A/N: I realize that there's another story here with 'The Agency' and it wasn't my intention to steal that name, I had decided it long before I read that story. It's just a very convenient name, you see..:)
I divided the story into two parts mainly for readers' comfort. So here's the 2nd part:
Eventually he moved to New York. There wasn't much left of the Hardy's investigation firm with both Fenton and Frank gone. He rented a small apartment with a dormer.
He started working at a police station.
The Agency contacted him now and then and gave him assignments. The police would sometimes investigate some of the cases that just seemed to unbelievable to be an accident and Joe would do his best to lead them astray.
In the past year he had killed 10 persons. This one would be the 11th. The Agency had contacted him by sending someone, as always.
When he came home from work a man and a woman were sitting on his couch.
"Good morning, Mr. Hardy," the woman greeted as he rolled his eyes when he noticed them.
"You have an assignment for me, right?" he said tiredly.
She nodded and told him where and when to meet Hood.
And that was how he ended up on the balconies with the lonely, rich woman in the Mayor's birthday party.
"So, where's your husband?" he asked.
She snorted softly. "He's probably somewhere inside, flirting with a maid or stuffing himself with caviar," she said bitterly.
"And leaving a pretty thing like you on your own?" he seemed genuinely surprised.
She smiled at him. "Tell me, Mr. Hardy; is it a hobby of yours to flirt with other men's women when no one's looking?"
"Nope. I only wanna cheer up the lonely ones. Aren't you lonely, ma'am?" 'What a bunch of bullshit,' he thought to himself.
"Well, I guess I could do with the company," she replied.
There was a while of silence.
Joe watched from the corner of his eye another man leave the other side of the balcony and head inside. The chance was nearing. They were alone.
He looked over the parapet. "My…that's a pretty long fall. Wonder what it would be like…"
She cast him a wary side glance.
He was about to make the move when all out of sudden, an older man in a tuxedo came strolling out.
"Ah, Allison, there you are!"
Joe nodded knowingly to himself. The man was just like he imagined: The mustache, the hairdo, the greasy fingers just out of the caviar dish.
Allison's husband stopped. "Who's your friend there?"
"Um…this is Mr. Hardy," the woman said.
"Really?" he was drunk and unbalanced. "What were you talking about?"
"Just my plan to kidnap your wife, take her to a tropical island where we'll spend the days making love on the beach and verbally abusing you," he didn't say it like he was joking; with his eyes he was challenging the man.
And the man narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to be funny?"
"Not really," Joe said, tensing up. The chance was gone. He had to play it by ear from there.
Allison stepped between them and laughed nervously. "Yes, honey, of course he was…" she glanced meaningfully at Joe.
Then man was looking at him too. "No, he wasn't."
Then Joe realized something. The man knew him. And he knew him also. He was a lieutenant in the NY police force. One of those who believed he had killed Maria Black. They had never been friends since they were sort of competing over a case. It was a long time ago. Back when his father was still alive.
'The old goat has a wife? Poor woman, I'm really doing her a favor here,' he was shocked. That was the way he was starting to think in? Had he really become this soulless?
"So Hardy, intent on stealing my wife as well as my honor?" the man watched him with disgust.
Joe was starting to feel very bad. He'd never had this kind of confrontation before; it had always been just him and the victim. Sometimes the victim didn't even know he was there.
'How the hell did the plan do again? Oh, fuck, I can't remember the plan! What was it? Push her over…push her over…and then say I pushed her because…. No, no, no, no, no, not like that… Say she fell and I tried to… No… Damn it! It doesn't matter, the plan's useless now.'
He started to reach for his gun. Then man noticed and was quicker to get his.
"What was your plan of action, Hardy?" he asked victoriously, pointing the handgun at him. "Kill me? Like that girl, Maria Black?"
Joe's empty blue eyes sought the ground.
"You're….you're not denying it?" the man seemed surprised.
Joe looked up again. His world was about to crash down. He was done for if this man lived. And so was his family. He had to finish the assignment.
In a flash he got the gun, aimed it at the target and fired.
The woman gasped and sunk down on the floor, trying to support herself by the parapet. But she didn't have a chance, she was dying.
The man froze. "Alli…Allison?!"
Joe made a new aim in a hurry and fired again. The man fell down, dead in an instant. He heard loud clicking of heels and hurried to exchange guns with the body.
Mrs. Rogers came out on the balcony, saw the scenario and screamed. Then she fainted. More people came out.
Joe looked like he was panicking. "I….I…I tried to….he…he shot her….I tried to…I was…too late…too late to…" he looked at the gun in his hand seemingly shocked. But his insides twitched and he could hardly believe his luck. The gun he was holding was the same type as the one he had put in the dead man's hand. Maybe he could still save Frank from punishment.
Two men took him by the shoulders and led him inside. There were quite a few cops there but more were called.
He was thoroughly interrogated as he was the only witness and the only suspect in the case. He stuck firmly to his tale: He had been talking to the woman, her husband walked in on them and in some jealousy frenzy he had shot the woman and aimed at him but he'd been quick enough to get his own gun and fire, in self defense. There were doubts but lack of evidence.
He felt much relief when he got out of the building. After showering he tried to sleep but when he lay still he felt like he would suffocate. He had to get up and pace back and forth in the living room. It was hard to breath and everything felt heavy.
He was sick of the life he was living. Everyday haunted by the photographs he'd been shown. Smiling people –dead people…. Lifeless black eyes…the last look Frank gave him, Frank and Callie saying goodbye to each other… It depended on him whether that had been the last time they ever saw each other. Frank bound to a chair in a small room….
He hadn't seen Frank since the old Robin Hood had shown him the monitor for the surveillance camera. Maybe he was dead, maybe they all were. The Agency easily could have just told him they were alive and take his fear to their advantage.
A week passed. News of his latest two murders had caught the media's attention. He was in the spotlight. Debatable. –Innocent victim of the circumstances? Or a sly murderer?
He was so close to being uncovered. He really didn't care anymore.
One night, late, he came home from yet another interrogation to find an agent sitting in his living room. It was a woman and she was alone which was unusual.
"Another assignment?" he asked indifferently.
She shook her head. "No. You need to come with me."
She took him to a car outside. Not black, Joe noticed, like most of the Agency's vehicles but dark green. The woman sat with him in the backseat. She only ordered the driver 'Go.'
"I'm afraid I must blindfold you," she said and bent down to pick up a small box from the floor.
Joe snorted. "You new with the company?" he asked dryly. They had never been 'afraid they must' do anything.
She didn't answer him but when she leaned towards him she looked into his eyes. "You are so dead inside," she said sadly.
He twitched. What kind of an agent was this?
Then she had her arms around his neck to tie the black ribbon at the back of his head. She took her time doing it and it was becoming more than little uncomfortable for Joe, not to mention her perfume, its light but sickly sweet smell made him nauseous.
The drive took unusually long, it took about two hours, he thought.
Then he was led out of the car and into some building. He wasn't taken all over it, just directly to a room. No stairs, no elevators.
He heard soft footsteps and then the door was gently closed.
"You may remove the blindfold," the woman's voice said.
He did. He had to blink several times before he got used to the brightness. This wasn't Hood's office.
There was a thick, soft, furry white carpet on the floor. The furniture was made of light wood, birch or pine, unpainted. There were landscape paintings on the creamy walls. The curtains, covering the one window, were white with laces. And it was bright. The lights seemed white rather than yellow.
She sat behind the desk, with her legs folded beneath her. She had taken off the black, long coat. She was wearing a white costume with a skirt that reached a little over her knees and a jacket with wide sleeves. Her long brown hair was done in a single braid which she had over her shoulder.
She gestured at the chair in front of the desk. "Have a seat, please."
He did so. "Who are you?"
She watched him curiously with her light brown eyes. "Singular or plural?"
-"What?"
-"When you say 'you,' you mean singular or plural?"
-"Singular. To begin with," he said after some hesitation. He was confused.
Then she smiled. "I guess we could call me Little Red Riding Hood," she laughed lightly.
"How about Snow White?" Joe suggested, finding it a much more appropriate name.
She shrugged. "Take your pick."
-"All right…'Snow White,' and the plural?"
She put her legs down and leaned forwards. "We are the real Agency."
"The 'real' Agency?" he snorted.
-"We are. Those who you've met are a branch of us, a spoiled and scandalous branch of us."
-"Ah. So, you're the Network?"
-"The what?"
-"Forget it."
She decided to ignore this little quibble.
"And what do you want from me?" Joe asked and crossed his arms.
-"I want to help you."
Joe lifted his eyebrows. "Help me what?"
-"To get your family back."
-"Why would you want to do that?"
-"So you can join us."
Joe stared at her, almost gaping. "Are you serious? Haven't I been through enough from you people?" he stopped to think it over. "Why? Why would I agree on that?"
"It all relates, Joe," her eyes never left his, though she was rocking from side to side. The chair was on wheels. "We want you to work with us. You can't because they will find out and probably kill your family. We can help you to free them. When they don't have them, they have no power over you; you'd be free to do what you want. But we won't help you unless you agree to work with us afterwards."
-"What would I be doing for you?"
-"Not killing people."
Joe took a deep breath. "All right, let's say I'd agree on your terms. Could you guarantee my family would get away unharmed?"
She shook her head. "Alive, but maybe not unharmed. You haven't heard anything from Hood for a while, am I correct?"
He nodded and she continued.
"He's probably been using that time to punish your family somehow because of your failure on last assignment, the man wasn't supposed to die…" she bit her lip, hesitating, thinking.
"I know where they are; the mother and the children," she then said.
Joe looked at her.
"The odds are in our favor," she said and smiled.
He contemplated everything that had been said.
"So, what do you say?" she stretched out her hand to him. "Do we have an agreement?"
-"How do I know this isn't some sort of a trap?"
"A trap for what? They got everything you got, there's nothing left. If they wanted to kill you they'd do it more directly," she pointed out.
He looked into her eyes. He couldn't find anything there to make him believe she was lying. The Agency had done a lot of things to him but so far they had never been untrue to their words.
It was his last straw, last chance, last hope.
He took her hand.
Then he was taken home the same way he'd been brought there but 'Snow White' said she'd be in touch with him later.
A few days later he was contacted by Hood's men. He was to meet him at a restaurant.
He was already there when Joe arrived.
"Assignment?" Joe asked after being invited to sit down.
Hood nodded. "Yes." He pushed a photograph over the table.
Joe studied the picture. Another woman. He peered at it. 'Snow White?' He showed no expression as he passed the photo back.
"And the plan?"
Hood lowered his voice to give him the plan.
Joe nodded and then leaned forwards. "I've been wondering, Hood, how do I know my family really is alive?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hood narrowed his eyes.
-"Just what I'm saying."
Hood also leaned forwards towards him. The distance between their noses was very short.
"You know that, Joe, because of your little mistakes the other day I had to starve the children for a week. I mean, it didn't kill them but I'm sure they weren't feeling too great either."
A surge of rage went through Joe. He wanted to reach out, grab the man by the collar and beat him to a bloody pulp. But he kept his cool.
"Maybe they're already dead and you're just telling me this to keep me working," he said.
Hood patted a finger on his nose. "But are you willing to take the chance that I'm not?"
Joe looked at him heatedly. No, he wouldn't take that chance. Not yet.
When he got away from Hood he became nervous. The newest target was 'Snow White.' Wasn't that too much of a coincidence? Did they know that they were familiar with each other? Were they playing with them?
He didn't like the plan. It was too intimate, too much like the plan with Maria. And besides that he had met her before. And what would happen when the fake Agency would find out the target wasn't dead? And would 'Snow White' see it coming? He would just have to wait and see.
He had the most uncomfortable flashbacks as he was seated in the café. 'Snow White' was sitting a few tables away and she hadn't noticed him yet. She looked a lot different from what Joe remembered. She seemed older, although Joe had never actually tried to guess her age. The braid was still intact but she was wearing jeans and a blouse and not looking nearly as dignified as before.
She sat there sipping from a cup of coffee. There was a child with her; a little boy. Joe frowned, that might complicate things a little.
He wasn't sure how to make contact with her. He couldn't remember how to flirt with women, not even to pretend and with the child around it just seemed inappropriate.
While thinking of a way, he kept his eyes fixed on her and suddenly she looked his way. Her eyes widened in surprised when she recognized him. He smiled a little. Then he quickly scanned the place in search for something useful. The toilets. He'd have to walk past her table to get there. As he got up he noticed her taking a sip from a water bottle and then put it down close to the edge of the table.
He walked fast past the table and knocked the bottle over in the way and the water spilled all over the table and the floor.
There was a little chaos as she and the boy stood up and tried to prevent more water from leaking to the floor and the waitresses brought cloths to dry it up and Joe just stood and excused himself.
"I'm so sorry, are you all right?" he asked when things slowed down.
She smiled. "Yes, of course, it was only a little bit of water."
They stood there looking into each other's eyes until it became awkward and the boy got impatient and starting tugging on her sleeve.
"Mom, are we going yet?"
She broke the eye contact with Joe to look at him.
"Yeah, honey, sure. Just a minute." She looked back at Joe.
"I better…um…" Joe cleared it throat and pointed towards the toilets with his head but before he left, he mouthed 'Wait' and hoped she had gotten it though she showed no signal of it.
But she was still there when Joe came out of the rest room.
He stopped by her table. "Are you sure you don't want me to pay for your drink?"
-"That's kind of you but really, there's no need, it wasn't expensive."
From there they started to casually discuss their opinions on commodity prices and the economic system.
The act was tiring. Joe wanted to get it over with and ask her out already. But it had to look as normal as possible. And the boy was in the way.
But it was he who unknowingly provided the solution.
"Mom, you promised we could go to the park. -This century," he said.
Joe saw the idea shoot down in her at the same moment it hit him.
"Yes, honey, we're going, we're going…um…" she hesitated. "Would you…would you like to join us?" she then asked Joe.
He took his time considering it. "Well…you sure your husband wouldn't mind?" That was a way to enquire into the boy's existence. Any man would ask something like that.
She smiled. "I'm single."
Joe turned to the boy. "Are you ok with that?"
The boy looked a little confusedly up at his mother before he shrugged. "Ok, whatever."
Joe and 'Snow White' smiled at each other.
"I haven't been to the park for the longest time," he said to her as they left the café. The boy was a few feet in front of them.
"We don't go there often either," she said.
"How old is he?" Joe asked, pointing with his head towards the boy.
-"My son? 9, turning 10."
-"What happened to his…his father?"
-"He died."
-"Oh."
He decided not to ask more questions for now.
They walked in silence to the park. Joe compared the mother and son in his mind. In a way they were alike and in a way they were not.
The boy had her brown eyes and dreamy expression but his hair was jet black and he had dimples in his cheeks.
When they came to the park the boy started to run towards the pond where a few people helped children tossing bread at the ducks.
"RJ, don't go too far, ok? We'll sit down right here," 'Snow White' called after him.
Joe sat down beside her on a bench.
"Does…does RJ mean Robin…something?" Joe whispered.
"What's going on?" she whispered back instead of answering the question.
"You're the target," he replied.
-"And?"
-"And? Well, I was hoping you could tell me what to do, 'cause obviously I ain't finishing the assignment."
She sighed. "We'll figure it out," she then said.
RJ came running to them. "Hey, mom, there's a woman there selling…you know –duck food? Can I buy some to give them?"
"Sure, here," she smiled and gave him some money.
"You never answered my question," Joe said when RJ had run off again. "Does 'R' stand for Robin?"
She nodded and looked at him. "Everything will be explained in time." She looked back over the pond. "Let's look at this little time as a day of freedom and let's enjoy it."
Joe couldn't enjoy it. It seemed unfair to him that her child could run around, carefree and happy in the bloom of his youth while his nieces and nephew had to suffer for the actions of the adults.
He imagined the three of them on a sunny day like this, coming running towards him, calling 'Uncle Joe!' They'd be smiling and laughing and he'd be waiting with his arms spread for them to run into and be kept safe.
Those thoughts brought tears to his eyes.
They agreed to meet next night.
She picked him up from the police station since she had a car and he didn't. He didn't actually work so much these days as he was still a suspect for his last assignment. He didn't really believe he'd get away with it. It was probably a matter of time before someone showed up saying he'd witnessed everything from another building or the experts found that something didn't add up to his story or someone would realize there was something not right with his invitation card.
But he hoped that his new ally, 'Snow White' with her 'real' Agency could and would help him with that.
They had a reservation on a French restaurant.
"What am I supposed to call you?" he asked before they got out of the car. "It would be ridiculous to call you 'Snow White' in there."
She thought about it. "Why don't you choose me a name?"
-"Ok…um… how about Georgia?"
She shook her head. "No, that's your niece."
-"Ann then?"
-"Ann it is. Just remember it."
They had a lovely dinner and anyone would have believed they were just two people looking for love. Joe paid for the meal –in cash as always –and put his arm over her shoulder on their way out to the car. She drove to the end of a row of townhouses.
"Is this where you live?" he asked.
"Sometimes," she answered and took the key out of the ignition so everything became very quiet. "How's the plan?"
He shrugged. "Hood told me how to find you –where and when –and to get into your house and then 'freestyle'…just make it look like accident."
-"Were you supposed to take anything from there?"
He shook his head. "No."
She nodded apparently satisfied. "All right, good." She opened the door and got out and Joe did the same. He let her put his hands on her waist and her arms around his neck.
"Where's RJ?" he whispered into her ear.
"With his friends," she replied the same way. Then she pulled him down and kissed him and steered him backwards to the door.
It was a pure act, much different than it was with Maria, he thought. He wasn't attracted to this woman like he had been with her and they let go of each other the moment they'd closed the door behind them.
She didn't turn on any lights, except for one lamp in the living room and she dimmed the light. Then she went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "Thirsty?"
He shook his head but she opened a can of cola and took a long sip. "We have to wait a couple of hours."
Joe smirked a little. "If it's for what I think it's for I think we might have to wait a little longer than that."
She ignored this. "You can lie down or something if you want."
"Only if you tell me a little bed time story," he said.
She stared at him. "About what?"
He shrugged. "Your Agency, your son, the Robin Hoods, whatever."
-"That all relates and it's a long tale."
-"Well, didn't you say we had to wait a couple of hours?"
She sighed. "All right, you win."
He smiled and leaned back in the sofa with his hands behind his head.
She began her story.
"I was already grown up when my father told me he was the leader of a secret organization, the Agency, and that I was to become leader in his stead when he'd pass away –which he then did. Although it was the last thing I wanted I did as he told me. I gathered so-called 'agents' and tried to fight enemies that…others couldn't handle."
Joe understood that 'others' were the authorities.
"But then," she continued, "I met a man and fell in love and got pregnant. At first I had no intentions of keeping the child. I wanted to give it up for adoption but when he was born I couldn't bring myself to do it. All the while his father had been using me to get closer to the Agency and make a plan to take over it. And when I told him I wanted to keep RJ he became very mean to me and whenever he heard him cry he threatened to silence him permanently since I couldn't do it properly. In the end I fled with RJ and went into hiding. While I was away Robin made some 'changes' inside the Agency, and he started to call himself 'Robin Hood.' He always said that the rich should share with the poor. That's what he wanted in the beginning –an equal world –I don't know what they want now. But he put up a department of contract killer and trapped people, like you, and their mission was to get rid of everyone loyal to the old Agency. Like your brother and your Maria," she looked at him sympathetically.
He didn't say anything so she continued.
"But they saw some use in your brother so they didn't kill him. They just…did what they did. And Maria wasn't an agent. Her brother was and he was killed and by some mistakes she witnessed it. The Robin Hood of that time haunted her down and threatened to kill her if she told her anyone and even though she didn't tell anyone he didn't trust her so he gave you the assignment. He found out Frank had told you and his wife about the Agency and took them captives but he keeps you silent by making you do things you can't talk about."
The lump in his throat didn't allow him to speak this time and she kept going.
"Anyway, five years ago I returned to the Agency and saw what was happening. I contacted all the old agents I knew were alive and gathered new ones. And since then we've been trying to fight both this…Hyde of our Jekyll as well as our real enemies."
There was silence for a full minute.
"Did you kill the 'original Robin Hood'?" Joe then asked.
She nodded after some hesitation. "But as it turned out, he had made back-up plans for that."
-"And did you and your people kill the others?"
-"The Robin Hoods? No, they change frequently. It's a safety thing; they have strong enemies and many untrustworthy allies."
Joe looked at his watch. "Has there passed enough time?"
She glanced at a clock on the mantelpiece and nodded. "Sure, if that's all right with your macho." She stood up. "Did you have any kind of set-up in mind?"
Joe also stood up. "I don't know. I think Hood searches for bodies when I'm supposed to be done."
She nodded. "All right, we'll set the house on fire," she said determinedly.
Joe stared at her. "Wha… Are you insane? There…there're people. If anyone else gets hurt I don't think Hood will be too happy."
"Don't worry, no one will get hurt, the bedroom's on the other side of the house. We'll start the fire in the bed, lock the door and wait outside and if things go out of hands we call the fire department," she said.
Joe thought over the situation in a hurry. "It's not gonna work. Even if you burnt the place down, there'd still be a body –bones. The only way to make all leads disappear would be a huge explosion, and we can't do that because there are people around here."
-"But if we get a body to burn?"
Joe looked at her. "Do I even wanna know what you're thinking?"
"I don't know. Do you?" she looked up at him and the look made him shiver.
He groaned in defeat. "All right then…what do you propose?"
-"I just need to make a phone call."
A van marked with the label of a transportation company stopped outside the house. Two men wearing t-shirts and baseball caps with the same label stepped out and rang the doorbell.
"Ms. McCain?" inquired one of them. "Did you order a floor lamp from Jack Dunn & co., 6,5 feet tall, with an embroidered shade and asked for home transportation?"
-"I did," Ms. McCain answered.
The two men went to get the oblong cardboard box from the van and carried it all the way inside.
"Do you need any help installing it?" One of them asked.
"No, thank you, I can handle it," Ms. McCain declined.
The men smiled politely and left.
The box was in the hallway. Joe came out of his retreating spot. 'Snow White-Ann-Ms. McCain' fetched a utility knife to cut the cardboards of the box to reveal a shoddy wooden box.
The lamp was there; ready to be placed in the living room. Only the shade had to be attached. But under the pole which held up the light was the real package wrapped up in a bubble wrap: A naked female body, about Snow White's height and weight, similar structure, long brown hair even done in a braid.
Joe hated to have to carry it from the hallway to Snow White's bedroom.
They placed it on the bed.
"There are some whiskey bottles in a closet in the living room. Go get them," Snow White ordered him.
He did.
"Do you have a lighter or something?" she asked after pouring from the bottles over the body, the bed and splashing some on the walls and the curtains.
He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You gotta do it." Even though he knew it was dead, he didn't want to do it, didn't want to see what happened when fire and flesh collided.
She just nodded, took the lighter, lit it and let the small flame touch the wet cover on the bed. And then the pillow and lastly the curtains that burned up in a few seconds.
"All right, let's get out of here," Snow White said.
They ran outside to her car and sped away from the burning house.
Joe looked back. "Are you sure we can just leave like that?"
She nodded. "Sure. The guys are still there."
-"The agents?"
-"Yeah."
Of course the men that brought the body from the Agency's morgue were agents themselves.
"And where are we going?" Joe asked.
"Headquarters, we need to speed up our plans before Hood finds out I'm not dead."
"You…you mean…my…?" Joe's eyes threatened to well up with tears.
Snow White –that was just what she was to him, a fairy tale princess that came out of a dream to save him –glanced at him and smiled. "Yes, I mean to get your family back."
She didn't bother to blindfold him and he didn't bother to remember the way they were driving in the excitement. He could hardly believe after all this time, that he'd get to see them again and set them free.
'Nothing will go wrong, it can't,' he promised himself.
She parked the car outside the white building and when they got inside there was a large group of people waiting in a meeting room. They were all wearing black clothes, not suits but t-shirts, sweaters and rubber soled shoes.
"This is our SWAT team," 'Snow White' said to Joe. She turned to the one man in the room who was wearing gray suits. He was gray-haired and bearded. "Did you get my message, Mr. Gates?"
"Yes, I did ma'am…although I'm not entirely sure I understood them," the man said rather nervously.
'Snow White' crossed her arms. "What didn't you understand, Mr. Gates?"
"Well, the part about attacking Robin Hood and force him down, we don't even know for sure where he is," the man said.
'Snow White' looked at him for a moment. "He's in the old headquarters," she then answered.
"How do you know that?" Mr. Gates carefully asked.
"Are you doubting me, Mr. Gates?" 'Snow White' sent a steely gaze his way.
-"No, ma'am, I only wonder if your resources are reliable."
-"They are."
Mr. Gates decided to say no more.
"All right, if no one has any further questions, may I explain the procedure?" she looked over the group. Nobody spoke.
"Good, we will divide into two groups. One will take Hood and the other the Farm, do not harm the captives there, three of them are children. Blake," 'Snow White' addressed a very tall man with crew cut hair and oversized, crossed arms.
"You will lead A-team to Hood's headquarters, come from east to the building, mine will come from the west and we will surround it. No bombs, no fires, nothing that will risk the safety of the hostage. He's too important; he can provide us with a great deal of information. Kennedy…" 'Snow White' turned to a thin woman with large, salient eyes who was wearing tight black clothes that covered every inch of her except merely her face.
"Take your shadow-team to the Farm…Mr. Gates has the coordinates which you will fly by, you can eliminate anyone who gets in your way. There are four hostages, a woman and three children, try not to upset them. Those were your orders. Go and prepare now. You are dismissed."
'Snow White' finally turned to Joe who was rather overwhelmed by everything.
"You can decide with which group you go," she said.
"I want to go with you," he replied determinedly, "To get Frank."
She nodded. "Very well. Let's find you something better to wear."
The preparation took about five minutes. The A-team and B-team –which was 'Snow White's' team –filled up five vans while the shadow-team, which was made up of women only, took two helicopters, flying off to the east.
"How do you know all this stuff you know?" Joe asked 'Snow White' in a low voice in the car.
"I just know," she said and smiled. Then she leaned closer to him. "I have an inside man," she admitted, "We'll meet him when we get there."
The van was parked a good distance from the location. Joe stepped out into the comfortably cool night air and looked around. He wasn't familiar with the area. It was probably somewhere on the borders of the city. There were old buildings surrounded by tall wire fences.
Joe noticed a skewed sign on the fence which read: DANGER! Dangerous chemicals.
A black-clothed man, similar to any agent, came walking slowly towards them. One of the troops aimed a gun at him but 'Snow White' motioned for him to lower it.
The newcomer stopped and nodded to her. She walked to him.
"Well?" she required.
"Everything's set," the man said, "The hostage is in the basement. He's in an extremely bad condition. Hood should be in the office on third floor. When you come to the third floor, you go to the left, then the second turn to the right and then the first door to the left." The man stopped to see if 'Snow White' had gotten it all.
Joe had stopped listening after the part about the hostage who he knew was Frank. Now he had a single thought in his head: 'Basement, basement –Frank, save Frank.'
The undercover agent continued to give instructions and important locations. Then 'Snow White' contacted Blake by a walkie-talkie and told him exactly where to go and what to do.
Then they started to their destination. The spy pointed at quite a few security cameras which had to be shot down. Three guards also had to be shot. Even though the shots were muffled by silencers, somebody must have noticed the cameras going out so a quiet entrance was nearly impossible.
The spy was sent in first to put out the electricity. The others waited a little and then a man pulled up shears to cut a way through the wire fence. Already five people came running at them. The intruders formed a semi-circle with their backs to each other. 'Snow White's' team managed to shoot two of the attackers but it took a little longer to disable the rest but none of them were harmed during the fight and they continued to the dark building.
As soon as they were inside Joe wanted to run in search for his brother. 'Snow White' held him back. "Easy, Joe," she whispered. She turned on the flashlight on her riffle and pointed it in all directions. They heard noise all around them.
There was a rumble from 'Snow White's' walkie-talkie. "We're inside by the eastern entrance," said Blake's grave voice, "Moving to the second floor, we'll divide into to groups."
-"Gotcha, we're going to the basement, over."
-"I was done."
-"Oh. Over and out then."
She went ahead, followed closely by Joe. He was feeling strange. This whole thing seemed unreal, it was unbelievable that after all this time things were getting better, the world around was in a haze as he focused on his goal. It was too good to be true.
Suddenly someone yelped. Somebody had sneaked up behind them and attacked the person who was walking rearmost of the group and now held a gun to the man's head.
"Put down your weapons," the evil agent hissed.
'Snow White' hesitated for a few moments before she lifted her handgun swiftly and shot him in the head.
Her agent shrunk back from the body as it collapsed to the floor, rubbing his neck. "Now, that was a close call," he said roughly.
"It gets closer," she answered, "We should run."
And with that they took off running but they heard footsteps behind them getting closer. The ones in the rear turned around and shot at their foes.
Joe had decided he had had it with the killing. He couldn't kill any more people, not even his enemies. His face turned grim. Except maybe if he ever came across Robin Hood.
A group of people was blocking their way. Joe's expression hardened. That didn't mean he couldn't help them count ducks over their heads. He ran straight at the nearest person and knocked him over and out with his riffle.
Hood's agents were unprepared, unorganized and fewer in number so taking them down wasn't that hard.
A while later Blake informed that he had gotten Robin Hood. 'Snow White' smirked. "Good. Don't let him go anywhere."
Joe looked at her. She also had her personal issues with the line of Robin Hood. At last they found the door marked: Basement.
Joe drew a deep breath before he opened it. He pointed the riffle through the door, or more accurately, he pointed the flashlight on it through the door to see the stairs. He walked down it, every nerve tensed, his eyes wandered around looking for a possible threat. 'Snow White' and 6 others followed.
Joe lit the way ahead of him. The basement was a wide, open, empty space. On one wall there were endless loads of guns hanging and large boxes were stacked up against the walls. And on one wall there was a door. His heart nearly stopped. He knew what was behind this door. He felt it. He took off running, shooting the door right off its' hinges and burst into the room. It was a small room. There was another door on the opposite wall, there was a desk full of papers, it was turned off the lamp on it. In the middle of the floor was chair.
Joe's breath caught his throat. 'Frank?'
The figure tied to the chair was both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar mainly because he was still wearing the same clothes as the last time they'd met. Unfamiliar because the face was covered with dark beard, the hair was longer, the skin was pale and stretched over fleshless bones. The head was bent down, hands tied behind the back. Arms scarred because of the ropes.
Joe tried to bear up, dried the tears off his cheeks and knelt by ancient-looking man. His brother.
"Frank?" he said softly, lifting the man's chin. His eyes were closed.
"Frank…it's me…" Joe's voice almost broke. "Frank…please, open you eyes…do you hear me…?"
Frank's eyelids twitched before he lifted them a little, then a little more. Then he started blinking. He tried to talk.
"It's ok, Frank, it's ok, you don't have to say anything now. I'm going to get you out of here," Joe said as he stood up and took a knife out the boot of his Agency-uniform which he used to cut the ropes off his brother's wrists. Then he carefully rubbed his arms and inspected the scars. They'd probably stay there forever.
"Can you stand, Frank?" Joe asked, wanting to get out this place as soon as possible.
Frank hardly moved.
'Snow White' came to them, carrying a bottle of water and a clean cloth. She wordlessly handed Joe the items. He poured some water on the cloth and cooled Frank's forehead and moisturized his lips and eyes.
Then Frank made a few attempts to talk. At first nothing came but a little sound. "Mh…" Then the sound started to take shape and after a while he managed to get out a word. "Joe…"
Joe's vision was blurred with tears again. He leaned forwards and rested his forehead against his brother's. "I'm here for you Frank. Just take your time. You'll be ok…"
After another while Frank made more words. "Callie…"
"Yeah…" Joe bit his lip wondering whether it would be an appropriate encouragement and then he said: "You know, you could see them a lot sooner if you tried to get up and come with us…"
Frank nodded slowly and tried to get up. It creaked eerily in his joints.
Meanwhile 'Snow White' had called the agents and now two strong men came into the room.
"Look, Frank, these people are going to help you, you have to let them, ok?" Joe looked into his brother's eyes, unsure of if he understood. But Frank nodded weakly and let the two men carry him.
The hardest part was the stairs but the rest was easier.
"We should get him to a hospital right away," 'Snow White' said as the agents laid Frank inside one of the vans.
"No…!" Frank rasped out but then started coughing. "Callie…my children…" he demanded in a low voice when the coughing fit was over.
Joe thought about arguing with him but he looked at him and saw the pleading his eyes. Then he looked back at 'Snow White.' "I think he has to see them first. He deserves as much, doesn't he?"
'Snow White' sighed. "Yeah. I guess you're right. I'll have a helicopter ready for you at our headquarters, I should go and see how Blake's doing with Hood. Parker can drive you back."
Joe was reluctant to depart with her. Since they had met she had practically carried him through everything.
"Hood can wait," he said, "Come with us."
"Ah, Joe…" she was about to demur but then she couldn't resist the begging blue eyes, "Oh, all right then, all right. Let's go then!"
She got into the van after Joe who helped Frank making himself comfortable, lying on the settle in the car with his head in Joe's lap, wrapped in a thick blanket.
The car ride took long enough for Joe to drowse a little while 'Snow White' called ahead so the helicopter would be ready.
Mr. Gates was there to greet them when they arrived back at the headquarters. Frank was carried inside and while they waited to get into the helicopter Joe tried to make him eat a few spoons of canned soup.
There were only the three of them passengers in the helicopter and Mr. Gates was going to fly it.
Joe paid no attention to the view that was starting to show as the sky lit up bit by bit. First a lilac color started to thin out the blue one, and it turned pink and then red and the sun came up to warm a new day.
"Do I ever get to know your real name?" Joe asked 'Snow White' who was sitting on the other side of Frank who was dosing off.
She smiled at him. "I really don't know. Wouldn't it ruin your vision of me?" she said and turned her head to look out the window. "We're getting there."
Joe looked out too. They were by the sea. The green meadows spread over the land and there was a little white house close to the shore where the blue waves licked the sand. A short distance from the house, were two helicopters and there was people everywhere.
Mr. Gates landed the helicopter beside the other two. Joe and 'Snow White' supported Frank out of it. Agent Kennedy came to them.
"Are everyone all right?" Joe asked.
She nodded and turned her attention to Frank. "Is this Mr. Hardy?"
Joe just nodded back and looked at his brother. "You hear that, Frank? They're ok."
Kennedy cleared her throat. "Well, I wouldn't say…well, they're alive, yes, but in a very bad condition…although not quite as bad as Mr. Hardy but still… it was rather traumatizing to find them…"
-"Just help us to get there," 'Snow White' interrupted.
-"Right."
As they got closer to the house the figures outside of it became clearer. There was a mass of agents but there was also someone who wasn't clad in black and three smaller than the others.
Joe felt a clump in his chest, threatening to burst any second. "Look, Frank…Look…"
Frank lifted his head. And there they were. His family.
Although Joe was overwhelmed by happiness, he was also sad when he saw them. They looked sick, all of them. Their hair was flat, they were pale and skinny and there were dark bags under their eyes.
"Dad! Dad! Dad! Is that you, daddy!" a little girl with blond locks came running towards them. Josephine.
Frank's face broke into a smile blended with tears when his arms wrapped around his daughter. He was too weak to stand so he fell to his knees. Callie and the twins came running too after a few seconds and the family held on to each other. They would never let go again.
Joe stood several feet away, holding a hand over his heart because it might burst with joy, with the overwhelming beauty of the scene before him. –Overwhelming pain over a loss he couldn't define. His eyes were unworthy of this precious sight. So he turned away.
His 'Snow White' was there smiling at him. "Could we please get them to a hospital when the hug-fest is over?" she complained.
Joe smiled at her. "You would look after them, wouldn't you?"
She stared at him. "If what?" she asked suspiciously.
-"If they needed it."
"Yeah, I suppose…" she hesitated before she put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek, "I suppose I would."
"Thank you." He looked back once more. Just then Frank looked up and right into his eyes. Words were unnecessary.
'Thank you.'
He treasured this memory as he walked towards the shore. He listened to the sound of the waves and the occasional squawk of the seagulls.
He pulled up his handgun and looked at it. He had known from the moment he saw the children running to greet their father. He could never be whole, no matter how happy he was. His mind and soul were too plagued by the past to start anew. Time can't heal everything.
Sometimes there is only one way out….
Besides, he was in need of a rest. He smiled wistfully to himself. An eternal rest.