Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys but I am borrowing them for my evil plot!
Joe took one last look in the mirror and strode out of the garage to keep up his meeting with Chris. The fingerprint tape as well as the powder and his cell phone rested in his coat pocket as he walked swiftly to the pier. If everything went well it would be the break he was waiting for and it would give them a fighting chance of getting the trapped operatives out.
He had wondered for a minute if he needed to carry the cell phone or not but had decided to carry it in the end. It was not like he had any problematic material on it and he might as well get the search done with in one go. It would be much better to have his phone searched now than later. To that end, he had made his call to Frank in the afternoon and told him that he was removing Vanessa's number from his phone and it would be better if she was not in touch. He had no intention of her being dragged into this even remotely. Frank had agreed and promised to keep Vanessa updated.
He had also asked Frank to talk to Chet and Biff and let them know that he was storing their number as 'his friends' under different aliases. Frank's number would remain as it was and he also added Callie's number along with a couple of fake numbers to create the image of 'female friends'. Alan Cruise was not a recluse, even if not gregarious. He still had to have a life. Other random numbers were also stored like his 'boss' and "Mike" which were also necessary and Frank would make sure that they all would answer when someone calls and refers to "Al".
Soon enough he was at the pier where Chris was already waiting for him."Yo man" he hailed at the same time Chris called out to him. "So, are you sure this is what you want to do?" he asked and Joe looked askance at him. "You know you never told me if this does pay well. That's the one thing I want to know…there's no point in busting my arse working myself to exhaustion if it is not going to pay off".
"You know Al, for someone who has met me just three days ago you sure ask a lot of questions. Asking questions is not the way to make money out here. The real money is when you can keep your mouth shut" Chris replied as he lighted a cigarette.
"Yeah…I can keep my mouth shut if the incentive is good" Joe said with a loaded drawl hoping to elicit more information. "Good…keep that in mind when you meet the boss. He does not like nosy whiny lazy guys, who are ready to sing at the slightest threat. If you can't take pressure then you better leave right now and all will be forgotten. The job comes with pressure and if you are able to remain loyal to the boss and do your job right you will be rewarded really well...like say better accommodations in a month" Chris replied calmly.
Joe looked at the other incredulously "in a month? Who makes that kind of money in a month?" he asked as Chris just looked at him meaningfully. Joe took a deep breath "okay, say I take the job am I right in assuming that I have to stay away from the city's finest?" he asked pointedly but Chris just kept quiet puffing away at the cigarette. There was no forthcoming answer until he looked at the watch on his hand and declared "It's time, you coming? But remember once there, you are on your own. You do as they say and you will be fine".
Joe nodded as if taking a heavy decision "yeah, I am coming; I am getting my life together man. I can't live like this anymore". He followed Chris to a warehouse which was more like a godown and led inside. Stacks of crates lined the walls and lots of youngsters like Chris milled about arranging the crates. In the middle of it all a man stood out, older than the others in the room and built massive. He sported tattoos on over worked out biceps and had a colorful bandanna wrapped around his head. Everything about him screamed 'mob' and Joe guessed that this must be the 'boss'. Where the drugs factored into it Joe could not guess right away but he hoped to in a couple of days.
The big man assessed Joe with a look and addressed Chris "this is the guy you talked about?" he asked. Chris nodded "Yes boss" and the man turned to Joe "why do you need another job?" he asked bluntly.
Joe looked the man in the eye "I need the money" he said clearly without any ambiguity whatsoever. "And what would you do to get the money?" the man asked probing further and Joe shrugged "whatever is required of me I guess" he replied. "Shall we test it out then?" the man spoke lightly before he commanded "strip".
Joe looked up with a jerk "what?" the word fell from his lips on its own accord "I am not sure I heard right". "It doesn't matter whether what you heard is right, but it does matter if what you heard is not obeyed. Now are you going to comply or you want to be escorted out?" the man asked in a silky voice. Joe knew that 'escorted out' was really 'killed and disposed' and it was too early to back out because of pride. He already knew too much to escape unscathed and there was no point in giving up the opening for pride.
Steeling himself for what he was about to do he removed his jacket and handed it over to an outstretched hand. Immediately every lining and pocket was searched and the powder box came to light first. "What is this Al boy? Some secret of yours that we need to know?" the boss sneered with a cruel laugh.
"it's none of your business" Joe muttered and the "boss" face became red with anger "but it is my business, you see. Everyone who enters here has to answer to me. Now tell me why you would want to carry a girl's powder in your pocket…unless you want me to open it and see for myself what it is".
Joe struggled to keep cool and with reluctance pasted on his face spoke "it belonged to my girlfriend. It's the only thing I have left of her, everything else is gone" he said his voice strained but not breaking. He carried the right amount of sadness and reluctance one would have in telling a stranger a secret and in that instant he was glad that it was not Frank doing this. Frank could never come across completely emotional...somewhere his cool logic would color the words.
"How did she die?" the man asked clinically and Joe closed his eyes looking as if it pained him greatly to speak of it "cancer, if you must know…" he whispered. The man looked at the jar thoughtfully and tossed it to one of the other men who caught it and placed it in his jacket. Joe followed the movement with his eyes and was interrupted by the man's voice "what about this then?" he mocked holding the tape aloft.
Joe shrugged "that's just stuff from the garage. Sometimes I use it on the cars and forget to put them back" he answered. The next item that caught the man's scrutiny was the cell phone and Joe was not surprised to see him combing through his contacts. Apparently there was no concept of privacy either and apparently his contacts were too ordinary to be of interest to them. Satisfied, the man handed the phone over to one of the men and looked at Joe with a hard gaze. There was no emotion in his gaze as he commanded "okay, strip now" as if it was the most obvious thing to do.
Joe hesitated just a minute before he silently unbuttoned his shirt and jeans and soon he was in nothing but his underwear. He could feel his heart pounding inside his ribcage and wondered if it would even be visible from outside or if Frank could hear it. But it did not seem to be enough for the tattooed man "you know what to do" he said to his men and Joe tensed as one of them came near. The man put his hand on Joe's waist and it took all of Joe's will power not to shove the man away forcefully. Instead, he controlled his increasing rage and stood with clenched fists and teeth as the man ran a hand over the waistband. He then stepped back and nodded to his boss "he's clean" he affirmed.
His shirt, trousers and shoes in the meantime were all inspected and Joe was glad that he had decided to go unarmed. If not, he would have been carted off in a box for sure. "Good, you are clean. You can get dressed and start work from tonight" the man dismissed Joe as Joe shakily took back his clothes from the men. His breath was coming in short gasps and his anger was threatening to engulf him as he methodically dressed and slowly tried to regain his composure.
By the time he was dressed he had a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead and he felt compelled to ask. "Do you make everyone do this? What's this got to do with anything?" he asked. The boss looked at Joe with a severe look "you ask too many questions boy and that does not work around here. This is the last time I will tolerate it. Understand?. As for your question…" he ran a hand over his chin as if in thought "I just wanted to see how you look" he winked with a mocking laugh. "And you do look dishy...doesn't he?" he added to the crowd bringing a red flush of anger and embarrassment to Joe's face and body.
"Anyway, since you are here you can start with Chris and he will show you the ropes. You will get paid at the end of every shift. Now get started" the man said abruptly dismissing him and left the premises leaving Joe standing stock still. He turned to look at Chris who gestured to him with a turn of his head. Joe followed the lad and held out a hand to stop him. "Wait, what the hell was that?" he demanded sharply under his breath.
"Insurance" was the unexpected reply and even though Joe had a vague feeling that he knew what it was about it was still not clear. He looked quizzically at Chris but received no further explanation."Insurance? What do you mean?" he persisted but the other boy simply shrugged "you will know in time. Now come with me, I will show you where to bring the boxes from".
Joe sighed and swiftly followed the other boy to a section of the pier and was directed to a set of crates that had to be moved. He noted that the crates were all stenciled with various names such as 'toys', 'clothes' and some were marked 'fragile'. The next two hours were spent in hard labor and when it was time to leave he was flagged back to the warehouse where one of the men handed him a fifty dollar note as pay for the day.
Joe took the money and muttering 'at least I can get some groceries now' for the benefit of the others exited the warehouse. In reality, all he wanted was to crash, his body was crying for rest and he was thankful that Frank had come through with the supplies. Frank had sent the supplies to the garage and Joe had had the foresight to gulp down a couple of sandwiches and also leave the satchel in the apartment before going to the pier.
But even more important than food was the need to talk to his brother. He knew that Frank would be out of his mind with what happened in the garage and he had to reassure his brother. He had been unnerved with the events but he now had some reassurance that things were moving in the right direction.
So he was not surprised when his call was picked almost before it rang and Frank's "Joe?" rang in his ear. That one word however had a world of emotion in it that Joe could hear clearly. His brother was sad, worried, angry …no not angry he corrected himself, more like furious and above all frustrated. He knew without a doubt that some punching bag would have suffered in the complex and he hastened to do damage control.
"Frank…I am ok. Calm down ok…calm down. Nothing happened…anything untoward and I am fine. Frank? Are you listening?" Joe asked firmly. There was nothing but silence for a couple of minutes before a couple of words emerged. "The assholes" Frank's voice was filled with icy rage.
"Yes" Joe agreed before adding "but it could have been a lot worse...and it wasn't. Focus on the bright side, I am in. That's what matters and I am planning to go back and lift some prints. We need to know who that asshole is. Are you with me?" Joe asked treading carefully and feeling inexplicably weird. Normally the situation was reverse and it was Frank calming Joe down, the whole thing felt like an alternate universe. When Frank was still silent Joe started to lose his cool "Frank damn it, snap out of it. This is just the beginning and you can't already lose it. It's not you brother".
This time he was answered with a sigh "this whole case is not us Joe. I hate it, this not being able to do anything, having to wait and worry and wonder what the heck is going on. I wanted to just wring the bastard's neck who was touching you but here I was …stuck and helpless. Damn you Joe, this is the last time I am letting you do this. Now, what is this about going back?" He asked.
"Yeah, I am going to have dinner and head back to lift some prints. We need to nail this guy, no one even used his name…it was just "boss" and he is a creep. There is enough stuff in that garage to lift prints from and I will send it to you. You bring the scumbag down" he said and was rewarded with a 'hmm' from Frank. They then talked other things and decided that if Mike was not able to find a contact on his own then Joe might have to bring him in. Finally Frank bid good night with "Joe, don't exhaust yourself like this. You need to rest, perhaps you should catch a couple of hours sleep in the garage tomorrow" he said and Joe tiredly agreed.
He then made himself a quick dinner and showered after which he made his way to the pier once again. It was after midnight and the pier was blessfully empty. He made his way to the garage and jimmied the lock to make his way in. After that it was just a matter of lifting prints off various surfaces and in no time he was out of the garage and back to his place.
He made his way to the bed, thankful for the extra fluffy rug that somehow Frank had got across. Thank heavens for extra protective big brother he thought with a grin and made a mental note to ask Frank about it. And then, he was asleep almost before his head even hit the pillow.
Author notes: As ever, thanks for the reviews and the support. I need to thank HNB FJRAY again coz this is turning out to be one of the stories of mine that I actually like. Talking of stories, I do need to ask you American readers out there…tell me more about skin tones please. To us everyone is 'white' or 'white with a bit of red' lol! Pretty much as I am sure all Indian skin tones must be to an outsider. I am finding that that is the thing I am struggling with…I read a lot of fan fiction and I am not at all sure that when you say 'pale' what I imagine is right. So help!
Having said this, I have to let you know that the next chapter might be a bit delayed as I am travelling this week. So the next update will mostly be next weekend. In the meantime stay safe, have fun and do leave reviews…please!Without reviews I do get dispirited and you can't do that to me right?
