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Vanished
Chapter 2
Joe Hardy smiled as he put his cell phone away. Only a few more hours and he would be back home with Vanessa. They had both made progress in dealing with the horrible events of several months ago, but they still missed each other desperately when they were apart for any length of time. He knew Vanessa was getting stronger every day, but she still counted on his being there every night before she could relax and feel truly safe. He couldn't wait to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.
Checking his watch, Joe found he had just enough time for a trip to the rest room before his flight would start boarding. He entered the rest room and walked to the stall at the very end. Seconds after locking the door he heard someone enter the stall next to him. Suddenly an envelope came flying over the partition accompanied by a harsh whisper from the man in the next stall.
"Here's the down payment along with your instructions. You'll get the rest of the money when the job is completed."
Before Joe could even comprehend what was happening, he heard the man unlock the door and leave the stall. Receding footsteps told Joe the man had left the restroom completely.
Curious, Joe opened the envelope and found several thousand dollars in cash, along with a photo of someone who looked slightly familiar to him, as if he had seen the face on television before. Pulling out the accompanying sheet of paper, he began to read it and could almost feel the color draining from his face.
He looked at the picture again and then back at the sheet of paper. Everything suddenly clicked. The man was Jacob Hurley, a senior member of the United States Senate. He was well respected among both political parties and had a reputation as a politician who could not be bought. Most importantly he was a close advisor to the President of the United States. According to the instructions, the money was a down payment for a hit on Senator Hurley – whoever had thrown the envelope to Joe, thought he was talking to a hired assassin!
Looking at his watch once again, he realized his plane was already boarding. Checking the sheet of paper once more, he saw the hit wasn't to take place for a few more days. He stuck the envelope under his shirt and quickly left the restroom, not wanting to miss his flight. He could show this to Frank and his dad when he got home and, together, the three of them could decide what to do.
As Joe approached the exit of the restroom, he saw two men standing directly across the corridor from the exit and took a few steps back hiding in the shadows. One of the men was a few inches shorter than Joe with short, red, curly hair and piercing blue eyes. His skin was pale and he had a smattering of freckles across his nose. His eyes were constantly scanning the crowd of people rushing by.
The other man was at least six feet, five inches tall and Joe could see bulging muscles straining under the jacket he wore. His head was shaved and he had a scar just above his right eye. His eyes were glued to the exit of the restroom and Joe wondered if the man had seen him. Joe's gut instinct told him one of these men was the one who had thrown the envelope to him. Even if the large man with the shaved head hadn't spotted him yet, he knew there was no way to avoid being seen once he stepped out into the corridor. He had been the only one in the restroom when the envelope had come flying at him and no one else had come in since. If he left, he knew the two men would confront him and they would almost surely find the envelope on him.
Returning to the restroom, he looked around frantically for somewhere he could hide the envelope that would be safe. An idea struck him and he entered the handicapped stall locking the door behind him. Laughing softly, he found he was now thankful for the time his father had sent him undercover as part of an overnight cleaning crew that was suspected of stealing from the various companies who had hired them. Something he had learned as his time spent as a janitor was finally going to come in handy.
He pulled out the metal trash container and removed the half full trash bag inside. Reaching down to the bottom of the container he smiled when his hand came in contact with a pile of neatly folded, unused trash bags that were used as replacements when the trashcans were emptied periodically throughout the day. Pulling them out, he placed them on the floor. Opening one of the bags, he placed the envelope inside it, and then put that bag in the bottom of the trash container. He put the stack of clean trash bags on top of it, and put the half full trash bag on top of those. Finally he pushed the trash container back into place, satisfied no one would find the envelope, not even the cleaning staff.
Joe turned to leave and hesitated, a decidedly uneasy feeling coming over him. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed his brother. Disappointed when Frank didn't answer, he left a whispered message quickly telling his brother what had happened, where the envelope was located and giving him a description of the two men he had seen waiting across the corridor out side the restroom.
"I know I'm just being paranoid, but in case I don't make it home…well, at least you'll have some idea of where to start looking for me," Joe finished the message only half-jokingly. He hoped he really was just being paranoid, but his gut instinct told him otherwise and it was rarely wrong.
Leaving the stall, Joe walked to the exit and took a deep breath before walking out into the corridor. Stepping forward he was immediately confronted by the two men he had seen a few moments earlier.
"Excuse me," Joe said politely, trying to squeeze past them.
The large, bald man stepped aside to let him pass. Joe realized a second too late that he had walked right into their trap. The man with the curly red hair pulled out a gun and aimed it at Joe's chest while keeping it obscured from view. The first man, who had let Joe pass, now wrapped a large forearm around Joe's throat cutting off his air supply as he pulled Joe back a few steps into the entranceway of the restroom out of sight of the other travelers.
"I think you have something that belongs to me," he said politely. "And I'd like it back, please."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Joe choked out, tugging on the man's arm, trying to get some breathing room.
The man tightened his grip on Joe, causing Joe to gasp for air. The red headed man put the gun in his pocket and quickly frisked Joe looking for the envelope.
"Not here," he said simply.
The first man spun Joe around while the second pressed his gun into Joe's back forcing him further back into the restroom.
"Where is the envelope?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Joe repeated, now rubbing his sore throat.
Hearing someone approach the restroom the gunman said, "Let's take him with us. We can beat it out of him."
Joe started to protest but kept quiet when the gun was pressed even further into his back. His eyes darted around, looking for any means of escape when suddenly he saw a huge fist complete with brass knuckles coming straight at him. Joe felt an explosion of pain and slumped forward into the big man's arms, unconscious.