The Last Chance Detectives

Chris (Focus on the Family): 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.

Make sure your parents are listening, okay? And now, we hope you enjoy this special presentation of The Last Chance Detectives.

Narrator: Previously on The Last Chance Detectives: A lab explosion, a strange message, and a final request from an old friend. It's all part of a mysterious adventure when The Last Chance Detectives join Pop as he pilots a DC-3 to Pensacola. They have no idea that hidden on the plane is some hot cargo and sinister forces will stop at nothing to terminate their flight.

The real terror begins when Pop slumps over at the controls. With the radio sabotaged and the fuel gauge on empty, it's up to Mike and his friends to somehow bring the plane down safely.

Mike: Down, pull back! Nice and easy!

Winnie: Mike, we're going to hit that tree!

Mike: I can't believe... We hit the... We're going to...

Narrator: Or close enough. As they're recovering from the crash, they hear a helicopter circling overhead.

Pop: Be careful, boys. We don't know who it is.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): This is Agent Garfield of the FBI. Remain where you are and we will soon be down to rescue you.

Pop: Garfield? That's the name of the impostor back in Ambrosia. Everyone back in the plane, now!

Narrator: Which way are they headed?

Agent Redding (Impostor): East. They're headed east.

Narrator: It's a tricky business figuring out the good guys and the bad guys as The Last Chance Detectives are surrounded by impostors and intrigue. That's always a good time to call your mom.

Mike: It's ringing.

Gail: Hello?

Mike: Mom, it's Mike.

Gail: Mike!

Mike: Mom, it's so good to hear your...

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Hello, Mike.

Narrator: Coming up, the exciting conclusion of "Last Flight of the Dragon Lady".

Mike: 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. They never found him.

Now, I work on my detective skills and 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.

Agent Redding: Sector three is all clear. Moving to four.

Agent Garfield: Roger.

Pop: Agent Garfield, is there any word yet on the boys?

Agent Garfield: Nothing definitive, Mr. Fowler. I've got a team of bloodhounds working the area, but the trail went cold at a railroad track.

Pop: Under the circumstances, jumping the train sounds exactly like something Mike would do. Any luck calling their cell phone?

Agent Garfield: I keep trying, but for some reason, no one picks up.

Ben: Shouldn't we answer it, Mike? What if it's someone who can help?

Mike: The kidnappers told us not to talk to anyone or my mom and Winnie would suffer the consequences.

Ben: But how could they even find out?

Mike: I'm not sure, Ben, but we can't take that chance.

Spence: You guys sure we got off at the right train stop?

Mike: The kidnapper said to get off at the Norco train station and head straight down Sixth Street to Ingles Park.

Spence: If my watch is correct, we're precisely on time.

Ben: Here comes a car now.

Spence: That can't be them.

Ben: Why not? A stretch limo?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Would one of you boys be named Mike?

Mike: That's me.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Bingo. Climb in the back.

Mike: No, we're not going anywhere until we know where my mom and Winnie are.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Just get in.

Mike: I said no.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Wrong answer, kid. See ya.

Mike: Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Hold on just a minute.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): All right, kid, you're not making the rules. We are. Is that clear?

Mike: Okay.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I'm sorry, what was that?

Mike: I said yes, sir.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I like that. Now, get in the back.

Ben: Should we do it, Mike?

Mike: I don't think we have a choice.

Ben: Wow. I bet you can fit an entire bowling alley in the back of this thing.

Spence: Or a jail cell. Notice how the driver's compartment is partitioned off.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Just get in.

Gail: Mike!

Mike: Mom! Winnie, are you all right?

Winnie: We're fine, but now they've got all of us. I sure hope you guys are better at untying knots than you are at negotiating for hostages.

Ben: They've locked the doors.

Mike: Then we'll go out the windows. Hand me that canister, Spence.

Spence: Careful, Mike.

Mike: Everybody cover your eyes. Unbreakable glass.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): In case you haven't noticed, there's no way out of this car.

Mike: Look, we've fulfilled our end of the bargain. Now let us go like you promised.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Not yet. We still need you for one last piece of business.

Agent Garfield: Mr. Fowler, I finally got some news for you.

Pop: The boys! You found them!

Agent Garfield: No. This has to do with an abandoned vehicle we located.

Pop: I'm not quite following you. I thought you said the boys hopped a train?

Agent Garfield: They did, but less than a mile from here, we found a blue Suburban with Arizona plates: 359-RDV.

Pop: But those are my plates. Oh, no. You're not saying that...

Agent Garfield: Yes, Mr. Fowler. We're pretty sure they've got Gail and Winnie.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): This is the place. Get the kid. You, come with me.

Mike: Me?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Yeah, and bring the canister. The rest of you stay put.

Mike: Listen, I'll do whatever you say, just let the others go.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): You know, I hate to revisit this again, but who was it that makes the rules?

Mike: You make the rules.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I'm glad we're back on the same page. Now, you see that security phone over there?

Mike: Advanced Technology Labs? This must be Pensacola, Florida, the place the professor told us about. But how did you... Wait a minute. You guys want me to make the delivery.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): See, we're not so bad. Here, dial 4541 and tell them you've got the package.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Hello, may I help you?

Mike: My name is Mike Fowler. I'm here to make a delivery.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Pop Fowler's grandson?

Mike: Yes, sir.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Mike, I've got you on the security camera. Where's Pop? And who are those two men with you?

Mike: Oh, well, we're with the FBI, sir. I'm Agent Garfield and this is Agent Redding. We were sent to protect the package after Mr. Fowler ran into some trouble.

Professor Richard Beaumont: I'm so sorry. I'll buzz you in immediately. Come in, come in. Mike, please tell me what happened to your grandfather. Is he all right?

Mike: You're Professor Beaumont. But how did you survive that lab explosion?

Professor Richard Beaumont: My boy, I'm Richard Beaumont. I'm afraid you've got me confused with my brother Victor who perished in that awful accident.

Mike: But you look exactly the same.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Identical twins have that tendency.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Now that you've let us in, we can lose the pretense, Professor. You're no more a twin than we are FBI agents.

Professor Richard Beaumont: What?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): We've had you under surveillance for weeks. We were outside your lab when you used that time-space device to escape.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Time-space? Gentlemen, I really have no idea what you're talking about.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Really? Let's just cut to the chase, shall we, Doc? We've been hired by a foreign client to retrieve your latest invention. You remember. That device that opens small black holes and allows travel through both time and space.

Professor Richard Beaumont: That's preposterous. Time travel is impossible, the stuff of comic books.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Oh, really? Then how did you get here? More importantly, Professor, where's my brother?

Professor Richard Beaumont: Your brother?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): You see, we've already got the blueprints to the invention. We came here to find out what you did to my brother. He went into the lab that night you pulled your little disappearing act.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Well, let me think for a moment.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Listen, if you don't stop playing games right now...

Mike: No! Let go of me!

Professor Richard Beaumont: Hold on, don't hurt the boy. Okay. First, let me assure you that your brother is quite alive.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Be more specific.

Professor Richard Beaumont: When he broke into the lab, I changed the coordinates on the teleporter to a contingency default setting.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Just tell me where he is!

Professor Richard Beaumont: I sent him where he belongs. A federal prison.

Winnie: Spencer, I don't think you can take apart an entire armrest with just a hairpin.

Spence: Have you got a better idea? Those guys aren't going to be very happy when they see what you did to their car.

Ben: Spence, I don't plan to be around that long. How about a little encouragement, guys? I'm sure Spencer knows what he's doing.

Gail: Thanks, Spencer.

Spence: If the wiring is like most cars, I should be able to short the locking mechanism and get us out of here.

Gail: Hear that? Sounds like a good plan.

Spence: The trick is getting it accomplished before they come back.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): For the last time, Professor, I want you to bring my brother back now.

Professor Richard Beaumont: But you already know the prototype was destroyed back in Ambrosia. Without that device, I'm afraid I can't help you.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I see. One final question, Professor. What's that small glass room for?

Professor Richard Beaumont: It's a vacuum chamber. It was designed to create an oxygen-free environment for experiments.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Get in.

Professor Richard Beaumont: What?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): You said yourself that you're no further use to us. Get in.

Professor Richard Beaumont: But it's airtight! If you wish to hold us in a room, may I suggest...

Agent Garfield (Impostor): He said get in, not give your opinion.

Mike: Hey, don't shove! We're going.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Gentlemen, please be reasonable. We'll run out of air.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): That's going to be the least of your worries. Keep an eye on them while you get the cleaning equipment out of the car.

Agent Redding (Impostor): Cleaning equipment? Know what I mean? Oh, I like that. Cleaning equipment.

Mike: Professor, you okay?

Professor Richard Beaumont: I'm fine, Mike. But we've got some serious trouble on our hands.

Mike: I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, they never would have been able to get in here.

Professor Richard Beaumont: No, don't blame yourself. I knew who they were.

Mike: You did?

Professor Richard Beaumont: I was contacted by Pop just before you arrived. The FBI suspected they might come here looking for another prototype, but it appears they had motives of a more personal nature as well.

Mike: Then why did you let us in here if you knew who they really were?

Professor Richard Beaumont: Because I couldn't let anything else happen to you. I'm afraid I've caused enough trouble for your family already.

Mike: But the FBI is on its way, right?

Professor Richard Beaumont: Yes, but they said it might take a while. Until then, it's up to us to stall and keep the blueprints from falling into the wrong hands.

Mike: How are we supposed to do that? The air's already beginning to feel thin in here.

Professor Richard Beaumont: I have one final option, if it'll work. But we must only use it as a last resort.

Gail: Are you getting it, Spencer?

Spence: Thought I had it, but I may have blown one of the fuses. Oh, no. The big guy, he's coming this way!

Ben: What? Put the armrest back, Spence, hurry before he sees!

Spence: Ben, it's not quite that easy. Oh, man, it's too late. He's here.

Gail: It's okay. He's walking past to the back of the car.

Ben: Can anybody see what he's doing back there?

Winnie: Sounds like he's getting something out of the trunk. It looks like... cans of gasoline!

Professor Richard Beaumont: So, as I feared, we're running out of air in here.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Oh, I am so sorry to hear that.

Professor Richard Beaumont: I propose we make a deal.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): No deals.

Professor Richard Beaumont: All I'm asking is that you move us to another room. In return, I'll gladly give you this key to the second prototype I made.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Another prototype? Hey, this better not be a trick.

Professor Richard Beaumont: Thank you.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Just give me the key and tell me where it is.

Professor Richard Beaumont: This chamber was not designed to support life. That's why it's most imperative that you relocate us.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Where is the key?

Professor Richard Beaumont: All right, I must admit I made up the story about the key, but we needed air.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): In that case...

Professor Richard Beaumont: No, no, you mustn't! Get your arm out of the way, Professor! Please be reasonable!

Mike: Professor Beaumont! Can you hear me? Professor!

Agent Garfield (Impostor): And to make sure that you don't try something like that again... there! Let's see you get out of there now that the handle's busted off.

Agent Redding (Impostor): What's going on?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): The professor wasn't going with the game plan. But he won't bother us much longer. Start splashing the fuel around. We want it to look like an accident.

Mike: What are you doing?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): What's it look like we're doing? Getting rid of evidence, including you.

Mike: Stop! Stop it, I'm warning you!

Agent Garfield (Impostor): You're warning us now?

Mike: That's right. If you let us out of here, I promise you won't get hurt.

Agent Redding (Impostor): You gotta hand it to the kid, he's got spunk.

Mike: The professor may have been bluffing about the key, but not about the prototype. It's hidden here in this room.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Is this another deal, kid? Because if it is, we're not buying.

Mike: The professor gave me this remote control before you knocked him out. I can operate the portal from in here.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): What is that? A garage door opener?

Mike: I'm serious.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): As are we. Deadly serious. Let's get this bonfire started.

Agent Redding (Impostor): With pleasure. Stand back. Once I flick this lighter, the whole room will be engulfed in a matter of seconds.

Mike: Don't do it! This is your last warning! I'll push the button!

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Nice try, kid, but you're bluffing. Kids. Give me a second to get down the stairs before you light up.

Agent Redding (Impostor): Yeah, meet you at the car. Don't forget we still got the others to take care of.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I didn't forget. Hey!

Agent Redding (Impostor): What's the matter?

Agent Garfield (Impostor): The stinking door is locked!

Automated Voice: Lockdown initiated. Portal sequence to commence in 15 seconds.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Say, what's going on?

Agent Redding (Impostor): The kid! He did something! Make him turn it off!

Automated Voice: In 10 seconds.

Agent Garfield (Impostor): I can't, the door handle's broken! Kid, turn it off! Turn it off!

Mike: I can't!

Automated Voice: In five...

Agent Garfield (Impostor): Break the glass!

Agent Redding (Impostor): It's too thick! Do something! Please make it stop!

Mike: Wait. I think it's okay. Look at it. It's like another world is in there.

Gail: Mike? Mike, honey, it's me.

Mike: Mom.

Gail: That's right, Mike. We're all here. Pop, Winnie, Spencer, and Ben.

Mike: You mean we survived?

Pop: Paramedics think you're going to be just fine.

Winnie: What happened in there, Mike?

Mike: Winnie, it was awful. There was another time-space device like the one in Ambrosia. I warned them, but they made me turn it on and the whole room began to spin and stretch and come apart. It pulled those men in and I thought it would get us too.

Pop: Easy, son. Just take it easy.

Mike: Professor, tell them what happened.

Ben: Yeah, Professor. What did happen?

Professor Richard Beaumont: I'm sure we both experienced some pretty fantastic things, the classic hallucinations caused by oxygen deprivation.

Mike: Hallucinations? But Professor, what about the time-space device? You admitted that you teleported that man...

Professor Richard Beaumont: I was trying to stall them any way I possibly could, remember?

Mike: So none of that technology really exists?

Winnie: But how do you explain the crop circle we found?

Spence: And if you didn't have some sort of teleporter, how did you escape the lab disaster back in Ambrosia?

Professor Richard Beaumont: I know it must look a little strange.

Mike: Come on, Professor. After what we've been through, don't you think we deserve a straight answer?

Professor Richard Beaumont: I wish I could tell you. I really do. But given the classified nature of this project, well, I can neither confirm nor deny.

Pop: All right, everybody! If you can drag yourselves another 30 yards into the diner, I'm buying.

Ben: Sweet!

Spence: It's so good to be back home in Ambrosia again. I've got to admit, there were several times I wondered if we'd ever see this place again.

Pop: I know what you mean, Spencer. But once again, the Good Lord was watching over us. Right, Mike?

Mike: Yeah. I guess.

Ben: Come on, guys! Last one in the diner unpacks all the luggage!

Spence: Hey, you got a head start, Ben!

Ben: I know!

Winnie: Wait up, you guys! Come on, Mike!

Mike: I'm coming.

Gail: It's Mike. I can see it eating away at him, Pop. He can't stop thinking about his dad.

Pop: Well, you and I suspected we'd get this news one day, but Mike, he's been certain all this time that his dad was still alive. And so it's hitting him harder.

Gail: I know. I just worry that he's... well, that he's blaming God.

Pop: Give him time, Gail. He knows what's true. But like the rest of us, he's still grieving. I'm sure he'll land on his feet eventually.

Guest (Female): Oh, look, I told you they'd be here any minute!

Mike: Hi, Grandma.

Guest (Female): Hi, Mike. Now, comb your hair. A very important man has traveled a long way to see you.

Mike: Who?

Guest (Female): Mike, this is Senator Jim McBane.

Senator McBane: Please to meet you, Mike.

Mike: Hello, sir.

Guest (Female): Mike, the Senator drove all this way just to see you.

Senator McBane: I was hoping we could talk about your father.

Mike: I know why you're here and I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you really didn't need to come all this way.

Pop: Senator, we've already told Mike what happened to his dad.

Senator McBane: Oh, good evening, Mr. Fowler. And you must be Gail.

Gail: Senator.

Senator McBane: Well, now that you're all here, I might as well get to my point. Gail, after all your son's phone calls and given the new evidence that recently surfaced, we decided to send in a team to bring your husband home.

Gail: Thank you, Senator. We were hoping to have a memorial service next week.

Senator McBane: You know what, Mike? Our recon team was able to verify that it was indeed your dad's plane.

Mike: I know. They already told me.

Senator McBane: I brought you some pictures of what they found. Take a close look, Mike. Now, that's your dad's plane right there. Do you notice anything odd? Maybe something missing?

Mike: Something missing? There's hardly anything left of it.

Gail: Senator, please, you're upsetting him.

Senator McBane: The pilot seat, Mike. Don't you see? It's not there. Look at those burn patterns on the cockpit floor. They can only be caused by one thing: an ejector seat being fired.

Mike, your dad got out of that plane before it ever crashed. This photo is the first real evidence that he may very well still be alive.

Mike: I knew it! I knew it! Did you hear that, Mom?

Gail: I sure did, Mike. It's just almost too good to be true.

Guest (Female): Oh, there, now, Gail dear, that's okay, honey.

Gail: I'm sorry.

Mike: Don't cry, Mom. It's like Pop always said. Sometimes God lets things get worse before He makes them better. Right, Pop?

Pop: That's right, Mike. That's right.

Brian (Focus on the Family): I think Mike and The Last Chance Detectives learned something important about trusting God, no matter what. And wow, what a ride! Hope you enjoyed it as well.

Hi, this is Brian. You know the routine by now. Tell us what you think of The Last Chance Detectives. 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. If you'd like a copy of today's show, just mention the title, "Last Flight of the Dragon Lady, Episode 12".

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. Spence was A.J. Noel. Ben was Daryl Sabara.

Our cast included June Lockhart, Jim Custer, Sherry Hersey, Pete Renaday, Greg Berger, Greg Baldwin, Ari Ross, and Irv Immerman. 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.