A Little Sex And A Lot Of Lies

We pan in on Max' window as a stealthy figure opens it and slides into his room.

As Nicole slinks downstairs in her teensy-tiny thingy, she remembers Chloe telling Phillip she could die in prison. She also remembers Phillip offering to drive Chloe to the prison immediately.

She finds Phillip boozing in the study. "Can't sleep either, huh," she asks. Nicole tells him she thinks they should do Chez Rouge more often as she pours a drink. He wonders if she really needs another drink.

Nicole asks, "Do you really need yours?

"Now I do," says Phillip, "What do you want?"

"Eternal youth, world peace and Victor's money." She remembers the look on Sami's face when she walked up on the table earlier this evening, "How did Sami do it? How did she snag a guy like EJ?"

"Same as you," says Phillip, "A little sex and a lot of lies." He tells her she won't be around for long and asks if it was wise to have a DiMera who is also Sami's husband represent her.

Nicole figures she can double her fun by torturing Sami and getting great legal advice at the same time. Phillip warns her, "One minute the DiMeras are your friends and the next..."

Nicole has had enough, "I would love the chit chat but Pookie needs me."

"Pookie needs steroids," says Phillip. He stops her as she starts to leave, "You've been gone for over two years. You could have come back at any time, but you chose now. What, did something happen in Los Angeles?"

Nicole asks, "Have you seen how bad the Dodgers are this year? I couldn't live with that."

Yeah," says Phillip, "But the Angels are doing OK."

Nicole scoffs, "I'm very uncomfortable in the company of angels."

Chaos reigns inside the Vitali compound. Bo orders Ava to freeze as Kayla stuffs a gun under the couch cushion. She turns and hands Ava a roadmap leading directly to the gun.

Then Kayla turns to Patch and they hug. "Sweetness," says Patch.

Ava asks, "Who the hell are you?"

Kayla says, "I'm his wife. You kidnapped the wrong woman." The clod squad starts to leave but, of course, Kayla goes into cramps. Things get more chaotic. Ava checks the roadmap and rushes for the gun. She picks it up, points it into the crowd and...

BANG!

Down goes Hope. The cheers coming from the audience drown out the remaining dialog in the scene, but Patch grabs a gun and points it at Ava. Bo dumps Hope like yesterday's garbage, pushes the gun away and attacks Ava. It's a rough ride for his pancreas.

Phillip wants Nicole to be honest with him. She says she came back to claim what is hers. Phillip presses and Nicole says the partnership with Austin didn't work out. Phillip wants more but Chloe comes in all in a huff.

The mysterious figure approaches Max and reaches for him.

Max wakes and discovers it's Stephanie. She couldn't sleep. It's 3:15. She tells him her mom is missing and she doesn't know what to do. "It's a little early for a celebration," says Max.

Kayla examines Hope. She jams her finger into the bullet hole and Hope screams. Kayla thinks Hope will survive the shooting, but the infection she gets from Kayla's finger will cause a slow and painful death.

Chloe says Phillip's lawyer brought her home. She knows Nicole is the one who ratted on her. Nicole claims she didn't. They argue about what Nicole is capable of. Phillip sides with Chloe. Nicole finally admits she did it because she thinks Chloe did something horrible to Brady.

Max tries to figure where Kayla might be, "She might be at Bo and Hope's, or maybe they moved her to another room at the hospital."

Stephanie has checked all that, "Maybe my dad's crazy ex-girlfriend kidnapped her."

Patch asks Kayla, "What were you thinking?"

Kayla contemplates, "Thinking... bold new concept."

Ava sits slumped and tied up in a chair as the walking wounded head into the hallway.

Chloe and Nicole bicker over what may have happened to Brady, what Nicole did to him and what she did to Chloe. Nicole thinks Brady didn't want to stay with Chloe, "Admit it he knew you were a pathetic washed up hack." That did it – Chloe attacks.

Max tries to reason with Stephanie. He'd have more luck trying to stop a locomotive with his bare hands. He finally decides Kayla is probably out trying to find Ava, "Steve might be in trouble."

"And now mom and the baby might, too," whines Stephanie.

Ava sits slumped and remembers pillow talk with Patch. She knows he would never hurt her and will always be there for her. Patch vows he would never let anything happen to her.

The fearsome foursome sneaks through the hallway.

Ava comes to and calls for Patch, "How could you do this to me?" Conveniently, the alarm button is strategically placed right beside her knee. She punches it and the alarm sounds. Back in the hallway it's the walking wounded vs. the goons.

Chloe and Nicole play slappie-poo. Phillip breaks them apart. He tells them they have to learn to live under one roof or they are both out.

Back in the hallway at the Vitali compound it's a dimwit's standoff. Everyone in the crowd is pointing a gun at someone else. Goono tells them they have nowhere to go. Now it's Hope's turn to bollix things up. She faints and the three remaining conscious (I use the term loosely) morons rush to her aid and that allows the goons to capture them.

Max doesn't want Stephanie to put herself in danger. She starts to leave and Max reaches for her. She slaps him away, "Don't touch me!" She reconsiders, apologizes and tells him she's just really scared. Hugs. Max will do whatever it takes to find them. They'll do it together, by jiminy.

The goons haul the clod quad back into the bedroom and untie Ava. Ava isn't particularly in a good mood. She asks Kayla, "You're his wife?"

Kayla asks, "And you're his crazy ex-girlfriend?" Kayla always had a way with words. That sends Ava into a tailspin. Her head starts ringing and she does a satanic little dance. Finally she calms down, and gives Angelo his orders, "Kill 'em. Kill all of 'em."

"You win some, you lose some," thinks Peanut.

Nicole reminds Phillip he can't kick her out legally. He suggests Chloe go up to bed. She protests but goes. Phillip says he has more to say to Nicole.

Stephanie remembers being in Patch and Kayla's room and deciding she just has to trust Patch.

Stephanie says, "My flipping out earlier... that has nothing to do with you. It comes naturally." Max has an idea – he thinks Kayla and Bo are together because they were released at the same time and are both missing. He wins the special Sherlock Holmes Award for putting two and two together. Stephanie wonders how they could go off on a wild goose chase in the condition they were both in.

"I know," says Max, "But they are both stubborn." Translation: nuttier than Jimmy Carter's peanut farm. Stephanie decides they should go to the cops.

Ava starts to leave. Patch calls out to her. "What," she snorts, "You have some last lying words?"

Patch begs, "Don't kill more innocent people. This is my fault. Nobody else. The only mistake Kayla made is marrying me."

Kayla mumbles, "You can say that again."

Patch goes on, "I know you couldn't hurt an innocent baby. If you wanna hurt someone, hurt me?"

Ava gives mock applause, "That was beautiful. You are still a great liar. Why the big long story? You're still gonna die."

Kayla, always thinking about little Peanut, rushes Ava. Ava body slams her back onto the bed. Patch intervenes, "You wanna hurt someone, hurt me."

That's certainly not a problem for Ava, "OK." She grabs the gun from Angelo and points it.

Kayla screams, "NOOOOOO!"

Phillip tells Nicole she won't get his father's money as long as she and Victor are married, and Victor has an airtight will, "I get everything and you get nothing – unless you give me what I want."

Inquiring minds want to know, "What do you want from me?"

"Your services," says Phillip, "I want you to work for me."

Stephanie thinks they should call the cops. Max figures Patch didn't do that for good reason. He thinks Patch and Bo are capable of taking care of Ava. Stephanie whines, "But mom and Hope are with them."

"Oh yeah," says Max, "I forgot about that. You're right. They're in deep do-do."

Angelo takes the gun from Ava and tells her Daddy wouldn't like it if she kills Patch, "He wouldn't want you to do the job."

"Right," says Ava, "You do it for me."

Patch whispers, "Ava."

Phillip says he spoke with Victor today and he said Nicole came back to divorce him to get a piece of the estate. Victor plans to stall until he dies or Nicole runs out of money, "Either way you wind up with nothing. Your luck could change if I help. Your stunt at the consulate proved you're quite a little spy." Nicole agrees to spy on someone in exchange for a big wad-o-cash.

Stephanie decides they probably shouldn't call the police, "You're gong to hate me when your alarm goes off."

"That's not true," says Max, "Before, I was asleep and alone and now I'm awake and in the best dream of my life. Worst dialogue, best dream." Stephanie kisses him and says she should go. Max convinces her to stay, "Just to sleep. Nothing else."

Stephanie is skeptical, "That's exactly what Michael Jackson told all those little boys. I'll stay but won't be able to sleep much." He tucks her in. "I feel safe with you," says Stephanie.

Patch rambles, "You're not who I thought you were. The woman I knew was a good person. If you execute us, you are a monster. The woman I fell in love with wouldn't hurt me."

Kayla says, "Yeah, well, the woman you fell in love with after her would."

Angelo tells Ava not to listen to them. Ava sneers, "I want him gone. Do it."

Hope asks why she is dong this, "Tell us why you hate him."

"You owe us that much," says Kayla.

Ava snorts, "I don't owe you anything. I'll tell you, but I will warn you, it doesn't end well."

"The viewers will be happy if it just ends," says Kayla.


Previews
========

You can watch the previews later today on our PREVUZE II website.