Here we go again! To all that reviewed: You are awesome! Also big thanks for the constructive criticism. I've tried to improve a little bit, so you'll have to let me know if it's any better. To anybody that read: you are also awesome and I hope you are enjoying the story. This is my first fan fic, so I must say, I'm pretty impressed by how friendly all the reviews are! You all are so nice :)

Anyways, in case anybody thought that I own The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, I must now very sadly correct you. I do not own them. Sorry to deceive you, because you all probably thought that I do own them. The Sad Truth is that I don't. Sorry.

"Cliff."

"I'm sorry boss, really. I don't know how she got involved in all this. All my sources said that the Hardys came alone."

"They did, you idiot. The Hardys and Ms. Drew met up here. But why," here Lopez's voice rose to a furious shout. "Why did you not inform me that there was a connection between the Hardys and Drew!"

"I... I didn't think it was important."

"You knew I hired Drew, and you felt it wasn't important that she knew the men we wanted to kill?" The question was asked calmly, but there was an undercurrent of tension, like a mouse trap waiting to be sprung. Cliff wrung his hands nervously. Nicholas turned slowly to face the wretched man, scar standing out on his calm face. "It isn't even worth it to try and hide the deaths of the Hardys and Drew. Only so much can be put up to coincidence. No. And they have parents in high places, chief detective, famous lawyer..." Nicholas's dark eyes were expressionless. "There's no way they're going to let this go."

"So, what'll we do?" Cliff was beginning to relax, relieved that the conversation had veered away from his mistakes.

"Not we," Nicholas murmured.

"What do you mean, boss?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooo

Nancy jerked into consciousness. Her head was killing her, and the world seemed to be a bit out of focus. Still, she was aware enough to know that she had heard a gunshot.

Forcing her eyes open and fighting a wave of nausea, Nancy looked at her surroundings. She seemed to be in some sort of huge open room, like a storeroom or warehouse. Around her were a couple desks and computers and filing cabinets. Her head spun and Nancy quickly closed her eyes again. She remembered... the car crash, the Hardys, something slamming into her head... Hold on...

The Hardys! Fear filled her as she realized that they could be dead for all she knew.

No. Don't think about that. Nancy opened her eyes and ignored the pounding of her head. The back of her neck felt damp, and she knew it was probably blood.

Then Nancy noticed the crumpled figure lying some distance from her on the floor. She couldn't make out who it was, only that it was a medium sized male. The gunshot. Nancy quickly connected the sound with the result lying still before her. Seeing his reddish brown hair, Nancy realized it wasn't Joe or Frank with a sense of relief.

But it was still a person, and that fact made her feel a little sick. If anything, it didn't bode well for her. Apparently someone in the warehouse wasn't afraid of killing.

"Nancy Drew, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

Nancy jerked with surprise, turning to find Nicholas Lopez crouched beside her. The movement quickly made her realize that her arms were handcuffed around some sort of support pillar. Not a good position. Even if she had a paper clip or bobby pin, she would have no way to get it out of her pocket or hair and into her hands.

"Excuse me if I don't say that today's a highlight of my trip," Nancy gritted her teeth. She turned her head to look at Nicholas. His dark hair was slightly unruly, and his dark brown eyes were almost black with hatred. The look on his face unsettled Nancy, allowing a sliver of fear to creep in.

"Trust me, I haven't enjoyed your interference either," Nicholas hissed, pale scar standing out against his dark face.

"You're the one who hired me," Nancy glared, and was rewarded with a blow to her jaw. Head spinning, she sucked in her breath, refusing Nicholas the pleasure of seeing her in pain.

"Now, because of you and those Hardys, I have to abandon ship. Do you know how much work I've put into this operation?" Nicholas seethed, pacing in front of Nancy, not even glancing over the body which was lying a ways away on the floor.

"So sorry the criminal life isn't going the way you hoped." Nancy knew it was dumb, but she couldn't bite back the comment. Nicholas kicked her in the side, hard, causing an explosion of pain. Nancy bit her lip. If only she could figure out why this lunatic had hired her...

Suddenly something clicked.

"My dad," she said, thinking back to her previous conversation with her dad. Nicholas stopped his pacing. "My dad was a lawyer in the case of one of your gang members. You hired me so that you could have me near to threaten my dad if the criminal case didn't go the way you wanted. Then you got wind that your fellow member was going to crack and spill the beans on you, so you killed him instead of threatening my dad." Nancy's eyes widened.

"It would have worked, if not for the Hardys getting mixed up with you," Nicholas growled. "The case was a dead end, just a distraction for you. Eventually you would have given up and left, none the wiser of who I really was. Except then the Hardys and..."

"What do you mean, it was a dead end case?" Nancy ventured.

"You want to know what happened to Violet Lopez, my dear niece?" Nicholas leaned towards Nancy, and she fought the instinct to draw back. "I killed her. That's why you couldn't find anything on her. And I know how to cover up a crime."

Nancy realized that the man didn't know that he had failed to kill Violet. Not sure how this would end, Nancy decided not to say anything. The last thing she wanted to do was reveal Violet's identity to the person who had tried to kill her. Still, a small part of her was happy that she, at least in one respect, knew something that Nicholas didn't. It was a weak, useless feeling, but still, it made her a little more optimistic.

Still, there wasn't too much to be cheerful about. She was handcuffed to a pillar in a room with a killer. And the fact that he was telling her these things meant that he wasn't planning on letting her live.

"Except the crime against the Senator. You wanted some political influence, and when he protested, you killed him. But you couldn't cover up that crime, could you?" Nancy said mockingly. Nicholas' dark eyes narrowed. Nancy braced herself as the blow came, splitting her lip. She sucked in a deep breath and spit blood out of her mouth.

"I wish I had more time. We could have had fun together," Nicholas said huskily, reaching out to touch Nancy's face. Nancy felt her blood go cold. She kicked out at him with her feet, sending the man reeling backwards. He staggered back to his feet, eyes burning with anger. "That was not smart, Nancy."

With her arms fastened behind her back, Nancy had no way of defending herself as Nicholas brought his belt crashing down on her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooo

Frank pulled on his jacket, running out of the hospital building. Shoot. He didn't actually have a mode of transportation. He cast a swift glance behind him, relieved to see that there weren't any nurses chasing him down. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to be leaving the hospital. His head was pounding with pain, but he ignored it. This was an emergency.

There were still so many gaps in the mystery- why did Lopez hire Nancy? Why did he, if it really was him, kill Senator Allen?

Basically, what the heck was going on with this gang thing? Frank's head swam, and for a moment he felt very dizzy and wished he could sit down.

But first, he needed to find Nancy.

Suddenly Frank spotted a taxi dropping off a person, and he quickly jogged over.

"Hey, sir, can you take me somewhere?" Frank asked.

"Sure you want to be leaving the hospital? Seems like you should be admitted," the cab driver observed, looking at the blood streaked on Frank's forehead from the hefty gash.

"I'm sure." Frank was already opening the door to get in.

"Where to, sir?"

Frank realized that he had no idea where to start. Nicholas Lopez most likely had Nancy, but until this afternoon, he hadn't known that he was a criminal, let alone discovered where his base was. Which left him with no place to even start looking for Nancy.

Think, Frank! You're not a detective for nothing!

The cab driver was waiting and Frank furiously thought through any possible leads. Suddenly a memory popped into his head.

"I picked up some important information from Officer Barton. Apparently her disappearance somehow was related to the local mafia."

One way or another, Officer Barton had known about Nicholas Lopez's involvement in Violet's case. That gave Frank exactly the lead he needed. He turned to the cab driver.

"Downtown police station, please," he stated.

Frank sprinted up the stairs, and yanked at the door. It was locked. Frank's heart sank.

"What can I do for you sir?"

Frank spun to find himself facing a muscular young man in the police uniform.

"I need to find Officer Barton," Frank stated. The man's expression changed from concern to curiosity.

"What's the nature of this emergency?" the policeman asked, shifting his weight from leg to leg. Frank hesitated. Based on Officer Barton, he knew that the police could be involved with Nicholas' gang, in which case, announcing that he was still alive could be the death sentence.

"Wait a minute, are you Nancy's friend?" the policeman suddenly said.

"Yes..." Frank tried to shake the fuzzy feeling from his brain. He needed to be alert!

"I'm Chief Potters," the man said. "Nancy's friend from college." Suddenly his expression changed to concern. "Is she why you're here?" Well that explains how Nancy gained access to Chicago criminal files...

"Nancy's disappeared, and I think Officer Barton might have some of the information I need. I can explain it all later, but right now, speed is essential," Frank summarized impatiently.

"Follow me," Chief Potters said, unlocking the door.

Sorry everyone, that's the third cliffy-ish ending... so much going on with Nancy, Frank, and Joe, that I think it might be a little while before I can stop at a point that isn't a cliff hanger!

Please be awesome and leave a review!