Joe was slowly regaining consciousness; he lifted his head and moaned. The back of his neck ached, and when he opened his eyes he found out why: he found himself tied to a chair. His brow furrowed into a frown. How did he get here – who was responsible for this? Joe tried to concentrate and remember. The last thing he could recall was going into the grocery store with his…

“Mom,” the word choked out of his mouth. Joe closed his eyes tight against the image of his mother lying on the ground with a pool of blood surrounding her. He felt a tear run down his face, and bit his lower lip to keep from crying. Not again, he thought – someone I loved died because of me. A sob escaped his lips; Joe clenched his fists as he battled with his emotions. He heard the sound of a door opening, and swallowed several times to try and gain control.

Although he hadn’t been completely in the dark, Joe grimaced when the figure at the door flipped the light switch. The room became brighter. Joe blinked a few times before he was able to focus on the person who walked into the room.

Roger gave Joe a small smile as he walked towards him. The older man could tell that the young teen recognized him.

“Hello, Joe – welcome to your new home.”

Joe didn’t say anything; he just glared at the young man.

“I’m really sorry about your mother.” Roger smiled when Joe reacted to that comment.

“Is she – is she…” the young teen cringed, he couldn’t say it – didn’t want to voice it! If he didn’t say the word, then…

“Dead? I’m afraid so – a pity, too.”

“No! No, I don’t believe you!” Joe shook his head adamantly.

”Joe – would I lie to you?” Roger shook his head sadly. “A shame, really – she was very pretty, your mother.”

Joe turned his head, not wanting to look at Roger. He clenched and unclenched his fists, his mouth set in a grim line. Joe stared down at his feet, his breathing becoming rapid.

Roger stepped closer to Joe and gently stroked the young teen’s hair.

“There, there, Joe – keep that up and you’re going to hyperventilate. We can’t have that happen now, can we?”

“You killed my mother, you son of a - ”

“Tsk, tsk – I thought your mother taught you better than that!” Roger said, and slapped Joe across the mouth. “I don’t know why you’re blaming me! It’s not my fault – I tried to get Frank to tell me your schedule but he wouldn’t talk to me!”

Joe now glared at the young man. “Are you implying that you killing our mother is Frank’s fault?!”

“Why no – of course not! It’s your fault – just like the last time!”

*****

Fenton slowly got up from his seat, and with a purposeful stride walked over to the Gray Man. Frank’s eyes grew wide when he saw who his father was heading for, and quickly followed.

“What the hell went wrong, Gray?! You told me that my son would be well protected!” Fenton growled at the Network agent, grabbing the man by the lapel of his jacket.

“He was protected – there was an unforeseen happenstance that occurred. By the time I learned of it, it was too late.”

Ezra Collig was taken aback when he saw Fenton walk over to a man standing by an exit door. He was shocked when Fenton grabbed the man by the lapels and stood nose to nose with him. Thinking that he should try and calm the situation down, Collig walked over to the two men. It wasn’t until he got closer that he recognized the man Fenton was confronting.

“Oh, it’s you – for a minute there I thought you might be in some trouble, Fenton. But I can see you have everything under control.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow as the Chief of Police sneered at him and then turned and walked away. Frank bit back a smile then returned his attention to Fenton and Arthur Gray.

“Beating me to a pulp isn’t going to change anything, Fenton,” sighed the Gray Man.

“Maybe not – but it’ll make me feel a whole lot better!” Fenton replied as he slowly released his hold.

“Where was Joe’s so-called bodyguard?!” asked Frank. He wasn’t sure how much Gray had told Fenton and didn’t want to call Charlie by her name.

“Fenton.” Gertrude said in a stern voice. “Frank, why don’t you go in and see your mother. She’s in room 312 just down the hall.”

Frank gave his aunt a light peck on the cheek before he left. Gertrude gave the two men a stern glare before she turned and walked across the room, taking a seat in the corner.

Wanting to talk in private, Fenton pushed Gray out the exit door as more people began to fill the waiting room.

“All right, start talking – what happened?”

The Gray Man explained about the unscheduled meeting at the high school. “If she had left she might have blown her cover. Another operative was called in but something got lost in the communication. I’ve already reprimanded the agents involved but I know that doesn’t do Joe any good! And Agent Manders is the best – she’ll find Joe!”

Frank silently entered his mother’s hospital room. He listened to the heart monitor keeping the time to his mother’s heartbeat. Frank swallowed back the large lump that formed in his throat as he looked down at his mother. There was a bandage wrapped around her head, and her face was so pale. He gently took her hand, making sure not to disturb the IV needle.

“Don’t worry, Mom,” whispered Frank. “I’ll get Joe back – I promise.”

Frank bent down, softly kissing Laura’s cheek. He then turned and walked out of the room.

Gertrude sat quietly waiting for Frank to finish his visit. She stared over at the door that Fenton and that man had exited. Gertrude didn’t know who Arthur Gray was; she did know that Fenton worked for him on occasion, and that the nondescript man was part of one of the U.S. government agencies. All she knew was she did not like him at all! Whenever that Gray Man showed up – trouble followed!

Fenton and Arthur Gray rejoined Gertrude just as Frank walked back in. Gertrude stood up to address her brother.

“Fenton, I know you and Frank will be out looking for Joe. I also know that you don’t want Laura to be alone. So I’ll stay here with her. I just need a few things – Frank, if you could take me home so I can get them...?”

“Con brought me here; the van is still at the university parking lot,” Frank commented. “I can call Biff or Tony to get the van; they know where we keep the extra key.”

“Get hold of Chet, Callie and Vanessa – I’m sure they are going to want to know what has happened.

Frank let out a small groan as he thought about Vanessa. He was surprised that she hadn’t called him on his cell, looking for Joe. Frank was not looking forward to telling the young girl about Joe being kidnapped.

Forty-five minutes after Frank made his call, Biff, Tony and Chet, who had been at Biff’s home, brought the van. Once they reached the Hardy home, Gertrude went straight to her room.

Frank led his friends upstairs to his room. He wanted to let them know about the Assassins being involved. Frank and Joe had informed their friends about the threat to Joe but had not told them everything.

Frank entered his room; he came to a stop when he saw who was sitting on his bed. Tony walked in after Frank and almost bumped into him.

“Hey, Frank why’d you – oh, well, hello there!” Tony smiled at the pretty blonde.

“What’s going on – Miss Manders?!” Biff almost squeaked.

“Why is your English teacher in Frank’s room?” asked Chet.

Frank frowned at Charlie. “How do you get in here without setting off the alarm?”

“Trade secret – I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” she replied with a smile.

“Tony, this is Charlie Manders – Biff, Chet, she’s not really a teacher. She works for the Network.”

The three friends stared at Charlie in disbelief.

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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.