Chapter 1- Guess Who's Back

In HMP Belmarsh, former gangster Gino DiCamillo never considered himself defeated. However, sitting in the middle of a maximum security cell clad in a blue denim prison-issue shirt with black trousers was providing certain challenges that he could not ignore any longer.

For 33 years now, Gino called the Stansky Maximum Security Correctional center home. He had awaited his trial date with indifference - after all, the idiot lawyers that were assigned to his case had provided delay after delay. The changes in venue, the specifications of the picked jury - these were easily and successfully challenged by the lawyers.

Today was different. When guards had delivered his lunch through the slot on his door, he found a folded up piece of paper slipped into his ham sandwich. Keeping it low on his lap and away from the prying eyes of the door, Gino read the contents quickly.

Gino was smiling by the time he finished and he crumpled up the paper with enthusiasm. Plans were coming to a head. He didn't even have to lift a finger. If everything went well, he would be free in a week and have his revenge on that medlling Jack Halford once and for good. He ate his lunch with a renewed sense of purpose eagerly planning the rest of his week.

Elsewhere, Brian Lane picked up the day's newspaper at the front counter at the scientist's suggestion of it being a potential research source and, along with Jack Halford and Gerry Standing, headed back to Jack's jet the Tia Maria a little over an hour after first arriving. They passed few people on their way to the jet and Brian looked almost disappointed as they crossed the street to the building where the time machine waited.

"I guess you're right, Jack," Brian said. "These trips can happen without major disaster."

"As long as one takes the proper precautions," Jack warned. "Which we did."

"Yeah, right," said Gerry. "Oi, Halford, ain't you kind of disappointed that your new thing won't really show if it worked or not?"

"We don't know that it won't," Jack said as they reached the door. "But the idea, actually, is to make sure we find them papers Sandra told us to find."

"I think for your next project, you should let that thing be able to detect a change and let us know when something happens." said Brian.

"That's the next step but I need to work on the sensitivity settings," Jack said. "As well as shielding the databanks from any effects our trips might have which is more challenging than you might think."

Gerry entered the building first holding the door for Jack and Brian to prevent it from closing in their faces. As Jack reached for the jet keys in his pocket to switch the HIS off, he told Brian to stay nearby while he and Gerry got to the attic and found all DiCamillo's plans for London from the mid 60s to the late 70s.

5 minutes later, Jack heard something downstairs. There was a scuffling of sorts like feet skidding over the wood floor, followed immediately by a grunt and then, a loud, heavy thud that shook the floorboards.

At the first noise, Jack started to turn around and told Gerry to wait in the attic as he went to check if Brian was doing fine; he hadn't even pivoted halfway before the final sound hit his ears. When he turned fully around to see what it was that had happened, he saw nothing but faint shadows against a darker background.

"Brian?" Jack called softly, the lack of visual stimuli giving him a rather threatened feeling he didn't enjoy.

Something snaked around his neck from behind jerking his head back. Jack gasped in surprise, his heart leaping up to his throat but before he had the chance to pull free and fight the grip, something hard and heavy crashed into the back of his skull. There was a brief dazzling flash of light, terrific pain, then nothing more.

Chapter 2- The Message

A few minutes later, Gerry rushed back out of the attic to find DI Cadium 'Caddy' Kane and DS David McGregor looking up and Gerry. Both of them were standing and staring at something that Caddy was holding.

When he came closer, Caddy handed him what looked like a folded sheet of paper that was sealed in a clear plastic bag and said "David found this the second we got here. Neither of us recognizes it."

Gerry took the bag reluctantly. It had been sealed on all sides by some sort of heat, but with effort he tore an opening in the plastic and carefully extracted the paper. The paper itself was unremarkable seeming to be of the type one could buy in any copy shop. However, it was the words on them that set him on edge. "It's a ransom note."

"What does it say, Gerry?" asked David.

Gerry cleared his throat and read from the paper. "This message is for Detective Superintendant Sandra Pullman but I thought this would be the best way to deliver it. The terms are simple - deliver your time travel technology to my designated contact in six hours time or you will never see Jack Halford or his friend again. Contact will be made by the radio frequency listed at the bottom of this letter. Do not waste any time, the clock started ticking when my men stormed your boat."

When he finished, Gerry called Sandra and checked the signature at the bottom of the letter. In a bright crisp stroke of penmanship, the letter was signed Gino DiCamillo.

The sight of the signature only served to make the growing unease in Gerry's gut gnaw at his throat and said "Christ, there's no way this can be true. That bastard's in Nick. Frank even sent me a status report only a month ago. I would've heard-"

"And yet this letter's here and Jack and Brian aren't." Sandra replied on the other end of the line.

Gerry crumpled up the letter quickly and fought a wave of frustration. "C'mon Hadji. Get on the radio to greet Dr. Quest and get him up to speed - the quicker the better. Jessie, check the engines and sails - make sure those idiots didn't do anything to the boat."

While Hadji slowly headed into the cabin to communicate with the aircraft, Race noticed that Jessie simply stood there in front of him, her shoulders slumped and an utter look of defeat on her face.

Race sighed and laid his hands on her shoulders. "We'll get him back, Jess. We've fought this bastard before. Nothing's changed. I don't care if Maximoff knows every secret we have - we've beaten him before, and we are not going to let him keep Jonny or let him get anywhere near Dr. Quest or Project Rachel. Is that clear?"

Jessie let out the breath she had been holding and nodded slowly.

Race smiled. "Good girl, now go double check Questor."

He then turned to the seaplane that was maneuvering around in the water to dock with their boat. "Now I have to go break the news to Benton."

Truth be told, he'd rather face Dr. Zin and his entire robot army than give his friend the news, but there was no time for guilt or second thoughts. Race took a breath to brace himself, then headed toward the stern where the sea plane was heading.

There was a growl of sorts from nearby, a steady vibration and noise that would rise and fall in intensity and pitch, a reflection of how strong the vibrations were. Doc noticed it gradually, just as the pain in his head increased the more he tuned into the noise. Finally, when he became curious and aware enough to open his eyes, all he saw was pure, untainted blackness before him. A chill snaked down his spine as he blinked a half dozen times.

Am I blind or is this all a dream? he wondered. There was one way to find out the answer to the first one, at least. Attached to the DeLorean keys was a small LCD light that he had picked up on a trip in the future, due to the device's compact shape and long life, and so far as he could remember, the keys should still be in his pocket. The scientist moved his hand to the pocket, but instead of encountering the small, familiar bulge he felt... nothing. His heart skipped a little.

"Where are the keys?" he whispered aloud. The sound of his voice seemed to clear his senses a little, and the concern over the possibly missing keys were pushed aside as he felt his surroundings move, sharply, and he was thrown into something soft and... alive. Doc let out a gasp in surprise and sat up, only to slam the top of his head, hard, into a metallic surface not more than two feet above where he lay. He nearly passed out again as he felt his surroundings seem to tilt and spin. As he fell back to the floor, he heard a weak, tentative voice call out next to him.

"Mom? Mom, is that you?"

Even with a throbbing head, Doc recognized the whispered voice. "No, Marty, it's me. Don't sit up, now, or you'll have a headache like mine."

There was a groan. "I already have a headache." There was an uneasy pause. "Is it just me or are we in pitch dark?"

"We are," Doc said, glad to have that confirmed by another set of eyes. "From what I can tell, I think we're in the trunk of a car."

"How'd we get here? What's going on?" Marty bumped into the scientist as he shifted, giving Doc a better idea on their close quarters. He shifted himself, extending his legs -- which had been bent at the knee -- until they hit the wall.

"We're not gonna suffocate or choke to death on fumes, are we?" Marty asked, panic creeping into his voice.

"Hopefully not. Don't worry, Marty." Doc lifted his arms up and tentatively felt around, touching the cold metal that arched above. He ran his hands down to the side, just inches from his left, and then carefully felt around the "wall" for latches or locks. What he felt wasn't terribly encouraging. It seemed to be a latch that was quite bent on not moving, if the casual exploration from his fingers was any indication.

As if reading his mind, Marty asked, "Can you get us out of here?"

"I don't think so. Not without some tools, anyway." Doc let his hand drop with a sigh. "We're stuck in here, for the time being."

Marty groaned softly. "Perfect."

The sound of the engine changed, shifting into a lower gear as the vehicle slowed. Doc heard a rather loud crunching noise come from directly below them and realized that it was gravel they were driving over. A moment later the car stopped, the engine turned off, and, based upon the sounds of the doors closing, three people got out. Their footsteps headed for the back of the car, where Marty and Doc waited.

"What do we do, Doc?" Marty hissed.

"Nothing rash," the scientist answered quietly. "We don't know who's out there, where we are, or why we're even here."

Something small and metallic scraped around where Doc had pinpointed the sight of the latch. Keys, the inventor realized at once, remembering again the mysterious absence of his own. Before he could reflect on that any more, the lid of the trunk popped up and open. The outline of a broad shouldered figure loomed above, but Doc couldn't tell anything more than that. He was grabbed under the arms roughly and pulled out of the trunk.

"Stay nice and calm," a man's voice growled softly. "Try something and Benny here'll do something you won't want."

Doc allowed himself to be half dragged to the side of the road, where Marty followed a moment later. He was thrown down to the dirt, none too softly, and with help from the glow of the car's headlights was able to get a better look at his surroundings and the faces of those who had been in the car. They were on the side of a two lane stretch of road, unpopulated at this hour of the night. Three men stood around him and Marty, two armed with handguns appropriate to the time period. Their faces were mostly hidden in the shadows cast by the wide brimmed hats they wore. The unarmed man stood with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his oddly youthful face.

"Where are we?" Doc asked.

"Seeing as how you were trying to get into Ace's hole, we took you for a little drive," the unarmed man said. "Consider this a warning to the both of you."

"A warning for what?" Marty asked, a defensive tone clear in his voice. "We weren't doing anything!"

"Sure," the man said, sarcastic. "If we see you in the area again, you'll find that Ace won't be so forgiving the second time around."

Marty cast a confused look at Doc, who was just as lost as the young man. "We can do that, so long as you tell me what you did with the keys I had," Doc said.

One of the armed men answered, the line of his mouth twitching into a smile. "We don't got no idea," he said, clearly lying. "But you should owe us something for driving you out here."

The inventor felt his face pale at the implications of where the keys had gone. "I'm sure you already took what money we had," he said calmly. "What use are a set of keys to you?"

The unarmed man snorted softly. "Be thankful that Ace doesn't want more. Some money, keys, and watches aren't as valuable as your life, are they? You were trespassing, fair and square."

Doc glanced at his hands at the mention of valuables, and was immediately dismayed to see that his wedding band had fallen victim to the robber's hands. Before he could even think about asking for it back, the three men turned back to the car, got inside, and drove off, turning the vehicle around to go back the way that they had come from.

Marty watched them go with an expression of both shock and anger. "Great," he said, standing up from the spot where he had been thrown. "We don't know where we are, we're out in the boonies somewhere, and we're broke. So much for a nice, uneventful trip!"

"It gets worse," Doc said, seeing no way around the news. "They took the DeLorean keys."

Marty turned to look at him sharply. "And you don't have a spare set?"

"No, not here... as a safety precaution. Marty, I never expected the keys to be misplaced on a trip, and to have another set in or around the car was too great of a risk. Anyway, even if we did, they can't be left behind, not with the items on the keychain, like the remote for the HIS."

"You can't really called triple A to have them get you into the car now, Doc," Marty said, his voice rising. "So what's the verdict -- are we stuck here, then?"

"No," Doc said, certain. "We just have to get the keys back -- and my wedding ring. That has a lot of sentimental value to me, and I know it would disappoint Clara, too, if it was lost."

Marty didn't look much cheered by the news. "Where are we now?" he asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing I think we can do is walk 'til we find someone who can answer that question for us."

"And then?"

"One thing at a time, Marty. Let's start walking and see what happens."

They started going in the direction that the car had come from, the route being most logical to Doc if they wanted to get back to where they had left. They hadn't walked long before reaching a sign that told them the city of Chicago was five miles away. Marty groaned at the sight of the words, his hands burrowed deep into the pockets of his coat.

"Five miles in the freezing cold? Jeez, we'll be popsicles then!"

"We've had worse distances to walk in weather that was much more trying than this," Doc said. "At least it's not snowing -- or raining."

The scientist had apparently spoken too soon. Five minutes later, a light snow started to fall from the sky. Marty looked up at it with a scowl but didn't say anything. Doc sighed to himself and continued walking, pulling his coat a bit tighter against the frigid wind. Marty's silence lasted for only a few minutes, until the snow came down with increasing volume and strength. Then he said, "So how much longer are you planning on having us walk?"

"Until we can find another option," Doc said.

"And what'll that be?" Marty gestured widely at their frosty and rather rural surroundings. "I don't see anyone coming by."

Doc shrugged his answer. Moments later, however, a roar of an engine from behind broke the quiet, growing louder as the vehicle drew closer. Doc wasn't sure if he wanted to signal the car, a bit paranoid under the circumstances, but Marty's physical discomfort was clearly greater than the young man's unease; he turned right around and flagged the car, waving his arms wildly, before the inventor could stop him. The cream colored sedan slowed and pulled over. Marty hurried over to the driver's side window, too quickly and too trusting for Doc's tastes. The scientist followed rapidly, and rounded the back of the car just as the driver began to speak.

"You fellas need a ride?"

"Do we! " Marty said immediately. "Some creeps dumped us out here. We just need to get back to Chicago."

The shadows were numerous in the car. Doc could tell that the driver was male, and little else. He snuck up behind Marty to get a better look at the face behind the wheel. It belonged to a well-dressed man somewhere in his forties, cleanshaven and fairly harmless looking. "I'm heading that way, myself," he said. "If you don't mind my cigars, hop on in."

Doc, frankly, did, but Marty was reaching for the doorlatch before the scientist could even open his mouth. "Thanks," he told the man. Doc followed his friend reluctantly into the car. It was smokey, yes, but it was also soothingly warm after the chill of the night.

It took perhaps twenty minutes for them to reach the city. The man said little on the drive, except to ask where they wanted to be dropped off. Unfortunately, Doc had no idea. He didn't know the layout of contemporary Chicago, let alone of the city of the 1920's. Luckily, he had retained the name of the diner that he and Marty had had desert at and was able to provide that to the driver. The man seemed to know where that was and in short order had dropped them off.

"Now what?" Marty asked, looking up at the heavy swirl of flakes falling. Already, a couple inches had accumulated on the ground, and Doc suspected that it might just be the beginning.

"We've got to retrieve the keys and my ring from the men who took us away," Doc said, thinking, as he walked towards where the DeLorean was waiting.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Marty asked, not without a bit of grumpiness in his voice.

"I'm not sure yet. Give me some time to think it over. Now, it wouldn't be beyond logic to believe that they might be in the area of the DeLorean.... And what's Ace's hole?" He winced in the dark, the expression slipping past Marty's view, as a possible solution came to mind.

"Sounds like a nightclub or something," Marty said innocently. "Unless that's some version of profanity that's since gone extinct."

"It's probably not a nightclub," Doc half muttered, opting to avoid telling Marty his suspicions, for now. They reached the seemingly abandoned building again in short order, who knew how many hours after they had been taken away from it. Marty made a beeline for the door, boldly, but Doc stopped him with a hand to his arm and shook his head.

"We should make sure we don't end up in the same situation as we did earlier," he explained in a low voice, just in case they were being monitored.

"How?" Marty asked.

"Wait here -- let me look around. If you see anyone heading this way, try to get away unseen and let me know."

The young man didn't seem happy with this plan, but he sighed and leaned against the building in order to survey the largest portion he could. Doc started to creep around to the alleyway, figuring that might be a good place to start looking around. He hadn't done more than poke his head in the space when Marty spoke up.

"Doc."

The scientist turned around. A tall, solidly built man had mysteriously appeared out of the gloom and snow, standing next to Marty. Even in the poor lighting Doc could see that there was a weapon of some kind -- a gun, he determined quickly -- pointed in his friend's direction. Yet the man smiled as Doc looked at him, gesturing for him to draw closer.

"Who are you?" Doc asked immediately, moving slowly both out of a reluctance to get close to the armed stranger and not wanting to cause the man to think he was in danger and do something rash to Marty.

"In good time," the man said. He nodded to the other side of the street, where a figure stood next to an opened door of another seemingly abandoned warehouse. "My boss would like a word with you both," he said. "You don't mind, do you?"

"I don't suppose we have a choice," the inventor said, a touch sarcastic.

The beefy man laughed. "I see you understand us well. The Captain won't bite if you don't give 'im reason to."

Doc took a breath of the cold, crisp air, then sighed and nodded. "Could you lower the gun, please?" he had to add for Marty's sake, seeing how pale his friend had gotten. "Or at least aim it over here at me, if you have to do that?"

The man chuckled, apparently liking Doc. "Sure," he said, shifting his aim on the weapon so it was now trained on the scientist. With that provocation, the time travelers went reluctantly across the street to meet this "Captain," whomever he might be. Doc had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to like the man, nor his reasons for wanting to meet them. A number of unpleasant possibilities danced through his mind. They had stumbled into a murder interrupted or interfered, maybe. Or crossed onto gangland turf. Perhaps these men thought they were undercover cops. Whatever it was, he was all but certain the men were involved with illegal activities of some sort. There could be no other reason why, first, they had been kidnapped and driven out to the boonies, and then confronted by another armed man at the very same site.

The man at the door -- blond, broad in shoulders and stature -- didn't so much as blink as they passed by. He, like the gun toting creep, was dressed well and spotlessly in an up-to-the-minute suit. They were led down a dark hallway and stairwell, illuminated by oil lamps, through a door where music, laughter, and conversation oozed out.... and then into what looked like a nightclub.

Marty let a low whistle slip past as they stepped into a large dimly lit room, occupied by at least fifty people. At the far wall was what looked to be a slightly elevated stage, where a jazz band was currently playing a jaunty tune that shook the floorboards. There was a small space before the stage that acted as a dance floor, and a few couples were shaking things up. The rest of the room's patrons were seated at tables and chair scattered about, or gathered around not one but two pool tables near the back. A bar took up one corner of the room, a number of liquids and bottles stacked behind the bartender that were no doubt illegal during the prohibition times. The air was thick with both the smell of booze and the smoke from cigarettes and cigars.

Doc knew at once that they were in a speakeasy, but he wasn't entirely sure why they were brought there. The patrons glanced at them, but quickly turned their attention back to their drinks, conversations, or card games. The gun-wielding man led the scientist and Marty to a door set at the back, rapping on it three times, hard. It was opened a moment later by a thin guy with long red hair, pulled back to a pony tail, and a single gold earring in one lobe. He looked more like a garage mechanic than someone who might've frequented speakeasy's -- or ran around with a local gang.

There really could be no doubt or denial about that, anymore. Not after Doc glimpsed the other man in the room, sitting at a desk in what he could only assume was an office of some kind, windowless but decorated in contemporary styles. The dark-haired, mustached gentleman at the desk was dressed neatly in a suit, a smoldering cigar clutched between two fingers. A thin, petite young woman, her brown, curly hair styled in a fashionable bob, was hanging over his shoulder, smiling and leaning in close to his ear. The man at the desk looked up at the time traveler's entrance, however, distracted from the woman. By the expression that crossed her delicate features, it was clear she did not like this.

The door closed behind them, muffling the worst of the noise from the lounge. "Is this them?" the man at the desk asked.

Their captor answered. "Yep -- they came back to Ace's place. Fortunately the others weren't around when they got there, else we might not have 'em with us."

Marty looked faintly ill. Doc decided to speak up. "You're not giving us a choice in this matter, are you?" he asked.

"You have a choice," Nick said easily. "There are always choices in life. Right Frank?"

The gangster turned his eyes to the guy who had brought them in. Frank smiled, adjusting his hold on the gun. "Yes, sir, Captain," he said.

Doc got the message. He knew Marty did, too. "Friday is three days away," the inventor said. "We had intended to leave tonight and don't have a place to stay."

"No problem," Nick said. He looked to the other guy in the room, with the red hair. "Pierce, call over to the hotel and book these men the finest suite available -- with a pool table, so Mac can have plenty of time to practice his game."

The redhead nodded once, then left the room. Doc figured if they were trapped, he might as well make sure that they had a reward they could use. "Mr. Captino," he began.

"Nick," the man corrected immediately, easily, as if they were old friends. "What can I do for you, Emmett?"

"Ace's men took some of our things away from us when they decided to give us a ride out of town. I'm particularly anxious to get a set of keys and a ring -- my wedding band -- back. We'd like to have those when Mac wins."

Marty threw a quick, frantic glance at Doc, one that clearly said, "Are you outta your mind?!" Doc's lips twitched in a quick smile, hoping to assure his friend with the expression, but knowing that was a lost cause until they had some time to talk.

Nick waved his hand. "Not a problem. We'll make sure those are part of the deal."

"All right, thanks."

"Thank you." Nick stood and held his hand out to Marty. The young man got to his feet a second later and accepted it gingerly. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mac. I'll have Frank take you fellows out to your hotel so you can get some rest. I'll come by tomorrow to see that they're treating you right."

Frank opened the door and nodded for them to leave. Marty filed out first, the scientist following him, and the hired muscle with the gun at his back. They passed through the speakeasy, no one noticing them, all eyes on Holly who was in the middle of belting out a cheery jazz tune and flirting with the crowd. She wasn't terribly bad to Doc's untrained ear. Marty actually stopped for a moment and stared openly at her before Doc nudged him to remind them that this was not a pleasure trip anymore. Far from it.

They were in hot water and had less than three days to figure out how to squirm out of it with their lives intact.

Chapter 3- Kidnapped

Race helped Dr. Benton Quest secure a line to the seaplane and then helped his friend on board. The process was done in near silence and it wasn't helping Race's state of mind any. He knew that he had told Hadji to fill Benton in on the situation, but wasn't sure how much of the story Hadji had managed to tell.

Judging by the stone cold stare on Dr. Quest's face, Race guessed that his friend was in some sort of shock - or worse.

Race followed him into the main bridge area of Questor and remained standing while he noticed that Benton chose a seat on a nearby padded bench.

The silence was too much to take. Race cleared his throat and finally spoke up. "Benton, how much did Hadji tell you?"

That was when he finally saw the first hints of worry in Benton's eyes before his friend finally replied with a wavering voice. "He told me enough - now I need to hear the rest."

Race launched into a detailed explanation - telling him of the intruder alert all the way up to the point where he had regained consciousness on the deck. When he was done, Race noticed that Benton was deep in thought. That was when he decided to plunge in further. "Of course, we'll need a plan-"

Benton cut him off neatly. "Plan? Race, the first thing I am doing is getting on the radio and setting up a meet."

Race was taken aback. "C'mon Benton, we're not going to give that nutjob what he wants, are we?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

The reply was thunderous, filling the small space and nearly making Race wince.

After a beat Benton continued, his voice more subdued. "Don't think for a minute that I'm not tempted to go offer the world to that scum to get Jonny back. I know what's at stake here. Peter nearly sold out our country and endangered the lives of many - if he had his hands on Project Rachel, it would be disastrous. Time travel in his hands would mean he could shape his own twisted future. Unfortunately, the bastard has set a very tight deadline for us and we need to turn this back in our favor."

Race relaxed. This was more like the Dr. Quest he knew. "So what do you suggest?" He finally asked.

"Well, if your intel from Phil is right, Peter somehow either had knowledge of or orchestrated this entire plan," Benton explained. "We need to know what he knows. Maybe if you and Phil were to go after him, maybe he might let something slip, something we can use."

Race nodded appreciatively. "It's a start. What about you?"

"I think my talents are best served here. After I make contact with them and with Jessie and Hadji's help, I think we can trace what happened here and hopefully track down where they took Jonny. With a six hour deadline, I have a feeling that Peter's men didn't take him too far away. It wouldn't make sense otherwise."

"It sounds like that I am off to Michigan then," Race stated as he began to walk towards the seaplane before he stopped. "Benton, what if all of this does come down to a meet?"

"Hopefully it won't. After our last encounter with time traveling, I moved Project Rachel off of Quest World and into offline storage. It's hidden at home and I have no plans on giving it to him," Benton explained simply as he motioned towards the moored seaplane. "Get going. We don't have much time."

As far as Jonny Quest knew, time could have been passing at an alarming rate and he would have no clue. The watch he had been wearing while he was aboard Questor was gone, apparently taken by his captors. A quick check of jeans pockets revealed what felt like pocket lint and some loose change from where he had bought an ice cream cone before going to the marina. There was nothing there that would allow him to plot a great escape.

At the least, his captors didn't seem to be too concerned. They didn't tie him up in any way - either they were stupid or they were sure that he wasn't going to get out of there – wherever 'there' was.

He slowly worked himself up from his sitting position and after a few false starts, Jonny finally got to his feet. He started his blind search by taking slow, tentative steps and beginning to work his way around the space.

Being in the dark posed a few challenges, but after figuring out that there were no pits to fall into, he expanded his search, eventually finding the walls of his prison. They felt like they were made of a cool hard metal, and that disheartened Jonny, especially when he made it to the wall that he remembered had the door. No matter how thoroughly he ran his hands up and down the wall, Jonny couldn't find a door seam whatsoever. Everything seemed to be airtight.

This makes no sense - the air isn't stale. It has to be coming from somewhere.

Jonny tried to look up to see what he could see, but it was simply too dark.

With a sigh, he sat back down on the ground and ponder his options, which amounted to zero. Unless some situation developed, he would simply have to wait for rescue.

He smirked. I'll probably never hear the end of it from Jess, allowing myself to get kidnapped like this.

Suddenly he heard a metallic scraping noise, and he tensed. If that goon was back at the door maybe he could-

However, something about this noise was off. To Jonny, it didn't sound like it was coming from the far wall like before - it sounded like it was coming from the ceiling. What the?

Suddenly he heard an additional noise. Jonny unsteadily got back to feet and looked up - and that was when he was hit with a deluge of water.

Short time cut to inside Todd’s house. Lilly interviews Evelyn and Melanie.

Lilly: So you came to the party with Jill but left alone?

Melanie: I drank too much. I had to go home and I couldn’t find her.

Lilly: You made a big point in your interview that you were sure it wasn’t Todd.

Melanie: The detective made a big point of asking about it.

Evelyn: He was fixated on the Whitley’s but barely looked at Tim Dorn.

Lilly: This is the cook?

Evelyn: He lived in our guest house and he was with the girls that night.

Melanie: When we left for the party he told Jill she should come by later if she wanted. When I heard she was missing the next day Tim was the first person I thought of.


Cut to outside the police department.


Cut to homicide.

Lilly: All this information and I got one page on the guy the mother and best friend think did it.

Chris: You gotta listen to the best friend. Teenage girls tell each other everything.

He rolls his shirt up and injects himself with something.

Lilly: Well Britt wrote two sentences on him then blew him off.

Chris looks up at her. She shows him the pad she’s reading.

Chris: It’s hard to tell if he even worked the mard(?) note.

Lilly: Especially when he had it out for Todd.

Chris nods and Lilly sighs.

Lilly: Dorn’s up in Frackville.

Chris: Locked up?

Lilly puts her coat on.

Chris: Why do you think he’s gonna talk to you?

She shrugs.

Lilly: I’m an optimist.

Chris: Lil I got a wife at home.

Lilly: You don’t have to come. You think it’s a dead case.

He looks at the clock.

Chris: Let me just call her.


Cut to Frackville. Lilly and Chris interview Tim Dorn.

Chris: Five years for forgery.

Tim: I got a facility for it, gets me into trouble.

Lilly: You ever dabble in more serious crime?

Tim: Like the violence done to Jill Shelby? No ma’am. I’m strictly a cerebral criminal.

Chris: Pretty attractive wasn’t she?

Tim: She was pretty cute for a girl.

He looks at Chris seductively.

Lilly: You did tell her to come over that night.

Tim: She came over a lot. To get high. She and her little vixen friend, that Melanie.

Lilly: So that little vixen thinks that you killed Jill.

Tim scoffs.

Tim: Well if you marry the prime suspect I guess you better point to someone else.

Chris: Jill’s mom also thinks you did it.

Tim: A woman lives in a certain world, if the shining neighbour boy killed her daughter, that world’s a lie.

Lilly: Britt has your alibi down here as going to bed at ten o’clock.

Tim: I guess he must of kept his word.

He laughs a little.

Tim: Actually I was with a, uh, friend that night.

Chris: What friend?

Tim: Bobby Jordan. This big luscious college boy down the street.

Lilly looks at Chris.

Tim: Neither of us was exactly out and proud at the time so we asked Britt not to document the sleepover.

Chris: Bobby’s gonna confirm that?

Tim: Well I imagine he’s come to terms by now.

Lilly: Did Jill ever talk to you about Todd?

Tim: Oh sure, those girls told me everything.

Chris: Like what?

Tim: Teenage drama. They even told me things they didn’t tell each other. Like all the while Jill was fretting that Todd doesn’t treat her right, Melanie was doing him on the side.

He looks at Lilly. Lilly thinks about it and looks at Chris.

Fade Out.


Fade in on a statue in Todd Whitley’s front garden. Lilly and Chris walk in through the gate. Melanie is sat on the grass playing with two children, when she sees Chris and Lilly walking towards her she stands up.

Melanie: You can’t be here.

Lilly: Gate was open. My partner Chris Lassing.

Chris: How you doing?

Melanie: Todd is furious at you.

Lilly looks at Chris and back.

Lilly: Uh-oh.

Melanie: Thanks to you his brother came here last night. Drunk. After six years being sober.

Chris and Lilly share a glance.

Lilly: Eric did?

Melanie: Look I’ve told you about Tim Dorn, why do you have to keep bothering us?

Chris: Dorn’s alibi checked out. We know about you and Todd stepping out on Jill back then.

Melanie: I-I-I don’t have to talk to you.

She turns and starts walking back to the house.

Lilly: We have to arrest you?

Melanie stops.

Chris: You don’t want that lady. You should see our holding cell; your headband’ll get all dirty.

He smirks. She turns to them.

Melanie: Why does this matter?

Lilly: ‘Cause when you tell us one lie Melanie, even if it’s small, that makes us think you’re hiding other things.

Chris: Like whatever Todd did to Jill that night.

Melanie: It wasn’t Todd, okay? I know because I was with him that night.

Flashback to Melanie, Todd, Eric and Jill sat round the Whitley’s pool. I’m Not in Love by 10CC plays over the scene.

Todd: (To Jill) That is some top.

Jill flips her hair back so he can look at it better. It is a halter-top.

Jill: It’s new.

Todd: You look like a, uh…

Jill smiles.

Jill: What?

Todd: A patriotic streetwalker.

Todd laughs.

Jill: It was in Seventeen.

She scoffs, looks away, then gets up and walks away. Eric gets up off his chair to watch her go. He looks down at Todd.

Eric: Why do you have to be a jerk?

Todd: Why don’t you go and comfort her?

Eric walks off the way Jill went, leaving Melanie and Todd alone.

Melanie: You know you could use some time in charm school.

Todd: Could I?

Melanie: I could give you a tutorial.

She looks at him.

Melanie: Upstairs.

Todd: What about Jill?

Melanie looks away and raises her eyebrows.

Melanie: What about her?

She smirks. The music fades. End of flashback. Resume to present.

Melanie: I’m obviously not proud of it.

Chris: It sounds like Eric had pretty strong feelings for Jill.

Melanie: So?

Chris: So why’d he fall off the wagon just cause Jill’s name came up?


Cut to a rowing club in a park.


Cut to Lilly hiding behind a tree. She peeps out looking for somebody. She sees Todd Whitley leaving the rowing club. Lilly has a drink of her water and starts breathing really fast. She dabs some water on her chest and face. She starts running and throws the water away as she passes a bin. She runs over to Todd. He stops walking when he sees her.

Lilly: Two million people in this city, I gotta run into you.

Todd: You think I’m thrilled seeing you?

Lilly holds her hands up.

Lilly: Alright look I’m sorry if I was obnoxious at all in your office.

Todd: More than obnoxious.

Lilly: It’s just the way that you were looking out for Eric it was…

She keeps breathing like she’s out of breath and makes it look like she’s trying to catch her breath.

Lilly: I hear he’s drinking again.

Todd: Don’t talk about Eric.

Lilly: Todd I know that you were with Melanie that night.

Todd: Excuse me?

Lilly: Which doesn’t add up with you saying you were with Eric so I figure that you just said that to protect him.

Todd: Okay let’s say that I was with Melanie that night; you can understand why I wouldn’t want the entire world knowing that, right?

Lilly: Right.

She nods.

Lilly: So why not just say that you were sleeping? Why give Eric an alibi?

Todd: You should drop this.

Lilly: Eric did it. That’s why you can sleep at night and have a normal life and he’s a mess.

Todd: You should just watch it.

Lilly: When did the hard drinking start? After he killed her?

Todd: I can make your life very difficult.

Lilly: Eric kills Jill, you clean up after him, brother’s keeper ever since. Am I close?

Todd: Tell me something Lilly. What is the point of all of this? After so many years?

Lilly: People shouldn’t be forgotten. Even if they are my kind of people. Maybe they don’t have a lotta money, they don’t have lawyers but they matter. They should get justice too.

Todd nods.

Todd: I see. You’re a crusader.

Lilly: I guess I am.

Todd laughs.

Todd: Good luck.

He walks away leaving Lilly to stare after him.


Cut to outside the Philadelphia police department. It fades to night.

John: (Voiceover) So is sleep like an optional thing for you?


Cut to homicide. Lilly is sat at her desk.

Lilly: I’m not tired.

John nods.

John: Guess who weighed in on your case today.

Lilly thinks for a minute.

Lilly: Uh… the Commissioner?

John doesn’t say anything. Lilly is stunned.

Lilly: The Commissioner?

John: Apparently he and the Whitley’s father were college pals.

Lilly: Todd called Bradley to tattle on me? What a baby.

John: And now Bradley’s wondering when you’re going back on the line.

Lilly: He couldn’t pick me out of a line-up suddenly he’s tracking my career? Screw him.

John: Don’t say that too loud in this building.

Lilly: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Nick Vera walks up to her desk. He gives her a cup of coffee.

Nick: Rush your boyfriend’s downstairs.

Lilly: I’m single. You sure it’s not your boyfriend?

She has a drink of her coffee.

Nick: One of the Whitley’s. Booked for DUI.

Lilly looks from Nick to John. She gets up and walks out.


Cut to another part of the building. Lilly meets with Eric who is starting to leave.

Lilly: You crash that nice car of yours Eric?

Eric: Thanks to you.

Lilly scoffs.

Lilly: I had something to do with it? All I did was bring up Jill, why’s that send you on a bender?

Eric: My brother called our lawyer who called the Commissioner.

Lilly nods.

Eric: He’s a very close family friend.

Lilly: I heard all about it.

Eric: Then why don’t you take a hint and back off?

He walks away. Lilly calls after him.

Lilly: ‘Cause something tells me you and I are one scotch away from a good conversation.

Lilly walks away in the opposite direction to Eric.


Cut to a police car pulling up outside the building the next day.


Cut to Lilly walking into homicide. Will is stood near the door looking through a filing cabinet.

Will: Hey Lil.

Lilly: Hey.

Will: Hey. Lassing’s in with Evelyn Shelby.

Lilly: Huh.

She walks further into homicide towards the interview room, putting her bag on a chair as she walks past.


Cut to the interview room. Lilly and Chris are sat with Evelyn. Evelyn is opening a box.

Evelyn: I kept my own box on Jill. It’s been packed away for years. I thought maybe it could help.

Lilly: Good.

Evelyn: Melanie told me about her and Todd in high school, behind Jill’s back.

Lilly pulls some pictures out of the box of Melanie and Jill.

Lilly: Well she was only fifteen.

Evelyn smiles at Lilly.

Chris: Mrs. Shelby it looks like we’re closing in on Eric Whitley.

Evelyn: The younger one?

Chris: Yeah. Well he doesn’t have an alibi for that night and, uh, he was pretty sick in love with your daughter.

Evelyn: I was looking at her yearbook and I remember this boy.

She opens the yearbook to a certain page with a picture of a boy on.

Evelyn: Ann Winters' son. A few years after Jill died; he said something to Ann about the Whitley’s getting away with murder.

Chris looks at Lilly. Lilly sighs.

Lilly: Why isn’t this in the file?

Evelyn: Well it should be. John told it to the police.

Chris: What’s the kid’s name?

Evelyn: Charlie Winters.

Chris scratches his head.

Lilly: If Britt talked to him I’d have a record of it. He was meticulous.

Chris: Well are you sure your husband mentioned it to Britt?

Evelyn: He told me he did.

Lilly: Could he have lied Evelyn?

Evelyn: Well I don’t know I mean I hounded him about it. He said it came to nothing, that I should stop bringing it up, stop pointing fingers at the Whitley’s.

Chris: They were a powerful family.

Evelyn smiles and nods slightly. She looks at Lilly.

Evelyn: I guess we both know what it’s like to have a husband fail you.

Chris looks at Lilly, surprised. Lilly smiles and looks at Chris out of the corner of her eye. Lilly leans forward and grasps Evelyn’s hand.

Lilly: We’ll find Charlie Winters, Evelyn. We’ll talk to him and we’ll let you know what he says.

Evelyn nods. Chris looks at Lilly and Lilly leans back in her chair.

Fade Out.

Fade In on a car driving up through woodland. It passes a sign that reads:

Clear Vista

Meditation Retreat

Quiet Please.


Cut to a clearing in the woods. People are doing meditation exercises. Lilly and Chris walk into the clearing and up to the group. Charlie Winters is stood observing the group. He turns, sees Lilly and Chris and walks over to them. The camera shows Lilly and Chris walking to meet him. The camera goes back and a younger Charlie is walking to them. There is a flash and present day Charlie is back.

Charlie: Uh, thanks for coming out. I can’t really leave the retreat.

Lilly nods and smiles.

Lilly: Sure. It’s about Jill Shelby.

Charlie: So now you wanna hear?

Lilly nods.

Lilly: Yeah. You told the cops you didn’t see anything.

Charlie: Yeah at first.

He glances behind him.

Charlie: And then I came to the Shelby’s with some good information. And I got the brush off.

Chris: Did you come stoned in your VW van?

Charlie: So?

Lilly: Charlie, Evelyn Shelby’s the one who told us about you.

Charlie: Screw Evelyn Shelby okay? I tried to help her years ago. She wouldn’t hear it.

Lilly: Your right Charlie but she’s not afraid now and we wanna hear.

Charlie sighs and nods.

Charlie: Okay.

Charlie: I was um…

Flashback to the night of the party.

Charlie: (Voiceover) …kinda passed out on a lounge chair.

Eric and Todd walk in behind a passed out Charlie.

Todd: Shut up.

Eric: (Upset) How could this happen?

Todd: Just shut up.

Eric: Why’d you have to wear this?

Todd: What?

Eric: It’s ruined.

We see Charlie watching them from under his hat. The brothers are arguing about a jacket that they’re both holding.

Todd: That’s what you were thinking about, that stupid jacket? Just leave things to me.

Todd walks off and we see a tennis racket in his hand. Eric is holding the jacket to his face, it has blood on it.

Charlie: (Voiceover) So they got in their car and left.

End of flashback. Resume to present.

Charlie: And I just got the hell out of there.

Lilly: Why did Eric care so much about the jacket?

Charlie: There was this, uh, one year that Eric did wrestling and Todd couldn’t wrestle to save his life.

He laughs a little.

Charlie: I think it was the only thing that he could do better than Todd.

Lilly nods.


Cut to Lilly walking up to a school, where parents are picking their children up. She walks up to Melanie putting her children in her car.

Lilly: I need a couple of minutes. I, I have to tell you something that is gonna be hard to here. Todd was seen with the murder weapon that night.

Melanie: But I was with him.

Lilly: You were asleep after drinking all night. He could of got out of bed later.

Melanie: This is the father of my children.

Lilly: He was involved with the murder Melanie. That’s someone that you don’t know very well.

Melanie shakes her head.

Melanie: Well maybe he was just covering up for Eric.

Lilly: Even if that’s all he did, that’s accessory to murder.

Melanie thinks about it. She looks away for a minute and then looks back.

Melanie: I wanna tell you something. But if I do I can’t go home.

Lilly nods.

Lilly: I can help you with that.

Melanie: They’re talking every night. They’re arguing. Todd keeps telling Eric to stay away from Tabby’s.

Lilly: What’s that?

Melanie: They have an aunt, Tabitha. She has a house in Chestnut Hill. It was-it was close to where we all used to live.

Lilly: Pack a bag for you and the kids. You’re coming with me.


Cut to Lilly walking through the police car park later that night. She gets her car keys out of her pocket. Todd steps out in front of her.

Todd: Hey.

Lilly is startled.

Todd: Where’s my wife?

Lilly walks close to him.

Lilly: Safe.

She starts to walk past him but he grabs her arm. She jumps away from him.

Todd: You bitch. You tell me where she is.

Lilly laughs.

Lilly: Is this how you handle women you can’t control? Is this supposed to scare me?

Todd: It’s supposed to make you think.

Lilly: I’m not like the girls you’re used to, Todd. You can’t try to charm me, then when that doesn’t work talk down to me. Then when that doesn’t work get aggressive. I’m not Jill or Melanie. I’m the police and we’re at the police headquarters you moron.

Todd steps close to her.

Todd: You’re gonna talk to me like that?

Lilly: What’re you gonna do? Kill me in the parking lot of Central? You think you’ll get away with it again? (Whispers) I know about Tabby’s. (Normal) I’ll have a warrant tomorrow and guys are sitting on it right now. Whatever you hid there, we’re about to find it. (Whispers) So it’s over.

Todd: Okay.

He takes a step away from her. He pauses for a moment.

Todd: I can’t protect him anymore.

He shakes his head.

Todd: I did as much as I could.

He shrugs.

Lilly: Why don’t you come in, give me a statement?

Todd: Okay.

They start walking towards the police building.


Cut to Todd sat in an interview room. Lilly and John watch him in the observation room. Lilly sighs.

Lilly: Flipped on his brother.

John looks at Todd.

John: Do you believe him?

She sighs.

Lilly: I don’t know. I’ve gotta find Eric.

Cut to a bar. Eric is sat there having a drink. Lilly walks up next to him and sits down. Eric looks at her and then does a double take as he realises who it is.

Lilly: No meeting tonight, huh?

Eric: Screw the meetings.

He nods to the bartender.

Lilly: (To the bartender) Scotch and soda.

Eric: Look I can’t talk to you. My brother chewed me out the day you came by.

Lilly bites her lip.

Lilly: Really? ‘Cause he’s been talking to me a lot.

Eric: Yeah well I guess he puts himself in a different category.

Lilly: Oh, he told me about you and Jill. How you were in love with her.

Eric: She was his girlfriend.

The bartender hands Lilly her drink. She picks it up.

Lilly: Oh she’d hang around with you when uh...

She has a drink.

Lilly: …no-one was around but drop you at the second Todd showed up.

Eric: Look I already told you that she was like that.

Lilly: And then he found you two together that night.

They stare at each other for a beat.

Eric: Look I said that I couldn’t talk to you.

He has a drink.

Lilly: What happened to your letter jacket, Eric?

Eric: I don’t know. (To bartender) Another.

Lilly: I don’t think there’s time for another. I have to arrest you.

Eric looks at her.

Lilly: He told me you did it and that you came to him for help afterwards and you two buried the jacket at your aunt’s house.

Eric: Why would I kill her?

Lilly: Because she humiliated you. She accused you of watching them.

Eric: Oh my God. So he’s pinning it on me now?

Lilly: It’s his story against yours. And you’re the problem drunk who never got his life together so if you have anything to give me, you should do it now.

Eric: Look he ruined my jacket. He got his blood all over it. Hers too.

Lilly stares at him, thinking.

Lilly: You didn’t throw it out, did you?

He shakes his head.

Eric: And Jill didn’t humiliate me. He did.

Flashback to Jill and Eric kissing on a bench in the tennis court, the night of the party. Todd walks on to the court wearing Eric’s jacket. He walks behind them and leans in next to Jill’s ear.

Todd: Hi gorgeous.

Jill jumps up off the bench.

Jill: Where were you?

Todd: Well you can’t really ask me that.

Eric: That’s my jacket.

He stands up.

Todd: So you finally got a taste of her, huh? Now you have something real to jack off to.

Jill: Todd!

Todd: Have you seen him in the window watching us have sex?

Jill looks at Eric.

Eric: That’s crazy.

Todd: Up in the tree with his hand down his pants.

Jill: Stop. Please.

Todd: Well you’re the one who just screwed him.

Jill: I didn’t screw him. Give me some credit.

Todd and Eric both walk towards Jill and she backs away.

Todd: I saw you all pressed up to him.

Jill: Only because you were off with Melanie.

Todd: Just stop talking.

Jill: *******.

Todd: Bitch.

Eric: Don’t.

Todd: (To Eric) Shut up! You’re so pathetic.

He turns back to Jill.

Jill: And you’re such a *****.

Todd: You shut your mouth.

Jill: Screw you.

Todd: Hey slut! I said shut your mouth!

She gives him the finger. He backhands her across the face; she gasps and falls to the ground. She gets up and pushes her into the chain link fence. She falls over and curls up in a ball. He picks the tennis racket up at his feet and hits her repeatedly. Eric stands there watching him, shocked. End of flashback. Resume to present.


Cut to Eric in an interview room giving Lilly his statement. Have You Ever Seen the Rain? by Creedence Clearwater Revival plays over the following scenes.


Cut to the back garden of Tabitha’s house. Lilly, John and a photographer stand over a man kneeling over a hole in the ground. He pulls out the tennis racket.

Lyrics: Someone told me long ago

Lilly and John look down at the racket covered in blood.

Lyrics: There’s a calm before the storm I know


Cut to Todd in handcuffs being led out of his house by Lilly.

Lyrics: It’s been coming for some time / when it’s over so they say / it’ll rain a sunny day I know


Cut to outside police headquarters. There are lots of people outside. It’s pouring rain. The car pulls up with Todd in the back. This scene is all in slow motion.

Lyrics: Shining down like water

Lilly gets out of the car.

Lyrics: I wanna know / have you ever seen the rain?

She opens the back door and pulls a young Todd out.

Lyrics: I wanna know / have you ever seen the rain?

We see the flash of cameras as reporters take his picture.

Lyrics: Coming down a sunny day.

The camera cuts a little and present day Todd is back. He looks over and sees young Eric being helped out of another car by Chris.

Lyrics: Yesterday and days before

They walk up to Lilly and Todd and present day Eric is back.

Lyrics: Sun is cold and rain is hard I know

They lead the brothers into Central.

Lyrics: Been that way for all my time.

Lilly looks up at people stood on a little ledge watching the scene holding umbrellas. We see Bonita.

Lyrics: Till forever on it goes

We go back to Lilly and Chris.

Lyrics: Through the circle fast and slow I know

When Lilly looks back it is young Bonita watching her.

Lyrics: It can’t stop I wonder

Lilly continues to lead Todd inside. We see young Melanie watching him.

Lyrics: I wanna know

Someone walks in front of her. When they move, older Melanie is back.

Lyrics: Have you ever seen the rain? / I wanna know

Eric looks through the crowd and sees Evelyn watching him.

Lyrics: Have you ever seen the rain? / Coming down a sunny day

Lilly hands Todd to a police officer who takes him inside. Lilly looks at the crowd and sees Melanie and Evelyn stood together.

Lyrics: I wanna know / Have you ever seen the rain? / I wanna know / Have you ever seen the rain?

Lilly looks at another part of the crowd and sees Jill Shelby in the middle of some police officers.

Lyrics: Coming down a sunny day

Lilly blinks and looks back at her.

Fade to Black.

End Credits