Fenton gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. His foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal; he knew that he was probably breaking every speed limit imaginable. Suddenly a small hand fell lightly on his right hand, gently caressing. The touch had a calming effect on Fenton and he eased off the gas pedal and loosened his tight grip. He glanced over at the woman beside him and a feeling of love filled his heart.

When he arrived at the building owned by Sterling Industries, several police cars were already there. Fenton saw Chief Collig standing at the curb; by his side was Con Riley. When he and Laura got out of the car, Fenton noted the surprised look on Collig’s face. He knew it was due to Laura being there. But short of handcuffing his wife to a chair there was nothing he could do to prevent her from coming. Frank might be eighteen and Joe seventeen years old, but they were still her babies.

“Laura, remember your promise,” said Fenton as he turned to look at her.

“I know, stay out here with one of the officers,” she sighed.

Chief Collig had been walking over when he heard the exchange.

“Officer Jansen will take care of her, Fenton.” Collig signaled to one of his officers. A tall broad-shouldered man came running over.

“Jansen, stay here with Mrs. Hardy. Make sure she doesn’t come to any harm.”

“Yes, sir!” Officer Jansen smiled kindly at Laura.

Two more cars drove up and parked across the street. Phil, Chet and Biff emerged from one vehicle, Callie and Vanessa the other. One look at their faces and Chief Collig knew that they wanted to help find Frank and Joe. Before the teens had a chance to speak, Chief Collig raised his hand.

“I know you want to help but I can’t allow it! I don’t know what kind of maniac we’re dealing with!”

Biff was about to protest when Callie stopped him. “We understand, Chief Collig,” she said, squeezing Biff’s arm so he wouldn’t say anything.

Satisfied that the Hardy friends wouldn’t interfere, Chief Collig turned to walk away. Callie pulled Biff aside, beckoning the rest to follow, making sure that the Chief was occupied and out of hearing.

“You need to trim those nails, Callie!” Biff complained as he rubbed his arm.

“Sorry about that – I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t open your mouth!”

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” said Phil somewhat warily.

“I’m with Phil – Callie has the same look that Joe gets when he comes up with some kind of plan!” Chet exclaimed with some apprehension in his voice.

“Oh man, that’s scary!” Biff teased but there was an excited twinkle in his eyes.

Callie rolled her eyes and ignored the remarks. “I do have a plan – sorta.”

Vanessa giggled as Chet and Phil moaned in despair.

“Vanessa and I will keep everyone distracted. You guys go down that alley – it doesn’t look like Chief Collig has that one covered.”

“I get it!” Biff said excitedly. “You want us to look out for anyone suspicious.”

“Or anyone who looks like that picture of Raymond Sterling Phil found on his company site.” Callie continued to explain.

“That doesn’t sound like a dangerous plan. For a second there I thought you were going to want us to sneak inside the building!” Chet said with some relief – until he saw the gleam in Callie’s eye.

“Do you think we could sneak in?!” she asked gleefully.

Biff placed his hand on Callie’s shoulder, a determined look on his face. “Don’t worry Callie – if there is, you know I’ll be going in!”

With that said, Biff headed towards the alley, with Chet and Phil following behind. Callie and Vanessa walked over to Mrs. Hardy and stood close by her side.

*****

Frank wanted to yell out with joy as he got the last pin out. He opened the door and was about to throw the tire iron on the floor, but something told him he still might need it. He limped down the hallway trying to locate the stairwell that would lead him up to the roof. He found it soon enough and was pleasantly surprised to find that it opened easily. When he didn’t see any trip-wires or any other surprises. Frank wasn’t sure if he should be glad or not. Holding tightly to the tire iron, he made his way up the stairs and out onto the roof.

Frank wanted to run and find his brother but his injuries prevented him from doing that.

“JOE!” Frank screamed out, over and over as he searched.

He walked by what appeared to be a storage shed. Frank paused; there was something wrong. This shouldn’t be here, he thought as he walked around. That was when Frank realized there was no opening!

Thump, thump, thump!

Frank continued to walk around the structure and spotted a small ladder. As quickly as he could he went up – he was now on top of the structure. He heard the noise again, his heart was pounding – this could be where Joe was being held! Frank walked over to the corner and saw the window. Despite the pain he jogged over and froze.

Someone had put Plexiglas over the bars! Frank stared down at Joe, his face pressed up against the bars, banging on the Plexiglas. In a few more seconds the water would be over the bars, taking away the last of Joe’s air supply!

*****

Raymond Sterling knew it was time to leave. When he had come up with his revenge plan he had set up alarms. Unseen by the police was a cable wire – if anyone had seen it they would assume it was a counter – counting how many vehicles drove through the area. The cable was set up two blocks away in a busier section of downtown Bayport. Raymond had set up video cameras all along the block so he could see if it was someone who got lost or the police.

Hiding in the building across the street, Raymond watched as three teenage boys sneaked into the alley.

“Too late, boys,” he chuckled softly to himself.

He knew he had to leave the area soon. It wouldn’t be long before the police did a thorough search of the block and started to investigate the building. Closing the back door, Raymond walked into the first floor. Heading towards an empty office, he quickly changed into the clothes he had left there. Dressed in a faded blue polo shirt and jeans, he placed a baseball cap on his head.

As he casually walked down the street, Raymond thought about his next move.

*****

Joe banged his fist on the Plexiglas, hoping there was someone outside who would hear him. He was relieved to see Frank; he banged against the Plexiglas again.

Hearing Joe again broke Frank out of his shock. Sighing with relief that he hadn’t gotten rid of the tire iron, Frank started to pry the Plexiglas loose. He tried not to look at Joe, not wanting to see his brother struggling to breathe.

“Come on, come on!” Frank chanted as he strained with all his might.

Soon after they entered the building the police found that the elevators were not working. Fenton ran towards the stairs, but it wasn’t until he reached the second floor that he felt the crush of the broken glass and saw the blood. Frightened at what Raymond Sterling had done to his sons, Fenton was also angry. Angry that a madman had hurt his boys!

Chief Collig let out a small growl when he saw the bloody footprints. Noting the determined expression on Fenton Hardy’s face, Collig gave a slight nod and followed his friend up the stairs.

“I’m coming, Frank – Joe! Be okay – hold on a little longer!”

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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.