Title: The Gauntlet

Rating: TEEN for violence

Summary: Lorenzo Alcazar has lost it; all out war has erupted between him, Sonny Corinthos, and a new family attempting to take control. Skye has disappeared with Lila Rae to keep her safe. Tonight, with Cruz’s help, Alexis will try to take Kristina and Molly away from the violence for good.

Author’s Notes: James Craig unfortunately does not exist here. He’d be way too much competition for Cruz.

ANII: Sorry if the chapter breaks are a little abrupt. This story is actually written as one continuous passage but I know the eyes need a break and the mind needs a stopping point, so try to keep that in mind.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters depicted below save the evil Medicis. I don’t own the lyrics to Every Breath You Take by Sting and the Police or Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar.

He lifted an eyebrow.

She nodded, returning to Molly’s half-packed diaper bag and adjusted things nervously once more. She knew they had to go, they had to run. Staying was no longer an option she was willing to entertain. Kristina had been threatened again. With a throbbing heart, she still recalled sitting beside Sonny watching a tape of their precious daughter playing at school, unknowing of the danger that dangled above her head. She had decided, then, that they had to escape. Time didn’t change her verdict.

“So,” Cruz stuck his hands in his pockets, “how was your day?”

Narrowing her eyes at him, she refolded Molly’s newest onesie and tucked it away again. She was stalling, she was scared--she was petrified. Of course she was, but she wouldn’t show it. Cassadines, however grudging of their blood, never showed fear.

“Great actually,” she tried at normal conversation. “I’ve been thinking about this trip all week. It’s the only thing Kristina can talk about.”

“Not surprising,” he stilled her nervously folding hands with his own. “It’s not often a little girl gets to go to Niagara Falls.”

She was calmed by how good he was at this lie. They had devised it on the move between the courtroom and the squad room, never stilling long enough to be overhead. Over the last six months, she’d come to realize that she could only trust him to help her escape. He had no stake in her life; though he was fond of her girls, he held no vendetta against either Ric or Sonny that prevented him from putting her daughters’ needs first. He was the ideal partner in deceit. And he was easily convinced.

“I went with my family when I was sixteen.” He turned up her hands and massaged her palms, physically willing her to relax. “I thought I was a rebel, a real smart ass.” She let him lead her to the sofa, and was inwardly relieved when he refused to let go. “I thought I knew everything about the world, no force of God could conquer me.” She folded herself into the cushions, smirking as he did the same across from her. “Then, I stared down at those falls and I knew without a doubt that if I jumped I’d die.”

Her skin was besieged with goose bumps as he traced the deep creases of her palm with his fingertips. “That must have been a terrifying realization for someone so young.”

“At first,” he admitted. “Later on, it gave me strength, then, courage as I grew up. Having such a strong grip on my mortality allowed me to face a life where I might risk myself for another person. I could die tomorrow and be …all right knowing I saved someone else.”

“That’s very admirable.” She rubbed his arm gently. He had been an immense comfort, assuring her whenever she should falter that this was the right thing to do, that she was out of options. “And incredibly foolish,” she laughed dryly. A layer of dust had settled on her laughing muscles and she shuddered for the effort.

“Maybe it is, but it‘s a responsibility I‘ve accepted.” He looked deliberately into her eyes, case in point.

She had stayed awake last night thinking of this moment. No, not this very one, but of this evening and how she hoped it would end; how she feared it might end. She thought he was a good man and she’d hate to see one more good man sacrificed on the altar of mob violence and one-upmanship.

“Good then,” she put on her best face. “Because Niagara Falls is a hell of a trip and you have three women to contend with. I think a battalion commander would say ‘God speed.’”

“I can handle you beautiful ladies. Speaking of which,” he checked his watch quickly,” we need to be hitting the road if we’re going to make it by sunrise. What do you think?”

She felt stronger for his nonchalance. “Sure. If you can get Molly, I’ll pull Kristina away from her dolls.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he rose with a salute and departed the front room, leaving her alone. She tucked back her close-cropped hair and left to collect her daughter. This was the role of a lifetime.

Cruz held a somber Molly in his arms as he secured the windows to the house. Alexis looked on as she carefully braided her elder daughter’s hair. Kristina cuddled her favorite doll, Abigail, and was very quiet.

She pulled the door shut behind her and it sealed with a subtle click. The humid air was cut by the jingle of her keys. She dropped them into deep pockets of her coat to save her nerves. A dozen eyes were on them like gun sights and she unconsciously made to shield Kristina with her body, though she knew it was fruitless.

“We are going to have a wonderful time.” She and Cruz buckled the girls into the car and he slid behind the steering wheel, hands steady as he slipped key into the ignition. They both held their breath as he fired up the ignition. This could be the moment they died.

The engine roared to life and the seats rumbled beneath them, safely. Alexis exhaled, chilled to her heart. She spied Kristina in the rearview mirror, her round face as white as a midnight ghost. She smiled tremulously at her reflection, but her daughter only looked away, seemingly content to tinker with Abigail. Molly cooed, undisturbed by their discomfort.

Cruz looked subtly around them and loosed the buckle on his gun holster. She clung to the armrest between their seats and feigned calm again. Kristina felt her anxiety, Cruz felt it. She wasn’t playing her Cassadine part well.

“Hey, Krissy, are you looking forward to going to Niagara Falls?” There he went again, ever the optimist.

The seven year-old remained mute and made a point of ducking out of sight.

Her mother was torn. This was the right thing, she knew, but the toll it was taking on all of them was breaking her.

“You’ll love it, sweetheart, it’s so beautiful. It’s sort of loud though and when you walk over the falls, the mist sprays you in the face. Like the sprinkler system we run through at the hospital. Won’t that be fun?” She wasn’t expecting much from her daughter; silence was still her default setting.

Kristina peeked out of the shadows of the back seat to nod. She was wearing the big girl face she’d christened upon Molly’s birth.

“I think Molly will like it a lot,” she stated wisely.

“Me, too, baby. She’ll love it.” Alexis was bolstered by getting any response at all.

“Thank you for taking us, Cwuz,” Krissy thanked him shyly.

“It’s my pleasure, Princess Kristina.”

Alexis looked away into the growing gloom, hopeful that this was a sign of the good fortune to come. She swore she didn’t see the glinting of things terrible and deadly in the dense brush that lined street they rode on. It was straight out of town from here--at least it could be. If they stopped for nothing and went the speed limit, they could escape undeterred. Perhaps she was being absurdly naïve.

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