The yacht had gone out to almost 10 miles out to sea when the explosion happened. A spectacular fireball went 25 feet into the air, followed by several smaller explosions.
It was far enough away not to harm any innocent bystanders but still close enough for there to be many witnesses to the explosion. A crowd, along with Elena's agents, ran out to the streets and to their windows to see what had happened. The crowd began to murmur whose yacht it was. Shock and disbelief began to set in.
Rollie worked quickly on the computer to track the radio frequency of Loubar's remote device. They knew that he would have watched the event. For now, their current task was to locate and capture Victor Loubar.
"Anything?" Elena asked excitedly.
"Not yet," Rollie replied.
Rollie continued to try to track the signal. He wished that Angie were here. He knew that she would be able to do it much faster and with better precision than he could ever do it. Still, with enough time and perseverance...
Rollie was just afraid that once he found the signal Loubar would already have fled the area and ditched the device. But he also knew that Elena and Scotland Yard had set up roadblocks and planted agents at all transportation portals around the city. Rollie prayed and prayed that Loubar wouldn't elude them and escape capture once again.
Suddenly, while his mind was occupied with what if's and what then's, the triangulation on the radio signal worked. He had isolated the signal. He had Loubar's location!
"I've got him!" Rollie shouted.
Rollie, Elena, and the other agents raced to the location of the signal. Elena yelled at Rollie to stay in the van. She didn't want Loubar to see him on the off chance that he was watching and waiting nearby.
Elena pulled her gun from her holster and ran into the building along with the other agents. The door was kicked in. Agents filed in, making their way through the rooms of the house in careful manner. They covered each other as they entered a room, weapons drawn.
Elena found the remote control device but no Loubar. "He's not here," she called disappointedly over the mic. "Loubar's not here," she repeated.
"No! Bloody hell!" Rollie banged his fists on the wall in the van. "Damn it!" he cried. All of this work, all of this preparation, all the pain he had caused Angie...for nothing!
Rollie hung his head in his hands as he slid against the wall down to the floor. Without thinking or being conscious of it, he reached into his shirt and pulled the chain with the ring Angie had given him out from under the material. Rollie fingered it and stared at it. He raised it to his lips, kissing it in sorrow and disappointment.
"I'm sorry Angel," Rollie whispered disappointedly.
Rollie sat there quietly thinking of the trip back to New York. He had given it his best shot and now there was no question that he going to go back home in defeat. He dreaded telling Angie not only of this but also of his very own betrayal. Mangela was right. His hatred of Loubar had cost him the very thing that was closest to his heart. He was so blinded by rage that he couldn't see how this could cost him and Angie. His focus had narrowed to the point that he no longer could see the bigger picture and because of that narrowed view he didn't see the danger in his own rash decisions or the danger of unseen variables. He could go on, he supposed, take the defeat on the chin and track him again but he wasn't sure he had it in him anymore.
Rollie was so wrapped up in his disappointment that he didn't even notice the tracking signal that was on the move on the computer screen behind him. It was only when Elena came back into the van and noticed the movement of the signal that his attention was drawn to it.
"Is that the radio signal?" Elena asked in confusion. "But he left the remote behind."
"No. You're right. It can't be." Rollie jumped up and looked at the computer screen in disbelief. "It's the tracking signal. The tracker I put on Loubar. I guess he never discovered it."
"This is great!" Elena smiled. "Where is he?"
"From the looks of things he's about a mile away," Rollie answered as he brought up a map of Aberdeen. "He's there!" Rollie pointed excitedly, "He's at the train station!"
Elena called on all unites to descend upon the train station. The agents at the train station were put on alert as well. Elena, the agents, and the police approached the train station in silent mode, no sirens. They didn't want to spook Loubar and lose his trail again. Rollie jumped into the driver's seat of the van and took off in that direction as well. Once there, Elena ordered Rollie to stay in the van just to be safe.
"What if he's wearing a disguise?" Rollie pointed out. "You won't have any way of knowing who he is. With this..." he held up the PDA, "I can lock onto his location."
"Fine, but you stay with me and keep your head down," Elena relented. "And Rollie? No heroics."
Rollie followed Elena into the train station. He pulled off a baseball cap off one of the other agents and kept a close eye on his PDA in the process.
"He's definitely here in this building."
"Well, that's great but could you be any more precise than that?" Elena countered.
"Give me a moment." Rollie was punching a few buttons on his PDA even as Elena spoke. He was zeroing in on the location and as he pointed it in one direction, he knew he had found him. "I've got him!" he exclaimed excitedly. "100 meters ahead over by the lockers."
Rollie followed loosely behind. He was still in contact with Elena through the headset. He didn't want to be so close that he was spotted or in case Loubar got away again and he got caught in the crush of agents.
Loubar had a disguise on. He had graying hair and a beard. He was dressed as an old man. He carried a suitcase and an umbrella.
Loubar noticed an influx of suits had descended upon the train station. He could tell an agent from 50 yards away. He knew he should have killed Angus McKay. He knew there was something off about him. He probably set him up with this hit. Killing Angus McKay suddenly took on greater urgency for Loubar who added him to his very own hit list, the top of which rested the name of his archenemy; Rollie Tyler as well as Tyler's beautiful assistant, Angela Ramirez.
Loubar watched bemusedly as the agents scanned the area searching for him when he was right under their noses. Loubar looked at his watch and then his train number was called. Slowly, because he was portraying an old man, he rose up unsteadily from his seat and started to make his way over to the line up with his ticket in hand.
Elena was frustrated. She scanned the area and could see no sign of Loubar even taking into account that he may be wearing a disguise. "Rollie? Anything?"
"He's still there. Wait— he's moving, just ahead. Just ahead of you Elena. You're practically on top of him." Rollie whispered excitedly into the headset.
"Where? I don't see him. Damn it!" Elena grumbled as she looked around the crowded station.
"The line. The line for the boarding train, track 15...he's in it, I'm sure of it." Rollie moved closer. He saw Elena on the other side of the line. Rollie looked at the people in the line up. He tried to look for someone his height and approximate weight, though he knew that Loubar could wear foam implants to beef up his appearance. Something caught his eye. His mind dismissed it at first but then his eye went back to it. The hands. There was something off about the hands.
"Elena? The line up—"
"Yeah?"
"There's an old man with gray hair. Do you see him?"
"Yes." Elena's voice was sharp.
"It's Loubar."
Without waiting for any more information Elena and the agents approached the old man. At first he tried to act insulted but when he realized he had been had he pulled a weapon out and waved it around. Panicked people stared running away. Loubar grabbed a woman who was nearby.
"Stay back!" he warned them.
The woman; however, was an agent with Scotland Yard. To help matters, Rollie set off the fire alarm and the sprinkler system, which added to the confusion and mayhem all around. The agent used the opportunity to simultaneously step on Loubar's foot with her heel and gouge Loubar in the eyes, catching him by complete surprise. Loubar yelled in pain. Then the agent raised her fist hard into Loubar's nose. His mask came falling off and when he recovered 50 agents surrounded him with their guns drawn. The female agent knocked Loubar's weapon out of his hands.
"Victor Loubar! You are under arrest for numerous acts of terrorism and murder charges," Elena yelled at him as she came closer. She took out her handcuffs and placed them roughly on Loubar's hands behind his back.
Victor Loubar looked around in total disbelief. He had always believed that he would go down in a blaze of glory, a shootout or an explosion, not like this. Not surrounded by a bunch of mediocre agents in a train station in a stupid, cold and rainy country.
Rollie stood to the side, unseen by Loubar. He couldn't believe it. It was over. Loubar was caught. Tears started to roll down Rollie's cheeks as he slunk down against the wall to the floor. Angie would be safe. Whatever happened between them now at least Angie could live a life free of the terror that Victor Loubar would inflict.
Elena came over after some time conferring with the agents and the local police and security guards. She found Rollie still propped against the wall, his arms resting on his knees. She knelt down in front of him and touched his hand. He didn't seem to notice her presence.
"It's over Rollie. It's over." Elena tried to assure him.
"I can't believe it." Rollie shook his head in disbelief. "Just like that—"
"It wasn't just like that." Elena smiled as she shook her head at Rollie's understatement. "And we couldn't have done it without you. Many governments and security agencies owe you a great deal. You know, there is going to be a hefty reward for this. You and Angie can pretty much retire."
Rollie's eyes still remained focused on the ring on the chain he was holding. If he had heard what Elena had said he didn't show it.
Elena noticed his gaze. She patted his hand. "C'mon Rollie. Let's get back to London. You can call Angie from there."
The trip back to London would have to wait until Rollie had all the equipment packed specifically to his liking. He was still dazed, he couldn't believe that Victor Loubar was actually in police custody. Focusing on the equipment was the only way for Rollie to function at this point.
Elena made arrangements for the return trip to London. Soon, she assured Rollie, she would make the arrangements for his return back to New York.
Rollie spent the evening packing the equipment. They also had a visit from a very grateful Lord Percival Kington-Blair, who invited Rollie and Elena back to his estate the next time they were in Scotland. Elena politely explained that she and Rollie were not a couple but that perhaps they could take him up on his offer with whoever was their partner in the future. Lord Percy keenly obliged and said that they would be most welcome with whomever they wished to bring along.
The next day Rollie and Elena prepared for their trip back to London. Elena had to stop by the local police station to sign some papers regarding Loubar's transfer to a London prison.
Rollie waited in the station in the detectives' area while Elena went through the paperwork. They had a plane to catch in one hour and he didn't want to be late. Try as he might though he couldn't think of the words to tell Angie. Maybe he would be able to think better once he was on the plane heading home. He also remembered that he had to contact Leo and see what kind of nasty surprises Loubar had at his place.
Elena came out of an office shook hands with the Captain. She had just started to make her way over to Rollie when some officers were leading Loubar across from the interrogation room back to the jail cell.
Loubar turned and saw Rollie. Rollie looked up just then and saw Loubar. A look of surprise and shock passed over both of their faces. The look they gave each other would have melted the polar ice caps.
Loubar started struggling with his shackles. He tried to break away from his handlers.
Rollie could see the hatred in his eyes. He knew that Loubar now knew Rollie was involved in his capture.
"This isn't over TYLER!" Loubar railed over and over again as he struggled. His captors hustled him back into the jail. "I won't rest until I see you and Angela Ramirez are dead! Do you hear me Tyler? Dead!" Loubar screamed at the top of his lungs.
Rollie was shaken by his encounter with Loubar at the police station. He hadn't expected it and it left him with a terrible feeling.
Rollie and Elena arrived back in London later that day. It was one day after Loubar's capture. Leo was at the estate waiting for them when they returned. He went up to Rollie and congratulated him right away but noticed his rather subdued manner. Rollie told him of his encounter with Loubar at the police station.
Elena explained that Loubar was supposed to be interrogated here in London but the Scottish police decided to try some jurisdictional wrangling and that was why the local yokels were interrogating him. She was upset by it and the fact that he and Rollie had seen each other. She explained that Loubar was expected to arrive in London later this evening for interrogation from both her and the Scotland Yard agents.
Leo told them that he really wanted Rollie and Elena to see Loubar's lair. He had instructed her agents to leave two rooms untouched. These were the rooms he wanted them to see.
"And then, after that, I have to catch a flight back to New York. Francis called and said that I have to sign some papers el pronto in order to be declared alive. It's a good thing this got wrapped up because I would hate to leave you in the lurch."
"Don't worry about it Leo." Rollie smiled. "Maybe you can check on Angie for me? See that she's all right?"
"Why don't you come with?" Leo suggested.
"I can't. I have to pack my equipment. I don't trust anyone else to do it. I'll follow in a day or so. No longer, I promise. I'm pretty anxious to get home too." Rollie smiled as he tried not to show his apprehension as well. "Shall we see the monster's lair? See what all the fuss is about?"
"Lead the way Leo," Elena smiled.
They arrived at Loubar's house. From the outside it was unassuming and nondescript. Once inside, it was another story. As Leo had mentioned most of the weaponry had been taken out but there were still boxes of ammunition and chemicals still being catalogued and photographed.
Leo filled them on some of the items found on the way over to Loubar's place. They had found boxes of stolen Russian made automatic weapons, grenades, scopes, vials, canisters, a flamethrower, as well as the guts of a disassembled rocket launcher. They had also found various bomb making equipment and passports for Sweden, East Germany, South Africa, North Korea, and the Philippines. They had also found the GARP unit that he used to make his disguises as well as Loubar's computer and files.
"Is this it? Is this what you wanted to show me?" Rollie asked, clearly unimpressed. What he saw was shocking in terms of scope and array but it wasn't out of keeping with what they knew about Loubar. He didn't need to be convinced of how dangerous this particular psychopath was.
"Are you kidding me?" Leo shot back. "I wouldn't waste your time with that penny ante stuff. No. The real stuff, the stuff I want you to see, is in here." Leo opened a door that led to Loubar's bedroom.
Elena and Rollie walked into the room. They looked around and didn't see anything striking or even remotely interesting. It was a bedroom. A bedroom too heavily decorated in modern décor as far as Rollie was concerned and clearly favoring the color gray. Not even vaguely interesting.
"Detective McCarthy, perhaps you've been off active duty too long and you're prone to exaggeration..." Elena chortled.
Rollie agreed. "Yeah Leo—"
"I didn't invite you here to see Loubar's under things," Leo wisecracked. He closed the door. "I invited you here to see this." Leo moved from in front of the door. There, spanning the entire length of the door was a life-size poster of Rollie.
"Oh my God," Elena exclaimed.
"Bloody hell." Rollie muttered. He walked over to take a closer look. There were two targets pasted to his body: one on his head, the other over his heart. Both had been shot at several times.
"I'd say we caught this guy in time," Elena remarked as she studied the bullet holes. "Victor Loubar was so obsessed with you that he went to sleep with your face in front of him every night. That's sick!"
"Gee thanks," Rollie replied sarcastically as he felt a chill go up and down his spine.
"There's more." Leo warned them.
"More?" Rollie asked incredulously as he and Elena followed Leo into another room.
What they had seen in Loubar's bedroom had not prepared them for what they saw in the next room. The whole room, all four walls and the entire ceiling, was plastered with pictures of Rollie and Angie.
"Bloody freaking hell!" Rollie exclaimed with his mouth wide open in apparent shock. Rollie studied some of the pictures. Some he recognized as being taken a few years ago when they were in New York after Angie met Loubar the first time. Rollie recognized some of pictures of them taken from the Red Storm set, the wrap party and the filming before then, before Loubar had taken his place.
Rollie's eyes drifted to pictures that seemed to be more recent. He saw them during the filming of Flash Fire. He saw pictures of Angie on the set of the video she had worked on. His fingers lightly traced Angie's face, her smile and her jaw. Then, Rollie saw what he knew were more recent shots because he noticed the engagement ring on Angie's hand.
"These shots are new," Rollie said aloud as he studied pictures of him and Angie out on a dinner date and dancing at Osteria and his unease grew, despite the knowledge that Loubar was in police custody.
Elena came over to examine the pictures.
"I had Francis do some checking," Leo said, confirming Rollie's assumption. "He found some wire transfers linking Loubar to a private dick in Brooklyn known as Jimmy the Weasel. He's well known around law enforcement types for his surveillance of public officials and celebrities. Mostly he passes along info to the gossip mags about his targets illicit affairs, drug habits, and any other bits of impropriety. These are people that have tight security around them and he finds a way around them. He's good. He sells a lot of his stuff to the tabloids. He also bird-dogs the cops and gets in our way a lot. He swears he wasn't doing anything illegal this time and he claims that he doesn't know that it was Loubar who hired him and he doesn't know why he wanted you followed."
Rollie continued to study the pictures. "Do you believe him, Leo?"
"I don't know." Leo admitted. "Loubar doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who takes anyone into his confidence. He could be telling the truth."
"Yeah." Rollie sighed. He turned and looked at Leo. "Any idea how long he's been watching Angie?" Rollie asked.
"Near as we can figure, he's been working for Loubar for several years and sending him surveillance photos of you both. Other than that, I don't think he's been any further involved in any of Loubar's plots against you. He's a pain in the ass but he's not a killer." Leo sighed. "But you're right, he's been spying on Angie recently," Leo pointed to several new shots on the wall. "These were taken as early as last week. Do you recognize this guy?"
Rollie took a closer look. "That's Albert 'The Master' Wayburn. He was a colleague of Manny's and an explosions expert. I learned as much from him as I did from Manny. I heard he had retired recently. Angie must have brought him in to help her on some of the work."
"She did." Leo confirmed. "Francis checked. The production wrapped a week ago."
Rollie studied another, more recent, picture of Angie. "So, Loubar was planning another strike against us. I knew she would never be safe."
"Yeah, but now he's been caught and you helped put him there. It's all over, pal." Leo squeezed Rollie's shoulder. "I better go. I've got a plane to catch in a few hours. I'll check on Angie. Any special message or are you going to call her?"
Rollie thought about it. "Actually, I thought I might surprise her," he replied. Rollie was still dreading telling Angie about how he had messed up with Elena.
Rollie and Elena returned to the estate and had a quiet dinner. Rollie couldn't help but feel unease about seeing the pictures. It made his blood run cold to think of what Loubar was planning and what new pain he might have inflicted upon Angie. He wanted to go home so badly now, but stubbornly, he kept insisting even to Elena that he needed to pack his equipment. He was very particular about his equipment but he had to wonder how much of it had to do with his guilt. Either way, today, tomorrow, or the next day he would still have the guilt to contend with.
Rollie finished his packing late. Elena tried to have that conversation with him that she had wanted earlier but he still cut her off. He wasn't interested. What could she say to ease his guilt? Or was she going to tell him that she was in love with him? Rollie knew he couldn't handle that if she did. No. This was one conversation he could do without.
Instead of sleeping like a baby after Loubar's apprehension, Rollie had a restless night. He tossed and turned. He dreamt of Angie and that should have brought him peace but instead his mind went back to the pictures on the wall at Loubar's place and Loubar's declaration of vengeance at the Aberdeen police station. The pictures and the surveillance were such an invasion of their privacy and despite Loubar's incarceration it worried Rollie.
Rollie got up and poured himself a drink of water. It seemed to help as he began to drift off to sleep. He dreamt of Angie again. He saw her once again asleep in their bed. The moonlight filtering through the window and her small hand curled up under her chin. Rollie moved closer and sat on the side of the bed without disturbing her. He reached over and stroked her hair. Angie started to stir. She smiled and caught his hand by her face. She awoke slowly at first and then when she looked at Rollie she awoke with a start. Rollie's hands went for her throat and he started choking her.
"Angie!" Rollie cried in his sleep as he sat straight up, his heart in his throat.
Rollie scrambled out of bed, caught between a nightmare and uneasiness. It was early morning. He had managed to sleep a few hours, it seemed. But he couldn't escape this terrible feeling. He got dressed and was about to leave the room when he heard Elena calling his name from down the hallway. Rollie ran out into the hallway to see Elena running towards him.
"He's escaped. Loubar's escaped!" Elena yelled.
The realization hit Rollie in an instant, his dream becoming clearer. "Angie. He's going after Angie!"