A/N Hello, peoples! I took my AP test!! And, now, I no longer have to care about school. Roflmao. So, I shall spend my time updating.
Thanks to all reviewers!
This chapter is a present to The Silent Rumble. (I traded it for an update on his story El Arte De Betrayl formerly A Deadly Dare.)
Oh, and thanks to ReneyC for finding that whole watch thingy. Your idea was muy helpful in explaining why Joe had two watches. Lol.
And finally, a special thank you to Miss Fenway my 100th reviewer!
"Did you find anything?" Vanessa asked Chet anxiously. He shook his head sadly. He and Liz had just arrived at Joe's apartment to find Vanessa, Phil, and Tony sitting at the table looking decidedly despondent.
"Maybe Callie and Biff came up with something?" Liz suggested in a hopeful tone. "It would explain why they're late. Callie's never been one for tardiness." She added. Vanessa perked up a bit when she said this and returned to boring a whole in Joe's kitchen door as though staring at it would make the others return.
Surprisingly, her method seemed to work, because not more then two minutes later Biff and Callie burst through the door looking excited.
"We found something!" Biff exclaimed.
"It's not much, but still…" Callie trailed off.
"What'd you find??" Vanessa demanded.
"A watch, and several broken bags of groceries." Biff replied. "Callie has the watch." At this Callie unzipped her purse and pulled the watch out of the zipper pocket.
"It's…the one Frank gave him." Callie explained. "Which is odd, because when I last saw him he was wearing the one you gave him; I didn't think he used Frank's anymore. Didn't it break back…?" She trailed off not wanting to say that the watch had broken during the explosion on the cliff.
"Maybe he was carrying it around or something, as a reminder." Tony suggested. The others nodded deciding that this was the most likely answer.
"Anyway, where did you find this?" Vanessa asked steering the others back to the initial topic of discussion.
"Right down the street from the grocery store." Biff replied.
"After that we went to the grocery store, and we found the clerk who checked Joe out." Callie elaborated. "She didn't have much to say, but she said that Joe left the store alone and that she didn't see anyone following him. She also said that the store was virtually empty at the time." She continued.
"Okay, so we know he made it all the way down the street before he was attacked…" Phil said in a thoughtful tone. "What was around the spot where you found the watch and groceries?"
"It intersected with an alley." Biff answered.
"What did the alley connect with? Was it for a motel? Or an apartment?" Phil continued. "Maybe Joe saw something he shouldn't have so they took him with them wherever the went." Phil suggested.
"We should go back there and question everyone in the building surrounding the area. Maybe someone saw something or heard something." Vanessa put in.
"Alright, let's take a break have lunch, and map out the businesses on the street we can split up again and question everyone in the surrounding buildings." Callie suggested.
"Keep your mouth shut, we don't want any guards running over here before the others have a chance to get rid of all of them. Don't get any bright ideas about escaping, either, remember what I told you." Gustafson muttered to Joe. "I assume you can pick a lock?" He questioned passing Joe a set of lock picks.
"Of course." Joe scoffed accepting the set of picks from the man and swiftly unlocking the door. Despite not having much practice in the last year (except the few times when he forgot his keys and was forced to break into his apartment) Joe managed to get the lock open in just over a minute. Joe chose not to respond to his comment about trying to escape, it's not like he'd do so, at least not without Frank anyway. Joe surreptiously slipped one of the picks into his pocket before flipping the container shut and shoving it at Gustafson.
The man responded by sending the blond a warning glare and waving the walkie-talkie he held in his hand in Joe's face. "You wouldn't want me to call Henrich, would you?" Gustafson queried. "No?" He asked when Joe reluctantly shook his head. "Then show some respect, it'll go better for you and your brother that way." Gustafson then turned and led the way through the side door into the warehouse. Joe rolled his eyes at the back of the man's head and reluctantly followed him in. The two made their way through the shadows along the perimeter of the warehouse for several feet before Gustafson led the way through a row of stacked crates which shielded them from view of the front security desk.
Not that the guards were really a problem. Joe though as he heard the unmistakable 'pfft' noise of a silencer going off. Moments later he heard a body hit the floor.
"This is it." Gustafson stated gesturing toward a large wooden crate. "Help me carry this out."
Joe stared at the man trying to decide if it was worth it to get into a battle with him over this. On the one hand, this guy had kidnapped him, and was using him and his brother in his terrorist agenda, and therefore Joe thought that cooperating was probably the thing he least wanted to do. On the other hand, he was a terrorist…which meant he probably would shoot first and ask questions later.
But…it would be so worth it to see his face if Joe refused.
Frank glared at the man assigned to guard him. The man, Henrich, glared back and tightened his hold on the semi-automatic pistol he held in his right hand.
"Don't get any ideas." Henrich growled at the brown haired former detective. Frank turned his head so that he was looking out the window and rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. Did the man honestly think he would try anything when it risked getting Joe hurt? He had been reckless once and, look where that got him. He had no intention of behaving in such a manner again. He didn't have Joe's luck, and therefore couldn't afford to risk what would happen if he provoke one of these guys.
He might do it if it weren't for Joe. He couldn't risk his little brother getting hurt. Especially when he had suffered so much the last time Frank had decided to be impetuous.
Still, it would be so worth it to see the look on his face if Frank decided not to do his 'job.'
With one last sigh Frank returned to staring at the security footage he had rerouted to the laptop. It was a nifty trick he had picked up; the cameras were now sending the warehouse footage to his laptop instead of the computer screen's in the warehouse. In this manner, he could keep track of what was happening inside the warehouse.
He spotted Joe and Gustafson and frowned. Even in the grainy footage he could see the stubborn set of his little brother's jaw as he stood facing Gustafson. Frank sighed again, his brother was probably going to do something stupid. In all fairness, it was Joe's turn to get them in trouble, although, Frank doubted that even Joe could mess up worse then he did. Considering his screw up got him kidnapped and presumed dead for over a year.
Frank silently willed his brother to do whatever the man told him. Not that Frank was in favor of helping terrorists, he just wasn't willing to risk his brother's life. Not even for something as huge as a terrorist plot. He'd risk his own in a heartbeat, but not Joe's…never Joe's.
A/N Review, and I shall update.