Finding You Again
Chapter Sixteen
"We don't have time left to regret. It will take more than common sense. So stop your wondering; take a stand. There's more to life than just to live. 'Cause and empty room can be so loud. It's too many tears to drown them out, so hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on…"
Hold On by The Jonas Brothers (Hollywood Records) from S.O.S.
"Dad!" Darren said harshly. "What do you think you're doing? That's Joe…your brother…"
"Daddy!" Joline squealed.
"This is not Joe," Frank said calmly, his eyes filled with tears. "Joe's been dead for fifteen years."
"Brother, it's me…I know what you're thinking…of course, I know I've always been able to tell, since we were—are—so close. I promise, I'm not some experiment from the Lazarus Clinic—remember, they were shut down eighteen years ago, for good."
"Of course you'll say that. They programmed you to." But there was doubt in his voice. Frank wanted it to be his brother. He really did. More than anything. But it wasn't. It couldn't be. He felt a tear leak down his face.
Joe didn't seem to be perturbed by the gun aiming at his chest. Instead, he took a step back, arms crossed, still grinning. "Know how we'd solve those mysteries when we were kids?" he asked.
Frank found himself nodding, a lump in his throat. No, that's not Joe. It's an imposter. But it was getting harder to believe every second.
Joe chuckled. "Man, you got me out of so much trouble. Remember that time when I was with Iola at Chet's party? And we had that secret invention of Mr. Wright's? I ran after that guy at the car without a second thought." He grinned. "My hot head got me into some deep trouble—I was tied up in that cave for almost two days before you guys found me. But I wasn't worried. Not really. I knew you'd rescue me."*
"Where are you going with this?" Frank asked the possible-Joe-imposter warily, suspicion lingering in his eyes, while Joline and Darren listened to the conversation, wide eyed and breathless.
"I've always relied on gut feelings, Frank. On my heart. While you'd sit there and depend on your logic to get you out of a mess or to fix a problem, I'd barrel head-on into it without a second thought. I relied on my instincts."
"Yeah…even when we got into more serious stuff, like fighting terrorists, you'd always run into a situation without thinking it through and—" Frank stopped. He raised the gun again, which had lowered during his monologue. "Very clever. But I won't let my guard down again."
"What does your heart tell you, Frank?" Joe asked. He felt like he was on Oprah or Dr. Phil, gushing about feelings, but at the moment, he didn't care. He just wanted his big brother back, more than anything in the world.
Frank looked in Joe's eyes and saw a love that no Assassin could understand or duplicate. His heart stopped for a moment, then he shoved the gun back into the holster and jumped on his brother, nearly knocking him over. "Joe…Joe…oh gosh, I thought I'd never see you again…baby brother, I'll never let anyone hurt you…"
Finally they pulled away and Joe grinned at his brother. "Man, Frank. You've become such a girl since I disappeared."
Frank smacked his brother upside the head. "Jerk."
Joe eyed the gun in the holster and asked warily, "Okay, I just want to know…how the heck did you get a gun into the airport?"
Frank rolled his eyes. "Walker's secret service men met me at the airport. When I got here, they gave me one, just in case I met up with the terrorist here."
"Well, you sorta did," Joe said reluctantly.
Frank raised his eyebrows.
"It's a long story," Joline broke in. Frank jumped. He'd almost forgotten the kids were here.
"We have time," Frank said.
"Not really," Joe said even more reluctantly. This time, Frank's eyebrows shot up so high they disappeared behind his hair.
"Why don't we exchange stories on our way back to Bayport?" Darren suggested.
Frank slung an arm around his brother's shoulders. "Alright, let's go."
"They WHAT?"
Frank had listened to their story intently. He was the perfect audience. He had cringed at all the right places, gasped when something shocking was revealed, and had even cursed like a sailor when Joe talked about the torture he'd been through.
When Joe had gotten to the part about the implant, Frank had exploded. He quickly quieted down, though, seeing a stewardess glancing his way, agitated.
"Look, Frank, if we can't do anything, at least I got to see you again. I missed you so much, buddy." Joe felt a tear escape and he didn't try to hide it. "I'm just so sorry I let everyone down."
Frank's eyes were hard. "You did no such thing, Joe. Now I know how you felt when Iola died. I've known it for fifteen years. Nothing but a thirst for revenge…But we're going to save you!"
"How?" Joe asked dubiously.
"Well, you said you survived an electric chair, right?"
"Yeah, but this is different…and that was when I was Eric."
"You were always Joe Hardy," Frank said firmly. "As soon as we get to Bayport, we're going to the hospital."
*Reference to Bluespine #10, What Happened at Midnight
~Emachinescat ^..^