Everyone filed downstairs and into the living room where Frank lay on the floor, his hands and feet bound together with a rope, which encircled his neck. If he tried to loosen his bonds, he would strangle himself.

"I guess this means we are having turkey for dinner?" Joe asked, glancing at Peter.

Frank glared at his brother but couldn't retort because of the gag in his mouth. He felt a little better about his own predicament now that Joe was there, but he saw worry in Joe's eyes and that made him wary.

"So, how do you want to get rid of him?" Kevin asked.

"Let me break him," Freddie begged, a smile on his face. "Too bad it isn't Blondie," he added with a growl, showing the personal dislike he had taken to Joe when Joe had insulted him after the robbery.

"Shouldn't we let his dad know we have him?" Joe asked.

"What's the point?" Steve asked with the lift of an eyebrow. "His old man will just keep on investigating."

"Maybe not," Peter disagreed. "Joe escaped which left Hardy no reason to obey our commands." Peter glanced over at Joe as he said this. The only person who noticed though, was Frank. He immediately felt a twinge of fear. Not for himself, but for Joe.

"Jeff, you and Jim carry him to the basement and lock him up, then we'll have dinner," Peter ordered.

Joe grabbed Frank's shoulders and lifted as Jeff took his legs. Looking down into Frank's eyes, he could tell there was something Frank was bursting to tell him, but there was no way he could remove the gag with Jeff around.

They carried Frank down the stairs into the basement. When Jeff turned to go back upstairs. Joe pulled his pocketknife out and dropped it into Frank's hands before following. Joe had been so fast, Jeff hadn't even noticed the delay.

To Joe's surprise, dinner was spent discussing sports and movies. He felt guilty as he thought about Frank not getting anything to eat, but dared not say anything. After dinner, they adjourned to the living room.

"How are things progressing?" Peter asked Kevin, who seemed to be second in command.

"By the day after tomorrow, Hanover will have reached the mark," Kevin replied.

"And we can all retire rich," Steve said, leaning back on the sofa and putting his arms along the top.

"What about the aircraft?" Joe asked, looking at Peter. Peter's eyes narrowed introspectively as he gazed at Joe.

"What are you talking about?" Greg demanded, looking genuinely confused while all around him, he heard questions of surprise. But the one person who spoke with a twinge, stuck in his mind.

"Jim," Shandra laughed nervously. "You've been watching too many spy stories." Joe looked at her thoughtfully.

"How did you know about the aircraft?" Kevin asked, looking at Joe suspiciously.

Joe shrugged his shoulders. "I've heard things," he said.

"What?" Steve demanded, turning his attention to Kevin. "What's he talking about?"

"It doesn't concern you," Kevin snapped at Steve. "You've done your part, you'll get your money and clear out."

"Out of the country?" Joe asked.

Freddie stood up, looking suspiciously at Kevin now. "What's he talking about?" he demanded.

"Treason is one way of putting it," Joe replied in a droll voice.

"Treason!" Freddie shouted, joined by Greg and Steve who leapt to their feet to join Freddie.

"Spill it," Steve ordered, nostrils flaring, his hazel eyes mere slits.

Kevin slowly rose to his feet. In the process, he reached under his jacket and pulled out his gun. "How's this for an explanation?"

"Easy, Kevin," Peter said softly, stepping between the two and placing a hand on Kevin's wrist and pushing the hand holding the gun down. "Gentlemen," he said, looking at the threesome. "There is no need for concern. This is an entirely separate matter."

"So how come Jim knows so much about it?" Greg demanded.

"That is a very good question," Peter complimented him. He turned back to Joe. "Would you care to explain?"

"I heard some people talking in the lounge when I met Shandra," Joe answered. "They were discussing missing shipments."

"What do they have to do with aircraft?" Freddie asked.

"I did some checking," Joe lied, then, deciding to take a chance, he continued. "The missing shipments could all be used to construct aircraft."

"How would you know?" Jim asked. He was usually quite, letting his cousin speak for him but now he was interested in finding out how much Joe did know.

"I'm a pilot," Joe said. "I've had my license for almost a year." He paused to let that sink in. "Any pilot could identify some of the missing parts."

"How does that lead to treason?" Steve asked, staring at Joe thoughtfully.

"Before I inserted the virus, I checked to see what was missing. Then I hacked into Hanover and ran a search through their files. The DOD has commissioned Hanover to build them three experimental aircraft," Joe explained.

"You know what we are doing and it doesn't bother you?" Shandra asked him.

Joe gave a lazy smile. "What did you think I was going to do with the disk I took from that guy's office when I first started?" he asked. "I know where the money is."

Shandra gave Joe a brilliant smile and snuggled up next to him. "I knew you were ambitious the moment I saw you," she complimented him.

Joe smiled down at her, then looked up at Peter who seemed to be watching him with a puzzled expression. "I thought I had you figured out," he said, almost to himself. "Now, I'm not so sure."

"Look, you may be all right with this, but I'm not," Greg asserted. "If we're suspected of treason, they'll never stop looking for us."

"You're not involved," Kevin told him. "This doesn't affect you or your take. Just stick to the plan and leave this part alone," he added, so quietly, it left no doubt in anyone's mind there was an ultimatum in his words.

Freddie cleared his throat. "Well, if we have to be twice as careful now, I'm going down to check on our hostage."

"I'll go with you," Joe said, rising. If Frank hadn't finished getting away, he would probably need some help.

"No," Jim said and latched onto Joe's arm. "Freddie can handle the brat. We need to talk." He pulled Joe toward the staircase as Freddie headed out of the living room and toward the basement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After Jeff and Joe had left the basement, Frank struggled with the pocket knife. Moving his left hand to pull the blade out caused the rope to constrict around his neck and he finally ended up holding his breath until the knife was open.

Positioning the blade was no easy feat either. He cut his thumb as he finally managed to get it aimed at the ropes. Then he began sawing at them with small, slow strokes. The aroma of spicy chili and garlic bread assaulted his senses as the crowd upstairs ate and his stomach growled for attention but he kept up his pace.

After almost two hours, Frank was free of his bonds. He rubbed his ankles before standing up to make sure they would support him. Creeping up the basement steps, he pushed the door open just a bit. He could hear Joe convincing the gang he had hacked his way into Hanover's computer system. He was surprised to find some of them knew nothing about the stolen DOD contract. He silently congratulated his little brother for figuring it out and playing the members against each other.

Frank froze when he heard Freddie say he was going to check on him, but breathed a sigh of relief when Joe volunteered to accompany him. Before he could relax further however, Simmons stopped him. Frank heard footsteps climbing stairs, then more, heading his way. Frantic, Frank looked back down the stairs at the cut ropes. There was no chance he could fake being tied up. He would just have to fight his way out.

Closing the basement door, he ran down the steps and flattened himself against the outside stairwell. Freddie opened the basement door and came down two steps. Switching on the light and closing the door behind him, he slowly made his way down the stairs, looking at his feet and mumbling something Frank couldn't understand.

Frank held his breath, expecting Freddie at any second to look to where the ropes lay and yell for the others. But Freddie reached the bottom of the stairs before looking away from his feet. As he opened his mouth, Frank leapt from his hiding place and shoved Freddie hard into the wall.

"Ooof," Freddie grunted, throwing his hands up in time to break his impact. He swung around and saw Frank coming at him, both fists raised.

Freddie bent over and rushed Frank, bringing him to the floor with a tackle. "Cool it Hardy," Freddie hissed, his eyes troubled. "I'm here to help."

Frank stopped struggling and looked up at Freddie suspiciously. "Why?" he asked.

"I may be many things," Freddie told Frank. "But I am no traitor. My old man died protecting this country and I am not about to let those scum do something that might help to destroy it."

"It's only specifications for one type of aircraft," Frank said, still suspicious even though Freddie had released his hold on Frank and was getting to his feet.

"But it's one no one else has," Freddie retorted, holding out a hand to Frank.

Frank took the proffered hand and was hauled to his feet. "You're turning state's evidence?" he asked Freddie.

"Yeah," Freddie said, taking his left hand and rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I am." He looked into Frank's serious brown eyes. "First thing we have to do is get out of here," he said.

Frank shook his head. "We've got to get Jim Daniels out," he contradicted Freddie.

"Why?" Freddie demanded, his eyes narrowing at Frank.

Still not trusting Freddie, Frank lied. "He's been suspected of stealing government secrets before," he said. "If he gets involved in this, we may not get a chance to bust any of them. Daniels has a habit of shutting down and clearing out in the nick of time."

"I can take care of him," Freddie replied menacingly. "You won't have to worry about him ever again."