Taking A Chance

Chapter 13

"That's What You Think!"

Joe glared at Ras-Alman, not at all cowed by his threats. While he knew there was a bare chance the man might be able to carry out the threats to his family, he knew that his father was much smarter than this man. One phone call home and Fenton Hardy would see that his mom and Aunt Gertrude were safe and he would also see to the protection of Nancy's father, Carson Drew and her housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. Joe tried a deep breath, which hurt his aching stomach only slightly. The first thing he would have to do is find Frank and get him out of here so that Frank would be safe as well.

It took a lot of guts to threaten your own son-in-law.

"What did you do to him?" Joe demanded suddenly, thinking of the reasons Frank would have become James Fleming. "How did you persuade him to marry your daughter? I deserve to know that much."

"You deserve nothing!" Ras-Alman released Joe and stood back. "You deserve nothing but more pain and misery heaped on you for what you have already caused my family. Keeping your brother is one way of doing that. As for what I did to him? What makes you think I did anything to him?"

Joe snorted. "Like he would come here on his own, change his identity and make us all thing he's dead. I know my brother better than that."

"Mmm," Ras-Alman was non-committal. "Perhaps you do."

There was silence for a few very long moments, moments that ticked by slowly while Joe waited. He wanted answers.

"He was injured in the explosion, of course," Ras-Alman said. "Disoriented, insistent on finding Miss Shaw and saving her, though she was already dead, of course. I dragged him out myself and… let's just say made him a better man."

"I doubt that," Joe glared, wanting to hurt this man more than ever before. "He was already the best man possible. All you've done is taken him from his family and from his friends."

"Perhaps," Ras-Alman stated. "But he's my family now and he will remain so – if you wish to live to see another day. Now, it's time for you to go."

He snapped his fingers and the two goons grabbed Joe again, dragging him from the room. Joe wanted to stay and beat the information out of Ras-Alman, and if he could get loose from these two goons he would do just that but their grips remained as if made of iron and he was slowly dragged back to the car and thrust into the backseat.

The man he thought of as goon 2 stuck a gun right in his face when Joe reached for the door handle on the other side of the car and Joe slowly pulled his hand back and settled back into the seat. Goon 1 got into the driver's seat again and they left the red-brick building, heading back along a meandering path toward the Fleming home.

Frank's house, Joe thought. It's Frank's house and nobody else's.

Ras-Alman may have won the battle but he hadn't won the war, after all.

Joe sat quietly as he was brought back to the house where his brother and Ras-Alman's daughter lived and he considered his options. He knew that neither himself or Nancy would back down from this, that no matter the threats they had to get to Frank and, more importantly, get through to him. If Frank didn't remember them they would help him to remember.

The car pulled up outside of the house and Joe was escorted to the front door. Miriam Alman opened the door as soon as they approached it, her glower ferocious as she looked at Joe.

"Release Miss Drew," Goon 1 said to Miriam. "They will be leaving now."

That's what you think, Joe thought.

"Remember, you have one hour to leave town," Goon 2 said. "And we will be watching you both. We'll know if you haven't left."

"Yeah, sure," Joe declared. He wasn't about to back down but no sense in letting them know that. Joe looked up at Nancy as she approached, flushed, rubbing her hands. It was obvious she tried to break out of the room while Joe was gone but hadn't succeeded.

To bad, Joe thought. This might be a whole different story if she had!

The two goons forcibly escorted Joe and Nancy out to their car and Nancy, confused, got into the driver's seat.

"Just drive for now," Joe said to his friend. "I'll explain."

Nancy nodded and started the car. They left the house and circled back out to the interstate as if heading back home.

Joe told Nancy what transpired with Ras-Alman, including his threats to their families. Nancy's blue eyes blazed hotly when she heard that threat and it was obvious she had no intention of backing down, no matter what happened.

"Nobody threatens my family," Nancy said with resolve. "All right, what first? I take it you've thought this all out already, right?"

"Right," Joe nodded his agreement. "I've thought it out fairly thoroughly in fact."

"What first?" Nancy asked.

"We call our families," Joe said. "Ras-Alman, unfortunately, has a long reach. I can trust my dad to keep himself and my mom and Aunt safe. If you want, he can include your dad and Hannah in that protection."

"Dad has his own safety net," Nancy said. "What do we do after that?"

"Since we're going to have a very hard time getting to Frank at his house we need to set up a place to meet him away from the house. I'm going to call the place where he works and see if I can't get him to meet us at a restaurant or somewhere neutral."

"Why would he do that?" Nancy asked. "Especially if he doesn't remember who we are."

Joe shrugged. "I have my ways," he said. "Trust me, he'll meet us. Let's get those phone calls made."

Joe called home on his cell phone and got hold of his father. Fenton listened as Joe explained the problem and finished with, "And I need you to get protection for Vanessa and Andrea too, dad."

Joe knew that Ras-Alman meant it when he said he would go after anyone that Joe loved and Joe wouldn't leave his girlfriend to fend for herself.

"I can do that, son," Fenton said. "So you're sure now? It is Frank?"

"Yeah," Joe said. "I'm positive. The hard part comes now. We have to arrange to meet with him without the rest of his so-called family knowing and then we have to convince him we aren't insane. I just need to know that you and mom and Vanessa and Aunt Gertrude are going to be safe."

"We'll be safe," Fenton agreed. "I feel the urge to go on a long cruise all of a sudden. I'll arrange some fake ids for us, too, so we don't sail under our names. Do you think a couple of weeks will work?"

"Definitely," Joe stated calmly. "I think if we do succeed in getting through to Frank we'll get Ras-Alman off our backs. Somehow."

"All right, son," Fenton said. "You be careful. We don't want to lose both of you, you know that, right?"

"I know, Dad," Joe agreed. "I love you."

"I love you too, son," Fenton said.

Joe turned to Nancy and saw she was already off the phone.

"My dad is taking Hannah, George and Bess to France for a couple of weeks," Nancy said. "We have an old family friend there."

Joe relaxed. Knowing that the families were safe, now, made him feel better. He grabbed their envelope of information on James Fleming and found the phone number for James' place of employment.

"James Fleming please," Joe said when he got a nice sounding receptionist on the phone. "This is Randall Seaforth-Jones."

There was a pause as the call was transferred and soon a warm voice said over the line.

"This is James Fleming."

Joe's heart did flips in his chest. It was his brother's voice. He was talking to his brother!

He had to take a moment to calm himself, during which Frank repeated, "This is James Fleming. Hello?"

"Mr. Fleming," Joe said, finally. "My name is Randall Seaforth-Jones. I have found some very important information concerning your father-in-law and I would like to meet with you to talk to you about it."

"My father-in-law?" Frank declared. "Raymond? What about him?"

"This is delicate, Mr. Fleming," Joe swallowed nervously. "It would be best if we didn't talk about this in public and it would definitely be best if you didn't mention this call to your father-in-law. You may have seen his… temper… for yourself?"

There was a pause before Frank said, "Yes… I have."

"Then you know what I mean," Joe said. "I've read about you, Mr. Fleming. And I've asked others about you. You're a hard-worker, you are diligent and, I think, you are a very proud man who wants nothing to do with crime. Am I right?"

"You're right," Frank sounded flustered.

"That's why I think we should keep this between us. I really do need your help with something as my own life is in danger right now. All I want to do is meet with you – maybe in a restaurant, somewhere that you have never been before, maybe well away from where you live of work. Can you recommend a place?"

"Yes," Frank said. He still sounded nervous and uncertain – but Joe expected that behavior. After all, Frank didn't know Joe from Adam. And Joe was being mysterious.

"Hold on a second."

There was the sound of flipping pages.

"There's a Denny's on Hampton south of 40," James said. "I haven't ever been there and I know none of my colleagues would be caught dead in that area of town. Would that work?"

"That's fine," Joe said. "I'll be with a girl with red hair. I have blonde hair and blue eyes. There will be a manilla envelope on the table. Non-smoking section, all right?"

"Fine," Frank agreed. Obviously they could alter his memory but they couldn't take away Frank's desire to solve mysteries. "I'd better call my wife…"

"No!" Joe exclaimed. "Mr. Fleming, surely you realize that if you call her and let on anything about this conversation that she will call her father, don't you?"

Frank sighed. "I suppose," he conceded. "All right, I'll meet you there in… a half hour? It will take that long to drive there."

"Fine," Joe agreed. "Thank you, Mr. Fleming. You won't regret this."

I promise, Joe vowed to himself. I promise.