Disclaimer: I do not own, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, the characters associated with them, or any pop culture references I may choose to include.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for all the reviews. Everything that you mention in them really helps me in developing my writing and knowing what's working for the story and what needs help, and without you guys I would be a lot more lost in what I'm writing.

I'm sorry to say that this won't be a double update, but it is quite a bit faster than the last one was, and I'm hoping to keep up this faster pattern. Besides, I wouldn't want to spoil you too much.

Italics are thoughts.

Bold italics are transmissions over a radio.

Chapter Eight

Nancy didn't bother to move from her position of lying half on top of Frank as her vehicle burned. She had not anticipated such an explosion, and it was a bit disconcerting. Her case was over, the criminal dead. Nobody should have been blowing up her car. As a general rule, exploding cars weren't good, and this didn't bode well with her.

"Are you OK?"

She heard Frank ask the question immediately, but it took a moment for her to answer. She had to work the strength back into her voice that had fled when the car had been engulfed. "Yeah." She gulped. "Fine. You?"

"Well…" Frank hesitated wondering if he should even go where he was thinking. After all, the woman lying on top of him's car had just been detonated, and going into the physical positions of where they had ended up seemed a bit insensitive and unimportant. Although it was going to be very distracting if it remained this way. "You're kind of on top." He got the sentence out, and just as soon realized his mistake. "Of me. You're on top of me."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Nancy slid off his form before sitting up. Now she could clearly see the burning car, but wasn't the least bit mesmerized by the dancing flames. She turned to Frank who now was also sitting up. "If you're fine, we should get out of here." They both stood. "That fire needs to go out, and I need to call my boss at the Agency and find out what's going on."

Frank stood in one place, slightly dumfounded as she went into business mode, moving quickly and hurrying back to the doorway that they had gone through to enter the garage, where there was a payphone. She's in control of the situation, that's for sure. Shaking his head he took off after her. "I could be wrong, but I'd say that somebody wanted you to be in that car when it went off."

"And I here I thought all those nice car bombs were around just for decoration." She was a little irritated at the whole situation now, quickly going through the stages of grief that came with losing her car. Her relatively new car. She sighed, realizing how sarcastic, and callous she had just sounded. "I'm sorry." You really don't need to alienate yourself again, Drew. "Do me a favor, and don't tell Joe I said that?" And I really don't need to get the other brother upset.

She didn't realize that Frank didn't even plan on telling Joe about the car bomb to begin with. He knew enough to know that the reminder of the way one of Joe's first girlfriends had died would be enough to put his brother in a funk for days, and all of the parties (aside from the car) involved were fine. There was no need to do that to him. "No problem." He glanced at the phone that she was picking up, while thumbing through her pockets for change. "Who are you going to call?"

"My boss O'Neil. You have your cell phone with you right?" Frank nodded in response to the question. "Can you call the fire department?"

"Yeah."

As he pulled his phone, Nancy inserted the coins into the payphone and dialed a long, but memorized number.

"Stain Agents Dry-cleaning."

"This is Nancy Drew, I have an item that you recently worked with that seems to have… spontaneously combusted."

"Hold on one moment Ms. Drew, I'll pass you on to our manager."

As a slow and boring orchestral number came over the line signifying her to wait while the call was passed on, she sighed at the code they used for cover. Dry-Cleaning. She had thought about when she had first learned of it, and it did make sense in a twisted sort of way, but that was a completely different matter than what she called for.

The music suddenly cut out and a hard voice replaced it. "What seems to be the problem Ms. Drew?"

She didn't leave the code, as was the rules. Even though they probably were on a secure line, and the only one near her was Frank, who knew, you could never be too careful in the eyes of the Agency. "I left the coat that you recently cleaned in my vehicle, and it appears to have exploded."

"Was anyone hurt during this incident?"

"No."

"And are emergency services on their way?"

"The fire department is being called as we speak."

"So others witnessed this incident?"

"Just one other, sir. Frank Hardy."

"The brother of the Hardy that you brought with you when you picked up that coat?"

"That's the one."

"OK then Ms. Drew. I will send my personal driver to pick you and Mr. Hardy up at the coffee shop down the road, shortly to bring you on a tour of the facilities as part of our most humble apologies. Until then I recommend that you make yourself very scarce, and remain away from any location near the site of the incident, without drawing any attention to yourself."

"Thank you sir."

"I also recommend that you call Mr. Hardy's brother and check in with him to make sure that all of his belongings are secure. I believe that your issues with your dirty laundry are far from over, and we'd like to bring him to our facilities as well."

"I'll do that sir."

"I'll be sure to greet you upon your arrival."

Nancy hung up when she heard the click on his end, and look to Frank who was also hanging up. "Fire department's on their way." He announced.

"Good. Let's go." Nancy grabbed his hand and began leading them out of the garage on foot. "O'Neil's sending someone to pick us up. You need to call Joe."

Frank looked at Nancy as they sat in a grey room. Joe was on his way to their undisclosed location with the help of O'Neil's men. After Frank had dialed the number, Nancy had commandeered the phone from him, and given Joe explicit instructions on what he needed to do. This included calling his parents and sending Camilla and her nanny on the first plane headed towards Bayport where it would be much safer. She had managed to do this without explaining exactly what had happened, just that there had been an incident leading everyone to the conclusion that the case hadn't ended with Tom's pulse.

Now Nancy almost looked like the Nancy he had known when they were teens. Her hair was back in a tight ponytail and mostly covered by a plain baseball cap she had purchased soon after the explosion. Her reasoning had been that whoever caused the explosion probably thought that she had died in it and it was best to keep it that way for the time being, but since changing her appearance a lot was out of the question, a hat would have to do. Frank liked this look because he could only see that she had changed a lot when she moved and the hair in the ponytail swished with her. It was easier to be with her, he had found, when he didn't have to face the physical changes she had undergone. It was easier when she looked like the old Nancy.

He smiled a little, thinking back to the explosion in the garage. For a few moments there she had felt exactly like the old Nancy. The way that he had been able to help her by cushioning her fall, and the way that she had lingered longer than necessary. That was the way things used to be.

"What are you smiling about Frank?"

He snapped back to reality as she posed the question and broke the long silence they had been, and he realized that she bore a similar smile to his. "Oh, uh…" Can't exactly tell the truth here. "I was just thinking that, uh…"What happened to your improvisation skills? "I was just thinking that your hair still smells like vanilla." What? That's worse than the truth. Even though it technically has some truth to it. His train of thought broke off at Nancy's quizzical look.

"When exactly were you smelling my hair?" There was still a smile on her face. If anything, it had gotten bigger; after all, what was more entertaining than a friend's embarrassment.

"At the garage." Frank answered hoping that the burning in his cheeks wasn't as visible as it felt. "When you were on top of me, you're hair was on my face and--."

Nancy shook her head. "I got that part. I meant the still part. You've smelled my hair before?"

Because our relationship wasn't awkward enough. "Well, not intentionally...But we ended up lying places together an awful lot…and when you pretend to be married to someone you tend to notice their hair with all the…cuddling."

Nancy thought briefly before speaking again. "I take it from the smile that you like the scent then?"

"Well, I--."

"What's this I hear about our case not being over?" Frank was interrupted by Joe's grand entrance into the small waiting room. He breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought dead meant over."

"Maybe in your line of work, Mr. Hardy." The bald man who had followed him into the room spoke. "But here things fall into a much greyer area." He paused, looking over to Nancy. "Ms. Drew, I need to speak with you. If you'll follow me please, the brother's can entertain themselves until you return."

Nancy stood to follow obediently, freeing up the second folding chair for Joe to take. "You two play nice."

Not moments after she was gone, Joe turned to his brother. "Speaking of playing nice, you two were just talking…without killing each other. What happened? Did she hit you again?"

Some of the blush returned to Frank's cheeks. He didn't need to be reminded of that incident. "No. She just yelled at me some more and it finally knocked some sense into me."

"Good. Finding new ways to explain your behavior without calling you a stubborn jackass was getting hard."

"Well I'm glad that you find everything that happened so amusing."

"Speaking of which, what exactly happened to spawn this sudden frenzy of panic? Camilla wasn't exactly happy to get on that plane with Katie."

"Attempted murder on Nancy's life."

"What else is new?" Joe rolled his eyes. "That's what? At least two in two days. You'd think this secret agent thing was dangerous business or something."

"You could say that." Frank paused for a moment, thinking. "Do you think that it's changed her?"

"I thought that you just got over this."

"No, not like that. I meant…she's not reacting…" He sighed. He couldn't find the right words. "Never mind."

"Well Ms. Drew, I've never known an agent to introduce two civilians to the Agency in a matter of two days when we're not recruiting."

Nancy looked at O'Neil across his desk. "Technically Joe was your fault sir. And without him knowing about it I would be dead and all of our work would have been for nothing. Frank, I'll take partial responsibility for since I was the one going somewhere with him, but I did not put the bomb in my car and you're the one that told me to bring him."

"But you told him about the Agency before the explosion."

He always knows. "And what makes you think that?"

O'Neil's mouth twisted up into a smirk. "He hasn't asked a single question. I'd reprimand you but quite frankly, we don't have the time to deal with it. We have to take down the Phillips family as soon as possible before they get scared and shut down completely." He leaned back into his chair. "They know that Tom is dead, and they know that you're the one that ended up killing him, the newspaper article about the tragic theft attempt at your apartment last night saw to that. What they don't know is what information we got out of him. They're probably nervous and thinking about lying low for a while."

"Which we don't want."

"A temporary solution is never as good as a permanent one, Ms. Drew. We can get them all and shut everything down completely if they're still in operation. If they shut down we'll only be able to stop their minor offences, which are easily replaceable for them."

"And what do we plan on doing sir?"

"Well, we didn't learn anything from Tom, but they don't know that. Our main advantage lies with you however. That car bomb was an act of revenge. You killed the heir of the family. Tom's father is none too happy about this. If his past actions indicate anything, he won't stop at anything until you're dead. Money won't be a concern if it means it will avenge his son. But he'll want to keep money coming in, so he won't shut down, as long as you're alive."

"So we use me as bait." Nancy suggested quickly.

O'Neil just frowned. "I'm afraid that I don't follow your train of thought Ms. Drew."

"Going by his past actions, Phillips gets frustrated if his first attempt on someone's life fails. He's a short-tempered, and arrogant man according to all of our files." Nancy had memorized the files once the case had been assigned to her. "Once he finds out that I'm still alive he'll want to do things himself, because he thinks that he can do it right."

"So you're suggesting we use you to lure him out where we can arrest him. What about the rest of the operations?"

"Sir you know as well as I do that these families are weak. Without a strong leading figure they crumble. Taking care of everything else will be easy once we get him."

"Very well. I'll get our strategists working on a plan right away. You go back to your detective friends and explain what's going on."

"So this whole thing rides on you being bait…"Frank mulled over the new information Nancy had provided upon her return to the room. He looked to where she sat on the table, letting the brother's have the chairs. "I don't like it."

"I don't think that your opinion matters much to O'Neil Frank." Nancy laughed. "But I'll be sure to let him know."

"No, seriously Nance. If what Joe told me about last night is any indication then you could get into a lot of trouble. I mean if Joe hadn't have shown up then you would have been killed." Frank frowned.

Nancy gave him a look. "This is a bit different. I'll have an entire team of agents backing me up if I can't handle it. And I'll be expecting it this time."

"You should have been expecting it last time."

"Frank…" Joe shot his brother a warning look when he muttered the sentence under his breath. "I'm sure Nancy not only understands what she's doing, but she knows how to handle it. She's trained for this. She's even done it before. Out in Hollywood remember?"

"Yes. And I didn't like it then either."

"Would you like it better if you were in on it?" The same gritty voice belonging to O'Neil interrupted their conversation as he seemed to tend to do. "I've reviewed your backgrounds. They're impressive. Brief stint at the FBI like Ms. Drew…and quite a bit of work for the Network. If it will help rest your fears Mr. Hardy, you and your brother have permission to be temporary agents for me."

Frank didn't even take a moment to think about it. This was his chance. He could see what she was really like now, in this new environment that she head. "I'm in."

Joe on the other hand wasn't so confident. He had already had one adventure with a Phillips family member, and although he had come out relatively unharmed, he wasn't exactly looking forward to another one. "Frank, are you sure?"

"You aren't?"

"Well…yeah." Joe quickly nodded. "This is a big deal. You said it yourself."

"Joe's right." Nancy jumped in quickly, sensing that they were headed towards a dangerous path of a brotherly fight about the topic. "This is dangerous, and as much work as you've done in the detective field, it's still hard. I went through a lot of training before they would even let me observe any of these takedowns."

Her intervention only turned his attitude towards her however. "So you think we can't do this?"

OK, I guess I chose my words wrong. Nancy took a deep breath before speaking. She was not going to lose her temper with him again in the same day. "All I meant was you have people that would be very upset if you were injured or killed. Joe has to think about Camilla; you both have to think about each other and your parents."

"And what about you?" Frank challenged. "You don't have anyone to think about?"

"What Ms. Drew here is saying is that this isn't a trivial matter Mr. Hardy." O'Neil intervened. "I'm offering you a chance, but you should definitely weigh the issue before you take it."

"I have. I'm choosing to take it." Frank remained firm in his position. He was going to see exactly what was going on; he was going to be there for her, even though it seemed like once more she didn't want him to be there.

"And you?" O'Neil turned to Joe. "What would you like to do?"

Joe remained silent for a moment, a heavy weight on his shoulders. There were two sides of the fight warring in his mind; the side that longed for the thrill of chases and fights and that was excited every time a new case fell into his lap, and then the side that enjoyed telling stories to his daughter and that missed his late wife. In the end he knew that he didn't have much of a choice. "I'm gonna have to sit this one out."

Nancy briefly put a hand on his, almost wishing she had the same option. She always felt the same way before going in to any mission such as this; nervous and excited. On that particular day the nervousness was outweighing the excitement, but she didn't know why.

O'Neil quickly spoke up. "All right then. You can remain with us until we leave. After that you can wait in our communications room. You'll be able to hear what's going on the entire time." Joe nodded, feeling better already that he would know what was going on while they were gone. "If you'll come with me, we can get you two briefed and give you all the equipment you'll be needing."

Joe heard this, and couldn't resist announcing the first thought that came into his head. If nothing else it would get Frank and Nancy to crack a smile, although he doubted that anybody could make O'Neil laughed if they wanted it. "Please tell me that there's going to be an old guy in a suit handing out ordinary objects and explaining their hidden gadget technology."

Joe sat obediently in the plain room similarly outfitted to the one he had been in before, aside from a large wall of computers and other bits of technology, with a headset placed over his ears. He was ready to listen in on everything.

He had watched as Frank and Nancy had been outfitted with equipment such as bullet proof vests, and then weapons that could be easily concealed. And while he had been wrong about the old man giving them spring-loaded watches, there had been an agent that provided them with wireless ear buds and even smaller wireless microphones. He had watched them learn of the plan, and now he was listening to them execute it.

Nancy had gone to a mall that one Phillips family member worked during his off-time from the crime business. She had been sure to visit his story, and even more sure to make sure that he caught a good view of her. Then she did a good bit more of loitering in the mall to give them plenty of time to arrive, before heading outside to stand, as though waiting for a ride. Joe had heard all of this.

He also knew that despite Nancy's assurances earlier, there had ended up being a very small amount of agents accompanying his brother and Nancy, a fact that was bothering him slightly, but wasn't enough to disconcert him. Nancy had proven the night before that she knew what she was doing, and he had every reason to believe that the other agents were the same. At the moment, if their slight and brief moments of conversation were any indication, most of these agents, including Frank, were inside the mall, scattered at the various stores by the entrance she was waiting at, ready to run out at a moments notice, while one agent that Joe had recognized from his introduction to the Agency, Shaw, was driving in circles around the mall as though looking for someone that he was supposed to pick up. As far as he knew, all was well.

"Anything yet?" One agent asked.

"Nope, it's all quiet." Nancy sighed. "No sign of anyone."

And that was when all Joe Hardy could hear was static.

A quick disclaimer on my knowledge that I included: When I mentioned Nancy going out as bait in Hollywood, I'm not positive that this happened. If it did it was in the Super Mystery "Hollywood Horror" however I couldn't find my copy of the book anywhere to clarify and I might just be imagining the whole event.

That being said...

Thoughts?