"Yes?" "Andrew." "Where the devil are you?" "I'm here in Denver at the airport." "I just got off the redeye from New York." "Now look, Blake." "You were so upset last night when you called me." "All I got was that Alexis is trying to take over Denver-Carrington." "What she really wants to do is destroy me." "And she's got enough ammunition to make a damn good try." "What kind of ammunition?" "What exactly is going on?" "Well, I'll tell you all about it when I see you." "Get down to the office just as soon as you can, will you, Andrew?" "Good to have you back, old friend." "Good morning, Danny." "Well, I was hoping to have a chance to kiss a certain blond lady and the little fella goodbye before I go down to do battle." " With Alexis?" " Yes, with Alexis." "It infuriates me every time I think of what she's trying to do to you." "Don't worry about it, darling." "I'll handle her." "Blake, I keep getting this feeling that there's a lot more behind all this than we know." "Was it just a feeling?" "Or something specific?" "It's just that Alexis has had this total mood turnaround." "I mean, when she first heard about Jeff at the hospital, she was practically hysterical." "And then I found her the next day in the kitchen drinking champagne as though she were celebrating." "Yeah, celebrating in advance." "That was just before she barged into my office and sprang that surprise about her plans for Denver-Carrington." "I guess what I'm really feeling is that she somehow took advantage of Jeff being so sick to get him to sign those papers." "Go on, darling, go on." "Say it." "She's a cobra." "But there's more than one way to defang a cobra." "Isn't that right, Danny?" "And then she had the gall to tell me to watch my tone of voice, because now that she controls Jeff's voting rights," "I was her employee." "I work for her." "I keep wondering what she wants with control of Denver-Carrington, now that she's got it." "Come on, you know what she wants, what she's always wanted:" "my head on a silver tray." " For openers." " I can see her making you squirm, jump through the hoops for a while." "But to actually boot you out and run things herself, that's not Alexis' style." "It's too much like work." "Well, meet the new Alexis." "In a few days, she's gonna call a board meeting of both Colbyco and Denver-Carrington to lay out a plan for merger." "And to announce that's she's gonna take over both companies and run them herself." "You know that's what she's planning?" " How did you find that out?" " Because she told me." "As both a threat and a promise." "We've got to figure out some way to stop her." "That is not gonna be easy." "Since when is anything in life easy?" "To start with, I want you to get a judge to issue an injunction, preventing the takeover." "Yes." "When Jeff signed over his son's shares to Alexis he wasn't in total control mentally." "Blake, I don't think that's feasible." "A judge, any judge, is going to demand proof." " He'll want psychiatric evaluations." " Why?" "Jeff's doctor told me it was some kind of chemical poisoning." "It was something that attacked his nervous system and affected his judgement." "It's just not enough." "It's too intangible." "Yeah." "They haven't been able to nail down exactly what it was." "Not yet, anyway." "Then there's no proof, Blake." "And I don't think a judge is gonna buy it." "Damn it, I don't wanna hear that." "I don't want arguments from you, Andrew." "That's not what I pay you for." "I want action." "And I want it fast." "And I expect your pilot to be ready to take off the minute that Mr. Colby and I get to the airport, which should be a little before 7:00." "Yes, that's right." "I shall be accompanying Mr. Colby to Switzerland tonight." "No." "No, I'll be returning to Denver later, on a regular flight." "Thank you." "Mother." "What is it, Adam?" "I thought that your plan was to ship Jeff off to some spa in Europe, so that we wouldn't have to worry about an investigation." "What's all this about you going with him?" "Of course I'm going with him." "You didn't expect me to let him travel alone after what you did to him, do you?" "Why not?" "That's an ambulance plane you chartered." "There's gonna be a nurse onboard to hold his hand." "You happen to have much more pressing business right here." "Something about our taking over Denver-Carrington, if I recall." "You know, I really don't care to be criticised by you, Adam." "Everything's under control here." "The minute I start home from Switzerland, the Denver-Carrington board members and Blake are going to be called for an emergency meeting the next day." "And just when were you thinking of coming back?" "Soon." "A few days." "Definitely within a week." "This is all so ridiculous and unnecessary." "You're giving Blake a week's reprieve." "Time, Mother, to regroup, marshal his forces, maybe even mount a counterattack." "Adam, I am going with Jeff." "It's the least I can do in the light of what you've done to him." "And would you please spare me the military metaphors?" "Wasn't it enough for you, to play Cesare Borgia?" "Must you play Napoleon too?" "Whatever I did, Mother, I did for you." "And frankly, I can't help wondering if you're really going out of selfless concern for poor Jeff." "And what exactly does that mean?" "I've seen the way you look at him." "Could it be there's a bit of a yen there?" "A permissible yen, now that Fallon's divorcing him?" "Let's get one thing totally straight, Adam." "What you did, you did on your own." "And I will try to protect you because you are my son." "But you are never again to do anything without my express permission." "Is that understood?" "And now I'm ready to hear an apology for that filthy remark that you made about my feelings towards Jeff." "I don't know what got into me." "Of course I apologise, Mother." "It was an unforgivable thing to say." "Yes, it was." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to throw a few cosmetics into a bag." "Mrs. Colby." "Is there something I can do for you?" "Yes." "You can get Mr. Colby ready for travel soon as possible." "Travel?" "But I don't have any orders to release him." "Well, you have now." "Shall we get on with it?" "Dr. Gailey, call the operator." "Dr. Gailey, call the operator." "Is Dr. Robinson still with Mr. Carrington?" "Well, let me speak to him." "This is urgent." "You're going to love it in the Alps, Jeff." "The air is so marvelously pure." "And the spa itself is absolutely wonderful." "I spent a week there once myself." "The food is sinfully good and the service is flawless." "Just like their clocks." "Perfection." "Switzerland, huh?" "Yes, Switzerland." "And you don't have to get dressed." "All you have to do is put on your robe and your slippers and we'll be off." "All right, Alexis, what is this nonsense about taking Jeff to the airport?" "Nothing to concern yourself with, Blake." "I'm taking care of Jeff now." "I can't believe this." "That boy collapsed." "He's been exposed to a toxic chemical that still isn't out of his system and you want to haul him off to God only knows where." "To a wonderful spa near Gstaad with a superb medical staff and he'll get better there a lot faster than in this dreary hole." "Mrs. Colby, your son-in-law is my patient and I won't allow him to leave, especially not to fly to Europe." "Doctor, you don't understand," "I've gone to the great expense of chartering a private plane so that" "I'm sorry, I know you mean well, but it's very ill-advised." "It's absolutely out of the question." "Well, I'm sorry, doctor, but I think I know best for my so" "What do you think you're doing?" "Will you leave me alone?" "Get your hands off me, Blake." "I said take them off." "Listen to me." "I brought him into this hospital." "I'll not allow you to move him out of here." "Do you understand?" "God, how I ache to see you strangle on your own bloody arrogance." "But it's coming, Blake." "That glorious day is coming when I finally bring you down." "That's fine." "But for now, I'm gonna have a guard posted on that door with instructions that he's not to be bothered, or not to be moved." "Is that clear?" "No, thank you." "What is it, Blake?" "Is it that phone call from Dr. Robinson?" "Is that what's bothering you?" "Frankly, yes, it is." "Here we have Jeff coming home from the hospital this morning and we still don't know exactly what caused the problem." "It could happen again." "Blake, good morning." "Andrew, good to see you." "Always good to see you, Krystle." "Oh, we thought we'd lost you to New York." " I thought so too." " Would you like some coffee?" " I'd love it, thanks." " Okay, sit down." "Well, how'd we make out?" "Well." "Getting a civil suit on a court calendar can take more than a year." "It felt that long to me last night just trying to get a judge who would even listen to me." "And?" "I tried, Blake." "Every source I have." "I'm sorry." "I don't think there's a judge in all of Colorado would grant an injunction against Alexis and Colbyco." "Not without specific proof that Jeff Colby wasn't in total control mentally when he signed over his proxies." "Or unless Jeff sues to revoke what he signed." "Thereby admitting he wasn't in total control." "No, no, no." "I can't put Jeff through that." "No, I stopped Alexis from taking Jeff out of the country." "I'll find a way to deal with her." "Andrew, I think the answer is to stall her." "To play for time." "To keep her from using her new power until we can get back our own." "I want you to contact every member of our board of directors and convince at least six of them to get out of town." "so she can't go ahead with that board meeting." "How about that?" "All right." "All right, my friend." "You've got your work cut out for you." "Welcome home, Mr. Jeffrey." "Thank you, Joseph." "It's good to be here." "Oh, Jeff, it's wonderful to have you home again." "Thank you." "It is home, Jeff, for as long as you want it to be." "Thank you, Blake, I appreciate that." "It's just that I'm seeing this place and all of you clearly for the first time in months." "Well, so much for my patient's return." "Now I want you upstairs and in your bed." "And I want you to stay there for the next couple of days." "Come on, doctor." "I've been lying flat on my back in a hospital for what seems like forever." "Give me a break." "No breaks." "You still need a lot of rest for a complete recovery." "Now, you do what the doctor tells you." "Joseph, would you help me take Jeff upstairs, please?" "Dr. Robinson, have you got a few minutes for me?" "Of course." "I still can't believe what you told me on the telephone." " Sit down, won't you, doctor?" " Thank you." "Do you mean that the hospital lab is giving up on identifying whatever it was that poisoned Jeff?" "lists over 150 different neurotoxic chemicals used in various industries?" "If it's a question of money" "The important question is Jeff's recovery." "That's being accomplished." "As to isolating the chemical, I'm sorry, we've tried and we've failed." "Well, damn it, I can't accept that." "I don't want the same thing to happen to that boy all over again." "And there's something else." "The future of my corporation." "It could depend on getting that information." "Look, there's no way that I can let the lab do what amounts to detective work." "All right, then I'll hire a private lab." "Look, Mr. Carrington," "Jeff could have contacted this stuff in an oil field, in a refinery, in a mine." "More than that, he could have been exposed months ago." "Longer." " How much longer?" " Take your pick." "This ought to brighten your room." "Thanks, Krystle." "Thanks for everything." "You have been sensational." "Well, terrific maybe, but not sensational." "Jeff." "I regret not getting you back to Dr. Winfield before you collapsed." "But at least Blake was there when it happened and got you to the hospital." "He was there, wasn't he?" "I barely remember." "Well, he's been very worried about you." "We all have." "But especially Blake." "I know you two had words together, but he loves you very much." "That's good to hear." "You know what bothers me?" "It's that I did so many terrible things to so many people and I can't e" " I can't even remember a lot of the things I've done." "Well, why should you remember?" "It wasn't really you doing those things." "God." "Was I that crazy?" "Did I turn on you too, Krystle?" "No, you didn't." "You may have been the only one I didn't." "Have you heard from Fallon when she's getting back from Haiti?" "Not for sure." "I think tomorrow." "Well, I better look for another place to live." "I'm no" " I'm not really a part of the family now." "The hell you're not." "Don't you remember what I said to you before?" "You're home." "For as long as you want this to be your home." "Now, your son is in the nursery down the hall and his father is always going to be a part of this family." "I want you to know that." "But after tomorrow, I'm not going to be married to Fallon anymore." "She's not gonna feel right having me around." "You know she won't, Blake." "Well, we'll talk about you moving out when you're completely well." "Your health comes first." "The discussion is ended." "I'll both let you in on something." "I really wasn't that anxious to go apartment-hunting this afternoon." "Jeff, if you're feeling strong enough, there is something that I must know." "Well, I'm fine." "My memory's a little screwed up." "Especially the last few days before I wound up in the hospital." "Did Alexis pressure you, coerce you in any way to sign anything like a" "Like a legal document?" "No." "No, I don't think so." "I remember I went back to my office after you and I had that argument over Fallon." "And Adam was there." "And he had me sign some kind of paper." "And then Alexis came in and she and Adam left together." "That paper I signed." "It was something to do with little Blake's shares in Denver-Carrington." "Blake, what did I do?" "Now, it's nothing that can't be undone." "Nothing for you to be concerned about, Jeff." "But if I gave Alexis the rights to those shares..." " Is that what I did?" " Now listen, it's all right." "It's nothing." " No, but if" " Jeff, forget it." "I'll take care of everything." "I promise you that." "Just get some rest." "We'll see you in a little while." "Would you like another one?" "Look at that." "There you go." "Yeah." "How about this, Little Blake?" "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "Would you like to go visit your father?" "Oh, well, look who's here." "Look." "I thought you were supposed to be in bed." "I thought I'd look at this little guy." "It's been a while." " Yeah." " Hi." " Can I at least give him a kiss?" " Of course." "He looks great." "So do you." "Well, I'm not so sure about that." "But, you know, the way you look right now holding my little boy, someday you're gonna make some man a wonderful wife." "Yes?" "Come in." "Andrew." "I don't have to tell you, I've been climbing the walls waiting to hear from you." "I'm sorry to have hung you up all day like this, Blake, but I was waiting for the last answer." "It's been a rough day." "What happened?" "Well, the first few members of the board couldn't help us at all." "They all have commitments here in Denver and it's just impossible for them at this time." "Then five members of the board went along with us." "I needed one more." "So I went to Sam Dexter." "And, you know, he is not the easiest man in the world to deal with." "But I reminded him, I said, "Sam, you owe Blake one." "In fact, quite a few."'" "He just looked at me." "Then he walked away." "I said, "Sam."'" "Then what did he do?" "He gave me a lot of flak." "But he finally came around and swung the balance." "Very good." "All right, we've got what we wanted." "Exactly what we need." "Yes, but we can only stall Alexis for one week starting tomorrow." "All right." "Well done, Andrew." "Very well done." " I think you deserve a drink." " I think so too." "Tomorrow, huh?" "I can't wait." "Why?" "What's tomorrow?" "That's when Alexis finds out what it's really like to play in the big leagues." "Jeff, are you awake?" "Why'd you have to fall asleep that day in the hospital?" "Before I got the courage to tell you how I felt?" "What you said today, about how I looked holding your son," "I almost died." "I don't wanna make somebody a wonderful wife, not if it can't be you." "I love you." "And I want you." "I always have." "Ever since I can remember." "Don't leave." "Stay." "It looks like nobody's up yet." "I forgot to set my watch back to Colorado time." "It's just 7 a.m." "Oh, well, thank you very much for the lift back from the airport." "In fact, I guess I have a lot more to thank you for." "Don't mention it." "I mean, following you to Haiti, lying around in the sun, sipping exotic drinks with a beautiful woman." "That's really sacrificing a lot for friendship." "Don't kid around about it, Mark." "You saw me through a bad time." "For the first time in my life, I met a man who's a real friend." "What you did was very important to me." "Three days and nights alone with you in a tropical paradise and I never made a pass?" "I must be sick." "Just so you understand that it was only temporary." "I mean, I admire your beautiful mind but that doesn't mean I have no designs on your beautiful soul." "Because I do." "Well, I have to admit I'm not exactly turned off by you, either." "See you at the hotel later." "Come on." "Come on, baby." " Oh, hi, Fallon." " Hi, Kirby." " I thought it was Krystle." " Hi." " You know, bringing back Danny." " How are you?" "I didn't expect you until much later." "Well, I took my earliest flight back." "I wanted to be with my little fellow." "Oh, I think I'm being told off for going away and leaving him." "No." "No, he's just" " You know, he's been teething and everything." "He hasn't forgotten you." "I reminded him of you over and over." "I really did." "His temporarily forgetting me is no big deal." "Is something wrong?" "No, I just think you, you know, should spend some time with him alone." "I'll leave so I don't distract him." "Dear." "Hey." "You look tired." "Didn't you sleep well last night?" "Oh, I slept very well, Papa." "I was coming up to tell you" "Adam Carrington is waiting to see you in the solarium." "All right, thank you." "I know your French is fluent, but this is a French-English dictionary that specializes in the technical terms used in the oil business." "Oh, yes." "A lot of this is new to me, but I won't be needing it." "Joseph said that Fallon's back." "She didn't try to talk you out of giving notice, did she?" "No, no." "She didn't try to talk me out of anything, because I didn't give it." "I've changed my mind about leaving here." "About leaving here, or about working with me?" "Why the change of heart?" "It's my heart, Adam." "All right?" "Kirby." "Please." "I have to be in Colorado Springs the day after tomorrow to discuss the oil leases in the China Sea." "Now I promised I'd bring my translator along because I'm not real good in either Vietnamese or French." "Adam, can't you hire someone else who speaks French?" "Sure I can." "But I can't trust a stranger hired from an agency." "And it won't take that much of your time." "We can drive to the Springs and back the same night." "If you help me out this once," "I'll have time later on to find the right person for the job." "I feel badly about backing out on such short notice." "Then don't." "Please." "All right." "I'll go." "I'll do my homework before we leave." "Thank you." "You can't know how important this is for me." "Blake." "How did Fallon take the news about Jeff signing over the baby's stock to Alexis?" "I haven't told her yet." "You don't think she has the right to know?" "Yes, but Jeff was the trustee for those shares so there's really nothing she can do about it." "But I'm handling the situation." "Don't you worry your pretty head about it, huh?" "Well, I'll try, but you don't have exclusive worrying rights in this family." " Bye." " Bye." " Welcome back, Fallon." " Thank you." "I'll have some tea, Elizabeth." "Well, you must be tired." "Did you get any rest on the plane?" "I'm not really very tired." "I didn't sleep, but I've been going on adrenaline mostly, I guess." "Well, I remember how I felt when I got what I thought was my divorce from Mark." "I was ready to take on the world." "A little sadder but a lot wiser." "Boy, was I kidding myself." "Not so much the wiser after all, huh?" "Well, I shied away from any involvements until I met Matthew Blaisdel." "But it was still too soon." "Are you trying to tell me something, Krystle?" "Only that I want you to be happy, Fallon." "You've got to give yourself time." "Don't rush blindly into a new relationship." "Well, there, I've said it." "That's what stepmothers are around for, right?" " Bye-bye." " Mark?" "Hello, Alexis." "Well, I just came by to see if Fallon was back from Haiti." " How have you been?" " Fine." "Sitting up and taking nourishment, as they say." "Good." "You know, I have a feeling that I have a few fences to mend." "Shall we have a drink?" "No, thanks, not right now." "You know, I'm really sorry that I haven't been in touch in the past few days, but I have had the weight of the world on my shoulders." "Will you forgive me for neglecting you?" "Oh, no forgiveness necessary." "I can understand you have more important things on your schedule." "Oh, Mark, you're a very important item on my schedule." "And now that things are finally back to normal," "I can make up for recent omissions." "So when do we have dinner?" "Excuse me, Mrs. Colby." "Mark, Mrs. Henderson rang down and asked if she can get back to her lesson schedule, now that you're back." "Thanks, I'll call her." "Back from where?" "Just back." "Well, you've certainly got yourself quite a good suntan from wherever it was." "The weather's been dreadful here." "Alexis, I'm a tennis pro." "I was born tan." "Listen, you'll have to excuse me, I'm late for a lesson." "I'll talk to you later." "Well, aren't we suddenly circumspect." "I trust he'll study these proposals carefully and get back to me no later than Friday." "Yours truly, Adam Carrington." "Oh, and make me some reservations for the conference day after tomorrow in Colorado Springs." "The China Sea oil lease talks?" "There'll be two of us." "Myself and" "What's the matter, Adam?" "Don't you have your own secretary and office?" "Well, since your office was repainted," "I've decided I like the air in here better." "Alice had to leave early tonight, Mother." "David was available." "Thank you, David." "That's it." "Here, you may want to have these bronzed." " What are they?" " Copies of the telegrams" "Gerald Wilson sent this morning, summoning all the Denver-Carrington board members, including Father, to a meeting here tomorrow." "Twenty-four hours from now, Mother, you'll have replaced Blake as chairman of the board and chief operating officer of Denver-Carrington." "And there's nothing he can do to stop it." "I thought you'd be exhilarated by this." "What's the matter?" "Nothing." "It's something personal." "Personal?" "And monumentally unimportant." "You're right." "It is exhilarating to finally have Blake just where we want him." "Excuse me, Mrs. Colby." "Gerald Wilson left this for you on his way out." "Oh, thank you, David." "That'll be all." " I won't need you anymore tonight." " Good night." "What is it, Mother?" ""No Denver-Carrington board meeting tomorrow." "Telegrams undeliverable to six members all out of city and incommunicado for an indeterminate period." "Thus unable to make a quorum."' Damn it." "Six unavailable?" "That's incredible." "Whatever it is, it's no coincidence." "It's manipulation." "And I will not be out-manipulated by anybody." "Especially not by him." "Blake." "Of course." "Those men are all his friends." "Well." "Let him scheme and squirm." "It won't do him one bit of good." "I want all those men found, Adam." "All of them." "By tomorrow." "All right." "Yes." "Bye." "Bye-bye." " Blake?" " Yes?" "Blake?" "Yes?" "What's the matter?" "Sammy Jo on the phone from New York." "She signed the adoption papers this morning." "She put them in the mail." "We'll get them in a couple of days." "What, is that all?" "I thought it was something really important." "Just think, it's only a matter of weeks now, instead of months." "My divorce will be final." "We can quietly get remarried, and the adoption will be official." "And Steven's son will be our son." "Oh, I think we ought to celebrate." "Oh, I agree." "Do you want me to finish shaving first?" "You silly." "Not for what I have in mind." "Kirby." "Jeff." "Should you be down here?" "It's a solarium." "Sounds health-inducing." "Besides, I was getting cabin fever in my room." "I kept waiting all day yesterday for the door to open and Kirby be there." "Why have you stayed away?" "No reason, really." "Just being a good nurse and helping the sick man heal?" "Of course not." "I meant everything I said." "I love you, I wanna be with you." "But" "But what?" "Well, that doesn't obligate you to feel and say the same things." "I needed you." "And you were there." "Will you be going back to where you came from after you leave us?" "I haven't made up my mind yet." "Probably not, though." "Why not?" "Because of your new face?" "No, I'm getting used to it." "I guess other people could too." "Ben, if there's something in your former life you don't want to confront, perhaps you should use your remaining time here to think things over." "I don't get what you're saying to me, doctor." "Nothing." "Nothing specific." "We Asians are philosophers." "We love to examine life over and over again." "I get the feeling that it's my life you want to examine." "Then I was rude and I apologise." "I must make my rounds again." "Well, don't you have time to finish this game?" "It's finished." "Check and mate." " This is Dr. Chen." " Oh, thank you, Sister." "Dr. Chen, I'm Dan Cassidy." "How do you do, Mr. Cassidy?" "You've had a long trip from Bali." " I hope it will not be useless." " Why?" "The man you phoned me about hasn't left, has he?" "Oh, no, he's here." "Asleep now." "I gave him a mild sedative." "But why do you think my trip might be useless?" "He gave you the name Ben Reynolds, right?" "Well, I had a Ben Reynolds on that oil rig when it blew." "He says that's his name, but I'm doubtful." "But, doctor, look, the rest of it fits." "He was picked up on wreckage by a freighter in the Java Sea, and his injuries are the kind you'd expect from a survivor of a big explosion." " I know." " lsn't that true?" "But when he was brought here to us, he was wearing a belt buckle with the initial C on it." "Well, I" "Doctor, I wanna take a look at him." "You must understand," "I had to do extensive repairs on his face without photographs." "You may not be able to recognise him now." "Okay." "Well, Mr. Cassidy?" "Well..." "Afternoon." " Marcia." " Oh, Mr. Carrington," "Mrs. Colby is here to see you." "I'm sorry, but she just wouldn't take no for an answer." " Did she say what she wants?" " No." "I think I can make a pretty good guess." "Did you receive a telegram summoning you to a Denver-Carrington board meeting this afternoon?" "Come to think of it, yes, I did." "And are you aware that six members of that board have mysteriously vanished from the city so that we can't make a quorum?" "Are you?" "I've heard rumours to that effect, yes." "You arranged this, didn't you?" "You're in collusion with your allies on the board to thwart me, to prevent me from merging Colbyco with your company." "Will you answer me, Blake?" "You're in a high-stakes game, Alexis." "A game that's played for only one reason." "To win." "I have no intention of losing to you." "Well, I'm going to find them." "So help me, I'm going to find those men and I'm gonna bring them back here under armed guard if necessary." "Don't try." "I've got weapons to use against you that I haven't even unwrapped yet." "Excuse me, Mr. Carrington." "There's a call from Singapore." "It's Dan Cassidy." "Cassidy?" "Hello?" "Yes, Dan?" "A survivor's been located, Mr. Carrington." "The man insists he's Ben Reynolds but something keeps nagging at me." "There's something wrong." "Wrong?" "What do you mean?" "Well, I have reason to think the man could be your son." "Steven?" "Alive?" "Oh, God." "Please let it be true."