One False Step (10 page)

“I know,” Joe whispered back. “Be careful.”

“You be careful too,” Frank whispered.

The pilot signaled that he was lowering ropes.

Out his side window, Frank saw a rope fall. He looked over and saw Joe peering out his window. Frank was sure that another rope was being lowered on that side too.

Serge turned and motioned for Frank to follow his lead. Piet did the same to Joe.

Within seconds, Serge was out of the helicopter and sliding down the rope. Frank was right behind him. He now knew the reason why all of the masked acrobats also wore heavy gloves. Even with them on, he could feel the heat of the friction.

As Joe slid down the rope on his side, he saw Frank reach the end of the other rope and jump the few remaining feet. He did the same, but as he landed, he saw Piet lying on the roof, holding his ankle. Joe didn't know what to do now. It was obvious that Piet was in a lot of pain.

Serge hurried over to Piet, but Frank stayed where he was a few feet away.
What's he doing?
Joe wondered. He wanted to find out, but he was sure that might make Serge suspicious. He stayed where he was, so that if Serge mimed for him to help with Piet, he'd be right there.

Above them, the helicopter was flying away into the night sky. Serge looked up at Joe and mimed that he needed help to carry Piet across the roof. Quickly, Joe made himself available. He grabbed
Piet under one arm, and Serge grabbed him under the other.

As they propped Piet up against a wall, Joe glanced over and saw that Frank's back was to them. He hoped that his brother was trying to reach Mario and tell him where they were so that he and his officers would be able to catch the acrobats in the act of robbing the apartment.

Serge did what he could to make Piet comfortable, then looked around for Frank. Joe was glad that Frank had evidently finished with his directions and was walking toward them.

At first Frank had been grateful for what had happened to Piet, but when he landed he'd felt the wire jar loose and fall through his pants to the roof. The adhesive hadn't held. In the darkness he couldn't see where it had landed, and he knew he could only spend so much time looking for it or Serge would get suspicious.
Now how will Mario know where we are? he
wondered. How would this affect the operation?

Just as Frank reached them, Serge mimed that he wanted Joe to go pick up a black bag that lay where Piet had fallen.

Joe remembered seeing it when he landed, but it hadn't registered that it was something that Piet had been carrying. He hurried across the roof, picked up the black canvas bag—which was heavier than it looked—then took it back over to Serge.

Serge opened the bag, felt around, then nodded that everything was okay.

Good
, Joe thought. It was important that the operation not be abandoned.

Frank felt the same way, but somehow he had to figure out a way to contact Mario. He wasn't exactly sure what was in the black bag, but he was sure it had something to do with how the acrobats made it across to the apartment being robbed. With Piet out of commission, that meant that Serge would be the only one to do the job, but that would still work. Even if Mario and his officers only caught
one
thief in the act, that would be enough, especially since Serge would probably implicate the others. Piet was in no condition to do anything to them, Frank decided, even if he and Joe contacted Mario in front of him.

Serge picked up the black canvas bag and motioned for Frank and Joe to follow him to the edge of the roof.

When they got there, Serge pointed to a balcony across the street, mimed that that was the apartment they were going to rob, then opened the canvas bag.

The Hardy boys were stunned by what happened next.

Serge pulled out what looked liked a small shoulder-held missile launcher. He quickly aimed it toward the balcony, pushed a button, and with a
whoosh
sound, a grappling hook and rope shot across to the target. The hook grabbed the metal railing and held fast.

Next, Serge attached the launcher to a metal pipe coming from the roof. He pushed another button and the rope tightened.

What happened next stunned the Hardy Boys. Serge mimed that it was Frank and Joe who were going to walk the wire.

Frank mimed that he and Joe were anchors and that Serge should walk the wire. Serge shook his head.

Joe thought quickly. With all the training they had gotten yesterday, he thought that he and Frank could do it, but just the thought that this rope was now probably fifty or more stories off the ground—instead of just a few feet—sent chills through him. But he had little choice. He mimed to Serge that they would do it.

Frank had already decided that there was no way out, so he was glad that Joe was okay with it. If they were going to catch these crooks, they couldn't abandon the operation now. Thanks to years of training by their father, he and Joe both had nerves of steel when it came to things like this, so he was sure they could pull it off. In fact, a plan was already beginning to form in his head. When they reached the apartment, they'd call Mario.

Serge handed Joe a piece of paper and a small
red clip. There was enough light on the top of the building that Joe could tell that the paper showed how to disarm the apartment's security system. From what Joe could tell, there was a small circuitry box on the balcony doors. All they had to do was attach the red clip, and that would somehow confuse the system. Joe was amazed at how hightech this operation was.

Serge motioned for them to hurry.

Frank looked at Joe, nodded, then stepped out onto the high-wire. Joe was right behind him. Slowly, they felt their way. There was no wind tonight, for which they were thankful. One of the real acrobats might have been able to adjust to that, but neither Frank nor Joe was sure they could have.

When he was a few feet from the edge of the building, Frank felt a sense of euphoria. He had grown up with the belief that he and his brother could accomplish anything they attempted, and he had to agree that walking a high-wire from one skyscraper to another in downtown Philadelphia at night was one of the most daring things he had ever done. What also pushed him along was the thought that once they reached the balcony, disarmed the security system, and entered the apartment, he could use the telephone there to call Mario.

When Frank finally reached the balcony, he jumped off the rope onto the deck. Joe was right
behind him. Frank told Joe about losing the radio.

“I knew you had lost something,” Joe said. He took a deep breath. “Well, we're here, and I'm ready for this operation to end, so let's override this security system and call Mario.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Frank agreed.

They headed toward the doors that would take them into the apartment.

Suddenly, Joe stopped. “Uh-oh, we've got problems,” he said.

“What's wrong?” Frank asked.

Joe showed him the sheet of paper that Serge had given him. “This plan is for a different security system, Frank,” Joe said. He looked closely at the small label on the door. “The owners installed a new security system today!”

“That means if we try to break in, an alarm will sound, and we'll be caught,” Frank said.

“Exactly,” Joe said. “Serge and Piet will see what's happening, and they'll escape. If they're not on the roof for Mario and his officers to find, it'll just be our word against theirs, and we'll be back where we started.”

Just then Frank looked up to see Mario's face staring at him through the French doors.

Quickly, Mario unlocked the French doors, and the Hardy boys slipped inside the dark apartment removing their masks.

Joe could barely make out Bill and some other uniformed officers just beyond him.

“Are you boys all right?” Mario said.

Frank thought it was strange that Mario hadn't asked why he and Joe were on the balcony instead of the other acrobats, but he nodded, then explained everything that had happened since they left the stadium. “But how did you know where to find us? It was so noisy in the helicopter that I thought it would be impossible for you to hear anything I said, and then when we jumped onto the roof, I lost the radio, and I never did locate it.”

“My officers on the ground had you in sight all the way,” Mario said.

“Well, we're glad you're here,” Joe said.

But Frank wasn't so sure. Something wasn't adding up.

“The alarm system isn't the one on the piece of paper Serge gave us,” Joe said. “We knew that if we tried to break in, an alarm would sound.”

“We didn't want that to happen,” Frank added, “because we were sure it would alert Serge and Piet, and they'd escape.”

Mario nodded. “Good thinking,” he said.

“What now?” Bill asked Mario.

Mario looked at Frank and Joe. “Uh, were you planning to walk the rope back across and tell the acrobats what the problem was?” he said.

“Well, that's what we were planning to do before you showed up,” Joe said, “but I'm not quite sure I like the idea of tempting fate a second time.”

“I can understand that, I really can, boys,” Mario said, “but would you be willing to do it to help bring this case to a close?”

Frank looked over at Joe. “This isn't the first dangerous situation we've ever been in, so let's do it,” he said. He turned back to Mario. “We're committed to solving this case, so we'll do whatever is necessary to catch the thieves.”

“They may not believe you,” Mario said.

“We're prepared for that,” Frank said. “In my
head I'm already trying to figure out how to mime our story.”

“I just thought of something,” Joe said. “We never did talk about what happens after they've robbed the apartment.”

“They probably hoist the loot in a helicopter,” Frank said.

“That makes sense,” Joe said.

“What's the plan now, Mario?” Frank asked. “Serge and Piet aren't doing anything on that roof except maybe trespassing, so how are we going to work this?”

“If you can take your time walking the rope, that'll give me and my officers enough lead time to make it over to the roof of that building,” Mario said.

“I have a night vision camera in the van. If we can get pictures of you two miming the break-in, with reactions from the acrobats,” Bill said, “then that, along with your testimony, might be enough to get a conviction.”

Mario looked at Frank and Joe. “It's weak, I know, but at the moment, since we're dealing with the troupe that can't talk, it's about all we can do.”

“Okay. We'll do our best,” Joe said.

Frank nodded. “We'll make sure that what they mime will look to a jury like they're talking about breaking into an apartment.”

With Joe in the lead, the Hardy boys left the dark
apartment and headed back to where the grappling hook was attached to the metal railing.

“I'm really impressed at how easily Mario and his officers found just the right apartment, Joe,” Frank said. “They're either really good or really lucky.”

“I know,” Joe said. He looked over toward the roof. “I don't see either Serge or Piet, but maybe they're just in the shadows. Anyway, they probably wouldn't be hanging over the sides of the building while we were robbing the apartment, because people might notice them.”

“Right,” Frank said. “They probably have a pretty good idea of how long this takes, and they could just be resting until they think it's time for us to come back.”

Joe looked over at his brother. “I just thought of something else, Frank,” he said. “How are we going to get off that roof?”

“Well, I really do think that loose rope hanging from the balcony yesterday was just a backup plan,” Frank said. He scanned the skies. “I'd say they normally escape the same way they arrived, by helicopter, although I don't see one hovering around. It probably hasn't been long enough.”

“Well, I'm going to start miming my story now,” Joe said. He leaned over the railing and started shrugging, to indicate that there was a problem and that he and Frank didn't know what to do.

Frank joined him. He mimed trying to break into the apartment, suddenly stopping and covering his ears to keep from hearing a loud alarm.

“I think we've killed all the time we can, so I guess we should start across,” Joe said. He put one foot on the metal railing, then lifted the rest of his body until both feet were together. Slowly, he began to stand up. He tentatively put one foot on the rope, and felt its tension. “It's still tight. We can do this.”

Inch by inch, Joe made his way along the rope and away from the edge of the apartment building.
This is totally nuts!
he thought.

Behind him, Frank waited until Joe was several feet away and over the street before he got on the rope.
If I make it across
, Frank thought,
I never want to see another high-wire act!

Frank had just reached the edge of the building when he thought he saw Mario getting into a car below. Neither Bill nor any of the other officers were in sight.
They must have parked in a less conspicuous spot than the front of the building
, Frank thought. That made sense. They were probably going to take a roundabout way to reach the building he and Joe were now heading to. Frank hoped they reached it in time. He didn't know how long they could mime to Serge and Piet what happened without the helicopter returning to take them away—
if
that was how they escaped.

Joe knew that Frank was behind him, but he was concentrating on maintaining his balance. On the walk over he had been relaxed, because he knew that all he and Joe had to do was to make sure that Mario and his officers would be waiting for them. But now Joe was wondering what lay ahead. Suddenly his concentration was broken by the sound of sirens in the street below. Joe stopped walking. Slowly, he looked down. Several vehicles with flashing lights were racing past.