Callie sat up quickly, and tried to still the beating of her heart. She quickly went to talk to Frank, but noticed that he was sound asleep. She looked at the clock- 7:00 a.m. Frank had probably gotten in very late. Although part of her wanted to shake him awake, crawl into his arms, and tell him what had happened, another part of her knew that she should let him sleep. There would be plenty of time to talk to him later. She noticed at once that he had fallen asleep in his clothes from the night before. With an "ugh," Callie noticed that she, too, hadn’t bothered to get changed.

Callie jumped into the shower and got dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of shorts and a spaghetti strap blouse. If the past days were any indication, today was going to be a scorcher. After applying just the smallest amount of makeup and throwing her hair in a ponytail, Callie glanced at the clock again, and noticed that only forty minutes had past. She sighed, realizing that Frank could be asleep for several hours at this point. She decided to head down to the pool to collect her thoughts and how she would tell Frank about what had happened.

As soon as Callie left the room, she headed downstairs toward the lobby area, and walked out to the pool. She gasped as she saw Joe Hardy lying outside, reading a magazine.

At the sound of a voice, Joe looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Callie! Come on over!" He lifted his sunglasses from his eyes, and patted the seat next to him.

Callie sat down, and turned to him. "Joe! This is awfully early for you, isn’t it? It’s not even 8:00 yet!"

"Well," Joe began with a small blush, "Vanessa and I had a long night! We didn’t even get in until almost 5:00." He took a moment to yawn, and then grinned apologetically. "Sorry. Anyway, Vanessa went right to bed, but I just got changed and came down here. I’m alright, actually. I dozed here and there. I’ll probably conk out later, though. I just figured I’d chill down here. It’s really beautiful."

Callie smiled sadly at him. "Oh."

Joe sensed that something was off almost immediately. Like his brother, Callie was a morning person, and she was annoyingly cheerful at this time of the day when he’d been with her through the years. He sat up at once. "Cal? Are you okay?" He looked over at her, and then added, concerned, "What happened to your hand?"

Callie paused, feeling herself getting upset again. She had wanted to tell Frank all about this, but she would have to word it carefully with him. Somehow, she’d have to strike a delicate balance between making him concerned and protective, and having him get extremely angry and upset. She sighed.

"Cal?" She heard Joe’s voice again, and he took her injured hand in is own. "What happened? You can tell me."

Callie met his eyes and blinked back tears. Joe was totally centered on her now, and she could tell he wasn’t playing. She sensed his concern.

"Come here," Joe said to her, his voice softer. He stretched out his arms to her. Something was obviously bothering Callie, and he saw her struggling not to be upset. Callie moved over next to him, and let Joe hug her for a minute. It felt good somehow to be protected.

After a moment, she pulled back from him and managed a small smile. "Thanks, Joe," she said. "You’re not as horrible as everyone says you are," she managed to joke and she wiped away a tear.

Joe smiled softly and put an arm around her, as they sat facing the pool. "Well, if it makes you feel any better," he joked back, "I think you’re just as horrible as before."

Callie laughed a little, and Joe felt better.

"So," he said to her, facing her towards him, "Tell me what’s wrong. Come on; you know I’ll help you."

Callie bit her lip, but then managed, "But I haven’t told Frank yet."

"Well, so? If you’ll tell him later, and it’s nothing intensely private, then what’s the harm in telling me now? Maybe it’ll help you feel better." Joe hoped he was getting through to her.

"O… okay," Callie stammered. Meeting his eyes, she spent the next fifteen minutes telling Joe about everything; the guns, the men, the pictures, the assault last night, and the threat. She found herself looking away from him as she finished her story, waiting for Joe’s characteristic temper to come out. When she finished, she was surprised by his silence, and finally turned around to look at him.

Joe had listened in horror to Callie’s story, but he forced himself to keep an even expression as Callie spoke. She needed help, not a hothead. In recent times, Joe had really been working on controlling his emotions. He could tell she was surprised.

As she turned back to him, he reached out his hand, which she took. "It’ll be okay, Callie. I won’t let anything happen to you, and neither will Frank. We’ll get to the bottom of this," he said, comfortingly.

"Oh, Joe," Callie sighed, squeezing his hand. "I don’t want to make a bigger deal of this than it is, but I AM scared. I’m also worried that Frank’s going to flip out. You know how protective he is of me. I’m sorry I got into this mess."

Joe released her hand and looked into her eyes. Callie was like a sister to him, and would be his sister soon, officially. In his book, family was the one area that was off limits to any harm whatsoever, and he hated to see her in pain. "Listen, Cal," he began, slowly, "This IS a big deal, and I’m glad that you told me. Honestly, if I were Frank, I wouldn’t blame him if he flipped out about this. He loves you. And, YOU didn’t get us into any mess. These people have something to hide, and you’re the scapegoat, for some reason. What did you want Frank to do?"

Callie swallowed hard, and replied, "Well, I wanted to ask him to go with me back to the woods just to recheck everything. Maybe those guys are there. I just want to have some facts before I go on a wild-goose chase. There was no one there when I went with Vanessa, but you never know…" Her voice trailed off.

Joe shook his head. "Callie, you’re amazing—a bit out of your mind, maybe- but amazing. You were going to go back there alone, with Frank?"

"Yeah."

"That takes guts!" he said, proud of her. Then his tone changed. "It’s also one of the most stupid ideas I’ve ever heard. You could get hurt! Plus…" He paused, for emphasis, "I assume that Frank already told you that going back with Vanessa was not smart. I’m surprised she didn’t tell me," he added, thoughtfully.

Callie sighed. "Joe, there really was nothing TO tell. Nothing was there. And yes—Frank told me that if there was ever any trouble to get him first and you second. I mean, I CAN do these things on my own, but…" She paused, her pride hurt, "I am a little scared, and I think I might need help."

Joe recognized her tone. He heard it in his own voice a thousand times—the sound of wounded pride. "Cal," he said gently, "We can all use a little help sometimes. Now," he said, standing up, "We’re getting out of here." He reached his hand down to Callie who, perplexed, took it. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"I’m doing what Frank said," he replied evenly, leading Callie back through the hotel. "He made you promise to come to me for help if you needed it, and I’m here. I’d prefer you not to go with me, but you’re as stubborn as… well, me… and I know you’ll want to be there."

"Be where?" she asked, still following him through the lobby and into the garage area.

"Be back at the spot in the woods. We’ll check it out together." He arrived at his car, and took out his keys.

"B… but Joe!" Callie exclaimed. "You and Frank were going to spend the day together. I don’t want to ruin that."

Joe rolled his eyes at her as he went around and opened the door. "Whatever. If you’re right, and nothing is there, then we’ll be back before either of our significant others is even awake!"

"And if I’m wrong?" Callie asked, as she sat down and shut the door.

"Then you’re wrong," he said evenly, trying not to worry her. "But you won’t be. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you." He paused, and then smiled to break the mood as he pulled out into traffic. "See, Cal, when you date one of the devilishly handsome and seductive Hardy brothers, who surround themselves with mystery and intrigue, then you’re bound to stumble upon a case or two! But don’t fear!" He met her eyes quickly before turning back to the road. "You’re with Hardy… Joe Hardy."

Callie laughed despite herself. "That was an awful James Bond, Joe!"

Satisfied that he had cheered her up, he gave her a quick wink before turning on the radio. Less than an hour later, they arrived at the original location. Exiting the car, Callie shivered despite the early warmth of the day. Coming around to her side, Joe asked where they were headed to, and began the journey into the woods, led on by Callie’s directions.

When they arrived near the spot, Joe quickly turned to Callie, and caught her arm. "I want you to stay here," he said sternly to her.

"No way, Jose!" Callie replied. "Look, I’m nervous as anything, but you’re not going down there alone."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you’re not."

Joe exhaled, loudly. "Are you this terrible with Frank?" he had to ask.

"Yeah, much in the same way you are with Vanessa. So, we’re even. Let’s go." Callie started to descend the small hill, and Joe followed her, grumbling under his breath. He couldn’t shake the bad feeling he was getting doing this, and he found himself wishing that he had tried much harder to persuade Callie to stay back at the hotel.

After a half an hour, Joe started to feel a little better. Things had been quiet; dead, in fact. Callie had shown him the places where she had been by herself and with Vanessa, and he was beginning to come to the same conclusion that there was nothing more to be found. He was checking in the final area around the cabin and he had left Callie behind momentarily to re-check the area in which the jeep had last been seen. He was about to head back over when he heard a piercing scream.

At once, he ran out of the cabin and had just a moment to see Callie being grabbed by a man and violently pushed to the ground. It looked to be a bad shove; Callie lay immobile, unmoving on the ground.

"No!" Joe shouted, sprinting for the man who looked shocked to notice his presence. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that the man made a sweeping gesture with his arm, as if signaling another person for aid. Joe barely had time to process it as he was hit squarely in the back and brought to the ground. Someone had landed on top of him, and knocked the wind out of him.

He began to fight violently against his attacker, and had succeeded in getting in a few solid punches when he felt another pair of hands grab him around the throat. He could barely breathe as he felt the two men upon him, attacking him from either side. The last thing he saw, before the darkness encircled him, was Callie lying unconscious on the ground. He had time for a brief flash of worry for her before his airway was cut off, and then he descended into nothingness.

Some time later, Joe opened his eyes and struggled to focus. Breathing was difficult. He tried to move, but realized he couldn’t. He was tied to some sort of pole, his arms restrained behind him. His body ached, but he began to get his bearings, feeling a bit stronger. Looking over, he immediately noticed Callie, his eyes growing wide in horror as he realized that she was sitting in a chair, some distance away from him. Her arms were also tied behind her, painfully tightly from the looks of it.

"Callie?" he whispered, not yet having his full voice back yet. "Are you okay?"

That question was never answered, though. At once, two men entered the room, and headed straight for Callie. They were smiling and laughing. Callie recoiled in horror as she heard one man say, sadistically, "Now, it’s time to have fun!" Turning to Callie, he continued, "You were warned, Callie. Now you’re going to see what happens when you poke your nose into the business of others. Suffering comes in so many forms. Shall we begin?!"