A/N: This fic was inspired by Nina's kick-ass Hells Bells promos. I've changed the history of the show quite a little bit, but rather than go into
explanation now, I'll let you pick it up as you read.
Chiaroscuro (Italian for clear-dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light.
Capitolo 1
"No way in hell, Sonny!" Jason yelled. "No way in hell!"
Sonny Corinthos had never seen his friend/partner/enforcer in such an unmitigated and violent rage. Jason Morgan was as cool and unaffected as they came, which is what made him the best hitman in the business. But at this moment, the murderous violence he only unleashed on his enemies was in full display in Sonny's living room. Jason's color was high, his blue eyes were so pale with fury that they were almost white. He stalked across Sonny's dark, imported Oriental rug with angry, clipped steps. His hands were balled into fists so tight that bone threatened to break through skin. Sonny nervously rubbed the back of his neck, carefully eyeing his vases and statues which he feared would all be in shards if he couldn't calm his friend down soon.
"Jason, listen," Sonny began in his smooth, practiced negotiating voice. "You have to look at this like a businessman. It's a transaction, a merger, an alliance. I'm not telling you that you have to love her or even like her..."
"But you're telling me I have to marry her?! No, Sonny! No!"
"You got no choice!" Sonny stormed back, losing his cool. "Our hands are tied! We need the alliance! And I need to keep you out of jail!"
Jason ceased his prowling and looked sharply at his partner. The older man squinted against the fury he saw in his face. "What do you mean? Out of jail?" Did she? Did that bitch...?"
"They found the body in the woods...and the gun," Sonny stated quietly as he watched his friend's complexion go from red to ghost white.
"They couldn't have. I still have the gun. And the body...there's no way...I know how to do my job, Sonny."
"I don't doubt that, Jason. But I'm telling you what I know. The Zaccharas have D.A. Baldwin in their back pocket. He'll do whatever they tell him to do. The man you killed was actually in Anthony's employ. He wants payback, but if we agree to his terms, he'll forget the whole thing. All we have to do...all you have to do to avoid retaliation is marry Claudia."
"The man was about to rape her. She was screaming. That's what she said. That's why I..."
"I know why you did what you did." Sonny held his hand up in a conciliatory manner. He knew how Jason felt about men who violated women. He'd castrated the man who'd raped his sister Emily. And he'd had Tom Yergin, the man who'd raped his precious Elizabeth, hung and eviscerated in the prison shower the day before his parole hearing. Nevermind that the incident had occurred long before he'd met her and fallen in love with her. Jason made Elizabeth's rapist pay the ultimate price for causing her pain.
Sonny suspected that Jason's feelings for Elizabeth were what gave him such a violent hatred for rapists and sex offenders. And it was why he'd taken such drastic action when he'd found Claudia Zacchara being attacked on the side of the road during one of his late night rides. And, Sonny further concluded, Jason's feelings for Elizabeth were also responsible for why he was adamantly refusing to marry the mafia princess even though it would save his own skin and prevent a mob war.
What bothered him was that Elizabeth wasn't with Jason or with any of them anymore. For four years now Jason had been mourning her, refusing female companionship, making daily visits to the mausoleum he'd had erected in her honor, personally overseeing the scholarship foundation he'd started for artists in her name. He'd also bought the building where her old art studio was, renovated it and renamed it The Boxcar. Each apartment had been carefully refurbished except for one. It remained a shrine to Elizabeth Webber, preserved just as she'd left it when she and their unborn baby died tragically in the Port Charles Hotel fire. Something delicate in Jason had snapped that day when the fire chief handed him Elizabeth's burnt effects, and the only way he'd found to hold himself together was to hold on to his love for her with a ferocity that shut out everything else but business.
Not that Sonny couldn't sympathize. His own life had spiraled downward after Lily's death and he'd had nowhere near the passion for his first wife that Jason had for Elizabeth. Even when they were at odds, Jason still went out of his way for her, rescuing her when she was in trouble, going to her when he needed a friend. When Elizabeth's marriage to Sonny's brother Ric had ended in disaster, she'd turned to Jason. When Jason found out that Sonny's sister Courtney had tricked him into marriage with a phony pregnancy, he'd turned to Elizabeth. At the time of the fire, it seemed they'd finally broken through all of their barriers and were planning a life together with their baby. It was a life they'd never gotten to live, and Jason never recovered. Nor did he seem to want to.
He'd sunk himself into his work, of course, taking his pain and disappointment out on their enemies. The territory was relatively peaceful and prosperous because of him. Rival families were much more amenable to alliances instead of encroachment. They feared the wrath of Jason Morgan, the man with nothing to lose. Those who were foolish enough to challenge Corinthos-Morgan were expeditiously relieved of their folly. The Zaccharas, however, operated in a different sphere of influence and were used to having their own way. Anthony wanted Port Charles and the lucrative business Sonny and Jason had built, and he was prepared to use aggression to get it. The only thing that had staid his hand was the whimsy of his daughter Claudia who had decided she wanted Jason for herself after encountering him on a scouting mission for her father. The mob princess' unrequited lust was the only barrier that kept the Zacchara family from going after the Corinthos-Morgan organization and eliminating them completely.
Sonny examined his best friend. He stood stark still among the rich, deep red and brown decor of Sonny's living room. He seemed to be an ominous sculpture chiseled of stone, but Sonny could see that he was practically shaking with fury. He didn't want to press the issue and make Jason explode, but the matter required urgency. There was only one way to get Jason to agree to Zacchara's terms and he felt like a heel for using it. But, if they wanted to stay alive and stay in business, there was little choice. He had to play all of his cards to get Jason to comply.
"Jason, I know that you don't like her or want her. I know that you are fine with living alone with your memories of Elizabeth." Jason's head lifted and his eyes darkened slightly at the mention of her name. "But please think of us. The business, everything we've worked for all these years. And...and think of Carly, Michael and Morgan. You know that Zacchara will go after them first if you refuse. He'll have you thrown in jail and our business, my family...our family, will be left vulnerable."
Jason's massive shoulders slumped beneath the fabric of his black t-shirt, and Sonny noted the change in his posture. He turned his back to Sonny and started staring at the painting hanging above the mantle. It was a beautiful watercolor of the Port Charles waterfront during a storm. The blues, grays and browns of the picture never failed to capture Jason's attention during his visits to Greystone. He'd given it to the Corinthoses as an anniversary gift after he'd returned from a business trip. He stared at it now as if somewhere in its composition lay the answer to his quandary--the one thing that would save him from yet another loveless marriage.
"I need to leave, Sonny," he said after a few moments.
"Leave? Where?"
"Leave here. Port Charles. For ten days."
"Ten days? The Zaccharas want an answer now."
Cold blue eyes met obsidian. "No answer until I get back. In ten days."
Sonny sighed. "Okay. I get it. You need to think. You need to get used to the idea. You need to process. I understand. But I don't know if I can hold them off for ten days without you here."
"If they really want me to marry Claudia, they'll wait until I return. Otherwise, they'd just come after us now."
Sonny couldn't argue with Jason's logic. If they'd wanted them dead, they'd be in the heat of battle right now. But the Zaccharas were sitting back, biding their time and maneuvering behind the scenes to secure their position. With the D.A. and several prominent judges in their pocket, they hardly seemed to have any urgency. Their relaxed posture, however, didn't relieve the weight of the pressure their presence in Port Charles brought to Corinthos-Morgan. They could strike brutally and thoroughly at any time based on Anthony's mood. Sonny would have to rely on the price of a wedding being a better bargain than the price of all-out urban warfare. He hated the idea that Jason would be sacrificed for the good of the organization, but he hoped that with this time away his enforcer would be able to find a way out of this situation. And in the meantime, he would do his best to hold the Zaccharas off and possibly find some angles of his own.
"Okay, Jason. You do what you have to."
"Ten days," Jason repeated curtly as he left Sonny standing alone in his living room.
Chiaroscuro (Italian for clear-dark) is a term in art for a contrast between light and dark. The term is usually applied to bold contrasts affecting a whole composition, but is also more technically used by artists and art historians for the use of effects representing contrasts of light.
Capitolo 1
"No way in hell, Sonny!" Jason yelled. "No way in hell!"
Sonny Corinthos had never seen his friend/partner/enforcer in such an unmitigated and violent rage. Jason Morgan was as cool and unaffected as they came, which is what made him the best hitman in the business. But at this moment, the murderous violence he only unleashed on his enemies was in full display in Sonny's living room. Jason's color was high, his blue eyes were so pale with fury that they were almost white. He stalked across Sonny's dark, imported Oriental rug with angry, clipped steps. His hands were balled into fists so tight that bone threatened to break through skin. Sonny nervously rubbed the back of his neck, carefully eyeing his vases and statues which he feared would all be in shards if he couldn't calm his friend down soon.
"Jason, listen," Sonny began in his smooth, practiced negotiating voice. "You have to look at this like a businessman. It's a transaction, a merger, an alliance. I'm not telling you that you have to love her or even like her..."
"But you're telling me I have to marry her?! No, Sonny! No!"
"You got no choice!" Sonny stormed back, losing his cool. "Our hands are tied! We need the alliance! And I need to keep you out of jail!"
Jason ceased his prowling and looked sharply at his partner. The older man squinted against the fury he saw in his face. "What do you mean? Out of jail?" Did she? Did that bitch...?"
"They found the body in the woods...and the gun," Sonny stated quietly as he watched his friend's complexion go from red to ghost white.
"They couldn't have. I still have the gun. And the body...there's no way...I know how to do my job, Sonny."
"I don't doubt that, Jason. But I'm telling you what I know. The Zaccharas have D.A. Baldwin in their back pocket. He'll do whatever they tell him to do. The man you killed was actually in Anthony's employ. He wants payback, but if we agree to his terms, he'll forget the whole thing. All we have to do...all you have to do to avoid retaliation is marry Claudia."
"The man was about to rape her. She was screaming. That's what she said. That's why I..."
"I know why you did what you did." Sonny held his hand up in a conciliatory manner. He knew how Jason felt about men who violated women. He'd castrated the man who'd raped his sister Emily. And he'd had Tom Yergin, the man who'd raped his precious Elizabeth, hung and eviscerated in the prison shower the day before his parole hearing. Nevermind that the incident had occurred long before he'd met her and fallen in love with her. Jason made Elizabeth's rapist pay the ultimate price for causing her pain.
Sonny suspected that Jason's feelings for Elizabeth were what gave him such a violent hatred for rapists and sex offenders. And it was why he'd taken such drastic action when he'd found Claudia Zacchara being attacked on the side of the road during one of his late night rides. And, Sonny further concluded, Jason's feelings for Elizabeth were also responsible for why he was adamantly refusing to marry the mafia princess even though it would save his own skin and prevent a mob war.
What bothered him was that Elizabeth wasn't with Jason or with any of them anymore. For four years now Jason had been mourning her, refusing female companionship, making daily visits to the mausoleum he'd had erected in her honor, personally overseeing the scholarship foundation he'd started for artists in her name. He'd also bought the building where her old art studio was, renovated it and renamed it The Boxcar. Each apartment had been carefully refurbished except for one. It remained a shrine to Elizabeth Webber, preserved just as she'd left it when she and their unborn baby died tragically in the Port Charles Hotel fire. Something delicate in Jason had snapped that day when the fire chief handed him Elizabeth's burnt effects, and the only way he'd found to hold himself together was to hold on to his love for her with a ferocity that shut out everything else but business.
Not that Sonny couldn't sympathize. His own life had spiraled downward after Lily's death and he'd had nowhere near the passion for his first wife that Jason had for Elizabeth. Even when they were at odds, Jason still went out of his way for her, rescuing her when she was in trouble, going to her when he needed a friend. When Elizabeth's marriage to Sonny's brother Ric had ended in disaster, she'd turned to Jason. When Jason found out that Sonny's sister Courtney had tricked him into marriage with a phony pregnancy, he'd turned to Elizabeth. At the time of the fire, it seemed they'd finally broken through all of their barriers and were planning a life together with their baby. It was a life they'd never gotten to live, and Jason never recovered. Nor did he seem to want to.
He'd sunk himself into his work, of course, taking his pain and disappointment out on their enemies. The territory was relatively peaceful and prosperous because of him. Rival families were much more amenable to alliances instead of encroachment. They feared the wrath of Jason Morgan, the man with nothing to lose. Those who were foolish enough to challenge Corinthos-Morgan were expeditiously relieved of their folly. The Zaccharas, however, operated in a different sphere of influence and were used to having their own way. Anthony wanted Port Charles and the lucrative business Sonny and Jason had built, and he was prepared to use aggression to get it. The only thing that had staid his hand was the whimsy of his daughter Claudia who had decided she wanted Jason for herself after encountering him on a scouting mission for her father. The mob princess' unrequited lust was the only barrier that kept the Zacchara family from going after the Corinthos-Morgan organization and eliminating them completely.
Sonny examined his best friend. He stood stark still among the rich, deep red and brown decor of Sonny's living room. He seemed to be an ominous sculpture chiseled of stone, but Sonny could see that he was practically shaking with fury. He didn't want to press the issue and make Jason explode, but the matter required urgency. There was only one way to get Jason to agree to Zacchara's terms and he felt like a heel for using it. But, if they wanted to stay alive and stay in business, there was little choice. He had to play all of his cards to get Jason to comply.
"Jason, I know that you don't like her or want her. I know that you are fine with living alone with your memories of Elizabeth." Jason's head lifted and his eyes darkened slightly at the mention of her name. "But please think of us. The business, everything we've worked for all these years. And...and think of Carly, Michael and Morgan. You know that Zacchara will go after them first if you refuse. He'll have you thrown in jail and our business, my family...our family, will be left vulnerable."
Jason's massive shoulders slumped beneath the fabric of his black t-shirt, and Sonny noted the change in his posture. He turned his back to Sonny and started staring at the painting hanging above the mantle. It was a beautiful watercolor of the Port Charles waterfront during a storm. The blues, grays and browns of the picture never failed to capture Jason's attention during his visits to Greystone. He'd given it to the Corinthoses as an anniversary gift after he'd returned from a business trip. He stared at it now as if somewhere in its composition lay the answer to his quandary--the one thing that would save him from yet another loveless marriage.
"I need to leave, Sonny," he said after a few moments.
"Leave? Where?"
"Leave here. Port Charles. For ten days."
"Ten days? The Zaccharas want an answer now."
Cold blue eyes met obsidian. "No answer until I get back. In ten days."
Sonny sighed. "Okay. I get it. You need to think. You need to get used to the idea. You need to process. I understand. But I don't know if I can hold them off for ten days without you here."
"If they really want me to marry Claudia, they'll wait until I return. Otherwise, they'd just come after us now."
Sonny couldn't argue with Jason's logic. If they'd wanted them dead, they'd be in the heat of battle right now. But the Zaccharas were sitting back, biding their time and maneuvering behind the scenes to secure their position. With the D.A. and several prominent judges in their pocket, they hardly seemed to have any urgency. Their relaxed posture, however, didn't relieve the weight of the pressure their presence in Port Charles brought to Corinthos-Morgan. They could strike brutally and thoroughly at any time based on Anthony's mood. Sonny would have to rely on the price of a wedding being a better bargain than the price of all-out urban warfare. He hated the idea that Jason would be sacrificed for the good of the organization, but he hoped that with this time away his enforcer would be able to find a way out of this situation. And in the meantime, he would do his best to hold the Zaccharas off and possibly find some angles of his own.
"Okay, Jason. You do what you have to."
"Ten days," Jason repeated curtly as he left Sonny standing alone in his living room.
Classic.. Another great
chapter. I am excited to see what comes next...
