A/N: I was absolutely amazed by all the reviews that the last chapter got. Thank you so much to everyone for reviewing, and for being so understanding about the delay in that last update. Luckily, this one didn't take nearly as long, and as promised, the action has picked up again. So please review and be sure to let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: Any of the characters mentioned in this chapter from the books are not mine. Alas…
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Frank stiffened when he heard Joe's news. Like Nancy, a part of him had known what Joe was going to say, that Krieger was somehow out of jail and back in their lives. But suspecting it and confirming it were two different things. John Krieger was a man that they had first met as Jonathan Kimball, who had conned the Hardys into believing that he was a State Department agent and had them unwittingly smuggle a bomb into Egypt for him. Nancy and Bess had gotten dragged into the whole mess when Frank and Joe had asked them to pose as their wives, thinking that they were on an undercover operation for the State Department rather than the carrier mules for a terrorist plot. Ultimately, the detectives were able to foil Krieger's plan to assassinate a U.S. Senator, but along the way, they had learned that Krieger was the worst kind of criminal: power-hungry, ruthless, and a man determined to always get his way. Frank had watched him entomb a young girl alive – he knew that Krieger wouldn't hesitate to do much worse to their fathers. When he looked at his brother, and then down at Nancy, who was standing next to him frozen, he knew that they were thinking the same thing. Joe was the first to break the tense silence.
"Every intelligence agency already has an eye out for him. I alerted the FBI to our suspicions that he may have been behind the Peabody bombing this morning. Right now, John Krieger is a very wanted man."
Frank released Nancy and began pacing. "Krieger's not going to be that easy to find." He dragged a hand through his hair in frustration. "We're talking about the guy who was able to dupe us into thinking he was a State Department agent and nearly blow up a U.S. Senator, and who has now somehow figured out how to escape from an Egyptian jail cell."
"Did Mahfouz escape too?" Nancy asked. Both brothers turned to look at her. "We know Krieger had an accomplice when he kidnapped our fathers, and since he worked with Mahfouz before…" She trailed off, unconsciously rubbing her wrists, remembering the ghost of injuries incurred when fighting with the hulking brute that Krieger had used to do his dirty work in Egypt. Frank caught the gesture and frowned.
"Mahfouz is still in jail. I checked," Joe replied. "Apparently loyalty is not one of Krieger's stronger suits."
"Neither is humanity," Frank muttered. Joe's gaze darkened, and Nancy gave an involuntary shudder. Given the impact of Joe's news, coupled with the intense moments she had shared with Frank just before, she felt the sudden need to be alone for a bit. She gave the brothers a forced smile. "I need to grab a shower. I'll be back in a few minutes."
Frank's eyes met hers, and in them was a message that she could clearly read.
Later, his look promised. She knew that she and Frank still had unresolved things to discuss, but she also knew that it would have to wait until they brought their fathers home safely. She returned Frank's gaze evenly.
I'm not going anywhere.
Despite everything, Frank smiled.
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The slight smile stayed on his face even after Nancy left the room, not fading until Joe cleared his throat meaningfully. Frank braced himself for the inquisition, and Joe didn't disappoint him.
"So…" Joe drawled.
Frank just gave him a bland look. "Drop it, Joe. I'm not in the mood for this right now."
To his surprise, Joe did drop it. His brother's face instantly sobered. "You're right, Frank. Now's not the time. So I'll just say that I'm happy for you and Nancy."
"Thanks, Joe," Frank replied, surprise and relief evident in his voice.
Joe nodded, then averted his gaze from Frank's. He drew a deep breath, his shoulder blades tightening perceptibly.
"Do you think Dad's still alive, Frank?"
He didn't ask Frank if he thought their father was okay and unharmed – Joe may have been an optimist, but he was also a realist. And he knew what a man like John Krieger was capable of. He would not be kind to the fathers of the people that had put him away in prison.
Frank laid a firm hand on his brother's shoulder, causing Joe to meet his eyes again. He gave him a level look.
"I don't know, Joe. And that's the honest truth. But I do know that Dad's counting on us to find him and bring these men to justice. And I know that we're not going to let him down."
The determination in Frank's eyes brought out an answering response in Joe's own, and he covered Frank's hand with his. "You're right, Frank. And when I lay my hands on that bastard Krieger…"
"Joe…" Frank began warningly.
Joe gave him a small impish grin. "Right. Cool down, Joe. Getting all hot-headed isn't going to get you anywhere," Joe said, in such a perfect imitation of his brother's lectures that Frank couldn't help but grin. He lifted the hand from Joe's shoulder swiftly, cuffing his younger brother on the side of the head. Joe gave a playful yelp, and Frank chuckled. But he sobered again quickly.
"Did you learn anything else helpful from the FBI?"
Joe shrugged his shoulders. "Not much. All they know is that a man by the name of Jared Fugazzi landed at JFK airport in New York almost three weeks ago. Krieger's been known to use that alias before, so it raised a red flag on their system. Unfortunately, by the time they confirmed that Krieger had escaped from prison in Egypt and sent agents to the airport, he was long gone. They were able to spot a man matching his description on the security cameras, but all they can tell is that he got into a black executive car at passenger pick-up. The plates, of course, were stolen, and the windows were too dark to get an ID on the driver from the security footage."
"Fugazzi, huh? Pretty clever of him to use a name that's slang for 'fake'," Frank muttered disgustingly. "How did the Bureau take the news of Krieger's possible involvement in the Peabody bombing?"
Joe gave his brother a mild glare. "Yeah, I forgot to thank you for letting me deliver that particular piece of news. Let me tell you, Assistant Director Burr is not too happy with us at the moment. He didn't lay into me too hard since he has bigger problems on his hands at the moment, but I have a feeling we're in for it when we get back to DC."
Frank winced. "Sorry, bro. I can't imagine that was pleasant. Still, Krieger's going to be damned hard to find, and we can use all the help we can get."
Joe sighed. "Face it, Frank. Despite the fact that every agency is on the lookout for this man, we're still no closer to finding him than we were when we first got those phone calls telling us Dad had been kidnapped. They haven't even left us a note this time, or at least, not one that we've found yet."
Before Frank could respond, a chime from his laptop interrupted him. He had turned the computer on in the morning to check his e-mail, and had never shut it down after flipping on the television and seeing the news report about the Peabody bombing. Frank knew his computer the way a race car driver knew a beloved car -- every sound, every nuance was familiar to him. He didn't even have to look at the screen to know that an e-mail had arrived in his inbox. Not his work inbox, but a private one that only a few people knew of. One of those people was Michael, his friend at the Bureau who was working on getting the flight records for them for all chartered flights out of River Heights.
He looked at Joe and saw the same thought reflected in his brother's eyes. They both darted to the computer at the same time, nearly tripping over each other in the process.
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Nancy came out of her room, toweling her hair dry, just in time to see the brothers' mad dash to the desk. Frank got there first, and leaned over the back of the chair to use the computer, not even bothering to sit down. Joe leaned over his shoulder anxiously.
Nancy stopped mid-rub, her hair still in the towel, staring at the brothers in confusion. "What's going on, guys?"
"Frank just got an e-mail," Joe murmured distractedly, not even bothering to look over at her. Seconds later, he gave a whoop of delight. "It's from Michael! He got us the flight records!"
Nancy dropped the towel in the middle of the floor, running over to join the brothers. She put a hand on each of their shoulders, craning her neck forward through the gap between their heads to look at the computer screen. There were seven people total who had taken a chartered flight from River Heights to New York within the time frame that they had specified to Michael, all pairs except for one individual passenger. Frank scrolled through the list of names slowly, so that they could read all of them carefully.
Amber Valletta / Dr. Jason Andrews
Robin Damons
Jan Reckler / Dr. Oscar Wen
Hubert Long / Will Davies
"Dammit," Nancy muttered softly. "There's no sign of Dad's name on here, nor John Krieger, or Jonathan Kimball, or a Jared Fugazzi. Joe, do you see any of Krieger's other aliases on here?"
Joe shook his head. "Not a single one."
"I guess it was too much to hope that it would be easy," Frank said, sighing in frustration. Nancy squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, even though her own stomach was still in knots. For a moment, she had felt such a spurt of anticipation when she heard that Michael's e-mail had arrived. She hadn't consciously admitted it to herself until now, but his e-mail was the one ray of hope that she had been holding onto, the one real lead that she thought might help them finally find their fathers. As she felt despair begin to grip her again, the sound of the telephone ringing pierced the silence that had fallen over the room. All three detectives visibly jolted at the sound and looked at each other, the same thought running through their heads: Who could be calling them here?
And the same answer followed that thought: The kidnappers.
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Joe was standing closest to the phone. He waited for the current ring to finish, then reached over and hit the speaker button so that they could all listen. The voice that came over the line was Krieger's; after having a name to put to the voice, there was no doubt left in any of the detectives' minds that it was him.
"Mr. and Mr. Hardy!" Krieger chuckled over his own greeting. "A very fine morning today, isn't it?"
Nancy frowned at the omission of her name. Could it be he doesn't know that I wasn't in the explosion? She glanced at Frank, whose brows were drawn together in thought. He met her eyes, and his look plainly answered, I don't know.
Joe's voice was laced with venom when he responded. "I don't know, Krieger. It takes a pretty twisted person to consider a day when innocent people are blown to pieces a 'fine morning'."
Krieger laughed heartily. "Now, now, Joseph. I know that you must be mourning for your friend Ms. Drew, but there's no need to be hostile. After all, you and your brother are still alive. And I assure you, her death is no great loss to the world."
"You son of a bitch!" Frank lunged towards the phone, as if he could throttle the very life out of the other man through it. Joe and Nancy both jumped, startled by Frank's outburst. He gripped the desk tightly, his voice shaking with anger. "You bastard," he spat. "I swear to God, when I get my hands on you…"
Nancy wrapped a hand around Frank's forearm tightly, stopping the angry flow of his words. She could feel his muscles bunching under her hand as he fought for control. Krieger seized the pause in Frank's tirade to laugh again.
"So that's how it is, is it, Frank?" he asked chillingly. "Angry now that I've killed off your girlfriend? Don't worry, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. I'm sure that you'll find someone else who you'll be just as happy with. Of course, that is, if you live long enough for that." He laughed again, amusing himself with the thought.
"You're just a bundle of hilarity today, aren't you, Krieger?" Joe growled. "But rather than giving my brother advice on his love life, why don't you give us the next clue so that we can find our fathers and come kick your ass in person?"
Krieger's voice changed from amused to menacing. "If I had it my way, Hardy, you and your whole goddamn family would be dead already, instead of us playing these little games. But, unfortunately, I'm not the one making that call, or else you and your brother would have followed in Ms. Drew's explosive footsteps."
"Playing second fiddle to someone else, Krieger? I didn't think that was quite your style," Joe taunted. "You must be losing your touch, having to take orders from someone else."
"Shut up, cowboy, and listen up," Krieger snarled. "Lightning may never strike the same place twice, but Joseph Hardy does. That destructive force of nature is nothing compared to the destruction that you wreak upon those you love. You couldn't save the first one, but follow this clue, and you might actually get lucky the second time around. What is a namesake, after all, but a replacement?"
"What, no rhyming this time?" Joe asked mockingly.
The sound of a click as Krieger hung up was his only response.
"Well, then," Nancy said, breaking up the silence that followed. "I think it's a safe bet to say that the clue isn't directed at me, since according to Krieger, I'm already dead. She attempted a feeble smile and let go of her grip on Frank's arm. He caught her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Who knows, we might actually be able to use that to our advantage, Nan. You could turn out to be our secret weapon." He smiled at her, and then his expression turned serious once again. "Now as for this clue, any ideas, anyone?"
"From the sound of it, I'd say that it was directed at me," Joe said. Frank and Nancy nodded their heads in agreement. "He said something about the destruction that I wreak upon my loved ones. Dad would be the obvious answer to that, since he was apparently kidnapped because of this grudge that Krieger's got against us."
"Except that we have no idea where Dad is, so how would this clue even begin to tell us where to start looking?" Frank countered.
"Right," Nancy agreed. "And if he was referring to your Dad, then why only direct it at you, Joe? Krieger has just as much reason to hate Frank as you, and I would think he blames both of you equally, not to mention me."
"Also, what was that bit about a namesake being a replacement? That didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the clue," Frank pondered.
"He called me 'cowboy'," Joe murmured. He saw Frank look at him questioningly and met his brother's eyes, as a horrifying realization began to dawn on him. "He said that I couldn't save the first one, but I might be able to save the second one. There's two of them -- her namesake."
He saw the horror reflected in his brother's eyes as Frank reached the same conclusion that he had. "Oh my God," Frank whispered.
"What is it?" Nancy asked, looking back and forth between the brothers. "Who are there two of?"
"Iola," Joe whispered, his eyes fixing on Nancy, the terror in them burning bright.
Nancy's look was one of confusion. "But I thought Iola's…I mean, Iola was killed in an explosion a long time ago, right?"
Frank's grip on her hand tightened.
"Chet's daughter is also named Iola."
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