“Frank, Joe, come in here,” Fenton called out as they entered the house.  

They made their way into the living room and saw their father sitting on the couch, leaning over the coffee table as he looked at the stacks of papers that were piled there.  

“What have you got?” Joe asked.  

“You two might want to sit down,” Fenton said, looking up from the papers.  

Frank and Joe settled in the recliners across from their father.  

“What’s going on?” Joe asked.  

“After Con gave us the news yesterday, I called Sam and he began putting Anthony Perrelli under surveillance. We figured if we watched him, we would have the upper hand should he try something.”  

“That was a good idea,” Joe said.  

“We thought so too,” Fenton said. “Unfortunately, it appears that Anthony caught on and vanished.”  

“How could that have happened in less than a day?” Frank asked.  

“It seems as if Anthony has called in more guards that have been trained to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Even though Sam is one of the best at surveillance work, somehow they caught on.” Fenton looked at them both. “So, that means we are really going to have to be on our guard. Anthony is smart and he will probably be extremely careful so he won’t get caught.”  

“But he will try something,” Frank said.  

“More than likely,” Fenton agreed. “Anthony Perelli is a persistent man and will do what has to be done.”  

“Do you think he may have someone else try to get me?” Frank asked.  

“It’s a possibility, but I’m not certain. After his son’s death, I didn’t hear anything about him. He pretty much went into seclusion. But he is out for revenge and I don’t think he will let anything stop him.”  

“Well, we’ll just have to be extra cautious,” Joe said.  

“Exactly,” Frank said.  

“And so you are aware, Sam is trying to locate Anthony again. He knows he’s going to have to be more careful this time, but he is determined to find him.”  

“Good,” Joe said.  

* * * * *  

That evening, Frank and Joe took a break from studying and headed into the heart of Bayport to get something to eat. Their mother was working late at the library and Fenton had left, possibly following up on a lead.  

As Joe drove, he noticed Frank was even quieter than before. He had seen it on the way home from the campus. He knew his brother didn’t like to be targeted and waiting for the unknown to happen. But even though they knew the reason and who was after Frank, his brother seemed extremely depressed.  

Arriving at the pizza place their friends’ father owned, they went inside and settled in one of the booths. After ordering, Joe looked his brother over with a critical eye. He knew for certain his brother was concerned about something, more than being killed by Anthony Perelli.  

“Do you want to tell me what you’re thinking?” Joe asked.  

“It’s nothing,” Frank said, glancing out the window.  

“I think it is. You’ve been really quiet today, and even with all that’s going on, that’s not like you.”  

“I’m just trying to figure a couple things out. That’s all.”  

“Frank, you are going to have to try harder than that. I have known you for more than 20 years and I know when you’re troubled. So, come on, spill it to your little brother.”  

Frank turned to face him and Joe saw a trace of a smile on his brother’s face. He knew if he tried a little harder, he could get an actual smile from Frank.  

“Come on, Frank. Tell little brother Joe what’s weighing on your mind. I may even come up with a couple ideas.”  

That was the ticked. A smile finally crossed Frank’s face. “You are crazy.”  

“I’m perfectly normal.”  

Frank chuckled. “I needed that.”  

“So, what’s going on? What has made you so super quiet?”  

Frank turned serious and started stirring his straw in his glass of soda unconsciously. “Well, I have been thinking about the future.”  

“Our future is all set. We’ll be opening the agency with Dad and really start to take on some cases.”  

“But the agency won’t be opening for at least another year. What am I supposed to do in the meantime? Sit and twiddle my thumbs?”  

Joe was quiet. He realized that was something they never really talked about. They knew the agency would open once they graduated, but they had easily forgotten there would be a year’s difference between them getting their degrees.”  

“I hadn’t thought about that,” Joe admitted, looking at his older brother. “You know, you could start getting the agency set up. I mean, there’s going to be a lot we’re going to need and this may be the best time to do it so that we can kick it into full gear once I graduate.”  

“I think that’s a great idea, but I don’t think that’s going to take me an entire year to do.”  

“You could also start working on cases with Dad,” Joe suggested.  

“I know,” Frank said quietly, his gaze shifting to the table.  

“But you don’t want to give up your partner,” Joe concluded.  

“I think it would be great to really work with Dad, but you and I are partners. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We can always figure out what the other is doing by just thinking about it.”  

“But with Dad, we don’t have a lot of experience with that,” Joe said.  

Frank sighed. “I know we’ve worked with Dad before, but it was more like he did his part and we did ours.”  

“I can see where you’re coming from,” Joe said. “But it’s not like we won’t be solving our own cases. We handled quite a few while we’ve been in college and I don’t see that stopping.”  

“I guess you’re right,” Frank said as he stopped swirling his soda and looked at his brother. “I just got the feeling of being alone in left field with nothing to do for a year.”  

“There’ll be plenty for you to do,” Joe said. “I can almost guarantee it.”  

“I appreciate that, Joe. I really do.  

At that moment, the waitress came over and placed their pizza on the table. They each quickly grabbed a slice and started eating.  

“You know, we have to spend more time here,” Joe said after he finished his first slice. “We used to live here in high school, but now, we’re lucky if we come in once a month.”  

“That’s life,” Frank said. “As you grow up, things change. Sometimes for the best and sometimes for the worst.”  

Joe noticed the change in Frank’s voice and knew there was something more than what Frank had told him.  

“What else are you thinking about?” Joe pressed, picking up another slice.  

“It’s nothing.”  

“Frank, do I have to do this again?”  

“I’m being honest, Joe.”  

“You know, maybe you should give Caren a call and try to resolve your problems. I think that you two need to talk.”  

“Maybe you’re right,” Frank said.  

“I am right.”  

Joe and Frank finished their pizza.  

* * * * *  

After finishing their pizza and paying their bill, Frank and Joe left the pizza place. They headed down the street to where they had parked the van.  

“This was a nice change,” Frank said.  

“What do you mean?” Joe asked.  

“Well, it’s been a long time since you and I just went out by ourselves. Usually if we do go out together, it’s in a group.”  

Joe was quiet for a moment. “You’re right. I didn’t realize that.” Joe put his hand on Frank’s shoulder. “I think we’re going to have to make time to do it more often.”  

“That won’t happen,” a voice said behind them.  

Frank and Joe spun around to see four masked individuals. They knew they were in trouble. Before they could get into a defensive position, the four individuals charged at them.  

Joe swung his right fist and caught one of them in the jaw. That one fell to the ground. As he turned his attention on the second one, he saw a balled up fist coming toward his stomach. Joe bent forward and the punch missed him.  

He then swung his fist in an uppercut as the other person stepped back. The second one yelled as he charged at him. Joe couldn’t react fast enough. Just as he was about to step to the side, his foot got caught on an uneven patch of sidewalk and fell back. He hit the cement hard, knocking the breath out of him.  

The man that had charged, pinned Joe to the ground, but there was no way he was going anywhere. His body wasn’t listening to his commands to move. Everything appeared to be slowing down. He watched as Frank was subdued by the three men and taken down the street.  

The man pinning him to the ground said, “I hope you enjoyed your dinner with your brother. It’ll be the last one you’ll ever have.”  

The man grabbed the hair on Joe’s head, pulling his head up off the cement. The man slammed it back into the ground.  

Joe saw stars in front of his eyes before he blacked out.

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.