Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the Hardy Detective Agency

"You’ve been a naughty boy, Joseph. Killing the Chief of Police! Whatever will your dear daddy think?" came the sound of a distorted, mechanical voice. Cruel laughter followed. "As promised, I have the antidote in an envelope addressed to your father. Meet me at the Stardust Motel, room 23 in one hour. From there we will drive to the post office and mail the antidote together. I’m looking forward to meeting you face-to-face, Joseph. Don’t be late and don’t bring the police or your little friends who have been helping you." The phone clicked off.

* * *

"Son? Where did Joe go?" Fenton Hardy asked Frank, coming into the boy’s hospital room with Officer Con Riley. Frank looked at his father, then at Con.

"Is Joe in trouble?" Frank asked.

"Son, Chief Collig was murdered last night," Fenton answered gently, "Con needs to find Joe and talk to him about it. We think Joe may have... seen something."

"Oh, God," Frank said, closing his eyes. Fenton ran to his son’s side.

"Frank, what is it? Are you hurting somewhere?" Mr. Hardy asked frantically.

"No...no," Frank moaned, "He said to believe in him. Joe didn’t do it."

"No one is accusing Joe," Fenton began, casting a glance at Con Riley.

"Where was Joe going, Frank?" Riley asked carefully.

"He didn’t say," Frank felt a tear slid down his cheek. "I need to tell you both something. Joe’s being blackmailed. If he doesn’t do what they tell him to do, I won’t get the antidote."

"What are you talking about?" Fenton asked, pulling the chair closer to Frank’s bedside. Frank went on to explain about the poison he had ingested and letters he had found in Joe’s drawer. "Con, we’ve got to find Joe fast. If the Assassins are involved, Joe is in a lot more danger from them than from the police." Fenton added.

* * *

"The meeting is set for one o’clock at the motel," the Game Master said into the telephone. "I have everything ready for the boy’s arrival. He will be delivered to your hands before you can finish your quiche for lunch."

* * *

Gray got out of the car after pulling into a dark alley. A small rental car was parked at the curb. Gray handed Joe the keys to the Neon and instructed Joe to follow the Game Master’s orders. They would be following the tracer planted in the watch Joe was wearing.

Joe Hardy crammed his body into the little car and started it up. He didn’t like having to rely on Gray or the Network, but he didn’t have much choice.

"I could just drive away," the impetuous youth considered, trying to talk himself out of this suicide mission, "After all, Frank already has the antidote. This meeting is simply for the Network to nab the Game Master." But, Joe knew he owed the Gray Man for providing the antidote and, he also knew the Game Master had to be stopped.

* * *

"Hello Mrs. Hardy," Phil Cohen smiled at the pretty blond woman who answered his knock on the Hardy’s front door. "Is Joe here? Vanessa and I were supposed to meet him this morning." Vanessa Bender smiled at her boyfriend’s mother.

"Hello Phil, hello Vanessa," Mrs. Hardy responded, "Joe’s not here. He headed over to the hospital early this morning. Maybe you can catch him there."

"Thank you," Vanessa said, grabbing Phil’s arm, "We’ll do that!" The two teens jumped into Vanessa’s jeep. "Something’s wrong Phil! Joe would have called us if plans changed. Something’s very, very wrong!"

"Let’s pick up Callie and get to the hospital to see if we can find some answers," Phil suggested. Vanessa nodded and backed the jeep out of the driveway.

* * *

Joe Hardy parked the little Neon as close as he could to room 23 at the Stardust Motel. ‘Swanky place,’ Joe muttered sarcastically as he walked toward the seedy motel. Joe looked around for the Gray Man’s car, but didn’t see it anywhere. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door to room 23.

"Come in, Joseph," called a voice from within the room. Joe frowned. ‘I know that voice,’ the boy thought. He slowly opened the door, and then stepped inside the dingy room.

"Welcome, Joseph," said the voice from within the darkness. Joe turned to face the voice and his world began to spin. ‘No, it can’t be!’ he thought, his eyes rapidly adjusting to the dim light in the room.

"Why?" the boy asked, as he looked into the familiar blue eyes of the Game Master.

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Started: June 4, 2003

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors 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.