Chapter 2
Rick hung up the phone, then looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway.
"You heard."
A.J. nodded. "She's alive, Rick, we're going to find her and bring her home safe. I'll call Rob and see if a trace was made. Caparelli can't be too far off the beaten path, that connection was too clear." Suddenly the phone rang, and A.J. picked it up. "Simon residence."
"A.J., it's Rob, you got a call from Caparelli?" A.J. filled him in on the conversation, then asked, "Did Rick talk enough to trace the call?"
"Yes, only it looks like he used a pay phone in Window Rock, I sent Andy over there to dust the public payphones, and see if we can tell where he called from. I also called the police lab in Phoenix, the examination of the car got us one good clue; red dirt from the Window Rock area was on the floor mats, and it was fresh. The chief is going to go to Phoenix and look at it himself; he thinks he might be able to identify the area it came from. Can you have Rick play the tape into the phone so I can hear it?"
Rick nodded and rewound the answering machine recording, playing it back it sounded worse then the first time. He stared down at the bits of gold ring still on the table; remembering the moment he placed it on Laurie's finger. How she looked at him with those eyes full of happiness. God, please, he found himself praying, please spare my sweetheart. She's been through so much, please don't take her away. The kids need her, heck, I need her.
Feeling his brother squeezing his arm as the tape ended, he hit the stop button and got to his feet. "I'm going to call Oscar, maybe he can talk to the warden at San Quentin and get an idea about Caparelli's brother, what kind of security is around him and will someone blow the whistle if we fake his exchange".
While Rick was on the phone, Robert came into the living room, his face worried. "Uncle A.J, I thought I heard Mom's voice, did she call?" The younger Simon shook his head and told him about the demand made by Caparelli, as well as the fact that Laurie was alive and so far unhurt. Rob stared at his uncle, then plopped down next to him on the sofa. "But how can that creep expect Pop to get his brother out of prison, they're not going to let him out just to save Mom, will they?" A.J. gave him a half smile. "You're right, the government isn't going to free him, but just maybe we can fake his release enough to get Laurie away from Caparelli, then we'll deal with him on an even basis." His nephew sat quietly for a moment, then, "Uncle A.J., I want to help find Mom, I can help stake out where he'll call this afternoon, maybe even follow him to where he's got her." "No, Rob, it's too dangerous", Rick hung up the phone and came in the living room. Sitting opposite the teenager, he looked him in the eye and added, "Son, this guy would spot you a mile away and maybe even take you as a hostage if he thought it would get him his brother. I know you want to help," he continued, as Rob started to interrupt, "but I'm trusting you to watch over Robin and your Grandma when she gets here today, because if anything goes wrong, not only will he kill your Mom, but he promised to take revenge on you and Robin."
The boy stared at him, then reached over and hugged Rick, saying in a muffled voice "don't worry, Pop, I won't let anything happen to Robin and Grandma, just find Mom." The older Simon patted his back, then pulling away, said. "Ok, go help your sister get breakfast, your Uncle is going to the airport now, I have to get what we need together for this afternoon."
Later, Rick sank into a chair by the phone, exhausted. After getting through to the warden at San Quentin with Oscar Goldman's help, he had succeeded in limiting access to Aaron Caparelli for the rest of the day. Oscar had also gotten permission to send to Phoenix a California State Prison van for Rick to use in "transporting" Caparelli's brother.
Rudy had called to report that Steve was starting to come out of his coma, and that Jaime said he was mumbling about a cave and "dark". Rick groaned inwardly at that, Laurie was afraid of the dark, had been ever since she was a kid. That fit with what the lab analysis and Chief Joseph had said, she was probably being held in one of the caverns in the area. If they could only find out which one..
Like a flash, Rick recalled Rob's idea about staking out the pay phones in Window Rock and following Caparelli to Laurie. "A.J.!", he yelled, causing his brother to come running in from their mom's room. "What is it?" "Rob had an idea about staking out the payphones in Window Rock, what if you or Rob or the Chief followed Caparelli after he calls this afternoon, we'd have a head start on where he was going, and maybe get Laurie out of danger before I met up with him." A.J. looked at him, then grinned. "Looks like we might have another private eye in the family, that might work." "Over my dead body!", Cecilia interrupted, coming into the living room and fixing both of her sons with a stern eye. "My grandson is not following in either of your footsteps!" "Aw, Mom, face it, you kind of get a kick out of bailing us out of jail and the exciting people we work with." Rick deadpanned, kissing her on the cheek. Her expression softened and she put an arm around her older son. "You did find Laurie for us, and you will again, so it hasn't been all bad." He returned the hug, then straightening up, said, "Ok, so how are we going to do this, who has the best shot of trailing Caparelli without getting spotted?"
After a couple of phone calls, Chief Joseph volunteered to watch the pay phone that Caparelli had used earlier in the day. Despite the fact that only one partial print taken from the booth matched his, the Simons wagered that he would use the same phone if someone was at the other location, which was a block away. "Either way, he's bound to use one in Window Rock rather than Silver Rock, there's more chance he would be spotted in Silver Rock," Rick speculated. The Chief nodded, gazing at the picture of Caparelli A.J. had given him. He handed back the photo, then fixing his gaze on Rick, added, "I want you to be careful when you deal with him, he has great evil in his face. When I spot him, I will wait until he leaves town, then follow him in my jeep. Before we reach the caverns, I will turn off the road and watch him until he stops, then I will move in."
Just then the phone rang, and Rick automatically answered it "Simon residence."
"Rick, its Oscar. I just got a call from San Quentin. Aaron
Caparelli was just rushed to the prison hospital in full cardiac arrest. The warden's going to try to keep a lid on it for a couple of hours, but if he dies.."
"Oscar, this is some kind of coincidence, didn't Michael Caparelli suffer the same kind of attack and they let him go to a private hospital?" Rick felt like he was grasping at straws, but the brother suffering the same illness?
"You're right, Michael Caparelli was also rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. I'm going to call the prison and tell them to put extra guards around Aaron Caparelli. Good work, Rick, I'm leaving for the airport right now to pick up the van and fly it over to Phoenix. I'll meet you at the airport at 5pm." Oscar hung up and Rick turned to his brother and the Chief. "Ok, let's get going."
At 5 minutes to 6, Rick raced into the house, having met Oscar and the fake California Prison van at the airport. He double-checked the tape machine, then helped A.J. pull a wig on, just in case Caparelli got wise to the switch and tried to approach the van.
Suddenly the phone rang.
Rick picked it up, "Simon residence".
"Mr. Simon, do you have my brother?"
He replied: "I do, he was taken ill this morning, but they released him to me a couple of hours ago. Now, where's Laurie?"
A startled tone was in Caparelli's voice "You have my brother, is he alive?"
"He is, no thanks to you, now where is my wife?", Rick demanded, trying to take control of the call.
"Drive straight out of town toward Window Rock, then turn right at the fork marked "Cuyomos Caverns". When you come to the foot of the mountain, stop and wait for me. Once I have my brother, I'll tell you which cave she's in. You have 20 minutes."
Click.
Rick looked at his brother, then Cecilia, who was sitting with Robert and Robin.
"He didn't count on the fact he could actually get his brother back, did he?" Rick remarked to A.J, pulling on his jacket. The younger Simon shook his head, "He really didn't plan on hearing that."
Rick stopped before he headed out the door, kissing his mother then hugging both kids. "If anything happens, I trust you guys will be ok with Mom, understand?" Robert and Robin looked at each other, then Robert said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of things, just be careful, ok?" He nodded, then followed A.J. out to the van.
Driving thru Silver Rock, Rick saw the sheriff pull out as he went past and take the parallel road to the caverns. If everything went to plan, Rob and the Chief would be on the other side of the mountain, and could enter the Caverns from the other side.
After coming to the fork and turning off the main road,
he got a signal from the Chief on his walkie talkie. thru the static, he heard the elder say "He just went into the back of the main cavern, hurry and maybe you'll catch him coming out."
Speeding up, Rick reached the Cuyomos Cavern entrance, then headed toward the main cave. Just as he was 200 yards away, he spotted a partially masked man leaving the cave entrance. Braking to a stop, he pulled out his revolver and came out the drivers side door, staying behind the bumper of the van.
"All right Caparelli, freeze!", he yelled.
The man stopped, surprised, then called out, "Do you have my brother in there?"
"Yeah, now I want my wife", he replied. "Where is she?"
The man grinned, and Rick got a good look at the disfigured face of Michael Caparelli. "She's in the cave, go ahead and get her. I'll take the van and sent someone out after you in an hour after we make ourselves scarce."
Rick stepped forward a few feet, still aiming his gun at Caparelli. "You go bring her out, I want to make sure she's alive."
"Not a chance, Simon", you go get her." Suddenly Rick saw a small box in Caparelli's hand, and shot it out of his hand.
Caparelli howled in anger, then charged at Rick, who side-stepped him, then whipped him with the gun and ran past him toward the cave opening.
He was just at the entrance when he heard A.J. yell, "Rick, no!".
He turned to see Caparelli aim at him, then fall to the ground, as the van door opened and Oscar came out firing.
Behind him he heard an explosion, and wheeling around, saw part of the cave opening collapse.
"No, Laurie!", he yelled, then raced toward the cave. Just as he got there, he felt himself tackled from behind, and struggling to get away, found A.J. on top of him. Another explosion went off.
"Rick, it's no use, the whole cavern's going to come down." His brother's anguished face stared down at him.
Literally throwing A.J.off, he picked himself up and looked at the crumbling cave face.
"Laurie!", he yelled again, and then he saw, miraculously, that a small opening remained.
Peering into it, he called her name again, then.
"Rick, Rick!", a faint voice cried out.
"Laurie, honey, I'm coming", he called back.
Turning toward A.J., he said "Get a rope out of the van and the flashlight, I'm going in."
"Use this," Chief Joseph came around the side of the cave, holding a rope and miners light. Rick took them from him as the elder said "The back entrance collapsed as I was about to enter, Rob is on the other side trying to dig an opening, just in case the way is blocked."
Tying the rope around his waist, Rick went in, finding piles of rocks blocking his way. Working around them, he called out again "Laurie, I'm coming, tell me when you see my light." "Rick, be careful, there's a trip wire", came her voice, sounding closer. As Rick followed a narrow tunnel, he heard her cry out "Rick, I see your light, hurry, please!"
Rick quickened his pace, almost tripping on the rubble, and as he entered a fork in the tunnel, he heard Laurie call his name again. Shining the light over to his left, he saw her slumped against the cave wall, her arms and legs bound with rope. "Laurie", he hollered, then rushed over, taking her in his arms as she started to sob. He pulled out a knife and cut her free, then held her tightly and whispered, "I'm here, my love, I won't let you go, I promise."
Laurie stopped crying, clinging to Rick as they both heard an ominous rumbling noise. Rick picked her up, and she gasped in pain. "What is it, where does it hurt," he asked her, frantically trying to pick his way through the debris toward the main tunnel. "My ankle, when I heard the explosion; I tried to crawl out of the way of the rocks and several hit me as I got to the wall. Oh Rick, I was so scared, I told Oscar via the transmitter not to let you come. Caparelli was going to blow you up when you came into the cave."
"And here I thought A.J was crazy, he stopped me from coming in just as the cave collapsed, Oscar must have warned him". Rick stopped to catch his breath, and yanked on the rope, trying to gage what direction to go in.
"Rick!" they heard A.J. call, "This way, hang on to the rope." He followed the rope, and as he followed the rock-strewn path, they could see light and two silhouettes. "A.J., I found her!" he yelled, and the figures ran toward them. As they got toward the cave opening, A.J. reached them first and helped carry Laurie so Rick could navigate the way thru the boulders. Once they got outside, she started to shake, so Chief Joseph wrapped a blanket around her as Rick lifted her into the van. In the light of the van, he paled as he saw the numerous cuts and bruises that covered her. Carefully trying not to hurt her, A.J. tore away her pant leg, revealing her rapidly swelling ankle. Laurie put her head against Rick's chest, sipping from a canteen of water as he dabbed at the cuts on her face and trying not to cry out with pain as the chief put a makeshift splint on her leg.
She managed a smile when he finished. "Thank you, Chief, it feels better already." Rob and Oscar came over to the van and took turns embracing Laurie, then the OSI chief took Rick aside. "Caparelli is dead, the sheriff and I put him in the patrol car, so if she asks, you can tell her he'll never hurt her again." "Thank you, Oscar, we owe you our lives. If you hadn't shot him or warned A.J. about the trap." Oscar put a hand on his shoulder, "No, Rick, you helped stop that maniac before he could hurt anyone else. You and Laurie are part of our family, and we'll always be there for you." Gratefully, Rick shook hands and headed back into the van, where he took Laurie in his arms and held her for the ride to the hospital.
A.J. volunteered to go ahead and stop for Cecilia and the kids, so Oscar took the wheel and followed the Chief and Rob to town.
On the way, Rick rubbed Laurie's wrists to restore the circulation, while she haltingly told him how
Caparelli had kept telling her that he had killed Steve and was going to finish what he had started all those years before. "Rick, he's crazy, when I came to, he had put me in the cavern, then he would come out of the darkness and scare me on purpose. He told me he was going to lure you in and then blow up the entrance so we would spend eternity together." Rick then told her what Oscar had said. She leaned her head into his shoulder, "Thank God, darling, I was so afraid I'd have to live the rest of my life worrying he was going to come after us again."
"Never going to happen, sweetheart, but what is worrying me, is, well, how come you didn't call the office when you landed, did you call and get the answering machine?" He steeled himself for the response, the thought that had been torturing him all day.
Laurie looked at him, puzzled, then "Oh Rick, I'm sorry, I had forgotten to tell Robin that Rob had basketball practice, and I was thinking she might still be waiting at school to go home with him." He stared at her, then clearing his throat, said, "I thought you had tried the office and didn't find us, I felt so guilty, I thought maybe if we had finished up earlier I could have stopped him." "Oh no, darling, no", she interrupted him, putting her arms around him and holding him close. "We landed early, you wouldn't have made it before him anyway. Rick, even if you had been there, he was prepared to kill you in front of me, he said it was his time for payback." They held each other tight until the van pulled up to the hospital, then Rick wiped his eyes and said "Next time, I'll go to Chicago and you can do surveillance with A.J." Smiling, Laurie put her head on his shoulder. "It's a deal".
As Rick lifted her up and carried her into the Emergency room, Doc Walters was waiting with a gurney. Looking at her, he shook his head and told Rick, "It's a good thing your friend finished that creep off, I might have had to beg off if it came to treating him." Rick helped wheel her into an examining room, then as he went to leave, Laurie pulled at his arm, "Don't go too far, ok?" He looked at her and gave her a kiss. "Just outside the door, sweetheart, don't give Doc a hard time."
Closing the door behind him, he slumped into a chair, worn out. He roused himself enough to get a cup of coffee from the nurses station, where one of the aides noticed a large cut on his arm. Too tired to protest, he let her clean and bandage his arm, then he plopped down again to wait for Doc to finish examining Laurie.
"Rick, honey?" he looked up and saw his mom and A.J. standing in the doorway of the clinic. Fully awake, he stood up and embraced them, then caught both Robert and Robin in his arms, as all four started asking questions at once.
Just then, Doc came out of the room, and greeting A.J., Cecilia and the kids, let them go in to see Laurie, while he took Rick aside.
"Doc, how is she? She's going to be ok, isn't she" he asked, waiting until the door closed.
The doctor grinned, "Laurie was right, she was worried you would be worried. She's going to be just fine, Rick. Her left ankle is broken, also her left knee is swollen, but I don't think there's any ligament damage. You're going to have to keep her off her leg for a week or so until she gets her strength back, Then she's to use crutches, no trying to hop around. Laurie's very dehydrated, so I want to monitor her vitals for the next day. She's also severely bruised and cut all over, but she's going to be over the worst of it in a week or so.
Rick let out a deep breath, "Thanks, Doc, she was so shaky when we got her out of the cave, I was scared that, you know.."
Doc put an hand on his shoulder, "I know it's hard to see her beat up like that, but just give her as much support as you can. She said she's feels a little jumpy, after what that jerk did to her, well, just be patient with her."
Rick shook his head. "Don't worry, Doc, after the last 24 hours, I won't leave her side. Can I stay with her tonight?"
He nodded, "Sure, Rick, I'll let the nurse know it's ok, and I'll have her moved to the double room."
Just then A.J. came out of the room, and coming over to Rick, hugged him. "What's that for, little brother, I'm ok."
"Laurie told Mom how I saved your life by stopping you from going in the cave before it exploded. I hated doing it, I thought she was probably gone and you would be killed too. " A.J. looked down, only to have Rick put an arm around him. "A.J., don't ever be sorry for doing the right thing, you saved both of us, don't forget that." Tousling his brother's hair, Rick grinned at him, then remembered something.
"A.J., can you do me a favor and take Laurie's ring to the Chief, he promised to see if it can be repaired, I want her to have it for our anniversary Saturday." "Sure, first thing in the morning", he said, taking the envelope with the ring from Rick.
Following Doc back into the examining room, Rick found her with Robert on one side and Robin on the other, with Cecilia insisting on putting mercuricome on a cut on her face.
Their son was teasing Laurie as she looked up and groaned, "Rick, tell Mom I don't need any more mercuricome, it's a small cut."
"I knew I could count on you, Cecilia, she gave me a hard time too," Doc took Laurie's pulse, "That's better, but I still need to give you something for the pain, I promise it won't upset your stomach".
Laurie sighed. "All right, it does hurt, Doc, go ahead." Rick kissed her, distracting her while the doctor gave her the injection.
Once the kids, A.J., and Cecilia said good night, the nurse brought in a spare bed and Rick lay down next to Laurie, softly talking to her until the medication took affect. Just before she went to sleep, she told Rick, "You know how when Rob and Robin go to church and sometimes I sleep in instead of going with them, I need to go more then when I'm asking for something, I want to start going, even if it's to say thank you." Rick was silent for a moment, then whispered "Me, too".
Rick hung up the phone, then looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway.
"You heard."
A.J. nodded. "She's alive, Rick, we're going to find her and bring her home safe. I'll call Rob and see if a trace was made. Caparelli can't be too far off the beaten path, that connection was too clear." Suddenly the phone rang, and A.J. picked it up. "Simon residence."
"A.J., it's Rob, you got a call from Caparelli?" A.J. filled him in on the conversation, then asked, "Did Rick talk enough to trace the call?"
"Yes, only it looks like he used a pay phone in Window Rock, I sent Andy over there to dust the public payphones, and see if we can tell where he called from. I also called the police lab in Phoenix, the examination of the car got us one good clue; red dirt from the Window Rock area was on the floor mats, and it was fresh. The chief is going to go to Phoenix and look at it himself; he thinks he might be able to identify the area it came from. Can you have Rick play the tape into the phone so I can hear it?"
Rick nodded and rewound the answering machine recording, playing it back it sounded worse then the first time. He stared down at the bits of gold ring still on the table; remembering the moment he placed it on Laurie's finger. How she looked at him with those eyes full of happiness. God, please, he found himself praying, please spare my sweetheart. She's been through so much, please don't take her away. The kids need her, heck, I need her.
Feeling his brother squeezing his arm as the tape ended, he hit the stop button and got to his feet. "I'm going to call Oscar, maybe he can talk to the warden at San Quentin and get an idea about Caparelli's brother, what kind of security is around him and will someone blow the whistle if we fake his exchange".
While Rick was on the phone, Robert came into the living room, his face worried. "Uncle A.J, I thought I heard Mom's voice, did she call?" The younger Simon shook his head and told him about the demand made by Caparelli, as well as the fact that Laurie was alive and so far unhurt. Rob stared at his uncle, then plopped down next to him on the sofa. "But how can that creep expect Pop to get his brother out of prison, they're not going to let him out just to save Mom, will they?" A.J. gave him a half smile. "You're right, the government isn't going to free him, but just maybe we can fake his release enough to get Laurie away from Caparelli, then we'll deal with him on an even basis." His nephew sat quietly for a moment, then, "Uncle A.J., I want to help find Mom, I can help stake out where he'll call this afternoon, maybe even follow him to where he's got her." "No, Rob, it's too dangerous", Rick hung up the phone and came in the living room. Sitting opposite the teenager, he looked him in the eye and added, "Son, this guy would spot you a mile away and maybe even take you as a hostage if he thought it would get him his brother. I know you want to help," he continued, as Rob started to interrupt, "but I'm trusting you to watch over Robin and your Grandma when she gets here today, because if anything goes wrong, not only will he kill your Mom, but he promised to take revenge on you and Robin."
The boy stared at him, then reached over and hugged Rick, saying in a muffled voice "don't worry, Pop, I won't let anything happen to Robin and Grandma, just find Mom." The older Simon patted his back, then pulling away, said. "Ok, go help your sister get breakfast, your Uncle is going to the airport now, I have to get what we need together for this afternoon."
Later, Rick sank into a chair by the phone, exhausted. After getting through to the warden at San Quentin with Oscar Goldman's help, he had succeeded in limiting access to Aaron Caparelli for the rest of the day. Oscar had also gotten permission to send to Phoenix a California State Prison van for Rick to use in "transporting" Caparelli's brother.
Rudy had called to report that Steve was starting to come out of his coma, and that Jaime said he was mumbling about a cave and "dark". Rick groaned inwardly at that, Laurie was afraid of the dark, had been ever since she was a kid. That fit with what the lab analysis and Chief Joseph had said, she was probably being held in one of the caverns in the area. If they could only find out which one..
Like a flash, Rick recalled Rob's idea about staking out the pay phones in Window Rock and following Caparelli to Laurie. "A.J.!", he yelled, causing his brother to come running in from their mom's room. "What is it?" "Rob had an idea about staking out the payphones in Window Rock, what if you or Rob or the Chief followed Caparelli after he calls this afternoon, we'd have a head start on where he was going, and maybe get Laurie out of danger before I met up with him." A.J. looked at him, then grinned. "Looks like we might have another private eye in the family, that might work." "Over my dead body!", Cecilia interrupted, coming into the living room and fixing both of her sons with a stern eye. "My grandson is not following in either of your footsteps!" "Aw, Mom, face it, you kind of get a kick out of bailing us out of jail and the exciting people we work with." Rick deadpanned, kissing her on the cheek. Her expression softened and she put an arm around her older son. "You did find Laurie for us, and you will again, so it hasn't been all bad." He returned the hug, then straightening up, said, "Ok, so how are we going to do this, who has the best shot of trailing Caparelli without getting spotted?"
After a couple of phone calls, Chief Joseph volunteered to watch the pay phone that Caparelli had used earlier in the day. Despite the fact that only one partial print taken from the booth matched his, the Simons wagered that he would use the same phone if someone was at the other location, which was a block away. "Either way, he's bound to use one in Window Rock rather than Silver Rock, there's more chance he would be spotted in Silver Rock," Rick speculated. The Chief nodded, gazing at the picture of Caparelli A.J. had given him. He handed back the photo, then fixing his gaze on Rick, added, "I want you to be careful when you deal with him, he has great evil in his face. When I spot him, I will wait until he leaves town, then follow him in my jeep. Before we reach the caverns, I will turn off the road and watch him until he stops, then I will move in."
Just then the phone rang, and Rick automatically answered it "Simon residence."
"Rick, its Oscar. I just got a call from San Quentin. Aaron
Caparelli was just rushed to the prison hospital in full cardiac arrest. The warden's going to try to keep a lid on it for a couple of hours, but if he dies.."
"Oscar, this is some kind of coincidence, didn't Michael Caparelli suffer the same kind of attack and they let him go to a private hospital?" Rick felt like he was grasping at straws, but the brother suffering the same illness?
"You're right, Michael Caparelli was also rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. I'm going to call the prison and tell them to put extra guards around Aaron Caparelli. Good work, Rick, I'm leaving for the airport right now to pick up the van and fly it over to Phoenix. I'll meet you at the airport at 5pm." Oscar hung up and Rick turned to his brother and the Chief. "Ok, let's get going."
At 5 minutes to 6, Rick raced into the house, having met Oscar and the fake California Prison van at the airport. He double-checked the tape machine, then helped A.J. pull a wig on, just in case Caparelli got wise to the switch and tried to approach the van.
Suddenly the phone rang.
Rick picked it up, "Simon residence".
"Mr. Simon, do you have my brother?"
He replied: "I do, he was taken ill this morning, but they released him to me a couple of hours ago. Now, where's Laurie?"
A startled tone was in Caparelli's voice "You have my brother, is he alive?"
"He is, no thanks to you, now where is my wife?", Rick demanded, trying to take control of the call.
"Drive straight out of town toward Window Rock, then turn right at the fork marked "Cuyomos Caverns". When you come to the foot of the mountain, stop and wait for me. Once I have my brother, I'll tell you which cave she's in. You have 20 minutes."
Click.
Rick looked at his brother, then Cecilia, who was sitting with Robert and Robin.
"He didn't count on the fact he could actually get his brother back, did he?" Rick remarked to A.J, pulling on his jacket. The younger Simon shook his head, "He really didn't plan on hearing that."
Rick stopped before he headed out the door, kissing his mother then hugging both kids. "If anything happens, I trust you guys will be ok with Mom, understand?" Robert and Robin looked at each other, then Robert said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of things, just be careful, ok?" He nodded, then followed A.J. out to the van.
Driving thru Silver Rock, Rick saw the sheriff pull out as he went past and take the parallel road to the caverns. If everything went to plan, Rob and the Chief would be on the other side of the mountain, and could enter the Caverns from the other side.
After coming to the fork and turning off the main road,
he got a signal from the Chief on his walkie talkie. thru the static, he heard the elder say "He just went into the back of the main cavern, hurry and maybe you'll catch him coming out."
Speeding up, Rick reached the Cuyomos Cavern entrance, then headed toward the main cave. Just as he was 200 yards away, he spotted a partially masked man leaving the cave entrance. Braking to a stop, he pulled out his revolver and came out the drivers side door, staying behind the bumper of the van.
"All right Caparelli, freeze!", he yelled.
The man stopped, surprised, then called out, "Do you have my brother in there?"
"Yeah, now I want my wife", he replied. "Where is she?"
The man grinned, and Rick got a good look at the disfigured face of Michael Caparelli. "She's in the cave, go ahead and get her. I'll take the van and sent someone out after you in an hour after we make ourselves scarce."
Rick stepped forward a few feet, still aiming his gun at Caparelli. "You go bring her out, I want to make sure she's alive."
"Not a chance, Simon", you go get her." Suddenly Rick saw a small box in Caparelli's hand, and shot it out of his hand.
Caparelli howled in anger, then charged at Rick, who side-stepped him, then whipped him with the gun and ran past him toward the cave opening.
He was just at the entrance when he heard A.J. yell, "Rick, no!".
He turned to see Caparelli aim at him, then fall to the ground, as the van door opened and Oscar came out firing.
Behind him he heard an explosion, and wheeling around, saw part of the cave opening collapse.
"No, Laurie!", he yelled, then raced toward the cave. Just as he got there, he felt himself tackled from behind, and struggling to get away, found A.J. on top of him. Another explosion went off.
"Rick, it's no use, the whole cavern's going to come down." His brother's anguished face stared down at him.
Literally throwing A.J.off, he picked himself up and looked at the crumbling cave face.
"Laurie!", he yelled again, and then he saw, miraculously, that a small opening remained.
Peering into it, he called her name again, then.
"Rick, Rick!", a faint voice cried out.
"Laurie, honey, I'm coming", he called back.
Turning toward A.J., he said "Get a rope out of the van and the flashlight, I'm going in."
"Use this," Chief Joseph came around the side of the cave, holding a rope and miners light. Rick took them from him as the elder said "The back entrance collapsed as I was about to enter, Rob is on the other side trying to dig an opening, just in case the way is blocked."
Tying the rope around his waist, Rick went in, finding piles of rocks blocking his way. Working around them, he called out again "Laurie, I'm coming, tell me when you see my light." "Rick, be careful, there's a trip wire", came her voice, sounding closer. As Rick followed a narrow tunnel, he heard her cry out "Rick, I see your light, hurry, please!"
Rick quickened his pace, almost tripping on the rubble, and as he entered a fork in the tunnel, he heard Laurie call his name again. Shining the light over to his left, he saw her slumped against the cave wall, her arms and legs bound with rope. "Laurie", he hollered, then rushed over, taking her in his arms as she started to sob. He pulled out a knife and cut her free, then held her tightly and whispered, "I'm here, my love, I won't let you go, I promise."
Laurie stopped crying, clinging to Rick as they both heard an ominous rumbling noise. Rick picked her up, and she gasped in pain. "What is it, where does it hurt," he asked her, frantically trying to pick his way through the debris toward the main tunnel. "My ankle, when I heard the explosion; I tried to crawl out of the way of the rocks and several hit me as I got to the wall. Oh Rick, I was so scared, I told Oscar via the transmitter not to let you come. Caparelli was going to blow you up when you came into the cave."
"And here I thought A.J was crazy, he stopped me from coming in just as the cave collapsed, Oscar must have warned him". Rick stopped to catch his breath, and yanked on the rope, trying to gage what direction to go in.
"Rick!" they heard A.J. call, "This way, hang on to the rope." He followed the rope, and as he followed the rock-strewn path, they could see light and two silhouettes. "A.J., I found her!" he yelled, and the figures ran toward them. As they got toward the cave opening, A.J. reached them first and helped carry Laurie so Rick could navigate the way thru the boulders. Once they got outside, she started to shake, so Chief Joseph wrapped a blanket around her as Rick lifted her into the van. In the light of the van, he paled as he saw the numerous cuts and bruises that covered her. Carefully trying not to hurt her, A.J. tore away her pant leg, revealing her rapidly swelling ankle. Laurie put her head against Rick's chest, sipping from a canteen of water as he dabbed at the cuts on her face and trying not to cry out with pain as the chief put a makeshift splint on her leg.
She managed a smile when he finished. "Thank you, Chief, it feels better already." Rob and Oscar came over to the van and took turns embracing Laurie, then the OSI chief took Rick aside. "Caparelli is dead, the sheriff and I put him in the patrol car, so if she asks, you can tell her he'll never hurt her again." "Thank you, Oscar, we owe you our lives. If you hadn't shot him or warned A.J. about the trap." Oscar put a hand on his shoulder, "No, Rick, you helped stop that maniac before he could hurt anyone else. You and Laurie are part of our family, and we'll always be there for you." Gratefully, Rick shook hands and headed back into the van, where he took Laurie in his arms and held her for the ride to the hospital.
A.J. volunteered to go ahead and stop for Cecilia and the kids, so Oscar took the wheel and followed the Chief and Rob to town.
On the way, Rick rubbed Laurie's wrists to restore the circulation, while she haltingly told him how
Caparelli had kept telling her that he had killed Steve and was going to finish what he had started all those years before. "Rick, he's crazy, when I came to, he had put me in the cavern, then he would come out of the darkness and scare me on purpose. He told me he was going to lure you in and then blow up the entrance so we would spend eternity together." Rick then told her what Oscar had said. She leaned her head into his shoulder, "Thank God, darling, I was so afraid I'd have to live the rest of my life worrying he was going to come after us again."
"Never going to happen, sweetheart, but what is worrying me, is, well, how come you didn't call the office when you landed, did you call and get the answering machine?" He steeled himself for the response, the thought that had been torturing him all day.
Laurie looked at him, puzzled, then "Oh Rick, I'm sorry, I had forgotten to tell Robin that Rob had basketball practice, and I was thinking she might still be waiting at school to go home with him." He stared at her, then clearing his throat, said, "I thought you had tried the office and didn't find us, I felt so guilty, I thought maybe if we had finished up earlier I could have stopped him." "Oh no, darling, no", she interrupted him, putting her arms around him and holding him close. "We landed early, you wouldn't have made it before him anyway. Rick, even if you had been there, he was prepared to kill you in front of me, he said it was his time for payback." They held each other tight until the van pulled up to the hospital, then Rick wiped his eyes and said "Next time, I'll go to Chicago and you can do surveillance with A.J." Smiling, Laurie put her head on his shoulder. "It's a deal".
As Rick lifted her up and carried her into the Emergency room, Doc Walters was waiting with a gurney. Looking at her, he shook his head and told Rick, "It's a good thing your friend finished that creep off, I might have had to beg off if it came to treating him." Rick helped wheel her into an examining room, then as he went to leave, Laurie pulled at his arm, "Don't go too far, ok?" He looked at her and gave her a kiss. "Just outside the door, sweetheart, don't give Doc a hard time."
Closing the door behind him, he slumped into a chair, worn out. He roused himself enough to get a cup of coffee from the nurses station, where one of the aides noticed a large cut on his arm. Too tired to protest, he let her clean and bandage his arm, then he plopped down again to wait for Doc to finish examining Laurie.
"Rick, honey?" he looked up and saw his mom and A.J. standing in the doorway of the clinic. Fully awake, he stood up and embraced them, then caught both Robert and Robin in his arms, as all four started asking questions at once.
Just then, Doc came out of the room, and greeting A.J., Cecilia and the kids, let them go in to see Laurie, while he took Rick aside.
"Doc, how is she? She's going to be ok, isn't she" he asked, waiting until the door closed.
The doctor grinned, "Laurie was right, she was worried you would be worried. She's going to be just fine, Rick. Her left ankle is broken, also her left knee is swollen, but I don't think there's any ligament damage. You're going to have to keep her off her leg for a week or so until she gets her strength back, Then she's to use crutches, no trying to hop around. Laurie's very dehydrated, so I want to monitor her vitals for the next day. She's also severely bruised and cut all over, but she's going to be over the worst of it in a week or so.
Rick let out a deep breath, "Thanks, Doc, she was so shaky when we got her out of the cave, I was scared that, you know.."
Doc put an hand on his shoulder, "I know it's hard to see her beat up like that, but just give her as much support as you can. She said she's feels a little jumpy, after what that jerk did to her, well, just be patient with her."
Rick shook his head. "Don't worry, Doc, after the last 24 hours, I won't leave her side. Can I stay with her tonight?"
He nodded, "Sure, Rick, I'll let the nurse know it's ok, and I'll have her moved to the double room."
Just then A.J. came out of the room, and coming over to Rick, hugged him. "What's that for, little brother, I'm ok."
"Laurie told Mom how I saved your life by stopping you from going in the cave before it exploded. I hated doing it, I thought she was probably gone and you would be killed too. " A.J. looked down, only to have Rick put an arm around him. "A.J., don't ever be sorry for doing the right thing, you saved both of us, don't forget that." Tousling his brother's hair, Rick grinned at him, then remembered something.
"A.J., can you do me a favor and take Laurie's ring to the Chief, he promised to see if it can be repaired, I want her to have it for our anniversary Saturday." "Sure, first thing in the morning", he said, taking the envelope with the ring from Rick.
Following Doc back into the examining room, Rick found her with Robert on one side and Robin on the other, with Cecilia insisting on putting mercuricome on a cut on her face.
Their son was teasing Laurie as she looked up and groaned, "Rick, tell Mom I don't need any more mercuricome, it's a small cut."
"I knew I could count on you, Cecilia, she gave me a hard time too," Doc took Laurie's pulse, "That's better, but I still need to give you something for the pain, I promise it won't upset your stomach".
Laurie sighed. "All right, it does hurt, Doc, go ahead." Rick kissed her, distracting her while the doctor gave her the injection.
Once the kids, A.J., and Cecilia said good night, the nurse brought in a spare bed and Rick lay down next to Laurie, softly talking to her until the medication took affect. Just before she went to sleep, she told Rick, "You know how when Rob and Robin go to church and sometimes I sleep in instead of going with them, I need to go more then when I'm asking for something, I want to start going, even if it's to say thank you." Rick was silent for a moment, then whispered "Me, too".