"Your brother is fine so far," Carper smiled at Frank, who glared back at him. "And you can keep him that way. All you have to do is transfer the file the young lady installed on your computer onto the disc that’s in there. But do it quickly. Otherwise…" he shrugged, letting the word hang in the air ominously.

"Otherwise?" Frank repeated questioningly.

Without looking away from Frank, Carper nodded once. With no warning, Ross turned and punched Joe hard in the stomach.

Unable to see what was happening, Joe couldn’t prepare for the painful blow. He gasped and fell forward, but was pulled to a sharp and sudden stop by the ropes holding him rigidly in place. Joe inhaled sharply as his shoulders screamed in protest.

"Joe!" Frank lunged forward to help his brother and immediately found himself face down on the floor with a gun pressed to the back of his head.

"Not too bright," Carper commented, grabbing a handful of Frank’s hair. Yanking hard, he pulled Frank’s head up so he now had a clear view of his younger brother. He could only watch helplessly as Joe was hit with two more quick blows to the stomach.

"Stop!" Frank demanded, hearing Joe gasp painfully as the larger man wound up for yet another strike.

"Ross," Carper said simply, an apparent order for him to stop.

Ross glared at Joe and reluctantly relaxed his balled up fist, but remained glued to Joe’s side.

"Now," Carper began as he literally pulled Frank to a standing position by his hair and shoved him towards the chair. "I suggest you transfer the file. You’ve got five minutes."

"Five minutes?!" Frank cried out snapping his head around. Looking at Joe, who was still wincing from the unprovoked beating, he knew what would happen if he failed to find what the men wanted. "I need more time!"

Carper leaned close to Frank and smiled coldly. "Tough."

‘Five minutes?! I don’t even know what the hell I’m looking for!’ Frank thought nervously, knowing Joe would pay if he missed the deadline. A thin sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead as he turned all his attention to the computer and began searching.

"Four minutes…" Carper warned.

Frank swallowed hard, suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of files he’d amassed on the laptop in such a short period of time. ‘Time…I need more time!’

Rapidly scanning each folder by date, he frantically searched for anything that had been added in the last few days, painfully aware of each second that ticked by.

"Two minutes…"

Nervousness quickly gave way to desperation. ‘Damn it! Where is it? What is it?! It’s gotta be here somewhere!’

"One minute…"

"Forty-five seconds…thirty seconds…"

"Please…I’ll find it! I just need a few more minutes!" Frank implored, never taking his eyes off the screen.

"…twenty…fifteen…"

Frank felt the desperation morph into a full-blown panic.

"…ten…nine…eight…"

Chancing a glance over his shoulder, Frank saw Joe was mentally trying to prepare, knowing his reprieve was about to come to an end.

"…four…three…two…one…"

Frank jumped as he heard Ross hitting Joe with a continuous succession of punches. Frantically searching file after file, Frank tried to block out the sounds of his brother’s muffled moans that eventually turned into outright cries of pain. Seconds later, Joe fell silent and the only sounds in the room were Frank’s fingers on the keyboard and Ross’ unrelenting attack, doling out punch after punch after punch.

Fearing Joe might be seriously injured, Frank felt he had no choice but to bluff. "Stop! I found it!" Frank cried out, to no avail as the beating continued. "Call him off!" Frank demanded, furiously.

"Enough," Carper ordered his colleague, finally stopping the relentless assault.

Frank stood and turned towards his younger brother, anger bubbling up from somewhere deep in his soul. Joe was still standing, only by virtue of the rope holding him upright. He was breathing heavily and in obvious pain. Frank took a step towards him only to be stopped by the sound of a gun being cocked dangerously close to his head.

"Cut him loose," Frank growled, his eyes ablaze.

The younger man nodded at Ross who turned towards Joe, a knife in one hand and a sadistic glint in his eyes. With a backward glance at Frank, he let loose with one last vicious punch. Already dazed, Joe cried out as his knees buckled completely and his head fell forward limply.

"You son of a bitch!" Frank leapt at Ross. His head suddenly exploded in pain as the butt of a gun came crashing down into his skull.

Falling heavily to the floor, Frank saw stars dancing before him as his eyelids slowly fluttered to a close, refusing all his commands to stay open. As he was giving in to the darkness, Frank heard and felt a heavy thud several feet behind him, followed by an anguished moan.

Fighting to stay conscious, Frank forced his eyes open and lifted his head, hissing at the pain. Only sheer willpower kept him from passing out as Frank looked over his shoulder, trying to find his brother. His eyelids drooped several times, encouraging Frank to rest, before Frank finally forced them open long enough to get a glimpse of Joe.

He lay on the floor, curled up in a ball, both arms wrapped around his midsection. The soft, pain-filled whimpers told Frank that Joe was still conscious – and obviously suffering.

‘Get up! You have to get Joe out of here!’ Frank told himself harshly. ‘I will…’ he promised himself. ‘…just let me rest a minute…’

Closing his eyes, Frank promised himself it would only be for a minute…or two. How could he help Joe when he could barely keep his eyes open, his now befuddled brain asked. Surely a minute or two of rest wouldn’t hurt…

Just as Frank was about to give in to those enticing thoughts, he heard the sound of liquid splashing all around him. Wondering if he should even care, Frank sighed, inhaling deeply and was assaulted by a pungent odor that rudely snapped him awake.

Screaming at his arms and legs to move, to push him up, Frank heard yet another unnerving sound – a match being struck, quickly followed by another.

‘Get up! Now! MOVE!’ Frank ordered his uncooperative limbs, but they refused to listen to him, content to lay sprawled on the floor.

Suddenly Frank heard a loud ‘whoosh’ followed by snapping and crackling sounds, as the temperature in the room grew hotter by the second. As the smoke and noxious fumes assaulted him, Frank cracked one eye open and watched in terror. Flames licked at the walls, hungrily devouring the exposed wood and beams. Pushing down the panic, Frank saw their escape – a very small path untouched by the fire, which led directly to the front door.

Frank pushed himself to his hands and knees and immediately had to stop and regain his balance. Preparing to leverage himself to a standing position before the smoke got too bad, Frank took a deep breath and realized his mistake a moment too late. As the smoke invaded his lungs, he collapsed, coughing, wheezing and gasping for clean air. As his vision began to fade, Frank looked at his brother, motionless on the floor, and prayed for a miracle.