"Hey, Frank!" Davy greeted as he walked into the diner.

The old cook looked up from the eggs he was frying and smiled. "Hello, Davy! What can I get for you today?"

"Just some coffee, thanks."

"Coffee? You mean Mike lets you drink coffee now?" the older man teased.

"He said if I was a good boy, ate all me vegetables and brushed my teeth three times a day, then I could drink coffee." Davy grinned.

Being the youngest of the group, he was used to the teasing he'd get from the guys. They would often take on the role of parents, threatening to ground him or send him to his room without supper.

"Well, you'd better behave yourself, or I'll send a note home to Mike." Frank laughed as he went to get Davy's coffee.

While Davy was waiting, he took the opportunity to glance around the diner. It was near empty. Only two other people occupied the place: A man sitting in the booth, with his back to Davy, and a woman sitting at the other end of the counter, sipping coffee.

She looked very familiar to him, but he couldn't place where he had seen her before. She was in her mid to late-forties, shoulder-length blonde hair and had a small mole on her right cheek.

Then it hit him. "The Big Woman! She's supposed to be in jail." he thought to himself.

What should he do? Should he tell Frank? Maybe he should go outside and find a policeman.

Without saying a word to Frank, Davy got up from his stool, and started walking towards the door. But before he could get there, the man in the booth stood up, and blocked his exit.

"Lenny!" Davy remembered him to be the other man who had kidnapped him and the other Monkees when they were in the ghost town.

"Where do you think you're going, kid?" he questioned, pushing Davy away with one of his meaty hands.

"I..I just wanted to...go and...get a paper." He nervously stuttered, wondering if the man remembered him. "Yeah, that's it! A paper. So if you'll just let me by, I'll..."

"There's a  paper over there in that booth. Now why don't you just be a good kid and go read it." he demanded in a sweet, sarcastic tone.

Davy nodded and slowly made his way over to the booth that Lenny had indicated.

"OK, Franky," said the Big Woman, or Bessie, holding a revolver on the man. "Open up that cash box and hand over the loot."

She looked over at Davy. "Hi, Davy baby!" she smiled and waved. "Haven't seen you nor your friends in a while. Of course, being in that rotten, little ol' jail, you don't get to see your friends as often as you'd like."

"How did you get out?" Davy asked, nervously shooting glances from her gun to Lenny's.

"Good behavior! Isn't that rich?" she laughed, then looked towards Frank. "Come on, old man! We haven't got all day."

"Boss, what are we gonna do with him? He knows us." Lenny asked while watching both Davy and the outside of the diner.

"Knock him off." Bessie replied, more interested in the money that was being tucked away in her bag than the young man who was nervously sitting in the booth.

"Awe, but Boss." Lenny whined, now moving away from the door and towards her. "He's just a kid."

Davy took this opportunity to slowly and quietly make his way to the door.

"I show discrimination against no one." she waved him off. "Kill him."

Davy had just reached the door when he felt a sudden pain to the back of his head. Everything went black.

"Dumb kid!" Lenny grumbled.

"Well if you would have shot him when I told you, that wouldn't have happened." Bessie replied. "Now...kill him. That is, if you think you can handle him." she added sarcastically.

Lenny pulled out his gun and cocked it. "Too bad we couldn't have taken him as a hostage instead." he said as he pointed the gun at Davy's head.

"Wait! I have a brilliant idea!" Bessie said as she slapped her hand down on the table. "We'll take him as a hostage."

"Really, boss? That's a great idea!" Lenny grinned, uncocking his gun and putting it back in his pocket.

"Sure! This way, if the cops give us any trouble, we'll have him around as insurance." she grinned.

Frank, looking fearfully at the woman, said "It's all there."

She looked in the cash box and then in her bag. "All right...over there." she pointed towards a closet in the back. "Lenny, grab the kid and get out to the car."

Lenny lifted Davy over his shoulder and went out the side exit as instructed.

"Please, lady. I have a wife...and four kids." the man whimpered.

"Oh, you're breaking my heart." she replied, then fired her pistol into the man's back.

One AM!" Mike grumbled as he nervously paced the Pad.

"He should be home by now." he said more to himself than to the other two Monkees who were in the middle of a game of Go Fish, but were hardly concentrating on the game.

"Oh, come on, Mike." Micky tried to calm him. "You know how Davy is. Probably met a girl in town today, and fell in love...AGAIN."

"Yeah, he's been late coming home before. And it's always been the same thing." Peter explained. "You'd be worried, he'd walk into the door, you'd get mad and ask him why he didn't call, he'd say he forgot, la-dee-da-dee-da. It's the same story each time."

"Peter's right!" Micky agreed. He then put on his "fatherly" imitation, pulling his lips over his teeth and gumming his words. "You just can't get no sense through to that boy."

Micky sighed in defeat when he saw that he couldn't even earn a hint of a smile from Mike.

"Well, this is the last time." Mike angrily stormed. "When he gets home, he's really in for it. No more games."

"You know, too bad we couldn't get him on our side." Bessie thought out loud while examining Davy's still form. He had been roughly placed on a hard, lumpy cot off to one side of the hideout that Bessie and Lenny were using.

"He's small enough that he could get in and out of small areas with ease. He also looks very athletic. I bet he could climb or jump just about any obstacle."

"Yeah! He's a good shot too." Lenny said, remembering back in the ghost town when Davy supposedly shot the gun out of his hand. They still didn't realize Davy had thrown the gun to the floor and it just went off. "But boss, you know he wouldn't join up with us."

"Oh, I don't know, Lenny. Perhaps I can make him an offer he can't refuse." she smirked. "He does what we want, or we kill him."

It was ten o'clock in the morning, and Mike was slouched in the chair facing the door. He had been dozing off and on for the past six hours and had just now fully awakened.

Looking over at the hammock, he saw Peter sprawled out comfortably, swaying slightly in the breeze.

He could hear Micky's loud snores coming from the couch, and decided that must have been what woke him.

He blinked at his watch a few times, trying to focus.

"Ten o'clock!" he said loudly, then quickly covered his mouth when he saw his roommates stir.

He rushed over to the room Davy and Peter shared to see if maybe Davy had snuck past him in the middle of the night. His bed was empty.

Mike sighed and turned back into the living room. Clapping his hands loudly, he shouted, "OK, rise and shine, boys!"

He was met with irritated groans.

"Not now! It's too early." whined Micky.

"Guys, Davy isn't back yet. We need to go looking for him. Something may be wrong." he made his way up stairs to change, mumbling all the way, "And something had better be wrong, 'cause if it aint, he's gonna get it."

"Boss, he's waking up!" Lenny yelled from where he was sitting next to Davy.

Davy cringed as the loud noise worsened his already throbbing headache.

"Well, Davy baby, I see you finally woke up." Bessie smiled. "It's about time. How do you feel?"

"Terrible!" he replied, squinting against their faces. "Where am I? Who are you?"

Bessie and Lenny exchanged confused glances, then looked back at him.

"Don't you know?" Bessie asked.

He shook his head, still concentrating on their faces.

"I'm Lenny!" he introduced himself. "This here is Bessie, the Big Woman."

"And me?" Davy whispered.

"You?" Lenny asked. He looked over to Bessie, who seemed to be lost in thought. Looking back at Davy, he said, "You're Davy. We've taken you hosta..."

"We've brought you back here." Bessie interrupted. "I guess the police hit you a little harder than we thought."

"Police?" Davy asked, suddenly alarmed. "Why? What happened?"

"Well, they're not exactly keen on people stealing." she laughed. "But they didn't get ya, boy. No sir! Not with me and Lenny around."

"Stealing? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Lenny asked, which earned him a hard jab in the ribs.

"Your one of us, hon." she smiled warmly into Davy's confused eyes.

"I...I'm a...thief?" he nearly choked on the last word, not willing to believe it. But what else could he be? These people knew who he was. They had called him by a name... Davy. They must be telling the truth.

"That's right, hon. But don't look so sad about it. It's an honorable profession. Robin Hood was a thief, wasn't he?" she smiled.

"Robin Hood?"

"Forget it!" she sighed. "Get some sleep!"

She got up from the chair and signaled for Lenny to follow. "Boss, what was that all about? He ain't one of us."

"I know that, stupid! But he doesn't. This is working out better than I planned. He'll trust us and we'll be able to use him to do our work." she explained as if to a child.

"But what if he gets his memory back?"

"Simple...we take him out for some target practice." she grinned. "Now, take this money, go out and buy him some clothing and other personal items. We need to make it look as if he's been with us for a while."

"Gee, boss. You sure are smart."

"That's why I'm the boss, Lenny." she said, jabbing her finger into his chest. "And don't you ever forget that!"

Micky walked down Grove Blvd., looking for any sign of his friend. This was the seventh street he'd searched, and his feet hurt, he was tired, and very hungry. "If Mike doesn't kill him, I will!" he thought to himself.

He stopped suddenly when he saw the diner that he and the guys ate at frequently. There was yellow tape surrounding the building, and a few policeman standing outside, discussing whatever had happened.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Micky, as curious as ever, asked.

"Are you with the press?" one of the officers asked.

"Uh.. no. I come here often, and I just wanted to know."

"There was a robbery yesterday afternoon." the second officer answered.

"Really? What time? Was anybody hurt?" Micky asked, beginning to wonder if this had anything to do with Davy missing.

"I can't tell you the time or any details, son. Only that the cook is in critical condition."

"Officer, my friend has been missing since yesterday afternoon. Are you sure there was no one else in the place?"

Both officers shook their head, then one of them asked. "What's your friend's name?"

"David Jones...or Davy." he replied, and noticed both officer glance at each other quickly.

"What? What is it?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"The cook...Frank...he kept mumbling 'Davy' over and over." the officer said.

"Oh, God!" Micky whispered as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Then he was here, wasn't he? And now you can't find him?"

"Son, give us a description of your friend, and we'll send it out over the radio." the officer said, taking out his pad.

"Yeah, ok! He's.. uh...."

"...twenty, 5'3'', average build, brown eyes and brown hair, just above the shoulders." Mike described to the man behind the counter of  the library. He knew this was the last place Davy would have visited, but he was running out of options.

"Oh, so you're looking for a girl?" the man questioned.

"No!" Mike was quickly losing his patience. "HIS name is Davy."

The man snickered. "5'3"? Shoulder length hair? A sissy boy, huh?"

Mike quickly grasped the side of the counter to keep himself from smashing the man's face in.

"Look, just tell me whether or not you've seen him." Mike snapped.

"No, I didn't see him. Trust me, I'd remember someone who fit a description like that!"

"Yeah, well, thanks for your help!" Mike replied sarcastically.

He went outside the library and found Peter waiting for him.

"No luck, huh?" Mike asked.

Peter shook his head. "I tried all the dance clubs just like you said. He's not there and no one has seen him. I'm worried Michael."

Mike put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know, Pete. But we'll find him. Come on, let's go find Micky."

Peter looked stricken. "Is he missing too?"

Mike rolled his eyes and pulled poor Peter along.

Davy poked three more holes in the belt and tightened it around his waste. He looked up at Lenny. "I must have lost a lot of weight."

Lenny looked sheepishly at Bessie.

"Couldn't you find anything more his size?" she whispered.

"Sorry, boss. It was the smallest size I could find." he shrugged.

"Where did you shop?"

"The Big and Tall store on fifth and Main." he answered.

She covered her eyes and groaned.

"What? That's where I always do my shopping." he looked confused.

"Forget it, Lenny. Just forget it!" she shook her head. "Boys, come on over here. Davy, we're gonna try to help you remember your past."

Davy sat at the table next to Lenny, with his head propped up on one hand. Bessie went on and on, telling him about some of the great robberies that they had pulled off in the past.

But Davy's mind was on the green wool hat, cream of root beer soup, a stuffed monkey, a wooden doll, and a tambourine that had filled his dreams earlier. He had no idea what they were all about. He figured it must have had something to do with the blow to his head, and left it at that.

"Hey, kid, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Bessie asked in a school teacher's tone.

"What?" Davy looked between Bessie and Lenny, and smiled. "Sorry, Bessie. My mind was else where."

"Remember anything yet?" she asked cautiously.

He shook his head, missing the relieved sigh she gave.

"Well, get your head out of the clouds, hon. We have a robbery to plan." Bessie announced, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"We do?" he looked worriedly at her.

"That's right. You and Lenny are going out tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?! But, Bessie, I'm not...I mean, I don't know how..." Davy stuttered. He didn't know how to be a thief. And he wasn't even sure he wanted to be. But what else could he do? According to Bessie, he had been working with them for quite a while. He was probably in too deep and couldn't change.

"There's nothing to it, hon." she smiled. "Here, we'll give you a refresher course. Lenny, go get the machine gun."

"But, boss, I took it apart to clean it. I haven't put it back together yet."

"Well, we'll just have to use something else in it's place for right now. Go get the shotgun." she ordered.

Davy's head snapped up. "Shotgun?" he thought. The woolhat from his dream returned, and with it, a face. But it lasted for only a few seconds and then disappeared again. Davy yelled out in exasperation, putting his head in one hand and slamming his fist against the table.

Bessie looked at him, her eyes wide. Slowly reaching for the gun at her side, she asked, "What's wrong, Davy baby?"

"My memory!" he responded irritably through clenched teeth.

She now had her fingers around the gun, but all this went unnoticed by him. "Do you remember something?" she asked.

"No! Little things keep coming to me. Before I can make any sense out of them, they're gone." he said just above a whisper.

She eased up and let go of her gun just as Lenny came back into the room with the shotgun.

"Here you go, boss!" Lenny grinned.

"Alright, hon!" she said, patting Davy on the arm. "Time for school."

It didn't take long for Mike and Peter to find Micky, for he was rushing towards them while gasping for breath.

"Guys! Guys!" he yelled.

"Mick, did you find him?" Mike asked with a hopeful look.

"Guys, the diner...robbed!" Micky gasped out, now supported by Peter.

"Robbed?" Mike was shocked.

"That's a shame." Peter shook his head. "Was anybody hurt?"

"Frank...hurt...Davy..." Micky said, gasping.

"Davy? What about Davy? Is he alright? Is he hurt? Come on, Mick. What happened?" Mike now had his hands grasped on the front of Micky's shirt. Peter pushed him off.

"Mike, please!" Peter pleaded. "Let him breathe."

Mike sighed. "I'm sorry, man. Take your time."

Micky gave a forgiving smile and took a few more deep breaths before continuing.

"OK! I talked to the policemen. They said Frank's in critical condition. They didn't say what had happened to him. But they did say that Frank was muttering something about Davy, and they couldn't make it out."

"So, Davy must have been there during the robbery, and...and...what? What happened to him?" Mike asked.

"They don't know. They said there was no one else in the diner." Micky shrugged.

"That just doesn't make any sense." Mike crossed his arms and looked thoughtful. "Unless...unless they kidnapped him."

"Who?" Peter asked.

"The robbers. They could have kidnapped Davy."

"But why would they do that? It's not like he's some rich man's son." asked Micky.

Mike thought about this a little more. "No. But what if they needed a hostage?"

"Davy? A hostage?" Peter looked fearful.

"Hey, don't worry Big Pete!" Micky said, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "We don't know for sure that Davy was even at the diner when it was robbed. It's just an option we need to think about."

Peter gave a weak smile and a nod, but he still couldn't help thinking of his friend's safety.

"OK, Davy! Let's try it again!" Bessie announced. "Now remember, I'm the shop owner. You and Lenny are gonna come through that door and hold up the place. Got it?"

"Yeah, sure. No problem." he shouted from the other room.

"OK, go!" she yelled.

Lenny stepped into the room first and Davy tripped in behind him.

"No, no, no!" Bessie stopped them. "That was sloppy."

"Sorry, Bessie. I tripped over me laces." Davy sheepishly replied.

"OK! Let's try again." Bessie said. "And tie your laces this time."

After a few minutes, Lenny called out from the other room, "He's ready!"

"I'm not so sure about that." Bessie said quietly to herself, then shouted, "Go ahead."

Lenny came marching through the door with Davy tagging along behind. They both looked around the room as if making sure there was no one else around. Lenny pulled his gun from his pocket and motioned for Davy to do the same. Davy nodded and pulled his gun out.

"Alright...uh...what was I supposed to say again?" Davy looked up at Lenny.

Lenny whispered something to him, and Davy nodded.

"Oh! Right!" he cleared his throat and gave a mean snarl. "Alright, this is a stick up. Don't anybody move!"

"Now what do you do?" Bessie asked him.

"I'm not sure."

"While Lenny is look out, you're going to go behind the counter and point your gun at the shop owner." she explained.

Davy moved over beside her and pointed his gun towards her.

"Now you say...?" she prompted.

"Please give me all your money?" Davy asked.

"Uh.. well...leave off the 'please' and say it like you mean it." she rolled her eyes. This was going to take a lot of work.

"Give me all your money!" he barked, which made Bessie jump.

"Well, that was more like it, kid." she patted him on the back, and he beamed at the compliment.

"Now, the shop owner will open the register and stick all the money in the little bag you'll be carrying. Before he closes the register, make sure you check it. We don't want him keeping anything from us."

"OK!" Davy nodded.

"Then you're going to escort him to a back room and shoot him." she said as if it were an everyday thing.

"Shoot him?" Davy's face drained of color and he had to grab on to the table to steady himself. "You must be joking. I can't shoot anyone."

"Awe honey, there's nothing to it. Just point the gun to the back of  their head and pull the trigger." She missed the sickly look Davy gave as she went on. "After that, you're going to go back to Lenny and do whatever he tells you, understand? Always wait for his
instructions."

"Yes ma'am." he hoarsely replied.

"You don't look so good." Bessie said. "You'd better go on to bed. We have a big day tomorrow."

Davy nodded and went to his cot. Would he actually have to kill somebody? Had he ever killed anyone before? The thought had frightened him, and it was hours before he fell into a fitful sleep.

"...was possibly last seen at Grove's Diner before the robbery. If  you have any information, please call..." the newswoman announced over the air.

"Do you think they'll find him, Mike? Alive, I mean?" Peter asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Pete." Mike answered truthfully, then smiled. "But if  Davy sees this news program, he'll know we're looking for him."

"Still, I wish there was something we could do." stated Micky. "Just sitting around, waiting for the phone to ring is killing me."

"Yeah! I know. But..."Mike was interrupted by the phone ringing. "Hey, maybe that's the police." he said, rushing to answer the phone.

"Hello?...oh, hi, Mr. Babbit....."

The other two Monkees settled back down in their seats. Their faces mirrored Mike's own disappointment.

"What?...No, no news yet...Oh, you saw the program?...since yesterday...that's right...well, thanks for calling...ok, bye." he hung up and looked at the other two Monkees. "That was Babbit."

"So we heard." said Peter.

"What did he want? To remind us our rent is overdue again?" Micky asked with a touch of disgust in his voice.

"No. He called to tell us that he saw the news. He said if we needed anything, to let him know."

"Ol' sour-puss Babbit worried about the long-haired weirdos? Get out!" Micky exclaimed.

"He sounded genuinely concerned." Mike added, which made Micky feel even more like a heel.

"Well, like I've always said," Peter commented. "There's a little bit of good in everyone."

"I hope you're right, Pete." Mike said, thinking about Davy's captors. "I sure do hope you're right."