January 29, 2007

Kayla: Oh! Finally!

Steve: Hey, baby.

Kayla: I was so worried.

Steve: Okay. Yeah. I missed you so much, sweetness.

Kayla: Are you all right?

Steve: Yeah, I'm just a little sore from all those hours behind the wheel of that truck, you know? Hmm?

Kayla: What's that?

Steve: What?

Kayla: What is that -- the big bruise right there and another bruise d--

Steve: Okay, okay.

Kayla: What happened?

Steve: [ Sighs ] All right. Here's what happened -- we almost had Shawn and belle and the baby at the border, and a state trooper started tailing us.

Kayla: What?

Steve: So I had to take some evasive action to get rid of the dude. But the good news is it worked and they made it safe into Canada.

Kayla: What's the bad news?

Steve: There isn't any. Everything's good. It's all done.

Kayla: Really?

Steve: Yeah. What? No "thank you"? No "way to go, patch man. You saved the day"?

[ Chuckles ] No dragging your hero into the bedroom?

Kayla: You know, don't kid around. I'm worried.

Steve: Well, don't worry, baby. Like I told you, the trip was a success and everything's cool.

Kayla: And you didn't have one of those episodes?

Steve: Episodes are for TV.

[ Knock on door ] That must be Bo. I told him to meet me here. Hey, man.

Bo: Hey, good to see you. Glad you made it back safe. Kay.

Steve: Yeah, so, we had a few close calls, but nothing I couldn't handle.

Bo: So, you got them there with no major problems?

Steve: Yeah. They got across the border safe and sound.

Bo: Thanks, man. I owe you.

Steve: You don't owe me. We're family, dude.

Bo: Yeah. I wonder how they're doing.

Steve: Well, you might be wondering for a while because I had to set down some ground rules for the kids to keep them safe.

Bo: What are they?

Steve: I told Shawn and belle that they can't call us. They can't call our home phones or our cellphones in case the cops have tracers on them.

Bo: Yeah, yeah, that's good.

Steve: As for us, we have to keep playing dumb. We haven't heard from them, haven't seen them, don't know where they are.

Bo: Yeah. Right.

Steve: We can't look for them either. You know, if we hire pds or call in favors from law enforcement, Abe and roman are bound to find out about it.

Bo: Yeah, hope and I talked to Marlena about that. We agreed that's the way it should be.

Steve: I know this is gonna be tough for you, Bo, acting like those kids are gone and never coming back.

Bo: Acting like they're go-- we may never see them again.

Steve: No, come on.

Kayla: Bo, come on. Let's just focus on one day at a time. And we'll just concentrate on not letting the police onto anything.

Bo: Right.

[ Banging on door ] Are you expecting someone?

Steve: Who's there?

Chelsea: It's me -- Chelsea. Hurry up and let me in. I need to talk to my dad. It's really important. Thanks. Hey, hope just told me where you were, and I came as soon as I could. I didn't even have time to drop nick off, but I figured it's okay because he's related to hope.

Bo: Slow down. Slow down. Just tell me why you're here.

Chelsea: Okay, Shawn just called.

Bo: Is he okay?

Kayla: Are they okay? Are they in any trouble?

Chelsea: Everybody's fine, he said, but he wants to talk to you, dad.

Nick: He called from a safe phone in Toronto and said that he was gonna call back at the pay phone in the pub in about an hour or so.

Bo: All right, I'm on my way.

Kayla: Yeah, us, too.

Steve: I'm coming, too.

Steve: Hey, man. Don't you think we better lock the door? We don't want the wrong people showing up when Shawn's on the phone.

Bo: Yeah, all right.

Roman: Well, well. Look who's all here.

Roman: Isn't anybody gonna say anything?

Steve: How's it going, ro-man?

Roman: Steve, you really don't want to know. Am I interrupting something here?

Bo: No. No. We're just hanging out, talking about what's going on with Shawn and belle and Claire, wondering if they're okay.

Roman: Well, I got good news, then. They were spotted in Toronto, and the Canadian authorities are scouring the city as we speak.

Chelsea: Why can't you just leave them alone? They're just trying to protect their kid.

Roman: Bo, you're a cop. You know damn well I got to pursue this. I can't just pretend the law hasn't been broken.

Kayla: Roman, can't you just look the other way this time? Come on. It's your nephew, family.

Bo: Hey, it's okay. He's got to do his job.

Steve: Yeah, that's what everybody's doing -- just doing what they have to do.

Roman: Well, I hope that includes doing the right thing, Steve, like letting me know if the kids call, they show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night, or if they're spotted doing whatever, wherever. Whatever it is, keep in touch, okay?

Roman: Well, you haven't heard the whole story yet. It gets real good.

Kayla: We're listening.

Roman: It seems as if this same truck wound up in a high-speed chase with a Michigan state trooper and this drugged-out wild man. That's the state trooper's description, not mine. So, apparently, this drugged-out wild man emptied the contents of the truck all over the hood of the trailing police car. Then he jumped off the back of the truck at about 80 miles an hour and vanished into the woods. Bottom line is this drugged-out wild man is wanted by the Michigan police now for, oh, among 26 charges -- resisting arrest, assault on a police vehicle, assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, grand theft auto, and conspiracy -- now, the latter, due to the fact that he helped his accomplices escape into Canada. So, Steve...

Steve: Yeah.

Roman: You wouldn't happen to be the guy they're looking for, would you?

Steve: I was home all night last night.

Roman: Yeah? Were you home alone?

Steve: Yeah. Kayla was over at marlena'S.

Roman: Kayla, is that right?

Kayla: Yeah, I thought Marlena could use some company.

Roman: Well, Steve, do you mind if I ask where you got those bruises?

Steve: Reaching for seconds.

Roman: [ Chuckles ] All right, folks. Let's stop playing games here because, you see, I checked Kayla's cellphone records, and somebody called her around 11:30 last night from a pay phone in northern Michigan, about 25 miles from the Canadian border. So, Kayla, Steve, what do you two have to say about that?

Roman: I had a feeling you two couldn't explain that phone call.

Kayla: It was a wrong number, roman.

Roman: Really? Okay, Kayla, let me see if I get this straight. Okay, a stranger steals a delivery truck. He drives it into northern Michigan with his accomplices. He gets out. He finds a pay phone. He makes a phone call, and he accidentally calls your cell. Is that what you're saying?

Bo: That's what she's saying, roman. Are you calling her a liar?

Roman: Bo, come on. You know that story is dead on arrival.

Steve: Okay, roman, come on. Take me in. That's what you want to do. You got your mind made up.

Roman: Steve, you know what? All I want here is the truth.

Steve: Okay. I helped Shawn and belle and Claire cross the border into Canada. I stole that delivery truck. I tossed its cargo at that cop. I jumped out the back at 80 miles an hour and led that dude in a footrace through the woods so the kids could get away.

Roman: You know what, Steve? You are a very good friend of mine. I'm gonna ask you one more time. Is that the truth, or is it not the truth?

Steve: Roman, I was home alone all night last night. I don't know who made that phone call. I don't know about a stolen delivery truck or anything else. That's my story.

Steve: They need money? I told them.

Bo: 5,000 bucks.

Kayla: I'll just get it from the bank across the street.

Bo: Thanks, sis. I appreciate that. Then we'll just wire them the money.

Nick: You know, I'm really sorry to butt in, but it's probably not a very good idea to do a bank transfer because they're really easy to trace.

Bo: Right, right, I'm not thinking straight. We got a problem.

Steve: It's no problem, man. I'll take them the money.

Bo: Don't think that's a good idea considering your reputation north of here.

Kayla: Yeah, the police are watching all of us.