Chet tried to say that he was sorry but all that came out was a muffled noise. Tony shushed him as he tried to be inconspicuous while he peeked over the railing. He and Chet were a few floors up, on the fire escape. The last part of the landing had an iron mesh that helped to keep the two teens hidden.

***

Joe watched Jared and Simon, their guns drawn and their bodies tense for action. He was afraid that they would try to get away. Carefully maneuvering himself around Vanessa, Joe quietly made his way around the dumpster.

As Joe was about to go around the corner of the dumpster, Vanessa grabbed hold of his arm. “Joe – what are you doing?!” she whispered frantically.

Joe just smiled and gave her a wink as he continued on.

Vanessa trembled with fright as she watched Joe disappear. It only took the pretty girl a second before she started to follow the blonde Hardy.

Joe’s smile grew wider when he saw that the two Assassins had left the car doors open. He checked to make sure that he still saw Jared and Simon’s backs. Satisfied that Con still had their attention, Joe slowly made his way towards the front passenger door.

****

Jared Casidine had a bad feeling – why was Jax staying in the shadows?...and he didn’t recall Jax having allergies! His eyes narrowed – his senses on edge, Jared took in his surroundings, trying to determine what was out of place.

Frank was afraid that his plan was about to go up in smoke. He stared down at the .9mm he held in his hand. He had convinced Con to let him keep it, just in case. The older Hardy boy only hoped that he wouldn’t have to use it. He felt Callie squeeze his hand, and returned the gesture to reassure her.

Con could see that the plan was starting to unravel. From Jared’s stance he sensed that the man knew something was not right.

“Why don’t you bring the brat out and we can go get Hardy!”

Casidine made sure his safety was off as he waited for “Jax’s” reply.

Con let out a small groan. He had to think fast before Jared and Simon made their getaway.

Hiding on the opposite side of the alley, Biff and Phil stared at each other, worried expressions etched on their faces. Was Frank’s plan about to break apart? Biff let out small groan when he saw Joe sneaking around the dumpster.

***

With a slight nod of his head, Jared signaled to Simon. The large man walked towards the door, his gun drawn.

Frank let go of Callie’s hand, waiting patiently as Simon neared them. Soon the henchman had come up to the older Hardy boy’s hiding place. Frank gave Callie his signal, and the two teens pushed at the boxes they were hiding behind.

“What the….” Simon cried out when several boxes fell on top of him.

Frank knew that Casidine’s man wouldn’t be hurt. He was anticipating that Simon would be caught off guard.

And he was, Simon raised his arms in surprise as the boxes tumbled down on him. Taking advantage of the situation Frank dove on top of Simon. Chet and Tony practically slid down the fire escape ladder to help Frank.

When the boxes fell, Con knew that was his cue to confront Jared. He jumped out of the shadows with his gun raised.

“FREEZE CASIDINE!!!”

Jared Casidine was no fool. As soon as Simon got bombarded with the boxes, he headed straight for the car. He knew that Simon would be a “good Assassin” and use the cyanide capsule in the fake tooth. But Jared had no intention of doing the same. He didn’t mind doing the Assassins’ dirty work; they paid him well. Jared, however, didn’t believe in their “code of honor.”

***

When Callie saw Tony and Chet run to Frank’s aid, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped that Joe and Vanessa were okay.

Biff and Phil went into action when they heard the commotion. Biff was still worried about Joe and hoped that Casidine hadn’t seen his friend.

Joe had gotten what he wanted; he was going back to Vanessa when he heard Simon cry out in surprise. Joe turned around and saw Frank jump out of his hiding place. The young teen searched for Callie, and sighed in relief when he saw that she was slowly making her way towards the dumpster. He heard someone running; he turned his head slightly and saw Jared Casidine coming towards the car.

The hired assassin stopped in his tracks when he saw Joe standing at the back of his get-away car. He had tucked his gun into his belt when he ran.

“It’s going to be kind of hard for you to get away since I threw away your keys to the car,” said Joe with a smile.

With an evil smile on his face, Jared reached for his gun and aimed it at Joe’s head.

Callie, keeping her body low managed to reach Vanessa. The two girls stared wide-eyed from their hiding place at Jared pointing his gun at Joe.

“You’re worth more dead than alive to me, kid – bye-bye.”

***

Coming out of the recessed doorway, Biff looked around for something to throw at Casidine. He found a broken piece of brick and picked it up.

Pushing her tall friend aside, Callie tackled Joe to the ground.

Biff threw the brick straight at Casidine. A small smile crossed his face when he heard and saw it hit its mark.

Jared slowly squeezed the trigger when he felt an intense pain on the side of his head. His vision became blurry and then black as he fell to the ground.

Joe was wondering if he would be able to duck out of the way when he was suddenly grabbed around the waist and found himself falling down onto the hard ground.

***

Suddenly the sound of sirens could be heard. Several cars came to a screeching halt in front of the alleyway. Fenton Hardy and Chief Collig came running into the alley with numerous police officers behind them.

Fenton went over to Joe, Vanessa was helping Callie up. Chief Collig walked over to Biff, who had signaled him over.

Frank walked dejectedly over to the Chief, Tony and Chet behind him. True to his profession, Simon had bitten into the fake tooth and died from the cyanide poisoning. Frank told one of the officers about Jax, who was still tied up and inside the building. He then went over to Joe and Callie.

After handcuffing Jared Casidine, Chief Collig called for an ambulance and the ME for the dead Assassin.

*****

That evening as Joe and Frank sat with Vanessa and Callie in the Hardy home….

The four teens were finally relaxing after giving their statements to the police. After thanking his friends for helping him and promising to meet up for a game of football, Frank and Joe had left with Fenton. Callie and Vanessa had gotten permission to go with the boys. The girls wanted to spend some cuddle time with them.

Joe got up and went into the kitchen to get more sodas for everyone. Callie waited for a moment and then followed him. Expecting Vanessa when he heard the kitchen door open, Joe was surprised to see his brother’s girlfriend instead.

Feeling awkward and shy, Callie wasn’t sure how to begin.

“Joe – I….*sigh*…..I did a lot of thinking when we were tied up and – you’re right. I did blame you for Iola’s death and I shouldn’t have. You and Frank didn’t know that someone had planted a bomb in your car and if you had – I know you would have done everything in your power to save Iola – in fact, you did try to save her! I saw how hard Frank had to fight to hold you back from the flames. I’m sorry, Joe – so sorry that I blamed you when it wasn’t your fault.”

Joe didn’t say anything, Callie was afraid that wasn’t going to accept her apology. Then she saw a small smile on his face.

“How sorry are you?” he asked slyly.

“Just what do you mean by that?” Callie asked with a little frustration and aggravation in her voice.

“Are you sorry enough to get Frank out of the way so Vanessa and I can have some alone time?”

Callie laughed and readily agreed. After all – she and Frank would be having some ‘ alone time’ too!

THE END

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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.