Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the Hardy Detective Agency - Presenting "South American Search & Rescue" by CQB

Sam Radley had been awake since before dawn. He tried to sleep on the church bench closest to Frank, in case the boy woke up. He kept praying that Frank had misinterpreted what he saw. Joe can’t be dead. Sam knew it would be impossible to console Frank and Sam couldn’t even imagine how Fenton and Laura would react.

Sam sat up and noticed Conner Bailey was already awake, staring toward the militia compound through the dust-covered stained glass window.

"Any activity?" Sam asked, walking to where Conner stood.

"Something is going on in there this morning," Conner stated, glancing at Sam, "There’s been a lot of screaming."

"You think it’s Fenton or Jack?" Sam asked, concern and fear clouding his handsome features.

"Honestly, no," Conner replied, shaking his head, "The voice sounds too young. I suspect it’s one of their own being reprimanded." He glanced over at the sleeping form of Frank Hardy. "Let’s take a walk before the kid wakes up. We need to have a new plan in case...well, in case Joe’s not with us any more." Sam Radley swallowed hard. He followed Conner out into the deserted street.

A short time later, Frank Hardy opened his eyes and thought he was in Heaven. Beautiful colors reflected off of the clouds. He quickly realized that what he had assumed were wispy clouds, were really swirls of dust as he began coughing. He sat up and took a better look at his surroundings. They were in an abandoned church. They had come into the deserted village right after dark. They had just settled when...

"Oh God!" Frank immediately felt a rush of hot tears stain his cheeks as he remembered the image of the fair-haired boy collapsing. He laid his head back against the seat. "Joe."

As the image unwillingly came to his mind again, it was different. Frank sat up straight. The boy he saw in his mind’s eye was wearing a yellow t-shirt. "It wasn’t Joe. Joe was dressed in a tattered, dirty white t-shirt."

Frank’s thoughts were suddenly put on hold as he heard noises outside the church door. He glanced around for Sam or Conner. Seeing neither, Frank rolled to the floor. He watched as two figures entered the building. ‘Might just be Conner and Sam.’ Frank thought, seeing only their military-style boots beneath the church pews. Then Frank’s nose recognized a familiar smell. He knew instantly that the two people in the church with him were definitely not Sam or Conner, because neither Sam nor Conner smoked cigarettes.

* * *

Joe Hardy had followed Jason Hladley out into the center of the compound for morning roll call. Both boys took their positions in the back of their section, near the ammunitions building.

During the night, after ‘lights-out’, Jason had quietly filled Joe in on how his Dad and Jack were doing, and where they were located and what was in store for them. He also told Joe about the notes and the key. Standing at attention, Joe shot a quick glance toward the prison huts, his sapphire eyes resting briefly on the hut that contained Fenton Hardy and Jack Wayne.

A wailing cry pierced the morning air, pulling Joe’s attention to the center of the courtyard. A dark-skinned boy had been stripped of his shirt and was being tied to a crossbeam. Joe turned toward Jason as he let out a quiet gasp.

"Who is that?" Joe whispered, close to Jason’s ear.

Jason swallowed back his emotions. "He was one of my patrol partners. His name is Diego Martinez." Joe recognized the name. This was the boy who had dropped the key that Jason gave to Mr. Hardy.

Diego’s crime was announced to all. He had lost a key belonging to General Santiago. His punishment would be 25 lashes with the whip and solitary confinement for 10 days. If he survived, he would be given a second chance to prove his allegiance to the ‘Sons of Fire’.

‘If he survives?’ Joe thought. His stomach was already giving him grief at what might happen to Diego, and he was not going to be able to help without blowing his cover.

As Diego’s ‘punishment’ began, Joe felt nauseated. He couldn’t just watch a person be beaten to death. His thoughts immediately went to the previous night. He had witnessed the murder of Jake Cotter. Joe felt the familiar rise of bile in his throat. He turned away from the center court and made it to the side of the building before becoming violently ill.

"Joe, hurry!" Jason anxiously said, putting his hand on Joe’s back, "If we’re caught out of formation, we’ll be up there with Diego!" Joe suddenly realized that infiltrating this compound was probably the worst idea he had ever come up with. How was he going to make it?

Joe stood upright and wiped his mouth off with the sleeve of his camo shirt. Just before moving back into formation, he looked toward his father’s prison cell. All thoughts of himself evaporated as he remembered why he was there. ‘I’ll get you out Dad! You and Jack will not die here!’

* * *

Sam Radley had a bad feeling. He thought he had seen someone go into the church. Frank Hardy was sleeping in there, helpless. He caught a glimpse of Conner Bailey as he made his way to the side entrance of the church.

As both men neared the building, it was eerily silent. Sam stood ready to open the front doors at Conner’s signal. Sam heard a sudden crash as Conner threw a stone through one of the windows as a distraction. Sam burst through the front door as Conner broke down the side door, both with weapons ready.

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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.