This piece appeared in Afternoon TV in January 1982.

AN ATV NOVELETTE--PART III
The Legend of Luke and Laura
by Marilyn Henry

Anyone watching Tony Cassadine's (Andre Landzaat) encounter with Alexandria (Renee Anderson) in the hall before the auction, would have guessed they were more than mere business acquaintances. Robert (Tristan Rogers), who had been stringing Cassadine along as a partner while hoping to learn his plans, now warned Luke that the Ice Princess must not fall into the wrong hands--it would cause horrendous world problems. The wrong hands belonged to Alex and Cassadine, he added, and under no circumstances should Luke turn the piece over to either of them--if he was lucky enough to snatch it first. Luke was skeptical; could Robert be trusted? Robert wasn't telling much. Maybe he was just trying to shake up Luke in order to persuade Luke to give the IP to him instead of Alex.

Robert's cryptic warning did create some doubt, however, and Luke mulled it over as he tried to slip away from the man Cassadine had shadowing him and the sweet little old lady, Mrs. O'Reilly (Billie Hayes), whom Scorpio had put on his tail. Luke had promised Laura he would join her at her apartment later for a late night celebration of his success. He had to succeed, for the $50,000 bonus Alex had promised was his passport to a future with Laura. He was counting on it regardless of what Robert said.

Laura was counting on it, too. She had had a day of mixed emotions, starting with the wild joy of becoming engaged to Luke, and then having that joy tempered by the less than enthusiastic way her parents received the news and the I-can-stand-it-if-you-can resignation of Bobbi Spencer [sic] (Jackie Zeman). Still, she was sure Rick (Chris Robinson) and Lesley (Denise Alexander) would come to love Luke eventually. As she watched Luke maneuvering around the hall, she wondered what it was he planned to do to secure that bonus and wished just once in this drawn-out business, Luke had confided in her and allowed her to help.

The action turned brisk as the Ice Princess was put on the block with Alex, Cassadine and Scorpio all vying for top bid. Suddenly the lights went out! In the general uproar, Robert noticed the mummy case was jiggling around and by the time the guards had the lights back on, Robert had released O'Reilly from the case where Luke had shoved her. It was obvious to everyone that both Luke Spencer and the funny black sculpture were missing. Laura was sure Luke had gone to collect his bonus from Alex and she waited, champagne ready, in her apartment. Her only visitor, however, was Robert Scorpio who frightened her by telling her Luke was in way over his head this time and if he surfaced anywhere in Pt. Charles he was a dead man. Though Laura couldn't persuade Robert to tell her just what the Ice Princess was all about and what interest he, Robert, had in the caper, she knew he was in earnest when he told her Luke was in danger.

Alex waited in vain for Luke at the appointed spot and was instead confronted by Tony Cassadine, who threatened her if she did not turn over Spencer and the diamond. Alex had no answers for him--or for Edward. Luke had disappeared completely. Had he decided to hold out for more money?

Laura became more and more worried and decided she had to find out just what the Ice Princess business was and why it was so important to so many people. Robert had told her Alex conned a scientist into stealing the diamond for her--could that scientist be the Kurt Wheeler whom Alex introduced her to months ago? Could Kurt Wheeler be this James Duvall (Arthur Roberts) whom Robert claimed had disappeared? A search of the office files turned up nothing, but a search of Wheeler's apartment provided a bit of evidence--a handkerchief with the initials J.D.

Meanwhile, Robert had called on Hutch (Rick Moses) in prison and learned that a likely place for Luke to hide was at the Whittaker farm in Beechers' Corners. Luke was indeed there; but with the Whittakers' help, he managed to elude Robert and make it back to Pt. Charles, where he holed up in a flea bag hotel while he set up his play.

Luke sent three telegrams, one to Alex, one to Robert, and one to Cassadine, setting up appointments. He met first with Alex at the elegant Versailles Room, where he toasted her in champagne and then demanded to be told the truth about that ugly black sculpture. Alex refused to clarify anything and became quite agitated, offering more money if he would just give her the IP. "Please, Alex, keep your voice down, darlin," he advised, "After all, I have a certain reputation to uphold in the Versailles Room." He walked out, upholding that reputation by sticking her with the check.

Luke's next target was Robert Scorpio and he met Robert at an Italian restaurant and proceeded to demand more answers, particularly how the Ice Princess could possibly cause world problems, and just who the hell Robert really was and where he fit into it. When Robert also refused to clear up the mystery, Luke dumped a plate of pasta on him and made a hasty exit, giving Robert's partner O'Reilly, the slip once more.

Luke made his last call--to Tony Cassadine. When he met Cassadine at Kelly's diner, he had set up some conditions Cassadine did not honor--such as coming alone. Cassadine had no patience for negotiating for what he claimed was his own property. Either Luke delivered the Ice Princess within forty-eight hours or Luke was a dead man. The husky body guarded who loomed up around Cassadine convinced Luke the man meant business. Once outside Kelly's, Luke gave the henchmen that followed him the slip. His luck was thinning out now and he knew it.

Slick (Eddie Ryder) was surprised to find Luke hiding in his cab at the taxi garage, but he soon made him comfortable and offered to help. Luke revealed to Slick that he didn't have that damned black sculpture and he never did. He had no option but to hide! Slick came up with the perfect place--a seedy mission down by the waterfront. Luke had sunk to rock bottom, unshaven, dressed in bum's rags and trying to blend in with the winos. "Don't come too close," he warned, scratching, "I'm not alone in these clothes!"

Meanwhile, Laura had nearly panicked in her concern for Luke and his whereabouts and she had gone to Beechers' Corners, hoping to find him there, She learned from Mrs. Whittaker (Beth Peters) that Luke had been there, but he had gone. Laura decided to stay a few days and this short vacation nearly messed up a plan of Alex's--to frame Laura for theft. Alex and Edward had an elaborate scheme to plant damning evidence in Laura's apartment, knowing Luke would come out of hiding the moment he learned Laura was accused of stealing money from ELQ.

Unknown to Luke, Laura or Scorpio, Tony Cassadine had met Alex on the docks and had warmed up their old love affair. Alex now promised to help Tony recover the Ice Princess which she had stolen from him and told him of her plan to frame Laura. "If Laura's in danger," Alex said, "Luke will come forward. He'll do anything to protect that girl."

Laura's patience had run out. Once back in Pt. Charles, she demanded that Slick take her to Luke, wherever he was, and she wasn't above using a few tears to convince him. Slick agreed and Laura donned her black Lucy wig from the summer before. When Luke, toiling in the mission, looked up and saw his Laura standing before him, tears came to his eyes and he scooped her up in his arms with such heartfelt relief it brought tears to Laura's eyes as well. Though he meant to protect her, the strain of separation had almost been more than either could bear. In the mission's stark dormitory, Luke filled Laura in on what had happened, how he had missed getting the Princess because someone got there first in the dark. He explained that the man she knew as Tony Castle was Cassadine, a very dangerous man, especially if provoked. "Don't tell me," Laura said, looking at his sheepish expression, "You've already provoked him." Laura then explained about James Duvall, alias Kurt Wheeler, mysterious scientist. Luke had no idea where Duvall fit in, but asked Laura to check it further. She was delighted to be part of his life again and to be sharing the danger.

Alex had followed Slick and Laura to the mission and the moment Laura left, Alex confronted Luke. He was obnoxious, defiant, and the only thing she said that got through to him was that she intended to use his weakness against him: Laura Baldwin.

Before Luke could warn Laura, Cassadine's men descended on him and hauled him off to the yacht, having been informed of his whereabouts by Alex. Tony bombarded Luke with questions, few of which Luke could answer, though one question aroused Luke's curiosity: Tony wanted to know what happened to the formula that was in the base of the sculpture. This was the first time Luke had heard of a formula, but he realized this could be the clue to the IP's exalted value.

Because his answers were not satisfactory, Tony gave Luke an injection of truth serum. Scorpio, still pretending an alliance with Tony, listened to Luke's muttered confession that he never had the IP and believed it. With the help of his spritely partner O'Reilly, Robert managed to outsmart Tony and spirited Luke off the boat and out of Tony's clutches, probably saving his life.

Luke and Robert headed for Laura's apartment to remove the evidence Tony revealed was planted there to incriminate Laura. Shortly after this, they learned from Slick that it was Charlie Lutz who snatched the IP from the auction and now his dumb wife Emma had handed that sculpture over to Alex Quartermaine!

Scorpio felt certain that James Duvall, inventor of the diamond formula, was in possession of a copy and was therefore in danger. They had to find him before Tony did. The plot was clear: Alex, having been betrayed by her lover Tony, sought revenge by seducing the scientist who worked for the Cassadines and persuading him to steal the IP for her. Duvall had been in Pt. Charles for months, wanting to be near her, but had been strung along with so many lies he could no longer trust anything she said. In a panic, Duvall made one last attempt to talk sense with Alex and agreed to meet her at Laura's apartment, Laura being the only other person he knew in Pt. Charles. Alex promised Laura would not be there.

Robert began to fill Luke in on a few things, admitting he was an agent who had the assignment of recovering the formula to prevent a world crisis. The diamond, though enormous, was not what was at stake. While Luke, Slick and Robert combed Pt. Charles to find Duvall, Duvall and Alex were having an emotion-charged argument in Laura's apartment, an argument that ended with Alex hitting Duvall with the IP and killing him on the spot. Alex was distraught, but not so distraught she couldn't search for Duvall's copy of the formula. Once she had that, she left the body lying on the hearth and ran out.

When Laura walked in a short time later, the sight of the dead Duvall lying on her hearth triggered hysterical memories of the whole ugly David Hamilton affair and she collapsed in Luke's arms as he walked in the door. The murder looked like a set-up. Not only did Duvall resemble Hamilton, but there was even a sketch, the echo of a sketch Hamilton had done of Laura long ago.

It took some time for Luke to quiet Laura, and sobbing, she told him of that earlier tragedy and how it affected her life. "I was so young, she cried, "so damned young, and he flattered me...I thought he loved me...Everybody knew about me and they called me a tramp. That's why, when we got home after last summer....I can't go through it again, Luke, I can't...." This recitation had explained two years of Laura to Luke, why she had to cry rape, why, when he had her alone on their summer run, she had to hold out about her marriage vows, not wanting to be what Scotty had called her--a tramp. It also helped explain why she broke down when faced with the same sort of nasty reporters insinuations when they returned from Beechers' Corners. She had been made to look like a scarlet woman at age sixteen and had been trying to live it down ever since. Luke held her close, reassuring her of his love and devotion.

Luke, Slick and Scorpio managed to dump Duvall's body in the harbor so that no questions would be asked of Laura. Then Robert informed Luke and Laura that he was an agent with an organization called the World Security Bureau. The purpose of the Bureau was to protect world peace and to act against those who would threaten to create trouble. The Cassadines' seemingly harmless, if profitable, diamond making formula, was actually a deadly weapon that would give the Cassadines untold power to rule the world. Tony had been joined on the yacht by his brother Victor, a more ruthless type than Tony, and there was still another brother, Mikkos, who was in control of the entire operation. Since Alex had allied herself with them and the Cassadines now had both copies of the formula, they would sail away to wherever it was they planned to build their ultimate weapon. They had to be stopped!

While Scorpio was showing Luke and Laura the radio room and explaining his mission ("Comicbook City!" Luke exclaimed at hearing about diamond factories, secret formulas, and crazed, powerful men trying to take over the world, "I love it!"), he received a call from O'Reilly on the docks. She had been watching the yacht and knew she and her assistant had been spotted. The assistant was shot and now--Robert heard gunfire on the line and O'Reilly, too, had fallen.

The death of his beloved O'Reilly left Robert in grief and more than ever determined to complete his mission. Luke insisted on being part of it and he tried to explain to Laura why he must go with Robert to board the yacht before it sailed. "If you love me, baby, you know I'm different, and you know I have to go."

Boarding the yacht proved difficult for the two men, but no problem at all for the pretty girl in the black wig who greeted them in the ship's hold. Luke was horrified by Laura's daring and demanded that she go ashore where she would be safe, but by now Laura was one determined lady and she was not about to be separated from him again, nor would she sit in Pt. Charles waiting and worrying. Luke argued, wheedled, yelled, but Laura was firm. Robert had his first taste of what it was like to be around these two pig-headed, unruly lovers who were so close they even bickered in harmony, and whose love was such that they could put up with anything from each other. Even Luke's sea sickness did not put Laura off; she sat with his head in her lap, soothing him until he muttered, "You really know how to make a guy not want to upchuck."

Laura had become a courageous, cunning and loving girl and Luke's admiration of her grew with each chance they took. She put on a maid's uniform to search the staterooms for the formula while Luke dressed as a steward in order to get into the radio room. Laura was even enterprising enough to steal a complete dinner for three from the galley. She was truly a member of the team. Along the way, the three were picking up information on the ship's guests: a movie actress who was bedding down with Victor, a brass-minded general who had a blonde in tow, a harmless-seeming dithering Englishman, and a world leader and his brilliant, beautiful wife. All seemed to have been gathered together for some master plan, some scheme they all shared.

Robert's attempts to reach the yacht's radio room and send a message to the WSB failed, but on their last night at sea, he managed to pick Victor's pocket and obtain a copy of the formula.

In the hold, the three toasted to their success with stolen champagne, but each knew the ship was arriving at its destination in the morning and they had no idea where that was or what tomorrow held in store. They knew only that there was an island out there and that somehow they must find a way to go ashore if they hoped to stop the Cassadines' mad plan to rule the world.