The Final Test-9

by:Sydney

====================================================================== Thanks sooooo much for all of your encouragement! You guys are the best! Hope you enjoy!

~Chapter 9~

She was standing in the garden. The smell of roses in the air. The sound of birds chirpping. The sky was so blue. As blue as the ocean. Puffy white clouds dotted the sky. She felt free. She felt alive. She felt like she could fly.

She looked all around her, her gaze finally resting on the rose archway. She needed to be there. It was drawing her like a magnet.

She slowly approach, not sure of what she'd find. Would it be empty? Would he be there waiting? She had to know. She had to see.

She could hear his soft, sweet voice calling to her by whispering that precious promise. "Nobody leaves. No matter what happens. Nobody leaves." She smiled knowing this was one promise she intended to keep.

He was there on the swing looking down at their yacht. She smiled, knowing the significance of it all. Then he looked at her. She could see his eyes. Full of pain and confusion. "You chose him, Brenda. I loved you with all that I had, and you walked away. I will not lose again."

Brenda shook her head. "No, Jax. I *didn't* choose him. I was afraid. I was confused. I may have walked away, but my heart never did."

He began to slip away. With every rock of the swing, he moved further and further away. She tried to run after him, but her feet wouldn't move. She tried to reach for him, but her hands were secured.

She wanted to scream, "Jax! Don't leave! I've not left you. Don't believe I've left you! Please, Jax, don't go!", but she couldn't find her voice.

She felt someone shaking her. She felt a tug at her hands. She heard a voice calling for her to wake up, but her eyelids felt so heavy. She wanted to stay in the dream. She wanted to find a way to reach Jax. She couldn't let him leave the garden....>

"Wake up, Sweetie. Brenda, wake up. You're having a dream." She slowly opened her eyes and focused on the person in front of her..the person calling her name.

"Sonny?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Damn!" Jax slammed down the phone and ran his fingers through his thick hair. This was about the tenth time he'd tried to call Brenda on her cell phone in the last hour and a half. The growing knot in his stomach served to increase his frustration.

When Jax had seen Brenda and Sonny on the docks about 2 hours ago, his initial reaction had been shock with an instantaneous stab of pain shooting through his heart. His mind told him that she'd done it again. That just like he thought, she went running right back into Sonny's arms the first chance she got. His heart told him to believe the words of her journals. To believe the strength of her commitment....the power of her love. That not everything is always as it seems.

Then he looked at Brenda. He *really* looked at her. He saw the fire of determination in her eyes and heard the solid, confident, steady tone of her voice. This was no lover's rendevous. She was on a mission. She'd stepped up to the front lines. And this time it was a war that Sonny would definitely lose.

For the first time in months, Jax finally listened to his heart. Jax knew that now, more than ever, he wanted a future with Brenda. And if they were ever going to have a future together, Jax needed to trust her. And what better time than now? He'd walked away without a single doubt as to the outcome.

But now, he was worried. After leaving the docks, Jax had gone to Brenda's house to wait for her after a short detour back to the penthouse. That was 2 hours ago. His rational mind told him that she could be anyhwhere. That anything could have happened. She could have gone to the grocery store. She could have stopped off to grab something to eat...or visit a friend.

But his gut was telling him something else. He just knew something was dreadfully wrong. He could feel it. It wasn't like Brenda to not answer her phone. He just didn't like it. And sitting here waiting, doing nothing, was driving him crazy. Actually, the very idea of Sonny being close enough to her to doing anything to hurt her was what was really driving him to the brink.

He couldn't do this any more. "Aww, to bloody hell with this. " He grabbed his keys off of the table and rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sonny? Where am I?" Brenda tried to sit up, but fell back on the bed, still groggy from being knocked out.

"You're home sweet home, honey." Sonny said, kneeling in front of her and stroking her face gently.

Brenda looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. "Home? But, I don't live here." Brenda struggled to sit up again, and this time Sonny helped her to steady herself. "Sonny, where have you taken me?"

Sonny just smiled. "I told you...home. Of course, you haven't lived here *yet*, Brenda. But this will be our home. I had it specially made for you. Look around. Don't you remember the house you described to me? The one you wanted to build in the country? Where no one would ever be able to find us. Well, this is it. It's not totally complete, yet. But I've made a good start."

Brenda stared at him in disbelief. He had kidnapped her. This was unbelievable. She fought hard to control the anger that had suddenly risen inside. "I can't believe this. Didn't you hear a word I said to you on the docks? *We* don't have a home. We *don't* have a future. I demand that you take me back to Port Charles NOW!"

Sonny chuckled. "Ok. I have to admit. I thought you might react this way. But it will all work out. You'll see. You'll love it here, Brenda. I promise." He reached out to touch her face. She pulled back.

Her voice was low and steady...and very serious. "I don't want to be here with you, Sonny. I want you to take me back to *my* home. I want to go back to PC. I will not stay here, Sonny. You can't keep me here like a prisoner."

Sonny smiled again, only this time it held a hint of malice. "Wanna bet?" And with that he walked toward the door, stopping before he exited. He turned back to look at her sitting on the bed. "I want you to love it here as much as I do, Brenda....and you will. There's a change of clothes for you in the closet. I strongly suggest you put them on. I have something planned for your homecoming. Oh, and by the way, don't try to 'escape'. You'll only end up hurting yourself....and neither one of us wants that, do we?"

Sonny left as tears sprang to Brenda eyes. (Thank god Jax left town. At least he won't know I'm gone. He won't believe I left him for Sonny again.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Jax charged through the doors of the PCPD and grabbed the first officer he came to.

"I need to see Mac Scorpio. Where is he?"

"I believe he's in his office, sir, but you can't go in there..." the officer tried to stop Jax, but to no avail. Jax wasn't a man used to being told where he could and couldn't go, especially when Brenda's life was on the line.

Without knocking, Jax pushed the door to Mac's office open and rushed inside. What met his eyes could be described as nothing less than chaos. Mac was on the phone, his back to the door. There were 3 police officers running around grabbing files and maps. V was sitting in the corner listening to a headset attached to a computer. How she could hear, Jax didn't know. The noise in the office was absolutely deafening.

Jax walked up to Mac's desk just as he hung up the phone. "Mac. I need to talk to you."

"Sorry, Jax. As you can see, I'm in the middle of a crisis here and I don't have time to talk to you. Precious time is being wasted."

"I don't care what you're in the middle of. You'll make time. I got you this job and I can damn-well take it away." Jax's stated threat seemed to get through to Mac.

"Ok. I'm listening."

"Something's happened to Brenda. I think Sonny's kidnapped her."

Mac didn't say anything and something in his expression gave Jax the indication that this was not news to Mac. "Mac?"

Just then there was a knock on the door and Det. Taggart walked in with three huge files and handed them to Mac, nodding to Jax as he did so.

"That's all of the information we have on Sonny Corinthos, sir. His known whereabouts within the last 24 hours are in the last file. That might give us some leads as to where he might have taken Ms. Barrett." He paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "With all due respect, sir, and not meaning to offend the present company, are we sure that Ms. Barrett *was* abducted? How do we know she didn't go willingly? I mean, she *has* been known to change her mind in the past when it comes to Mr. Michael Corinthos, Jr."

A hush came over the room. Jax wasn't sure exactly what was going on or who exactly knew what. But the one thing he did know was that if Brenda was, in fact, no longer in Port Charles, it wasn't by choice. That had to be made perfectly clear. He turned to Taggart, fire blazing out of his eyes.

"Let's get one thing straight, detective, right here and now. You're right that Brenda's mind can easily change. She's a woman, for god's sake. But her heart is an entirely different matter. Once it's decided on a course, it never strays. She didn't leave willingly. And until she looks me in the eyes to tell me that she did...this will be treated as an abduction....and nothing less. Do you understand?"

Detective Taggart nodded with understanding in his eyes. This man was as in love with Ms. Barrett as it gets and all of his hope was resting on the fact that the same was true for her. And he, for one, certainly wouldn't be the one to tell Mr. Jacks otherwise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brenda looked around the room trying to take inventory of possible weapons or escape routes. There was one window...very high up and too small to climb through. And one door....the one that Sonny just left through...and locked on his way out. There was a bathroom. No windows. And a closet. There were no items that she could use as a weapon...no vases, no glass.

She'd almost forgotten about the gun. She reached in the back of her jeans to see if it was still there. (Great! He found it! Now what am I going to do?) she thought. Despair started to take over her. Here she was stuck in the middle of no where. Locked in a room with no exit. No visible weapons available to her. And the man she used to swear she'd die for was in the next room planning a surprise for her that she didn't want.

She smiled slyly. (That's it. I'll play along with his game....see where it takes me. At least I'll be out of this room. And once out of here, I'll be able to figure out how to leave this wretched place completely and go home....)

She went over to the closet and pulled out the dress that was hanging there. It was the red dress she wore the night they had a romantic dinner at their penthouse the night before they got married. (Alright, Sonny. Let's see what you're up to.)

Brenda changed clothes quickly. She took the charm that Jax gave her. There was no way that she could wear it around her neck. Sonny would see it and that would defeat the purpose. But she did have a pocket. It wasn't as close to her heart as she would have liked but under the circumstances, it couldn't be helped. She'd put it in there for safekeeping.

Brenda took a deep breath to steady her nerves. (Well, girl. Time to take your first step back to freedom.) She knocked on the door.

"Sonny? Sonny? Let me out. I've changed and I'm ready for my surprise now."

---------------------------------------------------------------------- V broke the silence. "Sir, I found it. I found the signal."

Mac rushed over to where V was seated and looked at the map on the screen.

V pointed to a small red blinking dot on the map. "It's coming from a little town called 'Freedom' about 50-60 miles from here. I'm really surprised the signal is this strong. You were right to choose the device you did."

Jax had moved in behind V to look over her shoulder. "What are you talking about, V?"

"Oh, hi, Mr. Jacks." she said, speaking to her former employer for the first time since his arrival. "Well, we planted a tracking device on Ms. Barrett before she went to meet with Mr. Corinthos. And I just found the signal. We know where she is...or at least where she's been."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Jax asked heading for the door.

"Wait a minute, Jax. You aren't going with us. This is a police matter." Mac stated.

"Like hell, I'm not! Brenda needs my help. I'm going."

"Jax she didn't want you involved. Let us handle this."

"NO! I'm going. I'm involved in this already, like it or not. As I see it you have 2 choices, Mac. Let me go with you. Or I'll find her myself. Either way, I'll be there. The choice is up to you." Jax and Mac's eyes were locked in a battle of wills....a battle that Mac lost quickly.

"Alright. But no funny business. No heroics. I mean it, Jax. You're only purpose there is to hold her hand once we get her out of this mess. Got it?"

Jax nodded. "Got it."

"Alright then let's go. Taggart you ride with me. V, bring the laptop and ride with Jax. Jax you drive. It'll keep you busy. Let's just hope that we're not too late."

to be continued.....