Finally, chapter 6 is here. A little note to all Bess fans, I reworked her personality justa little.

6. Sacrifices

Nancy whirled around to stare at the figure in the doorway. What little moonlight filtered through the window made the man seem huge. Nancy searched for a face, but the figure was obscured by shadow.

"Frank, what do we do?" Nancy barely managed a whisper. She couldn't be sure that Frank had heard her.

"What are you doing here?" thundered a deep, menacing voice.

Frank peered over the edge of the roof. He knew that voice well. That voice belonged to the kidnapper known as Steve. He was the muscle man with a really short temper. Steve would break Nancy in half without thinking about it.

Nancy backed toward the window, seeking a way out. Her only options seemed to be to jump from the window or face the man. Nancy was trying to decide which would be a safer choice when a movement caught her eye. Frank was preparing to swing back through the window! He must have heard the man come through the door.

Nancy slowly inched her way along the wall, giving Frank a clear shot at their attacker. She just hoped that Frank's plan would buy them some time. She and Frank had to get away from the buildings, quickly. Nancy could tell that the man was watching her. At least she could distract him. Frank would have a better chance of landing a good attack if he surprised the other man.

Frank watched as Nancy moved from in front of the window. He knew she had seen him, and was giving him the chance he needed to make his attack. Everything had to be as perfect as possible. If she could just lure Steve a little closer. Frank calculated the distance with each step the man took, preparing himself for what was to come next.

"So," Nancy tried to keep the quiver from her voice, "this is where you live? I, um, I've been looking for artifacts, you know, to study. Have you found any? I'll take anything. I can pay for them too."

"I don't collect no arti, whatever you said. But I will make you pay for your snooping."

"You won't touch her!" Frank shouted as he swung through the window. The force of his kick sent the big man stumbling back. "You have to get rid of me first, Steve."

The man growled as he lunged for Frank, his arms ready to squeeze the younger man to death. But Frank saw it coming and dodged, landing a solid kick to the back of Steve's head. Frank grabbed Nancy's hand and ran for the door. Nancy glanced back to see Steve stumble to his feet and come after them.

"Frank!"

Frank glanced back and saw Steve follow them through the doorway. Ahead, two more men blocked the hallway. There wasn't enough time to find another exit. The only chance they had was to barrel through the bodies. Frank let go of Nancy's hand and jumped up, landing a kick to the chest of each man.

"Run Nancy!" Frank yelled as he cleared a path through the hall.

Nancy dashed forward. The hall was just ahead of her, if she could only make it. Pounding footsteps made Nancy jerk her head back. Frank was close behind her. Behind Frank was Steve, moving faster than Nancy would have thought possible.

"Frank, what do we do? He's right behind us."

Frank glanced behind him. The two he had attacked had joined Steve. With the three kidnappers following them, Frank knew that he and Nancy would never escape unless they took the toughest path.

"In here." Frank grabbed Nancy's hand and pulled her into one of the rooms.

Nancy looked around the room. A busted window was the only escape. Nancy rushed to the window and looked down. A narrow ledge ran the length of the wall, just below the window. Nancy assumed that it had been part of an old balcony, especially since a stairwell stood off to her left, several feet away.

Frank joined Nancy at the window. He could hear the men trying to force open the door that he had blocked closed. The barricade would not hold them out for long. Frank forced the window up and climbed out. The ledge was too narrow to walk on so Frank dropped to a hanging position.

Nancy waited while Frank moved down the ledge, pulling himself hand over hand. Once she had room, Nancy climbed out after him. The door burst open just as Nancy lowered herself into position.

"Frank hurry. They're in the room." Nancy cried out.

Frank moved steadily down the ledge, followed closely by Nancy. Their only hope was to get to the stairwell. Then they could use the old buildings as cover. They just had to reach the stairs before the kidnappers.

"Get to the stairs. Now!" came one of the men's yell.

Thundering footsteps sounded from inside the room. The men were running. They would beat Nancy and Frank there easily.

"Nancy, go back. Climb back into the room."

Nancy did as Frank directed. She knew what Frank was thinking. The men would expect them to continue to the steps. Nancy looked at the window to the room they had exited. Something just didn't seem right.

"Look in this window."

"Why? The kidnappers are going to get to the stairs, and then we'll be sitting ducks."

"Think about this," Nancy reasoned, "why would they yell out their plans so we could hear? What if it's a trap? But if we climb into a different room we have a better chance of getting away."

Frank didn't waste anymore words. He carefully peered into the window above his head. The room was dark and empty. Frank nodded to Nancy and hoisted himself inside. Once he was sure that the room was safe he turned and pulled Nancy inside.

The room was dark and eerily quiet. Frank and Nancy moved quickly across the wooden floor. Frank held his breath as he pushed open the door, fearing who he might find on the other side. When the door swung open Nancy nearly screamed at the figure on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" Frank demanded.

"I was worried about my dear brother. Now if you two are done playing with the big, bad men, I think it's time to leave."

"I think you're right." Nancy agreed.

Joe led the way to the staircase and began the climb down. The first story had been empty just moments before. He hoped that was still the case. Tracy had warned him that they would have a hard time moving around unseen.

Joe reached the last step and crouched down, studying the area. Nothing seemed out of place. He motioned for Frank and Nancy to follow quickly. The longer they spent inside the building, the riskier their escape became.

"Where are they?" a voice bellowed from up the stairs. "Check every room!"

The pounding footsteps made by the men upstairs as they dashed from room to room covered the sound of the detectives hurried steps. They wouldn't have much time before the kidnappers began searching downstairs. They had to make a run for it now.

The moon lit the street of the town with a dim glow. There were few shadows to use as cover. Joe pointed to the area where he had left the others waiting. The footpath was clear, making the trio a prime target. They would have to circle around.

"There they are."

Nancy glanced back as she ran. Even though they had tried to stick to the shadows, Steve had spotted them. Nancy knew they had a good head start, but if the kidnappers had a vehicle nearby the head start would make little difference.

Nancy looked ahead, trying to guess the distance to the hill ahead. Once they made it away from the town they would have a better chance of hiding. The desert would be full of nooks and crannies.

Nancy was concentrating so hard on getting away that she almost didn't hear the thunderous noise behind her. Startled, Nancy jerked to the side. But the searing pain in her arm told her she hadn't been fast enough. Instinctively, Nancy grabbed her arm. The blood was already beginning to seep out of the wound.

Tracy and George were standing just in the shadows when the gun went off. Nancy was just a few feet in front of them. George raced from the cover of the rocks and grabbed hold of Nancy, pulling her up to the shadows. The kidnappers couldn't get them now. The desert would be too vast to search.

"I'm sure you understand Miss Marvin that fires happen here all the time. In the desert there is little rainfall. With such dry conditions fires are common."

"Mr. Michelson, please spare me the geographical lecture. I may not be especially brave or smart, but I have learned one thing over the years. And that is that Nancy Drew and mysteries go hand in hand. I heard the message that brought Nancy and George out here. Something is most definitely happening, and if you can't do your job, I will just have to do it for you. I came for answers. Instead I get an overly macho cowboy with a stubborn streak."

"Miss Marvin, I can assure you that your friends were unharmed in that fire. Nor is there any reason to believe that they are in danger for any reason. Being unfamiliar with country living I can sympathize with your anxiety."

"Perhaps I have not made myself clear as to my reason for being here. Three friends are missing. That much was obvious from the tape I heard. I was supposed to receive a call from Nancy and George when they arrived at their hotel. That call never came." Bess reached into her purse and pulled out a small cassette tape. "Should you decide to listen to it, this is a copy of the tape that brought me here."

Mitch watched as Bess tossed the tape onto his desk and walked out of his office. What she had said made sense. Mitch hated to say it but he had to give the girl credit. She was gutsy. Even for a city girl.

"Wait." Mitch called out. "Let's see just what you have here."

Bess turned with a half smile. She usually wasn't the take charge type of person, but her friends needed her. She couldn't let them down. And Mitch was sort of cute, even if he was a little too hard headed.