“He started out as hired muscle – beating out late payments for loan sharks. Then he moved up as a hired gunman. Not exactly sure how that came about. And the reason you don’t know about him – you were just six years old then; Joe was five. My first major case that I accidently stumbled upon.”

Frank sat quietly for a moment; he was recalling a time so long ago.

“My birthday,” he whispered, and looked up at his father. “You almost missed my birthday. You had to leave to go undercover but you had promised to be back in time for my birthday!”

“Yes, that’s right. I had suspected Casidine of killing a local businessman and making it look like a burglary gone bad. Casidine had fled to Washinton, D.C. When I went undercover I managed to hook up with him. That’s when I found out that he was no ordinary hit man – it seems Mr. Jared Casidine had become the top hit man for a newly formed terrorist group – the same group responsible for Iola Morton’s death.”

Suddenly Frank felt very ill; a cold chill coursed through his body. Joe was in the hands of an Assassin – a terrorist group that wanted his younger brother dead!

*****

Once the video was made, Joe and Callie were left alone. Knowing how resourceful Joe could be, Jared Casidine had his men move Callie and Joe away from each other. They were now facing each other, the tips of their shoes touching.

“Do you think they’ll really let us go?” Callie looked hopefully at Joe.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Callie – we’ve seen their faces. If they let us go what’s to prevent us from telling the authorities what they look like? He’s not going to leave any loose ends, and that’s what we are!”

“Gee Joe – don’t mince words on my account! That’s so typical – like how you couldn’t just read the script they gave you! Noooo! You had to go and be cocky! Why do you have to be so tough?!”

“Why do you hate me?!”

Callie’s mouth dropped open in shock. “I – I don’t hate you!” she finally managed to say.

“All right, hate is kind of harsh word….Why do you dislike me so much?”

“I don’t hate or dislike you Joe! I don’t know why you think I do.”

“Simple deduction….”

“If you’re going to rehash our rocky beginnings…”

“No, I’m not – I know now that we were both jealous of the other – me, because I thought that Frank was going forget about me once he started dating you – and you because you thought I took up your time with Frank.”

Callie didn’t say anything; she remembered those days when poor Frank had been put in the middle of their bickering.

“It wasn’t until Iola and I started to date that we started to get along better. You stopped making your snide remarks about me being a Neanderthal – I stopped calling you a spoiled ice princess and then…” Joe paused as he swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. He blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.

“You were so good to me after the funeral but then you changed – your snide remarks came back – they haven’t been too bad lately, now that I’m with Vanessa. At least I thought things were getting better until you made that remark about not wanting to lose another friend because of me.”

As Joe spoke, Callie listened carefully – recalling the things she had said and her attitude towards the younger Hardy. Callie closed her eyes as the truth hit painfully into her heart. She opened her eyes and looked at Joe’s tearful face.

“Joe – I’m soo….”

The door opened, and Jax and Simon walked into the room. They went over to Callie and picked her up – chair and all!

“What are you doing – where are you taking her?!” Joe cried.

“Mr. Casidine wants to talk with you privately,” Simon replied.

Joe spied Casidine just outside the door. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of my friend too!”

Jax and Simone hesitated as they turned to look at their boss. When he didn’t respond, the two men started to leave.

“You won’t get any cooperation from me if you take her away!” Joe yelled out, desperately trying to keep Callie in his sight.

Jared walked inside; he held up his hand in a stopping gesture towards Jax and Simon. “Put her back down. I’ll let her stay – for now.”

The henchmen complied. They moved away from Callie and waited for any more orders. Walking slowly, Jared circled around Joe. He studied the young Hardy boy. Joe stared straight ahead, not until Casidine stood in front of him did he stare at the man’s face.

Jared wanted to smile when he saw the defiant look on Joe’s face. Everything they had said about the young Hardy was true. He would make a great Assassin, Casidine thought. But he knew that Joe would never become one of them. The young boy was too much like his father – too full of morals. It was going to be such a shame when he killed him. Jared spared a glance over at Callie. A shame she had to die also.

“Eight hours from now your father will be dropping off my ransom demand. Of course you and I know that it’s a trap. I don’t care about the money – well maybe a little, but I’m getting paid very handsomely by my employers. Who, by the way, are very interested in you!”

Casidine smiled as that got Joe’s attention. Reaching into his suit pocket, he began looking through some pictures. “She’s very pretty –your new girlfriend. She’s taller than your last one, blonder too. I always pictured you with a blonde – although she was cute, kind of pixie- like.”

Casidine held up a picture of Iola.

“Where – where did you get that?” Joe gasped, a feeling of dread clutching at his heart.

“My employers are very interested in your family – your father has been a particular thorn in their side for some time. Until you came along, Joe!”

Casidine chuckled softly as he continued to look through the photos.

“But you did kill The Bullet – you may remember him as Al-Rousasa!”

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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.