Chapter 11
Hunches
A/N: I realize I said last chapter that I'd not be updating at least until January or February sometime, but that changed, thanks to a certain Christmas present!
The first thing Joe did that next morning after Elen's warning was to call Nancy and tell her that at least one of them might not make it out alive if they went in to rescue Frank. And of course, Nancy decided, as Joe and Elen and Gwladys had, to go ahead with the attempt. "It's difficult enough watching what this whole ordeal is doing to you, Joe. Not to mention what it's doing to the twins." Nancy said over the phone. "We might just as well attempt it anyway, because otherwise we'll never know if we'd succeed in rescuing Frank."
Joe nodded in agreement, even though he knew that Nancy couldn't see him do so. "Yeah." A lengthy pause. "You want to meet later on today to discuss tactics?"
"Sure. Five okay with you?"
"Yeah; Elen and Gwladys are done with school by then. Look, Nancy, I'm really grateful for this."
Nancy gave a quick sigh. "You're not the only one who cares about Frank," she said.
---
The Grey Man sighed, rubbed his temples. "Atlas, the Hardys are attempting to get Frank out of The Village. If it were to come down to actually having to kill one or all of them to keep that particular secret safe, we need to bring in backup."
"The informants we've got in the Assassins?" Atlas, a small, thin man who still bore remnants of the time he spent running from the border patrol in Greece, suggested.
"Maybe so. I hate to have to do this, but I got orders from higher up last night at midnight to prevent Frank Hardy from returning to his home. Civilians cannot know about The Village. As it is, the entire group associated with Frank Hardy does know about it."
"His wife and kid are going to be upset about that."
"Tell me about it," the Grey Man replied. "It's at times like these when I wish that we weren't in a position that dealt with civilian safety."
---
Thursday night of that same week, Joe came home from Nancy and Frank's exhausted and extremely pissed at whoever it was who had taken Frank, only to find a note tacked to his front door.
Give up your search for your brother or you will not come back alive.
---
"So when are we leaving for Europe?" Sarah Benson asked Brett at the Hardys that same afternoon.
"This weekend sometime, as soon as we can get the go ahead from immigration," Brett replied. "They know the situation, but we're hoping that they're on our side and not the Network's. Did you know that Uncle Joe got a note last night that said we wouldn't make it back alive if we went ahead with the operation?" He paused. "Elen saw something along the same line, too."
Sarah winced. "I hope beyond all hope that she's wrong. That the note's wrong, too."
"Tell me about it," Brett said. "Are your folks okay with the idea of your going to Europe until further notice?"
She nodded as she took out a sheaf of papers. "Uh-huh. Listen, one of the teachers at school, I think it was the criminal justice teacher, said that her dad had been in The Village once, but had escaped. She gave me this. Thought it might help." Sarah handed Brett the papers; they turned out to be detailed, intricate maps of the areas surrounding The Village.
"You're right. It will."
---
At five sharp that evening, Nancy and Brett arrived with Jerry Gilroy, Callie Shaw, Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Phil Cohen, and the others.
"Maybe I'm wrong about this," Elen said as she and her father got snacks from the kitchen; "but I keep feeling that I was wrong about what I said last night. I don't think it's one of us who'll get killed. It'll be Uncle Frank."
Joe hadn't told her about the note he'd received from the Grey Man that afternoon. She's late on that. What if someday she's late on something that is vital to our state of being?