“I’ve really lost it this time,” Joe muttered to himself as he turned the corner away from Biff’s house.  “Why do I let William do this to me? Give him this much power over me?  He’s just a person like everyone else.  Actually no…he’s just another bully…nothing more, nothing less.  And he only has the power I give him.”  

As Joe spoke, he tried to psyche himself up for seeing his tormentor for the first time in two years, and not freaking out.  

He knew his brother, his father, and probably a long line of people were going to be very pissed off at him for doing this, but Joe felt he had no choice.  

This had to end. And he had to somehow stop it.  

William was his twin.  His responsibility.  

The teen was determined to face his demon, and then try and somehow stall him until Frank and the cavalry arrived.  Joe’s biggest fear right now was that William would flee Con’s house and then continue to dog his steps for the rest of his life; always in the wings, just waiting for his chance to pick up where they left off.  

And while Joe’s body bore the scars of what William had done to him, his mind bore even worse ones of what William had done to Frank.  

William had made Frank watch; had made Frank helpless in his twisted game, and even now, too often, the younger boy saw flickers of guilt cross the older Hardy’s face when he caught sight of his back or when he saw his younger brother limping….And Joe was determined that William would get no more chances to hurt Frank or anyone else he loved in that way.  In any way.  

So, although his stomach threatened him with each passing moment, Joe refused to give in.  He could do this.  He could be stronger than William.  

He had no choice and would do this for the people he loved.  

No.  He needed to sharpen his focus more than that, or else he’d never have the strength to do this…  

Joe would do this for Frank.   

For the only brother he ever knew.

* * *

William was standing on the bed with the window open, having a early morning cigarette, when he heard the sound of a car slowing down and then watched as it came to a complete stop in front of Con’s house.  

A feral glint glowed brightly in his eyes as he recognized the blond-haired teenager who got out and started up the walkway towards the door.  

It was Joe.

* * *

Taking a deep breath and knowing that once he knocked on the door, there would be no turning back, Joe steeled his emotions and lifted his hand to knock.  

He knew Con was a damn good cop – too good to shoot first and ask questions later.  In fact, he was depending on it.

* * *

“Ah, there’s my little sweetie,” William whispered as he smiled to himself, hearing the knock on the front door.  “Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly…”  

Crossing the bedroom, he paused long enough to knock the guest room phone extension off the hook.  

Don’t want anyone interrupting, now do we? he thought as he left the room.

* * *

Con Riley came out of the kitchen just as William had reached the front door; the cop’s handsome face was marred by a frown as he wondered who would be at his door at this hour in the morning.  If it was the paperboy…!  

Quickly motioning ‘Joe’ away from the door and behind him, Con opened it, and then his eyes widened in shock as he saw the mirror image of the boy behind him.  And it didn’t make any sense – William was on his doorstep?

* * *

“Hardy,” Fenton answered his cell phone, his tone clipped and short, and he exchanged a glance with Sam as he heard Frank’s voice on the end.  Moments later, with a grim look on his face, Fenton swerved across the lanes of traffic and accelerated – he just prayed they got to Con’s in time.

* * *

Chief Collig took the call personally. His exhaustion was shoved aside as he heard the excited tone in the other man’s voice.  

“It wasn’t Joe Hardy!”  Dr. Greenland’s voice boomed in his ear, “In my ER yesterday – it wasn’t Joe!  It was his twin, William Doe!”  

The Police Chief paled as his knuckles tightened on the receiver.  “Are you sure?”  

On the other end of the line, the doctor was nodding his head enthusiastically even as he glanced from one chart to the other – of course the chief couldn’t see him.  “Absolutely! I pulled their charts from two years ago, and there is no way that could have been Joe Hardy.  None…whatsoever.”  

Within moments, Collig had thanked him, hung up the phone and was barking orders even as his fingers were hastily dialing Con’s number – the officer needed to be warned!  

And as he heard the unsetting buzzing of the busy signal, a dark comprehension settled on him.  If Con had William at his house…then it was Joe, Collig’s own officers had fired on…and were now even still pursuing!  

Damn William straight to hell, he thought grabbing his coat and keys, do not pass GO and do not collect $200.00….

* * *

Joe’s vibrant blue eyes widened when he saw the look on Con’s face,  but that was nothing to how he felt a moment later when he heard the voice from his nightmares:  “Well Con, aren’t you going to invite my darling brother in?”

* * *

Con never got a chance to react to seeing ‘William’ before he felt the sharp end of a knife being pressed into the small of his back, and his heart sank with deadly comprehension.  This was William.  

“Well, Con aren’t you going to invite my darling brother in?”  

And now he had Joe.

* * *

The officer started to move to shove Joe off the porch and away from his twin, but William was too quick, and anticipating something like that; he grabbed Con’s arm and twisted it behind his back, moving the knife up to his throat.

* * *

A surge of panic momentarily paralyzed Joe, but when he saw the knife put to Con’s throat, he forced himself past it; swallowing it back down to be dealt with later, if there was a later.  

He said in an eerily calm voice, “I see you and Doug went to the same school of Imbecilic Kidnapping Techniques .  What did you excel in?  ‘Twist-an-arm-and-put-the-knife-to-the-throat 101’?”  

William’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled Con further back into the house and Joe followed, closing the door behind him.  He knew his twin well enough to know that if he didn’t, then Con would be dead.  

“I don’t remember you being so funny before, sweetie”, William hissed, and Joe repressed his involuntary shudder at hearing that old familiarity used.  

“Well, the sound of words wasn’t what interested you, now was it?” Joe hoped that no one else could hear his heart as it raced frantically in his chest.  “I’m an awfully funny guy…when you give me a chance.”  Hurry Frank… hurry, Joe thought, stalling for time.  

William snorted.  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said as he then twisted Con’s arm a bit harder until the cop couldn’t contain the gasp.  “Hey Joey, do you remember what my two favorite sounds are?”  

Joe paled - he did, as a two-year-old memory cut right through his bravado…  

…Whispering loud enough for only Peter to hear, William said, “Do you know what my two favorite sounds are in the whole wide world?”  

“N-no,” Peter stammered, amazed at how painful this hold was.  

“The sound of a bone breaking…and the sound of the scream.”  With that he gave Peter’s middle finger a savage twist and was rewarded a second later….  

William twisted Con’s arm just a little tighter; Joe caught Con’s pain-filled gaze; the arm was twisted more….  

Ohmygod, thought Joe, he’s going to break Con’s arm!

* * *

Con’s mind was racing as he tried to come up with some way to get Joe out of here, but it was difficult as William kept twisting his arm, and the pain was inescapable.  

Locking eyes with the younger twin for a brief moment, Con felt his own resolve strengthen as he knew what he had to do.  One look had betrayed the fear that owned Joe, and the cop was desperate to make sure William did not hurt him any more.  

Con had been there in the aftermath….He had seen what William was capable of with his two eyes…he had smelled the coppery smell of blood that permeated the house…  

…With a click the handcuffs came off and as Frank gently pulled his brother from Biff and hugged him into his chest, Con was abhorred by the damage that was done.  

Frank had looked bad enough with his black eye, haunted, tear-streaked face, ravaged wrists and sores on his arm, but that did not prepare the police officer for what he saw when he took a good look at the younger boy….  

As he made his move, Con just prayed Joe would take this opening and escape.  He did not mind dying if it meant the boy survived.  

Rebecca honey, I’m coming home….

* * *

Mustering his strength, Con threw himself backwards onto William as he yelled, “RUN JOE!”  

Caught off guard, William stumbled and went down beneath the heavier man.  

Joe was instantly moving…towards them – nothing in him could make him leave the officer to his wicked twin’s mercy because he was bereft of it!  But just as he reached the scuffling pair, William’s leg shot out and caught Joe hard on his bad knee, and crying out in pain, he went down!  

Hearing Joe, Con glanced towards him but that one moment’s distraction cost him greatly, as the knife that had been at his throat drove deep into his back!  

“NO!” Joe screamed, struggling to his feet as he saw Con’s face contort in pain and knew William had stabbed him, “NO, WILLIAM!”  

Pushing the injured man off his own body, Will pulled the knife out and glared at his twin.  

“This is your choice now, Joseph.  Either you come with me or I finish it,”  Grabbing Con’s hair, he pulled the cop’s head back, exposing the jugular vein.  He pressed the bloodied knife to the neck and then looked at Joe.  “What’s it going to be, brother?”  

Con struggled feebly to push William’s hand away, but the fire in his back left him weak as a kitten, and it was all he could do to stay conscious.  But he had to – Joe’s life might depend on it!  

Joe sagged back to the ground in defeat – he couldn’t do it.  He could not watch William kill Con. It was bad enough that the cop was injured and might die anyway. But he wouldn’t do anything to speed that up.  

Heaven help me, he thought, even as he raised his face to look at his brother.  “I’ll go with you.  Just leave him alone, William…please.”  

Hurry, Frank…hurry….