Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Brain Child

The Hardy brothers sat in stunned silence at Brandi’s revelation. As Frank regained his tongue and opened his mouth to speak, there was another knock at the door.

Brandi’s look of fear suddenly returned. “Don’t answer it!” she gasped. “It’s them!”

Joe and Frank looked at each other. Then as one they stood up and moved quietly into the hall. Frank silently slid open the drawer of the hall table and picked up the handgun that was laying there. He clicked off the safety and nodded to Joe who was already at the front door. Joe nodded back and flung open the door.

Standing at the door with his fist raised to knock again, was the pizza delivery boy. He looked surprised for a moment and then regained his composure and said to Joe, “Hi. I have your delivery here.” The deliverer looked at Frank who now had the gun hidden behind his back, nodded, and said, “Good evening.” Frank nodded back as Joe paid the boy and accepted the pizza.

As Joe closed the door, he turned to Frank and asked with an impish grin on his face, “Pizza anyone?”

Frank relaxed and returned the gun to the drawer. “Good thing I’m not the ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ type, huh?” he said with an answering grin.

“True,” Joe replied as he carried the pizza into the living room. The relief in Brandi’s eyes was evident as she saw the pizza. Frank walked to the kitchen and returned with some paper plates, napkins, and cans of soda.

As Frank placed slices of pizza on plates and handed them out, he said to Brandi, “Go ahead and finish your story. What happened after you saw the contents of the envelope?”

Brandi bit into the piece of pizza that Frank gave her and said, “I realized that something was terribly wrong. I went to my computer and started searching online for more information about the kidnapping. I had only been at it for a few minutes when the door to my room opened and several guards came in and without a word unhooked my computer and took it. As they left, they locked the door to my room from the outside.”

“They were obviously monitoring your online activity,” Frank stated.

“Apparently,” Brandi agreed. She continued, “At that point my suspicions were confirmed. I knew I had to get away. I was in luck, the boy that brought me my dinner was one of the kitchen staff that I had befriended. He agreed to help me escape. The next morning when he brought me my breakfast, he also gave the guard a cup of coffee that contained a powerful sedative. Once the guard was unconscious, he gave me an extra kitchen uniform and helped me sneak down to the kitchen. I was able to escape the grounds by hiding in the back of a delivery truck from the bakery.”

“I find this all hard to believe,” Frank said. “Mom and Dad never said anything about us having a sister.”

As Brandi opened her mouth to reply, another knock sounded at the door and the look of fear instantly returned to her face.

“It’s like Grand Central Station around here,” Joe muttered to Frank as they once again crept into the hall.

Frank nodded in agreement as he once again removed the handgun from its drawer. He nodded to Joe and once again Joe threw the door open. Standing outside, looking flustered, was the Hardys’ friend, Chet Morton. Joe grabbed his arm and pulled him into the apartment, quickly shutting the door behind him.

Chet saw the gun in Frank’s hand and his eyes widened. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

“That’s a good question,” Joe replied ruefully as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair. “We’re trying to figure that out ourselves.”

As the brothers led the way back into the living room, they quickly summarized what Brandi had told them so far. Chet’s astonishment grew at each part of the story. As they settled back in the living room, he said, “This is amazing! I didn’t know that you guys had a sister!”

“Neither did we,” Joe said wryly as he introduced Chet to Brandi.

“Nice to meet you,” Chet said. “I can see the family resemblance.”

Joe snapped his fingers. “That’s it!” he exclaimed. “I knew she looked familiar! She looks like an older, female version of you, Frank!”

“She does,” Chet agreed.

Frank studied Brandi’s features and had to agree. “I’m still skeptical though,” he said. “Do you have the contents of the envelope with you?”

“Of course,” Brandi answered. She pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Frank. Frank studied the birth certificate and the paper with the names and addresses on it and then turned his attention to the newspaper article.

“Read it out loud,” Chet suggested.

Frank agreed. “It’s not very long,” he said. “Here goes.

‘The two year old daughter of New York City Police Detective Fenton Hardy disappeared yesterday. The disappearance has the police baffled. Brandi Hardy was playing in the living room while her mother, Laura Hardy, was working in the kitchen. When Mrs. Hardy went to check on Brandi, she discovered that the child was gone. A city-wide manhunt has ensued for the child. At this time, no ransom demand has been made. If anyone has seen the child or has any information regarding her whereabouts, they are requested to notify the police immediately.’”

Frank put the article back into the envelope. “That’s all it says,” he stated.

“Wow,” Chet said.

“Yeah,” Joe agreed.

“I’m calling Dad,” Frank said as he reached for the phone. He punched in the numbers for Fenton Hardy’s cell phone.

Mr. Hardy answered on the second ring. “What’s going on?” Fenton asked after the two had greeted each other.

“It’s complicated,” Frank replied. “I think you and Mom need to get here as soon as possible.”

“I’m pretty busy on this case…” Mr. Hardy, the world-famous private investigator, began.

“Dad,” Frank interrupted, “this is more important.”

Something in Frank’s voice stopped Mr. Hardy’s protests. “Ok,” he agreed. “I’ll have Jack fly us out immediately.” Jack Wayne was Fenton Hardy’s private pilot when his cases required one.

Frank ended the call and turned his attention back to the others, who were watching him intently. “They’re on their way,” he told them. “Now,” he addressed Brandi. “Who is the ‘them’ that you’re so scared of?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Since my escape, I’ve been on my way here. A few weeks ago, an envelope was left for me at the hotel where I was staying.”

“What was in it?” Chet asked eagerly.

“Pictures,” she answered. “They were pictures of Felipe, the kitchen helper that helped me escape. Or rather, they were pictures of his body. He was dead. In addition, it was obvious that they had done terrible things to him before he died.” She shuddered at the memory. “Since I got the envelope, I’ve had the feeling that I’m being followed. I’ve caught glimpses of people that look a lot like the guards from the house. A few nights ago another envelope was delivered to my hotel. Once again it was full of pictures, only this time they were pictures of me. They had been taken over the past few weeks. It was like they were saying, ‘You can’t escape; we know where you are.’ The next night I was returning to my room after eating dinner and I noticed the door was slightly ajar. I was going to go in when I heard a noise inside the dark room. I turned around and ran. I heard someone chasing me but I managed to elude him.” She looked scared just repeating the story.

“Why did you come here instead of our parents’ house?” Joe challenged.

“I figured that it would be harder for my pursuers to find me in New York City than in a small town like Bayport.”

Joe was forced to agree with Brandi’s logic.

“So what are you going to do now?” Chet wanted to know.

“Well,” Frank replied, “we’re gonna wait for Mom and Dad to get here and then we’ll go from there.”

At that moment there was yet another knock on the apartment door. Frank and Joe looked at each other, and the look in their eyes clearly said, “What now?” Frank pulled the gun out again and Joe opened the door.

Standing at the door were two men wearing black suits. Joe could easily see the tell-tale bulge of shoulder holsters under the men’s jackets. The one in front gave an oily grin and spoke. “Hi, I’m Agent Smith and this is Agent Anderson. We’re with the FBI.” He flashed a badge at them and continued. “We’re looking for this woman.” He showed Joe a photograph.

Joe looked at the photo and was not surprised to see that it was a picture of Brandi. Keeping a straight face, he replied, “No, I’ve never seen her before.”

The man’s face stiffened and he said, “Then you won’t mind if we search the apartment,” as he took a step forward.

“May I see the search warrant, please?” Joe asked.

The man drew his gun from his holster and pointed it at Joe’s head. “Let us in,” he ordered.

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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.