"What happened?" he asked softly, focusing on Frank.

"Shhhhhh," Frank whispered comfortingly. Seeing Joe was waking up, Frank took the ice and gently took Frank’s hand to press it on to his fingers. Frank winced as his fingers screamed in protest. Suddenly, Joe’s eyes got wide.

"Oh My God," he yelled, trying to surge to his feet. Biff and Tony reached out to push him down. "Frank! They took Jason, we have to go after them!"

"Shh, Brat, they’re long gone now. But, we’ll get them, and get Jason back, I promise!"

"Frank, what happened?" Laura asked as she gazed at her son. Frank saw tears in her eyes.

"Mom, they took Jason. I don’t know why." Just then, they could hear the sound of the phone ringing. Frank jumped up and ran, followed by his mother and friends, who were followed more slowly by Joe, who by now was feeling slightly better. Frank snatched up the receiver on the 5^th ring.

"Hello," he said breathlessly.

"Man, you sound winded," Fenton Hardy, said on the other end. Frank groaned.

"Man, its only you, Dad," he said.

"Hmm, well maybe I should hang up. Suddenly, I get the feeling I’m not wanted!" He laughed, but Frank didn’t.

"No, Dad, it’s just, we have a serious situation on our hands," Frank replied. Instantly alert, Fenton asked,

"What’s wrong?" Frank took a deep breath before answering.

"Dad, Jason’s been kidnapped." Fenton didn’t say anything, but Frank heard the sharp intake of breath.

"I’ll be right home," was all he said before hanging up.

"What did he say?" Laura and Joe asked at the same time. Phil, who decided to try and get a smile, even if it was a small smile, on his friends’ face, said,

"Jinx!" But, it came out humorlessly, and everyone just looked at him. He realized everyone was just too worried. Within minutes, Fenton was home. He barreled into the house shouting,

"What happened?" Laura rushed to him and fell into his arms, finally letting her tears fall.

"Shhhh, Hon, it will be okay," he comforted her. As he did so, he raised his eyebrows at Frank and Joe in question.

"Dad, Jason was kidnapped!" Joe answered him. The he started to sway a little. Frank ran to him and helped him on to the couch. Fenton noticed Joe’s bruise and Frank’s bruised knuckles at the same time.

"Guys, what did they do to you?" he cried. Laura composed herself and went upstairs, mumbling about getting some ointment for Frank’s hands and checking on the babies. Callie and Vanessa went with her. Fenton went to give both of his sons a quick hug. Then Frank and Joe told him everything, from the gunshots to the escape.

"And they sure made chumps out of us," Frank said disgustedly.

"How so?" Chet asked. Surprisingly, Tony answered.

"The entire gunshot thingy was a trap. They shot at us, knowing that we would look for clues afterward, giving them an opening to take Jason, whether he was inside or outside!" Frank confirmed him by nodding. Just then, the phone rang again. Frank ran to it and picked it up on the second ring this time. Joe, Fenton, and their friends crowded in close behind.

"Hello?" Frank asked.

"Who’s this?" a rough voice asked.

"Who’s this?" Frank countered.

"You can call me Max, kid. Now, who is this?"

"This is Frank Hardy. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, kid. You had better help me if you want to see your precious Jason again." Frank eyes widened, and he motioned to everyone to crowd in more.

"What did you do to him? What do you want? Let me talk to him!" Frank demanded.

"Fine, kid. But first, put your Dad on. I want him to hear this."

"I’ll put it on speaker phone." Frank switched on the speakerphone on, and said, "Okay, you’re on speaker phone," They heard some scuffling around on the other end, and soon they heard Jason’s voice.

"Hello?" he asked softly.

"Jason! Are you all right?" Frank asked.

"I think so," he answered. "But, I want to come home!" He started to cry. "Daddy, please don’t make me stay here. Please Daddy, I want to come back to you! They said they would kill me, Daddy! I want to come home to you and Mommy and my big brothers, and my little sisters. Daddy!" He was sobbing then, and Max snatched the phone away. They heard the click as he hung up. They all were quiet for a long time, staring at each other. Frank, Joe, and Fenton had tears running down their cheeks.

"He called me Daddy," he whispered. "He called me Daddy! God!" he cried a little harder. They all cried for a few more minutes, while their friends just stood there, trying to comfort them. Finally, Fenton composed himself.

"Guys, you had better get home," he told the group. "But," Fenton warned, "neither Laura, nor the girls should find out about this phone call, understand?" he told them.

"Too late," came a voice from the stairs. They all whirled around to see Laura and the girls standing there. "We heard the whole thing," Laura said. Fenton looked stunned for a minute, before shaping up.

"Oh, Laura, I’m sorry you had to hear that. I was hoping you would be spared the pain."

"Forget it, Fenton. How could you try to hide this from me?" Her eyes held fury.

"I think we better leave," Phil whispered to Tony and Chet. They nodded and left, followed by Callie and Vanessa. No one really noticed.

"Laura, I did it because I didn’t want you to get hurt! Please don’t be mad at me!" Fenton’s voice held a pleading note, and Laura’s heart melted.

"Fine." But don’t think you are leaving me out of this investigation. I am going to help you at any cost, whether you like it or not!" Fenton nodded, knowing there was no way he could change her mind. Just then, the phone rang again. This time, Joe answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hello," came the same rough voice. Joe quickly turned on the speaker phone. "Why did you wait so long to call again?" Joe asked.

"I wanted to make sure you had enough time to understand what Jason said. I WILL kill him. I mean it." Frank gulped, but Joe could feel his temper rising.

"What do you want us to do?" he growled.

"I want you to break into Chief Collig’s house!"