Furious, the two men ran to their cars, only for Rick to see his truck's tires were slashed.

"Ron, look! They…." He stopped as Ron yelled, "Get in!" then steered his police cruiser toward Rick. As he hopped in, the older Simon hit his transmitter on, then grinned as he saw A.J. had activated his watch so he could be traced.

"Robbie, it's Pop. Over." Rick signaled to his son.

"Pop, we know who took Uncle A.J. He's been id'd from the hospital cameras. " Rick inwardly thanked God for Robbie's calm voice. "Go ahead, son.".

"One of the Chief's men says he's a detective named Phil Braun. I guess he worked as a part-time bodyguard for Thomas during his public appearances. He took a leave of absence a few days ago."

"Nice work, Robbie." Ron spoke as he turned onto the highway, then headed toward the outskirts of town where A.J.'s signal was coming from.

As they got close to the railroad tracks, a loud horn let signaled that a train was coming. Suddenly Rick saw the dark van that had come out of the hospital parking lot up ahead.

"That's the van, Ron!"

Just as he spoke, Rick held his breath as the cargo van swerved around the railroad gates, then made it to the other side just as a train came thundering by. Ron screeched to a halt, then angrily pounded the steering wheel as they watched a 24-car train slowly go by.

When it had passed, the guard rails lifted and Ron crossed the tracks, only to see no other cars in sight.

"Damn it, we lost him!" he growled, then shook his head as Rick said "We'll find him, Ron. We can still follow his signal."

"Yeah, but it's only showing us an area, we'll have to wait for more manpower so we can search door to door." Ron replied, his voice calmer as he radioed headquarters.

An hour later Rick was seething as Ron drove him back to the hospital.

Several squad cars had just shown up on Pueblo Road, reestablishing a perimeter when A.J.'s signal abruptly cut out.

Frantically Rick had called to him, only for a voice to come over his watch's speaker.

"Tell everyone to back off or A.J. Simon is dead."

Immediately Ron changed frequencies, ordering his men to pull back except for two plainclothes cars, which were deployed just close enough to the last signal from A.J.'s transmitter to see anyone coming or going from the warehouse area.

"I want you to take Linda and Robbie and go home, Rick. Let my men handle this now…" Ron began, only for Rick to yell, "Stop!"

Looking to see what he was shouting about, the chief of detectives saw a car screeching away from the hospital entrance, leaving a woman collapsed on the sidewalk.

"Mom!" Rick called as he jumped out of the cruiser, then ran to her side.

As he reached her, he saw his mother sit up, a dazed look on her face. "Mom!" he said again, then Cecilia looked up at him.

"Rick, they've got A.J., they're going to kill him if I testify." She choked, and Rick instantly put his arms around her and helped her stand up.

"Mom, it's all right, we'll find him. Are you okay, did they hurt you?"

"No, honey. But, I'm a little groggy. They put a cloth with some kind of drug over my face, then told me I was to pretend I was too upset to remember who I saw kill Mr. Patterson." Cecilia's voice trembled as Rick picked her up and took her to Ron's police car.

Over her protests, Rick had their friend drive them to the emergency room and insisted on Rudy examining his mother.

"Take her home and let her get a good night's rest, Rick." Their friend ordered, coming out of the treatment room a few minutes later. Rudy tempered his words with a smile. "Seriously, whatever they gave Cecilia has worn off, she's just upset and exhausted. Don't push her about testifying, she'll be better at handling it tomorrow."

Rick sighed with relief, grateful his mother wasn't hurt. "You're right, thanks, Rudy. We have a plan for rescuing A.J., but we need Mom to be okay with going to court."

Just then Linda wheeled Cecilia into the visitor's area, and he winced.

Gone was his fearless mother, the one with a spark in her eyes. Instead, an old woman sat there, lifelessly staring ahead. Her only reaction to Rick's leaning over and giving her a hug was a whispered "any news on A.J.?"

"Not yet, Mom. We know the area they're holding him in, but we have to wait until we can distract Thomas and his people before we rescue him." He replied, then reassuredly added "They won't harm him until they're certain you'll do what they want."

At that Cecilia looked up, despair in her eyes. "Rick, what can I do, I won't let them kill A.J., but I keep seeing Mr. Patterson, and his wife…."

Wanting to swear, Rick quietly said "Ron and Robbie and I have a plan, Mom, but we need to see how things are in the morning. Let's go home now."

When the Simons reached A.J's condo, Laurie was waiting at the door, and it tore at Rick and Robbie as Cecilia crumpled, sobbing, into her daughter-in-law's arms.

"It's okay, Mom. You're safe, and the guys'll bring A.J. home safe, I promise." Laurie told her, leading her inside.

Furtively Rick wiped his eyes, then heard Robbie clear his throat behind him.

"I'll take first watch, Pop. You get some sleep."

Rick turned, and seeing the distress on his son's face, gave him a hug. "Thanks, son. It'll be okay."

As Linda and Laurie took care of the children and made sure Cecilia was resting, Rick huddled with Robbie and Ron. From the little she told them, she was taken by two masked men, then held in a warehouse by another 3 men, also with their identities disguised. She had been drugged and tied to a chair, only to be freed when one of her captors came in with A.J.. Rick had been reluctant to ask, but Ron was the one to gently say, "Did any of them molest you?"

"No." Cecilia shook her head, then pleaded tiredness and went to the guest room.

After that, Rick was determined to go rescue his brother before the murderer returned, only for the chief to disagree.

"We don't know if he's got more men or booby traps around A.J., Rick. It'll be safer if we wait for the preliminary hearing to start, then get him then."

"There aren't any booby traps, Ron."

All three men jumped as Cecilia came back into the room, a determined look on her worn face.

"Mom, you should be resting…", Rick began, then she shook her head at him.

"No, my son is in the hands of this monster. He wore a wrestling mask, Rick, but I know it was the same man that murdered Mr. Patterson, that Gabe Thomas. Two men were with him when I was taken away, and two men drove me back to the hospital. I'm going to the hearing, and I'm going to tell the judge exactly who the murderer is."

Relief washed over Rick as Robbie said, tentatively, "Grandma, are you sure you feel up to it, you need some rest."

"I'm sure, Robbie. This man needs to be put away, before he hurts someone else." She answered. Rick got up and wrapped his arms around her. "Mom, I love you, thank you for being so brave."

"I love you too, Son. Now I'm going back to bed for a while, you guys get some rest." Rick walked her back to her room.

That night was the longest one Rick could remember, he kept seeing his brother, the bandage on his head. Twice he woke up, and found Laurie holding him in her arms, telling him it would be all right.

At sunrise, Rick finally gave up and got out of bed, only to find his wife had beat him to the kitchen and made a light breakfast.

"Darlin', thank you, but I don't think I could eat, just some coffee." Rick told her, only for Laurie to hold out a golden brown piece of toast.

"Please, Rick, just take a few bites, it'll settle your stomach, I promise."

Two pieces later, Rick felt calmer, then he saw the little smile on Laurie's face.

"My sneaky wife." He murmured, then gave her a kiss. Instantly she snaked her arms around his neck.

"Humph".

Behind Laurie Ron cleared his throat, and Rick reluctantly let her go.

"Sweetheart, we're going now." Rick said, then Laurie shook her head.

"I want to go with you, Rick. I can help, while you distract Thomas I'll get A.J. Please don't leave me out of this."

Rick took a deep breath. "No, Laurie." He took her by the hand and led her into their bedroom. Closing the door, he turned to face her.

"Ron and I are going to get A.J., while Robbie and Ron's men do the distracting. No, listen to me…." He shook his head as she started to protest.

Her eyes were mutinous, but she remained silent as he continued. "Laurie, I need you to go to court with Mom and make sure she's safe. If something goes wrong, you need to protect her. Here, darlin'.." Rick pulled out a small handgun and handed it to her. Instantly his wife took it, and pocketing it, put her arms around him.

"Rick, darling….Forgive me for being so stubborn." She told him, then kissed him as he found himself tearing up. "Angel….I'm the one who's sorry, I should have told you our plans earlier…I do trust you, you can handle your side every day of the week. Now I want you to keep Mom safe, please, sweetheart."

"I will. I won't let anyone hurt Mom" Laurie sniffed, as a knock on the door signaled the others were ready to leave. She handed him his jacket.

"Be careful, love. Bring A.J. and yourself back home to me, please." Laurie tried to smile as Rick kissed her then went out the door.

As the older Simon climbed into his truck, Robbie slid in the passenger side, then patted his father's shoulder.

"Mom'll take care of Grandma, I know, but I wish we could get a hold of Uncle Oscar."

"He's due in with Steve this morning, I know he plans on being at the courthouse as soon as they arrive." Rick explained. It did bother him they were without Oscar's expertise, but hopefully they wouldn't need him.

As they reached the outskirts of town, Ron directed them in the direction of the Railroad tracks. Suddenly Rick's watch gave off a strange beep, and Rick looked at the building they were in front of.

"Ron, stop, I think he's in there." Rick pointed a finger toward the old shipping office, and immediately both cars stopped. Rick got out, then whispered, "count to ten, then cover the front."

"Okay, Rick, it's your call." Ron said quietly.

Staying in the shadows, Rick made his way to the back of the building, then edged toward the rear door. Just then footsteps caused him to stop, then a sleepy voice yelled "Who's out there?"

Taking cover, Rick listened as the voice called again. Peeking through some abandoned crates, he saw a man dressed in a guard's uniform, looking around.

Hoping Ron had made entry to the front, Rick waited until the man had his back turned, then slipped behind him and put an elbow to his throat.

"One sound and you'll pray for the cops to get here. Where's my brother?"

"Inside, please don't hurt me…" the man choked, then Rick pushed him to the ground and tied him up.

Straightening up, Rick noiselessly entered the building, then heard voices.

"Well, Mr. Simon, just a few more hours and we'll be sending you to the promised land."

Furious, Rick strode toward a door in the warehouse, and opening it, saw his brother tied to a chair, with a man in a mask playing with a gun in front of him.