A/N: Phew, a total of 15 pages. That should be well worth the wait I hope. Thanks goes out as always to those who reviewed and have been patient during my long hiatus. I am done with my classes for the semester and thankfully won't have to deal with that again till mid-January. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Frank stared blankly at his computer screen as he typed blindly, but miraculously coherently. The debrief was due at the end of the day and he'd done enough debriefs at this point to know the structure by heart. All he had to do was describe things as they happened, and that's what he did. It was almost like someone was dictating and he typed as he heard it without registering what the person was even saying. In this case, that person was his brain.

"How's the Mercado case coming?" Joe asked, walking over to his brother's cubicle.

"Almost done," Frank said, typing as if Joe wasn't in the room.

"Wanna do lunch?" Joe suggested.

"Not that hungry." Joe rolled his eyes. Frank had been like this since they had gotten back from D.C. He answered questions barely using words with two syllables and acting distracted or completely unresponsive. If Frank ate or did anything at all, it was a result of a lot of coaxing from Joe.

"We're going to Seniorita's," Joe answered, acting like Frank hadn't said anything.

"Joe, I'm not hungry," Frank emphasized as he stopped typing and hit the backspace button hard and repeatedly with his right ring finger.

"Bullshit. You've barely eaten in over a week. I think the biggest meal you've provided for yourself has been the corn bread muffin you purchased at the bakery downstairs last night."

"I can't help it, Joe, I'm worried," Frank said with a sigh. "I've called Nancy everyday since we got back and she hasn't returned any of my calls."

Joe grimaced, trying to find the best way to assure his brother. "She's probably fine. You know Nancy; she doesn't like to believe she needs help sometimes. She'll get over it."

"Right, like she got over the whole thing with Callie?" Frank muttered bitterly. "I just have a feeling that something's wrong." Joe shrugged off his brother's comment uneasily. The problem was, if something was wrong, they'd have no way of knowing for sure, since Nancy wasn't in contact with them.

"Come on the senioritas at Seniorita's await!" Joe said, grabbing his brother and pulling him by the arm out of his seat and to his feet.

"Joe!"

"I heard the enchiladas are to die for." Frank shrugged his arm out of his brother's grip.

"Okay, okay, I'll go, just let me save this," Frank bent over the computer and went through the typical saving protocol as Joe hovered impatiently nearby. The next thing he knew Joe's cell phone started to ring. Joe picked up his phone and looked at it curiously, not recognizing the number.

"Agent Joe Hardy," Joe answered, never tiring of letting people know that he was an agent.

"Joe, thank God! It's Bess, Bess Marvin." Joe's eyes lit up. He hadn't seen Bess in a long time. They kept up e-mails from time-to-time, but generally they never saw each other unless she was traveling with Nancy.

"Bess, it's great to hear from you! How's the magazine business?" Frank looked up at Joe in surprise. Joe nodded at his brother eagerly. There had always been something between Bess and Joe, though neither knew what. Sometimes it felt like they were more like brother and sister, but other times, Joe couldn't take his eyes off her.

The last time Joe had talked to her she was a writer for an up and coming fashion magazine known as G'Town; an abbreviation for Girl's Downtown. It focused on coming up with original and affordable fashions for young women. It also helped to sponsor many charity events for kids needing help in obtaining scholarships and medical funding. Her headquarters were in New York City, so it really was a surprise that neither the Hardys' nor Bess had been able to find time to meet, even for a few hours.

"It's great. I'm an editor now," Bess explained.

"Congratulations!" Joe praised.

"Thanks," Bess said, blushing slightly. Her tone almost immediately turned sober. "Unfortunately, this isn't a social call."

"What's wrong?" Joe asked concerned.

"It's Nancy," Bess mumbled, tearing slightly.

"Nancy?" Joe repeated with alarm. Frank became all ears looking at Joe, his facial expression demanding to know what was going on. Joe hushed him.

"Yes, see the magazine decided to sponsor a charity banquet to raise money for the Children's Hospital of New York and they put me in charge to help head the organization of it. I asked Nancy to come to it and she didn't show up," Bess explained.

Joe tensed slightly. That definitely didn't sound like Nancy. "Anyway she may have forgotten?"

"No way. I've been talking about this non-stop for about month," Bess said with nervous laughter. "She told me she'd already bought the plane tickets. She was going to stay with me for a few days and then attend the event."

"When was she supposed to get there?"

"Three days ago. The charity was last night. I've been calling her home and cell like crazy but she hasn't answered. I even tried to call the CIA, but they said she was on extended leave." Bess paused. "I know that Nancy hasn't been on good terms with Frank for awhile, but I didn't know who else to turn to."

Joe thought about the situation for a moment. "Bess, where are you right now?"

"I'm at home," she answered sounding slightly confused.

"We're coming over, where do you live?" Bess gave him the address as Joe ignored Frank's anxious looks and walked over to his desk to find a pen and paper to copy down Bess's information.

"Alright, we'll see you in about 15 minutes," Joe said as soon as he'd confirmed the address.

"Thanks, Joe," Bess said with relief.

"No problem." Joe hung up and was immediately met by his brother.

"What's going on? Is Nancy okay?" Frank demanded.

"I don't know," Joe answered to both questions. He very quickly explained what Bess had told him and Frank's face paled.

"So, she wasn't just screening us," Frank realized. "Something's happened to her."

Joe glared at his brother. "Don't jump to conclusions yet. I know it looks bad but we won't know anything till we get the full story out of Bess."

Frank began to pace in front of computer, thinking aloud. "Nancy wouldn't forget to show up to something she had tickets for in advance, and she wouldn't ignore Bess's phone calls especially if she needed to apologize. There'd be a reason, Joe, and for some reason she's not telling anyone that reason. That means she's in a position where she can't—"

"Stop it!" Joe yelled, looking equally concerned. Frank stopped pacing and looked at his brother. "We don't know what's going on yet. So stop assuming the worse. Now, we're going to talk to Bess and then get in contact with the CIA. Then we'll decide where to go from there, okay?"

"Okay," Frank agreed quietly. He went over to his seat and grabbed his coat, leading the way out the door.

Neither of them said anything as they made their way down to the garage to pick up their car. It wasn't until they made it onto the highway to head into the city that either of them broke their committed silence.

"I knew something was wrong," Frank grumbled shaking his head.

"There's no way you could have known. She could be fine, Frank," Joe insisted, glancing at his brother briefly before turning his attention back to the road.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Joe stared at the car in front of him, letting the information they just received run through his head. He agreed with Frank, nothing they'd found out so far was pointing in a good direction. He couldn't bring himself to boast Frank's confidence without having some faith in his words.

"She's a strong woman," Joe whispered. Frank looked at his brother, both knowing that wasn't the kind of answer Frank was looking for. Unfortunately, Frank wouldn't have believed his brother's optimism anyway.

Ten minutes later, the two brothers were driving along a residential street just outside the city. Layers upon layers of brick apartments lined either side. Joe gradually slowed the car and then found himself parallel parking in front of one of the complexes on the right side of the road. Frank stole a look at his brother who caught his gaze before Frank opened his door and stepped out of the car. Joe followed and then took the lead into the building and made his way towards the stairs. After treading up two flights of stairs, Joe walked down the off-white hallway onto the third floor finally stopping in front of 326. He raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then gave three confident knocks on the door.

He heard the sound of a chain being released and then next thing he saw was a yellow figure coming at him. "Joe!" she cried before taking him in a crushing hug. She pulled away, "It's so great to see you!" She looked over at Frank and slowly took him in a hug as well, that Frank noted was nowhere as enthusiastic as her greeting to Joe.

Neither brother could deny, however, that Bess looked great. Her blond hair was slightly longer than she used to keep it, falling just past her shoulders with its gentle curls. She wore a pale yellow shirt with a collar that rested lightly against her arms and revealed the straps of her white tank top that rested on her shoulders. She was dressed in simple black slacks and matching yellow flip-flops. She was even thinner than Joe last remembered her.

"Come inside," Bess requested as she lead the way into her apartment and waiting at her door till everyone had entered before closing it.

"Have a seat. You guys want anything to eat? Drink?" Frank and Joe headed for the tan leather couch across from the glass coffee table. The whole room was painted in very light, delicate pink that was barely distinguishable from white itself. To compliment this color she had a light greenish-blue carpet. It gave the apartment a natural colorful look that was truly Bess.

"Just water for me," Frank requested. Bess looked at Joe.

"What do you got?" Joe asked.

Bess smiled. "Umm…let's see, water, orange juice, milk, lemonade, and I think some Miller Light."

"Lemonade would be great," Joe answered. The brothers sat waiting for Bess letting the sound of her movements fill the room. She entered the room juggling two glasses of lemonade against her chest with a plate of cookies on top and a glass of water in the other hand. Joe grabbed the plate of cookies off the top as Bess leaned over and placed the cup of water in front of Frank. Bess smiled at Joe and then used her now empty hand to give Joe his lemonade. Frank took a long drink from his glass.

"By the way, Bess, you look fabulous," Joe said. Bess took a seat in a matching leather chair, blushing slightly.

"Stress from work, mostly. If I knew all I needed to do was get a job to lose weight I would have done it a long time ago," Bess answered.

"You know you were never overweight," Joe insisted. Bess's cheeks flushed even more.

Frank set his glass down purposefully as if to remind them that he was in the room too. The rush of blood drained from Bess's cheeks as she turned to face Frank.

"Tell us everything," Frank requested gently.

"I pretty much told Joe everything—"

"When was the last time you heard from Nancy?" Joe asked.

"Monday, last week. I called Nancy really quick to confirm that she was coming. She was going to call me the night before she left to give me her flight information so I could pick her up. She didn't call me. I figured she'd forgot, so I found her arrival time online and waited at the airport. I never saw her, but since we're not aloud to wait at the gates anymore, I figured I could have missed her. I called her cell at that point, but she didn't answer. I assumed at that something had come up and she had to change her flight plan and didn't get a chance to tell me, but not being able to get in contact with her didn't reassure me," Bess explained.

"Unfortunately at the same time I was also busy with planning the event, so I could only investigate in free time, which wasn't very often. I managed to call the CIA on the day before the event to see if she was there, but that's when they told me she was on extended leave."

"Did you tell them that you thought she might be missing?" Frank asked.

"Yes, but I was talking to a secretary who didn't know anything more than that she was out of the office. She promised that she'd report this information to her superiors and that's the last I heard. If the CIA wouldn't help me, I didn't see any good in calling the police, so I called you guys," Bess finished.

"I'm calling Lennox," Frank claimed, getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen.

"Who's Lennox?" Bess asked as she watched Frank leave.

"Director Lennox is Nancy's boss," Joe explained. Bess looked at him in confusion.

"How do you know Nancy's boss?" Joe sighed and gave Bess the abbreviated version of Nancy's case and everything that had transpired after Frank and Joe had arrived.

"My goodness! Do you think Nancy's alright?" Bess asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Joe answered honestly. "Did Nancy ever mention this case to you?"

Bess shook her head. "Not in detail at least. She said she's been trying to find her dad's murderer, but that's it."

Joe looked at Bess sadly. "How was she after Carson's death?"

Bess looked down at her hands. "She dropped all contact with everyone for a week afterwards. I would come by her house, call her all the time, but never saw her till the day of the funeral." Bess looked up distantly as if trying to remember. "She looked tired then. Dark circles around her eyes, but she was everyone's strength that day. She was there for Hannah, colleagues and friends of the family. She comforted everyone. I don't think she ever comforted herself."

Joe nodded distractedly. "What do you think she did for that week?"

Bess shrugged. "She never told me." Joe frowned. He had a hunch that that's when Nancy's research had begun. Maybe Frank hadn't been so off base to make that conclusion that Nancy was searching for closure.

From the kitchen, Joe heard the sound of Frank's flip phone slamming shut. He appeared a few seconds later. Bess and Joe looked at him expectantly.

Frank looked at them with a sort of grim determination. "We're going back to Washington."

7777

Frank, Joe and Bess arrived at the airport at seven the next morning. It was the first flight they could get out of New York. The Hardys' had been reluctant to allow Bess to come, but Bess could be quite stubborn as the brothers found out. She'd insisted on helping out for as long as her work would allow her. What impressed the brothers even more was that she managed to fit clothes for an undetermined amount of time all in one carry-on bag. Granted, that the one bag was still larger than either Frank's or Joe's, it was still very un-Bess.

Upon hearing this comment Bess glared at the boys. "I know how to prioritize when it counts, and it helps that I don't have to worry about impressing anyone."

Joe faked hurt. "You don't want to impress us? I'm insulted."

Bess rolled her eyes. "No, you're not, but on the off chance that you are I'm sure you'll get over it." Bess gave him a sweet smile before handing her boarding pass to the flight attendant. Joe and Frank followed suit and boarded the plane. Since they had gotten their tickets at the last minute, none of their seats were in the same place. However, as soon as they were in the air and the captain had turned off the fasten seat belt sign, Frank noticed that Joe had an empty seat next to him, and Frank took the opportunity to talk to his brother.

"Can you believe they don't even serve breakfast on this flight?" Joe asked as soon as Frank sat down. Frank raised an eyebrow at his brother. Joe recognized the look that told him Frank had something on his mind. "What is it?"

Frank shuffled his hands in his lap. He couldn't look his brother in the eye. "I've been trying to think of all the reasons Nancy might have gone missing. Who might want to take her— I mean, someone could want revenge or something like that but…" Joe knew exactly where Frank was going, but he knew Frank needed to say it. "But I know the most likely reason is that the case Nancy was working on is real. Someone found out that she knew too much." Frank untangled his hands and rubbed them against his face. When he pulled his hands away, they were shaking and he immediately cupped his hands together and placed them in his lap once more.

"You fought for what you believed in, so did she; it just so happened that you two didn't believe in the same thing." Joe placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "It's not going to do any good to dwell on the past. When we find Nancy, you can worry about apologizing, but right now we have to focus on getting her back."

"I just never really stopped to consider for real that she was right. It all seemed so implausible," Frank said shaking his head.

Frank shrugged. "You can't know everything, but if it makes you feel any better, I think there may have been truth in the idea that Nancy's faith in the case was for closure of her father's death, if that makes you feel any better."

"Not really, Joe," Frank said with a groan. "That just means that once again, she put others in front of herself, so now she has all these emotions bottled up."

"And all it really takes is a butterfly."

"A butterfly, Joe?"

"Mmhm, to open its wings." Frank looked at his brother with complete disbelief and confusion. Joe caught his gaze and laughed slightly.

"It's from a movie." Frank nodded, but continued to give Joe a funny look. "Look, all I'm saying is we don't know anything yet. We're going to go to the CIA and get some answers and then decide where to go from there. One step at a time, Frank, that's all we can do."

Frank's head dropped slightly before he turned back towards his brother, his eyes anxious. "It's not enough." Frank grabbed the seat in front of him and used it to help pull him to his feet. He walked down the aisle, back to his seat and remained there till the end of the flight.

Almost two hours later, the Captain's voice came over the intercom system, breaking Frank's concentration on the movie he wasn't watching. "Good morning, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your flight. We've arrived at Dulles International Airport and will be de-boarding shortly. The current outside temperature is a comfortable seventy degrees with partly cloudy skies. The local time is 11:03 am. I would like to thank you all for choosing Delta and we hope to see you again if not on this flight, on another one of our flights." Frank tuned out the pilot as soon as he started talking about luggage pick-up and flight transfers.

The Captain's voice finally melted away with a brief round of static as the sound of metal seatbelts unbuckling and heavy-duty cloth being shifted against plastic filled the plane. Frank grabbed his suitcase and waited in line as the plane slowly began to empty. He found Bess already waiting in the terminal and walked up to meet her and wait for Joe. Bess gave him a sideways glance and couldn't resist pointing out the obvious. As far as Bess understood, Frank and Nancy were two of the most oblivious people in the world when it came to reading or understanding each other's emotions. Thank God at least Nancy had Bess and Frank had Joe to keep them on track when they could.

"For the record, you do know why Nancy took what you did so hard, don't you?" Bess asked. Frank gave Bess a hesitant glance before turning away.

"I don't know what you mean," Frank answered.

"Nancy doesn't go around dropping all contact with friends because of a silly argument," Bess said. "She only reacted that way because she really really likes you, Frank."

Frank gave Bess a look confusion and was about to respond when Joe walked over. "Let's go." Neither Frank nor Bess said anything after that, but Bess knew that what she'd said was on his mind.

Joe took the lead in organizing a rental car and twenty minutes later they were on the road heading towards the CIA building. They arrived at the parking garage and were greeted by the same officer they had met just over a week ago.

"Howdy, boys. I haven't seen you guys in awhile," he said glancing into the car. "And who do we have here?" he asked glancing at Bess who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Our friend, Bess Marvin," Joe answered.

"Nice to meetcha," he said nodded towards her. "Well, I hate to go through the same routine but I need to see your identification." Frank and Joe glanced at each other as they pulled out their badges from their previous visit and Bess handed him her driver's license. "I'll be back in one moment," he said winking at them before walking into the guard station.

"You think we'll get in?" Joe asked Frank.

"We're about to find out," Frank said holding his breath as the officer came back over.

"Sorry, boys, but these ID's are no longer valid. Do you have an appointment?" he asked as he handed Joe back the ID's. Joe quickly ran through the scenario of what would happen if he said yes. Most likely the guard would call someone inside to confirm the appointment before allowing them to enter without an ID. It wouldn't do any good.

"No, we don't. We're actually here to meet with the director, but he's not expecting us." The officer frowned at them. "I have no doubt you are who you say you are, otherwise

you wouldn't have gotten in here in the first place, but on the consequence of my own job I can't let you guys in here."

"We understand," Joe reassured. "We don't want to do anything to get you fired."

The officer looked at them thoughtfully. "Tell you what. The closest you can park if not here would be the Shell station three blocks over. It requires a little walking, but it'll work."

Joe smiled at him. "Thanks a lot. We owe you."

The officer waved him off. "Don't worry about it. Just go save the world or whatever it is you Feds do. That'll be enough for me." Joe chuckled as he reversed the car out of the garage, waving at the officer as they left.

"Phew, I feel like we were just inches from being caught," Bess said as Joe made his way back onto the main road.

"Caught? Caught doing what?" Joe asked.

"I don't know, breaking the law?" Bess suggested. Joe shot her a look.

"All those times you helped Nancy with breaking and entering on cases and this is when you feel like you're breaking the law?" Bess blushed.

"It's been awhile, okay? I'm working my way back up to when breaking the law was an everyday affair." Joe just laughed as he pulled the car into the Shell station and brought it to a stop. The three of them exited the car. Frank took steps towards the sidewalk when Joe called him back. He turned and saw his brother's gaze shifting from his watch.

"It's almost noon and I'm starving. How about we grab something from WaWa's to eat on the way over?" Frank looked at the neon sign for WaWa's located before the first row of gas pumps in agitation. He wanted to head over to the CIA building now. He looked at his brother and knew that it was stupid not to get something to eat if they were going to have energy to get through the day.

"Alright, but we need to be quick." The three of them walked into the WaWa's. Frank strode down the aisles of chips, candy, and microwavable soups before settling on a bag of Doritos. As he headed to the cashier to pay, he grabbed a copy of the Washington Post on a whim and placed them on the counter. Frank glanced at his brother who was debating with Bess between a roast beef and a turkey sandwich. He finished paying for his food just as Joe strode up, roast beef sandwich in hand.

"They really have too many choices nowadays," Joe complained as he placed it on the counter.

"Yeah, and you know if they had only two choices he'd be complaining that there were not enough," Bess said with a wink.

"That's my brother," Frank agreed. Bess paid for her chicken Caesar wrap, and with that the three of them started their walk towards the CIA building.

"That's all you got?" Bess asked looked wide-eyed at Frank's unopened bag of Doritos.

Frank shrugged. "Yeah, I don't even really want them." He extended his arm out with the Doritos towards Bess in an offer, but she shook her head.

"It's lucky that he even picked something out on his own," Joe said, before finishing the last bite of his sandwich. "It's been like trying to get a baby to eat strained peas, just won't do it."

Bess looked at Frank's back disapprovingly. "Not eating is not going to help the situation. You need your energy to do detective work, Frank Hardy."

"I'll remember to eat when this over," Frank said tiredly. Bess continued to assault Frank with her disapproving gaze but sympathized a little more with Frank's emotions. They completed the rest of the walk quickly and walked up the steps to the building with confidence.

"Alright, now we just got to act like we belong. Don't make eye contact with the secretary at the desk. Head straight towards the elevators, got it?" Frank instructed. Bess looked up at the building nervously but nodded in agreement with Joe.

Frank reached out and held the glass door open for his brother and Bess to walk through. Bess took a moment to gaze around the building to get her bearings before spotting the elevators in the back of the building. She skimmed over the receptionist's desk but turned away abruptly when she saw the woman lifting up her head.

"Relax, Bess," she heard Joe whisper into her ear.

"Easy for you to say. You're used to this stuff," Bess whispered back.

They reached the metal detector and began to empty out their keys when the guards turned to them as asked for their identification.

Frank looked down at his shirt in surprise and made an effort to move his hands across all his pockets. "Damn, I must have left it in my office. I can go get it and show it to you if you want."

The guards looked at him and then at Joe and Bess who also had proved unable to come up with a pass. "You three will have to go to the desk." The guard said, looking at them suspiciously.

"I swear I left it in my office. Twenty-third floor, I'll run up and bring it right down," Frank insisted. Even if all three of them couldn't get through their plan would still work if one of them got through.

"I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to check in with the desk. I can't let you go upstairs without a valid pass." Frank glared at the guard before turning towards the desk. As soon as they started walking back towards the entrance Frank's glare disappeared.

"Any other ideas?" Frank asked.

Joe smiled. "Yes, I've got one. Let me handle this." Joe said as he approached the desk. Bess and Frank gave each other worried looks as Joe walked with a kind of swagger over to the desk.

"May I help you?" The receptionist asked, not seeming to play into Joe's flirtatious moves.

"Yes, I am Agent Joe Hardy and this here is my brother Agent Frank Hardy and one of our analysts Bess Marvin. We have a meeting with Jackie Perdue and she seems to have forgotten to send us our guest passes. Do you happen to have them?" Frank's eyes widened at the mention of Jackie's name. It was a bold move; Frank just prayed that it would work.

The receptionist shuffled through a few paper and folders on her desk but came up shaking her head. "I'm sorry but she didn't leave them with me."

Joe shook his head with a smile. "That's just like Jackie. Is there anyway you could call her for me?" The receptionist gave them a look of hesitation before picking up the phone and dialing.

"Agent Perdue, sorry for interrupting you but I've got an Agent Frank and Joe Hardy here who say they have an appointment with you." Joe waited at the desk, keeping his smile confident and assured as he waited. "Alright, thank you."

"She'll be down in a moment to escort you through security."

"Thanks so much." Joe turned away from the counter struggling to contain his excitement over his success.

"Good thinking," Frank praised his brother as soon as they were out of earshot of the receptionist.

"Who's Jackie Perdue?" Bess asked looked at the brothers in confusion.

"A woman who works on Nancy's floor. We bumped into her last time we were here," Joe explained.

"That's it? She wasn't even helping with the case?" Bess asked. "Why would she be willing to help us get into the building?"

"Beats me, but it doesn't matter. We're most likely only going to get one shot at talking to the director so we're going to take advantage of it," Frank responded.

A few minutes later, the sound of high heels against the title floor was heard and the brothers and Bess turned around to face the black haired woman. Today, her hair fell out to her shoulders in graceful waves. A pair of thin-rimmed glasses rested on her nose and gave her a very intellectual look, but her knee-length navy skirt and soft pink blouse made sure to establish her sense of style.

"Agents Frank and Joe Hardy, nice to see you. And you are?" she asked giving Bess a friendly questioning look.

"This is our friend, Bess Marvin," Joe introduced.

She nodded. "Nice to meet you." She turned to the Hardys'. "You two must have been desperate if you called for my help."

"We need to talk to Director Lennox about Nancy." Agent Perdue's warm expression changed to one of worry.

"Come on, let's get you through security." The three friends gave each other puzzled looks as Agent Perdue quickly led them through the metal detector and to the elevators. She did not speak again until they were inside.

"I've been worried about Nancy," Agent Perdue explained. "After the hearing I haven't heard anything from her. No one has. Director Lennox won't even talk about her. Rumor around the office is that she went crazy and has gone rogue."

"What?!" Frank exclaimed incredulously. "Nancy wouldn't do that."

"I know she wouldn't. We may have not have been the closest friends, but we talked on occasion and I've been on a few missions with her. She's really good at what she does and I don't think she'd risk losing her job."

"She was instructed to see a therapist after the hearing, before going on extended leave, do you know if she's been going to those appointments?" Joe asked.

Agent Perdue shook her head. "I can't say for sure. Lennox is the only one who'd know that." The elevator came to a stop and dinged as the doors opened, revealing the fifth floor. "You guys know where his office is so I'm going to get back to work, but I wish you luck."

"Thanks for helping us get up here," Joe said sincerely. "We don't want to get you into trouble or anything."

"Hey, I agreed to it, but I know you guys really want to help. I just want you to find Nancy and get things back to normal around here," she said giving them a smile before taking off down the hall.

"She was nice," Bess commented as they walked down the hall.

"Yes, but I doubt Director Lennox will be so welcoming," Joe said as they walked into the receptionist area to the Director's office. They gave a fleeting glance to the secretary before walking straight towards the office. They heard her protests but continued forward anyway and entered the Director's office without knocking.

Director Lennox looked up from his computer as they entered with surprise and then annoyance. The secretary entered right behind them looking apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, they just walked in, I'll get security," she said.

"We just need a minute," Frank insisted.

"It's alright, Shelly, they can stay for a minute," Director Lennox said pointedly. Shelly nodded apologetically and left the room, closing the door.

"Sir—" Frank began.

"How'd you get on this floor?" Director Lennox demanded.

"That's not important," Joe insisted.

"We need to talk about, Nancy."

"The decision is final," Director Lennox argued.

"We're not trying to reverse the decision," Frank said with irritation. "No one has been able to get in touch with Nancy since the hearing. We think she may be in trouble."

Director Lennox laughed to the three's dismay. "Agent Drew simply can't accept the fact that she may be wrong and she's taken matters into her own hands."

"What are you talking about?" Frank demanded.

"Agent Drew has showed how little she values her position at this agency. She has deliberately disobeyed the results of her hearing and failed to keep up with her meetings with her therapist. If Agent Drew doesn't get in contact with this office within the next week with some valid reasons for her behavior, she can consider her employment with us terminated."

"You're going to fire her?" Frank shouted in alarm. "Don't you get it? If she hasn't checked in something must have happened to her."

Director Lennox eyed Frank in surprise. "Agent Hardy, didn't you agree with the majority of the board that very little evidence existed for Agent Drew's case? That in all likely hood most of this case was an act of Agent Drew's depression over the loss of her father?"

"Yes, but—"

"So, what evidence do you have that Agent Drew is in danger over a case that is a figment of her imagination?" Director Lennox asked leaning back in his chair, a look of triumph on his face.

"I think the fact she's missing is a good indication," Frank pointed. "You said it yourself when we first got here that she is a good agent. That shows dedication. Despite the ruling of the board she would not let it disrupt her life so much as to ruin her career."

"And yet I'm still waiting for evidence," Director Lennox said with irritation. "Agent Drew may be a good agent, but I think we've all realized that she's not in a right state of mind right now. That results in any past credibility to become void. If Agent Drew isn't willing to get help herself, there's nothing I can do to help her. She has one week," Lennox concluded.

"Sir—" Frank growled and Joe could instantly tell that his brother was about to explode.

"Frank—" Joe broke in. Frank wasn't going to get anymore information out of Lennox through this line of questioning.

"One more thing, Sir," Joe said. "You said that Nancy failed to keep up with her appointments with her therapist. Does that mean that she went to one?"

"Yes, she did, but only one," Director Lennox replied.

"Could we have his name?"

Director Lennox glared at Joe. "Certainly not. It's not of any relevance to you what occurs in those proceedings. He wouldn't be allowed to discuss with you about their meeting anyway, not only because of doctor-patient privilege, but you would need the proper clearance."

"Under the circumstances—" Frank started again.

"There are no circumstances, Agent Hardy!" Director Lennox barked. "I don't know all the details of your past connections to Agent Drew and I certainly don't care but have you considered, Agent Hardy that maybe she isn't keeping in touch because she doesn't want to talk to you?"

Frank made a movement to speak but Bess touched his arm gently. "Director Lennox, Sir, I'm Bess Marvin and a very good friend to Nancy. Nancy was supposed to meet me in New York a few days ago but failed to show up. She never called or gave me any explanation and she hasn't returned any of my calls either and we're on good terms."

Director Lennox looked at Bess with a little more sympathy but still spoke unyieldingly. "Look, the CIA has officially closed Agent Drew's case so I cannot investigate it without evidence. If you three honestly believe that Agent Drew is in trouble than you need to get me evidence of some sort of foul play. Other than that, I can't help you."

"Thank you, Sir," Bess whispered turning and grabbing Frank's arm as she did. Frank sent Director Lennox one last glare before Joe shut the door to the room where Bess let go of his arm and they walked to the elevator.

"What were you thinking?" Joe demanded as soon as the doors to the elevator had slammed shut. "Blowing up at the Director of the CIA isn't going to do us any favors."

Frank ran a hand through his hair and kept his eyes to the floor. "I know, I'm sorry." Frank glanced at his brother and Joe caught only a glimpse of the fear in his eyes but it made him feel as if the world was crashing down over him. Joe was thoroughly worried about Nancy as well. It seemed as if Nancy was indeed in trouble, but none of them had any idea why or who to look for.

"What do we do now?" Bess asked as the three of them stepped out once again onto the ground floor of the building.

No one answered immediately. "The therapist," Frank said thoughtfully. "We need to find out who Nancy talked to and see if he has any ideas where she might be."

"Do you know how many therapists there are in Washington?" Bess said shaking her head. "There's no way we'd be able to find which one she talked to."

Joe smiled. "That's true, but Director Lennox already narrowed down the list significantly for us."

Frank's eyes widened. "He has to have the proper clearance! There must be a list of therapists that the CIA refers patients to."

"I think we should check into a hotel," Bess suggested.

"Good idea," Joe agreed as he pulled out the keys to their rental car. The three of them got inside. A minute later they were on their way down the street.

"So, is there anyone we can suspect in Nancy's case?" Bess asked.

Joe looked at his brother in the rearview mirror. "We can't be sure that this relates to Nancy's case."

Bess looked confused. "But Frank said…"

"He could be wrong," Joe insisted. Frank looked at his brother in surprise but turned away. The last thing he wanted was for Joe to cover for him. Frank knew what he'd said, and what the most logical conclusion pointed to. It was very unlikely that Nancy's disappearance did not relate to her case. Which means, Frank thought guiltily, that Nancy most likely was right and I didn't give her a chance.

"Once we check into the hotel, we're going to search for possible leads on therapists and to see if any person may have been released from jail might have a grudge against Nancy," Joe finished. A few minutes of silence ensued before Joe elected to change the subject.

"How's George doing?" Bess gave Joe a smile.

"Great, actually," Bess said with a smile. "She's in California training for the Pacific Coast Triathlon."

Joe laughed. "I can't say I'm not surprised. Is she on the US team?"

"Yeah, this will be her second year. She used last year to get the experience but now she wants to try and qualify for the International Triathlon Union world championship so she can compete with other countries. I think she's crazy."

"It wouldn't be George if she wasn't out there playing some sport or another."

Bess nodded in agreement. "She did really well in school though. She graduated from University of Michigan with a degree in math of all things," Bess said with grimace. "Not my cup of tea."

"Well, the two of you have always been on opposite sides of the spectrum," Joe agreed.

"Yeah, and I love what I do." Joe turned and gave Bess a heart-melting smile before pulling into the parking lot in front of the Holiday Inn. They grabbed what few bags they had packed and headed to the front desk.

"May I help you?" The man asked looking them over with a friendly smile.

"Yes, could you tell me, are any of your suites available?" Joe requested. He felt a nudge from Bess but ignored it as he waited for the man to look through his computer.

"Actually, we do. Seventh floor, our rates are—"

"We'll take it," Joe insisted before he could start rattling off prices.

He reached underneath the counter and pulled out three small paper envelopes with keys inside. Joe passed them around to each of them before thanking the man and picking up his bag to head to the elevators.

"Joe!" Bess whispered harshly. "Have you never stayed at a Holiday Inn before? Their suite prices are insane! I could have paid for my own room; it would have been cheaper."

Joe pushed the button for the elevator. "Under the circumstances it's better that we stick together. Besides, I knew you'd be spending all your time in our room anyway, why not make it a little easier?" Joe said with a cheeky grin. Bess rolled her eyes and pushed Joe into the now open elevator as they made their way up.

"This is the same hotel Nancy was staying in," Frank said quietly. Joe looked at Frank in surprise.

"Are you serious?" Frank nodded. "Well then, checking out her room is going to be easier than I expected."

The elevator doors opened and the three friends stepped out onto the floor, turning left after walking down the corridor away from the elevators. Joe slipped out one of the keys from the envelope and slipped into the slot about the handle. The light turned green and Joe quickly pulled the card out and turned the handle.

"Wow," Bess murmured as she looked around. The inside looked like an apartment. A living room was set up with a couch and two sofa chairs, all tan leather facing a seventeen-inch television. A large window covered the majority of the far wall and over looked the streets of Washington D.C. A cherry wood dining room table sat to their left as they walked in. To their left was a small kitchen with an electric stove, microwave, fridge, and dishwasher. The carpet was a slightly reddish-brown than the couches and the walls were off-white with decorative pictures of various flowers. Two doors could be seen leading off to two bedrooms in other rooms.

"We'll take the right bedroom," Joe claimed as he moved his stuff in that direction, throwing his room key on the kitchen counter as he walked. Frank followed.

The room was setup like a typical hotel room would be set up. They had a full bathroom, two queen beds, and a television atop a six-drawer dresser. A desk sat in the corner near Joe's bed by the window and a medium-sized closest with half-open sliding doors was located right across from the bathroom. The brothers chose their sides of the room and opened their suitcases and pulled out their laptops.

"Did they give you each two keys too?" Bess called out from the other room where they could hear the sounds of the dresser drawers being opened and shut.

"Yeah, I think the sofa pulls out into a bed," Joe shouted back as he walked back into the living room, his laptop in hand.

"So, what's the last one for?" Bess asked, as she too entered the living room.

"Friends," Joe said with a wink.

"Don't tell me you hand out your key to random girls all the time," Bess joked.

"I gave them to you, didn't I?" Joe smiled and Bess laughed and hoped that her laughter would cover up the red that was flushing to her cheeks.

Frank put his computer on the counter and hooked up his power cord before waiting for the computer to boot up. "Alright, I'll look into angles of Nancy's case. See what I could find out about potential suspects for who may be behind these murders." Joe gave his brother a concerned glance, but Frank's eyes remained focused on the screen.

"Alright, I'll tap into the FBI database see if we can get any hits on recently released convicts."

"What can I do?" Bess asked as she stood behind Joe's chair. Joe paused and thought for a moment.

"Get your computer. I'm going to log you onto the FBI website under my name."

Bess's eyes widened. "Is that legal?"

"No," Joe admitted, "but I trust you're not going to look for dirt on anyone you dislike, so it's not going to matter." With a hint of uncertainty, Bess walked into her room and grabbed her lap-top and set herself up at the end of the table. As soon as she had booted up, Joe took Bess's spot in front of her computer and went through the process of logging onto the FBI database.

"The program's pretty simple. All you're going to do is type in Nancy's name and you're going to a list of results. Once you've narrowed down which one is the correct Nancy you will then have access to all her information."

"What am I looking for?' Bess asked.

"Anything irregular. I would start with credit card information, any recent deposits or withdrawals, and maybe if you're lucky, you can get information about incoming and outgoing calls from her hotel room. Because she's CIA we're not going to have access to her cell phone." Joe stood up and stepped around her chair and headed back to his computer and his seat.

"I don't feel right about this," Bess said, looking at her screen nervously.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. No one will ever know but us," Joe reassured.

"No, it's not that. I mean, Nancy's my best friend, but here I am digging into her life, and this isn't like trying to set her up on dates or anything, this is serious personal stuff."

Joe gave Bess a look of understanding. "I wouldn't have you doing this Bess, if it wasn't absolutely necessary. The more we can figure out about Nancy's activities the last few days the better we can narrow down when she went missing and maybe shine some light onto things about what happened to her."

"I know," Bess said with a sigh before turning back to her computer. Joe gazed at Bess for a few moments longer and then turned his attention back to his own computer. Soon, the only sound heard throughout the room was the sound of fingers moving rapidly across the keys and molding together in the uneven synchronized pattern of rain. Before they knew it, darkness filled the room and their desire to work kept them so busy that no one had even gotten up to turn on the lights, leaving the job to their computer screens.

"That's it," Joe said tiredly rubbing his eyes. "I can't take it anymore. I need food."

"Definitely," Bess agreed getting out of her chair to walk her legs and stretch her arms. Frank slouched back against his chair trying to get the kinks out.

"Pizza?' Joe asked.

"Works for me," Bess agreed. Frank nodded in agreement.

"Any requests for toppings?"

"Anything but anchovies," Bess requested.

"Pepperoni it is." Joe went over to his computer and did some rapid typing. "Excellent, I love the internet," Joe grinned at them as he opened his cell phone and copied a number off the screen before walking into Bess's room to order.

"How are you doing?" Bess asked Frank gently.

Frank looked up at Bess tiredly. "I'm getting nowhere. These people are going to great lengths to cover their identities and I don't understand why."

"Maybe Joe's right. Maybe it is someone who's got a grudge against Nancy."

Frank shook his head looking tiredly at the screen. "It just doesn't fit. It's too coincidental." Bess opened her mouth to speak but was stopped as Frank's fist slammed down on the table. "I should have believed her! If I had I would have known a lot more about what was going on. I would have known who did this and how to get Nancy back."

Bess rolled her eyes, all sympathy gone. "Because you could see into the future? Because you would know who was behind this even before Nancy? You're not Superman, Frank, stop pretending like you are. You're a human capable of error. Get up and get over it. When we find Nancy, you can apologize, until then we're going to keep searching optimistically and without blame," Bess finished pointedly.

Frank stared at Bess in quiet shock. Such a speech was very uncharacteristic of shy Bess. The editing world had apparently done wonders for her.

"Twenty minutes," Joe said walking back into the room. He made a half circle towards the table and threw his cell-phone on it before turning back and heading for the couch. He plopped down on it with a satisfied sigh as he snatched up the remote.

Bess stood up as a gesture to head towards the television. "You coming."

Frank glanced up at her and then back at the screen. "No, I think I'm—"

"Wasn't a question," Bess said, her voice commanding. Frank's eyes met Bess's stubborn ones and he thought long and hard about how long he wanted to draw this argument out. Finally, he decided, he just didn't have the energy.

"One minute," Frank relented. Bess gave him a satisfied smile and made her way to the couch, taking a seat next to Joe. Frank slowly closed the top to his computer and leaned back slightly in the chair so he could stretch his back and arms as he rubbed his eyes. Finally, he put his weight in his feet and made his way to the bedroom he and Joe were sharing. He had to admit, getting up and away from that computer screen felt good. After stopping at the bathroom he glanced down at the bed where he'd carelessly thrown the newspaper he'd bought at lunch. As an afterthought, he grabbed it before joining the others in the living room.

Joe had taken full control of the remote and seemed to have settled on a televised version of Mission Impossible. Frank meanwhile shifted around in the armchair until he got comfortable as he let his eyes run down the front page.

Joe was quite adamantly arguing with Bess why it was more worthwhile to watch Mission Impossible over CSI when he caught the expression on his brother's face. Frank had finished the first half of the front page and had just flipped to the bottom when an article had caught his eyes. With growing alarm his eyes met his brother's. Bess stared at the two in confusion.

"What is it?" Joe demanded.

"What was the name of the nurse that Nancy was trying to get in touch with?" Frank asked slowly, hoping that Joe would not say the name he was thinking of, had currently just read about so that they could laugh it off as Frank being paranoid.

"Rhonda Cunningham."

"Shit," Frank said once he realized his fears were true.

"What?"

"She's dead."