I dropped to my knees to avoid a swipe from Stench’s dagger a second after Joe’s yell. I twisted around and kicked his legs out from under him. I didn’t have time to assure Joe I was fine. I had to get that dagger away from him.

I felt the anger sweep over me. Not just for Stench killing Mondo but for duping all these people. He was sick and smart, a lethal combination.

“Drop the knife.”

We both froze and I looked up to see Samuel Fisk holding a small handgun on us. It looked familiar and I wondered if it had been the one Mondo had pulled on us earlier.

I used my hand to knock the knife out of Stench’s grip and then I got to my feet and stepped back just as the helicopter landed a few yards away. The backwash from the rotor blades whipped at my hair and clothes.

Stench scrambled to his feet, despite the hindrance of the long robe but when I turned I saw someone else held a gun on the man. “Dad!”

Dad didn’t even smile at me. He spoke to the two men accompanying him and they quickly handcuffed Stench. Dad walked over to me and spotted Joe. “You two okay?”

I nodded and looked at Dad. “What’s—?”

“We’ll talk later.” He nodded to Paula. “Your father would appreciate it if you don’t do this again.”

“Paula!” A tall man with pale red hair strode toward us. “You scared the life out of me.”

Paula turned pink with embarrassment. “Uh, hi, Daddy.”

“Don’t you ‘hi, daddy’ me.” Her father pulled her into a bear hug and steered her toward the helicopter. I watched Paula manage a wave as she was bundled into the helicopter.

I looked over at the group of people watching as Stench was taken into custody. “Dad, what about them?”

“The military is willing to fly them to Palm Springs. After that, they’re on their own.”

Joe frowned. “Dad, it’s not their fault.”

“We all have choices, Joe.”

I understood why Dad was acting that way. I understood perfectly. “But, Dad, he told them everything they ever wanted to hear. He made them think they were important to him.”

Dad glanced over his shoulder at them and sighed. “The helicopter can’t hold them all.”

“We’ll stay here,” said Solar Man.

I shook my head. “How can you stay here, out in the middle of the desert?”

Solar Man gave me a smile. “To prove him wrong,” he said, nodding to Stench. “We may have to mend some fences in Landers but we’ll survive.”

“So what is your real name?” asked Joe, sounding like it had been bothering him since we’d met.

Solar Man laughed. “Danny Templeton.”

Joe grinned. “You definitely fit Danny better.”

Solar Man held out a scarred hand and Joe shook it. “Thank you.”

Janet Simkins gave us a sad look. “We’re sorry all this happened. Especially about Mondo.” She looked around the compound. “We may move a little closer to town...”

Dad started for the helicopter but I hung back. “We can’t just—”

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see Solar Man. “We’ll be fine, Frank. We’re not that far from town.”

“But—” began Joe.

“We’ll be fine,” said Solar Man again, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “And maybe we’ll learn not to be so trusting.” He stepped back and watched as we followed Dad to the helicopter.

I couldn’t shake the feeling I was abandoning them. “Dad—”

“Frank, we can’t take them home.” Dad’s tone sounded exasperated.

Joe grinned. “Dad, I’m the one who picks up the stray kitties. Frank’s the one sends them on their way.”

“I’m allergic to cats, Joe, you know—”

“Let’s go, boys.”

I sighed and got into the helicopter. I stared out of the Plexiglas canopy as we lifted off. The people on the ground waved at us and I waved back even though I knew they couldn’t see me.

It was too noisy for conversation so I stayed silent until the helicopter landed at the Marine base. An SUV was waiting for the five of us at the exit to the base. Once in the quiet vehicle, I looked at Dad and the senator.

Paula cleared her throat. “I didn’t want to leave either. I didn’t get to say good bye.”

“You scared me, Paula. When I found out what you’d gotten into...” Senator Northrum shook his head and shuddered.

Joe turned to Dad to say something but Dad shook his head. I sighed and realized at that moment, we’d left our backpacks. “Dad, we left our stuff.”

“It’ll be replaced.” That was all Dad said for the next forty-five minutes.

Senator Northrum and his daughter left us in Palm Springs. We stopped at a discount store for clothes and toiletries, then Dad stopped at the first hotel on the highway and we settled in for the night at least. After showers and fresh clothes, we met in Dad’s room, wanting to know everything.

Dad was fiddling with a pen as we settled on the bed. He finally looked over at us. “I’m disbanding ATAC.”

Joe shot to his feet. “Dad, no.”

“They sent you into a situation they didn’t know all the details about themselves. The man that was killed was with the Department of Justice. And ATAC wasn’t aware that Callihan was inside.” He took a deep breath. “Joe, sit down.”

“We stopped him,” said Joe as he finally sat down.

“At what cost? Callihan is dead.”

I took a deep breath. “Dad.”

He looked over at me and frowned. “Frank, I’ve made up my mind. Once we return home, I’m going to D.C. End of discussion.”

“But is it the right thing to do?”

Dad shook his head. “What do you mean?”

I tried to sort through my own thoughts. “It’s all about choices, right? We choose to do one thing, or not to do something. Our choices lead us down one path or another.” I took a deep breath. “I know there are other missions with other ATAC agents. We’re not the only ones. It’d be different it was just us, and you just figured it wasn’t safe anymore...”

“The danger is too great.” Dad muttered something under his breath. “Frank, you and Joe were in serious danger.”

Joe shook his head. “Dad, we’re a team. We trust each other. We’re there for each other. We’re...partners.”

Dad looked over at him. “And what would happen if you got separated?”

I shot Joe a guilty look before I thought about it. I took a deep breath and turned back to Dad. “We’d find each other. No matter what. And we’d keep our heads.”

Joe nodded. “Dad, it’s in our blood, helping people. We can’t back away now.”

Dad looked at me and then Joe. “Partners.” He had a distant look on his face. He sighed. “I’m still going to D.C. The lack of information could have been deadly. ATAC will need to be restructured, possibly from the ground up.”

“So...” I didn’t want to push too hard and risk him shutting it down. “You won’t—?

“For now I won’t disband ATAC. For now.”

Joe yawned just as his stomach growled. “Let’s go eat. I could go for a couple of cheeseburgers, a large order of fries and a gallon of soda.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “I thought Mom asked us to not eat fried food all the time.”

Joe grabbed a pillow off Dad’s bed and whacked me with it. “I think I’ve been good enough. Tofu. Ugh. Never again.”

I had to agree with him there. I looked over at Dad. “Hungry?”

Dad studied me for a minute and then shifted his gaze to Joe. “You’re going to eat me out of house and home, aren’t you?”

Joe shrugged. “We try.”

Dad shook his head and smiled. “All right. Let me get my shoes on and we’ll go somewhere for an early supper.”

Joe nodded and hurried across the hall to our room. Puzzled as to what he was after, I followed him. The minute I stepped through the door, Joe grabbed me. “That was close,” he whispered, shutting our door.

I nodded. “To be truthful, I don’t know why I wanted to stop him from disbanding ATAC. Dad’s got a point. They didn’t give us enough information.”

“So, someone got lazy.” Joe shrugged. “Or they know you very well.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“They knew you’d dig for more info.” Joe grinned. “As long as you’re the nerd, we’ve got it made.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re bad.”

“I learned everything from you.”

There was a tap on the door. “Boys? Ready?”

Joe yanked open the door, looking almost too innocent. “You bet. Come on, Frank, get out and enjoy the moment.”

I felt like throwing a pillow at him but there was always later. I followed him and Dad as we headed for the rental car. Joe and I were brothers...and partners. And we got through this one, trusting each other. As long as we trust each other, we can handle anything.

I grinned. Even Dad.

The End

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Disclaimer

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 original characters without express permission of the authors.