"What was that about," he asked, turning to C. J. and Joe, "He doesn’t sound like one of the guys we’re after."

"I wonder who he was talking to," C. J. said, "He could be the man who was helping us out."

"What man," Joe asked, "You didn’t mention anything about him before."

"You see," C. J. stated, "From the start of this case, someone has been giving us clues that led us down here in the first place. That might be him."

Vicki looked up as the door opened once again. She was surprised though when no one entered the room. All Vicki saw was someone getting shoved in and the door slamming shut behind them. She stood up and rushed over.

She had managed to get her ropes off earlier that day and they hadn’t bothered to put them back on. The person stood up and looked around. Vicki pulled a mini flashlight from her pocket and flipped the switch. The light bulb above had burned out a long time ago. She immediately recognized the figure.

"Joe Hardy," she exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find you," he answered, "My job is finished…Now we just have to get out of here."

"Don’t bother," Vicki told him, "This place is solid. You can’t even open that door without a blowtorch. Besides, I don’t have my lock pick set with me. I forgot to bring it along."

"Understood," Joe replied, "I didn’t get mine either. Are you sure there’s no way out of here?"

"Positive," she said, "There’s no way out of here that I can see."

"What about secret passages," Joe asked, "I know for a fact that’s how we got here. Maybe there’s another passage we can get out of."

"You can check if you want," Vicki said, "but I don’t see a way out of here unless we get lucky…and fast." She paused, "You know, I should have guessed that you would be on the case."

"Why would you think that I wasn’t," Joe asked her, "Of course I would be helping. Why would you think that?"

"I don’t know," Vicki replied, "but I knew that you would. C. J. couldn’t have handled this case by herself. She would have needed help."

"She called us up as soon as she found out," Joe stated, "From what she’s told us, everyone is pretty worried right now."

"I wouldn’t have put it passed her," Vicki said and laughed, "You know how she can get. Sometimes I wonder if it’s really me who scares her. I think she scares herself too. She worries too much."

"You’re right," Joe agreed, "but I think she had a good reason to be worried this time. How would you feel if this happened to C. J?"

"Probably the same," Vicki admitted, "but I don’t think I would have taken it quite the same way. You know how I am though."

"Yeah, but let’s check this place out now. Maybe there’s a way out." Vicki and Joe searched the room top to bottom, but came up with nothing. With nothing else to do, they decided to wait and see if something happened.

Frank, Joe, and C. J. walked back out of the secret passage and looked around. There was no one in sight though, and they headed back to Mr. Thompson’s office. If he was there, maybe they could get him to give them some more information.

Unfortunately for them, Mr. Thompson wasn’t in, but it gave them a chance to look around his office. After a quick search, which revealed nothing, the three wondered what to do next. It wasn’t like they could do much at the moment. As they walked back out, another door down the hall opened. The man they had seen before now spotted them and started walking over.

Mr. Silver listened to the man’s proposition. According to what he heard, these guys would get away clean and he would be responsible for the missing papers.

"Let me get this straight," Mr. Silver stated, "You want the papers, the money and to get away with no evidence against you?"

"Exactly," the man said, "That’s all we ask of you. It seems like a fair deal to me."

"You drive a hard bargain," Mr. Silver commented, "but I’m not sure what exactly I can give you now."

"Just give us everything you have now," the man explained, "You can worry about the other stuff later. Deal?" Mr. Silver thought for a moment and reluctantly shook hands. They weren’t getting away that easy though.