"No way!" Callie shouted, jumping to her feet and staring down at him, her brown eyes smoldering.
"Not a chance!" Phil told him harshly, glaring.
"You're nutso!" Chet screamed at him. "If you think for one minute we're going to let you..."
"I'm listening," Shorty said, ignoring the teens' outbursts.
Joe paused, Biff had remained silent but Joe could feel his eyes boring into the back of his neck. Resisting the urge to reach back and rub it, he outlined his plan.
"It just might work," Biff said when Joe had finished speaking. "But, then again, what's to stop them from killing you on the spot?"
"Joe, here, is the icing on the cake," Shorty reminded the group. "He's the one responsible for capturing Assassins alive so they can be questioned. They don't want him dead."
"Looks to me like that would be an ideal reason to want him dead," Callie commented.
"Not if they believe he can be turned," Slade pointed out.
"Then it's a go?" Joe asked.
"Affirmative," Shorty confirmed. "Slade will stay here while I go and make the arrangements. In the meantime," he added, taking in Joe's bloodshot eyes. "Get some rest. You're going to need it."
"What about the three guys in the trees?" Joe asked. "We can't let them go. They know I'm not alone."
"They'll stay put until after you've been captured," Shorty said. "Your friends can show us where to pick them up. If questioned about them just say they're dead."
Joe nodded and watched Shorty leave. Slade took a seat by the door and Joe went in back to take a nap that was preempted by his chums following him.
"Joe, you can't do this," Callie told him. "Frank will never forgive you."
"If I don't do this, he may not have the chance," Joe told her truthfully, his forehead creased in worry.
"Then we should be the ones going with you, not those two and their cronies," Biff said. "You never included us in anything you mentioned."
"Why?" Tony demanded. "Don't you trust us?"
Joe checked the door and saw Slade looking out the window of the camper. "Of course I trust you," he said softly. "You're the only ones I do trust."
"You're going to have to explain," Phil told him. "I don't understand."
"Someone on the inside had to have tipped them off about Frank and the Gray Man leaving from our house," Joe said. "Otherwise, how would they have known to put one of their men as the driver?" No one answered him. "Their inside man won't miss this chance to nab me and take out some more Network agents."
"You're double-crossing the Network?" Chet demanded in delight. He should have known Joe would have something up his sleeve. "What do you want us to do?"
Joe looked back out at Slade then lowered his voice and quickly outlined his plan to everyone. "Do you think it will work?" Callie asked.
"It's the only real chance we have of all of us getting out of this alive," Joe replied.
"Come on," Phil said, looking at Chet and the others. "We better let Joe get some rest. He's going to need all his mental faculties to pull this off."
Joe smiled gratefully at Phil as he ushered the others out of the small room, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep. It seemed like only minutes before he was being shaken awake but it had actually been several hours. Dawn was creeping through the small window as he opened his eyes. "Wake up, Kid," Shorty told him. "Your friends aren't going to let you out of here until you've been fed."
By the time his captors returned, Frank's legs had given out and the wall was completely supporting his weight. "Ready to talk yet?" asked Wolfe, his face firm, but Frank could see the beginning of a smile at the corner.
"Forget it," Frank rasped. He wasn't going to give this man any more satisfaction than he already obviously felt.
Wolfe took Frank out of the room and shoved him roughly against the hard stone wall in the hallway. "I'm getting really tired of this," he snarled, his voice low but holding more threat than if he had screamed. "You think you're tired now, just wait." He released Frank and turned to one of the two men who had accompanied him. "Take him to Mike," he said as he turned and began walking away. A certain bounce to his step that no one could miss.
Frank was hustled up the corridor then down a flight of steps and through another corridor to an open door. Inside, Frank could see a tall, gangly man with unkempt red hair and plastic frame glasses. The man took his middle finger and pushed his glasses up his nose as he gave Frank a smile that served to chill him even though he was burning up.
"He's all yours," one of the men who had escorted Frank told the man. "Get what you can from him," the man continued. "The boss doesn't care what it takes."
"Chain him up over there," Mike told them with a jerk of his head. "I need some more supplies," he added. "That last one pretty much wiped me out."
"We'll keep an eye on him," the man promised as Mike exited the room. After Mike had left, Frank was shoved over to the center of the room where two chains hung from the ceiling. Each chain sported an iron bracelet and each man grabbed one with one hand as they yanked on Frank's wrists to bring them up to meet the warm metal.
"Not a chance!" Phil told him harshly, glaring.
"You're nutso!" Chet screamed at him. "If you think for one minute we're going to let you..."
"I'm listening," Shorty said, ignoring the teens' outbursts.
Joe paused, Biff had remained silent but Joe could feel his eyes boring into the back of his neck. Resisting the urge to reach back and rub it, he outlined his plan.
"It just might work," Biff said when Joe had finished speaking. "But, then again, what's to stop them from killing you on the spot?"
"Joe, here, is the icing on the cake," Shorty reminded the group. "He's the one responsible for capturing Assassins alive so they can be questioned. They don't want him dead."
"Looks to me like that would be an ideal reason to want him dead," Callie commented.
"Not if they believe he can be turned," Slade pointed out.
"Then it's a go?" Joe asked.
"Affirmative," Shorty confirmed. "Slade will stay here while I go and make the arrangements. In the meantime," he added, taking in Joe's bloodshot eyes. "Get some rest. You're going to need it."
"What about the three guys in the trees?" Joe asked. "We can't let them go. They know I'm not alone."
"They'll stay put until after you've been captured," Shorty said. "Your friends can show us where to pick them up. If questioned about them just say they're dead."
Joe nodded and watched Shorty leave. Slade took a seat by the door and Joe went in back to take a nap that was preempted by his chums following him.
"Joe, you can't do this," Callie told him. "Frank will never forgive you."
"If I don't do this, he may not have the chance," Joe told her truthfully, his forehead creased in worry.
"Then we should be the ones going with you, not those two and their cronies," Biff said. "You never included us in anything you mentioned."
"Why?" Tony demanded. "Don't you trust us?"
Joe checked the door and saw Slade looking out the window of the camper. "Of course I trust you," he said softly. "You're the only ones I do trust."
"You're going to have to explain," Phil told him. "I don't understand."
"Someone on the inside had to have tipped them off about Frank and the Gray Man leaving from our house," Joe said. "Otherwise, how would they have known to put one of their men as the driver?" No one answered him. "Their inside man won't miss this chance to nab me and take out some more Network agents."
"You're double-crossing the Network?" Chet demanded in delight. He should have known Joe would have something up his sleeve. "What do you want us to do?"
Joe looked back out at Slade then lowered his voice and quickly outlined his plan to everyone. "Do you think it will work?" Callie asked.
"It's the only real chance we have of all of us getting out of this alive," Joe replied.
"Come on," Phil said, looking at Chet and the others. "We better let Joe get some rest. He's going to need all his mental faculties to pull this off."
Joe smiled gratefully at Phil as he ushered the others out of the small room, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep. It seemed like only minutes before he was being shaken awake but it had actually been several hours. Dawn was creeping through the small window as he opened his eyes. "Wake up, Kid," Shorty told him. "Your friends aren't going to let you out of here until you've been fed."
By the time his captors returned, Frank's legs had given out and the wall was completely supporting his weight. "Ready to talk yet?" asked Wolfe, his face firm, but Frank could see the beginning of a smile at the corner.
"Forget it," Frank rasped. He wasn't going to give this man any more satisfaction than he already obviously felt.
Wolfe took Frank out of the room and shoved him roughly against the hard stone wall in the hallway. "I'm getting really tired of this," he snarled, his voice low but holding more threat than if he had screamed. "You think you're tired now, just wait." He released Frank and turned to one of the two men who had accompanied him. "Take him to Mike," he said as he turned and began walking away. A certain bounce to his step that no one could miss.
Frank was hustled up the corridor then down a flight of steps and through another corridor to an open door. Inside, Frank could see a tall, gangly man with unkempt red hair and plastic frame glasses. The man took his middle finger and pushed his glasses up his nose as he gave Frank a smile that served to chill him even though he was burning up.
"He's all yours," one of the men who had escorted Frank told the man. "Get what you can from him," the man continued. "The boss doesn't care what it takes."
"Chain him up over there," Mike told them with a jerk of his head. "I need some more supplies," he added. "That last one pretty much wiped me out."
"We'll keep an eye on him," the man promised as Mike exited the room. After Mike had left, Frank was shoved over to the center of the room where two chains hung from the ceiling. Each chain sported an iron bracelet and each man grabbed one with one hand as they yanked on Frank's wrists to bring them up to meet the warm metal.