Sleight of Hand
Chapter 11
As predicted, a light snow began to fall later in the afternoon just as Frank and Joe were walking back to their cabin from the lodge after an exhausting but thrilling day of skiing. When Frank had first stepped off the chopper at the mountain peak, he'd thought Joe was crazy and wondered again how he'd let himself be talked into something so inherently dangerous. However, after the first run, Frank found himself addicted to the 'rush' and by day's end he'd skied more runs than his younger brother, taking on one particularly difficult tree run even Joe wouldn't try.
"Man, I can't believe how awesome that was!" Joe exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I can't wait to tell Vanessa about it!" Spinning around, he walked the last few steps to the cabin backwards, facing Frank. "Hey, think we could do it one more time before we leave?"
Frank chuckled, reminded of a child pleading to go on his favorite amusement park ride one last time. "Maybe we can squeeze it in."
Climbing the steps to the cabin, Frank waited as Joe reached out to unlock the door and abruptly stopped. "I think we've got a problem, bro," Joe said in a hushed voice. He pushed on the door with one finger, watching as it opened wide. Cautiously, the brothers stepped inside, staring in disbelief.
The entire cabin had been ransacked with drawers pulled open and furniture overturned. Silently, Frank motioned towards himself and the stairs. Joe nodded in understanding and indicated he'd search the lower floor. Several minutes later they met back in the living room.
"Didn't look like anything was missing down here," Joe said puzzled.
Frank's dark eyes were almost black with anger. "And I only found one thing missing upstairs – my laptop."
Joe's eyes widened as Frank continued. "And I know that woman who fell into you is involved somehow! I'm going back to the lodge and find her. I want to get to the bottom of this once and for all."
"Want me to come with you?"
"No, stay here and clean this mess up before the girls get back." Frank turned and walked out the door.
Taking off his jacket and tossing it on the couch, Joe sighed and began putting the room back in order. A few moments later he heard the door open.
"Forget something?" Joe asked. Before he could turn around, Joe felt a hard object come crashing down on his skull. Dazed and seeing stars, he fell to his knees. Immediately he was grabbed, his arms pulled roughly behind his back and held in place as several punches were delivered to his midsection. Falling to his hands and knees once more, Joe found himself wincing and gasping for breath.
Stunned by the unexpected attack, Joe was quickly overpowered by the two men who had entered the cabin. He felt his arms being pulled forward this time as his hands were tied in front of him. Before he could get a good look at his attackers, Joe was blindfolded and then yanked to his feet.
Dragged outside into the late afternoon air, Joe was forced to walk through the snow. With no jacket on, he started to shiver. One man pushed him from behind while another pulled on the rope around his wrists, causing Joe to stumble several times. He finally ended up face down in the snow.
"You know this would go a lot easier if you two idiots stopped playing tug of war with me. I do know how to walk on my own," Joe muttered sarcastically as he was dragged up to a standing position.
One of the men yanked on the rope. "Shut up and keep walking."
"Where are you taking me?" Joe asked stumbling forward. "And why?"
The man behind Joe shoved him forward. "You talk too much."
"You'll find out where soon enough," the first man answered. "And you already know why…"
"Why don't you enlighten me anyway," Joe pressed, having no idea what the man was referring to.
His request was greeted with silence as he was pushed and pulled a while longer until he stumbled up several steps and was pulled to a stop. Joe heard the jangle of keys and a door opening. Another shove forced him through the open door. He was led to a chair and ordered to sit down. Finally, the blindfold was removed, although his hands remained tied tightly in front of him.
Joe blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light. He gazed around his prison and found it was an old cabin that looked to be in the midst of renovations. He was seated in front of a small folding table, shocked to see Frank's computer on it, turned on and ready for use.
Looking up, he finally saw the two men who had grabbed him. The younger one was average height, with curly, light brown hair and hazel eyes that looked cold as ice. The older man was heavyset with dark, squinty eyes and a fringe of black hair.
"Log on and retrieve the file," the younger man ordered Joe.
Joe looked at him, confused. "What file?"
The larger man suddenly grabbed Joe by the front of his sweatshirt and yanked him halfway out of the chair. "Don't get smart, pretty boy. Find the file – now!"
"Ross." The first man put a hand on his arm.
With some reluctance, the man released Joe who fell heavily back into the chair.
"Look," Joe turned to the younger man. "I can't retrieve the file because I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Come on, Carper," Ross said, eyeing Joe. "Leave me alone with him for two minutes…he'll be begging me to let him find it."
Joe sank back into the seat a little, thinking the man looked as if he were salivating at the thought what he wanted to do to Joe.
"Listen, Frank…" Carper said congenially, leaning towards Joe.
"I'm not-" Joe began, stopping almost immediately. 'They think I'm Frank!'
His eyes narrowed. "You're not what?"
Joe turned to the computer. "Nothing, never mind." They obviously wanted Frank and if they realized the mistake they had made, Joe knew the men would go back to the cabin to correct the error.
Reaching forward awkwardly, Joe hoped he could guess Frank's password fairly quickly. He knew it was usually a combination of letters of the names of the people Frank loved, but before he could even start, Joe was grabbed and pulled to a standing position.
Ross reached into Joe's pocket and pulled out his wallet, tossing it to his partner. The younger man opened it and looked at Joe's license with disgust.
"Joe Hardy?" he spat out looking up at Joe angrily.
"Damn, we grabbed the wrong guy!"
Carper stood eyeing Joe with a gleam in his eye. "You're his brother."
Joe remained silent, neither confirming nor denying the statement.
Carper shoved the wallet back into Joe's pocket. "Blindfold him."
Grabbing the blindfold off the table, Ross tied it tightly around Joe's eyes as Joe cursed silently, hating the feeling of being so helpless. Pulled to his feet yet again, Joe felt a length of rope being linked through the rope that already bound his hands together. Pushed from behind and pulled forward by the rope, Joe stumbled, falling to the floor before being dragged up by the rope. He bit his lip as the rope dug into the skin on his wrists as he was led forward several more steps before being pulled to a stop.
Listening intently, Joe heard something 'whooshing' in the air and another noise that sounded vaguely familiar but that he couldn't quite identify. Caught off guard, Joe gasped as his arms were suddenly and forcefully yanked over his head and stretched to the limit, his shoulders screaming in protest. He felt the panic begin as his feet started to leave solid ground when the pulling abruptly stopped.
Joe felt vulnerable, as he was now open, exposed and completely at the mercy of his captors. He shivered as he heard someone chuckle and felt a hand pat his chest, the normally friendly gesture taking on a sinister nature. Joe braced himself, preparing for a beating he knew would be painful. To his surprise, the two men walked away and then he heard Carper's voice.
"Now go get the real Frank Hardy. My new friend Joe and I will wait right here."
Joe listened to the door open and close as Ross left on his mission and couldn't decide if he felt better or worse knowing Frank would soon be joining him. He was worried for his brother's safety, but knew he couldn't get out of this mess on his own. Wincing at the tingling sensation in his fingers and achiness that had settled in his back and shoulders, one thought ran through his mind…
'When you get here, I sure hope you'll have a plan, bro…'