Frank was crouched in a corner of the cell, dreading the lights out signal, when a guard unlocked the cell door and entered.

"Sorry, guys, orders from the Warden, you're not to touch him. Guess the kid's gonna to be sprung tomorrow after all. Can't deliver damaged goods. He doesn't look like the kind to keep his mouth shut once he's out of here. Here's your payment back. I'm to move him to Block A."

The guard grabbed Frank and backed out of the cell quickly. He didn't want to take the chance they would react unfavorably and force him to leave the boy there anyway. Frank almost collapsed with relief. He didn't know why the guard had intervened. He had the impression the guards were in on what was going to happen, and now realized they had been paid by the three men for the opportunity.

"Come on, kid, move it. I don't want to get caught moving you. My shift is over and I'm out of here as soon as I get you to Block A," the guard whispered hoarsely. He pushed Frank roughly ahead of him and soon had him settled in a cell with only one other inmate. The guard left as soon as he locked the door.

Frank settled on the empty bed. He watched his cell mate warily, but there was no menace in the man's attitude. If fact, he ignored Frank and turned over in his bunk and soon fell asleep. Frank sat back against the wall, pulled his legs up and hugged his knees. He sat like that the rest of the night, afraid to go to sleep, terrified he might be caught unawares and dragged back to that other cell.

He wondered what would happen the next night if he was still there. The guard had been lying, and had moved him for his own reasons. He wouldn't be as lucky a second time. He knew his father would be doing everything he could to get him out on bail as soon as possible, but what if they couldn't find the judge. Then he thought about why it had almost happened. If he was going to get out and be able to report it, why would they take the risk. 'They aren't expecting me to be released...' he realized. 'What's going on?'

After a terrifying night, imaging every footstep was someone coming to get him, he finally fell asleep just before dawn. He was wakened by an angry shout from Hanks. "Hey you, kid. Your father's here with your bail. I don't know how he got it so soon."

He unlocked the cell and grabbed Frank by the front of his shirt. "I don't know how you got out of that cell, but I'll find out. And when you come back here after your trial, well the fellows will still be waiting for you. And if you say anything about what almost happened, you'll regret it." He let go of Frank and pushed him out of the cell, then led him back to the Warden's office.

Rand volunteered to pull an extra half shift so he could keep an eye on Frank. Nothing happened the rest of the night and he left shortly after 5:00. He then waited in his car until dawn. He would wait until mid-morning and if Fenton Hardy didn't show up to get Frank, he would set other plans in motion. However, he didn't have that long to wait. Fenton was there at 8:00 on the dot, the earliest he could get Frank released.

It was almost a half hour later when he saw Frank exit the administration building with his father. The two were escorted to the gate by Hanks, where the gate guard examined the release papers and then allowed them to leave. Even at that distance, Rand could see the look of fury on Hanks face as he watched the two get into their car where Joe was waiting. 'Well, Frank's release sure threw some kind of spanner into the works,' he thought. He still didn't know what the killer group was planning, but it seemed it relied on Frank being there. He decided to keep an eye on Hanks for the rest of the day.

Neither Fenton nor Frank noticed the solitary figure in the dark Camaro parked at the end of the lot when they exited the prison. Frank uttered a huge sigh of relief as the gate closed behind him, this time with him on the outside. He barely had the terror of the night under control, and was afraid his father or brother might notice. He decide he would not tell them what had almost happened--not because of Hanks' threat, but because he knew both his father and brother would go ballistic if they knew.

He was sure someone at that prison was responsible for everything that had happened. It had all been designed to put him there. What he didn't know was who. Could it be an inmate, someone he and Joe, or maybe his father, had put away. It seemed a bit far-fetched, but the warden's attitude had been strange, could he be behind it? He didn't know and he was too tired to think about it right then. All he wanted to do was get home and get a shower to remove the stink of the place.

"You okay, Frank?" Joe asked as Frank got in the car.

"Yea, just glad to get out of there. Man it was a strange feeling when that gate closed behind me last night. How long did it take you to find the judge?" Frank answered.

"We didn't," Fenton replied. "Max and I ended up going to the governor. Rousted him out of bed about one o'clock. I'm glad he's a good friend, otherwise he'd of thrown us out on our asses."

Frank chuckled at that. "I'll have to remember to thank him."

"We haven't had time yet to start investigating those robberies. We can start after we get home and have some breakfast," Joe said, immediately launching into the main item on his mind.

Frank sighed. He had wanted to wait until they were home to discuss the case, but Joe wasn't going to let it wait. "I don't think that'll be necessary. Someone at the prison is responsible."

Fenton, just getting ready to pull out of the parking lot, stopped and looked over at his son. "Why do you say that, Frank?"

Edging around a half-truth, he replied, "Several things I heard last night. Can we talk about it when we get home. I'm bushed and need a shower and something to eat." He emphasized his words by laying his head back and closing his eyes. He really didn't think he could discuss it right then without betraying the terror he was still grappling with. He wanted an hour or so to calm down.

Joe was surprised--and worried--by Frank's reluctance. Usually Frank was the one that was ready to discuss a case at the drop of a hat. Then there was the look in Frank's eyes. How his father had missed seeing it he didn't know, but Frank was afraid of something. Something had happened that he wasn't going to talk about. Well, he'd get it out of Frank sometime.

They drove the rest of the way home in silence. With a few miles between them and the prison, Frank finally started to relax and eventually fell asleep. Fenton and Joe decided not to awaken him until they reached home.

Rand continued to sit in his car waiting. It was a good car for surveillance, the windows were tinted so no one would notice him sitting inside and it kept the glare of the sun out. Today, however, he would have welcomed the sun. The weather had turned colder and he could see storm clouds developing in the distance. Well, he had a couple of hours to wait before he could legitimately go inside. He had several bugs planted in the prison. He was flipping between the guards locker room and the warden's office when he heard Hanks' voice. He was talking to the warden.

"What are we going to do now?" he heard Hanks ask.

"We'll just have to postpone and come up with a way to get the Hardy kid back," the warden answered.

"How long do you think it'll be? The rest of 'em won't be too happy having to wait. They weren't happy with you bringing your personal grudge into the matter in the first place. If it had been anyone but the Hardys, the Assassins would've vetoed it from the start."

"Not long. We'll have to change the plans a little. We can't wait for the kid to be returned here legally, so we'll just have to get him ourselves. We'll find a way to get him back tonight, then tomorrow lure Fenton Hardy out here. It will be better to be able to watch Hardy's face while I kill his son, anyway. At least he'll have a chance to say goodbye. It was more than I had with my son. It'll also mean the Assassins will have to come up with two less bodies for the riot."

"So we reschedule for tomorrow night?" Hanks asked.

"Yes, pass the word. One more day won't make a difference, even a few days if necessary. We still have two months before they close the prison and start shipping everyone to other facilities. Just as long as our men are out before then and down on the records as dead, then they can't be traced. Me, I'll just sit back for the last two months and then retire when they close this place down."

"How are we going to get the kid?"

"I've got someone watching the Hardys' house. He'll report in if a chance to snatch Frank comes up. Getting the two brothers separated will be the problem. If they split up though, we can lure him somewhere alone where we can grab him."

"And if he's not alone?" Hanks questioned.

"Well, two Hardy boys for the price of one...who says the other one still has to be alive when Fenton watches his eldest die." Villman's reply sounded slightly manical.