Chapter 6

Joe was about to throw out a sonic blast when Cliff appeared in the yard.

“Cliff, get down!” Frank yelled.

Cliff just stood there, not moving. Bright flashes hit him, but nothing happened! The blasts bounced off of him! Cliff stood definitely. Boomer came back to Staci.

“Don’t worry.” Boomer’s voice hit Staci’s mind.

In Cliff’s mind, as quick as light, the Phoenix appeared. Memories flashed through. He knew what to do.

Frank brought down his brother to protect him. They all watched as Cliff held out his hand. Two more flashes came but they bounced off his hand, flying back and hitting the shooters. They flew back and out of the yard. The others stood there in shock. Fenton stood in the back, wondering why the neighbors hadn’t heard what was going on. Cliff came back inside before anyone came out of their homes.

“Do not worry. The neighbors are all asleep. I have made sure that no one heard.” The Phoenix spoke in Cliff’s mind.

Cliff came back inside and shut the door.

Staci felt the cold wave leave her. “I think they’re gone,” she told everyone.

They all came back into the living room. Boomer settled down by Staci’s feet. It was then that Fenton finally found his voice. He looked directly at Dan.

“Alright you better start explaining what the hell is going on, and why my family has been put in harms way?!” he demanded.

Joe was stunned. He had never heard his father raise his voice like that. Even when he was with criminals, he always kept his calm. Now his father had a look of sheer anger in his face.

“Dad, calm down,” Frank told him.

Fenton took a deep breath. “No I won’t calm down. Whoever that was just tried to kill you two and I want some answers!”

“I can explain some of the story. Only I don’t know how much of it I believe myself.” Cliff said as he stared at his hand. There was no mark on it. “I only found out what was happening this morning. It’s hard to explain why I’m here. I don’t even know how what is going on.”

“Cliff, do you have another crystal with you?” Dan asked.

Cliff’s eyes went wide. “How did you know about that?”

“My crystal gives me a telepathic signal when another crystal like it is within a short distance. When my craft crashed, I had two crystals. After the crash I only had one in my backpack. The missing one disappeared,” Dan explained.

“No it didn’t,” Sunray said.

Joe turned to him. “How would you know?”

“Remember the night of the crash?” Sunray asked. Joe nodded. “I saw something fly from the crashsite into the night sky. What it was I don’t know.”

“The crystal!” Dan shouted. “It must have blown free and gone to find its rightful owner.”

Cliff opened his backpack and pulled out a crystal. It was identical to the one Dan had shown all of them in Fenton’s office! It was glowing red in the center.

“I need a more secure place to show you what this crystal did in my room this morning,” Cliff told them.

Fenton led them to his office. He seriously considered telling Dan to find another private eye to take his case. Now that his sons were involved, there was no way he could back out. He watched as Cliff put the crystal on his hand, and it began to glow red. It slowly began to pulsate. They saw the image of a fire bird in the center.

“I’ve seen that bird before,” Joe remarked.

“It’s the same one from your anime,” Frank added.

Cliff nodded, “I had a hard time believing it myself, until this bird came from the crystal and told me why.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Fenton said.

Cliff sighed. He knew that Fenton was going to be the hardest one to convince. It was then that the crystal began to feel warm in his hand. An image of the fire bird filled the room. It raised its wings before descending back into the crystal.

“The Phoenix she’d only talk and explain when the time was necessary for her to do so. She’s only told me so far that I’m some sort of guardian sent to protect all of you,” Cliff explained.

“Why what’s going on?” Frank asked.

Dan sighed, “Then I guess it’s best to explain the whole story to you.”

Fenton sat down. “I’m waiting.”

Dan leaned back in his chair. “What I have told you so far is true. I am from a distant planet, sent here to find my brothers. There is a war going on where I’m from. A war that has consumed the entire planet. The royal family is doing there best to use their super powers to fight against the raging armies to free our people. I was told by my mother as she was dying that I had three brothers with powers similar to mine. If I could come to Earth and find them, we could unite to come back and fight. My dad sent me here with the ship and the crystals in hopes that I could find them before it was too late.”

“Are you still expecting me to believe a story like that?” Fenton demanded.

“No.” Dan admitted, “I only know is that your sons and Sunray have demonstrated some of the powers that the royal family has. Cliff is like one of the guardian race that used to protect the planet. He may be one of the last of that race.”

“OK, so you’ve come here, and by some strange force have awakened these super powers if you would call them that. I still don’t get why you were sent to Earth,” Frank said.

“Like I said, it was the dying wish of my mother that I find the brothers I never met. I tried to get the story about that from my father, but he wouldn’t explain, saying that it would have to wait until later,” Dan explained.

Staci felt a cold chill come over her. “Then why is it I feel everyone here is in danger?”

“Because who ever shot down my ship knows I’m here. They’ve probably been the one that sent those attackers here,” Dan replied.

“But why? If we can defend ourselves from them, why bother trying?” Joe asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe whoever it is thinks they can steal the powers from a person,” Dan replied.

“Are you telling me those bastards are going to keep coming after my sons?” Fenton asked.

“Yeah, they are,” Dan replied.

“But we can stop them. We did before,” Joe told him.

Sunray sat on a chair saying nothing. It was still hard enough for him to accept that he had super power, let alone have these attackers after him.

“Do you know anyone that has telepathic powers?” Dan asked.

“Just a couple people over at the university,” Sunray replied, finally speaking.

“We’re going to need their help,” Dan replied.

“Now, did you dad give any clue as to who this person was before you left?” Frank asked.

Dan shook his head. “No, but it’s not a person from my planet. If it was they would have come after me just after my ship crashed.”

“Then let’s continue to look for the missing kids. We have the lists. We just have to track them down,” Frank suggested.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit late? Maybe we should head on out in the morning?” Joe suggested.

They all agreed that Joe’s suggestion was the best. Fenton still had not agreed to let his sons help Dan, but knew he couldn’t stop them. He sat in his office while Frank took Staci and Sunray back home. Cliff stayed in Joe’s room, while Dan settled into Frank’s. After Frank came home they called their mom at the shelter. She was going to stay the night because of a fire that had destroyed a lot of apartments. Dan was interested in all of the things in the brothers’ rooms. They stayed up until midnight playing board games. Later on they would all head to sleep.

“Frank, I’m sorry if I’ve gotten you in trouble with your father,” Dan said, as he settled into his sleeping bag.

“Don’t worry.” Frank assured him. “He’s just very protective of my brother and myself. He doesn’t mean to get mad at you.”

“I can understand.” Dan admitted, “I mean look at me. I come here for a day and already you guys have super powers and know I’m not local.”

Frank chuckled. “Yeah, I had to admit I was skeptical at first too, until I was able to use martial arts moves and speed that I’ve only seen Bruce Lee do and even then I don’t know how I was able to teleport like that.”

“Probably because you and Joe have some sort of bond. You probably can only teleport to where he’s at,” Dan said.

Dan slowly drifted off to sleep. Frank lay awake. He thought about the bond that Dan spoke of. He knew that he had something special between himself and his baby brother. He just never realized how deep the bond went.

“So I can teleport to wherever he is now?” Frank thought to himself. “I wonder what Joe would do if he knew that?”

Frank didn’t think long as the burden of sleep soon came and he closed his eyes.

As he heard Cliff trying to sleep, Joe felt that the room seemed to be alive some how. He looked over on the floor, to where Cliff had put the crystal. The crystal was glowing again. Feeling a cold chill to where he shivered, he walked over to where the crystal was on the floor. He knelt down and picked it up. A feeling of warmth spread through his entire body, leaving him feeling like he was standing in a warm breeze. The bird that he had seen earlier was there again.

“She’s a beauty isn’t she?” Cliff remarked, half asleep.

Joe nodded, “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything like her before. It’s like I feel I’m supposed to know her.”

Cliff nodded and closed his eyes. “Yeah, she said she’d reveal herself in time.” He turned and went to sleep.

Joe put the crystal back down and crawled into bed. He closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Fenton sat in his office. He sat back and tried to make sense of the missing persons’ files that his sons and their friends had found. He didn’t want to believe Dan’s story. He wanted to believe that Dan had just put on a light show and had somehow drugged sons into believing they could do things. For all he knew it could have been Dan himself that could have sent the attackers. Then there was Molder, there was no file on him or Dan who claimed he was Molder’s nephew.

“Who are these people? Why do they want my sons?” Fenton thought to himself.

He looked at the picture that he had on his desk…the one where he had his arms around both of his sons. He held it to himself, trying to cherish every moment of that memory. He looked back at his screen. There was still nothing that mentioned Molder or Dan.

“Wait…Dan never told us what is last name is!” Fenton said to himself.

He knew he was going to have to figure out who Dan really was, and what he wanted with his sons. He doubted if Dan carried any identification on him that he could use. Suddenly the phone rang. Even though the ringer had been turned down, it still was loud enough to startle him. After a few minutes the caller hung up.

“Mr. Strone… where have I heard that name before?” Fenton thought. The caller was Mr. Strone secretary, wanting to set up a meeting between them. “Strone…”

Fenton did a quick search through the Internet.

“Strone Enterprises. That guy is one of the wealthiest people in the world. He could hire the highest paid private eye in the states. What would he want with me?” Fenton thought. “There has got to be something behind it. Something that may border on the illegal side.”

Fenton sat back and rubbed his eyes. The meeting was going to be for tomorrow morning. Even earlier then when his sons had planned to leave for. A yawn came to his mouth signaling that he should head to sleep. After a check on the security system, he went to his room for some much needed rest.

A man was sitting in a lavish office. His chair was facing the window. The secretary, a short, blond-headed woman could only see the top of her boss’s head. Even then, she couldn’t see him because the lights in the room had been turned off. The only light coming in was the moon light from the window that had the curtain pulled back.

“Has the appointment been set?” he asked, not turning around.

“Yes Mr. Strone. It’s set for 7am tomorrow,” she replied.

“Where at?” he asked.

“Here at your office,” she replied.

“Good, you can go for the night, but be here early tomorrow,” he told her.

She closed the door without another word. If there was one thing that Jen knew when it came to her boss, was not to speak to him when he didn’t speak. Mr. Strone had changed a lot over the years. Most of the changes had frightened her. Still, the money was good, and she didn’t want to leave.

Mr. Strone settled back into his chair. He looked out into the skyline.

“So you think you can avoid me by running?” Mr. Strone said to himself. “You’re not getting off that easy. You may have found allies, but nothing is keeping me from stealing what should be rightfully mine.”

Mr. Strone looked at a shooting star that had passed close.

“I will have you all…I am a Strone. I ALWAYS get what I want,” Strone thought again as a cloud passed over the moon, casting an eerie shadow into the room.

Chapter 7

That morning, Fenton awoke before his sons and their friends did. He had a quick breakfast, dressed, and slipped out of the house before anyone could see he had left. He still wondered what Mr. Strone would want his services for. A late night search through his files showed that Mr. Strone had been sited for illegal takeovers and power grabs but was never prosecuted. There were some other lawsuits against him and his company on forced overtime, short cuts in worker safety, and thousands of dollars in various fines.

“Hmmm…this guy seems to be evil all around…If I get access to his files, I just may be able to bring him down,” Fenton thought to himself.

He drove on to the destination that the secretary had given him. It was a very big house that doubled as a personal office in upper New York. Fenton knew given the traffic, it was going to take him at least an hour to get there.

Frank was the first to wake up. Not wanting to wake anyone else, he used the bathroom in his father’s office before gathering up all the files. He saw the quick note from his father, saying he had an errand to run. It was a system a long time ago that if his father ever left a message saying he was running an errand, it usually meant he was out on a potential new case. Joe awoke soon after and came downstairs to do the same things Frank had done.

“Want to make breakfast for our guests?” Joe asked after he and his brother had quietly changed into clean clothes and now sat at the kitchen table.

“Let’s wait until they get up. I know Cliff will be hungry, but I’m not sure what Dan can digest. He didn’t have much food last night,” Frank said.

Joe nodded, “I see your point. We’ll if anything we do have a lot of fruit in the fridge.”

It wasn’t long before Cliff and Dan woke up. Frank loaned Dan some of his clothes, which fit surprisingly well. Cliff changed into some clothes that he had brought with him. When everyone was set they settled into the kitchen to set up their agenda.

“OK. We have street maps of this area and Bridgeport. It shouldn’t take too long to mark off where we have to go,” Frank said.

“How long will it take to get to Bridgeport from here?” Dan asked.

“Probably about twenty minutes to a half hour, depending on traffic,” Joe replied.

“We should head out soon though. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Anyone hungry?” Frank said.

Frank and Joe pulled out fruit from the fridge and toasted up bread for their guests, since everyone really didn’t want to eat. The brothers divided up the maps and highlighted the best streets to take so they wouldn’t spend all morning circling around town.

“Do you want to take Staci along? I need to see how high her ESP capabilities are,” Dan said.

“Why? It scares her,” Frank told him.

“That’s because she doesn’t know how to deal with it. ESP waves, especially with someone like her can only get scarier unless she learns what do to,” Dan explained.

“She’s on Kane University’s campus. She does research for a professor during the day. We won’t be able to reach her until tonight when she gets out of the library,” Frank added.

“We really should get going big brother, if we want to cover a lot of ground by lunch time,” Joe told them.

Frank nodded. They cleared the mess in the kitchen before leaving.

Staci had finally tracked down Brian McHaggerty. He had been in a play and the club performing it had an early morning meeting. They were talking in the charity club’s office. Brian offered her a cup of hot cocoa when he saw how badly she was shaking.

“You’ve been getting ESP waves?” Brian asked her.

Staci looked up. “How did you know?”

Brian sighed. “A few days ago, my ESP waves and feelings shot off the scale. I’ve seen visions, heard strong clear voices, and I can sense things. And that’s not the half of it.”

Staci watched as a few napkins from the desk floated over to her.

“Telekinesis,” she whispered.

Brian nodded, “Yeah. I’ve had a hell of a time controlling it.”

“I know someone who can help you. He promised to help me to,” Staci said.

“That’s great. I just hope he can help the others here,” Brian said.

“Wait… what others?” Staci asked, after a sip of her chocolate.

Brian looked right at her. “The others here on campus. Ever since that day when my powers were “activated”, others on campus have been experiencing weird things as well.”

“Weird things?” Staci asked.

“Carl, he’s always pushing himself too hard. Now all of a sudden he can finish his work in record time. He says that he can see math formulas and things so fast that he doesn’t need calculator any more. Pat now has strength that he only dreamed of. Mike, now he can change his voice to any type or sound that he wants. We’re still getting reports in from the others,” Brian explained.

“This is insane,” Staci said as she put her now empty cup in the trash.

“Tell me about it.” Brian said as he rubbed his forehead, “I get the feeling it’s only going to get worse.”

Staci felt a cold chill. “I know. It’s going get bad.”

Fenton had no idea what to expect when had arrived in Mr. Strone’s office earlier that morning. He was sitting at a table in a diner, trying to sip a cup of coffee. Trying to eat the sandwich that was in front of him, he still couldn’t figure out what Mr. Strone’s real motive was.

“Good morning, Mr. Hardy,” Jen O’Hara, Mr. Strone’s secretary said to Fenton as he came into the office. He had just parked his car outside of the very elaborate mansion.

“Good morning. Is Mr. Strone here?” Fenton asked.

“Yes he is,” she replied, shuffling slightly in her navy blue business suit and heels.

“Is something wrong?” Fenton asked.

“It’s just been an early morning.” She replied, “You can go in now.”

Fenton stepped into the large office. “It was as big as my house!” Fenton thought as he walked over to where the desk was. There was someone sitting in the very large plush office chair. The chair was facing the window.

“Are you Fenton Hardy?” A voice from behind the chair asked.

“Yeah, I am. What do you want? And are you Mr. Strone?” Fenton asked, still standing near the desk.

“Yes I am Mr. Strone. You obviously have already done some research on me. Now do you know why I’ve asked you here?” Mr. Strone said.

“No, I don’t. You can afford a higher priced private investigator. Why come to me?” Fenton asked.

“You’re good at what you do. You have a perfect record in completing jobs. You never give up on a job. I need that for the task I have,” Mr. Strone replied.

Fenton noticed that the tone of his voice never chained, nor did he turn around.

“What is it you want me to do?” Fenton asked again. He kept his voice calm, but was growing irritated at Strone’s vagueness.

“All in good time Fenton Hardy. For now I need you to look into a crash that some of my associates witness,” Mr. Strone said.

Fenton pulled out his pad and began writing notes.

“Can you explain when and where?” Fenton asked.

“Very well.” Mr. Strone said, “Upstate New York, near Yellow Rose park. My associates said something crashed there a few nights ago, but nothing of the wreckage was ever found. I want to talk with the survivor.”

Frank started driving towards the first name on his list. They decided before hand that it was better that only two of them go to the front door instead of the whole group. The name turned out to be a female. Her name had been misspelled the directory. They continued on. The next few names didn’t pan out leaving 3 from Bayport before they decided to stop for lunch.

As Fenton sat back in his chair, he wondered how Mr. Strone could have found out about the crash, if no debris had been left behind. He was still wondering who Strone was. His brief search last night didn’t yield a photograph.

“If there was no wreckage, how can you prove something crashed?” Fenton asked.

“I told you my associates witnessed the crash. They said there was a group of campers near by. I want you to find that group of campers and see if they pulled out the survivor from the wreck,” Mr. Strone replied.

Fenton inwardly gasped. How could he know? Did he see his sons?

“Can you handle the assignment? I know this may not be the most legal case you’ve worked on, but I’m willing to pay your fees,” Mr. Strone replied.

“What do you want to talk to the survivor of a crash for?” Fenton said, as he scribbled on his notepad.

“Because I believe the person in the crash has something that I want,” Mr. Strone replied.

“Do your associates know what shot the plane down?” Fenton asked.

“I’m not concerned about that. I only want to know about the survivor. Now go, talk with my secretary and she’ll give you a starting fee,” Mr. Strone replied.

Fenton turned to leave.

“And one more thing.” Mr. Strone added, causing Fenton to turn his head. “If you find the survivor, call my associates. I’ll have them bring him to me. I’ll deal with him myself.”

There was a tone in Mr. Strone’s voice that chilled Fenton to the core. As he left the office, Jen gave him a check. When he looked at it as he left, he couldn’t believe the amount of money that it was for.

“Nearly a half a million dollars!” Fenton though to himself. “What could he want with Dan so badly for?”

As Fenton finished up his lunch, and went to pay his bill. He was positive that someone from Mr. Strone’s office mansion had followed him. He paid the bill and stepped out of the diner. Some one came out a minute later and got into a jeep. The man, dressed in a sweat suit outfit, pretended to be looking for something from his glove compartment. As soon as he put his car into gear he pulled out into the street. The man quickly got up and put his jeep into gear, following him.

Staci rubbed her arms as a cold wave came over her.

“A cold wave?” Brian asked as he handed her a blanket.

She nodded. “Yeah… Someone’s in danger. I don’t know who, but someone is.”

“So where are we headed next?” Dan asked after they left the small diner.

“Bridgeport. We can meet up with Staci and Sunray on campus,” Frank replied.

“How long is it going to take to get there?” Cliff asked, feeling a little uneasy.

“About thirty to forty minutes, depending on the traffic,” Joe replied, “Once we get on the highway it will go a lot faster.

“Are you OK Cliff?” Dan asked as the got into the van.

“Just a bad feeling. I guess my nerves are frayed,” Cliff admitted.

“Trust in your instincts Cliff. Any type of feeling can be a warning,” Dan told him.

Cliff nodded and closed his eyes to try and relax. He took several deep breaths. A blurry image of a man came into his mind. He tried to focus on it, but the harder he tried, the blurrier the image became. Putting the image out of his mind all together, he tried to enjoy the calm ride to the campus.

Joe called Staci, who promised to meet them at the entrance. She told Joe something was going down on the campus but couldn’t say over the phone.

“Maybe that’s the weird feeling I’m getting, but I keep seeing the image of someone,” Cliff said after Joe told them what had happened.

“It’s your visions. Guardians of our planet could see images in their mind as clearly as if they had their eyes open. It takes a while to learn,” Dan explained.

Cliff settled back and tried to calm himself down.

“There’s a lot of traffic on this highway today,” Joe remarked as Frank continued driving.

Frank nodded. “So I’ve noticed. I didn’t hear about any accidents.”

Cliff still couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that he had.

Thirty minutes later, they were on the Kane campus. After finding a parking spot, they walked towards the club offices, where Staci was going to meet them. The campus was a little quiet for the time of day that it was.

“This is what a university campus looks like,” Dan remarked after they had parked the car.

“This is just a small campus. There are campuses that are a lot bigger,” Joe added. “Frank, do you remember where the club office is?”

Frank nodded and began walking out of the parking lot. It wasn’t long before they were at the office. To Frank’s surprise, Staci was talking with several guys that were now in the room. He recognized all of them as some of the people he and his brother had helped during their Eco-Terror case. Carl, Brian, Pat, Sunray, Ronaldo, and several others were sitting around. Staci looked a little nervous. He knocked on the door and she let them in.

“What’s going on around here?” Carl demanded. “Last night I redesigned an entire computer program that would have taken me days.”

“I think everyone needs to calm down,” Frank said as they came into the room.

“Calm down?” Brian nearly yelled. “Do you know what…”

He was cut off as an explosion rocked the room, throwing all of them to the ground!

Chapter 8

The lights blacked out and furniture and stuff from the shelves fell on top of them. The rumbling stopped as fast as it had started. Frank began immediately looking for his brother.

“Joe? Are you OK? Is everyone OK?” he shouted.

Joe pushed off the books that had fallen on him and got to his knees. He pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and clicked it on. “Yeah, I am. Everybody say if they’re OK, one at time.”

“I’m OK,” Staci shouted out. “I can reach my cellphone. I’ll call the campus police.

One by one they shouted out that they were OK. Kyle was the first to call out, followed by the others. Then Sunray, Carl, and the members of the medieval society answered. Ron, Ryan, Eric, Rob, Mike, and Brian, all announced they were OK. Frank was able to stand up. In the beam of his brother’s flashlight he saw that his brother had a few cut but was not seriously hurt. He began feeling around for the others. Joe did the same. One by one they uncovered people buried by the avalanche.

“Let’s get out of here,” Carl choked out.

They climbed out only to find the door blocked. Using the combined strengths of the Hardy Brothers, Carl, Eric, and Ron they managed to push open the door. Coming out into the hallway they found a mangled mess of mortar, bricks, doors, and the remains of furniture along with a cloud of gray dust.

“Police officer, is there anyone in there?” a voice shouted.

“We’re OK I think. We just have to get out of here,” Carl told him.

“OK, follow my flashlight out,” the officer told them.

A beam of light flashed onto the floor. One by one they followed it until they were outside. They were greeted by the bomb squad, swat team, a parade of ambulances and fire trucks, followed by a longer parade of news vans. Chief Walberg was the first to reach the group as they came out of the darkened hallway, amongst the sounds and lights of the fire alarms going off. He brought them over to a marked off part of the back of the student center.

“What happened?” he demanded.

“We were in the charity club office when the explosion went off.” Frank explained, “We were thrown to the floor and stuff fell on all of us.”

“The explosion came from room 14B,” Chief Walberg told them.

“That’s our old office,” Carl gasped.

“Did you see anyone hanging around that office or someone in the main part?” Chief Walberg said.

“It’s used for storage now. No one wants it anymore because it’s too small,” Carl replied.

Frank had looked over his brother. Other than a few scratches and a small cut, he was unhurt. Staci only had a few bumps. Frank called in a message to their father, telling them they were all OK. Chief Walberg ushered them into another academic building before the wave of reporters could talk to them. One by one he took down their statements. He asked them to wait in the classroom until they could get the press to leave. After Chief Walberg left and they settled into chairs, it was Staci who first spoke.

“I felt it. I felt something was going to happen but couldn’t pinpoint what,” she admitted.

“Same here.” Cliff added as he dusted off his jacket, “I felt it grow stronger as we came to the campus.”

“I felt it too. It was like a cold wave all over me. Last night I dreamt that the whole school was in flames, loud noises going off and an earthquake,” Brian explained.

“You’re a visionary like the Guardians,” Dan told him.

“A what?” Brian asked.

“A visionary. Someone who can see the past, the present anywhere they choose, and the future,” Dan replied.

“Who are you?” Carl asked.

Dan sighed and retold his story to them. After he was finished he had a feeling that the students were having a hard time believing him.

“This is insane. How could this happen? I was born to two normal parents. Nothing like this happened to them,” Ronaldo demanded.

“We all were,” Joe assured them.

“He’s right. It’s hard to explain and I don’t expect you to understand,” Dan said.

“Damn right.” Pat growled, “You’ve got a hell of a lot more explaining to do.”

“Just calm down. Your emotions may trigger your new gifts,” Joe warned them.

“Gifts? It’s more like a curse,” Eric said, he’s jaw clenching.

Sparks began snapping all around him, sounding like small fire crackers.

“See what I mean?” he nearly yelled causing more of the sparks to explode.

“Calm down or you might set the whole building on fire,” Dan warned him.

Eric took a few deep breaths before the sparks stopped.

“OK. Since these “gifts” started working, have you guys noticed anyone following you, any weird phonecalls, or the sense of being watched?” Frank asked. For some strange reason he felt like he didn’t need his notepad any more.

“No, but I do get the feeling that someone started watching a couple of days ago. There are a lot of people on the campus on a daily basis,” Brian admitted.

“Does anyone outside of this group know what’s going on?” Joe asked.

They all said no.

“Keep it to yourself as long as you can. I have a feeling I’m going to have to train all of you to use your powers like I did,” Dan told them.

“You what?” Ron asked.

Dan opened his backpack and pulled out the crystal. He showed them the same light show that he had shown the Hardys. Then he froze water in beakers that Cliff had filled. It was than that the crystal that Cliff was carrying in his backpack began to react. It started to give a slow continuous flute sound. A mid-note pitch. As he took it out it was glowing and pulsating soft hues of blue.

“Why is it doing that?” Joe asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cliff replied.

Suddenly a flaming bird filled the room.

“Do not be alarmed. I am the Phoenix. I will guide you on the way. For now it is best to listen to Dan and learn from him. You must trust in him or your powers will grow too dangerous for you to control.”

Just as suddenly as she appeared, the Phoenix retreated back into the crystal.

“Look I don’t know what’s going on. All I do know is that the things I’m seeing in my head are scaring me,” Brian admitted.

“I know, but I can teach all of you how to use them…” Dan said, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Chief Walberg returned into the classroom.

“I’m afraid that the offices and that entire wing of the student center will be closed until further noticed. They told me it’s going to take at least three days for the contractors to see if the building is sound,” he told them.

“Has the bomb squad found anything yet?” Frank asked.

“Not yet. Have you told your father what happened?” Chief Walberg asked.

Frank shook his head. “He’s still not back from a case. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to contact him.”

“Even though I normally wouldn’t approve of it, I need you and your brother to stay on campus to start working the case. I need someone who can talk to the students without them knowing what you’re doing,” Chief Walberg explained.

Fenton continued driving down the highway. The red jeep continued following every move he made on the road. Fenton tried getting off the highway and back on, but the jeep continued keeping pace. He called in the license plate to the highway patrol and the jeep came back registered to a Mr. James Muntin.

“I can’t go back home. They’ll find out for sure Dan is there. Where to?” Fenton thought as he continued driving back towards Bayport. “Let’s see if he can handle city traffic.”

Fenton drove towards NYC instead of Bayport. The driver of the jeep continued following.

“Good. Now let’s see if he’s willing to follow me all the way to where Sam is,” Fenton thought.

He turned down the various streets until he got to the main police building. He parked and got out. The jeep continued driving down the street until it parked at a meter spot. Fenton walked into the building straight to Sam Peterson’s office. Sam was surprised when he came in.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked at the sudden intrusion.

“I was followed. I came here because I didn’t want the suspect to follow me home,” Fenton replied.

“What does the car look like?” Sam asked, pulling out a pad and pencil.

“It’s a red 2000 jeep. I called it in. It hasn’t been stolen but it’s registered to a Mr. James Muntin,” Fenton told him, sitting down.

A phone call later and an officer was bringing in a report on Muntin.

“Looks like Muntin is not that unfamiliar with the police department.” Sam remarked as he scanned the file, “His present employer is a Mr. Strone. He’s been arrested a couple times for assault and bailed out. He pled guilty to a couple minor offenses but that’s been it.”

“I thought so. I had a meeting with Strone this morning…” Fenton started to say when an officer came in.

“Chief there’s been an explosion at Kane University,” he said.

Fenton felt his heart beat pick up.

“What?” Sam shouted jumping out of his seat.

“The report just came in. There was an explosion in the student center on the campus,” he told them.

“Have there been any injuries?” Fenton asked.

The officer shook his head. “I don’t know. The report is still coming in.”

Fenton pulled out his cellphone and immediately dialed Frank’s number. He picked up.

Frank: Dad?

Fenton: Frank! Thank God! What happened? Where are you? Is Joe OK?

Frank: Yeah Dad, we’re fine. Joe’s fine. We were in the center when it exploded. The police got us out.

Fenton: I want you off that campus immediately. I don’t care who you were there to see.

Frank: We can’t. Chief Walberg asked us to look into the explosion and talk with the students. Dad it’s a long story, but I think it has something to do with Dan.

Fenton: Is the bomb squad there?

Frank: They’re sorting through the mess now. We won’t know for a while.

Fenton: I want you to watch where you’re going. I was nearly followed home.

Frank: Don’t worry we can protect ourselves. Dan’s going to show us all what to do.

Fenton: I’m going to keep working over here. Keep your eyes open and watch out for your brother.

Frank: Don’t worry I will. I have to go because they’re evacuating the building for inspection.

Fenton: Call me as soon as you find something.

Frank: I will.

Frank hung up the phone as the bomb squad and police came in, ordering them out. They followed the officer out. Eric brought them to his apartment off campus, where they all rested in the living room.

“When are you guys going to start talking to the students?” Sunray asked as he leaned back in his chair.

“As soon as the bomb squad and SWAT team leave. If we’re seen lurking around they could get suspicious,” Frank replied.

Meanwhile they could here Staci on the phone with her father.

“I’m fine dad. I got out with only a few scratches…I’m here with the others. The SWAT team is all over this place…I can’t leave until then…OK, yeah, Dave can take care of Boomer…Don’t worry… You’re coming here… Wait…Hello…Hello,” Staci hung up the phone.

“What happened?” Frank asked.

“Well, my father heard about it. He’s on his way over. I doubt I’m staying very long,” she told them.

“He’ll calm down once he sees you’re in one piece,” Joe assured her.

“So what do we do know?” Sunray asked.

“Is there somewhere I can teach all of you what to do without a lot of people finding out?” Dan asked.

“There are the Navy camp grounds outside of that park in upstate New York. It’s been abandoned for years because the Navy doesn’t need it any more. It was used mostly for new recruits,” Sunray suggested.

“Then we’ll use that.” Dan replied, “But we have to leave soon.”

“The bomb sweep’s going to take awhile. I doubt anyone is going back to class in the next couple of days.” Frank explained, “As soon as Staci’s father comes, we can leave since we’ve already given our statements.”

“I just hope your father doesn’t skin me alive for getting you involved,” Dan quipped, causing the others to laugh.

“I’m not sure about that. I’m sure though he’s going to want some answers,” Staci told them.

Cliff suddenly felt a cold wave as did Brian and Staci. Staci’s expression had dropped and she began hugging her arms.

“Love, are you OK?” Frank asked, coming over to her.

“There’s something bad nearby,” She told him.

Back in the darkened office, Mr. Strone was not pleased. His never turned in his chair, but his workers knew when he was angry. Both workers, dressed in jeans and black tops were nervous.

“What do you mean it didn’t work?” Mr. Strone demanded.

“Apparently that group switched offices over the last month. The information you gave us was old,” the first worker said.

He was trembling slightly. All the workers knew that Mr. Strone had a violent temper.

“Next time make sure you have the right office,” Mr. Strone warned them.

“Y—yes sir,” the second worker stammered.

“Now, are you following them?” Mr. Strone asked.

“Yes, Jones is following them. The last he reported they were in one of the apartments,” the first worker replied.

“Keep following them. Let me know immediately when they leave the campus,” Mr. Strone ordered them.

“Yes sir,” the second worker told them.

They left the office fast. If there was one thing they learned about Mr. Strone besides his violent temper was that you were to follow his orders immediately after he told them.

Staci still had the cold feeling as they left. Frank put his arm around her sensing her apprehension. He gave her a quick kiss as they climbed into the van. They had to take three cars since they all wouldn’t fit in the Hardy’s van.

“They’re leaving,” Jones phoned to first worker.

“Follow them. I’m on I-95, let me know which direction they take,” he replied.

“Will do,” Jones replied.

He saw the Hardy van and the three cars that were following it. He turned on the engine and followed them slowly.

Now even Joe couldn’t shake the cold feeling that had descended on Cliff and Staci.

“Are you OK bro?” Frank asked as he got onto the highway.

“Something’s not right.” Joe admitted, “I’m feeling cold, too.”

There was a dull ache that filled his head. He rubbed his temples, trying to will the pain away.

“Headache?” Frank asked, noticing how quiet his brother had become.

“Just a small one,” he replied.

“I think I have some medicine in my purse,” Staci said, feeling a little of Joe’s pain since within an arm’s distance of him.

“I’ll be fine,” Joe replied.

Frank continued driving using Sunray’s directions. He made sure to keep the other cars in his sights. One person in each car had a cellphone and was talking to the others in the group. He was feeling a little uneasy about having so many people to watch over. Normally it was just his brother that he had to worry about. To Frank, it was an act of love that he cherished. Now he had so many more that he felt responsible for.

Next to him Joe was thinking the same thing. He was just grateful that Vanessa wasn’t there. Though both Staci and Vanessa were more than capable of taking care of themselves, he didn’t want his girlfriend in any danger.

“We’re following them,” Jones said through his cellphone.

Back in his darkened office, Mr. Strone leaned back in his chair.

“Don’t let them out of your site. As soon as they stop, let me know,” Mr. Strone ordered into the phone before hanging up.

Jones and the other workers continued following the group that had left the university campus. He knew he’d be punished severely if he failed in his orders. He shuddered to think what had happened to the last person that had failed.

Mr. Strone continued leaning in the chair. “Run all you want to, but I’ll get you. You, the crystal, your powers, everything. You may have found others like you, but I’ll win. I will get what I want.”

Chapter 9

Frank continued driving towards the abandoned area. Although it was late afternoon, he knew it was going to get dark soon. Sunray had assured them that it was a place used mostly for picnics during the day, and at night only a few homeless people came by. Staci called her father and assured him that she was OK and was probably safer off campus then on it. He still was going to the campus to see if he could find out what had nearly killed all of them. They continued driving, pausing only to buy some snacks and water.

When they arrived at the field, they were in luck that field was empty. Frank found a few parking spaces. Dan had been quiet throughout the whole trip. To Joe it seemed as though he was both worried but in deep thought at the same time. He still had the cold feeling surrounding him. They got out and began to move towards the back of the field, away from the parking area.

“It’s quiet around here. Just how far are we from the nearest town?” Frank asked as they put their backpacks down.

“About ten miles.” Sunray replied, “The Navy wanted something far from the towns.”

Dan showed them the crystal again. Cliff pulled his out of his backpack. This time it wasn’t glowing has it had been. They sat down in a ring around Dan as he began to take out other things from his backpack.

Fenton paced back and fourth in Sam’s office. There had been no word about the explosion since the officer had brought in the report that there was one. Sam had repeated called Chief Walberg, but he wasn’t able to say anything over the phone because the press was swarming the campus.

“So what’s going to happen now?” Fenton asked as he gave up pacing for a seat.

“You know you won’t be allowed onto that campus until the swat teams have cleared it and the bomb squad has gone through all the buildings,” Sam told him.

Fenton nodded, “I know. I’d have to get my sons to help. That campus is too big for one person to cover.”

When Fenton ran a hand through his hair, Sam knew something was troubling him. Being Fenton’s friend for so long, he knew all the signs to watch for. He handed him a mug of strong coffee, knowing it was probably going to be a long night for both of them.

“The thing that bothers me is who would do such a thing on a college campus. I’m tempted to think that the person chose that room specifically, other wise why target the student center,” Fenton said between sips.

“Unfortunately you and I both know that criminals don’t always have logic behind their motives,” Sam responded.

Fenton put the now empty mug on Sam’s desk. He inwardly shuddered at how close his sons had been to explosion. He and Sam had both dealt with insane people who killed for no reason other than the victim had been in the wrong place. Still, to use that, most if not all serial killers needed to see their victim face to face. He told Sam of his recent case with Strone.

“Strone Enterprises, now that’s a name I wish I didn’t have to do with,” Sam remarked, leaning back in his chair.

Fenton nodded. “I did some checking before I left for a meeting with him. From what the articles say, he always manages to find a loophole or buys somebody off. I couldn’t believe some of the workplace and environmental violations he’s accused of.”

“Tell me about it. The DA keeps coming in here trying to build a case and Strone does that. I can’t tell you how angry she gets,” Sam added.

Fenton leaned back in his chair. “I’m not sure what he has in mind, or why he’s so interested in finding Dan. Trust me. I’m going to find something that the DA can use.”

Frank watched as Dan nervously showed them the crystal.

“If had a magnifying lens and more light, I could show you that the crystal is flawless. It has to be that way in order to function.” Dan explained, turning the crystal so it glittered in the late afternoon sun. “It can react to emotions like it did with Joe, but the crystal doesn’t do that with everyone. Nor will it become destructive.”

“That’s good to hear. So how do I keep these thoughts from coming into my head?” Brian asked, trying not to think about them.

“All powers can be controlled by the mind and spirit. That’s why when you get emotionally charged, your powers flare up. With control, you can stop that,” Dan explained.

Staci concentrated and soon several small stones were dancing in her hands. Joe giggled and waved his hand. One of the stones floated over to his hand. Dan watched with a slight smile on his face. “Wow, why does this feel like I’m supposed to laugh?” he thought to himself.

“How did you do that?” Frank asked.

Joe shook his head and the stone dropped to the ground. “I really don’t know. When I saw her float the stone, I knew I could too, I just don’t know how.”

Frank took the stone and made it dance on his fingertip. It was almost as if he could see an invisible hand moving the stone.

“You see it moving in your head?” Dan asked.

Frank nodded as the stone fell to the ground.

Dan continued. “That’s how you first learn to use your powers. See them moving in your head. Once you start to see it that way, you’ll learn it’s very easy to move them in ways you couldn’t think of or possibly do.”

“They’re in the park,” Jones quietly said through his cellphone.

“What are they doing?” Mr. Strone said in his darkened office.

“He’s teaching them something or explaining something. I’m too far away to hear,” Jones replied.

“Seen any use of powers yet?” Jones asked.

“Just levitation. And that crystal has been glowing, but nothing else,” Jones said.

“I’m sending reinforcements. If they move let me know. DON’T let them out of your sight,” Mr. Strone ordered him.

“Yes, sir,” Jones replied.

He leaned back in his seat and put on his night vision goggles. Jones thought about his family as he watched the little group. His new baby girl just been born a month ago. He had seen what Mr. Strone could do when he was angry. He thought back to another man who had used to work for Mr. Strone and had failed. He couldn’t imagine his own family going through what that poor man’s family had.

“So what happens now?” Eric asked.

“First, my brother and I are going to look for Dan’s brothers. Once we find them, then maybe some of this mess can be cleared up,” Frank replied.

“I’m going to teach you now a couple of focus exercises to start with. It will help you can control.” Dan told them, “The first thing we have to learn is what powers you actually have. Brian since you are a seer we already know what you have, including the telekinesis,” Dan explained.

One by one they began testing their powers on sticks, stones, and clumps of grass around them. Each one seemed to have one power. Joe was amazed to find that he and his brother had many more than the others, the only one that had as many seemed to be Sunray. Cliff remained oddly quietly throughout the practice. Normally very talkative and joking around, he seemed to wait to just watch and observe.

“Are you OK, Cliff?” Joe asked as they were taking a break.

“Did you say something?” Cliff asked, turning to look at him.

“I asked if you were ok,” Joe told him.

Cliff sighed. “Every time I close my eyes, I see the Phoenix in my head. She talks to me like I’m supposed to already know everything, and what scares me is that I don’t. The Phoenix said I’d remember when the time came, but I’m scared that it won’t.”

“Why hasn’t the Phoenix appeared now that we’re all here?” Joe asked.

Cliff looked down at the crystal in his hand. “I really don’t know. She said she would appear when the time came.”

“Well, maybe she has her reasons. I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on myself. I keep thinking it’s all a dream, but I know I can’t.” Joe admitted. “I’m scared, but I don’t want to tell Frank because he has enough to worry about.”

“You should tell him. He’s going to worry either way,” Cliff said.

Joe sighed. He knew Cliff was right. Frank had been more overprotective than usual for what reason he didn’t know. Something had told him that he had the gift of strength. He went over to where the stones that Staci had been air juggling with had been left on the ground. Picking up the largest and heaviest stone, he looked at it in his hand. Suddenly he could see it crumbling in his hand, as easily as if he crumbled paper. Closing his fist around the stone he squeezed. To his amazement the stone crumbled to dust. Frank came over and grabbed Joe’s wrist. Giving it a twist, he turned his brother’s hand towards him.

“Ouch,” Joe winced at the sudden turn.

To Frank’s amazement there was no blood on his hand. There were no scrapes or any sign that he had just crushed the stone. Frank picked up another stone of the ground. He gave it a gentle squeeze. Just like with his brother, the stone crumbled to dust in his hand.

Dan came over and saw the small mound of dust in Frank’s hand. “You two will have to be more careful than the others. I think you may have more powers that you don’t even know about.”

Frank noticed that Joe looked a little scared. He put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you ok?”

Joe looked back at his hand. “I’m fine.”

“I can tell something’s got you scared,” Frank said.

“Everything’s got me scared right now.” Joe admitted, “It seems like I’m in the middle of bad dream.”

Frank gave his brother’s shoulder a light squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’m here. I’ll admit I’m a little scared too, but I promise nothing will happen to you.”

Joe nodded and went to rejoin the group. Frank looked at his brother and couldn’t help but worry. The dust in hands blew away and he walked over. Dan was showing Eric how to use the sparks he creates to illuminate a beam of light from the first finger of his right hand like a flashlight.

“I feel a little sick,” Brian admitted, rubbing his temples in an attempt to get rid of a migraine.

“That will happen until your mind and body grow stronger,” Dan assured him.

Joe looked up as a cold wave passed over him. He looked all around himself. The only thing that had changed since they had arrived was one more car that was parked where they were.

Jones watched as several vans noiselessly came up behind his car. He watched as several armed men dressed almost like the SWAT team stepped out. They each moved around silently, setting up positions around the park. Jones pulled out a paper bag and threw up into it. He wished he didn’t have to see what was coming up next.

Joe couldn’t shake off the cold feeling that had swept over him. He could sense something bad was surrounding them. He closed his eyes.

Leaves crunching…twigs breaking…loud heartbeats…too many heat sources…

Joe had worked with the police department long enough to know SWAT team movements.

“Frank, I think some sort of SWAT team is closing in,” Joe whispered to his brother.

Frank looked around. He gasped as he could see all the armed men in masks. The images looked as clear as if he were standing in a barren field in bright daylight.

“We’re under attack!” Frank screams to the group around him.

Dozens of lighted red dots appeared on them. Each dot coming from the laser-guided site scope of a sniper’s gun!

Chapter 10

“Get down!” Frank ordered.

Most of the group took the order and dove for cover. Cliff stood forward with Joe and Sunray. Dan came over with them. Joe could hear the clicks of the ammo loading into place. Cliff stood up and used his hands to create a shield around them. The next thing both Frank and Joe knew they were outside of the shield. Dan and Sunray followed after them.

“What are they doing?” Cliff wondered.

Frank found himself engulfed in flames, but the flames didn’t hurt. It was as though he was surrounded by gentle warmth. Joe found himself surrounded in a bubble of water. The sound of rushing water filled his ears. The water filled his nose and mouth… but he could breathe!

The bullets started flying. Staci closed her eyes as the feeling of cold was nearly choking her. Brian crawled over to where she was. The sound of the bullets was almost deafening. When he grabbed her wrist, he couldn’t believe how cold it was. The flesh felt like it had dunked in an ice bath. He closed his eyes and tried to find his way into her mind, but he was blocked by an ice wall.

Joe flew to the right while Frank went to the left. The armed men shot at the two of them. The fire around Frank burned them before they could hit their target. The bullets passed safely through Joe, landing in nearby trees. They shot powerballs made of their own powers towards the now frightened gunmen.

Jones watched from his car at the scene that was unfolding. Now he knew why Mr. Strone was so desperate to get his hands on Dan. He just didn’t know now that Dan had discovered others like himself. Mr. Strone had mentioned something about Dan looking for his siblings. He took a large sniff and felt nauseated at the smell from the used bag and opened the window to get some fresh air. When he saw the way that the brothers and their friends were neatly handling all of Mr. Strone’s hired men, he knew it wasn’t good.

“Mr. Strone is not going to like this,” he silently moaned to himself.

Sunray moved around them, yet he felt himself feeling no fear. He felt the winds swirling around him. He raised his hand and thrust his fist at the group of gunmen that he could see from where he had ducked down. As the three turned to fire at him, they were hit with a blast of air, strong enough to knock them off their feet. Sunray stood up as the gunman tried to get up. He held out his hand. The gunmen were hit with hurricane force winds, knocking them into the trees.

Frank and Joe worked side by side. In record time they took down the gunmen, knocking them out cold. Those that managed to get away fled to their vans and sped off. Frank imagined himself turning off a light switch, and the flames went out. Dan ran over to Joe just as the water retreated. Joe fell back down.

“Joe!” Frank screamed.

He ran over to take Joe from Dan’s arms.

“Joe! Joe!” he screamed, but his brother didn’t respond.

“He’s not breathing,” Dan told him.

Joe’s lips turned blue. Frank started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on his brother. After a couple puffs of air, Joe coughed and spat out the water. Frank leaned him to his side so he wouldn’t choke. After Joe spat out the last of the water, he took in several deep breaths. Frank hugged his brother to him. He was grateful to Dan for not panicking. But how did he know he had nearly drowned?

“Dan, how did you…” Frank started, but Dan stopped him.

“Your brother had used a water power. You remember how using your heat power was like turning a light switch on and off?” Dan asked. Frank nodded. “Your brother probably found that out too, but didn’t hold his breath when he turned it off. He switched from breathing under water to having to breathe air too fast.”

“Is this going to happen to him all the time?” Frank demanded, noticing that his brother’s skin was dry.

Dan gave him a slight smile. “I’ll teach him how to turn it off without choking. It’s simple. It just takes time to learn.”

Frank helped his brother to his feet. Together they walked back to the group with Sunray joining them. Cliff turned off his shields with a wave of his hand.

“How did you do that?” Cliff asked.

Staci was still on the ground, trying to shake off the wall of cold that had nearly strangled her. Brian grabbed held of her wrist. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the warmth returning to the skin. Staci looked over at the two of them. She wondered why Joe looked a little pale and why Frank was supporting him.

“That won’t be the last, will it?” Dan asked.

Frank sighed. “Yeah. We’ve got to keep on guard. Whoever is doing this obviously doesn’t care who gets hurt.”

“Then I’ll find my brothers on my own. All of you go back to the university. You’ll be safer there once I’m out of state,” Dan told them.

“What are you talking about? We were nearly killed!” Eric nearly shouted.

“He’s after me. Whoever it is probably knows that that anyone without powers might gain one if they know how to use the crystal,” Dan explained.

“You mean steal them. They can take them if they know how to work the crystal,” Frank answered, looking straight at Dan.

Dan nodded. “It’s a hidden danger with bringing the crystal here. Normally where I’m at, if the crystal were stolen it would self-destruct.”

“Then let the crystal destruct. We can’t risk someone getting hurt,” Joe said.

“This crystal is the only way I can find my brothers. If it’s destroyed then I have no way of getting them back home to our parents,” Dan told him.

“Can we just get out of here? They might be on their way back!” Sunray growled.

“OK, those that live on the Kane campus go back there if you can. Try and stay alert, whoever this is, is after me…” Dan started to explain.

“Wait, what if one of us accidentally sets something on fire or blows out a window?” Eric asked.

“You’ve already learned how to focus and control them for a little while. Keep that up and learn to control them more. That’s about all I could teach you right now,” Dan explained.

“Then let’s go. We better get moving to find your brothers before anything else happens,” Frank said.

The group separated into their cars. Sunray, Cliff, Staci, and Dan climbed into the brothers’ van while the others drove back in their own cars. Staci still felt a little cold. Frank gave her a blanket from the back. Staci wrapped herself in it, grateful for the extra warmth.

“Are you sure the others will be OK?” Frank asked as he drove away, looking for anyone following them.

“They’re going to need the crystal and me. If I stay away from the campus, they should be safe. Besides they have ways to defend themselves now,” Dan replied.

Joe leaned back in his seat. The air felt good in his lungs. It felt strange being able to breathe under water. It was eerie how everything sounded different.

“Is everyone cold?” Frank asked as he checked in his rear-view mirror.

Everyone replied no. Staci insisted that she was OK with the blanket. Joe opened his eyes. They adjusted to the darkness, and he could see his friends in the back seats. They all looked shaken by what had happened. He could sense that Dan was feeling really guilty.

“Is it too late to look for Dan’s brothers?” Joe asked, as he adjusted his seatbelt.

“Let’s get somewhere to get our bearings. I think someone is following again,” Frank told them.

Staci closed her eyes. “I don’t feel cold.”

“Then we’ll just travel around for awhile, see if he gives up,” Frank replied.

Jones continued following the Hardys’ van. He was relieved to watch the brothers and the others defend themselves against Strone’s hired men. He was afraid to call Strone and tell him that the attempt had failed. The van wasn’t far from him. In this part of the state, there wasn’t anyone else on the road. The only life seemed to be the occasional deer on the roadside. Jones sighed and flipped open his cellphone.

“Sir, the attempt failed,” Jones meekly said into his phone.

“WHAT?” Mr. Strone shouted into the phone. “I sent thirty gunmen there. Now what happened?”

Jones carefully explained what had happened. He didn’t leave out any details. He could tell that Mr. Strone was getting angry with every detail on how poorly the men had performed. After he finished telling his story, he swallowed hard. He could hear deep breathing over the phone.

In his office Mr. Strone seethed at the thought that his prize had gotten away. Thirty gunmen! They should be dead! Strone leaned back in his chair in his darkened office. He still felt that he had learned something from the information that Jones had given him. He knew that Jones had only seen a tiny fraction of what the crystal could do. That crystal will be mine. Dan doesn’t know the full power of that crystal. He hasn’t read the myths like I have. He doesn’t know that the crystal can reach full power in the right hands. MY hands.

“Are you following them?” Mr. Strone asked.

“Yes,” came the reply.

“Then keep following them. Do not let them out of your sight. I’ll personally kill you if you mess up,” Mr. Strone warned.

Jones quietly swallowed again.

“I won’t sir,” Jones promised.

“Good,” Mr. Strone replied before hanging up.

Jones put away his cell phone. He breathed a sigh of relief that Strone’s anger had been towards the men that failed and not him. He couldn’t bear the thought that Strone would go after his family. As soon as he could he was taking them out of the country. Maybe he could talk to Dan and ask him to speak with Strone, maybe he’d back off.

“He’s got to understand that so many lives are in danger. All he has to do is talk with Strone,” Jones said to himself.

Jones nodded and knew what he had to do. He continued following the Hardys’ van, hoping that they wouldn’t try to lose him.

Frank continued driving all over. Everywhere he turned the car followed him.

“Hey love, are you feeling anything?” he asked, looking at the distant head lights.

“No, the cold is leaving. I am hungry though for some reason,” Staci admitted.

Joe felt his stomach grumble. “I am too.

“That’s one of the side-effects of using your gifts. You burn a lot of energy maintaining them, so if you use them for awhile you’re going to end up hungry,” Dan explained.

“Then let’s got to 3brothers. It’s not far from here, and we can get a lot of food for a good price,” Sunray told them.

“Sounds good,” Frank agreed.

He drove them to the diner. They ordered appetizers and those were gone in no time. When the waitress came back, they put in their orders for dinner, and she left. Staci leaned back, fully enjoying the feeling of warmth that had finally returned. They chatted about their friends, and the strange car that had followed them. Frank was sure he had managed to lose it in the winding streets near the Kane campus.

Jones pulled into the 3brothers parking lot. He saw the Hardys’ van in the diner’s parking lot and decided to park. He was hungry himself, so he had a good excuse for being there. Now he only wished he had a better excuse for trying to talk to Dan.

Fenton Hardy sighed as he leaned back in his office chair. He had called Strone and asked him when he had wanted to meet Dan. Strone reinforced the idea that he wanted to see Dan A.S.A.P. Fenton promised he was going to try and locate Dan. After hanging up, Fenton began to look for anything he could use against Strone. He had called in a friend at the state health department. Strone had been sighted numerous times for health violations but rather than fix the problem, he just paid the fine. Fenton was shocked that the violation totaled to well over 400. His friend promised to have everything copied and ready to go if the could get to the office. Health violations were not the best evidence, but it was a start.

As he walked out of his house, he looked around for any usual cars. Sam had done his best with the car that had followed him to the station. He had ordered one of his officers to put a “boot” on the car, a device that locked the tire in place, not letting the person drive away. Still he couldn’t shake the feeling that Strone was having him followed. “Just how desperate is this man?” Fenton thought to himself. He got into the car and drove off. He hadn’t seen the man hiding in the bushes across the street. The man who wanted until Fenton’s car was out of sight before pulling out his cellphone.

“Sir, I’ve found out where Fenton Hardy lives,” the man said. He was dressed like a combat solider to blend into the bushes.

“Good. Get inside and bug the house. That man is hiding something,” Mr. Strone ordered him.

“Yes sir,” the man replied.

He hung up the phone. He waited a few more minutes before going over to the Hardy home. He didn’t take him long to bypass the house alarm and go inside.

Mr. Strone hung up the phone and smiled to himself. School pictures of Frank and Joe were scattered on his desk. Other surveillance pictures of the brothers were there as well.

“Well, Mr. Hardy. You may think you might be able to hide Dan from me but you’re wrong. You’re going to bring me Dan. If you value your sons’ lives you will.”