CHAPTER 6
Following the bus driver's directions, Carolyn soon found the hotel. She was passing a dark alleyway when a sudden feeling of déjà vu hit her. Pausing at the entrance, Carolyn recalled another time in her life: She could see herself walking into a dark room, the door slammed shut. Suddenly the room was filled with a bright light, almost blinding her. Hearing a noise, Carolyn turned her head slightly. There was a loud thump and a cry of pain. Her eyes now adjusted to the brightness, she saw an Assassin coming towards her. Crying out in surprise, the Assassin soon found himself flying in the air and smashing into the wall on the opposite side of the room. Two more Assassins came charging for her…this time Carolyn lifted them both in the air and smashed them into each other. Once all the men were down, Dr. Warner's voice could be heard over a loudspeaker: "Well done, Carolyn, well done."
Taking a deep breath, Carolyn was about to resume walking when she thought she saw four figures entering the alley. Then she heard someone laugh and she smiled. That was Chet! Turning to go into the alleyway, Carolyn stopped. They were here. The Assassins were here.
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Chet was laughing hysterically; Joe had finally gotten Frank. Biff had been walking next to Frank, Chet with Joe. Joe had been grumbling as he tried to get confetti out of his hair. Joe had tried one last time to hit Frank with the cascarone but his brother managed to turn the tables on him. Thinking that was Joe's only cascarone, Frank had relaxed and didn't keep his attention on his younger brother. Joe bided his time, waiting for the right moment. As they were coming up a dark alley, Joe pulled out the cascarone that was nestled in his pocket. Sneaking up on Frank, he slammed the colored egg down onto Frank's head, rubbing the confetti into his hair.
"Ooh you are dead! You are sooo dead!" Frank cried as he went after Joe.
"Try and catch me!" Joe answered back.
The brothers ran down the alley, with Chet and Biff following after them.
Two men suddenly came out of the shadows; they grabbed hold of Chet and attempted to drag him away. Chet let out a surprised, "Hey!" Biff turned around to check on his friend, and saw Chet struggling with two thugs.
"Frank! Joe! Chet's in trouble!"
Biff pulled one of the men off Chet, swung his arm back and punched the man in the jaw. To Biff's surprise the man flew back and hit the side of the building, then slumped to the ground, unconscious. Biff turned to see Chet elbow his assailant in the stomach. This caused the man to let Chet go.
Joe and Frank had run back to help; pushing Chet out of the way,Joe gave the attacker an uppercut punch to the face. To Joe's shock the man also flew through the air, landing inside the Dumpster.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Frank said as he pulled Joe away.
As they neared the end of the alley, they saw someone come out into the light. The four boys stopped, ready for another attack.
"Chet."
Chet stepped closer. Was it her? Her hair was darker and shorter. Her skin was tanned. Chet smiled as he gazed into her blue eyes -sky blue, he always thought. Taking her hand, Chet turned to his friends.
"We need to get her out of here before those goons regain consciousness."
"Wait a second, Chet."
"It's okay Frank, it's…"
"I know, that's why I think it would be better if Biff or Joe held her hand. If she's here, that means so is the Gray Man….and the Assassins."
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Melinda Johnson looked up and saw the four boys, along with a girl, walk in. She smiled and waved as they passed by, studying the girl. Melinda thought she was one of the locals with her dark hair and skin.
"They arrived safely, but they have a girl with them….No, the blonde friend, Biff I think his name is, was with her….Well, he had his arm around her…No, some Hispanic girl….Don't worry, Devon will be listening in."
Before going into their room, Frank cautioned everyone to act normally but not address Carolyn by name. Once inside the room, Frank took out his suitcase. Rummaging through the pockets, he found a small box.
"Remind me to get Phil a souvenir," said Frank as he held up the box to Joe.
Frank swept the room with the box, which lit up with a wildly-blinking red light. Knowing what was going to happen next, Joe covered his ears and gestured to everyone else to do the same. Frank could only cover one ear as he turned on a switch. N ear-piercing whine sounded, lasting less than ten seconds.
"You okay, Frank?"
"I'll be okay, Joe. We can talk now."
"What the heck was that?!" Chet yelled.
"Sorry, something Phil made for me. It's a bug sweeper and deactivator."
"You mean your room was bugged?" Biff asked.
"Yeah, and I'm sure yours is too."
"Now the next question is," Biff looked over at Carolyn. "Why are you here?"
Noticing how tired Carolyn looked, Frank suggested they wait until morning for answers. "Besides, we still need to call our parents."
"Wait, where's Carolyn going to sleep?" Chet looked over at Frank.
"She can sleep here, Joe and I will share the other bed."
"One of us should probably keep watch, Frank," Joe suggested.
"Good idea. I'll take the first watch."
"Okay, you can wake me around four."
"Wait a second! You two aren't going to have all the fun. We have adjoining rooms; we can all stand guard. If Joe is second, then I'll take the third watch. Chet, you can take the last one."
Frank and Joe smiled; they knew they could always count on Chet and Biff.
"Is that okay with you, Carolyn?"
But Carolyn had already fallen asleep on top of the bed. Without saying a word, Chet gently picked her up as Joe pulled back the covers. Setting her carefully back onto the bed, Chet pulled the blankets over her.
**END OF CHAPTER**
Authors Note: Please read the author's profile for this story. The author, copagirl, passed away in 2013. I am posting these stories up with the permission of her family, who want her to be remembered as well. Lola was a long-time member of the Hardy Detective Agency and we miss her soooooo much! Love you Lola!
Thanks to those of you leaving feedback! I know copagirl would love all of it.