"Joe," she whispered, "How did you escape?" He was quiet for a second.

"We jimmied the lock," Joe replied, still a bit in shock in seeing Vicki alive, "When the man left, we got out. What happened back there? We all thought you were dead."

"Once the shooting started," Vicki explained, "We managed to get away and went into the woods. Actually, we’re supposed to be out there still. The Gray Man must have noticed we’re gone by now. Where’s C. J.?"

"Over there," Joe replied, "Frank got her out of the way. How did the shooting begin?" Vicki and C. J. took turns explaining how everything had happened.

"It got quiet suddenly," Frank said when they were done, "I think the gunshots have stopped. What do you say to checking it out?"

"Let’s go," Vicki said, leading the way. Callie came at the back, "I wonder if everything is safe now."

They silently walked outside and looked around. The gunshots had come from their right and they saw that several men had been taken into custody. Suddenly, a hand landed on Vicki’s shoulder and she spun around, as did Frank and Joe.

"It’s him," Joe said, "He’s the man who was in the room with us. Come on!" The older man in front of them was tall with brown hair and blue eyes.

Vicki stopped Joe before he could go any farther, "Vicki, what are you doing?"

"Cool it Joe," Vicki said, "Guys, I would like you to meet my uncle. Uncle, meet Frank and Joe Hardy, Callie Shaw, and C. J. Summers."

"This is your uncle," C. J. asked, "I’ve heard you talk about him a lot, but this is the first time I’ve met him."

"Do you know what’s going on," Frank asked, "Why did all the gunshots stop?"

"Well," Vicki’s uncle said, "We’ve managed to capture a fair amount of these men, but one of them escaped. He ran off and we’re looking for him now."

"Who was he," Vicki asked, "Does anyone else know besides you?"

"Yes," Vicki’s uncle answered, "I’m afraid someone else does. It’s your father. He knows all about it and according to some men, this guy was heading in that direction. He knows everything about your family." A gray car roared to life nearby and sped towards the group. They barely managed to get out of the way.

The next thing Vicki saw was the Gray Man making his way over and he didn’t look too happy. Vicki and C. J. took a step back as he marched up, "What’s going on here?" He turned to the girls, "Where were you?"

"Around," Vicki answered, "Did you expect us to do absolutely nothing." Before the Gray Man could object, Vicki grabbed C. J. and ran towards her car, "Come on, we have to get to my house before they do." Frank, Joe, and Callie ran off too, leaving Vicki’s uncle to explain everything to Mr. Gray. They knew that it wouldn’t be long before the man reached her house.

Back at Vicki’s house, her parents had already woken up and seen Vicki’s note. Since it was known that Vicki often did this, they didn’t worry too much about it. Hours had passed since they received the note, so they were in the office upstairs, working on some files.

Becky had left a few hours later, saying that she was meeting her friend at Ultimate Pizza, the favorite teen hangout.

When Becky arrived, she immediately sat with her friend Marisa Sparrow. One of the waiters ran over and tapped her on the shoulder.

It was Paul Edwards, the boyfriend of Vicki’s friend Sarah. "I need to talk to you right away," he said, "Just give me a minute okay?"

It seemed to Becky that something was wrong and she excused herself to go speak with him, "What is it," she asked.

"Late last night, I noticed a man walking in here. He went to the pay phone in back and called someone. Since I haven’t seen him around before, I followed him and listened in on his conversation."

"So," Becky asked, "Get to the point already. What’s this have to do with me?"