Hardy Boys - More Than Just The Fun Uncle

The Worst That Could Happen

Joe felt a pang of guilt as he watched Callie help Kitty into her socks and shoes. One of many simple things the little girl could not do on her own with a broken arm. Luckily Kitty was left handed, so she was not totally helpless.

"Are you ready, Kitty?" Andrea asked once the other girl's shoes were both on.

"Almost. Wait right here." Kitty smiled - it amazed Joe how much she looked like her father when she did that - and ran into Frank's office, returning moments later with a permanent marker in hand. "Here, I want you to sign it!" Kitty said, handing the marker to Andrea.

Andrea took the marker in her tiny hand and stuck her tongue out in concentration as she signed her name as best she could, but it came out in mostly scribbles. They were still working on her writing.

Then Kitty handed the marker to Joe, who reluctantly took it, still feeling guilty that she had a cast at all. Looking down at the cast, he could recognize the signatures of a few people he knew, including his own parents signing as 'Papa Fenton' and 'Grandma Laura.' Of course there were also Frank and Callie's signatures signed as 'Daddy' and 'Mommy.'

After looking it over, Joe finally found a place to sign it, writing down 'Uncle Joe' with a smiley face after it.

And then they were off.

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Frank plopped down on his hotel room bed, raking his fingers through his hair. It had been a late night for him at the conference and he just wanted to be home. Too bad he still had another two days of this left.

Figuring it best to distract himself from his thoughts, Frank picked up his phone, deciding to review some cases nearby. While he wasn't quite as involved in the cases as he used to be - running around and getting to trouble and all - he and Joe still were very active in their investigating, often solving a case very quickly and needing another to take its place.

Frank didn't get far, however, before a text popped up on his screen. It showed to have been sent at about 2:30 pm that day.

"Hey there big bro! Hope those aristocrats aren't boring you to death. You should have just come to the movies with Biff, Chet, and I! Love you man. Have a safe trip!"

Frank immediately turned his phone off. Joe was constantly on his mind. That conversation they had. He was still trying to sort through his thoughts. He wanted to be close to his family, but he needed a little time away from his brother.

But Joe was still trying to reach out to him.

Maybe he should call. Maybe Joe could finally be persuaded. Or at least maybe they could get back to being brothers.

Frank grabbed his phone again and dialed Joe's number. It rang a few times before it went to voicemail. Strange. Joe usually answers his phone right away. But maybe he wasn't around it at the moment.

Or maybe he doesn't want to talk.

Frank quickly pushed that idea from his mind. He pushed all ideas from his mind and got right back to work.

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After lunch at Kitty's favorite fast-food restaurant, the trio decided to head to the park and play for a bit. A little game of pirates kept them busy for a good hour before the girls got bored, partly because Kitty couldn't do a number of things there.

"Well, how about we head home for a bit. We can play with some toys, maybe watch a movie and then I'll take you to go get some ice cream!" Joe suggested.

Kitty and Andrea bounced with excitement at that this. "Though we'll have to hurry up and have as much fun as possible. I've got a date with friends tonight."

As they headed to the car, Joe looked down at his phone. Frank might not see it for a while, but he decided to leave his brother a text.

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Ice cream. Every kid's - and of course adult's - favorite summer snack. And the ice cream stand was buzzing with people who were all waiting to get their own scoop of hard serve in a cone. Handing the girls a couple bucks he let them run ahead to get a good spot in line while he went next door to the drug store to buy a couple of water bottles. They didn't want to get dehydrated in this burning hot weather.

Water bottles in hand and girls in sight, Joe Hardy was on his way back to the ice cream stand. He pulled out his phone to call Callie about bringing Kitty home. The phone rang and rang ads eventually went to voicemail. He was about to speak into the voicemail when a strong hand clamped over his mouth and three more hands dragged him into the nearest alleyway. He struggled hard to fight his way out of their grasp, but the mens' grip stayed true. The next moment a knife was at his throat, a third man entering the picture. He wore a ski mask, but there was something familiar about those blue eyes that peered out.

The hand removed itself from over his mouth, but the knife was too close for Joe to speak too loudly. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The lead man sneered. "I'm sure you've been through this enough times to know what I want. As for who I am, well, let's just say I'm an old friend."

Then the man lifted his mask so that Joe could see his face.

Please review! I've never done Hardy Boys before. How is it so far?