A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I'm sorry that the last chapter was kind of all over the place, but I promise that the next chapter or two will explain everything. :)

Also, I feel I should say this now so that nobody's hopes and dreams get dashed. Callie and Frank are not going to have the "what could have been" conversation nor are they going to be all gaga over each other. In my universe they have moved on completely. Callie is head over heels in love with her fiancé Charlie and Frank is head over heels in love with his fiancée Nancy. :) We might have a "oh, the good ol' days" kind of a conversation but that's where it will end. Sorry Callie/Frank fans! I enjoy reading Callie/Frank fan fiction, but I don't like the characters flopping back and forth, unable to make a decision and stick with it. :)

Alright, now that I've said my little piece, on with the next chapter!

Quintessential Bliss

Chapter Four

"Well, you better get home and study your packet…husband," Nancy said with a sly grin.

"Back atcha wifey," Joe replied and returned the smile.

"This is bizarre," Nancy said and looked down at the package the Gray Man had given her.

"Well, it's the most interesting case we've had in awhile, that's for sure," Joe said and flipped through his own package. He let out a low whistle, "We get to fly first class."

"I apparently drive a BMW," Nancy said and lifted up the picture of the sleek black machine.

"That's an expensive machine," Joe commented after looking at the picture closer. "If you're driving that, what do I get to drive?" Joe flipped through the packet quickly. When he found the right page he groaned, "No way."

"What, is it a station wagon?" Nancy teased.

"No," Joe was all but whimpering. "It's a Porsche, a 911 Turbo Cabriolet, steel grey…leather seats. Oh…my…" his voice trailed off on another moan. "I hope this is the car waiting for us at the airport tomorrow in California."

"And I hope it isn't," Nancy said after getting a good look at the car. At Joe's injured expression she laughed, "Joe, I'd like to arrive safely and in one piece."

"I'd get you there in one piece," Joe mumbled.

"I notice you didn't say anything about safely," Nancy pointed out.

"Hey, you're in one piece and just had the ride of your life, what are you complaining about?" Joe looked through the rest of his packet and groaned again, this time in dismay. "I'm an investment banker," he announced dully. "How am I supposed to sell that?"

"By lying Joe," Nancy replied and checked her own occupation. "I'm a lawyer…I guess I could pull that off. The Gray Man already told us that the companies we supposedly work for are fronts for the Network. If anyone wants to do any digging, they won't find anything."

"Joe and Nancy Livingston have long," Joe flipped a page in his packet, "long," he said again and flipped three more pages, "long," he flipped some more, "long histories."

"Better get to reading."

"No kidding," Joe shook his head. "Nancy, are you going to tell Frank we're on our way?"

"Probably," Nancy shrugged. "He said he'd call me when he arrived." Checking her watch she did a quick calculation "I should be hearing from him in about an hour or so."

"Frank's not going to be happy," Joe murmured.

"Why not?" Nancy asked.

"The Gray Man and the Network…we have a strange relationship. Frank won't be happy that you're getting tangled up with them."

"Well, from what the Gray Man told us, Frank is going to need all the help he can get and I'm not leaving him alone to deal with that mess."

"I second that," Joe stood up from his seat on the couch and stretched. "Well, I better get home and explain everything to Vanessa and pack."

"Remember that the Gray Man said the moving truck would have everything we need in it so you won't need any clothes," Nancy reminded him as she walked him to the door.

"Yeah, I just hope he wasn't lying when he said guys from the Network would be unloading everything." Joe grinned and gave Nancy a quick hug good night. "See you tomorrow Nan."

"See you tomorrow Joe," Nancy said and watched as Joe walked out to his car.

"What do you mean; Charlie is with your husband?" Frank asked Mrs. Zuckerman.

"That's what I was starting to explain to you Frank," Callie said quickly.

"Explain?" Frank was confused.

"Mrs. Zuckerman," Callie said instead and turned to the woman. "It was very nice of you to stop by, but it's getting late and I need to talk to Frank."

"Oh, well…" the woman patted her hair primly. "In that case, I'll see you tomorrow Callie. Our new neighbors are moving in in the morning and we're expecting you to be there."

"I will be, good night Mrs. Zuckerman," Callie started to close the door but was stopped when Mrs. Zuckerman's hand flashed out and stopped it.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hardy, I hope you enjoy your stay," she smiled pleasantly at him.

"Oh, um…thank you," Frank tried to smile but his mind was reeling. What was going on? He felt like he had stepped into a horrible episode of the Twilight Zone. The door had barely closed before Frank turned to Callie, "What does she mean Charlie is with her husband?"

"Let's sit down," Callie sighed and led the way back to the living room. She dropped the pie on the coffee table with a loud thud. Sitting down on the couch she rubbed her eyes with her hands. "A few weeks ago Charlie came back from one of the neighborhood meetings and I could tell he was bothered by something, but he didn't want to talk about it." She sighed and pulled her legs up underneath her.

"Why didn't you go to the meeting?" Frank asked.

Callie shot him a wary look, "Because the women have separate meetings."

"What?" Frank asked.

"I know," she sighed again. "It didn't sound weird when we first moved here…but now."

"Okay," Frank shook his head. "Then what?"

"Charlie was acting weird but I couldn't get him to tell me what was going on. He just said he was probably overreacting and he didn't want to worry me. The women of the neighborhood tried to tell me that it wasn't a big deal, but I had a feeling that it was."

"You always had incredible instincts," Frank said comfortingly.

"I know," Callie let out a small smile, "and my good instincts helped solve a lot of your cases in High School."

"True," Frank laughed and settled in for the rest of the story.

"Well, four days ago Charlie came home from one of his meetings in a panic. He said that we had to move, we had to move immediately but he was adamant that we do it quickly and quietly. He didn't want anyone to know," Callie shook her head and looked at Frank. "He was really freaking out Frank; I've never seen him that way before."

"This was four days ago?" Frank asked.

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "He told me that we had to go around like everything was business as usual until he found a place for us to go, a place that was safe. I begged him to tell me what was going on but he told me he couldn't, not until we got away." Callie shrugged, "I didn't understand why, I still don't."

"Then Charlie was attacked?" Frank prompted when Callie stopped.

"Yes, last night on his way to his car after work. I got the call late and went down to visit him. He was so banged up, bandages and cuts and bruises everywhere," Callie lifted a hand to her mouth and held back a sob. "It was awful seeing him like that."

"I'm sure it was," Frank said softly and put an arm around her shoulders.

"He was asleep when I got there so I just sat by his bed and waited. When he woke up he looked at me, straight in the eye and said, 'Callie, call Frank Hardy. Call Frank and only Frank. Don't talk to anyone else about anything.' He made me promise that I wouldn't act out of character or do anything but call you. He said we couldn't trust anyone." Callie buried her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry Frank, I'm afraid I've gotten you in the middle of something horrible, but I didn't know what else to do."

"You did the right thing," Frank assured her. "Why does Mrs. Zuckerman say Charlie is with her husband?"

"I don't know," Callie shrugged helplessly. "I went downstairs this morning to get some coffee, I was dead on my feet and Charlie was sleeping anyway. When I got back, he was gone. I panicked and ran out to the nurse's station. They told me that he had signed himself out of the hospital and walked out under his own steam. The police won't do anything about it because his signature is on the release form and four nurses confirmed that he signed the papers and left!"

Frank sat back on the couch and thought over everything Callie had told him. Why had Charlie left the hospital? Had he been forced? Frank resolved that the first thing he would do in the morning would be to visit the hospital and ask some questions of his own.

"I think the first thing we should do is get you out of here Callie," Frank said after a moment.

"No, we can't do that Frank," Callie shook her head. "If they have Charlie…" she paused and laughed bitterly, "I don't even know who 'they' are. In any case, if they have Charlie and I suddenly disappear…" she shook her head again. "There's no way I'm leaving."

Frank sighed, he should have known better than to even suggest it. "Okay. We'll think of something else. For right now, why don't you try and get some sleep? I've got to call Nancy before it gets too much later in New York."

"Okay," Callie agreed and stood up. "Is Nancy mad?"

"Mad? Why would she be mad?" Frank asked, puzzled.

"Well, I called and yanked her man away from her," Callie pointed out.

"Don't worry, she's used to it. My line of business means I get yanked away a lot," Frank smiled and Callie laughed. Walking out of the living room Callie led the way upstairs and showed Frank his bedroom.

"Thanks for coming Frank, I mean it," Callie said and gave him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek good night.

"Anytime Callie," Frank replied. When she left Frank pulled out his cell phone and dialed Nancy's number and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Frank!" Nancy replied breathlessly.

Frank grinned, "It sounds as if you were waiting for my call."

"I was," Nancy replied and Frank could hear the smile in her voice. "How's Callie?"

"She's doing okay, under the circumstances," Frank took a deep breath and told Nancy the whole story; starting from the moment he arrived at the front gate to the moment Callie had finished telling him what had happened. "Everything about this place gives me a bad feeling," he finished.

"It sounds creepy. You said all the houses are exactly the same, only different color shutters?" She asked.

"Yeah," Frank replied and stifled a yawn. He was still on New York time and it was closing in on midnight for him.

"I wonder what color shutters we'll have," Nancy murmured.

"What?" Frank shook his head, "Why? Our shutters are already painted Nan."

Nancy laughed, "I know that Frank."

"Then what…" his voice trailed off as a thought dawned on him. "You're coming to California."

"Maybe," Nancy hedged.

"Maybe?" Frank asked. "Nan, I told you not to come…"

"I have to, I'm on a special assignment," Nancy replied.

"Special assignment?" Frank asked again, getting thoroughly confused now. "Wait, you said 'we'. Joe's coming too?"

"Yep," Nancy replied and laughed. "We're going to be neighbors, Frank."

"You're…you're the couple moving in tomorrow?" Now Frank was really incredulous, "Why?"

"Joe and I are now to be known as Mr. and Mrs. Joe Livingston," Nancy informed him.

"You guys have to be married? You and Joe, you and my brother?" Frank shot up quickly off the edge of the bed and started to pace across the room. "This idea just reeks of the Gray Man and the Network. Don't do it," he said quickly. "Please, don't do it. You don't know the Network like I know them. It can't be good, whatever is going on here it can't be good."

"Tell me about it," Nancy replied. "The Gray Man told us what he knew. Apparently the CIA had a rather large bust on an organized crime syndicate a few months back and they fingered a group in the U.S. as their source for their weapons and various other equipment. They didn't know their name, where they were based or anything helpful. It's taken them this long to track down any information at all. They think this neighborhood Callie lives in has something to do with it; it might even be the hub of the whole operation. Joe and I are going undercover as a happily married couple to see what we can find out. The Gray Man said they didn't have any plans to contact us about this until Callie called you and you flew to California."

"No," Frank was shaking his head vehemently even though Nancy couldn't see him. "No way, this is too big. It's too dangerous."

"Frank Hardy," Nancy said sternly. "Do you have any idea how many times my life has been in danger? Do you have any idea how often I've been in sticky situations?"

"I try not to think about it," Frank mumbled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Just like I try not to think about how many times you've been in danger. Just like how I'm trying hard not to think of how much danger you're in right now. I'm not there to give you back up and that scares me," she said the last thing quietly.

"I know," Frank replied. "I know," he repeated. He knew. He knew exactly how she felt because he felt the same way.

"So, I'm coming tomorrow," Nancy said.

"Yes, you're coming tomorrow," Frank sighed and sat back down on his bed.

"This is going to be interesting," Nancy replied.

"Oh yeah, tell me about it," Frank let out a harsh laugh.

"As soon as we hang up you're going to call your brother, aren't you?" Nancy asked.

"You bet I am," Frank replied.

Joe looked down at the stack of mail in his hand and the crisp white envelope he had grown so familiar with. "I'm not even going to open it," he murmured and turned to get the drink of water he had come into the kitchen for in the first place.

The apartment was dark and quiet; he and Vanessa had gone to bed after Joe had explained what he and Nancy were going to do. Vanessa had reacted to the news that he and Nancy were going to pose as a married couple much the same way that they had: she laughed hysterically.

"No one is going to believe that the two of you belong together!" She had managed to say between bouts of laughter.

"Well, they better believe it," Joe had replied. "If we want to find anything out, they better believe it."

Vanessa had sobered instantly at the thought of Joe going into such a dangerous and volatile situation. Joe smiled now at the memory of her concern but the smile faded as his eyes fell once again on the envelope. Reaching for it he ripped it open quickly and prepared himself for the angry message inside.

Taking a deep calming breath he opened the card and read the single bold word:

DIE.

Shaking his head he ripped the card up angrily and tossed it in the garbage. It was ridiculous that he was letting himself get so worked up over harmless cards. So far they seemed to be only empty threats and bitter words. Someone was obviously not happy with him. "What can I do about it?" he said defiantly and nearly jumped out of his skin when his cell phone rang.

Checking the display he chuckled at himself and his reaction, "Hey Frank. So I guess Nancy told you."

"Yeah, she told me," Frank sounded frustrated. "She told me all about this dangerous organization. I don't want her here Joe."

"Keeping Nancy from this is going to be like trying to stop a waterfall with a paper towel bro," Joe leaned back against the kitchen counter.

"That was very poetic of you, Joe," Frank said sarcastically.

"Thank you," Joe replied modestly. Frank told Joe what Callie had told him and Joe let out a low whistle, "this just keeps getting more and more interesting, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Frank agreed. "I'm going to start up my laptop, do some digging. I'm also going to go to the hospital where Charlie disappeared in the morning; see what I can find out."

Joe was quiet for a moment, "Are you going to do any sleeping Frank?"

"Maybe," Frank replied.

"You know, chances are you won't be able to solve this before Nancy and I get there," Joe knew his brother well.

"I can try," Frank said stubbornly.

Joe laughed, "Only you Frank. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. And remember, it's Joe and Nancy Livingston, don't blow our cover."

"What am I? An amateur?"