As Rick was being rescued, Laurie saw a sedan pull up behind her Jeep.
Hitting the automatic lock, she listened to Oscar's morse code reply that he was within a mile of her location, and that Ron and A.J. were ready to free Rick. "Do not go with him, honey, that's an order." she translated, then was startled by tapping on her back window.
Turning around, she saw a bespeckled man motioning for her to open the doors. Shaking her head, she decided to try to drive away, only for the passenger window to be broken. Laurie brought her arm up to protect her face from the flying glass, but a hand thrust itself into the car, and seized her arm in a vise-like grip.
"NO!" she screamed, then she saw the man who'd been at the back of her car produce a cloth and yanking her toward him, push it over her face.
Struggling against him, she tried to hold her breath, only to gasp in pain as he twisted her arm. Slowly her strength left her, as everything started to fade. Woozily she realized she was being lifted from her car, and she struggled against the arms holding her.
"Don't move, Laurie, or I'll put you out, promise or no promise." a voice said calmly. Fearful of being knocked out, Laurie stopped moving, then moaned "what promise."
"I once promised to protect you from harm, Laurie, and I won't hurt you if you cooperate." the voice continued, sounding more familiar.
The person holding her abruptly set her down, then she felt something binding her arms and legs. "No, please." she whispered dizzily, as something covered her face.
"This is just until we reach your husband, Laurie. If you remain silent, I won't gag you. Just relax, you'll be with him in a little while." came the reply.
Hearing a door close, she heard a motor start, then panic overtook her as she feared this "Chew"s reaction when he discovered Rick was gone.
As the car moved onto the highway, Laurie heard a faint clicking noise, then knew that her father was sending her a message, trying to let her know he was right behind her.
Unfortunately, her abductor must have figured out the same thing, as suddenly the vehicle veered off the road. Making a sharp turn, the motor was shut off, and anxious moments passed. Just when Laurie thought she would go crazy with anxiety, the man chuckled. "Oscar's getting old, never thought he'd fall for that. Just in case...." she gasped as a hand grasped her left wrist, then took off her watch.
"No, not my watch, that's from my husband." she sniffed, figuring Chew suspected that was her transmitter.
"Sorry, Laurie, I'll leave it here for Oscar to find. Now I'm sorry, but I need you to be quiet." he said, then something was over her mouth and nose, cutting off her air.
Holding her breath as best she could, Laurie made a murmur of protest, then went limp, praying he'd take the cloth off her face. Suddenly she could breathe, then heard the door close again and the car take off.
Dizzy, she tried to listen to the message Oscar was sending, then everything was silent.
A few miles away, Rick was panicking, he'd heard his wife's "call", then after her initial silence, he'd used A.J.'s transmitter to listen with growing anger to her abductor. Sitting in the parking lot of the abandoned industrial building he'd been held in, Ron and A.J. and now Robbie all waited for Laurie's kidnapper to return with her.
But Oscar had just called in. "Rick, this Chew ducked into a neighborhood park and tried to lose me. He's figured out Laurie had a transmitter, he left her watch on a bench here and took off. I'm following them by the signal her pendant is sending, but I'm going to have to stay back this time, otherwise he may search her further."
"Be careful, Oscar, he knows you're looking for him by the crack he made." Rick answered, trying to remain calm in spite of the danger his Laurie was in. He'd been close to breaking when he heard her gentle plea not to take his gift to her.
Just then Ron called in from his police transmitter. "Rick, we know who this guy is, he's an ex-OSI agent, Allen Masterson. Oscar, do you remember this man?"
There was a pause, then Oscar's voice quietly sounded. "Yes, God protect my girl. He was one of our agents when Laurie was with the OSI. Unfortunately he suffered a mental breakdown when another agent jilted him. He was obsessed with Callahan, my secretary, then Jaime. He killed a man that got the promotion he thought he should get, and was put away in an institution. I had heard he was moved to a half-way house last year, but I never thought..."
"Oscar, we need to warn Steve, Masterson's obsessed with finding out about some mission Steve's on." Rick told him. "Steve isn't on any mission, Rick, he and Jaime are up in Northern California. I'm afraid Masterson is referring to a mission Steve did last month. It's still in progress, but Steve isn't needed on the fact-finding part. When you reach Laurie, tell her to explain that to Masterson, I'll call Steve and have him try Laurie too." The older man replied, calmly.
For the next several hours, Rick tried every way to reach his wife. Her pendant was malfunctioning somehow, only giving a general direction and area in Chandler, a suburb 20 minutes from their location. Every few minutes Rick would "call" Laurie, reassuring her, talking to her, picturing how much he loved her. He talked to his mother to relieve her anxiety, and found Cecilia was being strong for him.
"Son, she's come through worse, at least you know where she might be. As soon as she wakes up, she'll help you find her." his mom encouraged him.
"Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that. I'm scared what that psycho might do to her." Rick confessed, his fear evident in his voice.
"Of course you are, Rick. I've never seen two people with a stronger love then you and Laurie. You two have been through so much, and I know you'll be together soon." Cecilia promised, somehow making Rick believe too.
Finally in the early morning hours they caught a break, as Ron got a report of a sedan matching the one that Oscar had followed being seen entering a medical complex.
"Let's go!" Rick got behind the wheel of his truck, only to have Ron stop him before he turned the key. "Rick, be real. The man may be mentally ill, but he's not stupid. He's bound to be on the lookout for your truck. You and A.J. come with me, I have an unmarked car. Oscar, can you come with Rudy, he's seen your car too." Ron asked.
"I'm coming too." Robbie added over the radio. "All right, Robbie, you secure the entrance to the complex once we enter from the back. Once we get closer, hopefully Laurie's transmitter will pinpoint which building he's got her in." the chief of detectives added.
Just as Rick got into Ron's car, he felt a frantic call from his wife, and immediately he returned a message to her. "Laurie, we're coming, we know where you are. Just hold on, sweetheart. I love you." "Rick, I love you too, he told me you and Oscar were dead, oh thank God!" she answered. "No, my love, we're coming, just stay calm."
Laurie "heard" him, and was ready to cry, she wanted him so much. She had regained concisouness feeling sick to her stomach. What didn't help was the blindfold she was still wearing. Trying to move, she realized her wrists were bound to a metal rail on either side of her, and a strap held her upright in a bed of some kind.
"Please, I'm going to be sick, please could I have some water?" she gasped.
Suddenly a voice sounded right next to her. "One moment, Laurie, just breathe through your nose." At once a glass was held to her lips, and she managed a few sips of water.
"Thank you, oh my God, is that you Allen?" she belatedly recognized the voice by the way he said her name.
"You remembered, Laurie. I'd hoped you would. The kindest person I knew back then, I'm sorry you don't feel good. If you help me, I'll get you back to your family. Too bad about your husband and Oscar though." he said, almost sadly.
"What, what do you mean?" Laurie gulped, fearful of what had happened after she passed out. "Oscar stupidly tried to rescue your husband before we reached our destination; there was a shootout with my assistant, and both Oscar and your husband were killed." Masterson told her.
"Rick!" Laurie immediately called, then started to cry when he responded. Letting Allen Masterson believe it was from grief, she tolerated his putting a hand to her face and dabbing her tears. "Please take the blindfold off, there can't possibly be a reason for me to have it on now." she sniffed.
"All right, Laurie, close your eyes." he said, almost gently. Trying not to cringe at his touch, Laurie waited for him to undo the cloth around her eyes, then opened her eyes, blinking in the artificial light. Slowly the room came into focus, and when it stopped whirling, she saw it was a small hospital or clinic room, all white tile and black trim.
A face came into view, and she saw it was the man with glasses who had taken her from her Jeep. "Allen, why did you do all this, why?" she asked, trying to shift into a more comfortable position.
"Why, Laurie, I was put away, away from the world for 16 years. I was deprived because Allen Carr took what I wanted. I want my life back, and the money I'll collect from the information you give me will help me do that. All I want, my dear, is the location of where Steve Austin is, and the name of his contact. He won't be hurt, Laurie, I promise." Masterson explained, leaning over and adjusting the pillow in back of her head.
"Thank you." Laurie said, then looking in his eyes, decided to try to reason with him.
"Allen, I don't know where Steve is, I retired years ago. Steve and Jaime are retired too, I don't think he's on any assignments either. I'm sorry you suffered because of Allen Carr, he nearly killed all of us, and he tried to kill my Rick too, not once but twice." she told him sorrowfully. "He died last year trying hurt us again."
"He's dead?" Masterson frowned as she nodded. "Yes, Oscar killed him, he kidnapped Rick and I to get back at Oscar, after he went to prison."
"I..I didn't know. I wouldn't have put you through this if I'd known. Carr's dead, well, guess I do owe Oscar. Too bad I can't pay him back." he smiled sarcastically, then immediately got up and fetched a rolling tray. Covered with a cloth, it looked like one of those surgical setups.
"I believe you to a point, Laurie, but I can't wait to verify everything. I know Austin went on a mission last month, and that he's trying to break up a terrorist group. I want you to contact him, and find out where he is and who he's working with undercover." the former agent ordered her.
"I told you, I don't know if I can reach him, if he's more then a few hundred miles he's out of range for me now!" she said, upset. "You will, my dear, or else I'll be forced to practice what I learned the last few years!" he threatened icily.
As he uncovered the tray, Laurie gasped, as there were probes and syringes filled with fluid, and a laser knife, and other instruments too numerous to mention.
Some of her fear must have connected with Rick, as she heard a call, stronger then before. "Laurie, what's happened, I'll be there in just a few minutes."
"Rick, hurry, he's gone crazy. Darling, I love you, tell Dad it's Masterson, he's threatening to torture me to find out where Steve is!" she "told" him, her thoughts almost jumbling in her panic.
"Tell him anything, sweetheart, it's okay. Steve's not on any mission, he's going to try to reach you. Just play along, please." he pleaded fearfully with her. Suddenly she realized Masterson's eyes were on her. "What is it, Laurie, are you trying to reach Austin?"
Laurie gazed back at him, unable to control her trembling voice. "Yes, but he's not responding. You're frightening me, Allen. I 've been scared before, I've had an "x" slashed in my palm on my wedding day, a murderer lock me in a ghost town jail cell to rot, a bully threaten to inject me with heroin, lots of horrible things. But never has a person that I trusted tell me he's going to torture me."
The man stared back at her, then spoke very gently. "You've been through a lot, haven't you, my dear. I understand." Allen's hand came up and she held still as he caressed her cheek, then suddenly riveted his eyes on her neck.
"What is that you're wearing?" he grated harshly. "It's my pendant watch, Rick ..gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I never take it or my locket off." she answered, hoping against hope he wouldn't go off.
"Only a pendant, huh, let me see that!" he grasped it and tried to yank it off her neck. Laurie screamed and struggled against the restraints on her arms and wrists as he failed to get it off, then he put his hand over her mouth as he picked up a laser pen and turned it on.
"I'm going to take off that pendant from around your neck one way or the other, Laurie. You will remain absolutely silent unless you want me to use this pen on that pretty face of yours." he quietly said, his eyes fixed on hers. She nodded tearfully, and he removed his hand from her mouth, then used the laser to cut her chain.
Laurie closed her eyes, she was dead as soon as he pried open the watchworks. "Rick, darling, he's going to kill me. I love you." she thought to him. At once he came back to her, almost shouting, "I'm coming, don't move my love. If he comes at you, twist as far away as you can."
Hope flooding her, she opened her eyes to see Masterson holding a scalpel in one hand and her pendant in the other. Suddenly she saw her husband behind the ex-agent, weapon in hand. Before he could speak, Masterson warned "Mr. Simon, you will put down your weapon, and join your wife over here, or I will slit her jugular with this knife."
Rick saw him level the scalpel at her face, and he slowly put his gun on the floor, then ever so slowly came to Laurie's side, facing the older man. "I'm here, Laurie." he turned and looked in her eyes and saw fear and hope mixed.
"That's better. Now, Laurie, you will reach Austin. You have until I count ten. One, two, three." Masterson began, his eyes focused on Laurie. Rick watched him, then when he came to "seven, eight," grabbed the weapon in the palm of his hand, ignoring the slashing pain as it went into his skin.
"Drop it, now!" he yelled, then flung Masterson away from them to the floor. Panting, his eyes blazing with madness, their assailant came off the floor and grabbed the laser pen in his hand, then lunged toward Laurie, only to take a round in the chest from both Rick and Oscar.
Abruptly the weapon dropped from the lifeless fingers of Masterson, and he toppled to the ground.