Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.
Thank you! To Wendylouwho10 as usual for reading for flow and content. Typos are mine and I find them all the time!
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Started as kinda blue spine with a touch of Casefiles but is now completely AU. Frank is 20 and Joe is 19.
Author's Notes: I'm glad that Frank and Callie's relationship is something that everyone seems to be enjoying. This story is their chance to shine. ;-) Just a quick warning. Things take a little more of a sexual turn for several chapters. Nothing explicit things are implied. I think that the situation warranted it. It's not offensive. :) It will make sense when you read on...
Chapter Twelve
Joe's head was killing him; he felt awful. He had completely lost track of time because it seemed like they had altered his feeding schedule. Sometimes it seemed last eight hours and other times it felt like three. He shook his head back and forth slowly trying to clear his head but it didn't do anything to help. The Assassins had had added shots to his drug intake and whatever was in them seemed to depress him. He blinked several times as he struggled to open heavy eyelids. His eyes opened to see all the pictures from the photo album spread out on the floor in front of him. Eyes closed, he balled his hands into fists and released them. The pictures had been this way for at least a few days and he did his best to avoid looking at them but there was little else for his mind. The lights had stopped blinking and were now always set to a normal level and the jarring music had also ceased. Now he was left alone with the pictures and his own thoughts… which was probably the worst torture of all.
A soft click and the door opened and the woman walked in. She stopped in front of him amidst the pictures. "The pictures haven't been enough to convince you of their perfidy have they?"
Joe stared at a picture at her feet as he softly replied. "They wouldn't…."
"We've found more evidence of their treachery."
Joe raised bloodshot eyes to her face. "Is this your torture? Trying to make me believe that my brother and girlfriend have feelings for each other?" He closed his eyes. "No. I won't believe it."
"Contrary to what you are thinking we are trying to help you. You need to see the truth about those you feel you can trust."
Joe's eyes snapped open and he snarled, "You'll have to do better than pictures to make me doubt them." As soon as he said it, he saw the light spark in her eyes and doubt entered his mind. "Wait," he said softly. "You have something more don't you?"
The woman nodded and then gestured with her hand. Slight static sounded from the speaker overhead but there was no doubt in Joe's mind; he heard their voices.
"Frank, maybe we shouldn't…"
A chuckle sounded. "It's part of our cover-"
The snarl came back in Joe's voice as he gritted out between his teeth, "That's. Not. Them."
A soft moan came through the air and Joe glared at the woman. "Lies!" he shouted trying to drown out the whispers and noises that sounded just like his brother and girlfriend. "It's all lies! The pictures! This! Lies! Frank and Vanessa would never—" his voice cracked slightly as the woman moved toward the door. "They would never!" he yelled at her back.
The door to the cell opened and the woman held its edge as she stood just in his room. "Tell yourself what you must, Joe. But this is the truth. It's unpleasant for you. But it is the truth nonetheless."
Joe mind was a whirl as he heard Vanessa's voice whisper Frank's name softly. "They were on a mission. You never had a chance to get this!"
"Ah, but cell phones have microphones and sometimes agencies like to monitor their operatives without their knowledge. Think about it, Joe." She closed the door as he continued to yell.
"Lies! I don't believe it. They… wouldn't! No! Not them!" His voice slowly lowered over the next ten minutes as he shouted himself hoarse. When he could no longer cover the sounds from the speaker, he closed his eyes and lowered his head. He'd just have to think on other things….
A moan. "Frank…"
They. Wouldn't. They love me. Frank loves Callie. They—
"He won't know," Frank's voice said as the female moaned again in pleasure.
Joe's mind felt fuzzy. He had just eaten a couple of hours ago. Drugs. It's the drugs. Is it the drugs? Yes. He shook his head. It has to be the drugs. But as he said it to himself, he could feel a niggling doubt creep in.
.**********.
"We're slightly behind schedule," Hassan said as he looked through the two-way glass at Joe.
"VanStall's husband had cheated on her and Yates' girlfriend's ex-boyfriend still called her. The doubts there were easier to manipulate," Maya said as she too watched through the glass. "But once Joe accepts that his brother and girlfriend slept with each other, his sense of betrayal will be much more than VanStall's and Yates'." She shrugged slightly. "Even if it takes a little bit longer, we'll still be taking out two highly trained and dangerous operatives."
Hassan glanced to the woman at his side. "And your revenge will be complete."
Maya stiffened slightly. "I lost a sister. It is only fitting that the two brothers involved in her death die. Even better than one will kill the other."
Hassan looked back to the young man in the white room who was desperately talking and trying to drown out the sounds he was hearing. "Will you show him the video?"
A smile graced Maya's lips. "Indeed. It will be the icing on the proverbial cake. But it will have to be near the end. The drugs will have to be deep in his system and he will already need to believe that the betrayal is true. Too soon and he'll spot a flaw in the actors and then everything will be ruined."
The plan had worked on two people that had crossed the Assassins. Hassan believed that Maya was correct. Joe Hardy and his brother would no longer trouble the Assassins in a few weeks. Hassan smiled.
"Is Older still in Bayport? We may still be able to make use of him there." Maya asked finally turning her attention from the glass.
Hassan peered into the room one last time then turned to face his fellow conspirator. "Indeed he is. With the Miami branch of the Network sending Palmer to ground immediately there was no reason to send him down there. He'd already given us as much info on Palmer as we were going to get." Hassan grimaced. "He is not the best operative; tell me again why you recruited him."
Crossing her arms, Maya said, "He was in sniper school with Yates and Hardy. He was already a source of information for us from the beginning of this." She waved her hand in the air. "He wasn't moving up in Los Angeles SWAT like he thought he should so he was disgruntled and he didn't really care for either Yates or Hardy because of how good they were. He was already on-site to gather intel on VanStall in Los Angeles and then we just moved him west to Yates and now Hardy."
"But he won't be very good as an Assassin," Hassan said as he moved toward the door and Maya fell into step.
"I don't expect him to last long. He doesn't have the drive nor the honor needed for an Assassin," she said as she followed.
"You plan to kill him?"
"Not yet." As she passed through the door that Hassan had opened for her, she added, "If Joe or Jacob had said they were willing to turn who do think I was going to bring them for their test?" She smiled as Hassan laughed and the door closed behind them.
.**********.
"Frank!" Laura called out.
Frank left his father's office and walked into the living room. "Is it for me?" Frank gestured toward the phone. His eyes took in the shadows under his mother's eyes, their lavender hue taking him back to Joe's abduction three years ago. It was the last time she had looked this way.
"Yes. It's a girl named Cassidy. She said she is a friend of Joe's and wanted to talk with you." Laura extended the phone toward her son who took it with a nod.
He watched as she left the room to return to the kitchen. She did a lot of cooking these days to occupy her mind. Most of it was taken to shelters because she made more than they could eat or at least more than they felt like eating.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Frank. My name is Cassidy Reston. You don't know me but you emailed me back from Joe's account."
Frank actually smiled. "Yeah, actually I do know who you are. Joe told me about you." He heard her pause on the other side. "Hey, nothing to be embarrassed about. Joe can be a flirt too."
"But he wasn't," she rushed to say.
Frank chuckled. "Don't worry about it, Cassidy. Is there a reason you called?"
"Yeah. I just feel so bad about everything. It's almost like I caused it to happen when I called Joe and told him about Jacob."
"Cassidy, it's like I told you in the email." Frank had been going through Joe's email since his disappearance to look for anything strange. He had seen an email from Cassidy with Jacob's name and had emailed her back. He hadn't expected to hear from her again. "It had nothing to do with you and in fact, your call gave us a head start." He moved to look out the picture window at the birds on the feeder. "Not that we were able to do anything useful with it." He shook his head. "But none of this is your fault."
"I want to come to Bayport in two weeks," she said suddenly.
Frank gripped the phone tightly. Two weeks and it would be the just a week or so until ORT and the Network expected Joe to show up looking for Vanessa. His voice was strained as he said, "You don't have to do that."
A sigh sounded over the phone. "I didn't go for Jacob. I probably couldn't have done anything but I feel the need to try. Surely you can understand that."
Frank did, very much so.
"Plus, I know sniper methods and I was with Joe at the school. I know there are plenty of ATF or whatever agents there with sniper experience, but I was WITH Joe. Maybe there will be something I can add that no one else can." Her tone was pleading.
If something happened to Joe, she needed to know that she had tried everything. How could he tell her no when he needed to try everything himself. "Sure. Come on over. Don't stay at a hotel. You can stay here with us in the spare room."
"Oh, no, I couldn't."
Frank heard a pan clang in the kitchen. "Please. Mom is cooking more than we can eat and you can help us with that." He glanced toward the kitchen. "Plus she needs a distraction."
Cassidy laughed. "Thank you. I'll be in touch with my arrival plans."
"Thanks, Cassidy." He disconnected the call. In actuality they weren't sure that Joe was going to show up in a few weeks. To be sure the Assassins knew that Vanessa was holed up somewhere. There had been talk that perhaps the focus would shift to him but Frank didn't see it. The pattern was established and he thought they'd stick to it. He prayed they'd stick to it so they'd catch them before something tragic happened.