Alexis
dropped her luggage on the ground and glowered at him. She had to
think fast since, smart man that he is, he obviously did the math
and came up with why she suddenly decided to disappear for a few
days. She had to devise a creative way of sending him back without
arousing his suspicions further and that was never an easy task
where Cameron was concerned. An image of Cameron bound and gagged
came to mind but that set her off in another more fascinating direction
and she didn't need any erotic fantasies right now. Well, actually
she did but she didn't have the luxury of time - or a quiet place
to enjoy them.
She shook her head and tried to think. "Just what are you talking
about? Helena? I'm here on family business, nothing more."
"I see, the sort of family business even said FAMILY isn't
aware of? Good cover Alexis but I'm not buying it."
"Nothing is for sale so no one asked you to buy anything. Why
is it you think I can't do anything without your arrogant overbearing
butt hovering around?"
He looked hurt. "I thought you liked my butt - arrogant or
not."
She ignored the comment. "And despite the chaos of the last
six months I am still a functioning adult even though you choose
to question that fact ad nauseum. Stop treating me like a two year
old."
"I'll stop treating you like one when you stop lying like one.
Come on, Alexis, I overheard your little mission impossible discussion
with that man on the docks. Who is he by the way, you two looked
mighty chummy."
"Jealous?" she asked with dripping sarcasm.
"Why should I be jealous? You're a free woman, have at it if
you like but he doesn't look like your type."
"I have a type?"
"Yeah, you crave someone to argue with to prove you are the
superior intellect. He didn't impress me as much of a challenge."
"You have no idea what kind of a man Leo is…"
"So that's his name… Leo."
She balled her fists at her side. He was baiting her to get information.
"Look, I don't owe you an explanation but Leo is an old friend
who has done work for me in the past."
"Legal?"
"You could say that."
"I just did Alexis."
She sighed heavily. She always enjoyed bantering with him but now
was not the place or time. She had to remain focused and convince
him of the wisdom of going back to New York.
She tried to look contrite. "I'm sorry, Cameron, but your showing
up here surprised me. I have a great deal on my plate during this
trip and I need the freedom to do it alone."
"The freedom to track down Helena Cassadine, murdering sociopath,
with no one the wiser? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't she a killer
many times over? Don't you think it would be wiser to face her with
- oh, here's a suggestion - the Seventh Cavalry instead of just
you?"
"She'd probably try to seduce the entire regiment, " Alexis
said, tongue firmly in cheek.
"Be that as it may, you need help."
"I have help. Leo's people are working with me."
"Leo's people don't have a vested interest in the outcome but
I do."
"Look I don't want you here. I specifically asked you to watch
over Kristina and it doesn't say much about your loyalty to me if
you abandoned her."
The minute she said the word abandoned she saw the pain on his face
and wanted to stop time, reach out and grasp the stinging words
and crush them in her hands before they brought more pain to his
eyes. Zander was never far from his thoughts.
She reached out to touch his arm and he shifted his body away from
her. That slight movement stabbed her heart.
"I am so very sorry. I did not mean that the way it came out.
What I meant to say is you are the only one I trust to watch out
for Kristina and I needed that comfort level when I left her behind.
I love and trust Zander but I don't trust that house of malicious
vipers. He's out of his league there."
"Zander can take care of himself and Kristina. He takes your
trust very seriously and won't allow anything to happen to her."
"Still I would feel better if you went back."
"Well, I'm not going."
She chewed her bottom lip as she stared at the set expression on
his face. He was an immovable object and she simply had no choice
but to acquiesce.
She shrugged her shoulders as she picked up her suitcase. "Suit
yourself but don't come crying to me if you end up dead or, worse
yet, one of her boy-toy trophies."
They took the taxicab into the heart of Paris and as they rode along
the Champs Elysees, Alexis was running options in her head on how
to convince Cameron to go back to Port Charles. She knew it was
a losing battle but it was one she must wage for his sake and that
of her daughter.
The beauty of Paris was all about her, the city bustling and full
of life. Traffic was madness as the usual jumble of cars all jockeyed
for position, horns honking and more than one driver screaming creatively
worded epithets accompanied by a Gallic hand gesture or two out
of their car windows. She had been all over the world and there
still was no place like Paris. She rented the Audrey Hepburn movie
Sabrina when she was in college and recalled Audrey's comment
to Humphrey Bogart's character about Paris smelling sweetest after
the rain because of the chestnut trees. When she finally came to
Paris years ago, a soft rain fell the first day and she finally
understood its allure. Paris was sweetness, light and magic and
she adored it. But now all she saw before her here was a vision
of Helena's face. The taxicab jolted them from side to side as the
driver yelled out the window somehow avoiding three accidents.
Alexis asked, "Why is there so much traffic, monsieur?"
He looked at her as if she were daft and replied in heavily accented
English. "It ees the Bastille Day, mees, and the city is filled
with happiness."
"And lots of people. Yes, the beginning of the Revolution,"
she nodded thoughtfully as she held on to Cameron for dear life
as they avoided a clash with a bus.
"Oui, zee people are cuckoo! Zay have zee wish d' mort! And
the government, pht! Bring back le guillotine, we shall see how
many keep their heads!" he yelled over the honking of horns
as he gestured rudely to another driver. He had worked himself into
a lather about the general state of things in Paris and the world
in general and his driving was mirroring his displeasure.
Cameron was relieved to see the hotel ahead and put his hand on
the man's shoulder. "I see the Hôtel Les Trois Couronnes.
You can drop us off in front."
"Oui, monsieur, à volonté, " the taxi driver
muttered as he attempted to cross three lanes of moving traffic.
Cameron closed his eyes and murmured a prayer they would make it
to the hotel alive.
Alexis shoved Cameron out of the way when he attempted to pay the
driver. He chuckled and merely walked three paces behind her into
the hotel lobby like the good servant he was. Alexis strode confidently
up to the front desk and smiled.
The desk clerk smiled back and gave her a flirtatious look. She
really loved Parisian men. "Bon jour! J'ai réservé
une chamber au nom de Alexis Davis."
"Welcome, mademoiselle Davis." The clerk scanned his computer
and shook his head. "I am very sorry mademoiselle but there
is no reservation under that name. Are you certain?"
Alexis looked flummoxed. "Of course I know my name."
Cameron quietly interjected. "I think he meant are you sure
you made a reservation."
She turned and glared at him. "Silence is a virtue, Cameron,
so why don't you wander off and try to practice it."
He stifled a smile, leaned back against an ornate marble column
hands in his pockets and watched the action.
She tapped her foot. "My travel consultant made a reservation
in my name."
He shook his head and looked at her with puppy dog eyes. He obviously
hated disappointing a lady. "No, I am sorry, there is no reservation."
"Do you have any rooms available?"
He sighed and shook his head yet again. Alexis was beginning to
hate him.
"It is Bastille Day, mademoiselle Davis, and we are sold out
until the end of the week. It is a big fête."
"Yes, I know, vive la France and all that malarkey. Well, how
about this… do you know of any hotels in the area that might
have rooms - il y a d'autres hôtels dans le coin?"
"I fear mademoiselle that all the hotels are booked for the
week - at least in this arrondissement. Perhaps if you try
one of the other districts, you may have luck."
Alexis was about to say something sarcastically pithy when she felt
Cameron take her arm and turn her away from the desk. He pulled
her along until they reached the revolving door of the lobby.
"Let go of my arm," she hissed.
"You looked like you were going to reach over and grab the
guy's throat. Let's just go find somewhere else to hang our hats."
"What exactly do you mean by the word 'we'? I told you
to go back to where you came from."
"And I told you that isn't going to happen so I suggest you
drop the objection and live with the fact you are not going to win
this argument."
She huffed and walked out onto the sidewalk. Twenty-five minutes
later, a vacant cab was still nowhere to be found so they started
walking, looking like two refugees from a failed anger management
convention as they carried their luggage and sulked. Crowds were
everywhere, untold scores of people walking, riding scooters, skateboarding,
even dancing. It seemed that everyone loved the City of Lights when
it was national party time. The sidewalks were congested and Alexis
whacked more than a few people with her suitcase to clear her way.
They tried the Hotel Napoleon Champs Elysees, the Hôtel Elysée
Etoile and every hotel in the area. The desk clerk at the Hotel
Le Villiers near the Arc de Triomphe looked stunned, then laughed
uproariously at the silly Americans who did not know enough to make
reservations during France's biggest holiday. They walked from district
to district, every hotel the same story. Alexis knew a few hotels
over on the Left Bank so, exhausted and very cranky, they trudged
over one of the ornate bridges spanning the Seine. They walked until
they reached the St. Germain des Prés district, home to artists
and scholars, cathedrals and gardens and lovely boutique hotels
where they hopefully would find a room.
Cameron waited outside the Aramis St. Germain watching the hordes
of people exit the Metro as he looked down toward the edge of the
Montparnass business district. Alexis was taking a long time and
he hoped she hadn't slugged the manager. He stopped her twice already
from letting loose with a roundhouse punch at an unsuspecting hotel
clerk but didn't have the energy for another go around. He hoped
they wouldn't be spending the night as guests of the Paris gendarmes.
But, then again, at least they would have a room and a meal.
She strode out, picked up her suitcase and started walking down
the sidewalk.
He trotted to catch up with her, glanced over and nonchalantly asked,
"So, did that one bust a gut over those silly Americans?"
She pursed her lips and kept silent.
"Ok, where to next? Hey, do you think Paris has a YMCA?"
She snorted and said nothing. As they walked along, the world was
alive with colorful sights and sounds and smells as the sidewalk
cafes filled with passersby and boisterous conversation surrounded
them. He was tempted to stop, indulge in a café au lait and
buttery croissant and just live in the moment. Cameron wished they
were here for purposes other than tracking down a psychotic prison
escapee with Napoleonic delusions. He imagined them standing together
reverently in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, holding hands as they
stood before the works of the Great Masters at the Louvre, searching
through the artist's galleries on the rue Jacob, thumbing through
rare books and bartering with the street sellers along the Seine.
He would take her to inhale the scent of floral beauty at the Luxembourg
Gardens and watch as her beauty was captured for eternity in a street
portrait by one of the many would-be artists on the Left Bank.
Yes, if only, he sighed.
Cameron was becoming concerned they would never find a place to
stay. As much as he loved the outdoors, he didn't relish sleeping
on a park bench. They stopped at Littré and Le Jardin de
Cluny with no luck, only the best wishes of the snickering managers.
He was waiting outside the Bac St. Germain, their last hope, when
laughter drifted over from the sidewalk café across the street,
the Café de Deux Magots. A group of artists gathered in raucous
discussion led by a tall man with shaggy blond hair and a goatee.
He was gesturing and talking in rapid French and Cameron found the
little group a welcome distraction from the problem at hand.
Alexis walked out and looked murderous as she walked over to sit
on a bench. "I can't believe that toady desk clerk said that."
"Said what?"
"He said there were no rooms available but it would be his
distinct pleasure to make room for me in his bed."
"Hey, what about me?"
She smiled smugly, "I didn't think he was your 'type' so I
politely refused on your behalf."
Cameron ran his hand over his beard. He was tired, very hungry and
needed a shower. "Thanks, pal. So what do we do now? "
Alexis shrugged as she stuck out her feet and slumped down on the
bench. "Hell if I know. I don't want people to know I'm here
so that leaves out the usual suspects…"
"Would mademoiselle like a portrait of her beauty?" a
voice said from across the sidewalk.
She turned and saw a man standing across the sidewalk, a beret atop
his head and a brightly painted silk scarf tied around his neck.
He was obviously one of the artists that populate the district and
hungry for a sale, he shone his radar on the most conspicuous
twosome he could find.
Alexis held tighter onto her purse and shook her head. "Non
merci."
Cameron recognized him as the life of the party from the café
and he was as persistent in his overtures as he was with his jokes.
"But mademoiselle must not deprive the world of the vision
of her beauty. That, chère, would truly be a crime."
She turned her body toward Cameron, ignoring him in hopes he would
go away.
"Come, mon cher, such beauty begs my brush to kiss the canvas."
Alexis turned back to him, her eyes boring holes as she barked out,
"Obviously you do not understand French so I will say it in
English. Go away. I do not want my beauty captured, painted or otherwise
shared with the world and if you do not stop bothering me, the only
crime happening will be your scrawny butt hauled to jail when I
flag down a gendarme and have you arrested for harassment."
Cameron was pondering whether to intervene when he heard the man
say in a familiar drawl, "Well, you can take the license away
from the lady lawyer but you can't take the lawyer out of the lady.
Nice to see you are just as ornery as ever, Tash."
Alexis's jaw dropped as she looked closer and saw her not-always-favorite
client and current fugitive from justice. "Luke! What the hell
are you doing here?"
He took off his beret with a flourish, bowed and kissed her hand.
"Comment allez-vous, sweetcheeks? Fancy seein' you here looking
all touristy."
He looked over at Cameron. "And on holiday with Dr. Quack of
all people. So, Doc, you and Tash celebrating with a little of the
ooh-la-la? The things I miss when I skip town!"
Cameron glanced at Alexis as he said, "No, we're here to…"
Alexis finished, "… celebrate Bastille Day."
She gave Cameron a warning glance as she gripped his hand. She didn't
want Luke to know she was searching for Helena. He was on the lam
for a crime she knew he didn't commit and the last thing she wanted
was to drag him further into the latest Cassadine mess. He'd try
to help and probably hang himself in the process and since she wasn't
practicing law, she would be helpless to get him out of a jam.
He looked skeptical, "Yeah, I can see why it would be such
an important holiday, you not bein' French and all." He eyed
their luggage and the exhausted expressions on their faces. "And
you've decided to blend in by pretending to be homeless members
of the French bourgeoisie?"
Cameron attempted to deflect him with feigned amusement. "It
seems that spontaneity is a questionable practice for two such obsessive
planners. Can you believe the hotel lost our room reservation?"
Luke looked from one to the other and grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"So, you two have been wandering Paris on one of their biggest
national holidays trying to find room at the inn? Seems nothing
is going right for you, huh Natasha?"
Alexis felt pain and looked down at the ground. She knew he was
just being Luke but his arrow hit the target, reminding her of what
a chaotic mess her life was and how the next few days were not going
to make it any better.
Cameron saw the look on Alexis's face and felt a twinge in his heart.
Luke's comments were often on the mark but when it came to Alexis,
he always treated her with a certain gentleness. He assumed that
even Luke, so caught up in his own problems, had no idea what a
truly frightening spiral Alexis's life had taken.
Alexis said quietly, "It seems both our lives are messes, Luke.
Are you aware that there is a warrant out for your arrest?"
He shrugged. "I figured slimy Baldwin would release the hounds.
Lucky contacted me and told me to lay low which is what I was doing
until Clarencia Darrow and Sigmund Freud here showed up. Now, I
guess I'll just have to kill you to keep you from talking."
She rolled her eyes. "On some days in my life, Luke, that idea
actually holds some promise. Have you seen Laura?"
He nodded, his eyes distant. "Yeah."
Cameron sighed. "Luke…"
He looked at him. "Doc, I just went to see her. I didn't make
a fuss or even try to talk to her I just looked at her."
Cameron's heart was heavy. "And you know I was telling you
the truth."
"The truth as you know and believe it, yes you did. But I believe
in miracles, Doc. Laura is my miracle, the magical angel that showed
me how I could be better than I ever believed I could be. She made
me feel my life was worth something and I'm not giving up on her.
Call me a sap but I believe love can conquer and cure all and one
day she will decide that what she had with me was better than where
she is now and she will come back."
Alexis tearfully placed a hand on Luke's arm and squeezed it. "You
keep on believing, Luke. I wish I could believe in something so
strongly. I think I've given up hope that I can have the life I've
always wanted, a life with my daughter. It seems that whenever I
take three steps forward, I get shoved six steps back. For years
I convinced myself that I could create my life as I wished it to
be but the past never truly allows you to surpass it."
"You'll get that sweet kid back. Life always balances out and
your scales have been out of whack since you were a kid yourself.
It is your time now, just wait for it." He looked at them and
came to a decision. " So, you kids need a room, huh? Well,
there is a small hotel near the pension where I stay. It isn't the
Ritz but I can probably bribe the manager to throw someone out.
Got any money on ya?"
Alexis stared at him. "Yes but do you think a bribe will be
necessary?"
"Hell, Tash, this is Gay Par-ee where bribes are a matter of
honor."
"I don't know…"
"Come on, do you want to sleep together in a nice cozy bed
or wander the park? I realize there are some who call you crazy,
Natasha, but I think this one is a no-brainer."
Cameron interjected. "Well, I want to sleep on something that
won't give me splinters in my butt so we'll take you up on your
offer."
Alexis retorted with sarcasm. "Who said you're invited?"
Cameron glared at her. "That discussion is closed."
Alexis snarked, "Why, because YOU said it was? Who put you
in charge?"
"That'll teach you to miss a meeting."
Luke watched them volley insults and wisecracks back and forth in
a sarcastic verbal tennis game all their own. Boy, do these two
have it bad, he chuckled to himself.
They both turned at Luke's laughter. "It's comforting to know
that the choppy waters of love never change, Tash. Ain't love grand?"
Alexis shouted. "I'm NOT in love."
Turning to Cameron, he winked and said, "Methinks the lady
doth protest too much, eh, Dr. Quack? Good work - she's a goner."
She sweetly walked up to Luke, grabbed his paintbrush and poked
him. "I'd suggest you start moving, pal, or this paintbrush
will be gracing a whole other side of you and I don't think the
people of Gay Par-ee are ready for that booty show."
* * *
Alexis looked around the Le Grand Hotel DuVal and decided there
was not very much grand about it. It was dark and dingy, its lobby
filled with a host of people you would not want to meet in a dark
alley without a weapon handy. Luke was talking up the manager, a
seedy looking man in a sweaty t-shirt that proclaimed his obsession
with a certain bodily function. Cameron was standing and looking
at the glossy pictures of naked women, obviously centerfolds, gracing
the area behind the front desk.
"Quite a collection… see anything you like?" she
snickered.
"Not my type. I like dark, sexy intellectuals with a snarky
attitude and killer legs. These gals are too top heavy - speaking
as a physician, they'd probably tumble right over on their 5-inch
stilettos the minute they move. No fun in that, only an overabundance
of trips to the ER."
"Well, that's heartening." She looked at the layers of
dust covering the desk and wrote her name. "So, when do you
think the health inspector made his last yearly visit to this questionable
establishment?"
Cameron wrote his name next to hers in the dust and enclosed both
in a heart. "I think at some point between the end of the French
Revolution and the fall of the French Vichy government in 1941."
"I guess I shouldn't expect a mint on my pillow."
"If you see something on your pillow, odds are it will be moving
and you'll need a shoe or a pistol to kill it."
"Well, that's comforting. What is taking Luke so long?"
Luke was kibitzing with the manager and finally clapped a hand on
his back and turned to walk over to them.
"You lovebirds are in luck! Jean-Louis here just remembered
that he has a room on the fifth floor. Not too much in the way of
a river view, more like the back of a brick wall but it's yours
for as long as you need it."
Alexis pursed her lips. "And how much for the privilege of
this 'Room Without A View'?"
Luke shrugged. "200 euros a night."
Cameron exploded. "200 EUROS! Is that man crazy?"
Luke shrugged again. "Well, you are desperate for a room, he's
got one. He smelled blood the minute you came in lookin' all hangdog.
I got you the best deal. But hey, if you want, I know a nice bench
close to The Gardens…"
Alexis snapped. "Oh, just shut up both of you. We'll take it."
She proceeded to drag her suitcase over to the elevator.
"Ah, Tash, sorry to say the elevator is en panne…
broken down. We'll have to walk up the stairs."
Luke started climbing as Alexis walked over to the stairs and looked
up… and up… and up. The stairwell was steep, narrow and
circular with rotting slatted treads that seemed to go on forever.
She started up and noticed that every few steps a slat was missing
and she had to skirt her body over or around the gaping hole. One
less-than-sure-footed move and she was toast. Unfortunately, a number
of fixtures were not working and the stairwell lighting hinted of
late dusk, not too promising when one needed to avoid breaking one's
neck. She was already winded and tense by the time she reached the
third floor.
Cameron was trying to keep an eye on Alexis's legs which at any
other time would be more than slightly arousing, but not when seeking
to avoid a fall to his own death. This was the stairway to hell
and he could only wonder if the room upstairs was going to be the
devil's lava lounge.
They reached the fifth floor pretty much intact except for Alexis
who lost a heel from her boot at about the fourth floor and no way
was anyone going to retrieve it. She limped after Luke as he turned
a key in room 5H. He reached for a light switch, turned it on and
shouted, "Voilà!"
Alexis and Cameron walked in, promptly dropped their bags at the
same time as their jaws.
Luke walked in and twirled around. "Isn't it great!"
Cameron had never seen furniture in a hotel room that color, it
was blood red and lacquered to such a high sheen it made him squint
in the light.
Alexis grasped his shirt and pulled like she was clanging a bell.
"Uh… is that barbed wire around the furniture?"
Luke chimed in. "Technically it is chicken wire."
Cameron nodded absently. "And it looks like the chicken wire
and the furniture is nailed to the wall."
Luke shrugged for effect. "Hey, you saw the clientele hanging
around the lobby. If you had such pricey furniture, would you just
let it roam free for people to steal?"
Alexis was trying to recover from the shock. "And just who
would be stupid enough to attempt to maneuver that armoire down
the stairwell of death out there?"
Luke replied wisely, "They could always push it out the window."
Cameron pointed at the wall. "Oh, you mean that window to nowhere
over there?"
Luke pouted. "You are giving me a complex. Here's old Luke,
bringing you two in from the cold and I get grief over a few questionable
interior design decisions by management."
Alexis looked around at the artwork covering almost every surface
and then at Luke. "It's not that we don't appreciate it, Luke,
because we do. I guess I'm bit overwhelmed. I've never before seen
quite so loving an homage to Marilyn Monroe."
Luke around at the pictures on the walls, the photographs peeking
out from frames, the hairbrush and mirror set, the cotton throw
on the bed. The blonde goddess was everywhere and he loved it like
he loved the beauty that is Graceland.
"Yep, you hit the mother lode! The Norma Jean Room! People
fight to get this room."
Cameron muttered, "More like fight to get out of it."
Luke rocked on his heels. "Well, I could check with Jean-Louis
but I believe this is the best he has but if you aren't satisfied…"
Alexis was exhausted. She needed to rest before she spoke with Leo's
associates. She knew once the ball was in play, there was no stopping
the clock.
She grasped Cameron's hand and gave it a squeeze as she nodded up
into his eyes. She saw his unspoken 'I can take it if you can' comment
reflected in the deep pools of his eyes which at the moment were
also filled with images of a dead movie star. Well, she'd slept
in worse places - like the Sahara.
"It's fine, Luke, thanks. It must have been my sister's karma
watching over us or we would never have found you."
Luke looked sad. "Yeah, Krissy the First was a Paris kind of
babe."
Cameron had waited until the right moment to ask what had been on
his mind. "Luke, why exactly are you here? Laura is in Switzerland."
His faced took a serious turn as he answered, "Hunting down
a murderer."
Alexis looked surprised. "Summer's killer?"
Luke nodded. "Darius, your dear brother's faithful sidekick
and henchman. Lucky got a tip from Sergei, Nik's bodythug, that
Darius left the island the night Summer was murdered. Since he hadn't
left Vlad's side since he swooped back, it was odd. I traced him
here to Paris and I'll find him - or die trying." He left out
the part about Lucky overhearing Lydia and Stefan talking about
the murder. Alexis was bearing up under too much stress to lay that
dead wreath at her feet now. He would when the time was right because
he would need her help.
Alexis was shocked and sat down on the bed. "I knew you didn't
do it from the moment I looked and saw the shock in your eyes. I
know you, you'll find him."
Luke smiled. "I always get my man. Now, don't both of you give
me that crap line about spontaneously coming to see the Bastille
Day Parade up close and personal. What's really up?"
Cameron looked at Alexis and wondered if she was going to tell him.
They needed help and if there was one person with the knack of finding
a missing Cassadine it was Luke Spencer.
Alexis made a decision she hoped she would not regret. She looked
over at Luke and simply said. "Helena's returned."
Luke pulled out a cigar and carefully lit it with a beat up old
lighter. Exhaling, he looked at them both and gave a typical Parisian's
Gallic shrug.
"Well, looks like a good thing for you I happened by."
