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

Thank you! To Wendylouwho10 as usual for reading for flow and content. Typos are mine and I find them all the time!

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Started as kinda blue spine with a touch of Casefiles but is now completely AU. Frank is 20 and Joe is 19.

Author's Notes: Here is another longer chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Five

"So will I see you tonight?" Vanessa asked as she wrapped her arms around Joe's neck and leaned in for a kiss.

Vanessa had been a bit on the clingy side since Joe had shared the news with her from ORT. At first she had been incensed that she had been left out of the briefing but then had calmed down. She wasn't considered a target. She hadn't been the primary cause of a ruined hit for the Assassins.

"You know I don't like us being out together at night. The other abductions have all taken place during the evening or night." He tightened his arms around her as he whispered in her ear, "Plus I have curfew you know."

She laughed and released her tight hold. The Hardys had requested that the boys be at the house half an hour before sunset but with it being the beginning of July, that basically meant 8:30 p.m. Whenever they were driving alone they had to call when they got in their vehicle and then they had to leave the phone on as they drove home. Joe and Frank had agreed. Their mother had been irate at the situation and they were sure they would hear more about leaving government work, but for now she was more interested in their safety.

"I'll call you tonight after I get home from the gym and eat. Okay?" He leaned his forehead against hers. He would love to hold her tonight as he had on two occasions when he'd had nightmares, but that wasn't going to happen.

"I guess it will have to do," Vanessa said as she released him and he walked away.

"I love you!" she called.

He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "Love you too." He climbed into the van and dialed his brother. "Checking in. I'm leaving Vanessa's for the gym now."

"How long are you going to be there?" Frank asked.

"It's 5:30 now, so I'd say maybe an hour or two. Tell mom I'll be starving when I get home."

"She'll be shocked," Frank replied in a dry tone. "How was your visit with Vanessa?"

"Too short," Joe said as he pulled out on the road. "She wanted to see me tonight."

"I know. You know I have curfew too and Callie's none too happy with that either." Frank's tone was still dry. While they both had the curfew, Joe was the one who complained about it more.

"I know. It's just… crappy."

Frank laughed and the brothers changed the conversation for the rest of Joe's trip to the gym.

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

Four weeks since he disappeared and still no sign or word about Jacob. Joe closed his eyes and let the water trail over his head and down his face. He heard the others that were in the shower turning off their water but still he stayed. What are they doing to him? All too easily he could imagine what might happen. Thoughts of his own abductions and tortures came back to him. The recurring thoughts were happening more frequently since ORT had shared the news that they might be targets. His demons that normally stayed hidden had been surfacing all too often over the last two and half weeks. Finally, he turned off his water. The steam hung heavy in the air and the industrial grade tile glistened as the water beaded and ran down it.

Joe put a towel around his waist and shoulders before exiting his shower stall. Intense football practice would start in a couple of weeks, but everyone was back in the gym for weight-lifting and cardio and that included him. He'd put in a solid ninety minutes that had helped distract him… until now. At least I feel safe here, he thought as he ran the towel over his hair as he walked. A university gym was not the type of abduction site that the Assassins had been using even if there weren't many people at the gym at the moment. Even when he had his walk to the van it would be out in the open with more than one camera trained on the path he would travel. His flop flops made slurping sounds on the wet hall floor as he moved to his locker to get his clothes to change. He called greetings to a few teammates who were leaving the changing area.

"Hurry up Hardy, they're waiting to clean the showers," one of them called out as he banged a locker closed and exited the room.

As Joe pulled on his shorts and fastened them the silence became a physical thing. His eyes darted around: the lights were at their same level but no one was there. Where on campus are there no cameras? Showers and locker rooms! Crap! Joe thought and made a dash to the exit in his bare feet even as he yelled out. But his cry for help was silenced into a loud groan as he was struck from behind by a taser. Doesn't feel any better the second time, he thought as his muscles spasmed and his head hit the floor. Stunned by the electrical current and the blow to his head, Joe didn't register that someone was grabbing his arm. Only vaguely, as the world spun around him, did he see the needle pierce his arm and then everything faded to black.

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

Seven forty rolled around and Frank looked at his watch.

"Frank? Will you call your brother please? He needs to go ahead and leave the gym now. Tell him to just shower here at home," Laura called from the kitchen.

"Okay, mom. But if he's in the shower right now, he's not going to answer."

"Well, give it a try and then call again in five minutes," Laura's voice was full of exasperation. "He really needs to call on schedule."

Frank smiled, "You know Joe; he only follows the football schedule."

Her laughter rang out as Frank pressed the call button for his brother. He was still smiling as the phone rang. The smile faded as his brother's voice mail picked up. After leaving a message, he opened the find phone app as he kept his voice light and said, "I got his voice mail. I'll call him back in five."

"Sounds good," Laura replied and then stepped into the room where Frank was. "On second thought, call Sam, he lives closer to BC."

Frank nodded as he stood and walked toward his father's office while dialing Sam. He knocked on his father's study and opened it without waiting for acknowledgement. "Hi, Sam. It's Frank. Joe didn't answer his cell phone just now and he said he'd be leaving the college by 7:30." Frank pressed speaker and then looked at the app.

"Grabbing my keys now," Sam replied.

"The app shows that Joe's phone is in the gym locker room. He's probably showering," Frank said hopefully.

"Then he should have texted or called before doing that," Fenton replied irritably. "He shouldn't be worrying your mother like that."

Frank looked at his father and knew that his mother wasn't the only one worrying.

"I'm in the car. I'll call you when I'm there. Talk to you later." Sam disconnected.

Frank stared at the phone. "Dad?"

"Let's go. We're not going to wait," Fenton said as he headed out of the room. "And if it was just his being negligent, then we'll hug him and then knock some sense into him."

Frank wanted to smile, but he really wasn't sure he could yet.

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

At the gym, Frank was able to get in easily with his college id and he left his father and Sam showing their PI licenses and photo id at the check in. There were protocols to be followed, which made Frank feel better but he knew that credentials could be forged. He pushed open the door to the locker room and scanned the area. Guys were showering and changing. He walked to the shower area and didn't see Joe's blonde hair so he went back to the changing area and dialed Joe's phone. Nothing. He checked the app and walked to the place it said the phone was which was a bench in-between the rows of lockers. He had knelt down and ran his hand under the bench when Fenton and Sam entered the room with a BC security officer. Frank felt nothing under the bench.

"Anything?" Fenton asked, scanning the room himself.

He stood and looked around as he said, "The app says his phone is right here but it's not." Spotting one of Joe's football teammates, he walked over to him as he was grabbing his duffel bag to leave. "Did you see Joe in here earlier?"

The boy looked at Frank and said, "You're his brother, right? The one who plays baseball?"

"Yeah, that's me. I'm Frank. Have you seen Joe?"

The boy shook his head no. "Didn't see him when I came in but maybe he showered before they cleaned the room."

Fenton's head snapped toward the boy. "They cleaned the room?"

"Yeah, it was kinda odd doing at that time. Usually they do it really late at night—"

For the first time the guard spoke up. "Maybe his phone is in the maintenance tunnel."

All three investigators turned to the guard at that statement. "Tunnel?" they all asked at the same time.

The guard cowed a little under the intense scrutiny of the three men. "Yeah. For the heating, cooling, and electrical. The tunnels connect a number of the buildings so that maintenance can take care of things without disrupting the students."

Fenton grabbed his arm and looked at his badge again as Frank moved in closer. "Marty, can you get us in that tunnel? I'm not joking when I say it's a matter of life or death."

Marty tapped his badge and said, "I can get you down there. Let's go." The guard moved quickly and the students realizing that there was something important going on moved out of their way. He led them toward the shower area but stopped at a door that read 'Employees Only, No Admittance.' Marty scanned his badge on the lock and it buzzed open and he led them in.

Frank looked around as Marty hit a switch turning on the lights in the room. Pipes ran from ceiling to tile floor. They were in the plumbing area for the girls' showers on one side and the boys' on the other. Marty walked down the open area between the pipe service area toward the other side of the building and the three men followed him. The guard scanned his badge at another door at the end and it opened into a spiral stairway heading down. Frank followed him down the steps, their footsteps echoing loudly in the space. At the bottom he opened the door and turned left and then right.

"This is the area right under the locker room," he said as he looked forward into the room that had lit up based on their movement. A gym bag was on the floor, its contents partially strewn about.

The three men moved forward quickly with Fenton pulling a pair of latex gloves from his coat pocket. Quickly snapping them on he carefully opened the bag that they already knew was Joe's and pulled out his cell phone. The screen showed it was still locked. Fenton cursed softly as he closed his eyes.

"Where do these tunnels lead?" Sam asked when he realized that Frank and Fenton were in temporary shock at what had happened.

"They go in two different directions. One connects them to the cafeteria and the other connects to one of the maintenance buildings and then they connect to other buildings from there."

Snapping out of the momentary lapse Frank asked, "Are there other exits?"

"Yes," Marty fumbled with his words. "I don't know where though. I don't usually have to access these tunnels for anything."

Fenton dropped Joe's phone back into the bag and pulled his own phone from his pocket. Pressing a button he held the phone to his ear. "They have him. They took him through tunnels under the gym." It was all he said.

Frank watched his father disconnect. "Johnson's on the way." He looked at Marty and said, "You need to go back up to the front desk and wait for an Agent Johnson to arrive. Then show him down here." Fenton turned to Frank and Sam. "Frank's coming with me. Sam you'll go the other direction." He looked back to Marty. "Point us toward the tunnels."

Marty walked them back to the stairwell and pointed in opposite directions. "I'll head up now." He paused as he pulled open the door and they moved away. "I hope you find him. He's a nice guy."

As Frank followed his father, he knew they weren't going to find Joe, at least not yet.