The next day was glorious and the family got an early start on the day, arriving at the marina at 7:00 a.m.  The boys had been so excited they had hardly slept, and were raring to go.  It wasn’t every day they got to go on a cabin cruiser…or spend the whole day with their mother and father.

Frank already decided this was going to be best day ever.  Joe was just convinced that there was going to be pirate treasure and was already making elaborate plans on how to find it.  He had even stuck a small compass in his pocket…just in case.

As they drove down to the dock, Fenton was surprised to see very few people around yet.  He would have thought to see lots of other enthusiastic boaters, but looking at the beaming faces in the backseat, he decided no one else was as enthusiastic as his crew.

Seeing the berth they were looking for, Fenton pulled the car in next to the boat and parked it.  With little prompting the boys were out of the car to help their mother load the picnic stuff onto the boat. 

“Joey…umm,” Fenton cleared his throat and pointed to a sign that said all dogs must be kept on a leash while on the public dock. Groaning, Joe fumbled around the back seat until he found a long black lead and attached it to Hero’s collar.  Holding up his hand he showed his father that he was holding the leash and then proceeded to catch up with his brother.

* * *

The boys had just gone back to the car to grab their coats when they saw three big men standing next to it.  Joe’s fingers tightened on Hero’s leash as he shrunk back behind Frank, who put a protective arm around his younger brother. He knew about Joe’s fear of strangers and he also knew his little brother had a good reason to be afraid.

Fenton was only a couple of steps behind the boys, and as soon as the men saw him, one of them pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. “Easy Hardy…nice and slow and no one gets any extra holes in them.”

The detective was caught in a bad place.  His sons were between him and the three criminals whom he had the displeasure of recognizing.  They were small time crooks that he had put away a couple of years ago.  He couldn’t believe they would pull something like this…it wasn’t their style.

“Put the gun down, Stokes.  You don’t want to shoot anyone,” Fenton said, moving slowly towards his sons.

He could see the boys were frozen by the spectacle of this man holding a gun on them, and he wanted to get to them and get them to safety.  “This is between me and you.  Leave my family out of it.”

Stokes, the guy holding the gun, shook his head and then cocked the hammer, stilling Fenton’s movements.  “Don’t think so.  We’re going to take a nice little boat ride and if everyone plays nice, then maybe you’ll get to put your children to bed tonight….If not…”  his voice trailed off, leaving no doubt in the detective’s mind of what would happen if they didn’t go along with them.

Behind him, Laura had just come up on deck, and gasped as she saw what was happening, but before she could retreat, one of the other guys with Stokes called out, “Hold up honey, we wouldn’t want you missing out on this family reunion.”  Laura froze, not knowing what else to do.

* * *

Frank Hardy had never been so afraid in his life.  He could feel Joe shaking, and wracked his brains to think of some way to get himself and his baby brother out of this.  But his 7-year-old mind drew a blank. He could see no way out except getting shot. And he didn’t really favor that idea at all.

Just then Stokes aimed the gun right at Joe and said to him, “Okay Blondie, first things first.  We need to get rid of the dog.”  The crook wasn’t a fool.  That dog was huge, and he wasn’t stupid enough to try anything until he knew it wasn’t going to pose a problem.

Joe, however, went into hysterics as he thought Stokes meant to shoot the dog. “Please, mister….Don’t shoot my dog…not Hero…No…Please!”  If he was shaking before, it was nothing compared to what he was doing now.

Frank glared definitely at the man.  No one messed with his brother. “If you do anything to his dog you’re gonna have to answer to me!”

Fenton’s heart actually stopped beating as he heard the threat come from his 7-year-old’s mouth, but to his relief, Stokes thought it was funny and he hurried to calm the kids down before the blond kid had a breakdown or something. “Relax kid.  I ain’t gonna shoot your dog.  Tie him to the car…that’s what I meant.”

Relieved, Joe cautiously moved to the car door and tied Hero to it, stopping to give him one final hug before he scurried back to Frank.

* * *

The dog stood and watched what was going on as the family got back on the cabin cruiser with the three new men, started up the boat’s engine and then left the pier.

He wasn’t concerned when his boy tied him to the car door handle.  However he did get anxious by the feelings that were radiating from the boy as he hugged him.  And his anxiety was coupled with confusion as for the first time ever when the boy had left him somewhere, he didn’t tell him to ‘stay.’

Hero was a blindly obedient dog.  His little boy didn’t say “stay,” so that gave him some leeway in his dog mind.

Standing up at the end of the leash, the huge dog whined softly as it watched the boat moving away from the marina. And then it began pacing back and forth as much as the leash would allow.

His canine senses told him something was not right.

And Hero was right.

* * *

As the boat pulled away from its moorings, the family was taken down below by the other two men while Fenton piloted the boat under Stokes’ guidance.

The detective’s mind was busy at work trying to come up with some plan to get his family out of this.  Stokes must have realized this because he decided that Fenton needed something to distract him.

So he waited for a few moments before calling down below, “Hanes, bring the brats up.”

“What about the wife?”  Hanes called back as Laura protested loudly about them taking her sons.

“Ah, what the hell…bring the whole god-damned family,” Stokes shot back, and seconds later Laura, Frank and Joe were standing on the top deck of the boat.  From the wheel house, Fenton could see them as Stokes stood next to him with his hands still firmly on the gun.

“Such a nice family Hardy,” Stokes said as Hanes stood with the other three Hardys.  The third guy, Peterson, also had a gun, and his was trained on the family as encouragement for Fenton to do nothing stupid.  “Now here’s the deal: I need you to take me to a little island just east of here…it’s going to take a couple of hours, but don’t worry, there’s a nice old fisheries shack we can stay in overnight.  Then in the morning, we’ll make our way back here and go our separate ways.  Do you understand?”

Fenton nodded.

“Good,” Stokes said, smiling at Laura and the boys, “you know I think this will work out just fine.”  And then Stokes nodded at Hanes, and before Fenton had any idea of what was going to happen, Hanes grabbed Joe and tossed him over the railing and into the cold, dark waters of Barmet Bay.

“JOEY NO!” Fenton yelled, but before he could do anything, Peterson had grabbed Frank and thrust his gun into the boy’s temple.

“One wrong move Hardy, and you’ll lose both sons,” Stokes hissed as Laura screamed and tried to break free from Hanes, who grabbed her in a strong grip.

“Why?”  Fenton yelled, “Why?”

“Because I want you to know I don’t care about you or your family.  If you don’t do what you’re told, then I’ll kill your other son…and then your wife.  Do you understand me?”

Fenton nodded as he glanced over his shoulder for any signs of his youngest son.  But he saw nothing except the black water.  The child didn’t even have a lifejacket on.

“HEY!”  Before anyone could stop him, Frank grabbed Peterson’s arm and bit it as hard as he could.  When the big man reflexively released him, the dark haired boy crossed the deck in a couple of steps and then dived overboard.

Frank wasn’t too worried about his mom and dad, they were adults and his Dad could take care of them…but Joey…now that was another thing.

The older boy knew too well that his younger brother was not a strong swimmer, and without a life jacket, Joe wouldn’t last long in the water.  He’d drown.

And Frank wasn’t going to let that happen…not if he thought he could help him.  So with no thought for himself, he had dived into the cold water just praying he wasn’t too late.

* * *

On the shore, the sensitive ears of the large black dog picked up the distressed cry of his boy before the child hit the water. Straining at his leash, he felt the instinct of his breeding kick into full gear. 

Newfoundlands were rescuers.  They were bred to dive into the frigid black Atlantic off the fog-bound rock they were named after, to rescue people, boats or whatever they were sent to retrieve.  And there was nothing going to stop this dog from answering the call of its nature.

Throwing its powerful chest against the restraint of the leash, the canine powerhouse gave one savage lunge and the clasp holding the leash to the collar gave way.  Then at full gallop the dog reached the end of the wharf and dove into the water with a resounding splash.

His boy was out there…that’s all he knew.

* * *

Joe had never felt so cold in his entire life.  When he hit the water, the coldness knocked the breath out of him and when he surfaced, he was gagging and spitting up bay water.

Treading to the best of his ability, he quickly became aware of the dangerous situation he was in as he felt a creeping numbness in his arms and legs already.  In front of him he saw the boat cruising away and panic gripped him.

They had left him…left him to drown.

* * *

Frank tried to brace himself for what he knew was coming but even then he hit the water like a ton of bricks.  It was cold!  Horribly cold.

Pushing himself back up to the surface, he shivered as he turned to try and follow the boat’s wake.  He had to find Joe and soon. 

* * *

Doggedly Hero swam.  It was what he was born to do and he had the webbed toes to prove it. 

* * *

Joe felt his strength being sapped by the cold.  His mind started to become befuddled and he was having trouble trying to remember what he was doing.  He would stop swimming, start to sink and then remember again.  It was a tiring routine and he knew that within a few minutes it wouldn’t matter anyway.

He’d be dead.

Just as he felt his final strength drain away and his body sunk beneath the water, a hand reached out and grabbed him, forcing him back up above the water.

“N-not th-thinking of q-quitting, are you-you?”  Frank’s teeth chattered as he helped his brother stay above water.

Weary blue eyes blinked at him tiredly, and Frank had his answer.  His brother was plumb tuckered out.

Trying to keep Joe’s head above water as he treaded water, Frank suddenly didn’t know what to do.  He had not thought any further than finding Joe, but now that he had, he realized the perilous position they were in.  There were no boats in sight, and land was a fair swim away.  He wasn’t sure if he could make it himself, let alone towing his brother.

And then he saw the most beautiful sight in the world.

* * *

Fenton couldn’t think.  Beneath his feet he could hear his wife’s wails but he was powerless to do anything about it.

The boys were gone…and he not been able to do anything about it. 

A man of action, he was not used to the position in which he now found himself.

He was their father…their sworn protector…he would have died for his sons, either of them…without a second thought. 

But he hadn’t.

He was still alive and the boys?  They were gone.  Both of them.

There was little doubt in either parent’s mind that the boys had perished.  Joe wasn’t a strong swimmer but even Frank, if he had been able to find his brother, wouldn’t have been able to get them back to safety...neither boy had a life jacket and there had been no other crafts anywhere around them.

Taking a deep breath, Fenton tried to force himself past his shock and grief.  He still had a job to do and Laura to think about.  He needed to get them out of this but even more he needed to see that these men paid for what they did.  He owed the boys at least that much…there was nothing else he could do…but he could do that.