"Why? It was just a couple of stranded teenagers?" Cross responded.

"I recognized that boy in the car. He was with the Hardy Boys the other day at the beach," James said sternly. "Now we are going to have to pick up and move to plan B."

"Why don’t we just kill them now and forget it all," Samuel sounded. "They have caused us enough problems and I am not in the mood to sit in jail because their old man found us."

"WHAT!" James exploded. "I WANT THAT MONEY! You will follow MY plan to the letter. Got it?"

Adam and Frank could hear a scuffle. "Fine, but you had better have a good plan B," Samuel remarked.

"I think you will like plan B personally. We are going to take them to our new place, way up in the mountains where no one would ever be able to find them. Then I will let old Fenton talk to his baby boys one last time to keep him going and then I will let you have your way with them," James said with a laugh. Samuel followed with an even louder laugh.

"I can do anything I want?" Samuel’s voice replied with an evil tone.

"They will be all yours after we get that phone call done to daddy," James answered.

Adam and Frank looked at each other in the darkness of the basement. They knew that now was the time. If they went to the second location, they would probably never make it back alive. The boys feverishly discussed and planned their next move.

Chuck had finally reached an area where they could call for help. Jason was excited to learn about the whereabouts of his brother and Frank.

"I will relay this to Dad and I will meet you along the road," Jason answered with joy in his voice as he ended the phone call. Joe, who had heard the short conversation, was also excited to learn that his own brother was safe… for now.

Soon Jason and Joe saw the familiar car driving towards them. As the four friends met on the road, Jason told Chuck to meet him at the Old State Road Park, just up the road a mile. They did not want to take the chance that someone had followed them and the park was safely off the road and within cell phone signal.

As Chuck and Alyssa got out of the car, Jason’s excitement turned into worry. He knew Alyssa and Chuck enough to know that something was wrong.

"What is it that you haven’t told us?" Jason immediately asked, the worry showing on his face.

Chuck began to explain what had happened to Alyssa. The whole time, Chuck kept his arms around her for physical and emotional support.

"I shouldn’t have let her go in there," Chuck said sadly. "It is my fault. I should have put my foot down and never left her alone."

"NO CHUCK!" Alyssa screamed in anger. "I make my own decisions. I knew we had to get into that house to know for sure if Adam and Frank were in there. Their lives depended on it and I will never regret anything if it keeps my Adam alive."

Jason walked over to her and gave her a hug. Alyssa felt so much better after Jason’s response. "Thank you Jason, for understanding."

"You didn’t do anything wrong Alyssa," Jason said in a comforting voice as he hugged her tightly. "We will make that clown pay, trust me. I would say that Adam will definitely take care of that."

"I just hope Adam is not mad at me over this. He had to have heard everything," Alyssa said with tears in her eyes. "I hope he understands that I had to go along with it to keep us all alive."

"You did what you thought was best Alyssa," Joe spoke up. "You used your head and that is the sign of a good detective. I admire that in you. I guarantee you that if my brother or myself can get our hands on him, we will make him regret everything."

"So you think Adam will understand? You know how he can be Jason," Alyssa said, looking at the three boys.

"If he doesn’t, we will take him out back personally and knock some sense into his head," Chuck said with a grin. Alyssa returned the gesture, but she was still upset.

"The important thing is that we know where they are and help is on the way," Jason said. Then he turned to Alyssa. "Thanks to you." Alyssa just blushed as she leaned back against the car.

"Dad will be here shortly with backup. It is only a matter of minutes and Adam and Frank will be safe," Joe remarked, looking towards the road. However, he knew as well as everyone else that minutes can often see like an eternity when someone you love is in danger. Everyone vowed not to look at the clock and prayed that the minutes would only be seconds.

Down the road, though, things were moving faster than expected. Within seconds, Adam and Frank were face to face with Samuel and Cross. James had left to prepare the second hideaway, leaving Cross and Samuel with strict instructions.

"We are going to make a getaway a little harder," Samuel snorted as he pulled out a set of handcuffs. The two boys were handcuffed together by the wrists. "Isn’t this a cute sight? I bet Daddy would love to see his sons right now. Bonded together, soon to be forever."

The men jerked Frank and Adam forward, assisting them up the rope ladder. It was difficult being strapped together, but the boys knew that they needed to get out of that basement to make their desperate move. Frank was the first to get to the top of the ladder after Cross. Samuel was behind Adam, who was still climbing the last part of the ladder. Adam looked up and spotted Frank. He flung himself off the ladder, faking a perfect fall. His feet crashed solidly into Samuel’s face, knocking the sturdy man to the dirt floor below. Frank, who had braced himself for the fall, held onto Adam’s hand as he quickly regained his balance on the ladder. Just as Adam surfaced and his feet were firmly planted on the floor, he signaled to Frank to look behind him. Instinctively, Frank spun around and his foot landed a well executed Karate kick to the stomach. The hit sent Cross flying across the kitchen and into the set of cabinets on the other side. Knowing that they needed every second to escape, Adam turned around and slammed the trap door down just as Samuel was about to make his way out of the basement. All that could be heard was a thud as Samuel hit the dirt floor again. The two boys ran out the back door and surveyed their options. Across a small field, it appeared that there was a large forest.

"We have to make it to the woods! That is part of the Jefferson State Forest. The Hocking River runs through there. Once we get to the river, I can get us to safety," Adam yelled.

"What about dad?" Frank asked, knowing that reinforcements were coming soon.

"We don’t know if Cooper is going to come back. If he does, he will do it by car and we don’t want to be on that road. The woods will give us the coverage we need," Adam replied.

"Don’t make me have to drag you across this field now, bro," Frank said with a short grin. With that, Frank nodded and the boys took off across the field.

Adam didn’t know how fast of a runner Frank was, but it was soon apparent that through that he was a fast runner. Each boy kept in step, careful not to trip each other up since they were still handcuffed to each other.

They were just a fifty yards from the woods when they heard gun shots. Adam’s heart raced once again, not wanting to take the time to look back.

"KEEP GOING! WE’RE ALMOST THERE!" Adam cried out in between the pants for breath.

Frank kept his stride, but then another shot rang out. Adam felt the wind off of the bullet as it passed by. Then another shot rang out.