CHAPTER 20
Fenton had just made the unwise decision to smack Frank on the shoulder with the back of his balled-up hand, borne out of what Con assumed to be frustration and fear. It didn't mean Frank saw it the same way, and Con considered it way too late for Fenton to start using corporal punishment on his son. Badly timed. Fenton should have taken into account Frank's freaked out state of mind, as well his own.
Con moved quickly to get between them. He put a restraining hand on Fenton's elbow, another hand to his collarbone.
James stood to stand behind Frank, waiting silently.
Things had grown to a level where it looked to Con both Hardy men might lose their heads. Con didn't want to watch a Hardy slug fest. "Guys, I can see where you're both coming from but—"
Frank's brow dropped. He took Fenton's wrist and moved his arm safely out to the side. He hadn't done it violently. An assertive move, more of a 'Hey Dad - careful! What's up with you?' motion. He kept hold of it.
Con had been wrong about Frank; the anger exuded from Fenton alone. Frank had been serious about using himself as bait. He'd thought it through, wanted to debate and explore the idea. He hadn't been cruising for a fight.
Fenton, unable to relax his fist, continue to glare, unable to back down or recognise what he his actions were causing.
"Dad, what am I supposed to do, huh? Sit here and hope something advantageous will happen? You put me in charge of this; you shouldn't have if you can't respect or handle my decisions! What's happening with—"
James placed a hand on Frank's shoulder.
Frank silenced and looked first at Con and then back at James, just as confused as them.
Fenton quivered under Con's palm as Frank's gaze returned to him. "You're my son first, colleague second. There's no way on this EARTH I'll allow you to throw yourself into the flames. I'll be damned if I'm scraping you up off a roof again. There MUST be something else we—"
Mrs Holliday appeared in the doorway, made a loud harrumph noise and pulled their attentions around. "Stop fighting! What happened today to Vanessa's terrible, awful, but it should be pulling you together not driving you apart. Use your anger and channel it into bringing down these people. Put a stop to that devil man doing anything like that to another person. Nancy's still with him, so imagine how she'd feel if she knew you were squabbling like this. Pull together or I'll start banging heads!"
Fenton and Frank glanced at each other. Frank let go of his Dad's forearm and they backed off. "Sorry," they said at the same time. Both sets of hands came up in supplication. They looked so alike, like bookends propping up periodicals.
"Sorry," Frank muttered again and moved another couple of steps away. "I'll talk to you all about it again later." He darted a glance about the room as though seeking a hiding place, but opted instead to leave entirely.
Con stepped into front of Fenton, and whispered. "What the hell, Flash?"
"He's not doing that!" Fenton hissed back.
"It's not your call to make."
Mrs Holliday coughed and directed a loud question at James, "Did Vanessa hit her head when she fell?"
"Probably, she dropped like a stone."
"She has a nasty bump. I think it's why she's not woken up yet, not because of the strangulation."
"What the verdict?" Con asked.
"Her neck looks awful, she's covered in bruises, and the knife cut looks sore but I can't find anything life threatening. My dears, we won't really know until she wakes up, but it seems to be good news. I've cleaned her up as best I can with the equipment I had."
And then, as if on cue: "Mrs Holliday!" Joe called. "I think she's waking up."
-o0o-
"Come back, Van," Joe encouraged. He kneaded her fingers and patted the cool, wet cloth over her forehead Mrs Holliday had given him. "Talk to me, Babes. I miss you."
Vanessa, in the midst of her own personal battle, hauled herself to the surface with her hand gripped tightly to Joe's. Her breaths were stressed and panicked until she took in a big influx of bubbly air. She held it for a few seconds, and then exhaled slowly. Her eyes opened to look at him, but then slid shut again.
"Van?"
A few seconds later and she whispered, "I thought he'd killed me." Her other hand came up, cupped his cheek and her thumb stroked his face. "Jimmy?"
"Yeah, he pulled you back in time."
"I knew having a big brother would pay off," she said painfully and put her arm down. "I got myself one now."
Mrs Holliday appeared next to Joe. "She awake, Joseph?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Vanessa, can you open your eyes for me?" Mrs Holliday ordered.
Vanessa opened up, "Did we get Nancy?"
"No, babes."
"She's still with him?" Vanessa's face morphed into a grimace which mutated into heavy, bitter and tortured tears. "I want my mom!"
"Oh dear," Mrs Holliday said and patted her hand. "Never mind, never mind, I'll get you some water. You let it out." She glanced at Joe. "It's shock talking. It's okay, do what you've got to do."
Joe discarded the cloth and climbed up onto the table. He gathered Vanessa into his arms, and wrapped himself around her. "He's gone Van, he can't hurt you anymore," he promised, as he tucked her head under his chin and rocked her. "I won't let him anywhere near you. I'll die before I'll let him do that to you again. We tried to get to Nancy, James nearly did, but they had him outnumbered."
They stayed in their tableau for some time, locked in their private world. They didn't even register when Mrs Holliday left the water on the end of the table. Eventually, the heart-rending sobs reduced to more controlled sniffles and Vanessa pushed Joe away.
"You feeling better?" He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. "I don't like it when the woman I love's crying."
She went to reassure him but nothing came out.
Joe saw the water and helped her take a sip. "I feel like crap." She took another drink. "I need to speak to The Frankster while I still can, it's important. My throat's closing up."
"I can hear it. But Van, I need to know…that man…did he…you know…did he—?" he stroked her face and stared earnestly.
Vanessa frowned up at him, not understanding…but suddenly her brain latched onto his train of thought. "OH! No. He didn't touch me that way. He got off on watching my eyes. He did it like—" She cupped Joe's cheeks and pulled until his nose as good as touched hers and she looked directly into his eyes. "Like this. Just like this, but his eyes weren't like yours, they were soul-less. But he didn't touch me like how you're worried he did. He didn't, I promise."
"Good. Well, not good, but you know what I mean. Babes, it must have been so creepy! I remember the way he stared at me in the woods, but at least he wasn't all up in my face." He laid her down on the cushion-come-pillow, slipped off the table and unfurled the sheet. "I'll get Frank now." He covered her upper body as her black bra proved to be the only thing saving her dignity. He didn't like to think how Frank knew his girlfriend's size when he'd kitted them out. He administered a healing kiss to his girl. "I'll get him."
Joe walked through to the living room. He stepped into an atmosphere rich with a heady mix of testosterone fuelled anger, guilt and something else he didn't sense often…fear? But absent of his brother. "Where's Frank?"
"Is she okay?" James asked disturbed. "We could hear her, she sounds real bad."
"She will be, she's okay. Stronger than she sounds. Much stronger actually." Joe recognised the emotions radiating from James. "James, Dude - don't do what you're doing to yourself. As someone who's been there, take my advice and don't do it. Vanessa knows you saved her. You've earned your status as big brother. Where's my big brother?"
"Dunno. His room?"
Joe went out in the hallway but as his feet hit the stairs, he found Frank hunkered about halfway up, with Rebel a few steps down, the dog's head laid in his lap. "Dude, Van needs to…aw crap, you okay?"
"Not really," Frank muttered and wiped his face. "It's hard listening to her suffer. I should have listened to you when you said to send her away with Andrea."
"Dude, you won't believe how uberly wrong one man can be! I told Van what I said and she tore into me, and I mean ripped me to shreds. It's why we didn't beat James to the conference room. Did you know a woman's rest room smells nicer and is cleaner than a man's? I know, cause Van cornered me in it as she yelled at me. Two women used the facilities while we were there, but Van wouldn't let me out. You made the right call; Van's in this for the long haul. She wants to be taken as seriously as Nancy." Joe made his way further up. "Mrs Holliday said Van's crying is her shock talking. What I said to you when we found Van in that state? My shock talking, I didn't mean it."
"It's okay, Bro."
"No it isn't, I've got a big mouth." Joe shoved his leg between Rebel and Frank, sat down on the stair and draped his arm around Frank's shoulders.
"Joe," Frank pointed at his own face, "This is nothing to do with you. I can't even remember what you said. This is my shock talking! Get Dad and Con to fill you in. You missed a lot of chatter.
"I heard shouting."
"We were venting." Frank stared at his fingers as they drummed a rhythm on his knee. "The therapy…one of the by-products…I can't always control my emotions and it comes out in ways I wish it didn't. It's humiliating. I never used to be like this! I'm gonna turn this whole thing over to Dad, I'm struggling, I'm not experienced enough, can't see the wood for the trees."
"Give yourself credit for how far you've come. Remember when I lost Iola and the churned up mess it turned me into? I've never been the same since. My fuse can be shorter than a matchstick and I'm hyper-fearful about Van's safety all the time. Stop worrying about it. So what if your emotions get the better of you, who cares? Don't turn anything over to Dad, talk to Van first. She said she needs to speak to you before—"
-o0o-
Frank jumped up and ran down the stairs. He faltered at the end and half turned his head. "Bro, don't be tempted to look at my phone, yeah?" He carried on through to the dining room.
Vanessa saw him and stretched her arm out.
"Vanessa?" He took her offered hand and she drew him close. "I'm so sorry, Sis. This is all on me."
Vanessa swatted him and took his shirt to pull his face closer. She ran her fingers through his hair. "Aw Bro, stop playing the blame game. I'm on the team. I have to take the hits like the rest of you. Listen close. They had Nancy on the ambulance."
"We know, she—"
She tugged on a lock of hair and made him grimace. "Shut up! The woman…she told the Red-Headed Man he couldn't have her for two days as Nan's valuable because of her photographic memory."
"So I've got two days before the Red-Headed Man can do anything to her?"
Vanessa nodded and pointed at the water. Frank helped her to take another drink and she lay there with her eyes shut for a while. He thought she'd finished and decided to leave her alone. As he slipped his hand from hers, she gripped tight and her eyes popped open. "Did I fall asleep?"
"I think you did."
"I dropped my phone into the medical bag."
Frank pulled back, and his face opened up at the enormity of what she'd told him, delivered like a throwaway comment.
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. "You can trace it can't you?" She tugged on his hand. "You can trace it and we can get Nancy away from the Red-Headed Man. I'm right aren't I? Am I right?" Another tear ran down her cheek. "Frank, for goodness sake, tell me I'm right!"
The words trapped in his throat burst forth. "YES! Yes! Aw Sis! You've given Nan and us a real fighting chance!" He wiped her tear away, and she wiped his and then they hugged.
"Frank?" she whispered in his ear. "They don't know where we are. He thought I'd been helping to hide Nancy. We're safe here."
"I'm glad. Vanessa, you're brilliant. I'm making you my deputy."
"Frank?"
"Yes?"
"Will you take me to bed?"
Frank laughed. "Yes, to sleep. I won't tell Joe how you phrased it." He let her go, wrapped her up into a neat package - blanket, sheet and all, and lifted her. Her arms slid about his shoulders and she buried her face into his neck. As he passed the living room he raised his voice. "Joe, Vanessa asked me to take her up but I'd rather you did it."
Joe came out of the room. "Frank, what I've just been told. Dude! No wonder you were in pieces."
Frank shrugged, "It's what it is. We'll deal with it." He gently transferred Vanessa into his brother's arms. "We'll try not to disturb you," he promised her.
"I've always liked your hair," she told him.
"Uh, thanks…you're not really awake are you?" She didn't answer him so he addressed Joe again, "Once Vanessa's settled can you come back? We need to have a meeting because she's told me something that's opened the game up."
"Is it about your hair?"
"No, but she's right. It's damn likeable."
"Dare I hope?" Fenton called.
"Yes Dad, she probably likes your hair too. It's like mine, but peppery."
"I'm not talking about your hair...or mine. I'm talking about what she told you."
"Yes, we actually do dare this time. Vanessa's amazing!" Frank stepped into the doorway. "Con, I know you said you would keep it, but I need my phone back."
-o0o-
Frank didn't say anything to the others until Joe came down. He'd accessed his phone and paced up and down, staring at the screen and muttering.
Con took advantage of the lull in proceedings to update James on what happened with Arthur Gray and what he'd told them. James reacted like how they had, angry and bitter at being thrust into a situation where they had no control, but just as determined to overcome every obstacle.
Fenton had been staring at his own cell for a good five minutes. Finally, he said to Frank. "I've got to make a call to Carson. He deserves to know what's happened. He must be going out of his mind…not that it's going to help him on that score."
"Surely it's something I should be doing?"
Fenton shook his head. "It needs a father-to-father call, and he's my friend. I'm the right one to do it."
Frank put his hand out. "Give me your phone. I'll program Carson's number in."
"You remember it?"
"Everything's been filtering back, except for the code." Frank concentrated on the phone for a few seconds, as his thumbs did their work and then returned it. "I'm surprised at Nancy though. She's far more level-headed than me. It doesn't make sense she'd be hypnotised so easily. She hates Arthur Gray more than Joe does."
"Not as level-headed as you thought?" Fenton suggested.
"No, I'm right about Nan."
Fenton stood. "I'll phone Carson. This'll be a tough call to make. God knows I've no positive spin."
"Wait, Dad, until Joe gets here. I think I can give you a positive spin."
They heard the unmistakable sound of Joe's heavy footfalls and he rounded the bend in the doorway. "What you got for us, Dude?"
Frank held up the phone. "I got Nancy's location."