hardy boys fan fiction

NEVER DREAM OF DYING

hardy boys nancy drew fan fiction

by

Piper Merlyn

Chapter 3

hardy boys fan fiction

THE CHAPTERS

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

The first thing that registered was the smell of water. Not the scent of the salty ocean or even a fresh-water lake. No, this was pungent, stagnant. Then I realized whatever I was lying on was cold and damp. I moved to sit up only to discover my hands were bound behind me.

“I assured you that I would deal with you at a later time.”

I twisted my head around to see Bernard Thorne seated in a carved wooden chair. So either Peri was mistaken or she’d been a plant. And maybe Peri wasn’t who she said she was. “So you said. You seem to have a thing for meeting in odd places.”

“You disrupted my plans and for that I will deal with you.”

Too bad Felix wasn’t in Prague at the moment. He’d come through nicely last time. But I can’t always have it easy. “You know, you tried before but it didn’t work.” A hazy image of a Jetski flashed through my mind. Hmm, where had that come from?

“I was a fool to trust a woman to do what I needed done.”

“So you and your daughter parted ways?”

He gave me an odd look but got to his feet, pulling out a familiar Glock automatic. I searched for something to roll behind but the room was empty except for that ornate looking chair.

The door suddenly banged open and for the briefest of moments, the whole room seemed to shimmer into something else. I blinked several times trying to clear my vision. I must have hit my head harder than I realized.

A gun went off and in the windowless room, the sound nearly deafened me. For a moment, I wondered if I’d been hit but I didn’t feel anything so I hoped Thorne was a lousy shot.

Peri’s heart-shaped face suddenly appeared in front of mine. “Come on.” She struggled with the ropes holding my ankles and sounded near tears.

“Swiss army knife, left back pocket.”

She snorted and pulled out the knife. She found the largest blade and started cutting the ropes. “You’re a regular MacGyver, aren’t you,” she said as she finished the ropes around my ankles and started on the ones tying my  hands.

“What happened?”

She made a strange sound. “I shot him.”

I felt the ropes loosen and I made it to my feet. Something in the way Thorne was sprawled by the chair made me very uneasy. “What did you shoot him with?”

“A .22 caliber.”

Although I saw no weapon in her hand, the small gun’s image seemed burned in my brain. Something odd was going on. It was almost like I had been drugged or something. “Let’s go.”

We burst out of the room and I found we were in an old building that looked to be in the middle of being torn down. The car was useless with two flat tires, so I decided we needed to head back to New Town, lose ourselves in the back streets until I could reach the Novomestsky Hotel that was near New Town Hall, which was where I was staying.

We passed the New Town Hall on foot but it had gotten dark since our little ride, so the hall was closed. There was a metro station at Spalena, so we stopped there. I thought about the Novomestsky and sighed. My luggage was there, good food was there...and there was the possibility Thorne already knew where I was staying. I turned to Peri. “Where are you staying?”

“Zlata Hvezda in Hradcany. One of the hotels in the northern section of the city.”

That was completely across town, back over the Vltava, near Strahov Stadium and the zoo. Luckily there was a nearby metro station there. “We’ll go there.”

She didn’t look too happy but as we moved farther and farther away from Thorne and the building he’d had us in, I kept sneaking glances her way. How had she come to rescue me? Nothing about any of this felt right. It felt all confused and screwed up. My head was pounding and I felt almost feverish. That couldn’t be a good sign.

“How’d you know where I was?” I asked, as we claimed two seats on the metro.

“They pulled you out of the car but ignored me. I guess they thought I was dead.”

Alarm bells ripped through my head as the subway train ground to a halt. The doors opened and for a moment, I saw a hallway, not the subway station. I rubbed my forehead, trying to relieve the pain. I pushed myself to my feet. “Let’s go.” 

“Are you all right?”

“No. I don’t like being set up.” I left the station but instead of heading to the Zlata Hvezda, I headed back toward my hotel.

“This is not the way to the Zlata Hvezda.”

“We’re not going there. We’re not going anywhere until you tell me whose side you’re on.” I grabbed her arm. “You will tell me.”

“I do not have to tell you anything. But I am MI6, deep cover.”

I shook my head and felt nauseous at the movement. I’d heard that before. Felix had told me that about India Sloan. “You’re not India.”

She looked confused now. “I do not understand. Are you ill?”

I didn’t know anymore. But I did know that I wouldn’t make it all the way back to the Novomestsky on foot. I had to risk going to the Zlata Hvezda, even if she was setting me up again. “Lead the way.”

She frowned, reached up to touch my forehead and shook her head, looking concerned. “Come. We’ll take a taxi.” She found one relatively easily and we headed for the Zlata Hvezda.

It was not as upscale as the Novomestsky Hotel, and low down on the list of fancy compared to the ritzy Hotel Jalta. Prague had its share of ritzy and rough hotels and even what they called botels—hotels anchored on the bank of the Vltava. The very idea of being on a boat made me wish for a bed that didn’t move.

Had someone drugged my coffee? Had it been a set-up from the very beginning? The intel that Thorne was in Prague? My head ached too much to figure it all out and I closed my eyes.

“We are here,” came Peri’s voice but it sounded more Irish just for a second.

I opened my eyes and sat up. The nausea had faded some and with the car not moving, I felt marginally better. The Zlata Hvezda’s facade was beautiful but somewhat faded. I got out and followed her into the gilded and velveted lobby. She led the way to a rickety elevator that had been there from the beginning and we got inside.

I leaned against the metal cage of the elevator and studied Peri. I’d been made the fool of one too many times with women. You’d think I would learn eventually. I heard an ominous creak just before the elevator went into freefall—

*****

The steady beep of the monitor sped up to a high-pitched whine, startling Laura out of her doze. The doctor had set Joe up in a semi-private room but with no other patient, it was as private as could be. Gertrude and Fenton had gone down to the vending machines for snacks and Laura had stretched out on the other bed.

No sooner had she gotten up than two nurses raced into the room. A moment later, Millson came in as well. He looked over at Laura. “Mrs. Hardy, what happened?”

Laura shook her head. “I don’t know. It just started going fast.”

Millson pulled out his stethoscope. “His heart’s beating fast...” The doctor studied his patient a moment. “If I didn’t know any better...”

Laura frowned. “What?”

“Your other son mentioned he was playing a role-playing video game. Do you have any idea which game?”

Laura shook her head. “No. But you said that couldn’t affect him.”

“I’m not a neurologist, Mrs. Hardy. I’ll gladly call one though, to figure this out.”

As suddenly as the heart rate sped up, it slowed down. Still unconscious, Joe let out a long sigh and seemed to collapse onto the bed. Dr. Millson looked over at Laura and then at the monitor. “Adrenaline levels peaked at the same moment the heart rate sped up. Now both are at more normal levels.”

Millson slung his stethoscope around his neck. “I’m going to call a friend of mine. She’s a neurologist. She lives in Manhattan, she can be here in under two hours.”

Laura took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

Dr. Millson nodded and left the room, followed by the two nurses. Laura walked over to Joe’s bed and skimmed a hand over his hair. “Oh, honey, what on earth happened?”

*****

Frank Hardy pulled up in front of the house and switched off the sedan’s engine. He could hear voices coming from behind the house, so unmindful of the rain, he headed to the backyard.

An electric company repair crew were picking up downed tree limbs and debris. A tall man in a yellow slicker with a hard hat spotted him and motioned for him to leave. Frank shook his head and pointed to the house.

The man said something to another man and walked over to Frank. “The power grid’s down in this neighborhood. I’m not saying the house isn’t safe, since the electricity is out but I don’t recommend going inside until everything’s inspected.”

“Do you have any idea what happened?”

The man shoved his hard hat back on his head, revealing a shock of black hair. “What do you mean, what happened? Lightning ground strike caused a power surge.”

Frank looked around. “That’s all?”

The man gave Frank a hard look. “You know something we don’t, kid?”

“That power surge knocked my brother unconscious while he was playing a video game.”

“Oh—”

“Hey, Chief, you gotta see this,” called one of the other workers.

Frank didn’t ask to accompany the chief over to where a conductive wire draped along the metal gutter attached to the house. Frank followed the wire to where it was spliced into the overhead electrical wire connecting the current to the house.

The crew chief cursed under his breath and glanced over at Frank. “If that power surge had been any stronger, the house would have torched. Good thing it was raining already when the lightning struck.”

Frank swallowed hard. “Don’t touch anything. I have to call the police.”

The crew chief looked over at Frank again. “What’s going on?”

Frank sighed. “My name is Frank Hardy. My father is private investigator Fenton Hardy. Someone is determined to get one of us.”

“Kevin Hennissey.” The crew chief looked worried now. “That’s a nasty kind of trick to pull.”

Frank stared up at the wire and shivered. “He’s a nasty kind of person.”

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