Strategic Moves Read online

  "Evidence?" Joe asked.

  "Hunch. If there's one person who would know that St. Armand was a Network undercover agent, it's the Gray Man."

  "Maybe Fitzhugh also knew," Joe added, testing the strength of his cot by sitting on it and then bouncing a little.

  "After learning that Fitzhugh is a BCI agent, I wouldn't doubt if this place was crawling with agents," Frank said.

  "And I still don't trust Aleksandr," Frank continued. "Twice today we saw Aleksandr get angry. First when the gargoyle fell, and then at the dinner table."

  "I don't think he likes Americans," Joe said, satisfied that the cot would hold him.

  "He had no reason to be angry," Frank said. "Unless we're not all on the same side."

  Joe shot Frank a knowing look.

  Ziggy emerged from the shower dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, his wet hair sticking up in spikes in all directions.

  "Hey, Frank," Ziggy said, toweling dry his head. "Would you like to play chess?"

  "Yeah, right," Frank said wryly.

  "I'll spot you my bishops," Ziggy offered seriously.

  "I don't mind sympathy," Frank said, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing, "but I don't take pity from anybody. Get out the chess set." Frank smiled at his opponent.

  A knock diverted their attention to the old wooden door of the room.

  Joe hopped up from the cot. "I'll get it," he said in a low voice.

  "Wait," Frank whispered, and he moved to one side of the door.

  Joe waited until Frank was in position next to the door, then opened it.

  Petra stood in the hallway, sleepy-eyed and smiling.

  "Hello. I couldn't asleep," she explained.

  Frank relaxed and returned to help Ziggy set up the chess set on the room's lone desk.

  "Come in," Joe said without hesitation.

  "Thanks." Petra walked into the room, and Joe shut the door.

  "Where's Katrina?" Ziggy asked.

  "She is asleep," Petra replied.

  "You walked over here by yourself?" Joe's voice and eyes showed concern.

  "I know I shouldn't have, but I wanted to talk to someone." Petra smiled. "Someone my age."

  "I'm just what the doctor ordered," Joe replied.

  "I see Ziggy has talked Frank into playing chess," Petra said with a nod toward the two players.

  "Yeah," Joe replied as he pulled two chairs around to face each other. "I was wondering how I was going to entertain myself while those two spent the next two hours playing - "

  "It will not take me two hours," Ziggy announced, a mischievous look on his face.

  "I'm going to send your pieces to chess heaven," Frank replied with confidence.

  " - but now I have someone to talk to."

  Joe and Petra sat.

  "It is cold," Petra said with a shudder, crossing her arms.

  "I'll turn up the furnace." Joe rose and walked over to the wall furnace. Brasenose had no central heating, only old furnaces fueled by natural gas.

  Almost as cozy as a real fire, Joe thought. He returned to his chair. Petra had curled up in her chair, her legs tucked under, her arms crossed, her shy smile of thanks sending warm shivers through Joe.

  "Hello," Ziggy said, holding out his hand to Frank as they sat across from each other. "My name is Sitting Bull, and you are General Custer, I presume. Welcome to Little Big Horn."

  Frank only smiled. As white, he moved first.

  He placed his king pawn in king four position. A typical opening move. Ziggy countered with the same but opposite move with his black pawn.

  "Give up," Ziggy joked.

  "Die, Russian dog," Frank fired back, moving his queen knight directly in front of Ziggy's pawn.

  "I don't know if I can take all this excitement," Joe said. "Ziggy seems more like a showman than a champion chess player."

  "I believe you call such behavior 'hamming it up,' " Petra said with a laugh. "This could take hours."

  Joe smiled and thought, I hope so.

  An hour passed quickly. Frank and Ziggy were malicious in their playing, intensely scheming before making each move, teasing each other, threatening each other. At times, Joe wondered if a chess match or a shouting contest was in progress.

  Joe and Petra spent the time talking about American boys and Russian girls, rock and roll, and the trouble with parents.

  Joe yawned in the middle of a sentence. "Excuse me," he said, embarrassed.

  Petra covered her mouth as she yawned, too. "Must be contagious." She nodded toward Frank and Ziggy.

  Joe noticed for the first time that the chess players were silent and wondered when the shouting had stopped. Their heads were lowered, and Frank and Ziggy looked as though they were asleep.

  Joe turned back to Petra. She had fallen asleep. I'm losing my touch, Joe thought, a thin haze covering his eyes. He blinked and tried to shake himself awake. His head began to ache with a slight but persistent pounding around the temples.

  Then he noticed the room was still cold.

  Joe slowly turned his head toward the furnace. The fan was softly blowing. He stood, his legs going out from under him. As he fell, he hit a small tea table, then landed on the floor.

  Sleep. He wanted to sleep.

  He crawled and pulled his way to the furnace. He yanked on the small vent door at the bottom of the furnace. His fingers were numb, and he lost his grip on the metal knob. After several tries, the door sprang open.

  Joe looked inside. The furnace was dark. No pilot light; no flame.

  Joe's head felt heavy. He laid his head on the floor. He couldn't keep his eyes open. One thought kept trying to push its way through his brain before he lost consciousness. He had to shut off the gas before they all suffocated to death.

  Chapter 10

  The voice was far away, an echo ricocheting inside his head like an errant bullet. Joe lifted and turned his head.

  "Joe."

  The voice was closer.

  He opened his eyes. Petra was lying next to him, her eyes watery, her breathing shallow.

  Joe pushed up, every fiber of his muscles screaming for oxygen. He crawled over to the window, grabbed the windowsill, and pulled himself up. His arms were leaden, tight, and stiff. Once he was on his feet, he tried to push the window up, but it was locked. He looked out through the panes.

  Students strolling in the chilly evening were distorted by the glass and the foggy haze that drifted through Joe's mind.

  Joe pounded on the window, but he was too weak to make any real noise. He looked down. Ziggy's wet towel was on the floor. He grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his hands. He held his breath, balled his hands together, brought them back over his head, and swung them forward in a swift, powerful arc.

  His towel-covered-fists hit the window, shattering the glass. Clear shards fell to the sidewalk below and broke again. Several students turned at the bell-like sound of glass crashing on the concrete.

  Joe hit the window again. More glass went flying out and down, hitting the concrete with a dull tinkling.

  Fresh air poured into Joe's lungs, and he gasped for more.

  "Help," he said, his voice barely audible. Joe leaned toward the broken window, his legs like warm taffy, his lungs on fire, his head swimming in a dark nightmare of fog and distortion. He took a deep breath and screamed, "Help!"

  Then he blacked out.

  ***

  The first thing Joe saw when he came to was a dull white light in the center of the room. A dark halo surrounded the light.

  Joe coughed; his lungs ached. He focused his eyes. The dark halo divided into three separate shapes, and a moment later Joe recognized the distinctive faces of Krylov, Gray, and Fitzhugh.

  "Leave it to a Hardy to come back from the dead," the Gray Man said with a chuckle. "Welcome back, Joe."

  "Where am I?" Joe asked. His head began to clear more quickly, and the fire in his lungs subsided.

  "Oxford infirmary, lad," Fitzhugh replied.

/>   Joe looked around. He was in a double room, but the other bed was empty. A lone window had its bland yellow curtain drawn. The room was bright white and sterile-looking, and it smelled like alcohol.

  "The others?" Joe smacked his lips. His throat was dry.

  "They are fine," Krylov answered. "Thanks to you."

  Joe pushed himself up on his elbows. "No, I mean, where are they?"

  Frank walked into the room, a cold can of ginger ale in either hand.

  "Hey, brother," Frank said with a grin. "I thought you'd like this when you came to."

  Joe took the drink. It felt heavy, but he lifted the can to his lips and drank long and deep.

  "That's good," he said after a moment, wiping his lips with the back of his arm. "Someone want to explain what happened?"

  "From what the others have said," Fitzhugh replied, "it appears that you turned up the gas furnace without checking to make sure the pilot light was on. The room filled with gas and nearly killed all four of you."

  "Was it just another accident that the pilot light was out?" Frank asked skeptically. "Two near misses in one day, and you're not suspicious?"

  Fitzhugh coughed. "Well, I must say that it does seem rather coincidental."

  "More like intentional, don't you think?" Joe said. Then he polished off the ginger ale.

  "Impossible," Krylov said.

  "Why?" Joe said, scooting off the bed and standing.

  "We have been watching the area," Krylov responded.

  "In fact," the Gray Man added, "I've been watching your room since early afternoon. No one went in or out." He chuckled. "You know you can trust me."

  Frank wasn't so sure. He put his hand in his pocket and fingered the lighter again. "Where has Aleksandr been?"

  "He has been called back to the Soviet embassy in London," Krylov replied.

  "Why?" Frank wanted to know.

  "Confidential," the Soviet agent said flatly.

  "I'm getting just a little tired of this," Frank blurted.

  The three agency heads stared at Frank, all looking startled.

  "What do you mean, Frank?" Gray asked.

  Frank looked at Krylov. "You told us earlier today that you wanted Ziggy and Petra out in the open so as not to arouse the suspicion of school officials or the press."

  "What about it?" Krylov asked.

  "You're just using them as bait," Frank said pointedly. "Trying to bring the kidnappers out in the open."

  "Such impertinence," Fitzhugh huffed.

  "And you," Frank continued, looking at Fitzhugh. "I know the English are famous as masters of understatement, but you've raised it to an art form. You explain everything as an accident or a coincidence. Just what kind of intelligence agent are you?"

  "Frank!" the Gray Man barked.

  "You're not innocent in all of this," Frank shot back. "I don't know what your angle is, but you've got something up your sleeve, and I intend to find out what it is. Let's go, Joe." Frank walked swiftly out of the room.

  Joe followed, catching up with his brother as he headed down the stairs.

  "Hey, there's hope for you yet," Joe said with a smile.

  "What are you talking about?" Frank's face was flushed, and his voice was hoarse.

  "I'm the one who's supposed to get angry and shoot off my big mouth, but your little outburst back there was great."

  They opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and walked outside into the night air.

  "Don't believe everything you see or hear," Frank said, his smile broad and devilish.

  Joe showed surprise. "That was all an act?"

  "Yep."

  "Why?"

  "I want to see who panics first." Frank thrust his hands into his pockets as they walked on.

  "Far out," Joe said with a laugh. "I'd take my hat off to you if I wore a hat." Joe looked around. They had passed the Brasenose dorm and were headed east on the High. "Hey! Where are we going?"

  "We've been moved," Frank explained. "We've been assigned to two guest cottages on the Corn. You, Ziggy, and I in one, Petra and Katrina in the other. Fitzhugh thought it best to keep us all together and away from the university."

  Joe sighed. "Nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket and then shooting at them."

  "Yeah. You still have the cot," Frank added. "Here we are."

  A light blue British Ford sedan was parked across the street from the twin cottages. Two men - agents, Joe suspected - sat in the front seat. Both kept their eyes on the Hardys.

  Joe was surprised at the size of the cottages. They were small, whitewashed structures no larger than a two-car garage. Each had one door framed by two small windows.

  Frank pushed open the door of the men's cottage. It had two rooms. One was a large room with a sofa, an overstuffed chair, twin beds, and two chests of drawers. The cot stood at the end of the beds. The other room was a small utility kitchen with a back door. Just like some American hotel rooms, Joe thought.

  "Joe!" Ziggy shouted as the Hardys entered the cottage.

  "Hey, Ziggy. How's it going?" Joe looked around for Petra.

  "She went to her cottage," Ziggy said with a knowing smile.

  "I think we'd all better get some rest," Frank said with a yawn. "It's almost midnight, and we've got to be up in a few hours for our tour."

  "Tour?" Joe asked, unbuttoning his shirt.

  "The trip to Salisbury Plain," Ziggy replied, excited. "And Stonehenge."

  "I'd forgotten." Joe yawned. Although he'd been unconscious for two hours, he was exhausted. "At least we won't have to worry about Lewis browbeating us about sculling."

  Ziggy laughed.

  "What's so funny?" Joe asked.

  "Lewis is the tour guide," Frank said. "He not only teaches sculling, he is also a professor of medieval English literature and folklore. You should have read the brochure."

  "Great," Joe moaned as he sank onto his cot.

  ***

  Joe didn't remember going to sleep, and he didn't remember waking up. He remembered lying down and talking to Frank and Ziggy, and the next moment he realized that the room was dark and he was wide awake. He turned his head and saw Frank standing in front of one of the small front windows. The curtain was pulled open slightly, and a thin beam of moonlight highlighted his brother's features.

  "What is it?" Joe asked in a whisper, trying not to awaken Ziggy.

  "I think someone just panicked," Frank replied in the same low whisper.

  Joe swung his legs over the edge of the cot, rose, and walked to the window. Frank stepped back to let Joe look out through the crack.

  "I heard a car pull up," Frank explained. "Then two car doors slammed."

  Joe looked through the crack. Joe could make out the tall form of Fitzhugh talking to two men. Joe recognized them immediately. One was Howard Markham. The other was Chris St. Armand.

  Chapter 11

  "Do you know that Salisbury Plain is the legendary battleground of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table?" Ziggy asked Joe as they approached the tour buses.

  "Really," Joe said with a sigh.

  All through breakfast, Joe, Frank, and Petra had listened to Ziggy as he gave them a verbal guided tour of Salisbury Plain and Stonehenge. Ziggy loved British history, Petra explained, especially medieval history, and considered the Tuesday tour to Salisbury Plain the highlight of his two-week stay.

  The students climbed aboard three buses. Frank, Joe, Ziggy, and Petra sat in the back on the bench seat that ran the width of the bus. Frank sat next to Joe, who sat next to Ziggy.

  Petra sat on the other side of her brother. Joe started to plan a way to get Ziggy to move so he could sit next to Petra.

  Fitzhugh and Lewis sat in the front of the bus.

  "I think what we've stumbled on," Frank said in a low voice so only Joe could hear him, "is the makings of a conspiracy. We're not looking for some clandestine terrorist group."

  "We have found the terrorists, and they are among us," Joe quipped.
r />   "Right."

  "Do we keep this to ourselves?" Joe nodded toward Ziggy and Petra.

  "We don't know who else is involved." Frank wiped the dust from his sunglasses with his shirttail and then held them up to the morning sunlight to check for cleanliness.

  "You think the Gray Man is a part of this?" Joe asked.

  "Why not?" Frank slid his sunglasses on and leaned back in his seat. "If the East and West become best friends, high-powered spies will be obsolete."

  "You don't expect me to believe that all of this is happening so some spies can keep their jobs," Joe stated.

  "I know it sounds crazy." Frank yawned.

  "Crazy? Try ludicrous."

  "Just the same, we can't trust anybody, not even the Gray Man. Agreed?"

  "Agreed."

  Frank sighed, and Joe could tell by the heavy breathing that his older brother was almost asleep.

  Joe tapped Ziggy on the shoulder. "Trade seats with me, Ziggy," Joe said. "Frank wants to talk over last night's game with you."

  "Sure," Ziggy said, and hopped up.

  Joe was in Ziggy's seat before Ziggy realized that Frank was asleep.

  "Gotcha," Joe said, pointing his finger at Ziggy like a pistol.

  "I'll get even," Ziggy warned, smiling and sitting next to Frank.

  By the time the buses arrived at Stonehenge three hours later, Frank had gotten a good nap, Ziggy had gotten more excited, and Joe had gotten Petra's home address.

  Ziggy had understated the beauty of Salisbury Plain, which was a span of low, rolling, grassy hills. Ziggy had pointed out to Petra and Joe the many chalk carvings of horses and other animals in the sides of the hills left by Celtic and Anglo-Saxon warriors.

  Ziggy was so excited about Stonehenge that he tried to be the first one off the bus.

  Frank rubbed his sleepy eyes and waited to be the last off the bus. He stepped down and removed his sunglasses to get a clearer look at the ancient megaliths known as Stonehenge.

  The massive stones were gray and worn down by wind and rain and time. Several stones lay on the ground and looked like large altars. Others seemed to be stuck into the ground haphazardly, at various angles, without any rhyme or reason. Some formed giant gateways, with one huge stone placed across two upright ones. The entire place was a marvel of engineering.