Author's Note:

Woah, a chapter from me so quickly? Yes, I know I get these chapters out quickly but sometimes you just gotta write while you have the momentum. I tend to write first thing in the morning before my girls get up and then of course when the baby goes down for her nap in the afternoon. Thank goodness for school days though! Lol! Anyway, thank you for the awesome reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate everything you guys have to say and sometimes I even use those ideas that you have within the story (not all of it though). So thank you! This chapter is not as long as the first few were but still just as important of course. So, enjoy and don't forget to leave your mark so that I know you were here! Until next week, later!

Chapter Four

Stacy walked into Hardy Investigations, noticing a spring in Miranda's step as she was greeted by the receptionist. "What are you so giddy about?" she asked. "Did you run over a kitten this morning or something?"

"No," Miranda replied still cheerful though she was a little bit irritated by Stacy's rudeness. Her smile still hadn't waned since Frank left the lobby. "I have a date on Friday. Plus, I think that running over a kitten would be more your thing than mine, Stacy."

"Really? You have a date?" Stacy looked at her skeptically, stopping next to the desk. She wanted to smack the living crap out of the woman with her beaming smile. It was a known fact around the office that the two women just didn't like each other. Stacy felt there was something fake about Miranda but she couldn't quite place it. "Who did you bully this time into taking you out? I didn't think Xander was gullible enough since he's the only eligible guy left in the building who you didn't attach your tentacles to. I also don't think Bayport is big enough for your ego."

"I'll have you know that I have absolutely no interest in Xander," Miranda spewed. She leaned in toward Stacy. "He's a dork and quite frankly, he needs Proactive. The poor thing looks like he's 15 with that complexion. Maybe some facial hair will help him look a little older. Besides, he's not the only eligible bachelor here. I've got the hottest date with the most handsome man out there. I have a date with Frank."

"Frank?" Stacy looked at her shocked. Then her expression turned to confusion. "As in Hardy? Why would he take you out? You're not exactly his type from what I've heard…and seen."

"Gee, Stacy, I think you're turning green with jealousy," the receptionist smirked, her hand on her hip. "I have a way with men. It was only a matter of time before he asked me out. I mean, it's not like he's dating anyone and what's not to like?"

"Hmm," Stacy thought for a second. "I thought he was dating someone. I must have been mistaken. I'm sure he lost a bet or something for him to stoop low enough to your standards."

Miranda seethed with anger as Stacy walked away, shaking her head. What the receptionist wouldn't do to wipe that smile off her face.

Stacy went to her cubicle and opened her laptop to turn it on. She instantly noticed the post-it note stuck to the screen and snatched it before anyone could see. Looking around her before looking at it, Stacy read the note quickly which only read two words: Alley NOW. As inconspicuous as possible she left her cubicle with her coffee mug and headed to the back of the building where both the break room and back door were. The whole way there, Stacy wondered what they wanted so early in the day.

Moments after Frank angrily left, Joe and Fenton remained in the coffee shop, sitting quietly. Even as the early morning rush dissipated, the father and son sat deep in thought. Fenton looked over the tablet while Joe ate another sandwich he bought for himself.

"Dad?" Joe finally said after finishing his meal. "Do you…do you think we're being too harsh with Frank? I mean about Nancy."

Fenton sighed and leaned back in the chair, eyeing his son. He thought for a few moments before saying anything. "I know it's rough for him," he finally replied. "As I'm sure it is for you in a different way. I don't want to be overprotective of Frank but we can't take any chances until Treyford and Ned are taken care of. We don't even know what they're up to besides the mole and the missing evidence. We know Nancy is here somewhere and more than likely safe but I don't want him looking for her, even if it is within the confines of our offices. Someone might take advantage of the situation and Frank wouldn't see it coming because of his blindness to the fact. The whole thing with Miranda was your idea in the first place but I found it to be an easy way to go on the offensive, especially if she is the mole we're looking for."

"Yeah, about that," Joe said thoughtfully. "Shouldn't we have someone follow them that night just to make sure nothing happens?"

"That's a good idea," his father nodded. "What about a double date?"

"Yeah…hey!" Joe cried at the realization of what his father truly meant. "I didn't mean me! What about CJ?"

"I'm sure Andrea would love to watch him while you're out," Fenton smirked. "That way you can give some support to Frank."

"Seriously, Dad?" Joe scoffed, looking away. "I hate being in the same room with that woman let alone at the same table. Are you punishing me or something?"

"Consider it a gesture of brotherly love," Fenton replied. "You did sound a little guilty about putting him up to it just now."

Joe grumbled then said he'd do it. He put Frank in the situation anyway. It was the least he could do to make it up to him. Joe watched as his father gathered up his trash to leave but stopped him. "There's one more thing."

"Something bothering you?" Fenton said, noticing the nervous fidgeting Joe was doing.

"Well, I…I was wondering something," Joe stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. Fenton sat back down and looked concerned at his youngest son. "I was wondering why you and Frank kept the information about Nancy from me for five weeks. You didn't even talk about her. It hurt that you didn't say a word. You know Nancy and I are like brother and sister and I am worried about her more than you think I am."

"You made it clear that you were angry with her every since she left Chicago," Fenton explained, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "I understand why too. Once Frank told me, CJ had just been born. You had so much going on and I didn't want to take those early moments with your new son away from you. I wanted you to focus on them not what was going on with Nancy. I was worried that you wouldn't want to be home and would go looking for clues. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"Yes," Joe nodded sadly. "Yes, I was angry with her at first. She left without saying a word but after a while I understood why she did what she did. I was mostly angry with her because of Frank. I felt bad for him. He seemed heartbroken. He still seems that way but it's not because she left but because he can't be with her until this whole thing is over. I thought about it last night while trying to go back to sleep. I don't know what I would do if I had to go through the same situation with Vanessa. She's my everything, same with CJ, now that he's here. I don't think I would be able to function properly if anything were to happen to Vanessa or CJ."

"You can't worry about Frank," his father replied with a smile. "He's more resilient than you give him credit for. I know it's hard for him. His whole reaction to taking Miranda out on a date just shows that he has no interest in anyone else other than Nancy. I just hope that if she finds out, Nancy doesn't take it the wrong way. I'm sorry that we didn't say anything to you, Joe, but it's something that I would do again if I had to."

"It's okay, Dad," Joe smiled. "I get it. Now that I am a father, I get it."

Fenton smiled at his son and leaned over to hug him quickly. "And you're a good one at that. There's no manual out there to help with parenthood. Your fears are the same I had when Frank was born. While we're here, there is something I need to tell you, Joe, before we go into the office."

"What's that?"

"I was lying when I said that Agent Hayworth only contacted me yesterday with information about Nancy," he confessed. "She called me a few weeks ago, right after CJ was born. There was a hit on Nancy's passport when she reentered the US. She wasn't detained, of course, because she's not a threat however, Hayworth made sure to check her name daily just in case she did try to come home. Her name popped up the day before she contacted Hayworth. I didn't say anything because I didn't think it was important at the time since we already figured that Nancy would return to the country. I remembered Frank telling me about a man who was with her in China, the one that got him to the village."

"Richard Cheng."

"Right," Fenton nodded. "I asked Hayworth to check if he returned as well. Unfortunately, he didn't. He stayed in China to continue his work with the kids in that village. I started putting out feelers to see if I could find him. Maybe he knew where Nancy went after she landed in LAX. An old friend of mine works at the American embassy in Beijing and was able to go look for the village and Richard. He sent me an email this morning. The village was decimated, every man, woman, and child left dead."

"What about Richard?"

"He was among them but the monastery and the monks were left unharmed. Apparently they were just punishing the village."

"But why?" Joe asked, saddened to hear about his friend's death. "Why go after an innocent village?"

"I believe that you can thank Ned for that," Fenton said through gritted teeth. "My friend at the embassy raised a big stink about it so the Chinese government is looking into it. What they've found so far is that a warlord was told about a man teaching English to a village and he wasn't happy about it. I'm assuming that Ned told these people. They don't take kindly to outsiders trying to help the lesser folk. The less the villagers understood what was going on in the world, the easier they were to control. I don't have the heart at the moment to tell Frank because of everything going on with Nancy though."

Joe hung his head, taking in the information though he still wondered why it happened. Richard was a good man and a good friend. It pained Joe to hear about his death.

"I'm afraid that if we tell Frank," Fenton replied, shaking his head, "he will be even more of a loose cannon than he is now. He's already hurting for Nancy and the knowledge that she's here somewhere is driving him crazy. If he found out Ned possibly had something to do with Richard's death, there would be no way to stop Frank from searching for him. I'm not even sure if I should tell Nancy right now."

"Dad, I don't think we should say anything at the moment," Joe finally said. "You're right. From what I gathered from Frank, he asked Richard to watch over Nancy while she was there. He's going to feel responsible for it and so will she. It's best that we tell them once everything boils over. Do you honestly think she's in our office though?"

"I'm not sure," he answered, keeping his suspicions to himself. "I want you to help out as much as you can though. And I don't want you to worry about Stacy. Sam told me what she said when you were first introduced to her yesterday. Although it was uncalled for and I'm not too happy about it, I don't want to get rid of her just yet. At least, not until everything blows over with the whole Treyford and Ned situation but I will talk to her though. She needs to know that you're not leaving anytime soon either. You may be my son and I'm a little biased but I know a good person when I see one."

"Thanks, Dad," Joe said sheepishly. He felt a lot better getting everything out and proud that his father had faith in him.

"We should probably get going," Fenton said, looking at his watch. He looked around to see if there were any other people interested in them but most of the tables in the coffee shop were empty, the morning rush gone. "You're right about Richard, too. Frank and Nancy don't need to know about it just yet."

The father and son left the shop and headed across the street toward Hardy Investigations. They stopped just outside the door.

"I don't want Frank going out alone in search of Ned or Nancy," Fenton stated. "We need to make sure that we keep him under wraps for now. And let Vanessa know about Friday. You two being there with him will give Frank some relief. That will take a load off for the time being."

"And what about Nancy?"

"She's here," Fenton said grimly. He looked across the street where he figured she stood then looked up at one of the buildings. A window was open, the curtain blowing in the wind. "The question is where."

Ned stood in the shadows between the two buildings across from Hardy Investigations. He watched Frank enter the building earlier and now he watched Fenton and Joe talking out front. The elder Hardy looked over at where Ned stood though he was back far enough that he remained unseen. Ned then noticed Fenton look up at the building to his right. He wondered what the old man was thinking. Ned got word from their spy that Fenton was sporting a new tablet, something that appeared yesterday after their meeting with a mysterious client. He sneered at the two men across him, wanting to know what they were saying. Getting out his phone, Ned dialed a number he knew by heart.

"Yeah?" replied Treyford after the first ring.

"Something's up," Ned said. He told Treyford about the meeting at the coffee shop that morning between the Hardys. "Parker told me that he was able to catch a glimpse of a photo on Hardy's tablet this morning. Jay was caught on camera by someone when he followed Frank home last night. They know we're following them and now they'll be more careful about what they do outside the office."

"Who took the photo?"

"I don't know," Ned said. "But I have my suspicion. I also have word that it's a go."

"Good," Treyford said happily. "I'm leaving for Colorado tomorrow. That leaves you till then to find out where she is. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course, we have it narrowed down. We already know who she's not. That leaves three of them if indeed she is on the Hardy payroll. I still find it hard to believe that Nancy would hide in plain sight like this. She's never been undercover where no one could recognize her."

"She's there. I know it," Treyford assured him. "She already made one mistake. She's bound to make another and I want you there when she does. Our little spy will figure it out. Don't engage any of them, including Frank, until it's time. If she hasn't appeared by then, you get to Frank and she'll come."

"Why not now?"

"Because I need time, that's why," he snapped, annoyed. "Wait, Ned. I mean it."

"Fine." The phone call ended and Ned looked back at Hardy Investigations where the front steps were now empty. Just because he couldn't do anything at the moment didn't mean Ned couldn't do some damage before then. He smirked as he walked back to his car in the alley. Nancy, I'm coming for you.