CHAPTER 14

Frank Hardy arrived home after getting evidence from Wirth. As he stuffed his keys into his pocket, he checked the answering machine to see if there were any messages from Joe. There was one message, but it wasn't from Joe.

"Frank, call me back. We might have some information here," Con's voice filled the quiet room.

Frowning, Frank wondered what had happened. He hoped it wasn't a bad news on Joe. He quickly called Con.

"What's up, Con?" Frank demanded after Con answered the phone.

"I think Joe and Duncan might be in trouble," Con told him.

"What? How do you know?" Frank asked, feeling dread.

"Mrs. Blackwell reported it to me. She's here at the station right now."

"Mrs. Blackwell?" Frank startled.

"Duncan's wife – Marilyn Bauer Blackwell," Con explained.

Frank's head went swimming taking all the information at once. He wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him. "Wow," was all he could say. "What did really happen?" he asked finally.

Con told Frank how Joe had managed to find Lyn, and Duncan in Riverside. "She told me her husband and Joe were on their way to see me. But when she went out of her apartment an hour later to throw some trash, she noticed the van is still there. She called the police and I told her to come here."

"Someone must have kidnapped them," Frank said. "I think I know who - I hope it's not Mr. Bauer. In fact, I'm about to see you and give you the proof."

"You have the proof?" Con sounded surprise.

"Yes, from Wirth," Frank replied cryptically. "I'll tell you later. We need to get Joe and Duncan back, if they are really in danger," he added quickly.

"And I suppose you know where they are right now?" Con asked.

"Yes," Frank replied and quickly told him the address. "I hope I'm right about the place."

"That's in Riverside," Con noted. "How do you know about this?" he demanded.

"From the proof," Frank replied simply. "For short, everything about the software piracy operation is in there, including the person or persons involved. You won't believe what I've discovered. It also tied with the case you're investigating."

"What?"

"I'll give you later. I need to get my brother back," Frank promised quickly before he hung up.

***

"I know this place," Duncan said to Joe when they stepped out of the black Ford.

"What's this place?" Joe asked, looking at the old warehouse. Lewis had taken them to the warehouse at the edge of Riverside.

"It's where I got the pirated software," Duncan said. "This is the place McGuire had mentioned."

"All right, move it you two," Lewis ordered, pointing the two guns at his captives. He motioned them to go into the warehouse.

Duncan and Joe cautiously stepped into the dim interior of the warehouse. Then the two Lewis's henchmen entered and closed the door behind them.

"What are you going to do with us?" Joe asked Lewis, playing dumb.

"Move on," Lewis ordered again ignoring Joe's question. He pushed them toward the dim interior. Then he placed one of his guns into his jacket.

The room went bright, as someone had switched on the lights. There were wooden crates stacked at one side of the large room. Joe wondered if those crates contained guns or pirated software. At the back end of the room was a large machine with a stack of about thousands of CDs on it. Joe guessed this might be the copying machine for the CDs.

At the moment, someone came out from a door that led to an office. Joe was surprised to see the newcomer, who was coming out of the room.

"Well, well, looks like we have some unexpected companies here," the man sneered.

"So, it was you all along," Joe burst out angrily. "How did you two get to work together? A smuggler and a pirate – what a combination," he went on flatly.

"Let's just say we've known each other through a common contact," George Hayworth replied simply. "Tie them up," he commanded to the two henchmen.

One of the henchmen, Will, a dark haired muscular man, grabbed Joe and pushed him toward a wooden chair. He pulled out his rope and bounded Joe to the chair with his arms at the back. The other man, a blond guy, did the same to Duncan. When the two guys were done, Lewis and Hayworth stood before Joe and Duncan. The two henchmen were standing on either side of their captives.

"All right, where is the disk now?" Lewis demanded.

"We don't know what you're talking about," Joe said. "If you describe it to us maybe we can remember about it."

Lewis looked at Duncan levelly. "We know McGuire had been contacting Duncan here. He had to give something to him before he died. McGuire knew George had known about his snooping." Then he turned to Joe with a cold hard stare. "I even saw Duncan came to your house, Hardy. So, the disk has to be with either one of you."

"So, you were the one who's been tailing me," Duncan said with a scowl.

"Even if he had given me the disk, that doesn't mean it has something to do with your operation," Joe retorted.

"Oh, come on, I've found out Bob had been breaching my computer and copied everything about the operation. He even threatened me the day before he died to come clean or he'll report it to the police," Hayworth said with a stern look toward Duncan and Joe.

"If I'd known what it was, I'd give it to you now," Duncan said flatly.

"I'd wish you didn't record everything of our operation in your computer," Lewis suddenly grumbled to Hayworth. "See what this has gotten us into now?"

"You have to keep track of everything if one of our customers is cheating on us," Hayworth pointed out in annoyance. "And the police wouldn't come looking for you if you didn't sell those weapons here. I thought we have agreed not to sell weapons and the software at the same time!"

"Hey, I needed the money," Lewis pointed out in anger. Then he suddenly turned to Duncan and glared. "And since you're still not telling…" he said threateningly as he signaled the blond guy who was standing next to Duncan with a nod. Without warning, the Blond punched Duncan toward his midsection. Duncan grunted in pain.

"Hey! Don't you guys understand what we just said? We don't know any disk, and you're wasting your time with us!" Joe snapped. He had to think fast to get away from these maniacs. But how? If only he had called Frank before he left the apartment. But it's too late now, he thought grimly. His hands started wriggling against the tight knot. No use – he couldn't even move an inch.

"Maybe we're not trying hard enough!" Hayworth said to Lewis.

"I know how," Lewis said with an evil grin. He turned to the dark haired guy, who was standing next to Joe. "Will, do your thing," he ordered.

The guy named Will pulled out a lethal-looking army knife from his jacket. He looked menacingly at Joe as he held it out. Joe gulped nervously as the sharp tip of the knife glinting against Will's broad face hideously.

"Uh, you're not going to kill me are you?" Joe asked weakly.

"We'll see. You cooperate or die," Lewis said cryptically. "I don't hire Will here for nothing, you know. He has developed a special skill when he used to work in the army – especially on handling stubborn people."

"Uh – Before you do anything, maybe you could tell us how Hayworth got tied in all this? After all, he already has a successful software company," Joe put in quickly. Anything to stall time, he thought. Time for what? He decided to ignore that question for the moment.

"Hmm, all right. After all, you won't be able to tell it anyone after we're done with you," Lewis said with a smirk. "In fact, I'll make it short and sweet," he suddenly said, as if knowing what Joe was thinking. "It's not really complicated."

Joe felt his heart sank. Maybe that was a stupid question!

"Maybe I should explain it," Hayworth spoke up.

Lewis just shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Hayworth turned to Joe. "As you know, my company's losing money – very badly, I had to take some extra measures to get more money," he explained.

"Like making pirate software?" Joe prompted, hoping he sounded calm.

He shrugged. "Something like that," he replied vaguely.

"I think he got the idea, Hayworth," Lewis interrupted rudely with an impatient wave. "Let's not waste anymore time. Will," he ordered his accomplice simply.

Joe hadn't a chance to reply when Will suddenly stabbed Joe with the knife.