Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - Let Freedom Ring

Joe sat down in a chair and covered his face with his hands. His stomach was in knots. Questions chased one another through his mind. Where was Frank? Was he injured, or worse? Were there other unknown culprits holding him prisoner? How could they decipher the meaning of this map? How much time did they have to save Frank? Was it already too late?

Matt broke the silence by asking, “Have you guys had anything to eat yet?” Both Joe and Mark shook their heads. “I thought not. Listen, it won’t do Frank any good to starve yourselves. Let’s go over to my place. I’ve got some venison stew in the freezer. We’ll get some food into you guys and talk this thing through. Maybe we can come up with some answers.”

The three friends piled into Matt’s cruiser yet again. In less than five minutes, they arrived at Matt’s modest frame house in Oakland. Mark watched Joe with growing concern--he seemed a million miles away.

“You guys relax in the living room for a few minutes while I get things ready,” Matt instructed. Joe sank onto a sofa, leaned back, and gazed at the ceiling. Mark surveyed the living room. Assorted pictures of Matt were displayed on the furniture--Matt with the governor of Maryland, with his softball team, being sworn in as the sheriff of Garrett County. One photo brought a brief moment of pain to Mark--it was a photo of Matt the day he graduated from college, with nine year old Mark and his parents.

Mark felt a hand on his shoulder. “I miss them, too, bud. Come on, let’s eat.” Silently Mark and Joe followed Matt into the kitchen.

“This is really good, Matt,” Mark observed.

“Yeah,” Joe added, “I’m sorry I can’t do it justice.”

“Let’s think this thing through,” Matt stated, pushing his plate back. “Parker said, ‘Map, shoe, accident.’”

Joe responded, “Actually, he said, ‘Accident’ twice, remember? He said, ‘Accident, map, shoe, accident.’ Why would he repeat the word ‘accident’? We know he had an accident!”

The three young men sat pondering at the table. Suddenly Mark sat bolt upright and slapped his hand to his forehead! “Of course!” he yelled. “Why didn’t I think of it sooner? Parker wasn’t talking about the accident he had! He was talking about the town, Accident! Matt, did you bring that map with you?”

“No, it’s back at the office.”

“Then we’ve got to get back there right away! That map could hold the key to where Frank is!” Matt, Mark, and Joe jumped to their feet and rushed outside to the cruiser. Rushing back to the station, they found the map in Matt’s desk where he had left it.

Matt handed the map to Mark. “This dot with the letter A next to it must be the town of Accident. This line must be one of the roads coming out of Accident. These must be crossroads, and this is the third one, leading to this X!”

“Which could be. . .” Matt started.

“Where Frank is!” Joe cried.

“But which road coming out of Accident?” Mark wondered.

“When most people draw maps, they usually put north at the top of the page. So if whoever drew this map did that. . .” Joe observed.

“Then this road is U.S. 219, the one that runs off the interstate!” finished Mark.

“We need to get there as fast as we can!” declared Matt. “I think you guys should follow me in your van. I’ll have the siren on, but be careful! Let’s go!”

Matt rushed outside and jumped into his cruiser, and the two boys were hot on his heels in Joe’s van. “Maybe you should let me drive, Joe,” Mark advised. “I’m more familiar with the area!”

“You got it, Mark!”

Matt streamed through the main streets of Oakland, his siren wailing, followed closely by Mark and Joe. They sped north on U.S. 219, other vehicles pulling aside as they went by.

Ten miles north of Oakland, another cruiser from the sheriff’s department joined the procession. “Matt must have radioed for assistance,” Mark reflected.

The vehicles continued to race northward. Joe’s van was sandwiched by two cruisers, their sirens screaming.

Before the vehicles reached Accident, Matt turned onto a gravel road. Alarmed, Joe yelled, “What’s Matt doing? We haven’t gotten to Accident yet!”

“Easy, bud. Remember, that map had the main road coming south out of Accident, if we read it right. Two crossroads, then a side road. Matt must have figured out that this is the road to take!”

“I hope he’s right! Frank’s life could depend on it!”

The three vehicles proceeded down the country road more slowly, finally reaching a dead end. Matt, Joe, Mark, and the extra officer all got out of their vehicles.

“Guys, this is Kevin Young, one of my best officers and best friends. Kev, this is Joe Hardy and Mark Noble. We’ve got a few cabins up here that are used only in the summer. Some of them are occupied, but most of them are vacant. We’ll split up and look around and see what we can find. Kev, you go that way with Mark, and I’ll stay with Joe. Keep in touch by radio. Remember, we don’t know what the situation is. Frank may be held prisoner by some unknown individuals, so be careful. We’ll meet back here in an hour if we don’t find him.”

Matt and Joe walked carefully down a dirt path through a wooded area for about five minutes. They came to a clearing and saw a cabin ahead. “Whatever happens, keep it quiet,” Matt whispered.

“Look!” Joe rasped, barely able to control himself. A young man with dark brown hair, stripped to his shorts, slumped in a chair, tied, blindfolded, and gagged. “It’s Frank!”

“OK, Joe, hang on!” Matt switched on his radio. “Kev, we’ve found him. We’re at cabin 70. We’ll wait till you get here to approach the cabin.”

The next five minutes were among the most difficult Joe Hardy had ever experienced. Seeing his brother a short distance away, wondering if he were still alive, being unable to rush right over to him, played havoc with his nerves.

Mark and Kevin finally joined the other two. Matt and Kevin drew their guns. “Keep me covered, Kev. I don’t think there’s anyone there, but we can’t be sure.”

Matt trotted over to the cabin, bent over. He tested the front door and found it locked. He peered into the windows, then shouted to the others, “The coast is clear!”

Joe and Mark bounded over to the cabin as quickly as they could. Matt had already produced a knife from his pocket and was sawing at the tape and ropes binding Frank.

Joe winced as he saw a foul, brown mess covering Frank’s body. “I’ve got some stuff I bought at the grocery still in the van,” Mark declared. “I’ll be right back with it!”

Joe removed Frank’s blindfold and gag. Gently he patted Frank’s face. “Champ, can you hear me? Frank, it’s Joe!”

“Should I radio for an ambulance, Matt?” Kevin asked.

“I think we can get him to the hospital quicker in the van, Kev. There’s a hose over there. Let’s see if we can wash some of this mess off him!”

Matt and Joe eased Frank onto the porch of the cabin. Just as Matt turned on the water, Mark raced back to the group with a paper bag.

“Here’s some liquid soap to help get that stuff off him!” Mark and Joe did the best they could to clean the unconscious Frank up.

Mark then pulled a towel and a bottle of antiseptic spray from the bag. “Man, you think of everything!” Joe marveled.

“Well, maybe not everything. Some of those bug bites look kind of nasty. I hope they’re not infected,” Mark replied.

“Matt, check this out,” Kevin said, picking up the bottle of pills.

“We better take those with us. Guys, are we ready to move?” Matt asked.

“Ready!” Joe answered firmly.

Matt and Mark helped pick up Frank, then Joe grabbed him in a fireman’s carry for the walk to the van.

“Do you need any help, Joe?” Mark asked.

“I’ve got him!”

The four young men hurried back to their vehicles with Frank in tow. Joe eased his brother into the van and buckled his seat belt. “You’ll drive, Mark?” Joe requested.

“Sure thing!”

“We’ll head to the hospital in Grantsville, Mark,” Matt instructed. “That’s closer than going all the way back to Oakland!”

“Gotcha, Matt!”

Soon the three vehicles were speeding along Route 219 again, sirens wailing.

Although Mark was trying to pay close attention to his driving, he couldn’t help but notice the deep concern and affection Joe was showing Frank. He draped his right arm around Frank’s shoulders and held up Frank’s head with his left hand. He kept talking to Frank the entire trip to the hospital. “You’re gonna be all right, Champ. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“We’ve been through so much, big brother,” Joe thought. “You can pull through this, too!”

The van and the two sheriff’s cruisers pulled into the emergency entrance of the hospital in Grantsville. Hospital personnel quickly wheeled a cart out to Joe’s van and eased Frank onto it. Joe and Mark followed them into the hospital to begin a vigil that was all too familiar to both Hardy brothers.

Matt and Kevin followed the two boys inside. Joe stuck out his hand to Matt. “How can I possibly thank you enough for finding my brother?”

“You just did,” Matt answered, gripping Joe’s hand tightly. Matt then turned to Mark. “Do you think maybe you can make your next visit a little less exciting?”

“Next visit, I sneak up on you and stick my finger in your back and tell you to hold it!” Mark retorted.

“That’s a good way to end up in a jail cell!” Matt grinned, then grabbed Mark in a bear hug.

“How did Frank seem on the trip here?” Matt asked Joe.

“His breathing was regular and his pulse was strong. I’ve seen Frank in worse shape. Thanks again, Matt.”

“Anytime. We’ll come back by to talk with Frank when he’s up to it. Kev, did you give that pill bottle to one of the doctors?”

“All taken care of, Matt.”

“Great. Later, guys!” The two peace officers left the emergency room.

Joe let out a deep sigh. Then he turned and put his hands on Mark’s shoulders. “You, my friend, are fantastic!”

“Who, me?” Mark grinned.

“Yeah, you! How would you like to join the detective firm Frank and I are going to start when we get out of college?”

“Who knows? I may need a job by then! My grandfather may disown me!”

“If he does, I’d welcome you into our family! And I’m sure my big brother would, too!” Both boys laughed. “Seriously, Mark, we both owe you big time. And Frank is going to want to tell you thanks himself.”

“Mr. Hardy?” Joe heard a voice behind him.

“Sir?”

“I’m Dr. Wiseman. We have your brother in a private room. We’re waiting for some test results on his blood, but you’re welcome to wait with him in his room. We decided not to do a stomach pump. It’s such an invasive procedure, and your brother doesn’t seem to have been given enough sleeping pills to warrant it. He’ll be asleep for a few more hours. We’ve got him on monitors.”

“Thank you, doctor. Mark?”

“Right behind you!”

The two boys followed the doctor to Frank’s room. Frank lay oblivious, still in his drug induced sleep.

“Another hospital vigil,” Joe observed ruefully.

“I guess you guys have had more than your share of those,” Mark reflected.

Joe gazed at his older brother, then pushed a lock of Frank’s hair back from his forehead. “It’s been rough sometimes. But even with all the bumps in the road, I wouldn’t trade being Frank Hardy’s brother for anything in the world.”

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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.