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do is make a phone call, and Gertrude and your mother are dead."
"Dad, he's conning you," said Joe.
"Right," said Frank. "It's Mom and Aunt Gertrude who have the prisoners. We left
them at home holding the goons at gunpoint."
Trask gave out a hoarse laugh. "You really think a couple of women could keep my
men under their thumbs? Your luck ran out. The situation in Bayport is reversed, and
your mother and aunt are paying for it."
"You're lying!" said Joe.
But the cold contempt in Trask s voice chilled
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him. "Want to bet on it? Want to bet your mother's and aunt's lives?"
"You see why I had to stop you," Fenton Hardy said. "If we tried to escape, it wouldn't
be just our lives we were putting on the line. And how could we really have been certain
that Trask wouldn't have released Virus B in the meantime and wiped out the city? No"
Mr. Hardy said thoughtfully, "the risk was too great."
Frank and Joe nodded. They should have known their dad had a good reason for doing
what he did. They just hoped he could come up with something to get them out of this
jam.
The brothers glanced at their father's face but couldn't see a glimmer of hope. He, like
them, was alert, but the tight line of Fenton Hardy's mouth told his sons that he, too,
couldn't see an escape. Time was running out for them all.
Thinking about time made Frank asked suddenly, "Hey, Trask, how long were we
knocked out? What's been going on?"
"You weren't out long enough," Trask said.
"Long enough for what?" asked Frank. "Long enough for you to get videos of us to
send to Peterson?" he guessed.
"That's it on the nose kid," said Trask. "I told Peterson that if he didn't put his hands on
the ransom real fast, all the males in the Hardy family would get it." Trask glanced at his
watch. "Hey, you know what?"
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Finally Joe gave in. "Okay, Trask, I'll bite. What?" he asked.
"The time I gave Peterson it was up five minutes ago. Let's see how much that cop
thinks your lives are worth."
Trask picked up his phone and punched out a number.
"Was the dough delivered?" he asked.
His face darkened as he heard the answer. He slammed down the receiver.
"Nothing yet. Not a cent," he growled. "All Peterson left at the drop off point was a
note begging for more time. Seems the big-money boys want proof of what kind of
danger they're in."
Trask crashed his big fist down on his desk. The desk trembled. Trask was in his
fifties, but the huge muscles in his arms were those of a younger man.
"I'll give them all the proof they want," he said, glaring at the Hardys. A nasty smile
shaped his thick lips. "You think three Hardy corpses should do it?" He faced Fenton
Hardy. "What do you think, Mr. Big Important Man?"
Before he could answer, Trask changed course. "Nah. A two bit private eye and two
baby boys wouldn't be impressive enough to make those fat cats cough up that big a
chunk of their loot. Besides, Fenton, old buddy, I don't want you to die just yet. I want
you around that way you can
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see what kind of guy you were dealing with when you tangled with me." Trask nodded at
his bodyguard. "Come on. We're all going to the lab. Keep your guns on these jokers.
You can never tell what they'll come up with."
"Gonna check on how the doctor is?" the bodyguard asked his boss.
"As far as I'm concerned, that creep can stay out for good," said Trask. "In fact, he's
better off if he does. It ll spare him the shock of finding out that his share of the take ain't
going to be what he expected. "
"Double-crossing your own partner? said Joe. "You're a real sweet guy."
Trask wasn't insulted. If anything, he looked as if he had received a compliment. "In
this business, kid, nice guys finish last, Dead last."
In the lab, Trask poked the doctor with his toe. Von Reich groaned, then stirred.
A cloud passed over Trask's face. "That drug of his ain't so good," he muttered. He
bent down and picked up the hypodermic that had fallen to the floor when the doctor had
passed out. Trask's face brightened. "Hey, Doc only injected himself with a little bit of it.
I always knew the man was shrewd."
By then von Reich's eyelids were fluttering open. He was struggling to sit up.
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But a minute later he was back on the floor, totally unconscious. With a big smile,
Trask had emptied the rest of the needle into his arm.
Trask went to the lab refrigerator and took out a tightly corked test tube. A row of
identical test tubes remained there. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]