Hardy Detective Agency featuring Hardy Boys Fan Fiction

Joe Hardy practiced his ‘role’ as a hearing impaired person every day. His entire family helped by practicing with him and helping Joe stay ‘in character’. This worked especially well at mealtime.

The Monday before the Hardy men were to leave for Wyoming dawned warm and sunny. The Hardy kitchen was full of the morning noises of dishes rattling, bacon sizzling and pleasant conversation between family members.

Laura Hardy knew that Joe was practicing ‘not hearing’ on purpose. She was amazed at how well he was seemingly able to shut out all the sounds in the kitchen around him. Joe just ate his breakfast in silence, keeping his eyes, for the most part, focused on his plate of bacon and eggs. Mrs. Hardy and Gertrude Hardy, Fenton’s unmarried sister who lived with them, occasionally banged a pan or dropped a utensil, to see if the sound would distract the younger boy, but Joe’s concentration was undaunted by their efforts.

Fenton Hardy was privy to his wife and sister’s actions, and carefully watched Joe’s reaction. Joe’s lack of interest in his immediate environment brought a swell of pride to Mr. Hardy’s heart. He looked at Frank and nodded in Joe’s direction. Frank responded with a smile, nodding his head up and down in agreement. They were both thinking that Joe might just be able to pull this off.

Joe, however, was well aware of all the noise and activity going on around him. The hearing aids provided by Eric Meyer that he wore constantly helped to mute the sounds, but Joe had to force himself to ignore the noises. This was the one area that even Eric couldn’t help Joe with. Joe had to come up with his own plan.

Joe accomplished this feat by reciting mathematical equations, or by singing songs to himself. By focusing on what he was thinking, he could successfully block out what everyone else was doing.

Joe finished his breakfast and stood up, loudly clearing his throat. His parents, his brother and his aunt, all looked in Joe’s direction.

"I just wanted to say thanks," Joe grinned broadly, "I really appreciate all your help." He purposefully looked into each family member’s eyes.

"Your life may well depend on your ability to pull this off, Joe," Fenton stated seriously, "We want to do all we can to help you prepare and be ready."

* * *

"Daddy, why’d you fire the muckers?" Ryan Wagner inquired, riding his black stallion beside his father’s white Bay. "Ole Tad’s in a tizzy tryin’ to keep the stables clean."

"I was tired of hunting them down to do their jobs," Travis Wagner replied, reining his horse back toward the stables. "Tad will be glad to hear that the Sampson boy is coming back. Greene won’t come back, but I hired a deaf kid that’s moving here from New York State."

"Well that should keep that old Indian happy," Ryan chuckled, "When will Sampson be back?"

"Tomorrow," the elder Wagner answered, "and the new kid, Joe Fredricks, should be here next week."

* * *

‘Joe’s throwing up again,’ Frank thought, as he listened to the sound of his brother being sick in the bathroom they shared. They were packed and ready to go to the airport. Frank knew that Joe was afraid to go in a plane. Though he had flown back to Bayport from Wyoming after the plane crash, Joe had been given a sedative for that flight. There would be no sedative for this flight and Joe was a nervous wreck.

"Joe?" Frank called through the door of the bathroom softly, "It’s time to go." Frank heard the water running in the sink and knew Joe was trying to pull himself together before facing Frank or their father.

"Okay," Joe said moments later with false bravado, "Let’s hit the road!" Frank noticed that Joe’s eyes were red and his face was drawn and pale.

"Joe," Frank said softly, reaching over and touching Joe’s shoulder, "We’ll be fine. It’s not the same plane."

Joe knew Frank was trying to help. He smiled at his big brother, thankful that Frank was going with them this time.

"Thanks, Frank," Joe said, reaching his arm around Frank’s neck in a warm embrace, "Just keep reminding me, okay?"

"You got it," Frank responded.

The boys met their father at the foot of the front stairs. They exchanged hugs with their aunt and kissed their mother before following their dad to his car.

Upon entering the car, Mr. Hardy said, "Joe and Frank, from this point on, we are the Fredricks family. You’ve both studied the dossiers I prepared for this case, including all our cover information. Play your parts all the way to Wyoming. Once there, we’ll get a brief reprieve while we visit with Tanner, Maddie and Carl."

"Yes, sir," Joe answered, putting the hearing aids into both his ears.

"Understood," Frank agreed, giving his dad a thumbs-up and smiling encouragingly to his brother.

For once, it was easy to play his role as a deaf person, because it was taking all Joe’s concentration to keep his stomach from rebelling at the prospect of the flight before them.

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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.