WPWTP2

Part Two

This is the part of the story when the title really applies.

It is 2 weeks later. Ned and Alexis are still happily in love. Ned is back living with Alexis. They had run into Chloe, and Alexis had apologized. Chloe had also said �I told you so!�

Ned and Alexis are walking through the park. Ned has his arm around her. He�s whispering something in her ear. She smiles.

�That her?� whispers the man.

�Yes,� Sorel says.

�What about the other guy?� whispers another man.

�I swear, you�re idiots. You fail to kill Zander. You will not fail at this.� He moves the branches aside for a better view. �You better kiss her now Ned, it�ll be your last.

Alexis pulls back from the kiss. �I love you Ned.�

�I love you too honey.� He hugs her. �What do you say we go visit Em at Kelly�s?�

�Good idea.� They approach a cluster of trees.

�Now,� Sorel commands. The two men burst out of the trees, guns pointed. Alexis opens her mouth to scream. �Don�t even think about it!� one man says evilly, pointing his gun at her head.

�Hello Neddy. Enjoying your walk?� says the other man. He approaches Ned and slugs him in the stomach, hard. Ned falls to his knees, gasping for air. The man kicks him in the face. He falls on his back. Alexis screams.

�Now, now, that�s not nice,� Sorel says, in mock sternness. �Why, hello Miss Davis, long time no see!� He walks toward her. �And how are we, this lovely afternoon?� He runs a gloved finger down her cheek. �Don�t cry my dear.� He smiles. Ned sits up and wipes his face. �Get your filthy hands off her.� The man hits him hard on the back of the head. Ned falls over, groaning. �Please, just don�t do anything to her.�

�Oh, but that�s the idea! You�re not supposed to be here Ned.� He nods at the man nearest to Alexis. The man grabs Alexis and points the gun at her head. �Let�s go gorgeous.�

�Ned! Ned! No! Please!� They disappear into the trees.

�Now Ned, what do we do with you? Hm�� Sorel says, tapping his chin. �I know!� He takes the gun from the other man. �This will hurt, I�m sorry, but it�s just a reminder not to socialize with Corinthos sympathizers.� He points the gun at Ned and shoots him in the left thigh. Ned screams in pain. �Let�s go, someone�s coming,� Sorel says. They walk away.

�Ned? Oh my God!� Nikolas exclaims, running to him. The snow is stained red. �Gia, call 911!� He tosses her his cell phone. �It�s ok Ned, hold still, it�ll be ok.�

�No! They took Alexis!� Ned grits his teeth in pain. �Just relax, help is on the way,� Nik says, pushing Ned down.

Five minutes later, flashing lights are seen, and two paramedics rush to them with a stretcher. Ned is loaded into the ambulance.

Alexis hears the shot and screams. �No! Ned! Oh my God, Ned!�

�Shut up!� the man says. He slaps her. Tears spring to her eyes. �Get in.� He shoves her in the back of a car. �Don�t do this, please,� she begs. �Do what? Turn around, hold still!�

He duct tapes her hands and feet, then gets out of the car and gets in the driver�s seat. Sorel and the other man climb into the car, next to Alexis. �Hello children. Jim, let�s go.� The car pulls out. �Wh�why are you doing this? How did you get out?� Alexis is still crying.

�Oh, you know the boys in blue. I just made a deal, like that rat you�re protecting. I�m doing this for many reasons. I messed up with Zander. I messed up with Corinthos. But I will not mess up with you. I refuse to. Plus,� he says, scooting closer to her, �I think you�re cute.�

She raises her hand to slap him, but he grabs her wrist and twists it. Alexis cries out as it cracks. �Feisty eh? I like that too,� he laughs. Alexis jerks her wrist away from him and looks out the window, tears streaming down her face. �Where are we going?�

�That�s for me to know,� he replies.

�Ow!� She feels a sharp pain in her arm.

�Oops, sorry,� he laughs again, holding up an empty syringe. �Wh�what?� She falls over on the seat, unconscious.

Five hours later- 9:30 p.m. General Hospital

�So, you�re sure it was Joseph Sorel?� Taggart asks. Ned doesn�t look up. �Yes. Yes. For the tenth time, it was him.�

�Can you describe the other men?�

�One had a shaved head and a goatee and the other had short brown hair, kinda short in height and pretty muscular.�

�Alright. Look, Ned, I�m sorry about what happened�I�ll call you if I think of any further questions.�

�Yeah, whatever,� he sighs.

�Ned? Ned? Are you ok?� Chloe runs up to him. He looks up. �Oh my God! You poor thing!� She hugs him. He has a black and blue right eye. Just above his left eyebrow, and inch long cut was stitched up. His left cheek is swollen and purple. �It looks worse than it feels,� he says. �Yeah, right,� she says, rolling her eyes. Ned smiles weakly and looks down again. �Ned�I�I�m so sorry,� she start to cry. �Chloe�I don�t know what happened,� he�s also crying. �Ned, it�s going to be ok. They�ll find her. They will.�

�I�m just so mad at myself. Why didn�t I protect her? I just let them beat me up! I didn�t do anything for her.�

�Ned, listen to yourself. You had two men pointing guns at you! I�m just happy you�re still alive.�

�What about Alexis? What are they going to do to her? If they do anything, I swear, I�ll kill them myself.� There is a pause. �You need to go to Edward and Lila�s house. They don�t know about this yet.� Chloe says.

�I know,� he sighs, �Lila�s gonna go nuts.�

�I�ll go with you, it�ll be ok. How�s your leg?�

�The doctor said the bullet missed the bone, it just hit muscle. It hurts a little. I�m just glad I don�t have to lie around in a hospital bed.�

�Yeah�� she replies.

�Well, we might as well get this over with,� Ned says, standing up.

�Here, let me help you.� She hands him his crutches and guides him out of the hospital.

Jim drags Alexis out of the car. She is blindfolded and gagged. He takes her into a run-down warehouse. He finds an empty room and lies her on the floor and removes her blindfold. She�s still knocked out. He strokes her face and whispers, �Just wait until tonight. We�re gonna have a lot of fun.� He runs his eyes up and down her body, then stands up and nudges her with his foot. She stirs.

The Quatermaines sit in shocked silence. �Oh my gosh.� Monica says. Lila is crying. Emily is hugging her and crying too. �Ned, I am so sorry,� Alan says. �Whatever you need, ask.�

�Of course, anything,� Monica says.

�The only think I need, you can�t give to me. We don�t know where she is at the moment.� Ned says. �Ned you have to be positive��Chloe says.

�Chloe! How can I be positive? Sorel just dragged Alexis off to God-knows-where and I�m supposed to be positive? Do you know what they�re going to do to her?� he yells.

�Yeah, actually, I do,� Sonny replies, walking in with Jason right behind him. �What are you doing in my home?� Edward shouts. �Reginald!�

�Sit down old man,� Sonny commands. �Jason and I have an idea of where Alexis might be. Jason has been watching a particular spot for weeks, and just a few hours ago, a car pulled up with three men and one woman exiting the car.�

�Where is she?� Ned asks. �Sit down Romeo, I�m not gonna tell you.� Sonny says. �And no one goes to the cops with this!� Jason says. �Got it?�

�When are you going to get her?� Ned asks.

"We need to explore the entire building, count how many men are there, and see what we can do. 3 days from now, she'll be back." Sonny replies. "3 days? 3days? You know where she is and you're waiting three days to get her?" Ned shouts.

"Calm down Ned! Yes. If we bust in there and Sorel has 25 men waiting for us, bang, we're ALL dead. So, we have to use our heads. Not a word of this to the cops, they'll screw it up. Ned, you stay in this house, day and night. Jason will be here nights for your protection. You can ID the other 2 guys and Sorel. They might come after you. Just stay put. Everything will be fine." Sonny assures. "Ok," Ned sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Ned, could I speak to you privately?" Sonny asks, waving his hand away from the family. "Yeah...sure," Ned walks over.

"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened. I like Alexis, she's a great friend. If something like this happened to Carly..." Sonny looks away. "Hey, it's alright," Ned says.

"Yeah...whew...I...I just wanted to, uh, tell you, that, um, that..." Sonny stutters.

"Spit it out Sonny," Ned says. "I just wanted to prepare you," Sonny says, quietly. "For what?" Ned is confused.

"I can assure you that Alexis won't be killed. Unless something goes wrong when we go get her, which won't happen. But I do know that she won't be brand new when she gets back."

"What...what do you mean?" Ned says fearfully. "If she ticks them off, they'll do whatever they want to her," Sonny looks down. "Are you suggesting rape?" Ned asks, already knowing the answer. "Um...yeah."

"Dammit!" Ned yells. "Whoa, man, settle down. I can tell you, that when we get her, the only people walking out alive will be me, my men, and Alexis. I'm taking care of Sorel once and for all."

"I wish I could do the deed," Ned says, anger still in his voice. "I'll bet." Sonny says.

"Listen," Ned tells him, concern in his voice,"just be careful ok?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely, you know me Ned, I'm always careful," Sonny laughs. Ned laughs also. "Yeah. Promise me you'll get her out. Alive," tears fill his eyes. "I promise," Sonny says. "And, please, take her straight to the hospital, no matter what. Call me when you get there."

"I will." Ned nods and Sonny puts his hand on Ned's shoulder. "It'll be ok, Ned. I'll do everything in my power to save her." Ned only nods, looking down. "I gotta get goin, I'll call you. Ok? Don't worry," Sonny says. "Yeah," Ned whispers. "You should get some rest, you look pale." Sonny says.

"I can't rest until she's home," Ned runs a hand through is hair. "No, Ned, that's my job," Sonny says, smiling. "Alright, Jason, let's go. Not a word of this leaves this household. If it does, they'll disappear, along with Alexis and any chance we have of finding her." Sonny looks around the room, giving a no-nonsense look to each person. "See ya later guys," he walks out. Ned sighs and sinks down in an armchair, his head buried in his hands.

Alexis wakes up in a small room, empty of furniture except for the bed she was in, a lamp, and a chair. She has been untied. She sits up and holds her head as a headache pounds through. Sorel walks in and closes and locks the door.

"Good morning Miss Davis!" He says cheerfully. She doesn't answer. "Breakfast?" He holds out a tray of eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice. Her mouth waters. She clenches her teeth and reaches out for the tray. She hits the underside with her hand, sending all of the food directly at Sorel. "I don't want your filthy food." she says. He slaps her, sending her back against the pillows. "Don't anger me Miss Davis." He leans in close, orange juice dripping off his nose. "If you do, I'll do much worse than that slap." She's too angry to cry. "So, did you and Jim have fun last night? You were up very late young lady," he wags his finger at her. He laughs as he leaves.

This time she lets the tears flow. How could these men do this to her? She felt so filthy. She buries her head in the pillows.

"Oh, Ned, I love you so much. Please, come soon. I can't last much longer without you," she whispers into the empty room.

"So, we got the location?" Sonny inquires.

"Yes, she's in the south wing of an old warehouse off Interstate 34." Jason replies. "How many men?" Sonny asks. "Either Sorel's stupid, or he's hiding them. There's only him and three other guys. They don't have a chance."

"Good, good. Did you notice what condition she was in?"

"No, I was far away in the woods. I could see her through a window, but I wasn't close enough. She is alive though."

"Sorel would be dumb to kill her. He needs her to get to me and Zander." Sonny says.

"That's true."

"How many men do we have?"

"Seven. You, Johnny, and I will find Alexis while the other four take care of Sorel and his men."

"No. No. I take care of Sorel." Sonny corrects. "But Sonny..." Jason argues. "No! I do. Alright?"

Jason sighs. "Alright."