"Fenton? Fenton, you okay? Can you hear me?" Jack knelt beside his friend, concern shading his voice as he attempted to rouse Mr. Hardy. To his alarm, he could see the older man had a fast-rising goose egg on the side of his head. It’s the size of a – a golf ball! Jack thought, feeling a tiny bubble of hysterical laughter rising inside. But he sobered quickly; that lump was perilously close to Fenton’s temple, and that, and the fact that he wasn’t responding to Jack’s importuning, was frightening! Again, Jack glanced up at the sky, and the lowering clouds. DON’T rain! he implored them. Hold off until later! Don’t you dare rain now!

Michael Ranson dropped to his knees on Fenton’s other side, looking as worried as Jack did. "It happened because of me – he got hurt pushing me out of the way!" he lamented, then looked up as Rudolfo pulled a cell phone from his pocket and started punching buttons. "Where the H-E-double toothpicks did those golf balls come from?" he demanded hotly.

"I don’t know, Mr. Ranson—" Rudolfo paused in his summoning of help to shake his head. "—I don’t know. Don’t move him, please; we’ll get the EMT’s here as quickly as possible."

"You don’t need to tell me not to move him," Ranson grumbled quietly, sharing a look of mutual irritation with Jack Wayne. "Did you see where they came from, Wayne?"

"No," Jack admitted, "I just saw them coming down!"

"From that direction," Pete, the other caddy volunteered, pointing to the right, towards the tree line. "But I didn’t see a specific place, just that general direction."

A groan from Fenton distracted Michael and Jack from their discussion, and they saw the older man’s eyes blink open. "Wh-what the…?" He started to push himself up.

"NO! Stay still, Mr. Hardy, please." Michael’s hand was firm, pushing down on Fenton’s shoulder. "You need to lie still, help’s on the way. Don’t try to move around yet, not until the paramedics say you can."

"He’s right, Fenton," Jack agreed. "You got hit in the head with a golf ball," he explained carefully, trying to abate the confusion he saw in his friend’s eyes, "and you should stay quiet."

"But…I’m…okay – really." Again, Fenton attempted to raise himself from the ground.

This time, Jack’s hand joined Michael’s in preventing the movement. "Stay put!" The chastisement came in a duet from both young men.

"Stand back, get out of the way, back!" It seemed like it had taken forever, but only eight minutes had elapsed, Jack noted, looking at his watch, and now professional help had arrived – in the form of three firemen! No, two paramedics and one fireman….Fire…fighter.

The medics were male, but the third member of the group was female, definitely female. She firmly ushered Rudolfo and Pete back, as her partners moved to attend to Mr. Hardy, and Michael and Jack rose, too. Jack stepped back, to get out of the way – and to get a better look at this woman!

She was dark-haired, tall and slender in her black uniform pants and shirt. A ball cap rested on her head, and a long pony-tail of hair cascaded down her back, stuck through the hoop of the cap. Blue streaks gleamed in the dark tresses, glowing in the muted sunlight. He saw a name badge on her shirt: Tanner, D.

Beautiful….She’s absolutely…wow! Not too sure about the blue locks, but…beautiful. Jack gulped dryly, trying not to stare too openly. Probably taken, too….Wow. Total knockout. He moved slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of the woman’s left hand, looking for the sight of a wedding band, or a diamond ring.

She glanced up at his movement, and smiled reassuringly at him, her huge dark eyes warm. "Don’t worry. I’m sure he’ll be okay," she murmured, "and these guys are tops." She gestured towards the two paramedics, who were doing all the usual things with penlights, blood-pressure cuffs, and insistent questions.

Wow…what a good-looking guy! He looks so worried – wonder if he’s a friend, or a relative? Surprisingly, she felt her heart begin to beat faster, in an unsettling rhythm, as the young man’s eyes met hers. He’s staring so…but face it, girl, you want to stare right back! Wonder who he is – wonder if he’s married, or has a girlfriend – or some sort of significant other? Surely he must; no one who looks like that could stay unattached, could they? She tilted her head a little, looking for the glint of a ring. Not that it would matter – nobody wants to bother trying to date someone in my position…. She listened briefly as the medics talked to the victim. Hardy – is that Fenton Hardy!? Frank’s father – wow, can you imagine that? Of all people I never thought I’d be treating on a golf course for a freak accident…Fenton Hardy tops the list! She glanced once more in the direction of the tall young man with the worried expression – and immediately dropped her gaze, when her eyes met his.

Jack sighed to himself. Jeez, look at those eyes…a man could drown in ‘em…. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a date. All my time’s taken up with the business – or with April! I love April dearly, but doggone it, my baby sister’s got more of a social life than I do!

"Mr. Hardy, we’d like you to try sitting up now." Paul Rodriguez, the head medic, requested after a tedious time.

Grumbling, Fenton did so, albeit very shakily. "I’ve been trying to tell you I could sit up," he muttered. One of the medics handed him an instant-ice pack, which he gingerly pressed against the bump on his head.

"We think it would be a good idea if we took you over to the hospital for some x-rays; you could have a concussion, or worse," Rodriguez suggested, but Fenton shook his head, then flinched, evidently regretting it.

"No, no, I’ll be fine. I just want to go home."

"Fenton, it would be better if you let them take you to the hospital—" "I think you ought to get that bump checked out, Mr. Hardy—"

Jack and Michael both spoke at the same time, then grinned at each other in shared amusement. But their protests went unheeded, Fenton refused to consider the hospital.

"All right," the second medic said dubiously, "but you shouldn’t try driving for the rest of the day. And if you feel dizzy or nauseated, have someone get you to the hospital right away. And I recommend you see your doctor tomorrow."

"I will if I need to," Fenton grumped, "but I won’t need to." He scrambled to his feet, then swayed a little. Jack’s quick hand on his elbow propped him up momentarily, until he could stand on his own. He looked around at the golf-ball-spattered ground. "This is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of."

The medics set about packing up their equipment, and the beautiful dark-haired firefighter who was evidently their escort, waited patiently for them to finish. Again, she smiled encouragingly at Fenton, and then turned the battery of her dark eyes on Jack once more. At last, the three firefighters departed, marching across the finely-trimmed turf.

Jack’s gaze remained locked on ‘Tanner, D.’ as he watched her walk away. I wonder if I’ll ever see her again? Bayport’s not that big a place – surely I might? I could call the fire stations, and ask for a ‘D. Tanner.’ But would I dare do it?

"Jack…" Fenton paused, waiting for the pilot’s attention to focus on him. "Could you drive me home, since I’m not supposed to get behind the wheel? I’ll come back tomorrow and pick up my car."

Jack was about to agree, when Pete-the-caddy spoke up. "Mr. Hardy, I’ll be glad to drive your car home – it’s the least we can do!"

Rudolfo nodded emphatically. "And I’ll follow Pete, and bring him back to the club. He’s right; it’s the least the club can do, after this incident!"

Fenton nodded acquiescence. "That would be fine." He looked over at Michael Ranson, standing darkly and grimly silent, and looking over the course. "Michael, I apologize for spoiling our golf game."

Ranson shook his head decisively. "Mr. Hardy – Fenton – if you hadn’t done what you did, I’d be the one with the knot on my head. I owe you – big time!"

The caddies hurried off, carrying all the clubs. Fenton, Jack and Michael slowly began to make their way to the clubhouse, pausing every now and then for Fenton to rest. Jack looked at Michael Ranson speculatively a time or two, trying to recall that strange moment right after the golf balls landed…and later, when Ranson had stood staring around the course, looking hard at the trees and the bushes. One hand curled slightly, clenching just a little bit….was he really reaching for a gun that wasn’t there? Or was it just my imagination?

*****

"MY PURSE!" Erica’s shriek echoed and resounded through the mall. She stood, numb with shock, as the hooded bandit lunged past her and took off down the mall, running full-out towards the escalators. He shoved past the people who were already on it, and leaped down the moving steps, heading for the lower level of the mall.

Now Erica moved, and moved fast, with surprising determination. She ran after the thief, screaming "Stop! It’s mine! Stop!" and Laura tore after her, while Andrea looked wildly around for anyone in an official capacity – namely, a mall security guard! Seeing none, she popped her head into the robotic toys store and yelped a command:

"Call security – tell them that a woman’s purse was just snatched, and the thief headed for the lower floor!" Andrea spun about and darted in pursuit of Erica and Laura. She wasn’t sure what she could do to help, being this far behind, but she knew one thing: she wasn’t going to be left out!

Guess I was quicker than I realized, Andrea thought, as she ran down the mall, for ahead of her, she saw Erica leap onto the escalator, and Laura follow. Erica runs pretty well, for all she’s wearing two-inch heels! Andrea chuckled to herself, and was grateful that she and Laura had both opted for pants and casual shoes! She shoved past startled shoppers, muttering ‘excuse me…pardon me…’ again and again, and flung herself onto the escalator.

When she reached the bottom, she looked about, wondering which way the thief and/or his pursuers had gone. Almost immediately, she saw them – all three of them – and galloped towards what was suddenly developing into a major riot!

The hooded thief had leaped onto a long wooden bench in the middle of the mall walkway, and lightly ran its length, undeterred by pursuit. When he reached the end of his elevated run, he suddenly lofted into the air in a dramatic, acrobatic flip, over the heads of the astounded shoppers blocking his path! Screams and gasps erupted from the onlookers, and a small smattering of applause. Erica and Laura fell further behind, blocked by the crowd of people.

Andrea stared in disbelief; it looked like something from a martial arts film, or something she herself might have dreamed up for computer animation! She saw him land, gossamer-light, and immediately start running again, straight for the nearest exit from the mall! Now Laura and Erica were catching up again – and then, to Andrea’s dismay, she glimpsed two more masked figures, also dressed in black, surge out of a store, and take off after the two women! Andrea, struggling through the crowd, let go a scream louder than she’d ever thought she could manage.

"Laura! Look out for the other ones!"

Either Erica and Laura didn’t hear her warning cry, or they were not about to be deterred from their chase, for neither woman halted, or even looked around. Their first hint of trouble came when they were seized from behind, and pushed towards the exit doors. Erica screamed piercingly, struggling futilely with her captor.

Laura stopped walking, not letting them just take her, forcing her captor to drag her forcibly along. After the first shock, the self-defense lessons taught and repeated again and again by Fenton kicked into her memory: Laura set her weight firmly and then stamped down, as hard as she could, on the man’s instep! He let out an anguished cry, and his grasp on her arms loosened. She spun in the lax grip, and brought her knee up, with all her strength – right where it counted.

With a scream of agony, the man doubled over, and curled onto the floor. Laura didn’t waste time seeing what became of him, she whirled again and sped towards the door, where Erica was being dragged outside and shoved toward a blue-toned van parked in the loading zone.

"Let her go!" Laura shrieked, and flung herself against the smaller of the two thugs, flailing against his back with her fists, hoping that she might at least slow things down. The wail of approaching sirens filled the air, and abruptly several men in the brown garb of mall security converged on the struggling group.

The two remaining masked men kept tugging Erica towards the van, but her struggles slowed them down, as did Laura’s assault from the rear. Laura snatched at Erica’s purse, and managed to wrest it from the first thief’s hands. He snarled something incoherent, and grabbed at it, but she leaped backwards, clutching it protectively against her.

"Aw, let it go!" one of the men shouted. He shoved Erica to the sidewalk and took off for the van, followed by his partner. Faster than should have been possible, the motor fired, and the vehicle sped off down the street. Erica huddled there, shaken and sobbing, as the security guards poured past, in vain pursuit of the fleeing van.

"Erica! Honey, are you all right?" Laura dropped to her knees beside the younger woman, and put her arms about her. Somewhere in the crowd swirling around her, she heard Andrea saying something, but she didn’t catch what it was. She concentrated on holding Erica against her, gently rocking and soothing the hysterical girl. "Shhh…it’s all right now – it’s all right…you’re safe….It’s all right, Erica, it’s all right…."

"They – they said – it was s-so s-scary…." Erica gasped, gulped and caught her breath. "They – said – they were – g-g-going t-to t-take me—" She shivered convulsively, and Laura started the soothing murmurs again. After a moment, Erica swallowed, and continued: "They were…going to take me…to make sure…M-Michael didn’t n-nose around wh-where he wasn’t wanted!"

"Where Michael wasn’t wanted?" Laura queried sharply.

"I – I d-don’t understand….Michael isn’t…isn’t nosing around anywhere!" Erica suddenly began to sob again, and buried her head against Laura’s shoulder.

The police arrived, and converged on them. Andrea hovered, as Laura and Erica were helped to seats on one of the outside benches, and took a turn comforting Erica as Laura gave her statement to one of the officers. Then it was Erica’s turn…but as she was beginning her explanation, the man whom Laura had kicked was hauled out of the building and escorted towards the waiting squad car. As he was taken past, however, he glared down at Erica and Laura, and said in a malevolent hiss: