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Morgan Benson 4

Moving Day, within 48 hours of interviewing with the Traveling Nurse agency she has the keys to a one bedroom apartment with easy access to the hospital where she’d be working. This hospital always has a contract going with the agency– including a big bonus at the end of a 13 week commitment. Thirteen weeks would take her up to her last trimester of her pregnancy. She could depending on how she was feeling go to shorter assignments. She’d rather work for as long as she could and then take time off after the baby is born.
Taking them up on the housing offer had also given her some breathing room where Morgan is concerned. The guy is on track for doing whatever he’s doing and is at work 5-6 days a week. But she’d just as soon have a place of her own rather than falling into some instana-relationship with a guy she’s known less than a week no matter how hot he is in the sack. Everything is supplied with the apartment, furniture and even pots and pans. All she needs are clothes and personal items. Which involves a road trip up to Gainesville. Still no way of knowing if she’s going to be moving to Miami or just visiting. Which means everything in her apartment is going to have to go into storage.

“It’s not bad.” Morgan’s tone is counter to his statement. His reaction after seeing her apartment for the first time. It had taken a day to get that much.

“It’s two minutes from the hospital, has security and a lot of the traveling nurses stay here. It’s fine. You’re spoiled.”

“Very much so.” Morgan agrees. “Well lets spend your last weekend of freedom on the road and packing.”

“Look I can get this done. I’m just going to be watching the mover guys pack everything up for storage and packing a few things to bring back here.”

“I’m going too.” Morgan declares.

“Fine. I can pack more in the cruiser but you can take the first leg.” She tosses him her keys. Even if she has been spending night over at Morgan’s house, she’s been able to use the time while he’s at work productively making sure that the new place is clean up to her standards and making sure everything is turned on while making the old place has everything shut off so that the transition is smooth with as little carryover as possible. Paying utilities in two different places is a bitch. “And keep it to the right lane okay? This is the first time I’ve done a road trip since the morning sickness started kicking in.”

“You’ve got your crackers and Vernors?”

“Never leave home without them.” Lisa quips as she puts the small cooler in the backseat of the cruiser. The Vernors she’s found at a health food store. Who knew you had to go to a specialty store to get ginger ale with real ginger in it? But the stuff at the supermarket didn’t get it done, as she’d found out the hard way.

“Hey. Where you guys heading off too?” One of Morgan’s roommates comes up the PT Cruiser at a run.

“Gainesville to get the stuff Lisa needs for her new place.”

“Gimme a sec. I’ll go with you or we can use my truck. Fit way more stuff that way.” The guy is already pulling a polo shirt on over his head.

“You’ve got to work in the morning. Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it.” Morgan shrugs as he adjusts the driver’s seat to fit him. It isn’t the porsche but Lisa has a point. She’d be able to pack more than a suitcase this way.

“I’ll call in. No worries.” The roommate insists.

“Thanks for the offer.” Lisa leans over. “If most of my stuff wasn’t going into storage I’d take you up on it. It’ll just be a bag and a box or two. It’ll fit in the cruiser.”

“We’ll be back Sunday night.” Morgan puts the key in the ignition and starts the car up.

Lisa watches the roommate from the side mirror. That had been weirder than weird.

It’s a nice trip but he gets the feeling something is up. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Lisa says absently.

"Lisa." Morgan says insistently. "I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested in the answer. And Fine is a non-answer."

"Just putting stuff together and if I start talking about it you’re going to want to have me committed."

"That good. Tell me?"

"How high up is your sister at CSMC?"

"Why do you ask?" Morgan non answers.

"Is she high up enough that the company would set spies on you?"

"You must really hate CSMC."

"Cole Radcliffe found out I was flunking out of school after my freshman year-- not from me, my brother or my mom. Anders is head of the Boston Branch. He can’t be distracted by something as pesky as a sister who is ****ing up. CSMC told Cole Radcliffe. I was just a layover on his way to Tarpon Springs to do hurricane relief. I can appreciate the conversation, even the messenger and really hate the fact somebody’s all up in my business and snitching me off. It wasn’t the school or a computer thing either. Mr Radcliffe showed up a place I was partying and pulled me out. That was somebody watching me."

Morgan takes a long time answering, keeping his focus on the road. "It’s an interesting theory but my sister doesn’t care. What brought this on?"

"The way your roommate acted. He was no big deal until we started toward my car. Then he started offering to ditch work and use his truck for the move. Which makes zero sense; we would have needed his truck more with the porsche than my car. The porsche is bugged."

"I’ve known Barry for years. We pledged the same fraternity back at school."

"I’d have thought he was a couple years ahead of you. He’s a little older isn’t he?"

"He didn’t go straight from high school to college."

"Uh huh." Lisa adds. "And the hazing thing... you know the reason why you totally moved off campus. I bet he had your back."

"Of course he did. We both decided it was bull."

"Uh-huh." Lisa nods. "And the house? You just happened to be looking at the foreclosures rather than an apartment right off campus?"

"Let it go, Lisa. It isn’t CSMC." Morgan’s voice is grim because he is beginning to believe her.

"The feds maybe? I know that CSMC is..." Lisa makes quote marks in the air. "...mostly legit."

"If and I do mean if there is a spy in my camp then I need to have a conversation with my Uncle Jason. It’s probably on his orders."

"The porsche is bugged." Lisa says it like it’s fact.

"And if it is-- that proves it’s Uncle Jason. Because if Barry is working for CSMC then it wouldn’t have mattered which vehicle we took, because your car is probably bugged too."
"Okay now that is just going to piss me off." Lisa shakes her head. "GPS or onStar is one thing that’s activated in case of an emergency. But a bug! Who the hell is Uncle Jason?"
"Jason Morgan, the guy I’m named for. He’s a... coffee importer up in Port Charles New York. Since they don’t actually grow the beans in New York he does business in a lot of countries that don’t play by the same rules as we have here in the US. Never seems to fail that coffee grows in some of the most screwed up countries in the world."

“Too bad. Now if you would have said chocolate I’d understand but coffee... eh take it or leave it.”

“Same thing is true of cacoa. Grows in the most messed up countries in the world. But cacoa is more like wine than coffee is. The taste of the chocolate varies with the country it’s from, the ground it grows.”

“You sound like we’re not talking hershey with almonds.”

“Um... no. I’m talking about about Criollo cacoa trees grown in Venezuela. Have to be within 20 degrees of the equator, have to have over 80 inches of rain a year. Have to be grown in the shade. Missing any one of those three things... no chocolate.”

“And they’re the best?”

“The Dom Perignon of Cacoa beans but I’m biased.”

“And how do you know so much about it?”

“I inherited a piece of property down in Venezuela. It’s agricultural land for the most part and the main crop is Cacoa.”

“Hmm... any possibility of you paying child support in Chocolate?”

“It may be something to negotiate.”

“How many books do you have?” Morgan looks around the room in disbelief. It’s a one bedroom apartment and you can’t see the walls for the book cases. He’d been raised in a bullet proofed penthouse apartment. For the first few years with his father and then from the age of 6 with Uncle Jason. It’s one of the reasons why the house had been so important even if it had seemed over the top at the time.

“Not enough.” Lisa counters. “And let the movers do it. They’re in order.”

Morgan takes a closer look at the book and sure enough they are in alphabetical order by author but within the author they aren’t in alphabetical order by title. He mentions it to Lisa.

“Chronological earliest to latest.” Lisa goes back in to the bedroom and pulling out her suitcase from under her bed starts packing what she’ll need with emphasis on work clothes and shoes. Pretty much everything there goes but then it’s picking and choosing but swiftly done. She grabs the few pieces of good jewelry and tucks them into a side pocket of the suitcase. Next moving to the bathroom to collect anything there that should go. Plenty is left there for the movers. Moving on from there she goes to the kitchen. There is it more about throwing everything out and washing containers. She’d been moved both without movers (pre CSMC) and with. And what she’s found out about professional movers is they are paid by the pound. Which means they’ll pack the trash, the contents of the fridge and freezer unless it is clearly noted to not. Which is really going to suck after being in storage for 13 weeks. And that’s kind of the definition of what needs to be dumped. What can’t be in storage for 13 weeks.
And it’s what is going to drive her absolutely nuts as she looks at her living room bookcase. She’d promised herself just one box of books. Just one. This was going to take forever. Morgan has been taking the boxes and suitcases as she fills them and is soon caught up as Lisa just stares at the bookcase.

“You okay?”

“This is so hard. It’s like that desert island game. If you were on a desert island and could only take 10 books which ones would they be?” Finally she sorts thru by going to the authors where she has all their books and picks the favorite from each author. A rainy weekend with nothing to do and she’d whip through the box but maybe the sun would be shining for the next 13 weeks. Music is easy. Everything is backed up to the computer so it’s just a matter of packing up her laptop. Now all they have to do is wait for the movers to get there. The apartment provided by the job is furnished so nothing else really needs to go. “Hurry up and wait. It’s kind of waiting for the cable guy. They’ll be here but you don’t know exactly when.” She drops down onto the couch and tilts her head back.

Morgan finds the remote and puts the television on low. He switches to a video music station that is actually playing music and leaves it there. Evidently Mayday is coming off the road and would be in the studio working on a new album. One of their last performances in Europe to support their sophomore album is an unplugged set that had been recorded. They’d done the arena thing in Dublin and then on their last night before flying out to South America had basically did a pub gig for the unplugged.
It had turned into a jam with the band’s manager and former lead guitarist, Paul there as well as Alecia Hart their album producer and pop icon. According to the talking heads the jam had gone on for hours but then been edited down to this hour. If you wanted the whole jam you’d have to buy the vid. The homesickness had come through when Stan and Chandy did a duet of the Michael Buble classic Home. That one had been cut into a video on it’s own and is being played on both VH1 and CMT and while it’ll never be on an album... well maybe a best of one of these days but it has been released as a single on iTunes.

“Is that Mayday?” Lisa doesn’t open her eyes. “It sounds like them but not. I saw them at a Cat 5 show.”

“Unplugged.”

“Ah.”

“I’m going to go out and make a few calls. I’ll wake you up when the movers get here.”

“Or they could just carry me out on the couch.” Lisa agrees as she curls up on the couch for a power nap. As soon as the movers are gone she is going to have scrub this place down from top to bottom.

Morgan smiles at that and goes out onto the balcony that runs along the front of the apartment complex looking down to the pool in the central courtyard. It’s a generic complex that had little going for it other than the proximity to the college. He hits a number on speeddial. “Barry? It’s Morgan. We need to talk... or do I need to call Uncle Jason...” It’s a short phone call. If there is one thing Morgan can’t stand it’s Betrayal. Barry had seemed to be a good friend but he’d also been lying to him for the last 7 years. And their so called friendship had never gotten in the way of Barry cashing Jason Morgan’s checks or putting locators on Morgan’s cars. The next phone call is going to be harder, because it really can’t be considered betrayal. It is Uncle Jason just being Uncle Jason.

“I fired Barry for you today, Uncle Jason. You’re going to have to reassign him to something else. But that business degree you paid for will sure come in handy I’m sure.” There is a long pause. Morgan knows that Jason doesn’t lie. He’ll say nothing or he’ll change the subject but he doesn’t lie.

“Are you expecting an apology?”

“No.”

“Firing him is a mistake, Morgan. Kidnaping is always a threat for someone in your position, son. Having Barry there is insurance.”

“I’d rather have a guard I know is a guard than someone who is pretending to be my friend. I’m not a kid anymore, Uncle Jason.”

“You haven’t been for a long time– since your dad died.” Jason agrees. “Which is why you see the necessity of the guards. If it’s not going to be Barry then you’re going to need to increase your security. It sounds as if you have more to lose now.”

“Has he always told you who I’m sleeping with?”

“Only the one you moved in. She’s Courtland Street, Morgan.”

“Her brother is. She never made any secret of it. Lisa even admitted that CSMC probably thinks of her as an asset. Considering she’s the one who showed up when I called the CSMC hotline– I know she’s Courtland Street, Uncle Jason.”

“I never understood that... you calling them.”

“I was concussed.”

“Ah.”

“If there is a problem in the future, Uncle Jason, just let me in on it. I’m not stupid. If there is something going on and we need to up security it’ll happen. But I’m going to be involved in the decision.”

“I hear what you’re saying.” Doesn’t mean that he agrees. “So what are you going to be doing to up the security there, Morgan? Because she knew I had somebody there, Baby kept out of it. You move CSMC in and you’re inviting in all of them. I don’t have the resources down in Miami that she does. Wouldn’t surprise if this is what Baby had in mind all along– using this girl as bait.”

“Lisa is not a fan of CSMC.”

“Makes her all the more tempting as bait.”

Aunt Courtney and Aunt Robin had both started life as not rich and had done their own laundry, cleaned their own kitchens. Doesn’t mean as soon as they had access to money that they hadn’t hired a housekeeper to handle things so that Aunt Courtney could work on her foundation and Aunt Robin could focus her talents on GH. He’d come up earning an allowance by picking up his toys and making his bed but any real physical labor he’d ever done had been at the gym. And it shows. “Quit rolling your eyes at me.”

“Yeah, it is kind of mean to taunt the challenged. I swear, Morgan, if this is the way you do cleaning I have to think when you learned to tie your shoes... that you put the socks on after the shoes.”

“Stops them from getting dirty.” Morgan quips.

“How about you go out and find a drive thru somewhere. Bring back dinner. I’ll be able to finish this up. Now that the movers have taken everything it’s just a slate that needs to be cleaned.”

“I’m not going to leave you to do this all by yourself.”

“It’s my place– and frankly you’re getting in the way.”

“You sure? This isn’t something that you’re going to hold against me later right?”

“Oh probably. No, just kidding. I’ll hold it against you if you start getting in my way and making this take twice as long. We still have a shot of getting back to Miami tonight. We start dodging each other and we’ll be sleeping in a hotel after hauling everything out of the Cruiser to make sure nothing important to me gets stolen from the car while we’re sleeping.”

Morgan picks up the keys. “Chicken okay?”

Morgan yawns. It’s been a long day. What would have more reasonably been done in two days then done in one and that included travel to and from Gainesville. By the time they got back to Miami, the only thing to do would be crash. But at least this way they had a weekend before Lisa would start her new job. Evidently the hospital scheduled in what Lisa said was a standard 4 on 2 off schedule. It’s a set schedule in it’s own way but it meant that a true weekend would be few and far between. Lisa didn’t think anything of it. She actually seemed to prefer it. Anything that might be considered normal, she considered suspect-- whether it was a Monday through Friday or an 8-5 schedule. Perverse. She’s out like a light in the seat next to him. He’s noticed her ability to drop off in an instant and doesn’t know if it’s the pregnancy or if she’s always been able to do it.

Pulling into his drive, he makes sure that the gate is secured behind him. Once in the garage he turns the engine off and runs a hand behind Lisa’s neck. “Lise, we’re back. You going to wake up or do you want me to carry you in?”

“I’m awake.” Even if it doesn’t sound like it and really her intention is to not wake all the way up. With a sigh she pries her eyes open. “Thanks for driving.”

“Least I could do.”

The next morning, Morgan is up before Lisa and down in the kitchen pouring a cup of coffee and opening up the paper. One of his other roommates comes up to him. “Barry moved out last night.” He snaps his fingers. “Like that. It was weird. He owe you money, owe someone money?”

“I found out yesterday that Barry was taking a check for spying on me.”

“No ****!” Jacques replies startled. “There is money in spying on you? Who wants to know you want super crunch rather than creamy peanut butter? Sorry. Kidding. It’s just so hard to believe. You two interviewed me when I moved in.”

“Oh it’s true. I’m going to have to find someplace that will check my car and Lisa’s too to find out if there are tracking devices on them.”

“Good luck with that.” Jacques shakes his head and shrugs. He is a electronics hardware designer who owns his own small business in an industrial strip mall just slightly out of town. “It’s not exactly going to have a sign on it saying look at me if there is one or two or ten. I could build one the size of a hearing aide battery with stuff from radio shack.” He gets a blank look on his face as if he’s already somewhere else. “Not listening, just tracking wouldn’t have to be in the cab of the vehicle could be anywhere in or on the car...” He is already walking away and back to his room leaving the coffee he’d poured right there on the counter.

Morgan pours it out. Jacques could be dangerous depending on what he’d been doing before he got a brilliant idea. It had quickly been added to his housing agreement that he couldn’t use the stove, they preferred he not even use the microwave.

“Jacques tell you about Barry?” Pete asks when he comes into the kitchen. He grabs the container of orange juice from the fridge and pours himself a glass then snags the sports page. He works in the coaching department for the Miami Heat. He’d started working for the organization before he got out of College. He’d trashed his knee sophomore year and had to use that as his red shirt year. He’d never been able to get it back– not NBA back, but he’d used that year to switch over to coaching. The NBA season is over but they are getting ready for the draft and that meant long days and nights in small rooms looking at films and scouting reports and then interviewing prospects and putting them through their paces. Pete is the reason why there is a basketball hoop on the driveway in the front of the house. “We’re going to have to put an ad in. Get another roommate.”

“Do we have to?” Morgan counters. “If you guys are willing to split utilities by three I’ll pick up Barry’s share.”

“Is this three of us living here or you moving Lisa in?”

Lisa comes into the room dressed in shorts and a bikini top. She goes over to the cupboard and takes a glass down. She pours herself some juice and ignores the paper. “Lisa has her own apartment, thank you very much.”

“No offense, Lisa.”

“None taken.” Lisa nods. “But you’re going to have to turn Barry’s room into something otherwise all your families will start thinking you have a spare room and are going to be showing up here in February when it’s snow to the crack up North.” She heads outside to kick by the pool. This is her last weekend before starting work and it’s not going to be spent indoors.

Pete winces. “Why do I think she has a point?”