Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed, favorited and all those who are reading.

Chapter 13

Joe hurried along behind his brother who was several paces ahead. Frank hadn't said more than two words to Joe since the foursome had resumed their trek on this side of the ravine. His shoulders were hunched forward, and even at this distance Joe could feel the tension coming off him in waves. Joe knew exactly what had his brother so upset and while there was nothing he could have done differently, he still regretted it.

Once the adrenaline rush had worn off, it had hit Joe full force just how risky and dangerous his flight across the ravine had been. Yet it was one thing to be the one flying across the gaping hole; it was something else entirely to be the person on the other side, watching helplessly.

Joe couldn't imagine how terrifying it must've been for Frank and Ford to watch their younger siblings literally hanging by a thread, an open target for the men who were intent on capturing or killing them. Frank had more than a little reason to feel sullen. Still, Joe hated when there was any kind of tension between them, deserved or not. He'd decided to catch up to his brother and try to smooth things over when Frank stopped abruptly. Joe hurried forward until he was standing next to Frank.

"What?"

Frank pointed straight ahead. "There."

Joe squinted, seeing nothing but trees at first. Then he suddenly heard a car whiz by and realized they were only yards from a road. Staring through the thick stand of trees, he saw the hard blacktop.

"Stay here." Frank moved forward without waiting for a reply. A moment later he returned. "Okay, the car and the agents are there. I signaled them and they returned it correctly. Let's go before our friends catch up."

With Frank in the lead, Joe took the rear, hustling the boys along while throwing frequent glances over his shoulder. Emerging from the trees, Joe blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight. It was late afternoon, but the heavy canopy of tree branches had blocked the sun, making even the fading afternoon light seem bright. A few yards to their right stood a black SUV with tinted windows and two men standing next to it as if they had car trouble.

Hurrying to the car, Joe exchanged a brief greeting with the agents as Frank reached for the handle of the car door. "Okay guys, in the car. Let's go," he urged the two boys.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Jamie cried out, refusing to budge another step. "How do you know they're good guys?" he demanded pointing at the two agents. Without waiting for a reply, he turned to one of the men, his chin thrust forward defiantly. "You got a badge?"

"Yes, I do," the agent replied, straight-faced.

Jamie pointed at Frank. "Well, let him see it!"

Joe snickered and Frank just shook his head as the agent pulled out his badge. Handing it to Frank he grinned and asked, "Has he been like this the whole time?"

Frank took the badge. "Worse. Trust me, you're getting off easy."

"Look at it real good!" Jamie instructed the elder Hardy. "It could be a fake, ya know!"

"See what I mean?" Frank asked, glancing at the agent.

"Well?" Jamie demanded impatiently. "Is it real?"

"Yes, it's real." Frank returned the badge to the agent.

Jamie narrowed his eyes at Frank. "You sure? You only looked at it for a minute."

"Yes, I'm sure. Can we get in the car now?"

"What about him?" Jamie cried out, pointing at the other agent. "You didn't check his badge! What if he's a bad guy?"

Frank rolled his eyes and held out his hand to the second agent. "Trust me, it'll be a lot quicker this way." Frank glanced at the badge and then handed it to Jamie. "Well? What do you think? Is it real?"

Jamie studied the badge intently, his brow creased in deep concentration. Finally, he returned it to Frank. "Looks okay to me."

Joe bit back a smile as he helped Jamie into one of the rear seats and belted him in. Ford climbed in next to his brother, while Frank and Joe took the middle seats. They pulled away and Joe breathed a sigh of relief, the hardest part was over.

Settled in the car, they all rode in silence. Joe glanced at Frank who was staring out the window. Slouching down in the seat, Joe brooded, unhappy at not being able to talk to Frank earlier.

"How's your arm?" Frank asked, his gaze still focused out the window.

Joe rubbed his arm absently. "Fine. Doesn't hurt at all."

"Good. When we get to the safe house, make sure you clean it really well. And put some antibiotic ointment and a new bandage on it."

"I will." Joe felt a little bit of the tension slip away. Knowing it would take close to an hour to get to the small regional airport, Joe leaned his head back and fell asleep.

"Whoa! Look at that!" Jamie ran to the large window in the terminal. Hands pressed to the glass, eyes huge, he stared at the private jet taxiing down the runway. "Is that our plane?"

Joe laughed. " 'Fraid not, pal. We've got your basic puddle jumper."

"Huh?" Jamie frowned in confusion. Before Joe could answer, Jamie's gaze strayed past him and his blue eyes lit up. "McDonald's!" He jumped up and down, pointing to the fast food restaurant behind Joe. "Can we get something to eat? Please? PLEASE?!" he begged, tugging on Joe's arm.

Joe turned to his brother and grinned. "I'm a little tired of protein bars and dried fruit myself. We have time for a quick stop?"

Frank nodded and led the group to the counter.

Joe looked down at Jamie. "Whaddya want, big guy?"

"I want a cheeseburger and chicken nuggets and French fries – large ones! – and a chocolate shake and an apple pie and a hot fudge sundae for dessert!" he rattled off barely taking a breath.

"You heard the man," Joe smiled at the woman behind the counter.

"He can't eat all that," Frank said.

Joe stared at the menu, trying to decide what he wanted. "I'll eat whatever he doesn't,"

"I don't doubt it. And if he gets sick once we get airborne, you can clean it up, too."

Joe stopped perusing the menu and looked at Jamie doubtfully, remembering why he wasn't too crazy about small planes himself. Too much turbulence at the lower altitudes allowed the passengers to feel every single bump, no matter how small. He suddenly had second thoughts. "Uh, give him the burger, small fries and shake," Joe amended, purposefully avoiding Frank's gaze. "If he finishes that, he can get something else."

…..

As they walked through the terminal after finishing their meal, Joe noticed once again how quiet Frank had become. Not his usual quiet, but the same tense, brooding silence that Joe had been receiving for the past few hours. Joe sighed to himself. Despite the brief respite when they'd been picked up by the agents, he knew Frank was still upset with his stunt for getting to the other side of the ravine.

Nudging Jamie, Joe urged the boy to catch up with Ford, who was walking several steps ahead of them. Jamie looked at him puzzled, but shrugged and did as Joe requested. Still keeping his eyes on the two boys, Joe fell in step next to Frank.

"Hey."

"Hmmm?" Frank looked at him for a second, then went back to scanning the people in the terminal, still on the alert for any sign of trouble.

"Listen, I know you're upset about what I did back there."

Frank speared him with a narrowed glance and Joe knew he was right.

"And I understand, I really do. I'm sorry for scaring you like that, but I didn't have any other choice, Frank. I know you've been obsessing over it and honestly, have you been able to come up with anything I could have done differently?"

Frank pursed his lips, his brow creased in thought for a moment, before exhaling in exasperation. "No," he admitted. "But I don't have to like it, Joe. I mean, I was helpless. If it hadn't worked out exactly the way you planned, if one little thing had gone wrong, there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it, except watch you die." Frank held his gaze just long enough for Joe to see the abject fear and then he looked away.

Joe reached out and put his hand on Frank's back. He'd tried to put himself in Frank's place and had no idea how he would have handled it if it had been him watching Frank do something that had a better chance of getting him killed than anything else. "I'm sorry."

Frank turned and looked at Joe for a long moment. "Yeah well, just don't do it again."

Joe squeezed his shoulder and grinned. Things were okay between them again. "You know me," he winked.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Yes, I do." He sighed dramatically. "And that's what worries me."