Chapter 3
Oscar frantically yelled "Laurie! Let her go, Carr!" then tried to run after the truck, only to be grabbed by Father Nick. "Oscar, we'll never catch up to him on foot, get your keys!"
Racing back into the house, Oscar grabbed his jacket and keys, then grabbed his gun from the weapons rack and loaded a clip into the weapon. Remembering to lock the door behind him, he raced to his car, only to see Father Nick holding a paper in his hand.
"Oscar, Carr must have dropped this for you to find." he said quietly. It was a picture of an unconscious Rick, with the words, "don't follow or they're both dead- I'll find you."
The big man swore, then eyes blazing, told his friend, "Nick, he's gone too far-I won't give into him, I'll kill him first!"
"We'll find Rick and Laurie, Oscar, but we need help-doesn't Laurie have her watch on?" Father Nick asked, steering him into the sedan. "Yes, she always wears it and her pendant, I'll switch them on now-we can follow her that way! Let me call Captain Ron and see if Rick dropped A.J. off before he was taken."
As Oscar drove, Father Nick adjusted Oscar's transmitter until it gave off the coordinates of Laurie's transmitter, then put the speaker feature on and the big man called into Phoenix P.D. Captain Ron answered almost immediately, then was shocked into silence by the news of both Rick and Laurie's abductions.
"Rick only left here an hour ago, Carr can't have taken him far. A.J.'s all right, someone drained his car battery and then ambushed him and locked him in his trunk. Rick got him out then dropped him at home. That maniac left a note with a picture of Laurie next to A.J.'s car; it said, "She's next." the Captain added.
"Damn it, Ron, he's been able to guess every move we've made, we've got to find him!" Oscar yelled, then calmed down when he realized the coordinates of Laurie's transmitter had stopped. Reading them off to the policeman, they were able to pinpoint the location as near the Cayman Airbase, located near a series of caverns outside of Phoenix.
"You and Father head there, but stay back, don't let him spot you. I'll get Rudy from A.J.'s and meet you there." Ron ordered, then said, quietly, "Sorry, Oscar, I didn't mean to bark at you."
"It's all right, pal, I'm pretty upset right now myself. Nick says Laurie just lit up when she thought Rick was home safe, I should have warned her not to go outside for any reason! She was calling out for Rick when Carr took her, I'm afraid what he's going to do to my girl!" Oscar said emotionally.
"We'll find them both, I promise you, Oscar, I'll see you in a few minutes!" Captain Ron told him firmly.
15 minutes later, three cars rendezvoused at the entrance to a former airbase, now home to location filming by local film crews. As Oscar and Father Nick arrived, they discovered that Robbie Simon had accompanied Captain Ron, along with Rudy Wells and Chief Joseph. Finding the formerly padlocked entrance ajar, the men were stopped short by the small item Oscar picked up at the entrance-Laurie's watch.
"Oh, no." Robbie's face went pale, then Rudy gripped his arm. "Son, it's all right, your mom's probably got her pendant on, plus your dad should have his watch on, I don't think Carr knows about either of those!"
Oscar gritted his teeth, "You're right, Rudy, let me re-set the transmitter to those frequencies." As he did so, the directional beacon indicated the signal ended underneath the base. "Oscar, I think Carr must be holed up in the basement offices of that building, there should be some plans available in one of the offices on site." Chief Joseph looked at the coordinates being given off, then frowned. "We will have a problem, my friends, if Carr took Rick and Light into the caverns. There is too much metal in the rock to allow any communications, I'm just sorry Steve is not yet home."
"I know, I got a hold of Jaime, but he won't be able to catch a flight until this afternoon." Rudy sighed, then jumped as a voice issued from Laurie's watch.
"Oscar, Oscar Goldman, if you're listening, you know who I've got." Allen Carr's nasal tone sounded.
Oscar picked up his transmitter. "Yes I do, Carr, and if you harm either of them, you'll think prison was a party!"
There was a pause, then sarcastic laughter. "You'll never get me back in there, 'cause I know what you'll do to get your girl and Simon back. You're going to come to me, or else I'm going to bury them alive!"
Red with anger, Oscar had to take a deep breath, then he suddenly calmed down. "All right, Carr, but first I want to know they're not hurt. I want to talk to Laurie and Rick, then we'll deal."
"Of course, I wouldn't hurt Mrs. Simon for the world; her husband's got a mouth, but I'll let you talk to both of them. Be at the gate to the Cayman Airbase in 30 minutes, and I'll let you speak to them. Come alone, or they're both dead." the ex-con responded, then the signal cut off.
Turning the transmission off, Oscar looked relieved as Father Nick said, "At least he doesn't know we're here, now if we can just avoid being seen, we can get inside while he's occupied talking to Oscar."
The other four men turned to look at him, as Robbie mustered a grin. "Father, are you sure you weren't a cop or secret agent yourself?"
"Better, I was a commando during the Korean War, never thought it would come back to me so easily." he admitted. "Okay, then that's what we'll do." Oscar said. Nick, you and Ron try to get into the site offices to get a map to the place, then come back outside and meet up with Joe to figure out where Laurie and Rick are being held. Robbie, I want you to go with Joe to see if there's another way into the complex. Rudy'll back up me up, just in case Carr tries to pull something."
The others nodded, and Captain Ron added, "If you hear anything, try to pinpoint the location then take cover, I don't want Carr picking us off."
As the others split up, Robbie noticed his transmitter picked up Carr's signal, prompting a grin from Oscar. "Good thing you brought that, son, now we've got his trail!"
As the others moved through the gate and disappeared in the semi-darkness, a silent figure appeared behind the doctor as he somberly looked at Laurie's watch. "Our girl'll be really upset when she misses her watch."
"We'll find them, I promise you, Rudy." Oscar said, then started to shout, "No!"
While the search began, Rick saw that Laurie realized what had happened. "Rick, thank God you're all right!" she said, still groggy. "Darlin', did he hurt you?" he asked, helping her sit up, then was relieved when she shook her head. "No, Rick, but my head hurts something awful. He must have sprayed me with nerve gas, I couldn't move and he dragged me into your truck, oh darling, this is my fault." she choked.
"Oh Laurie, no, no, you didn't do anything wrong. He's been planning this for years, angel." he tried to comfort her. "Rick, it's true, I saw your truck come in, and instead of waiting for Oscar, I ran outside to greet you. I just wanted to see you so bad." she hung her head. "Now I've put Oscar in danger too!"
"Sweetheart, listen to me, this isn't your fault, if you hadn't run outside, he might have burst in and hurt Father Nick or Oscar, just to get to you!" Rick insisted, lifting her face to his. Seeing her eyes still full of tears, he kissed Laurie then cuddled her against him.
"I love you, Rick." she sniffed, trying to smile. Suddenly she got a gleam in her eye, then lifting her arms around him, she whispered, "Darling, do you think you can reach under my top, I've got my little knife inside my bra."
Rick tried not to laugh, only his wife would think of carrying her shiv "just in case". He kissed her neck, then quietly replied "I can, and I will, my naughty girl, but", he kissed her throat, "anything else will have to wait until we get home." Stifling a giggle as he pulled the knife out of the side of her bra, Rick then helped her lift her arms back in front, and slipped the blade into her hands. Quickly she worked on cutting the ropes on his wrists as they both listened for footsteps.
Rick barely had time to slip the knife inside his sleeve and pull Laurie in front of him before the door to their prison opened and a smirking Allen Carr entered. Pushing a disheveled and bleeding Oscar Goldman into the room, Carr then threw him onto the floor in front of Laurie as Rick tensed behind her. "Oscar, what did he do to you!" she gasped, as the big man managed to get onto his knees then reach out to her. Clutching his hands, she stared angrily at their assailant as he laughed. "Look who I found outside, Mrs. Simon, I thought you'd like to see your uncle one more time, before I finish my work!"
"You horrible man, I won't let you hurt him!" she told him with contempt. "You disappoint me, my dear, I thought you'd thank me! Time to separate you from your men!" he gloated, reaching for her.
Laurie shank away from him, "No, don't!" then let out a cry as he jerked her up by her arm as Oscar tried to stop him. Throwing her against the wall; he went to pull the gun from his waist only for Rick to jump to his feet and slug him in the stomach then the face. Slamming into the opposite wall, the gun went flying and Oscar managed to pick it up, then toss it to Rick as Carr tried to rush him.
Rick fired a round into their assailant, sending him to the floor. "Thanks, Oscar, nice toss!" he panted, then untied Oscar's wrists and handed him the gun. "If he moves, well you know what to do!" Rick grinned, then crossed to Laurie and freed her wrists. "Darlin' are you all right?' he asked, seeing her holding her shoulder.
"My arm hurts, Rick, but I'm all right." she replied, then seeing Carr sit up and snake his hand into his jacket, cried, "no, look out!"
Oscar saw him pull the silver tube out of his pocket and aim it toward Rick and Laurie and immediately emptied the gun into the former OSI agent. As he fell lifelessly to the concrete, smoke started to leak out of the device. "Let's get out of here!" Rick yelled, then pulled his wife and Oscar out of the room and shut the door. Abruptly a rumble sounded above them, and they realized the ceiling was crumbling.
"This way!" Oscar said, then led them toward a metal door, only to see the walls start to collapse. Running the other way, they ran toward a darkened hallway then took cover in a side tunnel as the whole area crumbled in front of them. Sheltering against the rock wall, Rick and Oscar huddled over Laurie until the last of the rocks fell, leaving the way out blocked.
As the dust cleared, they were left in darkness, until Rick felt against the wall and discovered an emergency lantern still intact. "Honey, your pendant's on!" Oscar said, as a small light glowed against her shirt. Using its faint beam, Rick located a switch on the lantern and turned it on, lighting the whole area.
"And they call me Light!" Laurie giggled; relieved they wouldn't have to fumble in the dark. Turning the stem on her watch to receive, they listened for voices, but heard only static.
"I pray Rudy's all right, Carr came out of nowhere and knocked him down, then threatened to kill him unless I came with him." Oscar said, worried. "I just hope if Ron wasn't able to raise him, that he or Nick came back to the entrance."
"By the way, Oscar, where are we?" Rick asked, raising the lantern and trying to find another exit.
"The Cayman Airbase, next to the caverns outside of Phoenix. Nick and I traced Laurie's signal to the gate, where we found your watch, honey. Captain Ron and Robbie and Chief Joseph picked up Rudy and met us here, then we split up. They probably aren't that far, these caves aren't too large."
Trying to improve the signal, Rick and Oscar guided Laurie toward the end of the tunnel that seemed to be open. "Ron, Robbie, can you hear us, it's Laurie and Rick and Oscar!" she called. Suddenly the static was replaced by Ron's faint voice. "Laurie, honey, are you in the basement?" "Yes, I think so. Carr's dead, as least I think he's dead, we're in a tunnel, do you have any idea where we are?" she answered, as the guys listened.
"You're in the section of the Cayman Caverns that's under the old airbase, stay where you are, the Chief thinks he knows how to get to you. Can we get in through the basement?" the captain asked. "Negative, Ron." Rick said, carefully pulling the locket toward him to speak. "There was a cave in when Oscar and I shot Carr, the only way out is through the caverns. How far are we from an entrance?"
"About a mile, Rick, but it's too dangerous without light; stay where you are and we'll find you." Chief Joseph then said, then an ominous rumbling sounded again, and Rick told the elder "We can't, the caves crumbling again, we found a lantern, we're going to try to move into the main cavern."
Feeling a few pebbles coming down, Oscar took Laurie's good arm as the three of them practically crawled down a steep path, then picking their way carefully, made it to the level area of a big open area, with stalactites and frozen pyramids of ice interspersed with piles of rocks. Stopping to rest, Rick noticed that she was limping. "Sweetheart, did you hurt your foot?" he asked, then let out a gasp, seeing her torn stockings and cut and bruised feet in the dim light. "Honey, no, why didn't you say something." Oscar quietly said, picking her up and carrying her as Rick lit their path.
"Guys, it's okay, they'll be all right." Laurie tried to reassure them. "Carr took my shoes, but we had to get out of there so fast, I forgot!" Rick sat down on a flat rock, then Oscar put her down next to him, and took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. She looked up at Oscar, then kissed his cheek. Rick put his arms around her and held her against him. "My brave girl, I'm sorry, I should have carried you." he told her.
Laurie put her arms around his neck and kissed him, then softly replied, "You've carried me so much of our life together, Rick, this is one time I would have held us back if you did. Don't worry, when we get home you can carry me over the threshold again."
Oscar smiled as Rick said "I promise, angel." then an echoing voice caught his ear. "Oscar! Rick!"
"Ron! Chief!" Rick hollered back, then a couple of voices responded, coming closer.
"Guys, we hear you! Let us know when you see our light!" the last coming from Father Nick. After a few minutes, they saw a glow coming toward them from around a corner, then three figures stopped, then ran toward them.
"Thank God!" Father Nick reached them first and embraced his friends, then Ron and the Chief, smiling and hugging Oscar and the two Simons. Catching sight of Laurie's injuries, Ron insisted on carrying her, as Father Nick and Chief Joseph helped Rick and the older man stand, then limp out of the cavern.
"Where's Robbie, is Rudy all right?" Oscar asked frantically, then sighed with relief as Father Nick replied reassuringly "Yes, Oscar, he's okay, just scared what Carr was going to do to you three! He's with Robbie at the gate now."
As they came out of the caves, the sky was light in the east, and Laurie saw two weary-looking people at the gate of the airfield. Suddenly she spotted her son, "Robbie! Thank you, Ron for looking out for him!" she gasped.
Rudy had been monitoring their rescue, and as he heard Laurie's voice, he looked at the young deputy.
"Son, they're coming, and boy is your mom happy to see you!" he teased. "Uncle Rudy, no more than I! I'm not letting them out of my sight for at least a week!" he said emphatically.
As the rescue party came to the gate, Robbie emotionally hugged his mother and father, then Oscar. "Honey, what did he do to you?" Rudy asked, having reassured himself that Oscar was all right then seeing Laurie's feet and the awkward way she held her right arm. "Carr took my shoes, Rudy, and we had to get out of the basement room so fast, I didn't think to look for them. He tried to take me from Rick and Dad, then he hurt my arm, but Rick wouldn't let him have me!" she explained, trying not to cry.
"It's all right now, honey." Oscar comforted her. "Carr won't ever hurt you again; Ron and Joe found his body. Rudy thinks the bullets and the nerve gas finished him off!"
Just then an OSI car pulled up, and Gregson got out. Relieved to see his former boss, he shook hands then was heartened to hear that Allen Carr had been taken care of. Getting directions from Captain Ron, the OSI chief had a team go in and retrieve his remains.
As they loaded everyone into the three private cars and the body of Allen Carr into the OSI van, Rudy checked the injuries of all three.
"I'm okay, Rudy, all I want is to go home." Laurie told him in vain as the doctor shook his head. "God knows you guys been through enough, honey!" Rudy insisted.
Winning out, the doctor called ahead on Robbie's transmitter and arranged for Rick and Laurie and Oscar to be checked out at the hospital in Silver Rock.
After a few hours of waiting, Doc came out to Oscar, now wearing a bandage on his forehead, and Robbie and the assorted family and friends waiting.
"They're both very lucky, Oscar." he advised. "Laurie has a severely sprained right shoulder and arm, I've immobilized them and she should stay home for at least a week, it'll take that long for her feet to heal! Rick has a good-sized shiner but no concussion. They both have bad headaches from the aftereffects of the nerve gas, but they'll be all right!"
"Thanks, Doc! I appreciate the heads up, just in case these two try an end run about being cleared to resume their daily routine." Oscar grinned. Just then Rudy helped wheel out Laurie as Rick brought up the rear. "There's my girl!" the big man beamed, then leaned down and kissed her.
"Thanks for finding us, dad." Laurie hugged him with her good arm, then grinned up at her husband, who carried an ice pack for his eye.
"You're welcome, honey, but you and I have to have a little talk, capice?" he looked sternly at her, then laughed as she sighed and nodded.
"Oooh, now Mom's going to get it!" Robbie ragged, then snickered as Rick said "And I'll sell tickets."
Oscar frantically yelled "Laurie! Let her go, Carr!" then tried to run after the truck, only to be grabbed by Father Nick. "Oscar, we'll never catch up to him on foot, get your keys!"
Racing back into the house, Oscar grabbed his jacket and keys, then grabbed his gun from the weapons rack and loaded a clip into the weapon. Remembering to lock the door behind him, he raced to his car, only to see Father Nick holding a paper in his hand.
"Oscar, Carr must have dropped this for you to find." he said quietly. It was a picture of an unconscious Rick, with the words, "don't follow or they're both dead- I'll find you."
The big man swore, then eyes blazing, told his friend, "Nick, he's gone too far-I won't give into him, I'll kill him first!"
"We'll find Rick and Laurie, Oscar, but we need help-doesn't Laurie have her watch on?" Father Nick asked, steering him into the sedan. "Yes, she always wears it and her pendant, I'll switch them on now-we can follow her that way! Let me call Captain Ron and see if Rick dropped A.J. off before he was taken."
As Oscar drove, Father Nick adjusted Oscar's transmitter until it gave off the coordinates of Laurie's transmitter, then put the speaker feature on and the big man called into Phoenix P.D. Captain Ron answered almost immediately, then was shocked into silence by the news of both Rick and Laurie's abductions.
"Rick only left here an hour ago, Carr can't have taken him far. A.J.'s all right, someone drained his car battery and then ambushed him and locked him in his trunk. Rick got him out then dropped him at home. That maniac left a note with a picture of Laurie next to A.J.'s car; it said, "She's next." the Captain added.
"Damn it, Ron, he's been able to guess every move we've made, we've got to find him!" Oscar yelled, then calmed down when he realized the coordinates of Laurie's transmitter had stopped. Reading them off to the policeman, they were able to pinpoint the location as near the Cayman Airbase, located near a series of caverns outside of Phoenix.
"You and Father head there, but stay back, don't let him spot you. I'll get Rudy from A.J.'s and meet you there." Ron ordered, then said, quietly, "Sorry, Oscar, I didn't mean to bark at you."
"It's all right, pal, I'm pretty upset right now myself. Nick says Laurie just lit up when she thought Rick was home safe, I should have warned her not to go outside for any reason! She was calling out for Rick when Carr took her, I'm afraid what he's going to do to my girl!" Oscar said emotionally.
"We'll find them both, I promise you, Oscar, I'll see you in a few minutes!" Captain Ron told him firmly.
15 minutes later, three cars rendezvoused at the entrance to a former airbase, now home to location filming by local film crews. As Oscar and Father Nick arrived, they discovered that Robbie Simon had accompanied Captain Ron, along with Rudy Wells and Chief Joseph. Finding the formerly padlocked entrance ajar, the men were stopped short by the small item Oscar picked up at the entrance-Laurie's watch.
"Oh, no." Robbie's face went pale, then Rudy gripped his arm. "Son, it's all right, your mom's probably got her pendant on, plus your dad should have his watch on, I don't think Carr knows about either of those!"
Oscar gritted his teeth, "You're right, Rudy, let me re-set the transmitter to those frequencies." As he did so, the directional beacon indicated the signal ended underneath the base. "Oscar, I think Carr must be holed up in the basement offices of that building, there should be some plans available in one of the offices on site." Chief Joseph looked at the coordinates being given off, then frowned. "We will have a problem, my friends, if Carr took Rick and Light into the caverns. There is too much metal in the rock to allow any communications, I'm just sorry Steve is not yet home."
"I know, I got a hold of Jaime, but he won't be able to catch a flight until this afternoon." Rudy sighed, then jumped as a voice issued from Laurie's watch.
"Oscar, Oscar Goldman, if you're listening, you know who I've got." Allen Carr's nasal tone sounded.
Oscar picked up his transmitter. "Yes I do, Carr, and if you harm either of them, you'll think prison was a party!"
There was a pause, then sarcastic laughter. "You'll never get me back in there, 'cause I know what you'll do to get your girl and Simon back. You're going to come to me, or else I'm going to bury them alive!"
Red with anger, Oscar had to take a deep breath, then he suddenly calmed down. "All right, Carr, but first I want to know they're not hurt. I want to talk to Laurie and Rick, then we'll deal."
"Of course, I wouldn't hurt Mrs. Simon for the world; her husband's got a mouth, but I'll let you talk to both of them. Be at the gate to the Cayman Airbase in 30 minutes, and I'll let you speak to them. Come alone, or they're both dead." the ex-con responded, then the signal cut off.
Turning the transmission off, Oscar looked relieved as Father Nick said, "At least he doesn't know we're here, now if we can just avoid being seen, we can get inside while he's occupied talking to Oscar."
The other four men turned to look at him, as Robbie mustered a grin. "Father, are you sure you weren't a cop or secret agent yourself?"
"Better, I was a commando during the Korean War, never thought it would come back to me so easily." he admitted. "Okay, then that's what we'll do." Oscar said. Nick, you and Ron try to get into the site offices to get a map to the place, then come back outside and meet up with Joe to figure out where Laurie and Rick are being held. Robbie, I want you to go with Joe to see if there's another way into the complex. Rudy'll back up me up, just in case Carr tries to pull something."
The others nodded, and Captain Ron added, "If you hear anything, try to pinpoint the location then take cover, I don't want Carr picking us off."
As the others split up, Robbie noticed his transmitter picked up Carr's signal, prompting a grin from Oscar. "Good thing you brought that, son, now we've got his trail!"
As the others moved through the gate and disappeared in the semi-darkness, a silent figure appeared behind the doctor as he somberly looked at Laurie's watch. "Our girl'll be really upset when she misses her watch."
"We'll find them, I promise you, Rudy." Oscar said, then started to shout, "No!"
While the search began, Rick saw that Laurie realized what had happened. "Rick, thank God you're all right!" she said, still groggy. "Darlin', did he hurt you?" he asked, helping her sit up, then was relieved when she shook her head. "No, Rick, but my head hurts something awful. He must have sprayed me with nerve gas, I couldn't move and he dragged me into your truck, oh darling, this is my fault." she choked.
"Oh Laurie, no, no, you didn't do anything wrong. He's been planning this for years, angel." he tried to comfort her. "Rick, it's true, I saw your truck come in, and instead of waiting for Oscar, I ran outside to greet you. I just wanted to see you so bad." she hung her head. "Now I've put Oscar in danger too!"
"Sweetheart, listen to me, this isn't your fault, if you hadn't run outside, he might have burst in and hurt Father Nick or Oscar, just to get to you!" Rick insisted, lifting her face to his. Seeing her eyes still full of tears, he kissed Laurie then cuddled her against him.
"I love you, Rick." she sniffed, trying to smile. Suddenly she got a gleam in her eye, then lifting her arms around him, she whispered, "Darling, do you think you can reach under my top, I've got my little knife inside my bra."
Rick tried not to laugh, only his wife would think of carrying her shiv "just in case". He kissed her neck, then quietly replied "I can, and I will, my naughty girl, but", he kissed her throat, "anything else will have to wait until we get home." Stifling a giggle as he pulled the knife out of the side of her bra, Rick then helped her lift her arms back in front, and slipped the blade into her hands. Quickly she worked on cutting the ropes on his wrists as they both listened for footsteps.
Rick barely had time to slip the knife inside his sleeve and pull Laurie in front of him before the door to their prison opened and a smirking Allen Carr entered. Pushing a disheveled and bleeding Oscar Goldman into the room, Carr then threw him onto the floor in front of Laurie as Rick tensed behind her. "Oscar, what did he do to you!" she gasped, as the big man managed to get onto his knees then reach out to her. Clutching his hands, she stared angrily at their assailant as he laughed. "Look who I found outside, Mrs. Simon, I thought you'd like to see your uncle one more time, before I finish my work!"
"You horrible man, I won't let you hurt him!" she told him with contempt. "You disappoint me, my dear, I thought you'd thank me! Time to separate you from your men!" he gloated, reaching for her.
Laurie shank away from him, "No, don't!" then let out a cry as he jerked her up by her arm as Oscar tried to stop him. Throwing her against the wall; he went to pull the gun from his waist only for Rick to jump to his feet and slug him in the stomach then the face. Slamming into the opposite wall, the gun went flying and Oscar managed to pick it up, then toss it to Rick as Carr tried to rush him.
Rick fired a round into their assailant, sending him to the floor. "Thanks, Oscar, nice toss!" he panted, then untied Oscar's wrists and handed him the gun. "If he moves, well you know what to do!" Rick grinned, then crossed to Laurie and freed her wrists. "Darlin' are you all right?' he asked, seeing her holding her shoulder.
"My arm hurts, Rick, but I'm all right." she replied, then seeing Carr sit up and snake his hand into his jacket, cried, "no, look out!"
Oscar saw him pull the silver tube out of his pocket and aim it toward Rick and Laurie and immediately emptied the gun into the former OSI agent. As he fell lifelessly to the concrete, smoke started to leak out of the device. "Let's get out of here!" Rick yelled, then pulled his wife and Oscar out of the room and shut the door. Abruptly a rumble sounded above them, and they realized the ceiling was crumbling.
"This way!" Oscar said, then led them toward a metal door, only to see the walls start to collapse. Running the other way, they ran toward a darkened hallway then took cover in a side tunnel as the whole area crumbled in front of them. Sheltering against the rock wall, Rick and Oscar huddled over Laurie until the last of the rocks fell, leaving the way out blocked.
As the dust cleared, they were left in darkness, until Rick felt against the wall and discovered an emergency lantern still intact. "Honey, your pendant's on!" Oscar said, as a small light glowed against her shirt. Using its faint beam, Rick located a switch on the lantern and turned it on, lighting the whole area.
"And they call me Light!" Laurie giggled; relieved they wouldn't have to fumble in the dark. Turning the stem on her watch to receive, they listened for voices, but heard only static.
"I pray Rudy's all right, Carr came out of nowhere and knocked him down, then threatened to kill him unless I came with him." Oscar said, worried. "I just hope if Ron wasn't able to raise him, that he or Nick came back to the entrance."
"By the way, Oscar, where are we?" Rick asked, raising the lantern and trying to find another exit.
"The Cayman Airbase, next to the caverns outside of Phoenix. Nick and I traced Laurie's signal to the gate, where we found your watch, honey. Captain Ron and Robbie and Chief Joseph picked up Rudy and met us here, then we split up. They probably aren't that far, these caves aren't too large."
Trying to improve the signal, Rick and Oscar guided Laurie toward the end of the tunnel that seemed to be open. "Ron, Robbie, can you hear us, it's Laurie and Rick and Oscar!" she called. Suddenly the static was replaced by Ron's faint voice. "Laurie, honey, are you in the basement?" "Yes, I think so. Carr's dead, as least I think he's dead, we're in a tunnel, do you have any idea where we are?" she answered, as the guys listened.
"You're in the section of the Cayman Caverns that's under the old airbase, stay where you are, the Chief thinks he knows how to get to you. Can we get in through the basement?" the captain asked. "Negative, Ron." Rick said, carefully pulling the locket toward him to speak. "There was a cave in when Oscar and I shot Carr, the only way out is through the caverns. How far are we from an entrance?"
"About a mile, Rick, but it's too dangerous without light; stay where you are and we'll find you." Chief Joseph then said, then an ominous rumbling sounded again, and Rick told the elder "We can't, the caves crumbling again, we found a lantern, we're going to try to move into the main cavern."
Feeling a few pebbles coming down, Oscar took Laurie's good arm as the three of them practically crawled down a steep path, then picking their way carefully, made it to the level area of a big open area, with stalactites and frozen pyramids of ice interspersed with piles of rocks. Stopping to rest, Rick noticed that she was limping. "Sweetheart, did you hurt your foot?" he asked, then let out a gasp, seeing her torn stockings and cut and bruised feet in the dim light. "Honey, no, why didn't you say something." Oscar quietly said, picking her up and carrying her as Rick lit their path.
"Guys, it's okay, they'll be all right." Laurie tried to reassure them. "Carr took my shoes, but we had to get out of there so fast, I forgot!" Rick sat down on a flat rock, then Oscar put her down next to him, and took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. She looked up at Oscar, then kissed his cheek. Rick put his arms around her and held her against him. "My brave girl, I'm sorry, I should have carried you." he told her.
Laurie put her arms around his neck and kissed him, then softly replied, "You've carried me so much of our life together, Rick, this is one time I would have held us back if you did. Don't worry, when we get home you can carry me over the threshold again."
Oscar smiled as Rick said "I promise, angel." then an echoing voice caught his ear. "Oscar! Rick!"
"Ron! Chief!" Rick hollered back, then a couple of voices responded, coming closer.
"Guys, we hear you! Let us know when you see our light!" the last coming from Father Nick. After a few minutes, they saw a glow coming toward them from around a corner, then three figures stopped, then ran toward them.
"Thank God!" Father Nick reached them first and embraced his friends, then Ron and the Chief, smiling and hugging Oscar and the two Simons. Catching sight of Laurie's injuries, Ron insisted on carrying her, as Father Nick and Chief Joseph helped Rick and the older man stand, then limp out of the cavern.
"Where's Robbie, is Rudy all right?" Oscar asked frantically, then sighed with relief as Father Nick replied reassuringly "Yes, Oscar, he's okay, just scared what Carr was going to do to you three! He's with Robbie at the gate now."
As they came out of the caves, the sky was light in the east, and Laurie saw two weary-looking people at the gate of the airfield. Suddenly she spotted her son, "Robbie! Thank you, Ron for looking out for him!" she gasped.
Rudy had been monitoring their rescue, and as he heard Laurie's voice, he looked at the young deputy.
"Son, they're coming, and boy is your mom happy to see you!" he teased. "Uncle Rudy, no more than I! I'm not letting them out of my sight for at least a week!" he said emphatically.
As the rescue party came to the gate, Robbie emotionally hugged his mother and father, then Oscar. "Honey, what did he do to you?" Rudy asked, having reassured himself that Oscar was all right then seeing Laurie's feet and the awkward way she held her right arm. "Carr took my shoes, Rudy, and we had to get out of the basement room so fast, I didn't think to look for them. He tried to take me from Rick and Dad, then he hurt my arm, but Rick wouldn't let him have me!" she explained, trying not to cry.
"It's all right now, honey." Oscar comforted her. "Carr won't ever hurt you again; Ron and Joe found his body. Rudy thinks the bullets and the nerve gas finished him off!"
Just then an OSI car pulled up, and Gregson got out. Relieved to see his former boss, he shook hands then was heartened to hear that Allen Carr had been taken care of. Getting directions from Captain Ron, the OSI chief had a team go in and retrieve his remains.
As they loaded everyone into the three private cars and the body of Allen Carr into the OSI van, Rudy checked the injuries of all three.
"I'm okay, Rudy, all I want is to go home." Laurie told him in vain as the doctor shook his head. "God knows you guys been through enough, honey!" Rudy insisted.
Winning out, the doctor called ahead on Robbie's transmitter and arranged for Rick and Laurie and Oscar to be checked out at the hospital in Silver Rock.
After a few hours of waiting, Doc came out to Oscar, now wearing a bandage on his forehead, and Robbie and the assorted family and friends waiting.
"They're both very lucky, Oscar." he advised. "Laurie has a severely sprained right shoulder and arm, I've immobilized them and she should stay home for at least a week, it'll take that long for her feet to heal! Rick has a good-sized shiner but no concussion. They both have bad headaches from the aftereffects of the nerve gas, but they'll be all right!"
"Thanks, Doc! I appreciate the heads up, just in case these two try an end run about being cleared to resume their daily routine." Oscar grinned. Just then Rudy helped wheel out Laurie as Rick brought up the rear. "There's my girl!" the big man beamed, then leaned down and kissed her.
"Thanks for finding us, dad." Laurie hugged him with her good arm, then grinned up at her husband, who carried an ice pack for his eye.
"You're welcome, honey, but you and I have to have a little talk, capice?" he looked sternly at her, then laughed as she sighed and nodded.
"Oooh, now Mom's going to get it!" Robbie ragged, then snickered as Rick said "And I'll sell tickets."