Hello everyone, I apologize again for the long wait. I'm trying my best to update when I can, I will not abandon it I will finish. I'm whining down a brother's revenge with three more chapters. then I'm planning to do two more sequels, I've been dropping hints in the last two chapters. The sequels will be my last two installments of my Pressure series. Let me know your thoughts. How do you like the story so far? is it making sense? would you be interested in two more sequels? Your response would mean a lot.
Thank you to those who have left me wonderful reviews, follow, favorites, or just reading and thanks again for my beta reader for your help with my story you're awesome :) Just a heads up, in this new chapter I must warn you there is talk of sexual conduct in here, but not too explicit. Also, rough language. Here my new chapter hope you like it.
A Brother's Revenge Chapter 28
"Picasso! How can you be so stupid! If this little stunt of yours finds its way back to us! " A gruff voice roared so loudly that the Artist had to pull his burner phone away from his ear.
"Relax Boss, I'm handling it." Picasso cut in through clenched teeth while gripping the phone tightly making his knuckles turn white.
"You better. The Hardy's are not to be touched yet. If anything happens to any of them, I'll eliminate you personally and you won't see it coming!" then the line went dead.
"Shit!" Picasso exploded throwing the phone into the back of his van. "Why the hell do I let myself get talked into doing these side jobs?"
He sat in the driver's seat staring out at the night sky as the fireworks exploded in the air above him. He huffed gripping the steering wheel, as a murderous rage began coursing through his body. He took several deep breaths, and he slowly began to calm down. He didn't flinch when someone suddenly started pounding on his driver's side window because he knew exactly who it was. He shifted in his seat and looked out the window, narrowing his eyes and glaring at him when he saw it was Henry. The kid was quickly becoming a thorn in his side. He maybe Jack Hayden's kid…. however, he annoyed the hell out of him. The sooner that this job was done, the sooner he'd be far away from the kid.
He rolled down the window, "You took your sweet time in getting here. What took you so long? The fireworks show has already started." He growled as he gestured towards the sky. "The grand finale will be going off soon."
"It doesn't matter," Henry replied in a snarky tone. "I'm here, aren't I?"
It had been a close call, Henry thought. My, well, Uncle Ryan's plan almost blew up in my face. He smirked as he thought about his run in with Frank Hardy. It's a good thing I took care of him, it's just too bad I didn't kill him, he smiled inwardly thinking of Frank out cold laying on the ground. But soon, very soon I'll get my chance. I will have the final say…and all loose ends will be complete.
"Don't be a smartass, Kid. It doesn't become you. Did you do what I told you to do?"
"I did."
"To the letter?" Picasso questioned.
"Yes, to the letter!" Henry growled through clenched teeth, glaring at the Artist. Then he spoke sweetly, with a smirk on his face, "I put the things where you told me. My uncle doesn't suspect a thing." Henry's mind quickly flashed back to their scheming plan. "If you want to protect your Hardy boy the best way to do that is to get rid of your uncle." Picasso advised him.
"How do I do that?"
"Think boy! You need to find an object your uncle has in his possession and make sure it has his fingerprints on it. Do NOT touch it with your bare hands, use gloves…. once you get it, I'll give you something else to plant right along with it." Henry thought quickly of the only thing that came to mind; it was perfect. Then his flashback broke, he smiled at Picasso. "I did what you said."
"You better not screw it up kid. If this comes back to bite me in the ass. I'll come looking for you." Picasso threatened.
Henry shot back evenly. "Don't you forget our deal. You are going to help me protect Joe, right? And get me a gun, right?" He eagerly pressed on, "Do you have my gun?"
OOOh, this kid was getting on his last nerve. Picasso huffed wearily glaring at Henry. "For the last damn time! I'll deliver my end of the deal to you when, you deliver my blonde beauty to me."
"I will."
"Good. Now go get her!"
Without a word Henry adjusted his red cap on his head. Picasso watched him leave and smirked, oh yeah, now I remember why I take on these side jobs, I love the money and the chance to bang hot women… this is going to be so much fun….
FJFJFJFJFJ
Vanessa's jaw dropped at the impressive display of fireworks exploding in the night's sky over the bay off the Bayport Pier, with bursts of red, a shimmering reflective effect on the water's surface. " Oh, wow! How beautiful! Joe, did you see that?" She said pointing up at the sky.
She was standing next to Joe on the boardwalk looking over the water. It was adjacent to the sandy area where they were setting off the fireworks. Well, they had been sitting until Joe had opted to stand saying that he wanted to get the full effect of the fireworks show. He had claimed that this spot was the perfect place to watch the show. And Vanessa had to admit that he was right. It was a perfect spot; it was like having a front row seat. The show was amazing, she thought in awe as another round of fireworks exploded into the dark sky.
When she didn't hear Joe respond she quickly glanced at him, and her heart sank. Joe hadn't heard a word she said, in fact he wasn't even watching the fireworks, instead he was leaning against the railing with his arms folded resting on top, and a bleak expression on his face. Joe's blue eyes were transfixed on the reflection of the moonlight over the water, and he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.
As Joe gazed at the reflection on the water negative thoughts were swirling through his mind. What is wrong with me? I feel like such a failure. I'm no good to anyone. All I do is hurt people. I should've jumped when I had the chance, but Biff had to go and show up preventing me from doing it. Well, no, I take that back, a part of me is grateful Biff showed up when he did. He's a good friend and it's not fair of me to put him in that kind of position. But I couldn't let Frank know my secret. I really don't want to leave my friends and family, but he had to. He loved and cared about everyone so much. He had to do it; it was what was best for them.
Then his thoughts drifted to his dream of working at the new detective agency alongside his brother, father, and Sam. The three greatest men in his life, all of whom he loved and admired so much. That dream was right there at his fingertips. He had even stood in the physical realization of his dream earlier with Vanessa. However, he knew that it couldn't be anything more than a dream.
Next his thoughts wandered to Fenton. He did love his dad and he desperately wanted to work things out with him, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Every time he got near his father it made him angry and scared, to the point it would cause him to go into a panic attack. Why? It didn't make any sense. Why did he have these feelings of fear, anger and resentment towards his father?
Of course, Dad has his reasons for not letting him help clear Frank's name and in turning over the only evidence they had to finding Jack Hayden's real killer. Joe knew that it hadn't been an easy decision for his father to make, knowing that whatever decision he made would put Frank at risk. I guess it's one of those stuck in a tricky situation kind of things, Joe thought. He knew one thing for sure though, he wanted to clear Frank's name. He would do whatever he had to in order to do that, even if it meant going against his father. He had to do it for Frank. Then a voice in the back of his mind was telling him that he should just stay out of it. He should just let his father oversee the case. He would just mess things up and make things worse for Frank. It would be better if I gave in to the darkness, Joe thought, his blue eyes stared intently at the water below him. He began to imagine himself sinking deep into the water until he reached the bottom, and he would remain there until his last breath left his body.
Suddenly without warning the little voices came roaring back in his head,
"It hurts! Stop please! It hurts!"
"You're nothing!"
'You're no good!"
"It hurts! It hurts!"
"Bad things happen because of you!"
Stop! Stop it! Joe couldn't stop the voices running through his mind. Why is this happening to me? I want this to end. Frank wouldn't be so stressed out all the time. Callie would make him happy and take good care of him. The fighting with dad would stop. He was no good to anyone. Mom and Aunt Gertrude would cry over me once I'm gone, but in time they will be okay.
You're no good! You're no good!
And Vanessa….
Suddenly he felt a hand touch his arm, "Joe!"
"No! don't touch me!" Joe cried as he flinched away from the hand. Without thinking he took a step back landing on his bad leg and winced as pain shot up it. Blinking quickly, he shifted his eyes away from the water and turned to see Vanessa looking at him with concern written all over her face.
"Are you alright?" She asked softly as she quickly drew her hand back not wanting to cause him any more distress.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." He said quickly.
Vanessa just looked at him and he could tell that she was not convinced. "No, you're not. Talk to me, Joe, I know you're worried about Frank and his health on top of the murder case. I told you before that you can trust me. It will just be between us."
Joe didn't respond, instead he turned away from her to look back at the water once more while he tightly gripped the railing with his hands. His heart was racing, it felt like it was pounding out of his chest, and his hands hurt because of the tight grip he had on the railing. He took a breath working hard to calm himself down.
"You're having another panic attack, aren't you?" Vanessa asked taking her phone out of her back pocket. "I'm going to text your mom or maybe Frank would be better?"
Joe turned around in time to catch Vanessa in the process of texting. He quickly snatched her phone out of her hand before she could hit send.
"Joe! What are you doing?" She cried making a grab for her phone. But he held it up out of her reach.
"There's no need to text them. We already let them know we're here. Besides that, don't worry I'm fine."
"Joe, I promised your mother that we would call or text her if there was a problem. We both did, remember…."
"There's no problem, so why worry my mom and brother any more than they already are. Frank doesn't need the added stress. He just needs to have fun and relax and watch the fireworks with Callie. In fact, she's got to be his focus from now on. They are engaged, and he doesn't need me to burden his life anymore. I'm going to fix that, soon I'll be nothing more than just a faded memory to him." Joe's eyes started to mist thinking of Frank. His eyes trailed back down at the water, "It's the way it has to be."
"Joe, what do you mean by a faded memory?" Vanessa asked her concern evident in her voice. She wondered if it was related to the big secret that Biff Hooper was revealing to Frank. She wanted so much to know what's going on. Why was Joe acting this way?
"It means, I'm fine." Joe said backtracking his statement. "Enough talk about me." He smiled at her. Stop thinking these crazy thoughts he berated himself. Focus on Vanessa. "We are on a date after all. I just want to focus on you."
Vanessa looked at him through narrowed eyes. She knew that he wasn't fine. He was becoming erratic and unpredictable again. Just like the way he had acted at the agency. Like how he had been on the verge of having another panic attack in front of her mother. She didn't know what was going on in that head of his. Was he going through some form of depression himself like Frank? Was that it? Was Joe having a mental crisis? It could explain the negative tone in his voice in the way he spoke about himself. However, she didn't like the negative words he kept using, or the way that he kept staring down at the water below them.
Oh no! A disturbing thought hit her. Joe's not thinking of harming himself, is he? Could that be the big secret Joe was keeping from Frank? What do I do? She knew that she needed to alert his family, but to do that she needed to get her phone back from him. Wait, no! The first thing she needed to do was get him away from that railing. The best thing she could do until she nabbed her phone back was to do was to keep things calm, she told herself. She needed to keep him distracted from his dark thoughts like she did bringing up the subject of football and massaging his shoulders.
"Ok then, we can continue our date. I'd like that." Vanessa replied as calmly as she could muster. "Why don't we go sit down. That way you can rest your leg while we watch the rest of the fireworks." she said pointing at the empty bench beside them. "Don't make me go back on my word to your mother. I promised her I'd make sure that you took it easy and not overdo it. okay?" She added smiling hoping it would convince him.
"Whatever you say, Babe." Joe replied smiling back at her.
Vanessa felt relieved when he stepped away from the railing. "Can I have my phone back, please?" She asked holding out her hand to him.
"Sure, here." Joe said turning to hand her phone back to her. As he turned, he forgot and put pressure on his bad leg and with the sudden pain he lost his grip and the phone slipped out of his hand like a bar of soap. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, as Vanessa cried out at the same time, "My phone!" They both tried to make a grab for it, but it was too late, the phone hit the railing, bounced off and fell into the water below.
"Why did you do that?" Vanessa demanded. "Phones cost money, you know? I don't exactly have a lot of it growing on trees."
"Vanessa, I am so sorry…" Joe apologized feeling horrible about losing her phone.
"You're sorry!" She snapped cutting off his words. "If you hadn't snatched it from my hand in the first place, it wouldn't be in the bottom of the bay!"
"I said I was sorry!" Joe shot back. "Here if it makes you feel better." Without thinking he grabbed his phone out of his back pocket and threw it over the railing and into the water. "There now we're even."
"I can't believe you just did that Joe!" Vanessa gasped in anger as she tried to get her breathing back under control. "How are we supposed to contact anyone if something happens? Especially, with that threat against you and Frank. They'll worry if they can't contact us." Now what was she going to do?
FJFJFJFJFJ
"I didn't know what else to do…." Callie replied crying hysterically, tears ran down her face.
"Callie, now calm down and tell me again what happened." Laura said sitting beside her at the picnic table trying to console the visibly upset young woman. All the while trying her best not to panic with what was going on with her boys. Gertrude and Andrea sat close by with concern evident on their faces.
Callie did as Laura instructed. "Okay. Okay." She took a couple deep breaths slowly, trying to calm down but then she started crying again too worried about Frank. "Frank was so upset and worried about Joe…then we found the…the 'Jim' badge and the latex mask. Frank tried to get a hold of Mr. Hardy but couldn't. So, we documented it and took pictures on our phones…. Frank sent them to his dad and Sam." She hugged her purse tightly in her arm against her chest. "…. he asked me to keep it safe. I told him I would." She looked at Laura, "Then the fireworks went off…. startling Frank. He began having a flashback of the hospital fire when he thought Joe was trapped in there. He was so upset and wanted to go look for Joe to make sure he was okay, but I managed to calm him down…. I told him Joe was safe watching the fireworks with Vanessa and having fun. I suggested we come back here to wait for Joe and Vanessa to return like they promised…. Frank reluctantly agreed…. we started making our way here…. that's when we ran into Henry…and he ran off... Frank went after him…I didn't know what else to do….so I came back here." Callie ended teary-eyed.
"Here, child, take a sip of water. I know you're upset." Gertrude said in a no-nonsense voice as she got up from the table and gave a bottle of water to Callie. "But you need to calm down. It's the best thing you can do to help Frank. You getting upset like this is not going to do him any good. Now calm down." Callie took a few sips of water. Once Callie had calmed down a bit Gertrude asked, "In what direction did Frank and Henry go?"
She's right. I have to calm down. Frank needs me, she thought. Callie took another sip of water and began thinking aloud, "Um… They took off running towards the boardwalk, then they turned left and disappeared into the woods."
"Oh my God," Laura gasped as a thought hit her. "If Henry's here, I'm sure that Ryan Hayden is too! We have got to get Joe and Vanessa back here."
"I'll call Vanessa." Andrea said getting out her phone and began dialing. "That's strange." She frowned pulling it away from her ear after a few minutes.
"What is it?' Laura asked anxiously.
Andrea looked at her phone, "Vanessa's phone…. It's saying it's not in service. She always has it on her and answers it when she knows it's me calling her. Let me try texting her." She began texting…again no response. "I don't understand…she knows she's supposed to have her phone on. Why isn't she answering? Do you think something happened?" Andrea said, worriedly looking at Laura and Gertrude.
"Let me try Joe." Laura replied and immediately began texting her youngest son. However, she too received the same response that Andrea had, Joe's phone was not in service. "Oh, that boy has a lot of explaining to do…he knows he has to have his phone on. He promised me." Suddenly fear and dread began playing in her mind…that something was wrong, something had happened. First Frank's run-in with Henry and now Joe. She turned to her sister-in-law, "Gertrude, why is he not responding to my calls and text messages? Oh, my word! Ryan's got him! That has to be why he's not answering! Oh God…please no!"
"Let's not panic yet. Joe and Vanessa probably can't hear their phones because of the fireworks." Gertrude said. That sounded logical, and both mothers hoped that was the reason, and not that something dreadful had happened, although their minds were going to the worst-case scenario.
"I'll go and get Joe and Vanessa. Frank told me where they were going to be watching the fireworks." Callie piped up.
"I really don't think you should, Callie. We know Henry is here and there is a good chance that Hayden is here as well. The rest of the gang have wandered off to get a better view of the fireworks." Laura hesitated, "and it's not a good idea to go off by yourself. We don't want to take the chance that something else could happen."
"I'll be careful. I promise." Callie insisted. she was doing her best to stay calm, but she was too worried about Frank. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing. It was time for her to be strong and brave, she could do this. "Joe needs to know about Frank and we have to warn him about Henry. Please Mrs. Hardy, I can do it."
"Fine. Please be careful and pay close attention to your surroundings." Laura reluctantly agreed. "I'm going to text Fenton." She said while texting as quickly as she could at then hit send. "There, I'm sure he'll be here soon." She too was doing her best not to panic that her boys were in trouble. Fenton's on his way she told herself. Everything's going to be okay.
Callie took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could do this. "Mrs. Hardy, I'm going to give these to you to give to Mr. Hardy." She said taking the Ziploc bag containing the badge and mask out of her purse.
"I'll make sure that he gets them." Laura replied holding on to the items. "Now go, be careful."
"I'm going to try Vanessa again." Andrea replied as she began texting her daughter as Callie took off to find Joe and Vanessa.
FJFJFJFJFJ
Meanwhile, Fenton stood in the parking lot with Sam and Chief Collig. They had the area roped off with officers standing by to keep the scene secure for the forensic investigators and to keep the spectators away. His tired eyes landed on the dark green pinto sitting under a parking lamp. Due to the dark night construction lights had been setup to help illuminate the area. Officers Riley and Baker were going over the area with flashlights their beams landing on the empty beer bottles lay broken in pieces on the ground, syringes laying in and outside of the car, as the crime scene photographer took pictures of the area, documenting the scene.
He grimaced at the three bodies of three college students inside the car. Jarrod Parker was slumped over in the passenger seat while Nate Weaks was on the driver's side, his head resting against the steering wheel. He felt heartbroken at the thought of the families who would be notified of their deaths. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Then his heart suddenly ached for Frank and Joe and the thought of them each going through their own battles. He couldn't lose his sons…Oh God Joe….
"Fenton...?"
"What!" Fenton exclaimed when he felt a strong grip of a hand on his shoulder, followed by the sound of fireworks exploding in the night's sky, startling him out of his thoughts and activating his fight or flight reflex. He immediately jumped back and went into a defensive stance with his fists out ready to strike his opponent.
"Whoa!" Sam held his hands out and slowly backed away from Fenton. "Easy there Fenton, it's just me."
"Sam, I..." Hearing Sam's voice, Fenton shook his troubled thoughts out of his head. He put his fists down at his sides. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."
"No. It's okay. No need for you to apologize." Sam put down his hands at his side as well. He let out a deep breath and began to relax his posture. "I startled you." Note to self, he thought, never sneak up on the 'Great Detective' like that. It could be hazardous to your health.
Fenton ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I was thinking. I have a lot on my mind."
Sam replied. "That's obvious."
This was unlike Fenton. Normally, he was more attentive and focused when he was on a case despite how chaotic it could be. With a closer look, Sam could see the deep bags under his friend's eyes; his dark eyes were filled with too many emotions; fear, anger, and worry swirled about them. It was clear that the man was under a lot of stress; it really was hard for Sam to see Fenton Hardy like this. It had to do with the boys, that must be the reason he was acting like this. Something had to have happened. Sam concluded. Good Lord how much more could this family take?
"What's happened now?" He asked softly, waiting for a reply and giving Fenton the opportunity to speak.
Finally, Fenton replied with a heavy sigh. "Frank knows the truth about Joe."
"Oh?" Sam raised an eyebrow at hearing that. "I take it that telling him didn't go so well."
"Well, yes and no. Frank was upset when we told him, as we all expected that he would be. He is willing to help and to do whatever he can to help his brother. However, he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of us sending Joe to Bellevue. In fact, he had a lot to say about that. After Frank calmed down, he sat down with Laura and I to talk things out. We all agreed to talk to Dr. Reese about finding better options of where to send Joe for treatment."
"So, Joe is not going to Bellevue?" Sam asked, just to confirm he had heard correctly.
"That is correct." Fenton confirmed once more.
"Well, that's good news." Sam said feeling relieved.
He noticed that Fenton had turned his worried eyes towards the boardwalk end of the pier as the sound of fireworks continued exploding in the night sky. Sam had been in the process of scouring through the crowded pier looking for any sign of Linsky and the three missing college kids when he got an urgent call from Chief Collig who requested that he meet with him and Fenton in the parking lot. An anonymous caller had called into the police station about an hour ago to report that there were three people passed out in a car at the end of the pier's parking lot. Officers Baker and Riley had checked it out and reported back that the people in the car were the three missing college kids that they had been looking for. All three were dead of what looked like an apparent drug overdose.
Sam also had some added information of his own that he wanted to share with Fenton and the Chief about the Nurse Matthews lead and the hospital fire. Finally, when Sam had made it to the parking lot someone caught his attention and it made him slow his pace. Fenton pacing the sidewalk just two feet away like a restless tiger in a cage. As he got closer, and he saw Fenton rub his tired eyes Sam had a feeling that his friend was pushing himself too much; his body was running on adrenaline, and he was barely keeping the fatigue at bay. Sam knew his friend well enough to know that he was doing his best to remain in control for everyone's sake, but he knew it wouldn't last because Fenton could only maintain that pace for so long. Sam followed Fenton's gaze towards the boardwalk as more fireworks burst in the night sky. He knew exactly what or really who was on Fenton's mind.
He cleared his throat, "Fenton, it's perfectly fine if you want to go and check on the boys. I can handle things here; I'll cover for you with Collig and fill you in on what I find out."
Fenton ran a hand through his hair again. "No Sam. I want to be here," He corrected himself, "I need to be here. If those college kids have any connection to Linksy or Ryan, then I need to know. We are so close to clearing Frank of Hayden's murder." He turned away from the boardwalk and back to Sam. "I have to do this for both Frank and Joe."
"Are you going to be able to work it with a clear head?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I can." Fenton quickly shook the thoughts out of his head. He had to keep his mind focused on the situation in front of him. The crime scene investigators had made some interesting discoveries in their analysis of the scene that gave them reason to believe that it may have been staged. It did look like all three died from a drug overdose. Judging from the scene it looked as if they had had quite the party with many empty beer bottles laying broken in pieces on the ground, and drug paraphernalia laying in and outside of the car.
As the detectives stood there, they observed the medical examiner who was looking over the body of the young woman who was lying in the backseat of the car. She had a band wrapped around her left arm and a syringe in her right hand. Sam noticed something when the beam of his flashlight hit something shiny on her right wrist. "Well, that's interesting. Why is she holding the syringe with her right hand when she's left-handed?"
"What makes you think she's left-handed?" Chief Collig asked joining them by the car.
"Well for one, I noticed that she's wearing a watch on her right wrist." Sam answered, "If she injected herself with drugs into her arm, why didn't she use her dominant hand? She would have more control over it. I mean it's typically easy to tell what hand is dominant on a person because they normally wear their watch on the opposite hand. And two, I'm left-handed," He emphasized holding up his right arm showing his watch on his wrist while holding his flashlight in his left hand. "that's why I brought it up. Now not everybody wears it on the non-dominant hand, however the majority of the population does, so the odds are that she is left-handed."
Upon further investigation investigators concluded that Sam was correct, especially when the medical examiner had found a contusion hidden in Stacy's hair. That discovery prompted the medical examiner to investigate the bodies of the boys as well, finding contusions hidden in their hair as well. They also found that there were no other visible injection marks anywhere else on their bodies. Now the even bigger question was who had killed them and why? They would have to wait for the autopsy results to come back to officially determine the cause of deaths, but the way that the scene presented itself it looked like someone had murdered them using a drug overdose to try to throw off suspicion.
Another question they had was whether someone had planted the broken empty beer bottles on the ground, and the syringes laying in and outside of the car. The redundant answer was of course, but they knew it would be difficult to prove that the broken bottles were planted because of the crowds. It could be argued that someone had just dropped them, and they shattered, and they didn't bother to clean them up because they didn't want to be caught with alcohol at the event in their town which was a fineable offense.
"Wait a minute! I know these kids! There's no way they were doing drugs and because of their activism and history." Chief Collig stated the moment he saw their faces as they were being pulled from the car. "The BPD has partnered with the high schools and colleges in drug abuse prevention programs. These kids were active and known to be extremely anti-drug. They participated in the program as ambassadors going around to the various schools speaking to other students about drug abuse because of their own experiences with a friend or family member."
Before Fenton and Sam could respond, Officer Riley and Baker came rushing up to them. "Chief, we found something!"
"What is it, Riley?"
"I think you're all going to find this interesting. It was laying on the floorboard just under the passenger seat. " Officer Riley said as he handed the chief a plastic evidence bag, he shone the beam of his flashlight over it as Fenton and Sam looked over the Chief's shoulder and gasped when they saw the contents inside. It was a gold plated lighter with Jack Hayden's name engraved on it and a packet containing a white powder.
Fenton and Sam couldn't take their eyes off the gold plated lighter as they both wondered who could have dropped it. Ryan Hayden had instantly flashed in Fenton's mind. The police would have Ryan's prints on file but he didn't think that Ryan would be that careless to leave something like that behind. Unless he was getting desperate which was causing him to make mistakes. In any case it was a clue. The most valuable piece that would help them identify Hayden's real killer and to clear Frank's name.
"It's already been dusted for fingerprints… and we've found some, so once they are run through AFIS hopefully we will have a match." Officer Baker added.
Chief Collig, handing the plastic bag back to his officer instructed. "Riley, this is top priority. I want you and Baker to stay with it." It's not that he didn't want to not trust his officers. however, considering one of his officers had apparently taken his life in his apartment and then afterwards it was discovered that he had destroyed evidence from the Hayden murder case, all of which was still under investigation. However, he felt confident enough that he could trust Officers Riley and Baker to conduct this task.
Fenton added firmly. "Notify Chief Collig, Sam or I the second they have something. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!" Officer Riley responded.
"We won't let it out of our sight." Officer Baker added as the two left to conduct the orders.
Just then Fenton's cellphone buzzed that a text had arrived. He took it out of the side pocket of his shirt. "It's from Frank." Just as his and Sam's cellphone buzzed that a text had arrived showing the photos Frank and Callie had taken to document the possible evidence of the badge and the latex mask. 'Callie has everything' Frank texted his father. "What is this?" He heard Sam asked.
Before Fenton could reply his cellphone buzzed again and this time Laura's name came up. "Oh shit." He cursed, paling as he read her message.
"Fenton?" Sam asked as he saw the color drain from Fenton's face.
"It's Laura." Fenton replied quickly returning his phone to his pocket. "I've got to go. Frank and Callie had a run in with Henry and Frank took off after him! And Joe's not responding to Laura's calls either! Can you…"
"What! What's going on!" Chief Collig bellowed.
"Go Fenton! I'll catch him up." Sam insisted waving him off. as Sam showed the chief Frank's message and the documented photos of the possible evidence of the badge and latex mask.
Fenton gave him a slight nod. He quickly texted Laura back, 'I'm on my way.' Then he took off running back to the picnic area.
FJFJFJFJFJ
"I-I don't know why I did that." Joe stammered as he snapped out of his trance, his blue eyes widening as the realization of what he had done struck him. He hobbled over to the bench. His leg was throbbing, but he didn't care, at least he wasn't feeling numb. "Vanessa, I-I'm so sorry. I can't believe I threw our phones in the water." He apologized, bowing his head and looking at the ground ashamed of his actions. Vanessa noticed Joe staring at her with tears filling his eyes.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." Joe slowly sank into a bench, placing his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands he mumbled. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Maybe I am? I had a feeling that something bad would happen on our date and I was right. Something bad did happen, ME. It's always me…I'm no good. Bad things happen because of me."
Vanessa got her anger under control and feeling herself calm she knelt in front of him. "Joe, will you look at me, please?"
Joe shook his head; he didn't want her to see him like this. It made him feel weak and inferior. When she gently lifted his chin, he finally looked at her and gave her his attention.
Vanessa cupped his face in her hands and gently wiped away his tears with her thumbs, trying to soothe him. "I know you didn't mean to drop my phone and I'm sorry for yelling at you. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I guess that's another secret of mine. One that I'm not proud of." She sat down next to him and began rubbing his back, trying to comfort him, "I also know Joe, that you are not a burden to Frank. He would never think of you that way. He loves you very much. And you're not crazy. You have been going through something, well a lot of things this year. We can talk if you want to, or if you don't want to, we don't have to talk at all. We can just sit here and watch the fireworks. That is what we came here to do right? And you were right, this is the perfect spot."
Joe sat back looking at her as more fireworks exploded in the night sky and reflected over the water's surface. There was something about her that made him feel calm and at ease. "Yes, it is perfect, isn't it?" he said smiling at the beautiful angel sitting beside him. "You know this isn't how I pictured our first date would go. I would've picked you up at your house in style, instead of the other way around. I would've brought a blanket so we could sit under the stars while we watched the fireworks." He glanced over at his crutches propped up against the railing and sighed. "That being said with my leg being the way it is, it would've made it impossible for me to get up off of the ground without looking like an idiot. It's bad enough that I almost looked like one in front of your mother with that stupid panic attack," not to mention hearing stupid little voices in my head, he thought.
"Well, this is exactly how I pictured it." Vanessa said simply. "So far I like what I see."
Joe looked at her strangely. "Really? You like watching me make a fool of myself?"
"No. I'm talking about the part where I'm sitting in the perfect spot watching the fireworks, with my handsome date." Vanessa replied, giving Joe a flirtatious smile. "Or should I say the hottest guy I have ever laid my eyes on."
Suddenly the little voices disappeared, along with the panic attack…well, for now they were gone. He forced himself to focus all of his attention on her, even though his leg was aching. This was about Vanessa, not him. "Hottest guy, huh? Well, that's only because I've got a beautiful and wonderful lady in my presence." He snaked an arm around her shoulders pulling her close to him. She leaned in and rested her head on his shoulder with her hand on his knee of his injured leg.
Joe mentally sighed, nope, not going to move ever. He didn't know if it was the shampoo in her hair or her perfume but there was a sweet mixture of vanilla and honey fragrances that was invading his nostrils. It was quickly becoming his new favorite smell. It was calming and intoxicating. So, he sat back with his arm draped over Vanessa's shoulders and relaxed as the fireworks went off above his head, all while he was letting his fingers stroke softly along her skin.
He felt a little disappointed when she pulled away from him slightly removing her hand from his knee. He watched her toss a strand of her long hair off of her shoulder. The move caused the strap of her romper to slide down her shoulder just enough to give Joe a glimpse of her cleavage.
Joe felt his cheeks blush a shade of pink at the sight of her and couldn't help but to continue to check her out. He knew that he should turn his gaze away as it was the proper thing to do. He found himself falling more and more in love with Vanessa, and he wanted to be a gentleman and respect her and not behave like a scoundrel like he had at the agency. It wasn't like she was being suggestive; she was just caught up in the moment watching the fireworks. Or was she? She doesn't seem to notice me checking her out…or did she? No, no! Idiot look away from her! He told himself.
Thankfully, she quickly pulled up the strap back on her shoulder and fixed the top of her romper covering up her cleavage before leaning and relaxing back against the bench. Oh good, he thought relieved. But then she kickoff her white sandals stretching out her long legs letting her bare feet roam over the grass.
Oh shit! He swallowed a lump in his throat, Joe couldn't seem to turn his eyes away from those legs. He couldn't stop his gaze from roaming up her long, beautiful legs. He bit his bottom lip fighting the urge to run his hand up along her thigh until his fingers reached the hem of her romper touching her between her legs. He felt his body start to respond, just as more fireworks went off above his head snapping him out of his thoughts. No! You can't be thinking those thoughts with Vanessa, not after the stunt you pulled at the office! He sat up quickly shifting his legs scooting away from her, placing his hands on his lap praying it was dark enough she didn't notice his 'reaction'.
"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked in concern when he had abruptly moved away from her. She had noticed him checking her out and had felt his breath on her neck. She had to admit she liked the feel of his arm wrapped around her shoulder and the feel of his fingers grazing her arm was turning her on. She had decided to tease him a little and give him a bit of a show. By his reaction that wasn't the right move, but then it dawned on her that she had been leaning most of her weight on his injured leg.
"I'm so sorry!" she apologized. "Did I hurt your leg, Joe?"
"What?" Joe shook his head. "Oh, uh, no you didn't hurt me. It's fine. M-my leg is fine." His heart was racing, and it felt like it was pounding out of his chest. He took a breath working hard to calm down. Then suddenly out of nowhere a flash of a man's hand caressing his thigh followed by a little voice screaming, "It hurts! Stop please! It hurts!" then quickly the hand vanished. Why am I having these thoughts? Make it stop! God, make it stop!
He quickly looked up at the fireworks to try to get his mind off of his disturbing thoughts. The palms of his hands were sweaty, and his stomach felt like it was in a million knots. Absentmindedly, he began rubbing his hands intermittently across his shorts.
Again, he heard little voices screaming in his head.
"It hurts! Stop please! It hurts!"
"You're nothing!"
'You're no good!"
"It hurts! It hurts!"
"Bad things happen because of you!"
Stop it! Why now? Get it together Hardy! He took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. Oh God, he could feel a panic attack coming on…
"Joe?" He heard Vanessa say.
"Yeah... just give me a minute... please?" Joe said between breaths.
"Okay. I'm here if you need me."
He closed his eyes and took a couple deeper calming breaths until his breathing became steady again, the soothing rhythm soon calming him. Once he got himself together, he opened his eyes and turned his attention back to Vanessa. "There I'm all better."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, thanks." He nodded.
"Joe, maybe we should go back to the picnic area. We can watch the rest of the fireworks from there."
"No, we don't need to…"
"Joe, did I hurt you? Why did you react like that…?" Vanessa asked concerned. I really wish I could call Frank…. but I can't because my phone is in the bottom of the bay, she thought.
"No." He shook his head, "Not in the way you think. You scare me."
"I scare you?" She looked at him confused he went on to explain, "This is our first date. I want to be a gentleman and respect you and not behave like a jerk like I did with you earlier at the office. There's no denying that we both have a physical attraction to each other. You are a beautiful girl…ah woman, and when I see your beautiful face," He couldn't take his eyes off her lips, "All I want to do is kiss you and not stop. Touch your body in ways I shouldn't be thinking about, and I think I'm falling deeply in love with you and that really scares me." He said his voice trailing off at the end.
"Joe what are you trying to say?" She asked not understanding him.
"I don't know what you've heard about me from classmates at school. I know a lot of them crack jokes about me being a 'ladies' man'," He began rubbing his hands nervously across his khaki shorts. He felt his anxiety start to kick in again. But he knew that he needed to get this out, so, taking a deep calming breath, he pressed on, "Frank is the only one I've ever told this to, but I feel I have to be honest with you. I will admit I have a flirtish nature." He swallowed a lump in his throat, "But the truth is, I've only had sex with one girl, and it was something that we both agreed was a mistake and we both regretted rushing into. It caused so many problems between the two of us and we were arguing constantly as a result. Two weeks later after we uh…uh…she was killed in a car explosion meant for me and Frank."
"Iola Morton," Vanessa blurted out and then regretting her outburst she clapped her hand over her mouth.
Joe's eyes widened. "You know about her?" he gasped.
"Some," Vanessa confessed, "From people at school and from Callie."
"Callie?" Anger rose in Joe's voice. "What did she tell you?"
"Just that you use to date Iola and what your relationship was like with her. I also know she was tragically killed in a car explosion about a year ago."
"Dammit!" He exploded his face red; he began breathing heavily. "Does Callie… does she hate me that much? I'll bet she'll… be glad when I'm gone!"
"Joe, Joe, hey, calm down. I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you." Vanessa replied trying unsuccessfully to calm him. She placed a hand on top of his. "Joe, listen to me," she said calmly, "it's not like that. I found out about Iola all on my own, online. I kept hearing rumors and I wanted to find out the facts of what happened, so I looked. I am so sorry, Joe about what happened to her. It was a horrible thing that happened to both of you. I get that she was your first love and that you cared for her very much. Just know that I respect that and that I would never try to take her place."
Joe went quiet all at once, and he turned away from her and shifted his gaze towards the water of the bay, "Joe…" Vanessa started to say her worry increased even more by his silence. She didn't think he was going to speak until she saw a lone tear roll down his cheek.
"I'm a terrible brother." Joe said sadly, shaking his head.
"No, you're not." Vanessa shook her head.
"But I am." He looked at her with tears running down his face. "My whole world changed after Iola died. I fell apart and I was a complete mess. And Frank he...he... I don't know how he even put up with me, but he stuck by me no matter what. For about a month after the explosion, I barely let him out of my sight. He'd come running into my room almost every night after the explosion because I would wake him up 'cause I was screaming from a nightmare. I couldn't get away from the images in my head of the car exploding… I kept reliving it over and over… sometimes I'd see Iola… she would have her hand on the door handle….and then in the next second the car would explode into a giant ball of fire…. other times it would be Frank instead of Iola… and I'd be running towards the flames… trying to save him… but it would be to late… he'd be gone… flames consuming everything…. I guess that's why I've been so clingy with him."
"When I saw things were getting serious between Frank and Callie. It really scared me because I didn't want Frank to leave." Joe took a pause to take a deep breath before he shamefully admitted the next part of his sentence. "So, I would literally sabotage their dates. I'd even say things to make Frank feel guilty for leaving me alone, and it would work every time. He would cancel or end their date early just so he could stay home with me..."
"You know what?" Joe shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. Iola is in the past that's the way it has to be. I can't change what happened. Like I said before Frank has to focus on Callie from now on. They are engaged to be married. That's just the way it has to be. I'll talk to Callie and make things right with her. She's always been good to Frank. She makes him happy and that's all I've ever wanted for him. She'll love and…take care of him…when I'm not around..."
"Joe…" Vanessa started to say. It was scaring her when he talked like he wasn't going to be around. She reached over to squeeze his hand in comfort letting him know she was here.
Joe let out a heavy sigh, wiping the tears in his eyes. All at once he could feel the panic creeping up on him again. "Can we talk about something else. Please?" He asked trying to control his breaths and avoid the attack.
"Okay. That's a good idea." Vanessa said. she could see he was on the verge of another panic attack, and she knew that she needed to distract his negative thoughts like she had before. Then her mind went blank. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know anything." He said between breaths.
"Okay." Vanessa said desperately trying to think of something. "Oh...I know the skinny-dipping story!'
"The what?" Joe asked raising an eyebrow as he continued taking deep breaths trying to calm himself down.
"Yeah, when I called you the other day, when we made our date. You were upset about Frank and told me everything going on with him. Then we got to talking about other things you told me about the stupid challenges you and Biff Hooper make each other do. You told me the girl's locker room story with you ending up in the buff. You said you there were more 'buff' stories that included an epic skinny-dipping story."
"I can't believe you remembered that?" Joe responded, feeling his heartbeat slowly calming down. He wished these panic attacks would go away.
"Oh yeah I still have the visual in my head." Vanessa replied giving him a flirtatious wink and a smile. "I'm looking forward to hearing all about the epic skinny-dipping story."
Once again Joe felt his cheeks blush a shade of pink at the sight of her. He found himself falling more in love with Vanessa. "Okay… um..." He cleared his throat as he began to tell his story, "Last summer, I remember because it was so hot and humid that day, I think it was in the high nineties or something. Chet had invited everyone over to his place to go swimming in the pond. Callie was on vacation with her parents and Tony couldn't make it because he had to work at the restaurant. So, besides Chet it was only Biff, Frank, me… and Phil Cohen," Joe paused for a moment thinking of his late friend."
Joe cleared his throat again and continued, "The Morton's have this huge oak tree next to their pond, and there is a rope tied to one of the branches so you can swing on it and land in the water. Biff dared one of us to jump in the water butt naked. Phil and Chet both chickened out and Frank just flat out refused to do it. But Biff kept egging me on…calling me a chicken…well that's pretty much like fighting words, So I accepted the challenge. I took off my shorts and got up on the tree branch… then I swung on the rope and out into the water I went, butt naked. But then as soon as I got up out of the water dripping wet from head to toe…that's when Chet's mom showed up with a pitcher of lemonade…. catching me in the buff…I could hear the guys laughing their butts off behind me…. I don't know who was more embarrassed me or Mrs. Morton…. I just know both of our faces were extremely red."
"Oh, my word! That's so funny!" Vanessa started laughing hysterically soon Joe joined in with her, holding his stomach as they both doubled over in laughter caught up in the memory of his embarrassing buff story. As the two began to calm down they straightened up each wiping tears from their eyes.
Oh God Joe thought. That felt so good! I haven't laughed like that in a long time. More fireworks exploded in the night sky above their heads. Joe smiled back at her as she smiled back at him. Their eyes locking on to each other with intensity. He was suddenly caught in awe by the way the glow of the lights was reflecting on her angelic face. God she's beautiful.
He gulped as his eyes wandered back down to her lips, her beautiful pouty lips. He didn't know when or if he'd get the chance to kiss her. "I don't mean to sound forward and considering this is our first date…and I did kiss you back at the agency…but the way I behaved with you was wrong… and I deserved to get slapped." He brought his eyes back up to her seeking her permission. "Would it be okay if I kiss...…" before he could finish his sentence Vanessa boldly leaned over planting a kiss on his lips.
He pulled her back slightly to look at her. "What was that? Not that I'm complaining…but…"
"I know. I only slapped you because of the way you were behaving at the office. The truth is, I can't stop thinking about that kiss. I've been wanting to do it again, but it had to be right, and it had to come naturally and not be forced like it had been at the office. I wanted it to be between us and only us." Vanessa said candidly looking into his electric blue eyes. "I meant what I said at the agency about giving relationships with men a try. But I realize that I don't want just any man…I want to try with you. The truth is I am falling in love with you too, Joe Hardy." She paused as she collected her thoughts. "And yeah, the physical attraction is there…The way you grazed your fingers across my arm felt good….it stirred something inside me." Joe swallowed a lump in his throat as he felt something stirring inside him as she continued, "But I haven't been intimate like that with anyone before and I've been waiting for the right guy to come into my life, and I think that you might be him. However, I'm far from ready to take that step. We don't have to rush into anything… I want us to take our time and really get to know each other…. Things will happen… when or if they're supposed to happen… All I want to do now is…. kiss… your lips." She said caressing his cheek with her hand while her thumb swept over his lips.
Joe wasted no time, he instantly leaned towards Vanessa with his hand caressing the side of her face, while running his other hand through her ash-blond hair, capturing her mouth with his mouth. She slid her arms around his neck, pulling him hard against her pressing his back against the bench, they were both completely oblivious to everyone around them and they continued to kiss passionately as the fireworks lit up the night sky.
Unbeknownst to the lovebirds, about two feet away from them was an older woman with gray hair and wearing a Bayport pier employee uniform. The woman was sitting at a booth selling fireworks. "That'll be 10 dollars even." She said handing two boxes of sparklers to a gentleman.
"10 dollars! That's crazy!" The man grumbled at the price.
"Oh, I know, sorry. All sales are final." She replied coolly pretending to care. "But hey just think of the smiles on your kids' little faces when they see dad bringing them a surprise."
"Fine," The man huffed taking the money out of his wallet and handing it to her.
"Here you go! And Happy July fourth to you sir." She said accepting the money from the man. Yeah, yeah, he grumbled out before taking his purchases. "Idiot." She said under breath as she watched him walk away. She tucked the money inside her bra.
"Damn it! This wig itches like crazy," She cursed scratching her head. She was tucking an escaping strand of her raven hair back under her gray wig when her phone started vibrating in her pocket.
"Hello," she answered.
"Carolyn?"
"Ryan!" She gasped at the familiar voice.
""Do you have it on you?"
"I got it right here." Carolyn reached into her bag and grabbing a syringe.
"Are you in position?"
She shifted her eyes over to two the two teenagers making out on a bench a couple of feet away. "Yes, I have the target in my sight?"
"Good. Get ready it's all most time. Picasso is on his way to you as we speak."
"Oh, I'm so ready to get this done Ryan. And then we can get the heck out of this town."
"Soon baby, very soon, we're almost there. Ok got to go...Oh Carolyn!" He cut in before she hung up.
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me my little shit nephew is with you?"
"No, he isn't…I think he wandered off somewhere."
"Damnit!" He exploded. "If he screws this up…I'm gonna beat his ass. See you soon, baby." With that he hung up.
Carolyn put her phone back in her pocket and glanced back over to the two teenagers who were still making out.
Well, well, Joe Hardy, we are about to meet again…Oh I haven't forgotten our last in counter…with you all tied up and not feeling so good from the bullet I took out of your leg. Look at you with your hands all over that girl...you are a bad boy aren't you... sweet talking your way into her pants, no doubt... guys like you make me sick... that's why I put an end to the lives of pigs like you who take advantage of little girls like her. Although, she doesn't seem to mind you pawing all over her in front of the whole world to see... although I can't really blame her... I have to admit you are easy on the eyes... she smirked as her mind flashback to that day she helped kidnap him the first time around.
She still remembered the vivid image of the younger Hardy boy tied to a bed, clad in only his plaid boxers, from the blond hair, blue eyes; handsome face and mmmm… that muscular body, her flashback broke as she looked at the young couple. I have to say you are quite entertaining, first with that little drama on the railing…and this little make out session with your girlfriend… I hope you enjoy it because that's the last girl you will be kissing, Joe Hardy.
FJFJFJFJFJ
Meanwhile, Joe and Vanessa pulled apart from each other to catch their breaths. They stayed with in arms lengthen of each other, both of their faces flushed a shade of pink, and their eyes remained locked on each other.
"Wow, you are a good kisser, Joe Hardy." Vanessa said shyly grinning at him.
"You're not so bad yourself." Joe returned. He couldn't stop smiling…her lips tasted so good…he wanted more. "Do you want to go for round two?" He wiggled his eyebrows. She nodded back with a smirk. The two leaned towards each other as their lips drew closer together…. until…"BOO!" Little Trevor jumped out of nowhere startling them and they both jumped.
"Trevor, where did you come from?" Joe asked surprised. He and Vanessa quickly began to straighten their clothes. Joe began looking for the boy's parents, but he didn't see them anywhere. "Where are your parents?"
"Over at the game area. Mommy got me some cool sparklers and then me and Daddy played more games…. then we watched the fireworks… but I got bored and wanted to watch them with you. So, can I?" The little boy asked innocently.
"They don't know you're here, do they?" Joe asked, but already knew the answer.
The little boy just shrugged his shoulders casting his eyes down at the ground.
"Trevor. You snuck off, didn't you?" Joe asked, trying to sound stern.
He looked back up at him, with sad puppy dog eyes. "Yeah," Trevor replied in a small voice.
"Buddy, you can't be doing that. It's not nice to make your parents worry like that." Joe said.
"It's also dangerous." Vanessa added. "A stranger could have taken you away, then you wouldn't get to see your mommy and daddy again."
"But I wanted to watch the fireworks with you, Joe." The little boy whined. "Can I?"
Joe said thinking fast. "Well, we need to let your parents know where you are first," He huffed, "and thanks to me we can't call them, because our phones are at the bottom of the bay. We'll have to go to the game area to find them. Then if it's okay with them we can watch the rest of the fireworks together. Deal?" He turned to Vanessa. "Is that okay with you?" She nodded yes.
Little Trevor smiled at Joe; he really liked that idea. "Deal."
Vanessa rose to her feet slipping her sandals back on her feet. Just as Joe stood up and reached for his crutches. All at once an uneasy feeling came over him, and he quickly sat back down, and immediately put his hand to his chest in a gesture that was becoming very familiar to him.
"Joe, what's wrong?" Vanessa asked quickly. "Does your chest hurt?"
"No." He shook his head. He stated between breaths. "It's Frank. Something's wrong. I can feel him; I don't know why but he's either sick or in danger."
"Joe! Vanessa!" He looked up to see Callie running up to him in tears.
"Where's Frank?" He asked as soon as she caught up to them bracing himself for whatever she was about to tell him.
"You need to come back to the picnic area! Henry's here!" She cried.
"What!" They both exclaimed.
Callie quickly filled Joe and Vanessa in on everything that had happened from finding the mask and badge to their run-in with Henry. Tears poured out of her eyes, as she spoke, "Frank went after him and I didn't know what to do so I ran to tell your parents, Joe. Both of your moms tried but couldn't get a hold of the two you. We thought that Ryan had found you…."
"That's because our phones are at the bottom of the bay at the moment." Vanessa said glancing over at Joe.
"What? How?" Callie asked looking between the two of them.
"It's a long story." Vanessa said waving it off, "You we're saying..." Prompting her to continue.
Callie picked up where she left off, beginning to cry uncontrollably as she spoke, "I came here to warn you and tell you about Frank. I'm so scared for him... what if... what if Henry... what if he tries to kill him again... he almost did once...What if he's carrying out the threat!"
"Callie! Callie!" Vanessa grabbed her shoulders forcing her friend to look at her. "Get a hold of yourself... you have got to calm down. I know you are worried about Frank but you're not helping him by getting all hysterical... Now take a deep breath, calm down." She knew Joe was already upset and worried about his brother, and she didn't want Callie to make things worse.
"Where did Frank and Henry go?" Joe asked.
"They took off running towards the boardwalk, then they turned left and disappeared into the woods." Callie answered once she calmed down.
"I know my brother is more than capable of handling himself with Henry. Unless…. he's hurt…or..." Eye for an eye, a brother for a brother...soon a Hardy boy will die! the message screamed loudly in Joe's head. No, no, no… Joe shook the thought away. He quickly forced his anxiety aside and focused his attention on Frank. "He's going to need back up... I'm not going to let him face Henry alone. There's no telling what that little jerk has planned."
Joe got up on his feet reaching for his crutches, "Hold on big brother. I'm coming." He started to leave then he stopped when his eyes landed on Little Trevor's confused face. "Oh Shi…oot, Trevor? Hmm. Um." What were we going to do about him?
His eyes shifted to Vanessa. "Vanessa, can you and Callie take Trevor back to his parents?'
"Yes, of course. We can do that." Vanessa replied. "Just please be careful."
"I will." Joe said before turning his attention back to his little friend. He said as calmly as he could, anxious thoughts of his brother and Henry never leaving his mind. "Trevor, something has happened, and Vanessa and Callie are going to take you to your parents. I have to go meet up with Frank." He carefully sat back down at the bench so that he was at eye level with the little boy. "I need you to stay with them. Please, do not come looking for me. As soon as I find Frank, I'll join you guys at the game area. Okay?"
"Okay." the little boy looked straight at Joe and nodded.
"I'm serious, Trevor." He repeated once more just to be sure he got his point across to the little boy, the last thing he wanted to do was to put Trevor's life in danger. "Promise me, you won't come looking for me?"
"I promise." the little boy confirmed.
"Okay, good." Joe smile padding the boy's shoulder. "Everything is fine, but I've got to go, Frank's waiting..." He felt the uneasy feeling in his chest intensify. He rubbed his chest... Hang on bro, I'll find my way to you.
"Joe, wait, I'm going with you." Callie piped in. She took her cellphone out of her purse and handed it to Vanessa. "Here Vanessa, take my phone to call Trevor's parents."
"No Callie, you'll need it in case you run into trouble." Vanessa said handing the phone back to her.
"Okay." Callie agreed, putting her phone back in her purse. "Okay Joe let's go."
"No, absolutely not." He turned to her rapidly shaking his head. "You're going with Vanessa."
" Joe..."
"No! I can't let anything happen to you; Frank would never forgive me."
"I'm going with you, whether you like it or not. "Callie said firmly, "If Frank's hurt, you're going to need help, because you can't carry him with your leg the way it is. or..."
"Callie… my leg maybe out of commission but that doesn't mean I'm not in shape..." He stood up with his crutches, "If Henry has done anything to Frank, he's gonna get a couple of crutches up his a..." Joe gave a quick glance at Trevor and modified what he had been about to say, "up where the sun doesn't shine."
Callie couldn't help but smile at him after hearing those words come out of his mouth. He's back...for how long she didn't know, all she knew was that right now that sounded like the Joe Hardy that they all knew and loved.
She folded her arms across her chest, giving Joe a hard stare. "I'm still going with you. Believe it or not, I can handle myself... I'm not some weakling like you think I am. I will try my best to stay calm and I will fight tooth and nail to defend the man I love. I am going with you and that's final."
Joe looked at her seeing that she was serious, and he wouldn't be able to change her mind he agreed. "Okay, fine. But if I tell you to run, you run and get help, don't wait for me."
"Be careful you two." Vanessa said worriedly. She stood behind Trevor with her hands resting on his shoulders.
"We will." Joe leaned forward to kiss her goodbye. "Call my dad. Tell him Callie and I are going to go and see if we can find Frank."
"I will." she promised.
Then he smiled down at the little boy ruffling his blond hair. "Go have fun watch the rest of the fireworks." Trevor just smiled back at him. Callie waved goodbye to them promising to be careful and to let them know what was happening with Frank.
"Stay close to me, Callie. I don't know what we're walking into...it could be a trap." Joe warned her. Callie just nodded her reply. Joe felt her hand grip his arm tightly as he took a step forward with the help of his crutches off the edge of the boardwalk. Before they could take another step... all the sudden, there was a loud BOOM! Followed by the sound of people screaming behind them!
Joe whirled around and to his horror he saw the railing by the boardwalk explode into a fiery inferno, with debris flying everywhere. "Oh my God! Vanessa! Trevor! Callie, we need to go…"
Before he had time to react, he heard Callie scream, "Joe!" Joe whirled back to look around. He no longer felt Callie's grip on his arm. In a panic he looked frantically around only to find Callie's purse laying on the ground with her nowhere in sight. His heart pounded out of his chest. "Callie!" He was frantically looking around, shouting her name. He felt himself begin to panic…. Where did she go? God, what do I do…? Frank! I got to find my brother! But…. Vanessa! Trevor! Callie...No! No! not again…They're gone! They're gone! He let go of his crutches letting them fall to the ground, he threw his hands to his ears to block out all the screaming and chaos all around him and the smell of the smoke and roar of the flames… "Frank! Don't leave me! I don't know what to do!" He cried out as tears fell from his eyes and ran down his face. Joe had dropped his hand to his leg which was aching from standing on it too long when he heard a voice that sent a chill down his spine.
"Hello Joseph."
Hearing his name, Joe turned towards the voice and gasped. A tall dark figure was standing there just in front of him. The ballcap he was wearing helped to keep his face in the shadows and it was too dark to see lower portion of his face clearly. There was something about him that made the hair on the back of Joe's neck stand on end. Wait! Could this be the dark-haired figure from shooting range! ...No, it couldn't be, their body shape was all wrong... it wasn't Henry? "Who are you?"
The figure took a drag on his cigarette causing the end to glow and show the dark figure's mouth as a sinister smile crossed his face. As the figure exhaled the strong scent of cigarette smoke invaded Joe's nostrils.
"Who I am isn't important, Joseph. But I know someone who is very anxious to see you and I'm here to take you to him." the dark figure said throwing his cigarette butt to the ground and stamping it out.
"Uh! Frank..." Joe said breathlessly. "What have you done to my brother..." He demanded balling his hands into fist and taking a menacing step forward.
Taking Joe by surprise the dark figure quickly knocked him to the ground with an uppercut to the chin, cutting off his words. Before Joe could recover from the blow, he felt a sharp prick on the side of his neck, and his vision slowly faded into darkness.
Trevor wiggled his little body out from under an unconscious Vanessa who was lying on the ground. She had tried to shield him with her body to protect him from the flying debris from the explosion. Once the little boy was on his feet, he looked down at Vanessa noticed that she was breathing but had blood smeared on her forehead. He started to cry. He was so scared! He wanted his mommy and daddy, and he didn't know what to do. As the tears ran down his cheeks, he thought to himself What would Joe do? Joe would be brave and get help. He wanted to be big and brave like Joe. So, Trevor sniffed back his tears and wiped his little face with the sleeve of his shirt. Then he ran down the boardwalk to try to find help for Vanessa. He stopped abruptly and froze when he saw two smoky monsters put a limp Joe and Callie into the back of a dark van, then he saw the monsters climb inside the front of the van and closed the door behind them and then drove off into the night.