Chapter 4

A short while later, they left the cafe and went back to their dorms. When Robin got home she sat down on her bed, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she picked up the phone.

"Hi Uncle Mac. How is everyone?" she asked when he answered the phone.

"Robin! Two calls in one week. This must be a record. Is everything okay?" She had just called him a couple of days ago, and because of international rates being so high, she rarely called again so soon.

"No, everything's fine. I just wanted to run something by you. See, I met this guy yesterday..."

"Oh, really?" Mac asked, interrupting her.

"It's not like that, so don't worry. Anyway, he said his name was Lucien Cassidine..."

"Cassidine! You mean there's more of them out there?" he interrupted again.

"Yes, can I please finish? So, this guy says he's a Cassidine, and I believed him, because I don't know why anyone would lie about something like that. Anyway, something had been bugging me about him all day, but I couldn't figure out what it was. He said he was Nikolas's cousin, but has never met him, so I figured there just must be some kind of family resemblance that I was picking up on. Well, this afternoon he called me and asked me to meet him for coffee. He said he wanted to hear more about Port Charles, because Helena and some uncle of his had forbidden him from going there because they were afraid Luke would do something to him."

"Since when is Helena afraid of Luke?" Mac asked, wondering where her story was leading.

"Yeah, I thought that was strange too, but I figured she was just being protective. Anyway, I told him about the city a little, and assured him that Luke wasn't that much of a threat. He asked me if I knew him, so I told him that Luke was kind and devoted to his family and everything, and told him that Luke's son died in a five years ago. He got kind of weird about that and said that Helena had never told him about Luke having a son, just about LuLu, except he called her Lesley, which was kind of strange. When I told him Lucky's name, he got this weird look on his face, like he was trying to remember something. It was really creepy. And, to make things weirder, he looks a lot like Lucky. He's got a goatee and long hair, so it's kind of hard to tell, but his eyes are so similar! You don't think he could be...." she trailed off, feeling silly for even thinking it.

"No, honey, we matched up his medical records with the body from the fire. Lucky definitely died. His resemblance must just be a coincidence. I just can't believe that Helena would keep the fact that she has another grandchild a secret. I wonder if she's up to something."

"That's kind of what I was wondering too. I just thought you should know. Maybe you can look into it a little. I also have a feeling that he might be coming there soon. He seems really curious about Port Charles now. If Helena doesn't want him there, and he goes anyway, she'll probably come to find him."

"Well, thanks for the warning. I'll see what I can find out. Be careful around him. If he's really a Cassidine, and was raised by Helena, he could be capable of anything!"

Robin thanked him for his concern and hung up.

~*~

Lucien quickly walked up to the desk. "Hello. When is your next flight to Port Charles, New York?"

The woman typed for a moment and waited for the information to come up on her screen. "It looks like there's one leaving in an hour. Would you like that one?"

"Yes, I would. Thank you." He pulled out his passport and gave it to her so she could make the reservation.

"Is this round-trip?" she asked, handing the passport back to him.

"No, one way. And I'll be paying cash."

A few hours later he was on his way to America for the first time. He was slightly nervous about deceiving his uncle and grandmother like that, but it was something he had to do. He couldn't understand why he had that strange reaction to what Robin had been telling him about Luke Spencer, and the only way he was going to be able to find out was to go there himself.

By the time the plane landed and he got to the hotel, he was exhausted. The flight had taken four hours, but since the time difference between Paris and New York is six hours, it was two hours earlier there than when he left. It was still afternoon, but he couldn't keep his eyes open, so he checked into the Port Charles Hotel under the name Lou Smith. He knew that his uncle would come looking for him once he realized he was no longer in Paris, so he hoped the fake name would throw him off for a while. He took a shower, which managed to wake him up again, then set off to see the town that he had heard so much about.

He walked along the docks, first, looking at Wyndemere. It was much more foreboding than he had imagined. There was a boat leaving the island, so he hid himself in the shadows, not wanting to be spotted yet. A young man about his age got off the boat and walked off. Lucien assumed that he must be Nikolas, and followed him at a distance, wondering where he was going.

After a short walk, Nikolas entered a small diner called Kelly's. Lucien watched through the window as he joined a young brunette at one of the tables. They seemed very friendly with each other. He figured Nikolas was going to be there for a while, so he sat down at a table outside. His stomach thought it was way past dinnertime, and he was starved. A few minutes later, a woman with blond, curly hair approached his table.

"Hi, I'm Tammy. What can I get for you today?" she asked cheerfully.

He looked up and met her eyes. She seemed startled for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. He ordered a cup of soup and some coffee. She went back inside, still thrown off by the young man's eyes. When he looked at her, she felt like she knew him, but she couldn't figure out why.

"Tammy, are you okay?" Emily asked, noticing how distracted she seemed.

Tammy nodded slowly. "Yeah, I just got a weird feeling about that guy out there."

"Was he bothering you?" Nikolas asked, looking out the window. The guy had his back to the building, so all he could see was that he had dark blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail.

"No, he was a perfect gentleman. There was just something about his eyes that seemed familiar to me, like I've met him before." She shrugged. "Maybe he was one of my customers once."

It seemed reasonable enough, so they let it go and went back to their food while Tammy went to place his order.

Lucien sat outside, watching the people walk by. A couple was coming towards him, heading for the door to the restaurant. He watched them curiously, catching part of their conversation.

"...only be a minute. I just need to tell Tammy something," the woman was saying.

"Okay, I'll wait out here. But hurry up, because Jax is waiting for us," the man answered, sitting down at the table next to Lucien. As she opened the door, he turned to him and nodded in greeting. Lucien nodded back and smiled. At least the people here seemed friendly.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" the man asked.

Lucien nodded. "Yes, it is. The weather is very nice here."

Noticing the way he said that, the man smiled and asked, "are you from out of town?"

"Yes, this is actually my first time in the U.S. I just came from Paris."

"Really? Why did you choose Port Charles? It's not much of a tourist attraction."

Lucien shrugged. "I have family here."

Before the man could respond, the woman came outside. He stood up and reached out to she the boy's hand. "Well, welcome to Port Charles. I'm Jerry, and this is my wife, Bobbie."

Lucien shook his hand and smiled at the woman. "Thank you. My name is Lucien."

"Good to meet you, Lucien. Maybe we'll see you around sometime. How long are you staying?" Jerry asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Thank you for the warm welcome to your city." He smiled again as the couple left.

Once they were out of earshot, Bobbie turned to Jerry. "Did you find anything strange about him?"

"No, why?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but something about him made the hair stand up on the back of my neck."

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