Finding You Again

Chapter Fifteen

"Big tears fall down in puddles. When something cuts, it bleeds. Big storms leave towns in rubbles. Shore just recedes. Take some time to secure a stream of water to occur, but crying is a way to know. Your tears will help you learn and grow, so better off to let them flow; stains the cheeks will come to know."

Tears by Aly & A.J. (Hollywood Records) from Insomniac

"So you're telling me that you kidnapped my son and niece, locked them up while you went on some sort of raid, and they escaped, went after an assassin and now you have no idea where they are?" Frank Hardy hissed, his voice growing steadily louder.

"That's pretty much it," the Gray Man said.

"My son—MY SON!—in the hands of the Assassins! I WILL NOT LOSE ANOTHER PERSON TO THE ASSASSINS!" Frank screamed, banging his fist against the wall. "First, Joe, now Darren!" He took a deep breath. "I'm coming to D.C. Tonight."

"Frank, I'm afraid your interfering will only further complicate matters. I would like for you to stay put and sit tight until our agents can find the children."

"Yeah, and I'd like to have my baby brother back," Frank said coldly. He hung up the phone and turned to his wife, who was sobbing quietly into her hands. Luckily, Frank thought as he embraced his wife, Jessi Marie and Joey knew nothing of this. "Don't worry. Why don't you call Vanessa and let her know that I'm heading to D.C. right now and I'm going to find them—safe and sound."

Callie nodded. "Be careful. I love you."

Joline felt tears run down her face as she fell into her father's open arms. "Oh, Daddy!" she sobbed, wishing she could stay this way forever, with his strong, loving arms around her. Something wet splashed onto her forehead. Her father was crying too.

"I'm so sorry," he croaked. "So, so sorry."

He pulled back, his eyes filled with pain and regret. He smashed his fist against the table. "When Iola died, I devoted my entire life to fighting terrorists. And then I let myself become one." He choked on a sob. "Frank will never forgive me."

"Hey, you're no terrorist," Darren piped up. "You said it yourself. You never wanted to kill."

"But I let them break me," Joe said. "I gave up…I forgot who I was. I just sat there and let them turn me into some kind of monster. And it's been fifteen years…"

"They tortured you and used advanced technology to invade your mind," Darren said. "There was nothing you could have done. They may have trained you to be a killer, but you're not one, and you never were."

"I always told Frank you'd turn out to be smarter than him," Joe said, giving his nephew the patented Joe Hardy lopsided grin. "To tell you the truth, I think that it was the memories of Frank and Vanessa hidden in the back of my mind that kept me sane. I think they were the ones that kept me from completely losing myself." He paused. "Speaking of Van, has she…er…remarried or been involved with anyone?" He looked terrified to hear the answer.

"No," Joline answered him. "She's never had any interest in anyone else. Says she's never going to love anyone like she still loves you."

Joe Hardy's face broke into a grin and suddenly he looked exactly like he did in that picture in Frank's house, care free and fun-loving. "Well, this fires me up even more," he announced grimly. "Now I'm going to be even more serious about fighting terrorists for the rest of my life." Then he lowered his eyes. "Which will be all of two days." At Darren and Joline's startled reactions, he explained, "They gave me three days to kill Walker. The first day is almost up. There's an implant at the base of my skull. When the three days are up and walker is still alive, they'll press a button and the implant will send thousands of volts of electricity through my brain."

Joe stared at his daughter, anguished. He had just found her, found himself, and now he was to be ripped away from her in forty-eight short hours. And Frank…He probably wouldn't be able to see his brother or Vanessa again…

It was probably for the best, though. He didn't want them to have to go through the pain of his "death" for a second time.

"Can't you just take it out?" Darren asked.

"It's not that simple," Joe said. "It will go off in the instant that someone tries to remove it."

Joline stood up. "We'll figure out something. I'm not going to let this happen. Not after I just found you again. Hurry, let's get to the airport. From there, we can catch the next flight to Bayport. Maybe someone there will know what to do."

Frank Hardy's plane landed in Washington, D.C. at one in the morning. He was exhausted, but he couldn't waste any time. At first he thought he was hearing things when he heard Darren's voice shouting, "Dad!"

He spun and saw his son racing toward him, his face alight. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from the Gray Man—Arthur Gray—and as soon as I found out what happened, I caught the next flight to D.C. How did you get away from the Assassin?"

"What Assassin? Oh, you mean 'Eric'. Funny story, Dad, we've actually got a big surprise for you."

"Yeah," piped in Joline, rushing around the corner to embrace her uncle. "You might want to sit down for this, Uncle Frank."

Frank, still very confused, smiled down at the teenagers in front of him. "Don't worry, guys. Whatever 'surprise' you have in store, I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

Frank froze. He knew that voice. He had longed to hear it every day for fifteen years. But it was impossible. His stomach clenched as he slowly turned. What he saw made him go weak in the knees. Two bright blue orbs smiled at him, blonde hair just brushing his eyebrows. Joe's mouth was a lopsided grin.

Joe ran across the room and embraced his brother, tears streaming down his face. Frank, in shock, just stood there. Suddenly Joe stepped back, his eyes wide in shock.

There was a gun in Frank's hand, pointed right at Joe's heart.

~Emachinescat ^..^