"Urggghhh!!! DAD" came an ominous sigh of frustration from Frank's mouth as he slammed the file hard on the mahogany topped table. He sat down on the swivel chair and put his head in his hands, his hands entwined in his hair holding onto them as though they were the only things that gave him a sense of reality.

Nothing was making any remote sense to him; everything seemed to be debris of after a tornado, whether it was his dad's study or state of mind of the people around him. His father's study was messier than its usual standards, Joe was really messy whenever it came to his things and he was such a pro at it that Frank thought it wasn't just Joe's work but an inborn talent. And true to his hunch, Joe inherited the messiness from their dad and the talent only magnified in Joe.

There were files tossed about carelessly lying open, half closed, upside down... in all sorts of weirdness. Desk drawers lay open. But the biggest thing out of place was Frank in his father's study in the latter's absence and without his permission. His dad was probably down at the police station trying to tie up the loose ends of Joe's kidnapping; his mother and aunt were with Joe in the hospital. The last thing anyone could have expected was Frank leaving Joe.

But the truth was not just that Frank couldn't endure to see Joe like this, true they had their fair share of injuries in the past (more than fair share) but Joe had never been so close to death and a major role was played by their dad in Joe's current predicament though not intentional but his negligence had led to Joe having such a close shave with death.

The day Frank had gotten the news of Joe's abduction and how he was not informed on his dad's order, Frank had flipped. He had big showdown with Fenton. Frank had never shouted at his dad but that day his patience was wearing out. No matter how much he provoked his dad into giving the reason why was he not informed, his dad couldn't or wouldn't give him the reason. He had cried himself hoarse with fury but the only thing he achieved was that his dad requested him not to get too involved that was like the last nail in the coffin. It ended in Frank fuming and leaving the house with a promise that what his dad had failed to do in the past week he would do it.

And sure enough he began to dig around to find out as much as he could for which he turned into some sort of a rebel. He felt bad about all this but it was the only way of getting around his dad. He knew it that as soon as Joe came back everything would be normal again. He was trying all means but still couldn't get himself to sleuth around his dad's study but when everything was turning out to be a bigger mystery and puzzling him more, he had no option but to be there.

Few minutes in his dad's study he realized he should have been here long back because among the highly distorted sea of files and papers lay some loose sheets of paper with yellow rose prints all over. Those papers carried certain cryptic messages, clues and puzzles. He sat down with those, the more he pored over them the clearer it became that these puzzles led inevitably to Joe.

Frank didn't know what to do first, either to confront his dad or to pursue the clues. But this was never a dilemma to ponder over, it was always Joe, any matter with his dad could be solved later. The clues deciphered to an abandoned warehouse in outskirts of Bayport. All the way the thought kept on crossing his mind that was it a trap, when he reaches there, will he find Joe?

The sight of the warehouse spoke volumes of the years it had stood there with no maintenance; one blow of strong wind could bring the whole structure down. The sight that met his eyes would certainly leave him haunting for years to come. Lying in the corner trussed up was Joe. His entire face was swollen and was marred with injuries, many wounds looked infected. His breathing seemed to be erratic, every breathe was accompanied by a heart wrenching groan. He was certain that Joe had more than two broken ribs, he was very cold and looked blue lying there bracing the chilly winds. There was a deep knife wound in his side which was festering. Flies and maggots were flying over it; a pool of blood was formed below him which meant excessive blood loss.

Frank had never believed that a fellow human could do such inhumanity towards other human, but that day his belief shattered in pieces. Hadn't those scums done enough damage that they left him for dead? Frank was scared to move Joe or open his bonds in case he aggravated his multitude of injuries. He removed his jacket and placed it on Joe, by the time the paramedics arrived he wanted to make Joe as warm as possible; because he knew hypothermia always interfered with surgical operations. He gently lifted Joe's prone form after removing as many bonds as possible and laid his head on his lap hugging him close. He kept on murmuring nonsensical things in Joe's ears mindful of Joe's contusion he kept on weaving his hands through Joe's blond hair.

It seemed like an eternity when Frank heard the wailing sirens of the ambulance; Frank didn't want to leave Joe's side. He then felt gentle pressure of strong hands prying Frank's hand away from Joe's body. The paramedics immediately set down to try any stabilize Joe. Frank couldn't grasp anything happening around him, someone was asking him something, he couldn't focus. The only thing that was making sense and seemed tangible was the strong, gentle hands that still held him. Without thinking he just turned and buried his head in the man's chest and began to cry loudly, he had never wailed like this in his entire life (tough guys couldn't cry). He cried and cried and then he heard the words

"It's going to be alright son. Joe's going to be alright" those words made something click in his mind; Frank immediately withdrew himself from his dad's embrace. He stared at his dad and looked over towards Joe who was being loaded in the ambulance. Then frank remembered his dad not summoning him, not informing him of Joe's kidnapping, not giving any reasons, and the yellow rosed pages.

"Frank! Son" his dad called out. But Frank ran away from him not even looking back. Without a word he went and sat by his brother's side in the ambulance, holding his hand.

author's note: as promised i am trying to update regularly. thanks for the reviews. the coming chapters may deal with adult content, nothing graphical. Writing the excerpt about Joe had been really painful. reading about torture still is manageable but writing takes a toll and a lot of courage. if it is confusing you, the story is alternating between the present and what happened in the past through Frank's dairy.

pleeeaaaaaaassssssssseeeeeee Read and Review. they mean a lot.

thanks