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.”