I'm only a day late this time, and I have a very good reason! Last night I was at a Dave Matthews concert! Such a good show - I highly recommend them live.

King sized candy bars to the reviewers of Chapter 10: MCR-1993, Connie, Lydia, Trust Deceit, franknjoe, iluv2bcrazee, Brisingr364, AZWriter, Colie88, KennaC

Extra thanks to KennaC for acting as a consultant - I so value her opinions!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do own two huge binders from teacher training: TELL (teaching english language learners) and MASS (managing aggressive students successfully).

The Cracked Badge

Chapter 11

Frank couldn't help but notice that when Joe strolled back over to the car that his face was almost glowing. He hadn't seen him look like that since before…

Joe opened the driver side door, whistling a random tune, interrupting Frank's thoughts. A yellow bunch of flowers was pushed into his face. Taking them, he eyed his younger brother.

"What's gotten into you?" Frank asked, suspicious.

"Nothing."

"Does this have anything to do with that girl?"

"Maybe."

"I thought she was immune to your charms," Nancy added, wondering why Joe was being so cryptic. Unfortunately for them, he was rarely so tightlipped about his conquests.

"Let's just say that there's sun on the horizon," Joe said, a smile bending his lips.

The local rock station playing softly over the car's sound system had been mostly ignored since they got in the car at the station, but the sudden absence of sound made Frank take notice. A loud beep filled the silence, signaling an unscheduled announcement. Then the DJ's voice came on the radio.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast for a special speech by our city's finest – Police Chief Clarke."

The young chief's smooth, charming voice filled the car when he spoke.

"Good afternoon, citizens of Bayport. I know there has been a lot of controversy over the unfortunate death of Mr. Ezra Collig. I want to assure the public that the police department is doing everything in its power to bring his murderer to justice. I understand that there are some grassroots efforts going on by those who feel like there isn't enough happening on our part. These efforts are not only unnecessary, but are hindering the progress everyone hopes to see. Let me reiterate – we will see justice served for this heinous crime. The people of Bayport have nothing to fear – we have whom we believe to be the culprit in custody and will see him locked up permanently. Any questions and concerns can be directed to the Mayor's office. Thank you."

"Well, how about that - a message from one of our very own city leaders. You heard what he said – they got the guy. Guess we can all sleep a little easier at night. Coming up next, a hit from the 80s…"

Frank sat there, hand curled into a fist. He couldn't believe that Chief Clarke would have the audacity to make a city-wide announcement to chastise them. But then again, given how he'd felt around the chief so far, he could. Part of him hoped that his father hadn't heard the announcement. He knew it would probably bounce right off of him, but it was still frustrating and he didn't want his father to have to deal with it.

"Well, we know we've gotten to him," Nancy stated, breaking the silence.

Joe scoffed, "Yeah, I guess. I mean, he must have felt threatened enough to make that announcement. I'm not sure what he was trying to gain, though. He'd have to know that it would only make us work harder."

"He's trying to cut off our sources," Frank supplied. "Anyone in the community who might have helped us is going to think twice about it now."

Nancy sighed. "There's not a whole lot we can do about it. Any further pushing we do now will only confirm what he said."

"Let's see if Dad's at home and see what he says," Joe suggested.

"Can we stop by our apartment complex first?" Frank asked. "I need to grab some things."

"Sure," Joe said, maneuvering his car towards their neighborhood. "And about that – you seem to be getting better. Are you ever going to move back out of Mom and Dad's house?"

Frank glanced back at Nancy, just briefly catching her eye before facing front again. It wasn't long enough to discern what she was thinking. On the one hand, it would be nice to feel like he'd progressed from his teenage years. On the other hand, it would mean either not being so close to Nancy or telling his parents that she was moving with him. No matter how forward-thinking his parents were, it wasn't going to be a fun conversation. But on the other hand, he and Nancy hadn't really had a chance to talk about it again, and he didn't want to speak for her.

"Yeah, of course. Eventually," he hedged. "Probably once all of this is done and blows over."

"What, don't want to be away from Drew for more than an hour?"

Frank colored but didn't say anything.

"Oh, I get it," Joe said knowingly. "Don't want to tell the parents you're, ahem, doing Drew."

"Joe!" Frank exclaimed.

All Nancy could do was laugh silently behind her hand. Joe clearly had it right, but only he could say it in such a way. She noticed that Frank couldn't think of anything to counter it, instead turning a lovely shade of pink. It was funny that he, the guy, was the embarrassed one, though she rarely found the use in feeling that way. Joe sat smugly in the driver's seat until they pulled into a small complex.

A few minutes later, Nancy was standing in Frank's bedroom. The room seemed mostly bare, with few decorations to personalize the space. There were some pictures of his family and friends. She tried not to look too hard at the ones of friends, not wanting to know right then if Callie was in any of them. But even with its lack of adornment, the room still felt warm and inviting. It smelled just like Frank.

There were many things she could be thinking about, being in her boyfriend's private space. Several of them inappropriate. But all she could think to say was, "Cinderblocks? Really?"

Frank was rummaging through his closet while Joe lounged on the couch in the living room. "I needed storage space under the bed," came the muffled reply.

Nancy laughed quietly to herself. "I didn't even think that worked for queen beds."

Emerging, Frank answered, "You just need an extra one for under the center post."

She just shook her head in response. Noticing the small bag he carried, she wondered if it held the key to their mysterious date that night. Every time she thought about going out with him, her stomach twisted in knots. It felt like she had one chance to get their relationship right. After all, if she couldn't make it work with perfect, understanding Frank, who could she make it work with?

"So, where are we going tonight?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

Frank looked at her knowingly. "Nice try. You'll find out soon enough."

"Don't forget I'm still out here," Joe called. "That door stays open when you have a girl in the room."

Frank rolled his eyes but smiled, moving into the living room. "Thanks, Mom. Let's get going."

After one last car ride, the trio made their way into the Hardy kitchen, hoping to find some food as they figured out what to do next.

"So where were we?" Joe asked through a mouthful of chips.

"You had just finished breaking the rules and ignoring Dad's counsel when you were about to have a breakthrough," Frank answered dryly.

"Oh, right. As I was saying, did you notice how he was acting?"

"Nervous," Nancy repeated. "Hardened criminals don't act like that. I mean, we just had a facedown with Marek and Marsh. Even Gabrielle never seemed upset with what she was doing."

"You're right," Frank agreed. "He seemed like he knew what he was doing was wrong. It was almost like…"

"Like he was the one with the gun to his head." Nancy finished.

"You got it," Joe munched.

Frank added, "I just can't see him shooting Chief Collig. It just doesn't compute."

"I know it seems that way," Nancy said sadly, "but I've seen things that you'd never believe could happen."

"I don't doubt that, Nan, but the guy that I met was not guilty of murder. I know it in my bones."

"We don't know that he's the one who ended up using the gun. We never even saw who ended up retrieving it from the locker," Joe said, his voice reasonable.

"That's true," Frank said, nodding. "We didn't watch the footage long enough to find out."

"You know what that means?" Nancy asked, resigned.

"Yep," Joe said, standing up to dispose of the empty chip bag. "We need to pay Officer AV another visit."

Frank glanced at the clock, then held Nancy's gaze. "But not today. The main office would be closed by the time we got back there." He smiled. "Besides, I have something important to get ready for."

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