"Damnit!" Frank cursed. He slammed the steering wheel with his palm
and tossed his brother the cell phone. "Call 9-1-1," he instructed Joe.
"Have them go to the Alliance building."
Joe nodded mutely at his brother's instructions. He quickly informed the operator that two women were being attacked.. The dispatcher let him know that patrol cars were en route. She also told him that if he were to receive any more information on the situation, that he should call back immediately.
"She's going to be fine," Joe simply said. His brother's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, weaving in and out of Chicago traffic.
Frank glanced sideways at his brother. "I hope you're right."
"This is Nancy we're talking about," Joe reassured his brother. "She always comes out of these situations unscathed."
"That's because one of us is usually right behind her!" Frank snapped. He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry."
Joe waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. So, get me up to date on the situation," he said.
"Well the guy that shot Ned is Paul, his boss," Frank began. "Apparently Paul started flaunting a lot of money around and it made Ned suspicious. He began hanging out with Paul's secretary so he could closer to Paul. He thought he was embezzling funds from the company, and he was right.
"Talk about workman's comp," Joe laughed, attempting to lighten the situation.
Frank let out a small chuckle at Joe's twisted logic. "You could look at it that way, I guess. Anyway, Paul overheard Amy and Ned talking one night, and Paul figured out that Ned was on to him. He went over to the apartment after Nancy and I left and they got into it. Paul shot Ned and then took off. Ned was smart enough to copy cd's of Paul's bank account that he found on Paul's computer. But, he didn't get a chance to copy the information that proved Paul and his brother, Gerry, actually were embezzling from the company."
Joe whistled as he digested the information. "So, Nancy is at the office right now, trying to find the information that Ned didn't get," he surmised.
"Yeah," Frank said tersely. "I guess Paul found Amy and Nancy and attacked Amy. Nan somehow managed to knock him out. But, I guess he wasn't out for long. The last thing I heard was Paul say 'I'm going to kill you'."
"Frank, Nancy is going to be fine," Joe insisted.
When Nancy saw Paul rushing towards them, she did the first thing she could think of. She hurled her cell phone as hard as she could towards him and it connected solidly with his chin. Nancy turned and ran towards the blinking exit sign as fast as she could. She hated leaving Amy, but she had to get help before they were both killed.
Slamming the stairwell door open Nancy bounded down the stairs two at a time. The sign on the side of the wall reminded her that she had 26 more floors to go before she could get to the main lobby. Nancy groaned as she descended down the stairwell. Options flashed through her mind. Did she run all the way to the main floor or did she take the chance and stop a few floors down and try the elevator?
As she arrived at the landing on the 24th floor, Nancy heard the door slam open once more. Paul's voice echoed through the concrete structure. "You can run, but you can't hide," he threatened.
His menacing threats fueled Nancy to run even faster. Satisfied that she had a large enough head start, she yanked open the door on the next floor and darted down the hallway. She knew the elevators were in the middle of the hall and if the elevator didn't arrive soon enough, she would just run to other staircase.
Nancy's heart pounded in her chest as the frantically pushed the down button next to the elevator. Praying that Frank had called 9-1-1 and that police would be storming the building any moment, Nancy glanced up at the numbers above the doors. The elevator was coming up from the lobby and it seemed to be taking forever. The numbers slowly illuminated but they weren't lighting up fast enough for Nancy. "Come on!" Nancy yelled impatiently. 15 then 16 lit up when Nancy heard the door at the end of the hallway fling open.
She took one last look at Paul's enraged face before she sprinted in the opposite direction. Nancy bounded down the stairs once more and was breathing hard by the time she had gone down another four flights of stairs. She decided to chance the elevator once more. Knowing it wouldn't have to go so far this time, she raced out the stairwell and back towards the elevator.
By the time Frank came to a screeching halt in front of the Alliance building, several police cars with flashing red and blue lights were sitting out front. Frank quickly threw the car in gear and jumped out, with Joe following close behind.
As the duo bounded up the steps, they were blocked by an older officer. "The building is closed gentleman," he said authoritatively.
Frank and Joe immediately both reached in their back pockets for their identifications. "Frank Hardy, NYPD and Joe Hardy, FBI," Frank announced.
The officer looked questioningly at the harried looking young men in front of him. His eyebrows raised he asked, "And why does this concern the NYPD and the FBI? This was a dispatched 9-1-1 call to Chicago PD."
"We're the ones that made the call," Joe explained patiently. He looked over at his brother who was fuming. He knew that Frank would blow up if they didn't find anything out about Nancy soon. "One of the people being attacked in there, is his girlfriend." He pointed to Frank and he nodded in agreement.
"Look, Sergeant Thomas," Frank said as he zeroed in on the officer's name plate. "We'll let CPD do their thing. I just want in there to check on Nancy," he promised.
The older gentleman sighed as he allowed them entry. "Fine. Just remember who's jurisdiction this is and we'll all get along," he said, pointing to Joe.
"Thank you," Joe and Frank said at the same time as they rushed inside the building.
The lobby was a flurry of activity. As they made their way to the reception desk to speak to the officer standing there, the in house security phone rang. A quiet hush fell over the lobby as the officer answered the phone.
Joe nodded mutely at his brother's instructions. He quickly informed the operator that two women were being attacked.. The dispatcher let him know that patrol cars were en route. She also told him that if he were to receive any more information on the situation, that he should call back immediately.
"She's going to be fine," Joe simply said. His brother's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, weaving in and out of Chicago traffic.
Frank glanced sideways at his brother. "I hope you're right."
"This is Nancy we're talking about," Joe reassured his brother. "She always comes out of these situations unscathed."
"That's because one of us is usually right behind her!" Frank snapped. He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry."
Joe waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. So, get me up to date on the situation," he said.
"Well the guy that shot Ned is Paul, his boss," Frank began. "Apparently Paul started flaunting a lot of money around and it made Ned suspicious. He began hanging out with Paul's secretary so he could closer to Paul. He thought he was embezzling funds from the company, and he was right.
"Talk about workman's comp," Joe laughed, attempting to lighten the situation.
Frank let out a small chuckle at Joe's twisted logic. "You could look at it that way, I guess. Anyway, Paul overheard Amy and Ned talking one night, and Paul figured out that Ned was on to him. He went over to the apartment after Nancy and I left and they got into it. Paul shot Ned and then took off. Ned was smart enough to copy cd's of Paul's bank account that he found on Paul's computer. But, he didn't get a chance to copy the information that proved Paul and his brother, Gerry, actually were embezzling from the company."
Joe whistled as he digested the information. "So, Nancy is at the office right now, trying to find the information that Ned didn't get," he surmised.
"Yeah," Frank said tersely. "I guess Paul found Amy and Nancy and attacked Amy. Nan somehow managed to knock him out. But, I guess he wasn't out for long. The last thing I heard was Paul say 'I'm going to kill you'."
"Frank, Nancy is going to be fine," Joe insisted.
When Nancy saw Paul rushing towards them, she did the first thing she could think of. She hurled her cell phone as hard as she could towards him and it connected solidly with his chin. Nancy turned and ran towards the blinking exit sign as fast as she could. She hated leaving Amy, but she had to get help before they were both killed.
Slamming the stairwell door open Nancy bounded down the stairs two at a time. The sign on the side of the wall reminded her that she had 26 more floors to go before she could get to the main lobby. Nancy groaned as she descended down the stairwell. Options flashed through her mind. Did she run all the way to the main floor or did she take the chance and stop a few floors down and try the elevator?
As she arrived at the landing on the 24th floor, Nancy heard the door slam open once more. Paul's voice echoed through the concrete structure. "You can run, but you can't hide," he threatened.
His menacing threats fueled Nancy to run even faster. Satisfied that she had a large enough head start, she yanked open the door on the next floor and darted down the hallway. She knew the elevators were in the middle of the hall and if the elevator didn't arrive soon enough, she would just run to other staircase.
Nancy's heart pounded in her chest as the frantically pushed the down button next to the elevator. Praying that Frank had called 9-1-1 and that police would be storming the building any moment, Nancy glanced up at the numbers above the doors. The elevator was coming up from the lobby and it seemed to be taking forever. The numbers slowly illuminated but they weren't lighting up fast enough for Nancy. "Come on!" Nancy yelled impatiently. 15 then 16 lit up when Nancy heard the door at the end of the hallway fling open.
She took one last look at Paul's enraged face before she sprinted in the opposite direction. Nancy bounded down the stairs once more and was breathing hard by the time she had gone down another four flights of stairs. She decided to chance the elevator once more. Knowing it wouldn't have to go so far this time, she raced out the stairwell and back towards the elevator.
By the time Frank came to a screeching halt in front of the Alliance building, several police cars with flashing red and blue lights were sitting out front. Frank quickly threw the car in gear and jumped out, with Joe following close behind.
As the duo bounded up the steps, they were blocked by an older officer. "The building is closed gentleman," he said authoritatively.
Frank and Joe immediately both reached in their back pockets for their identifications. "Frank Hardy, NYPD and Joe Hardy, FBI," Frank announced.
The officer looked questioningly at the harried looking young men in front of him. His eyebrows raised he asked, "And why does this concern the NYPD and the FBI? This was a dispatched 9-1-1 call to Chicago PD."
"We're the ones that made the call," Joe explained patiently. He looked over at his brother who was fuming. He knew that Frank would blow up if they didn't find anything out about Nancy soon. "One of the people being attacked in there, is his girlfriend." He pointed to Frank and he nodded in agreement.
"Look, Sergeant Thomas," Frank said as he zeroed in on the officer's name plate. "We'll let CPD do their thing. I just want in there to check on Nancy," he promised.
The older gentleman sighed as he allowed them entry. "Fine. Just remember who's jurisdiction this is and we'll all get along," he said, pointing to Joe.
"Thank you," Joe and Frank said at the same time as they rushed inside the building.
The lobby was a flurry of activity. As they made their way to the reception desk to speak to the officer standing there, the in house security phone rang. A quiet hush fell over the lobby as the officer answered the phone.