Season 3...Episode 12:
Pamela lays uncomfortably on the cold floor in a windowless room. Her hands are shackled to the wall and she was given a small pillow and a damp blanket. She lost her concept of time, but all she can think about is getting out of here and having her baby.
Pamela begins to tear up thinking of her baby and imagining how distraught John Ross must be at this very moment. She wipes her tears away and refuses to let these men break her.
The door swings open and a masked man walks in with a small cup of water. He hands it to her and she drinks it eagerly.
"I know it is you behind the mask, Joaquin. You wear the same crappy cologne you wore to those board meetings." she says quietly. "Please let me go. We can work something out."
Joaquin removes his mask. "Always the savvy woman, Pamela. You shouldn't have made a deal with Felix. I could not let that happen."
Pamela struggles to stand up. "I could not let you hurt my family or my company. I would do it again. Demanding these files and some walking around cash won't make this go away! Felix will tie you to this. I will make sure of it."
"What makes you think you are going to be in a position to do that?" he asks menacingly.
Pamela pales, then her eyes flash with rage. "Because if I'm not around, then you will deal with my husband and he will destroy you in a way I wouldn't be able to. And I promise you, you do not want that."
Joaquin smirks. "Try to get some rest. Sorry for the accomodations." he walks out and slams the door.
Pamela lays back down and begins to silenty pray, something she hadn't done since she laid in the hospital hoping her unborn twins would survive the methane rig explosion a year earlier.
...
Shortly before 9 am, John Ross sits quietly in the office of his home sipping a coffee, having not slept the night before. Bobby, Sue Ellen, Christopher, Ann, Emma, and Bum knock on the door to come in.
"We didn't think you should be alone right now," said Sue Ellen, as they all file in and stand around the desk where John Ross is sitting.
He gives a curt nod and squeezes his mother's hand. The plasma TV on the wall lights up with an incoming call. Bobby presses enter accepting it.
Joaquin's face appears, this time without a mask and wearing a business suit. "Buenos Dias! I trust it you have my money and the files?"
John Ross reaches below his desk and pulls out a briefcase full of cash and opens it for the camera. "Here is your money, as requested."
"And the files?" asks Joaquin.
"Let me talk to Pamela." demands John Ross.
Joaquin grins. "I don't think so. She is resting."
John Ross stands up and pounds his desk. "Let me talk to my wife or you aren't getting those files. She has the password to her safe, I need that."
Joaquin nods. The camera pans over to Joaquin walking over to a bound figure on the floor. "Time to wake up Mrs. Ewing." He splashes some water on her face, as she tries to sit up.
The Ewings gasp at the sight of the disheveled and bruised Pamela. "Oh Pamela." says John Ross quietly.
She adjusts her eyes. "I'm okay John Ross. Just complete this deal and I'll be back with you later today. Just do whatever he wants."
Joaquin squats down next to her. "He needs your safe password, Pamela. Cough it up."
Tears start falling down her face, as Joaquin puts a pistol to her head. "Don't make me ask twice. The end is in sight."
"STOP POINTING THE GUN AT HER!" John Ross yells.
"7-1-3-9-7-4" says Pamela. John Ross enters in the numbers and opens the safe. "Here are your goddamn papers, you piece of shit. Where am I meeting you?"
Joaquin smiles. "Meet me at the old Obregon coffee factory on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo at sundown. Pamela will be somewhere on the premises. We will do our trade and you can take your lovely wife back to Dallas."
The video chat goes dead.
John Ross starts pacing around his office. "I'm going to kill him. I swear to God." he is muttering.
"Why don't we let Bum, Christopher, and John Ross talk about their course of action?" says Bobby to Sue Ellen, Ann, and Emma. As the four of them file out, John Ross calls out to Sue Ellen. "Mama, I have two favors of you to ask."
She comes back into the office. "Of course, whatever you need."
He walks up to her. "I need you to call some of your contacts in the State Department and smooth things over since we are illegally going into Mexico and back into the U.S. I don't want no problems." Sue Ellen nods.
"Second, I need you to call Afton. She should know what is going on, especially once Pamela gets back. No doubt, her mother will want to see her. All of us should be here for her, and I know she'd want to see her mama."
"Of course, I will give her a call now and call the State Department." says Sue Ellen, giving John Ross a long hug.
...
Bum enters the living room with a map of the area around the meeting site. He shows Christopher and John Ross the best place for the chopper to land.
"What I'm thinking," begins John Ross. "is we land the chopper in the courtyard. I get out with the briefcase with the money and documents. But prior to that, we drop off some of the men so they can cover me. When I complete the exchange with the rat bastard, then have your men move in and take out Joaquin's. Then we move into the building and retrieve Pamela."
"What about you boss?" asks Bum. "Our men may cover you, but Joaquin will no doubt be armed."
John Ross opens his suit jacket and pulls out a handgun. "I can take care of myself. Chris, I want you get out of the chopper early with a few men and cover me. You're still good with a rifle?"
Christopher nods. "Yep. I will have your back."
"I appreciate it. Have the men meet us at the airport, Bum. We can take-off in two hours." says John Ross standing. "Give me some time to myself please."
Christopher and Bum exit his house.
John Ross dials the phone number Felix gave to Pamela. "Is this Felix?" he asks when he hears a pickup.
"Yes, who is this?" asks Felix.
"John Ross Ewing. You were doing a deal with my wife to nail Joaquin. She had some document for you. Well the deal has changed. Joaquin has kidnapped her and is demanding the documents for himself."
"I see," says Felix. "Well I wish you luck getting your wife back. And if you happen to deal with Joaquin yourself, that will be good enough for me. Tell your wife, when you see her, that I intend to send her Drew Ramos and proof of Elena Ramos' illegal activities still. My people discovered the truth of him ripping me off, just like Mrs. Ewing said. Therefore, while I may not get the files on Joaquin, I still keep up my end of the deal."
"Appreciate it." says John Ross brusquely.
"Mr. Ewing, what will it take for me to get the rest of those files you have? Your price?" inquires Felix.
"Not for sale." John Ross says. "I have to go."
"Give my regards to your wife, when you get her back. I have no doubt you will be successful." replies Felix, disconnecting the call.
John Ross sighs and walks upstairs. He goes into the room Pamela has partially ready for the nursery. He sits down in a rocking chair and starts to put together the crib.
...
The Ewings all gather at the airport to see off Bum, John Ross, and Christopher. Bobby gives both a hug. So does Ann.
"Be careful, Chris." says Emma kissing him. "I'll see you later tonight. John Ross, good luck and I hope you get Pamela back alright."
Sue Ellen kisses Christopher on the cheek. "Thank you for having John Ross's back." She goes over to John Ross, and starts to cry. "You be careful, do you hear me? Take care of yourself and you bring back my daughter-in-law and grandbaby."
The three men board a chopper with 10 men, dressed in black and wearing camo paint.
"Good luck boys," says Bobby quietly.
...
The dark chopper lands in the quiet, rundown courtyard of the Obregon coffee factory in Nuevo Laredo. Minutes prior, the helicopter dropped off Christopher and 5 men, who fanned out over the neighboring area to take up their positions.
John Ross steps out of the helicopter, dressed to the nines in a business suit, carrying a large metal briefcase. He walks about 50 feet away from the helicopter and stands in the middle of the courtyard. "I'm here. Hello?"
Joaquin casually strolls out, as 4 of his men take up positions along a perimeter wall to watch both the surrounding area and John Ross.
"Mr. Ewing, good of you to show up. May I see the briefcase please?" he asks, smiling.
John Ross hands it to him. "The combination is 9314."
Joaquin enters it and opens it to see $10 million in cash and a large bundle of documents. He flips through the money quickly and then looks at the documents.
"You kept your end of the bargain. Thank you." he bends down and closes up the briefcase.
"Where is Pamela?" asks John Ross.
"She is in the basement of the building behind me. By the time you get to her, I will be long gone. I have a guard with her. He will be called off when I get away. Nice doing business with you." Joaquin turns to walk away.
At that moment, the tinted helicopter door swings open and 5 heavily armed men and Bum jump out. They take up positions throughout the courtyard. As Joaquin starts yelling in Spanish.
He turns to John Ross. "You just killed your wife." He puts a walkie-talkie up to his mouth to call the guard watching Pamela.
John Ross pulls out his gun. "Drop the radio and get down on the ground."
Joaquin glares at him and reaches in his pocket to pull out a gun, when John Ross shoots him two times in he chest. At that moment, Christopher and his team of men open fire on Joaquin's guards patrolling the perimeter wall, taking them all out. John Ross signals one of the men to grab the briefcase and put it in the helicopter.
John Ross, Bum, and five men then storm into the factory.
They run down a flight of steps to the basement and come to a locked door. One of the mercenaries kicks it in. Pamela is tied to a chair, with an armed guard nearby. He turns and opens fire on the rescue team. Bum is hit in the shoulder as two members of the team shoot and kill the captor. Bum is tended to and taken out to the chopper by three of his men as two stand guard.
John Ross runs over to Pamela and cuts off the duct tape binding her. He looks at her dirty and bruised face and kisses her forehead. He helps her up and gives her a bear hug and he kisses her deeply as she cries in his arms. "I thought for a little while I might not see you again," he says to her, his voice breaking. "Are you okay? Is the baby ok?"
"The baby is fine. Hungry, I suspect." she chuckles as he wraps his jacket around her and wraps her arm around his shoulder to help carry her. "I'm a bit dizzy and short of breath. It's probably just the past 24 hours. I've never been so happy to see you in my life, John Ross. I've never been so scared."
He holds her as they make their way up to the surface and to the helicopter. "Darlin', when I saw you alive, my heart skipped a beat. I'm not letting you out of my sight anytime soon." Pamela looks at the bodies on the ground, including Joaquin's.
"We won't be bothered by these people ever again." John Ross says, kissing her cheek gently. He helps her onboard the chopper. They both ask how Bum is doing, but he waves them off. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It is a through and through. Been shot worse in Vietnam."
Chris runs up and climbs in. "Oh you came to help me too!" says Pamela, through tears, giving him a hug. "Thank you." and she turns to look at all of the men in the chopper, "Thank you all so much."
...
Bobby, Ann, Emma, Afton, and Sue Ellen are pacing around a hospital waiting room, waiting for the chopper to land on the roof.
Minutes later, Bum is rushed through on a stretcher and Christopher runs into the waiting room. He gives them all a hug, except Afton who just glares at him. "Bum was shot in the shoulder, but should be okay. Pamela is a bit banged up, but seems okay. They are bringing her down now."
Two nurses wheel Pamela off an elevator and down the hall on a stretcher. John Ross walks beside her, holding her hand. They take her into a private room, where the doctor is waiting. "Mr. Ewing, I am Dr. Gordon, your wife's OB-GYN. We are going to run some tests and see how she is doing, please give us some time."
Pamela looks at him and nods. "I will be okay. Go see everyone." he gives her a kiss, "I will be right outside if you need anything."
He goes into the waiting room and greets everyone. Christopher and John Ross give everyone an account of what transpired as they eagerly listen and wait to see how Pamela is doing.
Dr. Gordon comes in about an hour later. "We are done checking Mrs. Ewing. We are keeping her overnight, just for observation. She is free to see visitors."
Afton stands up quickly to head out of the waiting room.
"Not so fast, Afton. You can go in second." John Ross says grabbing her shoulder and planting a kiss on her cheek. "She's my wife and carrying my baby."
Afton nods and goes to sit back down.
John Ross follows the doctor into Pamela's room.
He goes in and finds her eyes closed. He sits on the edge of the bed next to her and starts to kiss her and rub her stomach. Her eyes open, as she smiles.
"I love you, Pamela. I may not tell you enough, but always know that." he squeezes her hand tightly.
"John Ross, I do know that. And know that I love you, I always will. We are going to have a baby soon!" Pamela says with such enthusiasm.
"And maybe another one...and another one..." says John Ross laughing.
"One at a time, Mr. Ewing. One at a time!" replies Pamela grinning, as Dr. Gordon walks into the room.
"Now we ran some tests and I need to go over a few things with you." says Dr. Gordon opening a file.
John Ross and Pamela look at him alarmed. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, Mrs. Ewing you are have several bruises and abrasions that will heal. You also have a pretty severe concussion, hence why we are keeping you here overnight, just to be safe. You're baby is absolutely fine, according to all tests we ran. But..."
"What?" asks John Ross, concerned.
"Your wife was under a great deal of stress and so was the baby during the past 24 hours. Her previous miscarriage raises her chance of complications during this pregnancy. Her blood pressure is at a very high level and her heart is functioning at a very alarming level. While the baby is fine, at this moment, your wife is in a precarious place. Last year her aortic anueryism weakened her heart and that makes it difficult to keep up with both her needs and the baby's. Her recent stress level only exacerbated the condition. I'm recommending that you cease working and any stressful activities, Mrs. Ewing. The best treatment for you is bed rest and to find peace and quiet."
John Ross and Pamela look at each other, alarmed by what they just heard. "Is there anything else I need to know or do?" asks Pamela.
"Follow my recommendations and you should be fine. But overdoing it can cause catastrophic risks for both you and your child." says Dr. Gordon, closing her file.
"Don't worry, doc. She won't be doing anything stressful anytime soon, nor will she be out of my sight." John Ross responds, intertwining his fingers with hers.
"On a positive note, would you like to know the sex of your baby?" he asks smiling.
Pamela and John Ross look at each other smiling and both nod at one another. "Tell us" Pamela says.
"I'm pleased to inform you that you are having a boy." he says with a smile. "I'll leave you two be."
"I told you it was a boy," says John Ross grinning ear to ear. He kisses her. "John Ross Ewing IV will be here in no time."
She smiles back at him. "I'm gonna have two of you to deal with now! That's going to be a challenge, I look forward to." she scoots over in her bed. "Would you lay with me as I fall asleep?"
"Darlin', I'm sleeping here tonight too. I'm not leaving you alone. It'll be a tight fit," he says as he lays down next to her. "But we will make it work." They are both soon fast asleep, arms wrapped around one another.
