Test 4
Downtown Bayport, NY
"Brr..." Nancy shivered, and wrapped her arms around herself. "It's rather cold today...can't you wait to get your present for Vanessa until tomorrow?"
"Nope," Joe said from ahead of her. "I've got to get it today. She won't be in Bayport during Christmas week, which means I have only this week to find her gift, wrap it, and give it to her!"
Frank rolled his eyes. "You really know how to procrastinate, little brother."
Joe didn't say anything; he just kept pushing ahead through the crowd. A moment later, however, he stumbled as he bumped into an elderly woman.
"Oh, sorry, dear," the woman said cheerily, as Joe felt something being shoved into his palm. He watched the woman walk away, and then looked at what she had given him. Seeing that it was a folded piece of paper, he unfolded it as Frank and Nancy caught up to him.
"What's it say, Joe?" Nancy asked curiously, noting the angry expression on the younger Hardy's face.
"Time for test four," Joe said flatly, as several of the members in the crowd around them suddenly broke free of the mass of shoppers and closed in on them.
The fight was short and fast. Punches flew, and the martial arts skills of the three teens were put to good use….but it was clearly a losing battle. Joe heard muffled shouts from his brother and Nancy as things continued, but he was having problems of his own. He'd just been pinned to the ground by a burly guy with a ski mask on, and was having difficulty getting the guy off of him.
Joe looked around desperately as he struggled with his opponent, hoping that someone in the crowd would leap in and help. Instead, there seemed to be a small circle of onlookers. Beyond them, everything was chaos. Someone was screaming for police, and others were pushing each other to get away from the fighting. It was clear that no one was going to come to his aid.
Joe stopped struggling for a moment, and then surged upward, hoping to catch his foe off-guard. In fact, he didn't succeed. His enemy had been prepared for the ruse, and as Joe surged upward, his opponent delivered a brutal punch to Joe's head. The younger Hardy fell back, his head crashing into the pavement. The last thing Joe saw before blacking out was a triumphant gleam in his attacker's eyes.
Hardy Residence, Bayport, NY
Joe returned to consciousness with a pounding headache. He opened his eyes to see his father leaning over him, anxiety etched into the man's expression.
"Are you alright, son?" Fenton Hardy asked as Joe groaned.
"I feel like I've been hit with a sledgehammer, but I'll be okay. How are Frank and Nancy?"
Fenton's expression turned grave. "We don't know, Joe. They were apparently abducted just as you were knocked out. The police arrived and found only you, surrounded by a crowd. Your attackers were gone. Con Riley brought you home after you were checked out by a doctor on the scene. He said you could come in and give a statement when you were conscious and able."
"What!" Joe sat up quickly, but had to fall back when the pounding in his head increased. He winced. "Any leads?"
Fenton shook his head. "We interviewed as many witnesses as we could, but…"
"Would it be possible for me to interview them again?"
"Joe, it won't do any good."
"I don't care. I have to try." Joe sat up again, more slowly this time, and grimaced. "But first, I need to get some aspirin."
Hotel Room, Unknown Location
Nancy leaned against Frank, feeling as though she was going to throw up. Her whole body shook, and her head was killing her. "I really hate being knocked out with drugs," she muttered.
Frank rubbed her back soothingly. "Well, on the bright side, they didn't tie us up!" he said, trying to keep his tone light. He grimaced, however, as he took in their surroundings: a tiny, dingy motel room that looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in months. "Why don't you lie down on the bed?" he suggested, noticing that Nancy was still shaking. "It looks somewhat clean...and you don't look so good."
Truth be told, Frank wasn't feeling too well himself, but he was in a better state than Nancy, who only nodded weakly, and moved to the bed, collapsing on it. Frank moved around, checking the room for possible exit points, but the vent was too small, the window was barred, and when he peeked out of the peephole, it was clear there were two very alert guards outside. With a sigh, he sat down on the bed beside Nancy. Neither of them was in any condition to fight the guards, and he hadn't been able to tell where they were from the view outside the window. May as well just wait and see what happens, he thought.
"Frank..." Nancy said weakly, "I think...I think I'm going to..." Putting a hand over her mouth, she sprinted to the tiny bathroom. Frank didn't need to be told what was going to happen next. He followed her, and held her hair as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. The heaves finally stopped, and she flushed everything down. He released her to let her move to the sink and rinse her mouth out. "Thanks," she rasped, after she had done so. He smiled softly at her.
"No problem...let's get you back to the bed." She nodded, and they went back into the room and curled on the bed together.
Nancy's cheeks flamed as she curled up against Frank. She had never reacted so badly to a knock-out drug before, and even though Frank was being so understanding, she still wished it hadn't happened. With a small sigh, she closed her eyes, attempting to block out the relentless pounding in her head. Eventually, her breathing slowed, and she slept.
Ugh...Frank blinked wearily as he struggled to stay awake. He glanced down at Nancy, who was sleeping beside him. Good. She needs the rest. I, on the other hand...He couldn't let himself fall asleep, no matter how rotten he felt. They still didn't know why they were in this situation, and he wanted to be on guard for anything. He winced as particularly sharp pain shot through his head, and rubbed his eyes. No matter how lousy I feel...I can't, I won't, go to sleep. I'll stay awake and endure it, he vowed.
Hotel Hallway, Unknown Location
"How are things going in there?" Carter asked the guards.
"Not a peep from them...they reacted rather badly to the drug, though...Drew fell asleep about three hours ago, and Hardy...well, if he's still awake, then he's doing a damn good job of faking sleep." one responded. The man nodded.
"Did they attempt to escape?"
"No sir...and given the way they acted when they regained consciousness, I would say that was a wise choice...they wouldn't have been any match for us, and you said not to harm them too badly..."
Carter smiled faintly. "Yes...those two have always been the smarter of the three. Which is precisely why the Network needs them." He turned and began walking away from the room. "Let me know if the situation changes," he called over his shoulder as he left. The guards looked at each other, shrugged, and resumed their card game, keeping part of their attention dedicated to the small monitor next to them, showing the slumbering pair on the other side of the door they sat in front of.
Hotel Hallway, Unknown Location
Frank woke with a groan and a sore back. I fell asleep, he thought angrily, as he turned to check on Nancy. She still slumbered peacefully, and he took a minute to take in the view.
As he gazed at her, Nancy stirred slightly. Doing his best not to wake her further, Frank slowly extricated himself from her grasp, and got up. A glance at his watch revealed he and Nancy had been out for most of the night. Damn, he thought frustratedly. We might've missed a valuable escape opportunity...
He walked over to the door and tested the lock slightly…the door opened, but as he'd suspected, the guards were still outside. "Hungry, Hardy?" one of them asked. "We can get you some food."
What? Frank thought, confused. "Huh?" he said aloud, and then winced at his stupidity.
The guard shrugged. "Well, the boss says we aren't allowed to fight you unless you try to leave...and since your girlfriend is still asleep in there, I doubt you'll be trying to go anywhere anytime soon."
"Why are you holding us here?" Frank demanded. "What's going on?"
The other guard shrugged. "To be honest...we aren't too sure. But the man wants you to stay here, so stay you will...and no harm will come to you as long as you don't try to leave."
"This is ridiculous," Frank muttered. If only Nancy were awake...we could probably take these two rather easily...
"You're telling me, kid. But orders are orders, and I rather like my job...and if you're thinking of escape, I think it only fair to warn you that I'm an expert when it comes to tasers...and my buddy over there has an actual gun, in case the taser doesn't stop you."
Hotel Room, Unknown Location
Nancy knew the instant she woke that she was not in her room at home. Where am I? She wondered, taking a moment to try to recall what had happened before. Memories flashed in her mind, of walking with Frank, of being ambushed and a cloth being placed over her face...waking up in a dingy hotel room...getting sick...She flushed at the memory of the last one.
On the bright side, she mused, I feel better now.She still felt drained, but the nausea and headache seemed to be gone.Warily, she opened an eye, to find the room empty. The sound of running water told her Frank was in the tiny bathroom.
Right, she thought, sitting up and stretching. Time to figure out where we are. Moving rapidly, she performed a search very similar to Frank's from the day before. While she was looking out the peephole at the two guards, Frank emerged from the bathroom and came up behind her.
"They're armed," he said quietly in her ear, causing her to jump slightly. "Sorry," he apologized as she turned to face him.
"How do you know they're armed?"
"They told me," he said, with a shrug.
"And you trust them?"
Frank shrugged again. "I don't think we have much choice at the moment. Not until we have more information. Anyway, their boss wants us for an operation or something...no word yet on whether this boss is on the proper side of the law, though, and since he abducted us, I doubt he is."
Nancy took a moment to digest that information. So, we're being held hostage while we wait to speak to this 'boss'..."Frank," she said slowly, "did they say whether Joe kidnapped, too?"
He shook his head. "Apparently, he's still free. Their boss only wants us. So if we're lucky, Joe might be able to find us if we can't figure our own way out of here."
Nancy wasn't so sure of that, but she didn't want to say it. For a few moments, there was nothing but silence while both Frank and Nancy wondered what to say next. Then, Nancy's stomach rumbled.
Frank immediately got up and walked to the bedside table. He opened the drawer, and pulled out a package of saltine crackers. "Here," he said, tossing it to her. "Something light for now...apparently, we're getting a regular meal in a couple of hours."
He pulled a can of lemon-lime soda from the drawer as well, and walked over to hand it to her. She smiled at him gratefully, and eagerly tore open the package and devoured a handful of crackers.
Hotel Room, Unknown Location
Nancy lay on the bed, bored to tears. They'd been here for two days, and there was no sign of Joe or the man who'd hired the guards that kept watch outside their door. She barely glanced up anymore at the sounds of the old guards leaving and new guards coming - it happened every six hours, and she was already used to it.
She glanced at Frank, who was leaning back in the chair across from the bed, eyes closed. She couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but if he was as tired as her, he probably was.
She sighed as she remembered their awkwardness the night before when they'd tried to determine how they would share the one bed...it hadn't been an issue the first night; neither had been thinking about their mutual interest in each other; they had only thought about how ill they felt, and their sheer exhaustion. But last night…
Last night was a nightmare. Frank had tried to be a gentleman, offering to sleep on the floor, but Nancy wasn't going to let him. There was no telling when they might have to fight, and if Frank were cramped from sleeping on the floor, he would not be at his best. And Frank disagreed with the idea of sleeping in shifts.
Nancy had argued it was a good move in their situation, but Frank seemed more concerned about her health, as she was still feeling weak, he'd suggested that perhaps she was actually ill, and there was no way he was going to let her lose sleep if she was. "You need all the rest you can get," he'd protested. Nancy frowned. Too bad he'd been right - she'd woken with a fever this morning and a very sore throat.
The arguing the night before had continued until Nancy had finally just crawled under the covers and told Frank he could sleep wherever he wanted to, but if he insisted on sleeping on the floor, he wasn't allowed to protest when she stepped on him in the morning.
He'd sighed, and crawled into bed himself, not fifteen minutes later, though Nancy noted how he carefully laid down on top of the sheet, so that even if they shifted in the night, they wouldn't be physically touching.