All three boys were surprised.
"Harry Young?" Joe spat out. "How did you figure this out?"
"First things first. I had a dream that Iola, your mom and your aunt were kidnapped by Young. Or did that actually happen?" Fenton asked.
"You must've heard us talking while you were knocked out, Dad," Frank said. "It's true. After we rescued you from Huntley, we heard on our earpiece from who we thought was Huntley, but it must have been Young, that he wanted revenge. We came back to Bayport and found that Iola, Mom and Aunt Gertrude were all kidnapped. We're heading to the zoo at Central Park to meet Young. He put us on a time limit."
"I need to make some phone calls." Fenton insisted. "I have to get a hold of O'Rourke and Culligan!"
"Culligan's not part of this? We figured there was an insider, but we suspected Culligan since he practically had you by his side and was insistent on your help!" Joe exclaimed.
"No, Culligan's legit," Fenton Hardy declared. "I've known him for years and have helped him on multiple cases, even when I was with NYPD. Now let's get home and make some calls quickly!"
"We don't have time, Dad!" Frank said, looking at his watch. "We now have 2 hours and 15 minutes to get there, and we still have to get to the police van, which, by the way, is bugged! They also had the house bugged, and had us debug it. But they could have bugged it again. Wait! I have an idea! Let's stop by Mr. Davenport's house and see if you can use his phone!"
"Works for me, and I'll be quick," Fenton promised. Frank pulled into Davenport's driveway. Frank took his dad, who was fully awake by now, to the door. They quickly explained the situation to Davenport and he let Fenton Hardy use his phone. Two minutes later, Fenton and Joe ran back to the van.
"Let's get your police van and head to Manhattan!" Fenton said, with anger setting in about his wife and sister being kidnapped.
"Ok, Dad, we have to ask," Joe said, "your note to us said that this case wasn't what it appeared to be, or words to that effect. You have to fill us in!"
"So when O'Rourke and I responded to the area where you were shot at, Joe, I was the one who took the gun from the investigating officer at the scene. I was floored when I saw the serial number on the gun. It was the same gun used to kill Officer Simpson!"
"Whoa!" Joe exclaimed. "How is that possible?"
"That's what I wondered too," Fenton said. "And then when I gave the gun to Captain O'Rourke, he learned that gun was a CIA-issued pistol. So I left to make some phone calls, but I told O'Rourke I was following some leads."
"O'Rourke told us about the pistol being CIA," Frank said. "So we knew that part already."
"Right. So I made a call to an old friend of mine who works at the Philadelphia CIA office and talked with him. That's when I learned that Young was under investigation for improper activities, so I immediately suspected him. That's when I realized that this LPR story was suspicious. When I hung up, I saw that I was being watched, so I wrote a quick note," Fenton said.
"Ok, so who was the guy that ran into us and planted the note on Frank's back?" Joe asked.
"It was a confidential informant that I use from time to time in my New York City cases," Fenton said. "I felt like Young was onto me, so I paid him to find you and give you the note. He already knew what you guys looked like. But I didn't think I would get the note to you in time. As it turned out, I was right. Young abducted me off the street, and Huntley was the driver!"
"What happened next?" Joe asked excitedly.
"They injected me with some kind of drug and I was knocked out," Fenton stated. "I just remembered that it was a white car that they were driving."
"The same getaway car that our gunman jumped into!" Frank exclaimed.
"Most likely," Fenton said. "Anyways, I had come to in the car. I pretended to be knocked out, and I heard them mention Staten Island. Then I saw the street sign for Walters Avenue. I counted the house addresses, noting that the house was 22. So I made a mental note of it. Once I was put in the cellar, I managed to escape through that trap door while Young and Huntley were arguing, so I was able to catch a transit bus to the Staten Island ferry terminal. Then I grabbed a ferry and went to Manhattan. From there, I caught a taxi to Central Park and called you guys in the van. What I didn't know at the time was that they planted a bug on me to keep track of me while I was knocked out. Unfortunately, they knew right where I was and heard my end of the phone conversation with you. Once I was knocked out, I didn't regain consciousness until I was back in the same cellar. Then I overheard them talk about having a dummy with rigged with explosives that was intended for you guys as a trap, and how they would need my clothes. I slipped a note with the address written in code in the pocket, hoping that the note would be found. When they stripped me of my clothes and put me in this pair of jeans and t-shirt, they dressed the dummy, told me I was never seeing you guys alive again, and then knocked me out with another syringe of sedative."
"We found the note near the explosion at Shoreham," Joe said. "And we figured out the number code in your note. Except the house number was 24 instead of 22!"
Fenton smirked. "In my defense, I was still drugged up!"
"Dad, what's the connection between Huntley and Young?" Frank asked.
"That I don't know. My friend at the Philadelphia CIA office was going to find out when I got abducted, so your guess is as good as mine at this point. I had to do some damage control with O'Rourke when I called him. He was quite upset that you guys disappeared. But I explained that you guys were checking some leads for me and that I told you to not to tell anyone," Fenton Hardy said.
"To be honest, Dad," Joe said, "we suspected O'Rourke as well, even though we've known him for years. We just didn't know who to trust after you disappeared. We concluded that it was an inside job but we didn't know who. Like I said, we thought Culligan and Huntley were maybe in cahoots."
"I completely understand," Fenton said. "You did the right thing with what little information you had. Seeing as we're almost home, let's discuss a plan on getting Iola, your mom and your aunt back."
It was decided that the Hardys would have a fake conversation in the police van since it was bugged. Fenton knew of a quicker way to Central Park, so they would get to the zoo in plenty of time.
"I take it O'Rourke and Culligan are aware of what's happening?" Frank asked.
Fenton nodded. "They're both aware. They said they'll formulate a plan, and that all we need to do is show up at the zoo and prepare to exchange me for Iola, Mom and Aunt Gertrude."
As they pulled up to the driveway, they quickly moved to the police van. Frank took the wheel and they sped off towards Bayport. Their conversation consisted of Fenton Hardy saying his good-byes to Frank and Joe, and conveying his wishes for after he died. Frank smirked at one point, knowing that either Young or one of his goons was most likely listening to this. To add to the dramatic effect, Joe even made a bitter comment about sacrificing his dad for a girl that hated him now and acted like he was crying. Chet was trying not to laugh. Frank was able to confirm that they were being spied on when he spotted what appeared to be a white car that was consistently following them. Frank pretended not to notice the car, and the Hardys and Chet continued their fake conversations and emotions for whoever was listening to them on the bug. As they continued towards Central Park, Frank noticed that the car was still behind them. Frank continued to discuss final wishes with his father so as to keep the listener busy. Joe discussed how he would keep his father's memory alive, and then Fenton started fake crying.
Soon, they pulled into the same parking lot for the Central Park Zoo where all three Hardys had been previously knocked out. Nervously, Frank parked the van and turned off the ignition.
"So now what?" he asked, and knowing that the earpiece was still at home. "Joe, you still have the earpiece, right?"
Joe smirked at Frank. "Um, no I thought you had it!"
"You were the last one to have it!" Frank yelled. "How are we getting direction from Huntley now? Way to botch this up, Joe!"
"Sure! Always blame me, Frank!" Joe said, trying to keep a straight face. "I was the one who did all the hard work and climbed in the window, and found the cellar entrance to rescue Dad. You never thanked me for that, but now you're criticizing me for being a human being and forgetting the earpiece? I'm the one who's saving my stupid ex-girlfriend so that Dad gets killed by this jerk!"
"Don't call my sister stupid!" Chet yelled, and also smiling. "She had her reasons for ditching you!"
"So I'm losing my dad, my girlfriend and now my best friend in less than a months' time?" Joe said, as he pretended to cry.
Suddenly, the van phone rang. Smiling, Frank answered it.
"Not to interrupt a friendly chat between good friends," Young said in a sarcastic manner, "but since you idiots forgot your earpiece, here's what you're going to do – go back to the right hand side of the entrance, like you did before. Follow the fence line of the zoo. You'll find a small hole cut out in the fence. Near that hole in the fence is a bench. Wait at the bench. I'll meet you there. Any dumb tricks or moves and these three ladies are dead. Are we clear?"
"Crystal clear," Frank said evenly. "Guys, follow me, I have the directions from Huntley."
As they piled out of the van, Fenton chuckled quietly. "I know that Young is fuming that you think this is Huntley doing this. Young has quite the ego."
They followed the fence line to the right of the zoo entrance, as Young directed them. Joe noticed the hole in the fence with his flashlight.
"The bench has to be around here somewhere," Joe said as he shined his flashlight around. Joe gasped when he saw the bench.
On the bench were Iola, Laura Hardy and Aunt Gertrude! They were tied to the bench, gagged and had explosives strapped to them! They gave the Hardys and Chet a frightened look.
Frank and Chet noticed them right as Joe gasped.
"Holy smokes!" Chet exclaimed. "How do we free them?"
"You don't!" snarled a voice behind them. All four them turned around in the direction of the voice. It was Harry Young! Young had a pistol pointed at them.
"You don't look like Huntley!" Frank exclaimed.
Young responded by punching Frank in the face. "Quit giving that idiot credit for what I did! This was all my idea!"
Frank staggered back up, holding his cheek. "What's the connection between you and Huntley, anyways?" he asked. "He's a wanna-be mobster and you're CIA. I don't understand."
Young rolled his eyes. "Really, Fenton? Your sons can't possibly be this dumb!"
"They take after me," Fenton said evenly. "I haven't put the connection together."
"Actually, I never suspected you," Joe interjected. "I thought Culligan was behind all of this!"
Young laughed. "Culligan?" he slapped his knees and started crying from laughing so hard. "Oh, that's so funny!"
"Is it?" Joe asked. "He kept Dad close to him and knew Dad's every move. Suspecting Culligan made perfect sense."
Young beamed with pride. "I guess I outsmarted you guys! I never knew it would be possible to make Culligan look bad!"
"Enlighten me, Young," Fenton said. "What is the connection between you and Huntley? How did you sneak that past me?"
Frank and Joe realized what their dad was doing, which was appealing to Young's ego for the sake of getting a confession.
"Huntley acted like a mobster, but I was the head of that operation!" Young exclaimed. "It was a lucrative one, too! Huntley shook down the businesses in his neighborhood for protection money, and forced the businesses to be open after hours for illegal gambling. The proceeds, of course, went to me! Although I gave Huntley a generous cut for the work he did."
"What was the money for?" asked Frank. "For your personal use?"
Young looked offended. "No, the money was being used to fund a rebel group in Central Africa to help them overthrow their government. Congress wouldn't authorize the funding from our budget, so I took matters into my own hands. Believe it or not, I'm a firm believer in democracy, and I did what needed to be done to help with that cause."
"So that's why the CIA was doing an investigation on you!" Fenton said, and smiled at Young's shocked reaction. "But how do you and Huntley even know each other?" asked Fenton.
"We're childhood friends! You mean you didn't put that together?" Young said in a condescending tone. "How did the great Fenton Hardy miss that one? Ted agreed to help me. When your cop buddy Simpson was getting too close to figuring out our scheme, I had Ted kill him."
"With a CIA-issued pistol," Fenton said.
Young's face darkened. "That was a huge mistake on my part, I must admit. Thankfully, I was able to get the pistol back from the police once they realized it belonged to the CIA. Of course, I promised NYPD a proper investigation into how a 'criminal' like Huntley obtained a CIA pistol, which, of course, I buried under a mountain of paperwork and it never happened."
"But then you made the same mistake again," Fenton Hardy pointed out. "That was the same exact pistol that was used to shoot at my son."
"I shouldn't have given Tyler that gun," Young lamented. "I pulled the wrong gun out of my pocket. When I was at the scene with you guys, I reached into my pocket and realized that I had the gun that Tyler was supposed to have. I thought I gave away my frustration, but you guys didn't catch on."
"Who's Tyler?" Frank asked.
"He worked for Ted," Young explained, leveling his pistol at Frank. "He was told to attract your attention and then he was to kill you and his brother."
"So he wasn't a foreigner!" Joe exclaimed.
Young laughed. "Not at all! I taught him a few random phrases in Portuguese and told him to spit those out if he was ever apprehended!"
Joe said, "So who was Tyler's getaway driver when we were chasing him?" Joe asked.
Young smirked and bowed. "It was me, of course!"
"So I'm guessing, then, that there was never a foreign connection to LPR," Chet chimed in.
Young laughed. "Not only that, but LPR isn't even real! Nor was there going to be a terrorist event at Times Square on New Year's Eve!" he roared in laughter.