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The Hardy Boys
(Heartless)
Sequel: A Friend in Need
Chapter 20
There was a heavy silence in the air.
"This is my courtroom. I am the judge," Mathers stated, breaking the silence and looking up. "And... they are your jury."
Joe, along with Frank and Fenton, followed Mathers's gaze. Their jaws dropped in shock to see a large number of Heartless gang members, most of them teenage boys, all standing before them on the catwalk of a second story balcony. Some of them were leaning over a metal railing, and the expressions on their faces were strong and fierce.
Frank quickly took in the place. It was dim and dusty, with a hard, cold concrete floor. He realized they were in some sort of warehouse. Frank's eyes landed on a big metal door, hidden behind a large amount of crates in the far corner of the room.
A great place to hide explosives! His detective instincts were kicking in, wanting to find out. But first, getting Joe out of here was his main priority.
"What difference does it make?" Joe hissed, breaking in Frank's thoughts, "You already assume I'm guilty!"
"The only person here who should be on trial," Joe continued, "Is you!"
"You have a chance to defend yourself," Mathers said, ignoring Joe's comment, "Let's let your peers hear your side of the story. I want them to hear you confess to killing my brother."
"Alright, you want to hear my side?" Joe replied, taking a deep breath. "You want to hear the truth? Okay, here it is... I DID NOT KILL Al-ROUSASA!"
Mathers raised his eyebrows at this, unbelieving, and so Joe knew he had to continue.
"In fact... I tried to save him that day at the mall," Joe went on, "Al-Rousasa was going to assassinate a political figure, and I tried to stop him. A lot of people would have been hurt or worse that day. We were in a fight, literally over life and death. Al-Rousasa fell over the edge of a railing on a three-story balcony inside the mall."
Mathers still didn't seem convinced, so Joe got angry.
"It was Al-Rousasa who let go of my hand, he chose to die!"
Still nothing. No response.
"Al-Rousasa, your brother, killed my late girlfriend, Iola Morton, in a car explosion..."
Joe's voice trailed off. Fighting back tears, his body started to shake uncontrollably. "I..I can't do this!"
"Damn you Mathers! Stop this now!" Frank demanded, pulling against the ropes and trying to loosen them. "Leave my brother alone!"
Cypher pulled a handgun out of his back pocket. "Shut Up!" he shouted, aiming the gun right at Frank's head, "Or.. I'll shut you up permanently!
"No!" Fenton cried.
"No... please!" Joe pleaded, tears streaming down his face, " I... I... I'll do anything! I'll even join Heartless. Please... just don't kill my brother!"
The words flew out of Joe's mouth before he even realized he had said them.
A grin spread across Mathers's face. "What was that?
Joe took a deep breath, shuddering. "I-I said I'll join Heartless. Just... don't kill my brother!"
"Put the gun down!" Mathers ordered Cypher.
Cypher did as was instructed, and so Mathers reached down and pulled something loose out of the cuff of his pants.
It was the six-inch blade of a combat knife!
Then, looking very serious, Mathers held out his left arm. He took the knife and ran it across his arm, allowing the blade to slice his wrist. And he did it all without flinching. Blood ran out of his self-inflected wound.
Frank and Fenton were horrified when Mathers grabbed Joe's arm, then pressed the knife against his left wrist.
"Aiyee!"
Joe screamed out in pain as the blade sliced his wrist. Mathers's eyes glowed at the sight of blood.
"Joe!" Fenton shouted, hearing the sound of his child cry out in pain. Being held against his will was the cruelest game to play. He was trying to fight his way to his baby boy.
"Mathers! I'm going to tear you apart!" Fenton screamed, feeling himself building anger. He pulled against the ropes, which rubbed his sweat-soaked wrists until they bled. Fenton didn't care how much it hurt. He had to get to Joe.
Ignoring the cries from Frank and Fenton, Mathers took Joe's bloody arm and press it against his own self-inflected wound.
"Now, you belong to me!"
Mathers grabbed Joe's chin, meeting him at eye level. A nasty grin stretched across his face as he repeated, "I own you!"
For a split second, Joe thought he was looking into the eyes of the man's brother. Al-Rousasa! Joe jerked Mathers's hand away from his chin.
Joe prayed Mathers didn't see his body shaking. He felt sick, as if he was going to pass out. Then everything went black. Mathers cuts Joe's other wrist loose from the rope and flung him over his shoulder.
"Noooo!"
Frank snapped, and he pulled on his ropes so hard that blood started running down his arms. Blocking out the pain, he simply tried to get to his little brother.
"You can't have my brother!" he screamed.
Suddenly, Frank heard a voice boom out.
"Police!"
Chief Collig and Officer Con Riley, along with a swat team of other officers, kicked in the front door, sending the Heartless gang members running.
"Let the boy go, Mathers!" Chief Collig ordered. The minute he untied Frank and Fenton they shot out of their chairs, making their way toward Mathers.
"I wouldn't try anything, if I were you!" Mathers roared, freezing everyone in their tracks.
Mathers pulled a small device out of his breast pocket.
"You come near me..." he began, his chilling words running down Frank's spine, "And I'll blow the roof off this place!"
Mathers started backing away, with Joe over his shoulder.
"I won't let you take my son!" Fenton exclaimed, clutching his fists into a ball and taking a step towards Mathers.
"What about your recruits? Are just going to abandon them?" Frank asked, stalling for time. His mind was racing, trying to keep Mathers from taking Joe.
"I don't need them anymore," Mathers replied coolly, "I got what I wanted... or, more accurately, who I wanted."
What?!" Frank screamed, narrowing his eyes.
"I put an end to the Assassins to join forces with Sei Duro, the former leader of Heartless," Mathers went on, "All for money, power, and revenge."
"Sei Duro was a very greedy man, all he wanted was money and power." Mathers continued, looking at the boy on his shoulder. "I, on the other hand, wanted revenge on the boy who killed my brother. So, I created the hit list for a million dollars for each Hardy dead or alive."
He turned back to Frank and Fenton with sheer hated in his eyes. "I made sure young Joseph was on top of that hit list."
Both Frank and Fenton gasped at this, horror in both of their faces.
"Sei Duro was suppose to deliver him to me, but he failed to do that!" Mathers ranted on, clearly angry, "However, he did me a favor... by killing himself! I took over Heartless started recruiting..."
"You preyed on the weak and the most vulnerable," Frank interrupted, "Teenage boys who were loners or were in broken homes, falling into the wrong crowd. They're all just victims caught up in your sick little game. Using them to get what you want is wrong and you know it!"
"Clever boy," Mathers replied, rubbing his chin, "The crime wave was just a diversion."
"You took the army truck carrying explosives," Frank said, "You're going to blow up Bayport, aren't you?"
"No," Mathers said, shaking his head, "Just part of it. Everyone will be so focused on the destruction and devastation of lives lost, that by the time you all come looking for me, I will be long gone with my prize. Young Joseph!"
"I want let you take Joe!" Fenton yelled, and his face turned pale then brick-red. He felt pressure building up inside of him. "I'll spend the rest of your miserable life hunting you down! I promise you!"
"Wait! Where is Angela Santos?" Frank cried, starting his last attempt at saving his little brother, "Is she dead? Did you kill her?!"
"She will be," Mathers said with a nasty grin, firmly holding the device in one hand and Joe on his shoulder. Joe began to stir but was too dizzy to focus on what was going on.
Mathers backed away to a side door, then violently kicked it open and ran out. "Joseph, it's time to leave this retched town."
"Joe!" Frank and Fenton exclaimed. They flew out the door along with Chief Collig and Officer Con Riley, a swat team of officers behind them.
Frank's heart started pounding out of his chest , when he saw the Gray Man and several other men with their guns pointing straight at Mathers head.
"Put the boy down, Mathers!" Gray ordered, "You're a dead man!"
"I don't think so!" Mathers spat, holding the device in one hand. He was about to press the button to set off the bomb.
Mathers had his back turned away from Frank. It was the perfect distraction that Frank needed.
Frank immediately ran up to Mathers, sending a roundhouse kick in a semicircular motion and knocking the device out of his hand. It skidded across the ground. The blow caught Mathers off-guard, causing Joe to fall to the ground. Fenton caught his son in time before he hit his head.
Frank and Mathers made a mad dash for the device. At one point, Frank had the device in his hand, but Mathers kicked it out.
"Awww!" Frank cried out, in pain.
"Now for a little revenge!" came Mathers's gruff voice, glaring at Frank. He held the device his thumb, hovering over the button.
"I'm going to blow the town apart!"
Suddenly, Gray Man and his men started firing off a round of bullets into the man's chest. Frank watched in shock as Mathers clutched his chest, falling lifeless to the ground in a heap.
"Frank!"
Fenton's voice broke him out of his thoughts. Frank turned around, his heart almost stopped, when he saw his little brother on the ground. Fenton was cradling his head in his lap.
"Joe, it's okay. I've got you," Fenton said in a soothing voice, brushing a strain of blond hair out of Joe's eyes and pleading for him to respond. "It's okay. We got Mathers. You're safe."
Fenton ripped off a part of his shirt and wrapped it around Joe's bloody wrist.
"Dad, how bad is it?" Frank asked worriedly, kneeling beside his father. His little brother looked so pale.
"I don't know," Fenton answered, "The cut is pretty deep."
Gray looked up and said, very slowly, "Mathers is dead."
Both Fenton and Frank nodded, not expecting anything else.
"Now we need to find those bombs before they go off," Gray said grimly, "We also need to search Gang Alley."
"Officer Riley, I want a clean sweep of Gang Alley," Chief Collig ordered, "All residents are to leave the area immediately."
"Yes, Sir," Officer Riley replied.
As soon as Officer Riley and his officers had gone, Chief Collig gave a slight nod to Fenton. "An ambulance is on it's way."
"Thank you, Chief."
"I think, I know where the explosives are." Frank spoke up suddenly, "It could be inside the warehouse. I could show you, but..."
He hesitated, not wanting to leave his little brother.
"It's okay, Frank," Fenton replied, "I've got Joe."
Slowly, Frank leaned forward and kissed Joe on the forehead. "I'll be back, little brother. I promise you."
"Frank, please be careful," Fenton warned. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, and it wasn't good.
"I will, Dad," Frank replied. He too had an uneasy feeling in his stomach.
A few minutes later, Fenton watched his oldest son, along with the Gray Man and his men, disappear into the warehouse.
Suddenly, Fenton heard the sound of Joe moaning, "Dad?"
Joe's eyes fluttered open, then he quickly closed them due to a splitting headache. He found himself looking up at his father. There was a worried expression on his face, and he knew something was wrong.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
"You're going to be just fine," Fenton said, trying to reassure his son, "As soon as we get you to the hospital. You will be good as new in no time."
Joe looked around. There was Chief Collig and several officers. He could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, then it hit him.
"Where's Frank?"
Fenton was about to answer when, all of the sudden, a loud BOOM! the warehouse exploded into a fiery inferno.
"Frank!"
Sorry to leave you with this cliffhanger...don 't leave Joe hanging... .if you want Frank back...you know what to do review. Thank You