Joe felt himself lifted, still clutching April against him, and thrown down to the ground again, landing with stunning force. The little green Neon burst into flames behind them; searing heat washed over them, and pieces of glass, metal and plastic rained down upon the two teens. Joe tried to curl into a ball around April, attempting to shield her from the debris while at the same time covering his head with one arm.

After a few seconds, the malevolent shower ceased, and there was only heat, and the sound of the flames licking at April’s car. Joe slackened his grasp slightly. "April! April – you okay?" He gasped, breathed in smoke, and began to cough. He gave her a little shake. "April?"

She started to cough too, and he felt her nod her head against his chest. "I – I think so!" she wheezed. "But my ribs sure hurt again!" She wriggled slightly. "Don’t squeeze me so tight, Joe!"

Through the sounds of the crackling flames, Joe heard shouts and running feet. "Joe!" "April! Joe!"

Must be Frank…he thought dazedly. …Frank and Jack…. The footsteps pounded closer, then they were there; both older brothers leaning over their siblings lying on the pavement. Frank looked as frightened as Joe could ever remember seeing him, and Jack’s face was chalk-white.

"April!" Jack gathered his sister into his arms as Joe reluctantly loosened his grip. "Oh baby, are you all right? Tell me you’re okay, please?"

Joe half-expected her to dissolve into tears, but April was too stunned to even think of crying. "I’m okay, Jack. Just – startled." she murmured, and looked over at the smoking remains of her car. "But – why did my car blow up?" she asked, helplessly.

Frank, who had been running anxious hands over his brother, searching for injuries, looked grim. "I think Deke and Ernie are getting a little desperate," he growled. "I’ll bet anything you care to name that there was a bomb rigged in there with a delay timer." He turned his attention back to Joe. "Where do you hurt worst?" he demanded.

Joe tried to sit up, but grimaced and desisted. "Landed flat on my back – twice," he admitted. "It’s pretty sore – but I don’t think anything is broken. I’m going to have bruises to match the ones on my stomach, though." He attempted to push himself up once again. Frank put an arm about his shoulders, bracing him, and this time Joe managed to achieve a sitting position.

The sound of a car rapidly approaching made them all tense, but it was Vanessa’s Wrangler that came roaring across the parking lot. She brought it to a halt and flung herself out.

"What happened?" she shouted. "I was halfway down the block when I heard the noise….Joe – April! Are you two okay?"

Jason came running from the hangar. "I called 911!" he yelled. "They should be here right away!"

Vanessa crouched down beside her boyfriend. "Joe, are you hurt?"

He tried to grin at her in reassurance. "Not really."

Sirens wailed in the distance, coming steadily closer. "I am not going to let more medics near me again!" April snapped crossly, and pulled herself to her feet, using Jack’s shoulder as a prop as he knelt beside her.

Jack tried to restrain her, his expression highly concerned. "April, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let them look you over. You might have re-injured your ribs, or your arm, or messed up the stitches in your leg. The doctor told you to take it easy – I don’t think having Joe throw you on the ground was what he had in mind!"

April gave him a steely look. "Would you rather he hadn’t thrown me to the ground?" she inquired, and glanced eloquently at the remains of her car.

Jack, who had regained some of his color, turned white again. "Oh, baby, of course not! How could you think that?" April continued to glare at him. "Okay, I can see how you might think it, but April, I would rather my right arm be cut off than to have something happen to you! I just don’t want to take any chances that you were hurt—"

"Jack, I’m fine. Joe took the brunt of the impact; worry about him, not me. There’s nothing wrong with me that a trip to a car dealership won’t cure." Finally, April smiled at her older brother. "Please, Jack, please get me out of here before they try to truss me up like a turkey again!" she pleaded.

Jack gave in, as April had known he would He rose from his crouched position, and put his arm about her; holding her as carefully as if she had been a piece of fragile crystal, he helped his sister toward the office.

"Can you walk?" Frank asked Joe anxiously. Joe nodded, and let Frank and Vanessa assist him to his feet. He found the pain in his back eased somewhat when he was upright, and that fact reassured him that he was not seriously hurt. Moving slowly and leaning against Frank’s shoulder, Joe managed to walk the short distance to the Hardy van. Frank slid the side door open and eased Joe into the middle seat, then turned back to watch as a fire truck, an ambulance, and a police cruiser swept into the parking lot. Firefighters leaped from their truck and swung into action; in just a few minutes they were spraying water onto April’s smoldering car.

"Do you want to be checked over by the EMT’s?" Frank murmured to his brother. At Joe’s head-shake, he said: "Okay, try to look a little healthier, then."

Joe laughed weakly, and he and Vanessa watched Frank walk over to talk to the police officers and emergency personnel. The medics didn’t look happy at being summarily dismissed, but finally they got back into their ambulance and departed. Frank kept talking to the uniformed officers, gesturing toward Joe, the Wayne’s World office, and then the drenched Neon. Joe saw one of the officers speak briefly into a cell phone. As they waited, Joe explained to Vanessa about the threatening phone call, and the fact that he was supposed to be guarding April.

Frank returned to the van. "They called in for bomb experts to take a look at April’s car…and I’m not moving from this place until I find out exactly what was planted in it." He looked keenly at his younger brother and added, "That is, unless I suddenly need to take you to the hospital, or something. Are you sure you’re okay?"

Joe nodded. "I’ll admit, I wouldn’t mind lying down for a little while, and I definitely want some aspirin – but I’ll be okay."

Vanessa gently stroked his hair. "You should go home and rest," she advised. "Do you want me to take you?"

"Nah, you go on to your lunch with Megan, babe." Joe leaned his head against hers for a moment. "I’ll be fine, I promise."

Jack and April came out of the office now, and approached the Hardys’ van. "Joe, are you sure you’re all right?" Jack asked him solicitously. Joe nodded and sighed; he was getting tired of answering the same question over and over.

"Joe, you saved my life – again!" April leaned into the van to put her left arm about the younger Hardy’s neck. "First out in the woods where the plane crashed, and now you’ve done this!" She impulsively kissed his cheek, and Joe turned red, seeing Frank’s grin – and Vanessa’s sardonic glance. "How can I ever thank you?"

"It’s okay, April. No thanks necessary. I’m just glad you’re all right." Joe said awkwardly. He inwardly blessed the arrival of the police officer at that moment, who wished to take statements from both of them.

Vanessa gave Joe a quick kiss, but murmured an aside to his brother. "Get him home, Frank!" she whispered, then departed. Joe pulled himself erect in his seat, and concentrated on answering the officer’s questions regarding the explosion.

*****

Vanessa flung herself into the booth, sitting down across from Megan, and grabbed a piece of pizza from the pan in the middle of the table. "I’m sorry I’m late; thanks for ordering – but listen! You’ll never believe what happened!" she gasped. "There was a bomb in April Wayne’s car!"

"What?" Megan stared at her in consternation, her own slice of pizza held poised in one hand. "Is she all right?"

Vanessa nodded, chewing rapidly. "It blew up the car," she managed to say. "but Joe grabbed her before it went off, and got her away from it. Apparently, Jack received a threatening phone call this morning, and the boys were on the watch. Lucky for April, although not for her car." Vanessa sighed then. "But that just adds fuel to the fire."

"What fire?" Megan inquired; she resumed munching on her pizza.

"Joe!" Vanessa snapped. "Can’t he see what’s happening? April Wayne has a big-time crush on him. You’ve seen the way she watches him all the time, haven’t you? When she doesn’t think he’s looking at her? And he’s so blind, he can’t see those hero-worshipping eyes following him everywhere. And after what happened today – she’s practically drooling on his shoes!" She wound a strand of melted mozzarella cheese around her slice of pizza, then took a rather savage bite, scowling.

Megan nodded. "I noticed it. But Vanessa, Joe’s not interested in April; you know that."

"Oh, I know…." Vanessa conceded. "He just thinks of her as a nice kid that he’s helping…Megan, why does he always have to help people?" She angrily stripped the paper from her straw, and stuck it into her cup of Pepsi.

Megan’s blue-green eyes twinkled, but she carefully didn’t meet Vanessa’s gaze. "Tell me again, Van – just how did you happen to meet Joe?"

"Huh? Oh – we met in the parking lot at school – my very first day at Bayport High. Someone had slashed all four of my car tires, and he and Frank offered me a ride and called a tow truck….oh." Color suffused the tall blonde’s face. "Um – he – um – was helping me…."

Megan smiled understandingly. "And if I hadn’t asked Frank for help…well, let’s just say that my life would be considerably different now." She slid over to sit beside Vanessa, encircled her with her arm, and hugged her gently. "And Van – would you really want Joe to be different? Isn’t that part of why we love them – because they are always willing to help someone who needs it?"

Vanessa buried her face against Megan’s shoulder. "I know," she murmured. "But sometimes it’s easy to forget that, when we’re always the ones getting left behind….and I’m always so scared for Joe. I’m afraid something will happen to him. Today – Megan, he could have been killed by that explosion, just as easily as April might have been." She frowned, thinking back. "And they always seem to have to help pretty girls, too!"

Megan began to laugh. "Oh dear – Vanessa, you’re going to kill me for saying this – but you’re starting to sound just like Callie Shaw did!" Vanessa raised her head abruptly, ready for battle but Megan’s infectious giggle worked its usual charm, and Vanessa reluctantly began to laugh too.

"I guess I do." she admitted. "Well, Callie had a point. We do get left behind."

"It seems to me I heard something about you masterminding a rescue plan, last January." Megan reminded her. "You certainly didn’t get left behind then." She hugged Vanessa again. "Let’s talk about something else for a while," she suggested. "What are you giving Joe for his birthday?"

Back at the airfield, the police investigators had finally arrived, and begun their inspection of what remained of April’s car. Frank wanted to stay there while they worked, but the officers grimly ordered him away. Frank gritted his teeth, but obediently removed himself from the area after extracting a promise that he be informed of their findings as soon as possible.

He walked into the hangar and made his way to the employees’ break room, where Joe was stretched out on a battered leather couch. Jack had produced some Excedrin, and the younger Hardy assured his worried older brother that the analgesic was working.

"I’m feeling better; don’t be such a fuss-budget. What have they found out about April’s car?" Joe gingerly pushed himself onto his elbows; finding his back no longer ached so ferociously, he swung into a sitting position.

"I don’t think they’ve found anything yet." Frank scowled. "They won’t let me stay out there and watch them."

Joe snorted. "I wouldn’t either; you’d drive me crazy. Where did April go?"

"She’s in Jack’s office with him. Oh, here they come now." Frank added, looking through the open door. Jack Wayne entered the room, his arm still protectively about his younger sister.

"Joe, how are you doing?" Jack queried, his dark eyes anxiously surveying Joe.

"Almost as good as new." Joe assured him. "April, are you okay now?"

The young girl nodded. "I was just jarred; I’m fine."

"Guys, I want you to go home, okay? Go home and take April with you." Jack spoke seriously, looking from Frank to Joe. "I’ve got some business to take care of here."

Frank shook his head. "I’m sticking around until I hear about April’s car," he stated firmly. "And besides, I’ve got a run to make this afternoon, remember?" he reminded his employer.

"Jack, what kind of business do you have to take care of?" April’s hazel eyes were worried. "Whatever it is, can’t I help?"

"No, sis." Jack hugged her tightly against his side. "It’s time I ended this whole thing, once and for all."

April felt cold chills creep up her spine as she heard her brother’s words. "Jack, what do you mean? What are you going to do?" she asked fearfully.

"April – honey, listen to me. I know I haven’t done anything to earn your trust lately, but please, just trust me for now. I’m going to talk to Fenton, and we’ll work something out so those bas—um, creeps, Deke and Ernie can never hurt you again." Jack’s voice was grim; it was almost as if the boys’ friend had suddenly disappeared, leaving the cold-eyed stranger they had seen a few days before. The effect was chilling, but brief; abruptly Jack’s face softened.

"Guys, please – I want you to stick to April like glue. You two are the only ones I trust her with right now. If anything happened to her, I don’t know what I’d do…but you’ve saved her several times already, and I know she’s as safe as she possibly can be, if you two are with her."

"Jack, she’ll be as safe with Joe as she would be with both of us," Frank tried again to remind Jack of his responsibilities to his work. "I can go ahead and fly my scheduled run, after I find out about the car, and then I’ll go right on home and stick close to them both. You can’t just let your business go."

April sighed. She was beginning to feel like a pet cat again, or possibly a piece of furniture, as they argued over her disposition.

"I don’t care about the run!" Jack snapped now. "The business can go hang, if paying attention to it means jeopardizing April’s safety!"

April’s jaw dropped in amazement. "Jack, do you really mean that? I thought Wayne’s World meant everything to you!"

"More than you? Not likely." Jack wrapped his long arms about her and hugged her close; suddenly April felt much less like a pet cat. "I can manage somehow, no matter what happens to Wayne’s World; I can’t manage if something happens to you."

"I wish you’d let Frank fly the scheduled run, though," April coaxed him. "He’s right; there isn’t any real reason he shouldn’t do it. And I’d feel better about it if he could; please Jack, let him take the run!" She smiled up at her big brother and batted her eyelashes exaggeratedly to make him laugh.

Jack threw up his hands in mock despair. "All right, all right," he capitulated. "Frank can fly the run…after he gets his information from the investigators, that is," he added, remembering the Hardys’ desire to know exactly what had happened to April’s car. "You and Joe head for home, okay?"

She nodded, and was about to speak when a tap on the door interrupted her. One of the police investigators, Sergeant Williams, poked his head into the room. "Mr. Wayne, we’ve found pieces of a bomb, like we’d suspected. It was hooked into the system so that it would go off when the door was opened, but I believe there was a delay switch attached, although we haven’t found one yet, since young Mr. Hardy was able to pull your sister away from the car after she opened the door. We aren’t finished, but that’s the preliminary findings." He looked over at Frank. "Satisfied now?"

Frank nodded. "Thanks, Sergeant Williams." he said. "I’d like to know the complete results later, but that’s enough to go on right now."

The man grinned at him. "Give my regards to your dad," he said, and turned to go back to his work.

"There, your suspicions are vindicated." Joe got to his feet and clapped his older brother on the shoulder. "Now you go on with your flight, and I’ll take April home. I’ll ask Mom if she can come pick you up later, since I’ll have the van – or you can grab a cab."

Jack hugged April once more, and this time she returned his embrace. "Jack, please don’t do anything foolish," she whispered to him.

"Who, me?" He smiled down at her. "You go home with Joe and both of you get some more rest. I’ll see you later." He held out a hand to Joe. "I’m entrusting her to you, Joe; take good care of her."

Joe nodded soberly and tightly gripped Jack’s hand. The three teens filed out of the break room; Jack followed them, and went into his office cubicle. Sitting down behind his desk, he reached for the telephone and began to dial. After a moment, he spoke:

"Fenton? It’s Jack…I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but – I need help."