Adrian Monk had the taxi park outside as he ran inside his apartment and changed into all black clothing and grabbed his pistol. Returning to the waiting cab, he slid into the back seat then instructed the driver to drive by the Wagner house; but, when he saw the police car parked outside of the home and saw the former astronaut's car nowhere to be seen, he instructed him to drive on.

"Where to next?" the driver asked.

"Altman Aeronautics, and hurry." Monk replied, knowing precisely where he would find Wagner and Natalie as well.

It was now 11PM and the facility was abnormally lit up and swarming with vehicles for a Saturday night. This made sense since the rocket launch was scheduled for the next day, but it also made things easier for Monk to slip into the facility unnoticed. Arriving on the scene, he had the taxi driver let him out about a block away from AA and casually hid in the shadows as he watched guards checking IDs and letting trucks through one at a time. An army truck pulled up that was loosely covered in a tarp and was clearly about half full. This would be his ride. While the guards conversed with the driver, Monk adeptly slipped through the darkness and climbed under the tarp. The guards didn't even check the contents. He was in.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the facility Natalie had wiggled her way out of the ropes and was looking for her way of escape. She couldn't just walk out into the hallway. She had to have some sort of diversion. But what?

While she pondered her options, Monk rolled out of the back of the truck and dropped behind some crates against the wall. The noise in the facility was somewhat deafening as trucks poured in with supplies, fuel, everything that would be needed for the launch. Crouching down as low as he could go, he tried to stay out of sight. He needed to get to the stairs at the other end of the facility. He knew that they would lead to Natalie.

Suddenly a voice broke the silence. "Halt!" said the young guard, placing a gun to Adrian's back. "I.D. please." Adrian raised his hands and slowly began to turn around but changed to a quick whirl followed by a solid right hand hook to the young man's jaw. The man was out cold. Monk quickly drug him into a janitor's closet and, seeing he was close to Adrian's size, changed into the guard's clothing, took his weapon, and locked him in the room.

Straightening his hat, he picked up a bucket of tools on the floor and looked the part of a man with purpose. Heading towards the stairwell, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his nemesis.

Wagner was walking across the floor arguing with an overweight person that, upon further examination, turned out to be the governor. Monk moved a little closer so he could hear what was being said.

"I want nothing to do with your little revenge-fest, Wagner!" Greenway yelled. "I hired you to help us get over a technological hurdle that we needed to put Altman back on the map."

"And so, you got what you paid for." Wagner replied.

"I did not pay for vengeance." Greenway replied.

"But you want it don't you? Don't you, governor?"

"What do you mean?" said the governor.

"What I mean is Judge Rickover. He was your closest friend wasn't he?"

"Uh, y-yes, I guess so." was his reply.

"Well you have Monk to thank for his death too. See, we're not so different after all. We've both been affected by this freakish detective in very significant ways."

Greenway's face grew red. "Listen, as much as I admired Ethan Rickover and valued our friendship, when I found out what he had done to Monk's wife, I was astonished. That was a man I never knew and I in no way condone what he did."

"I see" Wagner responded "Well maybe you can condone this. I have every email, and recorded every phone call that we ever made concerning this deal. And, based upon what I'm seeing, you are about to become a very very wealthy man. So, I have the motive to go along with them."

"I'm already rich." said the governor.

"Yes, but Altman is about to launch into something that will put it in the history books forever. And your name will be at the top of those ingenious people who saw it come to fruition. You really don't want all of that ruined by another scandal now, do you?" Wagner said with a smirk. Greenway straightened his back a bit, looking at the astronaut with a frown. How well, Steve had his number. Was it really that obvious that he craved fame and legacy?

"I, I guess you're right. But, I don't want another murder. You let that girl go after today. And leave Adrian Monk alone. Hasn't he been through enough?"

"Not even by half, governor. Not even by half."

"Now listen here, Wagner..."

Monk didn't stick around to hear the conversation continued as he could easily surmise its contents. Steve Wagner had no intention of letting Natalie or him go and therefore time was of the essence. He needed to move quickly.

Reaching the end of the building, he set down the bucket of tools and began to climb the stairs.

Leland Stottlemeyer spoke with Steve Wagner's relatives and found that he had not been home since early Saturday morning. Taking Monk's lead, he asked Briggs to go with him to see if perhaps Wagner's car might be at Altman. But upon arrival, they line to get to the gate was horrendous.

"Can you believe this?" Stottlemeyer said to Briggs. "It's almost midnight."

"Big launch tomorrow." Briggs responded. "Guess we go to plan B."

"Plan B?" Leland asked. "What's plan B?"

"I'll let you know when I come up with it." Briggs responded.

Natalie looked around the room for anything that she could use to cause a diversion and found one when she discovered a bottle of lighter fluid and a lighter in the top drawer of a desk within the cramped office. Picking up a magazine, she moved with it and the other items towards the door, like Briggs, making up a plan in her mind as she went along. She was about to reach for the door handle when she saw a shadow. Startled, she set down the items on a chair next to the door. Reaching for the planter on the side of the door, she held it over her head and watched as the handle turned below. Positioning herself just so, she was determined to make whoever it was see stars and then make her escape. As the door opened more fully, she was just about to make her move when she caught a glimpse of the man's face in the light of the blinds.

"Adrian!"she gasped.

Monk spun around and saw his Natalie let out a sigh of relief. "Natalie! You're okay...and, you spoke!" he cried and then through wide-tear filled eyes as he wrapped his arms around her. Natalie grabbed onto him tightly and the two held each other for a good long time, both thankful that the other was alive. As they stood there, he repeatedly kissed the side of her head and she buried her face in his shoulder and wept until a voice over the intercom asking for Greenway brought them back to the present.

"We've got to get out of here." Adrian exclaimed. "I promised I would get you out of here safely, and I am not about to break that promise. Wagner is the man. Steve Wagner. The astronaut."

"I know." Natalie said. "He's been in here."

"He has? Did he h-hurt you?" Monk asked.

"No." Natalie replied. "He didn't hurt me. He was using me to get to you."

Adrian pondered that for a second. His Natalie was back. "Then that's all the more reason to get you out of here. I mean nothing. But if something happened to you ... I'd..." He didn't finish, but merely looked deeply into her eyes allowing the emotion in his own eyes to do the talking. She understood and nodded.

"We've got to go." He said, taking her by the hand and moving her towards the door.

As the pair exited the office, they had traveled no more than two feet when they heard a thundering voice. "Hey! Stop right there!" Monk and Natalie turned around to see Wagner running up the stairs at full force. With everything they had in them, the couple took flight as well, running down the hallway and then spotting an elevator about midway on their course. Natalie pressed the open button and jumped onboard, but Monk hesitated. Hearing the rush of footsteps, Natalie motioned for Adrian to get onboard. He looked both directions and seeing the reflection of a shadow on the floor around the corner, he finally took the plunge, jumping aboard and pressing close and then B on the control panel. Looking over at Natalie, he rolled his shoulder and looked apologetically into her eyes. "I hate elevators." he remarked, as she put her hand on his back and stroked it in comfort.

When the elevator came to a stop, Adrian and Natalie poked their heads out and found that they were in some sort of basement tunnel. Water pipes hissed loudly over their heads and there was the constant sound of a drip...drip...drip...

Looking to his right and then left, Monk grabbed Natalie's hand and began running "The exit is this way. If we can just get you to safety." He said, even as they both heard the elevator creak to a stop again. Gasping, they looked for a place to hide.

Crouching down behind a cart they observed not one but two tall men step off the elevator.

"Monk! We know you're down here." It was Wagner's voice. Staying as still as they could so as to not give away their position, they listened as Wagner told his cohort, "You go to the left and I'll go to the right. They can't be too far away."

"That's the guy. He's the guy who kidnapped me." Natalie whispered.

Monk squinted his eyes to see if he could make out who it was and then knew exactly who it was - Sam Grayson, the commander of the crew for the Rocket Launch that was to occur later that morning.

"Grayson?" Monk said, louder than he had intended.

Grayson jolted and pulled out a gun. Spotting Monk and Natalie hiding in the shadows, he fired off a shot. Monk felt a searing pain in his arm but did not let on to Natalie.

"Run!" he shouted, pushing her ever closer towards the exit. Running for their lives, the ducked and weaved in between crates and storage items and soon had created enough distance between them and Grayson to where they could again take cover, this time behind a wall. Catching their breath while keeping a watch out for their assailants, Monk felt the sting of his injury and looked down at himself, realizing he was bleeding pretty bad. Looking at the floor, he saw blood droplets along their path and knew that in the condition he was in, it was only a matter of time that they would pick up on the fact he was hit and the blood would lead them straight towards them. He knew what he needed to do.

"Natalie, take this and go on ahead." Monk said, softly, reaching into his holder and then handing her his pistol.

Natalie looked at the gun and then at him and shook her head. "What? I'm not going without you."she whispered as she tried to pull him up by the arm to continue their flight. Immediately, she felt something warm and sticky. Looking at her hand, she then looked up at him with concern. "Y-you're bleeding!"

"It's okay, Natalie. I'm okay. It's just a nick. Don't worry." he responded.

She took her jacket off and ripped a piece off to make a make-shift bandage.

"Natalie, seriously, I need you to just go. They want me. They don't want you. I will lead them straight towards us."

"But, Adrian...I...I"

"I know. I feel the same way. But together, we're just too big of a target. Take the pistol and make your way to the front of the building. I saw some stairs there when I came in. They lead to the front door. Go, call Leland and tell him what happened. Tell him I was right. Wagner's the guy and Grayson is his accomplice." Adrian whispered.

"I can't leave you." Natalie cried.

"You must. Please, for Julie's sake. You've got to go. I'll be okay." he said, pointing towards the guard's revolver which he had stored in his jacket. "Really. Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Adrian said, touching her cheek.

Natalie swallowed even as her eyes misted over. She mouthed "I love you." through her tears and then grabbed the pistol and ran as fast as she could towards the front of the building. When she was a sufficient distance away, she darted out from the storage area on the right and into the main aisle. Grayson saw her but did not pursue. Instead, he was following a trail of blood droplets that he hoped would lead him directly to Monk.

Meanwhile, Adrian crawled along the floor until he was able to quickly move into the shadows on the other side. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the guard's revolver and slowly pulled back its hammer, readying himself for the shot. Moving silently in the shadows, he spotted and then acquired a fix on his target as Grayson walked, oblivious to what was about to happen. With Grayson's chest clearly in his sights, Monk began to draw back his finger on the trigger when all of the sudden, BAM! Monk felt a crushing pain to the back of his own head as Steve Wagner hit him in the head with his own pistol handle. Monk immediately fell to the floor and slipped into unconsciousness.