Hornet and Kato go to the Vale of Eden. They pull up as Peter and his bodyguards are leaving. The heroes quickly subdue the two bodyguards and they take Peter to Black Beauty. Once Kato drives away, Hornet tells Peter that he wants 505 of his take and Wiley's subliminal motivation machine. When Peter denies it, Hornet threatens to beat him for the truth. The spa owner says 50% is a lot and says that he needs time to think it over. Hornet gives him thirty seconds, and Peter agrees and figures that Hornet could contribute to his efforts. He explains that the president of the Century Bank is a spa patron, and he's going to leave the time lock on the vault turned off.They arrange a meeting at 9 the next night near the bank.
The next day, Peter calls Vanessa to come in for a treatment. She explains that Britt accused her of stealing a necklace, and points out that the jewelry owner store Oliver would have reported it if she stole it. Vanessa wonders if she was home all day the previous day as she remembers, and Peter tells her that they have a special treatment prepared for her. He takes her to the Tangerine Room and has Helga administer the treatment.
Peter goes to his office and puts a small explosive packet in Vanessa's purse. He tells Dorothy that it's enough to blow up Vanessa, Hornet, and Black Beauty.
That night, Hornet and Kato drive to the rendezvous early, figuring that it's a setup.
Peter gives Vanessa her purse and says that he's called a taxi for her.
At five minutes to nine, a taxi pulls up and Vanessa gets out. She walks over to Black Beauty and tells Hornet that she has a message from Peter. Hornet invites her in, and she says that that Peter said that the job is off. Vanessa doesn't know why Peter sent her and nervously twists at her purse latch. When Hornet checks it out, Vanessa says that Peter told her that no one was to handle it. Hornet grabs the purse and tosses it away just in time as it explodes. The heroes take Vanessa home and then go to pay Peter a visit.
Soon, the Sentinel is reporting about the explosion near the bank. Peter assumes that his plan went off successfully, and Hornet and Kato come in. Hornet gasses Peter unconscious and Kato takes him to the Tangerine Room. Once they put the headphones on him, Hornet uses the subliminal machine to have Peter confess. Once he's done, they remove the headphones and Peter cheerfully asks them how the job went at the race track. He explains that they're knocking off the race track, and Kato knocks Peter unconscious.
The heroes take the back alleys to the race track Peter's men pull up in their armored truck, wearing security guard uniforms and carrying guns. Two of the four go inside and claim that they're filling in for the regulars. Cork handles over a blank card through the card slot, and Cavanaugh responds to his programming and lets them in. They take the money out to the armored truck just as Black Beauty pulls up. The robbers head for the gate, and the heroes open fire with the car's missiles. They chase them into the stable area and lose them, and double back. The robbers drive at them and Hornet discovers that the missiles have misfired. He keeps pressing the button and finally activates a missile, stopping the truck in its tracks. It explodes into flames, killing the four robbers, and the heroes drive off.
The next day, Vanessa is in Britt's office. The newspaper photographer is taking pictures for Mike's story about her riding with Hornet. Mike wonders why Peter begged to confess because Hornet told him to do it, and Hornet dropped Vanessa off at home. Vanessa says that she has a feeling that Hornet is secretly on the side of law and order. Mike figures that she's in a state of shock, and figures that Hornet only turned Peter over to the authorities to eliminate a competitor. Britt suggests that they discuss Vanessa's theory at lunch. When they leave, Mike asks Casey if it's possible that Hornet isn't bad, and a disappointed Casey says that "Hornet" is a stinker.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 1, 2017