Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the canon book characters, and am making no monies from this story. Any Original Characters belong to the author(s).
This story was originally written in the early 2000s. There are many technological differences from today's world. Co-written with RokiaHDA, who wrote back then under the name of Aspen.
September Reprise
By EvergreenDreamweaver and RokiaHDA
Chapter 38
Megan's mouth was dry as sandpaper as she watched Kirk speed away from her, down the path. She sat there on her bench for a moment, indecisive about what to do. Should I get up and follow him? Try to talk to him? He looked so…guilty. I'm sure he's up to something. But should I wait for Frank to get here, before we follow him?
But what if he starts another fire, before Frank comes? Nervously, Megan checked her watch. It would be at least another 25 minutes before Frank could be expected to arrive. Megan felt butterflies forming in her stomach at the thought of confronting Kirk Moncrief. Once, she'd thought he was a nice guy, if a trifle odd – until that day when she'd talked to him – questioned him – and discovered just how 'off' he was, on certain subjects! She wasn't at all wild about going after him and talking to him again – but I'll do it if I have to!
And yeah…She sighed and shivered. I have to. At least, I have to follow him and see what he's up to. But I'll wait a little bit, let him get further away, so he doesn't realize that I'm following him. She watched him hurry away.
And now she knew where he was going, or she thought she did. The Bell Tower. It had to be the Bell Tower, she thought, seeing him head purposefully toward the tall edifice in front of the auditorium. It was a beautiful structure, rock-covered for the first twenty feet, then another twenty that was built of one-by-ones and two-by-twos, with open spaces in between. You could see the bells through the openings. While they were actually triggered electronically, they really did ring – beautiful chimes at eight a.m., noon, and six p.m. And, she remembered, at Christmas time last year, they had played carols! As if to echo her thought, the sweet sound of the chimes echoed across the quiet campus. Six o'clock.
Megan took a deep breath, screwing up her courage from somewhere deep within, and got to her feet. She shouldered her backpack and resolutely set out after Kirk. She walked deliberately, with determination, trying to act as if she had somewhere else to go...somewhere that wasn't the bell tower. She was thankful that the auditorium was on the same path that led to the campus library. Hopefully, Kirk will think I'm going to the library! she thought. She saw him in the distance, stopping at one point to look around again. Then, he passed the Bell Tower, turned, and disappeared behind the structure. She remembered that there was a ladder on one side, for people to climb up for maintenance. He must be going up the ladder….
She stopped for a moment, breathless with tension. She wasn't at all sure she should follow Kirk Moncrief up onto the tower. After a moment's thought, Megan pulled her cell phone from her backpack and dialed Frank's cell number.
Darn! She frowned, hearing the recorded message: "Hi, this is Frank. I'm not available right now; please leave a message at the beep, and I'll get back to you." Scowling with frustration, she stopped the call without leaving a message, and dialed Wayne's World. Maybe Frank hadn't left yet!
"Wayne's World Air Charter Service, this is Jack Wayne, can I help you?" The oft-repeated spiel rolled effortlessly from Jack's lips.
"Jack? It's Megan. I'm sorry to call Frank on this line, but I was wondering if I could talk to him a minute. I tried his cell, but I can't get through, and it's really important!"
"Hi there! I'm sorry, but Frank just left for the day – about two minutes ago! He said he was going to meet you. Just me and Dani here, right now," Jack told her cheerfully. "Are you okay? Is everything all right?" he added, with some concern.
"I'm – not sure, Jack." Megan hesitated. "But I'm a little worried about something. I'm on campus. I was watching Kirk Moncrief, and I think he's gone up the Bell Tower here. I followed him….I think he may be up to something – he's carrying the backpack he had the night of the fire at the Art building, and he's got on that same sweatshirt. I think he may be going to set another fire, and I'm not sure what to do. I could try to stop him – what if he does something before Frank gets here?"
"Good Lord, Megan, you stay away from there!" Jack yelped. "That guy's unstable; there's no telling what he might do if someone interrupts him!"
"He hasn't hurt anyone so far," Megan argued. "I don't think he'd try to hurt me. And maybe I can stop him, Jack!"
"Megan, don't! Don't you do it!" Jack repeated vehemently. "At least, wait for Frank to get there!"
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do." Megan purposefully kept her words vague, for inside she was already making her plans. I'd better try climbing up there and see if I can stop him….I'm scared, yes…but Kirk wouldn't hurt me, would he? I'm sure he wouldn't hurt me…. "I don't think I can wait for Frank to come, Jack," she went on, aloud. "I've got to go now."
"Megan?" It was Dani's voice on the phone now. "Hang tight; we're on our way. We'll be there in twenty – maybe fifteen!" and then came the sound of the receiver being slammed into the cradle.
Megan shook her head. Fifteen or twenty wasn't soon enough. She stared at the carillon tower, and then decided to try Frank's cell number once more, before she did anything else. She hit speed-dial, and her relief was palpable when she heard him answer – he must have just dropped out of coverage for a minute or two!
"Hello? Megan?" Evidently Frank had looked at the readout.
"Yes, it's me. I'm so glad to have caught you! Frank – something's going on, here at school. Listen: Kirk's on campus, and he's gone up the Bell Tower, and I'm afraid he's going to burn it down!"
"That sonofa…" Frank let his words die off into an unintelligible mutter, and Megan relaxed slightly, smiling.
"Should I try to stop him? I could go up after him – talk to him, maybe—"
"Try to stop him!" Frank shouted, "No way, Baby! No way should you go up there! He's crazy, Megan, don't you realize that? He's totally insane! What if he did something to you?" Oh God, she didn't just say that, did she? If something happened to her, I couldn't stand it!
"Frank, he's never tried to hurt me before," Megan said patiently. "He likes me, remember?" She heard Frank's quickly-indrawn breath at that comment, and forged ahead. "Maybe I'm the only person who can talk him out of burning the bell tower down, Frank!"
"Megan, wait. Just wait, okay? I'll be there in less than fifteen minutes – maybe ten. I'll make record time, I promise – and I'll call the police department and the fire department, in case Kirk does start a fire."
"That may not be necessary," she told him. "I talked to Jack and Dani, when I was trying to reach you. Dani's coming – maybe she's already contacted the fire department." I hope she did, anyway!
"Megan, you're not going to follow him, are you? Please don't. Don't go up that tower—" Frank was practically begging, his voice shaking with earnestness. "Baby, find a campus security guard, or something – can't you do that? You mustn't follow him—"
"There aren't any security guards around, Frank. I can't just sit here and wait while he might be torching the tower," Megan said calmly, although her heart fluttered hard in her chest. "I promise I'll be careful – but I am going up. If I can stop him, it's worth the risk. I love you, darling…." Gulping a little, she pressed the button to end the call, and returned her phone to its pocket in her backpack.
Slowly, determinedly, Megan walked across the grass to the bottom of the carillon tower. She moved around to the back side, where Kirk had disappeared. Yes, there was the ladder. She took off her backpack, and set it down nearby.
She swallowed hard. Although she was not especially frightened of heights, still, it was a long way up, with nothing at all to cushion a fall to the concrete. Very slowly and carefully, Megan put one foot on the first rung, and began to climb. She was very careful not to look down.
As she moved higher, she could hear something above – soft mutterings. Kirk's voice, evidently talking quietly to himself. Nervously, she wondered again if she was doing the right thing. All things considered, she wasn't at all sure she was safe up here. But I've got to do something! And maybe Kirk will listen to me!
At last she gained the midway point, where the solid platform was. Megan popped her head over the edge and took a look around. There was a 15-by-15-foot square, surrounded by the wood lattice, and above hung the massive bells. And there was Kirk. His back was turned to her, and he was industriously spreading crumpled paper around the edges of the platform next to the wooden bars, and adding small bits of wood to the piles.
"Kirk, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, at last.
Kirk jumped and whirled to face her. "Megan! What are you doing here?" He watched as she pulled herself off the ladder and onto the platform. She could see a strange light in his eyes as he looked at her, just for a moment. Then he sighed and shook his head. "You shouldn't have come here."
"But I had to." Megan took a step towards him, her hand extended. "Kirk, you need to stop this. What if you hurt someone?"
"That doesn't matter anymore," he muttered. "I have to do this. It's important. I'm doing the right thing. I have to get Uncle Charles and the others to listen to me! That project could save millions of animals – it could save people, too! But Uncle Charles wouldn't listen. He's greedy. I'll do anything it takes, to get him to understand."
Megan swallowed. He sounded crazy now, she had to admit it. Dangerously crazy. But she had to try – maybe she could get through to him yet. Slowly, she took another step. On the other hand, maybe I'm the insane one, she admitted to herself. Coming up here by myself, with no one to back me up, was insanity! "Kirk, maybe there's a better way to convince them," she suggested gently. "You just have to give it a little more time. Maybe there's some data that hasn't been presented yet, or something. Maybe you could try talking to people about modifying the project, to improve the test results." Frantically, she tried to think of arguments that might sway Kirk from his intentions. "Doing this isn't going to help your case, you know. Burning down the campus buildings won't make them reconsider the Adirondack Project. Nobody is going to listen to you if you're acting crazy—" Oops! Bad move!
"I'm NOT crazy!" Kirk shouted furiously, advancing towards her with his fists tightly clenched. "I'm the only sane one around here! I'm the only one who cares! Everyone else is so enamored with sports, and the arts, and campus politics and bureaucracies…."
Frightened in earnest now, Megan scrambled back towards the ladder, but Kirk lunged at her, and grabbed her arm in a tight grip.
"Let me go, Kirk! Let me go right now!" Although she was trying to sound authoritative, Megan heard her voice tremble.
He shook his head. "No – I can't. You know too much now….I'm sorry you got hurt because of my uncle," he muttered. "He wasn't supposed to hit anyone when his brakes went out, he was just supposed to get roughed up some, and scared. Or, actually, I didn't care if it killed him. I didn't expect it to take so long for them to go out. I didn't ever want to hurt you, not ever."
Megan's aqua eyes flashed fire. "YOU were the one who cut the brake line?" she gasped. "It was because of you that my car was hit?" She was not only frightened now, she was furious! She jerked her arm free and scowled at him, outraged.
"I didn't mean for it to happen! I never in the world wanted you to get hurt!" he snapped defensively. He paused, and the familiar sardonic smirk crossed his features. "I did mean for the Hardy kid's car to get smashed, though!"
"'The Hardy kid's car'…you mean, you had something to do with Joe's accident, too?"
"Yeah—" Kirk's crooked grin widened. "I happened to be over by Uncle Charles' place and I saw him leave. There was a car sitting parked with the keys in it – so I borrowed it for a little while. Thought I'd throw a scare into him – damned football jock! I'll bet he thought it was a real gun, huh?" He stepped nearer, reaching into his pocket and removing a handkerchief. The smile faded, and his face went grim. "That's enough talk. Now it's time."
Megan tried to scream, tried to retreat - but Kirk was too swift for her, and there was nowhere to escape. He seized her again, in that unyielding grip, and pulled her close, pressing the handkerchief firmly over her mouth and nose. Megan winced and whimpered as he hurt her broken nose, and struggled – trying to break that surprisingly strong grip. She stared at him, eyes wide with terror, as he began to make soft apologies.
"I'm sorry – I never wanted anyone to get hurt, Meggie," he murmured, increasing the pressure against her face. "You should have stayed away."
Meggie! You can't call me that! Only Mom and Dad did – and now Vanessa! Because she's my friend. You aren't my friend, you can't call me that…. Megan twisted helplessly in his grasp.
"I especially never wanted you to be hurt – I liked you a lot. I've liked you ever since last year. But you never even knew I existed – and it's too late now. I can't stop. I have to do this – this is my mission, you know. What I'm doing is more important than one person, no matter who….Relax, Megan, it will all be over soon…."
She couldn't get any air in – her chest hurt, and dark spots were beginning to circle through her vision.
"I'm sorry, Megan," Kirk whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry. But nobody can get in my way now. Nobody. I'm sorry…."
And as the world spun out of control, and the darkness closed in, Megan heard his voice once more, saying softly:
"Goodbye…."