Thank you all so much for the reviews! I am thrilled that you are enjoying the story and especially that you 'get' the Bingham brothers. You made my day!

Chapter 8

"This is going to be the hardest part," Frank murmured.

Joe, who'd had the second watch of the night, had awakened him a short time ago, allowing them time to go over their planned route for the day while letting the two boys sleep a little longer. They had eaten a quick breakfast of protein bars, dried fruit and water, cleaned up both themselves and their makeshift camp and were now looking over a map, their trail clearly marked in red.

Frank tapped a spot on the map gently. "This is the ravine they told us about. It's several miles long, too long for us to try and find a way around it."

"So how are we supposed to get across? Sprout wings and fly?" Joe asked sardonically.

Frank smiled at Joe's opinion of the federal agents they were working with. "The lead agent said they airlifted a plank and placed it across the gorge. It's heavy enough to support us but not so heavy that we can't dislodge it and drop it into the ravine once we're across."

"So we're supposed to run across on a plank?" Joe was incredulous. "With two kids in tow?"

Frank shrugged. "That's the best they could come up with on short notice."

Joe snorted. "Well, I don't have to like it." He rolled up the map and shoved it into Frank's backpack. "You sure there's no other way around? If we looked I bet we could find something else."

Frank shook his head despite agreeing with his brother. "We don't have time. We're on a tight schedule. Everything is timed down to the minute and if we're late getting to the rendezvous point they'll assume we didn't make it and leave without us. Then we really will be in trouble."

Joe wrinkled his nose. "I still don't like it, having to depend on them. I mean if they hadn't screwed up in the first place we wouldn't even be here."

"But we're here now and we've got a job to do. Besides they set up these two camps for us with no problem, just like they said they would." Standing, Frank gestured to the two sleeping boys. "We better get them up and get going. I'll feel better if we get there early."

Joe walked over to the Bingham brothers and knelt down between them. "Don't worry, everything's gone smoothly so far."

Frank arched an eyebrow. "Oh really? I seem to recall you getting shot."

"Dinged."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Dinged. And then there was that little episode with the cougar."

"It wasn't an episode." Joe gently shook Ford's shoulder. "Hey, Ford, time to get up." He turned back to Frank. "It was an adventure."

"An adventure," Frank repeated, digging through their supplies for protein bars and dried fruit for Ford and Jamie. "I'll be sure to put that in the final report. Joe got dinged and had an adventure with a cougar."

Joe ignored him, reached out and patted Jamie on the back. "Come on buddy, time to rise and shine."

Frank chuckled softly as Jamie whined for a moment and then muttered something unintelligible. He pulled the thermal blanket over his head and turned away from Joe curling into a ball. Joe sighed and reached for the edge of the blanket, giving it a gentle tug. "Jamie…partner…ya gotta get up now."

Frank made out the muffled "No!" that drifted out from under the blanket and grinned. "Sleep okay?" he asked Ford, who had already gotten up and was now sitting next to him on the ground.

"Mm-hmm," the dark haired boy replied, up but not fully awake yet.

"Jamie…. Buddy…come on, man," Joe begged. "We have to get going."

"No!" The single word was louder now and reverberated around them. "I wanna sleep!"

Joe sighed dramatically and turned towards Frank, catching him laughing softly. "You're enjoying this a little too much."

Frank grinned. "Now you know what it was like trying to wake you up."

"I was never this bad," Joe replied indignantly, returning his attention to Jamie.

"True." Frank waited until Joe glanced back at him triumphantly. "You were worse."

Joe graced him with another glare and then turned back to the uncooperative boy under the blanket. "Jamie…buddy…pal…" Joe tried again. "We gotta get going before the bad guys find us."

The thermal blanket slipped down a few inches and a pair of curious blue eyes stared out at Joe. "So? If they find us you could just shoot 'em."

Joe's eyes widened slightly. 'He's been watching way too much TV!' "No, I couldn't – I wouldn't," Joe stated firmly.

"Why not? They're bad guys, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but—"

"And they kidnapped me and Ford!" Jamie said indignantly.

"But I can't—"

"And they shot you!" Jamie pointed out.

"Yes, they did—" Joe acknowledged.

"And they're still after us!"

"But—" Joe stuttered.

"So if they're bad guys and they kidnapped me and Ford and shot you and they're still after us, why can't you just shoot them back?"

By this time Jamie had thrown the blanket completely off and was sitting up, staring at Joe in earnest waiting for an answer. Joe opened his mouth to speak and quickly closed it, not quite sure how to answer. Jamie's rapid fire questions had thrown him off balance and he could see how it all made a strange kind of sense to a seven-year-old. Glancing over his shoulder, Joe threw his brother a look that plainly said "Help!"

In response Frank shook his head but smiled encouragingly at Joe. Apparently he had all the confidence in the world that his younger brother could handle the loaded question Jamie had lobbed at him.

'And I want six of them?!' Joe asked himself, suddenly rethinking his adamant belief that having six children would be fun. 'Okay, you can do this. It's black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. No problem.' Joe took a deep breath and hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Well, you're right when you say they're the bad guys, and they did shoot me, and they are still after us. But all those things are wrong, Jamie. And if it's wrong for the bad guys to shoot me, then it's just as wrong for me to shoot them. You know the difference between right and wrong, don't you?"

Jamie nodded. "Uh-huh, but if they do stuff that's wrong they should be punished. I always get punished when I do things I'm not supposed to."

"That's true. And they will be punished. You know your dad is going to testify against them in court, right?"

"Yeah," Jamie said warily.

"Do you know what that means?"

Jamie nodded briefly but then bit his lip and slowly shook his head no.

"Okay, it's like this," Joe began, now warming up to the task. "Laws are like rules, sorta like the rules your mom and dad ask you not to break. And when people break the law, like the bad guys are doing, they have to go to court. Court is where people go to find out what their punishment is going to be when they break the law.

"In court there are judges and juries, they're sorta like the moms and dads; they listen to what the bad guys did wrong, what rules they broke and then decide what kind of punishment they should get." Joe sat back, rather pleased with his explanation of the judicial system, primitive as it was. He let Jamie absorb everything he'd said and when the little boy looked as if he understood, Joe continued.

"Now, if it's wrong for the bad guys to shoot me, and we know that's wrong, then it's just as wrong for me to shoot the bad guys…right?" Joe asked, hopefully. "Shooting people is against the law; it's breaking the rules. And if I shot the bad guys just because they shot me, well I'd be breaking the rules too, and then I'd be just as wrong as they are."

Jamie frowned for a moment, apparently thinking very carefully about everything Joe had said. "So even though they shot you and did all those other bad things, if you shot them back then you'd be like a bad guy, too?"

"Yeah, I would. So you see why I can't just shoot them, right?"

Jamie's brow creased once more. He looked at Joe, apparently mulling everything over. "I think I get it. Just because bad people do bad things, doesn't mean good people can do it too. So just because they shot you, doesn't mean you can just shoot 'em back," Jamie rephrased what he thought Joe had said. "Even if they deserve it," he mumbled under his breath.

Joe chuckled. "Yeah, that's it." Looking over at Frank, Joe saw his older brother staring back at him with proud smile.

"So," Joe concluded his explanation, "when your dad testifies against these men in court, it means he'll tell the judge and the jury how they broke the rules. And then the jury can decide what kind of punishment they should get."

Jamie rose to his knees excitedly. "So my Dad is gonna make sure they get punished?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"But before he can do that, we have to get you guys home," Frank said.

"What're we waiting for?!" Jamie jumped to his feet. "C'mon, dude," he tugged on Joe's arm impatiently. "Let's go!"

Frank made one more visual sweep of their camp, making sure every shred of evidence they were there had been obliterated, and then turned to Joe. "Ready?"

"Yup, all set." Joe turned, looking for Jamie who had already wandered several feet away and was now hunkered down near some bushes watching a squirrel forage for breakfast. "Time to go, pal."

Jamie jumped up and sprinted the short distance to Joe's side. He grabbed Joe's hand and smiled excitedly.

Watching the exchange, Frank shook his head and grinned, once again feeling as if he were watching a scene from the past. 'That kid is so much like Joe was at that age, it's scary.' Putting a hand on Ford's shoulder, Frank led the small group into the woods.

As had happened the previous day, the two older brothers walked several paces ahead of their younger counterparts. Jamie had a tendency to slow down, wanting to explore anything and everything that caught his eye, once again reminding Frank of a very young Joe. Eventually Joe and Jamie caught up, although Jamie frequently lagged behind the others, trying to look in all directions at the same time. While Frank would normally encourage such interest and inquisitiveness in a child, they had a schedule to keep and a deadline that couldn't be missed. Wondering what might keep Jamie occupied without slowing them down, Frank hit upon an idea and grinned at the memories.

Sitting in the backseat of his father's sedan, ten-year-old Frank tried to concentrate on the book he was reading. He'd gotten several new books for his birthday a week earlier and looked forward to reading them during the drive to the lakeside cabin where the Hardy family would be spending the next ten days. However, eight-year-old Joe was making the task increasingly difficult. They'd been on the road only a little over an hour but that was about fifty minutes too long for the blonde bundle of energy.

"Are we there yet, Dad?" Joe asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

Frank glanced up from the page he was reading and saw his father exchange a weary look with his mother. It was the third time Joe had asked that question since leaving Bayport.

"Not yet, Joe," Frank heard his father answer with a sigh.

"How much longer?" Joe whined.

"At least another hour, honey," their mother replied. Twisting in her seat so she could look Joe in the eye, she smiled. "Why don't you read one of the books you brought?"

"I can't," Joe stated. "I'm too excited. I just wanna be there already!" He moaned dramatically, fidgeting and tugging at the seat belt.

"Try and be patient, sweetie. We'll be there soon."

Frank saw his mother shrug at their father as she turned back towards the front.

"That's what you said last time I asked." Joe pouted.

Feeling sorry for his younger brother, Frank put a bookmark in the page and closed the book, placing it on the seat between them. "Hey, Joe, wanna play the alphabet game?"

Joe sat up in his seat and looked at Frank excitedly. "Really? I thought you wanted to read."

"I'm kinda tired of reading for now," Frank replied. 'It's only a little white lie,' he thought to himself, knowing the simple game would keep Joe occupied at least for a while. "I pick the letter… G!"

Joe scowled. "How come you always get to pick first?"

Frank smiled at the memory hoping Jamie would find the game as fascinating as Joe used to. "Hey, what do you say we play the alphabet game?" Frank asked.

Joe looked at him, momentarily startled. When he smiled and his eyes took on a faraway look, Frank knew he was thinking about those same happy childhood memories.

"I wanna play! I wanna play!" Jamie cried out, hopping from one foot to the other. He suddenly stopped and stared at Frank. "What's the alphabet game?"

Frank grinned at Jamie's enthusiasm. "It's a game Joe and I used to play when we were kids. On long car trips, or plane rides, we'd play the game to pass the time."

"How do you play?" Jamie focused all his attention on Frank.

"I'll pick a letter of the alphabet and the first person who sees something that begins with that letter, gets to pick the next letter."

"How come you get to pick first?" Jamie challenged.

Momentarily stunned, Frank stared at the boy until Joe's snickering drew his attention. "Remind you of anybody?" Frank asked his brother wryly.

Joe gave Frank his most innocent look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah, right." It had never failed that every time he suggested they play the alphabet game and chose a letter, Joe's immediate response was always, "Why do you get to pick first?"

Smiling at Jamie, Frank said, "Anybody can pick the first letter, Jamie. Why don't you pick first?"

"Really?!" Jamie bounced excitedly.

"Sure, go ahead."

Jamie furrowed his brow, deep in concentration, while the others waited. After almost a full minute Joe reached out and ruffled the blonde child's hair.

"It's not that hard, pal," he teased. "Just pick a letter."

Jamie looked up at Joe, a mischievous smile lighting his face. "X!" he shouted.

"X?!" Joe repeated, incredulous but laughing.

Frank nudged Joe with his elbow. "I should've known. You always picked 'Q' or 'Z'."

Joe grinned. "Okay, 'X' it is."

Silence fell over the group as Frank, Joe and Ford scanned their surroundings as they walked, looking for anything that began with the letter x. Several minutes passed and Frank wondered if the game would come to a swift end. What could they possibly find out in the woods that began with the letter x? Just when Frank was about to suggest Jamie choose a different letter, Ford let out a gasp.

"Xenolith!" Ford pointed to a large rock just ahead of them.

"Xeno-what?!" Joe said, bewildered.

Frank laughed. "Xenolith. Good catch!" He patted Ford on the back.

"Thanks," Ford smiled, pleased at Frank's praise.

Joe frowned and looked at Jamie, not really expecting the small boy to know what xenolith meant. Jamie shrugged happily, not caring what the word meant.

"So one of you want to spill?" Joe finally requested. "What's a xenolith?"

Ford looked at Frank questioningly. "Go ahead, you're the one who found it," Frank encouraged.

"A xenolith is a rock fragment that's foreign to the mass where it occurs," Ford stated.

Joe stared at the boy for a moment and then looked at his brother and frowned again. "Right, right. That's what I thought," he mumbled.

Frank quickly looked away not wanting Joe to see his barely concealed laughter. While he wasn't laughing at his brother, he did find it somewhat amusing that Joe had no idea what Ford was talking about. "Okay, Ford, you get to pick the next letter."

Ford nodded and thought for a moment. "S."

All eyes quickly began to scan the trees, bushes, rocks and birds as they walked. With the letter 'X' out of the way, the game progressed rapidly. For the next hour, each of them took turns guessing correctly and throwing out a new letter, with both Frank and Joe making sure to periodically throw in a 'can't miss' letter for Jamie.

Watching the two young boys carefully, Frank noticed when Jamie once again started to lag behind. This time, though, he could tell it was from fatigue. Spotting a clearing up ahead he suggested they take a break. Upon reaching the clearing, he and Joe shrugged out of their backpacks. Watching Jamie and Ford sink to the ground, he knew he'd made the right call.

"Here you go, guys." Frank pulled four small plastic bottles of water out of his pack and passed them around.

Joe dug into his pack and emerged with four packages of trail mix and two chocolate bars. He handed a pack of trail mix and one of the chocolate bars to Jamie. "Trail mix first, then the chocolate."

"Okay." Jamie tore into the mix immediately.

Joe handed Frank and Ford each a pack of trail mix. "You guys want some chocolate, too? I've got more."

"No thanks." Frank was not at all surprised that his brother had come well prepared to feed his sweet tooth.

After Ford also politely declined the offer, a comfortable silence settled over the foursome as they rested and consumed their snacks. Several minutes later, Frank cocked his head to the side listening intently. Frowning he glanced at Joe and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. 'Did you hear something?'

Joe nodded once indicating he'd heard something out of the ordinary, too, and then looked up at the cloudless blue sky. Watching Joe, something clicked and suddenly Frank realized what the sound was – a helicopter. Within seconds the sound grew deafeningly loud and suddenly a low-flying chopper was directly above them.

Frank jumped to his feet, startling Jamie who had been sitting next to him. As the chopper hovered, Frank cursed silently. They'd been spotted. Frank grabbed Jamie's arm and unceremoniously hauled the boy up.

"RUN!" He dragged Jamie into the cover of the trees. Chancing a glance over his shoulder, he saw Joe fleeing in the opposite direction pulling Ford along behind him. Gunshots rang out, echoing in the wilderness, as dirt flew up from the spot where they'd been sitting only seconds before.

Running deeper into the woods, Frank could only hope he met up with Joe before they got to the ravine – and that they all made it safely across before their pursuers found it. If they did, he knew they had an excellent chance of making it to the rendezvous point. If not…

'That doesn't even bear thinking about.'