Double Deception Read online

  Double the Danger

  One of the men caught my eye. His jaw tightened, and he said something to the two men with him.

  “We’ve been spotted,” I told Frank. “And they know we know they know.”

  Frank gave me a confused look. “Uh, I think I understood that.”

  The three men spun around and faded into the crowd.

  “I want to know what they’re up to,” I said.

  “Right behind you, bro,” said Frank.

  We sprinted after them. They hurried around a corner, and we picked up speed. We didn’t want to lose them.

  My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as a car screeched to a sudden stop just inches from me. Squealing tires and honking horns shrieked around us as we darted between yellow taxis. As I rounded the next corner, I saw the three goons vanish into a limo. Frank dashed up beside me.

  “They’re in that car,” I told him.

  “You mean the one headed straight for us?” asked Frank. “Jump!”

  THE HARDY BOYS

  Undercover Brothers®

  #1 Extreme Danger

  #2 Running on Fumes

  #3 Boardwalk Bust

  #4 Thrill Ride

  #5 Rocky Road

  #6 Burned

  #7 Operation: Survival

  #8 Top Ten Ways to Die

  #9 Martial Law

  #10 Blown Away

  #11 Hurricane Joe

  #12 Trouble in Paradise

  #13 The Mummy’s Curse

  #14 Hazed

  #15 Death and Diamonds

  #16 Bayport Buccaneers

  #17 Murder at the Mall

  #18 Pushed

  #19 Foul Play

  #20 Feeding Frenzy

  #21 Comic Con Artist

  Super Mystery #1: Wanted

  Super Mystery #2: Kidnapped at the Casino

  #22 Deprivation House

  #23 House Arrest

  Haunted: Special Ghost Stories Edition

  #24 Murder House

  #25 Double Trouble

  #26 Double Down

  #27 Double Deception

  Available from Simon & Schuster

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  Copyright © 2009 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  THE HARDY BOYS MYSTERY STORIES is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  ALADDIN, HARDY BOYS UNDERCOVER BROTHERS, and related logos are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2008037934

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-6367-2

  ISBN-10: 1-4391-6367-7

  Visit us on the World Wide Web:

  http://www.SimonSays.com

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Where’s Ryan?

  2. Straight to the Source

  3. Hong Kong Challenge

  4. Red Carpet Rumble

  5. Dead Man Walking?

  6. Yo, Ho, Ho

  7. Hit the Deck!

  8. Texts from Beyond?

  9. Chinatown Showdown

  10. Race Across Rooftops

  11. Desperately Seeking Data

  12. The Return of the Terrible Trio

  13. Revenge of the Twin

  14. Sabotaged

  15. Gone AWOL

  16. A Shot in the Dark

  17. Double Deception

  18. Twisted Twins

  FRANK 1

  Where’s Ryan?

  Things have a way of happening around teen movie star Justin Carraway. Crazy things, fun things, surprising things. But also some pretty scary, deadly, and nearly deadly things.

  My brother Joe and I take that all in stride. After all, we’re part of American Teens Against Crime—ATAC—and it’s all part of the gig.

  Like tonight.

  In short order we found Justin’s longtime manager, John “Slick” Slickstein, murdered, linked him to the bootleg DVD ring operating in Atlantic City and China, identified Phillip Yu as the head of the crime syndicate, and had the harrowing experience of fighting the martial arts expert in a spiraling helicopter!

  Phillip lost that fight. Actually, he bailed. He leaped out of the helicopter and into the churning Atlantic Ocean below us.

  Quite a day’s work.

  And now, well after midnight, it still wasn’t over. We were in the deserted Steel Pier amusement park in Atlantic City, where we had just landed the helicopter Phillip had stolen. It was deserted, except for the cops we had called and the EMTs who turn up at these things. The police were asking questions. Justin was pacing a few yards away, trying to keep his very recognizable face hidden. Then, in the middle of all the craziness, Rick Ortiz, the head production assistant on Justin’s film crew, showed up, looking scared. He announced that Justin’s twin brother might have just been swept away in a terrible hurricane.

  Never a dull moment.

  Ryan Carraway took off about a week ago without a word to anyone. Justin said his twin went to Isola, a little Caribbean island, for some well-deserved R & R. One problem: Isola lies smack in the path of that hurricane I mentioned.

  This news was very confusing, though. See, right before the fight on the helicopter, we’d run into Justin on the boardwalk. He told us he’d just been talking to Ryan on his cell, telling him about Slick’s murder. No mention of a devastating storm.

  “The storm hit two days ago,” Rick explained, equally confused. “There’s been no service at all!”

  “If Ryan is still on that island, we know people who can help,” I said.

  “And if he’s not?” asked Rick, obviously very worried.

  “We should track him down anyway,” Joe said. “With all that’s happened here, I’m sure Ryan would want to be with Justin.”

  “True,” I said. “After losing Slick, they need each other.”

  Slick Slickstein had taken over as Justin and Ryan’s manager after he discovered their own father was stealing from them. Harsh, right? He stepped in as more than a manager. He was really like a father figure. Or so we thought. Turns out, Slick was just as crooked. But we hadn’t told Justin or Ryan that. It just seemed too soon.

  With Ryan gone, Justin was having to deal with a lot of heavy stuff on his own.

  Though if I were Ryan, I probably would have split a long time ago. Living in Justin’s shadow, working for him, cleaning up the messes he makes…well, let’s just say, if I had to do that for Joe? Don’t even go there.

  I imagine the hardest part is that they both started out famous. As little kids they shared a role on a popular TV show. They do that with child actors. Kids aren’t allowed to work too many hours a day. So they hire twins—sometimes even triplets—and swap them out. But once the boys got older, Slick decided that only one of them could get really famous. He decided Justin was the one.

  We first met Justin and Ryan because of a mission for ATAC, tracking down a dangerous stalker who had targeted Justin. We were able to get into the Justin orbit so easily because he requires so much minding. You know that saying “It takes a village to raise a child”? Well, it takes more like a whole nation to keep track of Justin.

  When Ryan took off, Rick the PA and Sydney Lamb the publicist both asked us to stick around to pick up the slack. We jumped at the chance—partly because, well, it was fun,
but also because we just didn’t feel like the murder of paparazzi Elijah Gorman had been solved. Then, while we were in Atlantic City, ATAC asked us to look into an illegal film distribution ring, which was flooding the Chinese market with Justin Carraway flicks.

  Now that we’d finished up that case, it looked like we had another. Finding and possibly rescuing Ryan Carraway.

  “Justin,” I told the seventeen-year-old megastar, “we promise we’ll take care of this. We’ll find Ryan and make sure he’s okay.”

  “He’s fine,” Justin said. “I told you—I just spoke to him.”

  Rick stared at Justin, completely bewildered. “But how is that possible? On the news—”

  Justin cut him off. “Look, maybe Ryan had already left the island. He was using a cell. As in mobile. He could be anywhere. Obviously, wherever he was, there wasn’t a hurricane.”

  “But why wouldn’t he tell you if he left Isola?” Rick pressed.

  “Maybe because I had just told him that Slick—a guy we’ve known since we were little kids—was murdered. It just didn’t come up, okay?”

  I could see Rick had pushed him too far. And Justin had a point. When you give news like that to someone, it’s not like you get around to other things.

  “Listen,” I said, not wanting to upset Justin further. “It’s late, a lot has happened. Let’s just call it a night.”

  The next morning we headed back to Bayport. While we were in Atlantic City, the filming of Justin’s next movie, Undercover, had continued. The second unit had stayed behind and shot the scenes Justin wasn’t in.

  JOE

  Listen to the filmmaking expert. “Second unit.” Excuse me, Mr. Spielberg.

  FRANK

  Whatever. Just because I actually bothered to learn the correct terms…

  Anyway, as I was saying. The minute we arrived home, Aunt Trudy corralled us into the kitchen. I’m as big on snacks as the next guy, but I knew what she was up to. She wasn’t plying us with chocolaty goodness because she loves us. No, this was chocolate bribery. She was after stories about Justin.

  “So what did he wear?” Aunt T asked, loading my plate with freshly baked chocolate brownies.

  I know I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. My aunt’s crush on Justin is more than a little weird. She thinks he has charisma. She’s even bought memorabilia from his website, Justin Time.

  “Wear?” Joe repeated, taking a thoughtful munch of the still warm brownie. “Gee, I can’t really remember. Maybe a glass of milk would help.”

  Aunt Trudy dropped the brownie pan and poured two big glasses of milk.

  Hmm. This could come in handy. Dangle Justin tidbits as barter. No, I scolded myself. That’s no way to treat Aunt T.

  Joe gulped his milk. “A tux. In the casino scene, Justin wore a tux.”

  Aunt T’s eyes got a little dreamy. “He’d look good in a tux.”

  I’d heard enough. “I’m going to go unpack.”

  “We also went surfing with him,” Joe was saying as I left the room. “Hey, can I get this brownie à la mode?”

  I shook my head as I went into my room. I had just dropped my backpack when my dad walked in. He shut the door behind him, so I knew he wanted to talk about the mission.

  Dad’s the only one in the family who knows that Joe and I are part of ATAC. In fact, we were Dad’s first recruits. He created ATAC for those cases where a teenager would have an easier time getting information. Like with Justin. Would he want some boring, buzz-killing adult hanging around as part of his entourage? No. He’d want a coupla cool dudes like me and Joe. We’d get the real deal, not the act put on for the parent-types.

  “Congratulations,” Dad said. “Job well done.”

  “Thanks. Listen, something came up that I think your contacts can help with.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Justin’s twin brother Ryan was on Isola in the Caribbean. Right in the path of that hurricane. But Justin was talking to him right after. Can you try to find out where he might have been evacuated to?”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “Everyone would feel a lot better knowing that Ryan’s okay. Rick wants him to know the whole crew misses him.”

  “No kidding, Rick misses him,” said Joe, strolling into the room.

  “Knock, ever?” I asked.

  Joe shrugged. “Whatever. Anyway, Rick misses Ryan because Ryan did a whole lot of Justin management. Now it all falls to him.”

  “And us,” I pointed out. “That’s why we’re still working as assistants.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out,” Dad said. “Glad you’re back. In one piece.” He left the room and closed the door.

  Joe grabbed a tennis ball, sprawled on my bed, and started bouncing the ball against the wall.

  “Something’s weird here,” he said.

  “Your Spidey sense tingling, bro?” I asked.

  “Not exactly. Just, I don’t know…. Closing this case feels like winning a match on a decision rather than a knockout punch.”

  “I hear you,” I said. “Phillip’s jump into the ocean meant we didn’t get to bring him to justice.”

  “Or tie up all the loose ends.”

  “Like the dead paparazzo.” I nodded. “Like how the bootleg ring worked. We didn’t even get to wipe that smirk off Phillip Yu’s face.”

  “Yeah, I think that’s the part that bugs me most,” Joe admitted.

  There was a knock on the door.

  “You see?” I told Joe. “That’s how human beings enter rooms.”

  “Ha, ha.” He bounced the ball again.

  “Come in,” I called.

  Our dad walked in with his phone. “Here,” he said, handing it to me. “I’ve got one of my contacts on the line. She already knows the situation and has some information.”

  “What did you find out?” I said into the phone.

  “As you know,” the woman on the other end of the line said, “there was a terrible hurricane. There are—were—three hotels on the island, and everyone has been accounted for. But your friend Ryan Carraway was never registered at any of them.”

  I blinked a few times. This didn’t make any sense. “Are you sure?” Then I remembered something we’d only recently discovered. “He might have checked in under a different name. Try Ziziska. That’s his real name.” I spelled it for her.

  “I don’t think we’ll find anything, but I’ll check,” she said. I heard clicking, and I figured she was typing into a computer. “No. No Ziziska.”

  “He could be using a made-up name,” I suggested.

  “Not likely. You see, we didn’t just check the names in the registers, we used his photo. No one matching his description ever checked in. Anywhere.”

  “Well, thanks for looking into it.” I handed Dad back his phone. I told them what the woman had said.

  “He must never have been there,” Joe said. “He looks exactly like Justin. If he had been on that island, someone would have noticed him. Isola isn’t your typical tourist trap, but it’s not on the moon.”

  “So what’s going on?” I asked. “Did Justin lie about where Ryan went—or did Ryan lie to Justin?”

  “I think we have a mystery on our hands,” said Joe.

  “And I have a feeling you boys are determined to get to the bottom of it,” Dad said.

  He was right about that.

  JOE 2

  Straight to the Source

  “I say we go straight to the source,” I suggested as we all left Frank’s room. “We’ll ask Justin.”

  “We know where to find him,” said Frank. “We’re supposed to be back at the set in a few.”

  “Let me know if you need anything else,” said Dad.

  “Will do,” I told him. He vanished into the kitchen. If he was hoping for brownies, well…let’s just say the Justin card is very effective. There weren’t any left.

  We opened the front door and discovered our mom carrying shopping bags and her briefcase.
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  “Going out again already?” she asked. “You just got home!”

  Frank grabbed one of the shopping bags from her. “Sorry, but they’re shooting tonight.” I took the other bag, and we carried them into the kitchen.

  “But I haven’t even seen you!” Mom complained.

  “It’s a job, remember?” I said. “We have to stick to our commitments. Right?”

  “I guess I can’t argue with that,” said Mom with a sigh. “But do you always have to miss dinner?”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, with a wink to Aunt Trudy. “Aunt T took care of us already.”

  The sun was low on the horizon as we rode our motorcycles to the deserted area on the docks serving as the set that night.

  Trailers were parked along one block. These were where the actors hung out when they weren’t needed. I noticed another trailer was being used for costumes, and still another seemed to have been set up as an office.

  A very pretty girl with long blond hair and green eyes came out of one of the trailers. Justin’s costar, Emily Slater.

  “Hi, Emily,” I called.

  She frowned slightly, as if she was trying to place me. “Oh, hi,” she said, coming over to join Frank and me. “So you’re still hanging around the dillweed?”

  That was our special name for Justin. As you probably guessed, she’s not a fan. We briefly bonded over that fact.

  “Actually, we’re working,” said Frank. “We got hired on to help Rick Ortiz, since Ryan isn’t around.”

  “Unbelievable Ryan just bailed like that,” she said. Then she smirked. “Good for him. I can’t believe how much he took from Justin.”

  “Have you heard from Ryan?”

  Emily shook her head. “Nope. No one has.” She ran a hand through her long hair. “I have to get into hair and makeup.” She grimaced. “It will take all my best acting skills to act as if I’m totally in love with Justin.”