‘Two more hours.’ He thought. ‘I can hang on for two more hours.’

Joe had gotten a call at eight o’clock that morning, with instructions on where to deliver the file. There was an isolated farmhouse up for sale on the outskirts of Bayport. He had been told to be there with the file at ten o’clock that night.

"Come alone." He had been warned. "If we see your father, brother or the police, your fiancée will die."

Those words had refused to leave him, haunting him all day long. He knew he’d been pushed to his limits, wound up so tight he was ready to snap. If not for Frank, he would have self-destructed hours ago. As always, Frank had known exactly what he needed. He had been glued to Joe’s side, when Joe couldn’t stand to be alone with himself, yet faded quietly into the background when Joe needed some breathing room.

Joe wandered over to the old swing still hanging from the tree and sat down, closing his eyes. Listening with his heart, he clearly heard Vanessa’s voice and the words she had spoken that morning. He felt a lump in his throat recalling the slight quiver in her voice that she had not wanted him to hear.

Vanessa had tried to reassure him that she was fine, that her captors had treated her well, but he knew her better than anyone did. Joe heard the fear and the terror in her voice. He had smiled a bittersweet smile when Vanessa made him promise not to lose his temper. Her biggest fear was not for herself, but for Joe. The fear that he might react impulsively, out of anger, and get himself killed.

Joe had promised her he would remain in control and follow their instructions to the letter. He wasn’t about to do anything that would jeopardize her life.

"Joe?" Frank’s voice broke Joe’s concentration. "It’s time."

Extending a hand to his younger brother, Frank pulled Joe up from swing. Throwing an arm around Joe’s shoulder, the two brothers silently made their way into the house. Joining their father back in the office, Fenton reviewed the plans one final time.

"Frank and I will go to the farmhouse now and stake it out." Fenton began. "Since you’re not supposed to be there for another hour and a half - " he looked at Joe, " – that should give us plenty of time to get there and get settled without being seen.

"We’ll have to wait until you arrive and meet with them before deciding on our next move. If they bring Vanessa with them, we’ll move in immediately. I spoke with Chief Collig earlier; he’s got a number of undercover officers close by waiting for a call if we need them, so we’ll have plenty of back up."

Joe nodded, listening to his father intently. This was the scenario he was praying for, although deep inside he knew it was highly unlikely.

"If they don’t bring Vanessa with them, we’ll have to play it by ear. If they give any indication of where she’s being held, we’ll leave immediately and let Collig’s men take care of whomever you are meeting with. If they don’t, we’ll wait and follow them. Either way, we’ll probably have to leave you there."

"I don’t care, Dad, just get her back."

"We will, Joe, we will." Frank said with determination.

Standing up, Joe took the manila envelope his father offered him. He held it as if it were priceless, because to him, it was. It contained the file that would bring Vanessa back to him.

"Let me check the wire one more time, Joe." Frank requested.

Joe obediently held his arms out allowing Frank to lift his shirt and check the wires and microphone taped to his chest. Standing this close, Frank could feel the tension coming off his brother’s body in waves. Finishing his inspection, he pulled Joe’s shirt back down and patted him on the back. "Don’t worry, little brother. We’ll find her tonight."

Joe simply nodded, blinking back the tears that had been constantly hovering at the surface ever since Vanessa had been kidnapped.

"Ok, let’s go." Their father said, snapping his gun into place. He led his sons out the door and into the night, praying nothing would go wrong. If anything happened to Vanessa, Joe would never get over it.

Getting in his car, Joe gingerly placed the envelope on the passenger seat next to him. Glancing at the clock on the dashboard as he started the car, he counted the hours. He knew it was absolutely ridiculous to expect a criminal to keep their word, but Joe prayed tonight would prove to be the exception. If so, he would be holding Vanessa safely in his arms by midnight.

"Hang on just a little longer, Baby. I’m coming." He whispered, having forgotten his father and Frank could his every word.

Frank turned and looked at his father, then quickly looked away.

‘Callie, why didn’t you trust me enough to tell me about the pictures?’ He thought sadly, and not for the first time. ‘All of this could have been avoided.’

*****

Joe followed the rutted dirt path to where it ended at the farmhouse, hoping Frank and his father were already in position. Turning off the engine, he picked up the manila envelope and got out of the car. The eerily dark farmhouse combined with the almost moonless night and the wind whistling through the trees gave him the chills. He felt a slight panic that quickly began to build. Was it a set up? Was Vanessa here or were they holding her somewhere else? Was anyone here?

Slowly, Joe walked to the darkened farmhouse, climbed the wooden porch steps and stopped in front of the door. He reached out to open it, when he felt a gun press lightly against the back of his head, and froze.

"Go ahead. Open it." A voice commanded.

Reaching for the doorknob once again, Joe turned it and opened the door. A hand applied slight pressure to his back, encouraging him to walk through the door. Once inside, a light suddenly came on, causing him to blink rapidly as his eyes adjusted to it. Looking around the room, he saw it was completely empty except for a chair and a table. Lying in the middle of the table was a white, business size envelope.

A hand suddenly appeared to his left.

"Now give me the envelope." The voice said.

"Not until I see Vanessa." Joe replied evenly. He heard a heavy sigh.

"Now, don’t tell me you really thought we were going to have her here waiting for you." The voice said as if speaking to a child.

"That was the deal!" Joe said angrily, panic threatening to overtake him completely.

"No." the voice stated calmly. "The deal was you turn over the file and you get her back, unharmed. And you will. As soon as we verify the contents of the file. Now, the sooner you give me the envelope, the sooner you will get your fiancée back."

Joe saw the fingers on the hand move back and forth in a "give it to me" gesture and handed over the envelope.

"There. You have your precious file." Joe spat out. "Now where is she?!"

"Good. Now, please put your hands behind your back." The voice commanded, ignoring Joe’s question.

Quickly forgetting his promise to Vanessa, Joe tried to spin around to face the voice. He immediately felt an explosion of pain at the back of his head and fell to his knees.

"And you were doing so well." The voice said and then sighed.

Joe felt himself being shoved to the floor. A knee pressed into his back, holding him down. The gun once again pressed into the back of his head, this time much harder.

"I’ll ask you nicely one more time. Put your hands behind your back."

Reluctantly, Joe obeyed. A pair of hands grabbed his arms and tied his wrists together, blindfolded him and then dragged him to his feet. Apparently, the voice wasn’t alone as the pressure of the gun against his head never let up. He was led forward and forced to sit in the chair. More rope was wrapped around his chest, tying him to the chair. He held his breath, praying whoever was tying him up would not discover the wire he was wearing. He exhaled in relief when the person finished the task and stepped away from him.

"I’m sure you noticed the rope wasn’t tied very tightly. We fully intend to hold up our end of the deal. As I said, we just need enough time to verify the files are correct. We should have that completed by the time you are able to free yourself. If they are correct, you and your fiancée will be having a very happy reunion before this night is over. If not…well, I do hope you didn’t think the life of a snitch was worth more than hers."

"You still haven’t told me where she is!" He said, irritably.

"I know you saw the envelope on the table when we first came in. The directions to where she is being held are in the envelope. Once you free yourself, you’ll know exactly where to find her."

"Why can’t you just tell me?" Joe prodded, hoping they might give him a location to pacify him. If so, Frank and his father could get to her immediately.

"What good would that information do you all tied up like that? Don’t worry, she’s safe and she has not been harmed, you have my word."

"Why should I believe you?!" Joe yelled. "If you so much as touched her…"

Joe stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He heard the voice speaking to the person who had tied him up. Receding footsteps and the sound of the door opening and closing, told him the person had left the room. He felt warm breath near his ear, as the voice leaned in close to him.

"You’re right. You have no reason to believe me, so I’ll tell you the same thing I told her." The voice said, referring to Vanessa. He stopped, taking a deep breath. "My little sister was raped when she was twelve. You have my word, no one so much as even thought about touching your fiancée. I made sure of that."

Joe swallowed hard. "I’m sorry about your sister."

"So was the son of a bitch who did it. Especially when he ended up at the bottom of the river." The voice said, shaking with emotion. Joe felt a chill, but realized he knew exactly how this man felt.

"Now then. I’ll be on my way. It shouldn’t take you more than an hour to free yourself. I know she’ll be very happy to see you."

With that, the voice was gone. Joe immediately began struggling with his bonds. A moment later he heard the door open and his heart stopped. They had returned!

‘What went wrong?’ Joe racked his brain trying to find the mistake. Everything had gone exactly as planned.

What were they doing back? Had they discovered the file was a fake? Joe quickly dismissed the thought. He had complete faith in his brother. If Frank said they’d never be able to tell the file had been changed, Joe believed him.

‘The wire!’ Joe concluded.

Had the man who tied him up discovered it and simply not let on, so as not to alert whoever was listening? Joe realized that had to be it. Frank and Fenton must have been exposed. As Joe felt someone grab the ropes that bound him to the chair and begin to untie them, his heart broke. He knew he would be joining his father and brother, wherever they were being held. After all the work, all the planning, he’d never see Vanessa again.