Chapter 4:
"Coming, coming!" he said. And when he opened the door, an exalted Thomas Benson almost fell into the room.
They helped him inside the room, closed the door, and started to calm him.
"Please, breathe," told him, Laura.
Once the boy was able to speak, he revealed the news. The man made him another visit at midnight and told him that he needed the rest of the money tomorrow, or Mr. Benson would pay for the rest of his debt. And that they knew that Remington Steele was staying at the hotel with two of his employees.
At that, Laura gave an annoying look to Mr. Steele, and he answered, almost immediately "Associate, Thomas, Miss Holt is my associate." Thomas told the rest of the story, and after a few minutes, he was getting calmer.
Things were starting to become more evident. Laura decided to make a call first thing in the morning. Murphy would have to investigate Bernice's target, and quickly. Only one day was left for Thomas. That undoubtedly meant that "something" was going to happen the following night.
Laura made her way back to her room, trying to figure how to break the news to Bernice, without hurting her too much with them. When she arrived, the light was on, and Bernice wasn't there. Laura waited for half an hour, and then made a call to Mr. Steele's room. At that point, she was anxious. He was there in a flash. They waited for the secretary to return without luck, until the dark turned into day, without any news from her yet.
They called Mr. Benson and arranged to meet him at his office. After telling him everything that had happened, they decided to call the agency. And after two hours, they had a callback.
Bernice's supposed inamorata was Frank Johnston: A very dangerous drug dealer, who had been watched by the FBI and the DEA for a long time now. There was supposed to be an operation this night, and they were on alert, not knowing yet where exactly it was supposed to be.
At this point, Mr. Steele jumped out of his chair… "Borderline. Fred Mac Murray, Claire Trevor, Raymond Burr, Universal, 1950. Customs agents are looking for information about Pete Ritchie, who is involved in smuggling drugs into the US. Police officer Madeleine Haley goes undercover through the operation. Haley is in constant danger as she attempts to figure out everything that is happening in the smuggling operation…"
"The surfboard wasn't the expensive thing," added Laura continuing his thought. "It's the best way to smuggle drugs through the coast, from town to town, without suspicion. Nobody would stop a car loaded with surfboards. It's very usual here." With a brief look to each other, they knew the next step to take. They would have to go to the Police Station. If Laura's suppositions were correct, the operation would be at night, at the beach, and the drugs would be hidden in the surfboards.
The day went between the Police Station and calls to Murphy from the hotel. Without any news about Bernice, Laura was distraught. What if something happened to her friend? Bernice wasn't used to field work. She had been very reckless, Laura thought to herself. Why bring Bernice to work into this case? Why? After a long time regretting her idea, she realized nothing would be fixed with worrying. She'd have to put all her senses at work, to discover where her friend could be. Reviewing their chit chats at night in their room could bring an answer, she thought. She started an exhaustive review. They spoke about the guy, Bernice told her he was from New York, and that he was an executive, and single, and…he owned a house just near the beach. That was it!
With a jump, she left her room and went looking for Mr. Steele. He was in the lobby speaking with a man that had the appearance to be an FBI or DEA agent.
She approached them, and Mr. Steele made the introductions. Lawson was in charge of the operation, and they were going to try to stop the delivery this night. Then he asked Laura if she had any information about Bernice that would help to find her. She told them about the house on the beach that her friend had mentioned. The DEA had known about it, but as Johnston was living elsewhere this time, they weren't paying much attention to that one. In a second, Agent Lawson was speaking on his walkie-talkie with another colleague, and he sent him to watch over the beach house.
The afternoon was ending, and all the details were falling into place.
Laura and Mr. Steele were locked in her room, just waiting. Laura couldn't wait for the operation to start. Several hours had gone by, and at this point, she was beginning to feel like in jail. Mr. Steele noticed her mood and decided to do something.
"Laura, "he told her, "I know how you are feeling. I have felt that way many times. When we were on a heist and some of my colleagues were outside, risking their necks to prepare the details for the job, and I was just waiting for my time to enter the scene and close the operation.
This time, you and I are not going to be part of the operation to rescue Bernice. We are leaving that to the trained professionals who know what to do to save her. Trust. That's it. We need to trust in them, the same way I trusted my partners, and just as you trust in your partner. Just as we trust in each other."
"Do you trust in me?" she asked.
"Of course I trust in you," he told her. And then he opened his arms, and she pulled herself tight into his arms, both hoping that the embrace would convince each other that with trust and faith, this night would be over and Bernice would be back.
She had her wrists tied, and duct tape on her mouth. Two big men had come into the hotel room she and Laura shared by the window when Laura was with Mr. Steele. Without giving her the opportunity to shout, the two men taped Bernice's mouth shut and tied her hands behind her back. One of them loaded her on his shoulders, and they ran away to the truck that was waiting outside. They went down the beach to the north and stopped in front of a house. A big building, with all the lights off. Another man was waiting there, and then he escorted her to the basement. Once there he tied her ankles to a chair, put the light off, and left her alone. After a couple of hours, when the sun was rising, one of the guys opened the door to tell her that the boss was coming, and warned her about doing something stupid. At that point, Bernice was really furious. What was happening here? Why was she kidnapped? Where was she? But all her fury disappeared when the door opened and in front of her was, Frank. "Oh my…" she thought. "It's him…"
"Hello Bernice," he said. And carrying a chair to sit in front of her, he sat down almost breathing on her face. "It seems that your vacation is over, pretty. I'd liked to get you to New York with me, but given the circumstances, I think I'll do the traveling alone." He kissed her on the cheek and left the room. Now she was really in a panic. If he was traveling alone, then for sure, she was going to be a left over. And leftovers always end in the garbage. Chills were running down her back. She hoped Laura would find the clues to rescue her. She wondered if Frank was thinking to empty the "trash" quickly, or if she would have some time. She was hoping to have the chance to wait for her partners.
They were sitting outside, on the patio trying to find a breeze, in the fresh air of the night. The room had felt stuffy, without enough air to breath. In the middle of a frightening silence, they heard a shot. A lot more followed the first one. Suddenly, the beach turned into light, and about thirty or forty men were running and fighting. In a moment, everything froze.
"We got them," said a voice on Agent Lawson's walkie-talkie. "Operation White Shark is over."
Lawson turned to Laura and Steele and said, "It's over. We caught him".
"What about Bernice?" Laura asked.
"She'll be here in a while. My agents rescued her some minutes ago. It was the first step. Once she was in our hands, we were able to proceed with the operation. She is alive and in perfect health."
Then they heard the sirens. Mr. Steele and Laura ran to the hotel's door. There were a lot of FBI and DEA agents, carrying surfboards, and stocking them in front of a truck. Frank and his henchmen were guided to the police cars, handcuffed to be transferred to the Police Station.
A caravan of police cars with their sirens sounding arrived to the hotel door. From the driver's seat of one of them descended John. Laura tried to hide her shock. She had never guessed… But her surprise was interrupted with another door opening. And there she was, Bernice, getting out in a hurry from the back seat, and running to her friends with her eyes full of tears. Miss Holt looked at John, and in complete silence mouthed "Thank you." He returned the gesture with another silent one.
Mr. Steele, who was watching from behind, added "Welcome back, Miss Wolf," he said, "The office would never be the same without you… Your coffee is the best." And then, with that wise affirmation, the tension was broken and they.
After their reunion, they decided to put an early end to the day. The previous night, sleep had avoided them, and after all the tension of the day, they were exhausted.
Just when Laura and Bernice were getting ready to go to bed, the secretary said,
"You know, Laura, I think I'll let my search lay down for a while. Maybe my knight in shining armor is waiting for the right moment to appear. I'll wait for a slightly dull filthy-rich husband. With no hurry. …I'll restart my search in two months, on vacation time."
Laura looked at her, and said, "Oh, come on Bernice! Just get some sleep and tomorrow it'll be a new day." Laura was sure that the selected waiting period that Bernice mentioned would never be surpassed with success.
"OK, Boss." And the light went off.