Although Frank knew Joe would be okay, he tried to push away the terrible thought from the back of his mind about this mysterious tape that Callie had told him about. Still, he couldn’t do it. He found himself clenching his hands into tightly balled fists whenever he thought about what these… monsters… had done to his brother and his fiancée. The thought that they had dared to suggest to Callie that any of this was her fault, or that she had been disloyal to him, was simply incomprehensible.

Callie. Oh, God—what was he going to say to her? Every time he thought about that horrific moment where he had been forced to choose her or Joe, he felt sick to his stomach. Callie had said that she understood; that if Joe hadn’t been chosen, he surely would have died. At the same time, though, Frank saw the look of- what was it? Shock? Disappointment? SOMETHING- in her eyes that led him to believe the contrary. Then it hit him: the look was of betrayal. With shaking hands, Frank sat down at the hotel desk and tried to clear his thoughts.

What kind of person am I? He had asked himself that question countless times over the past few days. How could I turn her over to be… to be WHAT? Verbally abused? Physically abused? Raped? Frank felt tears spring to his eyes and, all alone, he allowed himself a few moments to cry. He had loved Callie so deeply for many years; she was his best friend, and future wife. And now, after this, the future seemed so uncertain. Could she ever be with someone who would allow her to be hurt? Could he ever look at himself in the mirror again, and not see the look of horror in her eyes?

Joe would have died; surely, there had been no other choice. But was that true? Frank shook his head, a thousand thoughts spinning all at once. Could he have lived with himself if he really had to go through with that choice, and Callie would have suffered horribly? Logic told him he had done the right thing; but with Callie, it had never been about logic. She was the one person, besides his family, whom he loved unconditionally; he felt her love back; he didn’t need to rationalize why he should love her. His heart spoke over his mind. But, if this really was a choice of the heart, what did that say about him? Suddenly nothing was certain anymore.

Wiping back tears, Frank walked to the window and looked outside. The setting was so beautiful and placid. Frank was amazed at how different it had looked just a few short days ago; when, holding Callie in his arms, they had watched the sunset and talked of their equally glorious future.

"Callie," he whispered to himself. "I’m so sorry."

Turning around, he caught sight of the picture from his engagement night that he had looked at so often when Callie and Joe had been missing, and found himself staring into Joe’s smiling face. Suddenly, he was filled with rage, and felt the color rise to his cheeks as he involuntarily pictured Joe’s immeasurable suffering at the hands of those bastards.

He kept visualizing how much pain his brother must have been in, and the unspeakable terror he must have felt when he realized what had been happening to him, solely for the amusement of their captors. With a shudder, Frank was just grateful that he was unconscious quickly when the… incident… occurred. But he had known! Callie had told him that Joe was awake at the beginning. Oh, God. Oh, God.

Frank had to sit down again, feeling weak. He had failed miserably as a fiancée and as an older brother. In both of those roles, his job had been to protect at all costs. He hadn’t been able to do that, and he didn’t know if he could live with himself any longer.

Frank slammed his fist into the desk, sending the lamp flying, and feeling the tears slide from his eyes, unable to stop them. His fury was so intense that he felt totally out of control. Then, all at once, he stopped. He would deal with his emotions later, and the repercussions of everything Nash and Jenkins had done. Right now, though, he knew he had one thing to do.

"You will not let them destroy your family," Frank said out loud, staring at himself in the mirror. "You WILL get through this. But first…" He paused. "You will make them pay for what they did."

With those words, Frank formed a new resolve, and began to plan how to catch these animals. One thing was certain to him, though. If he had anything to do with it, they’d pay dearly for their heinous acts…

*****

Nash and Jenkins, meanwhile, sat looking at each other at a new location that they were fairly certain would remain undisclosed to the Hardys.

Jenkins laughed heartily, recalling what they had done. "That Hardy kid got it good, huh?!" He said to Nash, thinking of Joe. "That’ll go to show him who to mess with next time. It’s too bad we didn’t finish him off, though," he reflected.

Nash met his eyes with a cool, hard stare. His response was even-keeled. "No, it’s not. It was better to see him suffer. Watching him writhe in agony; that’s what made this whole deal satisfactory."

Jenkins looked at him uneasily. "Well, yeah, I guess so."

"Surely you aren’t wavering on our decision, are you?" He reached out and grabbed Jenkins by the collar. "I’d hate to think that you weren’t as fully involved in this as I was. Since, you know, despite the fact that I tied up Mr. Hardy, you drove the truck. You were my assistant. We’re equally guilty in the eyes of the law."

Nervously, Jenkins removed Nash’s hand. "I said I’m with you," he replied, keeping his voice even. "And that only applies if we’re caught, which we won’t be."

"True," Nash responded thoughtfully.

"B… but what about the bodies? I mean, they might be able to somehow trace our identities," Jenkins carefully surmised.

"And?" Nash replied, with a sardonic smile. "What’s your point? In our line of business, we want to be recognized for our work. A lot of people will thank us, and want us. Fenton Hardy has interfered too many times in our affairs. How it will please people to know what became of his perfect little family."

Jenkins caught the enthusiasm. "I don’t know what was better," he added. "Watching Joe Hardy suffer, or watching Callie Shaw get what she deserved. Mental torture or physical pain—the age old debate!" He chuckled, and then grew serious. "That little girl was a looker, though. Too bad we didn’t get to know her better, huh? Leave her with something to really remember us by."

Nash chewed thoughtfully on the end of his pencil. "Maybe that’s not such a bad idea," he added, amused. "Why shouldn’t we get a little pleasure out of the deal? Joe Hardy may not have wanted a piece of her, but why shouldn’t we? I mean it’s the least she can do, considering we let her go. I’m not through with that girl, yet."

Jenkins, liking the thought of having Callie Shaw at his disposal to do as he wanted with her, laughed. "My interest is piqued," he said. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well," Nash replied, "Did you see how we messed with her mind? She was a basket case! First, we try to make her sleep with her fiancé’s brother. Did you see how humiliated she was when we made her kiss him? Then, we rip up some clothes, show her a video, and wham! She thinks she DID the brother. Then, to top it off, we remind her over and over again how it’s all her fault for taking those pictures, and make her watch him being dragged around by a truck. All of this is after he received quite a thrashing, by the way. Inevitably, the plan will work. I mean, the video was convincing, and she’s got to have doubt. Even if she doesn’t, she’ll feel miserably guilty."

"Okay," Jenkins replied steadily. "So how can I… we… get her for ourselves? Find out how good she really is." He grew serious at the thought.

Nash smiled, slowly. "Patience, my friend. What do we still have on our side?"

"The video," Jenkins responded, getting the point.

"What do you say we send Frankie boy a copy of that video? There’s no way Callie Shaw would tell him about it. She was too humiliated, and she’s still got to have an element of doubt about what really did happen. I don’t know that I’d be such a forgiving fiancé."

"And then?" asked Jenkins.

"Since Joe Hardy is in the hospital, they really can’t leave. I am quite sure that there will come a point before they leave the area when Ms. Shaw and her fiancé will no longer be sharing a bed. Given the opportunity when she is alone, we grab her. It’s risky, and not really necessary; after all, her mental anguish was quite lovely. But," he added with a dark look in his eyes, "A little physical pain can’t be too bad. She’ll be begging for it," he said, laughing even harder. "All alone, thinking she caused her friend to be seriously injured, her fiancé to show he really doesn’t love her like he loves his brother, her engagement inevitably broken, and her reputation shattered… she’ll be looking for a little lovin’!"

With their laughter echoing in the room, the men began to plan …