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 Note: Since the last chapter was short, I'm posting tonight instead of Tuesday. Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy the chapter. ;-)
Chapter Eighteen
The following Friday a little after 6 p.m….
Frank leaned up against the wall by the board that had the pairings for the following night. The week had been tense at the gym. Not because of him and Joe but because of the group that considered themselves to be his friends. They went out of their way to make comments about Joe, Vanessa, and Frank and Vanessa. While it was all lies and smack talk, it was a constant barrage from the group and it wasn't something he could really complain about. Finally, the pairings were announced and they could have their one last verbal taunt and that part would be over except for the banter before the match. Frank looked down the hall as the elevator dinged and watched his brother step out. He hadn't brought Vanessa this time.
Pushing away from the wall, Frank said, "Well, you're getting your wish, Petrov."
"My wish is for you to be out cold on the mat. You already conceding the fight, David?" Joe asked with a smart tone as he advanced down the hallway with a swagger.
Frank smiled coldly. "That would be the only way you'd win."
Joe glanced behind his brother to see the words: Main Event: Winder/Petrov. "We'll see what happens tomorrow night."
"Yeah, we will," Frank added. A few ugly comments were made by Marcus and a couple of others, but Joe didn't respond but just walked back to the elevator. Frank knew how the fight was supposed to end: Joe on the mat with symptoms mimicking a heart attack.
.**********.
Saturday evening…
Joe stood inside the door to the apartment and looked at Vanessa. "You ready?"
She smiled at him. "Yes. You have the hard part. I just have to do a little computer work. No bumps or bruises for me. How about you?"
"Yeah. I've got the pill in the waistband where you fixed the pocket. And the beta blocker medicine is in the front pocket of my bag." The pill was placed in a spot that wouldn't get much pressure and the beta blocker medicine was a fake but would validate his claim to a heart condition. Joe looked at her. If things went as expected, Vanessa would be back by the last break between rounds. She was to blow him a kiss if everything went as planned and then he'd take the pill. It was supposed to take effect in less than five minutes. "See you later."
As he reached for the door, she impulsively pulled him into a hug. "Be careful, Joe."
He chuckled. Vanessa had been about as protective and concerned as Frank. "Sure." He gave her a hug back and then left to catch the van. If Vanessa didn't blow him that kiss, they would have to try again. He was hoping that everything worked the first time. He didn't relish a second fight with his brother.
.**********.
Juan Fernand and Bobby had the match-up right before the main event. It was a pairing that drew a lot of interest as the crowd wanted to see how the Head Hunter responded to his loss of the previous week. This was going to be very beneficial as it would keep Bobby away from Joe when it was his turn to pick the locks. Right now Frank was making his way down the hallway. His friends had moved over to harass Joe and for once he didn't mind. If they were focused on Joe, they wouldn't be watching what he was doing. Moving close to the office door, Frank took the two tools he had brought and went to work on the bottom lock first. ORT had trained him with lock picking but it was something he already knew how to do and so did Joe. They were both very good at it and sometimes raced each other to see who was faster. The bottom lock was done and he took a moment to check the area and it was all clear. Time to finish the second lock. He had just completed the process when he heard voices. The fight was between rounds and people were making a trip to the restroom. Frank moved casually away from the door. Joe's turn.
Entering the locker room, Frank was surprised to see that Marcus had Joe pinned against the wall. "What's going on here?" he asked loudly. "Are you trying to mess up my fight, Dupree?"
Marcus pushed away from Joe and said, "Of course not. I was just tired of his lip."
"Well, you do anything to injure him and he can whine that we roughed him up before the fight. And if that happens, I'll be rather upset." Frank's tone was low and serious.
Marcus looked properly chastised and mumbled, "Sorry."
Frank gave Joe a small nod.
"I won't need an excuse. I'm planning to win," Joe said as he walked to the door. "Think I'll leave for now 'cause something smells in here."
.**********.
Once in the hallway, Joe picked up his pace. He said a quick prayer as he put his hand on the office knob. It opened easily. After closing the door quietly behind him, Joe moved over and made quick work of the two locks on the server door. He opened the door and looked inside. Everything was as they expected. The non-vented cooling unit hummed quietly in the corner keeping the space cool. The server, monitor and keyboard were on a desk opposite the cooling unit. Joe closed the door and went back to the office door. Pulling out the dental mirror that Vanessa had bought him, Joe was able to check the hallway in both directions. Quietly he slipped out and pulled the door closed. He carefully put the tools back in the bag that Vanessa had sewn to the inside of his waistband. Now he just needed to transfer the tools to his gym bag.
.**********.
Vanessa sat stiffly in her chair beside Teresa. Joe was a 'bouncer' when he was nervous. She, on the other hand, tended to stiffen up. "What?" she asked absentmindedly.
"I said it's going to be okay. Even if he loses, he'll be okay," Teresa said with a smile. Bobby had lost but had put on a respectable performance. He had received a bloody nose however and was sure to be very verbal about his pain over the coming days.
Giving her a wan smile, Vanessa said, "Yeah, I know. It's just-" She broke off as Frank and Joe made their way into the room and the noise of the room swelled. The crowd was much larger than the two other fights she had attended. Zendel's was looking to get a lot of money for their illegal activities this night.
Both brothers had to walk right past her to get into the ring and as Joe passed her, he winked at her. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. It was the signal saying they were a go for the mission. Now she just had to wait a few minutes before leaving the room 'due to nerves.'
.**********.
The bell sounded and the two brothers circled each other. Never the one for patience, Joe stepped forward to land a series of jabs to Frank's mid-section which Frank moved away from and then countered with a round house kick toward Joe's head. However, Joe was prepared and backed out of the way so that the kick missed. Knowing that Frank would be off-balance for only a moment after that kick Joe rushed forward to do a one leg takedown but Frank went into a sprawl defense and ended up pushing Joe to the mat.
Joe had to think fast, he was in prime position to be submitted and he doubted that Vanessa had even left the room yet. He felt Frank's legs lock around his waist as he was pulled back onto his butt. Frank couldn't be easy on him; it would be too obvious. Joe had to use all his knowledge in order to offset Frank's superior skill. Knowing he had to protect his head and neck, Joe was able to grab and immobilize Frank's arm. His brother was able to pull free a couple of times but Joe was able to reestablish his grip and then slide his head under one of Frank's arms. Twisting his body, he was able to get an arm around the back of Frank's neck but he wasn't able to lock into anything as Frank's legs were holding him too tight. The rest of the round was uneventful as neither could break free. As the bell sounded, Joe decided that the round might not have been exciting for the crowd, but it would help them physically go the needed five rounds.
Searching the crowd as he stood, Joe saw that Vanessa's seat was empty. He wasn't sure when she left, but hopefully she was in the process of transferring the files. Joe kept his eyes on the water bottle in his hand or the crowd on the other side of the fencing. His own body was pulsing from the hits that Frank had delivered and he knew that when he looked at his brother, he'd see the marks that his own appendages had made on his brother. Joe wasn't looking forward to it. His introspection was cut short as he heard the referee call. Joe turned back to the center of the ring as the bell sounded and Frank opened with another roundhouse kick.
.**********.
Vanessa worked quickly. She had a small flashlight hanging from a lanyard around her neck to provide lighting. There had been no problem escaping the fight area once Frank took Joe to the mat as the crowd was drawn to the action. Teresa had patted her back sympathetically as she had stood to leave. As expected, the door for the office had been unlocked and she had proceeded directly to the closet. After putting the flashlight around her neck, she had entered the closet and closed the door. Now she was working with only the light from the flashlight and the few LED lights on the electronics. Following the procedures she had been given precisely, she soon had the flashdrive working its magic. So far everything was proceeding as planned and she didn't have to use any of her own technology skills and that was fine with her.
There had been a slight hum at one point from the machinery and a variety of numeric sequences had flashed across the monitor. Now words were popping up on the screen: 'connecting…' ' downloading…' and now the word 'transferring….' Each one had blinked on the screen like a pulse. Pulse. I wonder how Joe is doing. She looked at her watch; she had been in the room almost ten minutes. The last seven of those minutes had been at the transferring phase. A beep sounded and she looked up from her watch. The word 'installing' was flashing on the screen. She had been told that when this happened, it should be less than two minutes as the flashdrive installed the needed program to initiate a file transfer whenever the server again connected to the internet. It was a background program that would go unnoticed by the group and would alert ORT to any changes to files or funds transfers that they needed to check.
Finally, the system shut down on its own. Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief. She turned off the monitor to leave things as she found them and then removed the flashdrive. Turning the flashlight to an extremely low setting, she exited the closet and let her eyes adjust to the low light level in the room. Pulling a special tool from her purse, she quickly reset the locks. It was a shame the boys hadn't been able to use this in the unlocking process, but the tool would have been harder for them to have smuggled in in their limited attire.
Vanessa glanced around the office. All was it had had been. Surprisingly, there were no security cameras in this room. All of them were located in the gym above, the entrance in the upper hall, and the stairwell. Carstairs or another of Zendel's administrators always locked up the office before the fights began. It was unknown but suspected that they did a check of the office after the fights. When the fighters left the complex there were always Zendel people still there. Now at the door, she stood completely still as she looked out the crack in the door. This was the most dangerous part for her. Using an identical mirror to the one she had given Joe, she checked the opposite direction; no one was in sight. She exited the room and quickly used the lock tool to reset both locks. Putting it back in her purse, she made her way back to the cacophony of the fight area.
Looking at the electronic board on the wall as she exited the hallway, she saw that there were four minutes left in the fourth round. Made it with a little time to spare. Her eyes moved quickly to the fight and she winced as Frank aimed a hard kick at Joe's ribs.
.**********.
Joe knew his brother and had reasoned what moves he was most likely to make. When Frank aimed the kick at his ribs, Joe was ready for him and was able to grab his ankle. Jerking backwards he dropped Frank to the mat. However, Joe lost his advantage when Frank's ankle slipped from his grasp. The combination of sweat, blood, and Frank's strength kept him from holding on. Probably just as well because he was pretty sure he could have submitted Frank with just a few moves from that position and he hadn't had a chance to see if Vanessa was back. Frank was maneuvering on his back watching him warily. The question was whether to let him up or take it to the ground. He moved around until he could see the clock but still watch Frank. Two and a half minutes to go, Joe thought. No choice. Rushing up, he knocked Frank's leg to the side before he could kick at him and dropped into side control. For a few seconds, Joe did nothing but lay across Frank's upper body catching his breath. Then he rose up slightly to try to bring his body across so he could get a full mount. Not that he really wanted to do that as he could really hurt Frank with punches and elbows from that vantage point. The good thing was that Frank anticipated the maneuver and moved his own body so that he couldn't complete the move. The two of them spent the remainder of the time exchanging blows that didn't do major damage but added to their overall aches and pains. When the bell sounded, Joe rolled off and lay on the mat. He was fervently praying that when he got up he'd see Vanessa and she'd blow him a kiss.
He laid there for five seconds longer. It was long enough that the official came over and asked if he was okay. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little light-headed." Might as well go ahead and add a little more credence to my story, Joe thought as he got up. He'd already told Bobby that he was dizzy during the week when they were practicing. Once he was up, he looked to the spot where Vanessa had been seated and found she was back. He couldn't help give a mental thank you to God when she blew him a kiss. Joe's left leg throbbed with pain from the kicks he had received and he was sure he'd be walking with a limp for a day or two when this was over.
Moving over to the corner of the ring that was his area, he accepted a water bottle and towel from the Zendel's staff member. Using the towel to cover his movements, Joe's fingers searched for and found the small capsule. It was still intact. Bringing the towel up to dab at the bloody lip Frank had given him, he slipped the pill in his mouth. A swallow of water later and it was now a waiting game. Handing the water and towel back to the staff member, Joe turned to appraise his brother's condition.
Frank was blotting blood off his own face. Joe had opened a cut in Frank's left eyebrow in the second round with an elbow to the head when he had Frank on the mat. The cut was a lot like the one that Joe had gotten the previous week and it had bled profusely as all cuts to the face do. Joe grimaced at the knowledge that his brother's blood was literally on his hands, but then his was on Frank's. The blood from the cut had gotten into Frank's eye which had temporarily distracted him and Joe had been able to use the distraction to get in a few shots on Frank that he wouldn't have gotten without it. While neither brother wanted to hurt the other, it couldn't look like the fight was rigged or that they weren't giving 100%. The blood from Frank's cut was on the mat and all over both of them making them a visually grisly pair. The crowd, however, seemed to be thriving on it. The match was living up to the hype that Zendel's had made it. No one had gone five rounds with Winder before this and the crowd was almost in a frenzy at the possibility that Winder would receive his first defeat.
The official waved them back in to the middle and the bell sounded. Two minutes in after a series of punches and kicks, Joe could feel the medicine taking effect. His breathing was shortened and his pulse seemed to be picking up. Joe moved in to get Frank in a clinch against the fencing. "It's starting," he whispered to his brother as they exchanged hits to each others' ribs.
Then Frank pushed him away and brought a knee up hard into Joe's mid-section. Joe backpedalled trying to get away and catch his breath. But the medicine was doing its work and he couldn't catch his breath and Frank was right after him. A kick to the body and Joe went down. Frank went down with him and had Joe's leg bending at an unhealthy angle within a few seconds. With Joe's disorientation he didn't stand a chance of getting out of the hold and quickly tapped his brother's leg before his knee was put under more pressure.
When the pressure released, Joe continued to lie on the mat working to control his breathing. He could see his brother hopping around the ring with his arms raised in the air. But still, he did nothing to move. From the corner of his eye, Joe saw the official kneel beside him.
"You okay, Jake?" he asked.
"Heart," Joe whispered. "Medicine... in the front pocket... of my bag," he managed to get out.
The official waved to someone outside of the ring. In moment, Cal Harper was inside. Cal was the EMT that helped with injuries in the matches.
"What is it?" Cal asked brusquely.
"Jake says it's his heart and he has meds in his bag."
"What kind of meds, Jake?" Cal asked as he put fingers to Joe's neck.
"Beta... blocker," Joe whispered.
Cal's eyes went wide as he jumped up. "Keep him here. Don't let him up."
"Don't worry," Joe haltingly whispered. "I don't… have any urge… to get up."
Cal left the ring as the referee went to give the official ruling of Winder winning the match.
"Trying to find a way to get out of losing to me?" Frank asked as he walked by after the announcement.
"Nah, you got me… this time," Joe said breathlessly. "If I didn't have this problem, I'd have had you though," Joe couldn't resist a smile.
Frank snorted. "Like I said, excuses." With that he walked away.
Joe continued to lay there until Harper came back with a pill and some water. Raising Joe's head, he gave him the medicine. From his sitting position, Joe could see that the crowd hadn't dissipated and that they were extremely interested in what was going on in the ring. Then he heard a voice.
"I'm telling you, mister. I'm going in there. Now!"
Joe smiled. Vanessa. In seconds she was kneeling beside him, cupping his face in her hands. "Are you okay, Jake? What happened?"
"I'm fine now," he said. "Just need to sit somewhere for a bit." Joe stood carefully and Vanessa helped to steady him.
Harper looked at him carefully. "Let's go to the office."
Joe maintained his calm as he asked, "Office?"
"Yes, the office. It's too noisy out here and the locker room will be just as bad. I need to listen to your heart and you'll need to explain what happened to Carstairs." Harper nodded his head to the side and Joe could now see the man waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
"Oh," he said. Joe, Vanessa, Harper, and Carstairs all made their way to the office. Joe prayed that the room looked untouched and there wouldn't be any questions they couldn't answer.
