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

Thanks once again to Wendylouwho10 who read over my story for flow, content, and the occasional grammar/misspelling!

Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Series started as kinda blue spine with a touch of Casefiles but is now completely AU. F/20 J/19

Author's Notes: So my apologies for the delay and a thank you to Jilsen for the reminder message today! LOL I've been camping! And I'm getting too old for it! LOL But now you know why Frank and Joe go camping in my stories!

A big thank you to all who have been reading and an even bigger thank you to all of you who took the time to drop a review note. :-) And apologies for not getting to everyone on that last chapter. Camping preparations. LOL I'll do better here on this one. :-)

And I do remember a number of you hazarding a guess as to where the next story will be going based on that last chapter. Well, this chapter will seal the deal and perhaps have a bit of a surprise. ;-) And yes, I have started on the next story, but I'm only on chapter 1 so it will be several months before I get that ready. Sorry! But I will say that the next story is like this one in that it begins immediately after this one ends. ;-) I would give you a title... but I don't know it yet. I have a tentative one but I don't like it. LOL So that part is a mystery to us all!

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the end of the story. :)

Chapter Ten

It was that nebulous time between Christmas and New Year's. The time of the year where kids are out on break and no one really wants to work as they wait for the New Year's holiday and another day off work. And Joe wasn't ungrateful for what he had. In fact, Christmas was extra special as he still had Vanessa with him.

She had provided all of them with her side of the event. How she had disarmed the attacker and taken the knife in the leg as she had a choke hold on the person and her legs wrapped around them. She was lucky that they hadn't attempted to use the knife further. She had grabbed the gun that was on the floor beside her as the assailant had stood. They had kicked at her just as she fired. They had missed the gun but the boot had made solid contact with the side of her head and she didn't remember anything after that until she came to in the ambulance.

The couple had spent part of Christmas with his parents and her mother and now they were back at their apartment. She no longer had to use the wheelchair but used crutches to make sure that she rested the leg and didn't aggravate the injury. She seemed okay with things. Even the fact that no one was taking formal responsibility for the attack which ended up killing Libby's mother and Libby herself was still in the hospital. All the other injured had recovered, just as Vanessa had. Was it coincidence that the attackers missed killing so many or was it intentional? ORT hadn't been able to provide any further detail. The attackers, even with one wounded, had managed to get away. No trail was found indicating that there had to be back-up and a larger number of people involved.

"Joe?"

"You need something?" He put on a smile. He had been caught again and he knew that she didn't like him to dwell on what happened.

The look she gave him was speculative but she didn't ask and so he didn't comment further.

"Can you get me my tablet? I left it in the bedroom."

"Sure thing," he said with a smile. He didn't mind doing anything for her. He went into the bedroom and walked around to her side of the bed. He smiled as he looked at the crocheted doily under the antique glass lamp. A picture of her parents and another of them on their wedding were on the end table along with a place to charge her phone. Her tablet was right beside it. He picked it up and moved back around the bed when he noticed the screen on his phone activate. Curious, he walked over. His end table had a mixture of cough drops, loose change, and receipts. He had a matching antique glass lamp that he was forever nervous about breaking and an identical phone charging stand. He picked up the phone and saw that it was a text. The message simple said: "Meet me in the laundry. Gray."

There was no number attached. Nothing. And it was sent just now. He looked around the room and eyed the window. Was it coincidence that his phone activated when he was in the room AND when he had a load of laundry waiting in the living room to go downstairs? His eyes narrowed. Probably not. He'd meet Gray if for no other reason that he would tell the man to stop watching them. He didn't appreciate it. But then he wondered why Gray was contacting him.

"Hun?"

"Coming!" Joe called and pocketed his phone. He walked quickly into the other room and handed her the tablet and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, Joe." She looked at the tablet and said, "Thanks for getting this for me."

"No problem. I'll take the laundry down now." He picked up the basket and headed for the door. "I look forward to getting that married student housing and we can get our own washer/dryer."

His hand was on the doorknob when she replied, "But such interesting things happen in laundry rooms."

Joe froze and turned and gave her a quizzical look. "Huh?"

Vanessa laughed, "Oh, don't you remember our time in Michigan and all those trips I made to the laundry room to meet with Frank?"

Joe forced a laugh, "Yeah, I guess I do." Then he smiled, "But I really only had the one interesting trip to the laundry. You were the one who got to have all that fun."

"Please. That time I had to flirt with Frank was NO fun. Ugh!" She laughed. "I'd tell you not to bring that up again but then I'm the one who did."

Joe tapped his head. "Blame it on the concussion. That's what I always do."

Her laughter followed him out of the room. But his smile faded as he headed for the stairs.

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

Arthur Gray was an unassuming man. Today he was dressed in a nice suit that matched his name. It wasn't fancy or one that drew attention. Quite the opposite, it was one that would blend into a crowd or into a cityscape. He pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up on his nose as he stepped away from the wall. It wasn't lost on Joe that Arthur had been facing the door and that he made sure that no one could sneak up behind him. It was something he himself did most of the time. It was part of his nature now to be suspicious and he knew Arthur Gray had even more reason to be so.

"Mr. Hardy, thank you for coming."

Joe put the basket on the first table that was available and the moved the stop that was holding the door open. When it closed, he said, "Stop spying on us."

Arthur Gray inclined his head. "I needed to do so this time so that I could talk with you in private."

"I don't keep things from Vanessa."

"That is your choice and I'm not saying that you can't share this conversation with her. I just thought that with the content of our discussion, you might appreciate it being just the two of us." Gray put his hands in his pants pockets and his jacket fell open slightly and Joe could see the shoulder holster strap.

Joe would have been surprised if the agent wasn't carrying and he doubted that Gray was trying to intimidate him. In fact, by putting his hands in his pockets, he was putting himself at a disadvantage. All of which was put to put Joe at ease. The question was, why? "And just what do we have to discuss, Agent Gray?"

"The Anson incident." It was all Gray said. It was all he needed to say.

"Do you have information that ORT doesn't?" Joe was certain that Johnson and Williams would have shared what ORT had.

"I do."

When Gray wasn't forthcoming, Joe said, "Let's not play games, Gray. You didn't just come here to tell me that you have information that ORT doesn't. So, what do you want?"

"I want to catch those responsible for taking the life of Senator Anson's mother-in-law and for injuring twenty-six others, including your wife." He paused a moment and then said, "And I'd like you to assist us."

This got Joe's attention. He wasn't Frank and he wasn't Vanessa. He wouldn't be looking to find financial ties or searching for digital contacts between players. No, his talents lay in other areas which made him wonder. "Does ORT know that you're contacting me?"

"Not yet, but if you agree then we will formalize the arrangement."

"By 'we' do you mean the Network?"

"I do."

"So, the Network has information about the Anson incident that they haven't shared with ORT?" Joe crossed his arms over his chest and looked carefully at Gray.

"We do. ORT also has information about things that we do not have. I'm not saying it's the best way, Mr. Hardy, I'm just telling you this is how it is. There are things that don't need to be shared across several agencies and thereby bringing possibly hundreds into the loop on a situation. THAT is how leaks happen and missions fail." Gray paused here.

Joe wasn't sure if the pause was because Gray was extraordinarily pleased with his speech or if he was just waiting for a response from Joe. "Are you willing to tell me about the incident without my agreeing to help or is the information sharing based on me assisting you?"

"As I already stated, bringing people into the loop who are unnecessary brings the possibility of leaks. If you will be assisting with the mission to bring these people to justice, then the sharing of information becomes a necessity." Gray tilted his head and now stood with his arms crossed over his chest once more. "What will it be, Mr. Hardy? I can leave now and no hard feelings. Just say the word."

Joe thought for a moment. Vanessa would probably argue for him not to agree. She didn't have a good experience with the Network when they helped them the previous year protecting two teenagers. Perhaps that was the real reason Gray hadn't wanted to do this with Vanessa present. "I suppose you're not willing to wait while I talk this over with Vanessa?"

Gray shook his head no.

"So you have no need for her skills or my brother's?" The answer to this would be telling to Joe.

"No, we don't. We have the information and leads we need in the cyber-world. We don't need a female to infiltrate and she would be too high profile. Your brother? He would always be useful but we have others that can perform what needs to be done."

"What needs to be done that only I can do?"

"To be clear. You aren't the only one that can do it. We can actually do this without you but we thought you'd like to assist."

Joe's blood turned cold. Assassins. They had to be involved. While Vanessa wasn't the primary target, they had hurt her and what they had done to him and tried to get him to do to his brother…. He remembered his vows at his wedding and his more recent vow to bring those responsible to justice. He knew the kind of justice that the Network might want him, a trained sniper, to assist with… this was one of those situations that he knew he'd have to confront someday. And that day had arrived sooner rather than later.

"Well, Mr. Hardy? Do I leave or do I bring you in on the case?"

"I'm in." The words were said and he had cast his lot. "Tell me who did this."

"You know who it was, Joe. It was the Assassins. They were paid by a loosely allied group of drug cartels in the NY state area. We're currently gathering the needed evidence to bring top players in the cartels to justice. But the Assassins? They won't be taken alive."

"You know where they are? I thought there was no trail."

"Sometimes disinformation to the public is needed. Actually, your wife is the reason we have the information that we do. The injury she caused left a blood trail that we were able to follow and then various security cameras gave us the rest. It's a rare slip up on their part, and now we have knowledge of where they could be. We're in the process of narrowing down the location as they have gone to ground since the attack. If we find them, we'll try to tranquilize them. We're just not sure if the drug will be able to take effect before they activate their cyanide capsule."

Joe nodded. He'd seen how quickly that worked. "Don't make it a rifle. Give me a tranq pistol. I'm equally good at both." He raised his right fist. "I'm also known to have a mean right hook and I don't mind getting in close."

For the first time, Gray smiled. "Your willingness to take the fight to the enemy was never in question and it is why we wanted to give you a chance with this even though you are extremely close to the situation."

"Not concerned that I'll take too many chances?"

"Your history shows that you tend to know exactly what choices to make. In fact, your ability to think fast on your feet makes you a perfect candidate." Gray looked to his watch. "Your wife is probably expecting you back by now."

"How much can I tell her?"

"I'll leave that to your discretion. But know that this can't be leaked. Our window on this will be small. We'll call you in tomorrow to brief you and then you'll be on assignment until it's complete. You'll need to have someone stay with your wife if she still needs assistance. There'll be no contact until it's done." Gray frowned and said, "If your brother stays with her, you can tell him the bare minimum." Gray's voice was stern.

"Understood. I'll wait for your directions and I'll bring my things for an extended stay."

Gray nodded and moved toward the door. "Welcome aboard."

Joe heard the door close behind him. He reached for the basket of dirty clothes and thought of what he'd tell Vanessa. She wasn't going to like it and in fact he might get the cold shoulder for awhile, but there was no way she'd ever try to stop him from getting some closure with the Assassins.

His thought as he left the laundry was, There are some shots that I don't mind taking.