Driving away from the park, Brendan and Phil had been feeling very pleased with themselves. Although they had failed to find the ring on Mike Greg’s friend, they now at least had a larger bargaining chip than just their fists.

They arrived at Billy’s mansion house and Phil backed the car up against the front entrance steps, with the trunk aligning the front of the doorway. Brendan alighted, mounted the concrete steps to the front door and pulled on the gong. He heard the sound of it clanging mournfully within the old house’s interior, and shuffled his feet with excitement as he heard the sound of his boss’s steel tipped shoes approaching the door.

"Wait till you see the present we got for you Boss," he said loudly, before Billy had even opened the door fully to admit them.

"My ring?" he asked, appearing hopeful. He knew, however, the jewel wasn’t the ‘present’ Brendan was talking about. The only time Brendan got enthused about anything was when it was at someone else’s expense. He stepped out into the open and saw Phil releasing the lock on the Jag’s trunk. With theatrical flourish, he opened it wide. Billy looked with one eyebrow raised at the site of the young man crammed uncomfortably inside.

"Who’s this?" he asked quietly.

"One of Mike’s chums, the one who was sent to pick up the ring," answered Phil. "We checked him for it, but we can’t find it. I’m sure that when he wakes up, he’ll be able to enlighten us a little."

Billy walked down the steps and moved in closer. He paused, a slight frown playing across his brow and leaned forward to take a closer look at Phil and Brendan’s captive. "This is just a kid! He was with Mike Gregg you say?"

"Yeah."

"Did you actually see him with Mike?"

Phil and Brendan exchanged looks. "Well…no…we never," answered Brendan.

The instant Brendan had finished, Phil’s mobile phone began ringing shrilly. He snatched it from his pocket and put it too his ear. "What?"

Phil jerked upright and snapped back, "are you lying to me Mikey Boy?"

"No…no, I got it!" stammered Mike, mystified by Phil’s aggressiveness and feeling frightened.

Billy, exasperated at only hearing half a conversation, snatched the phone out of Phil’s hand and put it to his own ear. "It’s Billy speaking to you now Mike. We’ve got a friend of yours, and he’s going to get seriously hurt if you don’t stop kicking your heels and tell us where the ring is!"

"But…but…I got the ring here! You can come and get it personally, if you don’t believe me," shouted Mike. "Which friend?" he added more quietly as an afterthought.

"The blond one from the park."

Billy’s phone hand dropped to his side and he started ranting at the two muscle men. "YOU KIDNAPPED SOME POOR KID FROM THE PARK – WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HAVE YOU TWO NOT GOT THE BRAINS YOU WERE BORN WITH? – JESUS, WHAT A MESS!" He had a sudden thought and put the phone back to his ear. "Mike…MIKE…" he snapped, "…you better not have hung up on me."

"No, I’m still here," Mike gulped, his voice shaking.

"Those people you sold the ring to, was one of them blond?"

Mike considered the answer very carefully before speaking. "No, but one of their friends is blond. He’s tall and kinda muscular."

Billy sighed loudly and thrust the phone back towards Phil’s chest, "Can I trust you to get the Kid’s address from Mikey Boy?" he asked sarcastically, "because I’m starting to wonder!" He turned to Brendan, "let’s get the kid inside, and check that you didn’t kill him."

Between them they lifted Joe from the trunk and carried him indoors. Laying him on the sofa, Billy went to the hallway and came back with one of his silk scarves, which he proceeded to blindfold Joe with. "Don’t want to take the chance on him being able to identify us later," he explained.

"Good thinking Boss," said Brendan.

"One of us has to be the thinker - I can’t rely on you two bozo’s can I! Go and get a bag of frozen peas or something," he instructed, holding Joe by the jaw and moving his head to one side to peer at the egg sized swelling on his temple.

"Huh?"

"Just get the peas for Pete’s sake!"

***

Phil had just entered the room when Joe finally started to move about weakly. "I got the address, half hour drive, that’s all."

Brendan immediately removed the bag of frozen vegetables he was holding against the swelling and transferred his hands to holding Joe’s forearms down, crossed against his front to prevent him from removing the blindfold "Right, we keep him here until it’s dark and then you two can drop him off." He turned his attention to Brendan who was re-entering the room. "Did you get it Brendan?"

"Yeah Boss, still plenty left."

"Good, we might need all of it - it’s going to be hours until nightfall. Put it down on the table there." He leant over Joe and pushed his mouth close to Joe’s left ear. "Hey, Kid - you okay? he asked, none to gently.

"Wassat?" asked Joe, slurring his speech and flinching away from the noise.

"Sorry, I asked if you were okay," he repeated, lowering his voice to a less uncomfortable level. "What’s your name, Kid?"

"It’s Jo…Jo…John," replied Joe, just managing to stop himself in the nick of time from revealing his true identity. He wished his head would clear enough so that he could formulate an escape plan - the pain in his scull was also having a detrimental effect of his thought processes. He jerked his hands suddenly in an attempt to break the tight grip on his arms, his efforts only resulting in two more hands joining the ones already holding him steady.

"Whoa there, we’re not going to hurt ya, just checking you’re not seriously injured. Do you know where you live?"

"America."

"Hey, the Kid’s got a sense of humor!" laughed Phil.

"Obviously, you’re not hurt too bad," prognosed Billy, his mouth turned up. "If you stop struggling, I’ll explain a few things to you," he bargained. Joe stopped wildly moving about and settled down, giving the appearance of someone listening. "Look, my two idiot associates here thought you were someone else, used your head as a punch bag and took you on a little joyride. Now they want to apologize," he raised his voice slightly, "Don’t you boys?"

"Yeah, sorry kid," said Phil.

There was a long pause while Brendan swallowed down his pride. "Sorr-yyy," he drawled, reluctantly, sounding exactly like a spoiled child.

Billy jerked his head around and glared for a few long seconds into Brendan’s eyes from where he was holding Joe down next to him.

"I said I was sorry!"

Billy shook his head in despair, turned to Phil and jerked his head towards the table at the head of the sofa. Phil started to make his way across the room.

"Look…John…let’s forget this ever happened eh? This should take care of any hurt feelings, and should pay for a few rolls of bandages or whatever you need to get your head fixed."

Joe felt something thick being thrust into his breast pocket and listened to the sound of liquid being swilled around a glass receptacle. The next instant he smelt a familiar odor. It took him a couple of seconds to realize what that scent actually was – chloroform. He brought his knee out to the side to try and smack the person crouched directly next to him. From that angle, however, his aim was way off target, and all he received for his efforts was the heavy weight of someone sitting down onto his thrashing legs. Meanwhile the hands held him stronger still. Another hand came down around his jaw and his head was pulled back while the chloroform-laced cloth was clamped over his mouth and nose. He held his breath impulsively.

"Hey…hey…hey, relax, your going home."

Joe held his breath for as long as he possibly could, hoping he could fight his way free, eventually his survival instincts took over and he was forced to draw in a long breath. He immediately felt his head beginning to swim.

"That’s it Kid, you just have a little kip, when you wake up you’ll be home again."

And that really was the last thing Joe heard, for a number of hours anyway.

***

Frank jumped over Joe’s inert form and crouched down next to him, "Wake up people! Give me a hand here," he barked tersely, hooking his arms under Joe’s shoulders. Rob and Mark shook themselves out of their surprise, came forward, and helped to carry him inside. They laid him down on the hall rug and Helen slammed the door shut.

"What’s that smell?" asked Kiwi, holding the back of his hand against his nose in disgust.

"Chloroform," answered Frank solemnly.

"Chloroform? Like what they use at the dentist – laughing gas? The stuff that puts you to sleep?" asked Helen.

"Yeah, different drug, but works the same way – he’s been chloroformed."

"No wonder I can’t stand the foul odor, it’s what a dentist smells like - rank!" muttered Kiwi.

The blindfold was removed, further revealing the large bruise surrounded lump to his forehead.

"Well, that certainly wasn’t caused by sleeping drugs," Kiwi remarked.

Joe began to stir and moan slightly. As he began to regain more strength, his body went instinctively into its defensive mode and he started to kick the blanket clumsily away and fight to get upright. Helen moved closer to help calm him down and his arm flashed out and smacked her in the middle of the chest, sending her clean onto her back. She scrambled up and headed for the kitchen, rubbing the area Joe had hit.

"Hey, cool it Joe - you just knocked Helen off her socks!" yelled Frank, putting his hands on his brother’s shoulders. "You’re back with us now, take it easy," he said soothingly. "You okay Helen?" he called towards the kitchen.

"Yes, I’m just getting something that I think might help," she replied from a distance.

The younger Hardy brother lay back down and sucked in a lungful of air to blow the cobwebs away in his head. "Uh oh, I think I’m gonna be sick," he suddenly announced and sat slowly back up again, this time with the help of Rob’s hand against his back.

Kiwi immediately got up feeling ‘tickle stomached’ himself and turned his back - he hated the site of vomiting.

"I’ll get a bucket," said Mark, running urgently to the kitchen. He passed Helen who was returning with a cold, wet flannel.

She knelt down behind Joe and he leant against her while she placed the cool cloth against his forehead. "I suspected this might happen, I had laughing gas once at the dentist, and wow, did it make me nauseous!"

Mark came back and shoved the bucket in Joe’s direction, Joe inadvertently looked into it and spied the cobwebs, dead insects and spider skins that had collected while it had been stored just inside the basement doorway for a number of months. "Are you having a laugh?" he asked, "If I wasn’t feeling sick before, I certainly am now!" he put his out his hand and pushed the bucket away in disgust. "It’s okay, thanks Mark, the feeling’s passing, anyway."

"What happened?" Rob asked Joe, joined once more by Kiwi, now that the danger of vomiting had passed.

"Well, someone literally punched my lights out…" began Joe and went on to tell them everything that he could remember. By the time he’d finished the tale, some color had returned to his cheeks. "Oh yeah, something I nearly forgot…" he thrust his hand into his shirt pocket and drew something large out, which he tossed into the air "…let’s have a party guys!" He grinned, despite his queasiness, at the look on their faces as the paper money drifted gradually down to the ground around them.

***

"So, what you’re saying Joe…" began Kiwi, handing him a steaming mug of liquid, "…is that these people kidnapped you by mistake? How can someone abduct someone by accident?" he finished in amazement.

"Don’t ask me - I’m just the walking wounded!" replied Joe.

"Things are starting to get really bizarre now," said Helen, starting to get a little hot under the collar. "For Pete’s sake, have we all got victim written across our foreheads in black felt tip pen or something? Every member of the criminal fraternity seems to be after our skins."

"Tell me about it," agreed Joe. "If I have to take anymore pain killers, I’m gonna be overdosing!"

"There has to be a connection between the two," thought Frank out loud. "But I’m damned if I can come up with anything."

"I think we should sleep on it," suggested Helen, "We got another day of possible beatings tomorrow at the show, and I don’t just mean the sword fighting. How you feeling now Joe?"

"A lot better than half an hour ago, at least I can drink this coffee without wanting to barf it all back up. They must have used gallons of the stuff on me to keep me under for those amount of hours."

"What are you going to do with the money?" asked Mark.

"£2000 is certainly a sizable amount, but I don’t want it." He offered the money across to Helen, "Here, donate it to one of Alex’s favorite charities,"

"That’s a really nice idea Joe," she said, accepting the money, "I think I’ll give it to Heronfield Animal Sanctuary – Alex used to do voluntary work there." She went to the mantel and pushed the money behind the clock, out of sight. "You staying the night again?" she asked Rob and Kiwi.

"I’m not going and leaving you people here tonight, we’re staying," said Rob, deciding for the both of them. "There’s something to be said for safety in numbers."

"And I’m not about to disagree with the man," agreed Kiwi.