A/N: Thanks to Chromde, frankette, supernatralsam, and cjloverforever for your reviews and anyone else who is reading! Hope you like this next chapter!
Joe Hardy let out a sigh, leaning forward, putting most of his weight on his elbows as he dropped his head into his hands. He glanced from the photos that were strewn over the surface of the table, to the clock that hung on the wall. Fifteen past eight, and since the clock was slow, that made it nearly twenty minutes. He shook his head, slightly amazed; they had some of the finest technology provided, and they couldn't even fix a clock. It had been slow for years now.
A tapping sound brought his attention back to the photos; he glanced over to find Tony watching him. "Focus man, we need to figure this out."
Joe only nodded as he leaned back in his chair, "I know, but Nancy and Frank should be here by now, and we're not figuring anything out."
Tony laughed, clasping his hands in front of his mouth, "Knowing Frank, he's probably trying to call someone for a ride because his car is a piece of junk, and knowing Nancy, she's probably the one who volunteered."
Joe laughed, "More than likely, that still doesn't explain why they are late."
"What's got you so wound up?" Tony wondered, picking up a photo, then another.
"Game's on tonight, in ten minutes. I didn't pay for that new cable company to sit here and miss all my shows," Joe argued, picking up his own photo.
"Yeah, well we can't leave until they get here, they're taking over the case for us, Con wants this one solved, so for now, focus, let's find something."
Joe only nodded, hiding his disappointment as he went back to examining the photos.
***
Nancy's cry of surprise turned into one of pain as she was shoved onto the floor, her knees grinding into the hard tiles. She lifted her head back up, ignoring the warnings that were given to her. Frank was flat on the floor, head to one side, a slim yet deep cut ran the length down the left side of his face, starting just under his hairline, crossing over his eye and ending on his cheekbone. He had been hit right in the face; the two men had to be coming in quickly, or already inside when Frank rounded the corner.
Blood had begun to pool out from under his stomach, staining the floor beneath him. Nancy tried to call out his name, tried to wake him up, but was cut off as the assailant grabbed her hair, forcing her head down.
"Stitch! I thought I told you to tie him up!" The first man cried.
The younger, lankier man ran over to him, allowing Nancy to see him for the first time, just out of the corner of her eyes. He was dressed in black, typical for a robber, and had face mask on. He couldn't have been much older than 20, barely over five feet tall, but it was hard to tell from her perspective.
"He was out Mando, he can't hurt no one," the man labeled Stitch complained.
"And what happens when he wakes up?" Mando snarled, twisting his hand in her hair, causing Nancy to wince with every word he said. She lifted her eyes again to see the younger man tying Frank's hands together, behind his back like hers, and then bound his feet with several feet of rope he was carrying.
"There, he's tied," Stitch complained, kicking Frank in the stomach for emphasis. There was no response from him, confirming that he was indeed unconscious. "Besides, it's not like we're going to be here that long."
"You never know," Mando told him, shoving Nancy face first to the ground, "Stay down," he warned her again, pressing the rifle against her back. She felt him move back, release his hold on her hair, and for a split moment, she thought about escaping. But only for a moment, as her eyes came to rest on Frank, then the thoughts were banished from her mind.
She tried calling his name, not risking raising her voice above a whisper, hoping that he would hear her then. But there was nothing more than his soft breathing, almost strained, in and out. He was still bleeding, fairly rapidly, something that worried her.
She lifted her eyes, looking for the two robbers. She couldn't see them, but she could hear them, they were digging through the cash register. Up closer, by the front doors, the store owner lay, eyes open slightly. She wasn't breathing. Nancy swallowed, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again.
She looked past the young woman, out into the darkness that had set around the store. How long had it been since they came in here? How long would it be before it ended? No, she couldn't think like that, they would get out of here, but how was the question.
First things first, she reminded herself, her attention returning back to Frank. The bleeding needed to stop. Nancy glanced back up, making sure her captors were still focused on the cash instead of them. Luckily they were; either they weren't very good criminals or they weren't very bright, but on either hand, she still needed to be careful.
She was conjuring up a plan when a sudden whirring noise filled the air. It was quiet at first, something she almost passed up until it got louder. Sirens; they had also caught the attention of the attackers.
"Cops" Stitch yelled, "someone ratted us out."
"We don't know that yet," Mando scolded him, coming around the corner. Nancy watched as he approached the doors, looking outside. Nancy prayed for them to stop, as they grew even louder, but they were moving to fast, and before she knew it, they were passing by, and growing quieter.
"You don't panic unless you need to," Mando said, turning back to look at Nancy, who was watching him. "Don't worry honey, we'll take good care of you."
Nancy only grimaced as she laid her head back down of the floor, facing towards Frank. Closing her eyes, she began to formulate a plan.
***
It was now nine, Joe and Tony were still looking over the photos, both of them agitated. Joe was missing the game, and Tony was late for a dinner date. Neither of them said anything, hadn't said anything for the past twenty minutes. The case was a confusing mess of nothing, or so it seemed. Joe had wanted to give up on it, but as high as priority as it was, he knew better than to even question Lieutenant Riley's reasoning.
"You find anything yet?" Tony finally asked, after nearly a half an hour of straining silence.
Joe only shrugged, grabbing up more photos. No, he hadn't found anything, he wasn't even really paying attention. He was too upset about Frank and Nancy being late; too tired to really even concentrate anymore. Both he and Tony had come in early, and now they would be staying late. He wasn't aware that he was drumming his fingers on the table until Tony brought his own hand down, stopping the motion.
"Don't," Tony pleaded, "I have a headache."
Joe only shook his head, but he did stop, turning back to the photos. It got him, how many times did an infant have to die before people learned. "Cars, swimming pools, backyards. Where will it be next?"
Tony only shrugged. "Sad, really is sad, there's not much that we can do."
"We can find the killer," Joe said, practically throwing the papers down on the table. "And we're not going to find it here."
Tony agreed silently. "Back to the car then?"
"I guess, re-check everything. Nothing's unsolvable, we just need that one piece of the puzzle, and everything will start to fit," Joe said, taking the lead out of the room. They ran into Riley on the way.
"You two still here?" he asked, somewhat surprised.
"Back up hasn't arrived to relieve us yet," Joe shrugged it off, walking past him.
"Nancy and Frank haven't come in yet?" Con wondered, turning to Tony who had stayed behind.
Tony shook his head, "If they're here, they got caught up in something else, forgot about us."
"Have you tried calling them?" Riley asked, stating the obvious.
Tony shook his head, taking off down the hall after Joe, "Haven't had the time."
***
They had been moved; Nancy watched as they drug Frank across the floor, propping him against the freezer doors. They had pulled her to her feet; Nancy had wrestled with them, her mind clearer now. It wouldn't be much longer now before the robbers would take off, and they had already made it clear that no one was coming out alive. Why they hadn't killed them off by now was a surprise.
Her struggles hadn't lasted long, as she was shoved into the glass next to Frank. Not hard enough to break it, but hard enough to stun her momentarily. It took all her strength just to keep her balance, sitting on her knees. Without the use of her hands, she felt helpless, a shiver running down her spine as her captors laughed at the way she swayed. One of them used his foot to push her over. She hadn't fought back then.
"Keep them out of sight for now, until we finish here," Mando told Stitch, as the two walked back towards the counter.
They hadn't known, but they had been more of a help than Nancy could ask for. She was sitting right next to Frank, right next to the wound that was still bleeding.
Turning a little to her left, she was able to bring her hands against his chest, tracing down towards his stomach. Feeling carefully she was able to locate the small wound; it felt like a gunshot, more than likely what it was, considering all the gunfire that was released before.
Forceful pressure, she reminded herself. Crossing her hands as best she could, she pressed against the wound, leaning all her weight against him. She couldn't tell if she was stopping the blood flow, or even slowing it, all she could do was hope. Hope and pray as the night went on.