The first thing Ralph heard as he regained consciousness was the sound of his two kidnappers grumbling about a poker game. "Eights and 10s, I win again," said one of them.
"Blake, that's the dead man's hand you know," said the other. "You really need to quit pulling that hand. It's bad luck."
"Funny Dusty. You know, I don't see why Onyx hasn't come yet," said Blake. "He should've been here..."
As they were talking, Ralph kept his eyes closed and assessed the situation. He could tell he was on a couch of some sort with a thin blanket covering him from shoulders to knees. Ralph had a gag on, but surprisingly no binds on his hands or feet. 'Must think I'll be too weak from the chloroform and injuries to fight them again,' he mused. He kept quiet and listened to the other two talk.
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While Ralph listened to his kidnappers, Pam and Bill were at Bill's apartment trying to work, well argue, out Ralph's dream, since it's becoming true as well. What Bill found out about Onyx didn't help out matters.
"Counselor, that's an absurd scenario," said Bill. "This guy's nuts. He blames the city for his sister's death for some reason. Only reason he hasn't set off the bombs is because of the security around town."
"Look, Bill, it makes sense. Ralph mentioned that Derreck and I were about to do more than kiss when he came in. When I had lunch with Derreck today, I could've sworn he was flirting too. I don't know what he wants with Ralph, but maybe if I play along..."
"It stinks. You can't just go out there and throw yourself..."
Pam clamped a hand over Bill's mouth to shush him when she started feeling vibes. "Quiet Bill, I'm getting a holograph, and I see Ralph."
"That must mean he's comin' to," said Bill, "What else do you see?"
"Well, he's in a house, and the two guys who kidnapped him are also there. He's got his eyes closed, probably pretending to still be unconscious. Wait, I'm hearing something..."
"You know Dusty, I'm beginning to wonder why he wanted us to bag this guy. I mean, wouldn't it just have been easier to kill him? The guy's crazy for keeping him alive."
"He said he wanted to keep him on ice because he knows something and wants to find out why," said Dusty. "Onyx already planned to set those plague bombs off to avenge his sister's death. He blames the attorney and the city for that and wants them both to pay. Onyx was originally just going to grab her, but since he thinks the hubby knows something, now he plans to call her at her office in an hour. When she answers, he'll say he thinks he's seeing Hinkley making out with some dame next door."
He cleared his throat and continued. "Once he gets her here, he plans to make her submit to his wishes, or he'll kill Hinkley. Then, afterward when he's had his fun, he's going to set off the bombs to make the city pay. This virus he's got is so quick the state won't know what hit it..." The holograph faded.
Bill looked at Pam and saw she was thinking. "Oh, come on Counselor, you're not thinking what I think you are?"
"Bill, we have no choice," she said.
"Well, why don't you try to turn invisible first? That way you can sneak in and clobber those guys without anyone noticing. Come on, try it."
Pam gave Bill a dirty glare at being ordered around again, but decided to go along with it. As she concentrated, she felt herself disappear, or so she thought.
"Come on, Counselor, I can see you. You've got to fade out all the way," said Bill, "otherwise you lose the element of surprise."
"I'm trying Bill," said Pam, only to realize she was completely visible again. When she tried to turn invisible, there was no luck.
Pam turned to Bill and shook her head. "Won't work, at least if I try to do it. Look, I didn't get an address either, so I have to play along if we're going to get Ralph back and stop Derreck from setting off those bombs. Ralph can't play possum forever, and if those guys find out, they could kill him."
The agent thought for a moment and nodded. "You're right. I'd say we head back to the office so you can catch that call."
"Then you can follow me your car when I head over to his place," said Pam.
"Well, come on, let's go," said Bill, and both headed out the door. As they drove, they discussed how to throw a few surprises of their own to catch Onyx at his own game.
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Ralph kept his eyes closed as he continued listening to the men's conversation. 'So that's why they brought me here,' he thought. 'Keep me outta the way so Onyx could have his revenge.' The next comment he heard from the kidnappers turned his blood to ice.
"You know, Blake, I'm beginning to wonder if he's been playing us," said Dusty.
"Come on, Dusty, he's still out like a light."
"Nah, could be playing possum," the other said. "You know, it's been about four hours since we doped him, so he should've come around."
"All right, Dusty, I'll check and see," the man replied in exasperation, walking toward the couch.
As Blake walked, Ralph took a breath and let it out a little slowly, letting his body relax as much as possible. Once Blake approached, he decided to shake Ralph by his injured shoulder. Blake saw Ralph's face twitch slightly, but chalked it off as a subconscious reaction to pain. When he lifted one of Ralph's eyelids, Ralph rolled his eyes up as far as he could to try fool the other.
Blake brushed his hand on his pants and turned around to Dusty. "Nah, he's still out. If he was awake, he'd yelled out in pain when I shook his bum shoulder. His eyes are still rolled back in his head too. My guess is that he took a painkiller earlier and that with the chloroform is keeping him out."
Dusty chuckled a bit. "Yeah, forgot about that possibility. Probably just as well, that way the dame will be more willing to submit to whatever Onyx wants her to do."
Though his face was impassive, Ralph boiled in anger inside. 'Just you wait, pal. You won't know what hit you when you meet a souped up Pam wearing a set of magic jammies.' He thought about Pam and hoped that she and Bill would be able to stop this plan before both Pam was hurt and LA was destroyed.
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Pam and Bill just got into the office when they heard the phone ring. Pam waited a couple of moments before answering, "Hello, this is Pam Hinkley."
"Mrs. Hinkley, this is Derreck Onyx. Listen I need to talk to you..."
"Oh, we managed to get Alexandrite's killer to talk, but he still didn't give the name of the leader to us."
"Well...I heard he's a tough egg to crack," said Onyx. "But that's not what I'm talking about. You might want to sit down."
Pam looked at Bill and nodded, signaling that it was Onyx, and continued. "OK, what's wrong? Someone after you too?"
"No, it's your husband. I just saw him next door and he's making out with some woman."
"HE IS?" Pam shouted into the phone, even scaring Bill. "That...Wait until I get my hands on him..."
"Calm down, Mrs. Hinkley. I've got a good eye on him now, but why don't you come over to the house so you can catch him in the act. Then you'll have a reason to divorce him."
"OK, I'll be right over. What's the address?" She listened to Derreck and wrote it down. "Thanks, be there shortly."
After hanging up the phone she turned to Bill and noticed he was staring at her in shock. "Bill, I had to play along. Sorry if I scared you."
Bill shook out of his reprieve and nodded. "Right, good thinking Counselor. Now, let's head on over there and get these guys before they make everyone sick."
The two went to their separate cars and headed toward the house. Bill stayed about a half mile behind Pam's beetle, just in case someone was watching them.