Chapter 2
Disclaimer : Nope, don't own the Hardy Boys. Simon and Schuster do.
The boys had decided to go to Frank's place first and discuss what they had to before Joe headed to his home. Joe picked up a drink from the fridge and settled on the sofa as Frank busied himself with putting together a couple of sandwiches. Quietly handing over Joe's plate he seated himself on the opposite side.
"Joe, I am not questioning your decision but I have to confess that this is scaring the hell out of me. It is not too late for me to replace Mike…are you sure this is the best way?" he asked quietly. Joe looked at his brother and knew that he would be worse if the situation was the other way around. "I agree that this is not the best situation and it's going to be bloody difficult without you there. You know why I am doing this Frank. You know me best and I know that the best possible back up is behind me. Believe me I know where you are coming from. If the situation was in reverse I know I would never agree to the deal but I am hedging on the rational side of you" Joe replied in a serious tone, a much more serious tone than what one would hear from Joe Hardy.
Frank let out a noisy breath "Fine...I will do my best but you better not give me premature grey hairs. Comprende? And getting to the specifics...you need to take your finger print kit. Keep sending me the prints as and when you lift them. I will take care of the other end. Don't forget to pack the spare lenses and I want you to have one thing I got." At Joe's quizzical look Frank got up to get a long cylindrical object filled with something black. "Modified pepper spray" he said as Joe's eyebrows went up almost till his hairline.
"You want me to have this like a girl?" he asked but Frank just gave a thin smile. "Sometimes girls have the best ideas which men overlook. This can fit into the cuffs of your jacket and you can fill in some other chemical if you want. It will give you a few seconds in a tight spot. Obviously you can't have it on you when you first go in, I have a feeling you are going to be searched but later on it might be a good idea to have it. Whatever happens just keep your calm okay…don't fly off the handle and don't invite trouble. As it is, it is going to drive me insane hearing what is going on there without you adding to it" he said.
To his credit Joe understood the sentiment behind the words and nodded solemnly with a smile. "Point taken. I will also have my cell phone on me which means you can text me if it will help and I will try my level best to reply. Now help me condense my fingerprint kit to something I can carry without raising suspicion" he said getting up to raid Frank's drawers.
"Shoo, you are not messing up my cupboards and I have a better idea. Empty out Vanessa's cosmetic box and put the fingerprint powder in that. If you are asked, say that your girlfriend left it behind or some story that I am sure you can come up with and take the old fashioned tape rather than the machine. Just make it look like regular cello tape and that you can easily pass off considering you are a mechanic" Frank grinned holding out his hand as if to say Voila!
Joe grinned in response "see, I knew there was a reason you are my brother. Now I better get to my place, I am dead on my feet. And just to let you know my first stop tomorrow morning is going to be that quarters I have been assigned and then I am going to the garage. Give Callie my regards and don't worry too much okay? Otherwise you will have grey hairs and chill, I will be fine"
Frank simply gathered Joe in a hug "I will be there listening every moment. You are not alone and I don't fancy explaining to Vanessa why you are in a hospital alright? That girlfriend of yours is scary" he said with a fake shudder before winding up with "So just be aware and stay safe" as Joe hugged him back and exited the apartment.
Frank waited for Joe's footsteps to fade before collapsing on the sofa with his head in his hands. "Damn! Everything was so screwed up and for the first time Frank prayed that his brother's instincts were wrong. He knew that Joe was sensing trouble which he was not exactly saying. But a small voice whispered back Joe's instincts have never failed so far and then he was back to quelling his fear with cold logic.
Joe has been in plenty of tough spots and has always come out of it he told himself but his inner voice had to squash that with a he always had you. Joe was an accomplished fighter he persisted and an expert with weapons but then his inner voice had to quell that too with a but he is grossly outnumbered. Joe was extremely resourceful he told himself and let out a sigh of relief when even his inner voice decided not to refute that point.
By the time Frank drifted off to sleep he had waged a mental debate with himself over and over until he could not come up with anything else. Finally, deciding that he could not really change anything by staying awake and knowing that his mission started the next day along with Joe he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
When Joe woke up the next morning and wandered into the bathroom he was confused for a moment. Why was he having black hair he wondered before everything from the day before trickled into his consciousness. Damn! He really had to get moving he thought as he quickly showered and dressed in the garb of "Alan Cruise". Running a hand through his hair he looked through his phone to see that Russell had sent him the address and location of his 'home' and Frank had sent a "get going. Take care". And big bro being big bro had sent the text from the number saved as 'Mitchell Walker' one of Frank's aliases.
He quickly put together a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast while dialing Vanessa on the secure landline. He had to give her a heads up about being unreachable for an indeterminate time period which he did without going into too much of detail. She definitely did not need to know that he would be going in alone into a possibly compromised situation. Now that would achieve nothing except hysterics and he quickly moved onto reassuring her and then slowly moved onto more 'distracting' conversation which quite efficiently did it's job. At the end of the conversation he had managed to make even his unflappable girlfriend blush and signed off with a smile on his face.
However the smile quickly transformed into seriousness as he next walked down to the street and hailed a cab. He was going to check out his room and there had been nothing about a car in his profile. Bearing the address in mind he got out a block before his destination and swiftly walked to his 'house'. True to the case history it was a rather dirty apartment in a shabby part of town and the neighborhood definitely screamed 'dodgy'.
He made sure that he had not been observed in any way before letting himself in with the key he had been provided with. He was not surprised to see that it was indeed a very small rundown apartment in keeping with what he saw from the outside. It had a small living room with one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchenette rather than a full fledged kitchen. The paint was peeling and the heating was not exactly optimal but there was not much he could do about that. The hall boasted of a saggy couch that had definitely seen better days and he knew that in two steps he would cover the breath of the hall. It must take real talent to find an apartment as run down as this he thought wryly and Frank thought he was messy.
He opened the kitchen cabinets to find that it had been sparsely stocked and when he opened the bathroom he was not surprised to find that it matched the rest of the space. He sighed...at this rate he was almost afraid to look in the bedroom and quickly ran through the incredibly small room with the smallest bed one could imagine and an even smaller wall cabinet for clothes. He had not even realized that such small furniture existed!
Well! He thought if someone had to live like this it would make perfect sense that they would do anything to make more money. He had been there for barely half an hour and he was already feeling sorry for himself and looked forward to getting to the garage. Hopefully the atmosphere would be less depressing there he hoped.
This time he took the bus to get to the garage missing his car with a pang. He would never take his car for granted again. He arrived at his destination and quickly made his way to the garage which was just at the other end of the waterfront and introduced himself to his 'boss'. Agent Noel Smith turned out to be a big bear of a man with shrewd blue eyes and an easy smile. He ushered in Joe with a smile and a quick handshake.
"Okay Alan, I was told you know your way around cars so I will just give you a quick rundown of the place and you can get started. That sound alright to you?" he asked. Joe grinned in reply and affirmed the suggestion with an easy "sure". He was surprised to know that the garage was a real one with cars from actual customers. The next few hours went onto real work as a mechanic with Agent Smith working alongside him. To minimize the risk of any kind of leakage, the other employees had been advised to take a break which they had happily complied with. This however translated to more work for Joe but also more security in the long run.
Joe had also taken the opportunity to check if the chip embedded in his arm was doing it's job as he checked in with Frank on his phone. He had described his apartment and the events of the day, feeling weird to be talking aloud by himself and he could imagine the grin and concern on Frank's face.
When evening rolled around, it was a semi exhausted Joe that bid good bye to Noel and made his way to the waterfront. It was time to start his assignment.
Once he reached the waterfront, he eased his body into a slouch and changed his walk into more of a lumber. He approached the docks noticing the loading and unloading activities happening with gusto. He also noticed that the workers doing the job were primarily youngsters. Good he thought to himself, it made his first foray easier.
However, he did not approach them at once. He detoured to the pier and leaned against a wall with one leg bent behind for support as he gazed around casually. He then drew out a fake cigarette from his pocket and placing it into his mouth reached into his pocket for the lighter.
Darn! He fake cursed and in spite of having felt the lighter in his pocket proceeded to search all his pockets for the 'missing' lighter. His action had however garnered the attention of the youngsters who were unloading the cargo as intended. Joe looked up to see that one of them had detached himself from the group and was approaching him causing him to rejoice a bit internally. This was good, if everything worked well it would save time getting a contact and time was a priority now.
"Hiya there…need a hand?" the youngster called out to Joe. "Yeah..Would you have a lighter by any chance?" Joe called back as he observed the youth. He was around twenty, tall and wiry with a mop of red hair. "Yep got one" he answered as he extended a lighter to Joe "Name's Chris, you from around here?" he asked.
Joe took the lighter and held out his hand for a handshake "Alan" he introduced himself before answering the question. "Kinda" Joe said with an exaggerated drawl. "I work on the other side of the waterfront although I don't come here much. Don't get the time you know" he added.
"What work do you do?" Chris asked curiously as Joe shrugged carelessly and replied "I am a mechanic but so tired of it man. You work so hard and have nothing to show for it you know" he cribbed". "I get you…but I need to go. See ya around sometime" Chris said and moved away as Joe called out with a "thanks man...for this" he held up the lighter as Chris nodded and jogged back to continue his work.
Joe hung around another half an hour smoking his 'cigarette' before leaving the pier and heading 'home'. Letting himself into the dingy apartment he collapsed on the sagging couch. Running a hand through his hair wearily he realized that he still had to get dinner and talk to Frank.
He whipped out his phone and called Frank, his brother's voice eliciting a smile on his face. "Hey bro...Did you get all that?" he asked referring to the events on the pier. "Yeah I got the conversation, good ploy there by the way. What do you think? You think that Chris could be part of the gang? Frank's voice sounded welcoming to Joe who was already feeling alone and cut off. He had missed this he realized, analyzing every event with his brother. Most of their cases had been solved from their brainstorming sessions.
"I am not sure, cannot say anything in a single meeting but he didn't look like a user though. He was young, around twentyish, lean but fit and his eyes were clear. Let me see, I hope he hangs around more and is connected to the ring. Then if I get to know him he may be my way in…and talking of work, what's happening with Mike?" he enquired.
"Mike started with his cover job too. He is attached to a diner on the waterfront called Fisherman's wharf and you could possibly go there for your dinner."Frank responded and Joe sighed. "Why does he have to get the better job huh?" he whined as Frank replied slyly "he doesn't need to drop off fingerprints".
Joe let out a quiet curse before saying "okay I better get cleaned up and head down to the diner. Tell Vanessa that I miss her and Frank..I miss you. The next time I suggest something like this feel free to kick me, this sucks" he said quietly. Frank's voice came back equally emotional "It's killing me to sit here and worry about you and it's been only a day. Be safe and I miss you too. Next time I am definitely kicking you because now I know I am going to go grey".
Author notes: I was a bit disappointed with the luke warm reception and wondering if I should seriously pursue this. But then again I am not one for quitting easily so I am going to persist and hope I can sway more readers to my side (crossing my fingers and toes!).
Having said that, thanks to everyone who did review and follow this story. Hopefully I would be able to do justice to it. (Crossing my fingers again).And…I never thought I would struggle the most coming up with American names and descriptions of people. If I screw up with those you are welcome to help as I am simply working off on my tourist observations.
And lastly here's wishing you a very happy new year (I think everyone would be happy to be done with 2020) so stay safe and think positive.
