*** I just wanted to apologize to all my spelling mistakes and grammar. English is not my first language so this has been a challenge to say the least. I would also like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my story.***

Joe walked around New York until he couldn't feel his feet anymore. He had been to the city many times before, but everything looked different this time. Even the people looked different.

A young girl was standing at the corner wearing pink leather jacket and a short skirt, and there was no question about her occupation. Joe sent her a little smile and walked passed her as fast as he could without it being too obvious.

Joe found a dark alley behind one of the big buildings. There he could see homeless people just like himself standing in front of big garbage cans warming themselves from the fire that was coming from it.

"Can I join you in that fire?" Joe asked, looking at the people.

"Yes, of course. What's your name?" an elderly woman asked him.

"Joe."

"Welcome, Joe. I am Annie and that's Steve and Greg."

"Where are you from, Joe?" Steve asked him.

Steve was probably in his late thirties. He had red, shoulder -length hair and green eyes. He was holding a bottle of liquor, which he passed on to Joe.

"No, thank you. I don't drink."

"Have a sip; it will warm you up. This is a cold day, my friend."

Hearing that, Joe agreed and took a big sip from the bottle. He could feel the alcohol burning his throat, but it sent a heat wave through his body and that made him feel good.

"Thank you, Steve. That really works." They all laughed. "To answer your question, I am from Bayport. I ran away last night and came here."

They all gave him a sympathetic look but no one asked him why he had run away. Joe appreciated that because he didn't really want to go into that subject, mostly because he was beginning to realize how stupid he had been behaving in this whole situation. Still, wasn't ready to go back home.

"So what are you planning on doing in the city, Joe?" Annie asked him in her granny kind of voice.

"Hopefully, I will find work and maybe a place to stay. I really haven't thought that far yet; like I said, I just arrived last night."

"Work will not come easy. The unemployment rate here is pretty high at the moment. And if you are planning on staying undetected, getting into the system isn't a good idea," Steve said. "For myself it's not an option. A few years ago I robbed a convenience store, and there is an arrest out on me. I don't want to go to jail and spend the next ten years of my life behind bars, so I have to live on the street eating what other people throw away. You are welcome to stay with us if you want to; we can teach you the ropes on how to live life on the streets and not get killed or arrested."

Joe considered Steve's advice and his offer. For some strange reason what he said actually made sense. It would be hard enough for him to stay out of his father's radar but he feared the alternative. Staying with this people wasn't very attempting.

"So how do you make a living, then?" he asked, carefully.

"Well, we mostly steal. We don't beg money from people. We don't care to sit on a street corner asking for charity, but we will do what ever it takes to stay alive. But we don't hurt anyone. We only take from those who have too much anyway. Kind of like Robin Hood," Steve smiled.

Joe didn't see anything good about stealing, but if he were going to, he would prefer taking from those that could afford it. He had to stop himself. What was he thinking? Stealing. Was he out of his mind? Joe took another sip of Steve's alcohol and handed it back to him.

"Thank you all so much, but I think I will be on my way. I need to find a place to stay."

They all said their goodbyes and Joe left. Walking out of the alley he felt relieved and scared at the same time.

***

Con Riley agreed to put out a missing persons report on Joe even though he hadn't been missing for a whole three days. Fenton was grateful as he left Riley's office and headed back home to be with Laura and Frank.

Laura waited for Fenton to arrive back home, then started questioning him non-stop.

"What did Con say? Are they going to start looking for Joe right away? What if he's in New York? Are they going to talk to the police there and ask them to look for him, too?"

"Yes, dear. They are going to fax over a picture of him and look for him in the neighbourhood of Bayport, but finding him in New York, if he is there, is almost impossible. If he's living on the street they will probably never find him, unless he tries to get a job or seeks any official help; then, his name will appear as a runway and the police will be notified."

"Can't you call some of your friends there in the police force and ask them to help?" Laura was getting scared out of her mind. Her boy had been missing for only a day but already so much could have happened.

"Laura, New York is too big it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, we can't even be sure is he is in New York. We will just have to be patient and hope that he'll call or someone will spot him out. Just be patient, dear. He will turn up."

"But dad, isn't there anything more we can do, like go out there and look for him?" Frank asked.

"Don't be silly, Frank. You know that's crazy! We could walk the streets of New York for seven years constantly without ever running into him. No. I say we all stay at home and wait; there is no point for us to go running after him. He will come home when he is ready or when he sees that he can't make it on his own. New York streets are no place for a sweet boy like Joe."

"Just sit home and wait?" Frank couldn't believe what his father was saying. From the first moment he realized Joe was gone the thought that his father would go out and find him had kept a hope in his heart. Now his father was saying that he wasn't going to do anything.

"Yes, Frank, that's the best we can do." Fenton knew that he would not have his family's support in this, but he still had to pursue this. He wanted nothing more than to go out there, find Joe and bring him back, but he knew he couldn't.

"Dad." Frank's voice was shaking.

"Now listen to me son. Let's say I go out there now and I find Joe and bring him back home today. What's there to prevent him from running away tomorrow? Are we going to lock him in his room for the rest of his life?" Even though Frank had to admit his father had a point, he was still not willing to agree to it.

"We can talk to him. I can talk to him. Make him realize."

"Frank, the best thing to do is leave him alone. You know that." Fenton said but Frank stormed out of the house.

"Fenton why are you doing this?" Laura asked crying. Fenton put his arm around her but she pushed him away roughly. "I don't feel like hugging you right now." She said.

"Laura don't be like this." Fenton looked at his wife's terrified face. "Joe will be alright, he's a smart kid."

"He's a kid! And I don't believe you. You don't hesitate running around the world looking for other people, criminal's most of the time, but when it comes to your own son you're doing nothing!"

Fenton knew it wouldn't be easy getting his family to understand his intentions. When he had realized Joe had runaway his first thought was to find him and bring him home. Then he thought about what he had learned dealing with runaway's when he was in the police force. Most of the kid's that were brought home against their will only went crazy. Punished their parent's in other way's.

"Laura I'll try to explain…" Fenton begun.

"Oh Yes please do!"

"Please don't think for a moment I'm not scared for Joe. I am! I'm terrified but this is something he obviously has to go through. He's angry and he's punishing us. Let him do that. Let him decide on his own when he's ready to come home to us again. If he's forced to he will hold a grudge for us for the rest of our life's. When he does come home again, we'll be there for him."

"But he will be so hurt that we didn't try to look for him. He'll think we don't care." Laura said.

"But he will also realize that this isn't the way to deal with his problem's. If we go after him now he will win and he will use this way to deal with other issues. He will be running away from his problem's for the rest of his life instead of dealing with them."

"How can you be so sure?" Laura stood up from her chair and stared straight at her husband waiting for his answer.

"Because this happened to me when I was his age." Fenton replayed walking out of the room.

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 them without express permission of the authors.