"Robin, look! Isn't that Robbie's jacket?"
"It looks like it." Robin followed her mother into the breezeway, then picked up the brown leather coat off the ground.
"There's his archery patch, it's his.. ..listen." Laurie started, then saw a door into the old building, long empty. Reaching for the handle, she opened it and saw a long hallway, then heard a distant cry.
"I won't!"
"Robin, go get your father…I think I hear Robbie!" Laurie whirled around and went down the dark corridor, ignoring the cold fear in her stomach.
As she crept down the hall, she couldn't shake the sensation that someone was following her. Coming to a fork in the corridor, she decided to go back and wait for Rick and the others..
Suddenly there was hot breath on her neck, but before Laurie could look to see who was there, a hand was over her mouth, then iron tight arms held her fast. Desperate, she kicked at the person holding her, connecting with their legs.
A man's voice swore as she almost got loose, then the hand came off her mouth, only to connect with her face in a vicious slap. "Don't try that again, or I'll kill you!" her captor growled, then he tightened his grip on her.
"Rick!" Giving a muffled cry, Laurie struggled in vain as a wall opened up in front of her, then she was dragged through the opening. A moment later, the wall slid shut, and there was silence.
"Laurie!"
Rick came down the corridor, then turned to his daughter. "Robin, didn't your Mother say she heard Robbie in here?"
"I think so, Pop. This was where I left her, maybe she followed his call or something."
Robin tried to remain calm, but her father could see the worry in her eyes.
"Bird, it's all right, you were smart to mind your mother and get me….ahhh, A.J., in here!" He called, then saw his brother was followed by Oscar and Rob.
"Where's Laurie, Rick? I thought she was with Robin?" the older man said, then paled as a muffled cry echoed in the hall. "Honey, go get Rob, hurry!"
"Laurie!" Rick immediately raced down the hallway of the old store, then froze as a grating sound sounded up ahead. As he flicked out a flashlight, he saw a familiar metal object on the floor.
"Oh, no, it's her watch!"
Bending over to pick it up, Rick found it was literally stuck in the base of the wall. "Wait a minute…A.J., see if you see a crack or opening in the wall."
Shining the light indirectly on the smooth concrete, the younger Simon spotted a telltale shadow, then focused the light on a razor thin line in the walls surface.
"Look-there's the touch pad, if you didn't see it…."
Instantly Rick pressed it, then saw the wall slide out. He picked up his wife's watch, fingering it for a moment then putting it safely in his pocket. Seeing where the spring closure was, he wedged a piece of paper in it so it couldn't close, then led the way through, praying Robbie and Laurie were on the other side.
Once inside the secret passage, A.J. muffled his flashlight so only the faintest light shone on the floor. "Rick, what is this place?" he whispered.
"Don't know, maybe the former council had to hide relics or something…..wait a minute.." Rick stopped, hearing voices up ahead.
"No, don't hurt her, she hasn't done anything to you!" Robbie's voice floated down the corridor, and immediately the three men quickened their steps.
Within moments, Rick, A.J. and Oscar were hunched down behind a set of old cabinets, staring at a frightening sight.
Inside what must have been a old loading dock, Tom Moonwalk was one of two men holding Robbie, his face bruised, and his torn shirt spotted with blood. His arms were tied behind him, and a rope was around his neck, the other end held by one of his captors. Next to him was Laurie, bound and gagged, with a noose also looped around her neck. She was struggling with a furious John Hill, who was trying to force her up onto a chair. He shouted at Robbie, "Sign over your proxy, Simon, or your mother hangs before your eyes, and then you!"
Fear nearly froze Rick, seeing his wife and son being threatened with death….. then he heard a voice very clearly in his ear.
"Don't let the fear stop you, my son. Save them. Use your fury."
Suddenly he knew he needed to reach Laurie…so he "pictured" that he was there, and almost immediately he felt his wife's relief.
"Go limp, sweetheart, when I say now, can you do that?" Rick "asked", then received a frantic "yes!"
"A.J., " he whispered, barely turning his head. "On the count of three, shoot at Hill, then have Oscar cover them."
"Go for it."
"Laurie, now!"
For a moment Rick thought she didn't "hear" him. She was staring at Robbie, and he realized she was trying to let him know something, then she closed her eyes and collapsed forward.
Hill was caught by surprise, and let her go, as Rick slid out of his hiding place. Rushing out of the shadows, he reached out and caught his wife before she hit the floor, as two shots went off above him. "Don't move, sweetheart!", Rick told her as he covered her with his body.
Hill's cry of "Nooo!", told Rick his brother's aim had been good, then Oscar's voice boomed, "Move or you're dead!"
"I've got you, Robbie!" A.J. went past him to free his son, as Rick sat up Laurie up, then pulled the gag gently from Laurie's mouth and the rope from around her neck.
"Darlin', are you all right? Did they hurt you?" he asked shakily, hearing her take a deep breath as he cut the leather cords binding her arms and wrists.
"Hill….he hit me, Rick, he wanted to force Robbie to help him…oh, God, Rick…." Laurie choked, then buried her face in his chest. "They were going to hang Robbie if he didn't do what they wanted, then Hill told them to kill me in front of him!" she started to cry.
'No, sweetheart, no….it's all right", Rick tried to calm her down, stroking her hair. "See, Laurie, Robbie's all right."
"Mama, I'm okay." Robbie limped forward with his uncle's help, as Laurie raised her tear-filled eyes and saw him.
"My brave son…." She sniffed, reaching out and stroking his cheek. Robbie caught her hand in his and squeezed it. "You taught me how to be brave, Mama. If you hadn't given me that look…"
"That look was courtesy of your father, oh, darling…" she managed a smile then leaned up to kiss him. "You came in time, love. And you two…."
A.J. turned from handing over the now cowed kidnappers over to Rob and his men. "Honey….why didn't you wait for Rick and I?" he asked, upset at the sight of the rope burns on her and Robbie's necks.
"I'm sorry, I thought you guys were behind me, then John Hill grabbed me and carried me off before I could stop him. He's always been so nice, but he hit me when I refused to ask Robbie to give him the Chief's proxy, then he gagged me so I couldn't tell Robbie not to." Laurie explained, wincing as Rick rubbed the circulation back into her wrists.
"You don't go anywhere ahead of us again, understand?" Oscar spoke up gravely, then dropped a kiss on her forehead when she nodded. "I promise, Dad."
"Thank God you're safe." He sighed, then hugged Robbie. "You too, son. Don't scare me like this."
"I'll try not to, thanks, Uncle Oscar." Robbie wearily grinned, then returned the embrace as the older man helped him walk out of the room.
As Rick helped Laurie to stand, she put her face against his. "I was so afraid, darling, until I heard you…... I knew it was going to be all right. I love you, Rick, you are my knight in shining armor."
Rick felt his eyes sting. "I love you too, my fierce princess." He murmured, kissing her bruised face, then the scraped places on her neck. "I'm taking you to our castle so I can look after you properly."
"That's all I want." She smiled, snuggling against him.
As he walked her out of the old building, they both saw Robbie being embraced by Ramona, then Andy and an emotional Robin. Just then Rudy came down the street.
"Where was he?" he began, then saw the small crowd spilling out of the old shops.
At once Rudy took charge and made Oscar help Robbie into the sheriff's car to go to the hospital clinic. Turning around, the doctor spied Rick and Laurie and beckoned them over.
"There you are, Missy. Your father said….Oh, God, what did they do to you?" Rudy saw the rope burns and hustled the two of them into the back of car also.
"No buts, honey." He scolded, as Laurie tried to protest. "Listen to your husband if you won't listen to me." She looked at Rick, who shook his head. "He's right, we need to make sure you're okay, sweetheart."
Immediately she subsided. "Yes, Rudy." She sighed.
Rick laughed. "See, we still have it!"
