Frank Hardy twisted around in his seat and gave the helicopter pilot a panicked look. "No, we can't. You don't understand. That's my brother down there somewhere."

The dark-skinned man shook his head. "No, you don't understand, mon. I don't go back, someone be looking for us soon." He gestured to the instruments. "Not much fuel left, mon."

Frank looked at the instrument gauge for the fuel level and he saw it was dangerously low. He switched his gaze to the azure blue sky and the crystal clear water below and swallowed hard. His brother was down there somewhere. He had to find him. He looked back at the pilot. "If you go lower, coast a bit, you'll save on fuel. Please, one more pass."

Jimmy Ladner frowned at the younger man. "You know how to fly?" he asked, his Caribbean accent strong. "Why did you ask me, then?"

"You have a helicopter. It would have taken too long to rent one."

Ladner heaved a sigh. "One more pass, mon, and say a prayer we won't be the next ones missing."

Frank didn't even bother nodding, he just stared out the Plexiglas canopy of the helicopter, feeling the panic crawl through him. It had been twenty-four hours now that Joe had been missing. If Joe was able to, he would have contacted the hotel by now; done something to let them know he was okay.

As the helicopter dropped lower, Frank felt his stomach clench. How had it gone so wrong? It had seemed the perfect way to celebrate – it gave the older adults a chance to really get to know each other and the four teens time to have lots of fun swimming, snorkeling and just being normal teenagers.

Expenses might have been a crucial factor but with Callie's cousins Gary and Janet owning and operating Runner's Harbor, it had worked out perfectly. Granted, it had meant that he and Joe had to share a room, as well as Callie and Vanessa, but Frank had been okay with that.

But now everything had gone disastrously wrong. Frank leaned forward to scan the coastline and ocean again. Barbados wasn't a large island, one could traverse it from one end to the other in less than a day's drive. Portions of the island were filled with sugarcane while most of the island was a collection of fancy ocean-side resorts, famous hotels and many shops for the tourists.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Jimmy. The older black man had a sad expression on his face. "Sorry, mon, I have to go in now. Pray we make it back to the airport. I am running on fumes."

Frank swallowed hard again and cringed as they left the ocean and headed toward Grantley Adams International Airport. Joe was out there somewhere—he had to find him.

*****

Thursday, April 13^th

"Woohoo, Barbados, here we come!"

Frank could hear his brother all the way from his bedroom upstairs. He shook his head as he hefted his booksack and headed upstairs himself. It had been a hot topic for the last three weeks, ever since their father had announced it was high time for a family vacation. With their aunt gone to Maine to visit friends, it would just be the four of them.

But the more everyone discussed things, the big issue of them not being able to spend Easter holiday with Vanessa and Callie cropped up constantly. It had been their mother, Laura, who'd called both Andrea and Elisabeth, Callie's mother, to have a luncheon and hash out a plan.

Now the Shaws, Andrea and Vanessa were going with them to Barbados. He paused at his brother's door, heard him singing something that sounded vaguely reggae and shook his head. Once it was decided that Vanessa and Callie were coming too, Joe had been on cloud nine.

Frank wondered if his brother's school work had suffered from his being so excited. Suddenly, Joe's door burst open and Joe walked out, singing rather loudly, "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone..." and ran into Frank. "Oops, sorry, didn't see you."

Frank shook his head. "Right. You know, keep floating like that and you'll drift to Barbados on your own. Save us the cost of another seat."

"Ha, ha. Don't tell me you're not psyched Callie's coming."

Frank shrugged. "Okay. I won't." He started for his bedroom and then grinned over at Joe. "Don't say it."

Joe laughed. "Hey, how many swimsuits should I bring? Should I go buy some more?"

Frank looked at his brother. "Joe, you can swim in shorts, anything. Why buy more swim trunks? You'll just lose them between here and Barbados."

Joe rolled his eyes. "Whatever. There's going to be sunbathers and lovely ladies and...Oh, that was the last time we went to Barbados. I wasn't taken then."

"Just now remembered that?"

"You be quiet." Joe spun on his bare heel and darted back into his room. "Gotta go finish packing."

"Just don't take as long as you did last time." Frank went into his own room and his grin widened. This trip was going to be awesome.

*****

Saturday, April 15^th

The flight from LaGuardia to Grantley Adams International Airport had been long, with a two-hour layover in Miami. The closer they got to Barbados, even the adults had gotten excited. Frank vividly remembered watching the clouds part like curtains as the plane descended and seeing the beauty of Barbados rush up at them.

But now, as the helicopter hovered over the copter pad and gently settled down, the feeling washing over Frank had nothing to do with excitement. He dreaded meeting up with his parents to tell them he failed. He shuddered and felt a single tear slip down his cheek. Oh dear God, where was Joe?

The sound of the pilot clearing his throat made Frank turn toward him. Frank took a deep breath. "Thank you for taking me up." He moved to get out; suddenly the confines of the helicopter was just too much.

Jimmy Ladner stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm. "Son, are you all right?"

"My brother's out there, lost and alone, somewhere. I have to find him."

Ladner shook his head. "We've been all around this island, mon. You said he was on a Jetski..."

Frank went white. "Yes. He was...it...he..." He remembered that vividly as well. The images were etched in his brain. The sun was high, sparkling on the clear water that had the faintest tinge of turquoise. Callie and Vanessa were stretched out on oversized beach towels, soaking up the sun. He'd been goofing off, actually messing around building a sand castle. Joe had been on a rented Jetski, doing silly little stunts, showing off for anyone who would watch.

Frank swallowed hard. He'd turned his head to look for another piece of driftwood when the roar of an explosion slammed against him. He'd been sitting down, but the shock and the concussive blast had knocked him backwards. For a moment, he'd been deafened by the explosion but then he'd registered the screaming...

He turned to look at Ladner. "The – the Jetski exploded..."

The older man's expression grew even sadder but before Jimmy could speak, Frank shook his head. "No! No! Joe's not dead, he's not! No." Frank pushed on the door and jumped out of the helicopter. The still moving blades caused a whisper of wind to wash over him. Frank felt his knees weaken and he sank to the tarmac. "No..."

A blond-haired girl rushed over to him. Her face was pale beneath her newly acquired tan. "Frank?" she asked tearfully. "Frank..."

"I couldn't find him. I c-couldn't find him."

Callie Shaw helped him stand and walked him over to the closest bench. "Frank—"

Frank slowly shook his head. "Callie, don't."

"There was a huge blow-up after you left. Vanessa's mom is wanting to go home but..."

"But Vanessa won't go," said Frank, heavily.

"No. She refuses. She's locked herself in the bathroom. Frank..." Callie took a deep breath. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, Callie. God, I just don't know."

Callie sat there for a long moment, fiddling with the scarf she was wearing like a belt through the loops on her shorts. "Your dad is talking with the police."

Frank stared at the black tarmac, almost in a daze. He barely managed a nod. Callie gave him a worried look and took a deep breath. "From what I can gather, there's not – not enough of the J-Jetski to analyze."

Frank flinched but didn't move otherwise. Callie sighed softly. "Frank," she said, sounding near tears. "It's not your fault."

Frank flinched again, and his head jerked up to look at her. "I have to find him." He started to push himself to his feet.

Callie grabbed his arm. "Frank...what if....what if there's nothing left to find?"

Frank gave her a horrified look. He shook his head violently and then his expression hardened. "No. We haven't survived everything for him to go like this," he snapped. "No!" He got to his feet then and started for the terminal.

Footsteps on the tarmac made Callie turn to see the helicopter pilot walking towards her. She got to her feet and managed a shaky smile. "Thank you anyway."

Ladner looked down at her outstretched hand for a long moment and then gently clasped it. "I wish I could do more."

She shuddered and glanced over her shoulder at the terminal. "So do I." She nodded to Ladner. "I'd better go catch up to him."

Ladner nodded and she darted into the cool dim interior of the busy terminal. Callie saw Frank was waiting for her by the car they'd rented when they'd arrived at the airport early Friday morning. "Frank..."

"Let's go."

She got into the passenger seat while Frank got behind the wheel. He drove toward her cousins' hotel in silence. She wanted to say something but didn't want to make things worse. She just fiddled with the fringe on her rainbow colored scarf.

After a moment, Frank's hand clasped hers with a sudden hard grip. "Stop." He took a deep breath. "Please."

Callie gave a jerky nod and wished she could stuff her hands in the pockets of her shorts. Instead, she clasped them tightly together. They finally arrived at Runner's Harbor and Frank parked in the visitors' section. He switched off the motor but just sat there for a long moment. "I'm not sure I can go in there," he said hoarsely.

Callie studied his profile. "Frank?"

"And break my mother's heart," he said as if he hadn't heard her. "Mom is strong but not that strong. And Dad..." Slowly, Frank turned to look at Callie and his brown eyes were haunted. "What do I say, Callie? What do I tell them?"

Callie felt her eyes fill with tears and she reached out to cup Frank's cheek with one hand. "Oh, Frank."

"Don't cry," he whispered. "I'm not sure I can handle it right now when I want to break down myself."

Callie blinked back the tears threatening to spill over. "Oh, Frank, oh baby..."

Frank shook his head and shuddered. "I can't go in there."

"I'll be with you."

Frank looked over at her and took in a deep breath. Slowly, he let it out and nodded once. He got out of the car, moved to go around to open her door but Callie got out before he could take a step. She met him at the steps and held his hand as they walked to the front door. His grip tightened until it was almost painful but she didn't pull away.

Before Frank could open the door, it swung inward and Fenton Hardy stood there. He looked at his oldest son's face and the last of the hope faded from his face. His shoulders slumped as he let Frank and Callie inside. Fenton cleared his throat. "I'll tell your mother."

Frank cringed inwardly. What a hell of a trip this had become...

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.