Thanks to all for the reviews. And special thanks to James for the helpful information. I will file that away should I need it for a future story!
Hey, Cheryl – first hurricane of the season and it's Hurricane Danny! :D
Chapter 4
With both the darkness and the slower pace at which two small boys walked, it took Frank and his charges over an hour to reach the cave where they would make camp for the night. Two federal agents had staked out the cave a few days earlier, making sure it was secure and leaving behind a few essential supplies. Arriving at the entrance to their new 'home', Frank pulled a much more powerful flashlight from his pack and led Ford and Jamie inside. He set to work building a small fire under the tiny opening in the roof of the cave.
Once the blaze was going well enough to provide warmth and light, Jamie was alight with curiosity. While he chatted with Ford, Frank pretended not to notice the little blonde boy inching his way towards the back of the cave, throwing frequent glances in Frank's general direction.
"Jamie…" Ford didn't even look up as he said his brother's name warningly, letting Jamie know his movements had not gone unnoticed.
Frank bit back a smile as he heard a heavy sigh from the younger Bingham. His head bowed, Jamie returned to his brother's side. "I just wanted to explore, that's all." He scowled and kicked at a small rock.
"You have to stay close to us. We just got rescued. You don't want to wander off and get snatched again, do you?"
Jamie wrinkled his nose and let out another heavy sigh. "I wouldn't get snatched again. And even if I did, Joe would find me!"
Frank's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he watched the exchange. 'Joe would find me? Joe isn't even here,' he thought, feeling slighted. 'And just what does that make me; chopped liver?'
Watching Jamie, Frank almost laughed out loud when the younger boy stuck his tongue out at the back of Ford's head. Try as he might, Frank couldn't suppress a chuckle.
"He stuck his tongue out at me, didn't he?" Ford murmured without ever looking up from where he sat poking at the fire with a stick.
Frank grinned. "Mm-hmm." He wondered if Ford realized that habit would probably be one Jamie carried well into adulthood, just as Joe had. "You know this cave has already been thoroughly checked out. It doesn't go back too far and there's no other way in or out other than that one." He pointed to the entrance they'd come through. "So if he wants to explore it, I don't think that would be a problem."
Ford looked up and for the first time all night, he flashed a grin. "Thanks." Turning, he looked at his forlorn younger sibling. "Frank said it's okay if you go explore the back of the cave. But be careful."
"Cool!" Jamie's eyes lit up with excitement and he turned towards the rear of the cave.
"Here, I think you'll need this." Frank stopped Jamie with his voice.
Swiveling in place, Jamie trotted to Frank's side, grabbed the flashlight out of his hand and then disappeared in a blur.
With the first crisis resolved, Frank began unpacking the supplies that had been left for them. He felt Ford's eyes on him, watching his every move.
"Can I help?" the ten-year-old asked.
"Sure." Frank pointed to the backpack he'd been carrying. "There are some thermal blankets in there. They're a shiny silver color. Why don't you get them out and set up a place for you and Jamie to sleep right over there." He pointed to a spot near the small fire closer to the back of the cave than the front.
Ford nodded and set to work, removing items from the pack until he found the blankets Frank had described. "Where are you going to sleep?" he asked as he laid the blankets out.
"Joe and I will take turns sleeping. One of us will sleep while the other keeps watch and then we'll switch. So I won't be sleeping until Joe gets back anyway." Before he could continue, Jamie came running back, skidding to a stop in front of the fire. He was hopping up and down, excitedly bouncing from one foot to the other talking a mile a minute.
"Ford, guess what, guess what?! You won't believe what I found! There's all kinds of rocks back there! Big ones and little ones and some are real shiny! I was gonna pick some up and then I saw this huuuuuuuge hairy spider! He was big and had lots of legs! I tried to catch him but he got away! Ran right into a crack in the wall! There was lots of other bugs, too, but when I shined my light on 'em, they all scattered!"
Frank watched and listened, awed at how fast Jamie could speak and wondered how long it would be before he had to stop and take a breath. Glancing at Ford, he got a strange sense of déjà vu. He felt as if he were looking at his own past. Ford fixed his gaze on Jamie, listening to every breathless word the younger boy uttered, the same way he used to listen to Joe's childhood adventures. He watched, amused as Ford patiently waited until Jamie was done and then congratulated his brother on all the exciting things he'd discovered. Patting the dirt next to him, Ford motioned for Jamie to sit down. "Come here and sit next to me. It's nice and warm this close to the fire."
Jamie plopped down close to his older brother, humming to himself.
"Here guys, why don't you have a snack." Frank offered each of them a high protein granola bar and small bottle of water. "When Joe gets back, we'll eat dinner and then get some sleep. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Thanks." Ford accepted his graciously. Jamie, however, wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Don'tcha have any chocolate?"
Frank stifled a laugh as Ford reddened, embarrassed at his brother's outspokenness. "Jamie, don't be rude." He turned apologetic eyes on Frank. "I'm sorry. He really only likes fast food and junk food."
'Why am I not surprised?' Frank mused. "Sorry, buddy," Frank apologized. "Joe might have some stashed in his pack but this is all I've got."
Jamie eyed the healthy snack and pouted but eventually accepted it with a murmured 'Thank you'. Unwrapping a bar for himself, Frank and the two boys ate in silence. Once he finished, Frank cleared his throat. "How about if we go over what's going to happen tomorrow, okay?"
Ford pushed his glasses up and stared at Frank while Jamie nodded his head enthusiastically. As Frank explained what their journey would entail, he noticed the way Ford appeared to absorb every word. Jamie, while he started out trying to focus, was very easily distracted. Picking up a stick, he poked at the fire a few times before a wayward bug caught his attention. Putting the stick directly in the bug's path, Jamie quietly whispered words of encouragement to the small insect, hoping to lure it onto the stick. Sensing danger, the bug scurried off into the darkness, leaving Jamie to amuse himself with the now empty granola wrapper.
'It's like he's in constant motion, even when he's sitting still.' Watching the small boy, Frank suddenly saw not Jamie, but Joe. Looking into the past, Frank saw himself seated next to Joe in a church pew, the two of them wedged between their parents. At six years of age, Joe was squirming and fidgeting as if to sit still for an entire second would be sheer agony. Frank saw himself reach out and put a hand on Joe's back, and rub gently to try and settle him down.
He smiled as he watched the siblings. Ford's gaze never wavered from Frank, but he put one arm around Jamie and rubbed his shoulder. Gradually, Jamie began to settle down.
"Frank?"
Frank started and realized he was no longer talking, but rather staring at the two boys. Shaking his head, Frank continued with his explanation.
"We'll have to hike through the woods and around the mountain to get to the main road. Some special agents are going to meet us there and drive us to the airport. From there, we'll take a small, private plane to a secret house where your mom, dad, and Bingo are waiting for you. It'll take two days to get to the road, so we'll be camping again tomorrow-"
"YAY!" Jamie exclaimed.
Frank smiled at Jamie's exuberance. "Once we get to the airport, it'll only take us a few hours to fly to the house."
While Ford remained quiet and thoughtful, absorbing all the information Frank had given them, Jamie bounced up and down, grinning from ear to ear. "A private plane? I've never been on a private plane before! Hey, is Joe gonna come, too?" he demanded.
"You bet. I'd never leave without Joe. He's my partner."
"And you never leave your partner behind!"
"Never."
"Frank?" Ford's soft voice was a stark contrast to his brother's continuous, excited ramblings.
"Yes?"
"How do you know you can trust the pilot?"
Jamie gasped, not having considered that possibility. "Yeah! He could be one of the bad guys! What if he is? He could fly us somewhere else. Somewhere secret! No one will know! Nobody will ever find us!" he babbled, getting more excited by the second. "Ooh, but wait! We can use your parachutes and jump out the back door of the plane while the pilot's not looking!" He scrambled to his feet and jumped up and down at the thought then came to a jolting stop. "You got extra parachutes for us?"
Frank tried not to laugh out loud. "No, you won't need them."
"How do you know!" Jamie challenged him.
Frank smiled. "I know the pilot."
"How?" Jamie demanded. "How can you be absolutely, positively, pinky swear sure he won't be a bad guy?"
"Because I'm the pilot."
Jamie stared at him dubiously, apparently thinking this over. "Well, I guess that'd be okay, then," he said, although he still sounded a bit doubtful.
As Ford coaxed his younger brother back to a seated position, Frank chuckled softly. He watched the two brothers interact for a few moments, still amazed at the similarities between them and himself and Joe.
'Joe…' A frown settled over Frank's face as he glanced towards the cave entrance willing Joe to arrive.
…
It was almost an hour later when Frank felt as if he were checking his watch for the fiftieth time. 'Come on, Joe, where are you?'
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Ford's voice startled Frank.
Frank looked down at the serious young boy. "I'm the big brother. It's my job to worry." He forced a smile so as not to frighten his young charge.
Nodding, Ford glanced at his own younger brother who was now happily engrossed in a hand held video game. "I know exactly how you feel. They can try your patience sometimes, can't they?"
Frank suppressed the laughter in his throat. "Yes, they can," he agreed, realizing the dark haired little boy was wise beyond his years. The hoot of an owl from somewhere close by sounded, causing Frank to whip his head around. Staring at the cave entrance, he waited, smiling when he heard it again. Crawling to the front of the cave, he returned the call and waited. Seconds later, Joe appeared in front of him, smiling broadly.
"Miss me?" Joe eased past his brother into the cave.
"JOE! JOE! You made it!" Jamie cried out. Rushing forward, he threw himself on Joe and hugged him. "I knew that bad guys wouldn't get ya!"
"You got that right, buddy!" Joe laughed.
Frank watched the little reunion, amazed at how quickly Jamie had taken to Joe. As Jamie released Joe and looked up, Frank heard a soft gasp and saw the boy's brilliant blue eyes widen. "Is that blood?!" He pointed to the sleeve of Joe's jacket.
'Blood?' Frank felt a chill. 'The gunshots!'
Frank took Joe's arm and turned it slightly so he could get a better look. He felt his heart start to race and looked into Joe's eyes. "You were shot," he said, almost accusingly.
Joe shrugged. "Well, yeah, sort of."
"Why didn't you say something?" Frank snapped. He dropped Joe's arm and walked over to the backpack lying against the wall.
"I just did." Joe grinned, looking at Jamie.
"Does it hurt?" the boy asked, blue eyes huge in his small face.
"Nah, I just got dinged."
"Off." Frank ordered, pointing at Joe's bloodstained jacket. He rummaged through the backpack and came up with a small first aid kit.
Joe complied, slipping out of the jacket. He saw Jamie's eyes grow even bigger at the small crease the bullet had made in his skin.
Moving towards his brother, Frank took one look at Joe's arm, with a very small trail of dried blood and cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Joe, that's more than a ding."
Jamie scooted back and snuggled against his older brother, suddenly afraid of the man with the dark eyes flashing in annoyance.
"Ease up, Frank!" Joe hissed, nodding at the two boys. "You're scaring them."
"I'm scaring them?" Frank glared at his brother. "How about the way you scared me? How was I going to explain to Dad how I came back with the two of them but lost you in the process?"
Joe grinned, throwing a wink at Jamie and his brother. "I'm sure you'd come up with something."
Ignoring the comment, Frank set to work cleaning and bandaging the wound on Joe's arm. "Make sure it stays clean." He packed everything back into the first aid kit and closed it up.
Joe looked into his eyes and Frank was certain he was going to come back with some sarcastic comment. Instead, Joe smiled at him and held his gaze. "I will. Thanks."
Frank nodded and returned the kit to his backpack. "We had something to eat while we were waiting for you."
"Don't tell me," Joe teased, "a granola bar and water." Frank turned just in time to see Joe rolling his eyes at Jamie who tried, unsuccessfully, not to giggle. Crawling over to the box of supplies, Joe began tossing things aside. "Let's see if they left us anything worth eating in here."
In seconds Jamie was at his side, helping Joe paw through the box until they each triumphantly held up a can of baked beans and hot dogs. "Now this is real food!"
"Well, since you uncovered it, you can cook it," Frank said.
Joe looked at Jamie and grinned. "I think he's challenging us. Whaddya say buddy? You up for it?"
Jamie scrambled to his feet, bouncing up and down. "You bet!" he exclaimed giving Joe a high five.
Leaving Joe and Jamie to cook 'dinner', Frank settled back against the hard rock wall and motioned for Ford to join him. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching their respective younger siblings take great delight in warming up the franks and beans.
"So you really know how to fly a plane?" Ford asked. "All by yourself?"
"Mm-hmm."
"What's it like?"
Frank pursed his lips and thought for a moment. He loved flying but was often hard pressed to explain why. "It's like being free. Completely and totally free. And it's peaceful. Especially when I'm by myself. No one can bother me. Sometimes I'll rent a plane and take it up, just because I want to think. I love the quiet and the solitude."
As if to reinforce those thoughts, Jamie's delighted squeal echoed through the cave followed by Joe's contagious laughter. Frank and Ford watched them for a moment before Ford posed another question.
"Do you like being a big brother?"
Frank smiled. "I love it."
"Really?"
Frank turned to his young counterpart and looked directly in his eyes. "Yeah, I really do. I'm not going to say there aren't times Joe drives me crazy; he does. But I wouldn't trade him for any other brother in the world." Frank tilted his head, feeling a sense of kinship with the boy. "How about you? What do you think about being the big brother?"
Ford stared at Jamie and smiled. "I love my brother. He's so much fun. He's always happy, he's always smiling, he loves just about everybody. He says exactly what he thinks. To him, every day is a brand new adventure." He stopped and looked back at Frank. "I like it. I like it a lot."
Frank studied the boy's face and saw something in his eyes. Sadness? Longing? He wasn't quite sure. "You like it a lot, but…" Frank tried to lead him, sensing Ford wanted to confide something, but wasn't sure he could.
"But…" Ford began, glancing at Jamie and then down at the floor. "But sometimes I wish I had a big brother of my own."
Frank reached out and put an arm around Ford, pulling him a little closer. The boy leaned against him, resting his head on Frank's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with that. Being a big brother is hard work sometimes. It's a lot of responsibility. But I've been watching you and Jamie and you know what?"
Ford looked up.
"You're really good at it," Frank praised him. "Jamie looks up to you and that's good. Because from what I can see, you're a really good role model for him."
Ford blushed and ducked his head, pushing the wire-rimmed glasses up on his nose. He couldn't hide the smile that lit up his whole face. "Thanks."
Hearing Jamie's infectious giggle, Frank looked up and stared. Joe and Jamie were sitting cross-legged on the ground facing one another, each with a metal spoon from the 'mess kits' dangling off the end of their noses. As Jamie pointed at Joe and erupted in laughter, the movement caused the spoon to dislodge and fall to the ground.
"I win!" Joe crowed, removing the spoon from his nose.
"Let's do it again!" Jamie pleaded. "And don't make me laugh this time!"
Frank and Ford watched as round two got underway. "How old is he?" Ford asked leaning closer to Frank but never taking his eyes off Joe.
"He's supposed to be twenty-four," Frank replied dryly, "but sometimes I think he's still about six."
"Think he'll ever grow up?" Ford mused, watching as the two younger siblings enjoyed the simple game they were playing.
"Nah."
"Would you want him to?"
Frank stopped and thought about that for a long moment. Joe was impulsive, impetuous and free-spirited – three traits that often landed him in trouble. He wasn't above manipulating a situation to his advantage and yes, he was a little spoiled. He was also generous, fun loving and one of the happiest and most caring people Frank knew. Given the opportunity, Frank knew he wouldn't change a thing about his brother. "Nope, never."
…
A short time later, when dinner was consumed and the mess kits cleaned and returned to the backpacks, Frank suggested they get some sleep. He and Joe helped the two young boys get settled in between the thermal blankets, with Jamie fighting the idea every step of the way. After Joe had gotten him water, twice, and then taken him outside the cave after repeated cries of "I gotta go! Really bad!", Jamie finally began to settle down. Frank noticed the way Ford was able to calm his younger brother by listening to Jamie's rambling thoughts until the young boy could barely keep his eyes open. Jamie turned towards his older brother and curled up next to him. With a contented sigh, he drifted off to sleep.
"I'll take the first watch," Frank said to Joe. "You go ahead and get some sleep."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I think you had a rougher night than I did."
Joe grinned and stretched his arms overhead. "I don't know, bro. Seems to me it'd be a lot more tiring keeping two little kids entertained than dodging bullets."
Frank chuckled. "Jamie's a handful, but Ford doesn't seem to have any problem handling him."
"Must be that big brother gene," Joe teased. He crawled over to the blanket laid out next to the sleeping youngsters. "Don't forget to wake me up."
Frank settled himself near the front of the cave, peering out into the darkness and listening to the sounds of the night creatures in the woods. Glancing back at Joe and the two boys, he did a double take and grinned. Jamie had rolled over and snuggled up to Joe, practically lying on top of him, a smile on his face even as he slept. Turning back towards the cave entrance, a vague memory flashed through Frank's mind – the first camping trip Fenton had taken them on. Joe had been beside himself with excitement all day but when night fell and it came time to sleep, the sounds of nature had turned frightening. He'd crawled into Frank's sleeping bag afraid and trembling. Frank hadn't said a word. He'd simply whispered soothing words of comfort until Joe fell asleep. And that was exactly how Fenton had found them the following morning. Leaning his head back, Frank let the happy memories of his childhood keep him company as he settled in for the first watch.