Semyon slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. It was still dark, no lights were on anywhere. He could hear others in the room stirring around and waking up. Something sparked in the back of his mind, but the thought was so vague that he couldn’t quite grasp it. No sounds could be heard outside the door, so he closed his eyes and let himself go back to sleep.  

He was awakened several hours later by a pale shaft of sunlight landing on his face. This time he sat up. The door was still closed. Most everyone in the room had done the same as he and gone back to sleep. Only a few were awake, the newest who weren’t quite as tired. The thought he couldn’t quite get hold of was still there, so he focused on it to block how hungry he felt. What am I trying to remember?  

Another flash of those two blonds from his recurring dream popped up, only this time they were older and working on a car. Together. And this time, he knew their names.  

Joe! And Biff. But how do I know you?  

He focused on Joe, feeling that somehow he was the key to these images. Tell me who you are. Tell me who I am. This is not me, this is not my life!  

As he lay in his bed trying to remember, the sunlight disappeared. Still, no one opened the door.  

Semyon was growing sleepy again when he heard voices. Voices outside the door. And to his great surprise he understood the English words! Now how do I know English? he asked himself.  

The overhead fluorescent lights came on and seconds later the door burst open. Half a dozen men entered the room as the occupants jerked awake and scrambled out of their blankets, pure fear engraved on their faces.  

Two of the newcomers wore suits; the others had on military fatigues. One of the suits was clearly in charge and it was he that spoke. “This mine has been closed. You are all free.”  

After a moment of stunned silence while the words were translated into Russian, the room erupted in cheers. The uniforms began walking down the aisles asking questions, and Semyon saw the one in charge coming straight towards him.  

He slowly stood up, knowing somehow that this man was looking for him and could maybe answer the questions burning in his mind.  

***  

Newhouse saw the young man stand up. “Frank?”  

“I think so.” Semyon shocked himself by answering in English! Accented, but English nonetheless.  

Newhouse sighed softly and motioned for the young man to sit down. Jack, the inside man, had suspected this but had been unable to confirm it. Newhouse sat down next to Frank. “Your real name is Frank Hardy. Five months ago you were kidnapped by your older brother Stefan.”  

The memory of a cemetery flashed before his eyes. The blond, Joe, was there, and then Semyon saw himself being shoved into a car and taken away. “I was adopted,” he said quietly.  

Newhouse nodded. “You were six, and you changed your name to Frank.”  

“Do I have a younger brother named Joe?”  

“Yes, you do. He and your parents are waiting for you in Anchorage.”  

That was in Alaska. “What did Stefan do to me?”  

“I think he had you brainwashed so you’d forget all about the Hardys.”  

“Will it come back?”  

“Probably. In bits and pieces most likely, so don’t expect it to just drop into place.”  

Frank nodded.  

“When was the last time you ate?” Newhouse asked gently.  

“I don’t remember exactly.”  

Newhouse nodded once. “The kitchen has been unlocked. A meal should be ready pretty soon. And then we’ll get you out of here.”  

***  

Four hours later Frank and the seventeen others who weren’t Russian citizens boarded an Alaska Airlines 737. He could remember being on planes like this many times and had the sense that he’d been all over the world. He had no trouble falling asleep and knew nothing until the plane touched down on American soil.  

The plane was parked, the door opened and the men began to disembark. Frank waited until last, gathering the energy to get up. When he did finally stand, Joe was right there to take his hand. “Are you okay?” he asked softly, putting an arm around Frank to steady him.  

Frank smiled. “I will be.”  

Memories of Joe clicked into place as they walked through the covered jetway into the airport. When Frank saw his parents, more pieces of his life came back and he couldn’t hold the tears in. He was home.  

***  

The next afternoon Frank woke slowly. He vaguely remembered being admitted to a hospital the night before because he was so dehydrated and on the malnourished side. Having absolutely no energy was a very strange feeling.  

“Afternoon, sleepyhead.”  

Frank smiled as his mother sat down on the bed and leaned over to plant a kiss on his forehead. “Hey, Mom. Where’s Joe?”  

“I made him go get some lunch. He’ll be back soon.” Laura noted that Frank’s accent had returned, though not as strong as it had once been.  

“Does he know that I forgot him?”  

Laura nodded. “But it doesn’t matter. He knows that Stefan can do strange things to you.”  

“It matters to me and I feel bad about it.”  

“Then talk to him. Hungry?”  

Frank nodded. Laura stood up and squeezed his hand. “I’ll be right back.”  

He watched her go, then rolled over onto his left side and closed his eyes. He wasn’t exactly sleepy, but it sure felt good to be lazy!  

Laura returned just a few minutes after she’d left, with a tray. As hungry as he was, Frank knew he had to eat slowly or risk making himself sick. Laura had brought his favorite lunch, tomato soup with a big spoonful of sour cream in it and a grilled cheese sandwich. After polishing it off, he promptly went back to sleep.  

The next time he woke, Joe had taken Laura’s place. “Hey.”  

“I forgot you, Joe.”  

Joe moved to the bed and took Frank’s hand. “It’s alright, Frank. He brainwashed you. I would have forgotten too.”  

Frank sighed and smiled slightly. Joe’s admission was nice to hear, but it didn’t really help him feel any better about it. “I still can’t remember everything, like what my room looks like.”  

“Uhm.” Joe’s free hand reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, causing Frank to raise one eyebrow and spear his little brother with what Joe called the “what have you done now?” look. “Well, it’s kinda messy right now.”  

“Messy? I do remember that it wasn’t messy the last time I was in there.”  

“Well, I’ve been sleeping in there. I promise I’ll clean it up when we get home.”  

“You better, because I’m sleeping in your room until you do. Now tell me what I’ve missed and what day it is.”  

Joe answered the last part in his best imitation of a recorded phone voice. “The day is October 19^th,  the time is 4:58.” Then he let his voice go back to normal once Frank took a playful swat at his leg. “And you haven’t really missed anything except Biff being nervous because NFL scouts are watching him. And Callie transferred to BU.”  

Frank’s jaw dropped. “Why?”  

“To give the two of a you a second chance, if you’re up to it. She came back in June. And to be honest, if she hadn’t, I don’t know that I would have made it.”  

Frank squeezed his brother’s hand as he closed his eyes. Stefan had actually done him a favor in making him forget, it kept him from going crazy missing Joe.  

Seeing that Frank was now asleep again, Joe pulled the covers up over Frank’s shoulders, then moved over to the small couch to keep watch.  

***  

“I told you it was stupid to hang onto him, Stefan. But no, you had to have your revenge!”  

“Alexei, shut up.” Stefan speared his companion with a look that matched the venom in his voice. “Just because one part of the operation has been compromised does not mean everything is. He is not rid of me just yet.  

Alexei stared at Stefan for several minutes, pondering the double meaning of the man’s words. The only sound in the cabin was the scream of the jet engines propelling them towards Vladivostok and the tinkling of the ice in Stefan’s glass.  

“This obsession will be your undoing, Stefan.”  

“Since I plan to take Semyon’s entire “family” down with me, I don’t really care.” Stefan sipped from his glass of vodka as he stared out the window, his mind reviewing plans to get the Hardys out of his way so he could get rid of Semyon once and for all.

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.