"Serves you right," laughed Joe. "Pleasure is always followed by pain!"

"And a smart mouth is always followed by a fat lip," said Frank

Joe pursed his lips together "Ohhhhh scary".

Sons of internationally famous private investigator Fenton Hardy, 18 year old Frank stood 6’1 with dark hair and brown eyes, as opposed to his fair-haired and blue eyed brother Joe who was an inch shorter at 6’. Both brothers were fit, but 17 year old Joe was muscular against Frank’s leanness.

Frank snorted and rubbed at the stain with his sleeve, spreading it further. He walked toward the front door, left the house and collected the Bayport Times from the front lawn. As usual the paper was damp from the morning dew. He slapped it against his hip to remove grass cuttings, came back indoors, sat down at the breakfast table and snipped the string around the paper. Unfurling the edition, he began to read the front-page story. "I don’t believe this," he muttered.

"What?" asked Joe.

"Another kid’s gone missing. According to the newspaper that’s now three children, all under the age of five, all living within the Bayport area. It was a little girl this time," he added, "She was only four years old, her parents must be frantic!"

Joe shook his head in bewilderment. "Any further update on the other missing children? Are they any closer to catching who is responsible?"

"Nope, doesn’t look like it, listen to this: ‘A Spokesman for the Bayport Police stated yesterday that they were following some very promising leads’ - that’s cop-talk for ‘we haven’t got a clue’"

"Well, they had better get clued up quick, there’re a lot of very angry and worried parents out there," commented Joe. His brother nodded in agreement.

There came a knock at the door and they looked up to see Vanessa and Callie waving madly through the window. Joe raised himself from the table to let them in.

"Hi guys," greeted tall, ash-blonde-haired Vanessa, Joe’s pretty girlfriend. She gave Joe a kiss on the mouth and smiled at Frank. Her eyes lowered to the stain on his chest.

Callie, Frank’s shorter, fair-haired girlfriend, also looked at his shirt and quipped. "Looking good Frank! Setting Bayport’s catwalks alive with another one of your style ideas I see!" she raised an eyebrow. "Better watch out, or the fashion cops will be after you!"

Frank lunged playfully at her and she dodged away, laughing.

"I’m not putting up with this all day, I’m going to change into a clean shirt," he mumbled.

Callie followed him up the stairs to his bedroom and stood in the doorway watching. Frank looked up sharply, suddenly realising she was there. "What are you doing up here? It’s lucky Mom and Dad are out-of-town, or I’d be in big trouble!"

"Well they are, and your not, and anyway, I was enjoying the view," Frank smiled and reddened. "Anyway, the reason me and Vanessa dropped by was to ask if you and Joe would like to accompany us on a picnic, it’s forecast sunny weather and it would be shame to waste it"

"Sounds good".

***

They put the finishing touches to their picnic basket and headed out of the door. Vanessa de-activated the car alarm on her red, compact sedan and they loaded all the gear into the trunk and piled in.

Arriving at the park, they unpacked the car and hiked through the trees. Settling on a suitably secluded spot, Callie threw the rug down and they all slumped down onto it. Joe lay back with his hands behind his head and yawned loudly. "I think I’ll just relax, and allow the women folk to go about their work"

"Yep, sounds good to me," agreed Frank, mirroring his brother’s position. "You heard the man, get to it ladies, feed us!" Callie leapt atop Frank, pinning his arms beneath her knees. "Hey careful woman, you’ll hurt yourself," he teased.

"You asked for this," cried Callie, and began to mercilessly tickle Frank - and Frank was very ticklish.

"Hey no, no don’t," he begged in between gasps of laughter.

"Tell me more," she laughed. Frank arched his back, and she came flying off. Joe and Vanessa rolled their eyes at each other and looked on in amusement. Frank quickly rolled on top of the now breathless Callie, pinning her arms to the ground. "Get off - you great oaf, you’re squashing me!"

"Oh, come on," said Frank. "I’m a lightweight by comparison."

"You cheeky devil – get off me!" demanded Callie and tried to wriggle out from under him. Frank was much too heavy and strong however, and she was quickly forced to concede.

"And now, my-Lady, a kiss from those sweet cherry-red lips".

"Man, I think I’m gonna be sick," said Joe. Vanessa pretended to stick two fingers down his throat and made a retching sound.

Frank was leaning forward to claim his prize when a high-pitch scream ripped through the still air. Callie froze under him.

"What was that?" whispered Vanessa, obviously spooked, she momentarily clung to Joe’s muscular arm - even the birds had ceased their song. Frank and Joe looked at each other.

Then came the second shrill scream.

Joe was on his feet running in the direction of the sound, he plunged into the woodland, Frank close behind with Callie and Vanessa following - the screaming continued.

Joe broke through the trees and took in the scene before him. A man was manhandling a crying and screaming child towards a delivery truck parked on the car lot with its back doors open.

"Hey!" shouted Joe. "Let the kid go!"

The man glanced over his shoulder and began to run with the boy towards the waiting vehicle. He was no match for Joe, however, who caught up with him in seconds, clamped a hand on his shoulder and spun him round. "I don’t think you heard me right, I said, let the kid go," he repeated to the stocky, red-haired man, with a warning tone.

"Back off kid, this is my son, and I would be grateful if you’d keep out of my private family affairs."

Joe glanced at the child’s tear streaked, panic stricken face. "In that case, you won’t object to me contacting the cops, and you can explain your family matter to them?"

The man was opening his mouth to continue the argument when he spied Frank break through the trees. He lifted the boy up high and flung him at Joe, turned and ran. Joe hit the ground with a loud ‘humph’ with his arms around the crying boy. "Frank, get him!" he shouted.

Frank hurtled passed his younger brother to tackle the man.

The man dashed onto the parking lot with Frank at his heels and launched himself at the vehicles back entrance. Seriously misjudging the distance, he hit the edge of the truck’s footplate with his stomach. All the air whooshed out of him and he went down, momentarily winded. Frank was instantly upon him putting him in a hold, pinning him to the tarmac.

Meanwhile, Vanessa had reached Joe and was bending down to gently lifted the boy off him. She hugged him to her and reassured him as best she could. "It’s okay now, your safe with us, don’t cry".

Joe jumped up to help his brother, which was when the shrieking started!

Callie was standing at the edge of the grass, screaming, Frank was down on the ground and there was blood all over the tarmac - blood from a head wound.

A second, previously unseen man was standing over him with a huge wrench in his hand. He stood at least 6’3, with a shaven head and had an angry scar on his cheekbone. He pulled Frank’s head back by the hair and readied himself to strike again.

"NO!" roared Callie and jumped on his back, punching at him with her fists. He shook her roughly off onto the road, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and yanking her forward. She placed her hands over her face and flinched as he raised the weapon in the air. Out the corner of his eye he suddenly spied Joe moving at speed toward him, losing interest in hurting Callie he thrust her aside, and leapt into the passenger seat of the vehicle.

Joe jumped over Frank’s inert body and ran snarling round the side of the truck, grabbed the wing mirror and lifting himself up onto the step plate. The van sped off with the back doors swinging, and screeched around the corner of the Jefferson Park gateway with Joe was still hanging onto the door.

"JOE!" shouted a panicked Vanessa running with the boy still clinging to her as the van disappeared out of site.

***

Ignoring the scenery whipping by, Joe looked at the two men inside. The one at the wheel grinned menacingly at him, which this was all the further provocation he needed. He drew his fist back and smashed it through the side window. The men ducked as glass shattered around them causing the delivery truck to swerve violently. Joe clung on tenaciously, adrenaline numbing the pain from the deep cuts to his hand and arm. He hauled himself halfway through the now empty window space and grabbed the driver by the throat. "STOP THE TRUCK" he yelled into his face.

The man’s face now held a picture of fear and panic and his driving was becoming increasingly erratic. His friend grabbed Joe’s hand, bent back his little finger and extracted the limb from his partner’s neck. He leant forward in the seat and punched Joe violently in the face. His body swung out, and he found himself holding on helplessly by one arm and leg. Suddenly, without warning, the vehicle skidded to a halt and Joe was flung forward, sailing through the air.