"He was kidnapped?" Joe whispered, stunned. Flashbacks of the last time Jason had been kidnapped came into his brain. He shuddered as he remembered how cruel those people were…and how they shot Frank. All of a sudden, he remembered how the only reason Frank had survived was because Matt had saved taken care of him…putting his own life at risk. He bit his lip as he realized that he had really hurt his aunt and uncle…when all they wanted was good home for the twins. He shook himself out of his reverie, with one thought. "I’m going to apologize to Aunt Gertrude and Uncle Matt…and then I’m going to talk to Mom." Then, he turned to his brother, as Frank asked,

"What do we do now?" Joe bit his lip, and was thinking of an answer, when the phone rang. The paramedics were taking Staci away, and Vanessa decided to go with them. Frank promised to come to the hospital later, as he ran inside, where Joe already was. He rushed in just in time to hear the tail end of the Joe’s conversation.

"Let me talk to Jason!" Joe commanded. But all he got was a click. He slowly hung up the phone, and looked at his brother. He turned to his brother. "Whoever it was wanted us to be at the old Jackson place at noon tomorrow. He said not to tell the police, or he’ll kill Jason." Joe gulped. Frank bit his lip, looking similar to his brother, and finally sighed.

"Well, let’s get over to the hospital, and see what the verdict on Staci is. I hope she’s okay…" Joe patted his brother’s back reassuringly, and just then, a person from the ASPCA came over.

"We’re going to take this dog to the vet, make sure he’s okay. We will call with more developments." Frank and Joe nodded, and then Con came over to them.

"Okay, guys, what’s going on? Where’s Jason?" He asked, looking serious.

"Con, please don’t make us tell you!" Frank begged. "We’ll tell you as soon as we can!" Con hesitated, but knowing he’ll get nothing out of the brothers, finally nodded his head, and walked off, not even bothering to get their statements. But, what no one else heard was when he passed up one of the other officers.

"Put a tail on them. Find out exactly where they’re going. But, be discreet about it! These guys are experts at detecting tails…"

********************

At the hospital, Frank rushed in, and asked for news on Staci Rivera. The nurse told him that the doctor was still seeing her, and that they would have to wait for the doctor to come. The brothers sat down for a tense wait, joined by Vanessa, who was already sitting in the waiting room. She had already been looked over by the doctor, and pronounced to be fine. Joe held on the Vanessa tightly, letting out a lot of tension he had been holding back. Truth was, he was tired, and he was in serious pain. He hadn’t completely recovered from his wounds. And, even worse, he felt guilty. Really guilty. He had yelled at his aunt and uncle…when all they wanted to do was help…and start a family of their own. He heaved a sigh, and glanced over at his brother. Frank was sitting with his head back, eyes closed. Joe could tell he was in a lot of pain. He swallowed hard as he realized how worried Frank was…both for Jason, and Staci. Frank had burdened a lot of stress, and Joe sighed, knowing it was going to get to him one day.

"We have to solve this case…" He thought. "We just have to!"

**********************

An hour later, the doctor came out.

"Anyone here for Staci Rivera?" he asked, glancing at Frank, Joe, and Vanessa, who surprisingly were the only three in the room. Frank jumped up, and asked,

"How is she?" The doctor glanced at him, and then asked,

"And what relation do you have to the young lady?" He asked.

"She’s my…" Frank started to say, and then realized if he said that he wasn’t a relative, the doctor wouldn’t tell him anything "She’s my wife!" He blurted out. Joe choked, and Vanessa tried to control of a giggle.

"Oh," the doctor said, oblivious to Joe and Vanessa’s reactions. "Mr. Rivera?" Frank nodded. "Well, she’ll be fine. The cut on her arm required ten stitches, and the one on her leg required five. She has a mild concussion. She’ll need a lot of rest." The doctor paused for a moment. "But, she can go home." He smiled at the relieved expression on Frank’s face. Joe let out a war whoop, and the doctor said to Frank. "I thought you were the husband!"

*******************

Meanwhile, Jason gulped and stared at the man in front of him. He was so scared, he couldn’t even speak. This reminded him too much of the time he was kidnapped earlier…just then, a man walked in to the room where he was being kept.

"Hello, Jason…" the guy said. Jason just backed up into the farthest corner of the room, and stared, terrified at the man. The man chuckled. "Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. You’re just my insurance. You see, killing little kids really isn’t my style. But, older kids on the other hand…" he chuckled. "Like your big brothers, Jason. Know how bad they are?" Jason didn’t answer, but continued to stare at him. "They’re very bad boys…they don’t love me, Jason. That’s why I have to kill them. You understand, don’t you?" Jason just stared at the man, getting more and more terrified. This guy sounded crazy! "I’ll have to kill them both…maybe I’ll stab the older one, and make the younger one watch, and then stab him too. Or maybe I’ll stab the younger one, and then kill the older one, after making them watch…do you think that’s a good idea?" The man mused out loud. Without waiting for answer, he continued on. "Or maybe I should torture them...maybe shoot them…" As the guy talked out loud to himself, Jason got madder and madder. He didn’t know half of what this guy was talking about, but what he did know was that he wanted to hurt his older brothers! With a burst of that familiar temper like Joe’s, he lunged forward, sinking his teeth into the man’s hand!