Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.
Thank you: Wendylouwho10 who read over the story for me and made content suggestions, helped with the flow, and provided some spelling/grammar corrections. Typos are mine and I discover them all the time. :-)
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is blue spine-ish and AU. Timeline: Taken; Recovery; Retribution; Wild Pitch; and now this story. While you don't NEED to read the previous stories, things will be referenced and perhaps even some from my younger Hardys stories.
Author's Notes: And now the poll is closed. Thank you to those of you who voted! And yes, the mission begins! But this isn't a very exciting chapter. I'm still in plodder mode. ;-) But perhaps some of you have had a similar experience and commiserate with Joe and Vanessa in this chapter. :-)
Chapter Eight
It was a Wednesday evening when Vanessa, Joe, and Agent Johnson arrived at a private airport outside Detroit in a small plane. After disembarking, they went to an equally small conference room in the nearby hanger.
Sitting down at the table, Agent Johnson looked at the two teens across from him. "The address for the hotel that you will stay at is programmed into the phone. That will be your base location until Jake is recruited by Zendel's. Remember that we'll be watching and keeping an eye on you when you're outside the complex, but when you're inside you're on your own unless you contact us in a dire situation. If we need to contact you it will probably be through Vanessa when she goes to get groceries or to the coffee shop that has been programmed into your phones."
Joe couldn't help but fidget a little in his chair. "What happens if they don't pick me?" Joe could feel the agent's eyes move over him again. He knew he looked the part from his hair to his clothes, but still he just wasn't sure.
"Keep looking like you do now and put the attitude with it and they will be more than happy to take you in," Johnson said. "Any other questions?" When the teens shook their heads no, he stood and headed out of the room. Exiting the hanger on the opposite side of the runway, he walked toward a worse for wear Mustang that was at least fifteen years old. Johnson tossed Joe the keys and said, "Jake and Valerie don't have a lot of money. This is Jake's car that he bought right before he left town. It doesn't look like much, but the mechanics have been over it and replaced some key parts. It shouldn't break down on you and it shouldn't guzzle gas."
Joe lifted the hood and took a look. Seeing that things did look in order, he closed it. "Looks good." After popping the trunk, he loaded their two small suitcases inside.
"Good luck," Johnson said as he stepped away.
"Thanks," Joe replied as he got into the car. The interior was in decent shape while the exterior showed the signs of neglect via faded black paint, rust spots, and the occasional dent. He started the car and looked to Vanessa in the passenger seat. "Ready?"
Holding up her phone with a map app open, she responded, "Ready to go, Jake." She took a look at the phone and gave him a direction to go from the airport.
This is it, he thought as he moved his hands restlessly on the wheel. We're on our own.
An hour later they were in a small town outside of Detroit. Even though it was just 8:00 p.m. and it was still light outside, they were both exhausted when they drove up to the motel that must have been brand new in the 50's. It was set up in a U shape with a pool in the center of the U. As Joe parked in front of the area labeled as 'Office,' they both gave a shuddering look at the pool. The 'Closed' sign hung lopsidedly from the padlocked gate that led into the pool area.
"I doubt anyone's used that pool in years," Vanessa commented as they both stood beside the Mustang delaying their entry into the dubious facility. If the pool was covered in green slime, what would their room look like?
Joe turned to the office door and said, "There's no use putting it off. We might as well go in."
"Okay," Vanessa responded as she gave one last look to the disgusting water.
The door made a chirpy sound as they entered and a moment later, a large woman came from a back room to stand behind the desk. "Can I help you young people?" Her voice was monotone and spotlighted her lack of enthusiasm for her position.
"We'd like to rent a room for the week," Joe said carefully. "It's cheaper that way isn't it?"
The office clerk nodded and pointed to a sign behind their heads. Both teens turned to look. '10% discount on weekly rentals!' it read.
"Sounds good," Joe said as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He laid the bank debit card on the counter as the clerk pulled out a clipboard with a form.
"Fill this out," she said as she took the card and turned toward the credit machine.
Joe handed the clipboard to Vanessa. "Fill this out," he said rather brusquely as he worked to get into character.
Vanessa took the clipboard meekly and filled out the form quickly. It didn't require much. As she gave the clipboard back to the clerk, she asked, "Is there somewhere nearby where the food is quick and cheap?"
"Gunter's is about two blocks down Magnolia." She pointed in the direction they had come.
"Thanks," Vanessa responded.
Joe took his card and filed it back in his wallet as the clerk said, "Room 304. There's no one of either side of you for the moment. Room service comes by at 11:00 unless the do not disturb sign is out." She pushed the old style set of keys across the counter. "Twenty-five dollar replacement fee for each key if you lose one."
"Okay," Joe said as they exited the office with the keys in hand. 304 was at the 'bottom' of the U so they climbed back into the Mustang to move the car over. Neither knew what to say after that office experience and both were dreading the room. After parking right outside their room door, Joe grabbed the suitcases from the trunk while Vanessa went to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. She pushed it open just as Joe came up behind her. The room lived up to their low expectations.
"You know, it looked a little cleaner on the website," Vanessa whispered to Joe.
"A lot cleaner. If this is how it looks after room service has been in, I'd hate to see it before." Joe stepped in with the suitcases and put them on the double bed that took up most of the room. Closing the door behind him, he looked around. Bed, two nightstands, mini-fridge, a small older tv mounted on a bracket to the wall, and lastly, a small table with two mismatched chairs. The bed looked lumpy and the lampshades were different and one of them had several cigarette burns. The room itself smelled of old smoke even though the room had a no smoking sign outside. Joe looked to Vanessa. "Do you want to check out the bathroom?"
Her wide eyes turned to him as she said, "I don't think I can handle that right now. How about I hang up our clothes while you check it out?"
Joe smiled and headed for the bath. He flipped on the lights and grimaced at the sight. The towels were stained and the toilet had a lot of rust stains although it did seem clean. He reached for to the polka-dotted shower curtain and drew in a deep breath before he pulled it back. He released the breath as he looked at the hair in the drain and rings around the tub. Would it be out of character for us to buy some tub cleaner? He thought. Calling back into the room, he said, "It could be worse, but let's not plan on taking any baths in here." Her tinkling laughter floated back to him and he smiled as he pulled the curtain back into place. Walking back into the bedroom, he saw that she had put most of the clothes into the closet. Those that weren't hung up were consolidated into one suitcase that now sat on the mini-fridge which was making odd sounds.
Vanessa was looking at the fridge as she spoke. "I don't think I need to have the cooling unit on to cover any snoring. I think the fridge will do that quite nicely." She grabbed their toiletry bags out of the suitcase and put them on the small table. "Is there room in the bathroom for these?"
"Nope. Pedestal sink."
"Figures," Vanessa grumbled. I guess we can leave this stuff here unless we bring some food back to eat here. Then we can just sit it back in the suitcase."
"Sound like a plan. And speaking of food, I'd like to get something to eat and maybe bring something back that we can just eat here tomorrow morning," Joe said as he pulled his keys out.
Vanessa took a last look around the room. "Fine. I was feeling really tired, but I can't say that I'm looking forward to sleeping in that bed."
"Me either," Joe replied as they headed back out to the car.
The drive to Gunter's was quick. Joe pulled into a space that wasn't in direct view of the restaurant. Turning off the car, he sat for a moment and then looked at Vanessa. "I know it's our cover, but I just want to apologize in advance. I know that I don't need to be abrasive all the time, but when I am… well, I just want to say I'm sorry."
Vanessa gave him a small smile. "I plan to be meek most of the time, but I may say a few things back every once in a while. Be sure that you react to that and don't be upset when I flinch or anything. It's part of the act."
"Let's do this then," Joe said. Vanessa nodded and they exited car to see if Gunter's was any cleaner than the Osprey Inn.
There was literally a bell over the door that made a ringing sound as they entered. A sign was posted at the front that said to seat yourself, so Joe and Vanessa made their way to a booth with a window. The vinyl upholstery had a few cracks and the laminate tabletop was showing its age, but it was all clean. The teens practically breathed a sigh of relief together. Vanessa leaned forward and whispered to Joe, "Do you think they'd let us sleep in these booths?"
He smiled back and said, "Let's wait and check the bathrooms before we try to book a room for the night."
Vanessa laughed softly and pulled a menu from behind the napkin dispenser and handed one to Joe when she pulled out two instead of one. It only took a few minutes to make their selection so when the waitress came over, they were ready.
They only talked briefly during the meal as they were both hungry. Joe also pulled the menu back out and said, "They serve a really inexpensive breakfast here. Are you up for eating here instead of our room?"
Vanessa made a face and said, "I actually dread eating anything in our room."
Joe had seen the waitress smiling at them when she had been to the table and she was coming back. They couldn't look like a sweet young couple, even here where no one might be looking. So he took the opportunity and said, "Well, you can look for a job too, you know. I'm not the only who needs to pay for the room."
Realizing what Joe was doing, Vanessa said, "Well, Jake, I can probably get a job faster than you."
Joe snorted and pushed his plate away. "I'm going to the bathroom. Be ready to go when I come back."
The waitress, who had been smiling, was now frowning as she came to lay the bill on the table. "I'm sure you'll be able to find a job quicker 'n him."
Vanessa gave a weak smile to the lady. "He's really not so bad," she said as she gently rubbed the side of her face. From the corner of her eye she saw the waitress frown. Yep, she's pegged Joe for a hitter. "He's just in a lot better mood when he has a job. It's hard for him, you know?"
The waitress, whose nametag said Betty, looked to the restroom area and back to the young girl at the table. "There's several construction companies in the area that are looking for workers. Is your fella any good at that kind of thing?"
Brightening, Vanessa said, "Yes he is. Can you give us the names?"
"Come by in the morning and I'll have the list for you," Betty said as she walked away.
Joe sat down with a scowl. "Are you ready?"
Vanessa then told him what Betty had said. He looked over to the waitress and caught her eye and nodded. Things would be even better if he could say that a waitress at Gunter's had told him about the construction company. He picked up the bill and went to the register. He grumbled a 'thank you' at Betty while Vanessa gave her a big smile.
When the pair left the restaurant, they were both smiling. The smiles were gone when the couple entered their shabby hotel room.
"Sleeping in the booth at the diner is looking more appealing all the time," Vanessa said as she put her purse on the table.
"Sleeping on the floor at the diner is more appealing than that bed," Joe added as he picked up the remote for the tv. After pressing the power button several times, he determined the remote was broke or the batteries were dead. So he stood in front of the unit and pressed the buttons manually. The tv worked, but it had two lines running parallel across the picture and there was a slight yellow glow in the upper right corner. Looking at the screen, he said to himself, "I guess it helps prevent theft."
The pair spent the next hour watching shows that were summer repeats while sitting in the two mismatched chairs from the table. Neither of them wanted to get into that bed before they had to. Finally, it was time so Joe went in and changed into his t-shirt and shorts for sleeping. When he came out he said, "I am going to want to burn these clothes when we get home."
Vanessa laughed as she gathered her things and headed into the bathroom. Joe was pulling back the covers and she didn't think she wanted to look at the bed just yet.
Joe heard the door click softly closed as he looked at the mattress. He could already see lumps in it. The sheets at least looked clean though there were some stains and he really didn't want to know what they were. With a sound that was more of a groan than a sigh, he sat on the edge of the bed and took off his sandals. He still had them on because there was no way he was putting his bare feet on that carpet. Lying down in the bed, he pulled up the sheet. The AC unit was doing okay but the room was warm enough that only a sheet would be needed.
The door to the bathroom opened and Vanessa came out and placed her things in her suitcase and then went to her side of the bed. "Well, it could have been worse," she said as she gazed at the sheets.
"Don't make that statement until you lay down on it."
Vanessa did as he stated and said, "Yes, you're right. It is worse. The pillow smells and I think there's a spring coming through under my right shoulder."
"I don't have any spring problems, but my side of the bed wants to slope towards yours," Joe said with a laugh.
"Just don't use it as an excuse to hog the bed," Vanessa joked back.
Joe smiled to himself as he turned over. He would be lucky if he didn't roll into her during the night. For this reason, he was glad that they had already had the chance to share a bed before this. Perhaps ORT had known how bad this hotel was going to be and had planned for it. Whatever the reason, he knew that Vanessa wouldn't take things the wrong way if he rolled into her during the night.
