"Joe! Get your ass out of bed. Come on, wake up!"
Joe Hardy woke up with a start. His pounding head and dazed vision told him to get back to sleep, but his obnoxious older brother Frank told him otherwise. He couldn't get to sleep at all that night.
Frank yelled from Joe's door, "Look, you've got 10 minutes to get ready and be downstairs or else I'm leaving without you. You knew I wanted to get to school early, so please, for once, be on time?"
"Agh…alright, alright. I'm coming."
In 7 minutes on the dot, Joe came downstairs ready for the day ahead. He met up with his aunt who gave him breakfast on the go with a small kiss on the cheek. Frank was already waiting inside their SUV with the morning news blaring from the car. Joe couldn't help but smirk at Frank as he entered the car, eyeing his pissed off expression.
"Dude. I really wanted to leave 10 minutes ago-"
"Frank! Stop. Okay, I get it. You're acting a lot like Mom."
"Well, someone has to take responsibility…."
Awkward silence fell between them as they got closer to Bayfield High. The news was still on with a weather update mentioning another scorching hot day in the New York/Bayfield area. At a red light, Frank finally had a chance to take a look at his younger brother. At 17, he was very built at 6 feet. His messy blonde hair and exhausted looking eyes was anything but the "normal" Joe he sees so often. It looks like he just crawled out of bed and came downstairs in 2 seconds, which he probably did. Joe took a bite from his English muffin just as the light turned green.
"Did you get any sleep last night?" Frank asked.
Joe just stared at Frank and said, "Does it look like I got any sleep? On and on and on I would hear the same words repeated over and over like a cycle. I couldn't shut it out from my head."
"What words?"
"'Not guilty.'"
"You serious? Oh come on Joe. We found enough evidence against the Orlowski Organization to put them in prison for a very long-"
Frank's response was quickly cut off from what he had been waiting to hear all morning.
"What?"
"Shhh…."
The news anchor on the radio was giving the low down of their biggest story: the Orlowski Organization trial.
"…Orlowski Organization head leader Daniel Orlowski was apprehended one month ago after 3 very long stressful weeks. Since his arrest, all Orlowski Organization plots have ceased and for now stopped. The terrorist group targeted many New York cities, including New York City and Bayfield who prayed on teenagers ranging from 13 to 21 to "do their dirty work for them" as I quote Chief Ezra Collig of the Bayfield Police. The "Double Ohs" as they soon came to be called manipulated kids directly and personally, or indirectly and from online sources. From witnesses of the crimes, the Double Ohs would act friendly, then peer pressure teenagers for money, or even murder. The dirty work came to be known as a long stretch of petty crimes to more serious plots that resulted in multiple murders and other life-threatening events. Bayfield is home of the honor as Detective Fenton Hardy and the Bayfield Police helped track down this terrorist group leader. His trial date is scheduled for today at 2 PM Eastern Standard Time. He is set up for 9 counts of murder…"
"Are you serious! They mentioned everybody in the whole city but us. AND we practically solved the whole damn case!" exclaimed Joe.
"Look, we don't solve crimes for the joy of getting famous or getting credited all the time. We help people out and save a lot a lives." Although Frank was a bit disappointed he didn't hear his name besides his father's.
Joe turned to stare at his brother for the second time. "Since when did you start talking like this? Sure we save a lot of lives, but you nearly got yourself killed, remember?"
Oh, how Frank could definitely remember it. Henry Stanton, known as The Top Notch, was Daniel Orlowski's second in charge. Frank was doing a little undercover work against his father's wishes to pose as a manipulated teen. Somehow –Frank still can't even understand how– he was made and had to deal with The Top Notch personally with a dozen or so beatings and abuses. He was left to rot in a hidden basement at one of the Base of Operations in Jersey. It wasn't until 2 days later when SWAT came bursting through the door helping a weakened Frank and rushed him to the nearest hospital. He still had the bruises to show for it. But he didn't want to think about that now. That was something he didn't wanted to relive ever again.
"So tell me what is so important again for getting to school early?" Joe asked with the last bite of his English muffin stuffed in his mouth.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not missing out on this trial. I'm getting to school to complete a Calculus test so I can leave early."
Joe just looked out in front of him at the empty senior parking lot. "And why am I here again?"
"You would have missed out on your ride if you didn't come with me. Look, sleep in the car, do whatever you want. Just give me the keys when you're done."
And with that Frank parked his car, got out, grabbed his books, and headed for the school building. Joe was actually amazed at Frank. With all this commotion going on with the Double Ohs, he couldn't concentrate that well on his school academics. Yes, the homework did get completed, barely, but Frank seemed to have nothing on his mind but school.
Joe checked his watch. 6:30. Shit, school doesn't start until 7:45. 'Yup, I'm definiately going to be taking some Zzzzs until school starts.' With that, Joe set his watch alarm for 7:30. Finally relaxed and in the best car position possible, Joe took a hard nap in the back seat.
With 20 minutes passed and dawn just waking, he had no idea that someone unwelcomed started walking nonchalantly toward the Hardy SUV.