Stunned, Joe sat back and wondered at this turn of events. "What?!" The man shrugged and pointed to a small table set up on the side. In the dim greenish glow of the lamps, Joe could make out the small coffee maker and array of foam cups. "Course, you don't have to have any."

Biff shrugged and stepped quietly over to the table, returning in a minute with a steaming cup of tea. He stirred it absently with a plastic straw, while eyeing the rest of the room's contents. A black box stood in one corner, with an array of lights along it's top. Several wires connected it to other devices on a nearby table. Minding them was a single man, dressed completely in black. For that matter, all the persons in this room were attired in the same way.

The man who had spoken to them sat against the far wall beside the door, looking only slightly ill at ease with the situation. Joe surmised that he was assigned to prevent unauthorized access. A third man lay on a cot in the corner, catching a few minutes of sleep. The whole atmosphere was decidedly shipshape and proper, almost like it was...

DOH! Joe smacked his forehead in consternation. The conclusion was so simple that he was surprised that it hadn't come to him sooner. As he turned to whisper to Biff, the electronics man turned away from his instruments and signaled to his comrades. They both jumped to his corner, then hurried to throw on their gear and headed out of the room. The lights blacked out before they opened the door, then reappeared after it shut.

"What's going on?"

* * * * *

In their cell, the other boys were trying to figure out that same question. Frank had surmised the possibility of not two but three different factions at work here.

"The facts as we have them are this: That the gang that operates in this underground facility is making weapons for yet another, as of yet unnamed party. This unknown party probably distributes them on the black market, or uses them for it's own agents. However, there is the possibility that one or both groups have been infiltrated by government agents."

"Could it be private individuals? Or even another rival gang doing the infiltrations?" TJ asked from his position near the door. Frank pondered this for a moment before replying. "I suppose that it's always possible, Joe and I have done stuff like that before; but highly unlikely unless they were hired to do so. And I doubt that a rival gang would leave us alive any more than this Jarmin character seems to be intending."

A clatter in the hall alerted the boys to the fact that someone was approaching. With quick motions, they retreated to their corner. "Jarmin and Red, with the guys that work here." TJ whispered. Frank indicated that they should slip into their cuffs again. The plastic had been cut, but by holding the cut portion between their wrists and their backs, hopefully it wouldn't be noticed. The advantage of surprise would be a big help if a chance to get away presented itself.

A key scraped into the lock, and the door swung open. Jarmin stood in the entrance, shooting an evil glance at the three. "Step outside." Frank looked at his companions and shrugged, before leading them out of the chamber. Chet followed, then TJ. Jarmin shot no more than a cursory glance at their bonds, directing them to stand further down the hall and not move.

The rest of the prisoners were herded into the room and the door closed and locked again. Jarmin waved Red away, telling him to check for any hidden weapons in the truck. Red nodded and headed off down the hallway. Then the criminal turned and smiled at the boys. It was a cold, calculating stare, promising pain and death in its wake.

He marched them down the tunnel, past the place where Biff and Joe were being contained. Near the turning (Chet recognized it as the place where he, Joe and Biff had begun their endless loop), he opened another door hidden in the rock, and after scrambling up the tunnel, the boys came up into the forest. The smell of the fresh air was invigorating after scrambling through underground corridors for so long. The boys blinked rapidly as their eyes adjusted to the light. The click of the bolt on Jarmin's weapon being drawn and thrown into place broke the spell.

He marched them about three hundred yards from the exit, to a sheltered grove of pines. Lining them up, he backed away ten paces. "You kids have about thirty seconds left to live. Say your prayers, if you think it'll do you any good." He sneered. "I'm going to wipe you out of existence."

"No, you won't."

The voice rang out from behind him, and Jarmin whirled around, bringing his weapon to bear. Lana stood behind him, face grim, and a pistol pointed at his head. "You've gone too far Jarmin. This is my mission, and you were supposed to obey my orders. The syndicate decided that you now expendable, especially since it seems that you've been feeding information to the cops."

Jarmin turned pale, then rage took over his features. "You! I'll not tolerate this. You set me up!" His grip on his weapon tightened, and Frank thought that he would let loose at any moment.

Lana shrugged slightly. "You are considered a risk, and thus will be terminated."

Throwing the useless cuffs on the ground, Frank broke into a dead sprint, heading for the criminal. Hearing running footsteps behind him, Jarmin stitched his former partner with a burst of lead before turning to deal with the threat. Delay was a mistake. Frank plowed into him, and the weapon flew from his grasp. Chet pounced on the gun, retrieving it and getting it out of the reach of the bad man, who managed to throw Frank off and get to his feet. Lana lay still on the ground where she'd fallen.

TJ had rushed over to the woman with a view to staunching any blood flow, and now found himself in the line of fire as Jarmin tried to lay hands on Lana's pistol. Comprehending this in a second's time, the youth threw himself at the man, determined to keep him away from the gun. His charge took the criminal back a step, and Frank lunged forward to latch about his leg with a death-grip. Chet took the opportunity afforded to grab a branch from the ground and wacked Jarmin on the back of the neck, hard.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Then Jarmin's gaze took on a glassy look and he collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Just then two men in black ran up and took charge of the situation. One slipped a pair of handcuffs on the unconscious criminal, while the other knelt and kept a watch on the surrounding area. Lana winced and rose to a sitting position, cradling her ribs.

"Thank God for bulletproof vests."

"I thought you were supposed to wait for backup, Sanders." The man watching the perimeter commented wryly. The woman just rolled her eyes. "I think I had it, even if it took you guys way too long to show up."

She looked at the boys as they stared at her. "Agent Laury Sanders, FBI."

Frank nodded. "Working under an alias of Lana, and also our ghost woman."

The three agents looked a little shocked by his comment, but remained composed enough to simply leave it at face value. "That's interesting. How did you come up with that one, pray tell?" The elder Hardy boy shook his head. "It wasn't too hard, but our whole story can wait until we have time. We need to find my brother and one other friend. They're both blond and strongly built, have you seen them anywhere?"

"Seen them?" Agent Sander groaned as she got back to her feet. "They practically jumped me when I returned from locking you three up. They should be safe and sound in the control room."

"As long as they don't know what was happening." put in one of the others, as they hauled Jarmin to his feet. "Max might tell them though." Agent Sanders shook her head and holstered her pistol, still protecting her torso. "Bradley, take them to control and make sure that they stay put until the operation comes off. Tell Max and Red to stay alive; Sanders needs to get x-rayed and find out just how bad the damage is. Plus we want to lock this creature up good and tight." The shorter agent nodded and gestured to the boys to follow him.

"I'll be back later and we'll finish setting up the welcoming party."

They started off with the prisoner in tow and vanished among the trees. The boys followed Bradley back to the cave complex, wishing that the whole scenario was already played out, and not especially happy to be going underground again. Of course, there were certain perks to doing so...

* * * * *

Joe had been reserved as long as it took to get the door shut. But as soon as it had, he leapt up and grabbed his brother in a bear hug. "Took you long enough bro!" The tears that stood in his eyes belied his teasing, and Frank nodded. "I know. I kind of got a lot of things dropped on me at one time."

TJ choked at that statement. "You could say that..." Biff smirked at the brothers as he threw a welcoming arm around Chet. "Must be your personal magnetism Joe, it just draws them in every time." The Hardys smiled and together the young men sat down and quietly exchanged stories and conjecture. The agents observed them for a moment before going back to their tasks.

"Why did you tell them Max?"