Thanks for the comments via PM and reviews. Always nice to hear your input.

-11-

The flight was exceptionally smooth going for the Hardys. They had been enjoying the experience of piloting the sophisticated jet. They were nearly three hours into the flight and making excellent time.

"I cannot believe in less than three hours we are already passing the Dominican Republic!" Frank marveled.

Joe grunted and smiled. "Well, bro, we are going nearly the speed of sound. I had no idea Chet had this kind of plane."

Frank pointed to the monitor which showed the cabin video cameras. One of the views shown was on the lounge section of the cabin. "He is still out cold." Gesturing towards the sleeping Chet who had been comfortably buckled into a reclining lounge seat.

"He's missing all the fun." Joe smiled as he leaned back. "Although you might want to engage the auto pilot. Maybe you can get us a drink."

Frank tilted his head and looked questioningly at his brother. "What's wrong with your legs, bro?" he said with a laugh.

Joe nodded "Not a thing. Was just hoping to get some more fly time soon. But I will grab us a drink. No doubt Chet had this bird fully stocked. What would you like?"

"Well, an iced coffee would be nice, but will take a Coke if you can manage. Oh, grab my phone off the set of seats by the lavatory. I plugged my phone in there before we took off to charge it. I saw a USB port on the arm of the chair and just used that. Though I am sure there are probably a few up here somewhere."

Joe smiled and pointed to a bank of auxiliary inputs below one of the screens. "Right in front of you, pal. I will be right back!" Joe walked back through the cabin and eventually entered the lounge where there was a bar and double mini fridges built into the area behind the counter. He smiled upon seeing several bottles of soda, beer and even Starbucks Frappuccino. After selecting a couple bottles of the coffee drink, he shut the door and looked over at his sleeping chum.

"Keep sleeping, big guy." He whispered with a light chuckle and made his way forward. He paused and grabbed his brother's phone off a seat and continued back into the cockpit. He took his right hand seat and held up the bottles of Starbucks.

Frank brightened up upon seeing the drinks. "We must be living right, bro. A flight where I don't engage the auto pilot cause it's such a pleasure to fly this thing. And now, my beverage of choice! Take control, will ya? I want to check my phone and see if Tiffany has texted."

Joe nodded and accepted control of the plane. "Take your time, bro!" he said relishing the idea of getting control of the responsive plane.

Frank twisted the cap off his bottle and took a long drink. He then picked up the phone that Joe had set on a nearby control surface. He leaned back in his seat as he powered the phone up. When it fully booted and acquired signal, they heard multiple alert tones. "No doubt Tiff has been lonely tonight with as many messages as it sounds like." He looked down.

"Maybe she sent you some spicy pics like she used to." Joe teased his brother. When his brother did not respond to the jibe, he glanced over at him. Frank appeared to be reading the messages with a tense expression. "Hey, what's up? That's not the expression I'd expect from the wife messaging."

Frank turned and gave a serious look. "It was Aimee. She is worried because Maddie is still outside. Supposedly she was at the treehouse out near where they are building the cabin. Maddie was texting her saying that she and Jaime were just hanging out. Aimee drove out there in their XUV and she couldn't find her. She texted again and Maddie said they had walked over to the barn. But Aimee didn't find here there either."

"That doesn't sound good." Joe said with concern. "Is Iola out there? I never got a call or message from her."

Frank shook his head. "Not yet. She apparently got held up when she stopped by her folks to drop off Joey and is just headed over there now. Aimee is freaking out."

"You better get the sheriff's department out there just to be safe." Joe advised. The kid is probably just hanging with her friend and didn't want to come in and deal with step-mommy, if that is what they call her. But still it won't hurt to have a deputy go out there. Between them and Iola, they should be able to flush her out."

Frank nodded. "Hopefully you are right, and nothing more sinister is afoot. As I understand it, Maddie and Aimee have a pretty solid relationship. Even if the whole family dynamic there is on the diverse side."

Joe couldn't help but grunt. "Yeah, diverse is one word for it."

Frank dialed his friend at the county sheriff's department and held the phone to his ear. A moment later he was connected. "Hey man, this is Frank….Well, at the moment I am flying to Brazil to check out a lead on Callie. Look, I have a favor to ask. Chet Morton's daughter is out at the farm and her sitter had recently messaged me that she can't find her. We think she is just hiding out with her friend doing the defiant teen thing. But obviously in view of what has recently happened with her mom and the homicide next door, I would be grateful if you could go out with another deputy and see if you can get a bead on her." He paused while he listened. "Yeah, that would be great. Just head out to the farm and make contact with Aimee Davidson. Joe's other half will probably be there as well. So please let me know, we got dad up here and he is sleeping. But I don't want to wake him up and tell him his daughter is now missing as well. Yeah, ok, thanks again!" He disconnected and glanced over at his brother. "He will check it out ASAP. I will message Aimee now and tell her help is on the way."

Joe nodded and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Jeez, I hope we don't have to wake Chet up and give him any bad news. Just would seem strange to me that if they already took off with Callie, it's not likely Reese or this mystery woman who took Callie. They would have taken Maddie before splitting the country."

"That would make more sense. "Frank reasoned. "But I just don't get a good feeling from this. Maddie is a pretty strait-laced kid and it would seem unlike her to not come inside when requested. It's cold on in December and even colder at night." He had been tapping a couple messages out to Aimee and Iola both, advising them that he had already contact the Sheriff's department to offer an assist. He set his phone down and looked tensely at his brother. "Alright, let's see what happens. No sense in waking Chet just yet."

"Agreed." Joe said with a nod.

Maddie stifled a cough and tossed the bag of pretzels on the floor and looked at Jaime. "I guess we should have snagged some drinks to go with all these salty snacks we brought." She said, still trying to clear her dry throat.

Jaime shrugged. "Bet your dad is still asleep. Why not just sneak in the lounge room and grab a few drinks from the fridge?"

Maddie thought for a moment, then leaned in towards the door to see if she could hear anything but was uncertain. While the cabin was quite insulated, they could still hear the steady dull roar of the jet engines which were also situated in the rear of the plane. She finally looked back and her partner and shrugged. "Hard to tell with the engine noise, but I am willing to take a chance. If I don't get a drink of something I won't get these pretzels, chips, and nuts out of my throat."

'I'm with you on that count." Jaime agreed.

Back in the cockpit Frank had taken back the piloting duty while Joe was on the phone with Iola. It had been about fifteen minutes since Frank had sent a deputy over to help them look for Maddie. He held the phone to his ear as he listened to the scared woman. "I know it's tough right now, babe, but keep a cool head. You say they sent two deputies over and they are out there looking too? I bet it won't be long until they find her, and her friend tucked away on one of the many outbuildings. You know how teen girls can want their privacy." This reasoning did not appease his wife and Joe sat silent for several moments as Iola voiced her fears. "No, Iola I am not taking any of this lightly." He was once again cut off by his wife's words.

Frank looked over at his brother, who glanced back at him and made a gestured that he was trying to appease Iola's case for worse case scenario. He knew that when she was on such a roll, it was best to let her speak her piece.

Joe absently started viewing all the readings on the instrument screens to keep himself distracted from sparring back and forth. "Yes, I am still here babe. I am just as concerned as you are, but the odds of her having been taken are not that high. The way Frank and I figure it, if Reese was going to take her as well, why wouldn't he have tried while his people were here taking Callie." He did his best to calm her and offer a sound alternative than her firm belief she had been taken by the same kidnapper who took Callie. He sighed, trying not to react to her alarmist theories. "Look, Iola, it's like a 400-acre farm and no doubt Chet had shown her a number of out of the way places where he used to hang out as a kid. I am sure any minute now she will pop right up, totally unaware she has caused such a fuss and…" His words ceased as something had caught his eye.

Joe immediately gestured to his brother to get his attention, then pointed to one of the monitors that offered a split quad screen with various camera views inside the cabin. Frank's eyes widened in surprise when he saw what had caught his brother's attention. In the lounge area where Chet was asleep, they had just noticed two figures appear cautiously and make a beeline to the bar's fridge. Frank glanced knowingly at Joe as they identified the pair as none other than Maddie and Jaime.

Despite the situation, Joe grinned as he knew the girls were safe. He placed the phone that he had momentarily pulled away back to his ear. "Hey, babe. Yeah, I am still here. Listen up. I want you to tell the deputies to stop the search." He was cut off abruptly as his wife launched into a flurry of questions to ask why he would suggest such a thing. He smirked at Frank and shook his head. "Would you let me get a word in here? I know where they are! Yes, just as I was talking to you a minute ago, we saw something on the plane's cabin monitor camera system. It would seem we have two unauthorized passengers!" After listening for several more moments, Joe nodded. "Yeah, I suspect they snuck on before we even got to the airport. Maddie probably figured out where Chet has the door code info recorded and used it to get on." He paused and then shook his head. "Turn around? Iola, are you crazy? We are well over halfway to Brazil. We can't turn around now. I will have to see what Chet wants to do….What's that? Well, I'm sure he hasn't been replying to any of the messages either of you have sent. He is passed out in the lounge. Poor guy needed some sleep and he either had a couple drinks or took a pill and went to sleep. Now, I get the fun of waking him up and introducing him to the stowaways. Maybe he will just want to drop them in the middle of the Atlantic." He quipped winking at his brother. "Look, the point is that she is safe for now. Not sure how safe she will feel after her dad rips her a new one. But at least we know she wasn't kidnapped. So, tell the police to go and you and Aimee have yourselves a drink and we will be in touch, ok? Right, I promise. Ok, baby, will talk soon. Bye!" Joe tossed his phone down and looked over at his brother.

Frank shook his head and sighed. "Damn fool thing those kids did. They could have been hurt hiding in a closet or something when the plane took off. To say nothing of now we have them and are going to be entering a dangerous environment."

Joe grunted. "The way Iola reacted; Maddie may want to take her chances with the anacondas in the jungle. Aunt Iola is plenty mad and out for blood."

"I can imagine, bro. Sounded like she was flying off the deep end with panic the way I could hear her voice from over her."

"Yeah, she was." Joe sighed. "Well, I imagine Chet will just slap them both on a commercial flight back and they can deal with aunties welcome home committee." He offered with a shudder.

Frank smiled as he imagined the scenario. "True, but Chet needs to be brought up to speed, and the girls need to be in actual seats and not screwing around in a cargo bay."

Joe looked uneasily at his brother. "Don't suppose you want to draw straws as to who gets to go back up there and wake up the sleeping bear from his drug induced slumber."

Frank jerked his thumb over his shoulder in gesture to his brother. "Your time to shine, brother. Don't forget to close the cockpit door as I expect screaming and yelling."

Joe gave an accepting nod and slowly got up. Frank managed to smile as he watched his brother make his way back to the cabin. He knew that Joe was more likely to keep things light when things got intense back there. His sense of humor would no doubt be more useful than his own by-the-book style.

Joe, uncertain how to approach the situation, made his way back to the lounge. Chet Morton was still leaning back in his seat fast asleep. While he had hoped to let his chum sleep for the duration of the flight, he knew that was not feasible. Hesitantly he placed his hand on Chet's shoulder and began to wake him. "Hey, prince charming, time to wake." He cracked. Several moments later the figure of Chet Morton began to stir. His eyes eventually started to flutter.

Chet slowly managed to adjust his seat to an upright position, and he rubbed his eyes in silence for several moments. He cleared his throat and looked over to the other seat and saw Joe with a sympathetic look. "Hey pal." He said with a yawn. "We gonna land soon?"

Joe shook his head. "Probably not for a couple hours, pal. But we have been making great time in your ride. It is amazing to fly…well when Frank lets me."

Chet looked at him with an amused expression. "Do I need to tell Frank to share the plane with you?" He asked, still looking half asleep.

"Well, no." Joe gave a nervous chuckle. He stood up and gestured towards the bar. "Can I get you another drink, pal?"

He shook his head and yawned again. "No, it would just make me sleep more. Not that the idea of that doesn't sound good."

Joe looked down with regret. He knew his friend needed as much rest as he could get, as he probably hadn't slept much in recent days. "I am sorry to have waken you, Chet. But I figured we would need to get things in order for when we did land."

Chet nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I understand. Well, I did arrange for a couple local escorts to meet us when we landed. I already had them checked out through my own connections. They will help us get past certain obstacles, as well as the language barrier. Not to mention serve as backup."

"Well, that is good, of course." Joe started, trying to select his words carefully. "But I meant to address other variables. You know, surprise issues that come up."

Chet seemed confused by Joe's line of thought. "What kind of surprise issues are you talking about?"

Joe knew this was not going to be easy. He stood up and gestured for Chet to do the same. Somewhat bewildered his friend complied. Joe walked casually around the lounge section. "You know, Chet, I wanted to say how impressed I am with this ultimate sky ride of yours. I mean you have two-bedroom areas, a galley, entertainment area and, hey, this lounge is a sweet one. You could easily entertain in here." Joe strode into the rear area with Chet following and he continued. "You got a second bathroom back here and a nice table over there for when you have a business meeting at thirty-five thousand feet."

Chet scratched his head and wondered why Joe was putting on such a production about gesturing and talking about how great the plane was. "Yeah, Joe, I kind of already figured out it's a sweet plane. But what are you looking to do? Sell it for me? Sounds like you are doing a hell of a sales job, but since I already own it, how about not bothering to state the obvious."

Joe chuckled at his pal, hoping to get his mood a bit lighter. But, he supposed, that was not likely to happen. He sighed and turned to his friend. "Well, hey, I am all for brokering a deal if you want to sell it. I will be quite happy with taking a measly 3% to get rid of it for you. But I tell you, do you know what I think one of the best selling points is for this aircraft?"

Chet blinked, assuming his pal was building up to some grand joke at his expense. But he decided to play along. He leaned against one of the walls and blinked at his friend with a humorous expression. "Well, no I don't, Joe. But please, do tell me what would make a buyer just jump on it."

Joe smirked, nodded, and walked over towards the cargo bay doors. "Well, I tell ya Chet. What makes this plane most impressive to me is the closet space. Or perhaps in this case you could say it comes with its own stowaway compartment!" With a flourish Joe proceeded to pull back the rear cargo bay doors which revealed a pair of teenage girls sitting on the floor of the right side.

Chet Morton blinked in surprise. He was now completely awake as he stood momentarily motionless. He sighed deeply as he looked down at Maddie and Jaime who looked back sheepishly.

"Hey, dad." Maddie said meekly, pressing a hopeful smile to her face. Hopeful that her father was not going to be too irritated in the dressing down she knew was imminent.

Chet drew a breath, about to launch into a diatribe. He glanced over at Joe who offered him a look he was familiar with. A look which suggested that the situation which existed was not one that a long speech or outright yelling would help resolve. He exhaled slowly in an attempt to diffuse his present anger. He looked down at his daughter, who appeared to be prepared for the worst. Instead of yelling however, he shook his head and managed a half smile. He gestured to the pair to rise. "You two know we have actual seats on this plane, don't you?"

Maddie, who had expected her father to immediately start screaming blinked and glanced to Jaime, who offered a brief shrug. The pair slowly rose from their area of concealment and stepped from the closet. Chet turned, leading the group back into the lounge. He gestured for the pair to sit on the sofa, then looked to Joe. "Joseph, can you pass out the coffee drinks?" He glanced at Maddie. "That is acceptable, my dear?"

The youth nodded. "Uhm, yes, please." Joe Hardy removed four bottles of Starbucks and carried them over, setting them down then took a seat across from Chet. He was surprised himself that his friend had remained composed.

Chet took a drink and sat back, running his fingers through his hair. It was difficult for him to not offer the reaction he had initially wanted to. He looked over at the pair and cleared his throat. "Well, you two certainly chose an interested night to hitch a ride. Might it have anything to do with our destination and your desire to help your mother?"

"Dad, I know what I did was wrong. And I am sorry for not listening to you. I just feel that I need to be there to help you and mom."

Chet nodded and gestured to her. "Yes, that is quite understandable. However, I believe I had pointed out several reasons why that idea was not particularly suited for a girl of your age and experience fighting criminals. Experience, which you of course have none of."

Maddie looked down, acknowledging the points that her father made. But looked back at her dad with concern. "I know that dad. But I still want to help get this guy. He needs to pay. Mom needs to be back with us safe."

"All valid points, Maddie." He acknowledged. "But your interest aside, it simply cannot play out in the manner you are hoping."

"Well, we are here with you now." Maddie began with a hopeful look.

Her dad shook his head. "Not for long, kid. After we land you will be put on the next available flight to New York, where your aunt will pick you up."

Maddie was about to protest, but her father's stern look suggested it was not a wise choice. Still, she couldn't seem to help herself. "But, dad, I can really help."

Chet rubbed his temples and gave Maddie a pained expression. "My dear daughter, even if I had lost all my senses, and agreed to your plan to escort us on this hunt, your mother would rightfully disown me. I don't think you fully appreciate the element of danger we will be dealing with."

Maddie was about to return an emotional response, but her dad held up his hand. "But dad…"

"Maddie, I have tried to remain calm with this surprise. This rather shocking surprise." He raised his eyebrows emphatically at her. "By the way, how did you gain entry to the airport and the plane?"

Maddie exchanged glances with Jaime but remained silent. Chet glanced over at Joe, whose eyes twinkled back at him. He was glad his friend kept his cool. Though he too was curious how the pair did get access. He looked over at Jaime. "Perhaps you can tell us, Jaime?"

Jaime's eyebrows went up in surprise as she was not expecting to be pulled into the conversation. She drew a knee up to her chest and looked at Joe with an uneasy smile. "Well, uhm…"

Joe took in the teen's body language and gave an audible grunt. "When we came through the airport gate, we briefly encountered a young man. Probably in his early to mid 20s. Was he perhaps charmed by you two ladies into granting entry?"

Chet's eyebrows went up and he looked over at Jaime, then sighed uneasily. While the 17-year-old was not dressed too suggestively, he could tell by her present demeanor and past observations that she was quite capable of what Joe had suggested. Even more distressing to him was the notion his own daughter could have been displaying such traits.

Jaime, still looking uneasy, pulled her skirt down to cover her legs. "Well, uhm, we may have smiled at him, and…"

"Hmph!" Chet grunted cutting off the youth from expounding further. He looked over at his daughter disapprovingly. Maddie looked back at him and could read his feelings without a word being said. She looked down feeling ashamed. "Well, I think you know my feelings about that sort of thing. But maybe you will tell me how you got on the plane."

She was grateful her dad had expressed his disapproval of her moral judgments so briefly and was happy to change the subject. "Well, I overheard you tell the maintenance person at the airport the security code for the door."

Chet nodded, remembering. "Very resourceful, my dear." He took a deep breath and looked at the pair. "So, we will not have any issues once we get to Brazil? You will both willingly get on a commercial flight back to the states and not cause any further issues? Because if you want to fight that directive, I can't be responsible for where this exchange may go and how pleasant I will be."

Maddie knew that she had gotten off lucky. She had fully expected her father to yell and scream about her stowing away. She also supposed in the back of her head that there was a distinct possibility that her father would have sent her home. Her impulsive plan hadn't really had any contingency to enact should things have happened as they did. She wanted to be there with her father to track down her mother's kidnapper. But hadn't any clue as to how to make that happen. Her original plan was based on emotion. While it had been a good effort, she knew there was no real way she would be allowed to stay when they landed. She looked down and shook her head. "No, dad, I am not going to fight you. As much as I think I could be of help to you, I know there is not much I can really do."

Her father nodded, grateful for his daughter's rational line of thought. "Well good, I'm glad to hear it."

"You had a lot of people worried tonight, ladies." Joe spoke up. "They had the police out at the farm looking for you two. Aimee and Aunt Iola were worried sick."

"Yes, I am sure there were." Maddie murmured, feeling embarrassed by the whole situation.

Chet sat back, shaking his head, and wagging his finger at the two. "You were both lucky in that you have been inside an airplane without as much as a seat belt. The cargo area is not a safe place to be hanging out."

Joe nodded his agreement. "I must second that. This plane is traveling at near the speed of sound, and it would not end well if you didn't have as much as a seat belt to hold you in if something happened. Trust me on that one, I know first-hand."

Chet offered his sobering agreement. "I was on that plane as well and its certainly not a fun experience to be in a plane crash."

Maddie had heard numerous stories about the plane crash her parents had been in. She knew this was a big reason her mom tended to avoid air travel. At least on the private plane level. Maddie remembered her mom had been critical of Chet acquiring the plane, even if it had been free of charge. Her mom had said something like Don't expect me to step foot on the damn thing. "We're sorry, dad, Uncle Joe." Maddie said with regret, hoping to avoid any additional criticism.

Joe nodded to the pair and stood up. "It's ok, girls. I will be happy if you simply stay in a real seat for the duration of the trip. I guess I'd better get back up to Frank."

Chet looked at his daughter and friend and felt he needed a little space between them for at least a while. "I'll join you, pal." He said as he rose. "You girls can just hang out and eat, have a drink, watch tv." He suggested as he followed Joe. They entered the cockpit and he shut the door behind him.

Frank glanced over at his friend. "How did things go, pal? I didn't hear any screaming or yelling."

Chet sighed as he flopped into the rear jump seat. "Eh, you know, man. I just figured I didn't need to deal with two temperamental teen girls if I had pushed them into drama mode."

"Wise decision." Frank agreed.

"Chet was a good boy." Joe reported and buckled his harness. "He knew it could get ugly quick if the wrong words got exchanged. But you have my respect, man." He looked at Chet with an impressed look. "Three daughters are gonna turn you grey, and Maddie, well I guess is a typical teen girl."

Chet looked back at his friend with a questioning expression. "You sure you didn't want to add something to that comment?"

"Didn't mean anything by it, pal." Joe assured him. "I know Maddie is a good kid. But that Jaime, well, maybe I just don't know much about her."

"What do you mean?" Frank asked somewhat puzzled by his brother's line of thought.

Joe shrugged. "Nothing too much, I guess. But when we were back there, I asked how they got past the security gate into the airport. Jaime seemed to indicate that they might have used some physical female persuasion to distract the young man at the gate."

"Seriously?" His brother raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I don't know the kid's history or anything, so I don't want to seem unkind. But she seems to at least have the potential to be a little missile twister if she wants to be."

"Missile twister?" Chet repeated and looked at Joe.

"Well…" Joe grunted with a chuckle. "With guys that is. But I do have to ask, I mean if it's ok to…" Joe broached the subject carefully. "But what is the deal with Jaime and Maddie?"

"Deal?" Chet repeated, unsure what Joe was driving at. Frank shot his brother a look, which he ignored.

"Yeah, man. I mean are they like in a relationship?" Frank rolled his eyes. He knew Chet was not particularly comfortable with, or really understood the relationship dynamic between the two girls.

"Well, Joe…" Chet said with equal bluntness. "I honestly don't know what the extent of their relationship is. I do believe that Maddie has not rushed into anything with Jaime that I know of. Despite whatever the two may have done when in captivity, my understanding is that there is mutual attraction, but I do not believe Maddie has acted upon any impulse she may have. Callie was talking with me last week. You know, since that particular subject is easier to broach between mothers and daughters, she has been talking to Maddie about it. And as far as we know, they haven't consummated their relationship post-rescue. But obviously they are quite close."

"Ok, just wondering, pal. I know that it's something you don't have a lot of control over. I honestly didn't know if they were officially a thing or just good friends."

Chet rubbed his temple and ultimately shrugged. "You know, Joe, I honestly don't care if my daughter falls for another girl. I think that happiness is something we all find in our own way. While I would never be into the whole same sex thing personally as a guy, I suppose I am more forgiving when it occurs with women."

"Yeah, I kind of already knew that man." Joe smirked. "But I wouldn't be airing that opinion around too many feminists. That kind of double standard would be a hard swallow for them."

His chum tossed his hands halfway up in futility. "Joe, I am well aware my views are a bit sexist. I can't really help that. I would appreciate it if this discussion did not glide into one which concerns the relationship that I share with both Callie and Aimee. Because that pretty much is what it is for now. There are bigger matters at hand than me having feelings for two women who reciprocate in an honest and open manner. My main goal here is to get Callie away from a psycho. Nothing else really matters for now."

Joe offered a reserved nod. "I understand, Chet. And I am sorry if I hit on a sensitive topic.

Frank looked from his brother to Chet and thought it best to change the subject as quickly as possible. "So, Chet, you said you have us some backup lined up for when we get there?"

"Yeah. I have a number to text when we arrive. They will be available within 20 minutes. Seasoned guides you can call them."

Joe's eyebrows went up. "Chet, are we talking mercenaries here? Because I really don't want to associate with anyone who might be in the same game that Reese is if the money is good enough."

His friend motioned for him to tone it down. "Relax, Joe. I contacted someone who used to train with Callie when she was getting the FBI thing under her belt. They are an agent with the bureau. They were quite alarmed to hear about Callie and made some inquiries. They came up with these two guys and I asked the same thing and was assured they have a moral compass. Apparently, down in many areas of Brazil crimes like kidnapping can often go without investigation. The corruption is quite bad there and these guys have helped in the recovery of several kidnap victims. They only cross the line for the greater good and if it will help recover the victims, not for money. Although they no doubt will have a fee of some kind since they are essentially private investigators themselves. Or that is the moniker they choose to be classified with."

Joe nodded. "Sounds good, pal. I just don't want to hook up with people who are strictly in it for the cash because moral compass aside, they obviously don't care who they serve if the money is good. We have no way of knowing what wheels Reese has greased down there and I would prefer any help come from someone who knows right from wrong."

"Agreed."

Frank shot his friend a look. "But you will likely be seeking their advice on the best way to avoid customs? Which may not be a bad thing since we may not have the credentials to enter Brazil ourselves. We have our passports, but I thought I had read somewhere that they also require a visa, which takes time. I am sure if we could reach dad, he would help us pull some strings with regard to that. But I don't want to run into any surprises either."

Chet gave a nervous nod. "Yeah, they will help us with that, too." He looked down at his phone. "Say, Frank, when will we be arriving?"

Frank looked down at his instrument panel which had real-time global positioning. "We will touch down in Manaus in about 94 minutes."

"So, about 1:00AM local time. We may have to sit in the airport with the girls for a while. I think I will lookup flight times for the soonest flight heading back to the states." He said, then went about looking on his phone to check the airline schedules."

Jaime stretched back in her seat in the lounge section and looked at her partner. "You seemed to have accepted the reality of things pretty well." She noted observing Maddie's overall calm demeanor.

Maddie shrugged. "Well, I guess I knew it was a gamble thinking we'd be able to stay. I saw that dad tried his best not to bite my head off for stowing away in the first place. And, well, I dunno. I guess I thought I could come down with him and he would track the sicko down and let me take him out."

Jaime looked at her with a somber expression. "I don't think any parent would want to put such an act upon their child's shoulders. Even if the bastard had it coming. You and I both know we are probably capable of it. But doing it is an entirely different thing. I don't think I'd want to live with it if I could avoid it."

"Dad has been through a lot. And I know with Uncle Frank and Joe there to help he will be in good company of finding mom. He is supposed to have a couple extra hired men to also lend a hand. As much as I want to go with, there is also part of me that is scared to death of seeing him again."

"Yeah." Jaime said softly. "Me too."

"We are about 30 minutes out." Frank said with a yawn.

Time: 12:48AM

"This thing makes incredible time." Joe marveled at realizing how fast they had made the flight. He looked over at Chet, who seemed relatively calm. "And I must commend you, pal. You seem pretty settled for a guy in a smaller plane."

"A couple Xanax and a tall glass of Irish whiskey will afford one certain calmness in stressful situations." He smirked.

"Yes, I suppose it would." Joe agreed with a chuckle.

The flew along in silence for the next several minutes until a red dialogue box flashed across Frank's main screen. An audible tone sounded, and Frank looked down at the screen. Chet and Joe both looked over at him.

"What's up, bro?" Joe asked as his brother looked down at the flashing box.

Frank tilted his head thoughtfully as read. "Something called an engine exceedance warning. Error 7703."

"I trust that isn't serious?" Chet asked tensely.

Frank reached down for a large binder and began looking through the pages. "I will let you know when I figure out just what the hell it means." He muttered as he flipped the pages. "I've never heard the term, and all these computers driven errors require one to really get their learning curve right."

"Engine exceedance sounds self-explanatory. This thing is going near the speed of sound. Perhaps it is working too hard."

After two more minutes of flipping pages, Frank finally put his finger on the page. "Here we go. Error 7703, the engine exceedance warning can go off when the regulator sensor type Q729 has failed. The engine is not being properly regulated so the system can't adjust to the engine's needs, etc. It is rated as a serious error, but not critical. Advise landing at earliest opportunity and service. If flight continues for extended period without regulator sensor replacement and calibration the problem could escalate to critical."

Joe looked down at the positioning system. "Well, it looks like we are 17 minutes from Manaus. She seems to be flying alright, so I'd imagine we can make it there fine and then have the plane serviced."

"Yeah, that can work." Chet said, still feeling a bit uneasy. "Damn planes have so many sensors and computers running everything. Even with very few flight hours on this plane, you still have to deal with a failure."

"Relax, Chet." Frank assured him. "The plane is not acting abnormal, and the warning wasn't critical, so I think we can make it another 15 minutes without incident."

"Yep!" Joe agreed with his brother. "Just take a breath and get ready to call our tour guides as we will also need them to do some translating so we can get the plane in for servicing."

"Also tell the girls to buckle up." Frank advised. "We are going to descend in a few."

Chet got up and nodded. "Alright, I will do that. I will probably stay back there while you land."

Luck was with them and true to Frank's assurance the plane landed without issue at Manaus Brazil Airport and were soon taxiing along towards the private plane hangars.

Within ten minutes Frank had pulled up next to several other private aircraft in front of a large hangar with the letter D on it.

"Blue Tiger 427, out of service hangar D. Thank you, over and out." Frank said and pulled off his headset.

"Not much action out there." Joe commented as he noted the environment had very little activity and the hangar was clearly some distance from the main airport building.

"We are in a private aircraft area, and it's 1:20 in the morning, bro."

"True." Joe conceded with a yawn.

The cockpit door opened, and Chet entered looking much more relieved. "We are on the ground, thank you, Frank."

"Uhm, you're welcome, pal." He said with an amused look. "The plane just needs a sensor, Chet. I don't think there was any major risk of anything bad with only fifteen minutes fly time left. Did you reach our guides?"

Chet nodded quickly. "Yeah, that is the reason I came up here. I need to give them a location or designation where we are."

"Hangar D is where we are." Frank informed him.

Chet nodded as he started typing a message into his phone. A moment later he looked up. "They will be here soon. Their names are Antonio and Marcos by the way."

"We can make our plans on the plane." Frank suggested. "When did you say the plane for the states is scheduled to leave?"

Chet looked down at his phone. "There is a TAM Airlines flight 1046 heading out at 7:41AM. That is the soonest one to get the girls on."

"Sound fine." Frank said as he stood up and stretched his arms and flexed his back. "Let's get back to the lounge. I could use a more comfortable seat and a drink."

Twenty minutes later the plane's lounge was filled with the Hardys, Chet, Maddie, Jaime and their two new acquaintances. The pair, both clearly native to Brazil nodded cordially. Antonio appeared to be about 35 and was lean with a shock of black wavy hair and brown eyes. His companion, Marcos was of similar age, but was quite tall. Frank estimated him to be about 6 foot 7 inches tall. He had a broad and muscular build, bald head and was a most imposing figure. But his congenial nature made his physical presence non threatening to the group. Both men listened intently as Chet and the Hardy's filled them in on the case.

Antonio placed a friendly hand on Chet. "It sounds like a terrible situation, senor Chet." He said with a thick accent. "We will do our best to help you locate your missing wife."

"You can count on us to help, amigo." Marcos added with a smile.

Chet smiled back. "I am grateful for your assistance."

Antonio looked at Maddie and Jaime with concern then to Chet. "Senor Chet, if I may inquire about the garotas." He said gesturing to the pair.

"Garotas?" Chet repeated blankly.

Antonio placed his hand to his head in a gesture of forgetfulness. "Excuse me, amigo, what I mean is girls. Garota in Portuguese means young woman. Considering the work we are to do, I would be worried about them."

"We didn't really invite them." Chet smirked. "My daughter and her friend hid out in the cargo area before we left, and we didn't discovered they were on the plane until we were well over the Atlantic. And once we discovered this, we made it clear that they will be returning to the USA on the next available flight, which is at 7:40 this morning."

Antonio and Marcos exchanged humorous glances. "Ah, I understand amigo." Marcos said with a laugh. "I have filhas at home, too."

"Filha?" Joe smiled. "I assume that is Portuguese for daughter?"

Marcos smiled and nodded. "Yes, daughter."

"Say, Antonio." Frank spoke up. "If I can ask a question now that the subject is upon us."

"Yes, senor Frank."

"The girls being stowaways and not likely thinking things out probably did not bring their passports. In fact, I kind of doubt that one of them has one at all. Will this cause an issue?"

Both Marcos and Antonio's eyes widened. "No passaporte?" Marcos asked with serious expression.

Chet shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. Is that a serious issue in terms of getting them back on a plane to the US?"

"I'm afraid it is, senor." Antonio confirmed as he ran his fingers through his thick hair. "You must have a passaporte and visa to enter Brazil."

"Will that be an issue for us?" Chet interrupted. "I mean as far as us being here to do our business?"

Marcos held out his hand in gesture. "It not so much a big deal as you got here on a private plane, and we can help you get around the customs process. It is not, what you call, legal, but of course neither are the things that we may need to do to get your wife back, senor Chet."

"But there will be no way to get these two garotas on a commercial flight, amigo." Antonio added with a worried look. "If you take them to the airport and try to get them on a flight, and they do not have proper, what you say, documentation, they would be taken into custody."

Chet and the Hardy's exchanged troubled looks. Maddie's eyebrows perked upon hearing the news, but she remained silent.

"Are you saying that we must keep the girls with us, and cannot send them back?" Chet asked with a distressed look.

Antonio shrugged. "Well, amigo, you can always take them back yourself in your own plane, of course."

Chet knew that even if one of the Hardys volunteered to take the girls back, it was not possible as the plane required servicing. It would also give them less manpower when they needed it most. He threw his hands up. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess we have no real choice." He looked at Maddie and Jaime with an irritated look.

"Looks like the garotas get to stay…for the time being."