Finally, my first story! I'll be trying my best to keep the plot simple but full of adventure, mystery and suspense. Do let me know your ideas, compliments and criticism. I assure you that they will be appreciated. I am quite sure that the summary will satisfy you, despite the fact that I'm not very good at summaries. I beg you to remember that this is my first story, so please be generous and lenient with your reviews. So... I guess that pretty much sums it all. On with the story!

Happy reading! And please...please...please... READ and REVIEW!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hardy Boys (although I wish I did!) Also, my updating may be sporadic at times due to a busy schedule, so please bear with me.

CHAPTER I

Stolen Embryos

"HEY JOE," Frank said, "Do you remember the book that we had about the evolution of dinosaurs?"

"Sure! What about it?" Joe asked

"I want it, but I can't find it. I am sure I put it on this shelf," Frank replied

Frank and Joe Hardy, teenage sons of the famous detective Fenton Hardy, were sitting in their library. Frank, dark-haired and dark-eyed, was a senior at Bayport High; Joe, blond, a year younger.

"I am not sure, but I think that you lent it to Phil," Joe recalled, referring to one of their best friends.

"Oh yes, I remember." Frank decided, "Well, we'll pick up the book later."

"Frank…, Joe…," a voice called.

The boys turned to see the tall, thin figure of their Aunt Gertrude. Gertrude Hardy had come to live in the boys' house years ago. Frank and Joe loved their aunt dearly and she also loved them, but she liked to hide her feelings behind a stern and disciplinary manner. The boys knew that beneath this, she had a kind, soft heart and that the safety of their father and themselves was her chief concern.

"What's the matter, Aunty?" Joe asked

"Your father wants to see you in his study, right away," the woman replied.

The boys quickly put the books back and padded up the stairs to their father's study.

"What's up, Dad?" Frank asked his father.

Mr. Hardy, a tall, handsome man in his early forties, greeted his sons with a mysterious grin and an excited twinkle in his eyes.

"Tell us, Dad," Joe pleaded excitedly as the boys sank into comfortable leather swivel chairs.

"Dinosaurs," Mr. Hardy answered mysteriously.

"We give up at the first try, Dad!" Frank said.

"Please," Joe pleaded, "Tell us what it's all about!"

"Okay, Okay," Mr. Hardy chuckled, "Do you boys know about ArgusCorp and Cretaceous Kingdom?"

"You bet we do!," Frank replied with excitement, "it's a genetic engineering company and has devised a way of making cloned dinosaurs, they have made Cretaceous Kingdom as an adventure theme park, containing the animals."

"Right," Mr. Hardy continued, "ArgusCorp has built the park on Novoa Island, which is about a hundred miles off the coast Costa Rica."

"So what's the mystery?" Joe asked, hardly able to control his excitement and impatience.

"The CEO of ArgusCorp called me today and asked for an appointment," Mr. Hardy began, "I told him to come and meet me at 2 O'clock. He said that he wanted to discuss a confidential matter with me, and could not afford any publicity. The fact that it's related to dinosaurs, is all that I know.

"How can we help?" Frank asked

"By taking over the entire assignment," Mr. Hardy answered with a smile

"Wow!" Joe exclaimed excitedly

"So when's the CEO coming?" Frank asked

"He promised to come at 2 PM sharp," Mr. Hardy replied, "but it's late; anyway, I have to leave for New York City right away"

"Why, Dad?" Frank asked curiously

"I have been given a special assignment by the United States Government," Mr. Hardy confided. "I'll tell you about it when I get back."

Mr. Hardy left for New York City half an hour later after receiving messages of good luck, safety and many warnings from the boys and Miss Hardy. Aunt Gertrude settled for a nap in her room after lunch and the boys' mother headed for the supermarket, while Frank and Joe went to their recreation room in the basement to pass the time by watching TV.

By 4 O'clock, the CEO of ArgusCorp had still not arrived and the boys were disappointed; but just then the doorbell rang.

Frank answered it and saw an old man in an expensive suit standing there. He wore round spectacles and had a white beard.

"Hello, boys!" he called out heartily, "forgive me for my late arrival, but I had gone to New York and the traffic was heavy."

As Frank and Joe stood watching him with a confused expression, he laughed and said, "I am the CEO of ArgusCorp: Bruce Campbell and I'm delighted to meet you finally in person Frank and Joe!"

"Oh, how do you do, sir?" Frank asked politely. "Please come in."

Campbell walked with a slight limp, supporting himself with an ornately carved wooden walking stick. "I see you boys didn't expect an old man like me to be the CEO of Argus, did you?" Campbell said with a laugh.

"To speak the truth, we didn't, sir," Joe answered with a grin

"Dad was sorry that he couldn't meet you," Frank continued, "but he had to go to New York City on a case."

"Oh, that's all right," Campbell said cheerfully, "I am quite sure that you boys can get to the bottom of the mystery that I am going to tell you."

Frank and Joe smiled. They felt a strange type of excitement whenever a new case was assigned to them.

Joe said, "You'll have to tell it in detail, sir as we don't know anything about it. You didn't tell anything specific to Dad."

"Yes, I didn't," Campbell replied seriously. "Or rather, I couldn't."

"Why is that, sir?" Frank asked, alarmed.

"Oh, please, call me Bruce," Campbell said, and continued. "Well, I had a feeling that I was being watched or eavesdropped, so I didn't tell anything specific to your Dad. I also suspect that my phone has been tapped."

"Did you try to find out?" Frank inquired.

"I thought about that," Bruce replied. "But I decided to stay quiet. Also, I don't trust anyone anymore after the accidents in the park."

"What accidents?" Frank was fully alarmed.

"Well, first a cargo net failed, and then a Velociraptor escaped while we were bringing it to the park. Five workers were injured; two of them, "severely". My investors have threatened to shut down the operation!"

"That would be very bad for you, Mr. Campbell," Joe said.

"Bad?" Bruce replied excitedly, "it would take Argus out of business completely!"

"Whoa!" Frank said, "Then something has to be done. Any other mysterious happening Bruce?"

"As a matter of fact, yes" Bruce replied, "We have fifteen species of dinosaurs on the island you know, and their embryos are kept in the cold storage room of our research lab in the park. Embryos of each of the fifteen species were stolen during a recent power cut, which turned off the electricity supply of the control room and lab. With these embryos, it wouldn't be very hard for a genetic engineering company to clone dinosaurs."

"Oh, no!" Joe said worriedly

"If these embryos get into wrong hands, there is no telling what will happen. The next thing I want is dinosaurs growing up in peoples' backyards!" Bruce said with a dry chuckle.

The boys were thoroughly alarmed and concerned, but not for long. Ever since their first case: The Tower Treasure, had tested their abilities, the boys had trained themselves to stay calm and alert. Control of emotions was the first thing their father had taught them.

"Do you know what caused the power cut?" Frank asked Bruce.

"Yes, it was caused by a heavy storm which hit the area and caused a main power line to short-circuit. This tripped the circuit breakers and turned off the power of our visitors' center, restaurant, living quarters and labs."

Bruce went on to explain that there were about two hundred animals on the island. The animals each had their specific territory in which they were contained by using huge electrified fences. The fences carried a voltage of ten thousand volts, and so, it was nearly impossible for an animal to escape. He said that the fences and most of the facilities of the park were controlled by a complicated and large computer system. The automation allowed the controllers to feed the animals, monitor their movements and track their specific locations on the island.

"Did the electric fences shut down too?" Joe inquired worriedly.

"No, they didn't, as they have an entirely different Grid system and backup generators." Bruce replied.

"The security systems would have been deactivated too." Frank pointed out

"No, they are also controlled separately and we were alert during the power cut – monitoring all the areas which require tight security," Bruce replied.

"From what you tell us, I can say that you have a foolproof security system," Frank said, "it would be almost impossible for anyone to steal the embryo specimens, unless….," his voice trailed off.

Bruce looked puzzled and to seek further clarification, Joe asked:

"Who controls the computer system?"

"The Systems Director," Bruce replied. "The other operators and programmers log in after he has entered the password, security key and access number."

"Can you explain the jobs of each of the member of the control team?" Frank requested Bruce

"Sure Frank." Bruce started to explain. He explained that all the programmers and software experts are headed by the Systems Director – the designer of the system and having authority to change the system settings, turn off the security systems, access the main computer program and even change the way the system is programmed. Another major role is of the Operations Director, who heads the operation controllers. The security team is headed by the Security Director and keeps all the areas of the park under constant surveillance.

"So no one except the Systems Director can get "into" the system," Frank concluded

"Absolutely no one," Bruce assured. "But what did you mean by 'unless', Frank?"

"Well, you see, in an area of such high security, there isn't any chance of an outside person getting in," Frank explained. "Chances are that someone from your staff is involved in the theft and accidents."

Bruce nodded. "I can't see any reason to doubt your theory, Frank. In fact we ourselves are pretty confused as to how someone managed to steal the embryos from under our noses!"

"Do you suspect anyone from the computer automation team?" Joe inquired

"I thought about that, and could not think of anybody who would give me a reason to suspect him," Bruce replied

"So this means that we only have some suspects; the biggest one is the Systems Director himself."

Bruce nodded.

"Is there anyone else who has some degree of access to the program, enough to change settings?" Frank asked.

Bruce shook his head. "No one except the Systems Director. On top of that, even he needs authorization from the Board of Directors of the company. The computer system is fully secure and fool-proof and to give you an idea, I'll say that it can compete with the systems which NASA has, in security, power and efficiency."

"Pretty impressive," Joe remarked.

"Did the system lock out during the power cut which you told us about?" Frank asked.

Bruce nodded. "No, it didn't. It gave us a warning that the power has been lost; then two minutes later when the backup generators kicked in, the system gave us an 'all-clear' indication. The security guards had been alerted to keep their eyes open and we were monitoring the areas very closely. No guard reported any suspicious activity and neither did we see any mysterious happening on the CCTV cameras."

"Hmmm," Frank mused. "It's very puzzling, but as always there will be some clue as to how this happened."

"What do you want us to do now, Bruce?" Joe asked with anticipation.

"Find the culprit for me young man!" Bruce exclaimed, "I want you to come to the Island next week and stay there until you solve the mystery."

"Well thank you, sir!" Frank said, "We accept your invitation with pleasure!"

"One more thing, boys!" Bruce said as he stood up to leave, "There's no rush; think over this, consult your father and let me know."

"Yes we will, sir!" Joe said quickly

"Good!" Bruce said as Frank and Joe escorted him to the door, "I'll keep a surprise ready for you!" He grinned and handed Joe his business card.

A black limousine was waiting for him at the curb. A uniformed chauffeur got out and opened the rear door for him. As Bruce climbed into the car, he turned back and gave the boys a broad smile. A moment later, the limousine sped away.