The Wrath of the Red Dragon
Chapter Three
"Just when you learn the game of life, all the rules change overnight. Whoa, go figure. It seems so wrong to even try, but taking a chance never felt so right. Whoa, go figure. You had a dream, you want to be the center of the story. When things start making sense, the world turns upside down again." –Go Figure
"Hello?" Frank said as he answered his cell phone.
'It's me,' Fenton Hardy's voice came from the other line. 'I need to talk to you and Joe about tonight. Are you done with your classes for the day?'
It was the day the boys were to intercept the smugglers. Frank pushed the speaker button on his cell so that Joe could talk as well. "Yeah, Dad. We're in our dorm right now."
'Listen, I found out that there is only one person that's going to receive the package—so only one of you needs to show up.'
"What, are you saying only one of us needs to go tonight?" Joe asked.
'No, not at all. You both need to go—only one of you needs to let the smuggler see you. The other needs to be hidden, preferably closer than the police will be, so that if the one who gets the package gets into any trouble, he can be right there to help out.'
"Good idea, Dad," Frank said. "But who is going to receive the package?"
"I will!" Joe volunteered instantly.
Frank eyed him doubtfully. "I dunno, Joe. I don't want you saying something out of place and getting yourself into trouble—you get kidnapped enough as it is."
Joe rolled his eyes. "I can handle it, Frank. It's not that difficult to take a package from some guy. Besides, you'll be there for backup, and the police will be nearby to arrest the guy after the package is handed over, too. C'mon, Dad, tell him to let me do it."
Fenton laughed slightly. 'Frank, I trust your brother thoroughly to do this job. You two have been doing this sort of thing for years. Frank, just make sure you're nearby for backup. But Joe, do be careful.'
"I will, Dad," Joe promised. "Don't worry."
'I'll be there tonight as well, with the police. You sure you two will be alright?'
"Dad, we'll be fine," Joe said, a trace of a grin on his handsome face. "We're big boys, we can take care of ourselves.
Chuckling, Fenton said, "I know. I'll see you guys tonight. Bye."
"Are you sure you should do this?" Jasmine asked Joe right before he and Frank were leaving for the case.
Joe grinned. "Jazz, don't worry," he said, kissing her lightly. "We'll be fine."
"Joe, I'm sorry," Jasmine said, blushing. "It's just so hard for me not to worry. What if something bad happens to you?"
"They'll be fine," Isabella snapped from beside Frank.
"What's up with you?" Jasmine said, momentarily forgetting her worry. "It's not my fault that I worry. Why are you jumping all over me?"
"I'm not," Isabella said.
"Oh yeah?"
"Hey, girls, break it up," Joe said quickly.
"Don't you tell me what to do, Blondie!" Isabella said fiercely.
"Hey, what's gotten into you?" Frank asked quietly.
"Nothing," Isabella said, turning a dull shade of pink.
"You're not acting normal."
"I dunno…I just…see, Frank, there's something…something I need to tell you."
Frank looked at her expectantly. "See, well, I…" she faltered. "You know what, never mind. It's nothing. Just something stupid."
"Look, Izzy, if you want to talk, I'm here for you," Frank said warmly. Joe turned to Jasmine and gagged dramatically. The girl giggled.
"No, Frank, it was nothing. Just stupid stuff. Don't worry. Have fun catching the bad guys."
"Do you…want to come?" Frank asked. Joe stared at him. Normally, Frank would never let anyone come along on a case without permission from his father or another authority figure. Joe shook his head. Frank had really gotten too involved with this girl. Then again, he himself had considered asking Jasmine to come along, but thought better of it, seeing as how worried she got just thinking about Joe going.
"NO!" Isabella said with such force that Frank was startled. The girl blushed, then said, "I mean, no thanks. I'll stay with Jazz."
Eying her warily, Frank said, "Look, are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Frank, there's nothing to talk about. Now, get going, you two'll be late." And with that, Isabella turned on her heel and walked hastily away, dragging Jasmine along with her.
Frank and Joe looked at each other for a moment, baffled.
Joe then grinned and said, "Girls will be girls."
Arriving at the spot of the meeting, the boys hastened to meet up with their father and the officers before the smuggler showed up.
"It's great to see you guys again," Fenton said, smiling warmly at his sons in the moonlight. "Ready, Joe?"
"Of course."
"Great. We've already arrested the first guy—he put up a fight, and we came out with a few scrapes and such, but we're fine. Frank, I want you to hide a few feet ahead of us, so that you can jump to the rescue if anything goes wrong. Joe, you're on in five minutes."
The boys got to the correct places, and it wasn't long before a figure came up to Joe. He was a young man, an inch taller than Joe, with black spiky hair and dark eyes.
Joe took a deep breath, then approached the young man. "You got it?" he said in a husky voice.
"Cut the lame act and get over here," the boy snapped, then grabbed Joe by the arm and pulled him closer. From his hiding spot, Frank tensed, ready to spring into action.
"Look, I've got the goods," the guy said. "You're taking them to the buyer in Maine, right?"
"Yeah," Joe answered.
"Great. Here's the stuff." He slid a brown paper package into Joe's hands, but didn't let go of his end. He studied Joe's face intently. "Never seen you before," he said, frowning.
"I'm new," Joe invented madly. "Just joined the gang."
"I stand corrected," the guy said slowly, eyes growing wide. "I have seen you before. You're that Hardy kid—and this is a setup!" Before Joe could do anything, the young man had snaked his muscular arm around Joe's neck and had a pistol pointed at his head. At that moment, the police officers and Fenton leapt from their hiding places and rushed towards the smuggler. Frank, unnoticed, began to sneak behind the young man, ready to ambush him.
"Ah, ah, ah," he said. "Don't come any closer, or Blondie here dies instantly. Joe struggled to free himself from the vise grip, but became still when the pistol was pressed harder into his temple.
"Let my son go," Fenton said in a low, threatening voice, slowly pulling out his own gun.
"Fenton Hardy. I've heard a lot about you. Actually, now that you've arrested two members of our gang, our leader, Dragon, is very angry with you. In fact, just after you arrested Juan Peterson, he vowed revenge." Tightening his grip on Joe, the young man took a step back, dragging his captive along with him. "You see, the Red Dragon is really like a big family. When you do something to one of us, you do it to us all. We've been planning on kidnapping this boy for a while, to make you see what it feels like to have one of your own—your 'family', if you will—taken away from you. Actually, we were planning on taking him tomorrow night. But, you have made things so much easier for us." Smirking, he pulled the struggling Joe back two more steps.
"Fenton, officers, I believe that I will take my package and this kid with me. I'll call you up and let you know what we're going to do with him."
Just then, Frank rushed into action. He rushed up to the smuggler and ambushed him, kicking the gun out of the surprised criminal's hand. His grip slackened slightly on Joe, and the young man was able to slide from his grasp and stand beside Frank, shaking and gasping for breath. Frank squeezed his brother's shoulder. "You okay?"
Joe managed a feeble nod. He grinned slightly. "Sure wasn't expecting that, though." The officers quickly moved in and grabbed the smuggler.
As he was being handcuffed, he yelled, "We will get revenge, Fenton Hardy! That son of yours better watch his back! You all better watch your backs! We'll be coming for you, Joey! Fenton WILL find out what it's like to lose one of his own!" The prisoner, whose identification showed that he was twenty-one years old, and was named Tristan Honeycutt, was led away.
"Joe, this is bad," Frank said.
Joe was too busy looking at something that had fallen out of Tristan's pocket during the scuffle.
"Joe? What's that?" A grim expression on his face, the seventeen year old silently handed the picture to Frank.
Frank was horrified at what he saw. The picture was of Tristan and Isabella. Written in bold permanent marker on the back in a little heart were the words, 'Tristan Honeycutt& Isabella Starr, 4-ever.'
A/N: Wow, what a twist, huh? I've only got 2 reviews so far, so PLEASE review, and after I get at least two more, I'll update again.
~Emachinescat ^..^