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. Typos are mine and I discover them all the time. :-)

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is blue spine-ish and AU. Timeline: Taken; Recovery; Retribution; Wild Pitch; and now this story. While you don't NEED to read the previous stories, things will be referenced and perhaps even some from my younger Hardys stories.

Author's Note: Ahhh, the kiss. Viola wishes it were more descriptive and longer. Let's just say if it had been a romantic kiss, it would have been, but they're on a mission and at that point 'Valerie' was supposed to be ticked at 'Jake' so she wouldn't have been wanting a long kiss. Now Vanessa on the other hand... she might have enjoyed a longer kiss. ;-D Just wasn't the time or place.


Chapter Twelve

Vanessa looked at the two pillowcases of laundry that she had and awkwardly maneuvered her hand around so she could punch the button for the basement level. A laundry basket would be an item that she would purchase when she went out tomorrow along with laundry detergent as the packets in the basement were sure to be pricey.

Entering the laundry area she saw that there was one washer and dryer going, but no one was watching them. Vanessa went over to a machine as far from the one in use as possible and put the two pillowcases on the floor. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a handful of ones and some quarters. After purchasing the necessary cleaning supplies, she went to the washer and put in the coins. As the water was filling up the machine, she dumped in the detergent and then began to sort out the laundry on the floor. She was sorting both his and her clothing as it would be strange for them to do their laundry separately. However, it had just been too weird to try in the room considering she was sorting underwear and bras. Ah, the glamorous life of an ORT agent, she thought with a smile. She put the load of whites in the washer and closed the lid. "Oh!," she said exclaimed when she turned around and saw Frank standing there. He was angled so that he could see her and the door. Putting a hand a hand to her throat she said, "You startled me."

"Well, I'd say it was my stealth skills but the noise in here would cover a small herd of elephants I think."

She nodded.

"So who are you?"

"I'm going by Valerie Duval and I have the flash drive to get the information we need."

Frank's eyes went to the door. "Do you have it on you?"

"No. It's in the room. Jo-, Jake and I have a plan for the data retrieval."

"What is it?" Frank asked

"You and Jake make this thing between you into something big and during your fight, I can get the information," Vanessa was almost breathless.

Frank stared at her. It was a good plan. With the talk that already had to be going around, a fight between the two of them would definitely hold interest. But there was a big drawback. "How long is the estimate to get the information uploaded?"

"Unknown. Their best guess was about fifteen to twenty minutes." Vanessa looked at him with concern as he closed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"That would mean Jake and I would have to last most of the five five minutes rounds. With the breaks between, that would be just over thirty minutes."

Vanessa's eyes widened. "Jake didn't tell me that." She paused. "One or both of you would be beaten pretty badly."

Frank nodded and Vanessa could see plainly in his eyes that he did not relish this type of fight with his brother.

"How about I make contact with ORT and see what they say. I can do it tomorrow when I go shopping."

Frank nodded again. "I don't have a better plan that would guarantee that much time for either of us to get away while also guaranteeing that the management would also be drawn away from the office area."

The two stopped talking as a young woman walked in and headed toward the running washer. She gave a smile and wink to Frank and Vanessa as she checked her laundry.

"I think that's my signal to leave. Word is sure to get back to Jake that we were alone together in the laundromat. I'll just tell everybody I was just checking on you and you say the same."

Vanessa gave him a small smile. "And no one will believe it."

He smiled back as he glanced across the room. "Nope. But if ORT okays the plan, then this works out perfectly." Frank pushed off from the washer and headed for the door. "Hey, Teresa," he said as he passed the girl.

"Hey, David," she replied.

Vanessa didn't even have a chance to start on another load in another washer before Teresa was at her side.

"Hi," the girl said. "My name is Teresa. I'm Bobby's girlfriend."

Vanessa smiled at her. "I'm Valerie. Valerie Duval. My boyfriend, Jake, and I are new here," she said as she started the water on the second machine.

"Yeah, I know," Teresa said as she twirled her long brown hair between her fingers. "Just about everybody was talking about what happened in the cafeteria."

Vanessa let her smile fade as she loaded laundry into the machine. "Yeah? Well, word travels fast I guess. I'd rather not talk about it if you don't mind."

"Oh, I understand," Teresa said, giving her a knowing look. "Girls with boyfriends like that tend to get a little bruised if they talk too much."

Silence was Vanessa's response which the girl took for an affirmative.

"Well, I haven't seen your boyfriend yet, but Shenice said he was pretty hot."

Vanessa smiled a little. There was no denying that. "Yeah. There are perks to the relationship."

Teresa laughed. "And you got David sniffing around too. He's the hottest guy here." She leaned in closer. "Just wait until you see his abs!" Teresa started fanning herself.

"You mean he's hotter than Bobby?" Vanessa joked.

Teresa made a snorting sound. "I love Bobby to death, but even though he's just twenty, he's got that cauliflower ear going on and he should have had his nose set last year when it was broken."

Vanessa had stopped and turned back to Teresa, her mind focused on one thing. "Um, cauliflower ear?"

Teresa laughed. "Oh, you'll understand when you see Bobby. It's when fighters get the cartilage in their ears broken so many times it doesn't really go back into an 'ear shape' anymore. It looks more like a piece of cauliflower."

Her nose wrinkling, Vanessa said, "That doesn't sound attractive."

Shrugging, Teresa said, "It's not, but the pay here is really good."

Teresa prattled on as Vanessa continued with her laundry. It seemed that Teresa was a fount of information that might be helpful later on. After awhile Teresa finally glanced to the dryer. "Oh, looks like my stuff is ready."

"Maybe we can eat together in the cafeteria sometime?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure. Even if Bobby and Jake are matched up, we can still be friends," Teresa said with a smile as she headed for the dryer.

Once Teresa left, Vanessa thought about what Frank had said. She had seen Joe after a day of sparring and she had watched some matches with him on video. Even the ones that were just ten minutes in length could be bloody. What would twenty-five minutes do to Frank and Joe? She closed her eyes and hoped that ORT would have a better idea because this one wasn't sounding too good anymore.

.**********.

Joe stood up from the bed as Vanessa came back in with the laundry. Taking a stack of fresh clothes from her he said, "Thanks."

"No problem," was her automatic reply. As she put her laundry on the dresser, she said, "I talked with David. He says our plan is a good one but he's a little concerned."

"About what?" Joe asked as he put his things beside Vanessa's on the dresser.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I didn't realize that the two of you would have to fight for close to twenty-five minutes in order for me to get that information."

Joe looked away from her. "Yeah, we would. Did David say he wouldn't do it?"

"No. He's hoping ORT has a better plan."

"I bet he does," Joe said with a smile.

Vanessa frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's always been so protective of me. I'm sure the thought of beating me up isn't sitting well with him."

Vanessa's hands went to her hips. "It shouldn't sit well with your either."

Joe's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't get the wrong idea. While I'd love to see how I'd do with him without him pulling punches, I have no urge to be on the receiving end of a beating. And I definitely don't want to dish one out to him."

Realizing that he was being truthful, Vanessa dropped her hands down. "But it does look like the best way."

"Probably," Joe replied. "If Henry's attempt at the information hadn't been after hours we might have had a shot at breaking in and getting the information but with the new security that Johnson told us about-"

"We'd most likely blow it and send them underground," Vanessa finished for him. "It's just almost impossible to get to it at any time in the day since the word is that someone is always in the office."

"So fight night is the best opportunity as Frank said that everyone comes out to the fight."

"I'd say it's more than probable that a fight between you and David will be the thing pretty soon. A girl named Teresa is sure to spreading the news that David was talking to me in the laundry. She was also all too happy to talk to me about what happened in the cafeteria." Vanessa sat on the bed.

Joe sat beside her. "Don't worry. It will all work out. The important thing is to get that information."

"I know," she said with resignation. She watched as Joe went to the bathroom and came back with something behind his back. "What?" she asked with a laugh.

Joe pulled an eyeliner stick from behind his back. "Ready to color me?"

Vanessa snatched the eyeliner away laughing. "Not with that silly! That really is my eyeliner."

Joe chuckled as he moved out of Vanessa's way. Retrieving the correct 'eyeliner' from her make-up bag she asked, "So you want to do this now?"

"I figured this would be a good time to do it since I've cleaned up and we have a clean bed," Joe replied as he pulled off his t-shirt.

Grimacing at the memory of that horrible hotel, Vanessa waved her arm at the bed. Joe got the message and moved to take his place on the bed so that she could work on inking the image. They'd have to wait and see what ORT thought of the plan for the data retrieval.