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Discoveries	By : vinsmouse Category: G through L > Hardy Boys Series Views: 2987 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Chapter List
- 1-Discoveries
- 2-Two
- 3-three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 1
- 2
- 3
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.
Warnings: Slash, Angst
Rating: FRT
Discoveries
Chapter 2
Joe dragged himself out of bed the next morning, having fallen asleep only a couple of hours earlier, after a night spent tossing and turning. Stumbling to the bathroom, he showered and brushed his teeth. He nearly dropped his toothbrush when an unexpected knock sounded. "Just a minute," he called. Quickly rinsing his mouth, he pulled on clean pants and hurried to the door. Pulling it opened, he let his older brother into the apartment. "Hey Frank, what are you doing up so early?"
"I have work too Joe," Frank replied, puzzled by his brother's question.
"I know that, but the office people don't have to be in until nine."
"That's true, but I thought we could have breakfast together."
Joe shot his brother a knowing smirk, "You mean you thought you'd check up on me."
Frank smiled sheepishly, "Okay, you caught me."
"You didn't need to worry Frank, we just went out for pizza."
"Find out anything?"
Joe turned away, using the excuse of finding something for breakfast to avoid eye contact with his brother. "Not really, just that he likes photography and fast cars."
Frank eyed his little brother suspiciously, what was Joe hiding, he wondered. "That's good, it'll give you a way to get closer to him." Suspicion was turning to concern as his younger brother gave an almost imperceptible flinch. "What happened Joe?"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Joe nervously asked.
"I mean," Frank began, laying a hand on Joe's shoulder, "you're jumpy and nervous. Both good signs that you're hiding something, so what gives?"
Joe shrugged off the hand, knowing he'd never manage to lie to Frank with him too close. Normally he would tell his brother what was bothering him, just as he always had, but he couldn't tell him about this. "I'm not hiding anything Frank, just didn't sleep well. You know I always have trouble sleeping in the city, too noisy."
Frank nodded, he had to admit that was true. "You sure that's all it is?" he asked, still not entirely convinced.
"I'm sure, eggs or pancakes?" Joe asked, changing the subject.
"Eggs," Frank replied, "but I'll cook. You said it yourself, I've got more time than you. Go on and get ready little brother, breakfast will be waiting when you're done."
Joe smiled, "Thanks Frank." He quickly left the room, anxious to be alone for a few minutes. I should tell him, Frank would understand. What if he doesn't though? What if he tells Dad and he pulls me off the case? I can't let that happen, not until I figure out what's going on with me. Mechanically he got ready for the day. Turning to the door, he paused with his hand on the knob. Alright Hardy, you have to act normally or big brother is going to know this is more than just not sleeping well, he cautioned himself. Taking a breath, he turned the knob and walked out of the bedroom.
"Perfect timing, the eggs just got done," Frank informed him as he set two plates on the table.
"Thanks Frank, looks good." Sliding into his seat, Joe dug into the delicious breakfast. "So, you have any ideas on how to get close to Powers?"
"Actually I do," Frank smiled.
"And that would be?"
"I think he needs to overhear a conversation between Simmons and his older brother."
Joe nodded, "Think he'll take the bait?"
"I hope so," Frank replied. "I don't know about you little brother, but I don't want to spend my summer working in a stuffy office."
"Good point," Joe conceded. Raising his glass of juice, he saluted his brother with it, "Here's hoping he bites." Standing up, he carried his plate to the sink and rinsed it off, planning to wash dishes later. "Well I better get going, don't want to be late. See you later bro, lock up will you?" Grabbing the lunch he'd packed the night before, Joe quickly left the apartment.
"Sure Joe, see you later," Frank replied. Glancing at the clock, he decided he had time to help the younger boy out. Standing up, he moved to the sink and began washing the dishes.
Dale grinned, whistling happily as he arrived for work.
"What's got you so happy?" Tim Jones asked.
"Just in a good mood boss," Dale grinned.
"That good mood have something to do with the new guy?" Tim asked. He knew of Dale's proclivities, and while he didn't swing that way himself, he had no problem with it.
"Maybe," Dale replied.
"You just remember what I told you," Tim warned the younger man.
"I remember, but I don't think Joe has anything to do with the city's investigation," Dale assured his boss. "I don't get it boss," he continued, scratching his head in puzzlement.
"What don't you get?"
"Well, I know the city's been investigating down here, looking for safety and employment violations, but why are you worried? It isn't like Global has any safety violations, and there aren't any illegals working here."
"You forgetting about that under the table overtime you've gotten?" Tim asked.
"You think they'd cite Global for that?"
Tim sighed, he forgot sometimes that for all of his street smarts, Dale was still a very young man. Of course he didn't know just what it was he was loading during that under the table overtime, so he didn't see a reason to be that worried. "Yes they'd cite us. So, how sure are you that Joe isn't involved?"
Dale thought about it, "Pretty sure."
"Pretty sure? You better make damned sure before you let your guard down. I don't need the city getting all over me for violating union and employment rules."
"Yes sir. Don't worry, if Joe is working undercover he won't hear anything from me," Dale assured him.
Hearing his name, Joe paused with his hand on the door to the locker room. His heart sank as he heard Dale's words, any hope that the older boy wasn't involved quickly went down the drain. What did you expect Joe? You didn't really think Dad was wrong, did you? If he were honest, he had to admit he hadn't expected his father was wrong, but after last night he had hoped Dale would be proven innocent. Pulling open the door, he stepped into the locker room, behaving as though he'd heard nothing. "Hey Dale," he greeted the other man with a smile.
"Morning gorgeous," Dale grinned.
"Dale!" Joe squeaked, glancing nervously at Tim as a blush colored his cheeks.
Tim laughed, "It's okay Joe, I know about Dale and I don't have a problem with it."
Joe mumbled a response; stepping to his locker; he placed his lunch inside.
"You're not mad are ya?" Dale asked after Tim left.
Joe turned around, glad to see they were alone. "No, but I'm not used to being open and some of these guys wouldn't like the idea of people like us."
Dale nodded, "You're right Joe. I hope you know I would never do anything to place you in danger. I knew Tim didn't have a problem with it, that's why I wasn't worried. Around most of these guys I wouldn't be so open, even the ones that know I'm gay aren't gonna like it being shoved in their faces."
Joe relaxed, "I over reacted didn't I?"
"No," he assured. "You didn't have any way of knowing that Tim was okay with gay men, or that he knew I was gay. Am I forgiven?"
Joe grinned, "Yes you're forgiven."
"Good, want to come over to my place tonight?"
"Your place?" Joe repeated, his voice squeaking, as it tended to do when he was nervous.
"Yeah, I put a roast in the slow cooker when I left. I was thinking I could rent a movie for after dinner. Come on Joe, say yes. I make a mean roast," he tempted the younger man.
Joe smiled, "I do like roast."
"So you'll come over?"
"What time?"
"Six?" Dale asked as he grabbed a piece of paper and began to write.
"Six is good," Joe agreed, accepting the paper. Glancing at it, he saw it held Dale's address and phone number.
"Cool, and now we better get to work," Dale added, as the other men began to file into the locker room.
Frank arrived at the office a couple of hours after Joe had entered the locker room. He was surprised to find Doug Powers already hard at work. "You're here early," he commented.
"Need to catch up on paperwork," Powers responded without looking up.
Frank made no further attempts at conversation, Powers having made it obvious that he had no wish to talk. He worked through the morning, surreptitiously watching Powers while he checked over the paperwork for the various shipments going through the Global offices. Lunchtime came and Frank decided now was a good time to put his plan into action.
Grabbing his bagged lunch, he sat down at his desk, looking through an electronics catalog as he ate. He sat forward with a sudden movement, reaching for the phone he dialed the number listed in the catalog. Frank was well aware of Doug sitting nearby, listening attentively as he argued with the person on the other end of the phone. Angry and frustrated, he slammed the receiver down, just barely keeping himself from jerking the phone from the wall.
"Settle down Simmons, that isn't your personal phone," Powers admonished.
Frank turned to glare at him. "Shut up," he snapped, inwardly congratulating himself. "You'd be mad too if your father cut off your allowance and made you get a job where you could barely support yourself."
"Why'd your dad do that?"
"He thinks I'm spoiled and need to learn what it's like to live in the real world," Frank sneered. "I can't even buy myself a lousy computer with a dvd burner thanks to him."
"That's tough," Doug responded with false sympathy.
"Like you care," Frank snipped.
"You know what Simmons you're right, I don't care, I was just being polite. You're dad's right, you are spoiled. You can't afford the things you want and instead of finding a way to get them, you sit here and whine about it."
"You think I'm not trying? Everybody wants somebody with experience, this was the best job I could get."
Doug turned back to his lunch, casting speculative glances towards Frank as the younger man again picked up the phone and dialed. He listened attentively, while pretending not to, as Frank argued with his brother. By the time Simmons hung up, Doug was ready to offer to let him in on the deal he had going. First though, he needed to check with Tim; get his take on things. As far as he was concerned the formerly rich, spoiled Frank Simmons would be the perfect fall guy for their operation if the feds started closing in. He knew though that Tim would become very angry if he wasn't consulted, something he didn't want to deal with. So, he would wait.
Unaware of Doug's thoughts, he might be, but Frank was well aware of the other man's attention. Slamming down the phone, having lost the argument with his 'brother', he returned to his work. Scowling as he worked, Frank did a good job portraying an angry, put upon man while inside he celebrated the success of his plan.
At the end of the workday, Joe hurried home. He didn't have long to shower and change if he was going to make it to Dale's on time. As he pushed his key into the lock, a voice from behind startled him. Spinning around, he scowled at his brother, "Don't sneak up on me like that Frank."
"Sorry Joe, I didn't realize I was being that quiet," Frank quickly apologized.
Turning back around, Joe unlocked his door and stepped inside. "How did your day go?" he asked his brother, confident that the older boy had followed him inside.
"It went good, I got Powers' attention," Frank smiled. "What about your day? Did you make any progress with Morris?"
"Yeah, I'm hanging out at his place this evening. Did Powers say anything about the piracy ring?"
"Not yet, but the way he kept looking at me I'm pretty sure he's thinking about it. What's Morris' address?"
"Why?" Joe asked, startled by the question.
"So I can back you up," Frank matter-of-factly replied. "What's wrong with you Joe? You know we never go into a meeting with a suspect without back-up."
Joe sighed, "I know Frank, guess I'm just tired. You can't hang out around his apartment though, it'd be too easy for you to be spotted and there goes my cover."
Frank ran his fingers through his dark hair, "I don't like it Joe. What if he gets suspicious?"
"What's he going to get suspicious about? We're gonna hang out, watch a movie, have dinner. I do know how to maintain a cover you know," Joe sarcastically pointed out. He hated it when Frank treated him like a little kid who couldn't cross the street without having his hand held. Of course, he admitted to himself, there was also the fact that he wasn't ready to tell Frank about the changes in his life yet. "Look Frank, I hate to rush you but I need to grab a shower and change clothes."
"Okay, I'll get out of your hair just as soon as you give me Morris' address. Hold on Joe," Frank quickly stopped the protest his brother was about to make. "I don't plan to camp out in his hallway, but I need to know where you'll be just in case."
Joe sighed, "You're right, I should've realized. Hold on and I'll write it down for you." Grabbing a piece of paper, he quickly jotted down the address and handed it to his brother.
"Thanks Joe, what time will you be home?"
"I'll be home by ten and if I'm delayed I'll call you," Joe promised.
"Thanks Joe," Frank smiled. "I don't mean to be over-protective you know that, don't you?"
Joe smiled, "Yeah I know Frank. I do appreciate the concern, but you have to trust me to take care of myself."
"I do trust you Joe, it's other people I don't trust."
"Okay, I'll give you that Frank," Joe conceded, knowing his brother had good reason for worrying. Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to see what time it was already. "I've got to get ready now. Are we good?"
"Yeah, we're good little brother. You do what you need to, I'll see you later."
Thirty minutes later, Joe was standing in front of Dale's door, his hand raised to knock. Before he could drop his hand to the wood, the door swung open.
"Hi Joe, come on in," Dale grinned, stepping aside.
"Were you watching for me?" Joe asked with a smile. A grin crossed his face as Dale's cheeks turned red. "You're cute when you blush," he teased.
"Don't get used to it gorgeous," Dale retorted. "Not as cute as you," he added, enjoying the indignant look on Joe's face now that it was his turn to blush.
"You enjoy doing that, don't you?"
"Yep," Dale happily agreed. "Dinner's ready, you want to sit in the kitchen or the living room?"
"Kitchen," Joe easily decided. He knew he was much too nervous to chance eating on the couch. As it was, there was a good chance he would end up wearing his meal, especially if Dale kept looking at him like that.
"You got it," Dale turned, leading the way into the kitchen. "I've got Pepsi, water and beer, what would you like?"
"Not old enough to drink remember? Better make it Pepsi," Joe replied.
"Damn, there goes my plan to get you drunk and take advantage of ya," Dale teased.
"Sorry to spoil your plans. You know it'd help if you told me ahead of time what your plans are."
"I'll have to remember that. Have a seat, I just need to dish it up and we can eat."
Joe nodded, sliding into his seat. "So what movie are we watching?" he asked as Dale joined him.
"I splurged and rented two, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Chronicles of Narnia. I wasn't sure which you'd like so I wanted to give you a choice."
"I've been wanting to see Chronicles of Narnia," Joe truthfully responded. Between cases, schools and injuries, he still hadn't gotten to see the movie.
"Me too," Dale smiled. "It looks like it'll be really good," he added. "So, now I know you like fantasy movies, what else do you like?"
"Anything but horror."
"Got it, no horror movies." Dale ate a few more bites, trying to think of something else to say. "What got you interested in photography?"
Joe thought about his answer, his father had always said when weaving a story, stick as close to the truth as you could. "Mysteries..."
Dale swallowed hard, nearly choking on his last bite of food. Damn, Tim was right, Joe must be working for the city.
Joe jumped up, hurrying to the other side of the table, prepared to give the Heimlich. "You okay?" he asked as Dale reached for his own Pepsi, his coughing subsiding as he washed down his food.
"Yeah, didn't mean to scare you."
"What happened?"
"Food went down wrong," Dale explained. "How did mysteries get you interested in photography?"
"Watching television mysteries, when I was a kid I thought being a private detective would be great." He had still felt that way, right up until meeting Dale. Now, he would give anything to be just what the other man thought he was. "Out grew that part, but the photography stuck. I like how a picture can affect people, make them cry or laugh or just think about something from a new perspective. What about you?"
"Wildlife," Dale smiled softly. "I love spending time in the woods, but I never wanted to go hunting like a lot of boys. I'd rather hunt with a camera, than a rifle."
"Do you get to the woods very often?"
"Not as often as I'd like, but New York has plenty of wildlife," Dale grinned. "Just not the furry kind," he joked. "Hey, you want to see my darkroom?"
"You have your own darkroom?" Joe asked. He was surprised to hear it, he knew how expensive it could be to set up a darkroom. Unfortunately, it seemed like another piece of evidence pointing to Dale's guilt. "Sure," he replied, hiding the sadness he felt over this bit of news.
"Come on," Dale said. Pushing back from the table, he took Joe's hand, pulling him to his feet. "I'll warn you now it's not very big, but it gets the job done."
"Where'd you learn how to develop pictures?"
"Used books mostly, when I couldn't find anything used to cover what I needed I checked out books from the library."
"Smart," Joe admired. Stepping into the small darkroom, he looked around in honest admiration of the set-up. "You've got some nice equipment here, wish I could afford my own darkroom."
"You will someday Joe," Dale assured him.
"Yeah maybe, I did good to get a decent camera, it'll be years before I can get my own darkroom. Sorry, I didn't mean to whine," Joe apologized.
"It's okay, I know how it is. Tell you what maybe I can help you out."
"How?"
"Well I may know a way you can make some extra money, but in the mean time you're welcome to use my darkroom any time you want."
"Really?" Joe excitedly asked.
"Really," Dale smiled.
"Thanks Dale," Joe gratefully smiled. Inside he wanted to scream that it wasn't fair. Dale could easily become an important part of his life, but it looked like he'd never get the chance to find out. As soon as he had proof that Dale was involved in the piracy ring, he would have to tell his father and Dale would be arrested. Forcing those thoughts to the back of his mind, Joe focused on the present, determined to discover all that he could about himself while enjoying his time with Dale for however long he had.
"You're welcome Joe. Ready for the movie?"
"Sure am, you got any popcorn?"
"Of course, you get the Pepsi and I'll make the popcorn."
"You got it." They spent the rest of the evening cuddled on the couch, watching the movie and enjoying each other's company. All too soon the movie ended, glancing at the clock Joe was surprised by the time. Oh hell, it was after ten; Frank was going to have a cow. "I better get going or I'll never make it to work tomorrow."
"Walk you home?"
"It's not necessary."
"I want to," Dale whispered, holding him close. "You're new to the city, I'll worry less if you let me walk you home."
"Okay," Joe agreed. Reluctantly he left the warmth of Dale's arms. Sitting up, he reached for his shoes, returning them to his feet. Both young men were ready at nearly the same time. Still feeling self-conscious, Joe nevertheless held Dale's hand as they walked the short distance to his building.
"Which apartment is your's?" Dale asked as they stood outside the building.
"Number five," Joe replied, unable to think of an excuse to withhold the information. He stumbled as Dale began to lead him up the stairs to the front door of the building. "Dale, you don't have to walk me to my door," he protested as soon as he realized what the older boy was up to.
"I know, but I want to. Besides, a man should always see his date to the door," he pointed out. "Unless there's some reason you don't want me to," Dale added.
Joe could clearly hear the suspicion in the other man's voice. "No," he sighed, "no reason."
"Let's go then," Dale grinned, relieved by Joe's answer. Pulling open the door, he led the younger man down the hall, stopping in front of apartment five. "I had a good time gorgeous," he whispered. Taking Joe's chin in his hand, he tilted his head back, planting a passionate kiss on his pliant lips.
"Me too, I'm glad you invited me," Joe softly responded when the kiss ended. "You know you were right."
"Right?" Dale asked, his brow wrinkling in confusion.
"They are addictive," Joe whispered, pulling the taller boy down for another kiss. As they shared passionate kisses in front of Joe's door, neither young man was aware of the shocked witness who stood hidden in a shadowed corner.
TBC
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Discoveries