Monica Stone paced nervously about the lavish hotel lobby in Lithuania. A short, stocky man of obvious Baltic origin sat comfortably on an ornate couch watching with interest the news program playing on the lobby television. Monica wandered over and tried to start a conversation. "Hi, I'm Monica and --" she began. It was as far as she got, as the man emitted a "hmmph" and turned away. Within a few seconds, he was again engrossed in the news program. She wondered if he even knew a word of English.

She was bored. She had awakened shortly past six and, although she knew there was nothing to be done until the group rendezvous in the lobby at eight o'clock, she nevertheless found it impossible to sleep. With each passing moment she tried to anticipate what the future held for her in the game. She was a traveler - moving around the United States frequently during her short career with Andromeda, had visited a non-contiguous state, Alaska, where she had first met Jason Whittaker, and had been a part of a tour group in Europe two years past. But in the Europe she had seen, the items of interest were medieval castles, Normandy beach, the Eiffel Tower and the Coliseum. She had visited England, France, Germany and Italy, but never a country like Lithuania. Never in a Baltic country or in a region submersed with rumors of war and threat of imminent forceful political takeover; never in a region where violence was a way of life.

She was used to violence, although most of the violence had been of her own doing. Violent action could be taken to achieve a goal, but a place where rioting and almost meaningless violence was an integral part of society was something she wasn't prepared to face. "And yet," she mused, "Here I am in Lithuania."

Bryan Dern yawned as he entered the lobby. "Well, I see we have an early riser among us," he said through another yawn. "What's the matter? Television doesn't appeal to you when it's in a different language?" She frowned. "Aw, well, that's not why I wanted to talk to you," Dern continued. "Seeing as you're the first person up, how would you like your own assignment? Just one thing, Ms. Stone. Do you have an aversion to being kidnapped?"

She stared, appearing shocked and completely bewildered. "Kidnapped?" she shrieked. The hotel clerk looked up, but not understanding more than a few words of English, took little note of the conversation. "Yeah. As in, we take you away and all the other contestants have to find you within the designated amount of time, three hours. If they find you in time, a total of $50,000 will be added to the pot. But, details later. You don't mind, do you? But hey, even if you do, no one gets a say in whether or not they are kidnapped. " He grinned. Two young men who were standing by the hotel doors suppressed a laugh and smiled broadly when Dern issued the command: "Take her away."

An hour later, the entire group – minus Monica - was assembled inside the lobby. Jason stretched his arms over his head and yawned. Eugene, who stood by the outer doors, said impatiently, "Mr. Dern, couldn't they give a wake-up call to Ms. Stone?"

Dern laughed. "They could, but it would do no good. She's not in her room." The others glanced about, slightly confused. "Maybe she's just a sound sleeper," suggested Connie. "She's not in her room," repeated Dern somewhat testily. "I know," he continued, a smirk on his face, "Because she was kidnapped half an hour ago."

"She was what? Kidnapped?" demanded Jack Allen, who until then had been content to relax in one of he plush lobby chairs. Dern nodded. "Yeah, and it was pulled off pretty well if I do say so myself." A few in the room began to calm noticeably. "Are you saying, Mr. Dern, that this is a part of the game?" The others waited for the answer, which soon came. "Are you saying, Mr. Meltsner, that you failed to determine that until this moment?" mocked Dern. He looked around at the others. "Of course it's part of the game!"

"Now, here's the deal," Dern said. "We're splitting you guys up into three groups. Mitch, Connie and Richard are going by car, Wooton, Eugene, and Jason by helicopter and Mary, Jack, Margaret, Arthur and Barry by boat. And in case you were wondering why so many of you ended up on the boat, there’s more room there. Also, we don't just randomly assign groups together, by the way. We know about you and Mitch, Connie. And don't think we don't see the significance of putting Barry in the boat with you, Ms. Hopkins. In fact, we know a lot about all of you, as I'm sure you'll find out in the course of the game. But you guys need to get started, so here's what you have to do."

He supplied them with the goal of the game: find the kidnapped member of their group, Monica Stone, within three hours. The prize for doing so: $50,000 into the pot for the winner to take home at the end. Each person was supplied with a cell phone with preset dialers set to all other participants - including Monica. Ms. Stone would be blindfolded, might be in transit, could be anywhere within the city and would likely know little of where she was herself, but she had a cell phone provided to her. During the course of the game, as the groups split up into their respective forms of transportation, the helicopter search team, the ground team in an old Jeep and the team out patrolling the city's border on the Baltic sea in a small chartered boat, they could remain in contact with the kidnapped member of the group as well as the others in an attempt to track her down. They were told that the helicopter would have a professional pilot and the boat a captain, but that they would make the decisions.

"You guys ready?" Dern asked. "Well, you should be. There's a Jeep waiting right outside the lobby for those going in it. You guys can start out now. The dark blue van is for those being taken to the chopper and the gray van will take the rest out to the boat launch. Get going! The clock is ticking."

"I don't even know where to begin," complained Connie from the backseat of the Jeep. How are we supposed to track down a person with no information?" Mitch flipped open his cell phone. "By calling her, of course." He pressed the first preset button and waited for Monica to pick up.

The cell phone rang inside her pocket and Monica answered. Mitch's voice on the other end asked what she knew of her location. "I'm in a car. That's all I know." Mitch groaned and asked, "That's it? There's gotta be half a million cars passing through here and we can't stop each one to see if you're in it!" She sighed. "I know. It's pretty hopeless. With this blindfold, I can't get anything that will help you." Mitch interjected, "Wait. Why don't you just take the thing off?" But the answer was depressing: "Someone's back here watching me. If I so much as lift if half an inch, it's game over. I guess if I learn anything, I'll give you guys a call." Richard Maxwell grabbed the phone from Mitch. "Wai- Wait, Monica, you still there?" She affirmed and he continued, "Give me an idea of what's going on. Is it a low-riding vehicle like a car or is it a truck or an SUV?" She thought for a moment, and then answered, "a car, I think." Richard mouthed to the others that it was a car, then resumed his conversation with Monica. "What's the interior? Leather?" "No," she quickly replied. "Feel around on the door," he instructed. "See if it has power windows and locks or not." She felt around in the darkness for a few moments, then replied. Mitch turned to the others. "No power windows or locks, the interior is not leather, and it rides low like a car. And it's got to be at least a four-seater for her to be in the backseat, so we can eliminate a sports car."

Mitch nodded. It was progress. But Connie was growing impatient. "Great. That's wonderful. Now all we've got to do is stop every passing older or inexpensive car model. That should give us only a few hundred thousand left to check. Great, real great." Richard scowled at her. "It helps," he growled. "At least once we start catching up with her we might be able to pick out which vehicle she's in."

The motor on the small boat sputtered, then roared to life. Mary Hopkins looked wearily around at the other two group members in the boat with her, Jack Allen and Barry Muntz. "What good are we going to do sitting out here on the water?" she inquired, somewhat annoyed. "Well, it's not so bad," Jack said. "A nice day, great time to be out on the water. It ought to be quite relaxing, really."

Barry Muntz cut in angrily. "I didn't join this game so I could just sit around and relax," he fumed. "I want to do something!" He paced the small boat deck impatiently. "You'll get your chance," Jack assured him. "Perhaps sooner than you expect."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Barry shot back. "You know something we don't?" Jack said, "No, it's nothing. I'm just saying you never know what will happen."

He paused. "You know, I think we can handle the boat for now," he told the captain, who was really only there to get the boat in and out of the docking area and to help in case of an emergency. "I'll take the wheel." The captain looked him over. "Do you know what you're doing?" Jack smiled. "I can handle a boat," he replied.

At eight thousand feet aboard an old but relatively spacious Bell helicopter, Wooton Bassett pressed the fourth preset button and hit send. A few moments later, Richard Maxwell answered. "Yeah?" Wooton held the phone firm against his ear to hear over the whirl of the propellers and the hum of the motor and to make out Richard's words through the poor connection. "Hey, this is Wooton. We're kinda lost for what to do up here," he said. "Any ideas?" On the ground, Richard sighed. "It's a wild goose chase. We'll never find her like this. I've got to say that I'm really stumped." "Yeah, none of us have any idea either," Wooton said. "Hey, hang on a minute. I'm going to -- " But Richard didn't hear the rest of Wooton's sentence, as Mitch's phone was ringing and Mitch was clearly intent on the conversation. He mumbled a few words to the party on the other end and hung up, then looked up at the group. "That was Monica. She said the car just passed over a railway crossing." Richard grabbed a map from the glove compartment and hurriedly spread it out in front of him. "This is great," he said as he scanned the map for crossings. Then his face fell. "There are seven railroad crossings in this city," he informed the group. She could have been heading either way across any one of them." His cellular was still on and he could faintly hear Wooton yelling, so he picked up back up. "Hey, Wooton -- yeah, I'm sorry about -- yes, I'm back now. We had, uh -- Wooton, will you quit blabbering for a moment and listen up?' Wooten went silent. "Monica just called to say they just went over a railroad crossing." Wooton burst into conversation again, and Richard once again silenced him. "Wooton, no, it - no, there are -- Wooton, shut up and listen to me!" Richard yelled. "There are half a dozen – no, more even - crossings in this town and we don't even know which direction she may have been heading over it. Yes, yes, hang up in case she wants to call back. Yes, she could call someone else, but please -- No, I don't want to hear it," Richard finished, slamming the phone closed in disgust.

Aboard the chopper, Wooton looked to Eugene. "Sorry," he said, "but he hung up." Eugene slipped his own cell phone out of his pocket and called Richard. "I was attempting to have Wooton tell you something," he complained. "We can do flyovers of the crossings while on the phone with Ms. Stone. We may be able to determine her general whereabouts based on the cell phone reception."

"Wait a minute, Eugene," Richard said. "For a man of your intellect, I thought you'd know that the reception is based on the cell towers. If you're standing next to one tower, you'll have great reception even if she's a hundred miles away as long as she's near one too. You can't find her location that way." Eugene differed. "That's true, but we can find the tower she is nearest by finding the one with the least delay in conversation. Then we just look at a map, find the nearest railroad crossings and have a general idea of which way is headed." Richard pondered a moment. "There seems to be some problems with that, but right now, anything's worth a try," he said. "Really, I'm surprised your cellulars are even working up there in the chopper, so I guess I won't rule anything out."

Aboard the boat, Barry had phoned Monica. After a brief discussion, Barry was saying, "I don't see how we can do anything out here on this boat," when Monica cut in excitedly. "What's that noise I hear in the background?" she asked. "Oh, that. I think it's some sort of fishery or whatever you call those things. They've got a huge horn that blares every few minutes to alert the others that another boat has come in. It's about driving me insane."

Monica, however, had a different opinion. "That's great!" she enthused. I heard it go off two or three times about ten minutes ago!" Barry whispered the good news to Jack, who was standing nearby, then said to Monica, "Great! Now, have you heard anything else that might give you an idea of which way they are taking you?" The answer was a no.

"The line's still busy," said Eugene from up in the chopper. "Wait - there, it's ringing." Through the static, he made out Monica's voice. "Hello?" Within minutes, the chopper was circling all the areas marked on the map as having railroad crossings, with Eugene operating a timer feature on his watch to determine the delay. "Now," he said. "Now," Monica's voice came back a tenth of a second later. He jotted down the time as the chopper made its way to the next point. After they had checked out all six locations, he looked over his list. "Here," he said excitedly, pointing to the map. "She's got to be somewhere in this area."

Jason looked down at his watch. "That's great, but we'd better hurry. Half of our time is already gone and we've just now found which general area she's in!"

In the car, matters were confused. Jack had just called in to inform the group that Monica was by the waterfront. His call was quickly followed by one from Jason, stating that Monica was on the opposite side of town. "Which way do we go?" asked Connie. Richard responded, "As much as I know Eugene's the genius in this game, I think I'd go with the word from Jack. Eugene's whole idea is somewhat speculation and a lot of hope. I mean, the idea’s sound in theory, but if I understand it right, he speaks and times how long it takes for Monica to repeat him to time the delay. But what if Monica is in the middle of a breath or responds slowly? She could mess the entire calculations up. Take what Jack told us, on the other hand. It's based on what she heard being identified. To me, it seems more solid evidence. Eugene knew his method was doubtful at best; in fact, he told me so. It was better than nothing, but now we have something much more definite and I say go with it. You with me?"

Richard's speech ended and he looked back at Mitch and Connie. They nodded. "Okay, then. Let's see which way she's headed," he said, unfolding a map. Here's the crossroads where that fish whatever-it-is place is. Now, Monica told me she was sure they were not on a highway, so she would have had to pass it on this road over here," he said, tracing his finger along the map. "Now, did she say left side?" he asked. Mitch responded, "She thinks the sound came from the left, yes." Richard then thought for a moment. "Okay, it was on her left. In this crazy left-side driving country, that means she was headed this way. They must have gone over this crossing back here. And over here..." he trailed off. "Where'd my phone go?" he asked. Connie handed it to him and looked at him questioningly. "Hey Monica, this is Richard. Yeah. Just call me the moment you guys cross another railroad track, okay?

He then hung up and dialed one of the chopper presets. "Jason? Oh, Wooton. Listen, could you get me Jason?" In a moment, Jason had the phone. "Jason here." Richard took a short breath, and then told Jason his plan.

"Get this copter over this little place right here," Jason ordered the pilot. "Can we hover it low right over this railroad crossing?" he said, holding up a map.

Five minutes later, the helicopter was hovering over the spot and Monica had been told to call Wooton instead of Richard. The three in the helicopter waited excitedly, Eugene and Jason peering down with binoculars and Wooton almost trembling as he held the phone and talked to Monica. "You haven't passed the tracks yet, have you?" he inquired after a few minutes wait. She hadn't. Jason and Eugene starred down at the crossing. Only a few cars had passed and Eugene grinned. "If this information's right, it should be easy!" They waited. "Now!" Wooton shouted. "A gray automobile has just crossed," Eugene announced. Jason agreed, looking up from the binoculars. "Follow this road," he told the pilot. Take us as low as we can go and at about 50 miles per hour, if you can." After Eugene supplied a metric conversion, the pilot nodded and they began following the car down the road.

"Can't we go any lower?" asked Wooton. The pilot shook his head. Jason and Eugene kept their binoculars trained on the car, while Wooton made a call to the group in the car. It was Mitch's phone that rang, but it was sitting on the console and Connie picked it up. "Hello?" She paused to listen. "Really? Great. Here's Richard." Wooton laid out where they needed to go to cut the other vehicle off. "It's all up to you guys now," he said. Richard spun the car around and shifted into high gear. "Hold on tight," he yelled. "We've got work to do."

The Jeep sped across the old, pothole-covered road, racing towards the determined cut-off point. "How far away are you?" Jason asked from the helicopter. "We're just passing the turnabout that takes you back to the hotel," Connie replied. "Let me talk to Richard," Jason said. Richard grabbed the phone and replied yes a few times, then "Okay, I know what we've got to do."

"Hold on tight you two," Richard shouted. "You're gonna get the ride of your life!" He spun the wheel and pulled off the road. The Jeep sped across the empty, seemingly endless expanse of sand, clay and the occasional tuft of grass that made up Lithuania's ground. The Jeep rocked as they slammed into the ditches and the wheels spun hard as they sunk into patches of muddied earth.

"Is this legal around here?" Connie asked. Mitch laughed. "Call it the law of Jeeps." Connie wasn't impressed. "We could get arrested," she said. It was Richard's turn to chuckle. "The police in this part of the world have enough trouble as it is. They can't spare men to monitor traffic through fields and deserts." Mitch told Connie not to worry about it, then seemed to consider and asked Richard, "Do you have any idea where you're headed?" The Jeep lurched forward into a ditch and the passengers were thrown forwards. "Well, we have to cut off the car before they reach this turnoff," Richard said, indicating a point on the roadmap. "Cross-country is the only way we can get there on time."

"I wish I brought along some fishing tackle," Jack Allen said as he sat in a lawn chair upon the boat deck. "If this is an indication of what this game will be like, I hope I'm out soon," muttered Barry. Mary Hopkins chatted on her cell phone with Margaret Faye, who, while in the helicopter, was similarly bored. "Being out on this old boat is a complete waste of time," she complained to Margaret. "And I don't want to be around this horrible fish water any longer!"

"We’re going to get killed!" screamed Connie as Richard took the Jeep down a steep embankment that dumped out onto a road. He slammed on the breaks to slow the vehicle down and tried to keep control while it raced towards the road. The breaks squealed and smoked as the car reached the bottom of the hill and they skid onto the highway. An oncoming car swerved hard into the passing lane, avoiding collision and Richard regained control of the vehicle. "I can’t believe you did that," said Mitch. He was even more surprised when instead of pulling onto the road and joining its traffic, Richard waited for a momentary lull in the traffic and then floored the gas pedal. They raced across the four lanes of traffic, trying to keep away from oncoming cars. A small car had difficulty yielding in time, so Richard swerved hard and the Jeep grazed a telephone pole as it exited the road. Connie’s head was buried in her hands. She raised her head slightly and looked at Mitch, who was glaring at Richard. "It’s just a game, Maxwell! You could have killed us out there!"

Back in the chopper, Jason called Mitch. "Great," he said after hearing their location. "You’re looking good to cut them off at the intersection. Remember, Dern said that if we catch up to them while in a vehicle, we just have to remain side-by-side with them for 15 seconds to win." He laughed. "I guess the challenge is in finding her and they don’t want a major collision as part of the game! You’ll get there before them, so just wait for them there."

Six minutes later, the Jeep arrived at the crossroads. On the phone, Wooton Bassett told them the description of the car and that it was due to arrive in about two minutes. Mitch smiled. "Ready for some excitement?" he asked. Connie scowled and replied, "I don’t think I want any more excitement as long as I live." A gray car appeared on the horizon and Richard announced, "Keep your seatbelts fastened as we get ready for takeoff!"

"This is the right car, right?" asked Mitch. From the air team, the reply came back. It was affirmative. "Alright, three seconds until blastoff," Richard told the others, gripping the wheel tightly. The gray car drew closer… closer. Richard slammed the Jeep into gear and floored the gas pedal. He whipped the wheel hard and the Jeep spun out onto the road directly in front of the car containing the kidnapped contestant, Monica Stone.

The car’s driver slammed on his breaks, turning the wheel sharply and somewhat dangerously as he did so. The breaking mechanism smoked and shrieked, but the vehicle stopped short of the Jeep and was well into its turn. In the Jeep, Richard eased his foot on the gas pedal and pulled up alongside the turning car. The car made the turn successfully and the driver gunned the gas pedal. The Jeep followed alongside and one of the game assistants, who was in the car with Monica and the driver, had started his stopwatch. The jeep, which was riding alongside them off the left side of the road, was easily keeping up with them. "Seven seconds," the man announced to Monica. "Ten. Eleven. Tw—" he stopped.

"Not now! Not when we were so close!" moaned Mitch. "Not after all this!" They had been riding on the dirt and sparse grass along the side of the road, but had been paying attention to the car alongside of them and not to what lie ahead. Cones, trucks and workers. A new lane was being added to the road; they had run into a construction zone

Richard turned the Jeep around and pulled back onto the road, but by the time the Jeep had accelerated again, the car they were chasing was well ahead. Connie pounded her fist against the seat in disgust and Mitch looked angry. "We still have a chance, you know," said Richard as the Jeep sped across the highway. "After all, their car can’t go all that fast."

"Yeah. What is that thing, anyways? A Yugo?" asked Mitch. "You’ve been listening to radio talk shows in the afternoon, haven’t you?" Richard chuckled. "No, really," said Mitch. "I think it is a Yugo and one of those ought to be easy to catch up with!" And his words seemed true, as the Jeep slowly crept up on the Yugo. "We’re within a hundred feet now, I think," said Richard. The two vehicles raced down the road, the gap slowly narrowing. "80 feet," guessed Mitch after a quarter-mile. Later, "50."

Suddenly, the Jeep sputtered. The passengers looked up, startled, and the Jeep lunged forwards slightly, then came to a stop on the hill they were ascending. Richard slammed on the breaks, but quickly realized they couldn’t stay in the middle of the road on an incline and looked back for traffic. Upon seeing none, he slowly released the break pedal and guided the Jeep into a controlled slide back down to the bottom of the hill, where he pulled the car backwards off the road. He groaned and crumpled up the map into a ball. "I was so busy that I never thought to check," he told the others wearily. "Huh?" Connie said. "Can you fix it?" Richard groaned, but didn’t reply. Mitch looked at the dashboard. "We’re out of gas," he said. He flipped open his cellular and called the boat.

"Hey, this is Monica. You guys forget about me or something?" Mary Hopkins laughed. "Forget you? No, but you can forget about us. We’ve been floating out here in this water for more than two hours and nothing’s happened." Monica laughed. "Oh, hold on a second, Monica." She set the phone down on the table and looked up at Barry, who was holding up his phone and a map, pointing excitedly and trying hard to get her attention. "Yes, what is it?" she asked.

"It’s one of the guys in the Jeep on the phone and he says we need to get this tub ashore and hail a cab to, uh, this place right here," said Barry, pointing to a map that he had grabbed on his way to tell Ms. Hopkins. "Apparently, they need a little backup. And he said something about finding a cabbie who likes to drive fast and likes chasing other vehicles," Barry said, grinning widely.

Mary, however, looked pale. "A car chase? They want us in a car chase?" she asked. "Yeah. I already told Jack, Margaret and that Dent fellow. Is he a little crazy or something? Kept saying that he was sorry, but we were not permitted to catch up with her. I really don’t get him at all."

At the wheel, Jack pushed the little boat as hard as it would go. "Forty minutes left," he kept repeating to himself. "Forty minutes left. We’ll never make it."

Aboard the helicopter, the passengers were frantic. "What’s going on down there?" demanded Jason. Eugene grabbed his phone and dialed the car. "What happened?" he asked. He was told of their plight and informed Jason. "Oh, wonderful," said Jason. "And we’re up here unable to do anything and the guys in the boat will never make it back in time to catch up with her, even if they do stay course." Eugene interrupted. "They will. A car of that build would not easily handle trekking cross-country and the road they are on heads straight back to the water. There’s nowhere to turn off until they reach an area not far from the seashore."

Back in the boat, Jack Allen was making good speed at the wheel. Barry stood by as navigator, carefully plotting a course based on the charts supplied to them. There was still more than a half an hour in the game and they could already see large buildings towering in the distance. "Hey, you’re going to hit a sandbar!" said Barry. "Turn left!" Jack looked up at the charts. "No, we won’t run aground," he said. "Yes, you’re headed right for it!" Barry shouted, drawing the attention of the others on board. "No I’m not!" Jack shouted back. "If I turn left, we’ll slam right into it!" Jack turned the wheel to the right and Barry shouted "No!" then grabbed the wheel and wrestled away Jack’s grip. He spun the wheel hard left, but Jack grabbed it again and tried to pull it back towards the right. "We’re … going to … hit if you … won’t let go!" he said as he tried to force the wheel to the right. As they struggled for control of the wheel, Mary Hopkins, Margaret Faye and Arthur Dent looked on, trying to decide whom to help, if indeed there was need for it. The boat crew was by far the largest group, but also the most undecided. They did nothing.

The bow slammed into the sandbar and lifted up out of the water. "Now see what you did?" Jack fumed. "Me?" Barry protested. "You purposely ran us aground!" he said, shaking his fist at Jack. "That’s a lie!" Jack shouted. Margaret Faye stepped in. "Gentlemen, gentlemen…!" They quieted. "Jack, I’ve never seen you act like this before! I don’t like the thought of someone so temperamental running my old antique shop! For a man of your age…" she trailed off. "But I don’t really blame you," she said, breaking out into a smile. "And Barry, you did that on purpose. You ran us aground!" "Did not!" he protested. "I just couldn’t get the wheel away from this guy in time to save us from his sabotage!"

The captain ran from his quarters to where the contestants were standing and surveyed the damage. He shouted angrily and assured them that they’d pay for the damage.

Arthur Dent laughed. "I did it! It was me that made you lose!" he said. "Don’t listen to him," said Mary. "There’s something wrong with him." Barry laughed. "Yeah, not quite okay in the head." Jack frowned and said, "That’s enough, Barry," then sighed. "I guess we better radio in and get a boat over here to get us off this sandbar."

An hour later, all of the contestants sat in the hotel lobby as Bryan Dern summarized the events of the day. "And so," he concluded, "you are all completely incompetent. Not only do you not rescue the kidnapped contestant, but you also had to crack the bumper of the Jeep, run out of gas and run the boat aground and the helicopter crew just hovered around lost for the last twenty minutes. We’re going to be easy on you guys this time and not take the cash needed to repair the damaged car and boat out of the pot, but don’t let it happen again." He glared at them. "Yeah, great job, guys. I can see you’re all going to win a ton of money in this game."