-The Choice-

Saturday, 2.10pm

‘C..can’t we discuss this a bit further,’ stammered Frank as Carson Winter brought the gun closer to his face. Oh God, Joe! Haven’t you got any tricks up your sleeve??

‘No more talk,’ said Carson in an icy voice. ‘Time for action.’

Joe gripped the gun with both hands and aimed it at Carson . This was the man who had threatened his friends, broken Biff’s leg, scared his mother half to death, drawn a heart and a question mark above Vanessa’s picture…and was about to murder Frank.

‘S…stop!’ he shouted. ‘I..I’ll use this! Drop the gun!’

Carson saw the way Joe’s hands were shaking. The boy’s voice was desperate. How sad, he thought to himself. How very, very sad.

‘Bye, bye Frank,’ said Carson .

And they were the last words Carson Winter uttered. As his tormentor began to squeeze the trigger, Frank shut his eyes and drew in a breath, convinced he was doomed. A shot rang out in the small room. And then there was a thud. Amazed, Frank opened his eyes. Carson Winter had fallen backwards onto the floor, a bloody patch of crimson spreading across his chest. Joe was rooted to the spot, the gun still held out in front of him. His hands were shaking violently, his eyes transfixed on Winter’s body.

‘Joe,’ Frank managed to say. ‘Joe!’ he shouted when he received no response. The weapon suddenly clattered to the floor as Joe sank to his knees. Joe’s young face conveyed a mixture of horror and amazement at what he had done. Frank yanked with all his might on his restraints, desperate to cross the small space separating them.

All of a sudden, the door to the room was kicked in with a splintering crash. Several policemen, led by Con Riley, ran in.

‘Cut me out of these bloody things!’ yelled Frank, as two of the officers examined Carson ’s body. As soon as Con had released him, Frank leapt up, despite the pins and needles in his legs, and went to Joe’s side.

Feeling Frank touch his arm, Joe finally took his eyes from Carson ’s corpse. As the brothers helped each other to stand, Carson Winter stared vacantly at the ceiling, an expression of surprise forever frozen on his face.  

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.