? The Next Generation



 

 

Somewhere

 

"You shot me, you crazy bitch, you shot me!" Jim yelled in pain as he

lay on the floor, his chest bleeding. Anne stood near him, the gun

still in her hand and looked at him with a cold look in her eyes.

 

"You left me no choice, Jim. I'm sorry," she said grimly.

 

"You are nuts, god!" he continude yelling. "Call 911, something, I'm

dying, for god sake!"

 

"I can't do that, Jim. Too risky," she replied coldly.

 

"What? What are you talking about? You have two men injured here! You

are out of your mind!"

 

"Maybe, but I'll be in even more trouble if I call the police," she said, "and

so will you!"

 

"Annie, I'm begging you, I need help! Medical help. For God’s sake, it hurts!"

 

"I'm sorry, Jim. You did enough. I can't take the risk of being

throw in jail. Now that Steven’s escaped and Craig’s dead, it's too

risky," she told him still very calm.

 

"He is not dead yet, Anne! We can save him, but not if you hesitate. We both need medical treatment right now!"

 

"No, it's too late for Craig, he's already dead. The question is, what

I'm gonna do with you.”

 

Somewhere in the mountains of Nevada

 

It took Dex nearly a full minute to figure out where he was.

 

He knew he was outside, that much was certain. But where, and why? All

he could see were stars and a languid plume of smoke wafting overhead.

But the growing warmth of the flames soon slapped him back to full

consciousness. Alarmed, he now realized that there was a small fire

not too far from his head, practically burning his eyelashes. He

snapped to, springing onto his feet. "What the hell?" he thought. "The

plane!"

 

Dex's small private jet was slowly burning up. But never mind that.

Where was Alexis?

 

Covering his face with his shirt, he tried to peer into the cabin. The

smoke, light as it was at this point, still teared his eyes. He

coughed as he tried to wave the smoke away with his hands. But after a

quick search of the cabin and cockpit, he realized that Alexis was

nowhere to be found. He shot back out of the plane before the flames

got too high and was back where he started.

 

"Alexis! Alexis!" he shouted. No answer. She must have been thrown

clear of the plane when it crash-landed, but where was she?

 

That is, assuming she was still on the plane when it hit. There was

always the possibility that she fell out in mid-air as the plane went

into its nosedive. But that scenario was too terrible to think of. Dex

shuddered as he started a search outside the plane. In growing

circles, he quickly tore through the weeds and brush of the hillside

where the plane had landed. Eventually he'd find her. He hoped.

 

His search soon turned up one of Alexis's dainty little shoes. He

scooped up the pump and again shouted her name. Still no answer. That

didn't matter. The shoe at least proved that she was near. He

continued his circles, glad to be getting farther and farther from the

flames and heat of the burning plane.

 

His luck eventually won out, as about 30 yards from the wreckage,

there lay Alexis, her face and clothes scratched and dirtied, a little

blood on her forehead, but otherwise she didn't look too bad. "Alexis!

Alexis! My God!" Dex shouted as he dropped the shoe and took her into

her arms. Her breathing was belabored and she did not respond.

 

 

The Colby Mansion

 

Sable sat in the library, sighed and poured herself a shot of courage.

With Frankie out of the house it was up to her to play Mistress of the

Manor. And she knew it wouldn't be easy looking after a houseful of

desperate, frightened and confused young Carringtons and Colbys. She

prayed to the portrait of Constance Patterson Colby for luck, then

entered, not too drunkenly, into the grand parlor where her various

relatives alternately sulked, wept and quarreled.

 

There was Monica, bless her, reading a story to Cathy. Amanda and

Miles stood close together by the fireplace, their wedding day ruined

by all the commotion, wondering what to do next. Sammy Jo sat in an

armchair next to her sleeping twins. The open magazine on her lap

seemed to be far less interesting than the nearest wall. Lauren pouted

in a corner, apparently ready to kill the first person who’d say a word

to her. Joseph sat by himself, obviously stunned over his father's

arrest. And poor cousin Rosalind: senility had gotten the best of her

and she sat on the floor, carrying on conversations with housecats

that didn't exist. The only person who seemed unaffected by any of

this was Sable's own son, Cameron, who sat at the computer happily

blasting space aliens into oblivion.

 

Sable couldn't find a chair and so stood in the middle of the room,

trying to look authoritative and calm in the midst of so much angst.

She was almost glad, for a moment, that Bliss had gone on home to her

own family. At least that was one less person to worry about. Dana,

Cassie, LB and Jeff had accompanied Adam to the police station.

Wouldn't she love to be a fly on the ceiling while that interrogation

got underway!

 

In a sick way, she was also glad that some of the other relatives had

left the house, despite the dire emergencies that had instigated their

departures. Blake and Krystle, along with Dominique, had flown with

William back to New Zealand to see about the sudden death of his

mother. What that was all about, Sable could only guess. And so, Sable

was glad that she only had one dozen or so despondent relatives to

deal with now, instead of twice that many.

 

Still, she had a job to do, unpleasant and unwanted though it may be.

"Lauren," she announced, "I just received a phone call from Jason. It

seems your mother is all right and she'll be coming home shortly."

 

"Goody for her!" Lauren shrieked and stomped away.

 

Sable wondered what that was all about, but was hardly surprised,

having already noted the short-fused look on Lauren's face. Well,

Lauren would have to be dealt with later. Now it was Amanda's turn.

She walked right up to her new daughter-in-law and gave her a nice big

hug without a word.

 

"Sable, Sable," Amanda said. "What are Miles and I supposed to do?

We're thinking of cancelling our honeymoon; there's so much going

on."

 

"Don't be silly, dear," Sable said. "You must know by now that this

family seems to explode once a year or so. Everything will be all

right."

 

"Still, I think I should stay," Amanda pressed on.

 

"That'll be fine!" Rosalind clucked, popping off the floor. "And don't

worry about your tickets; I'll accompany young Miles. Oh, what a

delightful time we'll have together--just the two of us--on the sands

of Nova Scotia!"

 

"Why not Saskatchewan?" Miles murmured.

 

"Er, Aunt Rosalind," Amanda said, "I think I can handle my

honeymoon on my own. But thank you for your concern."

 

"And thank you for your concern," Sable said to Amanda. "But darling,

really, there's nothing you can do here. Please, take your honeymoon

and don't worry about anything. I'll handle it all."

 

"And there's one or two things I can handle," Rosalind said, smacking

her lips at the sight of Miles.

 

Miles went white and was quite relieved when the doorbell rang. Before

long, the butler announced an orderly and a nurse, both dressed in

white.

 

"We've come for Miss Bedford," the orderly said.

 

"Oh, Hell's bells!" Rosalind spat. "Can't you see we're having a party?"

 

"But we're here to take you to another party," the nurse said. "It's a

lovely tea party. Just you and all your dolls."

 

"My dolls?" Rosalind said. "Oh, yes, I can't keep my dolls waiting.

Such lovely things, and so polite. All right, I'll go. Amanda, I'll

cast a spell for all good wishes on your wedding night. Goodbye to you

all! Goodbye!" She spun around and allowed herself to be led to a

waiting car.

 

"Poor old bird," Sable shook her head. "She's lost her grip. Happy as

a junebug, though, I'd say."

 

"Aunt Sable," Joseph interrupted innocently, "when is my daddy coming back?"

 

Sable was momentarily stunned. Oh, what to say to a child at a time

like this? "Joseph, I want you to be a big boy," Sable said, putting

her arms around him. "You see, there's a lot of things that need

straightening out, and he has to go away. We may not see your father

for a long time."

 

"What do you mean?" Joseph started sobbing. "Where is he going?"

 

"She means he's going to jail!" Cameron said with glee.

 

"You shut up!" Joseph said, pulling away from Sable. "My dad's not

going to jail! My dad's better than your dad! Your dad scrapes cow

poop off his boots all day!"

 

"So?" Cameron teased him. "My mom's so rich she has a Van Gogh hanging

in her bathroom."

 

"So? My dad's so rich he has 'Vangle' himself hanging in the

bathroom!" Joseph shot back.

 

"So? He probably hung him there himself!" Cameron played on.

 

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Cathy repeated endlessly, covering her

ears. Amanda rushed to her daughter's side while Sammy Jo hid her eyes

in her hands.

 

"All right, you boys," Sable stood up. "Cameron--you can go to your

room if that's the way you speak to your cousin. And no video games!"

 

Cameron felt too triumphant to protest, and soon vanished upstairs.

 

Amanda and Miles, at this point, thought it was high time they got

their sobbing daughter into bed, and realized that Joseph needed some

down time as well. Amanda picked up the tearful girl and took her

upstairs. Miles took Joseph by the hand and said, "Come on, partner;

I'll race you upstairs." The two of them ran off and were gone.

 

The three remaining women, Sable, Sammy Jo and Monica, all locked eyes

and let out a laugh of relief. "Well, Mother," Monica said, "it's

quite a menagerie you've inherited."

 

"Like monkeys at a zoo," Sable said. "Oh, why can't they stay little

and quiet like these two?" she said referring to the twin tots, Iris

and Alex, asleep in their dual crib.

 

"They have their moments," Sammy Jo smiled. Then her face grew cold

again and she stared at the floor.

 

Sable went to her side. "It's a shame your aunt Krystle had to leave

so suddenly. I wish there was something I could do to help."

 

"Oh, I need help all right," Sammy Jo said. "But I need answers more

than anything. I can't believe Steven would just run off like that.

Bart Fallmont said he never even heard from Steven. Why would Steven

lie like that? I can't think what could have happened to him."

 

 

Somewhere else…

 

While the Carringtons began to wonder, for the first time since his

disappearance, that something bad had happened to Steven, Steven

himself was running from his captors, hoping they were not after him.

Now that he was finally out of the cabin Craig held him in, he drove

his car to nowhere, without knowing where he was, or how to find

his way to a main road that would take him to the closest city where

he'd be able to contact his family.

 

He still couldn't believe that Jim was somehow involved with the

kidnapping. At first he thought Jim had located Craig and then came to rescue

Steven, but as long he kept thinking about the latest events he became

more and more certain that somehow, Jim knew that Craig had held him,

and came, maybe to rescue him, when he realized things had gotten out of

control. He only hoped Jim didn't used the last few weeks to get his

dirty hands back on Sammy Jo! The only reason Steven could think of

was the idea to kidnap him.

 

He stopped the car at the side of the road the second he noticed a

public telephone. "Finally," he told himself, left the car and

prayed to god the phone was working. It was his last chance; he had no

money, no food, no drink, and the gas tank in Craig's car was only half

full.

 

"Hello? I need to make a collect call, Miss, to Denver, Colorado," Steven told

the representative from the other line and gave her the phone number

to Delta Rho. A few seconds later, the phone in Delta Rho rang.

 

"Come on, Sammy Jo, pick up the phone, come on!” But Sammy Jo was not

still in California. "I'm sorry, sir, is there another number you want to try?" the lady asked.

 

"Can you tell me where I'm calling you from? I don't know where I am,

it's kind of an emergency," Steven asked.

 

"I'm sorry sir, I can't hear you very well," the operator said.

 

"I said this is an emergency, hello? Hello?" he asked but the static

made it very difficult to hear, and eventually the line went dead.

 

"Damn phone," Steven hung it angrily and tried to call again, but

there was no tone this time. "Where am I damn it, where am I?”

 

Now he had no choice. He had to go back to the car and continue

driving to the nowhere, hoping he'll arrive some place before the gas

would run out!

 

 

The Colbys mansion, Los Angeles

 

Adam packed his last suitcase and ordered the first flight back to

Denver Carrington. He knew he would have to be there before Jeff and reduce

the damage that threatened to expose his actions and this time even

send him to prison. He knew that the minute Blake came back

with Krystle, he'd demand Adam tell him the whole truth and wouldn’t

forgive when he found out what Adam did. But he knew it won't be

easy. Blake was already very upset when he first heard Jeff's claims

and said some pretty harsh things to his son, things that Adam

remembered very well…



THE COLBY MANSION, A FEW HOURS EARLIER

"Tell me it's not the truth, Adam. I want to hear what you’re saying is a lie!" Blake said angrily to his son as Jeff, Dana and Krystle stood beside him.

"It's not, Father. There is a simple explanation to all that,” Adam tried but Jeff cut his words.

"Of course there is, it's all one big lie, Blake! He's the one who was behind that tragedy at the construction site, he's the one who told John Nance to use the unapproved materials and frame LB! It was HIS plan the whole time!" Jeff yelled, upset.

"Shut up Jeff, you don't know know what you're talking about!" Adam raged back.

"Really? So what's that, Adam? Hmm? It's all written here, in black and white! Is this a mistake too? Is this a misunderstanding too? Answer me!" Jeff yelled as he threw the papers on the next table. All eyes were focused on Adam now. It was the first time he was speechless. He looked into Blake's eyes, not knowing what to say.

"Jeff, please," Blake begged his son in-law and then turned to Adam.

"Father, I can explain everything. It's not how it looks," Adam said quietly to Blake.

"I pray to god it isn't, Adam. But I can't deal with that right now. I have another son who needs me now. But we will get to the bottom of this mess, the minute Krystle and I return from New Zealand," he said.

"Blake, this is criminal, it's not something you can keep inside the family this time. I'm sorry, but Adam needs to be arrested for this!" Jeff didn't give up.

"You bastard, you’re just afraid my father will choose me over you, that's why you're doing all that!" Adam attacked Jeff.

"Shut up, Adam!" Blake raised his voice.

"Blake, calm down," Krystle was scared to see him so upset.

"Jeff and Adam, you listen to me very carefully. Krystle and I are flying with William to New Zealand, to find out what happened to Patricia. I don't know how long we'll be there, but you two better stay away from each other until then. Therefore, you are not allowed to enter Denver Carrington until I come back and we settle this!" Blake began.

"Father!" Adam was amazed.

"You heard me, Adam! And you better start thinking what you're going to tell me when I'm back, because I won't be so merciful then!"

Back to the present

 

"Damn you, Jeff. Damn you!" Adam knocked on the table as the

door opened and Jeff walked into the room.

 

"Going somewhere, Adam?" he asked him, satisfied.

 

"Get out of here, Jeff, I have nothing to say to you!"

 

"You don't need to say anything, Adam, at least not to me. But I'm sure

Blake and the police will find it very interesting to hear what you

have to say to them," Jeff said coldly.

 

"You bastard! You promised father you wouldn't go to the police before

he comse back!" Adam went ballistic.

 

"Oh, so you're afraid now, Adam? I thought you had nothing to hide," Jeff said.

 

"Don't play games with me, or I’ll--”

 

"What? What will you do, Adam? Send somebody to kill me like you killed

John Nance?"

 

"I had nothing to do with that poor bastard’s death! Nothing!"

 

"Tell that to the cops. Oh, and don't bother trying to use the company jet; I

gave orders not to let you use it anymore," Jeff announced.

 

"You son of a bitch!" Adam yelled.

 

"Believe me, Adam. This is only the beginning. I'll see to it that

you spend your entire life at prison, paying for all you did,

to LB and to all those poor workers who died because of you!" Jeff

attacked him. "Finally you are gonna be punished for everything, Adam.

For everything!" he continued and it looked like Adam could explode at any moment.

 

"You stop that, Jeff!" they suddenly heard a familiar voice behind

them. They both turned around and found Dana standing in the doorway,

"You have no right to accuse Adam with anything until it's proven.

And Blake specifically asked you to sit and wait until he comes back

to get to the bottom of it!" she defended Adam.

 

"Dana, I know you love him and worry for him. But even you know that

this time he crossed the line, and he will pay for it, big time. I

frankly don't know what you’re still doing with a guy like this," Jeff said and

then walked out, without looking at Adam.

 

"Thank you, darling," Adam approached Dana and embraced her, "I knew

you'd be on my side," he continued. "And don't worry, I won't

disappoint you. We'll take the first flight back to Denver and solve

this mess; it's all going to be fine, I promise you," he told her.

Dana broke away and turned around.

 

"No, Adam, it’s not going to be so easy to kiss and make up this time," she said.

 

"What? What are you talking about? Of course we will. You'll see,

it'll be fine. I know you're confused now and maybe afraid of what’s to come,

but believe me, I'm innocent, honestly, I am!" Adam lied.

 

"No, Adam. No! Can't you see that? I can't live with your lies

anymore, with the constant fear that something else will happen, that

something new will rock our lives, I can't do that anymore, Adam!"

 

"Dana, I know it hasn't been easy this last year, but really, it's the last

time, darling. I swear to God, this is the last time," he tried to

touch her but she rejected him.

 

"Yes it is the last time, Adam. I can't deal with the lying, the

schemes, the fights with Jeff. I can't deal with this anymore, Adam"

 

"Dana, come on!”

 

"No, Adam. It's over. I'm going back to Montana in a few hours. I'm

sorry, it's over," she said with tears in her eyes.

 

"No, no Dana, please don't do that, darling, I love you, you're my

whole life, you can't walk out on me, not you too, Dana. Please!" Adam

begged and tried to stop her from going, but she turned around and

walked out quickly, before the tears could flood her eyes.

 

"No, Dana, please don't do this," Adam called as the door slammed in

his face and he was left in the room alone, and desperate.

 

 

Alexis' penthouse, back in Denver

 

"Well, here we are," LB said when he and Lauren walked into Alexis'

penthouse. He put Lauren's luggage on the floor and looked around.

 

"Yap," Lauren replied as she put her bag aside.

 

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with me to the mansion?" LB asked.

 

"We've been there already, LB. This is where I want to stay, at least

for now. Besides, I think it's good for me to spend some time with

Grandma. It's really fun to live here with her," she said and he

smiled.

 

"I'm not so sure Mom agrees with you, but whatever," LB replied.

 

"Speaking of Grandma, it looks like she's not back yet," Lauren said as

she walked into the living room, "the place looks exactly as we left

it before L.A."

 

"What did Dex tell you?" he asked.

 

"That he needs some time alone with her. You think he took her someplace else?"

 

"Could be. But I'm sure she would have called to inform you if she's

staying out of town for a while," LB said.

 

"Maybe there's a message on the answering machine," Lauren said and

went to the telephone desk to check for new messages.

 

You have one new message, the automatic machine announced. Lauren

pressed the speaker’s button and waited to hear the message.

 

"Mother, this is Steven!" they heard Steven's voice on the speaker.

 

"God, Steven!" Lauren called and LB hushed her, as they listened to

the rest of the message.

 

“ I've tried to call you but you weren't home and I don't have much

time. I just called to inform you I`m fine and still working on our

big deal. The negotiation with Sean Rowan exploded, but I'll do

everything I can to save that deal with him, and with Mr. Woo. I'll

keep in touch. Love you."

 

"What the hell?” Lauren began, "LB, they’re both dead, what is

he talking about?"

 

"I don't know, but it's very strange. I think he's trying to tell us

something," he said and picked up the phone.

 

"Who are you calling?" Lauren asked.

 

"Sammy Jo," LB answered.

 

 

Delta Rho

 

Sammy Jo quickly walked into the ranch as the telephone began ringing.

She took the twins to the living room, left them in their pram and

picked up the phone, hoping it had something to do with Steven.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Sammy Jo, it's LB, I hope I didn't interrupt you," he said politely.

 

"Oh no, that's fine, I just walked in now. What is going on? Is Fallon

okay?" she wondered why he called. They just said goodbye in the

airport after coming home together from L.A. with the rest of the

family, and Sammy Jo wondered if something happened, after all Fallon

was still at the hospital.

 

"No, mother is fine as far as I know. This is about Steven," LB said.

 

"Steven? You heard something from him?" Sammy Jo asked horrified.

 

"Well Lauren and I just walked into the penthouse. Grandma is not

here, so we check for new messages. The only message was from Steven.

He left a message saying he's fine and still trying to work on

some deal with Sean Rowan and Mr. Woo!”

 

"What?" Sammy Jo asked shocked.

 

"That is how we reacted too. Do you have any idea if Grandma worked on

something concerning those two?" LB asked as Lauren stood aside him,

listening to the conversation.

 

"No, no, I mean, I can't think of any reason why they'd be working on

something to do with two dead guys," Sammy Jo said worried, "unless

Steven's trying to tell us something," Sammy Jo said.

 

"That's exactly what we thought," LB said.

 

"My god, something’s happened to him. I should have known that the

second Bart showed up at the wedding," Sammy Jo said. "How did he

sound?"

 

"Very serious. I don't want to scare you, Sammy Jo. But we have to go

to the police with this; it looks like something bad’s happened to him!”

LB told her.





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