"Just relax," Joe told Frank. Frank smiled. Joe may not have realized it, but he had just given Frank their secret signal which meant to take a deep breath and flex his muscles. After he was tied and he relaxed, the ropes would easily come off.
After Joe had finished tying Frank to the chair, he removed the bandana he had been wearing around his neck. He started to gag Frank with it but Frank spoke before he could put it in.
"Joe, think about what you're doing," Frank begged. "You know this doesn't feel right."
"Actually, it feels perfect," Joe replied with a Cheshire smile. "Two people," he said, "plus one," he added as an afterthought. Frank paled when he thought of his mother. "Are going to be very sorry for these past twenty-four hours." Joe looked down at Frank and his expression changed.
"Easy big bro," Joe whispered, causing Frank's eyes, again, to widen in shock. "I came to my senses in the theater, but Darryl was there."
"Then why are you tying me up?" Frank demanded angrily.
"You can get free," Joe told him, whispering. "I've got to go before they get suspicious." Frank glared at Joe. "I saw Dad down town and, more importantly, he saw us. He'll be here with back up soon," Joe promised. "The evidence Dad needs against these two guys is here," he added. "Just get free and wait."
"But..." Frank began but Joe put the gag in his mouth just as Billy came back into the garage.
"You okay?" Billy asked Joe.
"Yeah," Joe said. "Just making sure it was tight so he couldn't get away and ruin everything."
Billy smiled at Joe. "He won't. By this time tomorrow, you'll have your dad back and the Hardys will never bother us again."
Frank watched as Joe forced a relieved smile onto his face. "And he suffers for what he did to mom?" Joe asked.
"You bet," Billy promised. "Let's get out of here." Outside the garage, Billy put a hand on Joe's arm. "Does he believe you're on his side now?"
"I caught him hook, line, and sinker," Joe responded, smiling brightly. "And the ropes are loose enough so he can get free."
"Good boy," Billy praised him. "And you're sure Hardy saw us drive by?"
"Positive," Joe affirmed.
Smiling brightly, Billy preceeded Joe into the house. "Okay Joe," Darryl said, handing Joe a gun. "You know what you're supposed to do?"
"Force Fenton into the garage. If he refuses, shoot at the ground and Frank will come running out. Then I shoot Frank."
"And if he goes to the garage willingly?" Darryl prompted.
"Shoot at the ground near the garage door," Joe answered. "Frank will come running out and I shoot him."
Joe left the twosome and went outside. On his way to his chosen vantage point, he poked his head in the garage. "Free yet?" he asked Frank.
Frank nodded, but didn't answer because he had left the gag in his mouth. "I'm supposed to shoot you," Joe told him. "I'll miss of course, but act like I hit you." Frank nodded his agreement and Joe headed for his tree.
Joe didn't have long to wait. He saw Fenton emerge through some trees with several officers behind him. Joe waited. There was the sound of cars starting behind the officers. 'Billy and Darryl's diversion,' Joe thought.
The officers turned and ran toward the squad cars, but Fenton, suspecting it was a decoy, stayed where he was. Joe climbed down to the lowest branch then dropped the rest of the way to the ground. He stealthily made his way behind Fenton and stopped, holding the gun in front of him. "Hi," Joe said.
Fenton spun around, nearly losing his footing on the still too wet ground. "Joe," Fenton said softly, seeing the gun in his youngest son's hand. "Let me have the gun," he said, holding out a hand. "You don't want to hurt anyone."
"That's not entirely true," Joe disagreed with a slight shake of his head. "There are definitely two people here this evening who are going to get hurt."
"Where's Frank?" Fenton asked, paling.
"You'll see him soon enough," Joe promised, his face hard. "Move," he ordered Fenton, coming closer.
Fenton turned and started walking toward the house. Joe came up close, the gun still trained on him. "Don't believe what you see," Joe whispered near Fenton's ear, his lips barely moving. Then, as they neared the house, Joe fired a shot at the bottom of the garage door.
Frank came running outside, coming to a sudden stop when he saw Joe holding a gun on his father. Before Frank or Fenton could react, Joe raised the gun and fired.
Frank cried out and fell to the ground. "Frank!" Fenton screamed the name, rushing over to kneel by his eldest son. "What have you done?" Fenton yelled.
"What we wanted him to do," Darryl said, coming from beside the house. Billy moved out into the open from behind Joe.
"I'll take that now," Billy told Joe, taking the gun away from Joe.
Joe looked at Fenton. "Now we're going to get Dad back."
"Sorry Kid," Darryl said with an evil laugh. "After tonight, you'll never see him again."
"What?" Joe asked, feigning confusion.
"Dobson ain't your dad, Kid," Billy told him. "And I certainly ain't your uncle."
"Then why?" Joe demanded, looking from Billy to Darryl and finally coming to rest on Billy who now held the gun on him.
"To get your old man out of the way dufus," Billy told him. "To be honest, we were glad when your old man busted Dobson." Joe looked at Fenton. "That's right Kid, he's your real dad."
"Why didn't you just kill me and leave my sons out of this?" Fenton demanded angrily.
"Dobson was in charge and he made the rules, until you caught him," Darryl said.
"So you two really are the bad guys," Joe said as if realization had just dawned.
"That would be you," Billy sneered. "You did just kill your own brother."
Darryl looked at Fenton. "Because of you, we had to close up shop. You deserve all the pain we can inflict on you."
"I don't know about that," Joe said a bit cockily.
"If you're expecting the cops back, Joey boy, forget it," Billy told him. "After they took off after their cars, I closed the fence and turned on the juice. They try to get back in here and they fry."
"Now," Darryl said. "Both of you, into the garage. It's getting a bit cool out here," he added with a sickening grin.
"Nice night for a fire," Billy agreed.
Joe stood his ground even as his father bent down to lift Frank off the ground. "I will shoot you," Darryl told him. Joe never moved. He locked eyes with Darryl, defying him to pull the trigger.
"Joesph!" Fenton shouted as Darryl squeezed the trigger and the sound of gunfire blasted into the night.
Darryl stared at Joe in amazement for a mere fraction of a second before whipping out another weapon and firing at Joe.
Joe laughed as Frank jumped to his feet. In an instant, Frank had knocked Billy's gun from his hand and knocked him out with a single blow. Fenton had rushed Darryl, knocking him sideways and landing on top of him. Caught unaware, Darryl never had a chance to fight back as Fenton began raining down blow upon blow on the man.
"Easy Dad!" Joe shouted, reaching out and grabbing his father's hand in mid-blow.
Fenton's crazed eyes met Joe's tender ones and he stood up and pulled Joe to him, squeezing so tight that Joe had to take deep breaths when his father finally released him. Frank came over and enveloped Joe in a tight, quick bear hug. "This has been the longest twenty-four hours of my life," Frank told Joe. "Don't ever do that to me again!"
Joe looked down at his watch. Frank was right. Three more minutes and it would be time for the show they had started to watch last night when they had seen the brick thrower.
"What happened?" Darryl asked, dazed, as he sat up.
"You lost," Frank told him grimly, itching to launch a few blows of his own at the man.
"I put blanks in all the guns," Joe told him.
"When?" Darryl demanded.
"After I talked to Iola," Joe told him. "She made me remember enough to question what you were up to," he continued. "So I started looking around while you two were busy. I found your powder," he added and looked over at his father. "It's hidden in the upholstery of their car. That is why you were after these guys in the first place?" Fenton nodded.
"Where did you get the blanks?" Darryl demanded. "We didn't have any and we watched you every minute you were in public."
"Whoever owns this house had lots of blanks," Joe told him. "They were in a box on the floor of one of the closets."
"So when did you get your memory back?" Frank demanded. "When Iola talked to you?"
Joe shook his head. "She just made me think," he said. "In the theater when you did that hair thing you're always doing. That's when I started remembering." Joe paused and looked sheepishly at his father and brother. "I'm sorry I hit you," he told Frank, then looked at his dad. "I'm sorry I beat you up," he said. "I..."
"It's okay, Son," Fenton told him. "Just promise me one thing," he said, as the police rushed forward, having had the electric company disconnect the power.
"What?" Joe asked warily.
"If anyone ever does attack you and it's not me or your brother, promise you'll put up just as good a fight."
"Ah, Dad," Joe said, grinning.
The police arrived and took Darryl and Billy into custody. Joe showed them where the drugs were hidded, then he, Frank and their dad were taken back to the police station to press charges.
"Joe should go back to the hospital for a check-up," Frank said once they were on their way home.
"I'm fine," Joe insisted, just wanting to go home.
"Well, you're still going to our family doctor first thing in the morning," Fenton stated, his tone allowing for no argument. "I called your mother and told her we were bringing you home," he added. "But we were disconnected before I could tell her you had your memory back."
They arrived home a few minutes later. Fenton unlocked the living room door and he, Frank and Joe went inside. As soon as they entered, there was a chorus of "Welcome home," from the multitude of people in the living room.
Before Fenton or Frank could tell everyone Joe was okay, Joe walked over to Iola, took her in his arms and kissed her. "Thank you," he told her, as he moved his lips away and looked down into her eyes.
"You're back," she whispered, then leapt at him, knocking him back onto the sofa. She fell on top of him and kissed him until Chet grabbed her waist and pulled her off of him.
"Let him breathe," Chet begged her. "You'll put him back in the hospital!"
Joe, grinning, grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto his lap. He looked over at Frank and gave him a wink.
Frank grinned back, relieved to have Joe back home where he belonged.
End
After Joe had finished tying Frank to the chair, he removed the bandana he had been wearing around his neck. He started to gag Frank with it but Frank spoke before he could put it in.
"Joe, think about what you're doing," Frank begged. "You know this doesn't feel right."
"Actually, it feels perfect," Joe replied with a Cheshire smile. "Two people," he said, "plus one," he added as an afterthought. Frank paled when he thought of his mother. "Are going to be very sorry for these past twenty-four hours." Joe looked down at Frank and his expression changed.
"Easy big bro," Joe whispered, causing Frank's eyes, again, to widen in shock. "I came to my senses in the theater, but Darryl was there."
"Then why are you tying me up?" Frank demanded angrily.
"You can get free," Joe told him, whispering. "I've got to go before they get suspicious." Frank glared at Joe. "I saw Dad down town and, more importantly, he saw us. He'll be here with back up soon," Joe promised. "The evidence Dad needs against these two guys is here," he added. "Just get free and wait."
"But..." Frank began but Joe put the gag in his mouth just as Billy came back into the garage.
"You okay?" Billy asked Joe.
"Yeah," Joe said. "Just making sure it was tight so he couldn't get away and ruin everything."
Billy smiled at Joe. "He won't. By this time tomorrow, you'll have your dad back and the Hardys will never bother us again."
Frank watched as Joe forced a relieved smile onto his face. "And he suffers for what he did to mom?" Joe asked.
"You bet," Billy promised. "Let's get out of here." Outside the garage, Billy put a hand on Joe's arm. "Does he believe you're on his side now?"
"I caught him hook, line, and sinker," Joe responded, smiling brightly. "And the ropes are loose enough so he can get free."
"Good boy," Billy praised him. "And you're sure Hardy saw us drive by?"
"Positive," Joe affirmed.
Smiling brightly, Billy preceeded Joe into the house. "Okay Joe," Darryl said, handing Joe a gun. "You know what you're supposed to do?"
"Force Fenton into the garage. If he refuses, shoot at the ground and Frank will come running out. Then I shoot Frank."
"And if he goes to the garage willingly?" Darryl prompted.
"Shoot at the ground near the garage door," Joe answered. "Frank will come running out and I shoot him."
Joe left the twosome and went outside. On his way to his chosen vantage point, he poked his head in the garage. "Free yet?" he asked Frank.
Frank nodded, but didn't answer because he had left the gag in his mouth. "I'm supposed to shoot you," Joe told him. "I'll miss of course, but act like I hit you." Frank nodded his agreement and Joe headed for his tree.
Joe didn't have long to wait. He saw Fenton emerge through some trees with several officers behind him. Joe waited. There was the sound of cars starting behind the officers. 'Billy and Darryl's diversion,' Joe thought.
The officers turned and ran toward the squad cars, but Fenton, suspecting it was a decoy, stayed where he was. Joe climbed down to the lowest branch then dropped the rest of the way to the ground. He stealthily made his way behind Fenton and stopped, holding the gun in front of him. "Hi," Joe said.
Fenton spun around, nearly losing his footing on the still too wet ground. "Joe," Fenton said softly, seeing the gun in his youngest son's hand. "Let me have the gun," he said, holding out a hand. "You don't want to hurt anyone."
"That's not entirely true," Joe disagreed with a slight shake of his head. "There are definitely two people here this evening who are going to get hurt."
"Where's Frank?" Fenton asked, paling.
"You'll see him soon enough," Joe promised, his face hard. "Move," he ordered Fenton, coming closer.
Fenton turned and started walking toward the house. Joe came up close, the gun still trained on him. "Don't believe what you see," Joe whispered near Fenton's ear, his lips barely moving. Then, as they neared the house, Joe fired a shot at the bottom of the garage door.
Frank came running outside, coming to a sudden stop when he saw Joe holding a gun on his father. Before Frank or Fenton could react, Joe raised the gun and fired.
Frank cried out and fell to the ground. "Frank!" Fenton screamed the name, rushing over to kneel by his eldest son. "What have you done?" Fenton yelled.
"What we wanted him to do," Darryl said, coming from beside the house. Billy moved out into the open from behind Joe.
"I'll take that now," Billy told Joe, taking the gun away from Joe.
Joe looked at Fenton. "Now we're going to get Dad back."
"Sorry Kid," Darryl said with an evil laugh. "After tonight, you'll never see him again."
"What?" Joe asked, feigning confusion.
"Dobson ain't your dad, Kid," Billy told him. "And I certainly ain't your uncle."
"Then why?" Joe demanded, looking from Billy to Darryl and finally coming to rest on Billy who now held the gun on him.
"To get your old man out of the way dufus," Billy told him. "To be honest, we were glad when your old man busted Dobson." Joe looked at Fenton. "That's right Kid, he's your real dad."
"Why didn't you just kill me and leave my sons out of this?" Fenton demanded angrily.
"Dobson was in charge and he made the rules, until you caught him," Darryl said.
"So you two really are the bad guys," Joe said as if realization had just dawned.
"That would be you," Billy sneered. "You did just kill your own brother."
Darryl looked at Fenton. "Because of you, we had to close up shop. You deserve all the pain we can inflict on you."
"I don't know about that," Joe said a bit cockily.
"If you're expecting the cops back, Joey boy, forget it," Billy told him. "After they took off after their cars, I closed the fence and turned on the juice. They try to get back in here and they fry."
"Now," Darryl said. "Both of you, into the garage. It's getting a bit cool out here," he added with a sickening grin.
"Nice night for a fire," Billy agreed.
Joe stood his ground even as his father bent down to lift Frank off the ground. "I will shoot you," Darryl told him. Joe never moved. He locked eyes with Darryl, defying him to pull the trigger.
"Joesph!" Fenton shouted as Darryl squeezed the trigger and the sound of gunfire blasted into the night.
Darryl stared at Joe in amazement for a mere fraction of a second before whipping out another weapon and firing at Joe.
Joe laughed as Frank jumped to his feet. In an instant, Frank had knocked Billy's gun from his hand and knocked him out with a single blow. Fenton had rushed Darryl, knocking him sideways and landing on top of him. Caught unaware, Darryl never had a chance to fight back as Fenton began raining down blow upon blow on the man.
"Easy Dad!" Joe shouted, reaching out and grabbing his father's hand in mid-blow.
Fenton's crazed eyes met Joe's tender ones and he stood up and pulled Joe to him, squeezing so tight that Joe had to take deep breaths when his father finally released him. Frank came over and enveloped Joe in a tight, quick bear hug. "This has been the longest twenty-four hours of my life," Frank told Joe. "Don't ever do that to me again!"
Joe looked down at his watch. Frank was right. Three more minutes and it would be time for the show they had started to watch last night when they had seen the brick thrower.
"What happened?" Darryl asked, dazed, as he sat up.
"You lost," Frank told him grimly, itching to launch a few blows of his own at the man.
"I put blanks in all the guns," Joe told him.
"When?" Darryl demanded.
"After I talked to Iola," Joe told him. "She made me remember enough to question what you were up to," he continued. "So I started looking around while you two were busy. I found your powder," he added and looked over at his father. "It's hidden in the upholstery of their car. That is why you were after these guys in the first place?" Fenton nodded.
"Where did you get the blanks?" Darryl demanded. "We didn't have any and we watched you every minute you were in public."
"Whoever owns this house had lots of blanks," Joe told him. "They were in a box on the floor of one of the closets."
"So when did you get your memory back?" Frank demanded. "When Iola talked to you?"
Joe shook his head. "She just made me think," he said. "In the theater when you did that hair thing you're always doing. That's when I started remembering." Joe paused and looked sheepishly at his father and brother. "I'm sorry I hit you," he told Frank, then looked at his dad. "I'm sorry I beat you up," he said. "I..."
"It's okay, Son," Fenton told him. "Just promise me one thing," he said, as the police rushed forward, having had the electric company disconnect the power.
"What?" Joe asked warily.
"If anyone ever does attack you and it's not me or your brother, promise you'll put up just as good a fight."
"Ah, Dad," Joe said, grinning.
The police arrived and took Darryl and Billy into custody. Joe showed them where the drugs were hidded, then he, Frank and their dad were taken back to the police station to press charges.
"Joe should go back to the hospital for a check-up," Frank said once they were on their way home.
"I'm fine," Joe insisted, just wanting to go home.
"Well, you're still going to our family doctor first thing in the morning," Fenton stated, his tone allowing for no argument. "I called your mother and told her we were bringing you home," he added. "But we were disconnected before I could tell her you had your memory back."
They arrived home a few minutes later. Fenton unlocked the living room door and he, Frank and Joe went inside. As soon as they entered, there was a chorus of "Welcome home," from the multitude of people in the living room.
Before Fenton or Frank could tell everyone Joe was okay, Joe walked over to Iola, took her in his arms and kissed her. "Thank you," he told her, as he moved his lips away and looked down into her eyes.
"You're back," she whispered, then leapt at him, knocking him back onto the sofa. She fell on top of him and kissed him until Chet grabbed her waist and pulled her off of him.
"Let him breathe," Chet begged her. "You'll put him back in the hospital!"
Joe, grinning, grabbed her arm and pulled her back onto his lap. He looked over at Frank and gave him a wink.
Frank grinned back, relieved to have Joe back home where he belonged.
End