I'M BAAAAAAACK!
*Apologies and excuses ensue* Seriously, I'm surprised no one's tracked me down and hit me with a two by four yet... ;P
LAST CHAPTER! :O GASP
We tie up just about every loose end here! One thing though, I am sorry of the lack of Francy in this story. I love Francy, I really do.
I do not own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys. Or a box of Cheezits. (Sad sigh)
GO! :D
Minutes later, Frank, Tori, and Bess were running down the dark hallway together. They'd disarmed the thugs and locked them in the closet. "It won't hold them long, but it's the best we can do," Tori panted as they ran. "There was nothing to tie them up with."
"Where'd you even come from, Bess?" Frank finally managed as they rounded a corner. They all stopped for a break, and he leaned his hands on his knees, catching his breath.
"Oh, y'know. Just the air vent." Frank could almost see the smirk he could tell was on her face.
"Impressive," He raised his eyebrows. Suddenly his mouth went dry. "Bess, is Joe oka-"
"Shhh!" Tori hissed. There was silence for a moment. "I found a door," she finally said. "I think it leads to the roof."
Frank followed the creak the door made as it opened and felt his way inside. As the group half-crawled up the stairs, his heart pounded in his stomach. He knew now wasn't the time to ask, but he couldn't bear not knowing if his brother and Nancy were alright.
"Hey, where'd that person who was fighting with me go?" Frank blinked in the pitch darkness. "I don't even remember them leaving."
There was a pause. "I guess she left when Bess came in," Tori's voice came. Something about it was odd.
Wait. "She?"
"Tor-" Frank started, but at that moment, a hatch swung open above his head. Squinting against the brightness, he watched Tori pull herself up and out onto the roof.
As Frank climbed up after her, he noticed something gray out of the corner of his eye.
It was Dusk.
Joe's eyes opened slowly. He yawned, stretching. Perfect nap.
Blinking in surprise, he looked around. Why was it so dark?
The lights flickered on.
Joe shrugged and looked around. Grabbing his phone, he texted Nancy.
Hey! Wanna come over? ;) Room 129 is the place to be. We're gonna partayyy!
Jk. I'm just bored. :P
Pressing send, Joe was about grab his can of Mountain Dew (which George had smuggled to him that morning) off of the bedside table, when the door burst open.
Startled, he stared into the eyes of two police officers, guns drawn.
In the ensuing silence, Joe slowly raised his hand in an awkward wave. "Uh, hey guys?"
"Uh, hey Frank?" Dusk smiled nervously.
Stunned, Frank stared at her. "Whose side are you on, anyway?" he asked guardedly.
Bess climbed up behind him, and looked in confusion at Tori, who shrugged silently.
Her face serious, Dusk began walking towards him. "Yours, I promise. Look, it's too complicated to explain, but I'm an agent."
Frank shook his head in wonder. "Of course you are."
"I'm serious. I don't mean you any harm."
Suddenly someone swung out of the hatch right behind Frank. Startled, Frank grabbed Bess's arm and jumped away.
It was the man who'd held the knife at Tori. He sneered at Dusk, leveling a pistol at her.
Everyone froze.
"I knew there was something off about you, Sophia," The thug growled. "Or is that even your real name?"
For the billionth time! What the HECK is going ON here?!
Tori's face was pale, and Bess looked on with huge eyes. Only Dusk seemed even close to calm, Frank noted with curiosity.
"Kai, it's not what it looks like," Dusk said softly, backing up with her hands spread.
"Oh?" The black gloved hands cocked the pistol. His eyes narrowed in his ski mask. "I think it is."
"You were the one who killed those nurses, weren't you?" Dusk gasped. "A-ashley and Weston."
"Of course I was," he sneered. "And you're next."
"No! Plea –"
The shot cut through the air, and Frank dove to the ground. Rolling, he gasped as he saw Dusk convulse, blood staining the stomach of her gray sundress.
Bess screamed. "NO!" Tori shouted.
Making a move as if she was reaching for something, Dusk went limp as she fell backwards over the edge of the roof.
"Joe!" Frank gasped in relief when he saw his younger brother safe in his hospital room. "Thank God you're safe!"
Running across the room, Frank enveloped Joe in a crushing hug.
Joe raised an eyebrow. "Uh, good to see you too?"
Letting go, Frank sat down in a chair, weak with relief as Bess, Nancy and George walked in.
"We just finished giving our statements to the police," Nancy said as she plunked down on the sofa. "It's a good thing they showed up when they did. Bess tells me that someone had just been killed when they apprehended all the perpetrators."
"It was horrible," Bess shuddered. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"Yeah," Frank sighed. "I still don't even understand half of what happened today."
"Well," Joe began, "Since I have absolutely no idea what you guys have been up to, can you tell me some of it?"
Nancy and George undertook this task, with Bess sometimes providing some input. After they finished, Joe shook his head in amazement.
"So, Dr. Matthews, aka drug smuggler, was infiltrated by this Tori person, Frank and a girl named Dusk were locked in a closet but Dusk disappeared, Nancy was gassed, Bess became a spy, some person in black helped Frank protect Tori, Bess totally owned everyone with a gun, and then Dusk, who was called 'Sophia' by one of the bad guys, was shot and fell off the roof?" Joe recapped.
"Pretty much," George nodded grimly. "And apparently Tori disappeared soon after that in all the commotion."
"I can't even try to think about it right now," Frank groaned. "I'm still pretty sure that Dusk was a bad guy. I mean, she was the one who probably got me captured after she tricked me into mentioning Joe''s room number. There were two different things going on here. Tori was infiltrating Dr. Matthews, but the thugs weren't a part of that."
Frank looked up, the concerned, intent gazes of the others on him. "They were after Joe."
"Whaaaaat?" Joe put a hand over his chest in the "me?" gesture.
"Are you sure?" Nancy demanded. "How do you know? Why didn't you tell me?"
He shrugged helplessly. "By the time I began to actually figure it out, I was locked in a closet. Of course I couldn't tell you."
George narrowed her eyes. "But how –"
Suddenly Frank's phone rang. Frowning, he looked at the caller ID. It had a Nevada area code.
"Hello?" He said as he picked up. The others looked at him so questioningly that he put it on speaker.
"Frank?" the feminine voice came, "This is Tori."
"Tori? Where are you? How did you get my number?"
"I'm a techie, remember?"
"True."
"Frank," Tori started, "I think I should fill you in on what happened today, so listen close."
"I'm listening," Frank assured her, practically on the edge of his seat. Everyone leaned in closer.
"Dusk and I were here to infiltrate Dr. Matthews. Together."
"You knew each other?"
"Of course. We're cousins, and partners. When you and Dusk met earlier, she was on her way to meet with the thugs that were actually after Dr. Matthews. They'd gotten wind that some drug deal went bad. Dusk posed as a lady leader of one of their ally gangs, Sophia Delacroix, so that she could gain their trust and stall them while sent the incriminating files to our base from Dr. Matthews' computer. When she ran into you, things started to go wrong. The thugs, thinking that she was trying to trick you into something, threw her into the closet with you and then drugged you. After they drugged you, they took her back out. She left and changed into black clothing so that she could 'join' the gang in their job."
"How did you get those injuries?" Frank asked, incredulous.
"They were fake. I hacked into the hospital's computer system and put myself down as one of the patients, listing my injuries, y'know, giving myself a medical history and all that blah. The thugs didn't want any interference, so they hacked the computer system too. The patients that were well enough to get out of bed, they gassed with a harmless sleeping gas. They didn't bother with those who were too injured. I was one of them, so they overlooked my room. I assume that it was just a case of 'dumb thug' that they forgot about visitors. When they broke into Dr. Matthews' office, Dusk was the one who helped you take them out. Then she ran and changed again, since we'd had a change of plans."
"Plan B, huh?"
"Nope. Plan M."
Frank's head felt like it was whirling apart. "So , we got onto the roof, and Dusk did too. How did that thug know where to be? And how did he know that Dusk wasn't on his side?"
"She 'accidentally' let some facts slip, then she ran to the roof."
"Wait, you guys wanted him to figure it out?!"
"Of course! Remember how Dusk asked him if he'd killed some nurses? He really had. That was what we were investigating in the first place before we discovered the drug deal. So after incriminating Dr. Matthews, we wanted to take out this gang leader, Kai, for the murder as well. Dusk provoked the confession. I got it on tape."
"But then he shot her," Frank said softly. "I'm so sorry."
"Well he did, but that's not the end of the story."
The group of teen detectives stared at each other. The phone made a rustling noise.
"Hey Frank!"
"Dusk!" Frank almost collapsed of shock. "What – I mean – but – you – how?!"
"Extreme bullet proof vest. Cable harness. Ketchup."
Joe and the girls burst out clapping and cheering.
"Frank!" Tori's voice came, slightly panicked. "How many people just heard all this?"
"It's okay. Just my –" a click answered him. "Tori? Hello?"
"Good job, Frank," Joe teased. "You scared her away."
"I did not!" Frank retorted. "You guys did!"
"Sorry Frank," Nancy chuckled. "We'll be nicer next time."
"Well, that certainly clears it up," George grinned. "There was no conspiracy against Joe. Plus, if Dr. Matthews was a fake, then that means that his diagnosis on Joe's leg was probably pretty off."
Frank's eyes widened in delight. "Bess, can you –"
"I'm on my way!" Bess laughed, elated, rushing out the door to find another doctor in the maze of personnel and police that were crowding the halls.
"I'm so bummed that I missed out on all of this," Joe complained. "How come you guys get to have all the fun?"
"I'd hardly call being gassed 'fun'," Nancy rolled her eyes.
Suddenly Frank deflated a little, a frown furrowing his eyebrows. "There's just one thing that I don't get."
"What's that?" Nancy asked.
"Early this morning when I came into Joe's room, part of his window screen had been freshly sawed away," he explained. "Someone would only do that if..."
"They were... That's not good," Nancy looked concerned.
"Should we tell the police or what?" George wondered.
Joe looked uncomfortable. "I think I can explain that. The oatmeal they give me for breakfast is awful, and that nurse is a complete witch, dude. I can't reach the trash can and she won't throw it away until it's gone! So I kind of cut a hole in the screen and dumped the oatmeal out the window. She almost caught me, too! I heard footsteps right as I finished, so I pretended to be asleep until she left."
Nancy and George burst out laughing, and Frank groaned. "Do you know how much you put me through, little brother?" He pretended to scold Joe. "Me, your wonderful older sibling? This is what I get in return?"
"Yeah," Joe snickered.
"Well if you ask me, it's not fair!"
THE END.
TADAAAA! :D Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers and to those who have followed me/this story. I wish you eternal Cheezits!
Another story soon? *sly smile* Mayyyyyyyyybe. If I do end up doing one, suggestions for place/time of year are extremely welcome! Also, what did you guys think of Dusk and Tori? Should I bring them back in for the next one?
Until next time!
Foxy