"Frank, you studied all night," Joe said. "You’re not going to fail the test."

"I need an A on this to keep my average up," Frank said. I have to worry since we’ve been on some busy cases and I haven’t been studying as much as I like."

"You’re too concerned with numbers," Joe said pulling into the school parking lot.

"Someone has to be," Frank replied closing his book as Joe parked the van. They got out and headed inside. "Besides, someone has to go to college and we both know it won’t be you."

"You’re real funny," Joe said sarcastically.

As they walked inside, Frank’s girlfriend, Callie Shaw, came up to them. She was an attractive girl with light brown hair. Callie asked, "Are you ready for the history test?"

"I guess," Frank sighed shrugging his shoulders as they walked toward their lockers. "I just wish I could have a little more time to study."

"You’ll do fine," Callie said squeezing Frank’s hand reassuringly. "You always do."

"Hey, Frank! Joe!" a voice bellowed from down the hall. They instantly recognized the voice belonging to their chunky friend, Chet Morton.

"Hey, Chet," Joe said leaning against the lockers.

"Guess what?" Chet panted, slightly out of breath.

"You’ve been named the hungriest person in Bayport," Joe responded teasingly.

"No," Chet said. "There’s been more vandalism."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked.

"Two computers from the lab were taken sometime during the night."

"How do you know they weren’t taken for repairs?" Frank asked.

"Wouldn’t the principal know if two computers were getting fixed," Chet countered.

"Who knows?" Frank asked.

At that moment, the bell rang and Callie said, "We’d better get to homeroom." She kissed Frank on the cheek and started down the hall. She called out over her shoulder. "Good luck on your test."

"Thanks," Frank replied. He mumbled under his breath as he headed to his class. "I’ll need it."

*****

During the last class of the day, Frank was called down to the principal’s office. He wondered what was going on. He had never been called down there before and knew he hadn’t done anything to get into trouble. On the other hand, he thought Joe may have done something that he needed to fix.

Frank entered the office and saw Joe sitting on a narrow bench next to a closed door. As he walked over to Joe, he asked, "Who did you fight this time?"

"I wasn’t fighting," Joe snapped back. "Do you know why we’re here?"

Before Frank could respond, the door to the office opened and Principal Cooper stepped out. He said, "Frank, Joe, come in here."

They walked into the principal’s office and were surprised to see Chief Ezra Collig and Officer Con Riley sitting in front of the desk. "Chief," Principal Cooper said, "The Hardy’s are here."

"Thank you," Chief Collig said getting to his feet then turning to face them. Principal Cooper closed the door as he left the room.

Once the door was closed, Frank asked, "You wanted to see us?"

"Yes, boys," Chief Collig said motioning for them to have a seat. Once they were seated, he continued. "I assume you’ve heard about the vandalism."

"Who hasn’t?" Joe asked. "There’s been the graffiti in the gym, two computers taken from the lab and lots of broken windows."

"Do you have any idea who is committing these acts?" Chief Collig asked.

"No," Frank said and Joe shook his head.

"We really need to find out who is behind this," Chief Collig said as he started to pace about the room. "Unfortunately, I can’t have you two getting involved. It would be a dead giveaway as soon as you start asking questions."

"If you don’t want us involved, why did you call us in here?" Frank asked.

"The reason we called you in here, is because we want someone to go undercover here at school," Chief Collig said. "And we were trying to figure out who we could use."

"Wait a second," Joe said leaning forward. "You want our advice on who the undercover agent should be?"

"I don’t need anything from you, but I know you’ll find a way to meddle into this investigation anyway. The agent could use you two as contacts in case problems arise that he couldn’t handle," Chief Collig said. "Since none of my officers can pass for teenagers, I thought to ask for your help, against my better judgment."

"As a matter of fact, I do have someone in mind," Frank stated. "This person is about our age and we’ve worked together before." He looked at the Chief. "How soon do you need the person here?"

"Sunday at the latest," Chief Collig said staring at the calendar. "When he arrives, I want to talk to him."

"We’ll make sure you talk," Frank said as the bell rang.

"You guys are all set," Chief Collig said. "I expect the culprits to be caught quickly."

"We’ll do our best," Frank said getting to his feet with Joe and they left the office.

Once they were outside the office, Joe asked, "Who do you have in mind."

Frank didn’t answer Joe’s question. Instead he walked right out to the van. He knew Joe would put two and two together soon enough. He unlocked the passenger door and climbed inside. "Joe, you better get to baseball practice. Tell Coach Williams I’ll be a little late."

"What should I tell him?" Joe asked.

"Tell him I had an emergency call to make and that I shouldn’t be long."

Joe grinned widely as he finally realized who Frank was going to call. "While you’re on the phone, send them my greetings."

"Count on it," Frank said returning Joe’s grin as he dialed the cell phone and Joe headed for the locker room.