Vanessa Bender squeezed her eyes tightly and shook her head. Then, for what seemed like the hundreth time, she opened her eyes and looked around the room in which she was being held. She was in some kind of laboratory, and all around here were glass bottles and microscopes, filing cabinets with the word "Confidential" written across them, and pictures. There were so many pictures. As Vanessa crept closer to take a look, she made sure not to make a sound. She had been warned that the slightest noise could lead to her capture or... well, to her death. As she scrutinized with her eyes the photographs on the wall, she looked for someone with her eyes whom she might have been able to recognize. Her mind, however, drifted to how she had ended up here...

As she had heard dogs and what sounded like a lot of people headed her way after she had sneaked into the mansion, she had, naturally, started screaming. When she had decided to come with Chet and Biff to this place, she could think of a lot of ways that she may have met an early demise, but being mauled to death by animals hadn't been on her list. As she heard the noises approach her faster, she had felt someone grab her around the waist and pull her back. Vanessa had tried resisting, but she was able to see that there was some sort of secret passageway into which she had been pulled. It was so dark in there! She felt herself being dragged backwards, and, although she couldn't swear to it, it seemed like there was one than one person who had been present. Finally, whomever it was who had grabbed her turned her around, while the other footsteps seemed to disappear down the hallway. This man had a mask over his face, but still... Vanessa could swear that there was something familiar about him. He had kept his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, but it was his words, not his actions, that had astounded Vanessa the most.

"Vanessa Bender." he had said in a low voice. "Listen to me. If I let go of your mouth, you must promise not to run or to scream. Do you understand?"

Vanessa could only nod, but his hand remained covering her mouth.

"I'm serious. One sound, one scuffle, could manage to get us both killed, and I'm not prepared for that. You must promise."

Vanessa nodded again, and slowly, he released her. Vanessa had wanted to run as fast as she could, and she certainly didn't feel any loyalty to keep her promise to a total stranger, but where would she go? So, she kept still and stared at the eyes that were looking at her through the mask, trying to place them.

"Vanessa, I know you. I also know that Frank and Joe Hardy, as well as Chet Morton and Biff Hooper, are here, somewhere. I, and my group of friends- we want to get you all to safety. This is a very dangerous place for you to be. I know. We've all been here for a long time. I managed to escape for a while, and a lot of plastic surgery and aliases have kept my identity from being revealed. We were going to try and destroy this place from the inside out, but it's too much. This network is spread throughout the country, but this is their headquarters. Now, in order to destroy it, we must first alleviate as many casualties as possible. I am here to help your friends. Now, follow me. And be quiet." With those words, he signaled for Vanessa to follow him.

Vanessa's mind was spinning. She DID follow him, but she tried to make sense of what he was saying. She KNEW those eyes. Where from? What was he talking about? Who were his friends?!

Finally, they had come to a door a long way off from where they had started. The door had been locked, but somehow, this guy seemed to know a way to finagle to the lock without setting off any alarms. It had only taken him a minute or two to complete the task..

He ushered her into the laboratory, and had said simply, "Wait here for me. I will lock you in anyway, so you can't escape. Hide if anyone comes. Touch nothing. I'll be back."

Vanessa stuttered, "But how? Who? I mean..."

"Shhh!!!" he had hissed. "I will be back." With that, he was gone.

And so, Vanessa stood there, in complete awe and shock. Here she was, in this giant laboratory, waiting for her unknown hero to come and to rescue her. But, she couldn't help but to wonder, was he really her hero, or her villain? She only knew she wasn't going to wait around to find out.

Looking around her, Vanessa quickly realized that she was trapped here. The windows loomed high above her head, and not only were they small, they had bars on them as well. She had tried the two doors, but they were locked, too. Her closest call had come when she had heard laughter in the distance.

Hiding immediately in the back of the room under one of the many tables, she heard two men enter the room. They spoke to each other in a jovial manner.

"It seems everything is going nicely."

"Indeed."

"I can just imagine the look on Fenton Hardy's face when he sees what his kids looked like right before they died!"

Vanessa gasped, and quickly covered her mouth.

There had been a pause. Shaking, Vanessa hoped that the men hadn't heard her.

"Did you hear something?"

The other man paused, and then laughed. "Nah, it's probably just your nerves. Who could get in here? The excitement of finally cracking the Hardy family has gotten to you! The walls closing in on them! Ingenious! I'm sort of disappointed I didn't come up with that myself!" More laughter.

Vanessa heard some rustling, as the men continued to chat. She heard a lot of things that hadn't made sense to her, but something was certain; Joe and Frank were here, and they were in grave danger. She didn't understand the reference to the walls, but she somehow knew that she had to get out of there to help them. After what seemed like an eternity, the men had left, and Vanessa could breathe more easily again.

And here she was. Looking around the room, Vanessa tried to look at the pictures again and see if she recognized anyone. Much to her shock and horror, mixed in among the pictures were photos of the Hardys. WHY were they there? Vanessa's head was spinning.

Then, softly, Vanessa could hear scratching noises at the door. Her face drained of color as she quickly realized that the men must have come back for her. They DID hear her gasp! Trying to look for a different hiding place, Vanessa realized there was none. Where could she go?! The noises at the door continued, as if someone was struggling to get in. In a panic, Vanessa dove behind the door. At least she could buy a few minutes that way; no one would think to look there.

At that moment, the door opened. Vanessa heard soft noises, although she dared not look to see her captors. In the distance, she thought she heard a soft "Oh, no" but she couldn't be sure. Well, fine. If they were going to have her, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

Summoning up every last bit of courage that she had, Vanessa slammed the door back and leapt blindly into the air in the direction of the noise. "UUUMMMPPPHH!!!" she heard loudly as she tackled person. As soon as she opened her eyes, Vanessa froze. She stared in horror.

Although the young girl didn't recognize her and looked absolutely terrified, Vanessa knew instantly that she was staring into to the eyes of Iola Morton.

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.