Fenton broke every speed record going to the hospital. Normally Gertrude would have been admonishing his driving, but the woman was just thankful that the airport was fairly near the hospital. Gertrude wasn’t sure what was happening – all she knew was that Joe was missing and Laura was hurt.

Fenton didn’t bother parking the car once he reached the emergency room parking lot. He skidded to a stop in front of the double doors and jumped out of the car, leaving his door open. Gertrude got out of the car as Fenton ran inside the hospital. She quietly closed her door and walked around to the other side. Noticing that Fenton had left the keys in the ignition, Gertrude thought about parking the car but changed her mind. She took out the keys and put them in her purse. Locking the door, she went inside the hospital and found her brother talking with Chief Collig.

“What happened, Ezra – how did they get to Joe and Laura in broad daylight?!”

“Fenton, you know as well as I do that if someone is gunning for you – they will do anything to accomplish it!” Chief Collig placed a comforting hand on Fenton’s shoulder.

Gertrude came up behind Fenton and patted his back, trying to calm him.

“Frank – where’s Frank?!” Fenton’s face grew even paler.

“I’ve sent Con down to the university – I tried calling him but his cell must be turned off.”

“Did you see her, Ezra?”

Chief Collig wanted to look away – he couldn’t bear to see the pain reflecting from his friend’s eyes. Before he could answer the doctor came walking towards them.

“Chief Collig, is this the husband?”

“Yes, this is Fenton Hardy – Fenton, this is Dr. Davis.”

Fenton stared at the doctor, who stood two inches shorter than he. Dr. Davis was in his mid-forties; his hair was what some called salt-and-pepper in color. His dark brown eyes showed compassion as he looked at Fenton.

“How is she, Dr. Davis – how badly hurt is she?” asked Fenton, his voice cracking mid-sentence.

“Luckily the bullet just grazed her forehead, but she sustained a concussion from that and when she fell to the ground. What concerns me the most is the fact that she hasn’t regained consciousness.”

“Can I – can I see her?”

“In a few minutes – I’m putting her in ICU and it’ll be a few minutes for the nurses to get her settled in.”

Her arm around Fenton’s shoulders, Gertrude gave him a small hug. “Let’s go sit down, Fenton. The doctor will send someone to get us once Laura is in her room.”

Fenton felt himself being led towards some chairs; he sank down and leaned his head back against the wall. How did this happen, he wondered – where was the Network operative that was supposed to be watching Joe? And Frank – he was not going to take this very well. Fenton knew that his oldest son was going to blame himself for not being with his brother.

*****

Frank walked out of his last class and glanced at his watch. He had over an hour until his next class, and he wondered if he should get something to eat at the campus cafeteria or go somewhere else. Somewhere else, he decided. He figured he had enough time to eat at the diner across campus. He took out his cell phone and turned it on. Noticing that he had several messages, Frank was about to listen to them when he saw Con Riley running towards the building he was exiting. It seemed to the older Hardy that Con was searching for someone.

“Hey Con – over here!” Frank waved down the police officer.

“Frank, thank God I found you!” Con panted.

Frank felt a cold chill run down his back. “Why – what’s wrong?”

“Joe’s been kidnapped and…” Con paused; he didn’t relish telling Frank about his mother.

“And what?!”

“Your mom was shot – she’s at Bayport General.”

As Frank rode with Con to the hospital he kept wondering where Charlie Manders was. Why hadn’t she been there to protect his brother and mother? The Gray Man had said he sent his best man – some best man, Frank thought bitterly.

*****

It was just past five o’clock when Charlie left the school premises. Thinking about her empty refrigerator, and not in the mood for junk food, Charlie decided to get a few groceries.

As she turned into the parking lot, Charlie saw the Hardy car being towed away. A feeling of dread fell over her as she found a nearby parking space. She spotted a few store employees outside taking a break. Charlie walked over to them, making eye contact with the male in the small group.

“Hi – I saw a police car leaving. Did they catch a shoplifter or something?” she asked, smiling sweetly at the young man.

Sidney Anderson ran his hand through his reddish-brown hair as he returned Charlie’s smile. “I’ll say you missed some excitement! But it wasn’t a shoplifter!”

“Sid, remember what Mr. Cummings said!” a pretty brunette glared at Sidney.

“What – she’s not a reporter, if that’s what you’re thinking!”

“Oh no – I’m a teacher; I teach over at Bayport High.” Charlie gave the young woman a reassuring smile.

“See, I told you!” Sidney huffed; he then turned his attention back to Charlie. “Like I was saying – this lady was gunned down and her son was kidnapped!”

“Oh how awful! You don’t happen to know who it was? I mean – I would hate to find out it was one of my students!”

“I think I heard the cop say the kid’s name was Hardy – yeah, Joe Hardy!”

The brunette let out a scream when a nearby bush suddenly caught fire.

*****

Frank rushed inside the hospital, and hurried over to the reception desk. He waited impatiently for the nurse to finish speaking on the phone.

“May I help you?”

“Yes, I was told my mother was brought in – Laura Hardy.”

“Frank!” Chief Collig hurried up to the desk. “I didn’t see you come in. You’re mother is up in ICU – your father and aunt are already up on the third floor.”

Thanking the nurse, Frank followed Chief Collig. Con was already waiting by the elevators.

“Do you have any leads on Joe?” asked Frank, his voice filled with hope.

“We got a license number on the plates of the van, but—“

“It was a stolen plate,” sighed Frank.

“I’m sorry, Frank. We did get a description on one of the kidnappers. Officer Taylor is on her way with a composite – when your mother regains consciousnesses...”

“She’s still unconscious?!”

“She has a concussion but I’m sure she’ll be fine!”

The elevator doors opened and Frank almost ran out. He saw his father sitting in the waiting room.

“Dad, how is Mom – did you see her?”

Fenton raised his eyes to look at Frank but then he saw someone that made his blood boil.

Arthur Gray stood off to the side by an exit door.

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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.