Joe tried to stretch his six-foot frame. He had been sitting in the same seat for almost two hours. No one had been allowed to get up out of his or her seats or even leave the cafeteria.  

He had seen more officers moving in the hallway and wondered what was going on. He had seen the worried look on Mr. Martin’s face and wished he knew what had the assistant principal so terrified.  

“I don’t know how much more I can take,” Vanessa said. “This is almost as bad as it was for the SATs.”  

“I think this is worse,” Chet said. “When we finished the test, we could leave. But here, we’re stuck.”  

“Mr. Martin knows something,” Joe said quietly. “He continues to scan the room as if he’s looking for something. But I have no idea what it is.”  

“Have you seen the officers moving in the hall?” Biff asked.  

Joe nodded. “I’ve seen about two dozen different people move past the door.”  

“Joe, do you think there may be a dangerous man in the school who is looking for someone?” Vanessa asked.  

“If that was the case, that would explain why we’re all holed up in here,” Joe said.  

“But there are emergency exits,” Biff said. “We could get out through one of them.”  

“If that is the case, and I do say if, they may not know where he is. If we just left and got anywhere near him, some of us could be injured. The best things for us to do, is to stay put.”  

“Are you channeling Frank?” Chet asked.  

“What are you talking about?” Joe asked, looking at his best friend.  

“Well, it’s not really like you to just sit still and do nothing,” Chet said.  

“He’s right,” Biff agreed. “You usually want to jump right into the action.”  

“Well, maybe I’m just using my head,” Joe said. “There are officers out there with guns drawn. I’m not about to step out a door and get shot because an officer got startled. That’s like suicide.”  

“That’s a good point,” Vanessa said. “And it’s good you’re waiting. I wouldn’t want you to get shot. I like having you around.”  

“I like being around.”  

Silence settled on them once again. They were getting antsy. And they weren’t the only ones. Joe could see a lot of students were frightened and need to be calmed down.  

Joe was about to ask something, when the side door to the cafeteria, the one had seen the officers through, opened. Principal Richard Stafford stepped into the room.  

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “At this time, I would like all of you to calmly exit through this door here and then leave the building through the main entrance.”  

“What’s going on?” A voice asked from the far side of the cafeteria.  

“All I can say is that there was an incident in another part of the building,” Mr. Stafford said. “For your safety, as well as the other students, we locked down the building until the police could take care of it.” He looked at the students. “Now, if you would please move this way.”  

The students quickly, but calmly, got to their feet and made their way toward the door. Joe got beside Vanessa and put his hand on her back. Biff and Chet fell in step behind them.  

The parade of students made their way down the hall and exited the front doors of the school. They saw a dozen police cars parked at the front of the building with the lights flashing. Yellow police tape had been strung on the edge of the parking lot, closest to the school, keeping sightseers back.  

Joe looked at the crowd gathered and saw Frank. Caren was at his side. Frank was standing behind the police line, but he was talking to the officer nearby. Even from the front steps of the school, Joe could see his brother’s pale face. He knew Frank was worried.  

The four of them made their way along the path to the crowd. Joe caught his brother’s eyes and moved toward him. They went under the police tape right in front of Frank.  

“Are you all right?” Frank asked.  

“We’re fine,” Joe said.  

“We’ve been holed up the cafeteria for the last two hours,” Vanessa said.  

“What happened?” Frank asked. “What were the police doing here? The officer wouldn’t tell me anything.”  

“We don’t know for sure,” Joe said, turning back to look at the school. “Something happened that really freaked out the staff.”  

“At least you are all right,” Frank said and Joe recorded the relief in his brother’s voice.  

“So,” Joe said, turning back around. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in class.”  

“Well,” Frank began, sheepishly. “Caren and I saw the news coverage and figured we’d better get over here. Something about this didn’t feel right.”  

Joe turned and smiled at Caren. “It’s nice to see you again.”  

“You too,” Caren said.  

Joe felt a nudge in his ribs and knew it was Vanessa.  

“Guys,” Frank said. “This is Caren. She’s in my English literature class. Caren, these are our friends, Biff Hooper, Chet Morton and Joe’s girlfriend, Vanessa Bender.”  

“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Caren said.  

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Vanessa said. “How are you liking Bayport?”  

“It’s nice. There are a lot of interesting things that seem to be constantly going on,” Caren said.  

“That’s how it is in Bayport,” Vanessa said. “There’s always something going on.”  

Joe focused on his brother. “I know you were talking to the officers. Did you get anything from them?”  

Frank shook his head. “Whatever happened, they are being tight-lipped about it.”  

“Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do now,” Joe said. “What do you say about heading to the mall and hanging out?”  

“Caren and I should head back,” Frank, said. “We do have classes.”  

“We’ve already missed them,” Caren spoke up. “And by the time we return to the campus, they’ll be over.”  

“Caren is right,” Joe said.  

Joe watched as Frank shifted his gaze from him to Caren and back again. Caren was smiling at Frank and he had a feeling his older brother was about to cave.  

“Fine,” Frank said.  

“Good,” Joe said. “Now, where did you park the van?”  

“Down the street. Why?”  

“With all these police cars, we won’t be able to get the sedan out of here for a while,” Joe said. “We can all fit in the van and in a couple hours, you can drop us off back here to get our cars.”  

“Sounds like plan,” Frank said.  

Joe looked at Chet, Biff and Vanessa. “Are you guys up for this?”  

“Sure,” Chet said.  

“Absolutely,” Biff agreed. “How often do you get released from school early without any notice?”  

“Very rarely,” Joe said. “Come on. Let’s go then.”  

* * * * *  

A couple hours later, Frank dropped the others off back at Bayport High School. Many of the police cars were gone. The four of them quickly got our and headed to their vehicles. Once they were out of the van, Frank looked at Caren. I guess I should take you back to the campus.”  

“You probably should,” Caren admitted. “I’ve got some work that still needs to be done for tomorrows classes.”  

“Then we’re off.”  

Frank drove along keeping a steady stream of conversation going with Caren. They talked about the fun they had had at the arcade and how they were both trying to beat Joe at the games.  

When they arrived back to the campus, Caren directed Frank to the lot where she parked. As he pulled up behind her car, Frank heard Caren groan.  

“What is it?” Frank asked.  

“I think I have a flat.”  

Frank parked the van and got out with Caren. He made his way to the car and saw that she was right.  

“Do you have a spare?” Frank asked.  

“It’s in the trunk,” Caren said. “But you can’t change a tire.”  

“Why not?”  

“Frank, you have a broken leg,” Caren pointed out.  

“So? I don’t need my leg to change the tire. I need my hands. And if you could jack the car up, we shouldn’t have a problem.”  

“Are you sure, Frank? I could call a tow trick to come take care of it.”  

“There’s no need to do that because I’m right here,” Frank said. “Now, come one. Let’s get this tire changed.”  

Caren sighed. “All right.”  

It didn’t take long for the two of them to change the tire. Once it was done, Care put the flat in her trunk. She slammed the lid and turned to Frank.  

“Thanks for the help.”  

“It’s no problem,” Frank said.  

“I’ll talk to you later, then,” Caren said.  

Frank nodded. “Bye.”  

They got into their vehicles. Caren pulled out first and Frank started the engine and got the van out of the parking lot.  

He was on his way home when a black car sped past him on the driver’s side. He knew the driver was going way over the speed limit. He couldn’t understand what could be so important for someone to drive so recklessly.  

Frank continued on down the road. Up ahead, he saw the black car was now parked on the shoulder. It was behind another car. Caren’s car.  

He pulled onto the shoulder behind the black car. Frank killed the engine and quickly got out. He moved over and tried to see Caren, but there was no sign of her.  

Frank looked toward the woods on the side of the road and wondered if Caren had gone in there.  

“Help!”  

Frank knew that was Caren. He staggered toward the woods as fast as he could. He had just stepped past the tree line when he was knocked down from behind. He released his hold on the crutches and started to roll himself onto his back.  

He didn’t get far when he felt a booted foot press down on his back He tried to push himself up, but couldn’t.  

“Frank!”  

He lifted his head enough to see a masked man was holding Caren.  

“Let her go!” Frank yelled.  

“Be quiet,” a voice above Frank said.  

Before Frank could move, his head was forced down into the dirt. Frank tried to breathe, but couldn’t. He was unable to reach the person holding him down with his hands. Whoever was holding him was strong and he was unable to move. He tried to turn his head to get a breath, but he couldn’t. His head began to throb at the lack of oxygen.  

As he lost consciousness, he heard Caren’s terrified scream.

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.