Fenton sat relaxing in his recliner, a cup of coffee in his hand. Laura sat across from him on the sofa, organizing quilt squares. She and Gertrude were going to attempt to sew a quilt. Laura heard the faint ring of a phone, and a small frown furrowed her brow when she realized which phone line was ringing.

“Fenton I hear the phone in your office.”

“What – oh, it’s probably Sam. He said he might call to see if any cases came up.”

“If it’s not Sam but a possible client – make sure it’s a dull, boring case please!”

Fenton chuckled as he ran up the few steps to enter his home office.

“Fenton Hardy here.”

“Fenton, it’s Arthur Gray – can you talk?”

*****

“Miss Manders – did I miss something in class?” Joe looked questioningly at his teacher.

“Or do you always sneak into your students’ rooms?” asked Frank somewhat warily.

“Actually Frank – Joe, I’m not really an English teacher. I’m a Network agent.”

Joe glanced over at Frank, a look of disbelief on the young Hardy’s face. Stepping closer to his brother, Frank moved so that he was now in front of Joe.

The protective gesture touched Charlie, her heart ached for the loss of her family.

“I can see you don’t believe – Gray said you wouldn’t so he gave me this.” Charlie got off the bed and held out a business card to Frank.

“That’s his direct line, not one of his many cell numbers.”

“Joe, my cell is lying on top of my bed, go get it.”

“I know I’m the youngest but – why is that I have to be the one to fetch or carry things?!” mumbled Joe as he went into Frank’s room to get the cell phone.

Charlie bit the inside of her cheek as she tried not to laugh when Joe came back, a grumpy expression on his face. Frank ignored his brother, already used to his antics. He dialed the number that was on the card.

“Arthur Gray, here.”

There was no one else with such a non-distinct voice; Frank knew that Charlie was telling the truth.

“Hello Mr. Gray, this is Frank Hardy, but I’m guessing you already knew that.”

“Now Frank, how would I know this? Unless you think I’m psychic?”

“It would explain a lot of things,” Frank deadpanned.

“I assume you’ve met Miss Manders. Listen to what she has to say and do exactly what she tells you! And Frank – please emphasize this to your brother!”

Frank didn’t bother to answer; he slowly closed his phone and stared intently at Charlie.

“What are you going to tell us – and are you going to tell us everything or just what Gray wants us to know?”

Charlie had to smile at that comment. “I can only tell you what I know.”

“Which probably isn’t much,” mumbled Joe.

*****

After hanging up the phone, Fenton sat in stunned silence. His youngest son was in danger.

“Fenton – what’s wrong? You’ve been in here for almost half an hour.”

Fenton looked up to find Laura standing in the doorway. He hadn’t realized how long he had been sitting in his office.

“Come in Laura, and close the door – I...I have something to tell you.”

Taking a deep breath, she closed the door and walked slowly towards the chair. “That phone call – it has something to do with what you’re going to tell me?”

Gray—““It does – that was Arthur

“This has to do with the Network?!” Laura gasped with dread.

“They have an operative deep undercover with the Assassins. He’s learned of a plot – a plot to kidnap and kill Joe.”

Laura was glad she was sitting; she didn’t know if she would be able to stand after hearing this news.

*****

Two hours after Charlie left, going out the window and down the trellis, Frank was amazed that Joe was sitting at his desk with the headphones on and doing his homework. He knew that his brother was scared but he would be hard pressed to get the younger boy to admit it. Frank stood in the doorway staring at his brother. With a sigh he turned and went to his room.

Joe’s head bobbed up and down to the beat of the music. He knew that Frank was watching him. The young teen could just feel his brother’s eyes on him. He heard Frank sigh and the soft sounds of his footsteps as he walked away. Joe stared down at his notebook; if Frank had gotten a closer look he would have noticed that there was nothing but scribbled lines on the paper.

Joe was scared but he was also angry. The Gray Man, through Charlie, had made it clear that no one was to know about the Assassins’ plan to kidnap him. The one good thing, Gray had promised to call their father. Although Joe wouldn’t put it past the Gray Man to go back on his promise.

Remembering that he still hadn’t called Vanessa for a ride to school and home, Joe took off his headphones and took out his cell phone; he didn’t trust the landline.

While Joe was on his phone talking with Vanessa, Frank used his phone to call Biff. If he couldn’t be close by to protect his brother, Frank was going to do the next best thing. Frank was going to wait till Joe left for school; he was then going to meet with Con Riley, a Bayport police officer and good friend of the Hardys.

*****

The rest of the week went by without any incidents. Biff and Chet kept a close eye on Joe. Vanessa also kept a watchful eye. Joe had wanted her to be aware of the threat. He didn’t want Vanessa to be a casualty the way Iola had been. The young Hardy was not about to lose another person he loved.

Frank’s nerves were on edge as he kept expecting the Assassins to grab Joe. To make matters worse, Roger Covington kept turning up like a bad penny. Always a friendly word – questions concerning Joe – all these things made Frank very suspicious. He knew if the Network sent an operative to protect Joe – the Assassins sent one of their own to spy on his family also.

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The Hardy Boys Fan Fiction authors of the Hardy Detective Agency have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.