Free Nightmare in Angel City by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

away just in time to see the knife slash down at him.
    Frank caught the hand, slammed it twice against his leg, and the hand dropped the knife. Joe kicked it away. With a shout Frank spun and jerked the arm over his shoulder. The ninja tore through the flat and landed with a thud on his back.
    He kicked up, catching Frank in the shin and knocking him off balance. Joe clipped the ninja in the arm with a right hook, and the ninja stumbled back, stopping in front of a chair. He picked it up and brought it down hard against Joe's shoulder.
    Joe stood there, as surprised as the ninja was that he was unharmed. "A breakaway chair," he said amazed. "Another prop."
    The ninja ducked Joe's punch, only to walk into a karate chop from Frank. He reeled back into some more flats. Frantically, he pulled on them, and they cascaded down on the Hardys. By the time Frank and Joe freed themselves, the ninja was gone.
    "That solves the mystery of the switched guns," Joe said, getting to his feet. He picked up the fallen switchblade. "At least he lost his toothpick."
    "Oh, no," said Peter. His eyes rested on a young man, who lay unconscious in his underwear, bound and gagged behind the fallen screens. "That's Jim!"
    "Then who was in the ninja suit?" Frank wondered out loud. Quickly, they untied the young man and slapped his cheek to wake him up. His eyes finally fluttered open.
    "Who did this to you?" Joe asked.
    "Never saw him before," the young man said weakly. "Never."
    "You'll be okay," Frank comforted. "What did he look like?"
    "Didn't see much. Only a patch over an eye."
    Frank and Joe looked at each other in dismay. "Patch!" said Frank. To Peter he said, "Can you take care of your friend?"
    "Sure."
    "How do we get to where the tour is now?"
    "They should be looking at the computerized special effects generators now," Peter said. He gave them directions, and the Hardys ran through the emergency door.
    "Great," said Joe. "If we're right about Bates, we've got two killers loose on the grounds."
    "And we left Callie alone." Frank's voice was tight as he led the way. "We've got to find her." They reached another building and flung open the door.
    The tour was gathered around a television screen, watching pictures of people chosen from their group being projected into computer-generated backgrounds. Frank grabbed the tour guide's arm.
    "Where's Callie?" he whispered.
    Confused, she replied, "Who?"
    "The girl I came with," he snapped impatiently. "She's supposed to be here."
    The tour guide gazed across the crowd and pointed toward an open door at the far end of the hall. "She was over there just a minute ago. I have to ask you not to leave the tour again. If there's any problem — "
    Before she could finish, Frank hurried out the door. It opened onto a small green lawn lined with food stands. Frank turned in circles, surveying the area, but Callie was nowhere.
    "Callie," he called out. There was no answer. "Callie!"
    "Frank," Joe said. He stopped by a waste basket, pulled out a videocassette, and held it up for Frank to see.
    Frank's heart sank. "She would never have given that up unless she — unless she — "
    He couldn't bring himself to say it. Callie was gone.

Chapter 13
    "HEY!" A MAN in a work suit shouted. "You can't go in there!"
    Callie Shaw ignored the warning. Her lungs burned and her legs ached from running, and she needed a place to rest. From the moment she had seen Patch, dressed all in black except for his head, she had been on the move, racing from set to set in Meteor Town.
    The sign on the barricade said Out of Order. No Admittance. Recklessly, Callie climbed over the gate, rolled onto the ground, and looked behind her to see if the man decided to pursue her. She was safe. And there was no sign of Patch.
    She relaxed and sat with her back to the gate.
    Would anyone find the tape, she wondered. Even if Patch caught her, she suspected, he wouldn't kill her until he knew where it was. If she escaped, chances were she could