Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Callie watched Frank's face as he spoke into the phone and an automatic sigh escaped from her. She knew already who was on the other end of the call. She knew also, by the look on her boyfriend's face, what the call was likely about. Oh, Joe, can you not let your brother and I have just one uninterrupted evening to ourselves without you setting off the alarms?

Frank clicked off the phone and looked at his girlfriend with a troubled frown. "That was Mom. Joe never made it home."

"Surprise, surprise," Callie said dryly. "This is getting to sound like a broken record, Frank. Can't that brother of yours fend for himself without your constant scrutiny?"

Frank's frown deepened. "I'm sorry, Cal, but Mom sounded really worried."

Callie let out a long breath. "Yeah, no surprise there either. So what do we do now? Dash across the city and search for that brother of yours, again?"

Frank looked apologetic. "Joe has the van."

"So I'm the designated driver then," Callie said with resignation. "And where are we headed this time?"

"I thought we start with the Youth Center first, though Joe didn't say anything about going there tonight," Frank said as he slipped on his jacket and held out his hand. "Maybe I should drive since I know the way."

Callie dropped the keys into his hand. "By all means. I don't suppose you've tried calling Joe on his cell?"

"He's not answering. Mom tried it already, several times," Frank explained.

"I think from now on you should keep your brother on a leash," Callie said as she settled into the passenger seat of her SUV. "Saves tracking him down all the time."

"I hope he's at the Center and not anywhere else," Frank said grimly, feeling the familiar knot in his stomach. "And he better have a good excuse why he's incommunicado, again."

"Oh, Joe always has an excuse and you guys fall for it every time," Callie said. "He really has to learn to be more responsible, you know. We can't baby-sit him all the time or run our lives according to his whims."

"He doesn't set out to look for trouble. Trouble finds him," Frank said, trying to defend his absent brother. "He always means well."

Callie let out an exasperated breath. "Well, it's certainly nice of him to make sure that we always get dragged in for the ride. Knowing him, he's probably off on a one-man mission trying to track that, that Jason, is it?"

The knot in Frank's stomach suddenly tightened. "He better not be or else Dad will have his butt. Never mind Dad, I will have his butt. We've been told by Dad in no uncertain terms that we are to stay off that case."

"Since when has Joe listened to sound advice, or followed orders to the T?" Callie asked.

"I'll kill him this time," Frank said, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. "If he's out there looking for Jason, I'll really kill him this time."

"Oh Frank, who are you kidding? Once you find him, you'll no more than give him a little slap on the wrist, like you always do," Callie said. "He gets away with murder, you know, and you all let him. And I thought I was supposed to be the spoiled brat, being the only child. He's certainly got me beat in that game."

Frank fell silent, knowing deep in his heart that there was an undeniable element of truth in what Callie was saying. Perhaps they had really given Joe too much free rein over the years. He cringed at the thought of having to lecture Joe again, recalling the disastrous results of the last 'lecture'. Maybe his dad would have the pleasure this time.

The rest of the drive to the Youth Center was made in silence, with both Frank and Callie caught up in their own thoughts. Frank did not fault Callie for feeling put off. Their dates together had been interrupted often enough in the past, and Joe had, more often than not, been the culprit of such interruptions.

Joe was not at the Youth Center, and no one had seen him there that day. Frank thanked Carl for his help and was heading toward the door when his cell phone rang. It was his father.

Callie watched anxiously as the colour drained from Frank's face as he listened to the call. Instinctively, she reached out and grasped him by the arm, giving him the support of her physical touch.

"What is it?" she asked as soon as Frank disconnected the line.

"That was Dad. The police have found our van, just a few blocks from where Jason lives. But there's no sign of Joe," Frank said, looking at her without really seeing.

She tugged at his arm. "Let's go then. Did your dad tell you the exact location of the van?"

Frank nodded rather numbly. "The police are at the scene now."

"Let's go," Callie urged again. "Maybe we can find out more once we get there. Give me the keys and I'll drive. Just tell me where to go."

Callie glanced over at he boyfriend as she drove, taking note of the tightly knitted brows and hard pressed mouth. She reached over and touched him gently on the hand. "He's most likely just left the van to look around. He'll probably show up by the time we get there."

He gave her hand a grateful squeeze. "I hope so. Damn it, Cal! He's got no right to be there in the first place. He's promised Dad to stay clear of the place and let the police do their job."

"Well, you know Joe's always been the impulsive one," Callie tried to remain cheerful. "One little thought, and he's off."

"Yeah, sometimes it's no thought, and he's still off," Frank said glumly. "Just wait until I get my hands on him." If I can get my hands on him.

"That must be it up ahead. I can see the van," Callie said as she began to slow down the car.

A police cruiser was parked in front of the van and one of the officers stepped out when he saw Frank and Callie approaching the van.

"Hi, may I help you?" he asked the two.

"I'm Frank Hardy. This van belongs to my brother and me," Frank explained.

"Fenton Hardy's son," the officer smiled amicably. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Officer Greenfield. Yeah, we recognized your van. Thought it strange to be left here so we radioed it in just in case. I believe your father is on his way down here now."

"You didn't see any sign of my brother when you got here?" Frank asked even though he knew the answer to the question.

Officer Greenfield shook his head. "It was empty and one of the doors was left wide open. Not a place to do something like that. Doesn't look like anybody had a chance to ransack it, so you're lucky. Is your brother missing?"

The last word made Frank's stomach tightened painfully. "No, he's not missing, at least not yet, but we are looking for him. Have you looked around the immediate area?"

The officer shook his head. "No, didn't see the reason to. My partner and I were just patrolling the area and keeping an eye out for the kid, Jason Grady and the two guys that might be after him when we came across your van. We know your link to this case so we radioed it to the station and I guess someone contacted your father. We were told to wait here for him."

"Do you mind if I take a look inside the van?" Frank asked.

"Go ahead, it's your car, but just in case, don't touch anything," the officer cautioned

Frank nodded grimly. He walked up to the opened door and peered inside. Joe's knapsack was still on the passenger seat, as was his cell phone.

"It looks like he left in a hurry," Callie commented. This is not looking good, she thought to herself.

"Yeah," Frank murmured, the tendrils of worry tightening their clutches on him.

The sound of an approaching car caught their attention and both turned to see Fenton Hardy's car pulling to a stop behind Callie's SUV.

"Dad's here," Frank said with a certain amount of relief.

Fenton Hardy exchanged a few words with Officer Greenfield before approaching Frank and Callie.

"Hi, Frank, Callie," Fenton Hardy greeted them. "See anything in the van?" The last question was directed at Frank.

Frank shook his head. "Nothing. Looks like he just took off after something or someone, even left the door open."

Fenton cast a cursory glance into the van. "Why don't you take Callie home first. I'll look after things here."

"Dad, I think Joe's in trouble. We need to look for him," Frank protested.

"I'll speak with the officers and get some plan of action going. Go home first. Your mother can use the company right now," his dad said.

"But Dad --"

"Go home, Frank. I'll handle it here. I promise to let you know if anything comes up, all right?"

Callie touched his arm gently. "Come on, Frank. I'll drive you home."

Frank finally relented. "Dad, you will call as soon as you have something?"

Fenton wrapped his arm briefly around his son's shoulders. "I'll call. Now go home and take care of your mother."

Somebody was kicking him again and he groaned at the new source of pain, adding to that which already assaulted his battered body.

"Wake up, boy! We need to do some talking here," a voice called out from somewhere above him. There was another kick.

Joe cried out at the new abuse and tried to pull back from the threatening source. His body protested the movement by immediately launching him into a painful coughing fit that left him panting and gasping for breath. When he at last regained some control over his breathing, he cracked open his eyes. It took almost a minute for him to focus and make out the two men standing before him.

"So you've finally decided to join us. It's about time," one of the man said.

Joe blinked and tried to move, but found that his hands were tied behind him, and around a post that dug into his back. The slight movement sent waves of pain up and down his right arm. Glancing down, he could see the jagged tear on his jacket sleeve from which blood continued to seep. There goes another jacket! The irreverent thought flitted through his dazed mind as he continued to take in his surroundings. They were in some dark, dingy room that smelled strongly of mildew and rotting garbage. A single naked bulb on the ceiling with its weak and wavering glow did little to dispel the dismal shadows of the squalid surroundings. What remained unseen in the dark corners were probably best left unseen.

"Don't bother looking, kid," the same man said again. "The only way out of here is if we let you out, and we don't intend to do that any time soon."

"What do you want with me?" Joe asked, his voice raspy and much weaker than he would have liked.

"Information," the man said, crouching down to Joe's level on the floor.

Recognition of the two men suddenly shook him. "You're Ribera and Scala!" Then seeing the cold smile that spread across the face of the one kneeling before him, Joe was suddenly aware of how perilous his current predicament was. His arm throbbed with the intensity of each heartbeat and it hurt simply to breathe. He was being held in God-knows where by two guys who would have no compunction whatsoever in dealing out death if they thought it necessary. And nobody knew where he was. Not even Frank.

He looked at the coldly smiling face again, and shuddered.

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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.