"Honey, I'm home!" Luke called as he burst into their hotel suite.
Luke was turned around closing the door, and the instant he faced in again,
Laura was in his arms. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, "nice to see you too."
"I was so worried!" Laura replied, then she stepped back, got a stern look on her face, and slugged Luke on the arm. "How dare you leave like that and only leave this little note that says 'Be back later.' What were you thinking?! I didn't know when you'd be back, or how you got there. Luke, you can't do this to me."
"Whoa, Angel, calm down. I didn't know when I'd be back, and I didn't want to wake you this morning. You needed your sleep. Besides, I told you last night I'd be scoopin' out this ranch place today. Look, I'm here, safe and sound."
"Well, are you gonna tell me what happened at least?"
"OK, looks like it's not gonna be as bad as we thought. It's those Grecko world freezing wackos again." Luke then proceeded to describe to Laura what he found out. He didn't leave out a single detail. He described the layout of the land, the way the house looked, how many workers he saw............... All of this info could prove to be vital in the future. "It looks like they expect us to come and live with them. I heard the daughter saying she would fix up our rooms."
"Are we really going to?"
"I'm not sure yet. These people don't know that I know that they're on our side. They're gonna expect us to be hostile and suspicious. I don't think we should let them think otherwise until we know more about them. We'll just play along - pretending we have no idea what's going down. If that guy opens up to us - great. If he doesn't, we'll just snoop around a little until we have something on him. Then we'll confront him. It'd be best if the three of us went together tomorrow to the ranch cause I heard them say the Cassadines were sending people to look over the situation. If we go tomorrow, we'll probably beat them there. We won't decide whether to move in or not until we get a chance to talk to them. They did demand that we all present ourselves in the letter, so tomorrow would be the safest. I just want you to stay within an arms reach of me at all times. And hold tight to ankle biter over there - the last thing we need is for him to wriggle loose."
"Should we take anything with us? What about that letter, or our stuff, or something to protect ourselves?"
"Well, I'll be carrying this......" he said as he reached back and pulled out the gun he had stored in the waist of his pants, "so, as long as you stay by me, you shouldn't have to be carrying anything."
"Good, I wouldn't want to be."
"I figured as much. That is why you should always be close behind me. As for the other stuff, we should just leave it here. No need to bring anything to slow us down."
"Shouldn't we go at night. If we need to get out fast, it'd be easier to hide in the dark."
"Good point. You up for going tonight?"
"I don't see why not. Just let me grab........." Laura was saying as she turned to look for her son. There he was, sitting amongst a pile of luggage wearing a cowboy hat Luke had bought in Texas. "Let me grab cowboy over there, and we'll be on our way."
"Cowboy - huh? I like it! You ready?" With that, the three of them set off back to the hacienda.
Laura gasped as she saw the pathway leading up to the main house. It was gorgeous. Colored lights were bouncing off the water as it made its way down and around and underneath the stone stairs. "Luke, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed as she looked put her free hand on her husband's chest. Luke covered her hand with his. He was thinking the exact same thing. Had the circumstances been different, he would have found this to be the most romantic place on earth (except for maybe their room at the Whitaker's or their waterfall on that island off Venezuela). They just stood there staring, relishing in the moment, before Luke started up the pathway, pulling Laura behind him. Luke knocked on the door, and was surprised when the man he had seen earlier answered as opposed to a servant.
"Ah, we've been expecting you. Won't you come in?" The man opened the door wider, and showed them into a brightly lit room, which looked very elegant, but lived it. The whole atmosphere seemed very comfortable, which put Luke and Laura at ease - but just slightly. They sat down on an overstuffed white canvas sofa decorated with brightly colored pillows. Luke and Laura sat hip to hip so as to provide comfort through the simple sensation of touch. Their son sat on Luke's lap, perfectly content to rest there. Luke silently thanked his lucky stars his son was behaving himself. That would make matters easier.
"I bet you're wondering what you're doing here," the man started. "Well, it's simple, really. If you know what's best for your family, you will stay on here as our guests. You will be treated with the upmost respect and courtesy, and you shall have everything you need, but you are never to leave the premesis."
"With all due respect, sir, why should we agree to this?" Luke, ever the skeptic, asked.
"Well, you certainly don't have to stay. But if you don't, I will not be held responsibly for what happens to your loved ones. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose a member of you family now that it's just getting started."
That put Luke on the defensive right away. "And, just why are you threatening my family? What do you want with us? We don't have anything to offer, and you wouldn't gain anything by harming us."
"I don't want anything from you. I'm simply here to look over you, and make sure you stay where you belong - and don't disappear off the face of the earth."
"If you don't want anything with us, then why are you supposed to watch us? What is going on, and who is behind this? WHAT do you WANT from us?"
"You need not know everything at once. You have until tomorrow morning to make your decision. You either stay on with me and my daughter, or you leave and suffer the consequences. It's that simple."
Laura, who had remained quietly listening until now finally spoke up. "Do we at least get to know who YOU are? I certainly don't know you, and can't figure out why you would want to know us."
"My name is Alejandro Marco, and I'm the owner of the land which stretches as far as you can see in any direction. I live here with my 15 year old daughter, Kristina. There are over 75 other men women and children who live here, but they stay in the worker's quarters. Together, we run the grandest rancho in all of Argentina."
"I would introduce myselft, but I assume you already know much more about me than my name," Laura answered.
"Yes. I'm delighted to meet you Mrs. Spencer," Alejandro replied as he offered his hand. Laura tenatively took it, surprised at how rough his hands were. She took that as a good sign. It meant he did not consider himself lofty and above his employers. He must be out working hard every day as well. Laura took her hand away, and Alejandro offered it to Luke. Luke shook it with more force than need be, but he didn't want to give any impression of softness.
"Well, Marco, I'd say it's been a charming visit - but under the circumstances I'd say that was pushing it. If you don't mind, my family and I will be going now. You'll know of our decision tomorrow morning by 10:00. If we're here, that means we didn't run. Adios." Luke and Laura stood up together and headed toward the door. Alejandro got up as well, and darted ahead to get the door for them. He bowed slightly as the Spencers exited into the glorious night. As soon as they were out, Alejandro closed the door knowing the Spencers would be back in the morning. If they had come as far as to meet like civilized people, they wouldn't back down now. No doubt about it. Luke Spencer was the type who would get to the bottom of this.
