Fenton's eyes hardened but he did as instructed. "Did you think we would go to so much trouble to get Joe and then just let you take him back?" the Assassin asked in a mocking voice.
"How did you find us?" demanded Frank, glaring with hatred at the smug thug.
"What was there to find?" the Assassin countered. "There are only four ways you could legally enter Tibet," he explained. "We merely covered every possible one."
"All that running around for nothing," moaned Chet softly.
"Are you taking us to where you're holding Joe?" asked Frank.
"Joseph is no longer any of your concern," was the reply.
"He's my son!" snarled Fenton, leaping to his feet once again. "He will always be my concern."
"Not when you're dead," the Assassin reminded him calmly.
Fenton moved into the aisle but stopped when he heard the click of a safety being released from behind him. The man who had gone to the restroom and returned was also an Assassin.
"I believe you were ordered to stay put or everyone would die," the man stated.
"You're Assassins," Fenton returned in a voice just as calm as the antagonists. "You will kill everyone on board this plane who isn't one of you anyway."
"No they won't," declared one of the more timid looking passengers. In seconds there was an all out battle in the fuselage as everyone joined in the fight. Frank didn't know who was helping them ward off the Assassin's attack but it was obvious they knew who the enemy was. All Frank knew with certainty was that there were no 'innocent' passengers on the flight. 'Or pilots!' Frank realized with clarity, his eyes widening as the plane began to dive.
"We've got to get to the cockpit," Frank told Biff who had just knocked one Assassin over a seat. "They'll destroy themselves and the plane if that's what it takes to eliminate us."
Biff gave a curt nod, all too aware of the suicide technique of the Assassins. He helped Frank clear a path to the pilot's cabin. "It's locked," growled Frank.
"Move aside," ordered Biff. Frank stepped away from the door and grinned as Biff took two steps back then gave a jump and a vigorous kick that splintered the frame on the door.
Frank prepared himself for a fight but it was too late: the pilot had already died from cyanide poisoning. "Keep everyone out," Frank ordered Biff, hauling the dead Assassin from his seat and sitting down at the controls. "I'm going to try and land this thing."
The fight continued on for a few more minutes but it was obvious that, although prepared, the Assassins hadn't counted on all the passengers being on the Hardys' side. As Frank brought the plane under control and radioed the airport for instructions, the Assassins began falling.
"What the..." broke off one man as his opponent crumbled to the floor of the plane before he could land another punch.
"No one takes an Assassin alive," Fenton said with some satisfaction.
"It's over," Biff informed Frank. "They're all dead."
"Tell everyone to buckle up," Frank said. "It's going to be a bumpy landing. Some of the controls have been ripped out."
"Who are you?" Fenton asked as one of the other passengers took the seat beside him after Biff relayed Frank's instructions.
"David Poplin," the man answered. "Mr. Sorrel ordered us to keep track of you and help to rescue Joe."
"Why?" Fenton demanded angrily. "My son is nothing to Sorrel!"
"Matt Horace..er...Hardin, used the boss," Poplin explained. "No one gets away with that even if it means helping the enemy."
"I see," Fenton said. "Please tell Mr. Sorrel that I, and my family, are very grateful for his help."
"It ain't over yet," Poplin said. "Not until Joe has been recovered. Would you care to fill us in on the mission or would you rather we follow you again?"
Fenton gave the matter serious consideration but came to the conclusion that they did, indeed, need Sorrel's men. His pride and morals would not come before the safe return of his son. There was no telling how well protected Joe would be and then there were the two girls to worry about as well. He fully believed they had been taken to keep Joe compliant and so would be kept near him. With a nod of acceptance to his new companion, Fenton began sharing the knowledge of the encampment where Joe was being kept.