CHAPTER 12

Joe Hardy coughed a little from the smoke. Flames were already spreading on one side of the room, near the door – the only door to their escape. He tried to ignore the scorching heat that was starting to engulf him. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!" Joe told the others.

"The door's locked!" Bruce exclaimed in panic, tugging at the knob.

Joe turned to Phil. "Is there another exit from here?"

Phil shook his head. "I think we can use the fire extinguisher in the meantime." He pointed to a black metallic extinguisher. "I use it for electrical fires only."

"You take the extinguisher, while I try to open the door," Joe told him and walked to the door. His eyes were starting to water. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped it around his face. He signaled the others to do the same.

Then Joe gave a swift hard kick toward the door. It broke into splintered wood, sending the door gaping wide enough for a person to go through.

"Everyone out!" he urged, letting Liz through the door first, followed by Bruce, and Phil, who was still carrying the extinguisher with him. The smoke was getting thicker, making them harder to breathe. But it eased a little when they were out of the basement.

Suddenly, a couple of men in black clothes and ski masks came out of nowhere and grabbed Liz, who was just about to rush out of the front door. She gave a scream, struggling against the men.

"Hey!" Joe rushed over and pulled one of them away from her.

Bruce and Phil, who were just behind Liz, grabbed the other thug.

Joe sent a blow toward the thug, but the person evaded easily and returned with a karate-kick toward his midsection. Joe grunted, and staggered backward. He lost his footing and stumbled to the ground. The thug took the opportunity to help his friend, who was struggling between Phil and Bruce. He pushed Phil away.

Phil landed beside Joe just as his friend was about to get up.

"They're taking Bruce, too!" Phil cried and pointing toward Bruce, still in a scuffle with the thug.

"We've got to save them!" Joe quickly helped Phil and ran again toward the two thugs. They were already moving toward the street. Liz was kicking and struggling, that the thug had a hard time controlling her. Bruce was held back in a chokehold against the second man – paralyzing his movement.

Joe almost reached them when Liz suddenly broke free as she stomped her foot on her assailant's foot before running away to a safe distance.

A familiar dark sedan suddenly pulled to a stop in front of the house. The two men dived into the backseat, bringing Bruce with them before it sped off.

"I'll call the police and the fire department!" Phil said. "Don't worry I can try to put out the fire," he told Joe, knowing that Joe wanted to follow the car.

"Thanks, Phil," he said gratefully.

"What about me?" Liz asked worriedly.

Joe hesitated. "Okay, come with me," he told her finally, before running toward the van. He stopped in front of the van when he noticed something.

"Shoot!" He kicked at the van in frustration. All of the tires were slashed!

"What's wrong?" Liz asked curiously when she arrived at his side.

"I guess we won't be doing any racing," he said wryly, pointing at the tires.

"But what about Bruce?" Liz looked at him worriedly.

"We have to report it to the police. There's nothing we can do now," he told her, looking frustrated. "But I can't understand why they took him."

They walked back to the Cohen's house. By this time, they could hear the siren wailing and coming closer.

"I'd better call the tow truck, too," Joe told Phil when they saw him putting out the fire with the extinguisher. He explained about the van when Phil gave him a puzzled look.

Joe glanced at the house. The fire was already spreading to the kitchen, but Phil had almost got it under control. It didn't cause too much damage.

"There goes your project, Phil. Bruce was holding your board when he was kidnapped," Joe told him ruefully.

"Don't worry about the board. I was about to tell you something about it before the fire started," Phil replied.

"What is it?" Joe asked.

"You've brought the wrong board."

***

When Frank and his father arrived at the Cohen's house, the place was bustling with activities – from the police to the firemen, working together to put out the remaining fire, and controlling the crowd.

"Frank! What are you doing here?" Phil suddenly appeared in front of them.

"What happened?" Frank asked worriedly.

"I don't know exactly. One minute we were in the room, and the next minute there was a fire, and robbers."

"We? Robbers?" Frank looked blank.

"Robbers…kidnappers, whatever you're going to call it," Phil replied wearily. "Anyway, Joe and Liz were here. You just missed them."

"Joe? Liz? What were they doing here? What is going on?" Frank asked exasperatedly.

"Oh, sorry," Phil said sheepishly before starting to tell the Hardys what had really happened.

"Hmmm, I bet those kidnappers are connected to Morris. I wonder why they aren't pursuing you anymore? Even though I'm glad about it," Mr. Hardy spoke to Frank thoughtfully after Phil had done explaining.

"Well, whatever it is, I think we need to speak to Joe. He could have known something," Frank suggested.

His father nodded in agreement.

"I guess we'd better find Joe," Frank told Phil. "Glad to see you're all right, Phil."

After saying goodbyes, the Hardys headed back to their home.

***

Joe Hardy and Liz were just about to enter Mr. Hardy's study when they heard the sound of the front door being unlocked.

"Joe! What is going on?" Frank immediately asked as soon as he saw his brother in the living room. He stopped when he saw Liz.

"It's a long story," Joe said wearily. He realized he needed a bath badly. Everything about him had the scent of smoke. "Where've you been?"

"It's a long story, too. I just came back from Phil's, and he told me what had happened," Frank quickly explained.

"So, you must be Ms. Bishop," Mr. Hardy acknowledged when he saw the woman.

"Y-Yes," she stammered.

"Dad, she needs our help," Joe told them quickly.

"Let's go to my office, and we'll talk there," Mr. Hardy suggested.

All of them entered Mr. Hardy's study.

"Okay, maybe you start first," Joe suggested to Frank after they were seated comfortably in their seats.

"I was at the station – interrogated by the FBI," his brother replied.

"That Morris guy again?" Joe asked in surprise.

"Nope. This time it's the real McCoy," Frank said and started telling about the interrogation, but he didn't tell them about seeing the Gray Man – especially not in front of Liz, and their father. Gray Man was their contact to the Network, a secret government intelligence agency – an agency that he and Joe sometimes worked for.

"So, that's basically it," Frank finished. "So, what's your story?"

"Someone tried to kidnap Liz today, but ended up taking Bruce instead," Joe replied.

"But why would they take Bruce?" Frank wondered out loud.

Joe shrugged. "Beats me."

"I think it's time we hear from Ms. Bishop. How did this all begin? We've only got some explanation from the FBI," Mr. Hardy spoke up, looking at Liz.

"Okay," she hedged, slightly nervous. "Like I've been telling Joe earlier, I used to work in EDevices," she began. Then she went on with her story like the one she had told Joe.

"So, all five of you knew about this chip?" Mr. Hardy asked suddenly.

"Yes, but I'm the only one left knowing about it now, if you don't count my boss," Liz replied sadly.

"What happened to the others?" Frank asked.

"Murdered. I've heard from the news that time. All of them were shot dead in their homes," she suddenly looked distraught. "I was away from my home when it happened – going for a vacation in LA. We were given a week break after the project had completed.

When I found out about it, I called Mr. Garcia, my boss, and he told me to return to Boston right away – the police wanted to question all the EDevices's employees. So, I got back as soon as I could."

"So, the police questioned you?" Mr. Hardy asked.

Liz nodded. "They told me that I might need a police protection – I'm the only one left alive from that project. I agreed with their suggestion."

"Then what's this about you – being caught red-handed by your boss?" Joe asked curiously.

"I'm coming to that," she told him. "Anyway, I went back to work as usual the day after I talked to the police. Mr. Garcia wasn't in his office when I went to see him that day. Then I saw something on his desk…a letter. The letter mentioned about the chip – so I got…um…kind of curious. I read the letter. It was from the client who requested it. The real client."

"The military?" Joe prompted.

"Do you know who it was?" Frank asked at the same time.

"It was Mr. Massalski," she paled.

Mr. Hardy drew in a sharp breath, and accidentally knocked over his pen to the floor. "I haven't heard that name in years. Too close…" he muttered under his breath. He bent down to pick up his pen.

"Who is Mr. Massalski?" Joe asked in puzzlement. He was also puzzled by his father's bizarre behavior.

"Some people in Boston knows him – I mean, he's known for his underworld activities," Liz told them.

"A crime lord," Frank supplied.

"He's also suspected of having connections with terrorists," Mr. Hardy added.

Joe tensed when he heard the word terrorists. It often reminded him of the Assassin – a terrorist organization that had Iola Morton killed in a car bombing. That was one of the reason they worked with the Network in the first place.

"You know Massalski?" Frank asked his father curiously.

"We've crossed path a few times," Mr. Hardy replied vaguely.

"Okay, then what happened?" Joe asked, turning back to the subject.

"Well, I was shocked by the discovery. It felt like I was working for Massalski," she told them, looking guilty. "So, I did something pretty stupid. I saw the box where the chip was put in. I exchanged the chip with another chip. That was when Mr. Garcia caught me while I was placing the second chip in the box. So, I guess from Mr. Garcia's point of view, it looked like I was taking it out instead of putting it in."

"And where's the real chip now?" Mr. Hardy asked.

Liz gulped. "I don't know."