Turning over, he pulled the pillow over his eyes. The music would not stop. After tossing and turning for at least ten minutes, he finally heard himself growl, "SHUT UP!" With a sigh, he finally gave in. Rubbing his eyes, Joe hesitantly got out of bed and made his way across the room, stopping to turn off the alarm.

"Well, it served its purpose," he grumbled, stopping to stretch his arms. He contemplated taking a shower or going back to sleep, and then decided on the latter. Silently promising that he would only let himself sleep for another half an hour, he happily settled himself back into bed and pulled the covers to his chin. For one brief, shining moment, he felt like a little kid again, safe and sound in his bed at his parents’ house. He could almost envision the huge breakfast that his mother would make and almost by instinct, he felt his stomach growl. Suppressing a smile, he happily closed his eyes.

"You’ve GOT to be kidding me," he moaned. It was only 9:00.

With a final sigh, Joe finally accepted that sleep was not meant to be that morning and somewhat angrily, he picked up the phone. "What?!" he said into the receiver.

"Excuse me?!"

With an inner sigh, Joe recognized the voice immediately. This was not his morning. Immediately, he changed his tone.

"Hey, Baby," he replied to Vanessa.

"Since when do you answer the phone like that?!"

"Since I didn’t know I would be awakened by the voice of an angel," he replied in his most flattering voice.

Almost at once, he heard Vanessa’s infectious giggle and felt his own smile begin to form. He felt the familiar warm sensation come to his cheeks when he thought about his girlfriend. Through thick and thin, she’d always been there for him He’d never really felt that kind of unconditional love before and that little voice in the back of his head was telling him…again… that maybe …MAYBE… it was time to take that next step. But not yet, he told himself silently. Not until this nightmare with Frank and Callie is over. If it ever is, he had to add silently.

Vanessa’s voice brought him back to reality. "All right, Mr. Charmer," he heard her say. "You know, you get more corny every day!"

"I’m all ears, Baby!" He quipped, unable to help himself.

"Shut up, Joe," she replied, laughing. "That’s too much poor humor for this time of the morning."

"So, then—why are you calling? Not that I’m complaining, mind you," he replied, sitting up and shifting the phone to cradle it between his neck and his ear as he slipped on a robe.

Almost at once, he could hear the tone change in Vanessa’s voice simply through her silence. "What’s wrong?" He asked immediately.

"I’ve been trying to call Callie all morning, and she’s not answering the phone," Vanessa replied slowly. "I know you picked her up from the hospital yesterday. I just…you know… wanted to make sure she was all right."

With a start, Joe realized he hadn’t had a chance to tell Vanessa everything that had happened last night. For the next ten minutes or so, he found himself explaining everything to her; how Callie had been staying at home, not the apartment; how she had given him her engagement ring; how they might have a new lead in the case. Strangely, as he spoke with her, he felt a renewed sense of calm come over him. When he was done, he sat back and listened for Vanessa’s reaction.

"Well," she said at last, "I’m so glad that you have a lead to think about. Someone’s got to stop Nash—now. Just be careful, Joe- promise me."

"I will," he promised, touched by her ongoing concern for him.

"I’ll call Callie at her house, then," Vanessa replied. "Maybe I’ll even go see her. Let me know how things are going. Call me, okay?"

"Of course." Joe smiled. He was feeling better.

"I love you," he heard her say. "Talk to you later."

"I love you, too," he replied, right before hanging up. Maybe today wouldn’t turn out to be such a bad day after all.

Realizing that he was far too awake at the moment to even think about sleep, he gave in to the inevitable and decided to wake himself up fully. It was close to an hour later when he emerged from the bathroom showered, dressed and ready to start the day. Putting on his watch, he noticed Callie’s ring on the dresser and felt a twinge in his heart. He instinctively flashed back to that day in Cape May when his brother, absolutely glowing, had shown him the ring. He had been so happy, so full of joy at the promise of spending his life with the woman whom he loved so much. He couldn’t believe how that moment seemed to have taken place a lifetime ago. So very much had changed….

Shaking off the thought, Joe went to his brother’s old room and knocked on the door. When Frank didn’t answer, he knocked louder. Finally, he opened the door, crooning, "Come on sleeping beauty!" To his surprise, he saw Frank wasn’t there.

Shaking off the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, he tried to convince himself that it was perfectly logical for his brother not to be in bed. Going downstairs, he noticed that Frank wasn’t there, either. There was no television on, and no morning newspapers strewn about. Now he was beginning to get a little nervous in spite of himself. Fighting back any fears, he decided to remain clam for another half an hour in the event that Frank went for a morning run or some other type of exercise. For some ungodly reason unknown to him, Frank liked to get up early and exercise rather than exercise his right to sleep. It had always driven him crazy over the years.

Walking around aimlessly, Joe found himself flipping through television stations. He realized he wasn’t hungry anymore, a rarity for him. Suddenly, an idea hit him. Racing to the front door, he flung it open. Frank’s car was gone.

Slowly, Joe felt the color begin to drain from his face and felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest. "He wouldn’t…." he whispered to himself, fighting his worst fears. Biting his lip, Joe ran to the kitchen and dialed the first person he could think of. On the third ring, she picked up.

"Callie?" He asked, knowing he sounded breathless.

"Joe?" she whispered, her voice raspy.

He realized that he had probably awakened her, and that she still sounded visibly upset, even at this hour of the morning. Knowing that he had to remain calm so as not to frighten her, he said, gently, "Yeah- it’s me. Cal—did Frank call you last night? This morning? He’s not over there, is he?"

"No," Callie replied shakily. "Why?"

Closing his eyes, Joe swallowed the lump in his throat. "No reason. Thanks. Sorry I woke you."

"Is everything okay?" she asked him.

"Sure," he replied, and hung up the phone.

Running down to his father’s office, he played a hunch that his dad would be awake. He was right. As he burst through the door, he startled his father, who looked lost in paperwork of some sort.

"What’s the matter?!" Fenton asked, shocked.

"It’s Frank!" he managed, trying to calm himself. It wasn’t working.

"Wha…"

Joe interrupted him. "It’s Frank, Dad," he repeated, looking imploringly into his father’s eyes. "He went after Nash. He’s gone!"

For a moment, their eyes met in horror….

*****

It had only taken Frank a few hours to arrive in the general area of Wildwood, where he drove around aimlessly for a little while trying to think of what to do next. When he finally had the presence of mind to pull over at a rest stop for some coffee, he realized how tense he was. He had been gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles had turned white. His shoulders and his neck ached. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward, resting his head on the steering wheel. It scared him that he couldn’t recall exactly where he was or how he had gotten there. It was as though a higher force was leading him, and he was the passenger.

Almost at once, he felt tears spring to his eyes, which he fought back. No time for that now, he muttered silently. Still rubbing his eyes, he thought only of Nash, of revenge. The same horrible images that had plagued him all summer now flashed through his brain—Joe in the cabin, beaten almost to death… Joe in the hospital clinging to life…Vanessa in tears, his parents barely holding on… And Callie terrified, in pain…the choice… and their child. The guilt was overwhelming. He had to do something to try and make things right. He couldn’t move on, no one could, until Nash paid for what he had done.

Part of him knew, logically, that he should have waited for backup. Joe would kill him, and his father would be out of his mind with worry. Still, the one thing that Frank wasn’t afraid of was being hurt or his own death. The pain he had suffered all these months, the pain he had caused his brother and fiancée, seemed by far more horrible than anything he could conjure up. Besides, when it came down to it, this was his battle to win. He had lost so much already.

With a sigh, he got out of the car and stretched, walking inside to the rest area. Going into a doughnut shop, he grabbed a large cup of coffee and a plain bagel. He wasn’t hungry, but he knew he would need some stamina today. Deciding to wait for a few minutes before returning to the car, he walked aimlessly about, hoping some sort of plan would come to him. After all, he was here in Wildwood ---but now what?! This kind of leave it all to chance attitude was straight from Joe’s line of thinking. With a sad smile, he realized that in recent weeks, they’d sort of changed roles. Joe was being responsible, cautious and practical, and here HE was—driving around with no plan in mind. Had it been under different circumstances, this might actually be funny. But, he reminded himself, this is no joke.

As he was about to leave, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Next to some local t-shirts, he saw a small stand that contained maps. Of course! He said silently. I’ll need these to get here - locally.

Going back out to his car, Frank found himself looking over the maps he had just purchased. As he sat down, he tried to logically put together all the pieces of the puzzle. He knew Nash had been spotted around here. He knew there were illicit drug dealings. He tried to recall as much as he could about what his father’s associate, Pete, had told them. Suddenly, it dawned on him as he studied the map. Nash would be isolated; he would want someplace small where he could move about inconspicuously.

"But WHY?!" Frank said out loud. "He knows it’s dangerous to be around here! Why would he risk all of this…for me?! For Dad?!" With a heavy sigh, Frank shook his head. None of this made any sense. Nash was going to an awful lot of trouble to get revenge against his family. Would he really risk getting caught—because of them?! Didn’t he have bigger issues to worry about?!

Still, as these thoughts ventured through his mind, Frank continued to study the maps---and he saw it. About 15 miles off the boardwalk there was an uncultivated area…a region that no one would even think about looking for him or for anyone. It was far enough away from the town of Wildwood, itself, to be noticeable, but too close so that anyone in his right mind wouldn’t think to hide. "Oldest trick in the book," Frank muttered, angry for not seeing it earlier. "Hide in plain sight!"

Driving at record speeds, Frank soon arrived at the outskirts of the rather broad area where he would begin his search. Making sure that he had his cell phone with him, Frank took a deep breath before beginning his search. "For you, Callie. For you, Joe." He said these words out loud to himself, but saying them comforted him and gave him a purpose.

Several hours later and after much searching, Frank was almost ready to give up. He was tired, angry, frustrated, and beginning to think he’d been on the wrong path all along. Turning back, he was about to head back to the car in the very far distance when he heard a noise. Ducking down, he held his breath as the noises, which he now identified as voices, made their way to him. Within minutes, Frank caught a glimpse of a person talking to someone else. He recognized Nash almost immediately.

Instantly, he felt the color rise to his cheeks and he looked, with a fury that he’d never felt in his life, at the man who had cost him his child, his love, and almost his brother. He felt his shoulders shaking with such anger that he almost didn’t recognize himself. He waited impatiently for the other man to turn in the opposite direction. When Nash was alone and about to turn away, he sprang from the bushes with lightning speed.

Whirling around, Nash gasped and just managed to evade Frank’s charge.

Gathering his strength, Frank turned and faced Nash. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Frank noticed the absolutely startled look on his face. He would have had time to think about why Nash seemed to have no idea why he was there, if only he hadn’t felt someone come up to him from behind and shove him violently to the ground. Within moments, he was restrained, and as he tried to focus through blurred vision, he barely heard Nash’s words.

"Frank Hardy! What brings you here?! Welcome home."

A sharp kick in the kidneys left him gasping for air. The last thing he saw was Nash—he had looked into the eyes of Satan.