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Original posting of Episode 18:

Date: 01 Feb 97 07:34:14 GMT
From: kmp@harlequin.com (Kent Pitman)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.soaps.cbs
Subject: Y&R: Another Way Out, episode 18: "Business As Usual"
Message-ID: <KMP.97Feb1073414@romulus.harlequin.com>

"Another Way Out" takes plotline state at time of publication and shows that
there are interesting places right around the corner.  The goal, besides
having some fun with good-natured parody, is to challenge the notion that we
must be mired in certain tired plotlines for months just to have a good time.
There is always another way out...

   Archives of this and older episodes of "Another Way Out"
    as well as the more serious "morals" that underly them,
    can be found at:  http://world.std.com/~pitman/awo/index.html

INSIDE... 
        * Peter, visiting Phyllis, gets right down to business.
      * Hope tries again to make Victor's business her own.
    * Neil faces the responsibility of his monkey business.
  * Olivia takes time out from her busy-ness to stop by the hospital.
* Mary, unable to mind her own business, needles Cricket about a baby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANOTHER WAY OUT, Episode 18, 01-Feb-97  by Kent Pitman (kmp@harlequin.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phyllis hears a knock at the door and opens it before realizing who it is.
"Peter!" she says disappointedly as she tries unsuccessfully to slam the
door in his face.  In a moment, he has pushed his way inside.  "Happy to see
me?  I've come to collect."  Phyllis laughs, "Collect?"  "On our deal--where
I was to pretend to date Sasha?"  Phyllis plays innocent.  "You have some
proof of this alleged deal?"  "I don't have time for this, Phyllis.  Ok,
we'll forget your role in that--but the price just went up on the other
matter."  "Other matter?" Phyllis says?  "About your child's paternity..."
Phyllis turns away and mouths the word "Damn!!" but says aloud "What ARE you
talking about, Peter?"  "Cute.  I'm talking about the DNA tests that prove
he's not Danny's."  "Oh that myth--you've been talking to Sasha, haven't
you?"  He nods.  "I've been talking to Sasha alright--I talked to her just
before she succombed to a mysterious illness I arranged for her.  And she
told me what I needed to know.  Now if you don't want to succomb to the same
illness..."  A shot rings out.

Hope and Victor sit on the couch at Vic's apartment.  "Victor?" Hope begins.
"Yes, my former wife?"  Hope says, "I'd like some company."  "More than just
me?" he asks.  "No," she replies.  "I mean I'd like to own some company.
You're acquiring them all the time--surely it must get to be a lot of burden
on you.  I think you should give me one of them."  "But Hope, what do you
know of companies?  To run a company requires a great deal of experience
and--and---business savvy."  "Like you have?" "Yes, that's right." "And I
don't." "Well, now Hope, you are so sweet and friendly, but when you run a
company you must learn sometimes to be firm and even harsh.  You would not
be good at it; those things are not you."  "Never mind then, Victor.  Let's
talk alimony and parental support for Victor Jr.  With any reasonable
settlement, I'm sure I can afford several companies myself."

A shot rings out.  Perhaps the same one as we heard before--perhaps another.
Aren't commercial breaks annoying?  This time, though, Peter falls to the
floor.  Sasha enters and Phyllis sees her right away.  "Sasha!!  Thank you."
"Shut up, Phyllis, I didn't do it for you.  Once Peter had the information
he wanted, he gave me some injection to make me sick and then left me to
die.  But I didn't die, and I want what he wanted--money.  And LOTS of it.
Or I spill the beans to Danny."  Phyllis rushes her and the two struggle.
Finally, there is another shot and Sasha falls dead.  Phyllis is left
holding a gun with two dead bodies on her floor.  Joanie enters.  "Little
Danny's having trouble sleeping--did I hear--" She stops as she sees the
mess of bodies on the floor.  Phyllis nods.  "Joanie, it--it was
self-defense."  Joanie looks skeptical.  "But weren't these your friends?
How could it be self-defense?"  "They WERE, Joanie.  But they--I mean,--oh,
Joanie, just help me clean up this mess will you?"  "Ok, Mrs. Romalatti, but
the police AREN'T going to like it.  If you don't tell a pretty good story,
I'm afraid you may get sent away for a while..."

Victor is still with Hope. He seems to realize that he is about to lose
badly in his argument with Hope but still tries to finesse the situation.
"Perhaps I have been too hasty on this matter of giving you a company.  You
say you would be content with just one?"  She nods, and says, "Jabot."
"Well, now, I could never give up Jabot--it has come to be so..."  She cuts
him off: "It's Jabot, or we talk alimony."  "You're not going to let this
go, are you?  Ahright, you can have Jabot."  Victor then turns toward the
window and mutters, "Damn you, Jack Abbot."  Hope says, "Victor, I heard
that.  Jack has nothing to do with this."  "Exactly," Victor explains.  "Not
only does the man intervene where he should not, but he fails to intervene
where he should!"  Victor starts to look around the room, "So is lunch ready
or what?"  Hope sighs.  "Victor, I'm a corporate executive, not a servant
girl.  I don't have time to always be making you lunch."  Victor mutters,
"Damn you, Jack Abbot..."

Cricket sits in the living room with her home pregnancy test.  "Having
trouble reading the results?" Paul says as he enters the room.  Cricket
says, "Nope... the results are simple to read: Y if you have a young on the
way; R if you've just been feeling restless."  Paul nods.  "What could be
simpler?"  They wait for the readout to come on.  Cricket looks suddenly
puzzled "It says `Days'.  What could that mean?  It's only supposed to say
Y&R."  Paul is equally baffled.  "I don't know.  Sounds like someone at the
factory got distracted somehow and put the wrong letters in.  I'll check it
out."  "Ok, Paul, but we need to get this resolved--I really am getting
nervous that I'm pregnant.  And it will be bad if I am--your mom will be so
disappointed that the designer diaphragm she knitted me for Christmas was
too loose a weave and didn't work..."

Victor enters his office slamming the door behind him.  Jack walks in.
Victor asks, "What do you want, Jack?"  Jack comes straight to the point.
"I've come to talk about the Dennison deal Victor.  Have you gotten used to
the idea yet?"  "No, Jack Abbot, I have NOT.  I have not gotten used to this
deal.  I will NEVER be used to this deal.  You will get us out of this deal,
or you will no longer work for Jabot.  Do you understand?  I will eject you
from this company and I will get my lawyers together and we will have your
hide strung up.  I don't care what it takes, you get us out.  Ya got that?"
Victor storms out, leaving Jack alone in his office.  Jill rushes in.  "Is
it bad?"  Jack nods, then says: "Bad.  Yes.  Quick--guard the door, Victor's
left himself connected to his computer. Maybe if I..."  He starts typing,
pulling up spreadsheets and other programs.  "Hurry up," Jill says, "He's
talking to someone down the hall but I think he's almost done."  "I'm going
as fast as I can," Jack says.  "It's these damned 286 computers Newman
Enterprises uses... you'd think the Black Knight would spring for new
hardware at least for his own computer.... Ah, there.  It's done."  Jill
says, "What's done?"  Jack smiles.  "Just wiring myself a loan, Jill.  5
million dollars--loaned by the Great Victor Newman to an undisclosed party
for the purpose of buying Dennison's company.  With all his money, he'll
never notice.  And I'm sure one day we can pay it back--with interest even."

It's the hospital.  "Any messages for me?" Olivia asks the candystriper
behind the desk.  "And you are...?"  "Dr. Olivia Hastings."  "Are you new?
I've never seen you around here."  "I'm NOT new.  I'm just busy, ok?"  "Ok,
ok... sorry, Dr. Hastings.  Uh, you got an urgent message about--oh, never
mind, he died three days ago.  Oh, and here's anoth--nope, don't worry about
that either.  Nope, no messages."  "Great," says Olivia, "I was really
worried there'd be lots of activity with my being out so much and all."  She
starts to walk away but sees Neil walking by.  "I'm over here, Neil," she
says.  "Oh, hi," he replies. "I wasn't really looking for you, though."  She
looks surprised.  "You have some other business here?"  "I just came by to
see if I'd contracted HIV, the virus that causes Aids."  "You what!?"  she
shrieks.  "You were in contact with someone who might have aids and you
knowingly put me at risk??" "Calm down, Liv.  I didn't do any such thing.
You're the person who might have Aids.  I'm just making sure I didn't put my
wife at risk." She breathes a sigh of relief.  "Oh, ok.  Boy, you really had
me worried there for a second.  Well, I'm apparently down a couple of
patients but I'm sure the ones I have left would appreciate a visit, so I
have to be going.  See you later, Neil..."

"We're out of the deal," Jack reports to Victor.  "That was fast," Victor
says.  "Well, it's like I told you--lots of people were waiting to snap it
up.  So it's all undone and we're no longer in line to be fired."  Victor
looks sad.  "Well, that's good news for you, I guess," he says.  "That'll
teach you that NO ONE makes major decisions around here without my
approval."  Jack chuckles.  "One other thing, Vic old boy," Jack says, "I
quit."  Victor is struck by Deja Vu as the echo of his son doing this same
thing rings in his mind.  "You WHAT?"  "I quit," Jack repeats.  "I'm going
to work for the new Dennison company.  I'll send you a postcard."  He
leaves, and Victor is left all alone.  "Damn you, Jack Abbot.  Now who will
I find to blame problems on?"