"Yeah, it's me," grunted Joe. "Now will you get off of me?"
Chet rolled off and offered Joe a hand up as Biff relinquished his hold on Tom. "Biff, this is Tom Leland," Joe introduced the two. "Tom, this is another friend of ours, Biff Hooper."
"That's a good left hook you've got there," Tom congratulated Biff as he rubbed his jaw gingerly.
"Where are Dad and Frank?" asked Joe kicking off Moran's shoes and unwrapping his sore feet.
Chet and Biff exchanged a glace that was lost on Joe because he was examining his blisters.
"What happened to your feet?" cried out Biff falling to his knees beside Joe for a closer look.
Joe gave a brief description of his and Tom's escape. "You never did answer me," he ended. "Where are Dad and Frank?"
Frank groaned and opened his eyes. He tried to move but it was pretty much pointless. His wrists were cuffed behind his back with what felt like a concrete pillar between his arms. His back was against the pillar and he was in a sitting position with his legs at an angle, bound with a thick coil of rope. There was a bandana tied at the back of his head making it slightly uncomfortable to lean it back and get a good look at his prison. The bandana fit snugly in his mouth but his upper teeth did drop down a bit over the top of it.
Dad! thought Frank. He was with me but where is he now? Frank looked around as much as he could. It was possible his father was bound and gagged in a similar position behind the large boiler blocking his view.
"Baaab!" Frank shouted through his gag. He held his breath and waited for a sound that would let him know he wasn't alone but he heard nothing.
He gave up on listening and began kicking as much as he could to try and get his ankles free. After what seemed like forever he managed to get one of his shoes off and five minutes after that he kicked the rest of the rope away from his feet.
Using the pillar behind him as leverage, he eased himself to a standing position and was finally able to see over the boiler. His dad wasn't there. Why had they separated them? And where was Joe? Had they already killed him? Frank gave an involuntary shiver and shoved the thought away. He had to stay focused if he was going to get out of this alive and anger over something that might not even be true was not going to help. His mind clear, he began banging the cuffs against the pillar with slow, hard, movements. He only hoped the metal would give before he did.
Joe awoke early Tuesday morning. It was a rare feat since he normally wasn't a morning person and it had been almost one am before the police had left and he and Tom had eaten a light supper and gone to bed.
Joe entered the bathroom and scowled at his reflection. Everything took so long last night, he thought wearily. After Biff and Chet had told him their suspicions of foul play befalling Frank and Mr. Hardy and had given him the sheet of paper they had found, Joe had agreed something must have happened and called Chief Collig.
While they had waited for the police Chet had gone to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit from the counter beneath the sink. He helped Joe treat his blistered feet while Biff ran to Joe's room for some slippers.
Joe looked down at his bandaged feet and wiggled his toes as he reached for his toothbrush. Although still sore, they felt much better than they had the previous evening.
After finishing his teeth he removed the bandages and pajamas and climbed in the shower. The water hurt his feet and he stayed in no longer than absolutely necessary to clean up. Getting out, he dressed and put fresh bandages on his feet. He found the most comfortable shoes he owned and slipped them on, wincing only a little as he tied them then went down the hallway to his father's office.
Joe and Tom had searched the house last night and disposed of the listening devices they had found, even getting rid of a weird looking piece of electronic device Tom had found attached to the computer's modem. Obviously, Morrison had access to some high-tech equipment.
Getting down to the matter at hand, Joe laid the sheet of paper on the desk and logged on. In minutes he was finding out what he could about the first person on the list, a man named Leroy Nelson.
"Wake up, Hardy," Grayhaven ordered as he brought a small plastic container of orange juice into the building where Fenton was imprisoned.
Fenton opened his eyes slowly, wondering to whom the voice belonged. As he remembered the events of the previous evening he jerked to a sitting position but immediately closed his eyes and fell back to the hard floor he had been lying on with a crack.
Picard knelt down and checked Fenton's pulse as small droplets of blood eased from the fresh wound where his head had just made contact with the floor. "Why did he have to be knocked out too?" he complained. "It would have been just as easy to tie him up last night."
"Because Hardy ignored the gun in his face and started to put up a fight. Moran let him have it after Hardy threw the first punch," Foster answered.
"Yeah, well, if he doesn't come around soon Morrison is going to have your hide. Moran's too," Picard said as he, Foster and Grayhaven left the warehouse.
"Relax," Grayhaven said calmly, tossing the full container of juice in a trashcan outside the door. "Hardy will wake up and then he will do what we want or watch Frankie boy die by degrees."
Chet rolled off and offered Joe a hand up as Biff relinquished his hold on Tom. "Biff, this is Tom Leland," Joe introduced the two. "Tom, this is another friend of ours, Biff Hooper."
"That's a good left hook you've got there," Tom congratulated Biff as he rubbed his jaw gingerly.
"Where are Dad and Frank?" asked Joe kicking off Moran's shoes and unwrapping his sore feet.
Chet and Biff exchanged a glace that was lost on Joe because he was examining his blisters.
"What happened to your feet?" cried out Biff falling to his knees beside Joe for a closer look.
Joe gave a brief description of his and Tom's escape. "You never did answer me," he ended. "Where are Dad and Frank?"
Frank groaned and opened his eyes. He tried to move but it was pretty much pointless. His wrists were cuffed behind his back with what felt like a concrete pillar between his arms. His back was against the pillar and he was in a sitting position with his legs at an angle, bound with a thick coil of rope. There was a bandana tied at the back of his head making it slightly uncomfortable to lean it back and get a good look at his prison. The bandana fit snugly in his mouth but his upper teeth did drop down a bit over the top of it.
Dad! thought Frank. He was with me but where is he now? Frank looked around as much as he could. It was possible his father was bound and gagged in a similar position behind the large boiler blocking his view.
"Baaab!" Frank shouted through his gag. He held his breath and waited for a sound that would let him know he wasn't alone but he heard nothing.
He gave up on listening and began kicking as much as he could to try and get his ankles free. After what seemed like forever he managed to get one of his shoes off and five minutes after that he kicked the rest of the rope away from his feet.
Using the pillar behind him as leverage, he eased himself to a standing position and was finally able to see over the boiler. His dad wasn't there. Why had they separated them? And where was Joe? Had they already killed him? Frank gave an involuntary shiver and shoved the thought away. He had to stay focused if he was going to get out of this alive and anger over something that might not even be true was not going to help. His mind clear, he began banging the cuffs against the pillar with slow, hard, movements. He only hoped the metal would give before he did.
Joe awoke early Tuesday morning. It was a rare feat since he normally wasn't a morning person and it had been almost one am before the police had left and he and Tom had eaten a light supper and gone to bed.
Joe entered the bathroom and scowled at his reflection. Everything took so long last night, he thought wearily. After Biff and Chet had told him their suspicions of foul play befalling Frank and Mr. Hardy and had given him the sheet of paper they had found, Joe had agreed something must have happened and called Chief Collig.
While they had waited for the police Chet had gone to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit from the counter beneath the sink. He helped Joe treat his blistered feet while Biff ran to Joe's room for some slippers.
Joe looked down at his bandaged feet and wiggled his toes as he reached for his toothbrush. Although still sore, they felt much better than they had the previous evening.
After finishing his teeth he removed the bandages and pajamas and climbed in the shower. The water hurt his feet and he stayed in no longer than absolutely necessary to clean up. Getting out, he dressed and put fresh bandages on his feet. He found the most comfortable shoes he owned and slipped them on, wincing only a little as he tied them then went down the hallway to his father's office.
Joe and Tom had searched the house last night and disposed of the listening devices they had found, even getting rid of a weird looking piece of electronic device Tom had found attached to the computer's modem. Obviously, Morrison had access to some high-tech equipment.
Getting down to the matter at hand, Joe laid the sheet of paper on the desk and logged on. In minutes he was finding out what he could about the first person on the list, a man named Leroy Nelson.
"Wake up, Hardy," Grayhaven ordered as he brought a small plastic container of orange juice into the building where Fenton was imprisoned.
Fenton opened his eyes slowly, wondering to whom the voice belonged. As he remembered the events of the previous evening he jerked to a sitting position but immediately closed his eyes and fell back to the hard floor he had been lying on with a crack.
Picard knelt down and checked Fenton's pulse as small droplets of blood eased from the fresh wound where his head had just made contact with the floor. "Why did he have to be knocked out too?" he complained. "It would have been just as easy to tie him up last night."
"Because Hardy ignored the gun in his face and started to put up a fight. Moran let him have it after Hardy threw the first punch," Foster answered.
"Yeah, well, if he doesn't come around soon Morrison is going to have your hide. Moran's too," Picard said as he, Foster and Grayhaven left the warehouse.
"Relax," Grayhaven said calmly, tossing the full container of juice in a trashcan outside the door. "Hardy will wake up and then he will do what we want or watch Frankie boy die by degrees."