Justice League of Oklahoma (Episode 2.7)

PREVIOUSLY:  The Justice League worked feverishly in an attempt to stop a plot to kidnap Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford.  Meanwhile, Amy McRee got wind of the plot and investigated as a journalist before she, herself, wound up missing.  Wayne Coyne tried to decode the kidnappers warning note and had a breakthrough, though, it appears it may be too late.

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Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena

Gary England listens carefully on his Gentner, but quickly loses his composure. "What do you mean, 'He's gone'?...Where's Jason White?...What do you mean you 'can't get a hold of him'?...Wayne, this is unacceptable, un-ac-ceptable!" Gary snaps the phone shut. The other Justice League members in the arena see the anger in Gary's eye and hesitate to inquire about the situation. Coach Doug Sauter motions to "Smokin'" Joe Burton to approach the England, but Burton refuses. Finally, Val Castor, as Gary's right hand man decides to bites the bullet. Before he can get a word out, though, Gary takes command again: "Val, fire up the Storm Chasermobile. We've got to get back. Doug, Joe, hop in the back."

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Location: Storm Chasers Lair

Mere moments later, the foursome is back in Oklahoma City and meeting with Wayne Coyne.

"I have already summoned the rest of the league, but I think we should go ahead and get started," Coyne begins. "Unless you want to hear a new song I've been working on."

"Enough with the jokes," Gary scolds, "what do you know?"

"Bradford's gone, Jason White, too. But I think I know who has them. You see, I was scouring the threatening letter the Sooner football staff received. It was a weird diatribe, but there are three words that seem out of place to me. The first is the portion where the author talks about serving in 'Nam'. It just doesn't fit. Later in the letter, the guy tells assures us he will follow through. 'Just as Ron,' he says. Finally, he informs us that if we ignore him, we'll 'see.' Except he apparently misspells it S-E-I."

Gary gives Wayne the international signal for "hurry-it-up." Wayne writes the three words on Gary's telestrator with no spaces in between. NAMRONSEI, it says. With a few clicks of a mouse, Coyne turns the writing upside down and it now looks more like...

"I35 Norman?" Doug blurts out.

Even through the mustache everyone else in the room understands.

Gary is still unimpressed. "Okay, so we know who has 'em. Where did he take them?"

"Curly and Rip have a theory," Wayne explains. "There's an abandoned car dealership in Norman. Doppler-9000 picked up some activity there."

"Doug, Joe, get to it. Val you take them, and pick up Lauren on your way," Gary orders as he, himself, departs to his office.

Wayne follows the departing heroes to the parking lot hoping to get some information about Gary's mood. Without having to ask a question, though, he has his answers. The sky is full of thunderclouds.

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Location: Abandoned Car Dealership, Norman

"I can't believe I missed all of this," Lauren Richardson says while getting out of the Storm Chasermobile. "So, Gary was, like, way pissed?"

Joe Burton replies, "I've never seen him like that."

"I have. Once," Val adds. "But let's drop it. We need to focus. What's the plan Doug?"

As Doug lays out the game plan, Joe repeats it so the others can understand. Clear on the strategy, the foursome hops into action with Burton leading the way. With a shoulder-check, he waylays the door open. All of the Leaguers slide in behind, Burton wielding his hockey stick. Not seeing anyone in what used to be the main showroom, the group splits up.

It is Richardson who makes the first discovery. Peeking into what used to be the salesman break room, she spots a familiar face. "Jason?" she exclaims.

Jason White turns around and looks shocked to see her. His expression shifts to relief, "Lauren, thank God you're here. Are you alone?"

"No. I've got Val, Doug, and Joe with me. What happened?"

"I'll tell you later, right now we've got to save Sam. Go round up the others and meet me back here." Richardson agrees. She quickly retrieves the others and they convene in the break room.

"So what happened?" Val asks.

White takes a deep breath. "It was horrible. I was following Sam, just like Gary told me, but we got seperated from the rest of the team. Before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded."

"By who?" asks Lauren.

"Well, for one, this guy," White says while pointing to the door which opens to reveal J.D. Quinn. "And this guy," he says as Rhett Bomar enters. "Oh yeah, and they work for me."

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Location: Storm Chasers' Lair

Wayne Coyne enters Gary's office carrying his guitar. "You've got two options," he says pulling the strap over his shoulder, "I can mellow you out with a little Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, or we can talk this out."

"I'm not interested in either of those options. Stay with me, I'll keep you advised of when I'm in the mood."

"Come on, Gary, relax my brother."

"How? I feel like we're doing this all for nothing. We've been doing this for how long?"

"Thirteen years."

"Thirteen years and are the people of Oklahoma any safer? We get a few victories..."

"Like stopping Aaron Tuttle from leading a Ginger revolution? Running Kelvin Sampson out of town?"

"...but Toby Keith still makes music, Jim Inhofe still gets votes...Now Sam Bradford gets snatched under our watch and who knows what happened to Amy."

"We'll fix these things like we always do. Like we decided to do back when the Murrah Building went down. This state is better off because of us. You can't give up now."

Gary only scowls as he walks out of his own office. Outside, an unseasonal storm is brewing.

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Location: The service shop of the abandoned car dealership

J.D. Quinn finishes tying up the ambushed Justice Leaguers. They find themselves in the same situation as Sam Bradford who looks dejectedly at his would be rescuers in his own captivity. The brains of the outfit, Brad McRae, enters the area.

"Mullet Man," sneers Joe, "we meet again."

"Not so tough without your hockey stick, are you tough guy?"

"You'd be surprised. What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not trying to prove, anything. I am proving that the Sooners need me buying quarterbacks for them."

"How does this prove that," asks Richardson, "all it shows is that you are still a cancer to the program even after they ran you out of town."

"Silence woman! You're a lot better to look at than listen to."

"I'll quiet down when you tell us your real motive."

"Fine. The Sooners ruined me after all I did was love them. Do you know how hard it is to find a new catchphrase? Or how important it is to have one if you are going to pitch cars? It's even harder to find a job where -- I-35, Norman -- fits when you are a pariah. I mean, what, big deal, I paid a couple of players for being football players and now Bob Stoops has eight less wins on his resume. Big deal! At least he has a job!"

Richardson follows through with her promise to be silent, but Val takes over. "So we know what is eating you, and these two are just your lackeys. But that doesn't explain why you turn-coated Jason."

"Brad promised me a weekly autograph signing at the new dealership he'll be working."

Joe laughs, "Have you not been listening? He can't get a job dumbass. Six years in college and you couldn't figure that out?"

White mulls this over. "Brad, he's making sense."

"You can't listen to him," says Mullet Man, "he's just messing with your head."

While White and McRae argue, Doug Sauter quietly chews off his restraints and begins untying his allies.

"They're getting loose!" cries Bomar.

Pandemonium breaks out, with Sauter having to stymie Quinn by biting his ear, Joe knocking Bomar out, and Richardson escaping with Bradford and Val. In the chaos, McRae attempts to slip out the back door. His escape is thwarted when Jason White hurls a signable football that smacks Mullet Man in the temple.

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Location: News 9 newsroom

Gary walks by Dean Blevins in a huff, but Dean stops him anyway. "Hey, Gary, do you know what Amy is doing at the OU football office?"

"What?"

"She's at the OU football office, but I'm the sports director, and Bob Stoops is my best friend, so she should be clearing it with me before..."

"How do you know that's where she is?"

"She told you she was going, didn't she? There's a 90% chance I'm going to give her a piece of my mind when she gets back."

"Dean, how do you know she's there?"

"I put a GPS tracking device on her necklace. That way if I saw her headed toward Talequah, I could tip off the paparazzi."

"That's so wrong, but I can't be mad at you Blevins."

Outside, the sky begins to clear.

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Location: OU Football office

Wayne Coyne and Gary England arrive at Bob Stoops' office unannounced. Bob sees them at the door and hurriedly greets them. "Ah, good afternoon gentleman.  Thanks for all you did helping Sam.  When we get to a, ah, BCS bowl, you will deserve some credit."

"Can it Bob, where is she?" Gary answers gruffly.

"Now, ah, hold up Gary. We had to do it. She, ah, was asking too many questions. I told you in the beginning that this had to stay quiet."

"So you thought the best way to keep her quiet was to kidnap her?" Wayne replies. "I hope you use better logic in coming up with your bowl gameplan."

"Certainly, that's a fair point. But, ah, like I said, we had to make a quick decision. If it makes any difference, we drugged her.  You know, The Boz is pretty good with a needle.  So she probably doesn't, ah, know what's happened. I'll have Boz and Jamielle bring her in."

Stoops speaks into his headset and within seconds the two former greats have hauled Mrs. McRee into the coaches office.  She is completely out of it.

"Gary!" she shouts.  "I just had the weirdest dream!  You were in it, and so were you Bob.  I was hanging out with Jamie Holleyway...he told me he was one of the best quarterbacks in history.  But in my dream, I was taller than him."  She turns to Wayne, "Who are you?"

Wayne takes Gary aside.  "We have to figure out something to do with her.  How can we explain her missing to others and also make it where she doesn't realize she's been missing."

"Hey new guy!  I think you're cute," Amy yells behind them.

"Or we could just hang out here for awhile," Wayne continues.  Gary almost smiles.

"I have an idea," Gary says.

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Location:  Undisclosed Cosmetic Surgery Center

"What else do you think she would want done, Doctor," Gary says to the surgeon.

"In addition to the eyebrow lift?  Oh, I'd say maybe some cheek implants."

"Okay, you do that, and I'll make sure your daughter's wedding is clear and dry.  Remember, when she wakes up, I was never here and she was never in Norman.  Tell her she's having a strange reaction to the anesthesia."

"Sounds like a plan, Gary."

With that Gary and Wayne leave and approach Val who is waiting in the Stormchasermobile.  Wayne gets in the backseat, but Gary hesitates.  "You guys go ahead without me," says the weatherman.  "I quit."

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THE END of EPISODE 2