This piece appeared in Soap Opera's Greatest Stories in 1981, I believe.

GENERAL HOSPITAL
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

Luke, Laura and Scorpio--They're Out To Save the World Or Die Trying

"Now let me get this straight," Laura said. "The Cassadines are the leaders of a powerful cartel. They are planning to build a weapon more deadly than the atomic bomb and sell it to terrorists in Third World countries. And we're supposed to stop them? Well, I'm scared!"

Laura's fears were not unfounded. Already two International Security agents were dead. O'Reilly and her partner had been gunned down on the waterfront by Cassadine's henchmen. Scorpio's backup team was not going to make it to Port Charles in time to stop the Cassadines' yacht from sailing, and he was forced (against his better judgment) to enlist the aid of Luke Spencer to help him retrieve the Ice Princess formula, the crucial element in creating the destructive lasar [sic] weapon.

The assignment would have been extremely dangerous for a squad of trained professionals. Scorpio knew it was almost suicidal to attempt it with a johnny-come-lately hero like Luke Spencer (and that was before he found out the girl was coming too). But there was no time to speculate on the gloomy prospects of this adventure; they just had to get themselves on the boat.

Luke turned out to be pretty resourceful from the beginning. He conned a local fisherman into creating a disturbance which gave Luke and Scorpio just enough time to scramble up a rope and on board. Once there, the first closet door they opened held a surprise for both of them. Laura had found her own way to sneak on deck--she just donned her black wig and walked on with the servants, and no one was the wiser. Luke and Scorpio both demanded she walk right back off, but they couldn't budge her until it was too late and the engines had already started to propel the yacht out of the bay to a destination unknown.

Stowed away in the cargo hold, the trio alternated between feelings of fear and hunger. Luke, who's had an aversion to boating ever since he was knocked off the deck of his wedding yacht, suffered from such terrible sea-sickness that he was sure even drowning would have been better, at least then he wouldn't feel the constant, nauseating roll of the waves. But their main concerns were finding food and avoiding detection.

They also knew they couldn't get anything accomplished if they stayed in hiding for the whole trip, and finally they got a break. A sea-plane was sent out to pick up Alexandria Quartermaine and Tony Cassadine--the only two people on board who would recognize Luke and Laura. Once they were out of the way, Luke put on a uniform and became Thor, a Scandinavian steward. Laura became Lucy the maid, and they were able to move with relative freedom among the passengers.

And while their sleuthing was successful, it didn't go entirely without notice. Victor Cassadine got wise to the fact that someone had gone through his room and that someone had lifted his wallet containing the Ice Princess formula, but his suspicions were directed toward one of his guests, Maximillian, who he was sure was trying to steal the priceless formula.

Their journey was nearing its end and Cassadine couldn't let Maximillian (if he was the thief), or anyone, simply walk off the yacht with the formula in their possession. He ordered all hands to stay on deck and submit to a search. If that turned up nothing, then all luggage would be searched as well. But as luck would have it, Luke, Laura and Scorpio heard about his plan before it was too late. They scrapped their original idea to leave the yacht with the crew and instead prepared themselves for a dunking in the deep-blue sea.

"You can't mean we're going to swim to the island?" Laura asked, barely able to keep the tremble out of her voice. "What about sharks?"

"This is no time to be thinking about carnivorous fish," Luke cautioned her. "It's the only way we're going to be able to make an escape. They're probably on to us by now and we've got to get going."

They stood on the deck of the Titan for the last time--waterproof packs on their backs to hold weapons and food for their stay on the island. "Look at that island," Luke said. "There's no buildings, no roads, no nothing. What are they doing here?" They'd find out soon enough what secrets the island held. Already they'd plunged into the water and were swimming for their lives--all the while knowing even greater dangers lay ahead.

Luke was able to con a fisherman into creating a distraction, which allowed them just enough time to scramble up a rope and get on deck.

They could be passengers embarking on a luxurious pleasure cruise, but Victor Cassadine and his guests have serious business on their minds. However, the blonde beauty is blissfully unaware of the deadly plan.

Drs. Rick and Lesley Webber are frantic about the safety of their missing daughter, Laura. She's run off before but this time they're afraid she won't return. They're tracking her down.

 

While Luke and Scorpio were devising a scheme to get on board, little Laura simply walked on by telling Cassadine's thugs she was one of the staff. Once there, she refused to leave.

Luke first believed Scorpio was just a freelance con-man out to grab the diamond and maybe steal Laura's heart. Then he found out Scorpio was an International Security agent on a dangerous assignment.

When Tony Cassadine arrived in Port Charles he played it safe--no one knew that he was in cahoots with Alex Quartermaine the whole time.

A black statue, a priceless diamond, the key to a devastating weapon--the Quartermaines never told Luke exactly what he was looking for.

Lesley Webber read Lee Baldwin the letter from Laura and asked him to help in the search for their missing daughter. He made contacts for them.