The Last Chance Detectives

Chris: Hi, this is Chris. Welcome to a special presentation of Adventures in Odyssey: The Last Chance Detectives. Please keep in mind that Last Chance is aimed for a little older audience than Odyssey and may be intense for younger listeners under the age of 10. So kids, make sure your parents are listening, okay? And now, we hope you enjoy this special presentation of The Last Chance Detectives.

Professor Victor Belmont: Computer, begin logging the session.

Guest (Male): Logging initiated.

Professor Victor Belmont: This is Professor Victor Belmont, dictating my observations of experiment 778 for the Phoenix Project. All equipment is operational and standing by. Computer, lock the safety chamber and commence countdown to initiate portal sequence.

Guest (Male): Chamber locked. Sequence to commence in 20 seconds.

Professor Victor Belmont: I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a few minutes until I'm finished in here.

Guest (Male): Open up in there!

Professor Victor Belmont: I said you'll just have to... no, you mustn't come in! Get out of here while there's still time! Turn it off now! Impossible! Once the sequence is started, I'll just have to do it myself! No, please! Don't open that! No!

Mike Fowler: Hi, my name is Mike Fowler. When I was six years old, my dad was my hero. As a fighter pilot, Dad went on dangerous missions. One night he didn't return. We never found him.

So now, I work on my detective skills. One day, I hope to find my dad. My clubhouse is a B-17 bomber. My three friends and I solve the mysteries of the town of Ambrosia. Together, we're the Last Chance Detectives.

Winnie: Last flight of the Dragon Lady, Episode 9.

Mike Fowler: Hey, Grandma.

Grandma: Morning, Mike.

Mike Fowler: Could you please break this dollar for me? I need some change for the phone.

Grandma: All right, but on one condition. I need you to do a favor for me. Earlier this morning, a courier came by and dropped off this tape for your grandfather. He made me promise to deliver it to Pop before noon. Can you believe the lack of patience these days?

Guest (Male): Waitress, when's my food going to be ready?

Grandma: Sir, I'm sure it'll be coming up any time now. See what I mean? So, Mike, will you deliver the tape?

Mike Fowler: Sure, it's a deal.

Grandma: Then here's your change. There's a reason it's called twice-baked lasagna, you know.

Guest (Female): Senator McBane's office. May I help you?

Mike Fowler: Hello, may I please speak to Senator McBane?

Guest (Female): I'm sorry, but Senator McBane is not in his office today. May I take a message?

Mike Fowler: I'm calling about John Fowler. He's an Air Force pilot who's been missing in action.

Guest (Female): I know, Mike. The Senator is well aware of your father's case.

Mike Fowler: But how did you know my name?

Guest (Female): You call every Friday morning.

Mike Fowler: I'm sorry, but I wouldn't have to bother you so much if the Senator would just return my calls. Is he even getting the messages?

Guest (Female): Mike, you're no bother. And I assure you that the Senator has received every one of your messages.

Mike Fowler: This is just very, very urgent.

Guest (Female): I understand. I'll tell him you called.

Mike Fowler: Okay.

Winnie: Well, well, well, look who finally made it.

Mike Fowler: Hi, Winnie. Hi, guys.

Winnie: You know, we were starting to worry that you may have meant to meet in the other B-17.

Mike Fowler: Do I detect an air of sarcasm in here, Winnie?

Winnie: Who, me? So, Mike, what's in the package?

Mike Fowler: Just a tape I'm supposed to deliver. Pop and Professor Belmont like to trade swing music from the '40s.

Spencer: Professor Belmont?

Mike Fowler: Yeah, they're always swapping Glenn Miller tapes or Benny Goodman, that sort of thing.

Winnie: No way!

Mike Fowler: What's the matter with you guys? Don't you like swing music?

Winnie: You tell him, Spencer.

Spencer: Mike, last night there was a horrible accident at the Professor's lab. There's not much left of the place. And unfortunately, no survivors.

Mike Fowler: What? What happened? Do you think it was some sort of a terrorist attack?

Winnie: It's not likely. Probably just an experiment gone bad.

Ben: Word around town is that it may have been a small nuclear explosion.

Spencer: That's got to be just a rumor, Ben. Although the Professor was a physicist, he studied quantum mechanics, not nuclear engineering.

Winnie: So, what do you think's on the tape?

Mike Fowler: Ben, hand me that cassette player please. Like I said, it's probably just some old swing music. Let's see.

Professor Victor Belmont: Roy, it's Victor.

Ben: It's him! It's Professor Belmont!

Professor Victor Belmont: If a courier has delivered this tape to you, then the worst must have occurred. And since I can think of no one I trust more, I'm afraid I must ask a terribly large favor. Roy, what I'm about to tell you may sound unbelievable, but if you're willing, then I must ask you to follow my instructions to the letter. Now here's what I want you to do.

Mike Fowler: Guys, we shouldn't be listening to this.

Winnie: Come on, Mike, we're kids. We're not supposed to know any better.

Mike Fowler: We've got to get this tape to Pop, pronto.

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Gail Fowler: Oh, Pop. First Professor Belmont and now this.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: It's hard for all of us, Gail.

Gail Fowler: I know, but it's going to crush him. At this point, I'm not sure Mike can handle it.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: He'll have to, just like you, me, and Grandma. We have no choice. And it's only fair that he knows the truth.

Mike Fowler: Pop!

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Oh, hey, Mike, we're out here in the hangar.

Mike Fowler: Pop, we've been looking all over for you.

Winnie: Hi, Mrs. Fowler.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Wow, the whole gang's here.

Ben: You're not going to believe what we've got.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Whoa, what's this all about? Why is Ben carrying a boombox?

Winnie: Wonder no further. Listen to this. It's a tape made by Professor Belmont.

Mike Fowler: Let him listen to it for himself, Ben.

Ben: Oh, this is way intense, like one of those thriller movies or something. I bet the Professor suspected something might happen and made this secret tape. Ben, would you just play it already? I am! Give me a sec. Anyway, I guess you're the only person the Professor really, really trusted. So do you realize what this means?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, I'm sure that he...

Ben: Oh, it means that it may not have been a lab accident at all! Why isn't it playing, Ben? I don't know. Let me see, okay? Well, I already pushed the... uh-oh.

Mike Fowler: What? What happened, Ben?

Ben: Nothing, nothing. I'm sure it's okay. Here we go. Secret tape. Ben, would you just play it already? I am! Give me a sec. Anyway, I guess you're the only...

Mike Fowler: Ben, tell me you didn't just record over that message.

Ben: I'd be happy to tell you that. Do you realize what this means? Roy, I'm sure that he... Oh, I mean that it may not have been a lab accident at all. Why isn't it playing, Ben? Oh, you big shufflehead! You erased right over... Get your hands off my finger!

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Quiet, everybody, this tape is almost to the part where we stopped recording.

Professor Victor Belmont: And now you know why this mission is so urgent. Time is of the essence. Given your knowledge and experience as a pilot, you're the perfect person to deliver the Dragon Lady to Pensacola.

Remember, once you land on the tarmac, go to Hangar 18. You'll find the Advanced Technologies Lab offices in the upper part of the complex. To complete your delivery, locate a small unmarked door on the left-hand side of the hangar. There you'll find a wall phone. Just dial extension 4541 and your job will be complete. Roy, I'm sorry if this puts you in a spot, but I just don't know who else I can turn to or trust. Thank you.

Mike Fowler: Well, I guess that's all there is.

Winnie: Thanks to Ben. Just who is the Dragon Lady, Pop?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, she's not a person, Spencer. Dragon Lady's an old dual-prop DC-3. Professor used it for various experiments. He hired me a couple of months back to give it a complete overhaul.

Gail Fowler: Must be quite a plane for it to be so important to the professor.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: That's what's a little odd, Gail. The DC-3 isn't all that rare or valuable.

Mike Fowler: Maybe it's loaded with valuable research equipment.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Maybe, and maybe not. But the professor was a dear friend. If his last wish is for me to deliver the Dragon Lady to Pensacola, then so be it.

Mike Fowler: You mean you're going through with it?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Despite the missing information, I think we have enough to go on. I'll give the plane a quick once-over and should have her ready to go by tomorrow morning. You kids wouldn't happen to know where I could find a support crew willing to go to Pensacola for a few days, would you?

All kids: We're in!

Roy "Pop" Fowler: As long as it's okay with your parents, we leave first thing tomorrow.

Mike Fowler: Good morning, Pop. How's the Dragon Lady running?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Pretty good, Gail. Although the number two engine's idling a little rough.

Gail Fowler: Is it going to be a problem?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: No, another mechanic probably wouldn't even notice. But just two months ago, I had that engine running like a Swiss watch.

Gail Fowler: Pop, considering the news Mike's about to get, are you sure this is a good time for him to be away from home?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: It's better than him sitting around dwelling on what happened.

Gail Fowler: Then I guess we shouldn't put off telling him any longer.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Leave that to me, Gail. I'll tell him when the time is right. So where are the kids anyway?

Gail Fowler: I sent them to see if Sheriff Smitty could fill in any missing pieces about the lab accident. Do you think any of the wild rumors floating around town could be true?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Knowing the professor, we probably can't even imagine the half of it.

Mike Fowler: Whoa, look at this place.

Ben: It's like the entire lab just melted away under some kind of alien heat ray.

Spencer: Hey, check this out!

Mike Fowler: What is it, Spencer?

Spencer: Look at the burn marks on the floor and the way the debris is scattered around the perimeter. It's all laying in a swirl pattern, as if it was made by some sort of cosmic tornado.

Ben: It's like those big crop circles you see on TV. Man! What have you got, Mike?

Mike Fowler: The wall over here, look at the wall.

Ben: Do I really want to see this?

Spencer: Those look like shadows. Three human shadows burned right into the cement.

Mike Fowler: Hiroshima.

Ben: Hiro-what?

Mike Fowler: When they dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the blast was so intense that it burned human shadows right into cement walls.

Sheriff Smitty: Hey! What are you kids doing in here?

Mike Fowler: Arnie told us we could find you here. Who's your friend?

Sheriff Smitty: This is Agent Garfield from the FBI.

Ben: You're a real FBI agent?

Guest (Male): As a matter of fact, yes. Now would you please leave?

Mike Fowler: But I think we can help your investigation.

Guest (Male): Oh, I'm sure you can. And you can begin by going out the way you came.

Mike Fowler: But we have a message from Professor Belmont himself.

Sheriff Smitty: You heard the man. Just clear out, okay?

Guest (Male): Wait a minute. A message from Belmont?

Mike Fowler: Yeah, he sent my grandfather a tape just before he died.

Guest (Male): What do you know about this, Smitty?

Sheriff Smitty: First I've heard.

Guest (Male): Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to confiscate that tape. Now.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, Gail, I think you've put together more than enough supplies for the trip. I'm afraid this old suburban couldn't hold much more.

Gail Fowler: Okay, Pop, can we go over all this one more time?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Sure, it's simple really. You'll be our ground crew on the way back to Ambrosia once the plane is delivered. If you and Winnie leave right now, we should be able to meet up at the airstrip for dinner tonight.

Gail Fowler: And that's in Beaumont?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Right. We spend the night there and continue to Pensacola the next morning. Exactly. Once we've delivered the plane, we can all enjoy a relaxing drive back home. Maybe even stop at one of those amusement parks along the way.

Gail Fowler: Oh, it's a great idea. There the kids are. Looks like they're all packed.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: So, are you guys ready to go?

Mike Fowler: You bet. Pensacola, Florida, here we come!

Ben: Florida? I thought we were going to a soft drink factory. Ben, what is that in your mouth? Pop Rocks! I'm proving to Winnie that even when I mix Pop Rocks and soda, my head won't explode.

Winnie: Unfortunately, he's right this time.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: So what did Smitty have to say, Mike?

Mike Fowler: Well, he couldn't add much to what we already know. Hey, but we did meet an FBI agent there.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: FBI?

Mike Fowler: Yeah, Agent Garfield was really interested in the professor's message to you. And he wanted to see the Dragon Lady right away.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Where is he now?

Mike Fowler: We left him inside the plane to conduct his investigation. He asked us to wait outside so he wouldn't be distracted. Go figure.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: I should probably have a word with him before we leave. Agent Garfield? Agent Garfield? Well, that's strange. No one's here.

Sheriff Smitty: Yeah? How can I help you, sir?

Agent Garfield: Yes, I'm with the FBI. I was told to meet you here at your office so we could begin an investigation of yesterday's lab accident.

Sheriff Smitty: I sure wish you federal guys would coordinate your efforts better. I just finished going over all this with Agent Garfield.

Agent Garfield: Sheriff, I'm Agent Garfield.

Sheriff Smitty: Is this your idea of some kind of joke?

Agent Garfield: No, not at all. Here's my ID.

Sheriff Smitty: What in the blue blazes? Sheriff? Sheriff, where are you going? I got to call Pop before it's too late.

Guest (Male): Who do you think that could be? The Sheriff calling? Agent Garfield?

Guest (Male): I don't know, but I'm not picking it up to find out. So you're sure the package is on board the plane, right?

Guest (Male): Got to be. The old man just showed up before I could find it. Don't worry, though. I managed to plant a tracking device while I was on board. Bingo! Let's go get them.

Mike Fowler: So do you have any idea what the professor was working on, Pop?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, he was pretty secretive about his experiments, but he did once tell me that he was researching something to do with black holes, I think.

Ben: I'm not even sure what a black hole is.

Spencer: You're not alone, Ben. But based on the laws of quantum mechanics, scientists believe it's theoretically possible for a black hole to produce gravitational waves. Okay, Spencer, I'm sorry, but your mouth moved and I have no idea what you just said.

The theory goes back to Einstein. It's basically a ripple in the spacetime curvature that travels with the speed of light. Hey Spencer, conceptually you're at about a nine right now. Let me need you to go ahead and take it down to about a one.

Ben: Time travel! Oh, now I'm tracking with you. Or possibly immediate spatial displacement. Okay, totally lost again. You know, something along the lines of those teleporters you read about in your comic books. Oh yeah! Why didn't you say so? Cool!

Mike Fowler: So do you think it's possible that the professor was experimenting with some kind of small black hole?

Ben: Maybe that's what caused this swirl pattern we saw in the lab.

Spencer: It's as good an explanation as any.

Mike Fowler: Do you think time travel's even possible, Pop?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, we know that God exists outside the boundaries of time and space. He even let a few of the prophets see what was going to happen in the future. But I really don't know if he would allow us to travel through time on our own. It's an intriguing idea, though, isn't it? Definitely. Look, if you boys are tired, why don't you take a nap in the back? We've got plenty of time. Sounds good. I think my brain just melted down anyway.

Anyone still awake back there, Mike?

Mike Fowler: Nope, just me. Keep thinking about this time travel stuff.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Yeah, raises some pretty interesting questions, doesn't it?

Mike Fowler: Yeah. I know what I'd do if time travel was possible.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Oh, what's that?

Mike Fowler: I'd go back and warn Dad not to go on the mission.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Yeah, me too. Look, Mike, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.

Mike Fowler: Really? What is it?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Yesterday morning, your mom received a phone call from Senator McBane's office.

Mike Fowler: He did call! What did he say?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Well, he called to tell us that they finally located your dad's F-16.

Mike Fowler: They did?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Yeah, they've got some new satellite technology that was able to take pictures of the entire area. It's been hard to find. There wasn't much wreckage left.

Mike Fowler: What? No, maybe it's not really his plane, Pop. They probably just made a mistake. As long as they keep looking, I'm sure they'll find that it's really...

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Mike, they're not going to look anymore.

Mike Fowler: Why?

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Based on the tail numbers they were able to read, they're sure it was your dad's fighter.

Mike Fowler: No. No, they are wrong, Pop. He's alive. I know he is, Pop. I know he is.

Roy "Pop" Fowler: Mike, they've officially changed his status from missing in action to killed in action.

Mike Fowler: No! No!

Roy "Pop" Fowler: I'm so sorry, Mike.

Grandma: Howdy, Smitty.

Sheriff Smitty: Mrs. Fowler. We need to talk to Pop immediately. Is he carrying a cell phone with him?

Grandma: Pop? No. Oh no, he doesn't believe in the things. But Gail's planning on meeting up with him tonight. She's got one.

Agent Garfield: Ma'am, I'm afraid I'm going to need that number. I'm Agent Garfield with the FBI.

Grandma: The FBI? Pop and the kids aren't in some kind of danger, are they?

Sheriff Smitty: It's very possible Agent Garfield and I are just jumping to conclusions.

Grandma: Shoot straight with me, Smitty. What if you're not jumping to conclusions?

Sheriff Smitty: Then they could be in trouble. More trouble than you can possibly imagine.

Brian: It looks like this is going to be a bumpy flight for the Last Chance Detectives. Stay tuned. We'll give you a sneak preview of what's ahead. For now, just two words: hair and raising. Hi, I'm Brian and we'd like to hear from you. Just drop us a note in the mail. Send it to The Last Chance Detectives, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80995.

In Canada, that's P.O. Box 9800, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 4G3. You can also log on to LastChanceDetectives.com. And if you'd like a copy of today's show, just mention the title: Last Flight of the Dragon Lady, Episode 9.

Mike Fowler: Hold it, Ben, look at our plane. The door's open. And there's stuff scattered all around the door. I think it's been broken into! Mike, there's someone still in there!

Well, Pop, we checked every nook and cranny, but we only came up with this. What is it? French fries! Oh, this is so good. Ben, did you just bite off a piece of fork? Probably.

Pop! Pop! Mike, grab the wheel for a second and hand me the microphone. Okay, what altitude should I keep her at?

Pop! Mike! Pop! Pop! Pop! Mike, you know how to fly this thing, right? Pop showed me enough that I think I can keep her in the air, but landing? Guys, I don't even know where to begin. And you're the one who wants to be a pilot someday? Easy guys, take it easy! Spencer, we don't know how to land and we're about to run out of fuel. What was that? We just lost our number one engine! I have a secret crush on Winnie!

Brian: The Last Chance Detectives is a presentation of Focus on the Family, created by Robert Vernon. Last Flight of the Dragon Lady was written and directed by Robert Vernon. Mike was played by Adam Wylie, Winnie was Mae Whitman, Spencer was AJ Noel, and Ben was Daryl Sabara. Our cast included June Lockhart, Steve Kanaly, Jim Custer, Pete Renaday, Sherry Hersey, Greg Berger, Greg Baldwin, and Ari Ross. Engineering and sound design by Glenn Montjoy, and our producers were John Fornoff and Bob Hoose. Hope you enjoyed today's show. You're always welcome back for another mystery adventure of The Last Chance Detectives.