Chapter 3
"Payback" the voice repeated, then a horrible sound like laughing was heard on the tape. Rick fumed inwardly as he saw how it made his wife cringe.
"I'm sorry, Laurie, I won't play that again, sweetheart!" He told her, leaning over and kissing her. He was having a bad time controlling his anger, just after he had come home Doug Sherman had called, not only had he gotten one of the "Payback" calls, but his tires had been slashed and a cherry bomb had been put in his mailbox. Fortunately an alert mailman had seen a man matching Bobby Johnson's description putting it in and had called the police, now an APB was out on the hapless stooge. Sherman was a strong man, but he was really on edge when he called. Now having listened to the sickening tape, Rick knew Reiner wasn't playing with a full deck. What would he do next, and to whom? At that moment he felt a hand tug on his arm, then he managed a smile as he sat down on the living room sofa next to his wife.
Laurie snuggled closer to him on the sofa, then meeting his eyes, said "it's all right, that weasel Reiner underestimated the Simon brothers! By the time you and A.J. press charges, he'll wish he'd never left San Diego, let alone threatened us!" Smiling at her fierce expression, Rick kissed her neck as she melted against him. "My brave girl, such a tiger, no one's going to mess with us!" he teased.
"This tiger has no claws when you kiss me there, darling," she breathed, then sighed when he nuzzled her throat then her lips. The phone rang, causing both husband and wife to moan in unison, then Laurie giggled as Rick swiped at the receiver.
"Simon Residence", he growled, then his eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice on the other end.
"Tell me, Rick, how would you like to be the hunted instead of the hunter, you don't know where I'm going to be next, do you? Here's a dare, why don't you meet me like a man and we'll slug it out, mano y mano, so to speak?" the bully taunted.
"I wouldn't dirty my hands with your sweat, let alone walk into a trap, Reiner!" Rick returned, wanting to strangle Reiner. "I dare you, coward, you meet me in the parking lot of your office in one hour or you're nothing but a big mouthed blowhard!" he returned, then hung up.
"You're on!" Rick yelled into the phone, then hung up, breathing hard. Getting up from the sofa, he started for the bedroom to fetch his gun. "Rick, what's going on, where are you going?" Laurie followed him then gasped to see him putting his gun in his shoulder holster then buckling it on .
"Oh, no, Rick, don't! It's a trap, please don't fall for his dare, please!", she asked, then realized he wasn't listening. "Rick, darling, you promised Captain Ron you wouldn't leave. Reiner's just waiting for you to come, he'll have you arrested and they'll take you away from me!"
He finally glanced at her. "Laurie, I have to go, he's called me out and if I don't go, he'll have even more incentive to come after one of you!" Getting his jacket, he turned to find his wife standing in front of him.
"Rick, you don't understand, I won't have you to protect me. I trust Oscar and A.J. and Robbie, but they're not you, I don't feel as safe with them as I do with you! Please Rick, I'm asking you, don't leave!" Laurie begged.
"Laurie, I told you I have to go, I'll call Oscar and Robbie and have them come over, you'll be all right! I can't let Reiner intimidate me!" Rick replied to her, uncomfortable at the thought of her being alone. Her next sentence brought him up short as he pulled on his jacket and walked to the door. She ran in front of him, then blocking his way, told him, "You loved me enough, darling, to spend hours searching for me in the ocean, you found me and took care of me when I was in a dark cave and scared. You even took a bullet for me, please don't leave me just so you can prove yourself to this maniac!"
Seeing in his face that he was set on going, she stepped away from the door, then lifting her eyes to his face, whispered, "I love you, Rick." Ashamed, Rick went to the door and opened it, then realized that he was doing something he'd thought he'd never do; leave his wife when she needed him to stay.
He closed the door and turned around, only to see her standing in the same place with her head bowed.
Rick put his arms around her and as she turned her head, startled, he said "I love you, Laurie, I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry!"
"Rick, oh, darling, you didn't, you couldn't hurt me ever, only worry me something awful!", she cried, kissing his face as he cuddled her to his chest. Returning her kisses, Rick led Laurie to the sofa and pulled her into his embrace. "My precious love, I will never leave you frightened or upset, you are more important to me then anything in the world!" he promised her.
'Oh, I love you, Rick! You say the most beautiful things." she softly told him, putting her face against his. He stroked her cheek, then saw it was past dinnertime. "Darlin', why don't I go get us some eggs, how does an omelet sound?"
"You have the best ideas, my love! Let me start the bacon and tea while you get the eggs!" she returned with a smile.
They had already done the dishes and were settling down to watch a movie when the phone rang. Preparing to listen to more taunting from Reiner, Rick was surprised to find Captain Ron on the line. "Rick?" Shaking his head, the older Simon replied, "Still here, though I got a call from Stu Reiner, he issued a challenge. He dared me to go fight him in our office parking lot!"
"I'm glad you didn't go for it, my friend." the policeman admitted. "I just got a call from Reiner, saying that you were outside his door and were harassing him. I knew it was fake, but I've got stuff on him now! I"ll have him picked up for filing a false report!". Breathing a sigh of relief, Rick made his goodbyes to Captain Ron, then put an arm around his wife. "I owe you a forfeit for being right!" he admitted, then felt her lips on his neck. "My reward is you being here, I had such a bad feeling about that phone call from Reiner. He used to dare people to get them into trouble in school and then run and hide behind his father's money." Laurie added, leaning against him..
"I remember, sweetheart. I should have thought about it before worrying you like that. No, we'll let Captain Ron and Abby take the lead on this; especially since they have the threat against Doug Sherman to add now!" Rick said, kissing her lips. "Now, where were we when we were interrupted?" "Nothing wrong with continuing this!" she whispered, meeting his mouth with hers again.
The next morning, Rick woke with the phone ringing, then an uneasy feeling; like something was wrong but he couldn't tell what. Turning over, he saw that Laurie was already up, then he had a flash of panic from her. He was already up and moving when he heard his name "Rick!"
Coming into the kitchen, he saw her, ashen-faced, holding the receiver in her hand. "Robin, answer me honey!", she said. Handing him the phone, she told him "It's Robin, something's wrong. She heard someone in the kitchens when she came into work, but no one else is supposed to be there. Robin called security, then Robbie, and went to meet them at the kitchen door, now she's not answering!"
Rick took the phone from her, then listening intently, heard steps coming closer to the phone, then someone saying one word, "Payback" then a click.
"Robin!", he called, hearing nothing but a dial tone. Quickly dialing the hotel security line, he got a hold of the chief officer, finding that he had sent the two men on duty to search for Robin. Arranging to meet with him, the security officer also alerted him to the fact that Robbie had just arrived, and was already in the kitchens. "Thanks Chief, my wife and I will be there in as soon as possible. Did you contact Phoenix P.D.?"
"No, sir, but I believe your son may have, I'll wait until he comes back to ask." the man replied.
Hanging up, Rick pulled on some clothes as Laurie dialed first Oscar then A.J. and filled them in on Robin's disappearance. Both men immediately said they'd meet them at the hotel, then Oscar got on the phone with Rick. "I know we can't leave Laurie home alone, but when we get to the hotel, I want her to stay with one of us at all times!" the older man insisted. "I agree, Oscar. Reiner scares me, he'll stop at nothing to get back at us!" Rick told him. A.J. was going out the door practically as they spoke, he'd been on his way to the store when Laurie caught him. "Don't worry, honey, tell Rick I'll wait for him at the back entrance to the hotel, we can use the employee shortcut there!" he reassured her.
Within minutes, Rick and Laurie were speeding toward Phoenix, Rick having turned on his transmitter and spoken with A.J. and Oscar. Getting in touch with Captain Ron, Rick had a sinking feeling as the policeman acknowledged a call by Robbie for back up, but no response since. Arriving at Heritage Hotel, Rick pulled in next to A.J. and Oscar right behind him. As they got out, the chief of security for the hotel came to meet them. "Mr. Simon, Mrs. Simon, I'm James Lopez, I spoke with you earlier. We've had no luck in locating your daughter, and unfortunately, your son hasn't returned either."
Rick shook his head as Laurie tightened her grip on his hand. "That isn't like my son. Something must have happened and I'm afraid I may know who's behind their disappearance." "Yes, Mr. Simon, Captain Johnson from Phoenix P.D. mentioned an APB is out on a Stu Reiner. Unfortunately, we've identified a car in our lot as belonging to him; it's still here so we may have him in the hotel. Let me show you our layout and you can start your search from there." Lopez added.
As the group entered the employee entrance to the hotel, a popping noise was heard and all the lights went out. Startled, the security chief pulled out his radio and called the main desk, only to find out the outage was confined to the lower level of the hotel. Ordering the emergency generators on, Lopez grabbed a couple of flashlights and led the way to the kitchens.
Just as they reached the door to the hospitality department, a low level of lights went on, and the security chief was able to key in the code to enter the area. Once inside, Lopez called out for his men, but except for the noise of the generator, there was no reply. Laurie suddenly had a flash, then "saw" her children inside one of the walk-in freezers.
"Rick! Robin, Robbie, they're in one of these!" she indicated the refrigerator area. Not questioning her, he went toward the cases and started opening doors. "Robbie, Robin!" he called, then a thumping was heard from the end of the room. "That's the freezers!" Lopez responded, as Rick told his wife, "Stay here, darlin'." then followed the other searchers to the meat lockers. Abruptly, she heard a noise from the door nearest her, so she opened it and gasped, seeing her son and daughter tied up inside. "Rick!" she called, rushing inside and pulling off the tape off the mouth of first Robbie then Robin. "No, Mom, it's a trap!" Robbie blurted, then as Laurie turned, something hit her and she fell forward.
"Laurie!", Rick whirled and responded when he heard her call. Turning from the open freezer where the two missing security guards were being freed, he ran back to where he'd left his wife, only to see his son struggling to free himself. "Pop, he's got Mom!" Robbie yelled, as Rick bent over and untied him. "Untie your sister and stay here!", he told his son, then calling for A.J., raced out the door and toward the exit. Just as they reached the back door, they saw a van screeching away, then Rick felt Laurie calling to him on her transmitter. "Rick! Reiner grabbed me, please hurry!" Terrified, he managed tell her it would be all right, he was coming. "A.J., Reiner's got her, we've got to follow him!" he told his brother, just then Oscar and the security chief joined them, assisting Robbie and Robin out of the building. "Are you two all right, did he hurt you?" Rick asked them anxiously, seeing a cut on his son's forehead.
"Just woozy, Pop, that Reiner hit me and when I came to he had me with Robin in that storage locker. I heard you call then when Mom opened the door he hit her from behind and carried her away!" his son answered. Robin started to sob in Oscar's arms, "He said he wants Mom for himself, Pop, he dragged me in the locker and made me call Robbie's name! I told him he wasn't the man you were and he hit me! "
"It's all right honey, we'll get her back!" Rick told her, furious, then looking at his transmitter told his brother, "I think they're going out of the city, we've got to hurry!"
Asking Captain Ron to get his children to the hospital, Rick and A.J. climbed into Rick's truck as Oscar told them, "Set your transmitters to 715.5, and tell me the minute you hear from Laurie or know where she's at! I'll call Rudy and have him meet us!"
Speeding in the direction of the transmitter arrow, Rick heard Laurie call him again. "Darlin' I'm coming, Robbie and Robin are safe, where are you?" he asked.
"Rick, he's taking me to the airport, oh, hurry, he's going to take off to San Diego!", she answered, scared. Feeling her panic, Rick tried to calm her as he made a wide turn and headed toward the Phoenix airport. Relaying their destination to Oscar, he got a signal from Captain Ron.
"Ron, Laurie says Reiner's taking her to the airport, Rick's using Ghost Mountain Road, it'll take us to the private plane hangers!" A.J. reported, then the captain replied "I've got Reiner senior with me, he says he'll tell us which hanger his son is headed to if we promise not to hurt him!"
"If he does anything to my wife, he's dead, and so's the old man, so he'd better tell you where they are!" Rick came back angrily. After a moment, Ron came back on. "Go to hanger 15, right when you enter the back gate you turn left, it's on the second row of hangers. He says there's a back door, key's on the hook under the hanger number."
As Rick drove onto the grounds, they spied police cars coming in on silent status through the front gate. Abruptly he heard voices on his watch, as evidently Laurie had managed to leave it on a send status on her transmitter.
Reiner's voice was overheard arguing with Bobby Johnson, "We're taking off now, I'm not waiting for the old man! The sooner I get Laurie where I can persuade her to be with me, the better!"
"She'll never go for it, man! If she knew you're the one who told Herman she was going to the police about him, she'd kill you!" Johnson whined. Enraged, Rick gunned the truck to the back of the hangers, then started to bolt out of the truck. "Wait a minute, Rick, wait!" A.J. grabbed his arm, causing his brother to stop, eyes blazing. "Oscar's almost here, so's Ron. He'll kill her if you just rush in, Rick, so just wait a moment!"
Breathing hard, Rick stared at him. "A.J., I'm not going to wait, you take the front and I'll go in the back. Wait until I get in position, then count ten and in!"
Nodding, his brother watched him exit the truck, then slip around the back of the building, stopping at the storage unit marked "Number 15". Under the metal number plate, Rick found a key, so quietly he unlocked the door, then listening for any noises, slipped in. Hearing a man's voice, he edged his way through a darkened office, then stopped at a rear door which was partially open. Peering inside, he saw Laurie on the floor of the hanger, her wrists and ankles bound and a piece of tape across her mouth.
She was staring up at a thin, pale man, as he held up a syringe in front of her. "See this, Miss Laurie, this is your key to life! I'm going to shoot you up every day until you agree to go with me to the high school reunion! " Laurie shook her head at her attacker, then Rick saw her eyes widen as he leaned down toward her. "No, well maybe I'd better give you a taste!"
"Payback" the voice repeated, then a horrible sound like laughing was heard on the tape. Rick fumed inwardly as he saw how it made his wife cringe.
"I'm sorry, Laurie, I won't play that again, sweetheart!" He told her, leaning over and kissing her. He was having a bad time controlling his anger, just after he had come home Doug Sherman had called, not only had he gotten one of the "Payback" calls, but his tires had been slashed and a cherry bomb had been put in his mailbox. Fortunately an alert mailman had seen a man matching Bobby Johnson's description putting it in and had called the police, now an APB was out on the hapless stooge. Sherman was a strong man, but he was really on edge when he called. Now having listened to the sickening tape, Rick knew Reiner wasn't playing with a full deck. What would he do next, and to whom? At that moment he felt a hand tug on his arm, then he managed a smile as he sat down on the living room sofa next to his wife.
Laurie snuggled closer to him on the sofa, then meeting his eyes, said "it's all right, that weasel Reiner underestimated the Simon brothers! By the time you and A.J. press charges, he'll wish he'd never left San Diego, let alone threatened us!" Smiling at her fierce expression, Rick kissed her neck as she melted against him. "My brave girl, such a tiger, no one's going to mess with us!" he teased.
"This tiger has no claws when you kiss me there, darling," she breathed, then sighed when he nuzzled her throat then her lips. The phone rang, causing both husband and wife to moan in unison, then Laurie giggled as Rick swiped at the receiver.
"Simon Residence", he growled, then his eyes narrowed as he recognized the voice on the other end.
"Tell me, Rick, how would you like to be the hunted instead of the hunter, you don't know where I'm going to be next, do you? Here's a dare, why don't you meet me like a man and we'll slug it out, mano y mano, so to speak?" the bully taunted.
"I wouldn't dirty my hands with your sweat, let alone walk into a trap, Reiner!" Rick returned, wanting to strangle Reiner. "I dare you, coward, you meet me in the parking lot of your office in one hour or you're nothing but a big mouthed blowhard!" he returned, then hung up.
"You're on!" Rick yelled into the phone, then hung up, breathing hard. Getting up from the sofa, he started for the bedroom to fetch his gun. "Rick, what's going on, where are you going?" Laurie followed him then gasped to see him putting his gun in his shoulder holster then buckling it on .
"Oh, no, Rick, don't! It's a trap, please don't fall for his dare, please!", she asked, then realized he wasn't listening. "Rick, darling, you promised Captain Ron you wouldn't leave. Reiner's just waiting for you to come, he'll have you arrested and they'll take you away from me!"
He finally glanced at her. "Laurie, I have to go, he's called me out and if I don't go, he'll have even more incentive to come after one of you!" Getting his jacket, he turned to find his wife standing in front of him.
"Rick, you don't understand, I won't have you to protect me. I trust Oscar and A.J. and Robbie, but they're not you, I don't feel as safe with them as I do with you! Please Rick, I'm asking you, don't leave!" Laurie begged.
"Laurie, I told you I have to go, I'll call Oscar and Robbie and have them come over, you'll be all right! I can't let Reiner intimidate me!" Rick replied to her, uncomfortable at the thought of her being alone. Her next sentence brought him up short as he pulled on his jacket and walked to the door. She ran in front of him, then blocking his way, told him, "You loved me enough, darling, to spend hours searching for me in the ocean, you found me and took care of me when I was in a dark cave and scared. You even took a bullet for me, please don't leave me just so you can prove yourself to this maniac!"
Seeing in his face that he was set on going, she stepped away from the door, then lifting her eyes to his face, whispered, "I love you, Rick." Ashamed, Rick went to the door and opened it, then realized that he was doing something he'd thought he'd never do; leave his wife when she needed him to stay.
He closed the door and turned around, only to see her standing in the same place with her head bowed.
Rick put his arms around her and as she turned her head, startled, he said "I love you, Laurie, I never meant to hurt you. I'm sorry!"
"Rick, oh, darling, you didn't, you couldn't hurt me ever, only worry me something awful!", she cried, kissing his face as he cuddled her to his chest. Returning her kisses, Rick led Laurie to the sofa and pulled her into his embrace. "My precious love, I will never leave you frightened or upset, you are more important to me then anything in the world!" he promised her.
'Oh, I love you, Rick! You say the most beautiful things." she softly told him, putting her face against his. He stroked her cheek, then saw it was past dinnertime. "Darlin', why don't I go get us some eggs, how does an omelet sound?"
"You have the best ideas, my love! Let me start the bacon and tea while you get the eggs!" she returned with a smile.
They had already done the dishes and were settling down to watch a movie when the phone rang. Preparing to listen to more taunting from Reiner, Rick was surprised to find Captain Ron on the line. "Rick?" Shaking his head, the older Simon replied, "Still here, though I got a call from Stu Reiner, he issued a challenge. He dared me to go fight him in our office parking lot!"
"I'm glad you didn't go for it, my friend." the policeman admitted. "I just got a call from Reiner, saying that you were outside his door and were harassing him. I knew it was fake, but I've got stuff on him now! I"ll have him picked up for filing a false report!". Breathing a sigh of relief, Rick made his goodbyes to Captain Ron, then put an arm around his wife. "I owe you a forfeit for being right!" he admitted, then felt her lips on his neck. "My reward is you being here, I had such a bad feeling about that phone call from Reiner. He used to dare people to get them into trouble in school and then run and hide behind his father's money." Laurie added, leaning against him..
"I remember, sweetheart. I should have thought about it before worrying you like that. No, we'll let Captain Ron and Abby take the lead on this; especially since they have the threat against Doug Sherman to add now!" Rick said, kissing her lips. "Now, where were we when we were interrupted?" "Nothing wrong with continuing this!" she whispered, meeting his mouth with hers again.
The next morning, Rick woke with the phone ringing, then an uneasy feeling; like something was wrong but he couldn't tell what. Turning over, he saw that Laurie was already up, then he had a flash of panic from her. He was already up and moving when he heard his name "Rick!"
Coming into the kitchen, he saw her, ashen-faced, holding the receiver in her hand. "Robin, answer me honey!", she said. Handing him the phone, she told him "It's Robin, something's wrong. She heard someone in the kitchens when she came into work, but no one else is supposed to be there. Robin called security, then Robbie, and went to meet them at the kitchen door, now she's not answering!"
Rick took the phone from her, then listening intently, heard steps coming closer to the phone, then someone saying one word, "Payback" then a click.
"Robin!", he called, hearing nothing but a dial tone. Quickly dialing the hotel security line, he got a hold of the chief officer, finding that he had sent the two men on duty to search for Robin. Arranging to meet with him, the security officer also alerted him to the fact that Robbie had just arrived, and was already in the kitchens. "Thanks Chief, my wife and I will be there in as soon as possible. Did you contact Phoenix P.D.?"
"No, sir, but I believe your son may have, I'll wait until he comes back to ask." the man replied.
Hanging up, Rick pulled on some clothes as Laurie dialed first Oscar then A.J. and filled them in on Robin's disappearance. Both men immediately said they'd meet them at the hotel, then Oscar got on the phone with Rick. "I know we can't leave Laurie home alone, but when we get to the hotel, I want her to stay with one of us at all times!" the older man insisted. "I agree, Oscar. Reiner scares me, he'll stop at nothing to get back at us!" Rick told him. A.J. was going out the door practically as they spoke, he'd been on his way to the store when Laurie caught him. "Don't worry, honey, tell Rick I'll wait for him at the back entrance to the hotel, we can use the employee shortcut there!" he reassured her.
Within minutes, Rick and Laurie were speeding toward Phoenix, Rick having turned on his transmitter and spoken with A.J. and Oscar. Getting in touch with Captain Ron, Rick had a sinking feeling as the policeman acknowledged a call by Robbie for back up, but no response since. Arriving at Heritage Hotel, Rick pulled in next to A.J. and Oscar right behind him. As they got out, the chief of security for the hotel came to meet them. "Mr. Simon, Mrs. Simon, I'm James Lopez, I spoke with you earlier. We've had no luck in locating your daughter, and unfortunately, your son hasn't returned either."
Rick shook his head as Laurie tightened her grip on his hand. "That isn't like my son. Something must have happened and I'm afraid I may know who's behind their disappearance." "Yes, Mr. Simon, Captain Johnson from Phoenix P.D. mentioned an APB is out on a Stu Reiner. Unfortunately, we've identified a car in our lot as belonging to him; it's still here so we may have him in the hotel. Let me show you our layout and you can start your search from there." Lopez added.
As the group entered the employee entrance to the hotel, a popping noise was heard and all the lights went out. Startled, the security chief pulled out his radio and called the main desk, only to find out the outage was confined to the lower level of the hotel. Ordering the emergency generators on, Lopez grabbed a couple of flashlights and led the way to the kitchens.
Just as they reached the door to the hospitality department, a low level of lights went on, and the security chief was able to key in the code to enter the area. Once inside, Lopez called out for his men, but except for the noise of the generator, there was no reply. Laurie suddenly had a flash, then "saw" her children inside one of the walk-in freezers.
"Rick! Robin, Robbie, they're in one of these!" she indicated the refrigerator area. Not questioning her, he went toward the cases and started opening doors. "Robbie, Robin!" he called, then a thumping was heard from the end of the room. "That's the freezers!" Lopez responded, as Rick told his wife, "Stay here, darlin'." then followed the other searchers to the meat lockers. Abruptly, she heard a noise from the door nearest her, so she opened it and gasped, seeing her son and daughter tied up inside. "Rick!" she called, rushing inside and pulling off the tape off the mouth of first Robbie then Robin. "No, Mom, it's a trap!" Robbie blurted, then as Laurie turned, something hit her and she fell forward.
"Laurie!", Rick whirled and responded when he heard her call. Turning from the open freezer where the two missing security guards were being freed, he ran back to where he'd left his wife, only to see his son struggling to free himself. "Pop, he's got Mom!" Robbie yelled, as Rick bent over and untied him. "Untie your sister and stay here!", he told his son, then calling for A.J., raced out the door and toward the exit. Just as they reached the back door, they saw a van screeching away, then Rick felt Laurie calling to him on her transmitter. "Rick! Reiner grabbed me, please hurry!" Terrified, he managed tell her it would be all right, he was coming. "A.J., Reiner's got her, we've got to follow him!" he told his brother, just then Oscar and the security chief joined them, assisting Robbie and Robin out of the building. "Are you two all right, did he hurt you?" Rick asked them anxiously, seeing a cut on his son's forehead.
"Just woozy, Pop, that Reiner hit me and when I came to he had me with Robin in that storage locker. I heard you call then when Mom opened the door he hit her from behind and carried her away!" his son answered. Robin started to sob in Oscar's arms, "He said he wants Mom for himself, Pop, he dragged me in the locker and made me call Robbie's name! I told him he wasn't the man you were and he hit me! "
"It's all right honey, we'll get her back!" Rick told her, furious, then looking at his transmitter told his brother, "I think they're going out of the city, we've got to hurry!"
Asking Captain Ron to get his children to the hospital, Rick and A.J. climbed into Rick's truck as Oscar told them, "Set your transmitters to 715.5, and tell me the minute you hear from Laurie or know where she's at! I'll call Rudy and have him meet us!"
Speeding in the direction of the transmitter arrow, Rick heard Laurie call him again. "Darlin' I'm coming, Robbie and Robin are safe, where are you?" he asked.
"Rick, he's taking me to the airport, oh, hurry, he's going to take off to San Diego!", she answered, scared. Feeling her panic, Rick tried to calm her as he made a wide turn and headed toward the Phoenix airport. Relaying their destination to Oscar, he got a signal from Captain Ron.
"Ron, Laurie says Reiner's taking her to the airport, Rick's using Ghost Mountain Road, it'll take us to the private plane hangers!" A.J. reported, then the captain replied "I've got Reiner senior with me, he says he'll tell us which hanger his son is headed to if we promise not to hurt him!"
"If he does anything to my wife, he's dead, and so's the old man, so he'd better tell you where they are!" Rick came back angrily. After a moment, Ron came back on. "Go to hanger 15, right when you enter the back gate you turn left, it's on the second row of hangers. He says there's a back door, key's on the hook under the hanger number."
As Rick drove onto the grounds, they spied police cars coming in on silent status through the front gate. Abruptly he heard voices on his watch, as evidently Laurie had managed to leave it on a send status on her transmitter.
Reiner's voice was overheard arguing with Bobby Johnson, "We're taking off now, I'm not waiting for the old man! The sooner I get Laurie where I can persuade her to be with me, the better!"
"She'll never go for it, man! If she knew you're the one who told Herman she was going to the police about him, she'd kill you!" Johnson whined. Enraged, Rick gunned the truck to the back of the hangers, then started to bolt out of the truck. "Wait a minute, Rick, wait!" A.J. grabbed his arm, causing his brother to stop, eyes blazing. "Oscar's almost here, so's Ron. He'll kill her if you just rush in, Rick, so just wait a moment!"
Breathing hard, Rick stared at him. "A.J., I'm not going to wait, you take the front and I'll go in the back. Wait until I get in position, then count ten and in!"
Nodding, his brother watched him exit the truck, then slip around the back of the building, stopping at the storage unit marked "Number 15". Under the metal number plate, Rick found a key, so quietly he unlocked the door, then listening for any noises, slipped in. Hearing a man's voice, he edged his way through a darkened office, then stopped at a rear door which was partially open. Peering inside, he saw Laurie on the floor of the hanger, her wrists and ankles bound and a piece of tape across her mouth.
She was staring up at a thin, pale man, as he held up a syringe in front of her. "See this, Miss Laurie, this is your key to life! I'm going to shoot you up every day until you agree to go with me to the high school reunion! " Laurie shook her head at her attacker, then Rick saw her eyes widen as he leaned down toward her. "No, well maybe I'd better give you a taste!"