Ralph and Pam arrived at the main station and got out of the car. The agent escorted them to Cyler and Rhonda. "Mr. and Mrs. H, it's good to see you," said Rhonda, unenthusiastically.
Pam gave Rhonda a hug. "Don't worry, they'll find them," said Pam gently. "You know Aidan and Tony, both are quite resourceful and they'll think of something."
Rhonda nodded and went to get a cup of coffee. Cyler turned to the couple and frowned. "She's been a mess since she arrived," he said softly. "Good thing you two came along too."
"What exactly happened?" asked Ralph, though he knew that Aidan and Tony had been working together on the case.
"According to the head of the gang, they kidnapped our guy to get Villacana. They knew about his setting up the search plane and blackmailed the pilot. We found out he owed them some protection money, and when he didn't have it this month, this was in lieu of it."
Cyler took a sip of coffee and continued. "The pilot was given some sort of mask with a can of anesthetic gas to knock out Aidan, who they assumed was a female agent. They were going to give a mick to Tony beforehand in some coffee as he's stronger. Then, when they were out on the plane, the pilot was to take them there."
"But they didn't, obviously," said Pam simply. "OK, so any more information yet?"
"No. Only thing new is you two and Rhonda are here," said Cyler.
"And, we're willing to help out anyway we can," said Ralph firmly, but rubbed his arms again as if cold.
Pam frowned slightly, knowing he was still worried that history was repeating itself. "Honey, right now I think the best thing we can do is give a description of Aidan as well in case they're separated."
Ralph nodded and gave a more detailed description and photo of Aidan, as Cyler hadn't seen her in about eight years and the rest hadn't at all. When Ralph finished, Cyler headed over to a group of rescuers and gave them her description as well.
After the searchers left, Cyler went over to the break area and added some more coffee to his cup. He took a sip and frowned. There was something Ralph and Pam were hiding, but he didn't know what. All he knew was that it might help bring some light to the situation.
He took a deep breath and went over to the two. "Mr. and Mrs. H, I need to talk to both of ya... alone."
Ralph and Pam looked at him a little confused, but nodded. They went to a quiet area and, making sure that no one else was listening in, Cyler decided to ask the question. "All right, Mr. H what's going on? Why was Aidan there in the first place and why was she called an agent?" he asked.
"Don't know," said Ralph, trying to hide the truth. "She said she was going on a trip, just didn't know it was one like this."
"Yeah, maybe they saw her with Tony and just assumed," said Pam as well.
Cyler shook his head. "No, I don't think so. They thought she was an agent when they set it up, so it wasn't a one time thing. Since he's worked under my leadership, Tony's pretty much followed the rules."
"Mostly because you beat him in his exams," said Ralph. He was right too, given that Cyler almost always beat Tony in tests during his high school days.
"Maybe, but we're not at school anymore, and this is something I know he wouldn't do, bringing in a civilian, as it'd get his butt fried... then fired," said Cyler chuckling briefly. "Listen Mr. H, Aidan's not going to get in trouble, and if you're worried, I won't punish Villacana either and will claim she was an informant helping out, but I need to know: Why was she there?"
He saw the two look at each other, as though arguing about revealing their secret. Ralph won out. "Cyler, you're not going to believe me, but what I'm about to say is true," he said quickly. "Will you at least promise me that you won't tell Rhonda. She really doesn't need to know any of this, for her's and Tony's sake."
Taking a moment to consider the request, Cyler nodded. "All right, Mr. H, I'll keep my word. What's going on?"
Ralph took a breath and began to tell him a story about a trip to the desert, a spaceship and a special suit with unearthly powers he wore, which was passed down 25 years later to Aidan...
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After an hour walk, full of gripes and arguing, Aidan and Tony found the second half of the plane. Aidan gave out a slight whoop and entered the plane, searching for her tie decorated bag.
When Tony didn't hear anything, he began to panic. "Ade, are you OK? Did you find it?," he asked, and not hearing an answer, walked in the torn up opening.
Aidan had taken off her pants and was starting to put on the tights and boot spats of the suit. She looked up. "TONY VILLACANA Get your butt out of here now!" she shouted, embarrassed.
Tony turned around, blushing. "Sorry Ade," he said embarrassed, but then quickly turned serious. "You need to respond next time if I ask if you're OK or somethin'. Ya gotta remember we're in a survival situation..."
Aidan took off her shirt and put the tunic and belt on, giving a slight scowl. "I know that, but you could knock before entering, even if it's a torn-up plane," she said, growling slightly as she put on the cape. "Give me a minute to gather my street clothes and we'll get the hell outta 'Dodge.' My guess searchers are already out to find us, and if they find the pilot..."
"I get the picture Aidan. They see him, they'll think we've all been dinner for the animals," said Tony, walking out. He started gathering for food and other supplies that they could use before they flew when he heard a growl from a short - at least it sounded short - distance. Looking up, he saw a bear walking toward them. "Uh, Aidan..." he said quietly.
Aidan got out of the plane and sighed, thinking Tony needed her to pick the rest of the plane up to get some item. "What do you need," she said, only to see the bear too. "Oh no. Tony, just back away slowly and don't panic."
Tony listened to her, only to see the bear walk toward them. He quickly backed away and fell, only to see a flash of red get in between the two. He sat up and saw Aidan crouching down slightly, trying to talk to the bear. "What are you doin'?! You ain't Grizzly Adams," he said scared, trying to avoid it charging them.
"Can't hurt, he's scared too I bet," said Aidan calmly as she kept an eye on the bear. "Come on, please leave, we won't hurt you..." When she looked in the bear's eyes, however, she didn't see fear... she saw the look that read he had killed a human before.
The bear roared and charged toward her. Tony scrambled away a good distance as it collided with Aidan and knocked her roughly to the side. She pushed the bear off and stood up, finding that she was slower and apparently a little weaker even in the suit. "Hell, the gas must've affected me more than I thought," she said as the bear stood up on its hind legs, towering over her.
Aidan tried to make the bear leave again, only to see a paw swing toward her. She moved her arms up to her face just as the bear struck her head.
"Aidan!" shouted Tony, seeing her fall and the bear continue its attack. "Damn, fancy underwear or no, that bear's gonna kill her at this rate." He ran back in the plane, hoping his bag was there as well. He started throwing items around...
Aidan however, was still fighting the bear. After she hit the ground, she curled up in the fetal position, getting a better grip over her head. The bear swung a paw into her back, rebruising her ribs and causing her to roll along the ground. Panicking, she swung the cape over her head, hoping it'd give her a little more protection, and yelled out in surprise to not feel dizzy when the bear hit her in the head again.
Confused that his prey was still yelling, the bear paused for a moment before he decided to try biting into Aidan's leg and dragging her. Aidan felt the pressure of the bear's jaw as she was dragged, but no pain of the teeth puncturing flesh or bones being pulled from sockets. The bear then stopped pulling her, dropping her leg and hit Aidan along the back again. She yelled out in pain, gasping for breath afterward.
Realizing the bear wasn't going to give up as it hit her again, Aidan moved one of her hands from her head and swung up as hard as she could. Her hand connected with the bear and it yelped in pain, backing off. Aidan scrambled up and stared at the bear again. She could see the bear stare at her, but this time with a slight fear in it.
"Please ... leave," she said, but again the bear stood up. Aidan got ready when she heard a shot rang out. Aidan paused and saw the bear freeze in place. It dropped to all fours and hearing another shot, ran off into the forest in a panic.
Confused that the fight was over, Aidan kneeled down, tired. She turned her head at Tony and saw he was holding his revolver. "Ade, how are you feeling?" he asked, walking over to her right side. He looked around the area just in case the bear stopped running away and decided to return.
"As well as I can being a bear's plaything. Please tell me you didn't shoot the bear, or he'll come back and won't stop 'til both of us are dead," she said faintly and winced as she put her hand to her head opposite where Tony was, checking to make sure it was still there. She removed it and found it was red.
Tony continued, not seeing Aidan's hand. "No, shot over his head. He was using you as a toy Ade, another minute and... Ade?" he frowned when Aidan's eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, falling sideways to the ground, injured side down.
The agent slowly kneeled next to her limp form, frowning when he saw her the blood on her hand. "Come on, I know ya ain't the type to faint from seeing blood," said Tony, remembering she bandaged his head after he was injured several times, including this one. When she didn't respond to his shaking her shoulder, however, Tony realized it was worse than a faint.
Turning her onto her back and checking her for injuries, he saw that she had a couple of gashes on her head from where the bear hit it instead of her arms. "Damn, must've still broadsided you with its paw where you couldn't protect it," he said, and checked her vitals. Finding they were fairly strong considering what she just went through, Tony stood and went to get the first-aid kit he found.
After bandaging her head and wounds, Tony heard a loud peal of thunder. Seeing the sky darken, he looked back at the remains of the back half of the plane, and realized there wasn't enough space for both of them. He frowned, as it was getting too cold for them to be outside with no protection. There also was the threat of the bear returning. The front half of the plane was in a safer area and provided better protection, he surmised.
Realizing that he was going to have to move her, Tony searched for something that could be used as a stretcher to drag her back, reducing the stress on his knee. When he found nothing useful, he grimaced, knowing what he'd have to do would be painful for him.
He gathered the first-aid kit and other supplies he found, putting them in Aidan's purse. Putting the bag over his shoulder, Tony turned to look at the unconscious woman and sighed. "OK, Ade, I'm going to haveta carry ya. It'll hurt a little bit, but it's either this or we risk freezin' to death."
With that, he gently grabbed her wrists and pulled, sitting Aidan up and then continued to pick her up into a fireman's carry. She moaned slightly when her gut hit his shoulder, but didn't respond otherwise. Tony, however, yelled out when his knee and ankle protested at the extra weight. Trying to ignore the pain, Tony started walking the two back to the front half of the plane as it began to pour down buckets. Realizing how serious this scenario had become, he started praying that someone was trying to find them. He realized that his and Aidan's lives now depended on it more than ever.