Second Chances: Never Give Up
Returning from a family vacation, Rick and Laurie Simon are the victims of a former agent who wants revenge on Oscar Goldman. Without transmitters, sick and injured, Rick and Laurie have to save themselves before Oscar sacrifices himself.
Dedicated to MB, Beth T and Lori R…for all your support through 101 stories!
(This is a work of fiction. No money is being made on it, and the characters are owned by Universal Studios and are only being borrowed for a little while. .)
A/N: For any new readers, "Second Chances" is my "what if?" for Rick and A.J. Simon...What if they didn't end the partnership or A.J. didn't marry Janet or Liz... What if Rick had a long-lost sweetheart who needed protection from a crazed stalker? And...what if Rick and his girl fell in love, adopted her niece and nephew, and made a home first in San Diego, then in Arizona? These "what if''s" are the basis for my continuing "Simon & Simon" as if they never went off the air. This series also includes crossovers from Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman and Dark Shadows...so feel free to read my other stories for the whys and wherefores of these three worlds meeting!
"One more ball, that's it, darlin'!" Rick cheered his wife as the "Jackpot" light blinked rapidly, then a thousand tickets poured out of the machine.
"Whee! I'm the champion!" Laurie giggled, then squealed as Rick picked her up and spun her around. "And I'm the skee ball champion's husband…" he yelled, making the bystanders laugh.
"Grandma, what are you going to get with all those tickets?" Lala asked, laughing. Andy shook his head, elbowing her.
"Stop fishing for prizes, Lala…I know you want that Catalina T-shirt…but it's Grandma's tickets."
"Well, now…let me see…Robbie, has your daughter earned that t-shirt?" Laurie winked at her granddaughter, who just grinned.
Her son straightened up from helping his youngest son tie his shoe. "Yes, other then driving Andy crazy by flirting with all the boys….she's been a big help."
"Oh, Dad….." Andy groaned, then cracked up as Laurie went over and redeemed her tickets, then brought over 3 gifts.
"All right, Lala…here you go, and you too, Andy." She added, handing Lala the desired t-shirt and Andy one too. Davie came over and admired his sibling's presents, then brightened as Laurie presented him with a batting glove.
"Thanks, Grammy,….this is the best vacation ever!" He proclaimed, giving her a hug. At that Ramona sighed.
"Mom, I hate to break it up, but our boat leaves in one hour…"
"I know, sweet, I hate to leave here, but it is time…" Laurie smiled at her daughter-in-law. As she helped gather her grandchildren together, Rick put all the kids treasures in a couple of plastic bags as Robbie started pushing their luggage up the street to the dock.
Just as the family reached the boat slip, Ramona pulled out her camera.
"Okay, Simons! I need everyone to smile so everyone can see how much fun we had!"
At that Andy, Lala and Davey piled on Robbie, and Laurie and Rick pretended to help. Laughing, Ramona snapped several pics, then the cruise manager offered to take a couple with everyone.
"Thanks, now these will be great to show Mom." Laurie enthused, and Rick put an arm around her as Ramona took one more shot.
"Mom, you and Pop are the best, thanks again for sharing our vacation with us." Robbie gave them a hug once everyone was settled on board. Rick had to blink away tears at his son's enthusiasm.
"You're welcome, son…I think we had more fun then the kids…but it's not going to be 20 years before we come back." He replied. As the ship skimmed the waves back to San Pedro, a school of dolphins caught Laurie's eye, and soon the whole family was marveling at their playful antics. Reluctantly leaving the dolphins behind, Rick and Laurie were nonetheless glad to step out onto dry land when the cruise docked.
"We're going to get started for Aunt Annie's, we'll see you at home tomorrow, Pop." Robbie said, once the family's luggage was stored in their rental van. Laurie immediately began handing out hugs, as Rick cautioned, "Just be careful going over the pass, Robbie….your grandmother says they're working on the freeway there."
"I will, Pop…call when you get home, okay?" His son responded, and a strange sadness passed through Rick. Shaking it off, he made his goodbyes and helped Laurie climb into his truck. Just as they watched Robbie and Ramona drive off, Rick's transmitter beeped.
"Huh…looks like our getaway's over …" Rick said, seeing it was Oscar's frequency.
"Hey, Dad..what's up?"
"Glad I got a hold of you, Son…where are you?" Oscar's voice was faint but clear, and Rick explained, "We just got everyone into the rental van, Dad. We'll should be on the road in a few minutes. Everything okay?"
"Well, there's a problem. I want you to head for home right now….don't stop for anything." Laurie immediately grabbed for Rick's hand as she asked, "Dad, what's going on?"
"Switch to our other frequency, Son." Oscar seemingly ignored her question, and instantly Rick did as he asked.
"Dad, are you there?"
"I'm here, and I'm sorry I had to cut you off, honey. Lloyd Price's attorney was found dead in Price's cell in Leavenworth this morning…he somehow traded places with him, then vanished during the night. They think he's headed for the border…but just in case…we never found Laurie's watch, so he might try to track you through it. I want you two home where we can protect you." Rick's stomach dropped as he remembered the lengths the former agent had gone to, to help get revenge on Oscar.
"What about you, Dad? I want you and Rudy to stay with A.J. until we get home." He answered. Oscar's tone held relief as he replied, "All ready here, son. Rudy and I are fine, but I just want to make sure you and Laurie get here as soon as possible."
"Will do, Dad. Don't worry, we'll start out now." Rick smiled as Laurie's fingers wrapped around his.
"Thanks, son….just drive carefully." Ending the call, Rick thought about mentioning the strange feeling he had had earlier. Just then Laurie brought it up herself.
"Rick, I don't like this…I had such a bad feeling a little while ago….what about Robbie and Ramona and the kids?"
"Darlin'…so did I….I must have picked up on your emotions…but they'll be fine, you know Robbie can take care of things." Rick reassured her, then kissed her nose as she sighed and said, "You're right, love. Let's get going."
As the two Simons sped out of the pier parking lot, a small unmarked van waited a moment, then followed them at a distance.
As it was the day before the President's Day holiday, they found the going slow until they hit the California-Arizona border just after noon.
Laurie noticed how thin the traffic got, and she wistfully said, "If we didn't have to get home so fast, we could stop at a few of the old souvenir stands."
Rick grinned as they passed a stretch of billboards. "I know, sweetheart. I did want to get A.J. one of those tacky snow globes for his desk… But we'll make time for a getaway at Easter…maybe over to Flagstaff."
"That would be fun, when the weather gets warm it would be fun to cool off up there." She smiled. Just then Rick looked at his gas gage. "Damn…sorry, darlin'."
"What…oh, oh…we have to stop." She said, seeing the needle below ¼ of a tank.
"I knew I should have checked it…well, there should be enough to last until Holbrook." He remarked. Fortunately there were no traffic delays, so the truck made it to a large truck stop on the edge of town before it began to sputter.
"Whew! Talk about luck…" Rick sighed, pulling into the first section of pumps. Spying the rest room sign, Laurie unbuckled her seat belt.
"I'll be right back, love…want to meet me inside?"
"Sure….behave now." He teased, then laughed as she stuck out her tongue and got out of the truck. As she disappeared around the corner, he stiffly climbed out and headed into the station.
As Laurie came back outside, she saw the shadow of a man standing near the door, then it materialized as an older man in a windbreaker.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, what time is it?" he asked, and automatically she looked at her watch.
"It's almost 1:00.." she began, then felt something sting against her arm. Looking up, she gasped as she recognized the man. Before she could utter a sound, he slammed his hand over her mouth, then everything spun around and was dark.
As Rick was paying for the gas and some sodas, a chill ran through him, and he looked around the food mart for his wife. Not seeing her, he gathered up his purchases, then went back to the truck.
"Laurie!" he called out, then something hard was in his back.
"Don't turn around or make a sound, Simon, if you want to see your wife again."
Rick froze…he knew that voice. "Let's walk nice and slow to the passenger side of your truck, then climb in and slide all the way over."
Swallowing his anger, he did as he was told, then saw out of the corner of his eye the face that had graced his nightmares months ago…..
Former OSI agent Lloyd Price.
"Where is my wife…what have you done with her?" Rick hissed. A calm smile was on the other man's face.
"You'll be with her in a moment, now start your truck up and pull in back of the station, over by the trees. Don't draw any attention to us, if you want to live."
"Do I have a choice…" Rick growled, then followed Price's instructions. As he drove around the rear of the truck stop, he saw a deserted section of the parking lot that had at one time had picnic tables. Now overgrown with bushes, he saw a glimpse of a mud-colored van.
"That's it, park under the trees, then put your hands on the steering wheel." Price waited until he did so, then reached over and tied Rick's wrists together.
"Now, get out, then walk to the back of that van." Rick clumsily slid out, catching his watch on the door handle, then swore as the older man yanked at the watch band until it broke.
"Thank you, I almost forgot that you and your wife have matching transmitters. I'll just leave this for your father-in-law." Price smirked, dropping the watch on the floorboards with Rick's keys.
Rick "called" out "Laurie? Sweetheart?"…then felt nothing as he approached the van. An arm appeared in front of him, yanking the back door open, then Rick saw in the dim light of the van a motionless figure on the floor. "Laurie!" he cried, then a hard push caused Rick to fall forward, making him to slam face-first on the metal floor. As he landed next to her, the door shut in back of him, and he was in darkness.