Chapter 30

Nancy came trotting down the stairs and upon reaching the ground level, hooked arms with the nearest police office and began dragging him along. "Come with me," she'd ordered. "Con, I'm borrowing your man and a car." No one questioned her and Con barely glanced in her direction, he was too intent on assisting with Joe.

The paramedics had arrived not long after Fenton had gone up onto the roof and had immediately gone to Joe's aid, but Joe kept on protesting and insisting they should be sent up to Frank first. He was being wilfil and refusing to let anyone examine him properly, then a deal was struck that if one of the medical staff went to tend to Frank, then Joe would allow the other to at least examine his bandages. Upon them being removed however, Joe had begun hemorrhaging.

"Whoa! Don't move Joe, just lie really still – you'll be okay – someone go and fetch that other paramedic back, right now!" Con ordered as the blood finally found an outlet and started to run freely.

"What's happening?" they heard Fenton call down the stairs.

"Don't worry Fenton, paramedics are here." Con yelled up in reply as a hand grabbed his own and forced it down on top of a pressure pad. He mock-glared at Joe, "You're your own worst enemy, sport," he said.

So the other medic had returned from the stairs and backed out of the bargain to help his colleague stabalize their patient.

But then a few seconds later, Fenton shouted: "I need some help up here!" An officer who'd been standing on the stairs immediately started making his way up.

"What's going on?" Joe muttered. Unable to get Con to hear him as the Lieutenant was staring upwards, and everyone was making a clamorous noise. He put his hand out to get his friend to acknowledge him.

"Sorry, did you say something, buddy?" Con asked, leaning down.

"What's going on up there?"

"Don't worry about that." Con addressed one of the paramedics. "Can one of you go up?"

"Sorry, we can't leave this one yet, but another ambulance is on its way."

There were so many people around him that Joe was feeling more than a little claustrophobic. He knew that he was losing a lot of blood, but he didn't think there was any need for the amount of bodies to be leaning over him as there were. He was feeling hemmed in, starting to panic, the cacophony of noise bearing down on him like a solid object, crushing him. Someone was trying to put a line into his arm, someone else was pushing down on his side, a mask was being forced over his face, and there were so many bodies that he couldn't tell who was working on him and who was just watching the show. He began to lash out and push them away, hyperventilating. He was in a lot of pain and no one was telling him anything or apparently even listening. He was clearly demonstrating signs of shock.

"Come on guys," Con finally said to everyone, battling with one arm against Joe's thrashing limbs, helping the two paramedics. He raised his voice. "Give the kid some breathing space. Anyone here who is not medical or helping, can you move away from the immediate area? And one of you find out what's happening with the other ambulance. Come on, move it!" Then one of Joe's flaying arms whacked him in the hip. "Ouch! Joe – try to calm down will ya kiddo!" He addressed two officers who were loitering at the foot of the stairs. "Can one of you go up again and see if you can help, and Bach…" he pointed to the other, "come here and give us a hand."

Finally there were four people left behind, five including Joe.

"Relax, Joe." Con ordered again, all four of them having to lay steadying hands on him and Bach actually having to sit across his legs before he'd stop battling.

"Con, please – find out what's happening," Joe begged as something was injected quickly into his arm. "Just go and see."

"If it'll make you relax, I'll go up. Just don't make any more trouble for these guys, just do as you're told," he said. He guided Officer Bach's hand to take over pressing down firmly on the compress and then left to go up to the roof.

Shortly he was back again. "For once, your brother's causing more complications than you," he said evasively as he ran past and out into the corridor. "Ambulance is here, I'm going to guide them in."

The next thing Joe knew, he was curiously on his side, on a gurney (though he couldn't recall being lifted onto it) and was being wheeled out as a second gurney was passing him, and then he knew he was tripping because his dad passed him with Con and they were arguing loudly and fighting. Those were the last things he remembered seeing, until he woke up in his hospital bed the next morning.

"What's your name?" Nancy asked the comandeered officer as she moved towards the lockers.

"Officer Rodden."

"Hello Officer Rodden. I'm Nancy and I need your help. I need you to run me to Bayport Hospital and it's something of an emergency." Then Nancy told a white lie and dropped a name into the mix: "Lieutenant Riley will want you to cooperate fully with me, he's aware of the situation." Nancy mentally crossed her fingers that if they came into contact with Con, that he would just agree with her and not get all 'old fashioned'.

Rodden nodded his understanding and stood at her shoulder observing as Nancy counted the lockers until she came to the one Frank had directed her to – Joe's old locker. She put the key in and opened the door, the inside was full of text books, owned by whoever now had use of the storage space. A picture of a famous rock star was stuck to the other side of the door.

As directed by Frank, Nancy ran her hand along the inner-ridge of the door lining until her fingers stopped against something solid. It took some leverage and time, but the memory stick finally came free. It was a small, black, innocent looking thing that weighed nothing in her hand. "Do you realise all the trouble you're causing?" Nancy asked it, throwing it up and catching it. "Come on, let's go," she said to the confused looking officer and held up her prize to show him. "Believe it or not, this little thing could destroy us all if we don't destroy it first!"

And then Con went running past them and pushed his way through the outer door. Nancy watched him go and then followed after and found him standing in the middle of the driveway beckoning urgently to a second ambulance that was making its way to the front of the school. "We need you inside and fast!" he shouted.

"Con?" Nancy asked, approaching him and tapping him on the shoulder.

"Nancy? I thought you'd gone."

"You just passed me in the corridor. Is this for Frank? What's happened? Why all the panic? He seemed fine when I just left him, beat up, but fine."

"Nancy, he's…I don't know how to describe it, it's weird…he's…shut down, I suppose – at least, that's what Fenton said."

"Shut down? What does that mean?"

Con shrugged his shoulders and circled his hand helplessly next to his head. "I can't explain it. All I know is that he's not responding, but he's not unconscious either. Took one too many knocks to the head, probably, those guys worked him over pretty thoroughly. We need to get him and Joe both to the hospital, Joe's in a bad way too."

"Not responding…" Nancy muttered and thought back to the time when she'd near enough had to lead Frank back to the car on a leash when he'd gone down outside Joe's hospital window. He's been pretty unresponsive that night too. She twirled the memory stick in her fingers before looking back towards the school, torn between returning to her boyfriend to help, or venturing forward into the unknown. "Is he going to die?" she asked.

Con was shocked, "God no! It's not that bad. Why would you even think to…"

"I just needed to know," she said and bit her lip, "Sorry, sometimes I'm guilty of bluntness. I'm just weighing my options." She looked back down at the stick and made the decision to tread the path Frank had asked her to take. After all, he'd gone to a lot of trouble to keep the key from the bad guys, he and Joe both, and they'd both paid heavily – nearly the ultimate price!

"Is that the memory stick you were talking about?" Con suddenly asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes it is."

"But I thought they'd flown away with it?"

Nancy smiled slightly, despite her worries. "So did they. Frank pulled the rug out from under them by passing them a dummy. I said I'd destroy it for him, and that's what I'm going to do. It's the only thing we can do now to stop the gang from coming after him and us again. I'm going to get Vanessa to help me with her computer."

Con looked off into the sky towards where the helicopter had been seen and heard flying away. "I don't like this," he decided and turned to Rodden. "Make sure you stick to this girl like glue. Don't let her out of your sight and do everything she tells you. The men who did this are still on the loose and they'll be looking for that memory stick. Take her back to the hospital and team up with Anderson. Is your firearm loaded?"

Rodden nodded and slapped the holster. "Yessir."

"Good – get her out of here!" Con said and made to move quickly towards the building again.

Nancy gripped his trailing hand, pulling him up short. "Con, look after Frank and Joe, won't you?"

"You didn't need to ask me that. Go and do what you need to do, just be careful…all of you! Rodden, get her out of here, that's an order!" he repeated, firmly pushing her away.

Rodden took Nancy forcibly by the elbow and they jogged towards one of the squad cars closest to the front gates. As they moved, Nancy heard Con yell to the paramedics. "Hurry up, we need to get the brothers and Fenton Hardy out of here now, it's not safe for them!"

Rodden opened the back door for her and nearly pushed her in. Nancy didn't argue that she should sit up front, just ripped off the bulletproof vest and welcomed being able to sit back and curl herself into the darkest corner so Rodden couldn't see her tears. Recognising the urgency of the situation, Rodden hit the blue lights and siren and shot out through the gates. If he saw her crying, he certainly didn't remark upon it.

Presently they were entering the hospital grounds and Rodden was climbing out and opening the door again so Nancy could exit. A couple walking into the hospital looked her up and down, obviously assuming she must have been up to no good and had been caught, but Nancy ignored them and led Officer Rodden into the building.

They rounded the corner to Joe's room and saw that Officer Anderson was still sitting fidgeting in one of the hard plastic seats outside in the corridor. He arose as they approached and Nancy went immediately to the door and swung it wide.

Vanessa jumped up and spun around to face her. "Nancy!" she exclaimed.

"Hi Van. It's okay, you can stop pretending now," Nancy said.

"Thank heavens for that, I was getting fed up with having this thing on my finger." She unclipped the heart monitor and set it down on the bedside cabinet, the alarm immediately began going off shrilly. Nancy ran forward and switched the machine off at the socket stopping the noise dead.

"What's going on?" Anderson asked, walking into the room. His eyes dropped to the bed and he finally saw what he'd been blind to the entire time he'd been outside the room. He strode forward and yanked the bedclothes back, revealing the man shape beneath that Vanessa and Joe had so carefully sculptured out of blankets and pillows. "Where's Joe Hardy?" he asked forcefully, turning to Vanessa, colour high on his face.

"Well, he's gone," Vanessa said, sheepishly. "Out the window."

"Not for very long," Officer Rodden said, "he's on his way back right now, in an ambulance. We've got orders to…"

But Anderson didn't wait to hear the rest of what Rodden had to say and began instead to verbally lash out at Vanessa, angry that he'd been duped and fearing the trouble he was going to get from his bosses once they found out he'd allowed Joe to escape out of his room so easily.

Rodden stepped forward to try and reassure him, raising his voice above Anderson's in an attempt to get his attention.

Vanessa ignored everything that was going on and turned to Nancy. "What's happened to Joe?"

"I'm not 100 sure, but I think he possibly pulled his stitches out. He managed to get up onto the roof somehow and I think he must have climbed up because we couldn't find another stairway and the only entrance was blocked."

"What about Frank, did Joe get to him fast enough?"

Nancy felt her eyes starting to itch again and blinked to try and push down her feelings. Vanessa sensed she was upset and her first instinct was to bridge some sort of physical contact, but Nancy avoided her gaze, not wanting the closeness, knowing she'd give in to her emotions entirely if anyone showed any sort of empathy. "Don't ask me any more questions, please Van. I actually don't know that much, but I do know that Joe was there for Frank and was in time to save his life. We didn't see what happened though, only the aftermath and the gang getting away in a helicopter."

"They got away?"

"Yes, and they'll be back so I need your help and time is of the essence." Nancy offered the memory stick to her new friend and Vanessa took it from her.

"Is this what I think it is?" she asked.

"Yes. Frank wants us to destroy it," she said, taking it back and tucking it into her top pocket.

Vanessa and Nancy watched each other for a few long seconds, Anderson still shouting behind them. Eventually, Vanessa turned on Anderson and drew herself up to her full height, which was a good two inches taller. "Shut up would you? We've got better things to worry about than listening to you raging on. Can't you see we're trying to talk? Joe wasn't under arrest – if he'd wanted to leave, he could have done so at any time. You were his bodyguard, not his prison-guard!"

Immediate silence, with Anderson actually taking a step back away from her. Rodden smirked.

"That's better," Vanessa said and turned back to Nancy. "You need the use of my computer, don't you?"

"That's exactly what I need. And Con has assigned Rodden and Anderson as our personal bodyguards-come-chauffeurs."

"And they're in uniform as well. Yay!" Vanessa said and smiled, dissipating the heavy atmosphere somewhat. "Okay, let's go," she said and reached out for her jacket, which was the precise time a cell phone began ringing in the room.

Nancy was confused. "That's my phone, but no one knows the number other than Frank – it couldn't be Frank, surely?" She pulled it from her pocket and looked at the screen seeing that it indicated that it was an 'Unknown Caller'. She frowned at Vanessa and answered it. "Hello?…" Nancy's face turned instantly thunderous. "How did you get this number…?" she hissed, "…actually, don't answer that, 'Phillip Hardiman' was it? Frank and me deserve to have our heads knocked together for not realising you'd be keeping tabs on us through that credit card! By hook or by crook, eh?"

Nancy listened for a while and then started pacing the room. "No, no way…NO…what part of no didn't you understand?…Frank's given me very clear instructions, and you weren't part of them!"

Vanessa opened up her arms to Nancy, wanting to know who it was and what was being said.

Nancy continued: "You're not getting your grubby hands on it, I'm finishing this whether it meets with your approval or not!" Nancy listened for a little longer and then finally reached the end of her tether. "Do you have any idea what you and your organisation have done to Frank and Joe? If you think I'm taking advice from you, you've got another thing coming…Get it into your thick skull – you're not getting it!" and with those final words echoing in the air, she disconnected the call.

Nancy turned back to Vanessa, her eyes blazing. "That was Arthur Gray. He wants the memory stick and said he's sending the Network in to retrieve it from me and he doesn't want it deactivated, which wasn't the agreement he had with Frank."

"The slime – after all Frank's been through to keep it hidden for them!" Vanessa spat.

"What's this about a memory stick?" Anderson asked, totally perturbed.

Rodden shrugged his shoulders at him. "All I know is that it's the other half of a programme and it has to be destroyed. Lieutenant Riley wants us to protect these girls and do anything they ask us to do."

"Oh great, so were babysitters now?"

"Don't be cheeky!" Vanessa said to Anderson. "What's the plan, Nancy?"

But Nancy wasn't listening to Vanessa, she was staring intently up through her eyelashes at Rodden and he was staring back at her. "Who are you?" she asked him.

Vanessa and Anderson looked from Nancy to Rodden, not understanding this latest development.

"What do you mean?" Rodden asked, evenly.

"You know what I mean, you just messed up, and by the look on your face you've realised it too. I never told you the memory stick was the other half of a programme."

"Yes you did, you said so at the locker just after you found it."

"Uh-uh, no I didn't. My exact words to you were: Believe it or not, this little thing could destroy us all if we don't destroy it first…"

"Well, you mentioned it to Lieutenant Riley then."

"Wrong again, you're grasping at straws. I showed the memory stick to Con and said I was intending on destoying it for Frank and that it was the only thing we could do now to stop the gang from coming after us. I didn't once mention that it was the one half of a programme." Nancy tapped her temple. "Don't try convincing me otherwise, I'm one of the lucky few who has a photographic memory. I'll ask you again – who are you?"

And then before their very eyes, Rodden's true physical attributes and demeanour were revealed. He drew himself more erect and his shoulders went back, his brow dropped and his jaw took on a firmer countenance. He was suddenly much older than he'd convinced them he was and certainly wasn't the inexperienced but dependable rooky cop he'd been portraying himself to be – he was so much more than that. He unsheathed his gun and pointed it straight at Nancy's forehead.

She scrambled back away, shocked as to the suddeness of their change in circumstances and her heart dropped to her stomach. Her retreat only halted by her back coming into contact with the wall.

Vanessa audibly gasped and her hands went up to her mouth.

"What are you doing, Rodden?" Anderson shouted out. "Lower your weapon, man!"

"Butt out James, you're out of your jurisdiction, and out of your depth. I'm with the Network which makes you my subordinate." Rodden didn't take his eyes off Nancy for a second. "You interfere in any way and I'll see to it that your career is over." He paused for effect, and then lifted his chin towards Nancy. "She's going to turn over the memory stick to me." He put his other palm out and waggled his fingers. "Give it to me, Miss Drew."

Nancy's eyes were wide with fear, but she shook her head quickly in response. "Do you know what? I'm not going to do that."

Rodden slowly cocked the hammer back on his weapon menacingly and levelled his gaze on her. "Yes, you are going to give me the stick, and you're going to do it now. I have my orders…"

Nancy's eyes were now closed, and yet she still shook her head.

"…and I have my orders!" said Anderson cutting in, and abruptly brought his nightstick down hard on Rodden's forearm, causing him to grunt, drop the gun and stagger, at which point, Anderson finished him off with a conk to the back of the skull. Rodden dropped like a stone at Nancy's feet.

Nancy immediately scooped up the weapon and tossed it onto the bed, far enough away that Rodden couldn't reach it again. "Man, that was scary!" she said and clutched her heart. "It's coming to something when you can't even trust the police!"

Vanessa burst out laughing. "James just kicked Rodden's ass!" she said and planted a kiss straight on Anderson's cheek, making him go crimson. She then poked Rodden with her toe. "Look at him, flat out. And that was just a tiny amount of what Joe got, what a wimp Go team!"

"Oh boy…" Anderson muttered, staring down at Rodden in horror and finally dropping to check for a pulse. "Well, at least I didn't kill him!" he reported.

"Come on," said Nancy, pulling on Anderson's arm. "Don't look so worried, James, you did the right thing. Rodden has no influence over your superiors, trust me; he was just trying to scare you into submission. You're obviously made of sterner stuff than that."

"Actually, it's just that I'm more scared of Lieutenant Riley than I am of Rodden," Anderson corrected her.

Nancy laughed and nudged him. "Let's handcuff and gag him before he comes to. Vanessa, get Con on the phone."