Joe was asleep when he heard someone pounding on the front door. Blurrily, he raised his head and looked at the time, surprised to see that he’d been asleep for over an hour.  

I must have been more tired than I’d realized, he thought as he yawned and pulled himself up out of the bed. Joe had finally come to the conclusion that he needed to sit down and have an important talk with his parents. He still had too many doubts about their sincerity and his place in their family – his trust was still wounded by his father’s betrayal that day in the hospital.  

Fenton had let William go.  

Joe had no doubts about Frank. He knew where he stood with his older brother, but he still had some anxieties with their parents. And before he could go along with this plan to send him to a safe-house, he needed to know. His heart needed to know.  

“I’m coming already,” he grumbled, as whoever it was continued to pound on the front door.  Opening the door he was surprised to see a large teen of around his age and height standing there…wearing a Mr. Pizza’s uniform??  

The teen glanced around nervously even as he asked, “Are you Joe Hardy?” Although he already knew the answer – it was pretty obvious.  

“Yes,” Joe said, wondering what the kid wanted.  “Can I help you with something?”  

“Actually, yeah,” Doug said, glancing around nervously again – he actually wasn’t that nervous but he felt it would help in this ruse, “but not here. Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”  

His curiosity aroused, Joe stepped back from the front door and invited him in. “Come inside. We can talk here.”  

Nodding with relief, Doug went into the house and waited for Joe to close the door.  

The blond teen turned to him and waited expectantly, and Doug shifted on his feet and then glanced up into Joe’s face. It was unnerving him more than he thought to look at William’s double but know this was not William.  It was downright eerie, actually.  

“Um…” Doug started, and then glanced around again, “You’re sure its okay to talk here—?”  

Joe cut him off, his curiosity turning to anxiety as he began to get a very bad feeling about this.  “What do you want?”  

Doug fumbled in his pocket and then pulled out a piece of paper. “I have a message for you.”  

Joe reached for the paper, and that was what the other boy was waiting for. Grabbing the blond teen by his wrist, Doug quickly twisted it around so that he was now standing behind Joe, pinning his arm painfully behind his back.  

“W-what… do you want?” Joe managed to gasp through the pain, as he struggled futilely with the larger boy. But it was no use, and only resulted in Doug twisting his arm more. The younger boy stopped struggling, afraid that the other kid would break his arm.  

“It’s simple actually,” Doug hissed in his ear, “I want you.”

* * *

Chief Collig poked his head in around the curtain and sought out Fenton. When he caught his attention, he indicated that he would like to have a word with him.  

“Excuse me for a moment,” Fenton said as he left his family and followed the older man into the hallway. “What’s up, Chief?”  

Fenton wasn’t surprised to see Con was still here. He suspected the other officer had been told to keep an eye on things and make sure William didn’t show up. “Con,” he greeted.  

“Fenton,” Con said in return, and then followed the detective and the chief into a small private office that Ezra had commandeered to talk to Fenton.  

“What’s wrong?” the sleuth demanded immediately, worried that something had happened.  

“Nothing,” Ezra rushed to assure him, “I just wanted some privacy to discuss a proposition with you.”   

“Okay,” Fenton said, glancing first at Ezra and then at Con, “I’m listening.”  

“Fenton,” Collig began, “Officer Riley has made an offer, and given the circumstances, particularly after last night’s um…fiasco, I feel his suggestion has strong merit. However, I also know that given the…how shall I say it…the ‘sensitive nature’ of your relationship with Con, you might not see its advantage.”  

“What’s going on?” Fenton asked slowly, his guard having gone up. He narrowed his eyes and looked deliberately at the police chief.  

Collig let out a heavy sigh.  “Con would like Joe placed in his protective custody for the duration of this precautionary measure. He knows Joe, and we won’t have to worry about his mistaking Joe for William or acting inappropriately in any way.”  

The police chief paused to give Fenton time to say something, but the detective just continued looking at him so he continued, “Instead of a traditional safe-house, Joe would go and stay with Con. Con would take him to and from school and monitor the area for any signs of potential trouble. Essentially, Con’s job would be Joe, and ensuring his safety.”  

Fenton looked at Con and the officer shrugged. “Fenton, I want to make sure William doesn’t get to Joe, and to be honest, I don’t trust any other officer to do it. That’s all.”  

The detective looked at the Chief again and said in disbelief, “And you thought I would have a problem with this?”  

“Well…” Collig shrugged his shoulders, and Fenton continued.  

“Ezra I would do anything to protect my family and if Con—”  he looked at the other officer, “is willing to take this on as his own personal cause, then I will not only go along with it but be grateful for it. No matter what has or hasn’t happened between us, as an officer there is no one – except you of course, Ezra – that I trust more.”  

A feeling of relief permeated the room as Ezra gave a small smile and nodded his head.  “Good, Fenton. I was hoping you would see things like this. And in order to maintain some sort of discreetness, Con will not be in uniform. We want there to be as little intrusion into Joe’s life as possible.”  

Fenton gave a little snort.  “As little intrusion as possible, eh? About the only thing that will be status quo is his school life, and I am not sure if that is something he will be very grateful for!”  

The attempt of levity was not lost as the three men then left the small room and headed back into the assessment area.  

“Good,” Collig said, “when Joe is discharged, take him home and let him pack his stuff, and then bring him to the station. Con will take him from there. I don’t want anyone seeing you, Laura or Frank coming or going from Con’s house.”  

“Fair enough,” Fenton said, before fixing Con with a sincere look.  “Thank you, Con.”  

“I said I wanted to help,” Con said, shifting uncomfortably under the gratitude, “and I do.”

* * *

Doug manhandled Joe into the kitchen and then glanced around until he saw what he was looking for. Twisting Joe’s arm just a little more so he wouldn’t have a chance to get away, Doug grabbed one of the knives from the counter display and then held it to Joe’s throat. “Now here’s the deal. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it’s up to you.”  

“W-why are you doing—”  His question was cut off as he felt the edge of the knife dig into his throat, and he closed his eyes, fully expecting this to be the end.  

“Well, a good friend of mine is very anxious to see you again,” Doug said, and Joe’s eyes opened wide with horror.  

He knew exactly who Doug was referring to – he was taking Joe to William!  

No longer caring any more about the knife or the pain in his arm, Joe tried to wrench free, and the last thing he remembered before passing out was hearing Doug cursing, and then something heavy hit him in the back of the head.

* * *

As he let the blond boy slump to the kitchen floor, Doug shook his head.  “Okay, so we do this the hard way.”  Carefully he replaced the wooden chopping board he had grabbed to hit Joe with, back on the counter top, and then knelt down to make sure the kid was still breathing.  

He was. Satisfied that he hadn’t killed him, Doug started to put the knife back in the display when he saw the red streak on it.  

“Shit,” he said – now he’d have to take it with them. He’d seen enough CSI-type programs to know that even wiping the blade clean wouldn’t get rid of the traces of blood on it.  

He fought back the urge to kick the unconscious form for daring to get cut, and then hurried towards the garage. Within moments he had backed his car into the empty space beside a black car, and was hefting Joe into the trunk.  

With one final glance around the kitchen to make sure he hadn’t left any signs, Doug was satisfied that no one would ever know he’d been there…well, except for the knife, which he tossed into the trunk of the car next to Joe…but he’d just have to take that chance and hope no one noticed it missing.  

Looking down at the unconscious boy, Doug shook his head and then slammed the trunk shut – he had to get a move on before the Hardys came home. William had not given him a timeline, but he suspected time was not a luxury he could afford.  

And within moments he was pulling away from the house, secure in the knowledge that William would be very pleased with him.  

Doug had gotten Joe for William, and now he couldn’t wait to watch this family reunion….

 

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.