Poster's Note: Thanks as always for reading. A reminder that the Hardy Boys are owned by Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Syndicate. All Original Characters are owned by copagirl. Enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

By copagirl

Like any good Assassin, Alexander Black had taken his own life. Hidden in a fake molar was a capsule filled with cyanide poison. With one hard bite, Alexander bit into the capsule and was dead in a matter of moments.

"Could someone get this…person off of me?" Frank said as he tried to move the dead Assassin agent off of him.

Fenton helped Frank up. They heard a low moan and turned to find Joe lying on the floor. Frank was the first to notice that Joe was bleeding.

"Dad, I think Joe's been shot!" Frank knelt beside Joe.

Joe let out another moan, and his eyes fluttered open. He found himself looking into a pair of familiar brown eyes. He gave Frank a small smile.

"S'okay….I'm okay….just got….nicked," Joe assured his brother.

"When did you become a doctor? I think we should let the paramedics take a look at you," Frank said sternly.

Joe made a face, showing his displeasure. "I don't need any paramedics, just some aspirin. My head is killing me."

"I'm afraid you're outvoted on this one, son," Fenton smiled down at his youngest.

"How's Carolyn and Mr. Jones?" Joe asked.

Frank glanced over and saw Chet sitting on the floor. Carolyn's head was resting on his lap.

"How is she, Chet?"

"I checked her pulse and it's strong. Con thinks she may have been drugged. Mr. Jones wasn't so lucky. I think that guy killed him."

A sudden commotion caused everyone to turn towards the front door. The Hardys recognized Arthur Gray as he walked in with several other Network agents.

"Thank you, Officer Riley. We'll be handling this now."

Con Riley stared at the nondescript man. For some reason Con had a feeling of déjà vu. He felt that he had seen this man before. As Gray approached, Con held out a hand to stop him.

"Just who the hell are you, and why am I supposed to step aside just because you say so?"

"I'm Special Agent Dawson," Gray said as he pulled out an FBI badge. "We've had Mr. Jones under our protection."

"Doesn't look like you did a very good job there, Agent Dawson," Con said.

Gray bristled with anger, especially when he heard a small chuckle coming from Joe Hardy.

The emergency medical unit entered the house. Con led them over to Joe.

"I don't think I need both of you. Could one of you look at my friend over there?" Joe pleaded.

Once they had a good look at Joe, the second EMT went over to Chet and Carolyn.

While Joe was being taken care of and Con's attention was elsewhere, Fenton approached Arthur Gray.

"You sure took your time coming to help, Arthur."

"I knew you could handle it, Hardy."

Fenton's jaw tightened as he held back his harsh words. "What happens to the girl now?"

"She'll be taken to a safe house as soon as possible."

"You can't." Frank had walked over and heard the Gray Man's last words. "At least not until after the Fall Dance."

Gray gave Frank a dubious look. "Why? Because she's already bought a dress for this occasion?"

Frank shrugged. "I don't know. But she does have a date. Let her at least have something nice happen. Give her at least one good memory."

*endofchapter*endofchapter*

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