A/N: Thank you so much to everyone for the encouraging reviews! And a special thanks to msnancydrew, who generously volunteered her time to be my beta. I'll apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter -- it just seemed like the right place to end it at the time. If it helps to know, I've already started on the next one.
Happy reading, and please let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: In all my excitement of getting the first chapter out, I forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Bess, George, Ned, or any other characters from the books. All original characters and places are fictional, and any resemblance to persons/places living or dead is purely unintentional. This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this story, present and future.
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Nancy was off the plane before most of the other passengers, having gotten a seat as close as possible to the front. She hurried through LaGuardia airport, oblivious to the throngs of people that surrounded her. She had one focus, and one focus only -- finding her father.
Dashing through the front doors of the airport, she hailed a cab that had just pulled up to the curb. She jumped into the back seat and gave the driver the address of the warehouse. As the cab pulled away from the curb, she caught the angry glares of the people waiting in the taxi line. She felt a tiny stab of guilt, but it was quickly replaced with the tension that had had her in its grip since she first got the call from her father's kidnapper hours ago. Although she still had no evidence that her father had truly been taken, a gut feeling told her that he was in danger. And Nancy had learned long ago to listen to her instincts. It had saved her life more times than she could count, and now she could only pray that she could do the same for her father.
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Nancy arrived at the warehouse half an hour before the designated time. Because of the winter season, night had already fallen, and Nancy used the darkness to her advantage as she stealthily approached the warehouse. She had asked the cab driver to drop her off a few blocks away, and she had used the walk to don a black sweatshirt and pull a black cap over her bright hair. It wasn't the perfect outfit for hiding in the dark, since she had never gotten a chance to change out of her blue jeans, but it would have to do. She had no idea what kind of situation she would be walking into at the warehouse, and she wanted the opportunity to survey the building and all possible entrances and exits beforehand without being detected. She didn't know how her father would be brought into the building, or if he was already there, but if she had the chance to overtake his captors with the element of surprise, she would be ready to act.
She slowly approached the rear entrance of the warehouse, her eyes scanning her surroundings to make sure that she was alone. Old empty cardboard boxes were scattered around the area, which appeared to once have been used as a loading dock. The back wall consisted of two large shutters that were about the width of trucks, both rusty with disuse. No way to enter quietly through those, Nancy thought to herself. Next to the shutters was a normal-sized door. The only lock on it appeared to be in the doorknob, and it seemed to be pretty standard fare. Hmm, that one has potential, Nancy thought with a small smile as she began to move quietly towards it. Packing her lock-picking kit was as natural as packing her toothbrush -- she never left home without it. She reached for her backpack to pull it out.
She never had the chance.
Just as her hand touched the zipper, a strong arm wrapped around her throat, effectively cutting off her air supply. A hand was clamped over her mouth, stopping the scream that had already started to build. She was shoved roughly against the wall of the building, her attacker pressing his knee into the small of her back to pin her in place. Nancy struggled frantically against her attacker, but it was no use -- he was too strong for her. As red dots began to swim in front of her eyes from the lack of oxygen, her only thought was that she wouldn't be able to get to her father in time.
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With his knee holding her firmly in place, her attacker released the chokehold on her throat and yanked the cap off her head. Nancy's reddish-blond hair tumbled to her shoulders in waves, and at that moment, she felt her attacker's hold on her slacken. She shoved back from the wall with all her strength and whirled on her attacker, her fist already in mid-swing. At the last moment, however, she pulled it back and stared at the man in front of her in shock.
"Frank?" she whispered, her voice scratchy from the abuse that her throat had received.
His warm brown eyes, as familiar to her as her own, were filled with horror. "Oh my God, Nancy, are you okay? How badly did I hurt you?"
She rubbed her throat gingerly, but when she saw the guilt enter his eyes to war with the horror, she quickly pulled her hand away.
"I'm fine, Frank." To reassure him, she stepped forward to give him a hug. After a moment's hesitation, she felt his arms come up around her slowly. Then, without warning, they tightened as he pulled her even closer.
"Nancy, I'm so sorry. I thought…"
"Shh," Nancy soothed. She pressed her cheek against the warmth of his neck and closed her eyes, the tension that had plagued her since morning simply flowing out of her body. Like coming home, she thought to herself. Like coming home.