HDA - Unbreakable by the Haynes Sisters Chapter 12

"You know what, Frank?" Joe remarked the next morning at breakfast. It was just the two of them so Frank had made omelets.

"Nope, never met him." Frank looked up at Joe, who narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out. Frank just smiled.

"We should make Mom and Dad go out to dinner. Just the two of them." Joe speared a mushroom from his plate and popped it in his mouth.

"That's a pretty good idea, Joe. Where?"

"I was thinking The Bailey."

Frank's eyes lit up. "That's perfect!"

The Bailey was Bayport's oldest hotel. It had been built in the 1890's to cater to New York City's social elite. It had recently been completely restored and was now the home of a 5-star restaurant. Joe had taken Vanessa there on Valentine's Day.

Joe returned his brother's smile. "I'll make the reservations and we can tell them tonight."

"Sounds like a plan."

Ned walked up the front steps and rang the bell. He heard footsteps and thought, Please don't be Frank! It wasn't. Laura Hardy opened the door and smiled at him. He held up the huge cakepan. "Mom wanted me to bring this back."

Laura motioned for him to come in. "And I've got something you can take back to her."

Ned followed her to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Laura also sat down and Ned knew he was about to be questioned. "I know what you're going to ask," he told her.

"Then what's the answer?" Laura looked closely at the young man in front of her. He was so much like Frank, yet so different.

"The answer is, I don't know."

Laura nodded. "I thought so. You know that Frank only considers Nancy a good friend?"

"Yeah, I know that. I think." Ned sighed and looked out the window. He saw a young man carrying a box coming down the sidewalk, but he ignored it. "Nancy's the only girl I've ever been serious about. I don't want to lose her."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. Right now, the present is all that matters to Frank. Girls are the last thing on his mind.

Ned smiled and nodded. Becka had finally told him, with Frank's permission. "I'm very good at making mountains out of molehills."

They heard the doorbell right then. Laura heard Frank moving around and decided to let him get it. But she was not expecting the scream that came a few minutes later from the front hall.

Frank stared at the newest "gift", a giant tarantula, from his spot on the stair landing. He had opened the door to find a white box. He had no idea a spider would be inside.

He heard Laura, but didn't look at her because the spider was moving. He took a step back as Joe appeared. Joe looked at Frank, then saw the tarantula. A surge of anger went through him and he scooped the spider back into the box, then took it outside.

Frank sat down on the stairs, his breathing irregular. Laura went up to him and wrapped her son in her arms as Ned quietly slipped out. Frank laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. "Mom, how could he have known about me and spiders?"

Laura squeezed him. "I don't know."

Joe came back in and saw the two of them sitting on the stairs. There was only one way Ericson could know about Frank and spiders. But that couldn't be possible! Then Joe remembered something Ericson had said, about knowing all about the surveillance at the warehouse.

"Frank," he said, drawing his brother's name out as he realized how Ericson knew.

Frank lifted his head. "What?"

"I think we need to sweep Dad's office."

"Why's that?" Frank was so tired, he couldn't believe he didn't know where Joe was going this.

"Something that Ericson said has been bugging me. He said he knew all about the surveillance Dad planned on the warehouse. Put that together with the spider that was in Dad's office last week and-"

"You get bugs!" Frank finished with a smile. "Why didn't I think of that? It is the only way he could have known."

Joe couldn't resist. "You musta forgot to check your brain out of the hospital!" He ducked out of Frank's reach, then headed for their father's office.

"What spider last week?" Laura asked.

"The one I saw tun across the floor when we were brainstorming about a case." It was Frank's deepest, darkest secret that he was afraid of spiders. Only his parents, Joe and Phil knew he was a borderline arachnaphobic. He'd stumbled into a nest of newly hatched spiders at the age of five. They'd been all over him and he'd never forgotten it. He stood up. "I'm going to go help Joe."

Two hours later the office was de-bugged and their father was home. Joe told him about the spider, and the bugging devices they'd found. Fenton nodded slowly. "Good. I'm having another meeting in here in the morning." Fenton sat down behind his desk, but neither boy said anything. He could see that Frank was very upset after this latest "gift". "Frank."

Frank looked up at his father.

"He's not going to get you."

Frank gave a ghost of a smile, then left the room.

Their parent's "night out" came quickly. Laura had protested vigorously, but Frank wouldn't hear of it. "Go, Mom," he'd told her. "You two need some time alone." Laura reluctantly agreed to go. Ruthie was spending the night with a friend, so the boys would be alone.

Laura was now giving them strict instructions. "Make sure all the doors and windows are locked and don't forget to set the alarm."

"Mom, we'll be fine," Frank interrupted, smiling. "It's not like we haven't done this before."

"He's right, Laura," Fenton told her. "They'll be fine." He took her arm and led her outside to the car. "Tonight, the kids don't exist."

Laura smiled, then kissed him. A moment later they were gone.

"Finally!" Joe exclaimed as he locked the backdoor. "They're gone!"

Frank shook his head in amusement. "I'll be upstairs."

"Fold the couch out!" Joe shouted as Frank as went up the back stairs.

"I will." Frank went up to the gameroom and opened the sleeper sofa up. He then gathered his and Joe's pillows and a couple of blankets. By the time he was finished and had the TV cabinet open, Joe had brought the pizza and drinks up.

Frank settled back on the couch as Joe flipped through the DVD's. "Not a scary one," he told his brother.

"Chicken," Joe shot back. He held up their favorite action movie with Keanu Reeves and Frank nodded in agreement. Joe popped it in, then joined Frank on the couch.

About halfway through the movie, Piper sat straight up, her ears and tail twitching. Frank paused the movie as Joe stood up. He leaned over the railing and looked around, but saw nothing suspicious. Frank reached out to pick Piper up, but she slinked away and jumped down to the ground. "Maybe you should go downstairs and check around, Joe," Frank suggested.

Joe laid back down on the couch. "After the lobby scene." He snatched the remote from Frank and hit the "play" button. The boys were quickly engrossed in the movie again.

Unbeknownst to them, there was a certain someone and his gang outside, dismantling the alarm system. Frank and Joe had not de-bugged the kitchen, so Ericson knew all about the plans for that night, and that his prey was home alone.

He bypassed the last wire. The light flashed off and CJ smiled. Within minutes, CJ and four others were inside the Hardy kitchen. They could hear the sounds of automatic weapons-fire from upstairs.

The five men crept up the back stairs as silently as death. Each one of them carried an Uzi, stolen from CJ's current employer. They could see lights flashing and the gunfire grew louder.

CJ slowly walked into the gameroom, unplugged the TV and flipped the lights on. Frank and Joe both squinted and the other men used that moment to surround them.

"Hello, boys," CJ greeted them.

Joe started to stand up, the anger clearly evident on his face. Then he heard a gun cock and Frank gasped. Joe looked at his brother and froze. One man had Frank in a headlock while another was holding his Uzi to Frank's head. Frank was pulling desperately on the arm around his neck.

"I always keep my promises, Joseph." CJ walked over to the boys, smiling still. "One move from you and you watch Frank die here and now."

Joe remained frozen as Frank was lifted off the couch and dragged out of the room. He sat there until he heard Frank shout, "Joe!"

Joe sprang into action, racing for the back stairs and his brother. But he didn't make it past the landing. Two of the other hoods were waiting for him and they quickly dropped him to his knees with a well-placed punch to the solar plexus. Joe bent over, gasping. Then the blows began to rain down on him like a fierce storm.

CJ dragged Frank up the stairs so he could Joe's beating. "Leave him alone!" Frank hissed.

CJ twisted Frank's arm behind his back and Frank clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. "I think not."

Some minutes later, Joe lay completely still, his face bleeding from a gash above his eyebrow. His eyes were closed. "Joe," Frank whispered.

CJ laughed. "He can't hear you, Frank." He jerked Frank down the stairs and pushed him outside to the boys' van. After tying Frank's hands, he shoved him into the van.

Frank winced as he landed on the shoulder that had been twisted. He heard the others get in, then the doors clicked shut. The van backed out of the driveway and took off on what Frank thought was High Street. He tried to keep track of where they were going, but he couldn't stay focused.

Ericson's plan was as near to perfect as a kidnap plot could be. No one in the neighborhood would suspect the van leaving. It was public knowledge that the Hardys' kept strange hours. But he hadn't allowed for anyone being up and about. Ned and Becka Nickerson had seen everything from Ned's bedroom window.

Becka stood up and ran down the stairs, with Ned close behind her. "Becka!" he called out softly.

Becka faced him "They didn't take Joe. We have to go check on him."

Ned stopped beside her. "I know. How are we going to get in?"

"Frank showed me where they keep the spare key." With that, the two rushed across the street. Becka found the key and carefully opened the door, just in case there were any fingerprints on it.

"Joe!" she called. There was no answer.

Ned looked at the stairs. "You check down here and I'll look upstairs." Becka nodded and disappeared. Ned slowly made his way up the back stairs, thankful once again that he dated a detective. He saw Joe on the landing and rushed up to him. He knelt down and felt Joe's face. "Joe, can you hear me?"

Joe didn't respond or move. "Becka! Call the police!" Ned shouted.

Becka ran up the stairs to Ned and Joe. "Oh no!" She went back down and dialed 911.

"911. What's your emergency?" the dispatcher asked.

"I'm calling from Fenton Hardy's house. Frank Hardy has been kidnapped and Joe Hardy is hurt." She gave the rest of the information, then hung up. She turned the porch light in, then waited for the police, praying all the while for Frank's safety.