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way."
    "Why?"
    Frank smiled. "I think you embarrassed him with that first hit."
    "I had no intention of embarrassing him. I was only doing my best."
    "I know," Frank said, smiling. He stood. "I suggest we find Chris and explain to him about the need to display good sportsmanship."
    "No violence," Petra said, standing.
    "No," Frank replied. "Just a little persuasion."
    Frank didn't want to say anything else to frighten Petra, but he didn't like the coincidence of the attempted kidnapping the night before and the attempt to hurt Petra that morning.
    Chris was nowhere to be found in the gymnasium, so Frank and Petra changed back into their street clothes and left.
    Petra wanted to rest, so Frank walked her back to her room and then headed for the docks. He wanted to check up on Joe and Ziggy. He hopped down the stairs and ran into Joe, who looked as if he had been ran through a blender on high speed.
    "What happened? Where's Ziggy?" Frank asked when he noticed that Ziggy was not with Joe.
    "That's what I'm going to find out after I wash up and change," Joe said heatedly as he headed for his room. "We were right all the time: the Gray Man is involved in trying to kidnap Ziggy."
    "How do you know?" Frank followed Joe up the stairs and down the hallway to their rooms.
    "Because I saw the Gray Man, Aleksandr, and another man kidnap Ziggy!"
    Joe quickly explained about the sculling lesson. Then he told Frank how he had watched helplessly as Ziggy was abducted.
    "Aleksandr may be a double agent," Joe spit out. He fumbled for the room key in his pocket.
    "Well, stay tuned, buddy," Frank announced. "Petra had a close call, too."
    Joe turned to look at his brother, his blue eyes flashing anger.
    Frank calmly explained about the fencing "accident."
    "Petra's okay," Frank concluded. "She's resting in her room."
    Joe unlocked the door and threw it open.
    "What the - " Joe gasped.
    Frank looked into the room. He'd seen beaches after a hurricane that looked better than Joe's dorm room. Joe's clothes and other belongings had been thrown around the room. All the drawers had been pulled out and tossed about.
    "Someone's been searching the room," Joe said as he stepped around the debris.
    "More like destroying the room," Frank replied.
    "His things are gone," Joe announced.
    "What?"
    "Chris's things are gone. This is all my stuff."
    "That kind of narrows down the suspects, doesn't it?" Frank said. "We've got to call the authorities."
    "Who? The Gray Man has the Network behind him," Joe fired back. "He's got enough resources to fight off an army."
    "How about the Soviet embassy," Frank suggested. Then he spotted an oblong object on the floor and picked it up. It was a cigarette lighter. He began to read the inscription.
    "Excuse me." A voice came from behind Frank and Joe.
    They spun around. Frank shoved the lighter into his front pocket. Aleksandr stood in the doorway.
    "You!" Joe shouted, lunging at the Soviet attaché.
    Aleksandr gasped as Joe jerked him into the room and kicked the door shut with his heel. He held Aleksandr by the lapels of his jacket.
    Joe's voice was a low growl. "You've got some explaining to do, and you can do it with or without your teeth."
    Aleksandr showed no emotion, no fear. He stared blankly back at Joe and said flatly, "I prefer to speak with my teeth."
    "Wise decision." Joe let go of Aleksandr.
    The Russian straightened his collar, tie, and jacket. The man kept his eyes on both of the Hardys and spoke in a slow, thick Russian accent.
    "Let me begin by saying that Pyotr and Petra Zigonev are safe. You are not to worry."
    "Petra's gone, too? Why did you kidnap them?" Joe demanded.
    Aleksandr was unmoved by Joe's outburst. "They are not kidnapped. They are safe. It was necessary to take Pyotr and Petra to a safe place so they could be briefed."
    "About what?" Frank asked. He leaned against the empty dresser, his arms crossed.
    "Mr. Gray said you could be trusted," Aleksandr said, looking relaxed now. "I am not so sure.