hardy boys fan fiction
CLASSIFIED
SECRETS
hardy boys nancy drew fan fiction
by
Cherylann Rivers
Chapter
25
hardy
boys fan fiction
THE CHAPTERS
Joe must have blacked out for a few moments, because when he came to, that absolute stillness was the first thing that caught his attention. He blinked his eyes several times, and coughed repeatedly. On top of him were pieces of plastic and wood, fixtures, and blue and white ornaments. Pushing himself back, the first thing he noticed on the ground was a shattered mirror, which had once held the portrait of Cinderella. It looked eerily up at him, as if asking him, "Wasn’t I supposed to live happily ever after?" Joe had to look away. The second thing he noticed was by far more important. He noticed Cinderella, herself—Vanessa Bender. She was lying on the ground, head buried in her arms. She wasn’t moving. In a panic, Joe immediately feel to his knees beside her, and, tenderly, pushed back the hair from her face. "Vanessa," he whispered, hands trembling, as he gently turned her over to face him.
After a few moments, Vanessa began to stir. Those moments seemed to last an eternity to Joe. Finally, she opened her eyes. Within seconds, she sat up and clung to Joe tightly, as if her life depended on him. At that moment, Joe realized how much his life depended on her. Holding her tightly, he stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth. After what seemed like a long time in each other’s arms, Vanessa finally pulled back.
"Oh, Joe," she sobbed softly to him, "What… happened?!" She wanted to touch him, to feel his arms around her as protection, but she couldn’t. The scene behind them was too overwhelming.
Joe forced himself to stand up, and helped Vanessa to her feet. Instantly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held onto her tightly. He, like Vanessa, was overwhelmed by emotions. He had so much to say to her, but no words were forthcoming. He was shocked at the scene before him.
Somehow, the Castle was still standing, but its interior was a disaster. Windows were blown out, there was a giant hole in the roof, and the structure looked to be wobbly at best. All around him, agents who were not hurt were beginning to move, slowly and steadily. At once, the silence that that been pre-dominant over the last few moments came crashing down. First, Joe heard the sirens. Then, he heard the screams. At once, it looked like Hell had literally broken loose.
Grabbing Vanessa by the hand, Joe glanced out the front of the castle. People were lying on the ground, little children were walking aimlessly, crying for their parents. But, to Joe’s utter amazement, the casualties really didn’t look that bad. Apparently, these law enforcement agents had done their job. Most of the people were crying and screaming, but in shock and amazement, even, over horror. With the exception of a handful of people who had been unfortunate enough to be too close to the Castle walls, most people were busy either running or being escorted by officers very quickly in the opposite direction of the Castle.
Vanessa looked up, tears streaming from her eyes, as she heard the loud roar of helicopters flying overhead, their flashlights shining down. They looked to her like little lost butterflies, struggling to find a home in autumn. There were so many. Her only repose was that she instantly recognized the "USA" logos on the front, and she knew they were there to help. Whatever had just happened, and at this point Vanessa truly had no idea what that was, she knew that people were coming to protect her. It was a comforting feeling.
Suddenly, she was aware of Joe’s hand pressing tightly into hers. "Joe?" she choked out. "What’s the matter? I think we’ll be okay."
Joe could only shake his head in horror, as he turned around and walked slowly with Vanessa to the back of the Castle, the area into which the bomb had been taken in those final, gut-wrenching minutes before the explosion had occurred. "My God," was all he could manage.
Here, the damage was beyond recognition. By pure luck and a lot of quick thinking, the majority of the area had been cleared of tourists before the explosion had occurred. However, not all of it had. This had been the one area that the officials had saved for last, because of the infirmary, bathrooms, and lost and found sections. Thus, right when the bomb had gone off, there were still a substantial number of people – probably well over 100- who were caught in the devastating position of being trapped between the Castle, where the bomb had originated, and its destination. The whole area in between looked scorched, and the perfectly manicured trees and benches, stores and parks, now looked like roasted marshmallows after a fire. Although there were plenty of ambulances already on the scene, cries of agony and grief hung in the air. Joe had to turn back. He had just looked Despair in the face, and it had won.
Slowly, he sank to his knees, overwhelmed by everything. Vanessa kneeled beside him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. What could you say at a time like this? Sometimes, the deepest connections were unspoken.
Then, as if he had been suddenly hit with lightening, Joe stood up, causing Vanessa inadvertently to fall back. Realizing what he’d done, he instantly reached down for her and pulled her up, enveloping her in a hug.
"What’s wrong?" she asked, full of concern.
"Dad! I have to find him!" In all of the confusion and horror, he had almost forgotten that his father was there, right in the center of the action. Joe felt his heart sink. He recalled his father’s words to him in the car as they had traveled there not so long ago. I love you, son. Eyes burning with unshed tears, Joe mentally replied, I love you too, dad. He prayed for the chance to tell him that in person.
All at once, as though Fate had intervened, Joe whirled around and found himself looking at his father, who now stood, shaking his head at something, in the distance on the side of the Castle that had been hit the hardest. Apparently he, too, was overwhelmed by the scene before him.
Turning to Vanessa, he was about to tell her that he needed to see his father, quickly. However, as he looked into her eyes, he instantly saw that she already knew that. Hugging her tightly once again, he turned around and ran as quickly as he could towards his father.
Fenton heard footsteps behind him, and turned around. Years of investigations made it a gut instinct to be aware of his surroundings, however confusing they might be. He sighed in the greatest relief he had ever felt when he caught sight of Joe. He thought—even now to recall it was devastating—that he had lost him. Joe had been so close to the Castle- so very close. So many people weren’t going to make it. At once, shoving those thoughts in the back of his mind, he forgot he was a detective and instantly took on his most important job- that of a father. He instantly wrapped his arms around his son and held him tightly. Joe buried his face in his father’s shoulder. After a few moments, Joe broke free of his father’s grasp. Pulling back, he met his father’s eyes, which were red-rimmed and glassy.
"D.. dad…" he stammered.
"I know." He hugged Joe again, and the father and son team looked at the atrocity in front of them with sadness and shock.
"We should’ve stopped this. I should’ve seen this coming so much sooner. I’m so sorry." Joe choked out his last words.
Fenton turned to him with pity in his eyes. "Joe? Don’t you see what you DID do? My God! There were 12 bombs- 12 Joe- that makes sense, doesn’t it?- that were placed around the Castle. The midnight hour really was at hand. Thanks to you and your brother, 11 of those bombs were disarmed and dismantled. For the short time that we had, you managed to save thousands of lives- thousands, son. Think about that. These people-" he glanced at the killed and injured- "These poor people are just a fragment of what could have happened. And, thanks to your quick thinking, many ambulances were already here as well as medical personnel and federal and local officers. As you can see, national help has come in the form of medical helicopters. You did all you could." He looked into his son’s eyes. "I’m proud of you."
Joe was about to respond when Vanessa came over. A sense of tremendous relief washed over him. His father and the girl he loved were okay, and had somehow survived this nightmare. It was then that it hit him. Gasping in quickly, he bit his lip. "Dad! Iola! She’s here, somewhere!"
"And so’s Callie," Fenton added, dread washing over him.
Fenton tried not to panic. "Okay. Joe. Hold on a second. Let me call your brother. If he’s heard from Callie or Iola, he’ll let us know." Fenton tried Frank’s hotel room, where Frank had promised to remain to help make phone calls. There was no answer. He tried Frank’s cell phone. Again, no one answered.
He looked at Joe, and he actually felt the color drain from his face. "Joe," he said softly. "Your brother’s not answering. That means-"
"Oh, no!" Joe breathed. "HE could be here!" Joe tried not to hyperventilate, but it wasn’t easy.
"Yes," Fenton managed to reply.
In total horror, Joe could only glance at the scene unfolding before him. He heard the sirens and the screams; he saw the castle, a shadow of its former self; he heard crying in the distance. And he knew—somewhere, in that "other" world, was Frank, Iola, and Callie. And they needed him.
He looked at Vanessa and at his father.
They each had the same thought. Quickly the three squeezed hands, and then
they walked forward, and descended into Hell.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation, The authors 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 them without express permission of the authors.