December 12, 2005
Week 33 - Impossible Dreams 14
Episode 1
Donald Lamont lies in a hospital bed, an intravenous tube taped to his arm. There is a knock at the door and Powell steps in. Lamont snaps to full awareness when he sees him. "Powell!" he says, in a horse voice. "That woman! Is she..."
"She's... she's fine, sir. You saved her. She wasn't hurt at all."
Lamont smiles and leans back on the pillow. "Thank goodness. And her assailant?"
Powell looks down. "He got away. I couldn't stop him."
"We'll have to hunt him down later... But for now we have more pressing matters. We failed to stop Captain Camouflage from launching all three components of his satellite. But it will take him some time to assemble them in orbit. If we can locate his base before he's able to trigger the Illusion Ray, we can still stop him." He frowns. "I have to get out of here at once. But I'm... I'm very weak. My Mystical Talisman is gone! One of the doctors or nurses must have removed it. Question the staff, Powell! Locate it immediately and return it to me, so my body can begin to regenerate itself."
Powell takes a deep breath. Then he pulls a chair next to the bed and sits down. "I... I have bad news for you, sir... Um... After you were stabbed... When you were unconscious... We were attacked by a gang of... of Captain Camouflage's minions... I tried to stop them, but... there were too many and they overpowered me. They... they took your Talisman..."
Lamont stares at him. "My Mystical Talisman... The Coyote's Fang... It's gone?"
Powell nods. Lamont slumps back on the bed. "It's the source of all my power. Without it... I'll heal no faster then an ordinary man... I'll be vulnerable to Camouflage's illusions... I'll be helpless..."
"I... I know... I'm sorry."
"My boy... you have to... you have to assume your Pan Boy identity at once! You have to search for it! It must be returned to me!"
"All right, Mr. Lamont..."
Lamont grabs Powell's wrist and squeezes. His grip is cold and weak. "At once, do you hear me? I cannot lie here incapacitated while the world is in danger! It's unbearable!"
"All right, sir... I'll... I'll search everywhere... Um... I won't stop till I find it and bring it back."
Lamont releases his grip. "Thank you," he mumbles. "I know I can count on you. You've always been an able squire."
Powell nods and stands up. He steps over to a window, which looks down on the hospital parking lot. He stares at the rows of cars.