Frank was asleep in the corner. His hands, which still had the bandages on them, were slowly healing, but they were healing way to slowly for Joe to know if his brother would be able to play the piano again. Frank used to play the piano with great ferocity and speed, but after someone breaking his hands—Joe just didn't know.
Joe must have drifted off, because when he awoke, Collig and Jack were standing there, talking amoungst themselves.
"Get him," Collig commanded, and Joe was dragged from the cell. He hadn't noticed Collig and his goons standing there. "Get the other brat too."
"Hey!" Joe yelled angrily in protest as Jack picked him up. "Let me go! Where are you taking me? Ow, ow! That hurts!"
"Shuddup," Jack muttered, slapping him. "And where we're taking you is none of your business."
"Actually, it quite is," Chief Collig countered with a smile. "My friend has a house in the middle of nowhere, in a state somewhere in the USA. Does that help?"
"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, where nobody can hear you scream," Jack chuckled.
--I am a line--
Sam sat in the interrogation room, his fingers tapping on the small wooden table. "I didn't kill anyone, Fenton. You know I could never do that."
Fenton and someone else – he had called himself "Alan" but looked strangely familiar—smiled. "Fenton may not, but I do," he said. "You remember me, right? You were arrested for counterfeiting. I was there."
"That's where I know you," Sam growled under his breath. "The Gray Man. What a lousy name. Your mother had a bad since of humor."
"Counterfeiting?" Fenton demanded, looking angrily at the Gray Man. "I did a thorough background check on all my employees!"
"It wasn't on his background," the Gray Man explained. "We erased it from his records because he ratted out the others who were involved. That's not going to happen this time, though."
"I'm not saying anything. We've got a huge surprise planned for Fenton. You've got the wrong man, really. They don't need me there."
"No, really, we've got the right man. Because you, my dear friend, will tell us everything we want to know."
"Any news on Sam?"
"He's in interrogation now," Jack said as he twisted the plane wheel. He sighed in exhaustion. "I didn't register the plane but I did triple-check it."
"Why didn't you register the plane?! When we try to land, it will be a UFO!"
"No, I entered it into the system under Fenton's name, but I didn't register it under ours. I fly Fenton all the time, so assuming Sam can hold a secret for a little bit we'll be okay."
Chief Collig sighed, then shook his head. "No, Sam's a ratter. I knew that from the beginning."
"A ratter?"
"He rats out people."
"Everyone would in that situation. How do we keep Fenton from charging to all our safe houses?"
Jack smiled, an evil grin crossing his face. "I know," he said. "We start the plans early."
--I am a line--
Frank was half asleep when he was dragged out of the plane. Joe was wide awake, but Jack had warned him that if he put up a struggle he was going to get busted up, bad. "You're my son, Jonah. We're on a family vacation. You don't know who Fenton Hardy is," Jack whispered. "Frank was mute from birth, he broke his hands falling out of a tree, and his name is Michael."
The one thing that Joe probably hated most about being kidnapped was the lies. He didn't mind lying when he was undercover – he didn't actually consider that "lying" – but he hated being forced to lie.
When they got in the doors, Jack headed towards the car rental. Hertz was endorsed by most places, and he had had no problems with Hertz.
"Greetings," the saleswoman said. She glanced at Joe, and her jaw dropped. "You look exactly like Joseph Hardy!"