First off, I want to say thanks to all those who read, reviewed, followed and favorited!

Wendylouwho10, centaurdy jackson007, heathledger101 and the beautiful Albany!

Also, I forgot to put up a disclaimer at the beginning, so:

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE HARDY BOYS!

CHAPTER ONE: THE SAFE HOUSE

Frank was trying to focus on his paper, but it was impossible to do so when his annoying brother was blasting rock music in his room across the hall.

He didn't usually argue with Joe's choice of music, but Frank couldn't even hear himself think. He placed his hands over his ears, trying to concentrate on the computer screen and tune it out, but to no avail.

Then the song ended and blessed silence fell over the house. Frank sighed in relief, and had typed in the heading, "Poverty Fosters Crime", when an equally loud, if not louder, song started up again. Frank inhaled, trying to keep from losing his temper.

"Poverty may not, but irritating younger brothers do," he muttered, pushing his chair back and striding to the door. He swung it open, went to Joe's bedroom door, and banged his fist against it for the tenth time, shouting for him to shut off that god-awful noise. This time, though, Joe answered the door.

The decibel level went up the moment the door opened, making Frank wince. Joe stood there grinning in a ratty old pair of pajamas, a soda in one hand. "What's up, Frank?"

"You know what's 'up', Joe," He seethed, as Bon Scott shrieked at them to 'Let There Be Rock'. "I have to finish a thousand word essay, and if you play one more rock song, so help me god-"

Their mother's voice interrupted his tirade to call them down for dinner. At least, he thought he heard her say 'dinner'.

Frank poked Joe's chest. "I mean it, shut it off."

They bickered all the way downstairs, and Frank would have strangled him right then and there, when someone knocked on the front door.

Joe frowned, puzzled. "Who could it be at this time?"

"I have no idea," Frank said. "I'll get it!" He called out to his mother.

He went over to the front door, Joe trailing behind him, and swung it open, while simultaneously switching on the porch light. He immediately jumped back, startled, when a pale girl covered in blood staggered in, clutching her middle. "I-I have to…uh…record...I have to record a statement," She muttered, placing a hand on the table to steady herself.

Frank just stared at her with his mouth open. The blood kept pouring out of the wound in her torso and was dripping on the floor. Joe swore.

Their mother arrived to greet the visitor, and gasped at the sight.

"Oh my God – Frank! We have to get her to the hospital!"

Frank shook himself mentally. Hospital.

"Get the keys, Joe." He said curtly, and picked the girl up, careful not to jostle her too much. She groaned, and some blood trickled out of her mouth. "You're going to be okay," He said to her. "We're taking you to the hospital."

"No…no…I have to…information…" Her eyes were now just white slits, and she lay limp in Frank's arms.

"JOE!"

"I got them, I got them! Go, go, go!"

He raced out to their car, Joe speeding ahead of him to hold the car door open. They put her in the backseat, and Joe got in after her, handing his brother the keys.

"I have to keep pressure on the wound," He said by way of explanation.

Frank jumped in the driver's seat and they sped out of the driveway. Joe kept his palms firmly on the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding. The girl tried to lift her head weakly, but fell back into the seat. She kept mumbling something.

Joe leaned in closer. "What is it?"

"Sell…rig-be…be-lev…well…for-for-tee…for tee-six," She whispered.

"What?" Joe leaned in closer.

"Joe, what's wrong?" Frank kept his eyes on the road. They were almost there. He saw a few doctors waiting outside, and waving at them. Mom must have called and told them we were coming.

"She's trying to say something, I-"

"Listen!" She hissed suddenly. Coughing up more blood, she clutched at his shirt. "Li-life and death…sell…sell-rig-be…lef-well…for…tee-tee six."

"Uh.. 'sell rigby left well for tee-six'?" Joe repeated incredulously, but she had lost consciousness.

"Joe, what are you talking about?" Frank pulled up at the entrance and the doctors immediately got a stretcher over and helped Joe get the girl out of the car. He kept the pressure on and hurried inside with the doctors. Frank parked in the lot and ran inside, looking for his brother.

He finally saw him a few minutes later, emerging from a trauma room. His hands were covered in blood, and his shoulders were slumped. Frank looked at him questioningly. Joe shook his head almost imperceptibly. Frank sighed, then, putting his arm around Joe's shoulders, led him to a chair.

They sat there in silence until Chief Ezra Collig walked in and made a beeline toward them. "Boys," He nodded at them.

"Chief," Frank looked up at him. "Did you find out who she was?"

"No," Chief Collig said immediately. "We're sending out her description under a Jane Doe."

"What can we do to help?" He asked.

"It's been a long night," the Chief said. "You should go home, clean up," He eyed Joe, who hadn't bothered to wipe the blood off. "Get some rest."

"We can't go." Joe said suddenly.

"What?"

"We can't go. She was shot. This is attempted –" He winced. "This is murder, and we need to give statements."

The chief suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Look, what's the hurry? We'll get someone to come over and follow up in the morning. Just go home."

Joe looked like he was going to argue, then nodded resignedly. The Hardys made their way out to their car and drove in heavy silence, until Frank asked, "You said she was trying to say something, back there," He shot a glance at Joe. "What was it?"

Joe frowned, then remembered. "Oh yeah," he shuffled around in the glove compartment, pulling out a notepad and a pen. "Um, she said something about life and death, but that's about all I could understand."

"Life and death?" Frank raised his eyebrows. "What did she say exactly?"

Joe scribbled furiously and then held the notepad away, surveying the words. "Yeah, that seems about right. Here goes: 'Listen, this is life and death. Sell rigby left well for tee six.'"

Frank looked at him.

"I know, didn't make sense to me either."

Chief Collig saw the car pull out of the hospital parking lot and head down the road. As if on cue, his cell phone began to ring. He pulled it out and answered it in a swift stroke. "Yes?…Yes, I'm there…I'm sorry, she didn't make it…I followed your instructions, but they already knew that it was a gunshot wound…yes, of course…I'll see to it...of course, immediately…Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

He slumped down on the chair Joe had vacated, and sighed deeply. He felt drained. The man on the other end of the phone was a very, very powerful man, and he could not afford to piss him off. He was going to do what he was told, and if that meant dumping the body into the bay, then by all means, he would drive out there himself and make sure no one laid eyes on Anna Coleman ever again.

The song playing in Joe's room is 'Let There Be Rock' by the awesome ACDC.

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Over and out,

Random :)