Author's note: Thanks for the reviews, the idea for rewriting this episode in the first place is the ending scene of the episode which is soooo wrong in so many ways. In order to change that subtle changes have been made but the closer we get to the end the more changes are made. I'm a huge true crime fan and I have significant issues with Joe, Frank, and Nancy's escapes. I'm doing my best to make them more in line with the real world and logical although I'll comment on them when they happen. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoy this chapter we are very close to the end of the episode then hopefully just two or three chapters after that to wrap everything up. - Kes

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Nancy is sitting contemplating her next move when she hears a faint siren. Her brow creases when the siren doesn't stop. Out of curiosity she carefully gets up and makes her way up to her window. Looking down she can see multiple red trucks below, which she assumes are fire engines.

She presses herself against the glass and looks down at the building itself. She can see smoke and fire billowing out of multiple points on the building. She slowly backs up as her hands cover her face. "This is bad." Things had just gone from nightmarish to much much worse.

She stumbles her way over to the door and starts to bang on it while shouting. "Let me out! The building is on fire!" Nancy continues her pounding for what she figures is about two or three minutes without an answer from the two men in the penthouse. She lets out a frustrated cry and bangs both hands on the door one last time.

The fact that Rathbone was seemingly going to leave her to burn to death in this room broke whatever sympathy she might have left for the old man. She needed to break out again, good thing she had picked up those paper clips and that Coleman hadn't thought to search her.

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Coleman looks at Rathbone as if he has never seen his employer for the first time. "You truly are a crazy old man."

Rathbone pushes Coleman. "Oh, get out!"

"You bet," seethes Coleman. Then the middle-aged man makes his way towards the penthouse's only exit, the elevator.

Just then the doors open up to reveal Frank Hardy. He makes a quick sweep of the room. When his eyes find only two men, he can't help but feel disappointed.

Frank holds the doors of the elevator open. He needs to inform the men in the room about the situation they are in. "Come on, the whole floor below is on fire. We may only be able to make one trip in this elevator."

Coleman rushes Frank. "Get out of my way." He pulls the younger man out of the elevator. Knocking Frank over a side table. Coleman runs into the cab and pushes the down button, not caring what happens to the others. He just wants to get out as fast as possible.

Frank picks himself up and turns to Rathbone. Before he can say anything, Rathbone picks up a gun from a table to his right and points it at Frank. "Don't come any closer."

Frank raises his hands, "wasn't planning on it. Mr. Rathbone, correct? You're a hard man to get a hold of."

Rathbone's calm reply is in contraposition to the gun he is holding. "Please forgive me, but I take my privacy very seriously. So, if it is all the same to you, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Frank shifts his feet slightly, while he tries to make calculations on how to get the gun away from the other man. "Sure, I'll go. Just as soon as you answer one question for me." Frank's eyes sweep the room again this time for cover. "I'm working with the F.B.I, we are looking for a missing person. So far, the clues have led to you." He decides that if he needs to, he can dive behind the table he tripped over as Rathbone wouldn't then have a direct line of sight. Frank's eyes return to Rathbones as he finishes his question, "Where is Nancy Drew?"

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Nancy opens her door slowly to find the hallway empty. Relieved she makes her way toward the sitting room. As she gets closer, she can make out bits and pieces of a conversation. Though she couldn't quite make out what it was about she knew who the voices belonged to. Her heart skipped a beat, and she uses the wall to help her stumble faster to freedom.

She comes to a stop at the end of the hallway and braces herself on the wall with her right arm. Then takes in the situation before her. Rathbone has Frank at gunpoint, and Frank is demanding to know where she is. A small smile forms on her lips, only a Hardy would make demands while at gunpoint. A small voice in the back of her head informs her that Frank would say that only a Drew would do it.

Nancy doesn't stay lost in her thoughts for long, as Rathbone's eyes flick towards her room he sees her in the hallway. Rathbone addresses her but his eyes go back to Frank, "Princess." Frank's head turns so he too can see Nancy. "I would ask how you managed to get out of your room." Rathbone continues, "But I've learned not to underestimate you, my dear Greata. Now be a good girl and come to me." Rathbone holds out a hand in Nancy's direction.

Nancy's gaze has never left Frank, so she sees him whisper her name as his face relaxes. Then she watches as he takes all of her in, his handsome face going from relived to a blank mask that usually meant furry. She knows he was analyzing her appearance, body language, and Rathbone's words to form most likely a fairly accurate picture of what she had been going through.

Apparently, Nancy was taking too long, as Rathbone's impatient voice called to her again. "Just because I spared your life doesn't mean I will spare his, Princess."

Nancy forced herself to look at Rathbone. The man was starting to sweat. Things were spiraling out of control, and if there was anything she had learned these last few months was that Rathbone craved control. She truly didn't know what he would be capable of if he felt he had none.

She pushes herself off the wall and slowly and deliberately walks into the room between the two men. Frank starts to protest, "Nancy …" but she cuts him off with a shake of her head, and signs trust.

Nancy stops just short of Rathbone. "You can't keep me anymore, Walter. The entire building is on fire. Even if we somehow survive this." Nancy points towards Frank. "His family knows where he is, the authorities will look here first if he goes missing."

Rathbone's attention is now all on Nancy, he shakes his head. "I told you, princess. You will be with me till the end. I don't care about anything else." Rathbone tries to grab her, and she lets him. She uses the momentum of him pulling her towards himself to keep going. Nancy latches on to his right wrist with both hands and twists till he is forced to drop the gun.

As Rathbone was the only thing keeping Nancy's balance she falls to the floor. She goes for the gun, relief floods through her as her hands find the cold metal. Guns aren't really her thing, but she does know how to use them. She scrambles into a sitting position, heart racing, and points the gun at Rathbone. Every emotion that she had been suppressing for months seemed to well up inside of her all at once as she faced her tormentor, for once her being the one with the power. "No! I'm not your princess! I'm not Greata! You will not erase who I am! I'm Nancy!" With each sentence, her voice grows louder till she is screaming at the older man. Tears have formed in the corners of her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall, but she can't keep her hands from shaking.

Rathbone backs up his eyes wide, "I …" His mouth opens and closes not saying anything. Nancy feels a warm presence beside her. A large hand covers her own. "Nan, I promise he won't go anywhere near you again. Now give me the gun." She looks up at Frank's concerned face. His presence was like a balm for her nerves. She relaxed her hold on the gun and gave it to him. He gently helps her stand after putting the gun in the waist of his pants.

Frank and Nancy further distance themselves from the old man. As much as Frank hates everything he has just witnessed he isn't the type of man to let someone else die when he could prevent it. He tries to reason with the older man, "Mr. Rathbone you have to come with us. It will only be a few minutes before this floor goes up."

"Oh," Rathbone's face turns white as he recalls something and walks past the couple. "The film."

"Mr. Rathbone," Frank pleads. Nancy watches silently, conflicted.

"The film, I have to save it." Rathbone quickly makes his way to the theater.

Frank realizes that they don't have time to waste trying to persuade Rathbone anymore, he'll just have to hope the older man will be able to hang on till other help is on its way. He turns Nancy around to face him. "Where are the stairs to the roof?"

Nancy clutches at Frank's jacket and does her best to push the rollercoaster of emotions off to the side and think past the haze that she has been living in. Finally, she nods, "Here I'll show you." She leads Frank into an adjoining room and points to a large metal door.

"It's welded shut," Frank turns to Nancy. "Just how …" He doesn't finish his question she is answer enough.

"Now what do we do?" Nancy asked softly, trying to keep her voice from wavering.

"The elevator, it's the only way." Frank and Nancy make their way back to the elevator. Frank frantically pushed the button. But this time no light is coming on to indicate it was called. "It's dead. I guess that really was the last trip."

Nancy leans against the frame of the elevator as Frank tries to open the doors. "Crap."