"You know what, you little brat!" the man hissed. "Tell me what you did with the packages of coke!"

"Tell us!" It was the other man speaking now. "We don’t want to have to hurt you, kid; just tell us where you put it!"

Where did I put…must have left stuff in… "My car," April murmured thickly. "In the trunk – of my car….Go away, I wanna sleep…." She closed her eyes, effectively ending the conversation.

Ernie and his companion stared at each other over her head. "She put it in her car?" Ernie said blankly.

"She must have. She’s too dopey to be lying to us. Come on, let’s get out of here and find out where her car is. We can contact that guy at the DMV for the plate number…."

The door closed behind them. April slept peacefully on.

*****

"Come on, we’ve got to go back to the hospital!" Joe spun the wheel of the van, executing a neat U-turn across the fortunately deserted highway. "If those two creeps who clobbered Jack get to April, who knows what they might do to her?" He floored the gas pedal, shoving Jack and Frank back into their seats.

When they reached the hospital, Joe pulled up in front of the entrance. "You two go on in; I’ll park the van and be right there." Frank and Jack leaped out and hurried into the building, while Joe shot into the nearest parking space, hastily locked the van, and dashed after his brother and friend.

By the time Frank and Jack reached April’s room, Joe had caught up with them; he had taken the stairs while the other two were stuck on the elevator at the second floor, waiting for a large group of visitors to decide whether or not they were in the right wing of the hospital. The three young men burst unceremoniously into April’s room…and stopped abruptly.

April was lying quietly asleep in her bed, her breathing slow and even. Jack walked over to stand beside her, shaking her gently.

"April? Hey sis…?"

Responding to her brother’s familiar voice, April opened her eyes and stared groggily up at him. "Jack?…Mmmm….go ‘way, ‘n lemme sleep, huh?"

"You okay, April?" No more anger in Jack’s voice now; nothing but tender concern.

"Uh-huh….just weird dreams….talk to me – " April yawned deeply and closed her eyes again. "—later, ‘kay?"

"Okay, honey." Jack smoothed her hair, and turned to the watching Hardys. "Are you convinced she’s okay?" he hissed, all the tenderness vanishing from his tone in a flash. "Can we go now?"

"Yeah, we can go." Joe wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that April was all right, or angry with Jack’s insistence on getting the stash of cocaine. "Sorry, I guess this was a wild goose chase."

"I think I’ll stay with April, just in case." Frank said quietly, seating himself in the chair beside the bed. "You go ahead and take Jack to the crash site, Joe. But remember, it’s a fair hike in; be sure you’ve got all the stuff you need."

"Yeah, I know," Joe nodded. "but we should be back in four hours, tops. Before dark, anyway." He and Jack departed quietly, leaving Frank to his guard duty and his thoughts.

I know April said she was fine…but she’s so doped up, a buffalo stampede could have gone through here and she might not have noticed it! I wonder if I should ask the nurses if any of them saw people coming in here…? Frank got to his feet, following a sudden impulse, and began to quietly search the room for evidence of anything amiss. Nothing out of place in the closet…or the bathroom…. He stepped around the end of April’s bed, eyes scanning the floor. What the…? A small brown piece of something caught his eye, and he bent over and picked it up, turning it curiously in his hand. It’s a…what is it? Unable to identify the object by sight alone, Frank raised it to his nose and sniffed – and froze. Part of a cigar…Jack doesn’t smoke, and neither do Joe or I; the doctors or nurses are out…that guy in the forest and at the airfield! They were here!

He turned to April, intending to awaken and question her about her visitors, then halted, reconsidering it. She had been nearly incoherent with sleep when Jack tried to talk to her; it wasn’t likely she would be more alert now. And if she is more awake, she’ll bite my head off! he thought, grinning a little. So let’s let her sleep for now, and get hold of Joe and Jack – they need to know about this!

Frank picked up the telephone receiver and dialed Joe’s cell phone number. He wasn’t afraid of waking April, but he kept his voice quiet, all the same.

"Joe? Bad news, bro…they were here, ahead of us….I just found a piece of a cigar in April’s room; do you suppose they got any information from her? You can bet they tried asking her where the stuff was…see if you can get any ideas from Jack about what she might have told them….Yeah, you bet I’ll be watchful, now. And you watch yourself too…okay, bye."

In the van, Joe spared a quick glance from the road to look at Jack. "Frank found a piece of a cigar in April’s room, Jack. Those hoods were there. Now, tell me – and this is important – if they woke her up and asked her where the stash was, what might April have told them?"

"I don’t know!" Jack snapped. "How could she tell them anything? She didn’t know anything! She didn’t know the bricks were there; how could she tell anyone where they were hidden!"

Joe scowled. "Is it worth it, Jack? Is making a little extra money worth knowing you’ve endangered your little sister’s life? I guess you can risk your own life if you want to – but you’ve put April in jeopardy too!"

"She put herself in danger when she took my flight!" Jack answered hotly. "I’ve done everything I can to keep her out of this – but she keeps barging in where she’s not supposed to, and she wouldn’t listen when I’ve tried to protect her!"

Joe held tight to his temper. "She wouldn’t need protection if you hadn’t gotten involved in this in the first place!" he growled, his teeth clenched so tightly that his jaw ached. "Did you think of that, Jack?" Suddenly, there was too much anger to hold in any longer, and Joe burst into furious speech again. "What in hell were you thinking? You worked with Dad so many times, on so many cases, flying him here and there. You know the score, Jack – how could you, of all people, turn to running drugs?"

From the corner of his eye, Joe saw Jack’s hands clench into fists and his arm rise, and he braced himself for a sudden blow, hoping he could keep the van on the road if he was attacked. But after a few seconds, Jack exhaled a long breath, and lowered his hand.

"Joe, can’t you admit that you don’t always know everything?" Jack’s deep voice was raw with tension. "There may be some things that not even the sons of Fenton Hardy can solve. Things you don’t understand."

"So tell me." Joe said quietly. "Tell me, Jack – make me understand."

"I can’t," Jack whispered. "Joe, just take me to wherever you hid the drugs. Help me that much, please? As soon as I give those guys what they want, April won’t be in danger anymore…okay?"

"It’s not okay, no…but I’ll take you there." Joe replied. What has happened to Jack? Oh Lord, what should I do? Turn him in to the police? I can’t just shut my eyes to this…but how can I turn in a friend like Jack – and ruin April’s life?

*****

Joe and Jack reached the crash site nearly two hours later. Their walk had been a silent one, for the most part, each young man busy with his own thoughts. As they neared the little pond where April had attempted to set the plane down on the water, Jack stared around at the trees, noting the snapped-off limbs with horror. She could have been killed…. He stopped beside the plane, staring at the crumpled mass of metal. Joe paused, then shrugged and went into the trees; Jack didn’t need to see where they’d hidden the cocaine, he merely wanted to retrieve it.

Jack took a few steps into the plane’s interior, then retreated again. His dark eyes were filled with pain. I was supposed to be on this flight…not April! She came so close to dying, right here…oh baby sister, what have I done to you? What have I done to us?

Joe’s return roused him from his despairing thoughts. The younger Hardy’s jaw was tight with anger, and he tossed the packages at Jack’s feet with scorn.

"There it is, Jack! Your precious cargo! Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth risking April’s life?"

Jack Wayne closed his eyes to keep Joe from seeing the tears that filled them.

*****

Frank had been reading magazines snitched from the waiting room for a couple of hours, when April stirred in her sleep. He glanced up, thinking that she might be going to awaken, but instead of opening her eyes, she began thrashing about, moaning and muttering, obviously in the grip of a nightmare.

"No…come on, work, you stupid thing! Mayday – Mayday….Jack – Jack?….I’m going down…Jack! Somebody, answer me – help me!" April nearly shrieked the last words, but still her eyes didn’t open. She whimpered softly, trapped in her dream.

Frank bent over the bed and grasped her shoulders tightly. "April – April! Wake up! You’re having a nightmare. You’re okay, wake up!" He eased his grip, and began patting her, more gently. "Come on, kiddo, it’s okay; take it easy."

For a few seconds she lay limply, gasping for breath. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared blankly upward. Frank wasn’t sure she realized he was there, or if she did, if she knew who he was.

"April?" he whispered. "It’s okay, it was just a dream. You’re all right." Frank knew all too well what it was like to be tormented by nightmares; ever since January he’d had recurrent dreams in which Dan Sullivan, Megan, and Callie Shaw figured prominently. More than once he’d been awakened by an anxious Joe shaking him, trying to reassure him that all was well. "April?" he repeated.

"The plane…" she whimpered. "the trees – "

"It’s all right; it’s over. Don’t think about it." Frank tried to comfort her. "Just relax and go back to sleep." He still doubted that she was aware of who he was, but it made no difference; the only thing that mattered right now was that she stop re-living the plane crash.

April nodded slightly and obediently closed her eyes; she was asleep in less than two minutes. Frank settled back into his chair, intending to keep a more watchful eye on her from then on.

About four o’clock in the afternoon, April stirred again. Frank waited; after a few moments, she turned her head and yawned, then blinked her eyes open.

"Hey, sleepyhead!" Frank leaned into her line of vision, smiling.

"Frank? What are you doing here?" She yawned again. "Or am I dreaming again?"

"Nope, not dreaming; I’m real." He tapped her nose lightly. "See? Did you dream I was here?" He was hesitant to ask what she had dreamed; he didn’t want to remind her of her nightmare.

"No, not you." April shivered, then tried to marshal her thoughts. "I dreamed about the crash, but before that….It was somebody else…not Jack, or Joe, either. It was so weird…I think I dreamed about Danny DeVito, Frank, isn’t that strange?"

"Dreaming about Danny DeVito is definitely strange," Frank conceded. "what did you and Danny do, in your dream?"

"He wanted something…he wanted the groceries." She stopped and blinked, considering what she had just said. "Now that’s just plain stupid! Why would anyone want my groceries?"

Frank had to laugh. "I can’t imagine," he said. Groceries? They asked her about groceries? This doesn’t add up! "What did you say to him?"

"I told him – " she yawned again, widely. "I told him they were in the trunk of my car. But I never get Coke anyway; I buy Pepsi."

Frank closed his eyes a moment. Coke! They asked her about coke – and she told them it was in her car…. If they believed her….

*****

Joe turned the van into the parking lot of the cargo companies’ airfield. He drove around to the back door of the building, and stopped, putting the vehicle in Park and setting the emergency brake.

"There. Delivered, all safe and sound." Joe’s voice was cold. He didn’t look over at the man seated next to him. Jack reached behind his seat and retrieved the two bricks of cocaine, and opened the door.

"Thanks, Joe. This is important; you’ve got to understand…"

"Just get out, Jack. Take your damn stash and get out." Joe released the brake and put the van into gear. Jack quickly got out, slamming the door just in time, as Joe began moving across the parking lot toward the exit.

Driving past the other cars parked in the lot, Joe’s attention was caught by the sight of a shabby Land Cruiser; somehow, it looked familiar, but he didn’t recall exactly when or where he’d seen it before. He was nearly to the exit when he noticed two men standing by a dark green Neon. They were pulling and jiggling at the little car’s trunk, apparently unable to get it open. Automatically slowing, and watching in his rear-view mirror, Joe saw one of the men pick up a crowbar and start to pry at the trunk’s edge.

Hey, what’s going on? They’re going to scratch the paint something awful with that…wait a minute! Joe slammed on the brakes and twisted in his seat, squinting at the scene. That’s the two that were here this morning; the ones that beat up Jack! He shoved the gearshift into Reverse and gunned the motor, heading back toward the little Neon. The ones Frank and I saw at the crash site!

Sparks and Evergreen don't own the Hardy Boys characters, they belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation, We've just borrowed them for an adventure or two. We will put them back when we're done with them. We do claim copyright to the original characters and themes in this story. Please do not borrow them without the expressed permission of the authors.