Well, back to the pants story. Frank’s were too big but there was no way I was going to complain.  

Actually now that I am thinking about it, I wonder if Frank said anything to the teacher, because she apologized to me afterwards and then was great about it for the rest of the year.  Although I will admit, the problem itself really has not gotten any better.  

I can’t help it. I’m a chronic fidget-er.  Poor Frank, he has to put up with me on stake-outs….I know I must get on his nerves, but I can’t help it!  I am just not very good at sitting patiently.  

Anyway, when I did regain consciousness, my head was hurting like nobody’s business, and I felt sick. I just kept praying that I wouldn’t hurl then and there, right in front of my brother, my mother, and these three guys who were yelling at Mom.  

Frank and Mom were now tied up in two kitchen chairs which had been moved to the living room, while I was still on the floor.  

Any hopes I had for a surprise attack were dashed when I opened my eyes and immediately groaned – so my mouth was working against me, even then!  

Next thing I know, the big man had grabbed me again and pulled me up to my feet…and in yet another proud Joe Hardy moment, I threw up.  The sudden violent motion made me dizzy and I lost it.  

Uh oh…speaking of which.…

* * *

Oh man, this house still feels so cold, but the thermostat is already turned up and I don’t want the furniture to melt.  I think I’ll lie down for a while and cover up again. Since Frank’s bed is already messed up, despite my pathetic attempt to make it, I might as well lie down there and keep it warm for him. He’ll take one look and know I’ve been here anyway.  

As if I would go back to my own lonely room right now anyway.   

I feel even worse now.  

I thought you were supposed to feel better after you got sick. Guess not. All I feel is more sick.  

Wonder when Dad and Sam are going to be home?  Dad drove me straight here after the paramedics assured him I was going to be all right…hmmm what do they know?  Sam stayed at the scene.  

I don’t think I’ll ever look at a knife in the same way again.  That one was a little too close for comfort, I think, as I touch the bandage on my neck.   

Damn thing still stings. I think it might be bleeding again but I’m too miserable to check. I don’t want to fall asleep right now because I don’t want this chasing me into my dreams. But as I feel my eyes growing heavy, and I pull Frank’s duvet up over my cold body, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to push it off.  

I glance at the time. 11:30 PM. Frank might be home soon unless he decides to drop by Mr. Pizza’s first.  

Oooh don’t think about food right now.…  

So to say these guys weren’t too impressed about this little display would be an understatement.  And the big guy, who at least had enough sense NOT to shake me anymore, threatened my Mom, “Get your husband home right now or I’ll kill this little—”  I’d prefer not to think about the word he used because honestly I hate being cursed out.  

My Mom was crying and saying that she had no way to get hold of Dad, which was probably true, as he tends to go incommunicado for days at a time….At least I’d like to think that anyway.  

I mean, who knows?  She is my Mom and she loves me, but he is the man she chose to marry and she loves him too. How do you choose between your husband and your son? I don’t know, so I need to believe she didn’t know how to contact him.  

Frank was yelling at them to leave me alone, and I can honestly say I was terrified. The world was spinning, I knew I was going to be sick again, and everyone was yelling.  

And then I felt the gun pushed into the side of my cheek so hard it hurt and right then and there I was sure I was going to die….Kind of like tonight actually….  

Around me the screaming had gone silent and everything seemed to slow down. I know it’s hard to understand it when people say that time seemed to slow down. But it did and I knew I was a moment from dead.  

But I wasn’t alone. Frank was there. And that is the difference between that time and what happened tonight.…  

I locked onto my brother’s eyes and I could see the anguish in them. There was nothing he could do but still…there was something, a belligerent spark of some sort that begged me not to give up yet…to hold on….I wondered if he was crazy because I was one trigger squeeze from….

* * *

Sorry Frank, I didn’t quite make it to the bathroom this time. I’m a mess. I’ve got to stop thinking about that stuff. My nerves are shot to hell.  

Thankfully it wasn’t a big mess, but there’s now a wet spot on the floor near the door. Mom’s got a carpet cleaner downstairs, but it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Maybe I’ll be feeling better by then.  

I need to lie down.  

This time I think I’ll go to my room. If I’m going to be sick again I don’t want to make another mess on Frank’s carpet.  Not that there’s really much chance of that because I don’t think there’s anything left in my stomach anymore.  Tacos on the rebound…yuck.  

My room is too cold. 

I’m sitting on my bed and I can hear the sound of my clock ticking.  

Tick…tock…tick…tock… I think it’s mocking me.  

Tick – Ha

Tock – Ha

Tick - Ha

Tock – Ha  

Must kill that clock…

* * *

That didn’t work out very well at all. After taking care of the mutinous timepiece, I lay down in my bed and tried to go to sleep.  I closed my eyes and just about had a heart attack.  

I kept seeing Rossi’s face as he dared me to try something… over and over again….I kept feeling the press of the blade against my ribs…against my throat….I felt the exact moment that it pierced my skin….  

I couldn’t stay there anymore.  

I just want my brother to tell me everything is going to be okay now, and that no one was going to hurt me again.  

Whether or not it would be true was not important. All that was, is that that he was saying it and wanting it to be true.  

So I’m back in my brother’s room again. Back curled up under the same duvet that I was two years ago after a gun fired, and Frank brought me up here to wait for the ambulance.  

It was my father’s gun that was fired, and the ambulance was for the second guy who tried to finish the job; the guy that Officer Riley shot.    Dad drove me to the hospital himself…  

Turned out Dad had come home early, but all the yelling had alerted him to our problem. He called the police, and Con Riley showed up within minutes; lucky us, he was in the area.  Hmmm, I wonder if Chief Collig actually keeps Con close by, just in case…  

Anyway, he climbed into an upstairs window and was on the top of the stairs in time to see my impromptu execution and he shot the big guy. One shot, but that was it all it needed… kind of like tonight too…  

Con Riley burst into the front door and took out the second guy, who had turned to fire at my dad while he tackled the third guy and put him out with one blow.  

I actually pitied that guy because my Dad is a very strong man and he can hit hard. Man, I’d never want to be on the receiving end…  

But then Frank was grabbing me and telling me everything would be okay…and nothing was going to hurt me…and he brought me to this room. And I believed him.  

I still do. I have to, because if not I would never leave this room again. My brother’s room.  

My eyes are too heavy.  

I can’t keep them open now….I wonder if Frank will let me stay…  

I hope so…  

Man, I want my brother.  

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.