Hardy Boys Fan Fiction at the HDA - With This Ring

Tanya Madison had been walking on air for two days, ever since Dylan had proposed. She didn’t even mind that he had to work at his second job tonight; she simply picked up an overtime shift at the drug store where she worked as a clerk/cashier. Truth was, she was still so deliriously happy that she and Dylan were officially engaged she was certain nothing could bring her down. They’d talked about marriage and dreamed about their life together but Dylan had always said she deserved the best and he wouldn’t officially propose until he had a ring worthy of her. She knew he was saving for tuition to trade school – he wanted to get a good job that would support both of them and a family – and couldn’t afford a ring right now. In her heart she was sure they’d marry one day but she wasn’t expecting the official proposal for a few more years yet. And she definitely hadn’t expected the stunning ring he’d given her!

Glancing down at the ring now, as she seemed to do instinctively every few minutes, she practically glowed. Stocking shelves and working the register, her hands were in constant view and she had lost count of the number of comments she’d gotten on it in the last forty-eight hours from customers and co-workers alike. It was virtually impossible not to notice the gorgeous ring and she was happy to show it off to anyone who showed even a remote interest. Sighing softly, Tanya forced herself to return her attention to the task at hand, stocking and straightening shelves. At least, she thought, it gave her a good view of her left hand!

Humming softly to herself, she thought back to the moment Dylan proposed. She had been shocked to say the least, but once it wore off she was ecstatic. She and Dylan had been together for almost two years and in that time she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him. He loved her completely, totally and unconditionally. He’d proven that when he found out about the abuse she had endured over the years at the hands of her stepfather. Her smile faltered but only briefly as she forced those memories aside. Dylan had saved her from that life and given her a whole new one. Oh, she knew he wasn’t perfect; he had some dark secrets of his own, but he was perfect for her and that was all that mattered. He treated her like no one ever had before, like a princess, and the ring was only further proof of that.

When Dylan had slipped it on her finger she swore she would never take it off and so far she hadn’t. She had no need to; it fit perfectly as if it were made just for her. Sighing once more, she returned to her work and dreams of their future together…

*****

Joe shifted again, trying to find a comfortable position in the cramped corner of the dirty alley. He checked the luminous dial on his watched and rolled his eyes. Five whole minutes later than the last time he looked. He hated surveillance, especially this kind. Usually he at least had Frank to talk to but by necessity he, Frank, Sam and Fenton were all working solo tonight.

The thieves had struck again with surprising swiftness, the night he and Fenton made the rounds interviewing witnesses. Joe had been furious, a fury that was placated somewhat when Fenton pointed out the silver lining – the business that had been robbed had been one that Frank listed as a likely target which meant they were on the right path. It was just bad luck that they hadn’t yet finished narrowing down the potential targets and been in a position to begin surveillance. But at least now they had confirmation that Frank’s theory and research were dead on.

They were fairly sure the thieves wouldn’t strike two nights in a row – they never had before – but Joe didn’t want to take any chances. He wasn’t sure if Frank, Fenton and Sam were just humoring him or not but either way they’d each staked out one of the businesses last night. It had been long, boring and in the end fruitless. And so tonight here they were again.

Fenton had spoken with his contacts in the Kirkland, Bayport and Southport police departments but was, unfortunately, given a variation of the same answer from all three - tight budgets and more serious crimes didn’t allow for any help from official law enforcement, though they were more than grateful to accept any help the Hardys wanted to offer. That only added to Joe’s growing level of frustration, which he had voiced in quite colorful terms. Still he reluctantly agreed that even if they could only cover four of the five businesses, it was just a matter of time now before the thieves were caught.

Joe felt a little odd hoping a robbery would be committed this evening but catching the thieves in the act was really the only way to get Vanessa’s ring back. There was still over an hour to go before the pizza shop he was watching closed for the evening but he’d been too edgy and hyped up to sit at home and wait any longer so he’d come out here a little earlier than necessary. Of course that left him with a little too much time to think…and worry.

While the nightmare-induced screaming in the middle of the night had stopped, Joe had still been awakened the past two nights by Vanessa’s muted sobs and soft whimpers even as she slept. She’d also been unnaturally quiet and sad, her somber mood had only fed his burning need to find the ring. That and the ultimate faith in her eyes whenever she looked at him; Joe had promised to find her ring and she was absolutely certain he would. But knowing they had already missed one opportunity to catch the thieves and retrieve Vanessa’s ring left Joe more frustrated than ever. He did not want face one more night of having to go home and tell Vanessa he’d failed... again.

Time dragged slowly and it seemed to take forever but finally it was almost time for the pizza shop to close. Getting the familiar adrenaline rush that came with the possibility of danger, Joe shifted once more, now sitting back on his heels. He narrowed his focus down to the small alleyway, watching and listening intently. He blocked out the sound of a police siren somewhere in the distance and the mournful bellow of a ship’s horn out on the bay and that’s when he heard it – a car out on the street slowing down.

Joe pressed himself against the dirty brick wall melting into the shadows behind the dumpster with his eyes glued to the end of the alley. A pair of headlights swept across the wall and the dumpster as a car turned down the alley. Joe felt his heart start to race even as he held his breath. The car passed the dumpster and came to stop and as it did Joe saw four figures inside, all wearing black ski masks.

He heard doors open and close and willed himself to be perfectly still. Footsteps scraped across the gravel allowing Joe to follow the thieves’ progress even if he couldn’t see them. As they passed the dumpster and walked towards the end of the alley Joe watched – and cursed. Only three of them had gotten out of the car!

As the three men disappeared around the corner onto the street, Joe leaned to the right and craned his neck. The fourth man was still in the car, sitting behind the wheel.

‘Damn it!’

Leaning his head back against the wall Joe cursed his bad luck. The plan had been for whoever encountered the thieves to get the license number of the car, call the others and call the police. Hopefully the police would arrive in time to catch the thieves in the act but if not, at least with the license plate number they’d be able to get an address. With an eyewitness outside as well as the witnesses inside, that should be enough to get a search warrant. At least that was the theory they were working on, one that was now going down the drain. Joe knew if he even attempted to get close enough to the car to get the plate number, he’d be seen.

Knowing he was running out of time, Joe carefully pulled his cell phone out, flipped it open and pressed a button. His heart was pounding in his chest and he was certain the man in the car could hear it as he’d turned off the engine and the alleyway was suddenly deathly quiet – or so it seemed to Joe. Trying to remain as still as possible and barely daring to breathe, Joe held the phone to his ear.

“Joe?” Frank answered and Joe winced thinking Frank’s voice sounded awfully loud.

“They’re here,” Joe whispered. “But one of ‘em stayed in the car.”

Frank cursed under his breath and then said, “I’ll call the cops, Dad and Sam.”

“Okay,” Joe replied, his voice barely audible.

“And Joe… stay put, okay? We’ll be right there!”

Joe didn’t reply.

“Joe? Joe!”

Without saying a word, Joe flipped the phone shut, turned it off and shoved it in his pocket. He glanced down at his watch – two minutes had passed already and he knew the thieves would be gone before any kind of help arrived. Almost on cue, another minute later Joe heard the sound of running feet and snapped his head to the left.

Three black clad figures came tearing around the corner. The car engine roared to life and the men rushed past the dumpster.

‘No way! You aren’t getting away again!’ Joe thought as anger flared inside him. He moved to the very end of the dumpster, crouched and ready. One man yanked open the front passenger door and jumped in. A second man dove into the backseat behind the driver and that’s when Joe made his move. There was rarely any love lost among thieves and Joe was betting everything that one guy wouldn’t be willing to take the fall for all of them. He was certain if he could just catch one of them, that thief would turn on the others in a heartbeat.

Launching himself forward, Joe tackled last man as he reached for the door handle. With the element of surprise on his side, the man went down hard with Joe landing on his back. He heard surprised shouts and then cursing from inside the car, which lurched forward a few feet. He was distracted for a second but that was all it took.

The man beneath him reared up, throwing Joe off him and stood up. He’d barely taken two steps when Joe grabbed his ankle and pulled him down again. Joe heard a muttered “Oomph,” as the other man hit the ground again. Pushing himself up to his knees, Joe glanced at the car. No one had gotten out to help, but the driver had made no attempt to flee either.

In the distance, Joe heard the wail of a siren and breathed a sigh of relief. He reached down to grab the man’s wrist when suddenly the man rolled towards Joe, his arm outstretched. Luckily the dim streetlight glinted off the glass beer bottle in the man’s hand giving Joe time to react. He lurched backwards awkwardly, teetering on his heels and trying not to lose his balance. As the man cracked the bottle against the pavement and the glass shattered, Joe realized the tables had suddenly turned.

The man lunged at Joe, sweeping the now jagged edged bottle in a wide arc. Joe threw up his hands to protect his face. The broken beer bottle sliced into his arm, which he instinctively pulled towards his chest. As the man followed through and allowed momentum to complete his swing, the bottle caught Joe squarely on the temple.

Joe felt a white hot pain and knew he’d been cut. He fell backwards, stunned, temporarily blinded by the almost immediate flow of blood from the laceration.

A car door opened and slammed shut and tires squealed, the noises just enough to jolt Joe back to the present.

‘Focus, focus!’ he told himself, not wanting the thieves to get away scot-free again, not after all this!

Wiping the blood from his eyes Joe lifted his head just in time to see the car coming at him, in reverse. Determined to get something to help identify the thieves, Joe stared at the rear of the car as it came speeding towards him, waiting until the last possible second to roll out of the way. Throwing himself to the side, Joe winced as he hit the wall hard. Squinting and blinking to clear the blood steadily seeping into his eyes, he saw the car swerve out of the alley on two wheels and then peel out.

Laying on the dirty ground, the last of the adrenaline rush quickly wore off and the pain set in. His arm was on fire and Joe could feel the blood from the cut on his head trickling down his cheek onto the ground. Trying to block out the pain, Joe repeated three letters to himself, over and over again – ‘ZRT, ZRT, ZRT’. In the split second before he rolled out of the way he’d seen the first three letters of the license plate and a sticker on the rear bumper of the car and tried to commit every detail to memory, knowing it was their only lead.

The wailing sirens grew louder but even before they arrived he heard a car come screeching to a halt at the end of the alley. A car door opened and slammed shut and he heard the pounding feet of someone running towards him.

‘Better late than never,’ he thought morosely.

Someone skidded to a stop and dropped down next to him. Joe heard a sharp intake of breath and finally wondered just how badly he was hurt…

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Disclaimer

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.