Second Chances: It's Only The Dark
When Rick is injured as part of an undercover operation, it's only the start of a vendetta against the oldest Simon that will push a family to the brink of terror.
(As always, the characters of Simon & Simon/Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman are owned by Universal Pictures. No money is being made on them and the original characters belong to me and are mine-no you can't have them!)
It was so dark…everything was wrong…where was she?
Laurie tried to open her eyes, but something was holding them closed. A tight something, that gave enough for her to finally open her lids, but was still dark and blinding.
Attempting to open her mouth in an effort to breathe deep and calm down, Laurie found a rough cloth was bound over her mouth, almost suffocating her.
"Help! Rick!" she tried to scream, only able to make a muffled cry. When she tried to move, she realized her arms were tied around a pillar of some kind and ropes around her ankles painfully restrained her legs.
In a sudden frenzy of fear, Laurie wriggled and stretched and twisted; only succeeding in tearing the skin around her wrists and ankles. Not feeling her transmitter watch on her wrist, she finally gave up trying to free herself. She wearily sagged against the rough pole, then remembered her pendant watch.
"Please let it work.." she thought, bending her neck down, then managing to pin the heart-shaped object between her chin and her chest. After several minutes of rolling it back and forth, she heard a tiny "click" and fell backwards, spent.
At once she thought she heard a voice.. Oscar's.
"Laurie…honey, it's Dad. Where are you?"
Frantically she gave a muffled cry. "Help, Dad!"
Thankfully he seemed to have heard her. "It's all right, I hear you, baby. Do you know where you are?"
Realizing he wouldn't be able to make out her words with the gag in her mouth, she turned her face and brought it against the surface of the post she was bound to. Finding a protruding nail, she rubbed her face against it, managing to snag the material in her mouth on the jagged end. A sharp pain let her know she had cut her face, but she ignored it, and pulled the gag free from her mouth.
"Dad…I …..don't know…I don't know how I got here, I'm blindfolded...…please find me!" she gasped.
At once his voice soothed her. "Honey, it's okay-we're coming. Please just hold on…. What's the last thing you remember?"
"The last thing?" Laurie tried to remember, then it suddenly hit her.
"It was a trap, someone called, telling me Rick had a flat. I told them I'd pick him up…. where's Rick?"
"Waiting for us to locate you, honey. You're right, it was a trap….but do you know who called you?" Oscar's tone was reassuring, and she pushed her terror aside as she began to think.
"No, they said they were from Leo's garage and that Rick was in back and asked me to come……I didn't think anything of it…." Laurie told him……then heard footsteps.
"Dad, someone's coming!" she whispered, fear gripping her as they came closer.
The sound stopped, then a familiar voice spoke……
"It's been a while, Laurie. I wish I could say it's a pleasure to see you again, but then, …."
Laurie gasped as a hand untied the blindfold. Squinting in the glare of a flashlight, she focused on a face…No…it had to be a nightmare….no. She closed her eyes….praying she'd wake up and find herself anywhere else, …even the hospital.