CHAPTER 12
John helped Blaine out of the car, then assisted Lassiter. He then used a lock pick on Blaine's handcuffs. The three men went inside the house to check on their prisoners. As they approached the basement they could hear someone yelling and pounding on the door, and noticed a chair had been wedged beneath the doorknob. Lassiter signaled to John to remove the chair. With his gun drawn, John quickly opened the door.
"What the hell happened?!" roared an angry Lassiter when he saw the hired guard standing in the doorway.
"One of them grabbed my leg and tripped me down the stairs…then the other one knocked me out."
Lassiter glared at Blaine, then turned and left the room.
"Am I still gonna get paid?" asked the goon.
"Yes you are…John, pay the man."
"With pleasure," Pulling the trigger, John shot the guard in the chest. He shut the door and joined Blaine and Lassiter who were upstairs in the living room.
"You were right, Blaine…I should have waited a little longer.
"We need to find another place to stay, Mr. Lassiter. Frank Hardy may have already been found by the police."
"Yes, yes…John, I need you to find another car. But first let's leave this place immediately."
The three men wasted no time gathering what few items they had and leaving the house. As they drove down the highway several police cruisers passed them by.
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Three days had passed since Frank's return. He had convinced Fenton and Laura that it was safe for him and Mackenzie to return to their home. Laura was somewhat mollified when she learned that Chief Riley had assigned a patrol car to keep watch. There was also one assigned to the high school. Despite having the police there, Joe insisted on escorting Frank and Mackenzie to work every morning.
"What a role reversal," said Frank as he and Joe walked the school hallways.
"What are you talking about, Frank?"
"I remember when I walked you to your room when you started kindergarten and here you are walking me to my classroom…what a role reversal!" replied Frank, smiling at Joe.
Joe wasn't sure what to say so he just smiled and walked quietly by Frank's side. He noticed that his brother was well liked by the student – especially the female students. He caught several groups of teen girls giggling and whispering to each other as they passed by. It didn't escape Joe's attention that Frank had also received quite a few gifts from his female students when he returned to school. The second day back Frank had found several teddy bears of all shapes and sizes, sitting on his desk along with greeting cards and flowers.
"Do you think Lassiter has given up and left town?" asked Frank now, as they stood outside his classroom.
"No, I have to disagree with Con on that one. My gut feeling is telling me that Lassiter is waiting for the right moment to strike again. Good thing Mr. Anderson is already in Hawaii."
"Your gut feeling, huh? I was afraid you'd say that."
The late bell rang, causing the students to scurry so they wouldn't be late to class. That was also Joe's cue to leave.
"I'll be here before your last class ends."
"I'll be right here," replied Frank as he shut the door behind him.
Joe didn't know why but he found himself walking to his old locker. He found it easily enough and saw a young boy trying to open it. The gangly teen wore glasses, a button-down shirt and jeans. On his feet were loafers. He reminded Joe of Phil Cohen. The boy was grumbling as he jiggled the locker handle.
"You're doing it wrong," said Joe.
"Stay back…I know karate!" yelped the boy in fright.
"Easy there, cowboy…I'm not going to hurt you. I used to go school here…in fact, my brother teaches history here…you know Mr. Hardy?"
"Yeah, he's really cool…he's nice to everyone…even geeks like me." The boy smiled.
"I'll tell you a secret…he used to be a geek too and I always thought he was cool."
"But…but he was on the football team… a jock! And everyone knows jocks are…jerks!"
"Yeah, some can be but not all. Frank – I mean Mr. Hardy – never was…neither was I. Now, this used to be my old locker…let me show you how to open it."
Joe cackled with glee as he recalled his old combination number. When he reached the last number he hit the locker above the combination lock while at the same time lifting the handle up. The locker opened easily.
"Hey, thanks…." The boy let out a frightened gasp as he looked over Joe's shoulder.
There was a small mirror glued to the locker door which allowed Joe to catch a glimpse of a grim-faced man coming up behind him. Moving quickly, Joe shoved the boy into the locker and slammed the door shut. He spun around, coming face to face with a large hulking man drawing a gun out of a holster. Joe shot his left arm out, capturing the man's wrist. Twisting the assailant's arm Joe then punched him in the face several times.
Prying the gun away Joe released the bullet chamber disarming the weapon just as someone grabbed him from behind. Struggling to get loose from his new attacker, Joe threw his head back, and grimaced when the back of his head hit the attacker's face.
The first goon had recovered from Joe's punches, and fists clenched, went after him. His partner had a strong grip on Joe holding him tightly. This let Joe raise his knees up then kicked out, hitting his adversary in the stomach. Using the momentum of the kick Joe shoved himself backwards. The second man fell back, hitting the lockers. The impact elicited a muffled cry from the imprisoned boy inside. Joe stomped his foot down hard on his attacker's instep, then he rammed his elbow into the man's solar plexus. His assailant's grip loosened.
'This is when Biff and Tony usually came to the rescue…or Frank!' thought Joe as he moved away.
.. ..
Frank had finished handing out a corrected test paper and was getting ready to discuss it when there was a knock at the door. A dark-haired teen girl walked in and handed Frank a slip of paper. Frank noticed that her hand was trembling. He felt a strange tingling on the back of his neck as he recalled his conversation with Joe.
"Are they waiting for you to come back out?" whispered Frank.
The young girl stared wide-eyed at Frank. He hadn't even read the note…how did he know? She nodded her head.
"Stay here." Frank faced his class. "I'll be right back; everyone turn to page 30 and read chapters eight to eleven." Giving the young girl a reassuring smile he walked out of the classroom.
Tyler watched him leave and wondered why the girl who'd brought the message didn't follow him. He looked around the room and noticed that everyone else was curious too.
"What's your name?" he asked the girl. "What did that note say?"
"I'm Cindy…two scary-looking guys are out in the hallway. They want him…your teacher – Mr. Hardy – to come with them."
Tyler got out of his seat and peeked out the small window on the door. "Who has a cell phone?" he asked.
"I do!"
"Call the police…one of those thugs has a gun!"