Poster's Message: The HB's are owned by Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Thanks! I hope you enjoy the ending of this little tale by copgirl. Chapters 17 & 18 were posted at the same time as this chapter.
Chapter Nineteen
By copagirl
As Frank was getting dressed, he thought about the events that had occurred during the past few days. He smiled as he recalled how his mother cowed the Gray Man into letting Carolyn stay with them.
They had just sat down for dinner when the front doorbell rang. Mr. Hardy had gotten up to answer the door. A few minutes later, he walked into the dining room with the Gray Man. Once again, Gray introduced himself as "Agent Dawson, and informed the Hardys that he was here to take Carolyn.
Mrs. Hardy disagreed.
"You can't take her away now. She has to finish the rest of the school year, or at least the week. There's a very special social event coming up and the girl was invited to attend."
"With all due respect, Mrs. Hardy, Miss Jones won't be missing out on any schooling. We do have agents with teacher's degrees. I don't see what's so special about a dance."
Getting out of her chair, Laura Hardy slowly advanced on Mr. Gray.
"With all due respect, Agent Dawson," she began, "If you and your men had been doing their job properly, we wouldn't be standing here having this discussion. Now I believe you owe this child some degree of normalcy!"
With each word, Laura was poking her finger into Gray's shoulder. Carolyn and Chet, who had been asked to stay for dinner, looked on in shock. Fenton and Frank kept their heads down, seeming to find the food on their plates very fascinating. Gertrude Hardy sat quietly, arms crossed, waiting to see if her sister-in-law would need any help. Joe was making no attempt to hide the huge grin on his face as he watched his mother give the Gray Man the lecture of his life.
That was how Carolyn became a guest in the Hardy home. Aunt Gertrude and Laura had fun with a girl in the house. Laura took Carolyn shopping to look for a new dress for the dance. And it was a very pretty dress, Frank thought.
Running a comb through his hair, Frank went downstairs. He found his mom taking pictures of Joe and Carolyn. When Laura saw her oldest son, she motioned him over and had Frank stand next to Carolyn.
Checking the time, Frank told his mother, "We better get going. We're supposed to meet the gang at the Pizzeria."
"Explain to me again why Chet isn't picking Carolyn up and you boys aren't getting Vanessa and Callie?" Mrs. Hardy asked, eyeing her sons with some suspicion.
"Everyone wanted a chance to tell Carolyn goodbye. This was the best way to do it. We might miss each other at the dance," Joe said.
"I suppose that's true. Have a good time. Drive carefully." Mrs. Hardy gave them each a hug and kiss as they walked out the door.
"Everything all set?" Joe asked Frank once they were in the van.
"All set. And our friend is right behind us as usual."
"You would think the Network would teach their agents how to tail someone without being seen," Joe snorted.
"They went inside the Pizzeria about an hour ago. Looks like they're getting ready to leave. The girl is with the chubby kid. Don't worry Mr. Gray, they don't even know they're being followed."
"Maybe not the girl or her young man, but the Hardys will know," Gray snarled.
The agent almost snorted. So far as he could tell, the Hardy boys weren't as great as they were made out to be. They had yet to spot him.
"The girl is on the move. The Hardys are also. It looks like the girl is leaving with her boyfriend. I'll stick with them."
"Stick with her and the Hardys!" Gray screamed, but it was too late. Agent Philips had ended the call.
"You were right Frank, he is just following Chet's car." Joe turned to smile at his brother.
"I'm just glad he thought Stan was Chet and Vanessa was Carolyn."
"Don't forget about Tony being you, and Biff, me. Callie is the only one being…Callie. Just glad Liz went along with us."
Frank, Joe, Chet and Carolyn walked behind the counter. Mr. Prito led them out the back. There they found Tony leaning out the front window of the Hardy van.
"Let's get a move on, Hardys! I still have a shift to finish before I can have some real fun." Tony jumped out of the van. "You sure you don't want to drive my car, Frank?"
"It's okay Tony, that agent is following Stan and Vanessa. Mr. Gray is in D.C. Dad found that out for us. Thanks for your help."
"Anytime, my friend, anytime." Tony smiled warmly at Frank.
An hour later, Frank arrived at a small airport. There waiting for them was their good friend Jack Wayne.
"Jack, thanks for helping us," Frank said as he handed Jack a small carry-on.
"Glad to do it, Frank. We better hurry though."
Frank walked over to Carolyn and pulled her into a hug.
"I wish things had turned out differently and you could be staying here. I know how much Chet is going to miss you."
"Thank you so much, Frank. I'm glad…I'm glad that I was right. Your father is a nice man and not evil like the Assassins tried to make me believe. You have his eyes, so full of love, compassion and kindness."
Frank felt a lump in his throat as he listened to the compliment. With a whispered "thank you," Frank moved aside so Joe could say his goodbyes.
"Thank you, Carolyn, thank you for saving Vanessa. I don't know what I would have done if she had…" Joe blinked back tears.
"Chet told me about Iola. I'm glad I was there." Carolyn smiled at Joe.
Giving her a sad smile, Joe could only nod his head. He then remembered something and reached inside his jacket pocket.
"Vanessa wanted me to give you this." Joe gave Carolyn a small gift-wrapped package.
With a happy smile, Carolyn carefully unwrapped her gift. It was a framed picture, and she laughed when she saw it. Inside the frame was a black and white picture of Frank and Callie, Joe and Vanessa, Chet and herself. Carolyn recalled the day that picture had been taken. She had spent the day at the mall with Chet and her new friends. Vanessa had spotted the picture booth and they had all piled in to have their picture taken.
"Thank Vanessa for me. I'll cherish this forever." She gave Joe a hug.
Frank and Joe walked back to the van, leaving Chet alone with Carolyn.
"I wish we could have gone to the dance," Chet said. "But I'd rather you be safe, away from the Assassins and the Network."
"I'll never forget you, Chet Morton."
"I, uh…I got something for you too."
Chet took out a small box from his pants pocket and held it out to Carolyn. With shaking fingers, she opened the box and found a locket inside.
"Look inside the locket," Chet whispered.
Carefully opening the locket, Carolyn found a picture of Chet inside.
"Would you help me put it on?"
Chet helped Carolyn with the locket, then he held her in a tight hug, her head resting on his chest. They soon began to sway, as if they could hear a song playing just for them. As much as he hated to, Jack gave a discreet cough. Chet looked up.
"I'm sorry, but we need to leave."
With a sigh, Chet let her go.
"Goodbye, Carolyn." With one last kiss, Chet Morton walked to the van, not once looking back.
**Lucky Man Cree Reservation**
The children gathered around, sitting in a half-circle, waiting anxiously for the entertainment to begin. They smiled up at the young girl as she put two rag dolls down on the ground. As if by some magic, the dolls stood up and began to do a little dance. The children clapped their hands; as the dolls leaped and twirled, the children laughed with glee. The dolls would dance near them, each child trying to catch the dolls before they moved away. The school bell rang out and the dolls fell limply to the ground. The girl laughed as the children moaned with disappointment.
"I'll be back tomorrow," the girl promised them. "Hurry or you'll be late for school."
As she watched the children run towards the school, her fingers went to the locket around her neck. Carolyn opened it up and gazed down at the smiling face inside.
"No, I'll never forget you, Chet Morton."
THE END
Poster's Message: As you see, this is the end of Brain Child. There are two sequels but I may not post those next. Thanks for reading!