Roger Lococco placed a carnation at the foot of the headstone that he, Frank and Josephine Lasker stood beside. "You want to get Vince back don't you?"
Frank inhaled. "It's just this cemetary gives me the creeps. Why did your "friends" have to meet us here."
"You want to get Vince back don't you?" Roger asked again ignoring Frank's question.
"Yeah, I want to get Vince back," Frank answered turning from the grave. But he just found himself facing another plot.
Josephine surveyed the area. "Are you sure they're coming?"
"I'm sure." Roger stooped as if to offer a prayer over the departed. "They have to be cautious. They're wanted you know."
Frank turned sharply. "Wanted? Did he tell you about this?" he asked Josephine.
"He mentioned it..."
Frank rolled his eyes. "Oh, for crying out..."
"Frank," Josephine's voice was firm. "We do what we have to in this business. Unless, of course, you'd like to leave Vince at Le Jardin."
"That's another thing," Frank grilled Roger. "How do we even know your almighty contact was right?"
Roger stood. "Look if you don't want to do this you can leave. I'm going to get my brother back." He turned away ostensibly out of irritation but Josephine thought she'd seen a furtive tear.
Bantering between comrades was halted by the slow approach of a black and blue van.
"Is that them?" Josephine queried.
Roger took a deep breath and sniffed before turning. "That's them," he confirmed seeing the vehicle. "And none of your snide comments," he told Frank. "They usually get a lot of money for this."
"I'll be as charming as Ricardo Montalban welcoming guests to Fantasy Island," Frank told him.
The three watched as the van stopped. The first person to emerge was a large, muscular black man with a mohawk and about twenty pounds of gold chains around his neck.
"Oh, swell," Frank muttered under his breath.
"Frank," Josephine warned.
The man turned back to the van and told someone inside it was clear to come out.
A tall distinguished, gray-haired gentleman emerged from the van. He wore gloves and had a cigar in his hand. Josephine gasped as recognition set in.
As he approached the trio he must have recognized her as well. He smiled when he got to them. "Colonel Lasker," he said.
Josephine returned the smile. "Colonel Smith."
Roger was somewhat taken aback. "You two know each other?"
"Let's just say we did," Josephine said.
Frank rolled his eyes. "Great. Old home week."
Roger rapped Frank's arm with the back of his hand. "Will you shut up," he hissed.
Hannibal Smith ignored Frank's comment. "Roger told me what you're needing. Should be pretty routine."
Frank reacted. "Routine?"
"Sure. We break Murdock out of the hospital every week."
The group was now talking inside the infamous van. Col. Smith had a map of the area of Le Jardin spread before him as he addressed Josephine. "Can someone from your facility there get us an ambulance?"
Josephine nodded. "That should be no problem. We can also be furnished with any uniforms necessary."
"What about the knock out gas?"
Roger answered. "I've got that lined up."
Frank who was resting his head against the closed sliding door groaned.
"I've also got the preventative," Roger continued. "If we take it an hour before we release the gas we'll be good."
Frank groaned again.
"How long will it be effective?" Templeton Peck, also known as Face wanted to know.
"We'll be safe for thirty minutes. Forty-five at the most," Roger told them.
Again Frank groaned.
"What's with your friend?" Face asked.
"Don't mind him," Roger said. "He had one too many doughnuts this morning." He threw Frank a look.
"Well, we've got our plan," Col. Smith announced.
"Then we're good to go," Josephine said flatly.
The plan itself was quite basic. And after drugging B.A. Baracus for the flight to France they were on there way.
Josephine's counterpart at Le Ver Complex in France provided the group with an ambulance, two attendant's uniforms for B.A. and Frank and a nurses uniform for Josephine. Col. Smith had contacted Le Jardin ahead of time and pretended to be a wealthy oil tycoon who was looking for a place to "treat" his embarrassment of a nephew to be portrayed by Murdock. Face was to be another nephew helping to relocate Murdock. Josephine was the private family nurse. Roger had the unfortunate task of remaining behind at Le Ver as he would be recognized on sight.
"Anything else we can do for you," the counterpart inquired.
Josephine straightened her nurse's cap. "Just have your medical division on stand by. I know they'll be needed." She glanced to an anxious looking Roger. "Try to keep him occupied." She paused. "And wish us luck."
The grounds of Le Jardin were perfectly manicured. Trees and beautiful gardens greeted them.
"I see why it's called Le Jardin," Frank commented. It his first remotely intelligent remark since the beginning of this.
B.A. guided the ambulance up the winding road. He was still grumbling about his friends somehow getting him on a plane.
There it was. In all its majesty, the Le Jardin building. It somewhat resembled Argentina's Casa Rosada, with balconies and pillars. It was a grand illusion to what awaited "patients" on the other side.
"Mr. Smith, I am Jaques LeMoire," the administrator introduced himself.
"Good to meet you," Col. Smith answered with a phony Texan drawl. "This is my nephew Charles," he said indicating Face. "And this poor, unfortunate... is my... other nephew Morton." He looked in the direction of Josephine who was standing beside a wheelchair that had a straight-jacketed Murdock. Col. Smith leaned in as he said, "He just hasn't been right since birth. My brother, his daddy, bless his heart tried everything. Wanted to keep him at home. But the poor man died a month ago and it's up to me now."
Jaques nodded. "Yes, I completely understand. Won't you step into my office and take care of the necessary paperwork." He led Smith and Face through a large oak door.
Josephine turned and looked out the automatic entry door and stretched, signaling for B.A. and Frank to enter.
"I thought for sure they'd have security all over the place," Frank said when he got into the building.
"I'm pretty sure there in that room," she said indicating another door marked 'staff'. "They most likely hide the guards as not to alarm the 'patients' being brought in."
B.A. had the knock out gas in a tank marked 'oxygen'. They waited momentarily. Then Col. Smith emerged from the office. "Now," he said. "There's a main duct in here."
The group rushed to the office, Josephine pushing Murdock in the chair. As B.A. released the gas into the building Josephine unfastened the straight jacket. They noticed that Jaques was unconscious across his desk.
"I was just getting comfortable," Murdock complained.
Face was hastily checking the files for room numbers matching the aliases that they were looking for. "What was that name on Vince again?"
"Cooper, Cooper Tyre," Josephine answered. "And Richard is Fenton Bleuglas."
Face's fingers moved quickly. "Got 'em."
"Okay, let's go," Josephine said.
They made their way to the floor that the two rooms were on, stepping over hospital staff members who had fallen in their tracks.
Frank eagerly entered the room that was Vince's. He froze. Vince lay motionless on the hospital bed. An IV snaked from the bottle to his arm pumping into him a coma. Emotion began to well in Frank.
"No time for that now, McPike," Smith told him. "We've got to get out of here." He headed for the room which held Richard Laycock.
"I don't know how to unhook this IV," Frank told Josephine.
"Don't. Just take the bag from the hook. The facility at Le Ver will have to know what they're giving him."
Frank looked at her with questioning eyes.
"Bring it," she said more firmly. "Come on. Get him."
Col. Smith had found Richard Laycock and was quickly gathering the IV bag.
Josephine glanced around as Face and Murdock moved nurses and other staff out of the way. Then she happened to look through on open door. For a moment she was stunned. "Oh, my God," she said quietly but audibly.
"What's wrong?" Face asked her.
"That's Mac Harper," she said somewhat matter-of-factly. But her shock was apparent.
"Should we take him?" Face asked. Mac Harper had been presumed dead for some time.
Josephine was silent for a moment. Then ordered, "Yes. Get him." Face entered the room at her command and removed the IV bag from its stand.
Josephine snapped back to the situation. "Come on," she said more loudly. We need to be well on our way before the staff comes to." There was a pause. "Come on! Let's go!"
Three comatose bodies were transferred to wheel chairs and removed from the Le Jardin building to the waiting ambulance and at record speed the ambulance left the grounds.
Well off the property Col. Smith told B.A., "You can hit that siren now."
Josephine had the com. "We've got them," she told Le Ver. "Tell Roger we're bringing his brother..." She thought for a moment as she looked at Mac. "And someone contact Henry Towler."
The group was greeted triumphantly at the receiving bay, the entrance to the medical division of Le Ver. The three men were taken immediately to rooms for tests. And Josephine told them to make sure to analyze the contents of the IV bags before doing anything. Frank was permitted to go in the room with Vince, and Roger, permission or not, was going to be with his brother.
Josephine breathed a sigh of relief. "I love it when a plan comes together," she commented.
"Hey, you got that from Hannibal," Face said, amused.
"No, Mr. Peck," Josephine assured. "HE got it from ME."