"No…." Rick paled as A.J. clenched his hands. "And she's alone at the ranch with just Rudy and Ramona…."
"I'll call Robbie and Rob…they'll make sure she's safe, A.J…..Ricky, have Ron call me with anything else DiMarco knows about Branson…including if Fran is involved. She might be hiding the little creep." Rick added, heading toward the door. Already on his transmitter by the time they left the little room, Rick was relieved when Chief Rob explained he and Oscar were almost at the Simon's already.
"Light wanted some more turkey food for Gobble….seems the kids forgot to tell her you were out. ..Ramona had to leave to pick up Chelsea from pre-school so we volunteered." Rick couldn't help but laugh as A.J. groaned.
"My soft-hearted kids….only they would adopt a walking meal!"
"I wouldn't take all the blame, little brother." Rick told him as they entered an elevator. "Laurie wouldn't hear of that bird going to the Center's farm…said he and Jack would miss each other too much!"
Their good humor lasted until A.J. got a message from the front desk of the station that his wife was trying to reach him.
"Let me use the phone, Rick." A.J. went to the public reception area and picked up the receiver. As Rick waited, he caught sight of DiMarco coming towards them, followed by Ricky and Ron.
"I'm sorry your family is troubled like this, Mr. Simon." The older man said in a sincere manner. "I should have dissuaded the boy when he first confided in me. I just had no idea…"
Swallowing an angry retort, Rick managed to thank the man for his warning. "I appreciate your help, I just have to make sure my wife is safe."
"Rick! Something's wrong!" A.J. called from the payphones, his voice frantic. "Ceci never came home from the Academy….and Linda got a hang up call asking if she was missing anything. When she asked who was calling, a guy laughed then hung up!"
"I'll get a call out...was Ceci driving her Mustang?" Ron yelled, rushing toward the younger Simon. A.J. nodded, pulling out a recent picture from his wallet of Ceci in front of her "birthday" car. "But Linda says her car's in front of the house now….she must have been grabbed when she came home."
"It's a start, little brother, wait a minute…." Rick's transmitter went off and instantly he turned on the receiver. Just as he saw that it was his wife's frequency, her voice came over the little speaker.
"Rick, you and A.J. need to get over here. Matty Branson is across the road from the ranch, and he's holding Ceci hostage. He's threatening to hurt her unless you and I trade ourselves for her."
Rick went cold inside, as A.J. gasped "No…not my daughter!" Ricky swore as Ron put a hand on his shoulder. "Hang on, son.".
"A.J…..it's going to be alright." Laurie's voice was very calm, and Rick suddenly knew she had a plan.
"Go ahead, sweetheart." He said quietly, as Ron radioed for a car and additional manpower.
"You and A.J. and Ron come in your truck…no other marked cars…he's got a long range sight on a rifle, he says. I'm going to have him drive into the driveway, and try to talk him into letting Ceci out of the car. Please tell Ron no sirens or helicopters. I don't want him spooked."
"Okay, darlin….your way." Rick replied, seeing Ron nod at the arrangements. Within minutes, the three men were in Rick's truck, with Ricky and DiMarco following in the latter's car. As they sped down the highway, Rick told Laurie to leave her transmitter on when she spoke with Branson, and make sure Rudy put Jack in one of the bedrooms.
"He's in our bedroom, love….Rudy has his pistol and is hiding in the hallway. Here goes…." She told him, then opened the front door.
"Matty, it's Mrs. Simon….please drive my niece over here…I've opened the gate." She called out, and immediately Rick heard the sound of a high-performance engine over the speaker.
As the noise became louder, the men listened as the car drove right up to the walk, then a car door slammed.
"All right, Mrs. Simon, here she is. Did you call your husband?" a young man's voice said, anger in his tone.
"Yes, Matty….please let go of Ceci's arm now….she's done nothing to you. She'll be more comfortable in my room with our dog." Rick blessed his wife's calm manner as within a moment Ceci was in Laurie's arms, crying, "Auntie, no…don't let him hurt you…."
"It's all right, honey….Matty's not going to hurt anyone….he just wants to understand why his father is in prison….." Laurie assured her, then the sound of heels on the wooden floor let the others know Ceci was leaving the living room.
"Where is he?" Branson's voice was hard, then Laurie let out a gasp of pain. "He's coming, just calm down!"
"Hold on, sweetheart." Rick whispered to himself, as his truck made one last turn then slowed as a sports car zoomed past him.
"Whoa….where'd that come from?" A.J. said, as the car changed lanes then vanished around the corner.
"I don't know, I'll have Ricky come in the back way to the ranch….wait a minute…that's Fran Branson's car!" Ron blurted, quickly turning on his radio.
"How'd she know where he was?" A.J. scowled, as Branson yelled again, "That'd better be him now, Mrs. Simon….."
As Rick whipped around the curve then turned off the highway, the three men spotted the woman's car blocking the ranch driveway. Rick screeched to a halt just short of the entrance, then leapt out of the truck, saying, "I'm going in, Ron…A.J….go in the back and get Ceci out..now."
Without waiting for an answer, Rick ran up the walk, approaching the front door as he "told" his wife, "I'm here, Laurie…"
"No…don't come in, darling." She "cried" out to him, falling silent as Matty Branson yelled, "Get out of here, Mother…I'm going to pay the Simons back once and for all…"
Rick opened his mouth to let the angry young man know he was there, only to stop when Fran Branson's voice sounded.
"No, you owe her..we both owe Mrs. Simon….she saved your life, son….not me."
Surprised, Rick quietly opened the front door, then slid inside in time to see the younger Branson turn and face his mother, a steel-colored gun in his hand.
"You're lying to me…you told me you gave me my life back…that they managed to fix your bone marrow to match mine!"
"I lied then….Matty…not now." A grey haired Fran Branson was next to Laurie, her hand outstretched. Both women saw Rick, but only Mrs. Branson reacted. She winced, then took a breath and spoke.
"I'm sorry, son….I was so angry that I passed that anger on to you….I didn't want to owe Mrs. Simon….I felt so guilty at the horrible things your father did to her and her husband. You forget, both of them saved our lives during a bank robbery when you were a little boy, remember?"
Matty's shoulders slumped as he stared at his mother. "I thought it was a dream…some nightmare I'd had as a kid." Rick took a chance and walked boldly into the living room to stand beside his wife. He looked calmly at the white-faced man, then said, "It wasn't a dream, Matty. My wife risked her life to get you and your mother out of that bank, then still gave you a second chance even after your father nearly buried her alive. You can't possibly want to pay her back by killing her, or me."
"No? Well, maybe I want to..cause my father still's in prison…he's never going to see me do anything!" Matty snapped, raising the gun in his hand. "Maybe I don't want to be grateful-I want to get out of this town with some money and start over again…but first…"
As he started to point the weapon at them, Rick heard Ricky yell, "Drop, Uncle Rick!" He grabbed Laurie's hand and the two of them hit the floor as 2 shots rang out. There was a scream, "Don't hurt him!", then the sound of Matty Branson landing on the floor, still shouting, "Let go, Mother…you've done enough.!"
"No I haven't…" Fran said, stoically, as she leaned down and moved the gun out of his reach. Rick looked up to see Ricky pulling Branson up and handcuffing the now sullen kidnapper. Seeing Branson's hand reddened from having the gun shot out of it, he grinned at his namesake. "Good shot, son!" Ricky just smiled back as he handed over the younger man to Chief Ron. Rick got up, then embraced Laurie, cuddling her to him as he whispered, "Thank God, you're all right…so brave…my brave princess."
"I love you so…I knew you were coming….and I was afraid when he kept ranting that you ruined his life…. …" she told him, her voice shaking.
"Auntie? Are you alright?" Ceci came back into the living room, A.J.'s arm around her. Behind them, Rudy sighed as he caught sight of Laurie and Rick.
"I'm okay, honey…." Laurie opened her arms to hug the young woman, then Rudy. The old doctor wiped his eyes as he embraced her, saying, "You scared me, Missy….but I'm so proud of you, protecting Ceci here."
"I had to get her out of there…and I knew you and Jack would keep her safe." Laurie managed a smile as Rudy chuckled, "That he did….the little guy wouldn't let Ceci off the bed once I told them both to "stay!"
"Hmmm, maybe I ought to teach someone that trick…" Rick teased, dropping a kiss on his wife's head. Laurie just sighed with contentment and snuggled close to his chest.
"I'll learn any trick for you." She whispered.
