He
rested his perfectly polished $500.00 shoes—Italian by design—upon
the settee before him and settled back into his armchair. His eyes
briskly scanned the sitting room. The suite was magnificent, comfortable
and plush all at once just as he’d ordered. The best in the
hotel; he demanded that whenever he traveled now. No less than the
best or he would not stay in the establishment.
Grinning, he took in the state-of-the-art plasma television ensconced
in one corner of the room, in the opposite corner an enormous salt-water
aquarium featuring fascinating creatures his son would love to watch…It
all spoke of the modern grandeur that he had come to expect in his
travels.
But this was not the typical business trip he’d gotten used
to as he expanded his ventures abroad. This was his homecoming,
both triumphant and bittersweet in the same instant.
Bittersweet because of what had been lost while he’d been gone.
This morning, he’d had to face that. He’d walked in silence
across the manicured lawns of his childhood home until he stood
in front of the family mausoleum; inside was his grandmother’s
crypt. He’d gone there just to lay an arrangement of lilies.
And to say a private goodbye.
He hadn’t stayed away from her funeral because he didn’t
care. Or out of fear of the rest of the piranha he called family.
He had stayed away because it hurt far too much to come and bid
farewell to the one person in his life who had given him a chance.
The one constant who had loved him unconditionally even while calling
him on his wrongdoing. Lila had been beautiful and fair. And she
had loved him purely. She was probably the only one to ever have
done so.
His parents had loved him as long as he was sober and took their
side on family issues. His grandfather had loved him as long as
he'd lied and cheated on behalf ofn ELQ. His wife presently loved
him as long as he held onto his cache of stolen money and continued
to supply her with the things she had become accustomed to having.
Everyone had conditions…everyone but Lila.
His son could have loved him unconditionally; that is, if Sonny
had even allowed them to have a relationship. But then, that was
what made this journey home so sweetly triumphant. When the Feds
had tracked him down in Europe and told him about the case in detail,
the news had warmed his heart like nothing had in years. Sonny Corinthos
on trial for murder…for his murder. What poetic justice.
Finally a way to hurt that thug…a way to bring the arrogant
mobster to his knees.
The Feds needed him to put a human face on the case, to make the
jury see the victim’s side up close and personal. They also
needed him to say that Sonny had threatened his life more than once,
and that he would certainly do. His testimony would be so emotional
and vivid that the jurors would practically be able to feel the
cold metal of the assassin’s gun in their hands.
By the time he was through, Sonny would be carted straight off to
prison. The man would be made to regret the way he had thoughtlessly
ruined so many lives.
Hell, AJ thought, Sonny might even apologize in open court.
Miracles could happen…
***
“I thought you said that Justus was going to have you surrender
at the PCPD?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why is all of Port Charles apparently waiting for us
in the airport?”
Sonny looked out of the window when he registered the panic in Alexis’
voice. The plane had taxied to a stop before the terminal, and a
mass of bodies with badges not to mention bodies with cameras flashing
could clearly be seen. Sonny swore under his breath.
“The Feds must’ve changed the plan," he muttered.
“The new one is entitled, ‘Embarrass the Hell out of the
Accused’.”
“They get your attorney to go all the way to the precinct while
they ambush you here on live television?!” she exploded. “Just
to humiliate you?”
Suddenly she stood and looked at him, and he read the grim determination
in her eyes. She raised a finely arched eyebrow, an icy expression
slipping onto her face that would have frozen Helena in place.
“This isn’t about justice for them. This is about revenge.
They want to play hardball?” she queried. “Then that’s
what we’ll do.”
She stepped close to him, and tucked her hand into his as they exited
the plane and stepped out onto the tarmac. He looked at her. "What
are you about to do, Alexis?”
“I’m going to give the performance of a lifetime, Mr.
Corinthos. I won’t let you down.”
And then Alexis--being the revelation she always was to him—shocked
him senseless. She turned to him there before God and the tabloid
press, looped her arms around his neck, and pulled him into the
deepest, sweetest, longest kiss. He felt himself fall into it...into
her…all pretense receding from his mind. The flashbulbs were
snapping; reporters were yelling; and the heavy footfalls of federal
officers were approaching. But he couldn't make himself care.
All that mattered at the moment was kissing this woman, his wife,
memorizing her taste and her touch in case it was some time before
he kissed her again. He came away breathless and did not release
her from his arms though he found that they were surrounded by a
wall of bodies, all with perplexed looks on their faces.
He gave them a goofy, well-kissed grin. “Ladies…Gentlemen,
do you know my wife, Alexis Davis?”
“Davis-Corinthos, darling,” she corrected him, and gave
a serene smile that would grace the Port Charles Herald in the morning…right
next to the photo of Sonny in handcuffs.
