"It's nice to be back," Joe said as he reclined in the plush leather chair in front of the TV. He opened a bag of Cheetos.
"Ugh, keep those away from me," Frank complained. "They smell like feet."
Joe shook the bag in Frank's direction and wafted the air with his hand. Frank grimaced.
"I just got off the phone with the Gray Man," Fenton said as he walked into the family room and sat on the couch. "Even with the new evidence, his attempt to start an investigation into Dragon Enterprises got shot down. That company has friends in very high places."
"What about the plane bombing?" Frank asked.
"Officially, the narrative is that Brian had an extra bomb on the plane that he mishandled, resulting in his death. Unofficially, the Gray Man believes Dragon Enterprises was covering its tracks. It found out that Brian endangered the company and decided to eliminate him."
"So that's it?" Joe said, disgusted.
Fenton nodded. "Looks like it. The Assassin is dead, the person leaking information is dead, and the mastermind is dead. There's no one left to investigate."
"Dragon Enterprises is still there," Frank pointed out.
"I'd love nothing more than to get in there and figure out all that they're doing." Fenton said. "But, the official position of the United States government is that Brian was acting independently for his own private gain."
"You didn't hear him in the hangar," Joe said. "He sounded legitimately scared of his boss at Dragon Enterprises. Even if the boss wasn't involved in the bombing, he's sure up to some shady stuff."
Fenton stood to leave. "That's the danger of this business, boys. Not everything gets wrapped up in a nice tidy bow. There are some questions you can never answer."
The brothers watched the NFL playoff game without speaking for a couple of minutes. Frank broke the silence. "Did you see the Rock's new movie is coming out next weekend?"
"Yeah, it looks good," Joe replied.
"I'm taking Callie. Do you and Vanessa want to come?"
Joe looked at Frank and raised an eyebrow. "When are you two going?"
"Friday night."
"Okay. Vanessa and I will go Saturday."
The two started laughing.
"Good point," Frank grinned. "It's probably too soon for another double date."
Laura entered the room, holding a stack of mail. "Joe, you got something."
Joe sat up in his chair. "What? From who?"
Laura handed him a postcard. "It doesn't say."
Joe examined the thin piece of cardboard. "It's from the Netherlands," he said as he looked at the front where a field of tulips stood in front of two windmills. He flipped it over to read the message and noticed the return address was blank.
"What does it say," Frank asked.
"It's just one sentence," Joe replied. "If you want to take down Dragon Enterprises, find Tom Swift."