"I didn’t mean to drag your family into this!" Fenton exclaimed in frustration. "I had no idea anything was even going on."

"Fenton, there is no way you can be held responsible. Who would have thought that they would have followed you here to Emerald Beach!" Laura said softly. She reached over and patted Fenton’s hand. "We do not hold you responsible for Adam’s disappearance."

Fenton wryly smiled and returned the gesture.

"Dad, there is no way you can hold yourself to Frank’s disappearance either," Joe assured him. Fenton looked over at his younger son. He could tell just by looking into Joe’s deep blue eyes that he was just as worried about Frank. Those same eyes always gave him comfort. Maybe it was because Laura Hardy had the same reassuring blue eyes. "I just wished I would have kept better track of him."

"Right now we need to get it together. Our boys are out there somewhere and we need to find them," Laura spoke up. "Have you heard from your people?"

"Not yet," Fenton replied. "I just wished there was a lead. Just a simple lead!"

"Have you had it set up where they can trace your cell phone call?" Carl asked.

"Yes, but they said it would take a while and even then they could not guarantee that they would get a location. They would at least know what tower is being used at the very least," Mr. Hardy answered.

"That is better than nothing," Jason piped up. He looked over at Joe. For one moment, Joe looked back at him and the two boys made eye contact. Jason could almost sense that Joe could read his mind, just like Adam. Jason reached over and patted Joe on the shoulder. "We are going to find them."

The pat on the shoulder reminded him of Frank. It was the same gesture that his older brother used to make him feel calmer. It was a small gesture, but it meant a lot to Joe. It was like Frank was standing there, reassuring him that things will work out.

"I guess I had better call my Laura in case they contact her first," Fenton said as he reached for his cell phone.

It was then that the phone rang. Fenton waited a couple of rings before he answered it.

"Hello… you had better not harm either one of my boys…what do you want…" there was a long pause.

"How do I even know that they are still alive…yes I hear you…" then there was another long pause.

"Joe… are you all right…is Frank with you…now calm-" Fenton cut his conversation short and motioned frantically for someone to hand him paper and a pencil. He quickly started to mark down a series of dots and dashes. Jason recognized it immediately as being Morse code. Jason knew a little Morse code from the Boy Scouts. He remembered that when Adam and he would be in trouble, they would use walkie talkies to communicate across the hallway. Since they could not talk, they would use Morse code. Adam remembered the code! Now if it just made sense! Jason’s heart raced with excitement.

Fenton was still taking down the message when he abruptly shouted out, "HEY!" It was then that he hung the phone up. All eyes were on him as he relayed the information.

"It was Adam. His voice was weak, but he seemed to be fairing well. I didn’t pick up on what he was doing until I heard the pecking in the phone. He was crying and making a scene while they were making fun of him. He used it as a diversion to the pecking. But the pecking got on the one man’s nerves and that is when he took the phone away and hung it up," Fenton replied. He looked down at the paper and hoped they would be able to piece it together. "You have one smart boy there.. I almost didn’t get what he was doing when he started to cry."

Carl and Laura smiled wryly.

"I just can’t believe he remembered that from Boy Scouts!" Jason remarked. "It must have been in his long term memory thank goodness."

"Has he seen Frank?" Joe asked nervously.

"No, but I am sure they will be placed together soon. I just have that hunch by the way the man was talking. They demanded the release of the Cooper brother. Along with his release, they want $500,000. That is $250,000 per boy. If we do not give them the money or Cooper, they said they would take the payment out of the boys literally. If we gave them nothing, then both boys would be killed."

"So your hunch was right. It is James Cooper," Carl said, taking a breath. It seemed like an eternity that Fenton was on the phone and he wished so much to hear Adam’s voice himself. But he knew that Fenton had to play the part just as much as Adam did just to keep the boys alive and Jason and Joe safe.

Fenton nodded. "It is very important that Joe play the part of Adam. They think they have the Hardy brothers and we need to think that as long as possible. They gave us 48 hours to comply or we would never find any trace of the boys again."

"Let’s look at his message. Maybe between us all, we will be able to figure it out," Joe said, getting up to look at the message on the table. It wasn’t long before they were able to piece it together letter by letter.

"He must have heard the name James Cooper possibly," Joe said, looking at the written words.

"He must be out in the Old State Park area," Jason exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "There are several old houses out that way."

"Then it should be easy to find them!" Joe said, jumping up beside him with excitement.

"Actually, it won’t be that easy. There was a flood five years ago and many of the people who lived out that way were moved by the state to other areas. All that is out there are a few trailers that people have moved into over the years. However, there are several houses still standing that they could be in."

"We need to get a hold of our contacts Carl. I think you might have a better chance at arranging something through the state concerning Cooper’s brother. Maybe we can pull off a trick of our own," Fenton remarked. "We will need to pull all our resources. I will contact mine, but I think Carl stands the better chance."

"Fenton, you know as well as I do that they will not just up and release Cooper with a half a million dollars," Carl replied.

"I know, but they might be able to fake it or bide us enough time to be able to locate them," Fenton said with confidence. "I am going to contact the cell phone company and see if they were able to get a trace on that call."

"While you do that, I will round up Chuck and Alyssa. We can all go and search the houses out in that area," Jason said, going over to pick up his cell phone and keys.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" all the adults said at once.

"While you are doing your end, we can possibly locate them," Jason pleaded. "As Mr. Hardy said, we need to find them and the sooner the better."

"I can not risk two more lives here," Carl said sternly, eyeing his oldest son.

"I really think it is a good idea Mr. Kramer. Jason and his friends know that area. We can be looking it over as you do your part. Besides we will be safe. They think they have the Hardy brothers. That is who they wanted in the first place. If they wanted Adam and Jason Kramer, they would have told you by now," Joe pointed out to the group.

Mr. Kramer sighed while Fenton sat there in thought.

"Fine, but you must keep in contact at all times. If you spot ANYTHING, you are to notify us IMMEDIATELY. You should take your mother’s car so they will not recognize it," Carl started in. "You are to take NO CHANCES!"

"Yes sir," both boys said together.

"You heard him, right Joe?" Fenton inquired. He knew how his younger son could be about rules. He was hoping Jason would keep Joe in line just like Frank always did when they were on cases.

Joe nodded and rolled his eyes as he always did.

Jason ran to the phone and got a hold of Chuck. In no time, they had a plan already to go. Chuck would pick up Alyssa and search the northern end of Old State Park Road while Jason and Joe traveled the southern end of the road. They would meet somewhere along the road to compare notes. They would also keep in contact by cell phone.

Jason and Joe quickly made their way towards the door. Laura stopped them and hugged each of them. "Be careful."

Both boys assured her that they would be very careful. Joe felt a little better. It was like getting a hug from his own mother, who he missed at that very moment.

When they made their way down the driveway, Jason spoke up and broke the silence.

"Thank you for backing me up back there."