They had arrived at an old office building fifteen minutes ago. Even after being questioned and telling most everything they knew, the men still weren’t convinced that they were being entirely honest. The girls had been up to this point. Leaving out part of the story wasn’t a lie, it was just holding back.

"Now I’m going to ask you one more time," the guy said, "What do you know about Michael?"

"We’ve already told you," Vicki insisted, "He disappeared at age six and no one has seen him since. His family still lives in Sport though. That’s all we know."

"Listen carefully," the man replied to her answer, "You know something, I can tell. If you tell me what it is, maybe I’ll go easy on you."

"You know that’s not true," Vicki responded, "No matter what we tell you, criminals like you never keep promises…and they shouldn’t make them either." There was silence while the man considered what she had just said. He looked mad enough to do anything at the moment.

"You’re right," he finally answered, "I probably won’t keep that promise. But I can keep this one…if you don’t, I’ll never let you out of here." Vicki risked a glance at C. J, who was in turn, risking her own glance. When their eyes met, Vicki could tell C. J. had an idea forming. It was all the two girls needed.

"You know," C. J. said, "I would be more cooperative if we could be more assured of that promise. What do you say to taking these ropes off?"

"What you think I am, an idiot," the man shot back, "I can’t do that!"

"I’ll tell you everything I know," Vicki said, putting on her best act, "just, please, take these ropes off. You can trust me on this promise. Please?" He thought for a moment before coming forward and releasing their bonds.

The second he turned back around Vicki and C. J. silently counted to three on their fingers. On three, they both rushed forward. C. J. aimed low, while Vicki aimed high, taking him down easily. The next second, he was out. They used their old ropes to bind and gag him.

"Idiot," Vicki and C. J. said together, then laughed.

The two girls silently opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. Right when they got to the end of the hallway, C. J. pulled Vicki back.

"Hold it," she said, "I think someone’s coming our way." Soon the footsteps passed and they walked out. The door was right there and they quickly rushed to it. Outside, C. J’s green van was parked and Vicki tossed her best friend the keys.

"You’re driving this time," she replied to C. J’s puzzled glance, "I’m sticking to convertibles for now." She looked at her watch, "Come on. We’re way late to our meeting with Frank and Joe." Seconds later they were on the road again.

After the quick discussion with Michael, both Frank and Joe had promised to find out what was going on. Then they decided they had just enough time to make it to the lake before the girls.

Once they arrived though, the only people they recognized were Stephanie, Catlin, and Justin. The three immediately skated over.

"Have you guys seen Vicki and C. J," Joe asked.

They shook their heads, "Nope," Stephanie replied, "I haven’t seen them all day. Why?"

"We were supposed to meet them here," Frank answered, "I’m sure we said it was around this time. So, they haven’t showed up?"

"Afraid not," Catlin said, "It’s been since yesterday since I saw them last. I’m sure they’re fine though. You know how those two are."

"You mean we know how Vicki is," Frank corrected her, "C. J. would never do something like this. Vicki on the other hand, I could see her pulling this stunt."

"She’s done it before," Stephanie agreed, "I think they’ll be here in a few minutes."

The brothers agreed to stay and wait for a few minutes. Instead of standing around though, they decided to skate.

When thirty minutes had passed and the girls hadn’t shown up, the brothers started to get concerned or angry, whichever one, it wasn’t going to end nicely once they were found.

Seeing that they weren’t going to show up, they figured something was wrong. Stephanie, Catlin, and Justin had left a minute ago. They had originally stayed to keep the boys company, but when no one came, the three left.