DYNASTY; THE NEXT GENERATION
SEASON 5

EPISODE 53 

" Return to Denver: Address Unknown"

Somewhere, at Cecil Colby's house

John Zorelli considered himself a fairly open-minded individual. The discovery of Cecil Colby, alive, well, and apparently back to cause trouble for the Carringtons wasn’t terribly shocking to him. Something about it made sense. And it wasn’t the first time a figure from the past had returned from the dead in Denver. But something about this Cecil Colby disturbed him; rather chilled him to the soul. Perhaps it was the appearance of this once-dead figure: he was old. No doubt about it. His appearance was so discrepit as to make one believe in the walking dead. And here he was for all to see: a warmed-over corpse.

Zorelli had been crouched behind a tree many yards from Colby’s lair, camouflaged and listening to Colby’s every word through his equipment. Sometimes his investigations paid off. For once, Zorelli had stumbled onto what was going on long before things got out of hand. He hoped.

But what to do about it? He couldn’t call for back-up; resurrection wasn’t a crime. Could he just walk up to the front door, barge in and arrest Cecil Colby for being one of the undead?

No, this little mission was all about gathering info. He’d gather evidence of Cecil’s return and then break the news to Fallon-- gently, of course. At least then she’d know that she wasn’t going crazy again. That was important. Then he’d watch this Cecil Colby, oh so closely, and figure out what the heck the old coot was up to.

Zorelli knew he’d have to bug this place.  He considered the legalities of having his FBI cronies wire the entire place for sound and video. Cecil’s little house would have to be kept under constant surveillance. Still, no crime had been committed, so it’d be tough to get them interested. He wondered just how far outside the law he’d have to work to keep Fallon and the other Carringtons safe this time.

He’d seen enough. There was nothing left to do now but plant his bug and go home. He turned, planning to steal his way back down the little trail that led to the back of this house. He didn’t get far. Before he took two steps he felt a pounding blow to his head and in his delirium, felt himself being dragged into the house. Somebody had been watching the watcher.

Opening Sequence

Written by 
Yaniv Shlamberg and Ethan Riley

Story Editor
Ethan Riley

Executive Producer
Yaniv Shlamberg

Cecil’s House 

Zorelli came to so suddenly that he was immediately disoriented; one moment he’d been standing outside, the next he was tied to a chair with a huge thug brandishing a firearm aimed at his head. Zorelli instinctively snapped forward but then understood the uselessness of his situation. The thug barely flinched. 

“I trust you find yourself uncomfortable, Sgt. Zorelli?” came that chilling voice. Colby was right behind him. The thug swivelled Zorelli’s chair around. Colby was sitting behind his desk. They were in the same room Zorelli had been surveying earlier.

“On the contrary, Mr. Colby,” Zorelli tried to sound flip. “I don’t mind a little kink now and then. Just wish the girls were prettier.”

“A funny cop,” Cecil said. “Cute. Real cute. But you won’t be so cute once I get through with you. It may interest you to know that your little spy equipment has been destroyed. I wonder now, if the same won’t happen to you.”

“Ah, death ain’t nothing,” Zorelli smirked. “Apparently you came through it pretty well.”

“I suppose you could look at it that way,” Cecil also smiled. Zorelli wondered if his decrepit face would shatter.

“So you faked your own death, huh,” Zorelli said. “You sure did a good job of it. All those Colbys and Carringtons sure believed it.”

“And they missed me terribly, I’m sure,” Cecil said.

“Since you’re going to kill me, why don’t you ease a dying man’s and tell me why the hell you did it?”

“Do you really want to know?” Cecil perked up. “Then I’ll tell you. Not only was my apparent demise incredibly lucrative – dead men pay no taxes – but I’d have to say… it was fun. Fun to leave Alexis in charge of my little company and see her use it to backstab that tireless bastard, Blake Carrington.”

“You gave her that huge company just so she get devour Blake?”

“Colbyco is hen’s feed. I have things I only dared dream of when I was, shall we say, one of the living? All along I was funneling real money into untraceable accounts, shadow governments, dummy corporations.”

“Interesting. I suppose next you’ll say you were a member of the Consortium.”

“My dear Sgt. Zorelli, I was the Consortium.”

The implication of Colby’s last comment hit Zorelli like an icy slap in the face. If Colby ran the Consortium then he was pretty much behind all the mischief the Carringtons had had to endure over the last 15 years or more. He wondered how much Colby knew about Dex’s kidnapping, Lindsay Blaisdel’s return, various fires, shoot-outs, plane crashes. It was all a bit too much to believe. Yet here was this dead man telling him that it was so. What could drive a man to such evil and mayhem? He decided then that he no longer wanted to know this Cecil Colby.

“Great,” Zorelli said. “So you were behind it all. I’ll give you that. But why return now? And why pester Fallon like this? Don’t you know how fragile her mind really is?”

“Of course I do. And if it hurts Fallon Colby, then it hurts her dear father. And how nice that is – hurting Blake Carrington.”

“So that’s what it’s really all about? Hurting Blake?”

“It’s my life’s work.” Colby leaned closer. “I did a pretty good job, didn’t I?”

If Zorelli detested Colby before, that remark drove the nail into his coffin. Zorelli had nothing further to say. He was simply stunned by the depths of this fanatic ghoul.

“I hope you enjoyed our little tete-a-tete, Sergeant,” Colby said. “And now I’d like you to meet a friend of mine.” Colby pressed a button under his desk. A beautiful, exotic-looking woman entered the room.

“Zorelli, I’d like you to meet Isis. I found Isis as a young woman, living on the streets of Cairo. Now she works for me. She has… exceptional abilities.”

Zorelli said nothing as the woman slowly unclasped a golden scarab from around her neck. It was a beautiful ornament, until she depressed a small switch on the scarab’s neck. A small needle pricked out. Zorelli had no time to scream as Isis swiftly jabbed the needle into the side of his neck. An uncomfortable warmth rushed over his body and he once again blacked out.

The Memorial Hospital 

The first thing Kevin saw when he opened his eyes was LB, sitting next to his bad, looking worried. The second LB noticed that Kevin woke up, he jumped from his seat and approached the bed.

"Hey, Kev, how do you feel?" the young man asked his friend. Kevin looked around, and then turned to LB. It didn't take him too long to remember what happened.

"The accident, god, how is Susie?" Kevin immediately asked.

"Well, she's here, too. Unfortunately, she's still unconscious," LB explained. "Do you remember what happened?" 

"The car came so fast. I called Susie to watch out and tried to push her away, but it was too late," he remembered.

"The police say it looks like a hit and run accident. When we came outside, the other car was already gone. Why would anybody want to hurt you and Susie?" LB asked naively, "Has it something to do with what you and Susie wanted to tell my parents?" LB tried guessing.

Kevin didn't answer. He had an idea who did this, but he couldn't say anything. Not now, not until he'd checked on. "Where are they? Fallon and Jeff I mean, they're not here?" Kevin asked, ignoring LB's last question.

"No, they were called to Delta Rho. Apparently Steven showed up and collapsed there. I don’t know more details, but it looks like something happened to him…"

Delta Rho

"Well doctor, how is he?" Sammy Jo asked Doctor Hartford after he walked out from the bedroom where Steven was sleeping.

"He's still weak, Mrs. Carrington – but other than that, he'll be fine. He needs his rest, and I believe that with good meals he'll be back to himself in a few days," the doctor explained.

"But doctor, does it looks like he was held against his will?" Fallon asked the doctor, as she stood between Sammy Jo and Jeff.

"We can't be sure of that, Mrs. Colby, and it's not my specialty to determine something like that. But it looks like your brother was neglected in the last few days or even weeks. I can only suggest you to turn with that to the police," he said.

"We will doctor, thank you for coming here in such short notice," Sammy Jo told the doctor and with that, escorted him out.

"Something DID happen to him, Jeff. I knew that in the second Bart Fallmont showed up and said he didn't saw Steven for ages," Fallon declared.

"The question is what," Jeff replied, "and why anybody would do something to him?" he wondered and they both immediately thought the same.

"You don’t think it has something to do with what happened to Kevin and Susie, do you?" Fallon asked her husband.

"I don't know. I have a strange feeling that in some twisted way, there is a connection," he said as Sammy Jo came back and joined them.

"Thank god he's fine. I was so worried," she said, "we have to call now Danny and tell him his father came back, I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear about that," she added.

"Wait a minute, Sammy Jo. I believe it's too soon to call him. Despite the fact it's the middle of night in Israel, we should wait until we know what’s going on with Kevin. I'm sure Krystina would want to hear what happened to him," Fallon explained.

"And don't forget Blake and Alexis. We should update them their son came back," Jeff explained.

"If we only knew where my mother is," Fallon said as her cell phone rang. "It's Lauren," she told them and picked it up. "Honey? Is everything all right?" she asked her daughter and listened very carefully, "oh my god, are you sure?" 

"What happened, Fallon?" Jeff asked his wife. 

"Apparently Dex's jet crashed, with him and my mother inside!"

Somewhere in Nevada – the Next Morning 

Alexis woke up with the dryest sinuses she’d ever experienced. The combination of desert air and minor smoke inhalation she’d received from the burning plane caused her to awake with a feeble, hacking cough.

Dex bolted upright, momentarily stunned indeed to find himself not only in the middle of the desert but in Alexis’s arms. Of course it all came back to him quickly. He bent down and helped her rub her neck until her voice returned.
He fetched his remaining bottle of water and fed it to her. Alexis could only drink a sip before she had to spit out, her throat was so dry. But after a time she recovered and snapped back to herself. 

“Oh, God, Dex, are we still in the middle of nowhere?” She squinted to look into the bright sky. All she was saw was sky, and no airplanes, no distant skyscrapers. Maybe the occasional bird.

“Yes, we are nowhere, my darling,” Dex answered, trying to sound as flip as possible to mask his concern. “But if you want to, I’d like to go somewhere, and to take you with me.”

“But Dex, don’t you think someone saw the plane crash and have contacted the authorities by now?”

”If they had, they’d have been here by now. But let’s get moving. It’s already mid-morning and I hope to find some coverage before it gets too sunny out.”

Alexis looked doubtful at him. His clear implication was that she was going to have to walk. Alexis Colby never walked. She abhorred the concepts of camping, hiking, running and you-name-the-outdoor-activity. Alexis Colby was the reason limousine services existed in Denver. Alexis Colby did not walk. But faced with the alternative, which was being fried alive, in the middle of the desert next to a wrecked airplane, she willingly allowed Dexter to lead her off as safely as possible.

Jerusalem, at the hospital

"One last signature here, and that's it, you're free to go, Miss Carrington," the Israeli nurse told Krystina as she got ready to leave the local hospital at the Israeli capital city. Krystina signed the papers and gave them the nurse, "Thank you, miss. I wish you all the best, and Shabbat Shalom," the nurse said and with that left the room. Krystina looked at the amused Danny, who stood next to her. Obviously she didn't understand what the nurse just said to her in Hebrew. 

"You should start learning Hebrew, Krys. She just wished you to have a good Saturday, with peace," he explained as they got ready to leave the room, "for the Jewish people, Saturday is the most important day of the week, something like our Sunday," he added.

"So they're all religious here?" Krystina wondered. 

"No, many of them are seculars, who use the Shabbat for trips or families gathering. The religious people are going to the synagogue and are not driving  that day, because they believe it should be resting day, without driving, or using electricity," he continued.

"Wow, Danny. I'm impressed! Where did you learn all this?"

"From Ashley's family, of course. They're so nice, Krystina. I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms to their home," he said.

"I don't know them like you do, but if they're anything like Ashley…"

"Oh stop that. Ashley is not as evil as you think. She's worried about you as much I am, you just need to give her a chance, that's all," Danny said, not seeing his girlfriend standing next the room and watching them through the window. 

"Ashley?" Ran Levy, her husband's aunt showed up suddenly behind her.

"Ran, gosh, you scared me!"

"Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure your friend is going out today," Ran said.

"Not that I'm happy about that, but yes, she's ready to leave," Ashley told him.

"Look, Ashley. I don't know what is the problem between you two, but I know you, and I know you are a good person. Why won't you try getting closer to Krystina? She seems as a nice girl too," he told her.

"That is the problem, Ran. I still think it would be better if she'd stay here instead of living with me under the same roof, even if it's for a few days," she said.

"I understand. But I already told you I can't do that. I already did too much," Ran told her.

"I know. I'm sorry, I didn't want to cause you any troubles," Ashley apologized. 

"You didn't. Just try to be civil to Krystina. It's only for a few days, I guess. You'll see that it will be fine," he said and with that vanished down the corridor. 

A few days can be too much, Ran… damn it! Ashley thought as she looked through the window at her boyfriend helping Krystina take her things, I have to do something about that, I bet mother would know what to do now…

Somewhere at the Cabin… 

"That's it, it's much better now, isn't?" Anne asked Jim after she stopped his bleeding and replaced his bandages.

"It is better, Anne. But it's only temporary. I need to get a real treatment! Medical treatment!" Jim complained weakly, but with an intensity that belied his pain.

"That is something I can't give you, Jim. Stop being so ungrateful!"

"Ungrateful? Oh, please! For what exactly? For the fact you're holding me here and stopping me from getting treatment? Or maybe for shooting me, yes! It was so nice of you to pull the trigger, Anne, it was so fun!" Jim was cynical now.

"Shut up, Jim! You’re only making it worse!" 

"Worse? Can it be worse? I'm lying here without the capability of moving, with a bullet inside me that can leave me paralyzed for the rest of my life, and it can be worse? I prefer to die instead of spending my life here like that!"

"Don't tempt me, Jim!"

"I'm not afraid of you, Anne! You are sick! You should be in the nuthouse for what you did, you are not normal!"

"Don't talk to me about normalcy, Jim! it was your suggestion to get rid of Steven! You are the one who told me all your problems would be solved if he wasn’t around!"

"So I said that, so what?! I didn’t say I wanted him or Craig to die, did I?!"

"Well it's too late now. God knows where he is by now. If he managed to drive to a populated place and call the police, it can be very risky for us. We can't take the risk he'll lead the police to us; we have to find another place to hide," Anne said.

"Oh come on, you didn't see Steven when he escaped. The man was hardly capable of speech! I bet he's lying somewhere dying," Jim told Anne, but inside, hoped this was not the case. Steven was really weak when he left, but Jim assumed Steven would be able to drive and call for help. He hoped that somehow he was already at home with Sammy Jo and was trying to lead the police to the cabin. 

"Still. I can't take the risk of the police showing up here, it's too dangerous," Anne said.

"You should do the right thing and let me go! Who knows, maybe we can save Craig's life as well," he said and Anne began laughing loudly. "What are you laughing about? You're not a doctor, maybe there is still a chance!"

"No, Jimmy. There's not. Your dear friend Craig is even not here anymore,"

"My god, don't tell me--"

"Let's just say I’m worried the animals here won't eat his body," she said amused.

"You are sick Anne, you lost your mind!"

"Maybe, but at least I got rid of our main trouble. The question is what to do with you now…"

Memorial Hospital 

Two detectives were in charge of investigating the hit and run accident of Kevin and Susie. They tried to find out the license plate of the car or at least the kind of car, but Kevin didn't remember any of that information. They gave him his card and asked him to call them if he'd remember anything, or come up with names of people who had a motive to hurt him or Susie.

"Thank you, detective, I will call you if I remember anything," Kevin promised as they left, just as Jeff walked into the room.

"How is our best lawyer today?" Jeff tried to encourage him.

"I’ve had better days," Kevin tried to smile.

"I'm sorry we didn't come sooner. Steven came back and Sammy Jo called us to the ranch last night. We're still waiting for him to wake up," Jeff explained.

"I know, LB told me. Do you have any idea what happened to him?"

"We believe somebody held him against his will. But until Steven wakes up and talks to us, we can't do anything," Jeff said. "What about you? Still don’t remember anything?" 

"No, unfortunately not," Kevin lied.

"So it doesn’t concern what you and Susie wanted to tell us before all this?" Jeff asked, a little bit suspicious.

"I don't think it's relevant right now, Jeff. The most important thing now is that Susie wakes up," Kevin said evasively.

"Kevin, if there's someone out there who wants to harm you, Susie, or anybody else in our family, you should tell us, you know that," Jeff said as his cell phone began ringing.
 
"Honey, you better come here fast. Steven woke up," Fallon told him from the other line.

"I'm coming right over, darling," Jeff replied and closed his cell phone, then turned to Kevin, "Steven woke up, I have to go there. You think of what we talked about, Kevin. It's important. I'll call later to see how you're doing," he said and with that walked out the room, leaving Kevin still hesitant, not knowing what was the right thing to do.

Delta Rho

Sammy Jo hugged Steven tightly in their bedroom and wiped his sweating face. He’d woken up minutes ago, screaming and shaking. Sammy Jo and Fallon ran over to his bed, making sure he's fine.

"It's all right, Steven. You're safe now, you're home," Sammy Jo said with tears.

"My god, my god, Sammy Jo. I was so scared. I thought I wouldn’t see you ever again, or our babies, and Danny. I still can't believe I'm here with you…" he cried in her arms.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that we thought you left us, I should have known you never do that again," she replied, still hugging him.

"We got a letter from you, saying you are leaving with Bart Fallmont. Only when we met Bart at Amanda's wedding did we realize something happened to you," Fallon said as she joined them and held his hand.

"No, I would never leave you, Sammy Jo, or our kids. It was Craig. He faked the letters; he's the one who's behind all this. He kidnapped me and locked me in an abandoned cabin, he lost his mind!" Steven explained.

"My god, so you WERE kidnapped all this time?" Sammy Jo asked, shocked.

"Where's Craig now, Steven? What happened to him? How did you manage to survive?" Fallon asked her brother.

"You won't believe what I have to tell you," Steven told them and began telling them the whole story, from the moment he woke up at the cabin, tied with knots, till the moment Jim showed up at the cabin and he used the moment to run away. 

"No, I can't believe Jim would do something like that," Sammy Jo said, still amazed from the story her husband just told her, "Why would Jim want to hurt you, Steven? I don't get that."

"I guess he never accepted the fact you married me. He wanted you all to yourself, while Craig wanted to win me back," Steven explained.

"I didn't know the two of them even knew each other," Sammy Jo said surprised.

"Me either," Steven said as Jeff showed up, escorted by detective Friedman. 

"Jeff!" Steven called excited. The two men embraced and Steven repeated his story over and over again. Friedman listened carefully and wrote some things.

"Steven, do you think you can lead us to where they held you?" he asked him.

"I'm not sure, detective. I hardly managed to find my way back here, I don’t know if I can find the place," Steven told them.

"I've tried to call Jim, but his cell phone is turned off," Sammy Jo said.

"That's because he's out there, with Craig. And god knows with who else…" Steven told them.

The Cabin, somewhere… 

"So she's now at the Levis' place?" Anne asked Ashley as they spoke on the telephone.

"Yes, Mother. I've tried to convince Ran to delay her release, but he didn’t agree," Ashley told her mother.

"Be careful of him, Ashley. He's too suspicious. The last thing we need right now is for Ran to start asking questions," Anne said.

"It's not Ran that I'm worried of, Mother. It's Krystina. The second she gets her memory back – everything will be ruined for me, and for you! It's enough that she'll talk to her lawyer friend and everything will be found out," the girl added.

"Oh, don't worry about the lawyer. He won't say anything, at least not until he leaves the hospital, if at all," Anne said.

"Hospital? What have you done to him, Mother?!"

"Who said I did anything to him? The poor man and his assistant had a little car accident, that's all," Anne told her daughter.

"I know you, Mother! You promised me you wouldn’t do anything!"

"But I didn’t, Ashley. It wasn't me!" Anne promised her and continued giving her orders what to do next.

* * * * *

This is your chance now, Jimmy. Your last chance… Jim thought as he saw Anne talking on her cell phone, and he tried to use the moment to escape. He tried to reach the keys Anne put on the table, without attracting her attention. The second he had those keys the next step would be leaving the bed and running away from there. He felt better, and thought he's surely capable to fight Anne. 

"Don't worry Ashley, you just listen to your mother and you'll see everything will work out," Anne continued talking to her daughter on the phone as she drifted farther and farther from Jim's bed. The second she turned her back to him, Jim grabbed the keys from the table and began to crawl out from the bed toward the door.

"You just keep your eyes on her, Ashley, and make sure she's not getting her memory back," Anne told Ashley, "Okay dear, we'll be in touch," she told her daughter and was about to hung up, as she noticed Jim on the floor, crawling toward the door. He tried to stand up and run the second he saw her looking at him, but it was of course, too late. In his last strength he grabbed her legs and caused her to fall on the floor. Then, quickly, he tried to stand up and escape, but Anne was faster than him. She quickly stood up, stopped him from escaping and beat his wounded hand, causing him to scream in pain.

"That was a big mistake, Jimmy. A big mistake which you’ll have to be punished for!" 

Jerusalem, Israel

"I can't believe this, he's really back?" Danny asked his mother on the telephone, "Are you crazy? You should have called me in the second he showed up!" he called, as Krystina stood next to him, listening to the conversation.

"And how is Kevin? Ask her how is Kevin!" she pleaded at him.

"Yes, Mother. As fast as we'll can, yes. Okay, we'll update you. Sure, bye!" he said and then hung up at the second the door got opened and Ashley walked in.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"My father came back home, Krys! Can you believe it? He's home!" Danny called, excited. 

"Really? Wow, it's wonderful, Danny!" she called, "Where he was all this time?" she asked, coldly.

"I'm not sure, but from what my mother said, it's seem like someone kidnapped him; he barely managed to escape.”
 
"What?" Ashley asked, this time really amazed. 

"We don't know all the details yet," Danny said.

"But well know more soon – we're going back home, to Denver!" Krystina announced.

"So soon? But – " Ashley began but Danny cut her words off.

"My father came back after a long time we didn't hear from him, Ashley. I have to be there for him!"

"Besides, Kevin was involved in a car accident and he's in the hospital, another reason to go back," Krystina added.

"But you, you've just got here, Krystina. You're still weak, you need your rest. I'm not sure it's okay for you to take a flight so soon," Ashley tried. 

"Oh, I feel much better, but thank you for your concern, Ashley," Krystina told her in a sarcasm tone. 

"Look, guys – "

"Ashley, Danny wants to see his father. There is no argument here, tell her Danny. We are leaving Israel. Today!" Krystina declared.

Denver Carrington

“What the hell do you think you’re doing here, Adam!” Jeff thundered.

“I work here, I believe,” Adam replied defiantly.

“You most certainly do not!” Jeff shouted back. “I distinctly recall Blake ordering you to keep the hell away from Denver Carrington once and for all!”

Adam let loose his familiar mocking smile. “Come now, Jeff. You know Father never really means those things he says. No, he’ll come around when he realizes what an angel I really am. He will.”

Jeff couldn’t believe his ears. Never had he heard such blatant lies from Adam as he had been recently. Jeff turned red with rage. “And while you’re fiddling around being the naughty disobedient son, I suppose it’s no concern to you that 
your mother went down in a plane crash last night!”

Adam’s countenance changed instantly. “What? What are you talking about? What happened?”

“Craig Harper hold Steven all this time against his will, and for your mother, she and Dex were taking a private plane back to Denver. It went down, nobody knows exactly where.”

Damn it,” Adam said with a slight tremble in his voice. Jeff never found out what Adam had been up to at Denver-Carrington, as Adam turned around and walked out without a word.

Somewhere at Nevada… 

The sun beat down on Alexis’ precious head. She had no hat but she had no choice but to keep up with the fast pace of Dex Dexter, who seemed to have no trouble at all moving rapidly through the arid desert. Alexis had already ruined her hanky with a bloody nose and briefly considered bleeding on Dex’s sleeve should it happen again.

At this point, Alexis didn’t know whether to kiss Dex Dexter for giving her the night of her life, or to kick him for getting her into this mess in the first place. Oh! The things she longed to say to him! But it was too hot and she was too worn out to be quite herself.

They had no idea where they were, no idea how long it would take them to find civilization, but they had found a well-worn dirt road. And where there was a road, there eventually must be a car.

And after walking along for in this fashion for about two hours and destroying one pair of wedding pumps beyond recognition, sure enough, a beat-up old pickup truck was soon heard coming down the dirt path behind them. It turned out to be a chicken farmer, as evidenced by the trail of white feathers that fluffed away behind the truck. Dex and Alexis instantly stopped, both overjoyed and dismayed to see their knight in shining armor.

“Nice day for a stroll in the sun,” the old farmer said sarcastically, noting Alexis’ highly inappropriate clothes.

“Not true,” she replied, semi-saucily. “But it was a nice night for a plane crash.”

“A plane crash!” the farmer said increduously. “Was anybody hurt?”

“Only my shoes,” Alexis confided.

“Look, mister, is there a town nearby?” Dex asked.

“Yeah, there’s a little one ‘bout 40 miles up the road,” the farmer answered. “Las Vegas.”

“Oh, thank god,” Alexis said, inviting herself to a ride and instantly throwing open the passenger door. She was greeted by a gigantic old Great Dane, panting, drooling, and looking at her like she was made of wax. She hastily slammed the door.

“Aw, old Buffy won’t hurt ya,” the farmer laughed. “She’s so sweet; she’ll sit in yer lap if you let her.”

Alexis’ only response was to open her purse and hand the man a $500 bill. “The dog stays where she is. Do you think you could squeeze us into the back of the truck?” At this point, she’d have accepted a ride inside a cement mixer.

The farmer took one look at that $500 bill and responded, “For $500 I’ll piggy-back you to Vegas myself.” 

Dex easily lifted Alexis into the back of the truck and hopped in himself. There were of course no cushions to be had so they hunkered down on the floor, among the chicken coops. The truck sped off, leaving clouds of dust and chicken feathers in its wake.

Alexis sat there in the truck, exhausted and regarding her would-be paramour. Now and then a chicken feather would stick in his hair, and she’d pull it off. After the first ten times she gave up that practice and switched to simply gazing into his eyes.

Dex thought Alexis had never looked lovelier. Her forehead had turned a little red from sunburn; her dress was dusty and sooty and for perhaps the first time in his life, he noticed a little dirt under her nails. Still, it seemed she couldn’t take her eyes away from his. 

Amidst the feathers, the dust, the breeze and the cacophany of clucking, Dex leaned over and kissed her. He felt that it was the easiest kiss they’d ever shared. Not the slightest hint of resistance was noticed as her lips, dry as they were, met his. It was the first time that had ever happened; every other time she’d made him work for those kisses. Not time time. This time, she was his. He withdrew his lips and continued their mutual gaze.

Alexis wasn’t a bit surprised when Dex quietly pulled out a ring and proposed. And neither was Dex surprised when she answered yes.

Alexis' penthouse

Lauren walked out from the bathroom and headed quickly to the ringing telephone, hoping it was her grandmother calling to say she was fine and everything was all right. But it wasn't Alexis.

"Hi, Mom. I thought you're maybe grandma," Lauren told Fallon as she picked up the phone, "no, nothing. What about you? you heard anything? I see… don't worry mom, I'm sure she'll be fine, grandma is tough. Sure, I'll stay here in case she calls. No problem, mom. Okay, bye for now," she said and hung up the phone as the elevator's door opened and LB showed up.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked as they embraced. 

"Nothing much. Mom just called. There's a search party the police organized to look for the crashed jet. They think it's somewhere over Southern Nevada," Lauren told him.

"I hope they find them safe and sound," LB said.

"Me too. I'm sick of worrying, LB. I sit all day next to the phone in case grandma or Dex call but so far, nothing," Lauren said.

"Are you sure it's okay that you're here all by yourself?" her brother asked.

"Yes. I want to be here for her when she calls or who knows, even show up suddenly saying we should have know nothing could happen to her," Lauren said.

"Well, that certainly sounds like Grandma," LB smiled, "but we do miss you at the mansion, you know. The house is so empty, it's not the same," LB said.

"I can only imagine," Lauren smiled, "what about Cassie? You've talked to her?" 

"Yesterday, yes. She's with Dana, trying to be there for her parents, maybe there's a chance for them to reconcile, so she want to stay with them for the time being," LB said.

"I'm sorry. I bet you miss her," Lauren said, "you’re really in love with her, hmm?" 

"Yep. She's very special, unique," LB said quietly, almost sadly. 

"Are you sure you're talking about Cassie, big brother? Or maybe it's Ashley who you're missing too?" Lauren asked him.

"I still love her, Lauren. It still hurts to think she's with Danny somewhere on the other side of the world," he said.

"Well Israel is not THAT far, and besides, now that Steven is back, I'm sure Danny will come home to see him. The question is if Ashley will join him, or stay there," Lauren said.

Delta Rho

Steven didn’t know what to make of it. Here was Adam, embracing him like a long-lost friend. “My God, I’m so glad you’re all right, Steven,” Adam muffled. Sammy Jo had to roll her eyes at the sight. She knew darn well that Adam was merely trying to get chummy with his younger brother as a sympathy ploy. But she also knew that Steven wasn’t one to fall for his tricks, so said nothing.

“Anyway, Adam,” Steven gently pushed away his brother’s hug, “I think at this point we’d better just forget my problems and figure out what happened to Mother.”

“I’ve called the authorities in Nevada,” Adam said. “They’re scouring the area. If I don’t hear from them in an hour, I’m going there myself.”

”And I’ll come with you,” Steven said, weak though he may have felt. “And we’d better call Father. He has a right to know.”

“Oh, don’t bother Father,” Adam said. “The man’s at a funeral. He doesn’t need any more bad news.”

“Well, it’s too late now, Adam,” Sammy Jo said. “I’ve got him on the phone.”

Adam turned whiter. How stupid of me, he thought, that he didn’t even realize all this time that Sammy Jo had been on the phone with the overseas operator. Steven took the phone from Sammy Jo and spoke with his father.

After a few words of relief that Steven was okay, Blake told him that they’d all return to Denver the second they could. Steven expressed his condolensces over Patricia’s death and they exchanged a few pleasantries.  Adam paced the room and tried to look uninterested, as he prayed Steven wouldn’t so much as mention to their father that he was even in the room. Steven didn’t, and Adam was quite relieved when Steven ended the conversation and hung up the phone.

Hardly a minute had passed when Sgt. Friedman suddenly showed up at the door, asking Steven whether he’d remembered anything further that might lead them to the cabin.

“It’s interesting you say that,” Sammy Jo finally edged in. “I remember ages ago Jim mentioning a cabin that he owned that he was going to take me to sometime. I wonder if it’s the same one. He said it was in the mountains of Denver.”

“Do you know the exact address?” the policeman asked.

“No, I never actually went there, but—”
“The mountains of Denver,” Steven repeated. “Yes, yes, officer, I think I can help you.”

La Mirage – that evening

Fallon finally wearied of pushing her automatic redial and gave up. Zorelli simply wasn’t available. She quickly erased the phone’s memory of numbers dialed; no sense having suspicious Jeff discover Zorelli’s number repeated over and over.

Deep down, Fallon realized that it was supposedly wrong for a married woman to have a male friend. Especially when she had shared a romantic past with said friend. But her marriage to Jeff had always been so unaverage. The foundation of their love was certain, but to an outsider, their marriage probably seemed a bit wacky. There were times when people mistook them for brother and sister, or just friends. When they were divorced, people thought they were married, and when they were married people thought they were enemies. She knew that few understood the enigma that was their relationship far too much to attempt to explain it to others.

But this time, she felt sure that Jeff should understand her feelings for Zorelli. They were just friends. There had been nothing romantic implied between the two of them ever since Zorelli came back into her life not long ago. Surely Jeff could see that. But he either refused or was too busy marking his territory to care. This irritated Fallon to no end; her having to cover her tracks and lie to Jeff, just to save the peace. Her biggest crime at this point had been simply to keep her mouth shut as to her whereabouts. She was at least that smart.

She briefly wondered if everyone thought she was being a bitch, practically cheating on her husband. But she also had her own life to lead no matter what anyone thought. Her compromises only went so far.

But now there was business to attend to. She simply had to talk to Zorelli. That was Cecil she’d seen at the wedding. It had to have been; otherwise, she might very well doubt her own sanity yet again. Yet…he was dead. Everyone was convinced of that. But then, everyone thought that Matthew Blaisdel had died, and he returned. And probably a half-dozen other people she could recall. After all, Cecil did have a closed-casket funeral. Who knows? Who really knows?

A light rap at her door barely drew her notice and her legs took her on auto-pilot to answer it. Sable stood there, a very puzzling look on her face. She carried an opened package under her arm. Fallon’s curiosity drew her out of her musings.

“Sable, you’re back in Denver??” she asked.

“It would seem so…” Sable replied, inviting herself in and proceding directly to the couch. She placed the package on the coffee table and waited for Fallon to join her.

The strange look on Sable’s face piqued Fallon’s curiosity even further. Fallon sat down next to her. It took Sable a long time to collect her thoughts enough to speak.

“Fallon,” she began, “tell me, what do you know of Cecil Colby?”

Fallon’s face froze. It was a bit much of a coincidence. She wondered if Jason and Frankie had blabbed to her that crazy Fallon had seen a ghost. That would be all she needed; for Sable to have a weapon over her once again. Their “friendship” had always been tentative at best.

“What do I know of him?” she answered carefully, trying not to show a hint of nervousness. “Well, he raised Jeff and married my mother. He had a lot of business dealings with Daddy. Other than that, I can’t say I’ve even much thought of him since he died,” she lied.

“I wonder then, what would be the significance of this?” Sable said, opening the package to reveal a framed photo. She handed it to Fallon.

“Where did you get this?” Fallon asked her.

“It was sent to me,” Sable said. “I can’t imagine why. There was no card, no return address, nothing. I figured I’d better bring it to you, right away.”

Fallon’s attention was drawn to the picture. There she stood, a much younger Fallon Carrington, side-by-side with Cecil Colby. She barely remembered taking it, but she did remember that night. It was 1981, a dinner party at the mansion. She couldn’t remember the occasion. But afterward, she and Cecil had taken a moonlight stroll where he had used his charm, his elegance, and his almost hypnotic power over women to kindly suggest that it would be in the best interests of everybody if she should marry his nephew, Jeff.

How the whole situation appalled her, at this late date, which she could so easily be used. True enough, she didn’t fully regret her relationship with Jeff, stormy and spotty though it may have been. But she always felt deep down that had her relationship with Jeff evolved naturally, without outside influence and the manipulations of two-faced relatives with their own agendas, its foundation may have been far stronger. Maybe they wouldn’t have divorced half as many times.

She looked at the framed photo, recalling how darkly dashing Cecil had been in those days. He was the Donald Trump of his day. Sly, manipulative, cold, ruthless…and powerful. Very, very powerful. That power had thrilled the younger Fallon to no end. But her clumsy, juvenile advances had gotten her nowhere with the great Cecil Colby and so she had allowed herself to fall for his manipulations. What an idiot she had been, she now knew.

Sable allowed Fallon her long, long moment of silence. What was that girl thinking? Clearly, Cecil had been more to her than just a nodding acquaintance. Those two must have shared some history, Sable thought, otherwise Fallon wouldn’t look so pale at this point. But to pry, or not to pry?

Pry. “Fallon? Hello,” Sable purred softly. “Does this photo mean anything to you?”

“Hmm?” Fallon came to. She handed the picture back to Sable. “Not really, Sable,” she said. “I know it was taken in the early 80s. Other than that, it has no real significance to me.”

Sable was known as something of a human lie detector. The sudden softness of Fallon’s voice indicated that she was padding over something. But if it was such a big deal, she knew she’d get no further at this time. “Well, I don’t know what else to say then, Fallon,” she said. “If you want the picture, I’ll leave it to you. I still can’t quite understand why it was sent to me, though.”

Neither did Fallon. The rest of the visit was pleasant but Fallon knew Sable was trying to read her, so she kept the conversation in shallow waters. As Sable made her exit Fallon positioned the photo on her desk, turning it to face her. “Cecil Colby,” she said to herself. She suddenly shuddered. This was no coincidence. There were two possibilities: either somebody was playing her like a fool, trying to drive her crazy by sending over a Cecil look-alike to scare her, drawing Sable into the mess by sending that picture. Maybe Sable was doing this herself; maybe Adam or any number of people trying to stir up trouble. Either that, or Cecil Colby really was still alive, and trying to get at her.

New Zealand… 

William could barely open his eyes long enough to realize what a beautiful New Zealand day it really was. But who could enjoy the weather during one’s mother’s funeral. Blake, Krystle and Dominique did their best to be there for him, but not knowing him as intimately as they might, could do little more than, literally, stand by his side. 

It was enough. William felt nicely comforted by the support of his new relatives. When the small graveside service ended, he had no trouble embracing his elderly father. Blake could offer no words; anything that could be said would sound trite.

“Well,” Dominique tried her best to break the mood, “do you think you’ll be returning to Denver right away? Or do you want to still spend a few days here in New Zealand?”

“No, Aunt Dominique,” William said. “There’s nothing for me here. Dad made a home for me in Denver and that’s where I’m going. I want to go home now.”

Krystle smiled and stayed on William’s arm as they walked away from the gravesite. Their former animosity was long-gone by now and by this time, utterly pointless following the death of Patricia.

It was a strange, sad little group that left the cemetary in a waiting limousine. Ben Carrington watched from a short distance, hidden among the trees, dark glasses covering his eyes, a sickening, satisfied smile across his face.

Las Vegas

“So you didn’t die after all, Grandma,” Lauren said, shaking off her anxiety with relief as she spoke with Alexis on the phone at last. “We all thought you did, you know.”

“What? Is that what everybody thought?” Alexis laughed into the phone. “Oh, for heaven’s sakes, you just tell them all that no little plane crash gets the best of Alexis! And you stop worrying yourself, Lauren darling. I’ve never been better!”

“Well then I have some even better news for you,” Lauren said, “Steven’s been found and he’s home right now. Everything’s fine.”

“Of course it is, darling, I knew he’d be all right. There was never any real trouble.”

Lauren wondered if her grandmother even remembered what anxiety she’d had over Steven’s absence. But she also decided not to let Alexis in on the full details of his kidnapping and dramatic escape. Better to let Alexis think, for now, that he’d simply been sitting on the beach at St. Tropez all this time.

“Well, so you’re fine. Are you coming back home now?” Lauren wanted to know.

“Not exactly yet, my dear,” Alexis said. “You see, Dex and I are staying here overnight. We have something important to arrange..” she said smiling and looked at Dex, who smiled back.

EL AL Israeli airlines, on the way to America… 

Though the last thing she wanted was to leave Israel and go back with Danny and Krystina to Denver, Ashley felt as if she didn’t have a choice. She couldn't force Danny to stay in Israel while his father came back to Denver after he didn't see him for weeks, she knew how much he missed him. And there was Krystina. Ashley knew the second she’d talk to Kevin at the hospital, she'd remember why she came all the way to Israel – and that could be the end of her relationship with Danny and with the Carringtons for good. Now she was sitting next to Danny and Krystina on their way back to the United States, wondering what she should do next.

"You're not tired, Ash? We still have a long ride, try to sleep," Danny told her.

"I'm not tired, I'm just – I don't know, not so anxious to see my mother again," Ashley said.

"I'm sorry that I spoiled our trip. I didn't know my father would show up suddenly. God, I didn’t even know something so horrible happened to him. Nobody did!" Danny said.

"I still think it's weird. Something is really weird here," Krystina interfered.

"What are you talking about, Krys?" Danny asked her.

"Why would anybody want to harm Steven, Danny? He's so decent, so naïve and nice. I can't think of any reason for somebody to kidnap him. I think we don't know the entire story," Krystina said.

"Well we'll find out soon," Danny replied, "what about you? You're feeling okay?" Danny asked her.

"Yes, actually I'm – " Krystina began talking and suddenly stopped.

"What? Is everything all right, Krys? What happened?" Danny asked and Ashley looked at her, afraid something bad was going on.

"I think I remember, Danny. I remember what happened!" she then announced and looked at the terrified Ashley.  

Memorial Hospital

After the last visit of Jeff and the detective, Kevin realized he had to tell them the truth. If Anne really was behind that hit and run accident, they had to know that, especially since her daughter was traveling with Danny on the other side of the world. But on the other hand, if that was a warning, Anne could be still out there, watching every step of him.

No, I never gave up in criminals before and I won't start now, Kevin thought and wondered what Susie would think about it. He left the bed, walked out from his room, and headed to the room where Susie was hospitalized. If she could only talk to him, it would be so much easier for him to decide what to do…  

Kevin crossed the corridor and headed to her room. The loud voices that were heard from there – said to him that something bad happened. He began going faster and faster until he reached the room and opened the door. The long horrible beep didn't leave a place for doubt.

"Time of death, 4 PM," the doctor said over Susie's body…

Somewhere at the mountains of Denver 

Still weak, but determined to find the cabin, Steven sat in the police helicopter with Sammy Jo, and looked outside, hoping to see a familiar way that would lead them to the cabin where Craig had held him captive.

"If you see anything familiar, even with the slightest chance it will help us, you tell us, Steven," the detective, who sat in front of him asked him.

"I will, I'm trying to remember," Steven replied and all of a sudden called them to slow down. "I think there's something there!"

"Where, Steven?" Sammy Jo asked him as she held him tightly. Steven pointed to the area which he felt he knew.

"Drop lower!" the detective ordered the pilot. Before long the helicopter came closer to the familiar spot; it came back to Steven all in once. 

"There it is, I can't believe it; that’s the cabin where he held me!" he called excited.

Ten minutes later, he and Sammy Jo waited at the helicopter as the detective, together with a back-up, broke into the cabin where Craig held Steven. But when they broke the door and looked inside, they found the place empty, with no sign of Craig, Jim, or anybody else…

Cecil's place – sequence… 
 
Colby’s hired thug ushered in the woman, who was clutching a small overnight bag. “I had nowhere else to go,” she said flatly.

“I suppose you think this is a hotel?” Colby said. “My dear, I am supposedly in hiding. Do you think I like it when every Tom, Dick and Harridan are waltzing in here--?”

“You owe me, Colby,” she said defiantly. “And anyway, our work isn’t yet finished, now is it?”

* * * * *

John Zorelli had no idea where he was. His head burned from inside. He wandered the streets of downtown Denver alone and dazed. Once or twice he caught sight of his own reflection in shop windows and saw only a haggard, delirious man. He made no attempt to speak to anyone, and no one wanted to approach the crazy man. He walked on and on through the night, without purpose or destination.

* * * * *

“Well, now,” Cecil Colby said. “Since we’re now forced to work together a little more closely, perhaps you’d like to hear about Phase Two of our little plan.” He pulled from his desk a framed photo of Alexis Colby. “I wonder, sometimes, if she really ever was stupid enough to believe that I was through with her?”

* * * * *

“And here before the sight of God, I now pronounce you man and wife,” the justice said, and Alexis and Dex kissed each other and fell into a embrace.

* * * * * 

“And what is this ‘Phase Two’ that concerns Alexis?” the woman wanted to know.

“Ah, that’s very involved,” he said. “Pour some coffee, will you? This may take a while.”

“But wait, maybe we need to deal with him first. What should we do with him?”

“That’s quite the question, Anne,” he said, looking over to the couch where Jim’s lifeless body lay. “Depends. Is he even still alive?”

END EPISODE 53