A Game Called Chaos Read online

  After securing the bad guys, the Hardys and Royal hightailed it back to Benson. Once there, they turned Sakai over to the local police and called the SPCA to deal with Scavenger. Then they—and Royal—spent a long night explaining the whole adventure to the cops.

  Royal returned with them to Jewel Ridge, but decided to take a long vacation after turning over the real master game disk to the Hardys. He’d had the disk on him when Sakai captured him. She had told him to bring it when she lured him to Sullivan’s Point. She claimed she’d found a major bug in the program.

  Fortunately, the Hardys and Royal had found the disk when they searched the mansion for Sakai’s car keys. It had been in the topmost tower, along with Sakai’s computer and the keys.

  “Of course,” Joe said to Chelsea, Phil, and Dave, “there was no bug in the game. But Royal hadn’t done enough of the programming to be sure. Looks like Sakai really was the brains of that partnership.”

  “And, as we suspected, Sakai did have her own program within the university computer. When we went poking around, the program activated, sending us the clue. That’s how she knew when to go to Kendall State Park with Scavenger and roll the rocks away from the cave entrance,” Frank said.

  “I bet she has taps in the company system, as well,” Phil said. “She probably knew every move we made as we were making it. We’ll have to do a careful sweep to make sure we’ve got all of Sakai’s bugs out of the Viking computers.”

  “So sad,” Chelsea said. “To waste all that talent on a game of revenge.”

  “I’m not sure that Royal didn’t deserve at least some of what he got,” Phil said. “It’s just too bad that the rest of you got dragged into it.”

  “I talked to our lawyers and they said they think that they can sort this mess out,” Dave said. “It may take a while, but Viking Software can hang on until then. And the publicity from all this will make A Town Called Chaos an instant bestseller.”

  “Just as long as they keep Sakai in jail for a long time,” said Joe.

  “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that,” Frank said. “She’s still got tax troubles, she faked her own death and forged a passport, she kidnapped Royal, plus she tried to kill us. I’m sure she broke a half-dozen other laws as well. The police will probably give Royal a good looking over, too. Maybe they’ll scare some sense into him.”

  Joe smiled. “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I know you Viking guys need his game to succeed, but he really is a jerk.”

  “Jerk, genius,” Dave said, shrugging. “Sometimes the two go together.”

  “Present company excepted,” Phil said, and they all laughed.

  “You know,” Chelsea said, “this whole adventure has given me an idea for a game of my own. Maybe you guys could play-test it.”

  “Just so long as it doesn’t have any wolves,” Frank said.

  “Or giant apes,” added Joe.

  “A giant ape?” Chelsea said. “I think that’s been done to death.”

  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 products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First Aladdin Paperbacks edition August 2002

  First Minstrel Books edition March 2000

  Copyright © 2000 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS

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

  THE HARDY BOYS and THE HARDY BOYS MYSTERY STORIES are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  ISBN: 0-671-03870-2

  ISBN-13: 978-0-671-03870-0

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4814-0199-9 (eBook)