Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
***
"I said I would kill you, and I will—make no mistake about that." In contrast to the last time Joe had seen him, Gregor was calm and in complete control of himself. He paced slowly back and forth in front of Joe, who was sitting in a chair with armed guards standing on either side.
They were in the company's security center. A long console covered with television screens split the room in half. The screens were tied in to cameras hidden throughout the building. Joe hadn't expected to find this level of technical sophistication—but that wasn't the only surprise he'd gotten at Video Imaging.
The first had come after Liehm led him through dozens of offices to this room. The equipment around him exactly duplicated that which he and Frank had found in Chris's basement.
He hadn't been able to put all these pieces of the puzzle together yet—but the picture was getting clearer.
"I will not have you interfering in our plans again. I want to know everything you and your brother know." Gregor stopped pacing directly in front of him and rested his palms on the arms of the chair Joe sat in. He leaned forward until their faces were barely six inches apart. "Tell me, and I promise you a painless death."
Joe shook his head. "That doesn't sound like much of a bargain to me."
"Where is your brother now?" Gregor asked.
Joe stifled the urge to ask which one and merely smiled.
Gregor shrugged as if to turn away—and backhanded Joe hard across the face.
"I do not like you, boy," he said. "I do not like looking over my shoulder and finding you there." He snapped his fingers. One of the guards handed him a gun. He pointed it at Joe. "Answer my question — where is your brother?"
Joe shook his head. He tasted blood running from a cut in his lip. "I honestly don't know."
Gregor studied the gun in his hand. "I said before I didn't like using this as a weapon." He smiled and cocked the trigger. "Perhaps in your case I will make an exception. ..."
Joe shut his eyes.
"No, I forbid it!"
Joe cracked an eye open. Liehm had entered the room and stood beside Gregor, one hand on his arm.
"We cannot keep committing murders, Gregor — not in this country."
The taller man removed his finger from the trigger and pressed his lips tightly together, trying to control himself. "Yes, Doctor," he said, lowering the gun slightly. "What would you have me do?"
Liehm smiled. "Be patient, my friend. All our plans will triumph, very soon." He reached for the gun in Gregor's hand.
Gregor swung his arm around viciously, catching Liehm full in the face with the butt of his gun. The doctor fell to the ground as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Patience?" Gregor roared. "Patience is for weaklings, Doctor."
Liehm stirred slightly. Gregor reached down and hauled him to his feet. "I will let you continue with your ridiculous, expensive scheme because Prague has ordered me to. But it is I who am in control here, I who will deal with this intruder. Is that clear?"
Liehm nodded feebly.
"Now do what ever you need to do!" He shoved Liehm, and the doctor stumbled out the door.
Gregor turned his attention back to Joe.
"Wait a minute, I thought you were on the same side."
"We are," Gregor said. "But I disagree with the doctor's methods. He will be satisfied to ruin Janosik's name—as if that would silence the traitor forever. But there is only one way to make sure one's enemies are truly silenced." He smiled at Joe and raised the gun, pressing it to Joe's head.
"This way."
JOE SHUT HIS EYES.
He heard a loud, almost deafening noise.
Then another. And another.
He opened his eyes.
The security center was in a state of frenzied activity. Alarms were going off every where.
"What — ?" Gregor said, turning away from Joe. "What is happening?"
"A breakin, sir — downstairs!" One of the men who had been guarding Joe was now hunched over a security monitor. "Unable to isolate the location!"
"Doctor!" Gregor yelled, striding out of the room. He turned back and pointed at Joe. "Keep an eye on him!"
The guard not watching the monitor leveled his gun at Joe. Gregor returned with Liehm. The whole right side of the doctor's face was swollen.
Gregor motioned him over to the security monitor. "What is this taking place? Why don't we see anything on the cameras?" he asked.
Liehm's fingers ranged over the controls expertly, and the cameras began moving, their view changing on all the screens.
"There!" Gregor pointed. "Downstairs, at the service entrance." He turned to Joe and smiled. "It looks as if your brother has decided to join us."
Joe sat up. Sure enough, there was Frank, apparently trying to force a door downstairs. Liehm shut off the alarms, but continued to work the console. "This is strange," he said. "I can't get the cameras to move any farther."
"What is the matter?" Gregor asked. He pointed to the two guards. "You! And you! Go downstairs, escort our friend back here. He'll want to see his brother."
The two guards left, and the man Joe had met earlier, who had been posing as the elevator operator, walked in.
"What is it, Ludvik?" Gregor asked.
"The tapes — should I send them now, Doctor?" Ludvik asked Liehm. "Or do we wait till morning?"
Liehm shrugged and said nothing.
"Doctor?" Ludvik pressed.
"Send them now—it doesn't matter," Gregor said, smiling. "One newspaper and two television stations—and they all think they have an 'exclusive.' Yes — send it."
Ludvik nodded and left.
"Something is wrong with this monitor, Krc!" Liehm insisted. "Someone has tampered with it!"
"Nonsense, Doctor." Gregor came and stood by his side. "I have been here the whole time."
While they were talking, Joe made a move as if to stand up—and Gregor, still talking to Liehm, shook his head.
"I wouldn't do that, Mr. Hardy," he said, pulling out his own gun again. "You'll miss your last chance to see your brother—breathing."
Joe sat down, disgusted. How had Frank managed to find this place? And why was he breaking in alone? Why hadn't he brought along any backup? He shook his head. It didn't sound like Frank. It sounded like him.
Gregor called his attention back to the monitor. "I want you to watch this."
On the screen, Frank, who had been attaching something to a cable running along the outside of the building, suddenly looked up from what he was doing. The two guards moved into the picture, guns held high. Frank raised his hands, and for a minute, he looked directly into the camera.
Then the screen went dark.
"What has happened, Doctor?"
"I don't know!" Liehm's voice was both angry and frustrated. "I tell you, something is the matter with this machine!"
Gregor frowned. "Perhaps," he said. "We will wait till the guards return, and run a check on the system."
Gregor paced the floor anxiously, while Liehm stood silently by the security console. Five minutes had gone by.
"I do not understand this!" Gregor said. "Where are they? They should have been back long ago!"
Joe shrugged and said nothing, but inside he felt a tiny spark of hope flicker. "Maybe somebody offered them a better job," Joe suggested.
Gregor shot him an angry look and was about to say something.
Then the alarms went off again.
"Another breakin!" Liehm said, studying the console, confusion in his voice. "In two places at once!" Gregor had punctured his self-confidence, his inability to make the security system work had clearly shattered it.
"Calm yourself, Doctor!" Gregor said. "Shut off the alarms, and isolate the breakins." He frowned at Joe. "Clearly, your brother is a lot cleverer than you are. Somehow, he has managed to turn our security system against us."
Liehm complied with Gregor's orders. "The breakin is again at the service entrance and our private staircase," he said.
"I will go myself, this time," Gregor said. He handed Liehm his gun. "Watch him. Do not leave this room. His brother may be leading us all on a wild goose chase. If I do not find him, I will return in five minutes."
"Wait!" Liehm said. "What if you don't come back?"
"Then you will be in charge again, Doctor." Gregor smiled. "You can do what you like."
As soon as Gregor left the room, Joe leaned forward in his chair. "He's going to kill Janosik," Joe began.
"Shut up!" Liehm yelled. "Do you think I don't know that?"
He raised his gun. "Bring that chair over here — that's it." He positioned Joe against the wall, keeping the console with its rows of TV monitors between the two of them, so he could watch both. "Now sit down, and be quiet!"
Joe decided not to test Liehm any further. Clearly, the man was on the verge of cracking up.
Now that he couldn't see the monitor screen he had no way of judging what was happening downstairs. He remained still in his chair, listening intently for any sound.
Five minutes passed quickly, and Liehm grew more agitated, more concerned. "What's happening out there?" He slammed his hand down on the console. He turned to Joe. "Where is everyone?" he demanded.
"Here I am, Doctor."
Both of them turned to see who had spoken. Chris stood framed in the doorway.
"You!" Liehm said.
"I'll bet you never thought you'd see me again," Chris said, walking into the room. "Hello, Joe."
Joe nodded but said nothing. He was as confused as Liehm was upset.
"But you're dead!" Liehm shouted hysterically, all his self-control gone now. "I saw Gregor shoot you!"
Chris shrugged and circled slowly around the room, maintaining his distance from Liehm till he was standing beside Joe. "Here I am," he said, spreading his arms. "Alive and kicking."
A wicked grin split the doctor's bruised face. "Not for long," he said, raising his gun.
Joe looked up at Chris, horrified. What was he doing?
Why was he offering Liehm such a perfect target?
A SECOND LATER JOE had his answer.
A hand fell on Liehm's shoulder.
"Ah, Gregor," Liehm said excitedly, without turning. "See who I have found here? Now we can take care of all these Hardys at once."
"Sorry to disappoint you, Doctor."
Liehm turned. He barely had enough time to be surprised before a fist caught him hard on the chin, and he crumpled to the floor.
Frank stood over him, rubbing his knuckles. "That's for slugging me with that phone."
Chris picked up Liehm's fallen gun.
Joe clapped Frank on the back. "Nice work." He looked behind Frank. "Anybody else coming?"
Frank shook his head. "Just us — the two guards that came after us are downstairs, out of it."
"How'd you do it?"
"He did it." Frank nodded toward Chris. "He was planning to break in here and take on all of them single-handedly before I showed up. We triggered a few alarms, ambushed the guards that came ..." Frank shrugged.
"You saved my life," Joe said to Chris.
"I'm the one who put it in danger in the first place," Chris said.
Joe grinned. "Nobody's responsible for what I do but me." He aimed an accusing finger at Chris. "But I still have a lot of questions for you!"
Chris smiled faintly and nodded. "I know I haven't been completely honest with you, but I'm ready to give you the answers you need."
"Good," Joe said.
"Hey!" Frank interrupted. "Where's Gregor?"
Joe's face dropped. "Gregor? He left after you set off the alarms the second time." He stared at Frank. "He didn't go past you?"
Frank shook his head.
"Then where did he go?" Chris asked.
"If you didn't pass him coming up from the service entrance, then he must have gone to the private staircase."
"I know where it is," Chris said. "Come on.
Frank and Joe followed him on a dead run back through the office till they came to a closed door. Chris tried the knob.
"He locked it behind him."
Joe tightened his lips in frustration. He thought of Gregor on the other side of the door. Then he pushed Chris aside. "Watch it."
Chris turned to him. "What are you doing?"
"I said, watch it."
Joe put his shoulder down and charged the door. The hinges groaned, and the wood around them cracked.
"Come on," Chris said, putting his hand on Joe's arm. "Let's go around the other way. That door's solid — it's not going to give."
"Give me Liehm's gun. I'll try shooting out the lock," Frank said, holding out his hand to Chris.
Joe pushed Frank's hand down. "One more time," he said. He charged the door again.
The wood split on one side. Joe kicked hard, and the door fell to the floor with a loud crash.
"Let's go," he said, stepping over it.
Behind the door was a short hallway leading to a set of stairs. Joe took the steps two at a time, expecting at any moment to find Gregor standing on one of the landings below him. But he reached the bottom of the staircase without an incident, Frank a step behind him.
Now another door stood in front of him. Without breaking step, Joe kicked it open—and found himself outside, looking into the parking garage.
The space where the Mercedes had been was empty.
"He got away." Joe shook his head and looked at Chris and Frank. "He's going to kill Janosik!"
"Kill him?" Frank grabbed his shoulders.
"Gregor and Liehm had some kind of fight," Joe said. "Gregor said Liehm could continue with his plan, but the only sure way to keep Janosik quiet was to kill him." He turned to Frank again. "And that's what he's going to do!"
"Easy," Frank said. "Lieutenant Considine is out at the hotel, with a lot of other cops. Nothing's going to happen to Janosik." He thought for a moment. "How did Liehm plan to keep Janosik from speaking?"
"I don't know," Joe said. "Liehm came to the hotel and showed Janosik something. Whatever it was really shook him. Wait a minute! It must've been that tape they said they were sending."
"And I bet I know where they're sending it," Frank said.