Frank jerked away from Biff when he heard Morrison's voice say, "You're dead, kid." But Biff pulled him back and clamped a hand over his mouth and hustled him down the long narrow hallway and out the front door.
Biff released his grip on Frank and removed his hand from Frank's mouth only as they approached the van. "He's in trouble," Frank snarled angrily, and moved to go back but pitched forward and fell to the ground instead when his ankle would not support him.
Biff knelt to help Frank back up but the sound of a car approaching kept them both down and out of view. "That's Tom," Biff whispered as the car passed by them and stopped at the base of the steps.
"Let's get you in the van," Biff said after they had watched Tom exit the car and race up the steps and inside. "Your dad won't be far behind."
As Biff spoke two motorcycles pulled off the road to a stop directly behind the van. The two riders dismounted and removed their helmets.
"Mr. Hardy?" Biff asked.
"Just getting ready to call him," Tony said.
"Joe already did," Biff said. "But I was hoping he was following Tom."
"He sent us," Phil said. "Why?"
"They've got Joe," Frank answered from the passenger side of the van.
"He's hurt his ankle pretty badly," Biff said, looking at Frank. "But he's right, Joe is in trouble. I hope Mr. Hardy and the police hurry."
"Joe may not have that much time," Frank complained, his face worried.
"We'll take care of Joe," Phil promised his friend. "You stay here and wait for the police."
Not having much of a choice, Frank watched his friends head up to the house.
"You're dead, kid," Morrison told Joe.
"I'm sorry," Joe said, holding his hands up. "I didn't mean to break it," he lied.
"How did you get here?" McFadden demanded, glaring at Joe. "Did you follow me?" he asked as his eyes narrowed on Joe.
"No," Joe denied. "Tom brought me here. Well, kind of," he amended.
"He what?" Morrison hissed angrily. "That's preposterous. He doesn't know where I moved my new headquarters to after he took off."
"He must," Joe replied. "I followed him here. Maybe he's hiding because he saw McFadden was here."
"So this Tom person does work for you?" McFadden demanded, ignoring Joe and turning on Morrison. "You told me Hardy was lying. You said it was a trick to get me to admit to robbing the museum last week."
"And you just did," Morrison informed him haughtily. "Would you listen to yourself? You're buying into this kid's lies."
"I wouldn't say that," came a voice from the doorway. Joe saw Phil's head pop up in the window for a brief second before moving out of sight as he spun around to face the opposite door. There stood Tom sandwiched between two of McFadden's men, both of whom had their weapons trained on him.
"We thought we would check the place out just in case the kid was telling the truth," said the man on Tom's right. "And lo and behold, he was."
"Sorry boss," Tom said with a shrug.
"You fool!" snapped Morrison. "Why did you come here?"
"Hardy said Joe called and was upset because he lost McFadden after overhearing him say he was going to see you to take care of business," Tom explained.
"You set us all up," McFadden snarled, turning to glare at Joe.
Joe shrugged. "Whatever it takes," he said. "I told you the truth but you refused to cooperate."
"Kill him," ordered Morrison.
"No!" McFadden countermanded the order.
"You're on my turf," Morrison reminded him. "I'm in charge here."
"Not anymore," McFadden snapped and, without even aiming, raised his gun and fired the full round moving his arm as he did so to eliminate as many of Morison's men as well. When he had finished four lay dead beside Morrison.
"I guess the cavalry is on its way?" McFadden asked of Joe but didn't wait for an answer. "Kill him," he ordered, nodding in Tom's direction. "And bring the kid. We'll detonate the bomb once we're underway."
Joe was grabbed and dragged out of the room. He winced when he heard another gunshot and knew Tom was dead. "Morrison's men are bound to have heard the gunshots," Joe said.
McFadden laughed. "I've got most of his men on my payroll," he said. "The ones who aren't are dead by now."
"So you knew what he was up to all along?" Joe asked as he and his captors followed McFadden outside.
"No," McFadden replied. "He only let a select few know. But it doesn't matter. He's dead and no longer a problem."
"Then you can let me go," Joe said.
"I think not," he said. "Your father and the police should be here anytime. You are our ticket out of here."
Joe looked around anxious to see one of his friends. "They aren't there," one of the men told Joe. "We caught your three buddies and tied them up in the kitchen. When the building goes; so do they."
Frank kept watch on the house from the van. Not long after Phil, Biff, and Tony rounded the corner of the house four men exited the front door and split up. Two going each way. With no way to warn his friends, Frank watched as they were led back to the front of the building at gunpoint and forced inside. Almost immediately he felt his heart leap out of his throat as the air was filled with gunshots.
Frank snatched up the phone and dialed Phil's cell phone. "Dad, how far away are you?" Frank demanded when his father answered.
"We should be there in about eight minutes," Fenton replied. "Just sit tight."
"They've got Joe and the guys," Frank said, his voice breaking. "I heard gunshots."
"Stay put!" ordered Fenton, terror pushing down on his foot as he sped up.
Frank hung up and hopped over to the driver's side of the car. Why couldn't we have an automatic? he groaned silently as he climbed behind the wheel. He couldn't fight, but if they tried to leave he would stop them.
He waited with one hand on the ignition and the other on the steering wheel. Was Joe still alive? His friends? The front door opened and out came a man who had the air of a leader followed by two other men with Joe between them.
Yes! Yes! Frank's brain screamed. But where were they taking him, he wondered as they led Joe to a car? He saw the man say something and saw his brother's pale face, a look of fear marring his features. As Joe began struggling, Frank started the van and put it into gear. Ignoring the searing pain in his ankle, Frank headed for the small group.
Joe stopped struggling as the van approached. He saw McFadden quickly reload his gun and aim it at the van. "No!" Joe shouted, lifting both his feet and kicking out. The captor's grips on his arms kept him but McFadden flew back to the pavement; his bullet sailing harmlessly into the brick wall several feet away.
As the van came to a stop only inches from where McFadden lay, four police cars came speeding up the drive followed by Mr. Hardy's car.
"Freeze!" Collig shouted, jumping out of the first car, his weapon drawn and at the ready. "Let the boy go."
"Not a chance," McFadden declared, his left hand holding a small black box. "He comes with us."
"You're not going anywhere," Collig asserted as his men surrounded them.
"Want to bet?" McFadden said and pushed a button on the box he held.
A deafening boom filled the air and the house exploded into flames!
"No!" screamed Joe as he began squirming to try and free himself once again.
McFadden leapt to his feet only to be knocked over as Frank applied enough gas to bump into him. Before he could arise a second time, Joe had broken free and the men were being restrained by the police.
"Phil, Tony and Biff were in there," Joe said, his voice ragged and his eyes suspiciously bright.
"No, they weren't," Frank said, opening the door and hobbling over to his brother. "Look," he instructed, leaning heavily on one of Joe's shoulders and pointing to the area behind the police.
Joe hugged his brother, his face breaking into a huge grin as his friends neared. "I thought you guys were goners!" he exclaimed when the three boys reached the brothers.
"We got out just in time," Phil said.
"Yeah," agreed Tony. "No sooner had we touched the grass then the place went up."
"Joseph Paul Hardy," Fenton's unmistakable voice came from behind him.
Joe turned around slowly. Whenever his dad used his full name in that tone he knew he was in trouble. "Frank's okay," Joe said, trying to get his dad's mind off of him. "But he hurt his ankle."
"Let me help you to the van," offered Chet coming out from behind Mr. Hardy and taking Frank's arm and wrapping it around his shoulders. After having ridden with Mr. Hardy for the past twenty minutes he had a fair idea of what Joe was in for and he did not want to be within screaming distance.
"Uh...Dad," Frank interrupted his father before he could continue. "Morrison rigged the whole thing. He let Joe and Tom escape and..."
"I know," Fenton said looking at his eldest son. "Go sit down. We'll get your ankle looked at in a bit." Frank bit his bottom lip, looked at Joe then went to the van with Chet's help.
"Do you have any idea how foolhardy your actions were today?" demanded Fenton giving Joe his full attention. Phil, Tony, and Biff headed for the van to wait with Frank and Chet while Joe received the lecture his father had obviously thought through on the way over.
"They had Frank," Joe defended himself.
"I know," responded Fenton in a tone that caused Joe to swallow nervously. "I also know that your 'general idea' nearly got you, your brother, and your friends killed."
"But....it worked," Joe protested lamely. "The bad guys are caught and we're all fine and..."
"The bad guys are not all caught," Fenton corrected him, his fury evident under his quiet tone. "Half of them are dead."
At this point even the police left the immediate area, taking their prisoners with them. "Hey Kid!" McFadden called out as he was hauled away. "Sounds like you might want to consider switching sides! I'll be out in no time. Look me up!"
Joe cringed as his father's face blushed furiously. "He may be at that," Fenton agreed. "Entrapment is a possibility. You do know what that is, right?"
Joe nodded then hung his head and stared at his feet. "I have tried to get you to think before you act. Tried to teach you that there are consequences for your actions."
"Dad, I'm..." Joe started.
"Silence!" roared Fenton. "I've encouraged the close relationship you have with your brother but I am beginning to realize that as long as you know he is around to bail you out you will continue being just as reckless as you were today."
"Dad.." Joe began again feeling incredibly sick.
"I'm sorry, Joseph," Fenton cut him off. "You leave me no alternative."
"I'm grounded from solving mysteries?" guessed Joe feeling as though his world was falling apart.
"No," Fenton replied giving Joe a brief moment of relief before continuing. "I'm sending you to boarding school."
Biff released his grip on Frank and removed his hand from Frank's mouth only as they approached the van. "He's in trouble," Frank snarled angrily, and moved to go back but pitched forward and fell to the ground instead when his ankle would not support him.
Biff knelt to help Frank back up but the sound of a car approaching kept them both down and out of view. "That's Tom," Biff whispered as the car passed by them and stopped at the base of the steps.
"Let's get you in the van," Biff said after they had watched Tom exit the car and race up the steps and inside. "Your dad won't be far behind."
As Biff spoke two motorcycles pulled off the road to a stop directly behind the van. The two riders dismounted and removed their helmets.
"Mr. Hardy?" Biff asked.
"Just getting ready to call him," Tony said.
"Joe already did," Biff said. "But I was hoping he was following Tom."
"He sent us," Phil said. "Why?"
"They've got Joe," Frank answered from the passenger side of the van.
"He's hurt his ankle pretty badly," Biff said, looking at Frank. "But he's right, Joe is in trouble. I hope Mr. Hardy and the police hurry."
"Joe may not have that much time," Frank complained, his face worried.
"We'll take care of Joe," Phil promised his friend. "You stay here and wait for the police."
Not having much of a choice, Frank watched his friends head up to the house.
"You're dead, kid," Morrison told Joe.
"I'm sorry," Joe said, holding his hands up. "I didn't mean to break it," he lied.
"How did you get here?" McFadden demanded, glaring at Joe. "Did you follow me?" he asked as his eyes narrowed on Joe.
"No," Joe denied. "Tom brought me here. Well, kind of," he amended.
"He what?" Morrison hissed angrily. "That's preposterous. He doesn't know where I moved my new headquarters to after he took off."
"He must," Joe replied. "I followed him here. Maybe he's hiding because he saw McFadden was here."
"So this Tom person does work for you?" McFadden demanded, ignoring Joe and turning on Morrison. "You told me Hardy was lying. You said it was a trick to get me to admit to robbing the museum last week."
"And you just did," Morrison informed him haughtily. "Would you listen to yourself? You're buying into this kid's lies."
"I wouldn't say that," came a voice from the doorway. Joe saw Phil's head pop up in the window for a brief second before moving out of sight as he spun around to face the opposite door. There stood Tom sandwiched between two of McFadden's men, both of whom had their weapons trained on him.
"We thought we would check the place out just in case the kid was telling the truth," said the man on Tom's right. "And lo and behold, he was."
"Sorry boss," Tom said with a shrug.
"You fool!" snapped Morrison. "Why did you come here?"
"Hardy said Joe called and was upset because he lost McFadden after overhearing him say he was going to see you to take care of business," Tom explained.
"You set us all up," McFadden snarled, turning to glare at Joe.
Joe shrugged. "Whatever it takes," he said. "I told you the truth but you refused to cooperate."
"Kill him," ordered Morrison.
"No!" McFadden countermanded the order.
"You're on my turf," Morrison reminded him. "I'm in charge here."
"Not anymore," McFadden snapped and, without even aiming, raised his gun and fired the full round moving his arm as he did so to eliminate as many of Morison's men as well. When he had finished four lay dead beside Morrison.
"I guess the cavalry is on its way?" McFadden asked of Joe but didn't wait for an answer. "Kill him," he ordered, nodding in Tom's direction. "And bring the kid. We'll detonate the bomb once we're underway."
Joe was grabbed and dragged out of the room. He winced when he heard another gunshot and knew Tom was dead. "Morrison's men are bound to have heard the gunshots," Joe said.
McFadden laughed. "I've got most of his men on my payroll," he said. "The ones who aren't are dead by now."
"So you knew what he was up to all along?" Joe asked as he and his captors followed McFadden outside.
"No," McFadden replied. "He only let a select few know. But it doesn't matter. He's dead and no longer a problem."
"Then you can let me go," Joe said.
"I think not," he said. "Your father and the police should be here anytime. You are our ticket out of here."
Joe looked around anxious to see one of his friends. "They aren't there," one of the men told Joe. "We caught your three buddies and tied them up in the kitchen. When the building goes; so do they."
Frank kept watch on the house from the van. Not long after Phil, Biff, and Tony rounded the corner of the house four men exited the front door and split up. Two going each way. With no way to warn his friends, Frank watched as they were led back to the front of the building at gunpoint and forced inside. Almost immediately he felt his heart leap out of his throat as the air was filled with gunshots.
Frank snatched up the phone and dialed Phil's cell phone. "Dad, how far away are you?" Frank demanded when his father answered.
"We should be there in about eight minutes," Fenton replied. "Just sit tight."
"They've got Joe and the guys," Frank said, his voice breaking. "I heard gunshots."
"Stay put!" ordered Fenton, terror pushing down on his foot as he sped up.
Frank hung up and hopped over to the driver's side of the car. Why couldn't we have an automatic? he groaned silently as he climbed behind the wheel. He couldn't fight, but if they tried to leave he would stop them.
He waited with one hand on the ignition and the other on the steering wheel. Was Joe still alive? His friends? The front door opened and out came a man who had the air of a leader followed by two other men with Joe between them.
Yes! Yes! Frank's brain screamed. But where were they taking him, he wondered as they led Joe to a car? He saw the man say something and saw his brother's pale face, a look of fear marring his features. As Joe began struggling, Frank started the van and put it into gear. Ignoring the searing pain in his ankle, Frank headed for the small group.
Joe stopped struggling as the van approached. He saw McFadden quickly reload his gun and aim it at the van. "No!" Joe shouted, lifting both his feet and kicking out. The captor's grips on his arms kept him but McFadden flew back to the pavement; his bullet sailing harmlessly into the brick wall several feet away.
As the van came to a stop only inches from where McFadden lay, four police cars came speeding up the drive followed by Mr. Hardy's car.
"Freeze!" Collig shouted, jumping out of the first car, his weapon drawn and at the ready. "Let the boy go."
"Not a chance," McFadden declared, his left hand holding a small black box. "He comes with us."
"You're not going anywhere," Collig asserted as his men surrounded them.
"Want to bet?" McFadden said and pushed a button on the box he held.
A deafening boom filled the air and the house exploded into flames!
"No!" screamed Joe as he began squirming to try and free himself once again.
McFadden leapt to his feet only to be knocked over as Frank applied enough gas to bump into him. Before he could arise a second time, Joe had broken free and the men were being restrained by the police.
"Phil, Tony and Biff were in there," Joe said, his voice ragged and his eyes suspiciously bright.
"No, they weren't," Frank said, opening the door and hobbling over to his brother. "Look," he instructed, leaning heavily on one of Joe's shoulders and pointing to the area behind the police.
Joe hugged his brother, his face breaking into a huge grin as his friends neared. "I thought you guys were goners!" he exclaimed when the three boys reached the brothers.
"We got out just in time," Phil said.
"Yeah," agreed Tony. "No sooner had we touched the grass then the place went up."
"Joseph Paul Hardy," Fenton's unmistakable voice came from behind him.
Joe turned around slowly. Whenever his dad used his full name in that tone he knew he was in trouble. "Frank's okay," Joe said, trying to get his dad's mind off of him. "But he hurt his ankle."
"Let me help you to the van," offered Chet coming out from behind Mr. Hardy and taking Frank's arm and wrapping it around his shoulders. After having ridden with Mr. Hardy for the past twenty minutes he had a fair idea of what Joe was in for and he did not want to be within screaming distance.
"Uh...Dad," Frank interrupted his father before he could continue. "Morrison rigged the whole thing. He let Joe and Tom escape and..."
"I know," Fenton said looking at his eldest son. "Go sit down. We'll get your ankle looked at in a bit." Frank bit his bottom lip, looked at Joe then went to the van with Chet's help.
"Do you have any idea how foolhardy your actions were today?" demanded Fenton giving Joe his full attention. Phil, Tony, and Biff headed for the van to wait with Frank and Chet while Joe received the lecture his father had obviously thought through on the way over.
"They had Frank," Joe defended himself.
"I know," responded Fenton in a tone that caused Joe to swallow nervously. "I also know that your 'general idea' nearly got you, your brother, and your friends killed."
"But....it worked," Joe protested lamely. "The bad guys are caught and we're all fine and..."
"The bad guys are not all caught," Fenton corrected him, his fury evident under his quiet tone. "Half of them are dead."
At this point even the police left the immediate area, taking their prisoners with them. "Hey Kid!" McFadden called out as he was hauled away. "Sounds like you might want to consider switching sides! I'll be out in no time. Look me up!"
Joe cringed as his father's face blushed furiously. "He may be at that," Fenton agreed. "Entrapment is a possibility. You do know what that is, right?"
Joe nodded then hung his head and stared at his feet. "I have tried to get you to think before you act. Tried to teach you that there are consequences for your actions."
"Dad, I'm..." Joe started.
"Silence!" roared Fenton. "I've encouraged the close relationship you have with your brother but I am beginning to realize that as long as you know he is around to bail you out you will continue being just as reckless as you were today."
"Dad.." Joe began again feeling incredibly sick.
"I'm sorry, Joseph," Fenton cut him off. "You leave me no alternative."
"I'm grounded from solving mysteries?" guessed Joe feeling as though his world was falling apart.
"No," Fenton replied giving Joe a brief moment of relief before continuing. "I'm sending you to boarding school."