"Okay, Joe. We are going to do a little target practice," Sampson told Joe, holding out a rifle to the youth.

"Aren't you afraid I'll use it on you and your pal?" Joe asked, glaring at the six foot seven giant.

"No," Sampson denied, shaking his baldhead and grinning. "You don't want your two friends inside to die."

Joe growled and jerked the rifle from Sampson's hands. "Do your best," Joe was told. "Our orders are that if we think you are not giving it all you've got then we alert Dr. Curan and Cory back at the cabin and they take care of one of your friends."

Sampson waited for Joe to comment but after a brief silence lifted a walkie-talkie up and spoke into it. "We're ready," he stated. "Two at two minute intervals."

"Here they come, Joe," Sampson said. "Get ready."

Joe lifted the rifle and fired as two disks appeared in the air. He missed the first but struck the second. "Very good," Sampson congratulated him. "It didn't take you long at all to adapt to the rifle."

Joe kept quite. He wanted to rebel. He wanted to strike out at Sampson and take his chances. He wanted to come up with a plan to free the girls but his desire to follow instructions was just too overwhelming. It had to be the medication that Curan was giving him. He didn't know what it was but it made him feel disconnected somehow. Not exactly like a zombie, but close.

Joe fired off two more shots, hitting his targets each time. Sampson handed him another loaded rifle and took the one Joe had. Joe was only vaguely aware that he had traded off once before. He hated feeling this way but he didn't have the emotional energy to fight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Poor Joe," Camille whispered after their guard left the room and locked them inside. "We've got to do something."

"I know," agreed Callie. "He looks all doped up."

"That's because he is!" snapped Camille. "You heard that awful man tell that other one to give him his medication. I sincerely doubt it's anything to help him."

"True," Callie agreed with her yet again. "But whatever they are giving him won't hurt him."

"How do you know that?" Camille demanded, ceasing her struggles with the ropes that bound her and turning to look at Callie with wide eyes.

"Because he called Joe his little brother," Callie replied. "He must be Joe's natural brother and that means he won't hurt Joe."

"No," Camille stated grimly. "Just us. We've got to get free and get Joe and get as far away from here as we can."

She and Callie quit talking and devoted all their energy to getting loose. It took some time, but Camille finally managed to get one hand free. "Success!" she gave a whispered shout, holding up her free hand to show Callie. Callie grinned and relaxed as Camille used her free hand to finish freeing herself. Camille rose slowly to her feet, wincing as her legs experienced the pins and needles associated with the return of circulation.

"Okay, let's get you loose and then we can plan our next move," Camille said to Callie, squatting down to untie her.

"You know, if you're going to date Joe, this is only a sample of what you're getting into," Callie warned Camille once she had been freed.

"You're still dating Frank," Camille pointed out.

"He's worth the extra effort," Callie stated.

"And I have the feeling that Joe is too," Camille replied. "Besides, you know what they say: The course of true love never did run smooth."

"You're in love with Joe?" Callie demanded, a little in worry but more in disbelief.

"Of course not," Camille dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand. "I don't believe in that love at first sight nonsense. But I do believe anything worth having is worth working for and if Joe and I do fall in love then this will be nothing more than a story to tell our kids."

"Oh, yeah," Callie said, laughing softly. "You and Joe age going to get along great."

"Enough of the chitchat," Camille said. "Let's figure out how to get out of here."

"One of us could pretend to be sick," suggested Callie. "But we would still have to be able to overpower Bluto."

"Bluto?" Camille demanded, looking perplexed.

"As in the big brute from the Popeye cartoons," Callie said.

"I don't think just pretending you're sick is going to do it," Camille said, ignoring the reference. "These guys are Assassins, right?" Callie nodded. "Well, they won't care. Not unless they think one of us is dying and only then because they are using us to control Joe."

"We can work with that," Callie acknowledged, nodding. "But Bluto?"

Camille smiled. "Bet you didn't know I was a black belt," she stated.

"Then why didn't you takeout those goons who grabbed us?" Callie demanded angrily.

"Because I thought they would bring us to Joe," Camille snapped. "And they did."

Callie opened her mouth then closed it almost immediately. She just knew she had been privy to a conversation paralleling this one between Frank and Joe and Joe had won. "Okay," she said after taking a calming breath. "Be ready." Camille nodded and went to stand near the door.

"HELP!" Callie screamed. "Help! She's having a seizure!" No movement from outside the door could be heard. "I can't believe this," she said softly before raising her voice and trying again. "Help! She's swallowing her tongue!"

The door opened and Bluto entered followed by Dr. Curan. Callie watched in surprise as Camille took down the two men in less than a minute by two well-place blows.

"I'm impressed," Callie said, smiling in amazement. "You're even better than Frank."

"Frank's into martial arts?" Camille asked as they exited the room and locked the door.

"Yes," Callie affirmed. "I'm beginning to think you'll fit in nicely with our clique."

Camille stopped moving and turned too look at Callie, her eyes moist. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Where do you think they took Joe?" Callie asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Two shots echoed from outside. "Not too far," Camille returned.

The two girls made their way outside and through a patch of woods to a clearing where they saw Joe with a rifle in his hands. They watched as he lifted it quickly, sited, and fired off two shots.

"Let's take out the guy over there first," Callie pointed to where one man was rigging the discs.

Camille gave her a thumbs up and the two girls advanced on the oblivious man. As they neared, Callie moved to the right while Camille crept up on the left. "Hi," Callie said, smiling at the man as she came into his line of view.

The man leapt to his feet only to fall forward as a blow from Camille rendered him unconscious. "Now to get Joe," Camille said, turning to look at him and the other man in the distance. "Same scenarios?" she asked, turning to look at Callie and quirking an eyebrow.

"Won't work," Callie replied, shaking her head. "They are in a clearing. Granted, it's a small one, but there is no way we could take them by surprise."

"We will just have to go in from the back then," Camille said, realizing Callie was right. "And pray that creep doesn't turn around."

"Here you go," Sampson said, handing Joe the loaded rifle and taking the empty. "You're good. I think it's time we speeded it up." He lifted his walkie. "Let's step it up a bit," he spoke into it. He waited. Silence. "Acknowledge," he ordered. Silence.

Immediately, he dropped the talkie and the empty rifle and reached for his waist where two loaded pistols were nestled between his pants and skin. At the same time he lifted his left leg and stuck it behind Joe's right knee and pulled. Joe went down. In two more seconds, Sampson was facing the girls who were now frozen only a few feet away.

"Tsk, tsk," Sampson said mockingly. "You had to be stupid. Now one of you must die."

"No!" Joe shouted fearfully, attempting to rise.

Sampson planted his foot on Joe's back. "We only wanted one of you anyway," he said, aiming his right pistol at Callie's chest.