Chapter 17
Disclaimer: Nope, do not own the Hardy Boys! Simply borrowing them for a while.
Warning for language.
After what seemed like an eternity the cattle prod was removed and Joe sagged limply in his bonds. A sharp slap however brought his sight into focus and he tried to gather his scattered thoughts. His brain was sluggish and his vision kept swimming in and out as he tried to focus on the words being aimed at him.
"Who are you and which agency do you work for?" Alex was shouting the words as Joe struggled to regain clarity. Where the hell was he again? Oh! This…right…everything came back and he straightened up in the chair with a smirk. "Ethan Hunt..IMF" he replied and the expression on Alex's face became murderous. He made a gesture and one of the men quickly removed Joe's shoes and socks leaving his feet bare.
Joe tensed for whatever Alex was planning but even he couldn't predict what came next. One of the men doused him with a bucket of water making him choke and Alex slid the prod under his feet. Electricity surged through Joe's body and he screamed as every nerve ending was assaulted with excruciating pain.
He was not aware of where he was or what he was doing. He was not aware of the involuntary tears that ran down his face or the shouts of his friend as they pleaded on his behalf. He only knew pain at a level that he had never known before, pain that blanked everything else. After what seemed like interminable minutes Alex took out the prod and Joe sagged in his bonds. All he wanted was to curl up on a bed and sleep for a week but that was not to be.
A hand gripped his hair and he was being shaken awake rudely, idiots can't they just let him be. This was so annoying he thought as he slowly struggled back to awareness. A stinging slap on his cheek expedited the matter and soon he was shaking his head and blinking his eyes trying to see where he was. As the room and Alex came into focus his heart sank, shit he was still in the room with Alex and still tied to the chair.
"Are you ready to answer now?" Alex asked and Joe merely glared at him. A punch to the gut brought Joe back to awareness and he felt the fog lift completely. He sat up straight and met Alex's gaze calmly. "What was the question again?" he asked and red suffused Alex's face. "You…" he screamed and suddenly his hands were around Joe's throat. "I will end your arrogance right now. Once I am through with you will be begging for death. That's a promise" he hissed with complete belief as he tightened his finger on Joe's throat.
Joe thrashed and squirmed but there was no denying that he was running out of air and a deep sadness filled him. This was the end of the road and he had failed his mission. He had pushed Alex too far and now there was no hope for anyone. He knew Frank would be mad at him for giving up and he called out an "I am sorry bro" in his mind "hope you can forgive me some time". One corner of his mind however was pushing him to fight, if not for him for his brother. He could hear Frank begging him to fight and he could never say no to his brother, even if the effort was killing him.
He really hoped that Mike and the agent made it out because he knew that his brother would come without fail. Frank would be devastated but he knew that he would not let Joe's endeavor go waste. Alex really would not know what hit him because a mad Frank Hardy was ten times worse than Joe. He would gout and ruin the organization beyond recognition. Of that Joe was sure but his thought was already slowing down and his vision was again going into tunnel mode.
And then abruptly he was released with a jerk and he fought for sweet oxygen. He took deep breaths of it and wondered what had made Alex stop. His question was answered a few minutes later when Jack's voice penetrated his muddled awareness "Boss maybe you should take a break. Let us work on him for a while" he was saying.
"You are right, I might just kill him. I will come back in fifteen minutes" he said and strode angrily out of the room. The minute Alex left the room Jack turned to his partner and stuck with the butt of his gun. Not expecting the attack, the man fell to the floor hard leaving the three prisoners dumbstruck. Jack moved to Joe and cut through the ropes while talking to him "All you need to know right now is that I am on your side. We don't have much time. Come on" he said shoving the knife into Joe's now free right hand. While Joe worked on his left hand and legs the man moved to Mike and started loosening the ropes as Joe moved to the agent.
"There is a ledge directly below this window. You three get onto that while I will remove the guards below. Wait for me to call out before you get down" he instructed and walked out of the room while the three moved to the window. As the man said there was indeed a ledge below and they lowered themselves onto it silently. In Joe's case it was a big effort not to make a noise as every bone in his body was protesting the movement. Every nerve ending was on fire and he was shaky but Mike's supporting hand on one side and the adrenaline that pulsed through him made it possible.
Dimly they heard Jack talking to the guards below. "There seems to be some problems inside. Boss wants you in the mezzanine floor. You can go, I will stay here as lookout" he was saying. The guards did not question his words even though they had a bit of doubt on their faces and moved to the house. All the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and waited for Jack's signal.
"You can come down now" Jack's voice floated up and the three made the jump to the ground gingerly. None of them were in pristine condition and the jump grated on their nerves but still they moved fast behind Jack. Timing made all the difference in this case.
Jack led them into the forest, their ears tuned for shouts of outrage which came soon after. They picked up the pace and started running with Jack in the lead. A distant part of Joe's brain was questioning the wisdom of following a virtual stranger blindly but there didn't seem to be any other avenues as well. His antenna was at least not raising red flags around the man and his instincts were usually bang on.
As they approached denser forest Jack turned to them "I will hold them off for a while and that should give you a bit of a head start. Just do me a favor alright? Make sure this reaches the recipient" he said and handed over an envelope. Joe took the envelope and while he had a bucket load of questions there was no time for a discussion.
"Why don't you just come with us?" he asked but the man shook his head. "No, I have to finish my job here. Just go and make sure that you give the envelope" he said with finality. Joe knew a lost cause when he heard it and he nodded reluctantly. "Will do" Joe promised before adding "Thanks Jack. I hope we run into each other sometime" he said.
Jack gave a grim smile "I don't think so kid. Take care Joe and the name is Roger Davies..not Moore" he chuckled and added "now go" giving Joe a shove. Joe's heart almost stopped when he heard his name aloud and his head was bursting with curiosity but he stepped away. With a last "good luck" he turned and made his way deeper into the forest trail with Mike and the other agent on his heels. Hopefully there would be time to get to the bottom of that mystery later on. Provided they actually made it to the "later on".
They heard gunshots as Roger fended off the other mercenaries and for a minute Joe turned back torn by the desire to help the man but Mike pulled him short. He shook his head and Joe sighed and nodded reluctantly. They had to keep pushing on but he also had to check if they were going in the right direction. And if possible to talk to Frank. And to do something about the blood that was still leaking from the cuts on his arms.
So when they saw a really huge tree and dense foliage he headed to it and stopped to check the map. Yes they were on the right track and he leaned against the tree exhaling deeply. God he was already exhausted and they had just started the trek. Mike looked at him with unconcealed worry and Joe gave a smile in return "don't worry. I will be fine" he assured his friend not knowing if even he believed it.
Mike apparently didn't judging by the doubtful look on his face and the man silently removed his shirt and started tearing it into strips. He wound the cloth around Joe's arms and Joe hoped it would stop the bleeding. He was already sweating with the effort of running on an abused body but he could not stop. If he even acknowledged his wounds and the pain that was wracking him he would never get back up and so he straightened up and started the trek again.
But the respite was short lived and now there were footsteps within hearing range. Damn they had been spotted and Joe cursed aloud. He had hoped for more of a head start but then these mercenaries knew the territory. They didn't have to stop and check the direction. Without a word they started running pursued by the men as they weaved in an out of the trees. Soon gunshots joined the chase and it became even more important to be in motion. Stationary targets were dead meat.
But the agent whose name Joe didn't know still was already flagging and he cast a worried glance at the man. He just hoped he would keep up or it was going to be a problem. The man stopped abruptly and turned to Joe "leave me. I am slowing you down. Get out of here, I will lead them away and buy you some time and by the way the name's Tony McGill" he said.
Joe shook his head fiercely "I am not leaving anyone behind. You should know that by now. Come on Tony, you can do this. It's just a little more distance and then we have our guys waiting for us" he muttered. When the man hesitated Mike simply shoved the man with a "come on" and they started at a fast clip rather than a dead run.
"Joe, we need to take a break man. None of us are in good shape including you. We need to gather our strength" Mike muttered pulling Joe to a stop. Joe shook his head "Mike, dehydration is already setting in for me. I have lost blood man. The more time I lose the weaker I am going to get" he muttered softly only to Mike's ears. Mike looked up in alarm at Joe's face "we find a water source and once we do, we rest …at least for a short while" he said resolutely and Joe hesitantly agreed.
So they trudged on, this time keeping their eyes open for a water source. But for a forest surrounded by water, a water source was rather elusive. When they finally saw a small spring they rushed to it and gulped down the sweet liquid. Joe felt a measure of his strength return when the cool liquid slid down his throat and they stood up more energized than before. But unfortunately the pit stop had given the mercenaries the chance to catch up with them forcing the three of them to run full tilt again.
Gunshots followed them and suddenly Mike shouted out "aagh" and went down like a sack of potatoes. "Hide" he instructed Tony and he rushed to Mike. He pulled his friend towards the bushes and lay down on the dirt floor and piled as much of the dried leaves upon themselves. The thundering footsteps raced around them and Joe held his breath praying that the foliage would help them. He mentally lauded himself for choosing to wear camouflage colors as it helped immeasurably now. "Look on the other side" he heard one of the voices shout and waited for the sound of footsteps to recede before he sat up gingerly. That was truly a lucky break.
He turned to Mike and grimaced seeing the blood blooming on the man's thigh. He cursed fluently and ran a weary hand over his face. Fear gripped him and he was almost paralyzed with hopelessness. He never realized how much of Mike's support he had been banking on until this moment. Pain, fatigue and despair brought tears to his voice as he called out to his friend. "Mike…buddy. Look at me. Look at me…come on you can't give up so easily" he commanded fiercely when Mike's eyes started to glaze over.
Then Mike's eyes rested on Joe's face for just a moment and his gaze cleared up "Joe.." his voice was wispy and filled with pain "come back for me. Leave me for now. Go…please" he whispered.
"Shut up" Joe said fiercely. "I am not leaving you behind. Not happening buddy. Don't waste your breath, ask Frank. He knows how stubborn I can be. Hell I may be down but I am not out. You hear me? I AM NOT OUT and until I am I am not leaving anyone behind. Now you are stuck with me for the ride so deal with it" Joe said his voice hard with fierce determination and a ringing finality. He knew he was rambling a bit but that was the tension talking.
Then it was his turn to rip a piece of his shirt and wind it tightly around the gunshot wound. Then shifting Mike into a convenient position he pulled Mike into a fireman's carry and got to his feet with a grunt. He then made his way out calling out for Tony who scrambled to his feet from behind a bush and silently joined Joe. Joe handed over his phone to Tony "check the map and see if we are on the right track. Keep it and make sure we are on the right track" he instructed.
"Joe, we have to retrace. We have gone about half a mile away from the route" Tony said and Joe groaned aloud. "Great" he commented drily while he kept walking one step in front of another and another and another. He was on autopilot and his entire being was just focused on one thought "getting to Frank".
The first mile he did not do easily, definitely not easily but the second mile was beginning to test his strength or what was left of it anyway. His ribs were burning and his breath was becoming laborious. Mike's weight fell heavy on his shoulders and his body was already screaming for release. The effort to stay upright was taking more and more out of him and his vision was getting disturbingly technicolor.
The bright spot however was that currently there was no sign of the mercenaries in the area and Joe took advantage of the small reprieve. He did not know how long the reprieve would last but he had to make do. He needed to regroup some of his strength and ease his burning muscles even if only for a few minutes.
He found a big tree and wearily set down Mike and sank down next to his friend. He wished for the thousandth time that they had pilfered a water bottle but even thinking about it was painful when they had no access to the lifesaving liquid. The hot weather was not helping matters and having come from a cold country the weather shift felt even worse.
At least it was not a desert he consoled himself as he attempted to distract his thoughts from the situation. He turned to the agent "Tony we haven't had a chance to formally get introduced. I am Joe Hardy from reach and this is my partner Mike. We were commissioned to get the both of you out".
"And for that I thank you Joe. I have to confess that I had lost hope. When talks of Borneo surfaced we knew that was the end. So I thank you and I appreciate your effort but we both know the score. You are hurt and you are shouldering a big burden literally. Unfortunately two months of being tied up with the bare minimum of food has weakened me and I am happy with the fact that you have got Mary out. I have made peace with my fate Joe, so please make it easier for yourself and get out" Tony offered.
Joe gave a dry chuckle "you don't know me Tony, I get that. But surely you have not judged me so badly. I may not seem like much but there is a team out there watching our backs. Trust me we have good men behind us. Don't lose hope now after having come so far. As it is, there is already one man probably dead because of me. I am not chancing another. Come on let's get going. We will make it, trust me." Joe promised.
Tony gave him an assessing glance "Jack did not die because of you Joe. It was his decision and nothing to do with you. You cannot carry that burden" he said simply. Joe looked away not willing to argue the point but he could not help feel responsible for Jack's probable death.
At the other end of the spectrum once the plan of action was decided, Frank had wasted no time. The team had made it back to Jakarta in record time and now along with a few medical team Frank was once again midair heading to the exfiltration point. His team had kept up with the monitor and there had been a war whoop when Joe had made it out of the cabin. Frank made a mental note to run a check on that Jack character and why he would help later but first things first.
"What's the status?" he asked and Chad spoke up "That Jack guy is giving our people a head start. Now why would he do that?" he wondered aloud but no one really had an answer. The crew travelled in silence when suddenly Chad cursed "Damn Mike is down. I think he's been shot. God how I wish we can talk to our guys" he spoke aloud. "I am so ready to take the SOB's down" he said and the group completely agreed.
Frank simply remained silent, his blood pressure was already sky rocketing and he could not lose it now. All of them had heard the conversation between Joe and the two others and Frank felt pride burst through him at Joe's words. This was his stubborn Joe alright.
Within the next half an hour they had touched down and Frank felt frustration eat at him. Much as it went against his instincts he had chosen to stay behind in the aircraft for when Joe reached the airfield. The rest of the team were going to forge ahead and launch their own counter offensive on the terrorist camp. They had brought in the local law enforcement into the picture and they would be arriving with their own task force. The terrorists would be taken care of, there was no doubt about that but would Joe and his two companions reach them in time was the question.
For Joe however it was quickly becoming an uphill task just putting one foot in front of the other. The shirt strips Mike had wound around his cuts had opened multiple times and there were stripes of blood coating his bare arms. His light jacket had been stripped off by the bad guys and he had been left in just his shirt. He had been searched thoroughly and all his weapons had been taken off him. The only thing he had managed to take with him before jumping out the window was the canister of pepper that the men had thrown carelessly on the ground. Not that it had helped in anyway as none of the guys had come close enough for it to be used.
For the first time since the escape he seriously had doubts of whether they would make it. He had slowed down considerably and with the added exertion he had dehydrated more. His breaks had become more frequent and he wondered how much more he could go realistically speaking. When he had to stop yet again to catch his breath he knew he was staring defeat in the face. But not yet..he had Frank and Joe wondered why he had not thought of calling Frank earlier to find a water source. But he was hardly functioning at full capacity and all his energy had been focused on getting the others to some semblance of safety.
Now however water was becoming a dire necessity otherwise he would become the stumbling block and not the others. Mike had come to earlier and had vehemently protested being carried. He had insisted on walking and had taken all of two steps before his legs buckled under him and he was on the ground. Like Tony he had begged Joe to carry on but Joe had simply told him to shut up. He was rather tired of that suggestion and had no energy to do another counselling session.
And now when he was taking yet another break he knew it was time to call Frank. Thankfully they had not broken the phone and had just kept it in the room with the intention of going through it and Joe had grabbed it on the way out. Without the phone it would have been impossible to stay on track considering that every big tree looked like every other big tree. They would have gone in circles and been captured within the hour.
Taking a deep breath he made the call to Frank. Not even a ring was through when Frank's voice came through. "Joe" he called unable to voice the multitude of emotions going through him. What could he say? What could either of them say? There were too many things to talk about and Joe knew that he had a big lecture waiting for him when everything was over. There were too many emotions raging through them that could be felt even over the phone.
"Yeah" he replied and spoke quickly. He could not fool Frank into believing that he was fine and he rushed to speak. "Frank, can you do something with the gizmos and see if there's a water source somewhere near me?". There was a pause and Frank replied "will do. Give me a few minutes. I am pulling up a sat image of the area. I will call you back" he said and the line disconnected.
Joe sighed and stretched out against a tree trunk. Just hearing his brother's voice had made him almost surrender and made him weak. His throat had felt incredibly tight and he could feel the moisture threaten to gather in his eyes. And yet he did not have the luxury of letting go…not yet. He had to finish this first and then he was all Frank's to be shouted at and to be cared for.
In a few minutes Frank called back "Joe, there's something that looks like a watering hole about half an hour walk in the eastern direction from where you are. Can you make the detour? Joe talk to me..are you alright?" he pleaded. Joe paused and took a deep breath.
Damn he wanted to cry, half an hour of extra walk sounded like a marathon, one he was not ready for. "I will be..alright that is" he answered finally. "I don't know if I can make it but I have to try" he confessed softly. He knew that Frank had already read between the lines and Joe could almost feel the frantic hammering of Frank's heart over the line.
"You better get back to me Joe or I will kill you, I swear. Aand I will let you face Vanessa alone" Frank threatened making Joe break out into a dry chuckle. "Wuss" he called out and there was a huff on the other side. "We will see who the wuss is. Now get your butt back here soon" Frank said as Joe disconnected the line with a soft "Yes boss".
Frank looked at the phone and attempted to calm the fear hammering at his heart. Joe sounded …Frank searched for a word that would describe what he had heard and came up empty. Joe sounded tired…no beyond exhausted would be a better description and for the first time in his life Joe sounded defeated. But even more than that, what truly scared him was the note of resignation that underlined Joe's words. It sounded like goodbye and Frank was not ready to accept that.
His brother was not one to give up, never ever. So how bad was he that he was considering giving up? Shaking his head at the line of thought Frank decided that he would give Joe another half an hour and after that if need be he would go into the field himself.
Joe sat back on his haunches and wiped the sweat off his face. He thought about what Frank had said and the detour didn't make sense. He neither had the time nor the energy to make the extra hike. Instead if he went ahead they would reach Frank faster. He just had to hold out till then that's all. He was still not out and he had to reassure Frank that he was still in the game. He had felt Frank's anxiety and needed to set that right.
He called Frank again "Frank" he called out "I am going ahead as originally planned. No detour and Frank…I will get there. I am not giving up. Your brother is still fighting" he said. There was a huge sigh of relief that could be heard over the line "You better not, you see my brother never gives up. Besides I am not getting grey hairs over you. Now get going. Conserve energy. I am waiting for you and…..Joe, you are Joe…you will do it. I have absolutely no doubts about it" Frank's voice came relieved and determined.
"Yes boss…gotcha" Joe replied and meaning it completely. Right now he needed someone else to do the thinking and talking and taking over. He was completely drained and Frank's presence was the only thing keeping him going. Otherwise the option of sending Tony and Mike ahead was becoming increasingly appealing. He got to his feet with renewed determination, he had to keep himself and the others motivated. Besides he could see that his attitude was beginning to get to Mike and he could not have that.
He knelt next to Mike "hey buddy how are you holding up?" he asked softly. Mike straightened up from his slump and looked at Joe through glassy eyes. He gave a faint smile "I feel like how you look" he quipped in a weak voice and Joe chuckled dryly. "Then you must be doing fantastic" he said and added "only a short distance to go but we should get going now". Mike's eyes cleared up a bit as he struggled back to full awareness and he caught Joe's arm in a tight grip "I can walk. You have to let me at least try" he said in a determined tone.
Joe hesitated but he knew that his strength had started to flag and if Mike could walk it would indeed make things easier. "Fine, we can try it once I check the bandages around your wound" he agreed and proceeded to do the same. Mike flinched at the pain as Joe removed the cloth and seeing that the bleeding was under control tightened it again. He then placed a hand around Mike's back and helped get him on his feet.
Mike stood up shakily and almost immediately swayed dangerously. The blood loss was making him dizzy and he hung onto Joe waiting for the spell to pass. Once the ground had stopped moving he moved forward tentatively and immediately felt his leg fold under him until Joe was the only thing stopping him from being on the ground.
"Okay that went well" Joe muttered under his breath and quietly shifted Mike over his shoulder again. He heard Mike's muffled protest but he had no energy for an argument. "Dude get me a present when we are home okay?" Joe said aloud and started walking with Tony by his side. "Joe, I am sorry that I am being so useless now" the man said causing Joe to shake his head. One man feeling guilty was bad enough two was just tiresome. "You heard me…big costly gift" he answered as they continued the trek towards his destination.
Later if anyone asked him how he got to the airfield he would never be able to account for the last couple of miles. He did not notice the terrain or the heat or the pain in his body, he was simply a machine with a single thought. All he did was go left, right, left, right one foot in front of another. But his stupor was broken forcibly when he reached the edge of the airfield. The mercenaries were smarter than he had credited them with and they had placed themselves near the airfield knowing that that was where he would go.
As he neared the perimeter still within the confines of the forest he was besieged by gunfire that split the ground at their feet. He didn't stop but instead started running with Tony at his heels when he heard his brother's voice in front of him. Frank appeared in front of Joe and hefted his gun in front of them. Squeezing off a couple of shots to keep the advancing mercenaries away Frank shifted Mike to his own shoulders as Joe rolled his sore shoulder and moved next to Frank. He took the gun from Frank and got into position.
"You good?" Frank asked looking at Joe and Joe nodded brusquely "let's get out of here already" he answered. The brothers moved fast with Joe shooting with unerring accuracy, buying them the time they needed. Three of the four pursuers were now nursing various wounds but the last man's aim hit true and Joe grunted stumbling on his feet. He pressed a hand on his side to see the red blossoming under.
"JOE" Frank screamed but Joe gestured for him to keep going. "Go…Go, I will be there" he screamed back and turned to bring the man down with a well-placed shot. They were almost at the aircraft now and Frank quickly handed over Mike to Jerry who was waiting for Frank at the stairs.
He then ran back to Joe and supported his brother to the aircraft as well with Tony now giving them cover. Tony fortunately had huffed and puffed his way through and all of them were soon inside the aircraft. Joe was on his last leg and he clutched at Frank with a weak "Frank" before slumping against Frank completely. Frank turned to Tony and instructed him to close the hatch before turning to Joe and taking his weight completely.
"I got you little brother..I got you. You can let go now" Frank murmured against Joe's head as he gently lowered Joe to the ground. Joe seemed to have heard his brother's words and he obeyed. He let go and surrendered to the darkness that he had been resisting for so long now. He could let go now with a free mind, Frank was there to take care.
Author notes: Okay..one of my longest chapters ever and one of my most satisfying ones. It almost wrote itself out and kept lending itself to changes so beautifully. If I do one more edit I am sure this will run to Guinness level length and so I will stop here. But it's so tempting just to go on so the next chapter might come a bit earlier than usual. At least I will try.
Otherwise as usual I am completely thankful for the nice reviews and the follows that make me feel worthy as a writer. So thanks again and since we are winding down, I thank you for staying with me for the ride. Much appreciated and much treasured. Thanks and see you on the other side of this chapter! Stay safe and stay tuned!
P.s: I know that I have not replied to some reviews/PM. I will definitely do so one of these days.
