Free Edge of Destruction by Franklin W. Dixon

faster than I figured you would."
    "Hardy boys?" said' Joe, putting on a tough New York, accent himself. "Who you talking about?"
    "You got us mixed up with somebody else, mister," said Frank with the same accent.
    "Come on, kids, don't waste my time," said the well-preserved hoodlum. "If you're not the Hardy boys, I'm not Nick Trask."
    "You, Nick Trask?" said Joe.
    "Don't kid us," said Frank. "I mean, I heard stories about him. You know, like he's a legend in the neighborhood. A real big shot. And from what I heard, a real tub of lard too."
    "That was a long time ago," said Trask. "Over twenty years you can build a lot of muscle if you pump iron day after day, getting in shape for when you get out.
    "I was the youngest boss in the organization," he said. "I lived high, ate and drank everything I pleased. A great life. But two guys took it all away from me. Peterson and Hardy."
    "Hey, Mr. Trask, you got the wrong guys. We ain't no Hardys," said Frank. "We was just fooling around in that office, you know, for kicks, when your guys jumped us."
    "That's right, Mr. Trask, sir," said Joe. "You let us go, and we won't say a word. I mean, we think you're something. In our neighborhood you're a regular hero." Trask turned to one of the phony cops. "Frisk these punk kids. Fast."
    The man did as he was told. He came up with an old clipping about Trask that Joe had accidentally left in his pocket.
    "Nice try, kids," said Trask. "I didn't even need this to know who you are. I already figured you, went back home to get at your dad's files when the people I sent to snatch them didn't report back.
    "When I figured you had your hands on the old clippings, I knew you'd use the city computers to check me out," Trask went on. "Well, both you kids were too smart for your own good. You didn't stop me from wiping out my records. And you gave me a bonus by giving me you."
    "What good is having us going to do you?" said Frank.
    "I ain't sure yet. But I'll figure out some - " Trask paused, and a smile made his face even uglier. "I just got an idea." He turned to the phony cops. "Go get the doctor. He's in the lab. I got a job for him. We installed a lab in the subbasement of the building next door. Pretty neat setup, huh?" said Trask.
    A minute later his two men returned. In their custody was a slim, dark-haired man with a small goatee and big, bulging eyes. The man wore a spotless white lab coat, but his hands were stained multicolored by chemicals.
    Joe took one look at him and thought he was a mad scientist, right out of central casting. The guy's voice was mad, too, a different kind. Angry mad. "I was just coming in to see you, Trask," he said. "I told you two days ago, I need more supplies. And the company will not give me what I need if I do not pay. Do not promise me that you will have your men hijack the stuff. They have already made too many mistakes in what they have stolen."
    "Look " Trask started.
    "I do not want excuses," interrupted the doctor. "I want to continue my experiments. You promised to give me all I need if I gave you what you want. I fulfilled my part of the bargain, and now you must keep your part. Or else no more virus."
    "Your lab stuff is costing me a fortune, von Reich," Trask growled.
    "You did not seem to worry about cash when we worked out our plan in the cell," the doctor said.
    "How was I to know about inflation?" Trask muttered.
    "Your financial problems do not interest me," the doctor said coldly. "I don't care how you get it, but I want my money. If you want to call our deal off, I can continue my experiments elsewhere."
    Joe and Frank expected Trask to twist the doctor's head off. The look in his eyes said that he wanted to. Surprisingly, however, Trask forced a smile onto his face. He laid a huge hand on the doctor's narrow shoulder in a calming gesture.
    "Hey, Doc," he said, "don't get mad. You'll get your money, and so will everybody else, as soon as the city comes through with the twenty million. And that