SEVEN
"That's it, nice and centered," Adrian told the stagehand putting his divider into place for Final Jeopardy.
"Now if you do win, let's not have one of those meltdowns everyday over this and anything else insignificant," the stagehand warned him.
"It's not really insignificant, it's rather important, actually," Adrian said. He glanced back up at the light. It almost looked ready to explode. He then distinctively heard the sound of something clicking into place. The light was now ticking, he could hear. And then, it all fell into place for him, as it usually did. "Oh my God!" he breathed, realizing what was about to happen.
"Yeah, you're right on that, pal," Oliver said from his podium, "When I get through with you in this round, you'll..."
"Not you," Adrian told him. He had to warn all the people in the studio their lives were in danger. The sound of Rick's voice over the intercom saying, "Quiet in the audience for contestant info, please," gave him an idea. He ran out in front of the crane camera as soon as Johnny Gilbert began his plug: "If you live in the Los Angeles are and would like..."
"THERE'S A BOMB IN HERE!!" Adrian yelled into the camera at the top of his lungs.
"Now what's he doing?" Rick wondered in the control room.
"I think he flipped his lid," Ray snorted, "Maybe if we take him outside for a little bit he'll relax."
"Come on Sam, where are you?" Rick wondered, glancing up at the clock: 7:55:09.
"All of you run for your lives!" Adrian screamed at the audience, "Your lives are in grave danger!"
"Monk, what are you yelling about!? Stottlemeyer thundered, rising to his feet.
"Captain, that light is rigged to explode!" Adrian cried at him breathlessly, "It's going to blow in..." he gave the light a close examination, "two minutes and thirty-seven seconds!"
"Oh come on Monk, don't you think you're just...." Stottlemeyer started to retort.
"Excuse me captain," Dr. Kroger interrupted him, "Are you sure, Adrian?"
"I'm dead sure, doctor, at least in the figurative way, hopefully not the literal one!" Adrian flashed his psychiatrist a look that confirmed his suspicions. The detective's entourage rose to their feet, concerned looks on their faces. "Randy, get the people outside, I'm going to help Monk get that thing disarmed," Stottlemeyer ordered his lieutenant.
"Right sir," Disher pulled out his badge and showed it to the audience. "San Francisco police," he announced, "If you'd please follow me..."
But Disher's words were lost in the pandemonium. The audience, realizing Adrian was telling them the truth, had started screaming at the top of their lungs and were running pell-mell for all the exits at once, with no sense of direction, leaving the lieutenant to shout, "Please exit in an orderly fashion," to no one in particular repeatedly.
"Who would want to bomb Jeopardy?" Monica asked to Sharona as they weaved their way toward the far aisle.
"Who knows, either some nutcase who's mad at L.A. or somebody out for revenge against Adrian, I suppose," Sharona said. She was forcing a stoic face, but the deep levels of fear were showing through her expression. She located Gail, who'd been lost in the madness. "Gail, take Benjy outside, make sure he's safe," she told her sister, handing her son to her, "I'm going to help Adrian."
"Be careful Mom," Benjy pleaded her as she rushed off toward the stage.
"I will," she called back over her shoulder, but once she was out of his hearing range, she muttered to herself, "I sure hope we can disarm this!"
"Damn it, he knows now!" Gold muttered in disgust at the sight of the near riot conditions on the screen.
"Relax Dexter, there's no way Monk can disarm that thing with the way it's been rigged," Beiderbeck reassured him, "He'll be lucky to even get the cover off the bomb before it splatters his entrails all over the place. And I don't think our agent will even let him get that far, so let's all calm ourselves." He gave the clock one more check. "We have reached the two minute warning, folks," he announced to his cohorts, "Prepare to lift your glasses, because we're in for some maximum carnage."
"What's all this about a bomb?" Gregorio asked, watching Ambrose's screen hesitantly.
"Simple Scott, the brilliant Adrian Monk has finally cracked," Miranda St. Clair snorted.
"I don't think so, Mrs. Mayor," Ambrose said, his face tight with worry, "Adrian wouldn't make up something like that."
"Rob, where's Dave and Susan?" Rick demanded into his headset, "One or both of them might be behind this thing!"
"And I'm telling you for the third time Rick, I have no idea!" Rob told him, "They both left a few minutes ago, and no one can find them."
"Well keep looking," Rick said. He turned to his associates in the control room. "Ariel, did you call the cops?" he asked the page.
"Yes, but it'll take them a while to get here," Ariel told him, "I hope Adrian and the people he's with can disarm it themselves."
"Which one is it, Monk?" Stottlemeyer asked the former detective as they rushed onto the stage.
"That one, Captain," Adrian pointed to the rigged light.
"Excuse us, we need your ladder, it's an emergency!" Sharona demanded to a stagehand walking by with one.
"What's the problem?" the stagehand asked.
"Oh my God, where have you been!?" Sharona snatched it out of his hands. "And give me those too," she added, taking some pliers out of his utility belt.
"You're going to give them back, right?" the stagehand asked, miffed.
"Here," Sharona set it up underneath the light, "Now who's going up?"
"I will," Adrian raised his hand.
"But Adrian, it's pretty high up!" Sharona protested, "And I'd never forgive myself if you died like that!"
"Sharona, of all of us I have the least to live for; you have a son, the captain has a wife and family, and I've got only memories of Trudy," Adrian explained, "If I die, I'll be with her, and that's not bad at all."
"But you don't know how to diffuse a bomb! After the Babbages'..."
There's always a first time for everything, I guess," Adrian shrugged. He took the pliers and began to very slowly climb the ladder, muttering under his breath, "I've got to be out of my mind!"
"All right Monk, drop those pliers and get away from there right now!!" came a harsh shout from behind him, followed by the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. Adrian let the pliers clatter to the floor and turned slowly around to find himself face to face with....
"That's it, nice and centered," Adrian told the stagehand putting his divider into place for Final Jeopardy.
"Now if you do win, let's not have one of those meltdowns everyday over this and anything else insignificant," the stagehand warned him.
"It's not really insignificant, it's rather important, actually," Adrian said. He glanced back up at the light. It almost looked ready to explode. He then distinctively heard the sound of something clicking into place. The light was now ticking, he could hear. And then, it all fell into place for him, as it usually did. "Oh my God!" he breathed, realizing what was about to happen.
"Yeah, you're right on that, pal," Oliver said from his podium, "When I get through with you in this round, you'll..."
"Not you," Adrian told him. He had to warn all the people in the studio their lives were in danger. The sound of Rick's voice over the intercom saying, "Quiet in the audience for contestant info, please," gave him an idea. He ran out in front of the crane camera as soon as Johnny Gilbert began his plug: "If you live in the Los Angeles are and would like..."
"THERE'S A BOMB IN HERE!!" Adrian yelled into the camera at the top of his lungs.
"Now what's he doing?" Rick wondered in the control room.
"I think he flipped his lid," Ray snorted, "Maybe if we take him outside for a little bit he'll relax."
"Come on Sam, where are you?" Rick wondered, glancing up at the clock: 7:55:09.
"All of you run for your lives!" Adrian screamed at the audience, "Your lives are in grave danger!"
"Monk, what are you yelling about!? Stottlemeyer thundered, rising to his feet.
"Captain, that light is rigged to explode!" Adrian cried at him breathlessly, "It's going to blow in..." he gave the light a close examination, "two minutes and thirty-seven seconds!"
"Oh come on Monk, don't you think you're just...." Stottlemeyer started to retort.
"Excuse me captain," Dr. Kroger interrupted him, "Are you sure, Adrian?"
"I'm dead sure, doctor, at least in the figurative way, hopefully not the literal one!" Adrian flashed his psychiatrist a look that confirmed his suspicions. The detective's entourage rose to their feet, concerned looks on their faces. "Randy, get the people outside, I'm going to help Monk get that thing disarmed," Stottlemeyer ordered his lieutenant.
"Right sir," Disher pulled out his badge and showed it to the audience. "San Francisco police," he announced, "If you'd please follow me..."
But Disher's words were lost in the pandemonium. The audience, realizing Adrian was telling them the truth, had started screaming at the top of their lungs and were running pell-mell for all the exits at once, with no sense of direction, leaving the lieutenant to shout, "Please exit in an orderly fashion," to no one in particular repeatedly.
"Who would want to bomb Jeopardy?" Monica asked to Sharona as they weaved their way toward the far aisle.
"Who knows, either some nutcase who's mad at L.A. or somebody out for revenge against Adrian, I suppose," Sharona said. She was forcing a stoic face, but the deep levels of fear were showing through her expression. She located Gail, who'd been lost in the madness. "Gail, take Benjy outside, make sure he's safe," she told her sister, handing her son to her, "I'm going to help Adrian."
"Be careful Mom," Benjy pleaded her as she rushed off toward the stage.
"I will," she called back over her shoulder, but once she was out of his hearing range, she muttered to herself, "I sure hope we can disarm this!"
"Damn it, he knows now!" Gold muttered in disgust at the sight of the near riot conditions on the screen.
"Relax Dexter, there's no way Monk can disarm that thing with the way it's been rigged," Beiderbeck reassured him, "He'll be lucky to even get the cover off the bomb before it splatters his entrails all over the place. And I don't think our agent will even let him get that far, so let's all calm ourselves." He gave the clock one more check. "We have reached the two minute warning, folks," he announced to his cohorts, "Prepare to lift your glasses, because we're in for some maximum carnage."
"What's all this about a bomb?" Gregorio asked, watching Ambrose's screen hesitantly.
"Simple Scott, the brilliant Adrian Monk has finally cracked," Miranda St. Clair snorted.
"I don't think so, Mrs. Mayor," Ambrose said, his face tight with worry, "Adrian wouldn't make up something like that."
"Rob, where's Dave and Susan?" Rick demanded into his headset, "One or both of them might be behind this thing!"
"And I'm telling you for the third time Rick, I have no idea!" Rob told him, "They both left a few minutes ago, and no one can find them."
"Well keep looking," Rick said. He turned to his associates in the control room. "Ariel, did you call the cops?" he asked the page.
"Yes, but it'll take them a while to get here," Ariel told him, "I hope Adrian and the people he's with can disarm it themselves."
"Which one is it, Monk?" Stottlemeyer asked the former detective as they rushed onto the stage.
"That one, Captain," Adrian pointed to the rigged light.
"Excuse us, we need your ladder, it's an emergency!" Sharona demanded to a stagehand walking by with one.
"What's the problem?" the stagehand asked.
"Oh my God, where have you been!?" Sharona snatched it out of his hands. "And give me those too," she added, taking some pliers out of his utility belt.
"You're going to give them back, right?" the stagehand asked, miffed.
"Here," Sharona set it up underneath the light, "Now who's going up?"
"I will," Adrian raised his hand.
"But Adrian, it's pretty high up!" Sharona protested, "And I'd never forgive myself if you died like that!"
"Sharona, of all of us I have the least to live for; you have a son, the captain has a wife and family, and I've got only memories of Trudy," Adrian explained, "If I die, I'll be with her, and that's not bad at all."
"But you don't know how to diffuse a bomb! After the Babbages'..."
There's always a first time for everything, I guess," Adrian shrugged. He took the pliers and began to very slowly climb the ladder, muttering under his breath, "I've got to be out of my mind!"
"All right Monk, drop those pliers and get away from there right now!!" came a harsh shout from behind him, followed by the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked. Adrian let the pliers clatter to the floor and turned slowly around to find himself face to face with....