Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.
Thank you: Wendylouwho10 who read over the story for me and made content suggestions, helped with the flow, and provided some spelling/grammar corrections. A big help, as always! Typos are mine and I discover them all the time. :-)
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is AU.
Author's Note: Sequence of stories: Taken, Recovery, Retaliation, Wild Pitch, Undercover Trouble: Covert Contention, and now For Who You Are. And yes, you probably should read the others first, but feel free to read this as a stand alone. However, some of the events referenced need the other stories to make sense.
** So I'm posting another chapter today to make up for that uploading issue! This one is a little longer. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Four
Joe stood with the team behind the bleachers waiting for the announcer to introduce the team. He was bouncing slightly and just couldn't help it. It was the first game of the season and the first game of his senior year. That was enough excitement in itself, but there was more added to it. He and Tony had been named team captains and he couldn't have been prouder of the large 'C' sewn on his shoulder indicating it.
Feeling a slap on the back of his shoulder pads, Joe turned around to see the smiling face of Coach Daimler. "Don't waste all your energy here, Joe. Save some for the game."
"Don't worry, Coach, I have plenty left in the tank," Joe said as he continued to bounce.
Daimler laughed. "Knowing you, I'd say you're right. Enjoy it, Joe. Soak up every minute." With a final clap on the back, Daimler headed to another nearby senior.
"Making his rounds," a voice said from behind Joe. It was a voice he recognized easily- Biff's.
"Yeah, he always has something to say to the seniors on their first and last game." He turned to look at his close friend. "I'm gonna miss that guy. No one can replace him as a coach."
Before Biff could reply, a voice sounded over the speakers and the team was being introduced. Joe ran out on the field with his teammates and friends. He wondered if this is how it felt for Frank last year. His eyes searched the stands until he found his brother, parents, Iola, Callie, and Frank's roommate Thomas. Chet and Phil were also there for the first game of the season and Joe appreciated their coming to support the team.
"Hey, Joe!"
Joe turned quickly, realizing he was supposed to be heading out to the fifty yard line for the coin toss. After all, that was part of his job as co-captain. Tony grinned at him as he jogged up beside him.
"Don't have your head in the clouds when Sanchez throws you the ball!" Tony joked.
Joe gave Tony a friendly shove as the two got to the spot where the toss would be made. Moments later, it was decided. Bayport would be on defense to start the game and would be on offense to start the second half. The two co-captains headed back to the bench to wait their turn to play since both of them were on offense. Biff was putting his helmet on to go in on defense.
"Shut 'em down, Biff!" Joe called out as they passed each other.
"Will do!" he called back.
.**********.
As time wound down, Bayport was up by 14. Joe looked at the remaining time- 0:00:22. It was just a matter of running out the clock. Twenty-two seconds later, it was over. Bayport had won. Both Joe and Tony had scored touchdowns and Biff had recovered a fumble in the first half that led to a Bayport score. Overall, it was a great game for the friends.
Heading back into the Bayport locker room, Joe slowed down. There was no rush for him. He would be waiting until most of them were out of the shower as his tattoos were in the last stages of fading. By next week's game he wouldn't have to wait at all. But for now, since he had guarded the secret of his tattoos rather closely, he thought he would keep it that way until they were gone.
The mood in the locker room was definitely celebratory and Joe enjoyed it every bit as much as the other guys. Tony and Biff waited with Joe. The three of them removed their jerseys and other equipment so that they were just wearing their uniform pants. Joe was the exception as he had on the arm sleeve and a fitted tank top that covered his chest tattoo.
Finally the team had left. Coach Daimler stuck his head in to say that he would stay around until they left.
Tony headed into the shower while Biff took one more look down the hallway. "It's clear," he said as he finished disrobing and headed into the shower area.
Joe had pulled off the arm sleeve already and stood to pull off the tank. The three boys were talking and didn't see the figure step from the equipment area to the door of the changing area. The cell phone clicked silently as Joe tossed the tank to the side and then stretched his arms over his head. The figure disappeared silently with no one the wiser.
"It will be great not to wear those things anymore," Joe said as he headed into the shower. "They say that material 'wicks away sweat' but I'm telling you when it's layered like that, it's still pretty sweaty."
Tony laughed. "So you'll be done wearing it next week?"
"Yep."
"Until the next secret mission," Biff joked.
Tony and Joe both laughed but Joe's was a little forced. Until the next mission? Joe asked himself. Is playing a tough guy to be my role in ORT missions? He shook his head and the water droplets fell quickly from his hair but not the way they would have if his hair had still been long. No, he told himself. I'm not going to judge the type of missions or covers I'll have based on this one mission. After all, Frank was placed in the same scenario and he didn't carry the scars or the emotional baggage that I do.
"You about done, Joe?" Biff called as he exited the shower.
"Yeah," Joe said as he shut off the water and grabbed his towel. "Yeah, I'm done."
.**********.
Less than thirty minutes later, Joe, Biff, and Tony joined the group of friends at Prito's. Thankfully, Tony's dad had sectioned off a number of tables to fit all the friends in otherwise there wouldn't have been room for the large group on a typical Friday night.
Joe pulled out the chair by Iola and sat down. He smiled as she leaned over to hug him.
"Great game, Joe," she said with her lips next to his ear.
Hugging her back he said, "Thanks."
Congratulations went around the table and plays were discussed and rehashed.
Joe looked to Iola as she pulled her phone from her pocket. He had heard it buzzing. He watched as the smile left her face and she turned frightened eyes to his.
"What?" he whispered hurriedly. "Is something wrong?"
In response, she turned the phone to him and he saw the text message said, "Anyone you know?" The sender was anonymous. While he didn't know who sent it, he knew who was in the attached picture. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and checked the messages. None. He went to the social media site and saw the picture there with the caption, "I don't know why he's been hiding these, I think they look great." The posts were supposed to be from someone named Jane Trotter, a Bayport student. But he didn't know her and he knew she hadn't been in the locker room.
The table had gone quiet as the group noticed that something had upset Joe and Iola. Joe stood from the table, and said, "I'll be right back." To Iola he leaned over and said, "Don't worry, things will be okay." When he left the table, Frank followed. When they were away from the entrance, Joe silently handed Frank Iola's phone as he used his own phone to call Agent Johnson.
While the phone was ringing, Frank looked up from the picture and said, "I bet this is a bogus account." Joe nodded.
"Biff and Tony were with me, there was no one in the hall right before we hit the showers."
"They must have been hiding in the locker room somewhere." Frank thought. "The equipment room."
Joe nodded again and was going to say something when Keo Johnson answered.
"Johnson."
"It's Joe Hardy. I'm going to need some help." Joe explained about the picture. "They've cropped the picture so you only see me from the neck to like the middle of my thigh, but everyone on the team and a lot of kids at school know I've been wearing the sleeve and covering up. Throw in the fact that those are football pants and everyone will know it's me."
Silence.
"While the tattoos aren't that big of a deal," Johnson said. "We don't want this being made into something bigger through social media and the press if it gets out. There are some unsavory characters out there who would identify you by those tattoos." There was some murmuring from Johnson's side of the call and then he continued with Joe. "We'll get this pulled from the media site and we'll track who sent the picture to Iola."
As Johnson spoke, Frank hit the refresh on the social site and it was gone. He looked up at Joe. "The pic is gone," he said in wonderment.
Joe's eyes widened. "It's gone, sir."
"Don't worry, Joe. We'll find the perpetrator and take care of this. You were changing in a locker room. It was an invasion of privacy."
"Thank you, sir." Joe paused. "I just didn't know what to do."
"Yes you did and you did it. Calling me was the correct thing to do. While being a star tight end and getting lots of publicity isn't the best for an undercover agent, it is the norm for a high school student. Having press that could be harmful to you because you aided your country… well, that's something we take care of," Agent Johnson said with a bit of anger. "We'll keep you informed and let you know who was involved."
"Thanks again, sir." Joe hung up from the call.
"That was fast," Frank said as Joe carefully pocketed the phone.
Joe took Iola's phone back from Frank and looked at the picture in her text messages. His eyes went back up to Frank's. "Agent Johnson said that this could be harmful."
Frank felt uneasy himself, but said, "It was only up for a short time."
"What if someone downloaded it?"
Frank didn't have an answer for that. Perhaps Agent Johnson had ways to determine if files were downloaded. He didn't like the thought of picture of Joe with the tattoos being shared over the internet. All it took was the one wrong person seeing the picture….
Joe drew a deep breath and let it out. "I guess there's no use worrying over something I can't change." At Frank's shocked look, Joe added. "Well, that's what I should be thinking, but you know me, I'll worry anyway."
Clapping his brother on the back, Frank moved toward the entrance. "Now that's the Joe I know. Let's get back in there before our girlfriends get really worried."
When they returned, they discovered the girls were already really worried.
"Iola told us what happened," Callie said as Frank sat back beside her. "I even found the picture on the social site but now it's gone."
Frank looked to Joe. It was his brother's decision on what to tell.
"I called the group that I was working with this summer and they took care of it," Joe said carefully. He looked at his brother and got a nod of approval.
Iola took her phone back slowly from Joe. The picture with the text was still there. "They were able to get the picture pulled from the site that quickly?"
Recognizing her suspicion, Joe said, "I guess so. I didn't know they could do that that quickly." He could see her puzzling it out and he had a feeling she wasn't going to like what conclusions she came to.
As the buzz around the table took over as members of the group tried to figure out who took the picture in the first place, Iola leaned over to Joe. "We need to talk."
Joe glanced around. "Tomorrow?"
"Okay. Tomorrow."
Joe knew that Iola might ask him things that he couldn't answer and he wasn't looking forward to it.