The room was silent for a moment, the shock settling in. This was their last chance to make everything okay again. Mrs. Silver and Becky said nothing, all their objections lost and unspoken. The phone rang once again, startling everyone from his or her thoughts. Mr. Silver picked it up.

"Mr. Silver," C. J. said, "We think we have a good lead here. Someone wants us to go to Midland and we’re heading over there now."

"How did you find out," he asked.

"Someone called my cell phone and told me to go," C. J. replied, "I think this is our last chance and the last time we have to finish the job. Anything on your end?"

Mr. Silver quickly gave a brief outline of the previous phone conversation. The line was silent for a moment, "Mr. Silver, I hope everything turns out okay," she finally said, "We’ll find Vicki. I’m sure of it, but we have to work fast. Has Joe found out yet?" She was referring to Joe Clark, Vicki’s boyfriend.

"He knows," Mr. Silver said, "Why don’t I have him join me? He’ll want to help out and besides, I’m supposed to go to Midland anyway. I’ll meet you at the airport if possible. I should be arriving by ten in the morning. Bye." He called Joe and arranged to pick him up after his trip to the office.

He hung up and turned back to his wife and daughter, "I’ll call you if anything comes up." With that, he rushed upstairs to pack a small bag and then headed to his office for the papers.

"C. J, what’s wrong," Frank asked, seeing the look on her face, "What did he say?" He had rarely seen C. J. with a loss for words.

"He’s heading to Midland tonight," C. J. finally managed to say, "If he doesn’t bring the money and the papers, they’ll never see Vicki again."

"Don’t worry," Joe reassured her, "We should have this case solved by tomorrow."

"Her boyfriend is coming too," C. J. stated, "He’s a little like you himself. With him on our side, we shouldn’t have a problem. I’m just tired and worried, that’s all. We’re supposed to meet them at the airport tomorrow."

The three rushed out to get their tickets and loaded the next subway to Midland. There was little talking the whole way there, each wondering what they would find next.

When they finally arrived, they looked around the room, seeing if anyone was going to approach them. No one seemed to worry about a couple of teenagers though. They had more important things on their minds. Deciding to kill time for a few moments, they started to look around the place. Frank was looking at brochures for a clue as to what was so important about Midland.

"How could we have missed it," Frank suddenly said, sending C. J. and Joe running up, "It was so obvious."

"What is," C. J. asked, "Frank, what is it?"

"Midland is a major oil resource," Frank explained, "There’s a rig around here too. Mr. Silver must have had some information about the company, but what?"

"I don’t know," C. J. replied, "but whatever it was caused Vicki to get kidnapped and we’re going to find out."

"We should find a hotel," Frank said, "I don’t think we can find anything tonight. We need to have a plan before we move into action."

"I’d rather keep looking around," C. J. said, "but I have to agree. There’s nothing we can do now."

"Yeah," Joe agreed, "Let’s see what happens in the morning. We need to meet Mr. Silver at the airport tomorrow anyway. We should probably be there too. Getting in trouble isn’t going to guarantee that."

C. J. and Frank shot each other a glance. They knew that it was probably hard for Joe to say that, but they didn’t complain. The three knew that they would rather be finding where the oil company was, but decided to wait for more word.

In the morning Frank, Joe, and C. J. went straight to the airport. It was around ten when they finally arrived. Mr. Silver’s plane hadn’t landed yet, but was due to come in shortly. It was a while before they all saw Mr. Silver stepping out. A teenage boy was right behind him.

Joe Clark was eighteen and at six feet tall had blond hair and green eyes. He looked upset, but C. J. could tell he was trying his best to keep his spirits up. C. J. noticed the object Joe was holding in his right hand. It was the necklace that he had given Vicki before.

"You guys must be Frank and Joe Hardy," Joe Clark introduced himself, "I’ve heard a lot about you two from Vicki and C. J. I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of you two." For the first time in days, the teens laughed. Joe Clark always came in handy in a time like this.

"Okay," Mr. Silver stated, "We need to get to work. Here’s the plan."