Survival Run (11 page)
Authors: Franklin W. Dixon
"Ah, good!" the pilot shouted when he saw Frank and Joe. "I was afraid we might have to leave you behind. This phase of the project has been a great success. Now we move on to the final stage. You are lucky to have joined us on the verge of our greatest triumph!"
"Sounds exciting," Joe said, trying to sound like an eager recruit as the terrorists crowded into the helicopter. "What exactly is the final stage?"
"You will find out soon enough," the pilot responded as he started the engine and the rotor blades began to spin overhead. "For now, let us just say that we will change the world forever."
Frank and Joe exchanged a troubled glance. They both knew that any change the Assassins were planning wasn't likely to benefit anybody else living on the planet.
***
Ten hours later, bone-tired from being awake almost constantly for the past two days, Frank and Joe were back in the airport in Fairbanks. They were sitting in the departure lounge, waiting for a plane.
"I still don't get it," Joe said, stifling a yawn. "I can understand why the Assassins would put us on a commercial flight. Even though they might have a few helicopters, they probably don't have a fleet of intercontinental jets. But I still don't understand why they're letting us travel alone."
"It could be another test," Frank suggested. "For all we know, one of the other passengers is an Assassin assigned to keep an eye on us."
"Two of them, actually," a voice murmured from the seat behind him.
Frank fought the urge to turn to face the man. "Mr. Gray?" he whispered.
"Yes," the Gray Man said, "although you'd never recognize me."
Joe vaguely recalled that a nun had been sitting there a few minutes earlier.
"You'll be happy to know we found Dr. Stavrogin," the Gray Man continued. "He broke his leg and a couple of ribs when he landed, but he should be fine in a few months. That was quite a job you boys did with that hang glider."
"How did you find us?" Frank asked.
"As soon as we picked up the signal from the homing device, we rerouted an air force surveillance jet to scan the area. We tracked a low-flying chopper that hadn't filed a flight plan and figured you might be on it. We've had somebody on your tail ever since."
"Do you have any idea why the Assassins are shipping us off to Hawaii?" Joe asked.
"If I did," the Gray Man answered, "I probably wouldn't let you go." He paused for a moment, then said, "You can still back out if you want."
"No, we can't," Frank said grimly. "Stopping the Assassins is more important than whatever might happen to us."
"And we owe it to Gina," Joe added.
The Gray Man sighed heavily. "I hate asking you boys to take on this dangerous job, but you're the best chance we have to stop the Assassins. We know they have Stavrogin's formula, and if Krinski really is work - "
"Krinski?" Joe cut in. "The Assassins mentioned that name."
"Yes, I know," the Gray Man said. "Stavrogin told us. That's why I'm letting you get on a plane to Hawaii instead of one back home to New York. If Krinski is involved, the situation could be much worse than I originally anticipated. We have to move fast, and a couple of inside men are our best shot."
Joe wondered what could be worse than a hydrogen bomb in the hands of a bunch of bloodthirsty terrorists.
"By the way," the Gray Man added, "you might be interested to know that Alaska has a new volcano. There was a huge eruption in the Brooks Range this morning, not too far from where we picked up Stavrogin."
"Looks like the Assassins' little experiment backfired on them," Joe said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," the Gray Man responded ominously.
"Attention, passengers," a pleasant, relaxed woman's voice announced over the intercom. "Flight Five-sixteen to Anchorage is now boarding at Gate Twelve."
Frank glanced at his ticket. "That's us. From Anchorage we take a nonstop flight to Honolulu." He looked over at his brother. "I'm ready. How about you?"
Joe nodded and stood up. "I'm with you - all the way."
Frank smiled and put an arm around his brother. "As long as we stick together, nothing can stop us."
Continued in the next volume.
Concluding the Ring of Evil Trilogy:
From Atlanta to Alaska to the exotic shores of Indonesia, Frank and Joe Hardy have penetrated the inner sanctum of a worldwide terrorist network: the Assassins. Now, drawn into the enemy's lair, the Hardys face their greatest challenge and greatest risk - to uncover the true purpose and power of the violent criminal conspiracy.
Trapped deep in the Indonesian jungle, their covers blown, the boys can't afford to turn back. They confront a force so potent, and an intelligence so evil, that there's no time to seek reinforcements. Braving the heights of terror, Frank and Joe alone will have to defuse an explosive scheme that could erupt into a catastrophe of global proportions ... in The Pacific Conspiracy, Case #78 in The Hardy Boys Casefiles®.