Joe Hardy was so full of nervous energy by Monday morning, Frank was sure his brother would explode.  Four times now, Joe had sat down in the recliner only to bounce to his feet to look out the living room window.

Frank sighed and put down the catalog he'd been looking through. "Joe, sit down. Marc said he'd blow the horn."

Joe walked over to the recliner and slumped down in it. He took a deep breath and glanced at his watch. He sat there for nearly a minute, tapping his foot on the carpet. Then he bounced up to look out the window again.

Frank just shook his head and sighed. He glanced toward the foyer, as if his eyes could see through the stairs and the plaster. His mother had said she needed to go to the store to stock up on the supplies for pies and cookies and their aunt had gone with her. Frank couldn't shake the feeling their mother hadn't wanted to be there when they left.

All day yesterday, he'd gotten the distinct feeling she wasn't as okay about them leaving as she seemed. For a moment, he wondered what had happened when his mother had taken their father to the airport.

"They're here!" Joe said gleefully. "Come on, Frank."

The doorbell rang just then and Frank got up to answer it. He pulled open the door to find Marc MacFairlaigne standing there, grinning. "Now you'll see the real vehicle." He gestured to the touring bus. "It's custom-made and you'll have a blast."

Joe nearly skidded as he hurried into the foyer. "This is going to be so cool."

Marc laughed. "Yeah. Come on."

Joe and Frank grabbed their duffle bags and left the house, Frank making sure the front door was locked. They followed Marc into the huge bus. An older man with silver hair was seated in the driver's seat. Joe remembered his name was Carl Dixon but everyone called him C.D. "Welcome aboard, boys," said C.D., smiling.

Marc gestured for them to come on. He pointed to the space right behind C.D. It was roughly the size of a small study, with built-in seating. "On each side is a foldout bed, kind of like a futon. You lever it up and then push down. Back there is the bathroom, but we try to make bathroom stops, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

He gestured again and the boys followed him to the section just behind the sitting area. There were four square-shaped areas, curtained off. To Frank, they looked like sleeping compartments he'd seen on trains. When he mentioned it, Marc nodded. "Yep, that's exactly what they are. He tapped the nearest one. "Mine, Erick sleeps below me, Ian's up top over there and Adrian down below him. Rumor has it, Adrian snores."

Marc showed them where the bathroom was and then pointed to another curtained-off area. "That's the girls’ area. It's like ours but it's off limits to us."

"You mean as long as anyone is looking." A dark head poked out of the curtains below Marc's sleeping compartment. "Um, hey, didn't mean to scare you Saturday. Thought someone was stealing Adrian's car."

Joe nodded. "We figured that. It's okay."

"Who stole my car?" came a new voice. A door swung open and another dark-haired man walked out of the small bathroom. He looked at Joe and Frank. "Oh, hey, dudes, getting the grand tour? You missed the bathroom." 

"Oh, dear God in heaven, he's awake," came another voice. The curtains on the top compartment on the other side of the bus opened and a blond man surveyed the group standing there. "Adrian, no one wants a grand tour of the bathroom. Toilet, lavatory, shower, enough said." The blond turned to Joe and Frank. "You get used to him – eventually." Ian Ramsey got out of his sleeping compartment. "I was wondering why you'd stopped."

Joe grinned and knew he was going to enjoy this trip. "So, do all your roadies get the royal treatment?"

"Oh, hell, no," said Ian. He tossed his long white-blond hair back over his shoulder and dusted off his leopard-patterned jeans. "Usually, they have to struggle along in an old renovated school bus. You two are very lucky."

Adrian Landers, his black hair in a low ponytail, grunted and headed toward the front of the bus. "You say that to all the girls, too."

Ian looked around, and frowned. "What girls?" he asked, in an oddly innocent tone.

Marc laughed. "We already got Leigh. She's in back with Savannah and Kari." He patted Joe's shoulder. "Don't mind Ian. He's a little upset that his girlfriend can't ride with us. Penny flew on ahead to Albany."

Frank looked around. "Won't this take a while to get to Albany by bus?"

Marc shook his head. "Ry and the plane are at LaGuardia. We're just riding in here till we get to the city. It's either that or having to park all those cars in the long-term parking. C.D. will store this baby and fly up to meet us."

Frank nodded. "I see."

"Don't be such a worrywart, Frank." Joe walked back to the sitting area, dropped his duffle bag and sat down. "We've got a ticket to ride."

Ian laughed. "Well, at least you found a couple of fans who really like us. Even after they've met Adrian."

"I heard that," called Adrian.

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.