"What. Was. That?!" Grayson growled, barely suppressing the rage and embarrassment he felt inside.
"What was what?" asked Monk oblivious to why he would be angry.
"That! That spectacle you performed! Rearranging the thermal regulators? Bouncing around from pole to pole." he sneered.
"The regulators were crooked." Adrian replied, matter-of-factly as if his reasoning should be obvious.
"So?! told you to stop!"
Monk adjusted the collar of his space-suit. "You'll thank me for it later."
"THANK YOU? THANK YOU?" Grayson's volume continued to grow. "You made me look like a fool in front of 500 million viewers. A FOOL! THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN MY CAREER!"
Monk was silent as Grayson drew close and grabbed a hand full of the fabric of Monk's spacesuit, looking at him eye to eye. The commander lowered his volume and with steely voice and fire in his eyes said coldly, "I should have killed you when I had the chance! Go back to the space lab. I don't want to see you any more tonight."
Releasing Monk from his grip, Grayson immediately returned to the command module while Adrian went back to the Space Lab. After they departed, the laboratory curtains parted and a wide eyed Rachel Dawson poked her head out from the stall. She had heard the entire exchange. Her Commander (and secret boyfriend) had just threatened a man's life.
What did he mean "when he had the chance?" she thought. Did Monk and Grayson know each other? Was that how Adrian got the gash in his arm that was clearly made from a bullet and not from running into something? She had never heard such a malevolent tone in Grayson's voice and it frightened her. Who was this person? He sounded so evil and mean. She felt sick to her stomach. What could she do?
As Adrian reached the space lab, he stopped at the window outside the lab to look at the remarkable view outside. He thought he would see stars outside, but from his vantage point it looked pitch black except for the earth. He chuckled as a looked at it, because here he was on the Moon - a billion in one experience - and all he could think of was this one bright shining star whom he realized now had stolen his heart.
"What a beautiful world. Just like your eyes." he spoke, thinking of Natalie. "Your graceful walk, your disarming smile...truthfully, dear..it's all I can think about. Here I am, Adrian Monk, a pathetic 'muss' afraid of his own shadow, and fear seems as far away from me as that blue globe before me because, you've captivated me. And I'm living just to get back to you. Sleep peacefully...my love. I'll soon be home." Adrian kissed his hand and then touched the glass before turning in for a deep peaceful rest.
Almost 250,000 miles away, Natalie sat in a chair by the window and stared at the moon. She couldn't sleep. She was excited. Adrian was alive and well and that had brought her the first feeling of utter joy she had felt in months. She had a connection with Steven, to be sure, and his loss about killed her. But being back with Adrian reminded her of what all they had. With Steve, it was the commonality they had with Mitch and a strong physical attraction. He represented her past and there was familiarity and companionship with him. In short, it was comfortable.
Her relationship with Mr. Monk was different though. He was infuriating and frustrating, a man who was terrified of life and yet braver than anyone she had ever known. They say the best relationships start as friendships. Could it end up that Adrian Monk, the very best friend that she had in the world, could one day be hers? She smiled as she considered the thought.
"Adrian, wherever you are tonight... I'm thanking God that He kept you safe, and I can't wait until you're home with me again. Sleep tight." She kissed her hand and touched the window at the place where the moon shined through as she retired to her bed and the best night's sleep she had experienced in a very long time.
Adrian woke up to the sound of the vessel's systems being booted up. In the distance he heard voices and rustling around. His crew mates were up. He sat up in bed and had just begun to don his orange jumpsuit when Bryson grabbed an envelope of "space food" and brought it back to him.
"Here, eat this. You'll need your energy. Today, we plan to blast off of this desolate and dreary place and start heading back towards home."
Adrian took the envelope.
"Thank you for the food, and for letting me know." he responded and ducked his head a little. He was sure everyone thought he was a big screw up so planned to stay as quiet and out of the way as possible for the rest of their trip. But what was said next truly surprised him.
"Hey, Monk. I just wanted to tell you that, given that you haven't trained in this stuff for years like the rest of us, you did an amazing job yesterday." Bryson said.
"Really? Thank you." he responded, touched.
"Yeah, don't let Grayson bother you. That guy doesn't know half of what he thinks he does - but I didn't say that." he smiled.
"I heard nothing." Adrian smiled back.
"Oh, and for the record. I like the regulators the way you arranged them. If we're going to go some place uninhabited by man, we might as well leave it tidy." he said, his voice trailing away.
Monk sat up straighter. "That's what I was thinking. No sense in leaving a mess!"
Bryson grinned and patted Adrian on the shoulder and then returned to the front of the vessel.
Strapping himself in firmly to his seat, Monk opened the envelop and found a juice box, a couple of granola bars, and a piece of jerky - not that he could taste any of it. The gravity had done something to his sense of taste. But he was thankful for the provisions just the same.
Rachel Dawson was quiet that morning. The sick feeling in her stomach had not gone away. She couldn't help but believe that they were in the presence of a very dangerous man and that she needed to say or do something to stop him. She made up her mind that once they were on their trajectory towards earth again, she would confide in Commander Stevens. If Grayson was who he appeared to be, he did not need to be leading this mission.
Monk finished up his breakfast, freshened up in the laboratory (making liberal use of every type of wipe they had) and went back to the space lab. The spaceship had begun its ascent and was quickly moving back towards the world they called home. Most of the crewmen were either relaxing or going through all of the checks one more time so that they could take a break. Rachel was in the command module with Stevens, alone. She relayed everything that she heard Grayson say to Monk and spoke of the bad feeling she had if Grayson were to remain in control of the vessel. Stevens called in Naomi who was his second in command and told him about what Rachel had run into. After being informed, all three felt the same concern. Stevens said he would talk to Grayson.
Monk went back into the spacelab to find a bottle of water that he had left strapped into the nightstand, when all of the sudden Grayson entered the room, startling him. He walked up to Adrian and gently tapped him on the chest.
"Didn't mean to sneak up on you."
Adrian lowered his eyes. "It's alright. I was just coming back here to get my water."
Grayson looked at the water and then Monk and smiled. "Yes, well...actually, there was a reason for me coming back here as well."
"Oh?" Adrian asked, suspiciously.
"Yes. I, um...well...Listen. I'm sorry about yesterday. I'm afraid I overreacted. You were doing the best you could, and I ... well, I was a jerk. So I apologize." He lowered his chin a bit and looked at Monk with a smile that didn't go to his eyes. "Forgiven?"
Monk just looked at him. "Don't mention it." He replied, turning to go.
"Hey" Grayson continued, grabbing Monk's arm then releasing it when Adrian threw him an offended look. Grayson took a step back and brushed his hand down Adrian's sleeve, smoothing the fabric. "Say...I, uh... I believe that we left some brackets unsecured inside the payload bay yesterday, and thought before we reenter earth's orbit that maybe we should re-secure them. If they get loose, they could really cause some damage and perhaps be dangerous. Mind helping me?" he asked with a tilt of the head.
"What are you saying?" Monk asked.
Grayson turned, opened up a closet and pulled out a white spacesuit for Monk to put on.
"What I'm saying is that I want you to go with me through the airlock over there and help me to secure the brackets."
"You want me...?"
Grayson grinned and handed the suit to Monk. "Sure! Consider it a vote of confidence,"
Monk sensed it was a trap and tried to think quickly to avoid going. "Well, I think maybe once in space is enough..."
But, the commander wasn't in the mood to take no for an answer. Suddenly, Grayson pulled the knife from his sleeve and the smile disappeared from his face. With a chilling glare he ordered him."Monk, I'm not asking. Put on the suit."
Stevens looked throughout the control and service modules and asked Higgins if he had seen Grayson.
"I think he's in the shower." Higgins replied.
"Okay. Well, would you send him up to the command module when he gets out?" Stevens responded.
"Sure thing, Commander." Higgins answered before Stevens retreated back to his place.
Monk put on the spacesuit and Grayson did the same. Fastening their helmets, he told Adrian to move forward to the airlock and to open the hatch.
Monk protested that he thought he'd rather not but Grayson responded by pushing the knife so hard against Monk's back that he could feel the sharp hardness of its blade pressing into his skin. "Don't think I won't use this." Grayson barked.
Moving towards the door, Monk tried to keep Grayson busy.
"It's the monitor.." he said. "I know you didn't invent it; yet, you've been taking credit for it all this time."
"Walk!" said Grayson, getting more and more angry at Adrian's perceptiveness and the fact he had figured him out. Monk stopped at the airlock and Grayson ordered him to open it. "Get in." He said forcefully.
Stevens walked back into the service module and was greeted by Higgins. "Commander, I'm sorry. I was just on my way up to tell you that I was wrong. It was Bryson in the shower, not Grayson. I think Grayson is back with Monk."
Stevens turned his head and locked eyes with Rachel, then, in a flash both of tem darted down the hallway and through the craft until they reached the door of the Skylab. Trying the door, Rachel looked at Stevens.
"It's locked!" she said, her frightened eyes expressing the dread she felt for what was going on inside.
While Stevens looked for a heavy object to burst through the door, Monk entered the Payload bay followed by Grayson.
"What I can't figure out is why you tied up with a scum like Wagner. I mean, that guy is pretty much damaged goods." Adrian stopped and a faint smile appeared on his lips. "That is, unless..."
"Shut up!" said Grayson. "I've had enough of your mouth! MOVE!"
Suddenly Grayson gave Monk a hard push, so hard that Adrian went tumbling onto the floor of the payload bay. The jolt sent a shockwave through his system and his wounded arm, but he quickly recovered as he began floating up from the bottom, trying hard to reach the side so he could hold on to something solid.
Before he could reach the side, however, Grayson slapped down his hand onto the control panel and pushed a button that cause the bottom of the vessel to begin to open.
Monk was sucked forcefully out of the spaceship into space, the only thing between him and the dark silence of the universe being the canvas umbilical that attached to his space suit and was designed for the safety of astronauts on space walks.
"You should have let it be, Monk! I warned you."
Terrified, Monk scrambled to reach for the rockets on the back of his suit, but to no avail.
Grayson paid no attention to his efforts, being fully absorbed in what he was about to accomplish.
"You're right, you know. I don't know how you figured it out, but you definitely did. Which means now, you are even more of a witness who needs to be silenced."
Monk grabbed on to the umbilical with one hand and swung the second hand over and began to climb as Grayson blathered on.
Stevens picked up a fire extinguisher and forcefully smashed it against the handle of space lab until finally it released, allowing him and Rachel to burst through the door into the Skylab.
Rachel pointed at the open airlock and cried "They're over there, Commander!"
Grayson suddenly became aware of what Monk was doing and shook his head.
"Oh, no you dont!" he sneered. "You're not getting away this time." The astronaut walked to the edge of the platform and wrapped his legs around the post as the open space before them sucked harder and harder towards space. Pulling out his knife, Grayson He grabbed onto Monk's umbilical and began to cut.
Meanwhile, Monk's umbilical had floated far enough to the left that in enabled him to reach out and grab a metal step from a ladder that was welded into the side of the vessel. This in turn protected him so that when Grayson had cut through the cord entirely he did not fly out into space. Instead, he held on for dear life with his legs and left arm to the ladder, while his right arm reached out and grabbed hold of the waving umbilical. Pulling it towards him, he tied himself firmly to the ladder.
Grayson dropped his knife as he tried to balance himself on the platform floor.
Just as he was retrieving the knife, he heard his co-commander's voice calling out his name from the airlock door.
Grayson swung around with his knife in hand and with the force of the swing unknowingly cut a large slice out of his own umbilical.
Monk yelled his name to let him know but Grayson didn't listen.
"This is none of your business, Stevens. Go back to the command module!"
"What the..." Stevens said as he spotted Monk holding tenaciously to the ladder. He turned to shut the payload bay doors and stop the suction.
Grayson, ran forward, Grabbing Stevens by the arm and tried to pull his unsuited co-commander inside the chamber. But, his grip was unsure and Stevens jerked his arm away. Grayson's hands slipped as did he and he suddenly found himself sailing through the air towards the opening of the payload bay door. Turning towards space, he saw the void outside and knew he needed to get back to safety.
From the side of the vessel, Adrian tried to reach out his hand to pull him back in figuring a convicted perp was better than a dead one but Grayson turned up his nose, choosing to go it alone. He reached out his hand and grabbed hold of his umbilical and began to pull himself back towards the platform. However, the force of the vacuum pulled harder and harder on the umbilical and the slice he had made began to tear.
Grayson's eyes grew wide as he saw the canvas giving way. Looking back towards Monk who was now too far away, he looked back towards the platform.
"Shut the doors!" He screamed. By now he was in full panic mode trying to grab the undamaged section of the chord. "Shut the doors!"
Stevens leaned in, holding on to the side of the vessel so that he too wouldn't be in danger and he stretched his hand towards the button. As he struggled to make contact, he could hear Grayson's anguished screams. Finally, his fingers reached their target and he began to press down when he heard Grayson's echoing shriek.. "Shut...the..."
Silence.
Steven's head turned around with a snap and he gasped at what he saw. There, in the open chamber was Mr. Monk looking through the payload bay doors out into space- accompanied by nothing but a severed umbilical blowing in the wind, flapping in front of him.
Sam Grayson was no more.