"They're Hardy's friends," Joe told the men.

"We'll take care of them," Mike promised as Biff and Chet were taken out.

Joe stayed and checked out the place. Finding nothing, he left the room and walked right into Frank and Jonny.

"Joe!" Frank said excitedly, grabbing him. "Mom said Biff had seen you. What happened? How did you get away?" he asked.

"Let go!" Joe demanded angrily, shaking off Frank's hand and not listening to what he had been saying. Joe threw a punch at Jonny, who fell to the floor from the force of the blow, and then took off. Frank, stunned by the sudden attack, quickly recovered and brought Joe down in a flying tackle before he had reached the end of the hallway. Pulling Joe's arm behind his back and grasping the other, Frank pulled Joe to his feet and back down the hallway to where Jonny had his apartment door open. Tony poked his head out to see what the commotion was about.

"Just a little disagreement between brothers," Jonny said with a grin. Tony looked from Jonny to Joe, grinned and closed his door.

Frank pushed Joe forward until they were beside Jonny. "Inside," Frank ordered, releasing his hold. Joe took two steps forward then spun around and delivered a left uppercut to Frank's jaw. Frank crashed backward into Jonny and they both fell to the floor. Joe jumped over the twosome and took off.

Three blocks down he paused to catch his breath. Going to the phone booth on the corner, he called Kelly and told her about being ambushed by the Hardys. A few minutes later, she pulled up in front of the booth and Joe climbed inside the car.

After Joe's departure, Frank got to his feet and helped Jonny up.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Jonny demanded of Frank. "He acted like he didn't even know you."

"Maybe they've brainwashed him," Frank said worriedly.

"Since last night?" Jonny argued. Frank explained about Joe's behavior change after eating the poisoned popcorn. "So you think he's been poisoned again?" Jonny asked.

"No," Frank replied, with a slight shake of his head. "But he may still be suffering some side effects. I'm going to call the hospital and check with his, your, doctor." A few minutes later, Frank returned to Jonny's apartment with a frown on his face.

"He said there should be no side effects after he had been treated," Frank told Jonny. "Let's go next door and talk to Chet and Biff. They should be home by now."

"They aren't here," Jonny said after Frank had knocked for the third time. Frank frowned and pulled out his lock pick kit. Going inside, they noticed nothing unusual.

"Where could they be?" Frank spoke his thoughts aloud. Jonny shook his head and walked back out into the hallway. Frank went to the door and turned around to pull it shut when he saw something lying by the table. Going over he picked it up. "What did you find?" Jonny asked, coming back into the room. "That's Mike's lighter," Jonny said, seeing what Frank held in his hand.

"You sure?" Frank asked. He knew he was going to have gray hair before this mystery was solved.

"Yeah," Jonny assured him. "He once told me it was his lucky lighter. He's had nothing but good luck since he got it."

"Now that he's lost it. let's hope his luck changes," Frank said grimly, worried about Joe and his friends.

Joe and Kelly arrived at Tim's house shortly after she had picked him up. Tim had invited Jonny to stay with him since Joe Hardy had taken hi place, but Joe had gone back to the boarding house to see if it would jar his memory.

Instead, he had run into confusion. He hadn't remembered anything, but he had felt a sense of loss when the Hardy's friends had been captured.

"Jonny," Tim caught his attention. "You did good," he was congratulated. "That's two less snoopers we have to deal with."

"Did you kill them?" Kelly asked the question Joe had been afraid to.

Tim shook his head. "We're keeping them in case the Hardy boys get too close. They won't do anything that would endanger their friends," he ended.

"Come," he urged, ushering them inside and to the dining room. "Dinner is ready and then you need to meet with Steve and Sommer at Tom's."

"Are you coming?" Joe asked.

"As I said before," Tim reminded him, "I prefer to remain a silent partner."

Two hours later, Frank watched Joe and Kelly drive into the garage. Unsure of what to do when he had found Chet and Biff missing, he had decided to follow Sommer Daniels in the hope he would lead him to them or Joe. Jonny had agreed to wait in Biff and Chet's room in case they returned. Daniels' had left his house and gone to Martin's after stopping by a little brownstone and picking up two other men.

Frank waited until Joe and Kelly went inside then got out of the van. He crept up to the window where a light was shining and peered inside. He recognized Temple, Martin and Daniels. He hadn't seen the other man but from Joe's description he had to be Sven Sorrenson.

As Frank watched, Kelly entered the room followed by Joe and the guy who had been involved in his attack the other night. He remembered Joe had said his name was Miller. He saw Kelly sit down on one of the sofas and pull Joe down beside her. She reached up and gave him a kiss. He thought he saw Joe freeze for a fraction of a second but he wasn't sure.

Frank had to get inside to hear what was going on. He made his way to the back of the house and tried the door. Locked. He pulled out his trusty lock pick kit and soon he was inside.

When Kelly started kissing Joe, he had a flash of memory. He saw a slender brunette with brown eyes, laughing up at him, and by her side, also laughing, was the heavy set friend of the Hardys. He tried to concentrate on what was being said but he felt like he was being assaulted as another memory flashed before his eyes and then another. The last two were images of Frank Hardy and an oldr man whom Frank resembled.

"And Jonny," Joe snapped to attention as all eyes focused on him. "You're in charge of getting your old man there." Joe nodded although he had no idea what he was agreeing to.

"Can I be excused for a minute?" Joe asked before the conversation picked back up.

"Of course," Tom told him. "As a matter of fact, I'll come with you." Tom and Joe left the room and headed down the hallway.

"I recall it being mentioned that you weren't into the business part of this," Joe said.

"I'm not," Tom assured Joe. "I just thought it wise to pay a little attention to what my daughter and future son-in-law were getting into," he added, slapping Joe on the back.

"And you approve?" Joe asked in wonder. He didn't know why, but he didn't think much of a man who could be happy his daughter was getting involved in smuggling and distributing drugs.

"Of course, I approve," Tom assured Joe. "Why, I'll do anything I can to help out you two. Those nosey kids in my basement are a testament to how much I'll do for my daughter."

Joe thought the man had a strange way of showing support for someone he cared about, but said nothing. "Are you headed there now?" Joe asked when they reached the restroom.

Tom nodded. "Then I'm going to bed. You kids can finish your plans without me hanging around."

Joe went inside and waited until Tom had left, then he crept after him. Tom checked on the prisoners who were being guarded by Mike, then went upstairs to bed. Joe waited until Tom had been gone for three minutes, then went down the stairs to the basement.

"Hey Mike," he said, coming in and taking a chair across from him. "Tom forgot to ask if you wanted a break."

"Do I?" Mike said, standing up. "I'll be back in about ten," he promised as he left. "I know you got things to do," he added with a conspiratorial wink.

After he had left, Joe went over to Chet and pulled the gag from his mouth.

"I hope you had a good reason for doing this to us," Chet hissed angrily. "Because I don't like being tied up and starved one little bit."

"Shut up!" Joe snarled at him. "The only time you talk is when I ask you a question. Got it?" he demanded, grabbing Chet's collar and holding his fist up to Chet's surprised face.