As the first rays of sunrise illuminated the sky above Black’s forest, Joe Hardy turned to Callie and put his finger to his lips. His blue eyes were brilliantly triumphant.

‘Shhh,’ he whispered. ‘I think we’ve found the psycho’s place.’

As Callie crouched down behind the bushes with Joe, her eyes followed the direction he was pointing in. In the smallest of clearings, partially hidden, was a roughly constructed cabin. She had to admit she was very impressed with Joe’s powers of deduction. He had sketched a map using rough estimates of the distance between the stream and their own campsite, the time it took the kidnapper to leave the stream and leave a note for them before they had returned after their ‘swim’, the locations of where they had found Vanessa’s scarf and the binoculars, and plain old gut instinct. Moving quietly through the forest, they had followed the rough map and come upon the cabin just as the sun was coming up. They had secured strips of material to tree branches to mark their way.

‘What do we do now?’ whispered Callie.

Joe took the binoculars from the back-pack and brought them to his eyes.

‘A little spying from a distance to begin with,’ he told her, ‘and then we’ll need to take a closer look.’

‘Tell me what you’re seeing,’ Callie said anxiously.

Joe scanned the cabin and surrounds.

‘There’s a chair out the front. There’s not really a window, but there’s a rough opening on this side. It was maybe once a window but it’s been partially patched over. That’s it really. Here; you take a look. I need to do a couple of things here.’

Callie took the binoculars and trained them on the cabin.

‘Please let them be here and be alright,’ she prayed.

Suddenly, the door of the cabin opened and the man who had dragged her into the stream emerged. Wordlessly, Callie thrust the binoculars into Joe’s hand, her eyes conveying urgency. She didn’t dare speak. Joe observed the kidnapper as he stretched, leant a rifle against the cabin door, and lit a cigarette. After a few deep inhalations, the man began busying himself making up the fire, presumably to boil some water for a hot drink.

‘Okay,’ Joe told Callie in a hushed whisper, ‘This is as good a time as any to take a closer look. I want to make sure Vanessa and Frank are actually in there. I want you to stay here, and stay out of sight. Keep watching through the binoculars. He has a gun and he’s rested it against the door. He won’t, but if he notices me, run like hell back to our campsite and stay hidden until Chet and Biff arrive.’ Before Callie could argue, Joe slipped away towards the cabin.

Callie trained the binoculars on the man, hardly daring to breathe. All sorts of wild imaginings ran through her mind. What if the man saw Joe and shot him? What if Vanessa and Frank weren’t there? What if Vanessa and/or Frank were dead? What if the man suddenly saw Callie and came after her?

Joe moved quickly and silently to the side of the cabin. A quick peek assured him that the kidnapper was absorbed in making the fire and preparing some breakfast. Taking a deep breath, he stood on his tip toes and peered in through the narrow opening in the wall of the cabin. In the gloom he saw two shapes huddled together on the far side of the room. As his eyes adjusted, he realised the two shapes were Frank and Vanessa. Not willing to risk trying to make contact with them, but desperately wanting to assure them that help was here, Joe crept back to where Callie was waiting.

‘They’re in there,’ he told her, his face giving little away.

‘Thank God,’ whispered Callie, handing the binoculars back to him. ‘Are they okay?"

‘Too dark to tell,’ was the grim reply.

‘So what do we do next?’ she asked him.

‘We wait until 10.00am,’ Joe told her. ‘Chet said he was going to pick up Biff and be here sometime this morning. I want to time the rescue with their arrival.’

‘But how do you know Chet won’t be late?’ she asked him, her face concerned. Joe grinned.

‘Callie, we’re talking about Chet and the possibility of lunch. He’s not going to be late. Trust me.’

…..

Inside the cabin, Vanessa opened her eyes after a restless sleep. She realised it was morning. Sitting up, she made eye contact with Frank. Beneath his eyes were the dark circles of fatigue, and his nose was slightly swollen. She knew without asking him that he hadn’t managed to sleep, but Frank still gave her a shaky smile and squeezed her hand. She felt dread creeping into her soul and began to will it away with mental pictures of Joe coming to rescue them at any minute.

……..

The time Callie and Joe had to spend waiting dragged slowly by for Joe. He was impatient to get moving and, hopefully, put an end to the present situation. For Callie, however, the minutes seemed to whiz by. She was anxious about what Joe might have in mind. Her intuition told her that he had not revealed his plan in its entirety.

They could see the kidnapper from their vantage point. He had eaten some breakfast, drank a hot drink, and settled down in the chair. The rifle remained propped up against the door. He seemed to be waiting – probably for Joe and Callie to make the next move, Joe thought.

After some time, Joe drew Callie’s attention to the back-pack.

‘You keep this with you,’ he told her. ‘There’s a couple of bottles of water, some energy bars, a small pair of bolt-cutters, and a torch. Frank and Ness will probably need some water and food by now,’ he said, gravely. ‘I’ve also put in a few bandages and some aspirin, although, hopefully, they won’t be needing those.’

‘What about the torch?’ asked Callie.

‘It’s pretty dark in the cabin,’ Joe explained, ‘and you’ll need it if things don’t quite go to plan and you end up spending the night in the forest.’

Callie nodded her head and took the back-back from him. She was trying hard to stay calm. Joe took another long look at the kidnapper before turning to face Callie again.

‘Hold out your hand,’ he said.

Curious, Callie did as he asked and looked into Joe’s eyes. Without breaking eye contact with her, Joe placed a small, metallic object onto her palm and closed her fingers around it.

‘Please give that back to Frank for me, just in case I’m not able to,’ he said in a hushed tone.

Callie looked down at the coin half and then back up at Joe with an incredulous look on her face.

‘You trust me? You trust me with this?’ she whispered.

Joe gave Callie a puzzled smile.

‘Of course I trust you,’ he said, as though her question was ridiculous. ‘I trust you like I trust Frank. Giving that to you is the next best thing to giving it to him personally.’

Callie slipped the precious object into her pocket and felt her heart constrict a little. The stress, lack of sleep and not knowing what was going to happen next were all starting to get to her. She looked back up at Joe.

‘I.. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t trust me, given the way I’ve spoken to you in the past,’ she whispered miserably. ‘I’d forgive you for not even liking me anymore’, she added.

Joe lifted the binoculars up to his eyes and took a closer look at the forest edge in front the clearing.

‘Cal, you’ve got it all wrong. You’re precious to Frank and he thinks the absolute world of you, so you’re precious to me,’ Joe told her. ‘You get snappy with me, but I understand why. I know you’ve kind of never forgiven me for what happened to your best friend, but I’ve just got used to you feeling like that. You’ve probably had every right.’

‘Joe! I don’t blame you for what happened to Iola!’ Callie exclaimed as loudly as she dared. She tugged at Joe’s jacket sleeve until he put the binoculars down.

‘Come on Callie! You’ve been giving me daggers ever since it happened. You said yourself that you were surprised at how badly I seemed to take it.’

Callie was so stunned that she took a moment to find her voice again.

‘Joe. Believe me. I never blamed you for what happened! I just remember how angry Iola was with you that day and… and… well… she was my friend.’ Callie’s voice trailed off. Neither she nor Joe said anything for a little while. The trees whispered as the gentle breeze disturbed their leaves.

‘She was gone, and then Frank was so overwhelmed with worry for you. He couldn’t seem to focus on anything else. I felt like…like…’

‘Like you lost both of them?’ Joe finished.

Callie looked away from Joe’s face, her own cheeks coloring as she nodded and finally admitted to her boyfriend’s beloved younger brother how jealousy and resentment had affected her relationship with him. Amusement and mild annoyance at Frank’s closeness to Joe had mutated into jealousy and dislike after the fateful day that had changed all their lives irrevocably. Deep in her heart, Callie knew that Joe deserved only compassion and understanding, but she had been unable to express either towards him. It really did horrify her that Joe had interpreted her attitude towards him as blame.

Joe, a little amazed by Callie’s statement that she hadn’t spent the last year blaming him, thought about what she had just revealed to him. He decided that he could empathise with her to an extent, but really didn’t know what to say.

‘I’m sorry Cal,’ Joe told her with a helpless expression. ‘What can I say? Even though I thought that you blamed me, I never held it against you. I’m sorry you felt left out of things. I’m sure Frank never meant for you to feel like that. I certainly didn’t.’

Callie shook her head vehemently.

‘Joe Hardy, stop saying you’re sorry! That’s half your problem! You think everything affecting people around you is your fault! I should be saying sorry to you! I felt jealous of Frank wanting to spend time looking out for your welfare without even bothering to get to know you or understand you properly. What’s happened to Frank and Vanessa this weekend has been like a nightmare, but it’s shown me the real you.’

Callie turned and faced Joe, her face sincere and resolute.

‘I’m sorry for any mean thing I’ve ever said to you, and for making you think I blamed you for what happened to Iola.’

Joe was a bit bemused but was totally convinced that Callie was speaking from her heart. He gave her a wide grin.

‘Well, if we’re playing ‘True Confessions’ here, I’ve always thought you had a fair amount of spunk for a girl, and the last two days have shown me that I’ve underestimated you. When this is all over, I’m going to recommend strongly to Frank that he keep you.’

A bit concerned that Callie was suddenly going to get even more emotional, Joe returned to the more important business at hand.

‘It’s nearly time to get started,’ he told her, once again assuming an authoritative manner. ‘Now listen to what we’re gonna do. In a little while, I’m going to move right away from you and make some noise; create a diversion. The kidnapper will be suspicious and move away from the cabin. As soon as he’s out of sight, get into the cabin and rescue Ness and Frank.’

Callie nodded and then her eyes widened as her mind deduced the rest of Joe’s plan. She remembered the conversation they had had while he had been digging the hole.

‘Joe,’ she said breathlessly grabbing his arm. ‘Please tell me you’re not planning to be the bait.’

Joe said nothing. He glanced at her concerned face then busied himself tightening his shoelaces.

‘Joe, you can’t put yourself in danger like that! He’s got a gun!’

Joe shrugged his shoulders. Callie dug her fingers tightly into his arm.

‘Joe Hardy, Frank would never agree to this!’

‘We don’t have any other options, Cal,’ said Joe seriously. ‘He has a gun and we have no idea whether Frank and Ness are injured or not. I’m not going to sit around any longer. This is our best option.’

‘Can’t we wait until Chet arrives,’ Callie pleaded with him. ‘You said he was coming back today. He can ring for help.’

‘It’s already been too long,’ Joe told her. ‘If that creep was eavesdropping the other night, he knows that Chet is due back today. We have to make a move before he does. There’s always advantage in taking the initiative. We need to do something now.’ Joe could see how anxious Callie had become.

‘How about I promise that if something awful happens to me, I’ll take full responsibility and tell Frank that you’re not to blame in the slightest? And I also promise not to use the words I’m sorry!’

It was a proposal designed to make Callie laugh, but, to Joe’s dismay, her eyes filled with tears.

‘What’s the matter?’ Joe asked.

‘How can you make jokes about something bad happening to you?’ said Callie, her bottom lip trembling.

‘Aw, come on Callie,’ said Joe. ‘It’ll be okay. You of all people should know by now that I’m pretty much indestructible!’

He looked at his watch and grabbed the back-pack.

‘This is it!’ hissed Joe. He helped Callie put the back-pack on and then moved into a crouched position, ready to go.

‘Get in. Get them. And get out,’ he reminded her. ‘Make sure you go back to the campsite following the trail we’ve left, but keep quiet.’

Callie nodded. She was amazed by how calm Joe looked. She felt so nervous that she thought she might have to scream to release the tension. As Joe made to move off, she grabbed his arm.

‘Please be careful,’ she pleaded with him. She didn’t want to be the one to have to describe Joe’s last moments on this Earth to his brother. Joe smiled and cupped her chin with his hand.

‘It’ll be fine Cal,’ he assured her. ‘Just think of this as another game. It’s a game of strategy and speed. We can already see the finishing line. And the prize for the winners is priceless. Just keep reminding yourself of the prize.’

With that, he kissed her lightly on the forehead.

‘Just take care of my girl and that big boy scout of a brother of mine, and I’ll deal with the psycho. It’s my specialty,’ he whispered as he crept towards the clearing.

The kidnapper was sitting on the ground by the cabin door, drinking from a bottle. His gun was resting against the door. As Callie watched, her heart in her throat, but buoyed by Joe’s words, Joe picked up a small rock and hurled it at the man. It hit the door with a resounding whack. The man scrambled to his feet and grabbed his gun. He scanned the forest until he spied Joe Hardy backing away from him, pretending to be shocked by the man’s detection of him.

Joe took off, zigzagging through the forest, following the path he and Callie had marked. He could hear the man’s pounding footsteps behind him. Joe had to time his run perfectly. Too slow and he would be captured. Too fast and his pursuer would give up and return to the shack. Too straight a path and he’d be on the receiving end of a bullet. As he ran, Joe fully appreciated how fit sports had made his body. He could feel the strain of the last couple of days, but he felt sure he had enough in reserve to lead this nutter a merry dance. ‘Catch me if you can, Catch me if you can, Catch me if you can,’ his mind chanted in his head in rhythm with his breathing.