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"Oh, the Games People Play now,
Every night and every day now,
Never meaning what they say now,
Never saying what they mean."
Joe South, Games People Play
Games People Play
By Olivia Sutton
Joe looked in horror at his brother as Frank stood next to Ann Metzger, pointing a gun at him. “Frank!”
“What are you waiting for? Shoot him,” urged Ann.
“I can’t do that. You shoot a Fed and they will never stop,” said Frank. “We can tie him up. Once he reports in, we’ll be long gone.”
Ann grabbed the gun from Frank, “If you won’t do it, I will,” she said, firing the gun.
Joe slid down the wall, grabbing his stomach, which was now bleeding from a gunshot wound.
“Joe! Joe!” Screamed Frank as he rushed forward, his hands outstretched towards his brother.
Ann fired again. Frank stiffened as a bullet hit his back, then he fell on top of his brother.
Ann fired again at Frank. Then she abruptly left the hotel room.
“Frank? Frank!” Screamed Joe.
Fenton, Harry, and a large group of Federal agents reached the hotel room. Fenton pushed the door open and saw both his boys lying on the floor in pools of blood.
“No!” Screamed Fenton. “You, call for an ambulance,” Fenton said, pointing at one of the other Federal agents as he rushed to his boys’ sides. “You, find out if this hotel has a doctor and get him up here!” Fenton pointed at another agent. “You, get us towels from the bathroom,” Fenton pointed at another agent. “Harry, help Frank!”
Fenton had reached Joe and collapsed on his knees next to his son. He covered Joe’s wound and applied pressure with his hands. “Joe?”
“I’m alright. Check Frank. He hasn’t said a word. Hasn’t even groaned in pain. Dad… is Frank?” Joe couldn’t finish the thought.
Fenton reached towards Frank, checking his older son’s neck with a hand that was already soaked with Joe’s blood. He pressed on Frank’s neck and found a pulse. “He’s still alive. Thank god! Harry, help Frank!”
Frank still covered Joe and was much too quiet.
“Fenton, we need to move Frank, get him flat on the floor, off of Joe,” said Harry.
Fenton nodded. “You, come here, apply pressure to his wound,” Fenton said to one of the agents in the room, indicating Joe. Another agent returned to the main room with towels. Fenton applied one to Joe’s stomach wound. “Here.”
Fenton and Harry carefully moved Frank off Joe and next to him. Fenton checked Frank’s pulse again. It was still there. He grabbed some of the hotel towels offered by another agent. “Harry, apply pressure to Frank’s wounds!” Yelled Fenton, then he returned to Joe’s side.
Fenton pushed the agent aside and applied pressure to Joe’s wound. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. Ann…” said Joe, before closing his eyes.
“Joe? Joe!” screamed Fenton. He reached for Joe’s neck and checked his pulse. It was there, but now weak and thready. “Where’s that ambulance?” Fenton yelled. Fenton returned his attention to his youngest son. “Joe! Joe, Wake up! You have to stay awake!”
Joe opened his eyes, but they were glazed with pain.
Suddenly, four ambulance attendants burst into the room. They moved towards Frank and Joe. The two young men were each loaded into stretchers.
“Sir? We need to get them to a hospital immediately. Are you a relative?”
“I’m their father,” said Fenton. He pointed at Harry, “And he’s their boss.”
“We’re going to transport now,” said an ambulance attendant.
“I’m coming with you,” said Fenton.
Outside the hotel, Joe and Frank were each loaded into separate ambulances. Fenton hesitated, then decided to stay with Joe. “Harry, go with Frank,” Fenton ordered.
Harry nodded and explained to the ambulance attendant that he was responsible for the Hardys’ well-being.
*****
Joe’s ambulance screamed into the E/R, and Joe was rushed into the emergency room trauma room. A nurse held Fenton back. “We’ll take care of him. Who are you and what’s your relationship to the patient?”
“I’m Fenton Hardy. Joe Hardy is my son. My eldest was also brought in. Frank Hardy. He was with Harry, Harry Hammond.”
“OK,” said the nurse. “I’ll check on the other patient for you. We have paperwork that you need to do. Does Joe have any allergies to medication or medical conditions we need to know about?”
“He’s on an antidepressant. But it’s nothing to do with what just happened.”
“Okay, do you know which one?”
Fenton shook his head. “He’s been on them for months.”
“OK, I’ll check on the other patient and get the paperwork you need to fill out. You can wait here, OK?” She indicated the waiting area near the E/R. “Sir, would you like to clean up? I can get you a set of scrubs if you want.”
Fenton looked down and realized his shirt and suitcoat jacket were covered in blood. Blood stained his hands as well. He shuddered. “Yeah, thank you, nurse.”
The nurse led Fenton to a changing room. She found a set of scrubs and laid them on the bench next to the sink in the changing room. “Here you go.”
Fenton nodded. Once the nurse was gone, he stripped off his blood-covered clothes to the waist and washed his hands, arms, and face in the deep sink and dried them on a towel. He put on a scrub top. His pants were also covered in blood, so he changed into scrub bottoms, too. Then he threw away his bloody clothes and went out to the waiting room.
Fenton nodded, then found a chair and sat down.
The nurse came back a few minutes later with a stack of paper and a clipboard, which she handed to Fenton, then she gave him a pen. “Frank is your older son?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered Fenton.
“He was taken directly to surgery. The doctors are stabilizing Joe here, in the E/R, then he will need surgery as well.”
Fenton nodded. “Do you have any more information? How are they doing? What are their chances?”
“A doctor will be out to see you once Joe is stable, Mr. Hardy. But for Frank, you’ll need to speak to his surgeon. The operating rooms are on the second floor. The bullets need to be removed, and the damage repaired. That means surgery for Joe as well. But Frank’s condition was so serious that he was sent to the O.R. immediately. Other than that, I don’t have an update. I’m sorry.”
Fenton nodded, then sat down to fill out the paperwork.
*****
Sometime later, a doctor with dark hair and blue eyes approached Fenton, “Are you a family member of Joseph Hardy?”
Fenton nodded, “Yes, Joe is my son.”
“I’m Doctor Beckwith, I’m the emergency physician who worked on Joe. He was given several units of blood and IV fluids. Pressure bandages were placed on his wound, and we were able to control the bleeding. We were able to stabilize him. I’m cautiously optimistic.”
“OK, I’m sensing a but…” Fenton said quietly.
“The bullet needs to be removed, and the damage repaired. He’s being transferred to the operating room,” said Dr. Beckwith.
Fenton nodded. “Is there an area I can wait? And my older son, Frank, was also brought in. He was also shot. All I’ve been told is that he was taken directly to the OR.”
“I didn’t work on him. Joe is in OR 1 on the second floor. There is a waiting room on the floor. The charge nurse here in Emergency might have an update for you. If she doesn’t, ask the charge nurse on the second floor. They will know about all patients, and they can show you where to wait.”
Fenton nodded and headed towards the charge nurse. “Thank you, doctor.”
“Mr. Hardy? What happened? Both sons? I couldn’t imagine…” he trailed off.
“I don’t know all the details, but it looks like wrong place, wrong time. But if I lose either one… and I can’t even contemplate losing them both.”
The doctor nodded.
Fenton turned and walked over to the charge nurse’s desk. He asked about Frank but was told he was probably still in surgery. The E/R didn’t get details after a patient was transferred. The nurse repeated what the doctor had said: Fenton needed to go to the second floor and ask a surgical charge nurse.
Fenton nodded, rubbed a hand over his face, then asked for directions. He followed the nurse’s directions, taking a bank of elevators to the surgical floor. Once there, he went to the charge nurse’s desk. The nurse checked him in as family for both Frank and Joe and told Fenton where he could wait. Unfortunately, the only news about Frank was that he was still in surgery. Fenton walked to the waiting room, where he saw Harry. Harry had also cleaned up and now wore scrubs.
“Fenton!” Said Harry as he stood up.
“Harry! Any news?” Asked Fenton.
Harry shook his head, then sat down. “No news. How about Joe?”
“They stabilized him in the E/R and sent him up here for surgery,” responded Fenton.
“What happened, Harry? What the hell happened to my boys?”
“I don’t know, Fenton. I don’t know. We were closing in on Ann. Joe was simply going to pass Frank a message. Something must have gone horribly wrong.”
“You think?” Fenton paused. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. Do you have any idea who your mole is? Because they might be at fault for this.”
Harry shook his head. “No idea. Joe said he thought he might have figured it out, but he wanted to find proof.”
“Oh, god,” said Fenton.
Harry nodded, then placed a hand on Fenton’s arm. The two sat in companionable, worried silence.
*****
Sometime later, a doctor approached the two men. “Family of Frank Hardy?”
Fenton stood, “I’m Frank’s father.” Harry stood next to Fenton, offering his support.
“I’m Dr. Newton, I’m Frank’s surgeon. Frank’s condition was serious when he arrived. I removed the bullets, repaired the damage, and he’s received several units of blood and IV fluid. He had a tension pneumothorax, which was repaired. He has a chest tube. He’s in recovery now, and then he will be moved to an ICU room.”
Fenton nodded. “What are his chances for a full recovery?”
“Right now, he’s holding his own. It was a close thing during surgery. He coded twice, but we brought him back. He’s stable now.”
“When can I see him?” asked Fenton.
“Once he’s in an ICU room, you will be able to see him.”
“Doctor, my younger son, Joe, was also … shot. Do you know anything about his condition? He was brought to surgery from the E/R.”
“I, no, I wasn’t his surgeon. You can check with the charge nurse.”
Fenton nodded. He sat down to wait for information on Joe.
*****
An older, white-haired doctor approached Fenton and Harry in the waiting room, “Family of Joseph Hardy?”
Fenton and Harry rose. “I’m Joe’s father, Fenton Hardy,” he said, introducing himself.
“I’m Dr. Novak, I’m your son’s surgeon. Joe was brought in with a gunshot to the abdomen. I removed the bullet and repaired the damage. He received several units of blood and IV fluids. He’s stable and being moved to recovery. When he wakes up from the anesthesia in recovery, we’ll be able to move him to an ICU room, and you will be able to see him.”
“He’s alright?” Asked Fenton.
“He’s stable.”
“Doctor, Joe’s older brother, Frank, was also shot tonight. His surgeon has already talked to me. Dr. Newton said Frank was stable and in recovery, and then he’d be moved to the ICU.”
“That is standard procedure. If you have a question about his treatment, you will need to ask Dr. Newton.”
“No, I mean, I want to request that Frank and Joe be moved into the same ICU room. Or next to each other in an open ward. Not just for my own convenience. They are close, very close. If they are in separate rooms…” Fenton took a deep breath. “I don’t want either one of them to assume the other didn’t make it tonight. Please.”
Dr. Novak nodded. “I can do that. I’ll contact Dr. Newton and the ICU and recovery room nurses, and we can do that for you.”
“For them. Please. With everything that one or the other has gotten into, it’s only ever been one at a time. And the other has always been there to see his brother through it. Even if I couldn’t be there, they always had each other. Always.”
“O.K.,” said Dr. Novak. “I’ll talk to the nurses and staff.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” said Fenton.
“Of course, a nurse will let you know when Joe and Frank are settled in an ICU room,” replied Dr. Novak.
“Thank you, Doctor,” said Fenton.
*****
Sometime later, a nurse approached Fenton and Harry. “The family of Joseph and Frank Hardy?” the nurse asked, checking her clipboard.
Fenton rose, “I’m their father,” he said. Harry rose at the same time, standing next to Fenton, offering silent support.
“We have settled both Frank and Joseph in the same room as you requested.”
“Joe,” interrupted Fenton, “His name is Joe.”
“Right, O.K.,” said the nurse. “If you follow me, I can take you to ICU so you can see them. But visiting time is limited. They need rest, Mr. Hardy.” The nurse looked at Harry, “I’m sorry, family only right now. Who are you?”
“Harry Hammond. Joe and Frank work for me,” said Harry.
“Harry, go home,” said Fenton. “I appreciate your help tonight. And I’m glad you were there for Frank. But…”
“You’ve got it now,” said Harry.
“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Fenton rubbed his face.
The nurse looked at Fenton, “Maybe you should go home too, sir. Get some sleep. Come back in the morning,” she looked at her watch, “Later in the morning. Frank and Joe are probably sleeping anyway, and they need their rest.”
“After I see them, nurse. After I see my boys. It’s been a nightmare.”
“This way,” said the nurse, leading Fenton to the ICU.
Fenton turned and offered Harry his hand. Harry shook Fenton’s hand, then left. Fenton followed the nurse.
“Here we are,” said the nurse, indicating the ICU room, “Ten minutes only. But you can come back anytime later today. Check in with the charge nurse when you come to visit, OK?”
“Thank you,” said Fenton, then he entered the ICU room.
Frank and Joe were each in their own ICU beds, surrounded by monitors and equipment. Both were also hooked up to IV bags of fluid.
Fenton entered slowly and sat on a chair between his two boys. “What happened?” He asked quietly, then he grabbed Joe’s hand with his right hand and Frank’s with his left. “What went so wrong?”
Both Frank and Joe were sleeping.
“I’m sorry, boys, I’m sorry. I never should have gotten you two into this business,” said Fenton.
There was a knock at the door, and a nurse entered. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hardy, Frank and Joe really do need their sleep. You can drop by tomorrow, um, later today.” She checked her watch. It said 5:00 in the morning. “Any time after nine, OK, and try to get some sleep yourself?”
Fenton nodded. “Nurse, when they wake up, let them know I went to my hotel for a few hours?”
“Of course, sir.”
“Thank you, nurse.”
*****
The next morning, both Joe and Frank were awake in their ICU room.
“Frank, why did you pull the gun in the first place?” Joe asked his brother.
“I had finally convinced Ann to tell me who her partners were when you busted in. That’s why I showed her your message. I thought it would help convince her I was a dishonest Fed. Joe, I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I never would have hurt you.”
“I know that, Frank. I also know the mole is Ann’s sister, Melody.”
“Melody? Your partner?”
“Yep. The one and only.”
“This op was cursed,” said Frank.
Joe nodded.
“Joe, maybe we should quit.”
“We definitely should quit. I’ve had it with Harry splitting us up. Every time he does that, one of us ends up in the hospital. This was too close. Do you have any idea what went through my head when she shot you?” said Joe.
Frank nodded, “Probably the same thing I thought. And I knew it was my fault you were shot. Joe, I am so sorry.”
“Forget about it.”
Frank shook his head. “Joe…”
“I’m fine, Frank. But when she shot you, you were silent.”
Frank nodded. “Well, I made it.”
“Only because Dad was right there. Honestly, Frank, let’s tell Harry we quit. I’ll tell him that Melody is the mole. You can give him any info you gathered on Ann, and we are done. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” said Frank.
“What do we do afterwards?”
“Our own agency? An agency with Dad? We have the experience. We can take or pass on clients. And, most importantly, we work together,” suggested Frank.
“Done,” said Joe.
There was a knock on the door. Fenton Hardy entered the room. He smiled to see that his sons looked so much better than the last time he saw them.
“Hey, how are you doing? Joe? Frank?”
“Better,” said Joe.
“OK,” said Frank. “Joe and I have made a decision, Dad. We’re quitting the Justice Department.”
“It’s too dangerous. Harry is always splitting us up. Every time he does, one of us ends up in the hospital,” said Joe.
Fenton nodded. “Thank you, boys.”
“You aren’t going to argue?” asked Frank.
“Not after last night. What happened? What went so wrong?” asked Fenton.
“It probably didn’t help that Melody is the mole you’re looking for,” said Joe.
“But I didn’t know that, and I had almost convinced Ann to tell me who her partner was, when Joe came in. I gave her the message Joe gave me because I needed to convince Ann I was a dishonest Fed. I never intended for Joe to get hurt.”
“Frank, stop. You didn’t shoot me, and it was Ann who put two bullets in your back. I thought you were dead at first. This wasn’t your fault,” said Joe.
“I know, Joe, but it will take time before I can convince my heart.”
Joe nodded. “I know the feeling.”
There was another knock at the door. Harry entered.
“How are you doing?”
“I quit, Harry,” said Frank. He looked at Joe.
“We quit. And by the way, Melody Wilson is your mole. She’s Ann’s sister. She wasn’t in the car all those years ago. This entire op was a mess. If Frank and I had been working together, maybe it wouldn’t have gone wrong. I’m tired of you splitting us up, hiding facts, and boy, am I tired of need-to-know. I quit, Harry. We quit,” said Joe.
“You sure?” asked Harry.
“You know what?” said Fenton, “Make it the three of us. I quit.”
“Dad, you don’t have to do that,” said Frank.
“You and Joe are more important to me than a job,” said Fenton. “We can start an agency together. I had planned on it years ago, before I was sidetracked. We will work something out. Harry, leave.”
Harry nodded. “I’m sorry you were both hurt.”
“We know,” said Frank.
“Goodbye, Harry,” said Joe.
Harry Hammond looked at the three Hardys. He sighed, turned on his heel, and left.
Joe relaxed back onto his ICU bed. He moaned.
“Joe, are you alright?” said Fenton.
“I will be,” said Joe.
“I’ll get the nurse. Frank, are you alright?”
“I’m doing better, it will be alright, Dad.”
Fenton left to find a nurse.
“That went better than I expected. He didn’t even argue,” said Frank.
“Which one? But you’re right. Frank, are you really O.K.?”
Frank nodded. “I think I need some sleep.”
Joe nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
A few minutes later, when Fenton returned to the room with a nurse, both Frank and Joe were sleeping. The nurse checked them both over and wrote vital signs on their charts.
“Are they all right?” asked Fenton.
“Both are recovering nicely. I’ll get the doctor to check on them. You might want to leave and get some more rest yourself. Frank and Joe need sleep to recover. They are out of danger. The doctor will authorize moving them to a regular room in a few days.”
Fenton nodded. “I’ll stay until I can speak to their doctor. Or doctors.”
The nurse nodded. She left to find the doctor.
A few minutes later, Dr. Newton and Dr. Novak entered the ICU room. Each checked on their patient and wrote their vitals down on their chart.
“Well?” asked Fenton.
“Frank is doing much better, Mr. Hardy. I’d like to keep him in ICU for one more night, just to be sure, then move him to a regular room. His vitals are strong, and so is his heart. He is recovering,” said Dr. Newton.
“And Joe?” asked Fenton.
“Joe is fine. His vitals are strong, and so is his heart. No complications. I’ll have him stay overnight here with his brother. Tomorrow, we can move them both into a regular room. Joe will be just fine,” said Dr. Novak.
“Thank god,” said Fenton, then he stepped forward and shook hands with his boys’ surgeons.
A nurse entered the room. “Mr. Hardy, your boys need rest to recover.”
Fenton nodded, then he moved closer to first Joe and then Frank, wishing them goodnight. This had been too close. But he knew his boys would be fine.
The End