Suddenly Frank, Joe, and Iola II came to stumbling halts.
Frank had time for only one thought. I should have figured it. They had one more backup plan.
Stepping out of the trees to block their path was the Lazarus leader. There was a big smile on his face, and a big gun in his hand.
Chapter 16
INSTANTLY JOE KNEW what he had to do.
He charged straight into the barrel of the Lazarus leader's Smith and Wesson .38-a pistol that looked as big and as deadly as a cannon.
Joe didn't kid himself, though. He knew he didn't have a chance.
But he also didn't - have a choice.
Maybe, just maybe, Frank could seize the advantage while Joe was being blown away. It was worth trying, better than nothing. And their chances would be nothing if they surrendered.
Joe charged, waiting for the bullet to rip through him, wondering how bad the pain would be and how long it would last before it all ended.
But it didn't happen. Joe heard no pistol blast, felt no agonizing impact, as he covered the space between them, reached the Lazarus leader, slammed into him, and connected with a right cross that sent the leader staggering backward even as his mouth flopped open in an unsuccessful attempt to say something.
Suddenly men poured out of the forest, assault rifles in their hands. They surrounded Joe, Frank, and Iola.
"Sorry, I did my best," Joe said to the others. "But they've got a small army here."
Then, to his amazement, he saw Frank's face break into a giant grin. "What's the joke?" Joe asked. "Don't you see?" Frank answered maddeningly.
"See what? That we've had it? That Lazarus has won? I see all that okay," said Joe. "Lazarus? You think these guys are from Lazarus?"
Joe took another look at the surrounding them. This time he saw more than rifles in their hands. He realized that none of them had been at the clinic. He saw that though they wore the outfits of deer hunters, their boots were highly polished. Two of them were helping up the man he had knocked to his feet, and the man was shaking his head groggily, then advancing on Joe with his hand out rather than his gun.
Joe's eyes widened. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you," he said to the Gray Man.
"That's okay, Joe, it was an honest mistake. I was thrown for a loss myself when we captured the Lazarus leader. He could have fooled me, if he hadn’t been pretending to be me. In this game, there's no way you can tell the players without a scorecard. "
"So you caught him and all the others?" asked Frank.
"Including the two who were piloting the helicopter," said the Gray Man. "A couple of French-Canadians.”
"They wouldn't be called Jacques and Henri, by any chance?" said Joe. .
The Gray Man nodded. "You know them?"
"We ran into each other," Joe replied.
"You'll be able to pump them for information about both Lazarus and the Assassins," said Frank.
"I assure you, we'll get everything they know out of them," said the Gray Man. "We have our methods.”
"I guess you do," said Joe. "I've got to admit, I don't like some of them, but this time they sure came in handy." He laughed. "Lazarus was so confident there was no way you could get our doubles to talk."
"Actually, Lazarus was right," said the Gray Man. "We must find out their programming techniques. We could use them to make sure our own agents never break down. Those doubles wouldn't crack."
"Then how did you find us?" asked Frank.
"Child's play," replied the Gray Man, smiling. "All I needed to do was remember that the word Lazarus came up a couple of times during our little adventure in Washington. I fed that into our computer, along with the fact that you two had been on a fishing trip to Maine. The printout about the Lazarus Clinic appeared one minute later. Never underestimate the Network data bank. We've had this place totally surrounded for hours. In fact, we were just readying a full-scale assault when the Lazarus crew came running out, right into our arms."
"Glad they came out in time," said Joe. "Your attack might have been a little messy-for us."
The Gray Man cleared his throat. "Well, sometimes in our business, there are what we call unavoidable trade-offs. But of course, since you boys aren't professionals, you wouldn't under stand. " Joe shot Frank a quick, triumphant glance. Then he said, "Oh, we understand" all right. Maybe that's why we're not professionals."
The Gray Man shrugged the superior look on his face undisturbed. "I'm afraid you're not cut out for this kind of work. Still, I must admit that you've proved quite valuable."
"Can I ask a favor in return?" said Joe, a thought suddenly striking him. "Can I see the Lazarus leader one last time before you cart him away?"
"Sounds fair to me," the Gray Man answered.
"You come with me, Iola. This concerns you," Joe said to the girl, who stood beside him looking totally lost. Apparently, she had at last fully realized that she did not have a clue who she was or what she should do.
"What about me" asked Frank? "Am I allowed to come, too?"
"As if I could keep you away from a mystery,” said Joe.
The Lazarus leader, stripped down to his underclothes to avoid confusion with the Gray Man, was being held with his team under armed guard in a clearing. In the clearing, too, was the large helicopter that was supposed to fly them to safety.
"Tell me," Joe said to the leader. "Who is this girl? We have to give her back her real identity."
"And why should I tell you?" There was a look of pure hate in the eyes of the Lazarus leader. "You Hardy boys have ruined everything, my perfect plans, and my great organization. All those years of work are down the drain."
"I'll give you one good reason to tell me," said Joe, and bunched his fist in front of the man's face. .
"You can't stand by and let him threaten me like this," the Lazarus leader protested to the Gray Man, who was watching the exchange with a smile on his face.
"It would not upset me in the least to see your features rearranged," the Gray Man said.
"Talk fast," Joe ordered, cocking his fist.
"She was a high school student by the name of Sally Collins," said the Lazarus leader. "We needed a girl of Iola's size, and we found and kidnapped her. There was a newspaper story about her disappearance. Then there was a search, and then-nothing."
"At least we know who you are, Sally," Joe said to her.
"But what good will that do me now?" the girl cried. "I've got someone else's face and mind. I'm not Sally Collins; I'm not anybody."
"But they can do something about it," said Joe, indicating the Lazarus team: "If they destroyed Sally Collins, they can bring her back again." He turned to the Gray Man. "What do you think? Will you do that? Will you make them do that?"
"It's a brilliant idea, Joe," Frank said to his brother. He turned to the Gray Man. "You have to see how good it is. Not only can you use the Lazarus team to restore Sally’s looks and memory, but you can make them change your double back to his original identity-unless of course you enjoy having two of you around, one good and the other evil."
"You kids come up with the craziest ideas," said the Gray Man, shaking his head in wonderment. "But I have to admit, this notion isn't bad. Especially since the Network might have a few other uses for these people as well. Yes, I can think of a number of situations in which they could be handy, under the proper supervision, of course."
"I hope I haven't created some kind of monster," Joe said.
"All's fair in the war against our enemies," the Gray Man said, his eyes gleaming at the thought of the new weapon in the Network arsenal.
"That's what I was afraid you'd say," replied Joe, and shrugged. He turned to the girl. "Anyway, Sally, you'll soon know who you are again."
She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Joe." Then her smile faded. "But does that mean I won't remember anything that happened to me since I was changed?"
"I don't see how you could, or why you'd want to," Joe answered, wondering why she looked so conc
erned. "They'll probably arrange to have you found wandering around dazed, as if you had suffered some kind of blackout. Partial amnesia, I think they call it."
"Then I won't remember anything," she said, regret coloring her words. "I won't remember all that's happened between us."
"That's right," agreed Joe thickly. "It'll be all over. You won't be Iola anymore. Iola will be gone forever." He looked at the girl and the girl looked at him. He felt as if a distance were already opening up between them.
The girl broke the silence. "Goodbye, Joe. And thanks for everything. I wish I could say I'll never forget you."
"Right," Joe was unable to continue speaking. He was losing Iola for the second time.
His fist clenched, he turned abruptly to the Lazarus leader. "Iola is gone, isn't she? Just as you said she was."
The Lazarus leader glared at him. "You'd like to know for sure, wouldn't you? You'd like to put your mind to rest, one way or the other. Well, I don't care if you beat me to a pulp, I'm not giving you your precious answer. Any pain you cause me will be only temporary-while I can leave you to agonize over your missing girlfriend forever." Motionless, they faced each other. Then Joe unclenched his fist. "One-way fights aren't my thing," he said, and turned away. "But I'm not giving up," he told his brother. "Iola is alive, I can feel it. I couldn't feel this strongly about someone who was dead."
"Then I won't tell you to give up hope," Frank said softly. He put his hand on Joe's shoulder. "Anyway, solving mysteries is what we do best and Iola is at the top of the list."
“You bet she is," said Joe, and he and Frank shook hands on that.
The End.
The Lazarus Plot Page 10