Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: Over a hundred reviews! You guys rock so much, you deserve a new chapter!
"Me?" Nancy exclaimed, standing up. "You want me to rob a museum?"
Charity held up her hands. "Calm down, Drew. We wouldn't ask you to do this if we didn't have to. Trust me; it's way more fun to rob a museum alone."
Nancy sank back onto the bed in defeat. "Okay. What do I have to do?"
Fiona spoke up softly. "Tomorrow night we're going to stage a combination museum robbery and rescue of Vanessa and my dad."
"Exactly." Charity agreed. "We figured it's the only thing to do. We have a plan: Nancy and Fiona will steal the paintings while Frank and I rescue the hostages."
"What about me?" Joe asked angrily.
Charity waved him off. "You can drive the getaway car." She turned to Frank. "I picked you because I've heard you have the most experience with bombs. We're going to need one to blow open the grate of the ventilation system."
Frank buried his head in his hands. "This is illegal on so many levels."
"Here's the idea." Charity said, ignoring Frank's comment. "The robbery is set for tomorrow night. We have reason to believe that the Mirage will have either men or cameras watching us. Nancy will take my place at the museum. We favor each other enough that the Mirage won't notice the difference. Meanwhile, Frank and I will go to the Mirage's hotel. We'll blow open the grate in the back and crawl through the ventilation system until we reach the room where Vanessa and Dr. Fox are being held. The Mirage won't be expecting anything because he'll think that both Fiona and I are at the museum."
"How will we know where the Mirage is staying?" Frank asked slowly.
Charity grinned and produced a small electrical device. "I planted a tracker on one of the men who came to the room." she said. "He led us straight to a hotel in the city."
"Hmm." Frank muttered.
"No." Joe said. "The Mirage has to get arrested. We can't let him escape with all this priceless art!" He leveled his gaze at Fiona, then Charity. "And we can't let you have the paintings either."
Fiona burst into tears once more. "I don't care about the paintings anymore!" she bawled. "I only want my dad."
Charity said nothing, but looked suitably abashed.
"What time tomorrow are we talking about here?" Frank wanted to know.
"Eleven-thirty, midnight." Charity replied. "We'll come to your room. Be ready. Don't bring anything, but wear black. Joe, we'll get you a car. You probably realize that this isn't our room, so we won't be here if you come looking for us. Any more questions?"
"No." Joe answered sullenly.
"I have a question." Frank said. "What if we choose not to do it?"
Fiona sniffed. "Please, Frank. The Mirage is a ruthless criminal. I don't want my father in his hands any longer than he has to be. The hostages don't matter to him!" she lowered her voice to a whisper. "That's why we're breaking them out. If my father has seen the Mirage, the Mirage will have to kill him."
"And he won't hesitate to do the same to Vanessa." Charity needled, eyeing Joe.
Joe glared daggers at her, but restrained himself, to his credit.
"Goodbye." Fiona said suddenly.
The three detectives looked at her questioningly, when Charity threw open the window, sat on the sill, and slid out.
"Oh my God!" Nancy cried, rushing over to the window, expecting to see Charity lying on the sidewalk below.
"Don't bother." Joe said flatly. "That's one of her favorite tricks. Is there a rope tied to the shutter?"
Nancy looked out to see a white nylon cord lashed to the side of the building. "You called it." she said. "What a character. She looked around. "Where's Frank? And Fiona?"
"Oh." Joe said. "She ran and Frank went after her. I guess she was counting on Charity's little escape to distract us."
"It worked." Nancy said ruefully. "Come on; let's go see if we can help Frank."
"You can't." Frank said, coming into the room. "She lost me right away. Those girls are tricky! You guys think we're out of our league?"
"No way!" Nancy and Joe answered together.
Frank sat on the bed next to Nancy and took her hand. "Hey, Nan, are you okay?"
"I'm going back to the room." Joe announced.
"Okay." Nancy and Frank replied, not even looking his way. "We'll be down in a minute." Frank added. Joe slipped out.
"You don't have to do this, Nancy." Frank said seriously, his eyes boring into hers.
Nancy tore her gaze from Frank's to look after Joe. "Actually, I think I do." she said firmly. "Van's my friend, and Joe, and if they need help…"
Frank nodded. "I understand." he told her. He could feel their faces moving closer…
Nancy blushed. "Thanks, though." she said, a lump forming in her throat. She loved being this close to Frank. She just wished it weren't such a desperate situation.
"Nancy…" Frank said, in a voice that was almost a whisper, "Can I… we…"
"We shouldn't…" Nancy smiled. "Callie already hates me."
"No, she doesn't." Frank said. "Anyway, she… doesn't matter."
"That's a terrible thing to say, Frank Hardy." Nancy teased.
He smiled. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I do…" Nancy said softly, kissing him on the lips. She closed her eyes as she felt Frank's arms encircle her and pull her closer. That was another thing she loved about him: the way he made her feel safe. Maybe, just for a few minutes, she could get lost in his arms and forget everything else. Maybe even the fact that twenty-four hours from now she would be a criminal…
Joe lay on his bed and stared at the crack in the ceiling, trying to process all of the information he had just received.
…Vanessa and Dr. Fox had been kidnapped… Charity and Fiona were teaming up to rob a museum… Nancy was going to have to help them…
Joe felt torn. He couldn't really ask Nancy to compromise her safety in order to ensure Vanessa's. On the other hand, he loved Vanessa, and he sure as hell wasn't going to lose her… He didn't think he'd be able to handle it. He guessed he would have to talk to Nancy, and soon.
Speaking of Nancy, he realized that he probably shouldn't have left her up there with his brother. He laughed at his own absurd thought. Frank was the bravest person he knew, but when it came to Nancy, Joe didn't know if Frank had it in him to make a move.
Frank and Nancy walked in then, looking a bit embarrassed, and Joe frowned. He guessed he was rooting for them, deep down inside. "Hey, Nancy, can I talk to you for a second?"
"Listen, Joe, I want to do it." Nancy said immediately.
"Are you sure?" Joe asked, all ready to give his "compromise your safety" speech. "Because I really wouldn't blame you if you don't, and-"
"Relax, Joe. I'm gonna do it. I want to." Nancy repeated bravely.
Joe gave her a look of mixed gratitude and respect. "Thanks, Nan."
"Yeah." Nancy said quietly. "But if I think of a way to get out of it without anyone... getting hurt, I'm taking it."
"We'll figure something out." Frank promised.
"Good. Because I've never been big on grand larceny." Nancy flashed the brothers a tired smile and retreated into the bathroom.
Frank threw himself down on the couch and listened to the shower running. "There's got to be a way…" he said.
Joe frowned. "If you can't think of anything, what are we going to do?"
Frank shook his head. "Something's not right. This feels like a setup."
"Well, of course it's a setup!" Joe retorted.
"Seriously, Joe," Frank mused. "When have Charity and Fiona even been honest with us?"
"Never."
"Right. And there's a few things I don't understand about this whole scheme…" Frank trailed off, thinking.
There was a long silence as neither brother had a flash of inspiration. After a few minutes of tense stillness, Joe decided now was as good a time as any to talk about Nancy. "Did you kiss her?" he asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Yes." Frank answered dully. He sat up, looking at Joe. "Why?"
"What happened?" Joe asked with profound interest.
Frank ran his hand through his dark hair. "Nothing.We were talking, though.Joe, we're stuck. We're more than friends, but less than a couple. We're involved with other people. Nothing can happen between us." He frowned. "It's frustrating."
Joe didn't know what to say, so he stayed quiet, thinking. Nancy got out of the shower, put on her nightgown, and climbed into bed. None of the detectives got much sleep, though. They could hear each other tossing and turning restlessly all night.
A/N: Okay, that's all the energy I have for writing right now, so I just ended it here. Sorry to the mystery people; this chapter was kind of fluffy. I was just in a fluff mood today. But, in my defense, you do get some plot details in the beginning.Next chapter: we find out what's up with Ned and Callie, and, yay, it's the day of the robbery! Please review; I love you guys!