"The Winning Smile"
(Original air date 12/21/75)
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Steve comes to Peggy Callahan's aid when she's suspected of treason
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Story: Gustave Field
Teleplay: Gustave Field & Richard Carr
Director: Arnold Laven
Oscar's secretary Peggy Callahan (Jennifer Darling) is on the phone with her mother, giving her the latest news on her love life when Steve walks in. He compliments her on her new hairdo and enquires about her mother's health before entering Oscar's office where he learns of retired OSI scientist Dr. Emil Losey, who has returned to the States to finish his project on hydrogen fusion after discovering the missing component to perfect his reactor.
Unbeknownst to them, the confidential conversation is being heard by Hector (Harry Lewis) and his assistant Agee (Ben Edwards), two men working for an underground organization eager to get their hands on Dr. Losey's invention.
As Steve drives to Braxton, Maryland, to Losey's (Milton Selzer) house, Agee and his men show up on the front step and threatened Losey at gunpoint to step into their car. Steve zooms in on the kidnapping in progress and lunges at the men, sending them flying into the air before driving off with Losey and reporting the incident to Oscar. In his absence, he asks Callahan to convey the message and to have him contact electronics engineer Tom Dempster (Robert C. Delegall)
Tom spends the night sweeping Oscar's office for bugs to come up with nothing. Oscar's suspicions turn to Callahan who was the third party in the room while they discussed Losey's invention. He assumed she must have spoken to her mother about it on a tapped phone.
Instead of sending Tom and his crew over to Callahan's apartment, Steve volunteers to go instead to avoid a scene. If caught, he can always contrive a plausible explanation.
Steve sneaks into Callahan's apartment through the window, where he is welcomed by a loud bark. As Callahan's new dog, Peter, sinks his fangs into Steve's bionic leg, he receives a few electric shocks that prompts him to concede defeat and return to his basket where he lies in shame. Steve grins and says to the poor animal: "You did your best".
Minutes later, Callahan returns to her apartment to find Steve hiding behind the curtains. With a silly grin, he explains his presence in her apartment. She is shocked to learn that Oscar suspects her of leaking out confidential information, and insists on passing a lie detector test to clear her name.
Again, Hector and Agee are all ears. Steve Austin is becoming a nuisance and must be eliminated.
At Tom's lab, Steve begins his questioning during which he learns of her dentist boyfriend Dr. Gene Finney (Stewart Moss). After she passes the test, she invites Steve to accompany her to Gene's dental office. Following the introductions, she tells Steve about the gold pendant that Gene gave her.
Steve is happy to report to Oscar that Callahan is in the clear, but the boss won't trust anyone until they nail the culprit.
As Steve leaves the office, Callahan passes him a call from Dr. Losey who asks to have access to a special computer for his experiments, one located at the Mason laboratories. Steve walks back into Oscar's office where Callahan is now taking dictation to ask permission to drive Losey to and fro everyday.
Once again, Hector and Agee get wind of this new arrangement. Agee and his men are sent to abduct Losey as he's escorted to the lab under heavy guard.
Oscar rages at the news of Losey's abduction. Steve suspects that Callahan is indeed leaking out the information but through a microphone concealed on her person, one she ignores is there.
Oscar asks her to come into the office where Steve slips her a note instructing her to follow him quietly, while Oscar pretends to having her read a file so not to arouse suspicions.
Steve takes her to Tom's lab where the copper-based walls prevent any sound waves from filtering through. They check her pendant and her watch for any sign of a microphone. Callahan tips Steve off when she mentions about the free dental care that she received from Gene. They discover that the microphone is concealed in her molar. Tom proves it by picking up the frequency and echoing it through the room.
She worries about being formally charged with treason, but Steve assures her that she's innocent and that he will gladly deal with the real culprit.
While Steve drops by the dental office, Gene is already at the restaurant calling Callahan to invite her out to lunch. She accepts only to give him a piece of her mind.
When Steve comes by Oscar's office, he is surprised to find a replacement (Daphne Field) who admits not knowing where Callahan might have gone.
He meets with Oscar at Tom's lab to pick up the frequency receiver before driving around town in hopes to locate Callahan, who's at a restaurant telling Gene off.
Now that they have Losey, the organization has no longer a need for Finney and Callahan. Agee is sent to the restaurant where he threatens them both into his car.
On the way to the hideout, Gene apologizes to Callahan for his inexcusable behavior towards her, but tries to make her understand that the money offered was too great to pass up. It suddenly dawns on her that the microphone in her tooth is still transmitting information, one that Steve can now pick up. She then begins to cleverly drop clues that Oscar and Steve are quick to decipher.
The gang meets at an old ACME garage. Oscar calls for reinforcement while Steve jumps down from the roof and handles the bad guys, bionic style.
The next day, Steve invites Callahan out to lunch in an attempt to cheer her up. Unbeknownst to her, he had planned a surprise meeting between her and Ted Harter (James Ingersoll). Before Steve leaves the restaurant, she hurries after him to enquire about the young man's status at the OSI. She is relieved to learn that he works at security.
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