Agent Anderson had set up a temporary office in Fenton’s bedroom; Laura was now rooming with Callie. Anderson was on the phone when Fenton came rushing in. The Network agent quickly ended his call, turning his full attention to Mr. Hardy.

“What’s wrong – did something happen?”

“I’m not sure – I went to the police station to check on any suspicious reports….Two days ago two men stopped a Metro bus and beat the bus driver. Witnesses report that two teens – a boy and a girl – and an older man were then forced to leave with the two men,” Fenton said in one breath.

“Are you sure?!” Agent Anderson held in his anger.

“Very, I made a copy of the report.”

“I don’t recall seeing this in a news report?” Anderson began rifling through some files.

“It wasn’t – it got pushed aside when an off-duty police officer was shot and killed trying to stop a botched robbery.” Fenton raked his hand through his hair in frustration.

Anderson threw the files to the floor. He started pacing the room, a grim expression on his face. “I was hoping that Gray had taken your son and the girl underground.” He paused long enough to take the copied police report from Fenton. “The bus that was pulled over – its route takes it to the state hospital.”

“But they escaped from the hospital!” Fenton reminded Anderson.

“True but they also could have been recaptured. If that’s so – they’re not here. We need to go out of the city limits to search for them.”

As Agent Anderson got on the phone to command a few agents to expand their search, Fenton hoped that Joe, Vanessa and Arthur Gray would be found in time…and alive.

Frank had been with Fenton when he found out about the attack on the bus driver. Had Joe, Vanessa and Gray been recaptured? If so, were they still in San Antonio or had the Assassins taken them somewhere else? Frank glanced over at his mother, who appeared to be calm but the slight tremors in her hand said otherwise. Laura had ordered up room service and was sipping iced tea. No one had eaten very much.

“Frank, why don’t you and Callie go out and get a little sun?”

“Why don’t you come with us, Mom?”

With a sad smile, Laura shook her head. “I’m going to rest a bit – don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine.”

Callie, who had been sitting with Mrs. Hardy, got up, walking over to Frank. She took his hand and gave it a gentle pull. “Come on, Frank – I think your Mom wants to be alone.”

Reluctantly getting to his feet, Frank let Callie lead him out of the room. They walked silently to the elevators; an elderly couple was just getting off. Callie smiled at them as she and Frank entered the elevator, and she pressed for the lobby. Once the doors closed, she turned to give Frank a hug. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes. He felt Callie squeeze him a little tighter. They held each other until they reached the lobby.

Not wanting to let Callie go, Frank kept his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the lobby and out of the hotel. The young couple walked aimlessly down the sidewalk. They soon ended up at the Alamo, where they sat down in the large gazebo.

“Mom told me that sometimes they have bands play here – barbershop quartets or jazz bands.”

Callie knew that Frank wasn’t expecting a reply so she sat quietly. She turned to look at him when he pulled away. Frank faced Callie and took her hands in his. He gave her a small smile. “I wish things hadn’t turned out the way they did but…I just wanted to say that…I’m really glad you’re here with me.”

Frank leaned close and gave Callie a soft kiss, and for a few minutes they were just two teenagers enjoying each other’s company.

Two men stood across the street from the gazebo. They appeared to be taking in the sights but in reality they were watching the young couple sitting in the gazebo. Both men were in their twenties; the first was tall with dark hair and eyes, the second was several inches shorter and had reddish-brown hair and green eyes. The short man turned to his partner and with a slight nod he started to approach the gazebo.

“Do you want to take a tour of the Alamo? It might be cooler inside.” Frank brushed an annoying gnat away.

“Actually, I’d like to try a snow cone.” Callie pointed out the vendor to Frank as she stood up.

“That sounds good and maybe we could…”

“Excuse me – I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt,” smiled the young man with reddish-brown hair. “Could you spare some change?”

When Frank became aware of the young man, he automatically stepped in front of Callie. He quickly took in the man’s appearance – his clothes appeared to be old and worn but as Frank’s gaze went to the man’s shoes he noticed that they were an expensive name brand of running shoes. There was something about this man that put Frank on alert.

“No, I’m sorry I don’t.” Taking hold of Callie’s hand, Frank moved to side-step around the young man.

Signaling to his partner, the dark haired man ran across the street and was soon by Frank and Callie’s side.

“Hi, my name’s Jim and that’s my friend, Eric. We were wondering if you could spare some change so we can get something to eat.”

Like his partner, Jim was dressed in old worn clothes, but once again Frank noticed that his shoes were new and expensive. He was about to tell Jim that he didn’t have any spare change when Callie spoke up.

“If you can afford to buy those shoes I think you can buy your own lunch!”

Eric smiled at Jim before turning his attention to Frank and Callie. “Guess you got us there.”

Both men made to rush Frank.

“Run Callie!” yelled Frank as he sucker-punched Eric.

Callie ran over to the vendor. “Help – those men are trying to rob my boyfriend!”

The male vendor dropped the change in his hand and ran along with Callie – his customer also left to help. After Frank hit Eric, it took Jim a minute to react. He grabbed Frank’s arm and tried to twist it back. Eric quickly recovered from Frank’s blow, and with a growl he pulled his arm back to hit Frank. Before he could, someone had taken hold of his arm, Eric turned to find himself staring into an angry face.

“I wouldn’t do that, son,” said the muscular man holding him.

The vendor pulled Jim away from Frank, holding onto the attacker with his arms around his chest. “You have a cell phone so you can call the police?” he asked.

Suddenly Jim’s body went limp; the surprised vendor gently laid him on the ground. The muscular man let out a gasp as Eric collapsed as well; he placed two fingers the young man’s neck.

“He’s dead! How could he – I didn’t even touch him!”

Frank stared grimly down at the two men – Assassins. He wasn’t sure how to explain what happened. Instead he asked the vendor to dial 911 and then he called Fenton.

*****

The town Gray drove into was so small it didn’t have a local sheriff. A county sheriff came into the town once a day – they had just missed him by five minutes. There was a diner with a payphone in the back. Joe found some change in his pocket and ordered a soda for Vanessa. They sat in the back while Gray made his call to the Network.

Joe looked up as Gray sat down across from him, an expected expression on his face. “Well, were you able to get hold of them?” he asked.

“Yes and the good news is – they’ll be here in ten hours.”

Checking his pockets, the Gray Man found that he had three dollars – enough to buy a cup of coffee and a drink for Joe. Feeling more relaxed Joe and Vanessa decided to explore the small town while Gray waited in the diner. They planned to meet back in a few hours.

Walking hand in hand, Joe and Vanessa strolled down Main Street looking into the windows of the different shops. They found a record store and walked in. Vanessa let out a squeal of delight when she saw that the store sold nothing but LP’s and singles. The teens became so engrossed exploring the store they didn’t notice when several vehicles came screeching to a halt in the middle of town.

The Gray Man was about to drink his third cup of coffee when he saw the cars. At first he thought the Network had made record time in coming to rescue them. Then he saw Bruce get out of one of the cars and walk towards the diner. He stayed in his seat as the Assassin walked in. It didn’t take long for Bruce to spot Arthur Gray.

“Where’s the Hardy brat?”

Gray calmly took a sip of his coffee. “I have no idea – we parted ways.”

Bruce smirked then turned to one of his men. “Turn this town upside down until you find him.”

The bell above the entrance door rang, causing Joe to look up. When he saw the two men with the scruffy beards he instinctively felt something bad was going to happen. He glanced out the window and noticed a few more men walking the streets. Joe turned and found Vanessa at the other end of the store talking to the young store clerk.

“There he is!” said one of the men pointing at Joe. Vanessa glanced up, and the clerk let out a gasp when the two men ran towards the blonde teen.

Using one of the records like a Frisbee, Joe threw it at one of the assailant’s head.

“Get out of here!” he yelled to Vanessa and the clerk.

She felt the clerk grab her arm but Vanessa didn’t want to leave Joe. He turned to look at her, his eyes pleading for her to leave. The expression on his face told her everything: he couldn’t lose her to the Assassins. Vanessa let the clerk take her into the back room as she watched Joe being captured.

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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.