Disclaimer: I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.

Thank you: Wendylouwho10 as always for being my sounding board and flow checker. ;-D Typos and grammar errors are mine.

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Continues my "Taken" series. This one comes after "Debts." Setting started out as kinda blue spine with a touch of Casefiles and is now very AU. F/20 J/18.

Author's Notes: So a guest reviewer was asking about the boys ages if they are a year apart. In my stories they are 1 year and 3 months apart. So for a VERY brief time period between December 14 (Frank) and March 16 (Joe) Frank is 2 years older. As soon as March 16 rolls around, they are back to 1 year apart. ;-) This story takes place around the first week in March. In my last story, I think I had the ages wrong for a short bit and then I tried to correct them. In the next story, they are 1 year apart. Hope that helps explain the ages. ;-) (And yes, I had the b/days and ages figured out from Taken to now. :-)


Chapter Nine

Frank crouched in the low shrubs outside the emergency exit to the boys' dorm their prickly leaves scratching at his clothing. The scuffle in the bathroom had been thankfully short. Frank had used not his gun, but his fighting skills to take out the intruder. When the man had seen Frank's gun pointed at him, he yelled something in a foreign language and then foamed at the mouth and died. The scene was burned into Frank's mind. Knowing there was nothing he could do, he left the body and exited the building seeing no other intruders.

As his eyes adjusted to dim lighting of the campus as well as that given off by the half moon, he realized he had never gotten an answer from Peaks. But there was no going back to ask. He had one hand placed on the ground for balance while his other hand held his pistol, ready to use if needed. There was no other movement that he could see. Joe and the others had to be on the trail somewhere but where were those that were attempting to capture or kill them? Where are you? I know there has to be more than one of you….

There! Movement along the vehicle shelter drew his attention. "NO!" he whispered more loudly than he wished. In the following moment, he heard a dog bark as one of the ATVs started up. Frank glanced around again and seeing no movement ran toward the shelter. He couldn't afford stealth right now, not if he wanted to help his brother and Vanessa.

The sounds of the dog and the ATV echoed down the mountain. But as long as the ATV was moving, his brother was safe. Using his free hand, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his set of camp keys. Stopping at the first ATV available, he bent down and unlocked the heavy duty lock that held the equally heavy security chain around the wheel. He spared a glance to the cut cable and the bolt cutters next to them. Didn't realize that was standard equipment for mercenaries. Frank quickly hotwired the vehicle and was thankful now that Joe always wanted to race him when they practiced. Tucking his gun into the back of his waistband, he spun out onto the trail and headed up the mountain.

.**********.

Fifteen minutes into their hike up the mountain, Joe heard two sounds that still had the power to elicit strong memories. He stopped and peered over the side of the mountain with his night vision but couldn't see anything yet… but he could hear them. Looking up at the group as they continued their upward hike, he called out, "Ashton!"

Vanessa stopped immediately as Joe moved toward her but her attention was now over the side of the mountain. "They found us." Her eyes were obscured by her goggles but they turned toward his face. "What do you want to do?"

Brianna and Jeffrey moved in to hear as they too looked down the mountain. "Oh, my god! What are we going to do?!" Brianna's voice was taking on a note of hysteria and Jeffrey pulled her into him in a calming manner.

"They've got us this far, Bri, we've got to trust them," Jeffrey responded to her.

Joe scanned up the mountain to the next switchback. The trail moved gradually upward for about two tenths of a mile and then did a hairpin turn to go up. That next section was about three tenths long. "We need to get to the next switchback." He started walking and Vanessa fell into step along with the Zanes. "I'll wait at that switchback for them to come up. I should be able to make sure they don't follow you from that vantage point." When Vanessa didn't make a comment, he added softly, "I'll be alright. This is what I've trained for."

She didn't answer but moved back up to take her place at the head of the group and picked up the pace. Jeffrey kept his arm around his sister and made sure she kept up. Joe followed with a gaze that scanned below and behind. He paused for just a moment as the sound of another ATV came to his ears. Glad I've got that extra ammo; looks like I'm going to need it.

The sounds of the dog and the ATV were drawing closer as the group made it to the next switchback. Joe pulled his pack off and dropped it near a flat rock that was in the bend of the turn. He didn't look at them when they slowed. "Go!" he called to them as he readied his rifle.

"I'll be waiting for you at the top," Vanessa called back to him. The sounds of an approaching helicopter could be heard. "Let's go! That's our ride out!"

Joe laid on the rock and looked down the trail. The spot was a good one allowing him to look at about half a mile of trail though there were many spots where tree trunks and evergreens swallowed the trail. While the spot was good, the shooting would be difficult. Joe pulled the pack over and retrieved the night vision clip on scope. It wasn't the optimal thing to use but he didn't have time to switch it out. He dropped his headgear into the pack and got into a comfortable position and waited.

It seemed like milliseconds and hours all at the same time but in reality it was only a minute before he sighted his first glimpse of his pursuers: a dog and two people on an ATV. The second ATV he heard was not in sight. Joe looked at their path and then trained his gun along their path in line with the level of the tire. He needed that ATV out of commission.

Deep breath. Let it out and squeeze. The recoil of the rifle into his shoulder was minimal and he didn't even notice it as he kept his gun trained on the scene below. The ATV swerved out of control; the person on the back jumped off. The driver managed to get off before the vehicle tumbled down the side of the mountain to land against a tree. Then suddenly they were gone and out of his line of sight as they hugged the mountain. At the sound of the second ATV, Joe trained his gun onto the trail again and prepared to take out the second vehicle.

.**********.

Frank stopped abruptly at the sound of the rifle shot sending up a small cloud of dust around him. His eyes searched the trail above and then he saw the other ATV at the edge of trail just as it careened off and hit a tree. There was no rider. His eyes went back to the spot where the vehicle went off but he could see no one. Frank made a decision and gunned the engine and headed up.

The enemy probably knew he wasn't one of them and Joe didn't know it WAS him. Definitely a dangerous situation with his trained sniper brother not expecting him and an unknown who was probably ready to kill him. Maybe not my smartest move, he thought as he went up the next switchback.

.**********.

Glimpses of the second ATV were now appearing through the trees and Joe was lining up his tire shot when he heard something. He brought his gun around just in time to get it in between himself and the snarling German Shepherd that was snapping at him. There was no chance to get the space needed to shoot the animal and if the dog was here chances were so was its owner. He started calling out stop commands in various foreign languages. They were something he'd learned after his experience with Dominic Laird but none of them seemed to work. Then he heard a voice.

"You should have learned Hindi," the woman said in an accented voice.

Joe could see her now on the other side of the dog. If I roll over I present my back then I'm dead from a bullet. One choice. Joe gritted his teeth. This is going to hurt like hell. He let go of the rifle with his right hand and cried out in pain as the dog pushed the rifle to the side and latched onto his left forearm. Reaching quickly around to the back of his waistband he put his right hand around the pistol that was there. The dog began to thrash and Joe knew that he would be in for serious damage if the dog continued. As he pulled his gun free he used all his strength to pull the dog directly over him. It pained him to do it, but the situation was life or death. Taking note of his antagonist he shot through the canine and into the woman.

Joe threw the dog to the side and aimed at the woman who grabbed at her shoulder and attempted to aim her own weapon. "Put the weapon down or I'll shoot!"

Before he could think she yelled out, "Main mar gaya! Mishan ko poora karen!"***

Then Joe watched in horror as she contorted her mouth and convulsed as white foam bubbled from her mouth as she fell to the ground. Joe stood and carefully walked over to her. He looked at her in stunned silence and then turned back toward his pack and rifle. He had no idea what she had said but he didn't think it was anything to help her and there were probably two more assailants below and he had no idea where they were. As he crawled over to the rock at the switchback, he scanned below and was shocked to see two figures fighting. Joe looked through his scope and said, "Crap!"

.**********.

Frank was slowing down ever so slightly to take the tight turn of the switchback when someone launched themselves from the darkness of the mountainside rock. The ATV continued off the side of the mountain as Frank and his attacker rolled to the edge of the trail. Unfortunately for Frank, he ended up on the bottom and his attacker got in several good punches. Finally able to get in a good punch himself, Frank rolled his attacker over. Why didn't he just shoot me? He thought as he reached back to his waistband and realized his own gun had become dislodged. Same must have happened to him. He stole a glance to the side and saw his lost gun but the glance cost him as the figure in black kicked him off. Moving quickly to stand, Frank and the dark figure circled each other. Each looking for a chance to grab the weapon and knowing what the result would be.

A gunshot rang out from above followed shortly by words that Frank didn't understand but his attacker did as the figure attacked with renewed vigor. What did they say? What happened to Joe? What was that shot? Frank focused. If his brother was dead, then he would complete the mission for him. The two then began a series of strikes and kicks that were all meant to disable and each knew that only one would walk away from this.

.**********.

Joe could hear the sounds of people coming down the mountain. The Network had arrived but they wouldn't be in time to save Frank. He worked to follow Frank's attacker but the two of them were so close and trading positions. A shot now could kill Frank and that was something he wasn't ready to chance.

.**********.

The battle was even and Frank was determined to outlast his opponent and he probably would have but an exposed root was his literal downfall. His arms wind-milled and he regained his balance only to find his own gun pointed at him. The distance was too far for him to cover. I'll be dead before I reach him. But then I'm dead anyway.

Before he could rush the dark figure, the crack of the rifle was heard and the assailant staggered forward slightly and grabbed at his shoulder with his free hand but the gun didn't lower. Frank began his rush but a second shot dropped the figure to the ground. Frank stood there for a moment. Stunned. As he looked at the dead body in front of him, Joe's words from the day they picked up his rifle echoed back to him: 'there are shots that I can live with.' As his eyes traveled up, he saw his brother in the moonlight standing on a rock at the edge of the trail and knew this was one of them.


***मैं मर गया! मिशन को पूरा करें is the actual translation and it means 'I am dead. Complete the mission.' I'm afraid Google Translate doesn't do Hindi very well. Thanks to JoeNeal for her help in making sure things are okay!