About a half hour later, Frank heard his father come through the door and go straight into his study. At first, the twenty year old never thought anything of it because his father often did that when he was on an important case. However, this time Frank was curious. His father had been extremely secretive, almost like a hermit.

It was then that Frank had a slight grin fade across his face. Joe always liked to sneak around to see what his father was involved in, but Frank always discouraged him. Then Joe would eavesdrop on his father and then slyly report back to him all of the details he could muster up. While his brain was saying to just stay in his room and do his homework, his heart was leading him downstairs to the pantry closet. The older Hardy brother crept down the stairs and past the study. His mother was sleeping peacefully on the living room couch while the television played on. Tiptoeing past, he made his way to the kitchen and then dunked into the pantry. Trying to remain motionless, Frank Hardy strained his ears to listen.

At first, there was just silence. Then he heard his father dial the phone.

"Fenton Hardy here, have you found anything else out about that matter I spoke with you about the other day?"

"I know, but I have more at stake here than just a bunch of vandals. My son has been dead for almost two months and no one is paying for it."

"So they were in the area when Joe was killed."

"You mean… yes, I will hold."

Frank almost jumped out of his skin! The new case must involve Joe’s accident. Almost five minutes passed before he heard his father’s voice again.

"Yes, I am still here."

"WHAT! Are you sure?"

"Isn’t he an FBI agent?"

"I could be there in five hours. Are they sure that is the exact location that they are picking up activity on the satellites from? That is a very remote area of the mountains."

"Okay, I will see you in five hours. I am leaving immediately."

Frank heard his father hang up the phone. His mouth ran dry as he quickly made his way to the living room. Taking a chance, he knocked on the office door.

"Come in, but I have leave right away," Fenton said in a rush. He was gathering all of his personal property and putting it into his jacket.

"What’s up?" Frank asked, watching his partially bald father shove his cell phone in his inner jacket pocket.

"Got to go, I have a lead," Fenton said almost frantically. Frank could tell that his father was not going to release too much information, but he desperately wanted to go with him.

"Dad, does this concern Joe’s accident?" Frank simply asked.

Fenton froze in his spot and looked at his dark haired son. Frank could tell that he was debating on what to say.

"I want the truth Dad, he was my brother," Frank almost pleaded. He held his breath, hoping that this would be his break.

Fenton sighed and stopped his frantic dash for the door.

"Frank, I have already lost way too much. When Joe died, I lost a part of me that I just can not replace," Fenton replied sadly.

"You can’t put me in a display case all my life. Dad, I can help. I NEED to help," Frank pleaded again. "I am twenty years old. I deserve to be able to make decisions that concern my life."

Fenton looked at Frank and then down to the floor in thought.

"Since I know that you will just end up following me any way, get your jacket and cell phone and meet me at the van immediately," Fenton finally agreed. "I will tell your mother."

Not waiting for his father to change his mind, Frank was ready in a flash and sitting in the driver seat of the van. His father came out the front door followed by his mother. Laura waved as she stood in the autumn air. Frank figured she was not happy about his father’s decision, but she knew that her oldest son was fully capable of taking care of himself.

Fenton hopped into the passenger seat and directed Frank towards the interstate that led west out of Bayport.

*****

As they headed out of town, the only conversation that took place was Fenton barking out directions. Frank figured he would wait until they got to the interstate before he quizzed his father. As soon as they were off the ramp leading onto the interstate, Frank decided it was time to make his move.

"So what is going on Dad?"

"I have been checking in your brother’s death with the FBI. To make a long story short, it seems like the Assassins are back in business and wanting to avenge their leader’s demise. Joe was their first hit. It is believed that they caused the car to ignite or explode. I just found out this information just this week. I guess the device that caused the accident was very well hidden within the vehicle. With this entire high national security thing since September 11^th, the FBI picked up on some satellite activity out of the mountains west of Bayport. While they don’t have an exact location, they have an area that they believe that they are hiding in,’ Fenton said determinedly.

"How were they able to figure out that they were in that exact area? I mean there are miles and miles of deep woods up there," Frank commented. They had been camping to that area many times. Finding a small compound in that area would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I guess the explosive that was rigged onto Vanessa’s vehicle had a transmitter with it. Instead of blowing up in the explosion, it somehow remained in tact," Fenton replied. "It was a miracle."

"So they were able to track the signal of the transmitter," Frank said in amazement.

"Yes, it is amazing just how high tech things are in the world today, especially in the criminal world. It seems that they have the best technology has to offer!"

Frank chuckled at his father’s comment. It did seem like people on the wrong side of the law knew and possessed more gadgets than the normal private investigator.

"So do they have enough for the FBI to raid the area?"

"I believe so, but they still have to locate it. They are pretty sure of where it is, but they are right this minute closing in on the coordinates that the satellite configured," Fenton said nervously as he looked out the window. It was now dark and the city lights had subsided to the darkness of the country. "And I want to be there when they do find it."

Frank grew silent. He had a thought run through his head, but he was not sure of whether he should say it. He didn’t even know where the comment came from, but he felt a strong urge to just say it.

"You mean in case Joe is there?" he finally asked.

Fenton almost choked at hearing his son’s words. Then after a long sigh, he looked over at Frank to see if he was serious.

"Frank, Joe is gone. The dental records confirmed that it was Joe."

"Dental records can be faked. You always said anything can be falsified," Frank pointed out. He had no idea why he was arguing his brother’s death.

"Son, don’t you think that if Joe were alive that he would have contacted us somehow by now. It has been nearly two months," Fenton said tearfully. "I know you miss him. I know I sometimes wonder how I am going to go on knowing that because of my lack of supervision that Joe is dead."

"It was not your fault Dad. We enjoyed investigating with you. You are one of the best and you taught us everything you know. It was just a freak accident Dad. No one could have foreseen it," Frank answered softly.

"It doesn’t matter now. The only thing we can do for Joe is to make sure that they do not kill anyone else ever again," Fenton said sternly. Frank could have sworn he saw his father’s eyes tear up. Then he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder. "Frank, we have to face it that Joe is gone. There is nothing that the FBI had picked up on that even suggests Joe is alive."

"What about Iola?"

"I don’t know Frank. I just don’t know about that. But I do know that if Joe were alive, he would have escaped or made contact with us by now. The FBI would have heard something, but there is nothing Frank. Nothing. We have to face it. Joe is not coming back home."

Those words haunted Frank as he drove down the almost empty highway. As each car headlight passed, he could not help but wish that one of those cars had Joe in it and he WAS coming home. Then they could have the Hallmark reunion and live happily ever after. While Frank’s brain repeated what his father had told him, a piece of his heart still wanted to believe that somewhere…. out there… Joe Hardy was still alive.

 

"Somewhere, out there, beneath the starlit night, someone’s thinking of me. And loving me tonight."

My version of "Somewhere, Out There" from the movie "An American Tail".

 

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.