Well, here ya go! Two chapters like I promised a few of you! Again, a HUGE thank you to my faithful reviewers! You guys are wonderful! Alright, I won't keep ya any longer! Without further adieu…

Chapter 5

"Frank." It was the first word Mick had spoken in those precious moments, and it was the first second Frank realized there was someone standing next to him.

Frank turned slowly, feeling a wave of nausea start to swell inside, as the realization that Nancy had been kidnapped began to sink in. He squinted in the darkness as the figure next to him. It couldn't possibly be him, could it? His mind swirled over the same events that Nancy and Mick had both been remembering the past few days. No way, he thought. Not now. NO!

Both stared at each other for a few silent moments. Both in shock of the kidnapping, both in shock of seeing each other, and now, both regarding each other with all the civility they could muster.

"Mick?"

Mick stepped out of the shadows, the street lights casting eerie shadows over his features. "Uh, hey." This wasn't exactly the way he had planned on making his presence known. Then he remembered Nancy. "Look, Frank, I'm sorry I couldn't make it over fast enough. When I saw Nancy..." he trailed off, feeling helpless. Here he was, coming to see Nancy specifically, and she gets kidnapped right from under his nose.

Frank, however, felt differently. Before Mick could barely speak her name, Frank lunged at Mick. From the look on Mick's face and the tone of his voice, Frank realized what Mick was apparently there for. And he was not going to allow it. "You jerk!" He tried to land a punch on Mick, but having slightly expected it, Mick dodged the flying fist, barely being missed.

"Whoa, Frank. Don't take it out on me! We have to go after those blokes who took Nancy!" Mick held his hands up defensively. He'd seen Frank in action before, and now was not the place for a fight.

"Go after them?" Frank scoffed, his anger getting the best of him. "How? In case you didn't notice, we're on foot and they've already headed to who-knows-where."

"I did notice, thank you. In fact, I thought you'd want to go look at the area where she was taken," Mick replied hotly. He wasn't an idiot, after all.

"I doubt we're going to find anything. Besides, it's dark out. The police would have a better time searching."

It was Mick's turn to scoff. "Are you serious? Since when do you leave things to the police?"

"Look, I'm not going to argue while my fiancée is in the hands of those guys. I'm going to find her, so just stay out of this." Frank fumed, whipping his cell phone out of his pocket.

First, he called the police. After finally tracking down Chief McGinnis, Frank explained everything that had just happened, or what little he knew. McGinnis promised to get right on it.

"I'm sending an officer to Mr. Drew's office. And don't worry, Frank. I'll instruct the officer to give you his full cooperation. However, I will take charge of this if I feel you are compromising Nancy's situation."

Frank breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Chief. I promise not to overstep my boundaries."

McGinnis gave a small snort. "Yeah, I've heard that before. I know the Drew & Hardy reputation too well to believe you." McGinnis sighed audibly. "But this is Nancy, and that means it's serious."

After another moment, Frank hung up, and dialed Mr. Drew's cell phone. After getting his voicemail, Frank left a brief message, promising to keep him informed. Then he called George for backup, agreeing to meet her at the office in ten minutes.

Frank turned back around, once again, facing Mick. "I'm helping. I don't care what you say. This involves Nancy."

"No, you're not. I don't need some wanna-be detective slowing this down. You don't know this town, you don't know these people. You stick out like a sore thumb and I will not have you get in my way."

Mick caught the double-meaning in Frank's last sentence. But he also realized that Frank didn't know as much about him as he thought. He shrugged. "I've helped Nancy on more cases than you realize, and I've picked up a few things." He gave Frank a look saying 'don't mess with me.' "I'm helping."

"Whatever." Frank headed down the street, away from the office. "Just stay out of my way."

He stopped short, realizing that Mick was throwing him off kilter. He swore under his breath and turned back to the office. Mick followed right behind, determined to not offend Frank, but do everything he could to get Nancy back safely. And soon.

Frank looked at the lock on the first door with his trusty penlight, but without better lightning and gloves, it was nearly impossible to get a good look to see if it had been picked in the first place. He touched the door at the top and pulled Nancy's key out of the lock. It would have to wait until the officer got there.

When he stepped into the dark office, the only light was from the glow of the fish tank, sitting between some chairs in the small waiting area. Frank sighed. There wasn't much he could do until the officer arrived and dusted for prints. Not even flip a stupid light switch in case he smudged a fingerprint.

However, the door to Caron's office was slightly ajar, and using his knee, he pushed it open. He flashed his little penlight around, and saw that the closet door was wide open. Frank approached the small closet, and saw the middle drawer of the file cabinet pulled out. Right in the middle, a group of files were missing. Bending closer, the last file before the missing set read "Granger, Richard" and the first file after the missing set read "Hunter, Kristen."

It was definitely a start. He'd have to call Carson later for some clues. He committed the names to memory. He glanced at the safe, which appeared to be unharmed.

A noise from the reception area pulled his attention to the side. He quickly strode back into the area, and saw a familiar and very welcome face.

"George!"

George smiled tightly, giving Frank a hug. "Hi, Frank." She turned to the man standing off to the side a little, who had already begun dusting obvious areas. "This is Officer Ron Williams. Officer Williams has worked with Nancy on a few cases. Officer, this is Frank Hardy, Nancy's fiancé. "

Frank shook hands with the officer, who looked to be about in his early-forties. "Thank you for coming, Officer. I haven't touched anything yet, waiting for you. But I can't wait to start looking around more."

Williams nodded. "I'm glad to meet the famous Frank Hardy. You've become a bit of our star even in our office."

When Mick finally stepped out of the shadows, George started, momentarily taken aback. "Mick-"

"Good to see you again, George." He gave her a quick hug.

George looked questioningly at Frank, and he just gave her an annoyed look. Apparently, Frank wasn't thrilled to see Mick.

"Mr. Hardy, can you tell me what happened?"

Officer Williams began scribbling down notes as Frank talked, explaining what little he saw and knew the best he could. Then he told him what he had found, or not found, in Mr. Drew's file cabinet.

While Frank and Williams went over the stuff in Carson's office, George turned her attention back to Mick. "So it really was you."

Mick tilted his head to the side and gave her a small grin. "You knew?"

George shook her head and plopped down in one of the chairs. "Well, Bess thought she saw you at a restaurant a day or so ago. I thought she was seeing things, but I guess not."

"Guess not." Mick shuffled his feet awkwardly. "So, Nancy and Frank are engaged, then?"

George nodded and smiled softly. She looked at Mick's face, and winced at the hurt that was evident. "And they are extremely happy. I haven't seen Nancy this happy since... well…. Before she and Ned broke up."

"And Ned is the guy she rejected me for?"

George nodded. This wasn't her place to tell him all of Nancy's life details, but Mick needed to know. At least so he wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize the upcoming marriage. She liked Mick, but Nancy tended to lose her head around him.

Frank and Officer Williams walked back into the area, breaking the uncomfortable tension.

"We've alerted everyone to the kidnapping, and I'm going to get these prints analyzed. I don't have to warn you that they could only be Mr. Drew's and his secretary's." He shook Frank's hand. "Don't worry, everyone around here knows Nancy. River Heights considers her a great pride. I'll keep you updated."

Officer Williams turned to George. "Keep him calm. And I don't want any repeats of your last adventure."

George smiled. "Aye, aye, Sir!"

He tipped an imaginary hat to her and walked out the door, followed closely by Frank.

"Officer."

Williams turned around. "Please call me Ron."

Frank nodded. "I don't mean to hassle, but the guy in there, Mick, he's from Australia and I'd rather him not be a part of this investigation. If you don't mind, I would prefer that he be treated like a normal civilian, and that he should be given no information."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Alright." He wasn't stupid. There was definitely some sort of tension between the young men.

"I apologize for such a request, but this is important. I'll keep him informed on a need-to-know basis." Frank's shoulders slumped. "I just have to find her."

Ron nodded sympathetically. "We'll do everything we can. For now, go get some sleep. You're not going to do her any good if you can't function."

They bid goodbye, with Officer Williams headed to the area where Nancy had been grabbed, and Frank returned to the office. Mick and George were sitting in silence.

"I need to talk to Carson before we can do anything else." Frank began pacing.

"Should we call Joe? Maybe he could come help?" George suggested.

Frank shook his head. "Joe's got a busy week in Chicago, for a coaching job. I don't want to bother him just yet."

"Why don't you head back to the Drew's? I can follow you in my car and let you in. You don't have a key, do you?"

"Actually, I have Nancy's keys right here. When they were left in the doorknob." He stood up and gave George a smile, but she could tell he was getting frustrated fast. "I'll meet you there."

As George closed the door behind her and Mick, she watched Frank walk toward Nancy's car, obviously distraught. But she couldn't blame him. First Nancy is kidnapped, then Mick shows up ready to steal Nancy...

"Mick," George said, turning to look at him. "Why exactly are you here?"

"I'm here for Nancy," he stated quietly. He squared his shoulders. "For Nancy," he repeated, this time more firmly. "We didn't bring things to a close the last time, and I'm convinced I still have a chance."

George sighed. "Just great," she muttered under her breath.