CHAPTER 14- CROSSROADS

The rest of the day seemed like a surreal blur. After what seemed like half the police in Edinburgh had turned up in the underground vault, Frank had mustered the energy to help his brother back out along the tunnel. Their father had tried to get him to wait for a stretcher, but not way was Joe doing that!

They had emerged into the warm morning sun, met by a throng of spectators and press, draw by the sudden influx of a fleet of police vehicles to Mary King's Close. The boys had then been whisked past them into a waiting ambulance and taken back to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. This time, Joe had been more than happy for Frank to stay with him while he was assessed and treated. He was totally exhausted, physically and mentally, and accepted his brother's support without protest.

Joe had been X-rayed, his stab-wound re-stitched, and brand new cuts on his forehead and cheek stitched too. He looked…..well, like he had just fought three crazed terrorists solo. He had got off lightly. He had been given some pleasant painkillers and had fallen asleep. He had mild concussion thanks to the punishment his head had taken, but he was being allowed out of hospital. The boys' father was on his way to pick them up. Joe would have to be woken every hour for at least 12 hours to ensure he didn't have undetected bleeding in his brain- routine with head injuries. Frank had been pretty happy when their father had insisted he would take on that job to allow Frank to get some proper sleep. He was exhausted and the idea of poking his grumpy, tired brother each hour didn't do much for him!

Frank watched Joe sleeping for a while as he waited for their father. Images of the parts of his brother's epic battle he had seen while he struggled with the timer flashed through his head. Joe had been fearless, tenacious and brilliant. His partner, who had his back, whatever it took, not some kid needing looked after. Frank was overcome with determination. He knew he was on the way to fixing the mess between them, but he realised he had to. There was nothing else he wanted to do but work with the man in front of him, standing shoulder to shoulder against the bad guys, proud to call him his best friend and brother.

Frank got up to stretch his legs, thinking he'd have a quick look to see how Stevie was. He found him instantly! He was back in uniform already, sitting with Sam at the bedside of Pierre Dauphin in the curtained cubicle beside Joe's. Sam had her notebook out- it looked like she was in the middle of taking a statement.

'Sorry, I'll come back' said Frank with a wave.

'Frank, wait!' Sam called. 'This is one of the men who saved the city!' she to Dauphin.

'Oui' said Dauphin, smiling broadly. 'I remember you from under the ground.'

'You speak English!' Frank said in surprise.

'Yes, so-so. When no one is hitting my head. But you understood my French? I tell you what to do?'

'Eventually. My brother got it. Why did it work? Why did it stop the explosion?'

Dauphin smiled tiredly. 'They made me build the device. So I built in a way to stop it. It was set up with its own batteries for the timer but I said they had to be plugged in so it would be fully charged. But it was never connected to the batteries- I had put in a bypass behind them that they couldn't see. It was always a direct connection to the generator. So obvious they didn't notice it. They were too busy thinking of pipes and detonators and timers to notice. I had hoped to have the chance to disconnect it myself, but they didn't leave me alone for a second. I just thank goodness you were there and understood!'

Frank shook his head in disbelief. 'Well done. Good thinking! Do you know how they got all that stuff into the underground city?'

Dauphin shrugged. 'I know they took me in late at night. They had a key. I presume everything went in that way.'

Frank nodded. That made sense. The terrorists couldn't possibly have blagged their way in as tourists all the time. They had to have had their own means of access to the place. He shook his head again, still trying to get his head around what The Assassins had achieved in the centre of a busy city. They had been bloody lucky to catch them when they did.

'So I hear you and Joe are coming on a police night out?' said Stevie with a wicked smile.

'I guess so. We could do with some sleep first.'

'Fair enough. Tomorrow night, 7 o'clock, The Advocate at the Tron Square. Be there.'

Frank grinned, looking forward to it already.

…..

The boys weren't big drinkers as a rule, but a good night on the town and a few pints of beer was how celebrating was done by the Edinburgh police, and when in Rome…

Photographs of the two of them emerging from Mary King's Close, Joe bloody and Frank supporting him, had been on the front page of every newspaper in the country. 'American tourists foil terrorist plot' and 'US heroes save the capital' were among the headlines. They couldn't walk across the street without someone wanting to shake their hands. They were heroes! It was somewhere between really nice and very embarrassing.

But they were now both well-rested and, if they were slightly lightheaded , this time it was the effect of beer, not some maniac's boot, fist or weapon!

A cheer had gone up when they arrived at The Advocate. It was a smart, recently renovated pub just off the Royal Mile. Big, comfortable sofas were dotted around the room. They had recognised many faces when they went in, although the people looked so different out of uniform. Sam had run up to them, long hair flowing around her shoulders and fitted top showing off her athletic but curvy body. For a second, Frank found himself wishing he was ten years older! She had bought them both their first pints of the night, then introduced them to a bewildering array of fellow cops. They had great fun. A room full of slightly drunk crime-fighters talking and laughing about chases and captures, crimes and narrow escapes- what wasn't to like! The boys felt very at home.

Then an unexpected figure walked into the pub. Kay. The brothers exchanged a look as she walked up to them.

'I just wanted to thank you.' She said.

Fenton Hardy had pulled some strings and found out who had bought Kay's family farm. Frank had contacted them. It turned out they did intended to move to Achshin later that year. But, as luck would have it, they knew little about farming and were very keen to keep Kay on to manage the land. She would be well paid and they had offered to build her a cottage. She could stay in the house meantime. Midnight, of course, could stay too. It couldn't have worked out better for Kay.

'You've both done so much for me. You've changed everything.' She smiled. There was a newfound confidence about her. She seemed older, more together. 'Joe. Say 'no' if you like. Any chance of a quick chat outside. In private?' She turned and walked towards the door.

Joe looked at Frank. Frank smirked and shrugged unhelpfully.

Joe coloured a little, then followed her out into the night.

Kay pulled Joe down the steps of the pub and into a dark corner in the street.

'This isn't another trap, is it?' said Joe, only half joking.

'Sort of.' Kay whispered, pushing her body against his and wrapping her arms around his waist. He gasped, feeling his body respond to her. He started to speak. She put a finger on his lips. 'Joe, I know you don't want….anything….from me. But there's one thing I want from you… a nice memory. The ones I have with you are all tainted and that's not how I want to remember you. OK?' Joe nodded silently. Her scent was intoxicating. She reached her face up towards his, searching for his lips. They kissed, long and deep, Joe's good arm tight around her shoulders. She stepped back, stroking his face gently. 'Thank you Joe Hardy. If you ever change your mind…if you want more…you know where I am.' She walked away into the night.

Joe stared after her. He took a few deep breaths, trying to get his blood pressure back down to something approaching normal. He wondered for a moment if he was being responsible or stupid. He felt a sudden twinge of guilt, then started as he realised he was thinking of Vanessa, not Iola! Maybe he was ready to move on...Shaking his head and smiling, he walked slowly back into the pub.

Frank had made his way to a big, soft, brown leather sofa which had been vacated. He had his feet up on the low table in front of it and was looked into his pint glass thoughtfully, as if considering the potent brown brew. Joe walked over and plonked himself at the opposite end of the sofa, mirroring his position. A random passing police officer put a fresh pint down on the table in front of him, giving him the thumbs up and a pat on the back. Joe accepted it without question.

Frank smiled at him wryly. 'Thought you might be a bit longer than that, Joe!'

Joe shook his head and shut his eyes, groaning. 'I must be some sort of saint. In different circumstances…..'

'I know. Cheers, Joe!' said Frank, raising his glass. Joe picked up his pint and leaned over from the other end of the sofa, lifting his glass to meet Franks. 'Cheers.' Their glasses clinked together.

Frank turned to look at Joe. Joe looked back at him. He held his gaze and smiled. Frank knew- this was the moment to push for their partnership.

'You know something, Joe?'

'A couple of things. Which thing do you mean?'

'Even when we're barely talking, we're still a pretty good team.'

Joe looked down at his feet, but he was still smiling.

'Joe. Can we have a proper talk now, about what we want to do? The one we should have had to start off with. And can we both be entirely honest?'

Joe looked up, serious. 'Yeah. But you go first.' He sounded apprehensive. Frank had to get this right.

'OK. This is what I want. Really and truthfully. I want to be a detective. I want to be your partner. I want to go to college first and study something that's going to help us. Probably criminology and some sort of applied IT. I don't care where I do it as long as it's somewhere good…but I'd rather go somewhere with you.

You had me worried for a while. I started to think maybe we were too close, that it wasn't healthy. I couldn't think of anyone else who has a relationship like us. Then I spoke to a cop. About good partnerships. And I realised…that's what we have! I have to remember not to treat you like a kid who's about to fall apart anymore. We have to move beyond that. I need you to you know we're equals and that there's nothing unhealthy about us supporting each other when bad stuff happens. Nothing! And I think it's crazy to let our partnership go, even for a few years. We work so well together. We know each other, we can depend on each other, we can trust each other and we catch bad guys like no one else can. That's what I want, Joe. You and me, working together, wherever we go, whatever we do. So….is that what you want too?'

He stopped, holding his breath. He'd given it his all.

Joe's face was unreadable. He bright blue eyes bored into Frank's brown ones. 'But what about Callie? I don't want you to miss out, you guys are so good together. She's right, you should get married, have kids. You'd be a great dad!''

Frank smiled. 'I do want those things, but we're waaaay too young for that! Me and Callie did talk about it when we were first going out, but I think I was talking further in the future than she was….. I do hope I can work things out with her, but if not there are a lot of girls out there. There's only one of you. I phoned her while you were sleeping. Joe, I told her she has to decide. I told her I will make more time for her, but you're part of the deal or there's no deal.'

'How did she take it?'

'She said she has to think.'

'Are you okay?'

'About Callie? Yes. Am I okay in general? I might be once you answer my question. Is that what you want too?'

A broad smile split Joe's face. A proper Joe smile.

'No'

Frank's jaw dropped. 'Joe…..' he started.

Joe cut in 'I mean yes! But there's no point us studying the same thing. How about same college, different subjects so we're contributing more between us, broadening the scope of our work?'

'You mean it!?' Frank exclaimed. Joe nodded.

Frank put his beer down so fast the head dribbled over the side. He threw himself at Joe and hugged him wildly!

'Down boy! Not in public!' Joe said, laughing, then hugged him back. They both sat back. 'Frank, sorry I've been such an idiot.' Joe said, suddenly quiet and serious.

'Don't start that crap. We were both idiots. I know your intentions were good. Can we just agree that neither of us will ever take that sort of decision again before talking through it properly? Please?

'Deal. OK, so you're studying criminology and some sort of applied IT. I'd been thinking about forensic sciences- the non-medical course I mean, maybe with psychology. What do you reckon?'

A voice came from behind them 'You know you can do all those courses at Edinburgh! One of the best universities in the world…' It was Sam, unsubtly eaves-dropping on their conversation and sticking in her tuppence-worth. 'Oh and you could come out with us in your free time. See some more policing, Edinburgh style!'

Frank looked at Joe, eyebrows raised. 'That's something to think about!'

At that moment, Frank's phone alert went off. He had a text. He looked at it then passed his phone to Joe. It was from Callie.

I'm so sorry, Frank. I've been thinking, a lot. You with no Joe? Not right. As long as I get my fair share of one on one time with you I'll be happy, no wedding ring required! Let's make a go of it! Love you so much x

The boys exchanged another glance.

'Better get them another pint' they heard Sam say. 'These boys have some decisions to make!'

…

THE END

PS Obviously that's not a proper ending... this story was the first of a series I did set in Scotland, one or two of which might be presentable. And, yes, of course, Frank and Callie stay together and Joe and Vanessa get together, but the four of them have some adventures in and about the places I know in Scotland before returning to the good old US. Can't beat putting the characters you love in the places you know!

PPS Sorry again to Callie.

PPPS Sorry if you wanted the boys to go their separate ways. It's all about the brotherhood for me...Well, that and the Joe whumpage...

Anyhoo, signing off for now,

Swifters.