Chapter 14:

"Move it, Frank," the dark haired teen told himself when he awakened the next morning. The aftereffects of the drug had left him dizzy and nauseous, even when he was lying down on the cold stone floor. That must be one hell of a drug, he muttered inwardly, fighting the urge to fall asleep again. Ignoring the blinding headache that the drug gave him, Frank forced himself to sit up. No more sleeping, as much as you want to, he said to his aching body. You need to get out of here.

Glancing around, he found that he was alone in a small dingy room. Four blank walls, now grey with age, stared back him as he swept his eyes over the bare room, hoping to find some way of escape The only window was a small, barred one near the ceiling, about ten feet from the ground. There was no way out except though the door, which he guessed, was locked. Silently, he wondered where Katie was.

He was just about to work on the bonds around his hands when he heard a sound outside the door. A scuffling of feet, followed by a muffled squeal. Realizing that someone was coming, he slid back down onto the floor, and closed his eyes. There was no way he was going to let whoever it was administer that drug on him again.

The door opened, and a girl was pushed in. There was a gasp and a thud, as she fell over her feet. She lay there silently for a moment, as the footsteps retreated and the door clicked shut again

Almost at once, Frank's eyes snapped open. "Katie!" he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper, seeing the girl lying not too far from him. Like himself, her hands and feet were bound, but she had a gag in her mouth too. But he breathed in relief when he saw that she was conscious.

"Kate," he hissed. "Katie, are you alright?"

The girl looked over. She nodded slightly. Slowly and painfully, she tried to wiggle herself up to a sitting position, wincing whenever she moved her feet. She had just hurt her ankle – the one that she had sprained – further.

Finally, she managed to get herself to sit up, and inched her back up to the wall. She looked pale and tired, and Frank noticed that her left cheek was beginning to swell. Did they hit her? he wondered, taking in the bruise on her jaw. He wished that he could take gag from her mouth. That would at least make her feel more comfortable. He wondered who their captors were. Was she taken just because she was with him in his car? Or was he taken because he was with her?

Feeling a sudden urge to comfort the younger girl, Frank inched himself a little nearer, until he was almost beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Katie looked up at him and tried to smile, but the gag prevented her from doing so. So she just nodded her head. Frank felt a pang in his heart, as he realized that the girl was trying hard not to cry. He took in the bruises on her arms and legs, wishing that he could pull her close and hold her. Though Katie was in his class, and they were only a year apart in their ages, it felt as if she were miles younger – a rather delicate flower in Frank's eyes, and he was determined to protect her till they got out safely.

"What happened?" Frank probed again. "Did they hit you?" She almost nodded in response, but hesitated when she saw the concern in his dark eyes. So, she shook her head airily instead, with another attempted smile, to indicate that she was fine. Frank kept his gaze on her for a while, before he started on his bonds again.

Damn these ropes! he cursed inwardly. They will take forever to get loose! Frank worked diligently on his bonds, hoping to loosen them, but in vain, as the ropes were tightly knotted. He wished he had a knife, but though he hadn't one, he was not giving up. This was not the first time he had been abducted and tied, and drugged even worse. He had been in situations worse than this before. In fact, there were times where he even almost died, held hostage with a gun or even tied up with a bomb ticking near his head, only to be rescued at the very last minute. He was used to this, but he was pretty sure Katie was not.

His wrists sore from all the tugging and pulling, he finally decided to take a break. "Let me see if I can untie yours instead,"" he said to Katie.

Katie's eyes snapped open. She had just closed her eyes in a short silent prayer, for them to get out of there safely. She, too, had tried to wriggle her hands out of the ropes earlier, but without success. Her mouth felt dry, but that was probably her own fault. Her abductor wouldn't have gagged her if she hadn't screamed. Still, she felt a lot more comforted now that Frank was in the same room. Not that she wished Frank any harm, but Frank's presence was just – comforting.

Frank cursed inwardly when he saw the bonds on Katie's wrists. The ropes were cinched and knotted so tightly that it would take forever to loosen. Whoever tied them up must be a professional knotter, or a boy scout. Oh well, at least now, he could see how the ropes went – perhaps this knowledge might help him work around them.

He cast one more glance at Katie's injured ankle. She wouldn't be able to run even if she had gotten loose. As he turned back to his own bonds, he felt Katie's delicate fingers on his left wrist, tracing the same ropes. She had caught his glance, and immediately paralleled his thoughts. He gave a girl a grateful smile – he could sure use some help here.

They had almost gotten one of the ropes to loosen when the door suddenly swung open again. Not having the time to slide himself back down onto the floor, Frank hid his arms behind his back against the wall and braced himself to swing his bonded feet at his captor, in case he was threatened with that drugged syringe again. But his captor didn't. He strode up to Katie instead.

"Where are you taking her?" Frank demanded. He studied their captor intently. The guy was masked, but his eyes looked strangely familiar. Frank could not place where he had seen them somewhere before.

Katie gave a little squirm as the masked captor dragged her to her feet. "Don't hurt her," Frank found himself saying. "Look, it's me that you want, isn't it? Take it out with me if you want to. Leave her alone!"

His captor snickered at him, "We'll deal with you later," Frank heard a familiar voice say. The man snickered again and hauled Katie out of the room despite Frank's protests.

-xx-

"Any news of Frank yet?" asked Vanessa worriedly, as she stepped into the Hardys' home the next day. She had come over to accompany Joe and Mrs. Hardy, and to lend whatever support they needed.

Joe shook his head dolefully. It had been a whole day since Frank was abducted, and they had still not heard from the kidnappers. He and the rest of the gang, together with Phil and Jerry, gone on a search around the town the last night, hoping to find some clue to Frank's whereabouts, but their search turned out futile.

"No, there is no ransom note, nothing. Not even a phone call that we can trace," he said miserably. "And Dad has shut himself in his study since he came back from Chief Collig's yesterday night." Vanessa took his arm and gave it a light squeeze.

Joe was silent for a moment. Memories from a previous case flashed through his mind. While he and Frank were on a case in Barbados, he had gotten close to a girl named Heather Reed. And Frank, always the cautious one, had asked him a question: How much do you really know about Heather?...

"Vanessa," Joe said after a long pause. "I know you and Katie are good friends. But tell me, how much do you really know about Katie?"