The Attempted Murder of Harper Deveraux

Players:

 

 

 

The Story:

 

At a gala to honor Mike Horton a messenger came to Kayla Brady telling her to give Mike a message to meet someone at his lab. Kayla went to the lab to tell the person that Mike was giving a speech, but would come as soon as he could. When Kayla arrived at the lab, being escorted by Steve, the lab exploded and Steve and Kayla were trapped for 2 days in the rubble, Kayla in and out of consciousness.

Once they were rescued by Jack and Mike and half the Salem Police Department they went to the hospital. Steve was met by Ed Daniels and said he had an important issue to discuss with Steve. He took Steve to a room where Senator Deveraux was sitting along with Simon Hopkins, a doctor at University Hospital. They told Steve that the explosion at the lab was not an accident, it was meant for Mike (who was involved in some very important medical research) but since he and Kayla were in it they are now involved. They had a plan to catch the people behind the explosion and in order to do this Senator would have to go into hiding for a while, the people responsible for the explosion wanted to kill the Senator as well. Their plan was for Steve to pretend to kill the Senator. They would put Steve and Kayla in police protection and no charges would be filed against Steve. The case should be solved in a couple of weeks and then everyone's lives could go back to normal. Steve reluctantly agreed to do it, only for Kayla's protection. Following this encounter, the Senator starts peeling off his face. It's a rubber mask and a man with a long braid is underneath.

The night of the "murder" Steve met with Ed Daniels. Daniels gave him a gun and a box of blank bullets. Steve loaded the gun with the blanks himself. While his back was turned Ed Daniels replaced the gun with an identical one, this one with real bullets.

Steve went to the pier as planned. He waited only a short time before the Senator showed up. Steve pulled out the gun and shot him. The minute the Senator fell Steve knew something had gone wrong. Leaning over the Senator, Steve tried to help him. On the pier at that exact moment was Jack and Kayla. Jack witnessed Steve shoot the Senator. Steve tried to explain, but at that moment a man with a long braid shot at Steve. He had to jump in the river to get away.

Steve made it to a pay phone and called Simon Hopkins. He told Hopkins what had happened, that the Senator was shot for real, his plan had backfired. Hopkins told Steve it was a horrible mistake and he would help fix it. He told Steve to meet him on pier 53 where Hopkins would pull up his boat and they would talk to the authorities. Steve distrusted the authorities and didn't like the plan, but Hopkins assured him once he'd explained it all Steve wouldn't be charged. Really, Steve had no other choice. He told Hopkins he'd meet him on the pier.

Steve showed up at pier 53 just as Frankie Brady and Jennifer Horton were taking a casual stroll. Steve told them both to hurry and get out of there and tell nobody they saw Steve. They left. Moments later Frankie came back and Steve was hiding behind a metal divide. A casual bystander passed by and Frankie mistook him for Steve. Before Frankie could see who it was a boat pulled up to the pier and sprayed it with bullets. The bystander fell, dead. Frankie hid behind several wooden crates and was not hit.

Once the bullets stopped and the boat sped away, Frankie came out of hiding, thinking it was Steve who got hit. The moment he realized it wasn't Steve a police officer showed up. Frankie saw Steve hiding behind the metal divide and led the policeman away, giving Steve a chance to escape.

Steve went back to the pay phone and called Hopkins. "I bet you're surprised to hear from me again," he said. Steve realized this was all a set up and the bullets on the pier were meant for him. Hopkins tried to play dumb, but Steve knew better. When he told Hopkins he knew what he was up to Hopkins replied, "Who'd believe you. It's the word of a known hoodlum to that of a respected doctor." Steve knew he was in trouble now.

His next stop was to Kayla's loft. He snuck onto the roof and Kayla found him there. Here is some dialogue from that:

Kayla: They said you shot Senator Deveraux, but I won't believe it until you tell me.

Steve: It's true.

Kayla: What?

Steve: Kayla, is he still alive?

Kayla: (Looking very confused) Well yes, but just barely. He's in a coma.

 

Steve started to explain what happened when they heard Jack coming. Steve whispered to Kayla that he'd call her and then went down the fire escape.

Steve went to a pay phone and called Kayla just as Roman was putting a tap on her phone. Kayla answered then hung up immediately, pretending it was a wrong number. Steve looked confused and kept walking. He noticed police were all around his apartment. He was a wanted man. He hid in a barn just outside Salem for the night.

The next day he tried to call Kayla again this time she answered, but said quickly, "I don't ever want you to call here again. Never, do you understand?" And she hung up.

Steve looked at the phone and laughed. "You don't have to beg, baby." He went back to the barn.

Kayla went looking for him and remembered a time when they'd both hid in the barn months earlier. She walked around the barn but didn't see Steve. (He was hiding in the hay sleeping.) She did find his harmonica and knew he was there. She left him a note to call her and a number to a pay phone.

When Steve woke up he saw the note. But the farmer came into the barn and saw it too. He took the note and put it in his pocket. Steve had to wait until they were asleep to climb through the window and get the number out of the pocket. He then had to wait until the next day to call from the phone in the farmhouse when it became vacated.

Finally he got hold of Kayla, told her to bring him as much money as she could without having to borrow it, some clothes and a gun. She told him she'd meet him in the barn as soon as she could.

Kayla arrived shortly after with clothes, dark sunglasses and a hat for him to wear as a disguise, and some money. She refused to get his gun, making Steve angry. "I should have known better then to ask someone like you to bring me a gun." He then tried to get her to leave so he could get out of town, but Kayla refused to let him go alone. Steve told her she had to go, went to the barn door and opened it only to see the man with the braid, gun drawn, coming. As he hid in the hay Kayla threw a chicken on him. As the man with the braid (his name is Kai, but it hasn't yet been revealed) struggled with the chicken Steve and Kayla escaped. (See, chickens can be used as weapons--or at least diversionary tactics.)

 

Their escape led them to a boxcar filled with transients and then to a train station. They decided to sneak aboard a private train to Oklahoma City and managed to take an abandoned bag from the platform. Once in their compartment Steve and Kayla changed into the clothes from the bag, rodeo clothes. Steve was also glad to see there was a gun and bullets in the bag. He took that as well.

The train stopped and Steve went to investigate only to find out that the police were searching the train. The police were none other then Roman Brady and Ed Daniels. Steve knew he was in trouble now and had to do some quick thinking. He grabbed the gun, grabbed Kayla and met Roman in the hallway. He made it look as if Kayla was his hostage and made requests. An unmarked police car and free passage out of there. Roman didn't believe Steve would ever hurt Kayla, but he played along. He told Daniels to get the car ready and Steve said, "You have a strange way of choosing your company." But before Steve could explain to Roman that Ed Daniels was a bad guy Daniels had returned. Steve and Kayla escaped.

Or at least they thought they had. Roman got a helicopter and followed them. Once Steve realized that they were being followed he and Kayla started on foot. Once again Steve told Kayla to go to Roman and get him to take her back to Salem. Kayla refused. She wanted to be with Steve. They journeyed through the woods and found a bar where Steve hustled some pool so he could buy them a meal. When who would show up? Kai. He pulled out his gun and started shooting. They escaped again, this time finding an abandoned plane (convenient, huh) and getting inside. Amid Kayla's protests that he didn't know how to fly Steve told her he'd had a few lessons in the Merchant Marines. When the plane took off Kai took a few shots at the plane and hit the oil tank.

Kayla: You did it! I didn't know you knew how to fly.

Steve: Me neither, Baby.

They were airborne but didn't make it too far when the plane crashed into some mountains in Colorado.

Meanwhile the search was on for Steve and Ed Daniels was determined to find him. And Roman was beginning to become suspicious of Daniels. Roman had never fully trusted Steve and wouldn't take his word on anything, but he had a feeling Daniels was up to no good. Daniels was working with Kai now and they headed off to the mountains of Colorado where the plane was last seen.

In Salem it was all over the news that Steve was wanted for the attempted murder of the Senator and the kidnapping of Kayla Brady. He was considered armed and very dangerous and if found they were to contact Roman Brady or the FBI. Adrienne Johnson hear all the news and police surrounded her apartment in the event Steve tried to contact her. She knew her brother was innocent and was determined to get to the bottom of the problem. She called up her friend Justin Kiriakis for help.

Steve and Kayla hid out in the mountains for a couple of days until they saw helicopters flying overhead. They continued on. Steve had to find some dirt on Simon Hopkins; he couldn't keep running from the law forever. So when he and Kayla came upon an abandoned "honeymoon hideaway" he told Kayla to call University Hospital and see if they had any information on Hopkins. Kayla made the call and was told everyone had gone home for the day, she'd have to try again tomorrow. They decided to bathe and sleep in the bungalow and tomorrow they'd call again and figure out what to do.

Adrienne had heard the rumors that the plane Steve had stolen crashed in the mountains of Colorado and they didn't know if he and Kayla were alive or dead. With a location she and Justin chartered a helicopter and flew to the wreck site. Not able to find any signs of life at the site they kept walking through the mountains. Adrienne was starting to lose hope when Justin found a harmonica. Steve's harmonica. Adrienne knew he was alive and now could continue on.

The next day Kayla called again and was told the only information University Hospital had on Hopkins was that he used to be head of the department at California University at Los Angeles (called CULA--but filmed on location at UCLA.) That would be their next plan of action. But before they could leave they started getting romantic. Just as all clothing was removed Kayla went to the window to add starlight to the ambiance. As the curtain opened two gun shots fired through the window. Steve had managed to grab Kayla and pull her to the floor before either could be hurt. But they now knew that Kai had found them.

As they scrambled to figure a way out of there Steve noticed the guests from the other bungalows were starting to gather around, trying to see what happened. Steve got the brilliant idea to put on his sunglasses (that were large enough to cover his patch) and pretend to be a blind man. Stumbling to the door he told everyone that he and his wife were just walking along when they heard the gun shots. They slipped into the bungalow for safety. Steve called out to his "wife" and Kayla appeared. As she scanned the crowd she saw two familiar faces. Justin and Adrienne had heard the shots as well and came to investigate. Kayla told the crowd casually that it must have just been a stray bullet from a hunter and took Steve's arm. They walked away from the crowd.

Moments later they met up with Justin and Adrienne and after Steve threw a fit that his sister was there, and with a Kiriakis no less, they decided the four of them would go to CULA together. Justin bought a car and they hit the road.

At CULA Steve discovered that Daniels had found them as he too was on the campus. Steve and Kayla created a diversion while Justin and Adrienne went into the admissions building to find the file on Hopkins. They couldn't find what they were looking for, but Justin discovered that they would find something on him in the library. They went to the library and found that Senator Deveraux gave Hopkins an award and that he was involved in a company just outside Salem called Kava Chemical. They would head back to Salem by bus the next day.

 

 

 

 

Steve stayed behind to visit the orphanage he'd grown up in and hoped to find something on his baby brother. He didn't.

In Salem Kayla was met by Roman who told her he believed her story that Steve was set up and that Daniels was in on the thing. When Steve called Kayla she told him Roman was on their side and Steve wouldn't have to go to jail. They planned a romantic evening that night. As things were starting to heat up Kayla's door flew open and Roman charged in, Daniels in tow, and arrested Steve for the attempted murder of Harper Deveraux. Kayla was furious at Roman and felt betrayed as Roman led Steve off to jail.

The next day Kayla stormed into Roman's office telling him how angry she was that she'd lied to her about believing Steve and that she knew Steve was innocent. Roman told her he didn't believe that and he would do what he had to in order to convict Steve.

Kayla then went to see Steve and apologize to him for Roman's actions. While in visiting with Steve, as Steve was just about to tell her he loved her for the first time, Roman told them time was up and had the guard remove Steve. He took Steve into Roman's office where Kayla was waiting. Roman told both of them that he believed Kayla's story all along, that he'd caught on that Daniels was corrupt. He had to put up a front for Daniels though so he wouldn't get suspicious. Roman and Steve arranged a way for Steve to break out of jail, with the help of Alice Horton who acted as a stranded motorist. Daniels told Steve they were transferring him to a different prison and while en route they stopped to help Alice. Justin, Adrienne and Kayla helped Steve escape and the four headed to Kava Chemical.

Kava was heavily guarded and Steve was a wanted man, so Kayla came up with a plan, and she would need Adrienne's help. They flirted with the guards at the gate and tried to pump them for information on how to get into Kava. Their shift ended before they could find the answers though. They went back into the car and reported that they would have to come back. "We can't tonight. Adrienne and I have dates." They'd invited the guards to a masquerade party for Kayla's sister Kimberly, much to the dismay of Steve and Justin.

Steve had snuck into the masquerade and there his mother told him she had a place he could hide out. There was a secret room in the Curtis house, where she worked as a maid, and he could stay there, nobody would know he was there. Steve agreed.

 

 

 

The next day the Fantastic Four (Justin, Adrienne, Steve and Kayla) got back into Kava, this time finding the records room. They found nothing on Hopkins but they did find a file on shareholders, and a secret compartment. As they were getting ready to open the compartment Ed Daniels showed up. They had to run for it, but they managed to grab the file on shareholders.

That night Steve spent with Kayla on the roof of her loft where they made love for the first time. The next morning they looked over the file and found the controlling shareholder in Kava was none other then Kayla's current roommate, Diana Colville. They confronted Diana with the information. There were tense moments, as Diana didn't believe at first that Steve hadn't tried to kill Senator Deveraux, and Steve didn't believe that Diana didn't have something to do with the set up. But once the issue was resolved Diana looked over the file. She'd never heard of Kava Chemical, let alone owned stock in it. After farther investigation of the file she found that her father had bought the stock in her name. She did have controlling shares in the company. Steve then went on to tell her about the man with the braid.

Diana: Kai?

Steve: Kai? I don't know, I didn't ask his name. I was too busy trying not to get shot at.

Turned out Kai was Diana's bodyguard, hired by Victor Kiriakis. They needed to question Kai, but not before they got into Kava Chemical. Diana arranged with Mike Horton to start a chemical fire and Steve and Kayla would dress as HAZMAT workers, therefore evacuating the building and having free range of the file room. It worked; Steve got into the secret compartment. The file in there was just of a bunch of pictures, the first one of Kai then each one looking less and less like Kai until the last one, a picture of Senator Deveraux. Steve figured out what happened the night he was set up. They headed back to the loft to meet with Diana and Mike.

Steve showed Diana the file and told her they had to question Kai. Senator Deveraux wasn't in on that meeting at all; it was Kai disguised as the Senator.

Mike: That must have been some disguise.

Steve: Fooled me.

Diana found Kai and they got the whole story. Kai was a double agent of sorts. He was working for Daniels and Hopkins, but his loyalty lied with Diana. He assured Steve he wouldn't have really shot him. "Well you came too damn close too many times." Steve said. This was not his favorite situation to be in. They got Roman in on the plan and came up with a way to trick Hopkins into confessing. But as the plan was coming along Jack came by to see Kayla. Steve and Jack shared harsh words until Kayla told Jack she believed Steve was innocent. Jack then said, "I believe it because Kayla believes it." Jack agreed to help in the plan.

The next day Jack and Mike sat with the Senator who'd miraculously come out of his coma. They'd asked Hopkins to come into the room to check the Senator out. Once Mike and Jack left the room Steve came out of his hiding place in the corner. He confronted Hopkins telling him he knew he'd been set up and now half the town knew too. Hopkins told Steve he wouldn't live to tell anybody when the Senator said he would. Hopkins admitted to trying to kill the Senator and said he would do it again right then. He couldn't have any witnesses. At that moment the Senator put his hands to his head and pulled off a mask. It wasn't the Senator at all, it was Kai. Hopkins knew he'd been tricked when the door flew open and Roman and Abe Carver came in, guns drawn. There was a confrontation when Alice Horton unknowing what was going on, entered the room, meaning to bring flowers in for the Senator. Hopkins took Alice hostage and told Abe, Roman, Steve and Kai that he would kill Alice unless his demands were met. He wanted to be able to walk away from the mess without any police. He wanted a helicopter on the roof and a clean escape, or Alice would be killed. Roman got everyone else to leave the room and told Hopkins he would work on his requests. He left the room, Alice alone with Hopkins.

Roman and Abe concocted a plan. They would put snipers on the building across from the room. But they needed someone not in uniform to pull off the most dangerous part. Steve volunteered. They fitted him with a bulletproof vest.

In the hospital room Alice pleaded with Hopkins not to hurt her. He told her he would do whatever he had to. The phone rang and Hopkins answered it. Abe told him the helicopter was on the roof and they were ready for him, all officers had been told to leave. Hopkins didn't believe him. Abe told Hopkins to go to the window; he would see the helicopter. Hopkins didn't go, he said he couldn't hear the helicopter.

The next scene is one of the coolest I've seen on Days. Alice was standing next to the hospital bed when the phone rang. Hopkins looked at it but didn't answer it. In slow motion the door flew open and Steve ran in, opened the blinds and jumped on top of Alice, pushing her onto the bed. The room was sprayed with bullets and Hopkins fell to the ground, dead. His confession was on file. Steve's name was clear.


 

The Aftermath:

The ISA had discovered the attempt to kill Harper Deveraux was part of a larger plan to get a disc with a valuable material in it. In order to work on that case, in which Ed Daniels was involved, they asked Steve to testify in court that everything he said was a lie and that Ed Daniels was an upstanding member of society. While in Washington DC to give his testimony to the ISA Steve told Shane he wouldn't help them. He was done with the ISA and he wanted to start a life with Kayla. Shane begged Steve to help, but Steve refused. While in Washington Steve bought an engagement ring for Kayla and returned to Salem. However, it was not smooth sailing.

On the night Steve had planned to propose to Kayla he discovered that Jack was his baby brother Billy. That same night Jack had a relapse from his Hodgkin's Disease and was on his deathbed. Steve decided in order to save his brother he had to push Kayla away. Since Jack was in love with Kayla she would give him the will to live. In order to help Steve in this task he agreed to help the ISA, he went to court and testified to everyone that he lied about the whole thing. He was set up to kill the Senator, but Ed Daniels was not involved and he told Kayla that because he knew she'd believe anything he said.

The ISA was now able to work on the mystery of the computer disc and Kayla went on to have an unhappy and short marriage to Jack.

 

Thanks to Destyne for writing this summary.

 

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