Fellowship & Fairydust

Frank and Joe made it to Willow Grove in record time. They unpacked the picnic, but couldn’t really eat, they were worried about their father and were imagining all sorts of scenarios that could go wrong at the Pollitt Place. Their minds were quickly taken off of that as text after text from their friends came in. Everyone was now on their lunch break and wanted the latest news from the Hardys. The Hardys replied, giving what information they had and where they were currently, before finally getting some food into their systems. 

“Hey Frank?” said Joe as a thought hit him. 

“Hmm?” Frank was currently chewing on a roast beef sandwich. 

“Do you think Mr. Drew felt this way when he didn’t hear back from Mrs. Drew?” 

Frank’s head snapped up. He swallowed his bite before answering, “Most, most likely.” 

“Right,” said Joe before taking another bite. 

“We’re going to find him Joe, we have to.” 

Joe merely nodded while he chewed. “Yeah, Nancy wasn’t old enough to help find her.” 

Frank nodded. “There’s that too.” There was a moment’s silence while the two ate. 

“Mom’s pretty tough,” said Joe softly. Frank glanced at him. “She lost her best friend, and now her husband is missing.” 

“She knows the risks, Joe.” 

“Yeah, but she still hasn’t been able to talk about Mrs. Drew, not even to Nancy.” 

Frank shrugged. “Maybe Mr. Drew and Nancy aren’t ready yet.” 

“Do you think they ever will be?” 

Frank pursed his lips. “Maybe, I don’t know when, but it could be soon, it has been six years.” 

“Yeah,” muttered Joe before taking another bite. The two finished their picnic in silence. They had started picking up the picnic when another thought hit Joe. “Do you think we’ll ever get to see Nancy?” 

Frank paused as he picked up some trash. “I hope so.” He turned and grinned at Joe. “If we don’t get a chance soon, we might have to take a trip out there for a summer.” 

Joe grinned back. “And we’ll keep it a surprise.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe we can solve the mystery of if Nancy likes you back while we’re there.” 

“Hey!” Frank tossed a wrapper at Joe. The two chuckled and quickly finished cleaning up. The teasing lightened the mood a bit, but the upcoming task still seemed a bit daunting. Joe pulled out two foldable magnifying glasses and handed one to Frank before the two made sure their bikes were locked and began to search the immediate area. They made their way back to where they had found the Queen, but only did a half hour search, the Pollitt place was more important. They didn’t find anything in that half hour search, so set off for the Pollitt place once Frank had texted their mother to let her know they were going to be there in a few minutes. During the walk to the Pollitt place, they kept a sharp eye out for their father’s car or anything that might be a clue to his location. They were fast approaching the house and had yet to find anything. The two glanced at each other before entering the property, they hoped that the house and the people living there would offer up a clue. 

The boys found a bush to crouch behind. They wanted to scout the place to make sure they weren’t walking into a trap. A minute later, two men walked into view. Their mouths dropped as they looked at each other in surprise. They recognized one of those men, it was the man they were looking for, Red Jackley! He had the beginnings of a beard, but there was no mistaking him. The other man they didn’t recognize, but deduced it was another member of Snattman’s gang. They became very still when the two men started talking. 

“I’m telling you Red, we should kill that detective! What in the world is Snattman thinking?” Frank and Joe were startled by the revelation, so their father was a prisoner of Snattman and his gang! Frank quickly pulled out his phone and hit record. He only hoped he could catch the whole conversation. Joe quickly followed suit. They glanced at each other. Hopefully no one tried to contact them either. 

Red whacked the guy’s head. “Snattman has his way of doing things, you jerk. He didn’t take us in to kill anyone, and we’re not about to start now.” 

“But that detective knows everything, he saw and heard everything!” the other guy whined. 

“No duh, why do you think we captured him, you idiot? If we can’t convince that detective to call off the case, Snattman is going to get Ali to shanghai him, strand him on some island or something. By the time he gets back, if he gets back to America, we’d have been able to get a few more jobs done and be set for a few years. Besides, I still have that Applegate treasure hidden well, that will help us quite a bit.” 

The other guy scoffed. “Too bad you didn’t have that car hidden well, those boys found it in no time.” Red whacked him again. “Ow!” 

“You seriously think we were going to keep that car? Sure, we could have repainted it, but even then it’s far too noticeable. That’s why I stole it, to get the heat off us and get the police to focus on the theft of that and the Applegate treasure. Seriously, don’t you know how to think?” Red groaned and threw up his hands. Meanwhile Frank and Joe grinned at each other. They got a confession! Now hopefully they could find out the location of their father and the Applegate treasure. 

The other guy held up his finger. “Well, I did have one thought.” 

Red sighed and rolled his eyes. “And what’s that?” 

“If Snattman wants that detective to give into his demands instead of killing him, why don’t we threaten his family?” 

Red rubbed his chin. “Hmm, that’s actually not a bad idea. We’ll have to run it by Snattman, but, yeah, that’s not a bad idea. Looks like you’re finally putting that brain to good use, Klein.” Frank’s and Joe’s eyes widened, oh no. Frank quickly pulled his phone down and turned off the recording. Joe quickly turned his off too. They quickly pocketed their phones and crept away. When they were out of sight of the two men, they got up. They only took a few steps forward when they heard a loud snap. 

“Hold it right there! Don’t you move a muscle!” 

Both boys paused and winced as they looked down. Joe had stepped on a stick. He mouthed “sorry” to Frank. Frank didn’t pay much attention, his brain was whirling. These guys couldn’t find out they were Fenton’s sons! Then a brilliant idea hit Frank. He mouthed “Masons” to Joe. Joe blinked for a second before it dawned on him what Frank wanted him to do. He grinned and gave a slight nod in reply. 

“Turn around, slowly.” 

The boys turned around and faced Red Jackley and his accomplice, guns leveled at them. 

“Who are you two, and what are you doing here?” barked Red. 

“We were just having a picnic and went for a stroll in the area,” said Frank casually. 

“We didn’t know there was anyone living in that old haunted house,” said Joe with a shrug. “Sorry to have bothered you.” 

The men glanced at each other and lowered their guns a bit. Red turned back to them. “But who are you?” 

“I’m Adam Mason, and this is my brother Greg.” Joe held up a hand in greeting. “And who may I ask are you?” Joe had to restrain himself from bursting out laughing, Frank was doing a superb job at impersonating Adam Mason. 

“Mason, eh?” said Red. “Sons of Richard Mason, I presume?” 

“Oh look, Adam, someone who knows who our dad is!” 

Red and Klein looked between them, bewildered. “Uh, yeah, we know who he is. Why wouldn’t we?” said Red. 

“Because we keep hearing Fenton Hardy this, Fenton Hardy that,” blurted Joe with a grumble. 

Frank scoffed. “Which is always followed by, why can’t you be more like Freddy and Johnny Hardy?” 

“Wait, what? Freddy and Johnny? Don’t you mean Frank and Joe?” said Red. The boys blinked rapidly to hide their horrified shock. So the gang did know their names! 

“Oh, sorry, you’re right, Frank and Joe are their real names, Freddy and Jonny are just our nicknames for them,” said Frank with a wave of his hand. 

“What kind of nicknames are that?” asked Klein. 

“Oh, you know, short for Freaky Freddy and Jumbo Johnny,” said Frank with a shrug. Red nodded, he apparently bought it. 

Joe scowled. “Man, they really get on my nerves!” He looked at Red and Klein. “Now why did you have to go and ruin our perfectly good day by mentioning them?” 

Red completely lowered his gun. “Can I ask you a question?” 

Frank and Joe glanced at each other before looking back at him. “What?” 

“Do you think you could get those two out here?” 

The boys’ hearts were pounding, they knew where this was going and figured it was their best shot at saving Dad and capturing the gang. Their mom might not like it, but they knew she would understand what an opportunity this was. Frank narrowed his eyes. “Maybe, why?” 

“Because I have a proposition for you. If you can get those nasty Hardys out here, say, Sunday night, I’ll pay you well for it.” 

Frank rubbed his chin. “An interesting proposition. How much are you offering?” 

“A thousand each,” said Red. 

Klein looked at him in shock. “What? But . . .” 

“Sh!” hissed Red. He turned back to the boys. “So, what do you say?” 

“May we have a moment to discuss this?” 

Red shrugged. “Sure.” 

“Thank you.” The boys huddled with their backs to the men. “Think we should?” whispered Frank. The boys knew at least some basic sign language, and Frank did not want the men to know what they were actually planning. He quickly signed “best chance to set up trap”.

“Well, it would get rid of those pesky Hardys,” said Joe. He signed, “might be our only one”. 

Frank nodded. “And we would get some money.” 

“Right.” The two turned and faced the men. 

“Alright, we’ll do it,” Frank told them. 

Red grinned and held out his hand. “Perfect.” 

Frank shook it. “It’s a deal then.” 

“It is. Now remember, get them here Sunday night around seven. Once we’ve got them in the house, we’ll pay you the money.” 

“Why can’t we do it tomorrow night, or tonight even?” asked Joe. 

“I think you would need a little more time to come up with a way to get them here,” replied Red. “And we have plans for both nights.” 

Frank nodded. “Fair enough.” He snuck a glance at the house. He wanted to take a quick look around and see if their father had left any clues. “So, Sunday night at seven, got it.” 

Red’s smile got bigger, and a bit crueler. “Perfect. Now, be on your way.” 

“Real quick though,” said Frank as he raised his hand. “May I have a drink of water?” 

“Oh yeah, me too, I’m parched,” said Joe, rubbing his neck. 

Red sighed. “Oh, alright, come on.” He led them into the house. Both boys kept a sharp eye out for any clues that Fenton was being held there, something he could have left behind or a sign. But they didn’t notice anything. Red took two glasses down and set them by the sink. “Help yourselves.” He went and sat down at the breakfast table. 

“Thanks,” chorused the boys and each grabbed a glass. Frank turned on the faucet and filled his cup up before letting Joe fill up his. The two shared a glance. They had to figure out some way of diverting Red’s attention so they could look for clues. 

“Hey, uh, Greg, right?” 

Joe turned to face him. “Yeah?” 

“Doesn’t Joe Hardy have blond hair? Don’t you have red hair?” 

Frank scoffed. “I told you not go blonde.” 

“Oh shut up.” Joe looked at Red. “Yeah, I have natural red hair, but I like dying it every summer, try out different colors and see what I like. Guess blonde is now off the list.” 

Red smirked. “I like changing my hair color too. It’s actually kind of fun.” 

Joe shot Frank a look as he went and sat down at the table. “Oh look, someone who gets it.” He turned back to Red. “What are your favorite colors so far?” Frank took the opportunity to take a quick glance around for any clues. His hand brushed against the counter as he took a little step back, and that’s when he felt it. 

“Well . . . it varies,” said Red. Frank made sure Red’s focus was more on Joe before taking a quick glance at the indention on the counter. It was faint, but it was distinctly Fenton Hardy’s symbol with an arrow pointing down underneath it. Now, all he needed was an excuse to get down. Using one foot, he undid his shoelaces as he finished drinking the water, his eyes on Red. 

“Well, now that was a  great discussion,” said Red getting up from the table, “but I need you two finished and out of here.” 

Frank held up his glass with a smile. “All done here.” He placed it next to the sink. 

“Give me a moment,” said Joe before drinking from his glass. 

“Hey Red!” 

Red groaned and rolled his eyes. He pointed at Joe, but he looked at Frank. “Make sure your brother finishes that quickly and sets his cup by the sink. I want you two out of here ASAP.” He glanced down. “Oh, and your shoes are untied.” 

Frank looked at his shoes. “What? Again?” 

“Guess it’s time for new shoes,” said Joe with a shrug. 

“Red!” 

“Ugh, just hurry it up!” said Red before he left the room. The boys jumped into action. Frank dropped to his knees and began feelings around under the cabinets. Joe got up from the table and walked slowly to the sink to make sure no one could see what Frank was doing. Joe was just halfway to the sink when Frank’s fingers grasped something. He pulled it out, and realized with a start it was a wallet. He quickly pocketed it and tied his shoes. Joe had placed his cup by the sink by this time. Frank rose and nodded at Joe. The two walked out of the kitchen, and then out of the house. Red and Klein were muttering off to the side, but Red saw them and nodded. 

“Remember, Sunday at seven!” 

The boys each gave him a thumbs up. “Got it!” They walked rather casually away from the house, btu as soon as they were out of sight of the house, they broke into a run. Joe reached the motorbikes first, but he just about fell on the ground, laughing. 

He got up when Frank got close. “And the Oscar for best impersonation of Adam Mason goes to, Frank Hardy!” Frank merely smiled as he pulled out the wallet his found. Joe gasped and nearly lunged at it. “That’s Dad’s wallet!” 

Frank opened as he nodded, Fenton’s driver’s license was still in it. “We now have definite proof that Dad is there. We need to get home and let Mom and Chief Collig know.” 

“Right.” Joe quickly began getting ready to go while Frank shot a quick text to their mother before getting himself ready. They took off for home, both hoping it would be all over soon, and wondering what was the gang’s plans for that night and the next, but were assured that nothing would happen to their father until they too had been captured.

 

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