Disclaimer: It isn't mine; I think I would know.

A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers. My theory is if you pester me enough, I'll update faster, so, by all means, pester me!

Nancy's lips tightened, and her brain snapped into action. If he could hear her comment, it must mean that her house was bugged. Either that, or he was in the vicinity somewhere... She didn't like either choice.

"...Just leave her alone!" Frank was saying angrily into the phone.

Nancy shuddered as Daniel's cold voice laughed once again. "Ah, Frank Hardy. I thought Joe was the hot-headed one. But then, what else could I expect from Nancy's-" Nancy silently hung up the phone before he could finish his sentence.

She turned to Frank and Joe. "I think we all know what we need to do." she said quietly. Frank and Joe nodded and began to search the room while Nancy picked up the phone receiver again and unscrewed it. As she expected, a small metal microphone winked up at her, a microphone that wasn't supposed to be there. She plucked it out and silently handed it to Frank, cursing herself for not thinking to search for bugs in the first place.

Frank took the bug, glancing at Nancy worriedly. He knew this entire fiasco was working on her nerves. "What should we do with it?" he mouthed. Nancy merely shrugged.

Joe was having trouble removing a bug he had found puttied under the kitchen table. He carefully extracted it from the sticky substance and placed it next to the one Nancy had found.

When they were done bug-hunting, they had a total of six bugs lying on the kitchen counter. The two they had found in the kitchen, plus one from the den, one from the living room, one from Nancy's bedroom, and one from the room the Hardys shared. But what to do with them? Outside, away from the bugs, they discussed a solution.

"I hope we got them all." Joe said tiredly. Bugs were tricky; it had taken nearly two hours to find the ones they had.

"Me too." Nancy said. "But let's face it, Daniel knew that we would find the bugs. That must mean he doesn't need them anymore." Then she looked sick. "Which must mean he's going to do something soon."

Frank nodded. "He did make the fact that the place was bugged pretty obvious."

Joe shrugged. "Maybe he's just nuts."

"I hope not." Nancy said flatly. "The crazy ones are the ones that scare me."

"I know what you mean." Joe stated. "They're so ruthless, and you can't reason with them."

Frank scowled at his brother. Couldn't he see that Nancy was already on edge without him scaring her? He broke in. "What will we do with all those bugs?"

"We could smash them." Joe suggested.

Nancy grinned. She didn't know what Frank would do if Joe tried to smash the expensive electronic bugs. He'd always had a weakness for technology. "Or we could bring them to the police station." she said, more to Frank than Joe. "Sam goes on duty in about twenty minutes." she added. Frank couldn't believe she knew that off-hand, but given the choice between smashing the bugs or giving them to Sam, he chose the latter.

"Alright," Joe said. "let's go."

"No way." Nancy said. "We aren't all going. If we leave my house alone, who knows what kind of scum will be in it when we get back! I'll stay here."

"Not alone." Frank said sternly. "I'll stay too. You okay going to the station by yourself, Joe?"

"Sure," Joe said. He retrieved the bugs and made to get in the rental car.

"You can take mine, Joe." Nancy said quickly, tossing him the keys to the Mustang.

"Thanks." Joe said, catching them easily. "You sure you're okay here?"

Frank and Nancy nodded. As the car sped out of the driveway, Frank asked, "Why your car?"

Nancy shrugged uneasily. "I had a hunch." She walked to the rental which was parked on the street, and slowly, carefully, lifted the hood. She gasped and took a step back. "I was right." she murmured in horror.

Frank stepped up and saw the delicate web of wires which had been placed under the hood by someone- Daniel Morgan, no doubt. "A bomb." Frank turned to Nancy. "Joe could have been...or you..."

"Or you." Nancy finished. "It could have been anyone. Do you think it will blow up by itself, or is it wired to blow when the car door opens or something?"

Frank had a lot of experience with bombs, so after a few minutes of careful examination, he informed Nancy that it wasn't going to detonate until a key was turned in the ignition.

"Oh, god." Nancy murmured, her face in her hands. She had only just realized what could have happened. "He tried to kill me, and now he's trying to kill you."

Frank nodded calmly, although his face was a shade paler than usual. "I think we should wait for Joe to get back with the police before we do anything. I could probably deactivate the bomb if I had to, but I don't really want to chance it."

Nancy stood straight and collected herself before opening the car door as Frank watched in horror. "Relax." she smiled. "I'm only locking the doors. What we don't need is for anyone to set off the bomb accidentally." She stepped away from the car and shut the door. Then she hooked her arm into Frank's and led him back up to the house.

"You're amazing, Nan." Frank said slowly. "How did you know about the bomb?"

Nancy looked him in the eyes. "I expected him to try something like this. I was worried that he was going to try to kill you and Joe." she said softly. "It's harder for him to mess with my head while you guys are around."

Frank noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears, and he pulled her into his arms. "You don't have to be strong all the time, you know." he whispered into her ear. She nodded noiselessly, and Frank could feel her tears through his sweater.

Nancy felt better after a short cry, and she and Frank curled up on the couch without talking. Neither of them felt the need to talk. Nancy leaned into Frank's chest; her arms were around his waist and his arm was draped over her shoulders. She sighed quietly. For the time being, it didn't matter that she was being chased by a homicidal maniac or that he had just tried to blow up her friends. It didn't even matter that she and Frank weren't officially 'together' anymore. She couldn't deny it; she just loved being with him.

"You're so perfect."

Frank quirked an eyebrow. "You said that out loud." he informed her.

"Did I?" Rats.

"You bet." Frank teased. "But, if it makes you feel better, you aren't so bad yourself."

"Well, thanks!" Nancy grumbled good-naturedly.

The door opened suddenly, causing Nancy and Frank to jump up. Bess's head poked in, promptly followed by the rest of her. "Hi guys!" she said brightly. She glanced pointedly at Frank, who still had an arm around Nancy. "Guess I'd better start knocking, huh?" she added sheepishly.

"It's okay, Bess," Nancy said unblushingly. "You just scared us; I am being stalked by a lunatic, you know!"

"Gotcha." Bess grinned.

Soon Nancy's Mustang pulled into the driveway, followed by a police car containing Sam and his partner, Officer Lisa Sheffield, a short brunette girl with gray eyes who looked to be about two years younger than Sam. Together, Frank and Nancy explained about the bomb and Officer Sheffield made a call to the police station for bomb technicians, who arrived shortly thereafter and disabled the bomb as Frank, Nancy, Joe, and Bess watched.

They were so busy outside, in fact, that no one heard the phone ring. No one heard the answering machine pick up, and no one heard the ominous message that was left.

"I see your friends are in luck, Nancy Drew. They didn't die today...yet. Fear not, though, for the hour draws near, Nancy Drew. The hour draws near..."

A/N: Whaddya think? The bomb thing was weird, though; I didn't actually plan that part, it just wrote itself... Please review? I'll stand by that metaphorical best friend comment! (I really have to get off now; I'm pretty sure my family is plotting my untimely demise because I've been on the computer forever...)