Rollie, Angie, Francis and Mira left the van and walked onto the set. Dani was still hanging in there 30 feet above everyone else.
"Harrumph! She still has to look down on people," Angie grumbled.
"Careful Angela," Rollie whispered in her ear. "Try to be the angel I know you can be, will you luv?"
"I am an angel," Angie replied innocently as she batted her eyelashes at Rollie for effect.
Rollie shook his head. "Yeah right."
"Rollie! Get me down from here. What's taking so long?" Dani screeched as she spotted them approaching.
"Just a minute Dani," Rollie called. "We've had a bit of a software glitch, I'm afraid. Someone hacked into our system during the stunt—"
"It was Angie, Rollie! It had to be. She was the only one not on the set," Dani proclaimed from high up above.
Angie's eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened. She held the PDA in her hand and was about to have fun with Dani when Rollie reached over and pulled the PDA from her hot little hands.
"But I— you— ooh! Kill joy," She grumbled.
"You do the crime, you do the time." He reminded her.
"Harrumph!"
"Actually...it wasn't Angie," Rollie said as he maneuvered Dani down. He watched as Damien made his way over, doing his best to act nonchalant. "Someone patched into our system and Angie was able to override the hacker. You're very lucky Dani, you could have been killed, or worse...disfigured."
Dani quickly looked at Damien as Rollie went around Dani to help her out of the harness. "Look, Rollie, I know how much you trust Angie but maybe Angie is really the one that rigged the override and she just wants you to think that it wasn't her after all," Dani said, all the while still trying to appear afraid for her life. "At the very least, by disfiguring me...she would have made sure she wouldn't have anything to worry about from me."
"I'm not with Angie because of her looks." Rollie snapped at the implication. "Though it doesn't hurt." He winked at Angie. "Besides, Angie tracked the hackers signal. And now the cops have that information. You remember Mira, don't you Dani?"
"M...Mira? Of course. But what can they do? Will...they arrest Angie?" Dani continued.
"They are not going to arrest Angie, Dani!" Rollie replied angrily. "She did not do it. But the police know who did. Attempted murder is a pretty serious charge." He turned to look at Damien. "Isn't it Damien?"
Damien jumped when Mira placed a hand on his shoulder. "Damien Ott? Detective Mira Sanchez. I'd like to have a few words with you...."
"What?" Damien looked at Dani, his eyes pleading.
She turned her nose in the air and wrapped her arms around Rollie. "Oh Rollie! I can't believe this," she cried.
Angie stood nearby and rolled her eyes. She let out a loud groan. Rollie pulled away from Dani.
"No. No, I didn't do it." Damien defended himself realizing that Dani wasn't going to help. He wasn't about to face an attempted murder charge. Not for her. "I mean...it wasn't meant to harm Dani. Dani wanted it to look like Angie had rigged it to harm her. It was just supposed to go wild for a few minutes and Dani would scream and yell, like she does, and everybody would think that Angie did it. No one was going to be hurt. I swear."
"Yeah, except for Angie." Rollie grumbled.
"Thanks a lot, Damien." Angie grumbled too. Rollie's arms encircled her waist and pulled her close.
"I'm sorry, Angie. You too Rollie." Damien hung his head. "The truth is...I thought that if I helped Dani then maybe she would notice me. But all she kept talking about was you."
"What! You can't believe him Rollie," Dani cried. "I had nothing to do with this. I can't help it if he was in love with me. Maybe he and Angie were working together—"
"God! She never stops!" Angie yelled, her hands in the air.
"Rollie, don't leave me. I need protection from Damien and Angie. Please!"
"Give it a break, Dani." Mira ordered. "The signal was tracked to Damien's PDA. If it weren't for Angie intercepting the signal...maybe you could have been killed. What if something had gone wrong? Like a malfunction? Did you ever think of that? And for what? To get Rollie? Girl, you have gone real low."
"I'm really sorry." Damien apologized once again to Rollie and Angie. They nodded their acceptance but Rollie wouldn't shake his hand. "Am I going to face any charges, detective?"
Mira looked at Francis a moment and then clenched her jaw. "No." She sighed. "No harm was done except to my friends. And if I ever hear of either one of you pulling a stunt like this against Rollie or Angie again...I will pull you in, and I'll worry about the charges later. Do you hear me, Dani?"
Dani sniffed impetuously. She tried to approach Rollie but he turned his back to her. Angie thought she actually saw a tear escape her plastic eyes. But then again, she thought, it could have been the lighting.
"Rollie please," Dani begged. "Please don't let us end this way."
Rollie turned towards her. "End? Dani we ended a long time ago. Actually, the truth is we never even began. We were never a good fit, Dani, and you know it. But the thing is," his head shook sadly, "we could've been friends if you hadn't pulled this stunt. And despite everything you said to Angie and how you deliberately set out to hurt her, she didn't want me to give up on our friendship. See, that's what real friendship is Dani. But you don't get it, do you?" He looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. "Stay the hell away from me and Angie."
Rollie walked back towards Angie who was packing up the gear. He didn't look back at Dani, who stood where she was resplendent in her beauty and completely alone.
Angie caught his hand as he approached. "You okay?"
"Never better." Rollie lied.
"No you're not."
Rollie didn't want to dwell on Danielle Vandenglas anymore. He had thought she was a friend and then she turned out not to be. End of story.
"Ange? Why don't you and I go out tonight, someplace quiet?"
"Sounds nice," she agreed. As much as she hated Dani, she hated her even more now for hurting Rollie.
Later that night, Lucinda popped at the loft, as they were getting ready to leave. She saw that they were dressed to go out, Rollie looking very handsome in a dark suit, and Angie in black chiffon slip dress, with a chenille appliqué overlay.
"Wow, you guys look great! I'm sorry...you're going out aren't you?"
"Uh, yeah Luce," Rollie replied almost apologetically.
Angie looked at Rollie for a brief second. She knew he wanted to go someplace quiet but she also knew he was hurting and Lucinda was always good at getting him to smile.
"Luce? Why don't you join us?" Angie asked as she watched for Rollie's reaction. Rollie's eyes darted to her but he didn't want to hurt Lucinda so he just smiled.
"Yeah Luce, it'll be great."
"No. You guys, you need me like you need a third wheel."
"Now none of that," Rollie assured her. "We wouldn't have invited you if we didn't want you to join us."
Lucinda smiled. "Well, if you're completely sure...I'd love to. Only, I'm not exactly dressed for it."
Angie suggested they drive to her place so Lucinda could change. Rollie and Angie waited in the car while Lucinda was inside changing. Rollie stared out the window. Angie knew he was thinking of the demise of his friendship with Dani. She could tell he was hurting. Angie reached over and fingered the curls around Rollie's neck. He leaned his head towards her touch.
"I'm sorry," she said softly.
"Don't be."
"Rollie—"
"Angie, don't worry about it. You win some and you lose some. That's life." He said almost bitterly.
Angie remembered Mangela's words to her in Rollie's lounge about how Rollie kept every pain and disappointment like a scar on his heart. "You still have me."
Rollie's chin quivered and his head shook briefly and then he laughed, not a joyful laugh but a laugh that said 'you're a lucky man Rollie Tyler, don't you forget it.'
"That's all that really matters, Angie." Rollie said finally, his voice choking back tears.
Angie moved over and kissed him on his cheek. She felt his tears wet her cheeks.
Angie was glad that they had invited Lucinda because she did lighten the mood. She regaled them with her tales of the wild array of acting jobs she has had since she's been in LA. These included jobs as a sidekick on a kiddie show where she had to get cream pies thrown in her face every week, to a role as the bubble-head girl friend of the sidekick to the main star on a cop show, to a role in a commercial where she played a housewife who had to drink soup from a can while on the go in her busy life. She hated that one because the soup tasted awful, it was salty, and she spilt it on her costume twice. Rollie was soon laughing at Lucinda's illustrious career in LA.
"At least it sounds like you've never been bored, Luce." Rollie laughed.
"No." Lucinda sighed. "I guess not. But I don't want to become the commercial or sidekick queen of television. At least out here I could work in theatre more."
"But they have theatres out there too, Lucinda. Couldn't you do that in between?" Angie asked.
"It's really a tight knit community. It comes down to who you know or even who you're sleeping with. You know, the more I think about it the more I realize that I want to move back here." She smiled.
"Really?" Rollie smiled. "Does that mean you've made up your mind?"
"Let's just say that I am 90% certain that is what I am going to do. You could help convince me though...."
"Oh really?" Rollie's eyebrow rose and so did Angie's. "How?"
"By dancing with me right now and telling me all the reasons why it would be a good idea." She smiled sweetly. "That is, if Angie doesn't mind?"
"Oh please! Rollie can do whatever he wants...so long as he doesn't look at another woman." Angie smiled.
Rollie rose from his chair. "I wouldn't dream of it, luv." He bent and kissed Angie before holding his hand out for Lucinda. Together they went onto the dance floor.
Angie watched them from the table where she was soon lost in her own thoughts. She was soon startled out of her reverie by a handsome man that called her name as he was passing the table.
"Angie? Angie Ramirez? I thought that was you."
Angie's jaw dropped. She remembered him all right. He was a model friend of Lucinda's that she had set her up with.
"Uh...uh...Christopher, right?" Angie asked as she struggled to remember the name she had sworn to forget. That night had been another disaster in a long list of disasters and she had sworn for the umpteenth time that if Lucinda ever set her up on a blind date again she would beg Rollie to shoot her.
"Yeah, it's me." He sat down. "You look great. You've done something with your hair, haven't you? And your face...you look great," he said as he admired Angie's face, which to him seemed so different than the last time he had seen her. "Have you had surgery?"
Angie coughed. "No!" she sputtered as she remembered why that night was a disaster. He had a knack for putting his size twelve feet in his mouth. Plus, he spent too much time admiring himself in whatever reflective surface was around, including a dinner knife at one point.
"You really look great," he continued. "Are you here alone? Would you like to dance?"
"Actually, I'm here with someone." Angie smiled, all the while thinking you had your chance, buster.
Just then Rollie and Lucinda returned to the table. Lucinda's eyes widened and she had a huge smile on her face when she spotted Christopher. Angie couldn't believe how happy she seemed to see him. Rollie's eyes narrowed at the guy, none too happy with the attention he seemed to be paying Angie.
"Who's the bloke, Ange?" Rollie asked pointedly.
Angie was about to introduce them when Lucinda spoke up. She introduced him as Christopher Spencer. Rollie could see Angie bite her lip in an effort to keep from smiling and he knew that he must have been one of her disasters. One of a few that Lucinda had a hand in. Soon, Lucinda and Christopher were in their own world, getting caught up on New York gossip. Angie looked at Rollie with a pained expression on her face.
He pulled his chair closer to hers and whispered in her ear. "You poor thing."
Angie giggled. "Do you think, maybe, we should go?" she asked as she glanced towards Lucinda and Christopher.
"I think that's a wonderful idea."
Rollie and Angie said their goodnights to Lucinda after making sure she was okay to get home. Lucinda and Christopher barely even noticed them leave.
As they entered the loft Rollie called for Bluey to turn the lights on, then he added. "Romantic lights, Bluey."
Angie looked back at Rollie perplexed. "Romantic lights?" she asked as the lights in the loft dimmed.
"Yep. It's a new feature I added to Bluey's database. Comes in handy," he said as he walked past her and went to the lounge. He returned with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
"What's this?" Angie asked as she spied the champagne. A slight smile curved her lips.
"This is the beginning of our night. As much as I enjoyed Lucinda's company spending the entire evening with her was not how I hoped to be spending this evening," he said as he popped the cork on the champagne and it frothed over the top. "Bluey, music." He again instructed his electronic dog. He poured the two glasses and gazed at Angie, who stood near the couch. "C'mere," he said softly.
Angie felt a shiver go down her spine. She hesitated a brief second.
"Angela." Rollie's eyes locked on Angie's and she felt herself riveted.
She didn't know how she did it but she made her way over to Rollie. He handed her a glass and he gently clinked their glasses together.
"To us." He smiled softly.
"Rollie—"
"Shh. Drink." He ordered her and they both took a sip of their champagne.
Angie felt the bubbles tickle her nose and her eyes crinkled at the sensation. She stared at Rollie over the glass. Why was she nervous? She asked herself.
Then, Rollie took her glass from her hand and placed both glasses on the staircase steps. He went down to his knee and gazed up at Angie. His face went to her stomach and she felt her butterflies go wild. She giggled as she held his head there for a moment and he kissed her stomach. Her hands cradled both sides of his head, fingering his curls. Rollie looked up at her again.
"Angie. Angela...I have been thinking of this for a long time...." His voice, though soft, was serious. "I can't imagine my life without you. I don't want to imagine my life without you. You are my best friend and my partner in everything that matters...."
Angie felt her pulse quicken and it was getting awfully warm in here.
"I love you so much, Angela. I want to build a life with you. I want to have a family with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to spend the next 50 years reading The Sunday New York Times and Mad magazine in bed with you...."
Angie laughed as she felt tears come to her eyes.
Rollie took Angie's hand in his. "Angela Ramirez, will you marry me?"
"Oh!" Angie let out a small gasp as he pulled from his pocket a small black velvet box. He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond engagement ring. Angie's hand went to her mouth. Her eyes watered.
"Rollie," she cried. She had not expected this. She felt as if she could die now and be happy. She felt as if she were floating, her feet not touching the ground. She looked down at Rollie and she realized...she hadn't given him her answer yet. He knelt there patiently but slowly a look of apprehension crept over his face.
"Rollie," she whispered softly.
"Yeah, Angie, I'm pretty sure that's my name."
"Rollie, I love you so much. Yes! Yes, I'll marry you!" she cried again and laughed nervously.
"Really?" Rollie stood then. "You were making me nervous there for a second." He laughed as he took her hands in his. He brought one hand to his lips. "You're sure now? Because I am not letting you back out of this."
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Angie responded quickly.
Rollie held her hand in his as he took out the ring. He smiled as he placed it on her finger and Angie gasped, then he kissed her hand again.
Angie looked at the ring and thought it was truly beautiful. It wasn't huge or showy and that didn't matter to her. She didn't care about size or cost. It could have been a ring from a Cracker Jack box for all it mattered. She only cared about Rollie and being with him. She wanted to be the things in his life she never thought she could ever allow herself to imagine, his wife, the mother to his children, and spending the rest of their lives together. The way it was meant to be.
Rollie pulled Angie to him and they kissed, a long, wondrous kiss that seemed to last for days. Angie didn't ever want it to stop. Then, Rollie pulled away and looked down at Bluey. Angie followed his gaze.
"Bluey boy?" he said with a laugh. "Angie said yes, Bluey!" And right then Bluey started barking excitedly as the lights of the loft flashed off and on, simulated fireworks went off on the computer screens, and Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture blared from the stereo. Small cannons around the room exploded sending colorful streamers across the room.
"You're crazy, do you know that?" Angie laughed at the spectacle.
"Ooh, I know. And so are you!" He kissed her again.
"Not that it was even a remote possibility but um... what would you have done if I had said no?"
"Oh, hmm...." Rollie's face grew pensive. "I thought of that." He turned to Bluey again. "Bluey...." he said in a serious, depressed, tone. "Angie said no." Rollie pouted. Bluey whimpered as the sound of a lonely foghorn could be heard, the lights were more subdued, and sad-smiley faces replaced the fireworks on the computer screens.
"Aww, that's so sad." Angie laughed and grimaced at the same time.
"I know," Rollie sighed, "I couldn't bring myself to be any more creative than that. I just didn't have the heart. Okay, Blue. That's enough, my little minion." He instructed the dog to stop. "Thank God you didn't say no."
"That never would have happened."
"Mmm," Rollie mumbled against her lips as his mouth came down on hers again. He pulled her towards the window where they slow danced by the moonlight. Rollie cradled Angie's face in his hands as he gently bent, kissing her softly on her forehead. Angie's hands went around Rollie's neck and he slowly lifter her off the floor.
Soon, they made their way upstairs where they slowly undressed each other. They made love savoring every moment, unrushed and uninhibited. Afterwards, they lay against each other as Angie's head rested on Rollie's chest, and Rollie caressed her back. Angie held up her hand with the engagement ring on it and watched as the light from the window reflected off it.
"Is the ring okay? Or is it too small or too big?" He asked as he caught her hand.
"Nope. It's perfect. I love it, Rollie. It's a symbol of our love and that makes it the most beautiful ring in the world." She moved up and kissed him softly. "So umm...when did you get this?"
"A while ago. I guess I've been thinking about it for a while. When you were in the hospital, let's see...." he searched his memory. She had, after all, been in the hospital several times. "When you were attacked and you had the skull fracture. When I brought you home and I went out again, remember?" Angie nodded her head. "But I didn't want to ask you then. I mean, I did and I didn't. I didn't want you to think that I was asking you because I was scared of losing you."
"I wouldn't have thought that," she assured him.
"Maybe yes and maybe no. I couldn't take that chance. Besides...it wasn't the right time." He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. "So, when umm...when do you want to do this?" he asked with a big smile on his face.
"I don't know." Angie looked up at him and smiled. She wanted to feel this way forever.
"Well, do you want a small wedding or a big wedding? What's your dream wedding?"
Angie grew thoughtful. "Actually, I've never really dreamt of getting married. I've only ever wanted you and you were taboo, so I wouldn't allow myself to dream anything like that." Angie thought about it. "I don't know. I guess I know I don't want a really religious ceremony...maybe a justice of the peace? What do you think?"
Rollie looked down at her. "Whatever you want is fine—"
"No, really Rol. We both have to agree on this."
"Okay, well...a justice of the peace is fine. I'm not all that religious either."
"The only thing I do know is," she said as she looked at Rollie, "that I don't want to be like other couples that get sooo stressed out over their weddings. So, maybe a small or smallish wedding is the ticket. I want to have fun. I want it to be a celebration. I want our friends to have fun and I want to dance with you all night."
"Dance? All night?"
"Yes. What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing...except that isn't that supposed to be our wedding night too?"
"Oh, I promise you we will have our wedding night but I want to have fun too."
Rollie pulled her close. "Then fun is what we shall have, Angela."
Rollie awoke the next morning to find he was alone in bed. He went downstairs to find Angie dressed in her robe, her hair wet, and she was sitting at her computer. He came up behind her and kissed her neck. She tilted her head to one side to accommodate him.
"You're up depressingly early," he whispered against her ear.
"I was too excited to sleep." She smiled as she leaned back against his chest.
"Ooh, I like the sound of that." He nibbled her ear. "Why didn't you wake me?"
"Don't think I don't regret it now." She laughed. "but I wanted to get started on this project. I figured I should put some of that energy to good use—"
"Hey!"
"I woke up this morning and I had it in my mind that I had to start on it today." Angie laughed.
"What? What project?" Rollie asked as he pulled a chair over.
"This," she said pointing to the screen. "I found a tape of Leo's voice in our archives, right where I knew it would be I might add, and I have been analyzing the tape with the 911 tape you got from Mira."
"And?" Rollie asked anxiously.
"Well...I want to run a few more tests. The 911 tape had to be cleaned up a bit. There is a lot of static on it. And the software I have isn't quite what the police forensics unit would use and—"
"Don't give me that. You have the best software around. What are you trying not to tell me Angie?"
Angie turned in her chair to face Rollie. "It's...I want to be sure, that's all."
This was frustrating the hell out of Rollie. He knew Angie already knew one way or the other whether the voice on the 911 call was Leo or not. He also knew she was trying to protect him.
"Just tell me Angie. Is it Leo or not?"
"Rollie—"
"Angela."
"Fine." Angie turned to face the screen again. She showed him which screen showed the 911 call and which was showing Leo's voice. She pointed to the wavelengths on the screen. "From what I can determine," she paused, "it's Leo's voice on the call."
Rollie swallowed hard. He tried to keep from smiling too much. He shook his head not in disbelief but in wonderment. After all this time...Leo is alive!
"Bloody hell."
"Yeah."
Angie made coffee while she watched Rollie pace the loft back and forth. He alternately had a smile and a look of worry on his face. Angie came up to him with his coffee and he nearly bumped into her, he was so distracted.
"This is incredible," he remarked finally.
"Yeah it is." Angie agreed as she sat down and watched Rollie continue to pace. "What are we going to do Rollie?"
"I don't know, Ange. I mean, it's one thing to think maybe it's a possibility but its quite another to have it confirmed. Leo is out there somewhere. He's alive." He laughed finally. "It's incredible."
"But why is he letting people think that he is dead?"
"I don't know but whatever the reason is, I'm sure it's a good one. Leo would not put people through this for nothing. He's out there somewhere and I'm going to find him," he declared as he looked out the window.
Angie came up beside him and put her arms around his waist. "We are going to find him."
"You bet we are." Rollie smiled down at her and put his arm around her shoulder.
Rollie spent the day trying to wrap his mind around this whole thing and trying to think of a way to find Leo. He and Angie agreed that they would not tell Francis or Mira about it until they knew more. Rollie worked at his desk sketching out plans, tearing off the sheets, and throwing them away. He stared occasionally at a photograph on his wall of him and Leo, their arms around each other, big smiles on their faces. Rollie rubbed the stubble on his face in contemplation.
Angie started to lose herself in a search on the Internet looking at wedding dresses when she glanced over at Rollie and noticed his preoccupation. She sighed and walked over and sat on Rollie's desk.
"So, when do we start?"
Rollie looked up at her slowly, unaware of her presence at first. "Hmm? What?"
Angie folded her arms in front of her. "When do we start? You know, looking for Leo?"
"It's not that easy, Ange," Rollie insisted. "We can't just go out and look for him. That would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, only Leo's the needle and Manhattan is the haystack—"
"Well, why can't we? I mean we have a general idea of where he's been. Both of our attacks took place within a ten-block radius. I suggest we start there."
Rollie realized that maybe he was looking at it with the wrong perspective. Maybe he was trying to be too fancy and too clever. Maybe all they had to do was get in the van and canvass every alleyway within a ten-block radius. Nah! It couldn't be that simple.
Rollie said he was going to work on a plan. Angie said she was going out to canvass the area. Both of them wished each other luck.
Angie was gone all day and it was now starting to get dark. Rollie was still pacing the loft when she returned. He didn't even look like he had showered.
"Hey, where have you been?" He called as Angie entered the loft.
"All over," Angie answered as she hid something behind her back. Rollie could see however that she was doing that and he came over, his curiosity peaked.
"What do you have there?" he asked as he tried reaching around her but she would move to avoid him.
"Nothing. It's personal."
"Nothing, huh? Let me see."
"No way. I said it's personal." Angie moved away but he caught her. His arms went around her and he pulled her close. His mouth covered hers in a diversionary tactic and then he grabbed the bag.
"Let's see what you have here," he proclaimed triumphantly. He pulled out the bag and moved away from Angie, who still tried to grab the bag. He pulled out two thick, heavy magazines, Today's Bride and Brides Magazine. "Oh."
"Yeah 'Oh'," she repeated annoyingly as she snatched the magazines from his hands and went to the couch.
"Angie, I'm sorry."
"Yeah, well, you should be. When I say something is personal, it's personal." she replied as she sat on the couch.
"Why are you so upset?" Rollie asked.
"Because its silly. I mean, we haven't even set a wedding date yet and here I am looking at the stupid magazines. I swear though, I did look for Leo in a lot of alleyways. And let me tell you, I am not going into some of those places again alone that's for sure. You are coming with me next time."
Rollie sat down next to her. "First of all, it's not silly. We've only been engaged one day and why shouldn't you be looking at those 'stupid magazines'? I want you to have dreams and think of our wedding." He kissed her nose. "And as for looking for Leo, you're damn straight you are not going into those places alone. I was an idiot to let you go there alone in the first place. But it means a lot to me that you did this today."
"Oh Rollie, come on. First of all, you didn't let me do anything. Second of all, Leo was my friend too."
"I know. Believe me, I know." He moved closer to her, his hand running up her thigh, "So, did you see any dresses you like?" he smiled.
"I didn't really look through it yet. I got caught up in some article about wedding etiquette and rules, and I realized that I don't care about any of that," she said as she swung her legs across Rollie's thighs and she lay her head against the sofa armrest. "Did you get anywhere with a plan?"
"Not really," Rollie grumbled. "Our only clue, really, is the fact the he came to our rescue not far from here. Which tells me that he's either watching us or has been trying to contact us but maybe is in too much danger." He caressed Angie's thigh again. "Sweetie? How do you feel about playing a victim again?"
"What? Why me?" Angie groaned.
"Because you're an obvious choice. We can't drag anyone else who knows Leo into this until we know more. And if Leo is watching or trying to contact us he may be waiting for the opportunity. Or, if he feels that there's too much danger we just may have to grab him. Besides, what man doesn't want to come to a beautiful woman's rescue?"
"Oh please! You chauvinist!"
"Angie, come on—"
"Fine. Fine. But just once," she warned him. "If we don't catch him then we'll have to come up with another plan."
"Actually, I've got an idea that would help lessen the odds of finding where Leo is." Rollie rose and went to his table. "Tomorrow you and I are going to install some of these cameras on the buildings in the alleyways. Then, we can watch from here. It'll be like 24 hour Leo-TV. Bluey can be put on Leo alert too. If he's in one of those alleyways we'll find him."
Angie came over and looked at one of the small cameras Rollie was holding. "And then what?"
"Then, once we know where he's been hiding we'll set the trap. You'll be walking by, like it's nobody's business, and then Bo and Skinny Pete will try to jump you. You'll put up a fight but being the helpless female— Ooph!"
Angie punched him lightly in the stomach. "I'll show you helpless."
"Anyway, Leo will come to your rescue and I will—"
"You'll what?" Angie asked, realizing he hadn't quite figured that part out yet.
Rollie looked around the loft. Suddenly he picked up something and returned to Angie. "I will shoot a net out of a cannon similar to this thing." Rollie held the small cannon that had shot the streamers across the loft last night. "A la Spider-Man, and we catch Leo in the net and...probably Bo, Skinny Pete, and you as well, I'm afraid."
"You better work more on that plan, Rollie. I am not getting caught in a net with any of your buddies," Angie warned him. "Or I won't be held responsible for what I have to do to defend my honor."
"Ah, sweetie, my money's on you any day."
Over the next few days Rollie and Angie went out early to set up the cameras on the buildings along the alleyways. In case Leo was watching, they dressed as building maintenance workers, hydro workers, or cable workers.
Angie was desperately tired when they finally finished and returned to the loft. She found this was harder than working on film because at least on a film they would take breaks. But Rollie was driven to get things done as soon as possible and as soon as they finished one alleyway they would pack up and move onto the next.
Angie plopped onto the couch as soon as they entered the loft. Rollie stood over her and pulled her up.
"C'mon. We have to get the camera signals fed into the monitors."
"Rollie! I'm sooo tired."
"The sooner we get this set up the sooner you can rest. Once we have the video feed Bluey can monitor for any signs of Leo."
Angie grumbled something and stomped over to her workstation. In a few hours they had brought all the cameras online and fed into their own monitors. In all, there were about 50 monitors in the loft. Rollie had rented some for the occasion.
"Rollie? What if Mira and Francis, or Lucinda visits during all of this? Won't they get suspicious?"
"I'll just tell them we're working on an experimental project. They don't have to know everything," he assured her.
Once the cameras were online Angie went about doctoring a photograph of Leo to make him look more like the homeless man she and Rollie had seen. She then programmed Bluey to recognize the picture, so that when they weren't monitoring the feed Bluey could take over. Once that was done, Angie leaned back in her chair and shrugged her tired shoulders. Rollie finished with the monitor set-ups. One whole side of the loft was covered in monitors. It was like a television studio or an electronics store. He came over and rubbed Angie's tense shoulders and neck.
"Mmm, that feels good," she purred as her hands covered his.
Rollie leaned over her and kissed her from above. "I'm sorry I've been so bossy these past few days, Ange."
"Don't apologize, Rollie. I understand. I wanted to help, remember?"
"Yeah. Why don't we order something to eat? I'm starving."
"On the condition that Bluey takes over right now."
"Deal." Rollie smiled. He ordered some dinner and sat on the couch, putting his feet up. With all the monitors in the loft they barely needed to put the lights on. Angie sat on the couch next to him.
"This is weird. Its like we are spying on people. Reality TV," she remarked as they watched the monitors. "What happens if we see a crime committed during all of this?"
Rollie thought about it. They couldn't let a crime go unreported. "Well, I guess we'll have to make an anonymous 911 call."
After dinner Rollie and Angie spent hours watching the monitors. After a while Angie lay down on the couch with her head resting on Rollie's lap. A few hours later Angie awoke, her head still nestled in Rollie's lap.
"Did you get any sleep?" she asked groggily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
"Nope." Rollie replied quietly, his eyes fixated on the monitors. He rubbed his tired eyes.
"I am going to bed." Angie announced as she stood up. Rollie gave no indication that he was moving. Angie grabbed both of his hands and struggled to pull him up. "You are coming with me."
"Angie—"
"Roland."
"Ooh, Roland? Now I'm in trouble." He laughed. "You go ahead. I want to stay and watch the monitors for awhile."
"Rollie, you're dead tired. And this could take days, even weeks. Let Bluey watch. You need your rest. You're not going to be any good to Leo if you don't."
Rollie's head tilted back in defeat. "You're right. I just...I don't want to miss anything."
"I know, but like I said, this could take weeks. And I don't know about you but my eyes cannot watch all 50 monitors simultaneously. That's why I think Bluey is better suited for this."
Rollie knew what Angie was saying made sense but a part of him wanted to be there, to see for himself, if and when Leo showed up. But she was right about another thing. Bluey could do it better. Rollie stood up and put his arm around Angie.
"All right, sweetie. Let's go to bed."
Several days passed without any sign of Leo. Rollie was beginning to get both frustrated and discouraged. A part of him now wanted to go out and canvass the area but Angie convinced him to give it time. In the meantime, Rollie wanted a distraction so he called Mira, Francis, and Lucinda and invited them to dinner at the Thai Palace, Kenny Trio's place. Both Mira and Lucinda asked if they could bring a date. Neither of them wanted to be the only women at the table who was unattached. Francis was going to bring Sarah too.
Angie returned from the gym to find Rollie dressed very nicely in a dark suit and his hair brushed back neatly. She whistled at the sight.
"What are you all dressed up for?" she asked as she threw her gym bag down.
"Dinner." Then it hit him. He slapped his hand on his forehead. "Aw, man! Don't tell me I invited everyone else but the most important person?" he shook his head. He couldn't believe he had forgotten to tell Angie about dinner.
"What are you talking about?" Angie laughed.
"You. Us. I set up a dinner for us with Francis and Sarah, Mira, Lucinda, and their dates." He grabbed her hand. "I thought maybe we could announce our engagement."
"What? You are something else you know that?"
"You don't want to announce our engagement?" Rollie inquired apprehensively.
"No—I mean, yes. I just didn't expect you to do all of this." Angie caught his look of trepidation. "Rollie, I want to announce our engagement to our friends. Are you kidding me? I have been bursting waiting to tell them, but we've been so busy with Leo TV. I just thought you would feel preoccupied." Her hand cradled his neck. "Are you sure you want to do it now?"
"I'm sure, Angel. Whatever happens with Leo, I want us to be together and I want us to move ahead with our plans." He kissed her softly. "Now, we're are going to be very late if you don't get upstairs and change, young lady.'
"You're crazy." She laughed.
"Yeah, well, we're a pair then because you're off your rocker to be with me."
Rollie and Angie did indeed arrive late. Everyone else was already seated and drinking cocktails when they arrived. Mira's date was Patrick O'Doyle and Lucinda's date was Christopher Spencer. Rollie had stopped on their way in to order a bottle of champagne be delivered to their table after dinner.
"What's this?" Lucinda asked, wide eyed as the waiter poured each of them a glass.
"This is a celebration," Rollie answered. "Angie and I have asked you all here tonight to join us in celebrating our engagement." There were gasps from pretty much everybody, except Lucinda, who squealed excitedly. "I asked Angie to be my wife and the silly girl agreed. Can you believe it?" Rollie laughed.
"What I can't believe is that she will have you," Francis joked. Sarah touched his arm in mild admonishment.
"Hey! Your supposed to be on my side, mate."
"Sorry Rollie. Your right, us guys should stick together."
Everybody offered them their congratulations and toasted the couple. Mira, Lucinda, and Sarah all crowded around Angie as she showed them her engagement ring. Angie beamed a smile over to Rollie and he smiled back. He was totally and utterly in love.
Francis slapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him, as did Patrick and Christopher. Rollie found he quite liked Patrick but Christopher was another story. He was such a pretty boy and really didn't have much in common with any of them except maybe Rollie, and only because he worked in front of the camera as a model. Francis quietly explained to Rollie that Patrick was the bomb squad expert who saved Angie from Loubar's bomb. When he had a moment, Rollie spoke to Patrick and expressed his gratitude to him. Patrick claimed that it was all in the line of duty.
"Actually, that's quite a lady you have there. She showed remarkable calm, bravery, and grace under horrifying circumstances. I have to admit, I lost a bit of my heart to her that day. When she kept calling for 'Rollie', I kept hoping you were a cat."
Rollie laughed. "What you say about Angie is true. She is all of that and more. And I am not sorry that I am not a cat," Rollie proclaimed as he shook his finger at Patrick, who laughed. "Besides, Mira is quite a lady herself. You can't do any better, mate." A look of melancholy washed over Patrick's face and Rollie felt he shouldn't push it.
"Rollie, if I had known this was an engagement party I would have gotten you guys a gift." Lucinda chided him, and the others said they would have as well.
"There's no need Lucinda. Knowing that we can count on all of you and that you will be there when it counts, means more than a toaster ever would. Right Ange?"
"Definitely."
Angie turned and spoke with Mira. Angie had been curious all night about her showing up with Patrick O'Doyle and she wondered how long they had been seeing each other. She was especially curious when she remembered how Mira had mentioned on the night they got drunk together, that she had gone out with him before. Angie had the impression that things hadn't gone well for them that night. Mira, however, was not very talkative. She, Lucinda, and Sarah wanted to hear more about Angie's engagement. Angie made a mental note to corner, er, talk to Mira later.
Rollie rose and asked Angie to dance with him and soon the other couples were dancing as well.
Rollie had arranged to pick up the tab for the dinner but once Kenny Trio heard that it was an engagement party for his favorite movie people, he picked up the tab himself. It was his way of congratulating Rollie and Angie on their engagement. Rollie and Angie were still dancing as everyone left.
"Are you happy, Ange?" Rollie asked as his finger caressed Angie's jaw line.
"I am soo happy Rollie. Are you?"
Rollie leaned in and smiled at Angie. "Deliriously so."
A while later, Kenny called out to Rollie who turned from Angie. Rollie caught the keys Kenny threw at him. Rollie had a puzzled look on his face.
"Kenny, what's this?" Rollie asked.
"I just thought that maybe you two would like to close up for me." Kenny laughed. "I mean, I don't want to throw you two out...but it's been a long night and its over and I want to go home."
"Sorry, Kenny." Rollie laughed and Angie blushed against his chest. They were the only remaining patrons in the joint, the tables were being cleared, and even the music had stopped. "We had no idea it was so late." He threw the keys back to Kenny and then he and Angie came over. "And thank you for dinner. You didn't have to do that you know?"
"Sure I did. You guys are the best and I couldn't be happier for you." Kenny smiled as Rollie and Angie grabbed their coats. "So when is the big day?"
"We haven't decided yet. We only just got engaged but we will definitely keep you posted. Thanks again, Kenny."
Angie thanked Kenny too and Rollie and Angie then left to go back home. Once there, they continued their celebration upstairs long into the night.
It was almost 11:00 am when Rollie heard Bluey barking. He pulled his pillow out from under his head to cover the noise.
"Bluey! It's too damned early! I don't even take you out for walkies!" He groaned as the noise continued to reach his ears. He rolled over and covered Angie's body with his.
Angie moaned, the movement waking her and suddenly becoming aware of the barking. "Rollie?" she groaned. "Rollie, it's Blue...." She pushed Rollie off her as she sat up. "I think he's found something."
Suddenly understanding her meaning, Rollie jumped up. He had started out the room before he realized that he had no clothes on. He rushed back and grabbed his pants and hurried to put them on. Angie meanwhile grabbed her robe and started down the stairs. Rollie grabbed his t-shirt and brushed passed her on the way down. Rollie stared at the monitors and Bluey, incomprehensive to what Bluey was barking at.
"Bluey? What?" Rollie demanded, exasperated. There were just too many monitors. "Angie?"
"Just a second boss." Angie calmly went over to her computer. "It's a good thing I programmed Bluey to squirt the video over to my computer if he found anything."
Rollie came over to Angie's computer and watched over her shoulder as she began accessing the video feed. She rewound it to the beginning and yawned as she stretched in her chair. Rollie pulled a chair over and sat beside her. He stared at the screen anxiously. Finally, the feed rewound and she began running it. Then, they saw him. Leo McCarthy was climbing out of a manhole in an alleyway. Slowly, he walked down the alley as he dug around a dumpster. Rollie and Angie both grimaced when they realized that Leo was looking for food and apparently had found some.
"Yuck!" Angie grimaced.
Rollie rubbed the stubble on his chin. "Well...we do whatever we can to survive, right Ange?"
"I guess. He's been living underground, eating from a can, he's been running away from what we don't understand." She softly sang modified lyrics from a U2 song.
"Wha...a...at?" Rollie looked at her, bemused.
"Sorry. Just some lyrics that seemed to fit the situation." Angie smiled. "Poor Leo." She sighed. She could tell he was thin and could definitely use several hot meals, sleep in a real bed, and a shower and shave. She looked over at Rollie who wore a worried look on his face. She reached over and caressed his cheek. "We'll find him Rollie, and then we'll help him out of whatever trouble he is in," she assured him.
"I know, sweetie." Rollie replied quietly. "But we don't even know what alleyway he was in. We don't know if the one he came out of is a regular exit for him, or a random choice. There is still a lot we don't know."
"But this is a big breakthrough, Rollie." She reminded him, "We can track him a couple more days to see if he has a routine—"
"No." Rollie replied quickly. "We move today. I can't risk losing him or something happening to him. I'll call Bo and Skinny Pete to get things ready. Why don't you go and take your shower. I want to get moving on this right away."
Angie could see he was determined and she couldn't really think of an argument that would convince him to do otherwise. So, she went up and took her shower. A short while later Bo and Skinny Pete arrived and Rollie filled them in on what he wanted them to do. Rollie took a shower while the guys ran through some stunt moves with Angie so she wouldn't get hurt.