Morgan Klae arrives by ,limo at the Klae Corporation. Security Chief B.B. Scopes is waiting with his men, and Scopes says that Morgan’s sister Caroline will arrive at noon by helicopter. Morgan tells him that he’ll review his security plans after his meeting with Walter.
In his office, Walter tells the Westins that Morgan has arrived. Scopes escorts Morgan in, and Walter presents the Westins to him. Morgan says that they’re goingto take on a touchysituation and will need the Klae Resource. They’ve received a kidnap threat against Caroline, and she, Morgan’s brother, and Julian each own a third of the corporation. There are no public shareholders, so kidnap threats have to be taken seriously. They received an anonymous tip mentioning Caroline’s new project, the Planetary Planning Commission. Caroline has invited delegates from all over the world there, and Morgan wants Caroline protected 24/7. Caroline probably won’t cooperate because she has a mind of her own, and is put out with Morgan because he voted against the conference. However, Julian voted with her. Walter assures Morgan that Caroline won’t even know she’s being followed.
Caroline arrives at noon with Julian, and Morgan tells Scopes that he’ll have to handle Julian with kid gloves. Julian greets Walter and says that Caroline wants to meet with him. Walter introduces Caroline and Julian to the Westins, and Caroline says that she plans to familiarize herself with the Klae Resource. Walter confirms that the staff is on two weeks’ leave to make room for the conference delegates. Caroline makes the importance of the conference in three days clear, and the Westins agree. Walter mentions Morgan there, and Julian and Caroline are both surprised to learn that he’s there after he voted against the conference.
In their lab, Daniel tells Kate that he has to stay visible because Caroline will notice his absence otherwise. Kate is mildly jealous of the attractive Caroline’s interest in Daniel, pointing out that Daniel is the only one Caroline invited to the conference. Daniel points out that Kate was invited as well, but Kate isn’t totally reassured.
The guards let the caterers in as Scopes watches. He follows one caterer in and has the driver, Pierce, pull over. Seemingly satisfied when Pierce gives him a manifest, Scopes tells him to report to the kitchen.
Walter comes to the lab with Scopes, who says that he needs to have complete control to protect Caroline. He wants the Resource under his control, and Walter refuses. Scopes brings Morgan in and Walter insists on supervisory control.Morgan insists that Scopes is handling all security measures, and the Westins warn that the contract means that even the Klaes can’t know what the Resource is. Walter and the Westins threaten to resign, and Morgan gives in. He points out that Caroline doesn’t know they’re keeping secrets from her, and tells Scopes to use his equipment and personnel while the Resource is a backup.
In the kitchen, Pierce brings his staff in.
Walter and the Westins review the conference schedule with the Klaes, with Sgt. Ryan accompanying them. They check out the research library and then the theater, and Kate explains that the theater covers the atomic research lab. The floor has the hydraulic pistons that control the nuclear rods. Ryan demonstrates with just one rod, which rises out of the floor.
Pierce approaches Ryan and says that he needs Caroline’s approval of the table service. Ryan summons Caroline and Julian, the latter drinking heavily. Morgan wonders why they haven’t shut down the theater during the conference, and Walter assures him that it won’t interfere. Daniel and Kate go to check on Caroline, and discover that Pierce and his men are abducting her. The fake caterers easily knock out Ryan and Julian, and shove a cart at Daniel and Kate. The Westins run up the stairs to the lighting booth, and the kidnappers lock the theater door.
In the booth, Daniel removes his disguise while Kate calls security.
Pierce and his men take Caroline out past the theater. The kitchen staff are tied up but manage to attack the kidnappers. One kidnapper gets Caroline out to the van, while in the kitchen a can of pepper is knocked over in the fight. Pierce runs out and a sneezing Daniel goes after him. The kidnapper hears him and shoots, but misses. Daniel jumps onto the back but is unable to get the locked back door open, while the unsuspecting guard lets the caterer out. Pierce drives out into the country where a helicopter is waiting. The second kidnapper kicks the jammed back door open, knocking Daniel into the grass, and then he and Caroline run to the helicopter. Pierce joins them and the helicopter flies off.
The police arrive and question everyone. Ryan tells Scopes that he didn’t shoot for fear of hitting Caroline, and Julian doesn’t recognize any of them. The security team breaks down the door and opens the theater, and Walter figures someone on the inside planned the kidnapping. Once she’s alone with Walter, Kate tells him that she doesn’t know where Daniel is.
Scopes addresses the staff in the library and asks them to write down everything that happened in detail.
Daniel returns to Klae, still sneezing, and puts his disguise back on. He then goes to the library and Kate finds him, just as Scopes notices Daniel. The security chief asks where Daniel is, and he says that someone knocked him out and dumped him in the booth. Scopes points out that Daniel has been unconscious for more than an hour, and wants to talk to the scientist more after he’s taken some aspirin. The security chief then meets with Walter, who suggests that they check the security tapes. Scopes admits that they don’t keep a complete recording, and no one was watching the monitors when the kidnapping occurred.
The Westins return to their lab and Daniel tells Kate what happened. According to the witness report, there were eitherfour or five kidnappers. However, Daniel only saw three people in the truck: two men and a woman dressed like Caroline. He points out that Caroline wouldn’t have run of her own accord, and doesn’t think it was Caroline in the truck. They realize that it was all a decoy, and the best place for the kidnappers to hold her would be her own corporation. Kate warns that the phones are tapped and they can’t tell Walter, and Daniel figures that he’ll get some proof first by searching for her invisibly. He tells his wife that she’ll have to cover for him if anyone notices his absence.
Scopes receives a call that the police have found the catering van and lifted a set of prints belonging to Daniel from it. Morgan and Julian don’t believe it, but Scopes points out that Daniel was unaccountedfor during the abduction and goes to talk to Daniel.
Daniel is out searching for Caroline when Scopes comes to the lab. Kate says that Daniel went out for a walk to clear his headache, and Scopes asks where Daniel was. She repeats Daniel’s story, and Scopes points out that Daniel’s fingerprints were on the kidnappers’ van. He orders Kate to come with them and she has no choice but to go. They go to Scopes’ office but Morgan insists on talking to Scopes privately. He asks where Daniel is, and Scopes says that Daniel must have been snooping around outside.Morgan figures that their plan to kidnap Caroline is going according to plan, but Daniel may have caught on. He tells Scopes to find Daniel.
Once Morgan leaves, Scopes calls Kate in and she says that she has nothing else to say. She insists that Daniel wasn’t involved in the kidnapping, but Scopes wants to see him. Kate says that she can’t help him, and Scopes sends her back to her lab but warns that she’ll be under constant guard and he’ll track Daniel down.
Scopes has the police bring in dogs to track Daniel. They immediately pick up his scent and Daniel climbs up a flag pole. The dogs surround the pole but Scopes and the police see nothing there. Scopes assumes that the dogs are mistaken and leaves with the police.
Kate is in the lab when there’s a knock at the door. She opens it and asks the guard for a match, and Daniel slips in. Daniel explains that he sprained his ankle running from the dogs, and Kate gives him a foot massage while her husband tells her what happened. He’s positive that the woman he saw wasn’t Caroline, and they realize the only place no one has searched is the library. Daniel tells Kate to distract the guard again and when she does, he slips out.
Daniel goes to the library where Morgan and Julian are discussing what to do if Caroline is dead. Morgan complains that Julian always linesup with Caroline, and claims that Caroline is ruining Klae by refusing war contracts and vetoing weapons development. Julian doesn’t believe it, but Morgan points out that the world is waiting to tear them apart and the reactor is being wasted on medical experimentation. He promises that if Julian gives him control then he’ll let him retire in peace. Morgan already has a contract written up, and Julian gives him a half hour to read it.
Morgan meets with Scopes and Ryan, and Daniel listens in as Scopes says that Caroline will be dead by morning. They can’t go any faster because the needles detect any motion from the reactors. Morgan reviews a statement he’s prepared about Caroline dying of radiation in the research lab. Ryan confirms that they’ll slip out the two hiding caterers after dark, and Scopes has Ryan lock the reactor control panel.
The two men go to the research lab and Daniel follows them in. The two caterers are suited up and guarding Caroline inside the chamber, and Ryan says that she hasn’t yet received a fatal dose. Daniel fires a fire extinguisher at the men and then attacks them. Once they’re unconscious, Daniel dons a protective suit, then takes another suit into the lab calls to Caroline. She comes out from hiding and Daniel has her put on the suit. She can’t see his face through the visor and Daniel claims that it’s an optical illusion. They go to the lighting booth and Daniel calls Kate. He tells her to call Walter and have him pick her up, and warns that Morgan and Scopes are behind the kidnapping. Daniel then gives Kate instructions on how to stop Morgan’s power grab.
In the library, Morgan is trying to pressure Julian into signing. Daniel returns and knocks the pen off the table. He then knocks over Julian’s glass of alcohol, stalling them until Caroline arrives with Kate and Walter. She knows that Morgan tried to kill her, and Daniel removes the press statement from Morgan’s pocket and puts it on the floor. He then tells Kate to read the press statement, confirming that Morgan knew what was happening to Caroline. Morgan draws a gun but Daniel knocks it out of his hand. Walter grabs the gun while Kate finishes reading the statement.
Later in Walter’s office, everyone shares a toast to Caroline’s rescue. Caroline asks about the “optical illusion,” and Walter says that it’s classified. He tells the others that the FBI picked up Morgan’s accomplices trying to escape, and Morgan will be committed. Caroline isn’t satisfied with Walter’s non-answer, but assures them that the Resource will always be used for peaceful purposes.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 12, 2016