So, after a few sleepless nights, here is the next chapter! I am so proud of myself. Of, course, there may be a few mistakes, so if you find any, notify me please!

Thank you all who read, reviewed, followed and favorited! Enjoy!


CHAPTER THREE: RIGHT AND WRONG

Joe Hardy sat at his desk, scribbling furiously. The digital clock beside him showed five am, but sleep evaded him completely. He had gotten home, changed into cleaner clothes, refused dinner and shut himself in his room. There he sat all night, trying to decipher the girl's message.

The floor was littered with pages and pages of words, letters, numbers, co-ordinates, anything that could be linked to those seven words.

It has to mean something, Joe thought, balling up yet another sheet of paper and lobbing it at the wall in frustration. She said it was life and death. It has to mean something.

He took another swig of coffee and began all over again, trying anagrams, word jumbles, letter codes. He threw another ball of paper at the door when it opened, just missing Frank's head.

Frank raised an eyebrow at the mess of papers, and looked up at his brother, concern etched on his face. "Did you sleep at all last night?"

"Shut the door, Frank." Joe said, turning back to the desk.

Frank made his way through the jumble of clothes and papers over to Joe, who sat hunched over his desk. A half empty flask of coffee was perched precariously at the end of the table. "Joe, you have to eat. Just have some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," Joe said, and his stomach gave a loud rumble.

"Look, Joe, we all want to find out what happened to that girl, but this isn't the way-"

"No, Frank," Joe snapped, throwing down the pen and standing up. "We know what happened to the girl. She died. I'm just trying to find out why." He looked up accusingly at his brother. "And apparently, I'm the only one."

Frank sighed. "Alright," He conceded. "How about, you come down and have some breakfast, and then we head down to the police station to find out what they know about her so far, okay?"

Joe glared at Frank for a few seconds, then his shoulders slumped. "Fine. Let's go."

"Whoa, hold on," Frank smiled, giving his brother a playful push. "We're not going anywhere until you brush your teeth."


Chief Ezra Collig always considered himself to be an honest, upstanding citizen. His duty was to the people, and their safety was his only concern. So why did he feel like he was doing something terribly wrong?

He swiveled away from his desk toward the window. It was only 7 am, and already the citizens of Bayport were on the streets, going to school, to work.

Sighing, he turned back to his desk and shuffled through his papers. Suddenly, a photo of Anna Coleman caught his eye. He stared at it. She couldn't have been more than 17, he mused. His eyes flicked to his cell phone, which lay innocently next to the papers.

The man – he hadn't given a name – had called him as he was sitting down to dinner with his wife. They had a strict no-calls-during-dinner rule, but he had picked it up anyway.

I wish I hadn't, he thought, lifting up the photo from the pile.

The man had been curt. He informed him of that he was with the authorities, he told him of the situation, and told him exactly what to do. Collig thought to question him; after all, he didn't even know who he was.

But something told him not to, and he was glad he didn't, because seconds later, another phone call from his superior told him who that man was, and he wasted no time grabbing his jacket and dashing to the door, ignoring his wife's questions.

And he did what he was told to.

Then why did he still feel like the bad guy?

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Frank and Joe Hardy, arguing loudly. The man's voice rang in his head, "Be especially careful of the Hardy's. I understand they have a, um, reputation, for this sort of thing."

"Dad doesn't have to be bothered about this, Joe." Frank was saying. "He's in London, for god's sake! Do you really think he's going to drop everything just to help us with this?"

"Well, we can at least email him the code, see if he can crack it," Joe suggested.

"Are you sure it was a code?" Frank looked skeptical. "Maybe you just didn't hear her properly."

Joe looked offended. "Look, Frank, if you-"

"Boys, take the fight outside, or I'll be forced to arrest you," Collig interrupted, a grin on his face.

The brothers started, then grinned back. "Sorry, Chief," Frank laughed, grabbing a chair and sitting down. Joe did the same after a moment.

"So, what can I do for ya?" Collig said, lifting up the papers from his desk and stuffing them into the drawer.

"We were wondering if you had anything on the girl from yesterday," Joe asked.

"Oh," Collig hesitated, then told him what he had rehearsed. "We've sent out a description and given a contact number for anyone with information, but you know how these things go."

"What about the body?"

Chief Collig smiled to himself. He had anticipated this, and had prepared an answer. "Our resources were not enough for a post-mortem, so the body has been sent to another hospital. Hopefully, we should have an answer in a few days."

They asked a few more questions, but he managed to evade them all. They finally got up to leave, telling him to keep them informed of any developments. Collig agreed quickly, and they left.

Suddenly, the phone rang, making him jump. He picked it up and answered it.

"What's the status, Chief?"

Collig fidgeted nervously with his badge. He told him about the Hardy's visit.

"You've done well," The man sounded genuinely pleased. "But we'll take it from here. Thanks for your help."

He hung up, and Collig felt a sense of relief wash over him. He was glad it was finally over.

'Q' was a powerful man, indeed.


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