A special thanks to all my reviewers! I love you guys! Well here it is, chapter two!
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Fenton Hardy sat in his hotel room staring at the wall…where was Frank? He said he would be back by ten, it was eleven, and it wasn't like him to be that late. But it wasn't time to panic just yet…..or was it? Joe had gone to roam the hallways in search of his brother. Oddly enough, two other boys had gone missing….were the disappearances connected? Fenton turned to his papers regarding the case he was working on. A ring of criminals with careful smuggling and blackmail, they were raking in thousands of dollars. They had a leader known as the Shadow. He was always in and out so fast, he practically slipped through your fingers like smoke, and all clues that were left were only little shadows for you to go off of. Frank and Joe had been working on a smaller crime ring involving the same things as Fenton's. This led them to believe they were connected, and that Frank and Joe's case was a smaller branch of Fenton's. They were led to believe that this hotel was where some of the suspects were staying while making a few deals in the area. But how did all this connect? Fenton scratched his head in frustration. He put his head down on the desk and slowly fell into a restless sleep.
Fenton awoke a few minute later when Joe came bursting into the room. The boy had a frustrated look on his face and fear for this brother shone in his eyes.
"There isn't any trace of them!" Joe exasperatedly sat on the bed "no one left any clues; no one had any idea where they might have gone!" Fenton searched his brain for something to go off of, when the hotel phone interrupted his train of thought. Fenton picked it up on the first ring and let it rest between his shoulder and his ear as he rummaged through the desk.
"Fenton Hardy here"
"What a pleasure Mr. Hardy" an icy voice sent chills down Fenton's spine.
"Who is this?"
"A mere detail that doesn't mean a thing; but more importantly, your sons are currently in my care" Fenton nearly dropped the phone. Did he say 'sons'? He stared in bewilderment at Joe as he continued to listen to the man. "They are fine, but we all know whether they stay that way depends on me, and you. Someone will contact you in the next 24 hours with demands."
"Let me talk to one of them, I don't think you really have them." Fenton's hands shook as he tried to figure out what was going on. The man sighed and he heard shuffling and whispers. Fenton heard the man warn someone not to say anything that would give them away, or else. Then a new voice came on, it was Frank's.
"Dad?"
"Frank!" Fenton exclaimed. Joe dived for the other phone and picked it up to listen.
"About Joe…….."
"I know he's not the right one. Joe is actually in this room. But don't tell them that! Let them think it's him, we don't want to put the other boy in any danger!"
"I'm okay, and so is he" Frank was trying to disguise the conversation. "There's another kid here too, I think Joe knows him…" then there was more shuffling and a crash. Someone had taken the phone away from Frank and pushed him down to the floor. They heard a shout and furniture moving around. Then silence. Pure, sweet, and terrifying silence. Then with a click, the dial tone stated, the man had hung up.
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Darian, Aidan and Jennelle sat in the hotel lobby, talking to policemen and answering the same questions over and over again.
"When did you last see Dayton?"
"That morning, when he left the room" Darian said for the millionth time.
"Did he talk about going off on his own, running away or something?"
"No! I think he was getting a glass of water. He would never leave without telling anyone!" he was losing patience.
"How about Eric?"
"I haven't seen him since this morning either and NO I don't think he ran away!"
"How bout you girls?"
"Same answers as him!" Jennelle practically shouted.
"I think we need to go…." Aidan led her friends away, trying to conceal her worries.
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The three friends sat in the girl's hotel room, trying to think of other things. But the conversation always came back to their missing friends.
"Maybe they did wander off somewhere" Darian pondered as he rearranged the bedside table, again.
"No!" Jennelle said angrily, "they would never do that!"
"It's possible though…..when you think about it." Aidan said thoughtfully, a bit of hurt in her voice, she didn't think it was possible, but who knows?
"You guys! Do you really think they would?"
"…..maybe" Darian was examining the bedspread.
"I can't believe you two!" Jennelle fumed as she stormed out of the room.
"Jennelle?" Aidan tried to follow her, but was stopped by Darian.
"I think she needs some time to cool off,"
"Probably…"
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Jennelle was trekking through the hotel, trying to replay the angering conversation. She was so busy getting angry she almost ran into a boy storming past her.
"Careful!" he said
"What?" Jennelle turned to face the blonde boy
"I said, be careful, you almost ran into me!"
"Likewise!"
"Hey aren't you that girl?" he asked "the one with the missing friend?"
"Friends. But why do you care?"
"My brother went missing too; I think at least one of your friends, Dayton, was kidnapped by the same guy that got my brother!"
"So you think they were kidnapped too?"
"Well yeah, believe me, I've seen lots of kidnappings, this is one!"
"People are always after me and my brother, and Dayton looks a lot like me, it could have been a case of mistaken identity!"
"Yeah, you guys do look a lot alike, but what are we gonna do?"
"I think I have a plan, will you help me?"
"Duh!"
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