CHAPTER FOURTEEN Felicia looked at the two men sitting at the bar, and mentally groaned. Then, she groaned audibly. What was it about men that they were never around when you wanted them, and underfoot when you had things to do? Where were they when she was cleaning out the basement last week? "About dinner tonight," Jerry Jacks began, edging closer to Felicia, who had fascinated him from the first time he'd kissed her. "She's having dinner with me," Frisco injected, wondering why Felicia didn't just tell the wandering Aussie to wander off again. "I'm having dinner here," Felicia told Frisco. "And not with you in particular." "I'm having dinner here, too," Frisco told her. "I have reservations." "Good for you. Now, will you both just leave me alone? I have plans to make for the Halloween party that the Outback is hosting on the 31st." "I'll help," Frisco smiled smoothly. "I'm great with costumes and disguises." "Me, too," Jerry told Felicia. "And, since I'm the quintessential party animal, I'm the natural to help you with the planning." "I'll be glad to provide some entertainment," Frisco offered, calling to mind the times he'd serenaded his lady love. "I hope you've got some new material," Jerry said, pointedly. "Unless Felicia is planning a golden oldies party." Frisco scowled. "Of course I do. Though, there are those who, I'm certain, would love to hear some of my previous hits." He smiled knowingly at Felicia. "Some of them call to mind particularly memorable moments." "Moments?" Jerry jibed. "Frisco, my boy, no wonder Felicia moved on." Jerry turned his eyes on Felicia and added, "Moments, indeed. I was thinking of hours. Alone. You, me, a bottle of wine and…" "In your dreams," Frisco injected. "Felicia isn't dumb enough to fall for your stupid lines." "She was dumb enough to fall for yours," Jerry shot back, while Felicia looked on, torn between laughing out loud and being offended. "Yeah, well she's learned her lesson, hasn't she?" Frisco countered. "She won't be falling for yours. Besides, I have some new ones." Frisco smirked. "Ones involving retiring from the espionage business, ones that involve a job in Port Charles, ones that circle around staying here to help her bring up our daughters." "Better late than never," Jerry returned. "But, she won't fall for that one either. You've already used it. You came and went. Slam, bam and thank you ma'am." Jerry shook his head. "The lady needs-and wants, though she may not realize it yet, a man with staying power." He smirked back at Frisco. "And that man is me. Not only am I a dependable sort of guy, but I have family to back me." "I have family. Dr. Tony Jones." "And Felicia knows from Bobbie just how trustworthy Dr. Jones can be. A Jacks, on the other hand, is the most trustworthy of men." "That could give men a bad name," Frisco threw in. "I distinctly recall reports on a series of incidents in Australia where the Jacks name was mentioned between curses and vows to get even." "Bad press," Jerry answered. "Envious men." "Law enforcement?" Jerry turned to Felicia. "You can ask Marty for my credentials. She knows that I'm a veritable paragon of virtue." Frisco choked on his beer. "More like a bullsh** artist. Felicia, don't believe a word he's saying. I know this man." Felicia was seriously considering spraying both of them with the seltzer bottle, when Taggert swaggered into the bar. "Evening, Taggert," Felicia greeted. "Where's Garcia?" "You haven't heard? Alex has left the force to work for Jax. He's in Europe." Garcia, immaculately clad in evening clothes, sauntered into the club where Corinthos had been seen the day before. He might be a day late, he reflected, but he was definitely not a dollar short. His new boss had seen to his new wardrobe, and now, Garcia could mingle with the most exclusive dressers around. He brushed a bit of lint from his coat sleeve, and realized that he really should have felt out of place there, amidst the glittering trappings of the jet setting elite, but instead, he felt alive-completely energized. He felt truly alive for the first time since he'd heard about Lily's death. Accepting champagne from a wandering waiter, he sipped it, his eyes carefully scanning the area. Sooner or later, he'd find someone, or something that would lead him to his prey. A familiar blonde woman caught his eyes, and, he paused. "Julia?" he whispered to himself. "Julia Barrett?" Moving quickly through the crowd, he tailed her, weaving in and out of the gaming tables, until he saw her disappear into a back room, accompanied by a priest, from the looks of his garb. Unfortunately, a large man blocked Garcia's path, and he was unable to follow Julia any farther. At that moment, Jax approached. "Have you seen him?" Jax asked. "No, but didn't you say that Lucy said that Brenda was on her way to meet Julia when the accident occurred?" "That's what Lucy said. Why? Did you see Julia? We haven't heard from her since the accident." "She just went in that door over by the bar. The black one." "Was she alone?" Garcia answered, "She was with a priest, I think. He was bearded, though I couldn't see his face from the front. In fact, I barely got a glimpse of him." "A priest in a casino?" "Stranger things have happened," Garcia told him. "I knew a priest back home that frequently visited casinos-said that they were a good place for donations." "We'll see about that," Jax said, striding to the door. "We're not leaving her until we talk with Julia." Reggie and Ned sat quietly, both white faced with horror as they listened to the tape of Ned's anguished cries. Suddenly, Reggie surged to his feet. "That #$%^&*!!!!" he shouted. "I'll kill them!" "Calm down," Marty ordered. "You can do that later. Right now, we've got to determine the extent of the damage and make some arrangements." Ned sat numbly, then asked, "Would I have done it?" "Doubtful," Marty answered. "You were aware that something was wrong, and were looking for help. Fortunately, Lila and Reggie were aware of your problems to some degree." "So where do we go from here?" Ned asked, painfully aware of his vulnerability. He felt like an alien in his body, a stranger in his own mind. Who was thinking his thoughts? No, who had made him think the thoughts? "Back to Port Charles," Marty told them. "My best guess is that someone is planning to make a move on ELQ-someone who'd go to any lengths to secure the goal. And, though we aren't yet certain who is behind this, or exactly when you were given this programming, we can make use of the knowledge that we have." "But if someone has gone to this much trouble," Ned argued, "he or she must have a contingency plan. If I fail, the job falls to someone else." "Which is why you must not fail." Marty smiled. "You have to succeed, Ned." He nodded. "I understand. But if I do it? If I.....oh, God, Marty-Reggie, you'll..." Reggie met his eyes and answered, "That's not an option, Ned." "Agreed," Marty stated. "But we've got to dig a bit deeper into your mind before we send you back. Something tells me that we don't have a lot of time, Ned. Are you willing to..." "Whatever it takes," Ned interrupted. "Drugs-whatever. Just learn who has been playing head games with me and what else I'm supposed to do." Kevin groaned. His head ached abominably, as did other parts of his body. Reaching up to touch his head, his scraped fingers encountered, "Skin?!?!?!" He began to feel of his head, his fingers stroking all over. "What the?!?!??!?!?" His eyes opened widely, and he bolted upright, tripping over his newly acquired yellow robe. "My hair!! It's gone!! What the hell happened to my hair?" "Hair?" asked Luke Spencer who had wandered into view. Seeing him, Kevin's eyes grew wider. "You're bald!" He glanced around, noting the others, their naked heads gleaming in the waning sunlight. "I am?" Luke asked, feigning horror. "Damn!! You're right! Well, it's all a part of the plan." "What plan?" Kevin demanded. "I don't know anything about any plan, and I damned sure don't want to be a part of it if it involves being bald." "You should have thought of that before," Luke told him. "It wasn't like we had a lot of choice when it came to saving your bacon." "My bacon? My bacon was perfectly fine, thank you very much!" Kevin spat. Then he moaned, "My hair!" "Your bacon was hanging out in the treetops, glassy-eyed and looking totally spaced out." "Odd," Kevin remarked, skeptically. "I don't remember a thing about that." "Exactly," Luke pointed out. "Do you remember how you got here?" "Uh, now that you mention it, no, but that didn't mean that I wanted to be bald!" "It's all a part of the plan," Luke told him. "It's so that we can 'baldly go where no man has gone before'." "That's 'boldly', you idiot!" Kevin yelled. "See Dad," Lucky injected. "That's what I told you." "Are you sure?" Luke asked, in mock seriousness. "But Piccard.." "Is bald," Kevin moaned. "Kirk wasn't." Luke continued to explain. "Actually, this is an alternative universe where.... I can see that you're having trouble with this explanation." "I'm having trouble with being bald!" Kevin shouted. "Bald! Damnitall, Luke. I don't want to be bald!" "That is an illogical response," Nik injected, carefully expressionless, but with one eyebrow slightly elevated. "At this point, your desires are irrelevant. Aside from having to shave regularly, and apply sunscreen from time to time, the bald state is highly convenient." "Really," Jeremy added. "No bad hair days, no dandruff flakes..." It was then that Kevin finally noticed the yellow robes. He looked down at his, and groaned. "Star Trek and non-hairy Krishnas. Lucy!!!! Get me out of here!!!"