He then looked at his watch.  “I have to get to the office.”  He took a few steps away, then turned to Jack.  “Say, you think your father would do an interview on his experience?  I’ve heard a little about his kidnapping years ago, thought the latest events could make a good story.”

Jack cupped his chin thoughtfully.  “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll check with him.  You are right, it would be a good story.”  With that, Jeffrey did leave.  Jack made his way back to Llanfair and after showering, headed into The Sun.  He found Todd in his office going over some copy.  “I ran into Jeffrey King this morning on my run,” he informed his father.

That got Todd to look up at his son.  “Really?  Any good recon?”

“Well, I did bring up if he’d ever been in Port Charles.  I told him you said it was a goldmine for the press.  He said he had never been there,” Jack informed him.

“Why do you have an interest in him anyway?”

Jack sat down.  “Well, first, there was the description Dani said was given to her at the hotel you were living at.  She said he was a clean cut, young African-American and it made it sound like he wanted to talk to you about newspaper business.”

“Like the story he gave The Banner?” Todd asked.

“Possible, but he reminded me that your focus wasn’t really down here at the time,” Jack said.  “Then, this is the thing that really set off my alarm.  Before you and Victor escaped, I heard him on the phone with someone.  And the parts that I got…he sounded like he knew about the scheme to kidnap the two of you.  He even said our names, like he knew about the conversation we had when you were taken.”

“Who would have told him that?” Todd asked, confused.

“He was at Llanfair a day or so after I got back from Chicago.  Aunt Viki called him over, had some questions for him about his story, I think.  He came over, but I didn’t take part in the talk,” Jack said.

Todd looked to be processing the information.  “What do we know about Jeffrey King, beyond that fact that he’s the savior of The Banner?”

“Well, he knows both Matthew and Dani from London,” Jack said.  When his father gave him a look, Jack gave him a brief rundown on my Matthew was there and how it led him to meet Dani.

“So, London prep school.  Those are pricey.  I need to talk to Tea about that.  See if can do a little digging into it,” Todd said.  “Meanwhile, fire up your computer.  See what you can discover about him using conventional methods.”

“You mean legal ones?” Jack asked.

“Jack, I would never put a thought into your head to do anything illegal.”

Jack smiled widely, echoing his father’s look.  As he set to work, he looked up at Todd.  “Just to let you know, Mom lectured me about hacking into the hospital’s security, after she told me she was proud that I was taking after you with the skills.  She also mentioned something about shutting down the power in Llanview?”

Todd merely smiled.  “Some other time.  Right now, we have things to look into.”