Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Frank and Joe Hardy, meanwhile, found themselves in the mansion that, only a few minutes earlier, they had tried to sneak into. After being led by a series of men with guns through various twisting and turning hallways, they soon were led into a dimly lit room. Minutes later, both brothers were tied tightly to chairs, arms behind their backs. The last words they heard came from one of the biggest men in the group, who had grinned contemptuously at them, and said, "Welcome, Hardys. We've been expecting you. Make yourselves at home." With that, he had left.

For a minute, the brothers sat in silence. The, Joe decided to break the ice.

"Well, Frank, there is one bright side to this."

Frank, hoping to hear that Joe had managed to keep his fists, and thus the ropes, loose, listened expectantly. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"At least we're inside the mansion now."

"Joe, I swear to God, if I could smack you right now, I would." Frank was pretty angry at this point.

"What're you yelling at ME for? It was YOUR bright idea to try and get up to the highest window."

"You have GOT to be kidding me."

"No, seriously. I think you owe me an apology."

With that. Frank kicked back as hard as he could and managed to hit Joe in the side of the calf.

"OOOWWW!!!"

"Good! I think it was YOU who beeped the car horn, YOU who made a racket getting here, YOU who sneezed, YOU who..."

"That's a soft drink."

"What?!"

"Get it? You who?"

"Joe!!!" Frank bellowed. "How can you find this remotely funny? We have to get out of here. Can you please stop being an idiot, for like 10 minutes, and help me out here, and then you can do whatever you want. I'll even leave you? Okay? It was getting to be time for a new brother anyway."

Joe sighed. "All right. Give me a minute."

"I'm waiting."

"I'm thinking."

"First time for everything."

"Frank, shut up. Let's just look around the room. Can you move your arms?"

"No. You?"

"No."

"Okay, well, that's option's out."

Frank sighed loudly.

"I'm just using my powers of deduction."

"Okay, Sherlock. Can you see over there?"

"Where?"

"There."

"Yeah."

Over on the side of the door, there was a brief hint of light that seemed to be coming from a small window or vent.

Joe asked, "By the side of the door, right?"

"Yes. Over there. Under the doorknob."

"Under where?"

Frank pre-empted the next comment Joe was about to say. "Yes, I get it. No, it isn't funny. And yes, I might kill you. Here and now. If these guys don't kill you, I will."

This was becoming a horrible comedy routine. Joe was about to issue a wisecrack back when, all of a sudden, the door creaked slowly open. In came Jeff Wellington, along with a group of about three other men. Frank and Joe immediately became serious.

Upon seeing Jeff, Joe felt his brother's body tense and, although he couldn't see him since their backs were against each other, Joe knew exactly the look that would be on Frank's face. As they looked up at Jeff, Joe knew that somehow he had to try to loosen these ropes. He had tried to keep his wrists apart when they were being tied up, but these guys were pros. Joe could barely move a muscle. With an inward groan, Joe realized that he and Frank were at the mercy of these creeps. And he didn't like it. One bit.

"Well, well. If it isn't Frank and Joe Hardy," Jeff began with a smile. "It's been a while since I've last seen you two."

"Where's Callie?!" Frank shouted.

Well, Joe thought, that's direct.

"Callie?" asked Jeff, slowly, as if trying to remember. "Oh, yes. Callie Shaw. Now I remember. The girl who left you for me, right?" Jeff chuckled as he addressed the comment to Frank.

Frank,, trying to control himself, took a deep breath. "Look. Jeff. Clearly, you have me now. And my brother. We know you're part of the Assassins. Play fair, man. Let Callie go. I'll do whatever you want."

Jeff burst out laughing. "I don't think you're in the position to compromise, Mr. Hardy. You see, we have you both now. And we have Ms. Shaw. Or- well, we HAD her. And, shall I mention, Ms. Morton? Come now. You know this. That's why you're here, isn't it?"

Joe felt his heart stop. Oh, God. Maybe it was true. Maybe Iola WAS alive. Joe had to find out. Looking up at Jeff, Joe noticed he looked a lot older than the last time he remembered seeing him. Duh, he thought. I should've caught that one earlier. Clearing his throat, Joe managed,

"Iola? Tell me now. I have to know. That's all I want. Tell me the truth, and you can do whatever you want."

Again, Jeff smiled. "Ah, Joseph. It has been a great deal of fun toying with you over the past year or so. I mean, first she's dead, then she's alive, then she's dead again, now... is she alive? Makes one wonder what's real and what's not, doesn't it?"

Joe struggled against his ropes. To say he was feeling rage would have been an understatement.

"You slimy..."

"Oh, hush, Joseph. There's no need for name-calling. Besides, I have a gift for you."

Frank and Joe stared at Jeff. Both were lost in their own thoughts. Frank, thinking desperately of Callie, and Joe, thinking of Iola, knew that somehow, someway, they needed to get out of there. And fast.

"Smile boys," Jeff said pleasantly.

With that, a series of bright lights flashed through the room.

Frank and Joe had to blink to try and get the dots away from their eyes, and to have them readjust to the light.

"What the?" Joe began, but was instantly cut off by Jeff.

"THAT, Joseph, was a series of flashbulbs that just took your picture. We like to have them, as evidence, of yet another job well done. We will be sure to send them to your father as a remembrance of what happens when you try to stop the Assassins. It simply cannot be done. Oh, and, one more thing."

"WHAT?!" Joe shouted.

"He'll be getting them real soon."

Joe immediately started fidgeting harder than before. If he was going to die, then, damn it, he'd go down fighting. As he was about to topple both his and his brother's chair, he suddenly heard Frank speak. Always the diplomat, Joe thought angrily. "Frank! Shut up! Let's get this guy, now!"

As Jeff laughed again, Frank remained as calm as ever. "No, Joe."

"What?!" Joe was outraged. Frank had to be kidding him. Sure, let's chitchat with these guys.

"I said no."

Joe stopped struggling for a moment. Okay. Either Frank was being a complete idiot, or he had a plan. Joe decided to be quiet, and hoped that it was the latter.

Frank began again. "Okay. You win," he said, slowly. "You'll kill us. Fine. But we know how you work. You'll probably need info on our father first, so you can't kill us right away."

Jeff countered. "Not really. We're all set with that."

Well, this is going just great, Joe thought.

"Okay, then." Frank said. "How about it, man? We're going to die anyway. I'm dying, anyway, of curiosity here. Just tell me how you did it. How did you hide Iola for so long? Where's Callie? I don't expect you to let me see her again, but come on. I'm pretty smart, and I've been unable to figure this out. Do me one favor. A last wish, really. What does it matter? I'm dead anyway, and you've been torturing our family for over a year."

Joe saw right through this. Frank wanted answers, and he was playing dumb. There's no way, though, he reflected. These guys don't work like that.

However, much to Joe's amazement, he saw a slow, smug look come over Jeff's face, and he saw his face relax. I can't believe it! Joe cried in his mind. He's falling for it.

"Well," he began hesitantly, "I suppose it's all right." He smiled. "Fooling Joe Hardy- that was no problem. Joe is so easily manipulated by emotions. But, keeping the super-sharp Fenton Hardy at bay, and puzzling a bright light like you, Frank- that IS quite the feat, eh? I don't see any harm. It will make your deaths all the more painful."

With that, he turned to the men who had entered the room. "Gentlemen, set the timer to go off in one hour. That'll give me time to speak with these brats, and to have them reflect upon their measly attempts to save both themselves and their girlfriends." The men left.

"I'll explain that in a minute, boys. You have one hour to live, so I'll only take a few moments of your time. You see, if you look closely, there is a little light coming from the door - under where you originally looked- we saw you on camera."

Joe immediately thought of his stupid underwear joke and realized how quickly the tables could turn on him.

"The walls will begin to move slowly in on you. Well, not that slowly. In any case, you'll see them, and you can count your time left on the clock that we will gladly provide for you. You can laugh, talk- whatever. But- you'll eventually die, not just from the lack of air, but from the walls crushing you together. A fitting end for some teens who have attempted to "crush" our network, pardon the pun."

Frank began to feel sick.

"I'll only say this. Yes, Iola Morton is alive. She has suffered mercilessly over the past year because of you, Joe. You can die with that on your conscience. She is, however, now free. She's out- somewhere- in the middle of these woods, probably struggling to survive amongst wildlife. She may starve. Who knows? The possibilities are endless. In any event, if she does make it to the road, there are plenty of guards who will kill here there. Ah, the beauty! Killed just when you think hope is upon you. She blames you, Joe. She hates you. That's all about her, I guess."

Joe's face became as white as chalk, and he felt like throwing up. It was a good thing he was sitting, or he was sure he would have fallen. Tears streaming down his face, Joe could only listen, shocked and astonished.

"As for Callie, Frank. She's a saucy one, isn't she? So very beautiful. Believe me. I got to know her. VERY WELL." He winked at Frank, who was shaking in horror and rage. "Well, she tried to be brave, but eventually, we wore her down. I learned some very interesting things about you. No need to go into detail. In any event, she's with Iola now. I like her, though. I even thought of keeping her around- for pleasure. But, those kinds of girls, the ones with the fire and the sass, they'd never last long around here. She had to be punished. Not the most cooperative of girls, is she? She will die a slow and painful death. How long has it been since they were set free?" He paused. "I guess about 5 days or so. In another 5, she will be dead. We have a little virus she was infected with. There's only one cure. Which, of course, we have here. As always, though, in the rare event something went wrong, it's hidden in the laboratory with a variety of other vials. It's virtually impossible to tell which is the right one. And so, that's it."

As both boys looked up in horror, the implications of this man's words setting in, he turned away from them. "One hour, boys. It's too late for wishes now."

As he closed the door, Frank and Joe noticed a digital clock light up-in red., the color of blood. Then, ever so slowly, the slightest creaking noise was heard as the walls began to close in on them.

"Frank," Joe croaked, barely able to speak, " I think this time we're really going to die."

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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.

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