Chapter 2

"Rudy, it's Oscar, is Laurie around?" The doctor frowned, "yes, she's over at the Chief's looking at the hospital plans. How did you know she was in town?"

"I talked to Robbie, I have some bad news." Oscar took a deep breath ,then tersely said, "As of today, Laurie and Rick's transmitters no longer will be on OSI tracking beams. The only way they will work is from his to hers and back, or on Robbie or A.J.s' or ours."

Rudy swore, then replied, "What idiot decided that? Oscar, does that mean the locator too?" Oscar sighed, "Yes, the locator too, and that idiot was the Secretary. He says the budget no longer will include past employees or their spouses." "Look, Oscar, at least we can get a hold of her by voice, we'll just have to coordinate a common frequency." his friend assured him.

Then Rudy got the meaning behind the phone call, "Oscar, are you going to resign? If you do, I will too." "No, Rudy, I want to talk to Laurie and Rick first, I'm just so angry right now, I was afraid I'd say something I'd regret." he added. "Don't worry, I'll go over to the Chief's, then when you get into town tonight, we'll sit down and figure out what to do." Rudy decided.

"Ok, my friend, I should be at the airport by 4 pm, Steve's due in from Europe tomorrow, but I can catch a charter and be in Phoenix by 5pm today. I'll see if Rick can pick me up.", the OSI chief said.

Just then, a familiar voice sounded in the doorway. "Is there a doctor in the house?" Laurie teased, knocking on the door. Relieved, Rudy told Oscar, "Your niece is here, do you want to tell her?" "Yes, Dr. Chicken!" her uncle grumped, then brightened up when he heard her voice. "How's my favorite niece? Is everything ok?"

"Yes, Oscar, I miss you though. Are you coming in tonight?" she asked hopefully "Yes, honey, I need to see if my nephew can pick me up at the airport, I'm flying a charter and I should be in at 5pm.", he answered, his mood lifting.

"Sure, let me give him a call. As a matter of fact I'm going to help with some filing today, Abby thinks that ex-con Fitzpatrick may have fled the country so it's safe for me to go to work." Laurie replied.

"Laurie, there's something else going on, I have to tell you that the Secretary is cutting you and Rick off the active locator network. It means that in case of trouble you and Rick can't be located through the OSI frequency. We can still talk to you through our transmitters and Robbie's police radio. I'm sorry, I had an argument with the Secretary about this, I may have to make some changes in my life." Oscar told her firmly.

"No, Oscar, not because of this." she exclaimed, knowing how upset he must be. "We've been blessed to have access to the OSI network, and I can't be mad if it's not available anymore. As long as I can reach Rick by voice, I'm ok with it! Please, don't resign over this!"

He took a deep breath, he loved his girl so much, "Laurie, I just want you and Rick to be safe, I want you to have peace of mind." "I do, just as long as I know my family is safe, and that means you two!" she insisted.

"Ok, just be careful, until we get something set up, why don't you set your transmitter to 715.5 like Robbie does." Oscar suggested. "All right, let me call Rick and I'll call right back about your pick up?" she promised.

"Sure, talk to you in a few minutes!" her uncle replied. Just as he started to hang up, she said, "Oscar, I love you, never forget that." "I love you too, honey, now call me right back!" he answered.

Laurie turned to Rudy after they rang off; "I need to call Rick to see if he can pick Oscar up, is that ok?" "No problem, Laurie, let me know when you leave if there's any problem." he reminded her

As the doctor left for a meeting with Doc, Laurie rang the brothers office. Surprisingly, there was no answer, the machine came on and at first she didn't leave a message. Ringing Rick's extension, once again the answering tape came on. "Rick, it's Laurie, I need to ask you if you can pick up Oscar at the airport. I'll just find out when I get to the office. See you there, bye!" she told the machine.

Grabbing her purse, she went down the hall, then stuck her head in the door of Doc's office, where he and Rudy were going over charts. "Hey guys, I'm on my way to Rick and A.J., Rudy, there's no answer at the office, so I left a message that Oscar needs a ride. Can you let Oscar know we'll call from the agency?"

"Sure honey, just ring us when you get there. Drive careful." he warned. She smiled, but a puzzled look came over her face. "Kind of weird, I don't remember the last time the guys let the machine pick up; Rudy, could you try the office in a minute, just in case?"

"Of course, talk to you later!" he assured her.

A few minutes later, Rudy was on the line to Oscar. "Oscar, Laurie asked me to call you; she wasn't able to get a hold of Rick so she's going to drive to the office and call you from there. Something's not right, I want to get Robbie and go there myself."

A concerned Oscar agreed, "That isn't like the guys, I'm going to grab a plane now, I'll keep in touch, Rudy, be careful!"

As the doctor took his jacket and had Doc call over to the young deputy, Laurie sped toward Phoenix, a cold feeling having come over her. She turned on her transmitter, then put it on receive. Hearing nothing, her concern deepened, especially when she pulled into the office parking lot and saw both Rick's truck and A.J.'s sports car in their usual spots.

Stopping at the security guard, she found a sign saying he was out for a few minutes. Suddenly she heard Rick, he was in pain and warning her of a trap. "Darling, I'll go for help", she flashed to him, then turned and headed toward the entrance, only to hear her name called.

Turning to see who was there, she was grabbed by a blond haired man, who shoved a gun in her face and warned, "Any noise, and your husband and his brother are dead, understand?"

Terrified, she nodded, then was dragged up the stairs to the second floor. Calling to Rick, she told him what happened, then managed to turn her send receiver on. As they came to the office door, her assailant knocked in some kind of code, then opened the door and threw her inside.

Stumbling, she fell to the floor, then looked up to see a skinny, pale- skinned man holding a revolver. "Laurie!" she heard and glancing around, she saw Rick and A.J., tied to separate chairs. "Rick. A.J.!" she cried and tried to go to them, only to be caught and held by their captor.

"Not so fast, Mrs. Simon, I want these two to know what's going to happen before we leave," he smirked, as she struggled with him.

"Let her go, Fitzpatrick, she had nothing to do with you going to prison, take me instead!", Rick told him, not taking his eyes off his wife. "Not a chance, Simon, I'm going to enjoy depriving you of your lady, but first I'm going to let her say goodbye to you!" he told him, dragging her over to the two captives.

Fighting to stay calm, Laurie jerked herself free, then threw her arms around Rick. "Darling, I love you, it's ok," she whispered, trying to stealthily untie him. "Laurie, I won't let you go, he replied, as she pretended to sob on his shoulder. "Rick, I've got my transmitter on, just come get me!" she breathed in his ear, feeling the ropes on his wrist loosen. Doing the same for A.J., she felt him squeeze her hand as he said, "We're all right, honey, just stay calm!"

Abruptly Fitzpatrick pulled her away from Rick, then ordered her bound and gagged by the other assailant. As he finished tying her wrists, she heard Rick tell her to drop, then saw him come up off the chair. Elbowing the blond, she dived for the floor, only to hear a gunshot, then see Rick's eyes open wide, then fall backward.

Laurie screamed, "No! Rick, No!" in horror, then a hand came over her mouth. Struggling, she pulled away and tried to go to him, again calling his name. She saw his face, trying to respond, then her captor threw her over his shoulder, and everything went dark.

As A.J. saw his sister-in-law being carried away, the blond haired assailant backed towards the door, then raised his weapon. Frantically, A.J. pulled loose from his restraints, then hurled a chair at the man, causing him to drop the gun. Furious, the younger Simon went after him, only to be knocked down by the man who then fled out the door.

"A.J.", he heard Rick call him, and he whirled and dropped down next to his brother. "Lie still, Rick, I'll call 911, just stay still." he told him. "No, go after them, save Laurie, please!" Rick gasped, as A.J. loosened his collar, then looked to see where he was shot. Suddenly he heard footsteps, then their names being called.

"Call 911, Rick's been shot! "he yelled, seeing Rudy and his nephew rush in. Immediately Robbie grabbed the phone and called for an ambulance, as Rudy knelt next to the older Simon. "Rudy, Fitzpatrick took Laurie, he shot Rick when he tried to stop him then he carried her away!" A.J. said, the reality of the attack hitting him.

"Rick, stay calm, let me see where you were hit," the Doctor choked, seeing the bullet hole in Rick's jacket. Pulling aside the material, he was astonished to see no corresponding hole in his shirt, then pressing gently in the area, discovered only a broken rib, no entry wounds.

"A.J. are you sure Rick was shot, it looks like there's no bullet in him." Rudy was confused, then feeling the chest pocket of Rick's jacket, found something hard inside. Putting his hand in, he pulled out a small pin in the shape of a shield, with a flattened bullet sticking out of the pin.

"Rudy, what is it, is he all right?" A.J. asked, seeing his brother trying to sit up.

"Rick, I don't believe it, this pin saved your life, son. You have a broken rib or two, but I think you're going to be ok. Now we have to find out where that killer took Laurie." Rudy answered.

Tears came to Rick's eyes as the paramedics arrived. Grabbing his son's arm, he told him, "We've got to find your mom, that monster's going to torture her!" "Easy, Pop, I'll call in an APB, but there's something you should know." Robbie answered, then told him about the lack of a location finder.

"No, oh, no, we've got to get it turned on, please, Rudy!" Rick was beside himself. Rudy placed a hand on him as he said, "I'll call the Secretary myself, Oscar should be here in a little while, we'll get the connection reset. You won't do her any good to hurt yourself over this, let me get you and A.J. to the hospital and we'll get started tracking Laurie, all right?"

In too much pain to argue, Rick stared at their friend, then nodded. Helping strap Rick to the gurney, Rudy insisted A.J. accompany his brother in the ambulance, then had Robbie call his aunt and grandma to meet them at the hospital.

Turning on his portable transmitter, Robbie encountered nothing but static then started to receive a faint signal from Oscar. Filling him in about the attack on Rick and Laurie's abduction, he heard his uncle's fury, especially at his mom's being dragged off having seen her husband shot.

"Robbie, call Captain Ron and then meet me at Terminal 5 in 15 minutes, I'm going to call the Secretary and order that locator beam reattached. Don't worry, son, we'll find her if it's the last thing I do!" he told him.

"Thanks, Uncle Oscar, I know we will, just in case I'm going to keep my transmitter on for when Mom can talk and tell us where she is." Robbie replied. Starting to exit the office, he stopped to pick up his mother's purse, then fighting back tears, grabbed his transmitter and left.