Marlena puts a plan in motion
Joey kept his word and allowed himself to be checked out at the hospital after satisfying his hunger at the Brady Pub, but although he was ultimately given a clean bill of health from one of the doctors on duty, Kayla remained worried about his injuries. She wanted to order an x-ray of his ribs, but he assured her that he was fine, and Steve backed him up, guessing that he would let them know if his condition suddenly worsened.
Kayla hugged Joey as she tearfully admitted that she had been really worried that she would never see him again. "I mean, your Dad kept saying that you were okay and that you're smart, but --" she started to add. Joey interrupted, chuckling as he said, "I'm glad someone has confidence in me." He was eager to return home at first, but when he learned that his parents were about to head over to John and Marlena's place to plan how they were going to stop the escaped convicts' reign of terror, he insisted on going with them to help out.
When the Johnsons arrived at the Evans-Black townhouse a short time later, Marlena seized the opportunity to thank Joey for everything he had done to keep Claire safe during their time with the escaped convicts. Steve guessed that the criminals might already be gearing up for a major showdown in the wake of the loss they had suffered earlier, and Marlena agreed, stressing that her plan needed to be put in motion as soon as possible. She proceeded to outline it for the others, explaining that it hinged on exploiting each criminal's unique weaknesses and triggers in an effort to pressure them into making mistakes.
Joey warned that he had already tried that when Orpheus had shared a picture of his kids. "That's his biggest weakness," Marlena interjected. "I figured that, but it was like...after he finished talking about his kids, he got, like, really angry at me for getting him to open up about it," Joey continued. Taking that into consideration, Marlena decided that she and the others might have to think of a different way to push Orpheus' buttons. Kayla pointed out that they would have to find him first, prompting John to clarify that the plan was actually to tempt the criminals into meeting with them on their turf.
Marlena added that the plan involved enlisting the help of each person one or more of the escaped convicts held a grudge against. Steve wasn't sure that getting civilians involved was a good idea, but Kayla reminded him that they already were involved. "I don't think we're the only ones with backup," Joey warned, recalling parts of conversations he had overheard during his time as a hostage. "Clyde was on the phone constantly, asking guys if they wanted in on the action of bringing the town to its knees," he explained.
John saw that as another reason to recruit more help. Marlena agreed but stressed that the plan wouldn't work unless they presented a united front. "[And] not everybody gets along," she pointed out with a laugh. John optimistically assured her that everyone would be willing to set aside any differences they had with each other in order to put an end to the escaped convicts' reign of terror. Joey doubted that the criminals would find it just as easy to set aside their differences and work as a team, since they had been at each other's throats constantly during his time as a hostage. "Which will only help our divide-and-conquer strategy," Marlena mused.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Theresa had a meltdown when Tate, who had not been sleeping well lately, awoke and began crying shortly after she had finally managed to get him to go to sleep. When she returned to bed after getting the boy back to sleep, Brady pointed out that he could have handled the task himself. Sighing, she explained that he didn't know the special song about clouds that she had made up, and it was the only lullaby that had worked lately. She added that it wasn't his fault that Tate was being fussier than usual, and she admitted that part of her irritation stemmed not from a lack of sleep but instead from being cooped up inside with Victor.
When Brady went downstairs a short time later to look for one of Tate's toys, he caught Deimos and Nicole making out in the living room. Deimos buttoned his shirt and rushed off to talk to someone about moving Nicole's car to the garage. After Nicole finished buttoning her own shirt, she tried to explain things to Brady, but he insisted that the situation was none of his business.
Brady added, as he spotted the toy behind the couch, that although he could have done without some of the images that had just been burned into his memory, he had been quite happy to see a smile on Nicole's face for a change. "Yeah, I'm, uh, kind of scared to say it out loud -- I never thought I'd feel this way again -- but I am. I'm happy," she confirmed. Deimos, who had lingered in the foyer to eavesdrop, smiled when he heard the admission.
Deimos waited until the coast was clear then returned and tried to pick up where he had left off with Nicole, but as they were heading upstairs in the hope of avoiding another interruption, Marlena called and asked to meet with them right away. When she arrived a short time later, she explained that she was hoping Deimos might be able to reach out to Xander because they shared an understanding of what it was like to be Kiriakis outcasts. Deimos wanted Nicole kept out of the plan, but she insisted on being involved. Marlena asked for Deimos' word that he would do only what he was told to do. "You got it," he promised, shaking her hand to seal the deal.
Meanwhile, Brady and Theresa, having received a similar phone call from John, went to the Evans-Black townhouse to find out how the plan involved them. When John started complaining about the recent raid at the docks, Brady admitted that he had ordered it. John wasn't particularly surprised, but he insisted that nothing like that could happen again because it would just jeopardize the whole plan.
Brady said he had already received the riot act from his fellow Kiriakis family members, who were understandably upset because the raid had given the DiMeras a chance to steal the dock business. Nodding, John revealed that he had heard rumblings that the Kiriakis-DiMera feud had been reignited. "Well, you know what? All that's gotta be put aside if this plan's gonna work. There's gonna be no more Kiriakis vs. DiMera; it's gotta be all of us against those three psychopaths if we're gonna win this thing -- and by God, we're gonna win this thing!" John stressed.
At the Martin mansion, Kate received a visit from Lucas, who tried to convince her to reconsider moving into the Kiriakis mansion in the wake of Chloe's departure from Salem. Kate still wasn't interested, pointing out that Deimos, Victor, and Theresa still lived there. "Is there anybody in the Western Hemisphere that you could stomach long enough for your own safety?" Lucas wondered.
"Hmm. Well, I am fond of Chad. And, of course, there's always Andre," Kate thoughtfully replied. Lucas conceded that he shouldn't find her answer surprising because Andre was definitely her type. Scoffing, Kate insisted that her relationship with Andre was purely platonic, and she defensively wondered what Lucas thought her type was. "A homicidal maniac. You love those guys," he answered.
"Oh, that's nice. That's so respectful, Lucas," Kate complained, but he forged ahead, jokingly wondering if she had assumed that having one murderer living under her roof would scare off the other ones. Kate countered that it seemed like Lucas was just as distressed about her living arrangement as she was about his. He protested that she couldn't possibly be comparing Adrienne to the likes of Clyde and Andre, and she clarified that she was actually referring to the fact that Clyde's main reason for returning to Salem had been to abduct the very child Lucas had agreed to look after.
Lucas reminded Kate that the DiMera mansion was one of the safest and most heavily guarded places in all of Salem. He proceeded to invite her to move there for the time being, but she knowingly guessed that he would prefer for her to move into the Kiriakis mansion instead. "I would prefer you go to Europe with Austin," he muttered under his breath.
Kate scoffed and asked Lucas to repeat what he had just said, but he just cleared his throat and told her that he hadn't said anything important. She assured him that he didn't need to worry about her safety. "And by the way, mental health issues aside, Andre is not a monster like Clyde; he's good company, and he reminds me of my old friend Tony," she added. "You know, I'm beginning to think you're the one with the mental health issues -- and you need to deal with them so your children don't have to," Lucas replied. As he exited the mansion, Kate feigned amusement and called out, "Love you!"
At the DiMera mansion, Chad marveled that Kate had somehow managed, in the span of twenty-four hours, to secure three business deals he had been trying to secure for weeks. Andre guessed that Kate, unlike Chad, had been willing to get creative. Chad took that as Andre's way of implying that she wasn't on board with the plan to legitimize DiMera Enterprises, but Andre clarified that he had simply been trying to point out that she was a true DiMera who was willing to color outside the lines when necessary. "The question is...are you?" he added.
Chad insisted that he would never go against his principles, but Andre argued that stealing the dock business from the Kiriakis family had been one example of doing just that. Chad countered that he hadn't done anything illegal, and he added that the Kiriakis clan would have done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. "True...but are you ready to make the tough decisions? The really ugly ones?" Andre wondered. Again sensing an implication that he didn't particularly care for, Chad made it clear that he was in charge of DiMera Enterprises. Andre innocently clarified that he had simply been trying to offer advice, not take over the company.
Meanwhile, Kate arrived and accepted praise from Chad, eliciting mocking remarks from Andre about their love-fest. Chad soon received a phone call from Kayla, who wanted to meet with him and Kate. Andre was intrigued, but he reluctantly left the mansion after learning that he wasn't invited to the meeting. When Kayla arrived with Steve a short time later, she cut him off as he started to mutter a complaint about Adrienne living at the DiMera "mausoleum," turning his remark into a question about Adrienne's whereabouts. Chad explained that Adrienne and Lucas had gone out earlier, and he promised to fill them in on the details of the meeting later.
Steve and Kayla didn't even get a chance to finish outlining the plan before Chad agreed to do whatever he could to help. "I suppose you want me to do something?" Kate tiredly guessed. Steve confirmed that she seemed like the perfect candidate to lure Clyde out of hiding because she had a history with him and didn't live on a heavily guarded piece of property. "Lure? As in bait? That's what you want me to be?" she asked incredulously. Chad insisted there had to be a way of getting Clyde out of hiding that didn't involve Kate putting herself at risk, but Kayla countered that everyone was taking a risk in agreeing to go along with the plan.
Later, Steve and Kayla reconvened with John and Marlena at the Evans-Black townhouse, where they each reported the results of their respective meetings. "All right, we're all set. Let's do it," John said as he loaded a gun.
In the DiMera living room, Chad talked to Lucas and Adrienne about John's plan to draw the felons out of hiding. Chad explained that the plan called for Lucas, Adrienne, and Chad to put themselves at risk. Chad said that Clyde would attempt to breach the compound and kill him. Choking back his emotions, Chad asked Lucas and Adrienne to protect Thomas. After noting that they understood the danger, Lucas and Adrienne agreed to protect Thomas with their lives.
With a sigh, Lucas commented that it was the one-year anniversary of Will's death. Chad told Lucas that he could back out of the plan, but both Lucas and Adrienne refused to leave Chad alone with Thomas to face Clyde.
At the Martin house, Andre paced the foyer and talked to someone about a plan. Andre stressed that neither Kate nor Chad could learn about the plan.
With the town still without power, Gabi helped out at the pub with other people from town to keep everyone fed. Gabi served Paul a casserole, and they talked about the situation in town. When Paul asked about Gabi's safety, she noted that she was either at the pub or at Chad's mansion, so she felt safe. The conversation turned to Sonny. When Paul remarked that Sonny had not called him back, Gabi reminded Paul that Sonny had a lot on his mind.
Paul explained that Sonny was upset about Chad's interference with the shipping business. Gabi had an idea how to calm the feud between the DiMera and Kiriakis families. After she sent an urgent text message to Sonny, he rushed over to the pub. Gabi urged Sonny to grab some food from the counter and then join her and Paul to talk. Confused, Sonny stumbled over to the bar. Paul pointed at the door as Chad walked in. Chad asked what was wrong.
Both Chad and Sonny scowled when they saw one another. Gabi asked the men not to be angry. Chad argued that the decision to take on the shipping interests was business and not personal. Both men argued with one another until Gabi yelled at both of them to shut up. Gabi urged Chad and Sonny to remember that they were friends and had grieved together over Will and Abigail. With a sigh, Chad admitted that Abigail had not wanted him to get involved with DiMera Enterprises. Sonny said that Will and wanted him to avoid Kiriakis drama.
"Do you think they'd like the way that you've been acting?" Gabi asked. Chad asked Gabi for advice. Paul pointed out that Chad wanted to do what was best for his family and that Sonny felt like what Chad was doing was unjust. Chad and Sonny nodded in agreement. Gabi pulled a business card out of her pocket. Chad and Sonny grinned as they saw the business card from their first business venture together.
"The point is, you trusted each other, and it worked. Please don't let the pressure of this sink a wonderful friendship," Gabi said. "Gabi's right. I need all the friends I can get right now. I've been making the wrong decisions. I have Clyde Weston trying to take my son, and I'm scared. I'm sorry," Chad said. Sonny pulled Chad into a hug and said that he had Chad's back.
After the reconciliation, Chad talked to Gabi by the bar. Chad thanked Gabi for helping him and Sonny work through their issues. Chad confided that something was going to happen, and he needed Gabi's help. Concerned, Gabi asked what was going on.
Outside the pub, Paul asked Sonny about Joey. Sonny confirmed that Joey was fine and that the family was grateful for Paul's help in tracking him down. With a smile, Paul said he was thankful that he had been able to help. Sonny said he was also thankful that Paul had helped Gabi trick him and Chad into hashing out their problems. As Sonny turned to leave, Paul quietly noted that he knew it was the anniversary of Will's death. Sonny held up his hand and asked Paul to stop.
"I can't even mention his name? I can't tell you how sorry I am? You think that I don't remember that if I hadn't come between you and Will, you wouldn't have gone to Paris? And maybe Will wouldn't have gotten into Ben Weston's way?" Paul asked. Sonny shouted, "Just shut up! Just shut the hell up!"
Paul apologized for mentioning Will. Shaking his head, Sonny said he was sorry. Sonny explained that he and Gabi had planned to take Arianna to the cemetery and tell their daughter about Will, but they had been forced to cancel their plans because of the jailbreak. Sonny said he was frustrated that he had to go to the cemetery with a security guard. Paul apologized, and he urged Sonny to go visit Will. With a nod, Sonny left.
In the abandoned warehouse, Orpheus complained about the breakfast Xander had prepared, while Clyde and Xander grumbled about how Orpheus had ruined their shot at getting ransom money. Fed up, Clyde announced that he planned to go off on his own and steal Thomas. Clyde argued that Ben had been a good father and needed to be with Thomas. Orpheus poked holes in Clyde's plan, angering him. Clyde swore that he would bust Ben out of prison. Orpheus said he was concerned that Clyde would lead the police back to the hideout. Unfazed, Clyde said he did not care what Orpheus wanted then left.
On the docks, Clyde hurriedly looked through his duffel bag. Andre called out to Clyde. Suspicious, Clyde pulled out his gun and pointed it at Andre. With a grin, Andre introduced himself. As Clyde started to badmouth Stefano, Andre's face darkened. Andre warned Clyde not to talk about his father. Growling, Clyde said he hated all DiMeras.
With a grin, Andre said he was a calm fellow. Clyde reiterated that he hated the DiMera family. Andre said he'd been walking on the docks and had not known Clyde would be there. With a furrowed brow, Clyde asked how Andre had found him. Andre countered that he had a business proposition. Suspicious, Clyde asked if Andre was stalling for a reason.
Andre said he was waiting for Clyde to put the gun away before he explained his proposition. When Clyde continued to grumble, Andre stepped forward and let the gun push against his chest. Andre reiterated that he did not want a fight. Curious, Clyde put the gun away and asked Andre about his offer.
Andre explained that he wanted control of the DiMera business, and that meant that Chad needed to die. When Clyde asked why Andre did not kill Chad himself, Andre chuckled and said he could not kill his own flesh and blood. Andre added that he did not want to go to prison. With a smile, Andre asked Clyde to murder Chad in exchange for Thomas. When Clyde asked how to get into the house, Andre smiled.
After Andre told Clyde his plan, Clyde asked Andre to remember him after he inherited the family business. Andre assured Clyde that he would be compensated. Andre urged Clyde to enact the plan as soon as possible. Laughing, Clyde said he would have Thomas by the end of the day.
In the park, Rafe and Hope talked about the missing felons. Aiden called. Rafe raised an annoyed eyebrow, but Hope said she needed to take the call. When Hope answered her phone, she curtly said she was on duty. Aiden encouraged Hope to take a break and meet with him. Hope said she would think about it then hung up the phone. Rafe pleaded with Hope not to let Aiden order her around. Hope stressed that she would handle Aiden, and she begged Rafe to back off.
After leaving Rafe, Hope walked over to the Horton house to see her cousin. Hope asked Jennifer for help. When Jennifer asked what was wrong, a crazy-eyed Hope paced the living room. After mumbling to herself, Hope announced that she was the one that had killed Stefano. Hope explained that she had shot Stefano and had covered up the crime. Shaking her head, Hope added that Aiden knew about the crime and was blackmailing her. Jennifer sat on the couch, shaking her head.
Jennifer asked Hope what Aiden wanted. Hope said that Aiden wanted her. Fighting tears, Hope said that if she did not do what Aiden wanted, he would destroy a lot of lives. Jennifer asked for details about the murder. Hope explained that she had been certain that Stefano had been responsible for Bo's kidnapping, and she had confronted him. With a nod, Hope said she would handle Aiden, but she would not give Aiden what he wanted. Jennifer hugged Hope and told her everything would be fine.
Jennifer asked Hope how she could help. Hope said she did not want Jennifer to get involved, but she did need to talk to someone. Jennifer said that she would always be there to listen when Hope needed her.
In the interrogation room at the precinct, Aiden chuckled when he saw Rafe enter the room. Aiden asked if Rafe was there to punch him. Rafe dropped a hefty box of files on the desk in front of Aiden, and he explained that the box contained the paperwork of all the cases in town since the power had gone out. When Aiden asked why Rafe had dropped off the work, Rafe said he preemptively wanted to help Aiden get a head start on all current cases. Rafe added that he had several more boxes. With a grin, Aiden said he planned to assign the work to the assistant district attorney.
Aiden warned that Rafe could not keep him away from Hope. Nodding, Rafe noted that he was doing his job, and if it kept Aiden away from Hope, then that was a bonus. Rafe said, "You think you've got Hope dancing to your tune? You don't."
"But tonight, I will have her dancing in the sheets. Oh, yes. And I just want to make her happy for the rest of her life," Aiden said cheerfully. Swallowing his disgust, Rafe muttered, "Over my dead body." "Works for me," Aiden returned.
At the DiMera mansion, Lucas walked into the living room as Adrienne hung up the phone and said, "Shoot!" Lucas asked what was wrong. Adrienne admitted that she was waiting to hear from the hospital about blood work testing for elevated levels of CA-125. Adrienne explained that elevated levels could indicate a tumor. Lucas was concerned, but Adrienne said that if she had cancer, she wanted to know about it as soon as possible.
"If cancer wants to kill me, it's going to get in line behind Clyde Weston, right?" Adrienne said. "That man doesn't have a prayer against you," Lucas confirmed with a nod. Lucas and Adrienne hugged one another tightly. After Adrienne checked on Thomas, she returned to the living room to talk to Lucas. With a sad sigh, Lucas noted that he had not been able to reach Sami on the phone. Lucas lamented that he had not been able to talk to Sami about the anniversary of Will's death.
Lucas added that he was disappointed that he had not been able to talk to Allie. Concerned, Adrienne asked Lucas if he had talked to Sami about his heartache over his separation from his daughter. Lucas said that he had spoken to Sami about it. Lucas added that he was glad that Allie was not in town right then. Nodding, Adrienne said she was worried about Sonny. Both Lucas and Adrienne were disappointed that the Kiriakis and DiMera families were feuding again, but Adrienne was hopeful that the war would end soon. Lucas put his arm around Adrienne, and they walked into a side room to watch over Thomas.
In the living room, Chad returned home and talked on the phone to his head of security. Chad ordered the house on lockdown. As Chad sat as the desk to review some company paperwork, he noticed the photo of Thomas. Chad promised Thomas that everything would work out. Behind Chad, the secret door to the tunnels opened.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Brady spontaneously decided, after a conversation with Theresa about their impending second attempt to get married, that there was no need to wait any longer. She pointed out that Salem was on lockdown, City Hall was closed, and no one was available to officiate the ceremony, but he countered, "There's only two things you need for a wedding: a bride and a groom."
"Well, you know, one plus of a makeshift wedding in a bedroom: you can go straight from the 'I dos' to the honeymoon," Theresa conceded with a grin after Brady convinced her to play along. She rushed off to change her clothes while he set the scene. When they were both ready, he made her close her eyes before letting her back into the bedroom.
After starting a violinist's rendition of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" on his cell phone, Brady gave Theresa permission to open her eyes. Carrying a bouquet of roses he had plucked from the garden earlier, she stepped into the bedroom, which had been softly lit with candles and curtain lights, and followed a path of rose petals to the other side, where he was waiting for her.
"When we first met, Theresa, nobody was more lost than I was. Now, with you and Tate...my God, I -- I just know I'm on the right path. And where I was once so empty, my God, you have just filled me up. So nobody else out there may know it, but between you and me, you saved me," Brady told Theresa as she fought back tears.
Theresa said it was sweet of Brady to act like she had saved him. She conceded, however, that it had been quite fitting of him to suggest a wedding ceremony that was for their eyes only, since he was the only person she had ever allowed to see her true self. "You know the part of me that is just so hurt and so scared, and you love me anyway. And that makes me feel not so scared and not so hurt. And more than anyone, God, you have seen me at my worst. And, you know, I think [that] when we first met, I had just completely given up on myself, and I didn't think that I could be a good person, but you proved me wrong," she continued.
After completing the ceremony and kissing his unlawfully wedded wife, Brady vowed that he would never let her go. "Yeah? Well, you damn well better not, 'cause I plan on holding on to you until death do us part," she replied before they kissed again.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Nicole told Deimos that she needed to step out for a while, explaining that she couldn't fully embrace her new life without first getting closure on her old one. He insisted on having one of the security guards accompany her for protection. She claimed that she was fine with that, but she gave the guard the slip after asking him to fetch her jacket.
The guard caught up with Nicole outside the Brady Pub, startling her in the process. She snapped at him then softened and apologized as he handed over her jacket. "It's just that, um, my fiancé was killed. One morning, we were planning our wedding, and that night, he was dead. But now that's -- that part of my life is over, and I just need some closure. And I'm sure you are a very nice guy, but you're a stranger, so I'm asking you for some privacy because what I have to do is so very personal," she explained. The guard was sympathetic but refused to leave her unprotected, even after she snapped at him again.
The guard followed Nicole to Daniel's grave and stood a few feet away as she knelt beside it and began to speak. "You're not gonna believe this, but, um...you know how I can talk, and talk, and talk? Well, right now, I can't find the words. The truth is, baby, I'm scared. And you could always tell when I was, even when I fooled the rest of the world into thinking that I wasn't scared of anything. You would just wrap your arms around me and make me feel safe. And that's the thing that I'm scared of, is giving someone else the chance to do that. I want to go on living, but I -- I have to find a way to say goodbye," she tearfully explained.
As Nicole placed her left hand on Daniel's gravestone, she saw her engagement ring and decided to leave it there. Meanwhile, she heard the guard fall to the ground behind her. When she turned to find out what had happened, she saw Xander standing over the guard's unconscious body, holding a gun. "Don't cry, Nicole. You're going to be joining your precious Daniel very, very soon," he assured her.
"I didn't think much of you, Xander, but I didn't think you were stupid," Nicole countered, pointing out that it wouldn't be wise for him to add a murder charge to his long list of criminal offenses. She offered to provide him with plenty of money and safe passage out of Salem in exchange for her life, guessing that, unlike Orpheus and Clyde, he cared more about luxury and freedom than revenge. "And lucky for you, your uncle said he would do anything I ask him to. I have him on speed dial. You'd be out of here in no time," she continued.
Xander took Nicole's cell phone and contacted Deimos, who agreed to meet with him in a room at the Salem Inn for the ransom exchange. Deimos arrived there with a duffel bag filled with cash as well as a flight itinerary for a one-way trip to Greece. He warned, however, that if he weren't kept alive to communicate with certain people throughout the flight, they would kill Xander without hesitation.
Xander pointed out that he had just gained enough cash to charter a different flight out of the country, leaving him with no reason to keep Deimos alive. "That may be true, but there is [still] one [other] thing that you really want -- one thing that I can give you: Theresa Donovan," Deimos replied. Nicole tried to protest, but he apologetically explained that they were in the middle of a war, and wars always involved collateral damage.
Xander took the deal, but before he and Deimos could seal it with a handshake, Nicole stepped between them and began lashing out at Deimos, insisting, "If you do this, you will lose me! I will hate you forever!" Xander observed that she seemed like a loose cannon who might alert the police or Theresa before he and Deimos could finalize their deal, but Deimos assured him that she wouldn't get a chance to do so.
Worried about the implications of that promise, Nicole tried to rush out of the hotel room, but Deimos had a guard stationed in the hallway to keep her trapped inside. Deimos covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief that had been doused with chloroform, and after she lost consciousness, he placed her on the bed then turned his attention back to Xander, promising to hand Theresa over to him at the docks later that night.
"I'll text you when I know exactly what time I'm gonna drop her off. You can get...reacquainted. Once you've taken care of business, I'll have a freighter there, waiting to take you back to Greece," Deimos continued. Xander wished he could see the look on Brady's face when Theresa's cold, battered body was discovered. "There's always Snapchat," Deimos dryly pointed out. "Well, you're a cold-hearted bastard," Xander observed approvingly.
Xander expressed doubts that Nicole would be willing to forgive and forget after what Deimos had just done to her. Deimos clarified that even if he ended up losing her as a result of the deal he had just made with Xander, he would still get something out of it. "Thanks to your friend's little surprise appearance at the wedding, Theresa is not yet a member of the family. She's not a Kiriakis; she's not an heir. And once Brady sees her cold, battered body, as you so aptly put it, I don't see him remaining clean and sober for very long. Then, of course, there's Victor -- and, as I'm sure we can both agree, that old man cannot live forever," Deimos explained.
Xander realized that would leave only Philip and Deimos as direct heirs to the Kiriakis fortune. "For a while," Deimos replied with a smile. Impressed, Xander admitted that he was sorry he and Deimos would never have a chance to get better acquainted with each other. Deimos made it clear that he had no intention of inviting Clyde and Orpheus to accompany Xander to Greece. Xander was fine with that, reporting that he had severed ties with his former partners because they had been more interested in their own agendas.
At the DiMera mansion, Clyde crept into the study and pointed a gun at Chad, vowing to kill him and return Thomas to Ben. Chad wondered how Clyde had managed to gain access to and navigate the secret tunnels. "He had a little help from his friends," Andre answered as he emerged from the tunnels.
Chad warned that Andre would pay for the betrayal. "Oh, I'm sure I will. And I know I'm gonna feel just awful about this in the morning," Andre sarcastically replied. He explained that he was punishing Chad for having the gall to shove him aside. "I despise you. You're just a smug, condescending little twit who was handed an empire by a father who couldn't keep it zipped! You did nothing to build the empire; you did not work, [and] you had nothing to risk. I did, however, and what should have been mine, you just handed it over to one of Father's concubines because you needed a mommy!" Andre spat.
"Aw, did I hurt your feelings, Andre? Hmm? That justifies handing an innocent child to some sociopathic murderer?" Chad asked incredulously. Clyde warned Chad to watch his mouth, but Chad forged ahead, insisting that Clyde's plan to give Thomas to Ben wouldn't work because the prison warden had already been told about it. "You are so right, Andre -- he is a smug, condescending little twit!" Clyde spat, pressing his gun firmly against Chad's chest. Chad dared Clyde to pull the trigger. "You'll never find [Thomas]," Chad promised.
Clyde decided to let Chad live a bit longer, musing that he wanted Chad's last sight to be that of Thomas in his arms, ready to be delivered to Ben. Clyde asked Andre to search the mansion for Thomas. After Andre left, Clyde blamed Chad and Abigail for the murders Ben had committed, insisting that Ben had only resorted to drastic measures because he had needed a way to scare Abigail into giving up on Chad.
"See, now, I think she was more scared that she was engaged to some psychopathic --" Chad started to respond. Clyde hit him with the butt of the gun to shut him up, warning him never to sneer at Ben again. "I don't sneer at Ben; I pity him 'cause he had you as a father. See, I sneer at you," Chad clarified as he recovered from the blow. Guessing that Chad was just trying to get him riled up in the hope of stalling long enough for the cavalry to arrive, Clyde revealed that Andre had already taken care of all the security guards in the tunnels and had also disabled the panic button that was hidden under the desk.
"This isn't your fortress anymore, Chad. No, sir. This is your tomb," Clyde added as Andre returned with Lucas and Adrienne, who were both tied up. Chad tried to claim that there was no reason to involve them, but Andre informed Clyde that they were actually Thomas' caretakers. "[Chad's] far too busy and much too important to take care of the child himself. They're staff, and he and Kate are running my business -- our family business -- into the ground!" Andre continued.
Clyde impatiently interrupted, sick of hearing about the DiMeras' family drama. He pointed his gun at Adrienne and Lucas and demanded to know where Thomas was, guessing that their presence at the mansion had to mean that the boy was still somewhere within its walls. While Clyde's attention was focused on Adrienne and Lucas, Andre fired his own gun, shooting Chad once in the chest. Adrienne began sobbing as Andre stood over Chad's motionless body, claiming that Chad had made a sudden attempt to seize control of the gun. "You said he was mine!" Clyde complained. "Well, you can take the credit!" Andre tiredly countered.
In the midst of all the commotion, Clyde suddenly heard a baby crying somewhere in the distance. He rushed off in search of the child, leaving Andre to handle Lucas and Adrienne. Andre watched, clearly bored, as the couple knelt beside Chad and urged him to fight to stay alive. Meanwhile, Clyde followed the cries to the panic room, which had been left open and housed a crib.
At the DiMera mansion, Clyde happily reached for Thomas, but his smile faded when he realized that the baby in the crib wasn't real. As cries continued playing through a speaker that had been hidden under the doll, the door to the panic room slammed shut, trapping Clyde inside.
Meanwhile, in the study, Adrienne impatiently ordered Andre to untie her, complaining that she hadn't expected blood to be part of the plan. Andre freed Adrienne and Lucas from their bindings as he explained that he'd had to make the whole thing look convincing. "You will always be convincing as a psycho killer," Lucas assured Andre.
Chad soon regained consciousness and wondered if the plan had worked. Adrienne helped him to his feet as she assured him that it had. He explained that he had blacked out after he had hit his head while falling to the floor in response to Andre's gunshot. "Oh, it was pure Stanislavski," Andre dismissively guessed. "No, it was pure accident," Chad maintained, wincing in pain as Adrienne checked the back of his head for injuries.
J.J. entered the room a short time later and reported that Clyde was trapped in the panic room. When J.J. asked if everyone was all right, Adrienne revealed that Chad had hit his head and might have a concussion. Chad insisted that he was fine, but paramedics were already en route to the mansion, so J.J. encouraged him to get the injury checked out when they arrived, just to be safe.
After J.J. excused himself and headed outside to wait for backup, Chad, Lucas, and Adrienne gaped at Andre, who eventually wondered if they knew that it wasn't polite to stare. "It's just too strange, you helping out like this," Lucas explained. Nodding in agreement, Chad added that Andre had seemed a bit too happy about getting to shoot him. Andre grinned slyly, innocently reasoning that authenticity had been of utmost importance.
Lucas stepped out of the room to contact John and Marlena and let them know that the plan had worked. While he was gone, J.J. and another cop escorted Clyde into the study. Clyde was disappointed to learn that Chad wasn't really dead. "You best watch your back, son," Clyde warned Chad, guessing that Andre's earlier display of hatred hadn't been part of the ruse. "He's gonna get you one way or another, especially now that he can play the hero. He's gonna sell you out," Clyde predicted.
Impressed, Chad observed that Andre had clearly managed to get under Clyde's skin. "All part of the plan," Andre explained with a shrug. Chad thanked Andre, who reached out to shake Chad's hand but decided to pass when he realized that it was covered with blood. As the brothers smiled at each other, Clyde maintained that Andre would eventually double-cross Chad. "And I'm almost sorry I won't be here to see it play out," he added.
Meanwhile, Gabi emerged from an adjacent room with Thomas. Clyde tried to lunge toward the boy, but J.J. and the other cop held him at bay. "That should be my boy's son! You took him away from [Ben]!" Clyde shouted as the second cop began to drag him out of the study. J.J. followed after saying goodbye to Gabi. Meanwhile, Andre stepped into the hallway and contacted Steve to give him an update.
Andre assured Steve that Adrienne was just fine. "As I am, and I'm so glad you asked," Andre dryly added. He reported that Clyde had bought the whole ruse, prompting Steve to guess that Andre had been convincing as a scorned brother due to years of practice. "You're not the first to make that joke," Andre admitted with a chuckle. Steve conceded that Andre had done a good job and that Kate had been right to suggest getting him involved. "Hmm. Well, I'm gonna leave now, 'cause I can imagine those last two sentences must have challenged your worldview so profoundly that you need a moment," Andre replied before ending the call.
Later, Chad received a phone call from Kayla, who thanked him for helping to catch Clyde. "And tell Andre thanks," she added. Chad teasingly observed that it sounded like the words had gotten stuck in her throat for a moment before escaping her lips. "Well, it's a lot of history to swallow," she explained. Chad assured her that he understood then ended the call after wishing her luck with the part of the plan that Steve was handling.
As Andre popped open a bottle of Champagne, Chad informed him, "Kayla said [to] thank you. She said it, and she meant it." Andre said he had enjoyed playing a small part in the plan to take down Clyde. "Since when are you modest? You found him when no one else could," Chad pointed out.
Andre tried to chalk that up to luck, but Chad suspected there was more to the story. Andre evasively asked Chad to let it be a conversation for another day. "You don't trust me," Chad guessed. "This trust business is -- it's new to me. It's rather disorienting. [But] it's a two-way street. Let's both look in both directions and let it have time to settle," Andre replied. Chad agreed as he accepted a glass of Champagne from Andre, who suggested toasting to brothers -- and to the good guys winning. "Wait, can you do that?" Chad asked teasingly.
At the police station, Hope found a gift box sitting in her desk chair. "Open it," Aiden said as he approached her from behind. She said she was busy, but he dismissively insisted that she deserved a break. "Go on, open it. It's a dress. I wanted you to have something special for our night together," he explained. She stuffed it in a drawer, maintaining that she had work to do.
Aiden wondered why Hope hadn't responded to any of his recent text messages. "And if you say 'work' one more time --" he started to warn. "What? What are you gonna do?" she countered. He told her to calm down, adding that he was sure she was just ignoring his messages because she was still trying to convince Rafe to leave her alone. She maintained that it would be impossible to convince Rafe to do that.
Hope insisted that Aiden couldn't make her fall in love with him, but he countered that it would happen naturally if she would just stop fighting it. "You need to lose this negative attitude," he added, stressing that he really didn't want to have to prosecute her for Stefano's murder. He again asked her to spend her break eating dinner with him in his hotel room, warning, "If you don't, there will be consequences."
Meanwhile, Rafe approached and wondered what was going on. Hope claimed that she and Aiden had just been discussing a case, but Rafe noted that there wasn't any paperwork nearby. As Rafe started to warn Aiden to stop harassing Hope, J.J. and his partner arrived with Clyde. Hope was surprised to hear that Andre had helped out without pulling any tricks or asking for anything in return. "The end must be near," she mused.
While Aiden was in a conference room with Clyde, vowing to arrange for a very long stint in solitary confinement as his way of paying Clyde back for having tried to kill him during Abe's press conference, Rafe attempted to find out what Hope and Aiden had really been talking about earlier. "You want to help me, Rafe? [Then] you need to step back, because every time you get in his face, you make it worse. You make it worse for me. Just stop it. Please. Just let me handle him," Hope insisted before walking away. Aiden emerged from the conference room with a grin of satisfaction, having overheard her outburst.
At the Evans-Black townhouse, John and Steve prepared for the next phase of the plan with the help of a cell phone the police had confiscated from Clyde and had delivered to them for temporary use. Two phone numbers were saved on the device, and when John dialed the first one, Orpheus answered the call and demanded to know where Clyde was. "Clyde can't make it tonight. He's got a previous engagement," John replied.
Orpheus quickly ended the call, but John contacted him again. "I'm not turning myself in," Orpheus insisted. John clarified that he wasn't expecting Orpheus to do that. "Look, pal, I'm the one that you want, so why don't you leave the town out of this? You can have me, you can have the money, [but] let's knock off all the bloodshed," John suggested. He gave Orpheus five seconds to make a decision.
After ending the call, John informed Steve and Marlena that Orpheus had taken the bait. Steve was eager to get started, but when he saw that Marlena was quite worried, he decided to give John a moment alone with her before they headed out. After Steve left the townhouse, Marlena hugged John tightly as he promised that he would be home in time for dinner. "I love you," she quietly told him. "Prove it. Keep my dinner warm," he replied.
Marlena went to the Brady Pub to wait with Kayla for news about Orpheus. Meanwhile, Gabi, whom J.J. had encouraged to stay at the DiMera mansion for the night so he'd know she was safe, accepted a glass of Champagne from Chad in celebration of Clyde's capture. As John and Steve arrived at the docks, where Orpheus had said he'd be waiting, bombs started going off all over Salem.
Steve rushed into the Brady Pub and embraced Kayla, who was relieved to see that he was all right. She guessed that Orpheus had never intended to make an appearance at the docks because he had already placed bombs all over Salem before receiving John's call. "That son of a bitch," Steve spat.
Kayla reported that Joey was safe at the hospital with his friends, Caroline was hunkered down in her bedroom, and Marlena was out looking for John. Steve contacted Adrienne as he followed Kayla out of the pub. Adrienne was fine, but she was worried about Sonny because she had been on the phone with him at the time of the first explosion but hadn't been able to reach him since then. Steve promised to track Sonny down. Meanwhile, Kayla contacted the hospital and assured one of the staff members that she would be arriving shortly to help with the sudden influx of new patients. Steve insisted on escorting Kayla there before going to look for Sonny.
Sonny arrived at the Evans-Black townhouse and found the door ajar. Paul was lying on the floor, blood seeping out of an injury on the side of his head. He lost consciousness while trying to talk to Sonny, who had trouble maintaining a cell phone signal long enough to request an ambulance but finally managed to get through -- only to learn that it would be a while before a unit could make it out to his location.
Meanwhile, Paul stopped breathing. Sonny performed CPR on him until he regained consciousness. Relieved, Sonny grasped Paul's hand and assured him that he was going to be okay. Paul smiled and weakly wondered what Sonny was doing at the townhouse. Sonny explained that he had wanted to check on people after the explosions had started. "But mostly you," he added.
Explaining that all the EMTs and paramedics in the area were backed up with requests for help, Sonny promised to find another way to get Paul to the hospital for treatment. "In the meantime, is there anything I can do for you?" Sonny asked. Paul beamed as he eyed his hand, which was still wrapped in Sonny's, but then he spotted a framed certificate for outstanding writing that Will had received and Marlena had proudly displayed. Paul quickly pulled his hand away from Sonny's and insisted that he would be fine. As he rolled onto his side to further distance himself from Sonny, Steve arrived and offered to help Sonny get him to the hospital.
While working his way through the town square, which was filled with EMTs and paramedics who were treating people for injuries and smoke inhalation, Eduardo contacted Rafe and left a voicemail message, asking him to provide a status report as soon as possible. Eduardo worriedly added that although Gabi and Arianna were okay, one of the bombs had gone off near Club TBD, and he was sure that Dario had been there at the time of the explosion. As if on cue, Dario stumbled into the town square in a daze. Eduardo spotted him and managed to reach him just in time to catch him as he collapsed.
At the hospital, Abe heard another explosion somewhere in the distance. "That's eight explosions. God knows how much damage they've caused...while the mayor of Salem just lies here, useless," he weakly grumbled. Theo said that Abe needed to rest. Frustrated, Abe countered, "No, what I need is to be helping people. That's my job." His speech slurred as he added that he didn't even know what was going on outside his room. Hoping to ease Abe's mind a bit, Theo rushed off to get information, promising to stay within the confines of the hospital.
When Theo found his friends in one of the break rooms, Ciara was in the middle of reporting the locations of some of the explosions. She added that although no deaths had been confirmed yet, plenty of people were injured. Claire suggested volunteering to help the hospital staff with whatever they needed, and the others agreed. However, as they joined Blanca at the nurses' station and offered their help, Joey tried to sneak off. Theo alerted Ciara and Claire, who rushed after Joey and blocked his path, refusing to let him leave. "I just want to do something!" he complained.
Kayla arrived in time to overhear the conversation. She reminded Joey that he had promised her earlier that he would stay at the hospital. "I should be helping! Those guys are still out there!" he insisted. She argued that he needed to let them stay out there, unable to get to him again, because remaining safe was more important than being a hero. He sighed and reluctantly made another promise to stay at the hospital.
Eduardo soon arrived with Dario, who had a chest wound. As Eduardo applied pressure to the wound in an effort to control the bleeding, Dario weakly asked, "Why are you doing this...after what I did to you?" Eduardo dismissively insisted that Dario hadn't done anything to him. Meanwhile, Blanca spotted Eduardo and Dario and directed them to a nearby waiting area, promising to meet them there after helping another patient.
While waiting for Blanca, Dario clarified his earlier statement, admitting to Eduardo that he had hired someone to go after Rafe in an effort to force Eduardo out of town, but the guy had targeted Gabi instead. "And here you are...trying to help me," he regretfully observed. Eduardo declared that what Dario had done had been a serious mistake. "But what I've done in my life? So much worse, to the point [where] there is no possibility I can ever forgive myself. But that is what you have to do now. You have to forgive yourself, son. You are a worthy human being, and it's time you started to believe it," he added.
Dario tried to object, but Eduardo insisted that if Dario was a selfish person, he was responsible because he had set a poor example and had taught Dario to be that way. "It's okay," Dario muttered, but Eduardo disagreed. He urged Dario to fight to stay alive, fretting, "If what I did caused you to get hurt so bad that you don't make it..." Dario dismissed the concern, pointing out that one of the escaped convicts, not Eduardo, had caused the explosions. Before Eduardo could respond, Blanca arrived and chased him away so she could tend to Dario's wound.
As the teens carried boxes of medical supplies to the nurses' station, Claire said, "See, Joey? We're doing something to help, and we're not risking our lives [in the process]." Joey still felt like he needed to be doing more, but he promised to stay true to his word and remain at the hospital, mainly so his parents wouldn't go crazy again. "As if getting yourself killed isn't motivation enough [to stay put]," Ciara muttered.
Meanwhile, Kayla treated Kate, who had suffered whiplash after some guy had hit her car with his when she had slammed on her brakes in reaction to one of the explosions, which apparently hadn't startled him enough to follow her lead. Kayla seized the opportunity to thank Kate for helping with Clyde's capture. Kate said she was just glad that her plan to recruit Andre had worked. She added that when she had heard that Clyde was back in police custody, she had assumed that the worst was over. "Yeah, well...welcome to the rest of the nightmare," Kayla grimly replied.
Theo returned to Abe's room and gave him an update on what was going on. "[The escaped convicts] need to be stopped, Dad, all right? I should help. You can't be there, so it should be me!" Theo insisted. Abe understood that Theo, who had been helpless to prevent Lexie's death, wanted to take charge and do everything he could to stop more people from dying, including Abe. "But taking my gun and going after Clyde Weston on your own -- son, that was totally wrong," he added.
Theo argued that he should have shot Clyde as punishment for what had happened to Abe. Insisting that Theo needed to stop thinking like that, Abe asked him to promise that he would never try to take matters into his own hands again. "'Cause I can't handle things on my own, right?" Theo guessed. Abe protested that Theo was more than capable of handling things on his own, as he had proven countless times. "[But] being reckless -- that's not handling things. I don't have all the answers, but I do know this: taking the law into your own hands, opting for chaos instead of order -- son, we do that, and this whole world is doomed," he added.
Not wanting Abe to ever have to worry about him, Theo promised that he would never pull a stunt like that again. Later, he emerged from Abe's room and spotted Kate. He offered to do something to help her, but she assured him that she was fine. When she asked about Abe, Theo provided a status report then offered again to do something to help her. She maintained that she was fine, smiling as she added, "You're so much like your mom. You're all heart."
After Theo left, Kate spotted Eduardo, who expressed regret for her injuries as well as the injuries all the other patients had sustained. Recalling that he had seemed similarly regretful when he had learned that Clyde had held her at gunpoint, Kate guessed that Eduardo was somehow responsible for the convicts' escape. He confirmed the suspicion and explained what had happened. She understood his feelings of guilt but reasoned that he had done what he had done to protect his family. "Now, you go to them, and you tell them that. [If] you explain that, they're going to understand, and they're going to forgive you," she advised, adding that she forgave him, too.
As Blanca patched Dario up, he asked her not to enjoy hurting him too much. She jokingly assured him that she was being gentler with him than she'd have to be with Rafe, since she would have to hurt him more just to prove to Adriana that she wasn't interested in him. Dario said it was wise of Blanca to stay away from the Hernandez men because they had issues. Blanca argued that everyone had issues.
After Blanca finished treating Dario, he offered to buy her a drink sometime as his way of thanking her for her help. She insisted that it would be totally unprofessional to accept such an offer from a patient. "But if you invite me to go dancing...well, I may say yes to that. And I'd buy my own drink," she added before walking away.
A short time later, Eduardo arrived and said he was glad to see that Dario was looking better. Dario started to excuse himself so he could go check out the damage at Club TBD, but Eduardo stopped him, having already taken the liberty of making a few calls. He reported that although the damage hadn't been terribly significant, it would be a while before the club could reopen. "Guess I'm gonna be out of a job for a while," Dario grumbled. Pleased to hear that Dario was no longer working for Deimos, Eduardo once again offered Dario the chance to work for him. Dario accepted, shaking Eduardo's hand to seal the deal.
When Steve and Sonny arrived at the hospital with Paul, Kayla wondered what had happened to him. Paul explained that part of a tree had fallen on him when one of the bombs had gone off, and he had also gotten hit with some shards of glass from a window when it had shattered. Knowing the drill from his time as a baseball player, he preemptively answered the questions he knew Kayla would want to ask to rule out a concussion. Kayla still wanted to run some tests, so she asked him to give her some time to order them. Sonny offered to wait with Paul, but Paul insisted that he wanted to be left alone for a while.
Kayla went to check on Abe, who could tell that she was worried about something. She reluctantly admitted that his latest x-rays had confirmed that the remaining bullet fragments were on their way toward his heart, meaning that he would need to undergo another surgery as soon as possible to prevent them from reaching their destination. "In the meantime, I need you to have no unnecessary movement and try to stay as calm as possible, all right?" she advised. He grumbled that he'd be a lot calmer if he could give up his room to someone who was in worse shape than he was, but she assured him that the hospital wasn't accepting any more patients, anyway.
When Kayla emerged from Abe's room, Steve urged her to take a break, but she insisted that she couldn't yet. She added, however, that she'd feel a lot better if he could assure her that the worst was over. "I don't know, Sweetness. I just don't know," he admitted with a sigh.
