Joe groaned – his head was pounding and he felt like he swallowed a bag full of cotton balls. He could feel someone leaning against him. He tried to move his hand but nothing happened. He squinted his eyes open, slowly moving his head, and caught the scent of strawberries and cream and smiled….Vanessa.

Vanessa!

Joe’s eyes flew open and his heart pounded in fear. He was in a straitjacket! So was Vanessa! Joe heard a soft groan coming from the other side of the padded room they were occupying, and saw the outline of a body lying on the floor. Whoever it was rolled over and faced Joe.

The Gray Man!

Arthur Gray slowly awoke – and when he opened his eyes he found himself staring at Joe Hardy. There was a pretty girl leaning against him. He looked at Joe again and saw the younger Hardy grinning at him.

“Not much of a vacation, huh?!”

“Why couldn’t I have been captured with Frank?” groaned the Gray Man.

*****

Frank ran back to the conductor. Callie watched as he sped past her, and she looked towards where he had come from, wondering where Joe and Vanessa were.

“Excuse me, sir…did you see my brother?” Frank had taken out his wallet and showed the man a photo of Joe with Vanessa.

“I remember them…had my picture taken with them. They sat towards the back, I think.”

“They’re not there!” exclaimed Frank.

The conductor scratched his head, a puzzled frown on his face. “Well…only thing I can think of…sometimes young folks get off when we go into the tunnel.”

“When do you leave again?” asked Frank.

“In about two minutes.”

Frank thanked the man and ran inside the gift shop to purchase two tickets.

“Frank, what’s wrong?!” Callie was getting scared as he took her arm and practically dragged her towards the train.

“Joe and Vanessa are missing! They weren’t on the train when it came back!”

“Maybe we just missed them?!”

Frank ran his hand through his hair, knowing he was going to have to tell her. There weren’t that many people on board, nonetheless, Frank moved closer and whispered in Callie’s ear. He explained about the Assassins and the Network and how Joe had seen a high ranking Network agent two days ago and now that agent was missing.

“So you think that something has happened to Joe? Do you think…the Assassins have anything to do with it?” Callie asked worriedly.

“Yeah, I do, Callie – these guys have been after Joe ever since Al-Rousasa died – they’ve always blamed my brother for his death.”

“But, Joe tried to save him!”

“The Assassins don’t see it that way,” said Frank quietly.

When the train stopped again inside the tunnel, Frank and Callie got off. Wishing that he had a better flashlight than the penlight he carried in his pocket, Frank – and Callie – began a careful search of the tunnel.

Two hours later a very frustrated Frank decided it was time to call Fenton.

*****

The Gray Man had managed to sit up, and Vanessa was now conscious. She was angry and scared about being in a straitjacket. Joe did his best to try and keep her calm. He wished that he could hold her – he knew if he could it would not only help calm Vanessa but him as well.

“So…how did you get here?” Joe stared hard at the Gray Man.

“I let myself trust someone,” replied Gray with some disgust.

Joe’s eyebrows shot up – he was filled with curiosity and wanted to ask what Gray meant but…a part of him felt sad for the Network agent. In the end, he didn’t have to pry – Vanessa did it for him.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Nothing…you wouldn’t understand,” he replied.

“Then help me to understand! Are you trying to say that because you trusted someone enough to care about them – this is why you’re here?!” Vanessa looked expectantly at the Gray Man.

“I think that’s exactly what he means,” said Joe as he glared at Gray. “Because if he does – then he would have to care about the innocent people who get hurt or killed…for the better good. Isn’t that right Gray? You have to make sacrifices for the better good?!”

“You may not like how I operate but I get the job done. The losses have been unfortunate but the outcome justified the means.”

Joe could feel Vanessa shaking with anger, and he knew how she felt. He was going to tell her not to bother shouting at Gray when he heard someone unlocking the door. He felt Vanessa tense, and bumped into her gently, hoping to reassure her.

Linda Green walked in, and she wasn’t alone. Joe recognized the man with the buzz cut. It seemed that the Gray Man recognized Buzz Cut too.

“Bruce!” growled the Gray Man.

“It’s nice to see you too, Gray.” Bruce laughed evilly. The man turned his attention towards Joe. He walked over to the young teen. “So this is the great Joe Hardy!” He knelt down and studied Joe closely. “You don’t look that special to me but you have managed to capture a few Assassins.”

“Cowards! He captured cowards!” seethed Linda.

Gray chuckled softly. His laughter grew louder, sounding almost maniacal. Linda and Bruce turned to glare at the Network agent, who finally controlled his hysterical laughter.

“You…should be…blaming…the…glass jaws…your…agents...have! Hardy’s…right…hook!” gasped Gray. “He hit them so hard...that he knocked out...the fake tooth!”

Linda glanced at Bruce who returned his attention to Joe. A slow smile crossed Joe’s face, and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he grinned widely at Bruce. Not liking the smirk-like grin, Bruce slapped Joe with the back of his hand. The Assassin’s hand felt like a rock but Joe didn’t make a sound. He slowly turned his head to face Bruce again. His blue eyes simmered with anger. Vanessa let out an angry shout, hurling a few choice words at the Assassin.

“Now is that any way for a lady to talk?” sneered Bruce. “You’ve got yourself a little wildcat there, Hardy.”

“Yeah, I know!” grinned Joe.

“She called those men who were captured ‘cowards’! I think you’re a coward! Because only a coward would hit a defenseless man!” shouted Vanessa.

Bruce clenched his jaw and raised his hand to strike Vanessa but he suddenly found himself falling. Joe had watched Bruce shift his body when Vanessa started speaking. This allowed him to raise his knees up, and when Bruce raised his hand Joe turned and kicked his legs out, hitting the Assassin hard on his left shoulder.

Stunned by the attack, Bruce didn’t move for a minute. He then quickly rolled up to his feet and made a move to grab Joe.

“Bruce, stop!” screamed Linda. “If the leader finds any marks on him…you’ll be dead!”

Bruce slowly backed away from Joe, his breathing rapid and his face red with anger. “Keep him sedated!” Bruce barked as he turned to leave the room. He paused at the door.

“Kill the girl.”

*****

Frank was glad that he and Callie were able to get back on the train. There was no way he could tell Fenton where he was. Getting back to the zoo was his best bet. He had given his father directions where to find the train, and now they stood outside waiting anxiously for Fenton.

“Is that the car?” asked Callie, pointing to a red SUV.

“Yeah, I think it is!” Frank waved down the vehicle.

Fenton parked the car at the curb. He and Laura got out and hurried over to Frank and Callie.

“I told your mother about you and Joe seeing Gray,” Fenton told Frank noticing his son’s worried expression upon seeing his mother there.

“What happened, Frank?” asked Laura.

“Joe and Vanessa are missing. They got on the miniature train and never came back. I have a bad feeling this has to do with the Gray Man. Dad…I think the Assassins are back.”

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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.