At first Frank was unable to comprehend what had happened. They had seen Nancy step into the armoured van. It sat there for a few moments, then the engine started up and it slowly began to move off. Just as they were turning, the deafening explosion rocked the quiet neighbourhood. It set off a cacophony of car alarms and the frenzied barking of dogs, while heat from the blast rushed swiftly towards them and engulfed them. Flaming pieces of metal were still falling to the ground.

Joe’s yells snapped Frank back to reality: “Oh my God!” he kept repeating over and over.

“Nancy!” Frank cried out at the top of his lungs. He broke into a run, heading straight for the twisted shell of what was left of the police van, still ablaze. Thick, black smoke poured from the inferno, the acrid smell assailing their nostrils. An arm grabbed for Frank and forcefully restrained him, spun him back around.

“Frank, what are you doing?” It was Joe.

“I have to get to Nancy,” Frank said, his eyes wild with desperation. “I have to help her!”

“But – there’s nothing left, Frank,” Joe replied simply, sadly, shaking his head.

“No,” Frank whispered, sinking to his knees. Joe knelt down beside him, but said nothing more, knowing there were no words he could say to comfort his brother.

Frank remained like that, oblivious to the chaos around them. Agents and other officers were scrambling about, trying to understand what had just happened, trying to decide how to put out the fire without destroying evidence.

Someone in authority eventually approached them and told them to get up and move aside; that they needed to clear the area. Procedure, they were told, due to fears that there could be secondary explosive device.

“We have to move, Frank,” Joe said, and pulled his brother up and led him away. Frank, almost in a trance-like state, obediently followed. They stopped when they reached the lawn of a neighbourhood home.

“She’s gone Joe,” an expressionless Frank finally spoke in a voice that was flat and devoid of emotion. “Just like Iola.”

 

This author welcomes critiques

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.