Steele With A Twist Part 15

Steele With A Twist
Part 15

Murphy huddled behind some cases in the old warehouse as he waited for the players in this little drama to arrive. He was still shocked by what Steele had told him. He'd always known that the man had a past, of course. But he'd never suspected the truth, that his boss, the famous detective Remington Steele, had once been a con man and thief. Knowing the truth explained so many things - and didn't lessen Murphy's respect for the man one iota.
It had taken a lot of courage to turn his life around, to turn his back on the only life he'd ever really known and start all over again on the straight and narrow. And he'd succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Until now, at any rate.
The metal door at the far end of the cavernous room opened on rusty hinges, and three people entered. A heavyset man wearing a white suit, an attractive blonde, and a smaller man who stayed beside the blonde, a gun in his hand. Murphy glanced across to where Laura had gone into hiding- but she wasn't there. Darn it, what was she up to now? he wondered. Lifting his eyes, he saw that she was on one of the old catwalks along the wall of the building. Murphy shook his head, wondering if she was ever going to learn to follow orders. His mind returned to the trio fifteen feet from him as the first man grabbed a pulley assembly that was hanging from the ceiling.
"Tie her up here, Rat."
As he watched Rat lash the woman's hands to the pulley, Murphy decided that she was the Felicia that Steele had spoken of. She was certainly Steele's usual type. Tall, blonde - he glanced up at Laura again, reflecting that Steele's tastes seemed to have changed JUST a bit.
Once Felicia's hands were secured, Guttman pressed a button on a control panel and the pulley began to rise until she was standing on her toes. "Felix!" she cried out.
"Don't worry, Felicia. You'll have plenty of company soon." Turning to Rat, he said, "Search the building. I want to make sure that Steele didn't hide some of his people in here."
"Sure, boss." The man started toward where Laura had been hiding- if she had been there, he would have been sure to see her. Murphy glanced up to see her grin at him before she slipped back into the shadows. As Rat turned toward his own hiding place, Murphy ducked down as far as he could- if he were discovered - He couldn't move anymore without being seen by Guttman.
CLANK!
Murphy went still, as did Rat. "What was that?" he asked.
"Go and find out," Guttman ordered. Murphy let out his breath and looked up at Laura. There was no sign of her again, but Rat was heading away from his hiding place toward the other end of the building. Murphy sighed in relief. She'd created a diversion of some kind, apparently.
"Nothing here, Boss," Rat called out.
"Get back up here, then. Probably a mouse or something." He laughed. "You oughta feel right at home, Rat. This place is crawling with your little friends." As Rat approached, Guttman said, "Steele ought to be here any minute. You just keep a close watch on him. And a gun on our friend here," he said, pointing to Felicia.
"Right, Boss." Rat smiled, and Murphy felt shivers run down his spine. Rat didn't seem too nervous about the idea of pulling the trigger on the gun in his hand. Murphy felt the weight of the agency gun that he was holding. They had decided it would be best for him to carry it, since Steele was bound to be searched upon entering the warehouse.
The metal door's squeaky hinges signaled Steele's arrival, and Murphy watched from his hiding place as Guttman pulled his own gun from his pocket. "Mr. Steele. Good of you to come. Keep your hands where I can see them."
Steele lifted his hands. "You're Guttman, I assume?"
"Yeah," the heavy man said. "And this is Rat. Search him, Rat."
Steele's eyes met Felicia's. "Are you all right?"
"For the moment," she told him, trying to free her hands. "I wasn't certain you'd come, darling -"
"Enough," Guttman said as Rat nodded after patting Steele down.
"He's clean, Boss."
"Where's the painting?"
"Which painting are you talking about? My memory -"
Guttman put his gun to Felicia's temple. "Your memory had better improve, Steele. And quickly, unless you want to see the lady die."
"It's in a safe place, Guttman. And you'll get it as soon as you release Felicia and agree to leave Los Angeles without causing further trouble."
Guttman shook his head. "Tie him up with Felicia, Rat."
Rat motioned with his gun to indicate that Steele should come over to where he was waiting. Guttman lowered the pulley enough for Rat to tie Steele's hands as Guttman kept his own gun on Steele. "I hope you have a better plan than that in mind, Mi -Darling," Felicia sighed.
Steele shrugged as Guttman raised the pulley again. "Have you ever known me to play my hold card first thing, Felicia?"
"You'd better play it now, Steele, or you're both dead," Guttman told him.
"It's hidden here in the warehouse," Steele told him. "Let Felicia go and I give you my word I'll lead you to it."
"And why should I trust you? You were told to bring the painting, Steele -"
"And I did. I just decided to have a little insurance in the process."
"WHERE IS MY PAINTING?" Guttman yelled. Rat jabbed Steele in the back with his gun.
"You have my terms, Guttman. If you harm Felicia or me, you'll never find that painting."
"Rat! Search the building."
Rat's eyes widened as he looked around. "It's a BIG building, Boss."
Guttman's gun swung toward the little man. "Don't make me tell you again, Rat."
Rat scurried to start going through boxes, VERY close to Murphy's hiding place. "He'll never find it, Guttman," Steele said. "I can give you the exact location -"
"He's right, Boss," Rat insisted.
Guttman pressed his gun against Felicia's temple again. "I don't think he'll let Felicia die. Am I right, Mr. Steele? Someone with your reputation for protecting people won't risk the death of a woman because you wanted to play your little game."
"I need some assurances, Guttman, that you won't kill us as soon as you get your hands on that painting."
"Then I give you MY word," Guttman said, smiling. "Once I have the painting, Rat and I will leave Los Angeles."
"And will Felicia and I be able to wave a tearful goodbye at your departure?" "I'll call your office once we're out of the city and let them know where to find you," Guttman assured him.
"Tell him, darling," Felicia begged.
Steele kept his eyes on Guttman as he called out, "Come out, Miss Holt, and bring the painting," he called out.
Murphy glanced up to where he'd last seen Laura, thinking, YOU'RE ON. But she was already on the floor of the building. His fingers tightened on the gun as Rat and Guttman both turned to watch her approach. She was carrying a long cardboard tube. "You're sure about this, Mr. Steele?" she asked.
"Quite sure, Miss Holt," he told her. "Give the painting to Guttman."
Laura smiled as she tossed the cylinder toward the heavyset man. He tried to catch it, but missed, distracting Rat with his swearing and Rat turned as if to help his boss. Laura saw her opening and grabbed the man's arm as Guttman retrieved the cylinder.
Rat's gun went off, and Laura knocked it from his hand as Murphy rose from his hiding place. Guttman was trying to get the cap off of the tube, his gun on the floor where he had placed it to get the cylinder. "Don't move." Laura retrieved Rat's gun, taking it to Murphy, who held one in each hand. "Over there," Murphy said to Rat.
Laura went to the control and lowered the pulley, then went to release Steele and Felicia. Steele took the agency gun from Murphy. "Now, Guttman, you and Rat will be the guests of the local authorities for some time to come, I'm sure. Give the gun to Miss Holt and call the police, please, Murphy."
Felicia moved forward to grab the cardboard tube from Guttman's hands. She tore off the cap and brought out the contents. "Newspapers?" She lifted confused eyes to Steele. "You risked our lives -"
Steele smiled. "I still have an ace or two up my sleeve, Felicia," he assured her, smiling at Laura, who was also confused.

**********

After the police departed with Guttman and Rat, Murphy asked, "What if they try to tell the truth about you, Steele?"
"They won't," Felicia assured them, placing a hand on Steele's chest. "He doesn't know who you were before you became Remington Steele. I only told you that he did to get you to help me," she explained.
Steele shook his head. "If I were you, Felicia, I'd leave town as soon as possible. Before Guttman has a chance to name you as an accomplice."
She nodded. "I suppose you're right," she sighed, moving closer to give him a lingering kiss as Laura silently fumed. "Au revoir, Michael," she said at last. "Lisa, Mr. Michaels."
Steele watched her walk away toward a waiting taxi. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret that little gesture," he said.
"So do I, Mr. Steele," Laura agreed.
"Steele, WHERE is the painting?" Murphy asked.

**********

Murphy and Laura followed Steele into the Hopewood Gallery, still none the wiser as to where he had hidden the painting. After Murphy's question, Steele had simply smiled and indicated that they should repair to Laura's car, which Murphy and Laura had driven to the warehouse.
"Mr. Steele," Laura said. "Why are we here?"
"To get the painting," he told her.
"You're forgetting, aren't you," she said, lowering her voice, "that we STOLE it from here."
"We didn't steal anything, Miss Holt," he told her. "That painting never left the Gallery."
"Never left - Mr. Steele, I put that painting," she reigned in her voice again. "I put that painting inside that cylinder -"
"Which I left here," he told her, coming to a halt before a display of Grecian urns.
"Where?" Murphy asked, looking around.
Steele turned and put his hand into the nearest four foot tall urn and drew out the velvet sleeved tube. Removing the sleeve, he handed it to Laura, then removed the rolled canvas. "Right here," he explained.
Laura smiled. God, he was good.

**********

As they returned to the office, Laura was on air. "I mean, it was all so exciting-"
"You took a big chance moving from where you were supposed to be," Murphy reminded her.
"But it paid off, didn't it? If I had stayed where I was SUPPOSED to be, Rat would have found me. And I wouldn't have been able to keep him from finding YOU. You OWE me one, Murphy."
"She's right, Murphy," Steele said, opening his office door, wondering where Bernice was.
All three came to a halt as Bernice and Abigail Holt rose from the conference area. "Mother?"
"Mrs. Holt. What a pleasant surprise."
"I dropped by to tell you that the movers have everything in the new house, Laura," Abigail said.
Bernice smiled nervously. "I guess everything went all right?"
"WONDERFULLY!" Laura exclaimed. "Without a hitch!"
"Then the case you're working on is finished?" Abigail asked.
Laura went still, and Steele saw a a look on her face that reminded him of an animal trapped in oncoming headlights.
Murphy, sensing trouble, took Bernice's arm. "Come with me, Bernice, and I'll tell you all about it."
"I, suppose," Laura hedged, answering her mother's question. "But there's paperwork- I have to do a report-"
"Laura, I'm leaving tomorrow," Abigail said. "Is there ANY way we can have dinner together this evening?"
Steele stepped in, placing an arm around mother and daughter. "I have an idea," he told them. "Why don't I prepare dinner for all THREE of us at my apartment?"
"You don't have to do that I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble -" Laura insisted pointedly.

"No trouble," Steele returned, smiling. "Mrs. Holt?"
"I think that's a perfect idea, Mr. Steele. What time shall I be there?"
Steele smiled and winked at Laura. "Six. Is that acceptable to you as well, Miss Holt?"
Knowing that he was doing this to keep her from having to face her mother alone, Laura nodded. "I think I can manage to be there at six."
"Good. Then it's settled." He escorted Abigail out of the office, then returned to find himself facing an angry Laura.
"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but-"
"I'm simply trying to make up to your mother for your lack of attention during her visit, that's all."
Laura fingered the lapels of his coat, then slid her arms around his neck. "Then turnabout is fair play."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean, Harry," she told him, smiling sweetly, "is that the next time your FATHER is in town, it's MY turn to invite the both of you to dinner."
"Laura-"
"Harry - it's only fair."
"We'll discuss it," he told her. After all, he said to himself, what were the chances of Daniel paying another visit in the next year or so? By that time, Laura would forget all about her little game. He hoped.

--FINIS -- (Well kinda) ;->

Author's note: I plan to continue the adventures of these two at a later date- Keep checking back for new episodes! --Nancy