"Who is it?" The knock at the door in the middle of a quiet Sunday morning had come as a surprise. The response to her question shocked Mrs. Blaisdell.

"It's Laura Blaisdell," called out Paul's first wife, shades of distress obvious in her voice.

When Annie hesitated about opening the door, the other woman begged, "Please, Mrs. Blaisdell-- Annie. It is very important."

Annie opened the door. As she stepped back, inviting the visitor in, she felt a sheet of paper being pressed into her hand.

"That was delivered to me about thirty minutes ago. As soon I realized it was intended for you, I brought it over." Laura sounded even more upset, if possible. This woman's strength was near-legend according to her daughters, but it appeared to have deserted her.

In Annie's mind, she went back to the last time the two had met--at Carolyn's wedding. They had barely spoken, just a few words exchanged about the beauty of the bride, the charm of the ceremony...the import of the words of the strange man that was Caine, Peter's father.

She remembered overhearing someone comment on the disparity between the two women Blaisdell had picked for wives. "One a tall brunette with strong, attractive features, the other a short blonde with a very pretty face; looks like he picked someone who had to depend on him to balance the first domineering wife." She still laughed over that. No one dominated Paul Blaisdell; her lover had always wanted to be around people who stood with him, not cowering under his leadership.

Laura--There was no bitterness between them, no anger on Laura's part over the loss of her husband to this younger woman--she and Paul had been divorced before that, due to a conflict between her career and his.

After the divorce, where Laura had been awarded the children, she had found it close to impossible to manage motherhood and the career. When Paul had married Annie, Laura had been almost grateful to turn over the day-to-day care to the new wife--almost. She had had visitation rights, of course, and had stayed on good terms with her daughters, but they all knew her career came first.

Laura's clearing her throat brought Annie back from her reverie. Fear of the unknown was apparent in her voice. "I knew this was important when I saw Kelly's signature on this… this apparently blank fax paper. I have no idea why it was brought to me. When I examined the paper carefully, I realized there was a note, but in Braille. That's when I knew it was for you. Do you know where Kelly is? Her signature had to have been faxed somewhere, and then the Braille letters added."

Annie nodded her acceptance of Laura's reasoning, murmured that Kelly was supposed to be just finishing a summer class at Oxford, and then read the paper.

Her face lost color so rapidly that Laura gripped Annie's arms in case she fainted. When Annie did not react, Laura moved her rapidly to a nearby chair. Any past reminders about not touching a blind person without permission never even came to mind.

Annie did not faint, but she was grateful for the chair, and the help. The words came slowly to her lips. "It is Kelly; someone has kidnapped our daughter." Annie included both of them in that pronoun, and both women were stricken with horror.

Laura was still standing in front of Annie, now sitting in the chair. At Annie's' words, Laura crouched down and grabbed Annie's hands. "Kelly? Someone kidnapped Kelly?" Disbelief warred with anger within her, temporarily replacing the fear, and she jumped up and started to pace.

Annie could hear the other woman moving determinedly about her entranceway, but she was still stunned. Then Laura asked, "Where's your phone? We must call the police."

"No!" Annie was up and moving toward Laura's voice. When Laura put her hands up to catch her, Annie grabbed Laura's arms and repeated her command, her voice showing some of her steel though her panic. "No! You can't call them. They say they are watching, probably followed you here. We can't even call Peter--they'd be sure to recognize him."

"We can't just sit here with Kelly in danger! We have to do something! What is it they want?" Laura's returned fear was diluted with determination. She was a successful businesswoman and had survived many crises in her life. There was always some way to soften whatever blows could not be prevented.

"The message says they want the disk and we have forty-eight hours to produce it."

"Disk? What disk?"

"I have no idea. How can we give them what we don't have?" Panic was starting to grow again when a thought struck. "Wait, I know! Carolyn! Carolyn just called last night with the strangest news. She just took a job with the police. We can contact her."

"Carolyn is a cop?" Laura was amazed, disbelieving, disturbed; for a brief moment the news overshadowed the reason for her visit.

"Well, she didn't talk long, didn't have time to say much; just said when Kermit left this time, he recommended her for a part-time job, doing the computer work he had been doing… She might know what to do."

Laura finally shut her mouth. Her business life had not prepared her for anything like this. She could only watch as the blind woman in front of her took charge.

Annie walked quickly to her computer, then raised her voice and addressed the computer. "Scooter, e-mail to Carolyn." There was no response; her voice was too shaky. She needed three tries before Scooter recognized her voice.

Laura watched as the e-mail icon lit up and then was replaced by the e-mail program window. The other woman's words appeared on the mail form as dictated. She could see the effort in Annie's face to keep her voice as normal as possible for the voice recognition software.

"Dear, your mother and I have received a ransom note for Kelly. They want a disk in exchange for her return. Please help. We are home. They may be watching. Do not call Peter. Love, Annie."

Annie completed her messaging by telling Scooter to send the post with urgent priority.

Annie Blaisdell was a fighter; had been fighting against her limitations since she realized she was the only one in her family who could not see with her eyes. Even though each of the three children she considered hers were not physically her issue, she had fought their battles for growth and survival along with them. This current struggle of Kelly's that she had just become part of would be handled just like the others--with fortitude and patience. Whatever her role this time, she would master it. She made the reasonable assumption that her current companion would match her.

The blind woman rose from the computer desk with a sigh and a small sniffle. "Carolyn will respond as soon as she can. If she is not in church, that should be within thirty minutes. Come on to the kitchen--let's get some tea and biscuits." Guided by the sounds of the other woman's breathing and by her body heat, she walked over toward Laura and offered her her arm. As Laura gently clasped the proffered arm, Annie continued, "We need to keep up our strength. We will need our wits about us when whoever sent that note wants the answer."

Laura matched her pace to the other woman's confident stride, amazed again at Annie's coping--no, more than that…her challenging of life's obstacles.

Fifteen minutes later, the two women were startled by what sounded like Paul calling out, "Urgent mail for Annie."

Laura didn't need to ask why Annie had chosen Paul's voice for the computer-activated voice response system, but she had no time to even comment as she scrambled to keep up with the other woman. She did manage a breathless "That was fast!" when they reached the computer in the den.

"She must have been home and checking her mail." Annie said, then addressed the computer, "Scooter, read me the priority mail."

Within seconds, Carolyn's reply could be heard as it scrolled on the screen for Laura to read. "Annie, Mom, I have the info from the disk--Kermit has the disk. He is in Ste. Adele with Master Caine's father and Kelly. I believe they will take care of the problem. Don't worry. I've passed on your message to them. If you must tell the kidnappers anything, tell them Kermit has the disk they want. Love, Carolyn."

Annie's sudden laugh startled Laura; when it continued for more than a few moments, Laura was afraid her friend was getting hysterical. Just as she was about to grab Annie to shake her back to reality, Annie managed to speak. "I don't believe this family! Talk about "Ask and you shall receive."

Laura moved closer to Annie and put her hand on Annie's shoulder. "You are all special people!"

The blind woman heard the unspoken longing for all she had missed and pulled Laura into a tight hug. "No, Laura. We are all special people. Come on, we'd just barely started our snack." The fear was still there. Annie had no idea when the kidnappers would be in contact; but she was unable to sit and wring her hands. Eating was a good start.

Laura had a wide circle of close friends and a wider circle of acquaintances, some relating to her business; but, all of a sudden, she was, once again, part of the inner core of a family--a place she hadn't realized she'd missed until just now. Tremulously, she asked, "Do you really mind if I stay?"

Annie pinched her gently on the arm, saying with a smile, "How can I let you leave? Who knows what kind of a note they might send the next time? Besides, I would be grateful for the company. It's been years since we last talked; we have a lot to catch up on."

Before they could move, Scooter announced another urgent priority message. Annie quickly spoke the command for it to be read to her. Annie was amazed to hear that the message was from Matthew Caine.

"My dear Mesdames Blaisdell. Forgive my intrusion in the midst of your turmoil. I must sincerely request that when you pass on the information on the location of the disk so desperately wanted by the kidnappers of your daughter, you tell them the following--Matthew, the elderly friend of the doctor in Ste. Adele has the disk. Please do not tell them I am Matthew Caine. Please do not tell them Kermit Griffin is here. We do not know that they know that and it may give us an advantage if they do not. Please believe that all will be well."

As Scooter read the message, the two women stepped back from the hug and turned toward the computer. They remained in contact, however, drawing solace from each other.

Now they headed back to the kitchen; the spirits of both women were just a tad better than they had been a scant forty minutes before.

***

They were back in Ste.Adele before noon. The last mile was traversed on foot, the two of them dressed like any local field worker heading for town, to visit relatives or to attend church. This time Martin picked the hiding place for the car, based on his knowledge of the area. Kermit had parked east of town the previous day; this time they parked to the west. Martin had not even questioned Kermit's desire to hide the car. His sources had told him, not only of Kermit's presence in Ste. Adele, but of the three other questionable visitors Kermit had not mentioned.

Bradshaw had been surprised when Kermit had not only listened to his suggestion about where to hide the car, but had untied him once the car was stopped. "Why do you think you can trust me now?"

"Who says I trust you?" Griffin's thin-lipped smile had no mirth behind it. "I'm assuming you'd rather take the chance that you could get your bosses the entire skinny rather than just the teaser you've already got. And I decided I didn't have time to argue with you about it. Besides, I was told to bring you and I don't think your father would appreciate me presenting you trussed up."

As they talked, they pushed the car into the bushes and arranged the branches to make sure the vehicle was not visible from the road. Kermit finished his piece as Martin started to smooth the grass to hide the tracks.

Bradshaw turned toward Kermit in surprise. "Who told you? How? E-mail! Who sent you e-mail?" He paused and a look of amazement crossed his face. "My father sent you e-mail? …My father sends e-mail… Who would have guessed? I've visited him several times since I learned he was here - he's never mentioned a computer."

Kermit just stood and glared at the man. He was making too much noise.

Martin shook his head and then he and Kermit finished concealing the car and started to walk into the village.

They meandered past the clinic and then around and in back of it, ostensibly to examine the plants, but, in fact, to discover if the buildings were being watched. Finding four men watching the clinic and the Doctor's home, but none at Matthew's cottage, they continued their walk back to the road and on toward the Church of Ste. Adele. Once out of sight of the hospital grounds, they left the road and made their way to Matthew's residence. They carefully and quickly ducked through the little cottage's back door into the kitchen, where they stood in the kitchen and listened to the quiet house. Martin's patience ended first. "I understand we came to my father's home because no one is watching it, but where do we go next? And how?"

"Thank you for bringing my son, Detective Griffin. We will need him before this is settled." Matthew moved far enough into the room from the pantry to just clear the door. "There has been a development. You must come with me."

The intruders started at Matthew's sudden appearance. Kermit was sure the elder Caine had just come from the cave; from the expression on Martin's face, he knew that Bradshaw was wondering if his father could teleport. They had not heard a sound until Matthew spoke.

Kermit found his voice first. Filled with a strong sense of foreboding, he asked, "What do you mean there's been a development? What happened? Do you know why the hospital is being watched?" He did not bother to ask how the old man had known of their presence.

Matthew ignored the question, nodded at his son, and turned to return to the pantry.

Kermit moved to follow Matthew into the pantry but noticed Martin's hesitation. Ah, he thought to himself, he doesn't know about the cave ... Wonder why his father didn't mention it to him? Need to know, perhaps? He winked at the other man and motioned for Martin to precede him.

Martin's shrug told the other two men he was not sure why his father wanted them to enter a closet together. He was puzzled enough about his father's wish for his presence in this village. It was obvious that Bradshaw was coming to realize that there was so much more to Kermit's list than Kermit had let on. He winked back at Kermit to show he was game, and followed Matthew.

Once he was inside the pantry, the door to the stairs didn't particularly surprise Martin; lots of people had wine cellars or root cellars below their pantries, why not his father? The secret panel from the root cellar to the cave, however, was another matter. A hidden cave? The Interpol agent looked back at Kermit and raised an eyebrow.

Kermit chuckled and pushed him into the cave. The mercenary grinned to himself when he saw Martin react again, this time to the presence of his half-brother working with Angeliquè. Griffin paused with Martin to watch Caine, who was busy helping the doctor with a patient.

Kermit whispered, "They're exercising his muscles--prevents them from degenerating."

Matthew had continued to stride from the entrance point to what Kermit recognized as an entrance to the doctor's home. As Martin turned to go to greet his brother, Kermit just pushed him in the direction Matthew had gone. "You can say hello later. Your father needs us now."

Martin seemed to be taking this secret space of his father's in stride. Pete did tell me Martin lived with the Sing Wah some years ago, Kermit thought. There's probably little that throws this man.

Matthew opened the door into the doctor's wine cellar and led the other two past the wine assortment, through the door leading to the root cellar, up the stairs, into the doctor's kitchen, and on into what had to be the Doctor's den. The curtains had been drawn in the first room and heavy drapes concealed the windows.

He turned to Kermit. "Now it is safe to talk. There are men out there, but they can neither see nor hear what we do. This room was soundproofed by a former resident--we do not know why."

Griffin had not forgotten, in watching as Martin learned more about his father, that Matthew had greeted them by saying there had been a development. He did not know Matthew Caine well enough to know, just by watching him, how worried he might be. Like his son, Kwai Chang, Matthew seemed to handle life with a constant air of acceptance. So why did Kermit have the impression that something had gone dreadfully wrong?

Suddenly, he knew. "Where is Kelly? Why isn't she downstairs with Caine or here with you?" It came out more as an accusation than a question.

Mathew did not answer directly. "Detective Griffin, several e-mail messages have arrived for you within the last three hours. Before you read them, you must know that Kelly Blaisdell was kidnapped just over three hours ago."

"You were supposed to watch over her!" Kermit exploded. "If there was danger out there, why did you allow her to leave? She should have been safe here."

"Those men in the village were informed this morning of her identity. She could not have returned to school on the bus."

Martin interrupted his father to ask, "How do you know? How could you possibly know?"

Kermit gave an exasperated sigh as he gestured for Matthew to continue. "I've learned to not ask how."

Matthew nodded, and with a twinkle in his eye at Kermit's remark, continued. "We decided that she should go to church. She was prepared for them to take her. She knows she is a hostage and will not be harmed. We knew that her appearing, unguarded, would precipitate action-most likely before they were fully ready with their own plan."

Again the mercenary exploded. "We decided? And just 'who' are we? I was not included in this discussion."

"Detective Griffin, all of us here decided. You were not here nor were you easily available."

"Stop calling me 'detective'. I quit, remember?" Kermit turned to finally read his e-mail. He was still angry, and worried for his friend's daughter, but he recognized the validity of the reasoning.

His own reasoning went out the window when he finished reading the missive from Annie. "How dare they contact her!" He whirled around to find the old man at his shoulder, and about to topple from the force of Kermit's turn.

Kermit grabbed Matthew and steadied him but did not let go. Instead of thanking Kermit, Matthew told him, "Finish reading the mail."

This time, when Kermit turned back to the other two men, he was almost pensive. "Why did they pull Laura and Annie into this? It's almost as if whoever delivered the note got confused… At least they're taking it fairly well. Annie sounds worried but not hysterical." His tone hardened. "So, we have forty-five hours left before we have to deliver."

He looked at Martin. "I suppose if I gave you this disk, you'd be willing to bring in an army to get Kelly out? Well, forget it. An army is liable to blow the whole area up and the girl too. I can get in there and get her out without them knowing. If you want Harrison that bad, you can get your troops in to get him after I get Kelly out, and without the disk."

Matthew was nodding his head slowly in agreement, much to Kermit's surprise. "You will wait until dark? You will have a better chance then. Angeliquè and I will draw up a map for you. Would you like to rest in here?"

Kermit agreed and started to take off his jacket, but Matthew interrupted him. "First, we eat. Then we rest."

Kwai Chang was just placing the last bowl of salad on the dining room table when the trio walked in. Angeliquè was right behind him with a pitcher of tea for the Americans and a bottle of wine for the rest. Fresh loaves of bread and cut slabs of lamb were already on the table.

The meal ended quickly and Martin helped his father and brother clean up while Kermit retired to the study. The doctor went back to her patient. "He is improving steadily, but still needs lots of attention. Having him in the cave means I can reach him quickly when he needs me, no matter where I am, and he is isolated from the other patients."

Martin dried while Kwai Chang washed the dishes; Matthew put them away. After a few minutes of silence, Martin asked, "Why does the patient need isolation? Is he contagious?"

Matthew answered, "No, but he is rather well-known, although not a local. So his presence here would cause too much publicity. It is his wish to be treated by her, so she took advantage of the local geography."

When they finished cleaning and stowing the few items used for the meal, Matthew invited his sons into the living room to talk. The three men chatted for a while and then Kwai Chang stood. "Please excuse me, Father, Martin. I am needed elsewhere."

While the others were cleaning up, Kermit went to the study. Knowing that he had several hours before it was time to leave on his mission, Kermit lay down on the leather sofa in the den for a catnap. This type of nap had served him well over the years; he remained alert enough, while resting, to detect most dangers and, yet, the slow-down of mental and physical processes allowed him to recharge his batteries.

He stretched out on the sofa, made himself comfortable, closed his eyes, and, after ordering his subconscious to alert him to intruders, allowed his conscious mind to float to an imaginary place he had previously found relaxing without being stimulating.

Instead of the shooting gallery he had expected, he found himself in a courtroom, standing in the dock. The jurors were his friends--Peter and Kwai Chang Caine, Mary Margaret Skalany, Jody Powell, Thomas Jefferson Kincaid, and Karen Simms; the judge was Paul Blaisdell. In horror, Kermit heard the bailiff, Sergeant Broderick, read the charges. He was alleged to have killed, not only Sid Harrison and his henchmen, but also Kelly Blaisdell. To make it worse, somehow Kelly's captors had been turned into rescuers by the prosecutors. Witness after witness testified to his ill-timed reckless attack on Kelly's prison, causing her and her rescuers to be slain. They were saying that Sid had rescued her from unnamed villains only to be killed by Kermit.

Kermit was drowning in dread when Caine's voice broke through the clouds of his nightmare. "Kermit. Kermit! Wake up. It is only a dream."

Griffin sat up, put his feet on the floor, and his head in his hands. The nightmare was still vivid in his mind-him on trial for murder. He could still see the horror on the faces of his friends in the jury box and in the judge's stand. What is happening to me? In all my years as a mercenary, this is the first time I've dreamed about a mission beforehand.

He looked up at Caine, standing just inside the door. "I thought you were visiting with your brother."

The priest glided into the room and sat on the chair at the computer. "The talks I have had with my father since my arrival have triggered memories that he wishes to share with his other son. He has already shared them with me. Besides, I sensed you were greatly disturbed."

"My nightmare is not your concern." Kermit's voice was flat. He had no wish to discuss the morals of his actions with Kwai Chang Caine.

"Kermit, I have no wish to pry, but you must remember that nightmares come only from one source. When you try to hide your concerns or fears from your conscious mind, your unconscious will present them while you sleep, in a truly unpleasant manner. You cannot ignore them forever."

"Whatever concerns I have, I will take care of them. You don't need to worry about me." To short-circuit the current discussion, Kermit changed the subject. "Have you heard from your son lately?" Since he was certain Peter could not send even a postcard to his father until he received at least an address, and he knew that Peter would have told him immediately upon receipt of such, he considered this a fair turn-around of guilt.

Caine closed his eyes for a second and then, with a slight smile, answered, "My son and I have shared communication once since I left Chinatown. When I learned the source and purpose of the picture of my wife, I contacted him in his mind. We spoke to each other, mind to mind. And I will again so speak to him when Paul Blaisdell awakens. But this telepathic contact does not tell me how he is faring in the community. I can only judge his general health and how he feels about himself as we speak. That was over three months ago. Would you tell me your observations?"

Kermit thought back to the last time he had seen his young friend. "He came to see me in the precinct. People in Chinatown come to him with problems and, sometimes, information that they wouldn't tell a cop. He was passing on something one of the teenagers had overheard when she was somewhere she shouldn't have been. Couldn't tell her parents or us--she'd be in hot water either way. It gave us advance warning of a burglary, those crooks got quite a surprise, and it solved several crimes for us. And her behavior after that convinced her parents that Pete was a miracle worker.

"You want to know how he looked? A bit thinner, maybe, but well. Looks healthy, contented even. The life seems to be agreeing with him." The last was said with a big smile. Griffin was surprised at how well the young Shaolin priest had taken to his new career; Peter's almost suicidally reckless streak seemed to have vanished.

The proud parent stood, thanked Kermit with a bow, and left.

Griffin continued sitting on the sofa for a few minutes and then rose and fetched his gun and the cleaning kit from the workman's bag he had carried from the car when he first came into the town. With studied care, he broke down the gun into its components. He cleaned each part carefully with oil and rag, and, just as carefully, put the gun back together. When he had finished, he put the gun and kit away and went to work on the computer.

He spent some time reading through his e-mail. Some letters he redirected to Carolyn in her new position as police computer researcher; some he answered - these were simple queries requiring but a few words; the rest were either trash, which he erased, or low priority, which he left pending. As he worked, his nightmare hung at the fringes of his consciousness. When he finished addressing what he considered priority e-mail, he sat back to remove the last of the bad dream from his mind. Instead, Caine's words floated back. In a flash, he realized his subconscious was warning him that his plan to storm the barn would fail. He needed another plan.

Harrison and Bradshaw both wanted the information on the disk. Kermit knew, from the information he gleaned from Bradshaw and Dupres in the Marseilles bistro, that Paul had been in contact with a number of government agents, all presumed dead years ago. Some of those agents had worked for allied governments, some had not. But those two men had only seen the shorter list provided by Paul. Kermit had the longer list built by Rogres while, he assumed, tailing Paul. He did not recognize most of the names on Rogres' list, but her list did contain all of the names that Paul had sent him. This convinced him that Rogres' list was merely a more complete list of retired, and hidden, spies. The disk Harrison was demanding was Rogres' list of people who had been hidden by Paul Blaisdell. Martin Bradshaw would only be interested in capturing the agents loyal to the free world's enemies; Sid Harrison was as much interested in damaging Paul Blaisdell's name as in delivering all the discovered agents to whomever would provide a bounty. Neither Harrison nor Bradshaw could have the information.

Kermit paced and thought for several minutes before the answer came to him. He sat back down at the computer and began to work. It took him almost an hour, but, at the end of that time, he had a substitute disk, with a substitute file that should satisfy both Harrison and Bradshaw. He still had a few hours to go before he intended to leave for the barn--he couldn't storm the building, successfully, but he needed to be in the building. He had encrypted the file--the more difficulty Harrison had in accessing the information on the disk, the better the chance he would believe it valid.

Five hours remained before Kermit's scheduled departure. He lay down again for his catnap and this time succeeded in reaching the shooting gallery with enough time to win several giant stuffed dogs.

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