Part I

Dara strode into the hallway from the elevator with a gleeful bounce in her step. It was in the bag this time. Finally the Corinthos/Morgan alliance was going down for good. Giving her leather briefcase handle a squeeze, she confidently approached the Penthouse door, toning down her mood and nodded politely while the doorman, Francis, silently acknowledged her and turned to open the oak door.

"Ms. Jensen, I was informed that you were making your way here."

Dara took the first few steps into the Penthouse with uncertain steps. With a curious frown, she eyed him. "Johnny, right?"

Johnny turned, his back now to the roaring fire that had previously occupied his attention. With a slight smile to Francis, he waited until the door shut before approaching Dara. His pale green eyes revealing nothing more than a slight interest in her reason for being here, he extended his hand to her. "I believe you have papers in your briefcase for-"

"For Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan," Dara interrupted, finding her voice. Straightening her back slightly, she kept the briefcase at her side and did not move from her spot.

Johnny paused, the flicker of interest in his eyes growing at her determined statement. "I'm afraid neither is here."

"When will they return?" Panic momentarily coursed through her veins. Had they gotten wind of what was going on? Were the safely out of the country?

"They won't."

Unable to suppress her frustration, Dara released a haggard sigh. This was not at all what she wanted to hear.

"Have a seat, you look tired."

Dara's head snapped up at his offer. She studied his expression carefully. "Pardon me?" she queried suspiciously.

Johnny poured out two drinks and handed one to her. "Have a seat. Those papers are no longer valid. Neither man is returning and both you and I know that any attempt to find them is useless." His tone was firm and as much as she hated to admit it, he was probably right. Still, it couldn't hurt to pump him for information.

Once both had settled comfortably in their seats, Dara placed her untouched drink down. "Well, I'm going to assume also that neither has anything to say about the way things are being run around here anymore."

Johnny leaned back, crossing one leg over the other and nodded. "I'd go with that."

"Are they dead?"

Johnny let out a laugh at her blunt question. She certainly didn't beat around the bush. Something he'd always found intriguing about her. He could have left it to her imagination, but he chose instead to be straight with her. "No. Sonny and Jason are both very much alive."

"They just don't live or work here anymore."

Johnny shook his head. Dara paused as she let the information sink in. The implication was clear. "So you're in charge now."

It was both a question and statement. Johnny nodded again. "I felt now was the best time."

"I thought you were just the doorman."

Johnny took the remark with another easy smile. "You need to start somewhere, right?"

Dara shrugged. "I guess so."

"Don't look so glum Ms. Jensen, I won't be employing Alexis Davis as my attorney. She's more suited to family affairs." Leaning forward his gazed intensified. "I don't suppose I could entice you to head my legal team?" Dara automatically sat back, suddenly aware of the heat that crept into her cheeks. Her mouth went dry and she wondered, where on earth this man had come from? The man that had for years solemnly guarded the lives of Sonny Corinthos and Jason Morgan now sat before her as the empowered man who controlled much of the East Coast operations. How quickly things changed. Especially when his piercing gaze was making her weak in all the right places. Or was that wrong places? She was suddenly grateful that she was sitting.

"No, I prosecute criminals, not the other way around," she managed.

Johnny's eyes glittered, suddenly aflame with anger. Sharply, he stood. "I find that hard to believe. You've let many slip from your grasp."

"It's not easy to prosecute members of organized crime, a fact I'm sure you're well aware of." Dara stood, feeling her temper swell. "I did get Joseph Sorel-"

"You got a man who held no real power and who never would have had the opportunity to give you anything of value," Johnny shot back. For months he'd been spoiling for this fight with the woman who'd let justice slip through her fingers so easily.

"Corinthos and Morgan were in the bag!" Dara took the papers from her bag and without thinking, thrust them at Johnny.

Without a glance, Johnny turned and tossed them into the fire. Within a few seconds, the papers were enveloped completely by the flames. "They were never in the bag," he assessed coldly.

"So who the hell are you talking about?!" Dara threw her arms out in exasperation. "Moreno? Who?!" Stopping from continuing her outburst, Dara shook her head. What was she doing arguing about right and wrong with the newest mob boss of Port Charles? She should have left the minute she realized Jason and Sonny were no longer in the country. "Forget it, I"m leaving."

"Zander Smith."

Dara turned after a moment. "Zander Smith?" she asked incredulously. "You're getting upset about a kid who sold drugs?" She paused with a wince, that wasn't what she meant. "I mean, not that I condone what he did, but he's small fish. He gave us Sorel."

Johnny took slow, deliberate steps towards Dara, his gaze boring into hers. A shiver slid down her spine as dread filled her. There was more to this story, this was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Zander Smith sold Rohypnol. At frat parties. At raves. At movie theatres. Outside of high schools and shopping malls. You probably weren't aware of that, but you are aware what Rohypnol has been used for the past few years aren't you?" His voice was clipped and tight, as though he was attempting to reign in emotions that were threatening to break loose.

Dara remained still, though the guilt flooded her. Of course she remembered, but it hadn't been her call. "The date rape drug. I know, but we had to sacrifice for the greater good." It wasn't much of a defense. The words rang hollow even now, nearly two years since the trial.

"He facilitated rape. Spin it anyway you want but that's exactly what he did."

"And he paid for it with his life," Dara replied evenly. "He'd started his life over, you probably weren't aware of that," she added, using his previous words against him.

"Everyone pays the consequence for their actions," Johnny shot back. "In this life, everything is a sin. Retribution must be made, no matter how golden your heart becomes."

Johnny strode over to the windows and gazed into the horizon as dusk approached. "Sonny and Jason had both done some pretty fucked up things when they ran things, but I let it slide. Both suffered from the same problem and their incompetence showed because of it. I wasn't in a position then to change things." His voice dropped an octave, becoming more ominous, "obviously that changed."

Dara gasped as she quickly took his words to the next step. "You arranged for Zander Smith's death?" Nausea overwhelmed her and she took a seat at the dining room table. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Gulping down the rest of his drink, Johnny clutched the empty glass in his hand tightly. "Sonny never had the stomach for getting rid of problems like this. Jason just didn't care because of his sister. She forgave Zander so why the hell should he care, right?"

The bitter rage was now out in full force. What Dara was not prepared for was the pain that came with it. Johnny turned, the tears that had streamed down his cheeks left the marks of a man consumed by something more powerful than hate. "I'm just a doorman, right?" he spat out. "I can't have family. A wife or parents or a daughter, huh?"

Dara's eyes widened and her head lifted to face his. Of course. "Oh, Johnny, I'm so sorry," she started before he waved at her for silence.

Standing silently for a moment, Johnny rocked on his heels, a hollow laugh escaping him. "I should have slit that little shit's throat the second I had the chance."

"What stopped you?"

Johnny's gaze rose, surprised at the change in her demeanor. "He became important to Sonny. I thought I'd wait until after the trial but when I had the chance, I couldn't do it. Things had changed again."

Dara frowned thinking back. "The shooting?"

Johnny shook his head, his green orbs darkening once more. "She fell in love with him."

"Emily Quartermaine."

Johnny nodded slowly. "You have to understand Dara, when you become a parent, your whole life changes, even if you never spend a day in theirs." His voice had become a low murmur, confessing something he had never let pass his lips in over 18 years.

Dara's hand rose, resting against her chest. "Oh my God," she said as Johnny continued, unable to stop the flow of words that came out of his mouth.

"She had suffered so much already. I really believed that it would be no good causing her more heartache."

"Emily is...your daughter?" The room seemed to darken with her declaration. A declaration that almost seemed unnecessary to say. She knew it was true, without even strongly considering her words, deep down, Dara knew that Emily's natural Father was Johnny. As the words hung in the air, neither person moved and the only sound that could be heard was the crackling fire that made the amber liquid of Dara's untouched drink flicker in the dimly lit room. The walls sparkled from the reflection and Dara suddenly realized why everything was darker now. She'd been here nearly an hour and the horizon of an approaching dusk was now replaced by the black, moon less night. Dara shivered, feeling cold and Johnny tilted his head to the side, his gaze studying her.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah?"

"You can give me that drink now."

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