Foreword

Here is a brand new story. It involves the Hardy boys and Nancy Drew, but now, the Hardys will be in danger! If you think this story is just like those ND&HB Super Mystery, then you are WRONG! In ND&HB Super Mystery, Nancy is traveling with a friend and the Hardys are investigating a case, and they meet together by chance. But in this case, Frank and Joe will be the ones who are having fun, and Nancy will be investigating a murder! Also, this story has a prologue and an epilogue, so the prologue talks about how the story started and the epilogue talks about how the story ended. This story is much more detailed when compared to Missing in Action. The format is different too: there are two scenes shown in the beginning which are very important in solving the case. Please enjoy my latest story, Ocean of Deceit...

1

Prologue: Darkness

The streets of Miami were silent during the night, which was very rare. Usually, people would roam about the dimly lit streets with no goal or plan. They just roamed there because they had nowhere else to go. It was not as though they wanted to. People with homes slept in their beds when people without were left outside in the humid weather. Moon was right over their heads, but it was not enough to light up their minds. It did not bring them the hope, the confidence, the future. Some committed suicide a long time ago because they could not bear to live their miserable life any more. They ended their life themselves, so they could go to places where they had no worry to be miserable about. While some committed suicide, others committed crimes. They stole from local food stores during the day and robbed others during the night. It was not the life they were planning to live, but it was the only choice they had. They had no special skills to earn themselves a job or two. They had no house to live in and spend the humid nights in. They had nowhere else to go, no one else to trust. Who were they? Why did they live the life they live now?

The bay was empty and dark. One ship was floating there, obviously trying to be concealed and unseen. The ship carried more than a few people. In fact, there were a few dozen of them aboard. Most of them had the look of hope on their faces. They felt the happiness that didn't occur to them in years, some decades. As they got off the boat, their feet touched the cold, wet sand and their eyes glittered with tears. They had made it. They had finally made it.

Most of the residents in the city of Miami were asleep After all, it was already close to two in the morning. The streetlamps illuminated the streets, but the darkness still overwhelmed the lights.

This person wasn't asleep.

The person had a hat and an overcoat that covered their entire body. The person could be a man or woman, young or old. With the hat and the overcoat, nobody could tell who the person was. Even though it was in the middle of July, the person wore the clothing fit for winter. With the temperature rising up to eighty degrees, it was the weather where you least expect a man to wear an overcoat.

With one hand, the mysterious person made sure his coat would not come off. If anybody saw him in the streets at that time, the entire plan would be ruined. Yes, the entire plan. He had been thinking about this for days, so if it were ruined, all the hard work would be wasted away. He had to act careful. He had to act calm. This was it. He had to do it.

This person looked around for a while, and then entered the building through a back door in the alley. The alley was dark, far darker than the streets. The moon was hidden behind the tall building, and the light from the streetlamps could not reach there. It was the world of completely darkness, or complete secrecy.

In the alley, garbage filled the dumpster right next to the door, giving off the foul odor that loomed over the entire area. Now, the only thing he saw was darkness. The only thing he smelt was the foul odor spreading through the air, but the man didn't seem to mind.

Man used the key he had and unlocked the old, heavy steel door. It opened with a loud creak, but the man didn't seem to hear it. He was thinking about something else, something more important, something he needed to think about.

The person closed the door as he entered the building, careful not to let it creak too much. When the door sealed shut, there was complete darkness again.

"Well, I see you've managed to come here," a voice said.

The person with the overcoat looked around, trying to find out who the voice belonged to and where the person was. In the utter darkness, trying to find the source of the voice was difficult. The voice then snickered.

"I can see you, but you can't see me. Isn't that unusual?"

Where was the voice coming from? The man looked around carefully. By the time his eyes adjusted to darkness, he saw the silhouette of the figure standing in the corner just twenty or so yards away from him.

The voice then said, "Did you bring the money?"

His hand in his pocket, the man in overcoat nodded sternly. As he took his hands out, the shadow saw an envelope. The envelope was golden yellow, the kind where you would find in the post office. He used his other hand to open the envelope and took out a small stack of bills.

"Is this it?"

He nodded.

"Good. Because if it isn't…"

The voice didn't complete the statement. The person knew what would happen if he didn't bring the money. He was afraid. He was very afraid.

The mysterious person took the envelope and took the money out. Slowly, the person began counting bill by bill. Each of the bills was a twenty-dollar one. With ten of them in the stack, the total sum added up to be two hundred dollars.

"Twenty…Forty…Sixty…Eighty…"

The person kept counting. It was as if he did not want to miss even one bill.

"A hundred…One hundred and twenty…One hundred and forty…One hundred and sixty…One hundred and eighty…"

Finally, the person in the shadows stopped. Even in the darkness, the man in overcoat could see that the person was grinning.

"Two hundred!"

With that, the person shoved the money into the pocket.

"Perfect," the voice said. "You brought exactly what I wanted. Now, do not tell this to anyone. You got that?"

The man in overcoat nodded.

"Humph! I hope so, since if you do tell anyone, then I will have to tell the authority what you did, and it's not going to be pretty. It's for your own sake."

The man again nodded.

"It's good that you understand. Now! Get out at once!"

The man got out in an instant, leaving the creaking door open and letting the odor outside come and fill the dark, empty space.

…

The kitchen filled with delicious aroma of Mrs. Hardy's homemade pancake.

"Frank! Joe! Fenton!" Mr. Hardy's sister, Miss Gertrude Hardy, yelled as she set the plates with pancakes onto the table. "Breakfast!"

As soon as she finished shouting the word, three figures dashed down the staircase and into the kitchen. Not only were they the three men in the family, but also were the ones who ate the most. They were Frank Hardy, Joe Hardy, and Fenton Hardy. Fenton was Frank and Joe's father.

"All right! Pancakes!" said the older of the two boys. He had the dark hair and a tall status. His good looks got him many girl admirers in the past, but he decided to stay with only one. His name was Frank, the older Hardy brother who therefore got more responsibility. He was more like a babysitter for his outgoing brother. "About time you changed the menu, Aunt Gertrude!"

"Oh, shush!" Gertrude Hardy said in a teasing way. She was a woman with a strong body and two spunky teenage boy detectives as her nephews. She was always bragging to her friends about how her name meant "spear strength" in Germanic when she was younger. Now, she was just another sports-loving woman who lived with her brother and his family. "I think the scrambled egg and roasted turkey was good enough for breakfast!"

"But for five days straight?" asked the blond-haired teenager. He was the younger of the two Hardy brothers and was always getting into trouble. With Frank always telling him how outgoing he was, he was sometimes annoyed with his older brother's treating him like a little kid. He always reminded him that he was also in high school. His name was Joe. "Come on, nobody would not hate having the same breakfast for so long."

Mr. Fenton Hardy, the two boys' father, laughed. He looked like Frank and Joe put together, only older. He picked up his glass of orange juice and drank from it. The private investigator was a police officer before, so he had experience in bringing the villains back to justice.

He was not the only one in the family who had been famous before, however. Frank and Joe were two detectives who handled many cases of their own from the one that took place in the mysterious tower to the most recent one involving the stolen vase and a sabotaged theater. The case mainly involved Nancy Drew, another famous eighteen-year-old detective from River Heights. She and Frank were having awkward relationship, since Nancy already had a boyfriend and Frank had a girl friend in their own town.

As the Hardys ate breakfast, the telephone in the hall rang. Frank went to answer it. "Hello?"

"Frank? This is Chet."

"Hi, Chet!" Frank said. Chet Morton was Frank and Joe's best friend, who was a little plump but was always trying to stay away from trouble, which the Hardys were anxious to find. "What's up?"

"Well, I won two tickets to wherever you want to go in United States. You see, I found this writing contest that seemed really interesting: I had to write a mystery story. Of course, I used the case you were working on just a few months ago. And guess what? I won! The third prize was two airplane tickets to anywhere in USA. I liked to go to the antique car exhibition with my dad, but he got sick and I had to go to my aunt's house to help her with the store."

"So you want us to go?"

"Yeah, you and Joe. You can choose wherever you want to go in United States. And I think you deserve the trip. All I did was talk about the mystery you two solved, so I think you two should have the ticket. Besides, you two seem to be working too much recently, with so many cases and all."

"But…" Frank was hesitant. "Are you sure about that?"

"Why not? You two are my best friends! Remember the time you saved my life from…"

"Okay, okay, I understand. Well, if you want us to have fun, then we will try to. I'll call you later about this."

"It's not necessary."

"Why?"

Suddenly, Chet hung up. A second later, the doorbell rang. Frank went to the front door and opened it. Chet was standing there with a big smile. "Surprise!"

Frank chuckled. He was calling from his cell phone and was standing in front of their house all along.

"I got the two tickets over here. Just call them today or tomorrow. Since it's summer vacation, I don't think you will be buried in school work anymore."

"When does the trip start?"

"Next week."

Frank took the tickets and smiled. "Thanks, pal."

Chet grinned, showing his white front teeth. "And I hope you don't bump into another case." With that, he went into his father's truck and drove away.

"Joe!" Frank shouted as he went into the kitchen. "Great news! We can finally plan a vacation without a case to work on."

The Hardys all looked at each other. "Well, that's a first," Joe said, surprised. "I really wish we won't bump into another mystery."

"Don't worry," Frank said in an assuring way. "I'm sure we won't."

And that was how the Hardys got into another mystery which they did not expect.