I just wanted to thank everyone for sticking with what I know is an epically long story. I received some anonymous reviews this week that I'd like to doth my cap at and say a big thank you. :-) You da bomb!


CHAPTER 33

Frank glanced disinterestedly at the green memory stick the woman triumphantly waved under his nose. She'd just revealed it contained the entire Pandora program, and looked plenty smug about it too. "And?" he asked, his own expression impassive, bored even. He settled his dark gaze back on her.

Her smile slid.

The Red-Headed Man's head tipped almost imperceptibly as he listened, but without his eyes leaving Frank's.

She continued, "You thought you were going to destroy Pandora? What fools you were. Great idea to get a bunch of hackers and programmers to help you from the dark net, but you failed. Spilled blood and guts for nothing."

Frank slid his eyes to the Red-Headed Man and started a staring war. "Lady, it's you who failed. I got Nancy from you. The program isn't as powerful now the dark net community have toyed with it. They learn quickly and they'll continue talking and sharing. If you can redevelop the destroyed half of the programme, they'll find a way to kill her once and for all. It's only a matter of time." By not looking at the woman, Frank hoped to downgrade her status to get her on the back foot and interrupt her thought processes.

The woman ploughed on regardless, "You're going to give us the code. You remember how the Gray Man hypnotised you, so your mind's been unlocked."

Frank kinked a brow. "Never give up on the dream."

The Red-Headed Man started showing signs of irritation - his shoulders tensed.

"Guess what I did?" Frank continued to eyeball the man, psychologically prodding at him. "I asked the hypnotist to bury the code again…real deep…somewhere you'll never get it. And my hypnotist's a professional, so good luck with your drugs and your violence. You made a strategic error when you kidnapped me. You should've gone after my dad; Fenton Hardy's the codeman now. Didn't it occur to you I'd factor in the possibility of being captured? You're getting nada out of me. I said it before and I'll say it again…HA! Nice try."

The red-headed man reared over Frank and went for his throat, but the woman quickly put her hands out to stop him.

"Temper, temper!" Frank said. "Don't damage the goods. I'm a valuable commodity you know."

The psychopath finally looked away from Frank to seek guidance from the woman.

"Look at you, Pal." Frank grinned slowly. "You're practically emasculated."

The man jerked forward again, but like last time the woman's hands were on his shoulders. "Don't listen to him, he's manipulative, don't jump to his tune. I told you NOT to underestimate him."

Frank laughed softly. "Yeah, I'd listen to her. She's clearly the brains of the operation. Does she have you chained to one of those retractable leashes? Does she guide you in and out when she needs ugg-muscle?"

"Shut your mouth!" The woman snapped and turned to the Red-headed Man. "We need a practical way to get at Fenton Hardy. We can do it through him. We need him alive for now."

Frank snorted. "So, Dad's not dead? And if Dad's not dead, neither are the others. All that firepower and you couldn't even manage to keep hold of Nancy Drew. I wonder how long you'll keep hold of me?" Frank looked to the sky. "Listen."

The man and woman's gazes flitted around the trees. "What you talking about?" The woman asked. "I can't hear anything."

"Exactly. I've not heard gun fire the whole time we've been here. Have you? My team are coming. How close do you think my guys are? How long ago did you put me down in this clearing? I hope you've got weapons because my friends are tooled up and they're angry after what you did to James and the girls...plenty angry. My Dad and Con Riley are old school, they're mad and bad enough as to kill on sight, and you've messed with their kids. And my bro? He'll tear your head clean off with his bare hands."

The man and woman looked at each other.

"You suck big time at this."

This time when the Red-Headed man went for Frank he rejected the woman's attempts to stop him. He pushed her off, causing her to fall on her back, and climbed on top of Frank. He clenched his fist and pushed it into Frank's injured shoulder, eased his knuckles in deep and twisted.

Frank screamed.

The woman tried to intervene. She pulled at him and whispered urgently, pleadingly but he wasn't hearing her.

This had been Frank's aim - to delay them and get the Red-Headed Man to revert to form and hurt him. As the psychopath enjoyed himself, Frank intended to guide his rescuers directly to them by yelling.

The Red-Headed Man no longer listened to the woman, acted independently of her. Frank's taunts had severed her leadership ties, driven a wedge between them and bruised the Red-Headed Man's ego. It made the guy more dangerous, but also made him careless. As Frank's voice hit a crescendo the woman gave up on trying to stop her colleague and instead pushed her palm over Frank's mouth to stifle him.

"Oh well. Nice while it lasted." Frank thought perversely. 'God, I hope he doesn't kill me right now, I hope I didn't push it too far!' Frank saw white lightening which turned to black as he crashed out.

-o0o-

Fenton positioned himself near the rear of the crowd, watching as James received medical assistance. Con crouched down on one knee next to his son's shoulder. Fenton felt tense, wired, bounced on the balls of his feet.

One of the officers leaned toward him. "The Lieutenant did too good a job with his tourniquet. I heard them say the circulation hasn't been getting to James' foot, so they're gonna pull on it to restore the blood supply or his foot will die or something. It's about to get gory!"

"Nice," Fenton muttered, not as entertained by it as the young officer. His attention momentary drawn upward to look to the top of the stairs, his thoughts with Frank. His eyes dropped to look out the front of the bullpen, to the outside. 'Where's Joe? We need to move!'

Nancy sat cross-legged on the other side of James with a blue compressed nitrous oxide and oxygen gas canister on her lap. She wore Con's jacket, which he'd put on her when he found it abandoned to the side - she looked like a tiny child in it.

James held a face mask but wasn't using it, even though they'd encouraged him several times to draw down some gas and air if in pain. Con's tourniquet, fashioned from James' leather belt had gone as the EMTs battled to stabilize the limb.

"Take a good breath of the gas, James, we need to manipulate your leg and it's going to hurt," one of the medics instructed. James didn't move, so the EMT looked imploringly at Con.

"Do it, Son," Con ordered. "You'll regret it if you don't." He took James hand and forced him put the mask over his face. "DO IT!" He rolled his eyes at Fenton. "The kids are revolting!"

James began to take good, deep, breaths of gas and air down into his lungs and spotted Fenton at the same time. He raised his first two fingers and beckoned him over.

Fenton pushed his way though and Con stood up to make room so Fenton could hunker. "Hey Mr H," James slurred, the gas doing its job.

"How do you feel, James?"

James lifted the mask so he could talk louder, "Nice and floaty!"

Fenton put his palm on James' hand and pushed the mask back down. "Don't get distracted. It's good stuff, but wears off quick."

The paramedics watched James, waiting for the optimum moment.

James carried on talking between breaths, his words growing slower and less distinct. "Dad's going with you. Go find Frank. I'm okay. The guys and Drew will take care of me." His eyes were now deadened. "Go! No more waiting."

Fenton squeezed his shoulder.

Someone ran into the building and Fenton glanced to see Officer Wright. "Sir," Ben said to Chief Collig and drew him into a conversation which had Ezra spinning in annoyance.

Fenton fleetingly thought, 'Where's Joe?' then turned back to James, "Good luck, I'm truly sorry you got dragged into this."

James raised a thumb which morphed into a fist and he grunted as his leg jerked. In fact, it led to a horrendous crunch. James yelled into the mask, and a general wave of sympathetic groans travelled over his fellow officers.

Nancy put her hand to the side of James' neck and took over holding the face mask as James' hand started to slip. "Go find Frank," she said to Fenton and looked up at Con. "I don't care what they say; I'll stay with James right till the end. They can look at me later."

"I appreciate it," Con said. "Jimmy, keep doing what Drew and the paramedics tell you. I'll be at the hospital later."

James didn't respond this time, the gas and air having rendered him impassive, his leg still being forced into an angle that should have been natural but no longer moved that way. Actually, his face proved so inexpressive it appeared he'd passed out, even though his glassy eyes were open.

"Nancy," Fenton drew her attention to him. "Give Carson and Hannah a call."

"I will."

Fenton and Con went across to Ezra Collig still talking to Officer Wright. Ezra waved them to the side and pulled a surprised Ben along with them. "Carson Drew isn't in River Heights, he's here in Bayport."

Fenton clicked his tongue. "I told him to stay at home!"

"So he told me, so I put him into protective custody. Got him holed up with officers in a hotel, but he's been making waves of tsunami proportions to help. He's been shouting at his contacts in federal government, those he's done work for, and his protests have bought him into contact with Senator Shandley. Remember him?"

"Of course we do," Fenton said.

"They've teamed up. I'm sure you don't have the time or inclination for me to go into details, but I think you need to know Arthur Gray's under house arrest and facing charges. It'll go as far as felony homicide charges if anyone dies. He's stepped so far outside of his authority and jurisdiction he's being called to account; they'll be an internal government investigation. Gray lost perspective and couldn't let go. Did he say something about 'those in Authority'?"

"He did."

"A figment of his imagination and a line he's used on others before."

"I frickin' KNEW IT!" Con muttered angrily.

"He wanted Frank to dig him out of the hole he'd created. The government thought the Pandora threat had been neutralised by Miss Drew and Frank. Gray went against direct orders to save Pandora, so when she resurfaced, it caused him a whole heap of problems. He's been using Frank and you good folk to mop up his mess. He knew Frank wouldn't stop until he got the job done and you'd all pitch in - the perfect scenario…until Officer Bach got hurt and James became an inconvenient target."

Fenton felt Con's hand on his shoulder, contact made at the same time as he laid his hand against the small of his partner's back. "We would never have gone down this road if we'd known the 'Authority' wasn't real, we would've snatched Nancy away and then sought help from the REAL authorities. Now Frank's out there and in real trouble."

Con said, "No wonder he tolerated Joe's assault. If I'd known I had nothing to lose, I would have flattened him too."

"You boys have got another problem—" Ezra started to say.

"We're not waiting. The longer we hold back the further away Frank'll be," Fenton said. "It's not only distance; it's what the Red-Headed Man could be doing to him."

"You're not hearing me Fenton. Frank isn't your only concern; Joseph's gone off on his own to find him."

Fenton sighed loudly and swore under his breath.

Con turned to Ben, "That true?"

"I'm 'fraid so Lieutenant, I tried to call him back but no way. We went to see if Frank had been taken to the ambulance, and we found an emergency door leading out the back." Something further occurred to Ben and he turned to Ezra. "Chief, we found crates of ammo back there and one packed with grenades."

"Grenades?!"

"Can we keep on subject?" Fenton asked. "Ben…about Joe?"

"Joe ran into the trees though an open gate. Talked about a psychopath having Frank."

"How did he know that?"

"His girlfriend told him over the phone, but he'd guessed anyway. The psychopath's car's back there. Joe found some concerning items in the glove box. A knife, gun, some duck tape and wire - cheese wire, Joe thought."

Con turned to Fenton. "After finding that, I can honestly appreciate Joe's motivation. He would've decided time's of the essence, and he's right."

"We were waiting for Joe to join us! His running off's why we haven't moved faster. Loose cannon!"

Con nudged him. "No we wouldn't, Ben's only just run in. Joe's got all of a few minutes head start. Don't be so hard on him." He took Fenton by the arm and half turned him. "Let's get gone. Joe's only done the same thing James did with Van, he's left the slower one behind to get a head start."

"Yes, and look how it backfired with Vanessa!"

Con narrowed his eyes and pulled Fenton closer. "James did the right thing and you goddamn KNOW it. I don't wanna hear you say that to my boy, he's suffering enough!" he hissed.

"I wouldn't. I'm worried, I—"

"I know you're worried, but you're pushing your angst in the wrong direction. Pull your neck in and cool it. My kid's only over there and you're not exactly keeping your voice down!"

Fenton stopped and looked over his shoulder. Nancy regarded them thoughtfully, but James seemed still disconnected to anything around him. One of the medical team asked James to respond to a simple order, but he didn't move. Fenton considered Con's words and his hand went to the back of his neck to knead a tension knot.

Con's voice softened. "Take a second to calm down, Flash. Going to search for Frank while flying high won't help, and—" He became distracted for a moment by the action over Fenton's shoulder. "What the hell's going on over there?" he asked loudly.

"It's okay," Nancy called, holding the mask off James' face. "Jimmy got way too happy on the gas. The medic's told me to let him up for air. My fault."

James' hand came up and took Nancy by the wrist.

"Okay."

Fenton took a big breath and re-evaluated. "Con, you're right, I'm losing it. Sorry… I didn't mean anything by—" he took another breath and shook himself mentally awake again. "If we go now I'm sure we'll catch up to Joe…it wasn't James' fault...of course Joe would want to get a head start, it's only what I'd do." They walked toward the stairs away from Ezra and Ben.

Ezra moved to keep up with them. "I wish you'd wait for me to coordinate my guys into an organized search party. Several of those armed maniacs got away; they could still be out there. And Con—"

"It's an advantage none of your squad is coming right now. Any noise and the psychopath could panic and kill Frank straight away. The one grim advantage we have is he won't kill Frank until he's satisfied his sick craving for revenge. If your guy's pile in—"

The three men were at the stairs, starting to head upwards, Collig still trying to keep up. "I understand, makes sense, but, Con—"

"Can you arrange for Carson to meet Nancy at the hospital?" Fenton asked.

"Consider it done…CON!"

Con hit the top step and turned impatiently. "Stop trying to stop us, Chief!"

"I'm not. Here, take my jacket." Collig slipped it off and offered it across.

"Oh." Con took it. "Thanks Chief."

-o0o-

Fenton and Con left Ezra and went through the door into the corridor. "I assume the door at the end's the emergency exit Vanessa described as the route the psychopath took with Frank." Fenton said.

"The only one on the blueprint." Con began to open doors as they strode through and glance inside. Eventually he opened the door to the room Joe and Ben had walked into earlier and saw the empty gurney. "Fen," he said and entered.

Fenton followed and they stopped and gazed at the bed on wheels, the pool of Frank's blood well on its way to congealing. Fenton turned away.

"Sorry, Flash." Con stepped forward to move Frank's jacket and vest to one side and found the utility belt. "Bingo!" He found Frank's unused bullet magazines and unpacked them onto the floor. "Need to stock up." He split them, pushed half toward Fenton and loaded his utility belt's pouches. Fenton went about doing the same and they both reloaded. "I'm killin' me a Red-Headed Man tonight," Con said tight lipped. He aggressively pulled back on his gun slide and jacked a shell into the chamber. He holstered his Glock and pulled on Chief Collig's jacket. It fitted just fine.

They left the room, jogged to the end of the corridor, pushed through the emergency exit door and ran down the stairs on the other side. They emerged at the rear of the covered parking lot and saw the ambulance, stationary on the far side, as per Ben's description. They also found the exit door Joe had gone through.

Positioned to one side of the door, Con saw a fire extinguisher. He guessed it had been used to prop open the fire door and provided the Red-Headed Man with a way to enter the building through the back, rather than having to brave the open warfare at the front. Such a simple thing, but the illegal action of propping open the door had tipped an already horrible situation even further in the psychopath's favor.

Fenton opened up the exit to allow him and Con to step outside and they let the door swing shut behind them with a dull thud.

"Give me your cell." Fenton requested. Con did so and Fenton fiddled with it. "Turning the ringer off," he explained. "Last thing we need is for it to give us away." He handed it back and did the same to Frank's red phone, then he pushed it into his pocket again.

They saw the psychopath's car, but didn't stop to investigate. Instead they walked forward to step through the gate which still gently swung in the breeze and hiked until they were at the edge of the trees. Con reached for his flashlight and flicked it on, Fenton a second behind him with his own. They aimed them into the dark momentarily unsure as to which direction they should head. But then Frank's prolonged scream sliced the silence and confirmed his presence out there somewhere in the cold and dark, needing help.

"Jesus!" Con said as a shiver coursed across his shoulders.

"My son's not dead yet," Fenton said. "And my other son will follow his scream. Let's go get them and take them home." He ran headlong into the night until it swallowed him up.

Con followed until he too disappeared into the all encompassing darkness.