Ironside: The Fifteenth Runner
WHN to "The Fourteenth Runner", S1
Set January 1968
(Summary of the original episode:
Yuri Azneyeff, a Soviet athlete, has been kidnapped! Or has he? Ironside must work with Soviet agents to find out what happened to the man. He helps him escape, but to be sure of not being caught Yuri has to wait until Valentine's Day to meet his girlfriend Irina. Will they be able to wait?)
Thoughtfully Chief Robert T. Ironside put the receiver back onto the cradle.
"Where can I reach Ed?" he asked, addressing nobody specifically.
"Nowhere at all, since you gave him the weekend off, remember?" Mark Sanger reminded him.
"He wanted to go on that sailing trip with my friend. He may still be at home, or perhaps on his way to pick her up." Eve Whitfield knew that in his quiet way Sgt. Ed Brown had been full of anticipation of this weekend.
"Try his phone at home first, I need him!"
"Chief, you can't do that to him! He practically worked around the clock on Christmas and over the New Year." Since he was the only one without any close relatives it had been logic to have him on duty over the holidays.
"And how do you explain to Irina that Yuri Azneyeff will be caught or maybe even killed because Ed wanted to have a day off?!" asked the Chief acerbically.
Without another word Eve dialed Ed's number, but there was no answer, neither in his apartment nor in his car.
"I need the number of the girl he wants to go out with."
Eve knew it by heart, since Susan Montgomery was one of her close friends. She had described her colleague as "cute" and looked forward to have him on her yacht for a day.
Ironside decided to make the phone call himself.
Susan had just let Ed into her nice, spacious apartment when the telephone rang. "Come in!" she waved and picked up the phone.
"Good morning, Miss Montgomery! I hear that you plan a sailing adventure with Sgt. Brown. What would you think of a real-life adventure? You would play an important part in a police operation. How would you like that?"
The girl, quite used to sailing trips, Caribbean and South Seas included, was instantly on fire. "Sir, I would just love to do that!"
Eve shook her head. It was incredible how the Chief was able to sweet talk people when it fitted his plans.
Meanwhile Susan had passed the receiver to Ed.
When he heard of the change of plans he had to swallow hard, but of course he didn't protest. He was Ed Brown after all. And when he realized that Yuri and Irina were in danger he was all ears.
"Ed, you and Susan meet Irina at the corner of 17th and Dolores. Take your and Susan's cars. Leave yours somewhere on the way and go on together in Susan's. Susan will take Irina to her home and stay there with her. You will walk on 17th towards the old Navy pier until you meet Yuri. He is being observed. Get rid of the people who follow him. Then contact me and we'll take it from there. Hurry!"
Two minutes later the two young people were on their way.
Ed thought about Ironside's plan. It was considerate, as usual. His car would have to remain someplace where it could not betray Yuri, Irina or himself.
Whoever chased Yuri – probably the KGB, the Russian intelligence - could not know of Susan yet, but they would not have much time left, if they wanted Irina to be safe with her.
Ed made sure that nobody was around when he jumped into Susan's red Corvette.
Irina was standing where they expected her. As far as Ed could see she was not being shadowed.
"Irina, this is Susan. You can trust her. You can't meet Yuri though. He called Chief Ironside because he is being observed. We will help him get away, but you have to stay with Susan until we contact you. Please – don't go out on your own. This could be vital, for you as well as for Yuri!"
Irina was taken aback by this bad news, but she'd had enough bad experience in her own country to be afraid of the KGB, and she knew now that they could reach her even in the U.S.
For Susan all this was a wonderful adventure, and she enjoyed it thoroughly.
"Thank you, Susan. I will make good for this, I promise!" Ed said.
The girls gazed after his tall frame, while he hurried towards the bay. "He's a great guy, isn't he?" asked Susan.
For Irina there was nobody like Yuri, but she did not want to disagree with the woman who was about to help her. "Yes, he sure is. He and Mr. Ironside do so much for me and Yuri. I'm sorry for not being able to wait to see Yuri. Now they all are in troubles because of me. And I am sure you had other plans for today too."
"That's ok. Playing James Bond is much more interesting than sailing anyway. Let's do what Ed said and go to my place."
Ed met Yuri ten minutes later. He was walking slowly, knowing full well that he had unasked-for company. Brown recognized them instantly: with their dark hats and coats they really looked like two figures out of a spy movie.
"Where to? This is your town, so go ahead!" said Yuri, glad that he was being helped, but also a little embarrassed because he had maneuvered himself into this situation.
Ed turned left toward Potrero Hill. Instantly the two men followed. Ed extended his stride, but at the next crossroads the pursuers were still close enough to see them take a turn.
Yuri started to run, and Ed followed suit. They reached the next street and turned unseen.
Yet after a few steps they saw that from the end of their road a car slowly drove towards them… too slowly to be unsuspicious. Both men knew that car. It belonged to Marlon Davis, a leading CIA agent.
"It looks as if your secret service is behind us too," admonished Yuri, and Ed scratched his head: this made things rather complicated.
Quickly they passed between two houses, jumping over the garden fence. They heard squealing tires behind them and accelerated.
Ed had to struggle to keep up with Yuri. The man was really fast!
"You are quite a good runner. Did you ever think of a sports career?" complimented Yuri.
"No, fortunately not – and surely not after the experience of trying to keep up with you!" Ed breathed.
Impatiently Ironside was sitting in front of his radio, hoping for good news.
He expected that his Sergeant would be able to handle the situation; he had trained him personally, after all. But there were always unforeseeable events…
When the telephone rang he picked it up immediately. Yet he didn't hear Ed's voice, but Marlon Davis', the CIA agent's.
"Bob, we found out that Yuri Azneyeff is still alive. We have to find him. He is very valuable for us. We can't risk losing him to the KGB. You have to help us find him."
"Listen, Marlon, this is a country where civil rights are supposed to be respected. Yuri Azneyeff wants to quit his work as an agent. That's nothing but his right. I won't help anybody to stoop as slow as to force people into an illiberal life!"
"Bob, there is more at stake than the rights of one single man. The information he could provide may perhaps be vital for future military operations!"
"If the rights of one single man – and the rights of every single man - don't count in a country anymore then this country is not worthy of winning a future war!"
"If you see it that way then I will have to get support from elsewhere…"
At that Davis ended the call.
Furiously Ironside turned towards Eve. "You hold the fort here. Mark, we are going out. I want to be able to intervene if necessary."
Shortly after they had left police headquarters, they heard the message via radio: "We have a 459 in a jewelry store near the intersection of 17th and Connecticut. The fugitives are two young men in their twenties. Both are tall and dark-haired, exceptional sportsmen, very probably top athletes or elite soldiers.
One of them is very athletic. He has a moustache and he is wearing a brown corduroy jacket, dark grey pants, light blue shirt. The other is slender, clean-shaven, wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, a dark blue sports jacket and sneakers."
"That's quite smart!" grumbled Ironside, smashing his fist onto the table in the paddy wagon. "Davis brings the police in pretending that Yuri and Ed are thieves. Now every straight cop is on their tail. And we can't even get in contact with them…"
When Ed and Yuri thought that they had left their pursuers behind them, a black and white blocked their way. This was not possible, was it?!
But it was.
Swiftly Yuri turned left.
Ed protested. He knew that this was a dead end. But Yuri, who was running ahead, did not seem to hear him.
He reached a high paling gate. Without even slowing down he jumped up and pulled his body over the gate. Ed had done such stunts in the marines, but that had been a few years ago… He was a little surprised to find out that he was still able to do it.
The chatter through the radio showed Ironside that the dragnet around the two fugitives was tightening.
He did not like what he would have to do now, not at all, but he could not see any other possibility. "Mark, these boys may be able to handle two secret services at once, but the entire SFPD may be a little too much. Let's help them. Drive up to Potrero Hill!"
Author's note:
As I understand the original episode, it is meant to be a parody, and so is this WHN.