Hartley began pulling Laura toward the door that led outside, confidant the frightened woman would cooperate with him.
Startled by the sudden assault, Laura involuntarily let Hartley drag her as far as the end of the kitchen table before she managed to collect her wits. She lifted her right leg and brought the heel of her shoe down as hard as she could on his toes at the same time she grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the gun. She applied pressure to the center; a point Frank had taught her would cause severe pain if applied correctly.
With a soft cry, Hartley dropped his weapon as Laura brought her left elbow back and up, striking Hartley just beneath his rib cage. He released her as he emitted a loud grunt of pain. "Help!!!!" screamed Laura bending and snatching up Hartley's gun. She spun around and aimed it at him, her finger on the trigger when Blaine burst through the connecting door with his own gun at the ready.
Agent Blaine took in Laura's stance and the intruder on his knees gasping and a smile of admiration crept over his face. "Exactly, who yelled for help?" he asked, moving forward to relieve Laura of the gun as Hartley looked up at him with a scowl on his face. "Any more of them?" Blaine asked.
"I don't know," Laura answered.
"Here," Blaine removed his cell phone and handed it to her. "Call Collig while I read Bozo his rights."
"You don't want to do that," declared Hartley, looking up into Laura's hard blue eyes.
"Believe me," she assured him. "I do."
"Then you're killing your husband and son," Hartley told her. Laura couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not.
"Explain," she commanded.
"It doesn't..." began the agent but shut up when Laura turned a frosty glare on him. For a little thing, she could be extremely intimidating.
"If I'm not back in another hour then my men have orders to kill them," Hartley stated.
"If you kill them then you won't get anything from them," Laura stated reasonably. "Sorry. Not buying it," she told him and started to punch in the police station's number.
"That would be the easy way," Hartley told her with a sly grin. "They die and Joe comes home for the funeral and then we have him."
"What do you want?" demanded Laura, her fingers trembling slightly as they paused over the cell phone.
"You," Hartley stated. "But I can see that's out of the question so I'll settle for leaving. Alone."
"Forget it," Blaine told him firmly.
"Let him go," Laura ordered.
"What?" snapped Blaine, turning his gaze on her. "Are you crazy?"
"I will not risk Fenton's and Frank's lives," Laura stated calmly, not looking away from Hartley. "But I warn you, if you or your men do kill either of them then it won't be Joe or the police you have to worry about."
Hartley swallowed a bit nervously. Laura's tone was rational and she held herself in a stance that reminded him of a predator as it cornered its prey. "Understood," he commented.
"Laura, I can't..." Blaine started but closed his mouth and pressed his lips together when he saw Lara's eyes harden even more. He removed the cuffs that he had only just put on.
"You'll never find out where Joe is," Laura told Hartley before he left. "Fenton, Frank, and I would die before we tell you," she continued. "But if any of my family does die; so too will you."
Hartley left the house at the corner of High and Elm streets as fast as he could. The only other person who had ever managed to instill him with such dread had been his own mother when she had caught him smoking a joint in the garage. He had been a terrified ten-year-old then but now, he was just as afraid.
"Well, what did you find out?" demanded Ken as he, Steve and Jeff entered the room a little later.
Joe scowled. He felt like he was betraying a confidence by telling but then, no one had actually confided in him. "You aren't going to like it," he warned them as they sat down. "It's no wonder everyone's so strict here. It's like an unofficial training camp."
"You will have to explain that one," Jeff told him with a perplexed expression on his face.
And Joe did so. He told them the school's missive and gave the backgrounds of the teachers he had looked up. "And all that means we are here to be trained to be some sort of government agents."
Jeff nodded. "That explains a lot," he said thoughtfully. "Those of us who aren't related to someone already associated with the government have proven ourselves to be intelligent, creative and good in combat."
"But I don't want to work for the government," Steve protested with an angry scowl. "I want to be an engineer."
"Sounds like your dad has other plans," Jeff commented. "But why am I here?" he asked, looking at Joe.
"You've got the ability," Joe said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've met government agents I wouldn't turn my back on. No offense," he added with a smile.
"None taken," Jeff returned with a grin of his own.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Ken.
"That's up to you," responded Joe. "My dad sent me here, so he said, to learn some discipline and restraint but I happen to like what he considers my faults. I trust my instincts and judgment. I am not going to play along and I am not going to go out of my way to get kicked out. I am going to do nothing that I wouldn't do if I had never been sent here."
"So you aren't going to do Scottsdale's essay?" Steve inquired.
"No," Joe replied with a firm shake of his head. "The class had not started and the question was not related to the subject matter. Unless Scottsdale can give me a plausible reason to do the essay then it won't get done."
"You would do that at a public school?" Ken demanded incredulously.
"Just because someone has the authority to issue the command doesn't make it right," Joe replied. "You may have to do whatever you are told without question in the military but I didn't sign up for a tour of duty."
"You'll get kicked out," Jeff warned him.
"Que sera, sera," Joe returned with another shrug.
Startled by the sudden assault, Laura involuntarily let Hartley drag her as far as the end of the kitchen table before she managed to collect her wits. She lifted her right leg and brought the heel of her shoe down as hard as she could on his toes at the same time she grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the gun. She applied pressure to the center; a point Frank had taught her would cause severe pain if applied correctly.
With a soft cry, Hartley dropped his weapon as Laura brought her left elbow back and up, striking Hartley just beneath his rib cage. He released her as he emitted a loud grunt of pain. "Help!!!!" screamed Laura bending and snatching up Hartley's gun. She spun around and aimed it at him, her finger on the trigger when Blaine burst through the connecting door with his own gun at the ready.
Agent Blaine took in Laura's stance and the intruder on his knees gasping and a smile of admiration crept over his face. "Exactly, who yelled for help?" he asked, moving forward to relieve Laura of the gun as Hartley looked up at him with a scowl on his face. "Any more of them?" Blaine asked.
"I don't know," Laura answered.
"Here," Blaine removed his cell phone and handed it to her. "Call Collig while I read Bozo his rights."
"You don't want to do that," declared Hartley, looking up into Laura's hard blue eyes.
"Believe me," she assured him. "I do."
"Then you're killing your husband and son," Hartley told her. Laura couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not.
"Explain," she commanded.
"It doesn't..." began the agent but shut up when Laura turned a frosty glare on him. For a little thing, she could be extremely intimidating.
"If I'm not back in another hour then my men have orders to kill them," Hartley stated.
"If you kill them then you won't get anything from them," Laura stated reasonably. "Sorry. Not buying it," she told him and started to punch in the police station's number.
"That would be the easy way," Hartley told her with a sly grin. "They die and Joe comes home for the funeral and then we have him."
"What do you want?" demanded Laura, her fingers trembling slightly as they paused over the cell phone.
"You," Hartley stated. "But I can see that's out of the question so I'll settle for leaving. Alone."
"Forget it," Blaine told him firmly.
"Let him go," Laura ordered.
"What?" snapped Blaine, turning his gaze on her. "Are you crazy?"
"I will not risk Fenton's and Frank's lives," Laura stated calmly, not looking away from Hartley. "But I warn you, if you or your men do kill either of them then it won't be Joe or the police you have to worry about."
Hartley swallowed a bit nervously. Laura's tone was rational and she held herself in a stance that reminded him of a predator as it cornered its prey. "Understood," he commented.
"Laura, I can't..." Blaine started but closed his mouth and pressed his lips together when he saw Lara's eyes harden even more. He removed the cuffs that he had only just put on.
"You'll never find out where Joe is," Laura told Hartley before he left. "Fenton, Frank, and I would die before we tell you," she continued. "But if any of my family does die; so too will you."
Hartley left the house at the corner of High and Elm streets as fast as he could. The only other person who had ever managed to instill him with such dread had been his own mother when she had caught him smoking a joint in the garage. He had been a terrified ten-year-old then but now, he was just as afraid.
"Well, what did you find out?" demanded Ken as he, Steve and Jeff entered the room a little later.
Joe scowled. He felt like he was betraying a confidence by telling but then, no one had actually confided in him. "You aren't going to like it," he warned them as they sat down. "It's no wonder everyone's so strict here. It's like an unofficial training camp."
"You will have to explain that one," Jeff told him with a perplexed expression on his face.
And Joe did so. He told them the school's missive and gave the backgrounds of the teachers he had looked up. "And all that means we are here to be trained to be some sort of government agents."
Jeff nodded. "That explains a lot," he said thoughtfully. "Those of us who aren't related to someone already associated with the government have proven ourselves to be intelligent, creative and good in combat."
"But I don't want to work for the government," Steve protested with an angry scowl. "I want to be an engineer."
"Sounds like your dad has other plans," Jeff commented. "But why am I here?" he asked, looking at Joe.
"You've got the ability," Joe said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I've met government agents I wouldn't turn my back on. No offense," he added with a smile.
"None taken," Jeff returned with a grin of his own.
"So what are we going to do?" asked Ken.
"That's up to you," responded Joe. "My dad sent me here, so he said, to learn some discipline and restraint but I happen to like what he considers my faults. I trust my instincts and judgment. I am not going to play along and I am not going to go out of my way to get kicked out. I am going to do nothing that I wouldn't do if I had never been sent here."
"So you aren't going to do Scottsdale's essay?" Steve inquired.
"No," Joe replied with a firm shake of his head. "The class had not started and the question was not related to the subject matter. Unless Scottsdale can give me a plausible reason to do the essay then it won't get done."
"You would do that at a public school?" Ken demanded incredulously.
"Just because someone has the authority to issue the command doesn't make it right," Joe replied. "You may have to do whatever you are told without question in the military but I didn't sign up for a tour of duty."
"You'll get kicked out," Jeff warned him.
"Que sera, sera," Joe returned with another shrug.