Hello hopes this finds everyone safe and well, my family and I are safe and well. Although I work in a grocery store so you can imagine how crazy things are. Finally managed finished this chapter. Thank you to those who left me wonderful review, and to those who are following, favorites, or just reading, and thank you elevn buddy for helping me with his chapter.

I will try to post another as soon as I can. here's the new chapter hope you like it. Please stay safe and healthy

A Brother's Revenge Chapter 9

Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother...soon a Hardy boy will die! "That's a pretty bold statement. At noon and in broad daylight too." Con said reading the message on the windshield.

"Someone's definitely trying to send you a message." Officer Baker added kneeling down to look at the front tires cut in ribbons. He took a picture of the tires and the message on the windshield.

"Yes, and it's pretty clear and to the point." Fenton commented. Frank had called him and the police not more than an hour ago and told him Callie's car had been vandalized. His heart had nearly given out when he'd arrived and seen the cryptic message on the windshield.

"This is so creepy." Callie said shaking. A chill run down her spine; she wrapped her arms around herself for comfort. "I'm scared for you and Joe." She tore her eyes away from her car and looked up at Frank and noticed he was lost in thought. "Frank."

Frank stood frozen where he was, he couldn't let go of the words... He couldn't think, his mind was racing. Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die!

"Frank?"

When he didn't answer she began to panic. "Frank, please!" Callie touched his shoulder, "Stay with me, I'm scared!" She called to him.

Hearing the panic in Callie's voice, Frank quickly snapped out of his thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her close to him.

"Callie, no one's going to hurt you." He vowed to her. "I promise."

She immediately felt safe in his arms, nothing at this moment would dare to hurt her, however there was still a bit of trouble in his eyes.

"Frank, are you alright?" Fenton asked, concerned for his son.

"Yeah, I just want to find whoever did this." Frank replied after a few moments of silence, finally pulling himself together.

"Do you have any idea as to who done this?" Callie asked to get him to focus. "

"A few people come to mind," Frank answered. "One in particular, for pretty obvious reasons."

"Ryan Hayden." Fenton stated, knowing where his son's mind was going.

"It would make sense." Con agreed. "Hayden's murder was all over the news and on the front cover of the paper. Not to mention Frank's arrest as the prime suspect."

Frank nodded in agreement. His stomach began churning at the possibility. However they couldn't make assumptions, it could be someone, anyone, else. But his mind kept shifting back to Ryan...as well as his minions has Henry; again he had to remind himself not to make assumptions. He had to get proof.

"Why don't you both start from the beginning and tell us what happened after you left the courthouse?" Fenton asked, growing more concerned.

There was a chance that Hayden's murder had brought the younger Hayden brother out of hiding. Ryan was already a wanted man for multiple counts of murder including the deaths of two police officers, he was also the top suspect in the hospital fire.

Although there was the possibility that he'd had help from Carolyn Matthews aka Crazy Nurse Matthews, not to mention Daniel Bartend and Henry who were all wanted people as well, the charges including Joe's abduction and the deaths of Phil and Seth Cohen.

"If Ryan is here, he will be a very dangerous man, hell-bent on revenge for his brother's death." Fenton thought things were about to get even more complicated.

They had to find him and fast...his sons' lives depended on it. Fenton had yet to hear from Sam who was working on the hospital case and had left to follow up on a development that had been brought to their attention.

"Well," Callie began calmly, "After we left the courthouse..." She glanced at Frank before turning back to his father. "It was my idea to drive to the college campus because I wanted to show Frank my new apartment." She said. "We were going to grab a bite to eat...and then we came out here and found my car like this."

She shivered, glancing at the message again.

"Have you talked to anyone or noticed anyone acting suspiciously." Con took out a notepad to jot down information.

"Just those three nasty girls in the lobby that were hitting on Frank." Callie answered with annoyance in her voice. "If they think they're going to get their hands on him, they've got another thing coming."

Fenton and Con just grinned at the comment.

Frank blushed in response. He cleared his throat. "The only reason I was talking to them was to ask if they saw that dark-haired kid." He quickly changed the subject. "Although, I don't know how those girls noticed anything with all the chit chatting and carrying on they were doing. Then again they noticed me only when I got their attention."

That got Fenton's attention, "Dark haired kid?" His mind immediately went to the image of the dark-haired figure in a red shirt from the security footage from the shooting range.

Frank quickly explained to his father and Con about the mysterious dark haired kid who'd been in the lobby sitting on a red chair.

"I couldn't see his face clearly; he was kind of slumped down in a chair with his face buried in a magazine, he had a red cap on his head." Damn it he saw that kid ...but why...what is it about that kid that was bothering him? Did he have something to do with this? Who was this kid?

"I do remember when we first got here we were walking through the parking lot towards the apartment building when a strange feeling came over me. It felt like I was being watched, but I didn't see anyone. There were people walking around but nothing that would cause suspicion."

Frank kept a protective arm around Callie's waist as he spoke. "Maybe this proves that I'm not being paranoid after all." God, he hoped so. "That someone really is watching me. And that someone really was watching me those last two times on my morning runs to the pier on Shore Road. And that someone has a connection to Hayden's real killer...or maybe the murderer himself. We have to find this person."

"You could be right." Fenton nodded. He paused for a moment, Frank wasn't going to like the next thing he had to say, and truthfully he didn't like it either. He huffed. "There's just one problem."

"What's that?"

"We, as in you and me, have to stay out of it."

"What the hell for?" This came out a little more forcefully than Frank had intended.

Fenton kept his voice firm and steady. "Frank you're still considered a suspect in Hayden's murder. This means we can't investigate because if whoever vandalized Callie's car and left that message does in fact have a connection to Hayden's killer, we would be violating the judge's court order."

Frank narrowed his eyes at his father; he couldn't hide his anger anymore. "Damn!" He exploded; he could no longer keep his rage inside.

"Frank!" Callie was surprised at Frank's outburst.

Frank took a step back in order to calm down...he hated going off on his father; it always made him feel bad. He turned around and ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. His emotions were all over the place...and he was so tired...he hated being depressed.

Once calm he turned back around to face his father. "Dad, I'm sorry, I don't mean to go off on you...it's just, we have to find Hayden's real killer, because if Ryan is here and he thinks I murdered his brother he's going to be out for blood. Joe and I are walking targets."

"Does this mean I'm a target too?" Callie piped in worriedly.

"Yes, that's what I'm afraid of. You, our friends, everyone around us. What happened to Phil can't happen again."

Fenton bit the tip of his tongue to stop his temper. He was going to have to have a talk with the boys later about their disrespectful attitudes.

He took a deep, calming breath. "Son, I understand the reason you're angry and I agree about your friends being targets. This is a very complicated situation and it's going to take a lot of thinking on my part to figure out what to do next."

"Callie, for your safety, I think it is best that you stay with your parents." Fenton suggested. "Do not come back here until everything is over and the perpetrators are caught."

He cared a great deal about this young woman and knew how much she meant to his son. If anything were to happen to Callie, it would be devastating.

"We can also have a squad car outside your parents' house as a precaution." Con offered. "We'll do the same for you and your family, Fenton."

"Thank you Con." Fenton said gratefully. It was a comfort to know his family would be well protected.

"I agree." Frank would be damned if he let anything happen to the woman he loved.

"Does that mean I can't see you?" Callie protested the idea.

"It'd make me feel better to know that you were safe with your parents."

"I don't want to be away from you." She looked up at his brown eyes that made her weak in the knees.

The thought of not being able to be around Frank was not setting well with her. She wanted to be with him always. They'd just shared an intimate moment, a moment that had strengthened their relationship... they were engaged to be married for goodness sakes!

However, she understood the situation they were facing was dire...Frank and Joe's lives had been threatened; Callie would do as she was asked.

"Alright," Callie sighed as she gave in.

"Thank you." Frank said relieved. He put an arm around her and pulled her close to him and then kissed her forehead. 'We'll work something out so we can see each other I promise." He released her keeping her close to him.

"I'll inform the Chief of what's going on and that Ryan Hayden could be in Bayport." Con replied, as he finished writing in his note pad.

"What about my car?" Callie inquired; she tilted her head inquisitively.

"We'll have it towed to a shop for repairs."

'What about the dark- haired kid Frank saw? He might be important."

"That is, if we can find him," Fenton answered. "Unfortunately 'a dark haired kid wearing a red cap' is a pretty vague description."

Con wanted to do everything and anything he could to help clear Frank's name. And if Ryan Hayden was in fact still in Bayport, the officer wanted more than anything to catch him...after all, Hayden was responsible for killing two of his fellow officers. As he continued to think about it, he realized Callie did have a point, the dark haired kid could be important.

"It might be a long shot," he said slowly. "But we could try and ask the other residents in the building if they've seen a kid fitting that description."

"We could treat this as a case of vandalism." Fenton said thinking out loud, "The kid is a person of interest in the vandalism of property."

"Does that mean you're going to let me help?" Frank asked hopefully. "I mean, most of the residents are college students; they'd probably feel more comfortable talking to me than to a couple of police officers."

Mulling over the information, what his son had said did make sense. Fenton glanced over at Con before answering. "Alright, you can at least until we know for sure this kid has a connection to Hayden's murder, then we'll have turn the case over to someone else."

Frank smiled, relieved his father agreed.

"I want to help too." Callie chimed in. "It'll be a great way to get to know my neighbors". She linked her arm through Frank's. "Besides, I want to be there in case those nasty girls are around."

"Callie." Frank groaned, his face blushing a deep red. Fenton and Con managed to stifle their laughs at the young couple's expense.

"Detective Hardy! Officer Riley! Look what I found."

The group turned to see Officer Baker walking towards them, a white handkerchief wrapped around a can of black spray paint.

"Where did you find that?" Con asked in shock.

"It was over by the bushes, next to the sign for student parking. It looks like it's been used, there's still residue of paint around the nozzle."

"You just found it there?" Con glanced over at the indicated sign.

"Yes sir."

"That's kind of a coincidence don't you think?" Fenton replied, looking at what the officer held.

"Yeah almost too easy as if he wanted us to find it." Frank said picking up on what his father was thinking. "Either that or he got careless...he could have heard someone walking by and didn't want to get caught. He might've just thrown the spray can into the bushes and took off."

"That's a good theory." Fenton praised his son. It was good to hear Frank's detective side kicking in.

He quickly threw his own thoughts out into the open. "However I'm not sure Ryan would be that careless, leaving evidence behind like that. If he's going to attack, he's going to be smart about it."

"Well, we can still take it to the lab to check for fingerprints." Con answered. "Hopefully, it'll give us a clue. Baker why don't you check all our local hardware stores and see if they have any recent records of anyone buying a can of black spray paint? While you're doing that, I'll call the Chief and give him an update."

"Yes, Sir," Officer Baker left to follow Con's order.

FJFJFJFJFJFJF

Now the Hardys' were alone. "Okay, let's go talk to the residents." Frank took Callie's hand in his as his girlfriend nodded her agreement. Looking back up at the apartment building, Frank stopped in his tracks as another flashback started. The second floor of the hospital exploding into a fiery inferno...seeing the hole in the floor. The room he'd shared with Joe had been directly above the impacted room. Callie as well as Fenton noticed Frank's pale face and heavy breathing, stopping in their tracks.

"Frank. Baby, are you okay?" Callie asked anxiously.

Frank continued to breathe heavily...he couldn't stop the images. Joe...he had to protect...Joe!

"Frank, calm down and answer us. Are you okay?"

Blinking as he forced the thoughts away, Frank shook his head as he focused on his father's voice.

"Dad, where's Joe...why didn't he come with you?" Frank took a few deep breaths to calm down. "He wasn't with you yesterday when you came to visit me in jail. Just an hour ago I called you and told you about Callie's car being vandalized. If Joe knew I was in trouble, he'd be here."

His mind began to panic once more...if it was Ryan...Oh my God, Joe! He had to protect Joe!

"Your brother is at home."

Frank quickly shook the thoughts out of his head; the inferno caused by the fire was gone to be replaced by Callie's apartment building. What had just happened? Frank began to once again calm down.

"He's at home?" He repeated slowly to Fenton.

"That's right."

"I left as soon as you called...I didn't tell him."

"Why?"

Fenton regretted not telling Joe. "I know I should've told him but he's not exactly speaking to me after the blow up we had this morning while in the courthouse parking lot. Let's just say your mother and I had a very quiet ride home. As soon as we got to the house, your brother got out of the car and hurried into the house, using his crutches to go straight to his room. He's been there ever since."

"What's this fight about? Why are you two arguing?" Frank asked curiously as he processed his father's words. He was growing greatly concerned about his brother.

"I can't really discuss this with you, due to the fact it has to do with Hayden's murder case, but I'll just say this," Fenton replied "Joe and I came across some evidence yesterday that may or may not make things worse for you."

Frank raised an eyebrow at his father's words as his father continued to speak. "I had to make a very difficult decision and because of that decision Joe is very angry with me."

Fenton finished as the image of the dark-haired figure in a red shirt from the security footage from the shooting range flashed in his head. He knew without a doubt it wasn't Frank on that tape stealing the gun. The gun that was later found at the crime scene where Hayden was murdered.

That tape could make things worse for Frank's case...it could even get him convicted as Joe had said. In spite of that Fenton still believed that turning the disc over to Chief Collig was the right thing to do; even if it caused some friction regarding his younger son. And he really wasn't sure how Frank would react to his decision either.

So the fight between his brother and father had to do with him. Now Frank was really curious as what the new evidence was. "Dad you know that by not telling him, you're adding fuel to the fire. He's going to be furious about this."

"I know." Fenton was doing his best to explain things. He knew there was no excuse for his not telling Joe about Frank's phone call and the fact that he was in trouble.

"It's just that Joe has become so bitter about our justice system. I know he's going through stuff as well. Joe thinks that since the judge barred us from the case that he should be a part of it."

"The fact that I won't let him work it is another reason for his being mad at me. He wants so badly to clear your name, Frank. You know what your brother is like when it comes to rushing into things without thinking... I'm worried this will cause a lapse in judgment that will hinder the investigation or worse still, cost him his life."

"Your brother's a loose cannon right now. And I have no ideas to how he'll react to this newest threat against you both as well as the possibility of Ryan Hayden hiding somewhere."

"Dad, one way or another, Joe has to know so that he can stay alert and ready, just in case this newest threat is carried out."

Frank looked at the message on Callie's vandalized car, Eye for an eye... A brother for a brother... soon a Hardy boy will die! He pointed at the shredded front tires. "This may be just a warning...next time someone could get hurt or worse."

"I know. You're right." Fenton agreed.

Frank looked up at the apartment building. " We'll be back, the dark haired kid can wait."

He looked back at his father. "Right now we need to go home. You're going to need my help to talk to Joe."