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hardened. "Those rats"
"Let's not get mad," said Joe. "Let's get even.
"Right," said Frank. "We'll find a telephone and try to contact the Network.
We've blown the cover off the Lazarus criminals, and now, no matter how far
they go, there'll be no place for them to hide."
"Are you in good enough shape to run a couple of miles?" Joe asked Iola II.
"I always could keep up with you," she answered, "or don t you remember?"
Joe looked at her, a lump forming in his throat.
"I remember," he managed to say.
.
"Then let's do it," said Frank, and the three of them started running in easy
strides. They ran through the front gate that had been left open by the
fleeing Lazarus group and down the overgrown forest trail, dappled with
sunlight filtering through the trees.
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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 back-
up 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.
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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
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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."
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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
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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.
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"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
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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.
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"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. .
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