“What?” Frank asked. He wasn’t sure he heard the Gray Man correctly. The Gray Man couldn’t have said kill his father.  

The Gray Man grinned at him. “You heard me. I want you to help me kill your father.”  

“Are you insane?” Frank asked, even though he already knew the answer.  

“Your father has been a nuisance for years,” the Gray Man said. “But that is not the reason.”  

“Then what is?”  

“Your father recently left Bayport for a case in Washington D.C. While there, he was taken from his hotel. Network agents followed the abductors. Your father was replaced with a man who is the splitting image of Fenton Hardy.”  

“A clone?” Frank asked.  

“Exactly,” the Gray Man said. “The Assassins are back in business and they are coming after you and your brother.”  

“But what has happened to our father?” Frank asked. “Where is he?”  

The Gray Man was quiet for a few minutes. “From what the agents have told me, your father is dead.”  

Frank closed his eyes and bowed his head to the floor. He couldn’t believe this had happened. He couldn’t believe his father was dead at the hands of the Assassins. It just didn’t seem real.  

“Now, since we know your father is one of them, we need your help to get him.”  

“How do we know this is true?” Frank asked quietly. “How do we know that he really is an Assassin?” Frank looked up at the Gray Man. “Where is the proof? Where is my father’s body?”  

“Your father’s body was taken to the crematorium.”  

Frank swallowed the limp that had formed in his throat. He couldn’t believe it.  

“Frank, I know a lot has been dropped on you and that you need to think about all that has been said,” the Gray Man said. “I’m going to let you go back to the room and think everything through before you give me an answer. But you should know, if you don’t help us, you and the young woman will never leave here.”  

Frank saw two men approach, who then helped him to his feet. They slowly made their way back down the hall to the room. The door was unlocked and he was helped in side. He saw Caren sitting on the floor in the far corner with her knees pulled up to her chest.  

Caren looked up at him. He saw a chair had been brought into the room. He was led over to the chair and sat down. The two men left the room, locking the door behind them.  

Frank looked at Caren. “Are you all right?”  

“I’m fine. Just scared.” Caren crawled over to the chair, sitting on the floor beside him. “What about you? Are you all right? You’re awfully pale.”  

Frank wasn’t sure how much he could tell her. He didn’t want it to be true.  

“Frank?” Caren asked.  

He looked her in the eye. There was warmth and compassion staring back at him. He took a deep breath and said, “I got some bad news about someone I know.”  

“Oh, Frank. I’m so sorry.” Caren kneeled on the floor beside him and gave him a hug.  

“Thank you,” Frank said.  

After a few minutes, Caren leaned back and looked at him. “Frank, I really don’t trust that man. There’s something that really bothers me about him.”  

“Believe me, I understand. I don’t trust him either. But right now, we don’t have a choice but to deal with him.”  

“I know people attempt escapes in situations like this. Are we going to try that?”  

“Caren, I would think of doing that if I knew where we were and if I didn’t have this cast on or even if I had my crutches. I would also consider doing it if I was certain we could get out of here unharmed.”  

“So, what are we going to do?” Caren asked, fear evident in her voice.  

“We’re going to go with the flow until I can come up with a plan.”  

Caren looked Frank in the eye. “I trust you.”  

Frank felt a huge weight land on his shoulders. He hoped Caren’s trust wouldn’t lead them both to their death.  

* * * * *  

Joe Hardy hurried down the stairs when he heard the front door close. He knew it was his father and hoped there was some news about Frank. Entering the living room, Joe saw his father had Laura in his arms, offering some comfort.  

“Dad?” Joe asked.  

Fenton turned his head to look at his son. Joe could tell from his expression that there wasn’t any news on Frank.  

“So, what’s the plan?” Joe asked. “What are going to do to find Frank?”  

“Well, I just finished talking with Sam and he’s still working. As far as I know, no one who we have put in jail or would be after us for revenge could have done this.”  

“But it’s possible they may have had an assistant,” Joe suggested.  

“That’s true, but we don’t know for sure.”  

“So, what’s the next step?” Joe asked, anxious to get started doing something.  

“As much as I hate to say it, we have to wait,” Fenton said.  

“Wait?” Joe asked.  

“We won’t really be waiting, but we’ll start trying to figure things out.”  

Joe let out a sigh. He really wished there was something more he could do. He preferred action, but knew that the time would come for that.  

“All right, Dad,” he said. “I’m going to head upstairs and see if there’s anything from our past cases that may give us a clue.”  

“Good thinking, son.”  

Joe returned to his room and sank down on his bed. He couldn’t believe the situation they were in. They had no idea where Frank and Caren were or what condition they were in. They had no clue as to who had taken them or the reason for it. It was frustrating not having anything to go on.  

Feeling the need to do something, Joe returned to his brother’s room, tripping on the bag, sending the contents all over the floor.  

“Great,” Joe grumbled as he stared collecting the pens and pencils that had been scattered about the room. “It figures I would trip over this.”  

Once everything was back in the bag, Joe put the bag on Frank’s bed so he wouldn’t trip over it again. He returned to the computer and logged on using a name he created so no one knew it was him. He didn’t want to risk the Gray Man talking to him again.  

As he started checking the mail, he wondered if the Gray Man knew where Frank was. It always seemed that when something really out of the ordinary happened, the Gray Man appeared. And the more he thought about it, Joe had a feeling the Gray Man was involved.  

But what reason would he have for taking Frank? Joe wondered. If he was the one responsible, it has to be a really good reason. But what is it? Why would the Gray Man take Frank and leave me here. He knows we work as a team and won’t work without the other. He’s up to something underhanded and I’m determined to find out what it is.  

Joe opened his common e-mail account and quickly sent a message to Vanessa. He knew his girlfriend spent a lot of time at her computer and would respond when she got the message.  

Within a couple minutes, Joe’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out and answered. “Hello?”  

“Hey, what’s up?” Vanessa asked.  

“I was wondering something,” Joe said.  

“And what’s that?”  

“Is it possible to find out where a person is if they are using instant messaging?”  

“It could be possible,” Vanessa said. “But it could also be difficult. You see, a person can log onto their account from anywhere. At times it may be difficult to find out where they really are because the account may be hooked to their credit card for charges based on how often the account is used.”  

“So, if it was found, you’d basically get the person’s mailing address, and not actually know here they are,” Joe concluded.  

“Exactly,” Vanessa said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.”  

Joe smiled for the first time in hours. “That’s all right. You answered the question I had.” Joe heard Vanessa’s mother, Andrea, calling to her in the background. “Go ahead and talk to your mom. I’ll talk to you later.”  

“Night, Joe.”  

“Night, Vanessa.”  

Joe put the phone down and let out a breath. He realized he was at a dead end. He wished he knew where Frank was.

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.