Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. This is a shorter chapter for some variety.
Vanessa Bender and Callie Shaw approached the bank on Monday morning.
"Laura called him," said Vanessa trying to convince herself that this would go well. "All we have to do is stick with the plan."
"I'm not totally comfortable with it either, Vanessa. But this is better than actually stealing this thing ourselves," said Callie. "And I'm sure we'll be fine." She herself was absolutely terrified and only slept for a few hours last night. She had slept in Frank's while Vanessa had taken Joe's.
Vanessa held the door open for Callie and then followed her into the bank. It was… a bank. There were the teller booths, the ropes that signified the waiting line and the small counters where people prepared their items for deposit. Usually she would have headed right there. But today, she had a meeting with the manager.
"I have an appointment with Mr. Smith," said Callie calmly to the nearest person she could.
"Right that way ma'am" said the college intern gesturing to the back. Callie smiled to herself at being called "ma'am" even though she wasn't rich and started toward the office with Vanessa following her.
"Miss Shaw," said Mr. Smith looking concerned. "What can I do for you?"
"We are here on behalf of Fenton, Frank and Joe Hardy." She and Vanessa had agreed that she would do most of the talking. She had a knack for "reading" people that would help get their point across sooner. "The three of them are out of town. They are now undercover and infiltrating a criminal gang out of Boston." She was also a better liar.
"Last night they called us. Apparently an element of the group they are infiltrating is planning a robbery – and their target is this bank," said Vanessa taking over the story. I'm a much better liar than I thought!
"But why would they rob our bank and not a bank in Boston?" Mr. Smith asked.
"They want the contents of a particular safe deposit box. Box 341. For a long time the Hardy's suspected that the Amaldo crime family has done business in the bank and they may have that safe deposit box. It's probably two different families fighting against each other," said Callie. At least that much is true. "Fenton has offered to take the safe deposit box and store it in his house safe. The Hardy house has a secure alarm system."
"Why on earth would the Hardy's house be better-protected than the Bayport Savings Bank?" inquired Mr. Smith aggressively. "I've never liked Hardy. Sure he's done some good for this town and helped a lot of people, but all three of them have also been quite arrogant at times."
"It's just a precaution," said Callie soothingly, shooting Vanessa a look telling her to behave as Vanessa glowered. "I know the bank is very well protected. But this way, even if they do break in to the bank or come anywhere near it, there is no risk of the contents being stolen at all." Seeing his indecision she added "I know your customers would appreciate that you always do your best to protect their interests".
"I would need to see written documentation from Fenton as well as a court order," said Mr. Smith. "It's still a free country that upholds the individual's right to private property."
"Ah yes," said Vanessa taking the papers out of her bag. "Here you go." Mr. Smith examined the two papers. One was theoretically a fax from Fenton addressed to the manager of the Bayport Savings Bank. The other was supposedly a court order from a Bayport judge that gave Callie and Vanessa permission to take the safe deposit box. In reality, Laura had skillfully finished forging both of them at three A.M. last night. These should work, she had said two hours earlier. I copied them from copies of court orders that were in Fenton's desk. The paper and seals are identical to the original document.
"Well, everything looks like it is in order, but I still won't let you take it," said Mr. Smith.
"What do you mean?" asked Callie.
"This document doesn't strictly order me to give the box to you. It only gives me the option since this isn't strictly a matter of national security. My first duty is to my customers – and since there is no proof of the alleged robbery, only suspicions, I have complete discretion over whether to give it to you. The supposed identity of the box's owner is irrelevant. I couldn't just open boxes for anyone now could I?" he finished with a sarcastic smile. "If Fenton or his sons were here themselves, that might be another story, but they are not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another appointment to keep."
When Vanessa opened her mouth to argue, Callie kicked her under the table. "Thank you Mr. Smith," she said. "I'll let Fenton, Frank and Joe know immediately that you refused to cooperate with us. But, if you want to risk your bank being robbed, then there is nothing I can do."
"We have excellent security here Miss Shaw," said Mr. Smith condescendingly." Have a good day."
"Pompous bureaucrat," said Vanessa as she left the bank. "Why didn't you push him?"
"He had his mind made up. And he likes to see himself as always going against what other people want. If you had pushed him, he would have been more stubborn, even to the point of actually calling the judge, and then we would have had more explaining to do."
"So now what?" asked Vanessa after they were in the car. She sounded discouraged.
"I'm sure Laura has another plan, and I'm sure she can find a way past that security, especially if she's anything like Frank or as stubborn as Joe. If she was really a criminal before, she'll think of something," answered Callie.
"Let's go home and ask her. While we're at it, I really want to know how in the world a criminal ended up married to Fenton Hardy. There is absolutely no way that he could have just forgiven all her crimes and married her on the spot – unless he doesn't know."
"No. He definitely knows. We do need to ask her, but not as soon as we walk in the door. We have enough going on right now."
"How do you think Fenton, Frank and Joe are?" asked Vanessa after a few moments of silence.
"Well, I'm sure they are together, and I'm sure they are going crazy looking for an escape. Frank and Joe should be fine. Even if Thomas or whatever his crazy name is wants to kill them, he won't until they do it until after we give them what they want. You know, I'm still not comfortable with not calling the police, but I don't see any way around it. You and I would be lost without Laura. We still need to figure out where they could be."
"And Fenton?" asked Vanessa who had been temporarily relieved when she heard about Joe that she didn't notice that Callie hadn't mentioned him.
"I don't know. Thomas obviously thinks he stole Laura away from him and hates his guts. Don't mention this to Laura. She's feeling guilty enough already."
"We're going to get them back," said Vanessa determinedly. "After all the times they have rescued us after we were kidnapped because of whatever cases they are working on, we can finally do the same for them."