Chapter Five

The day had been long and arduous. Nancy rubbed her eyes. As if the day before had been any better. Her body ached all over and she wondered how she was going to last another three days with Madam Bündchen. The woman never let up once from the moment they started the etiquette training. And she was still there as Nancy was being tutored on Donatelli's businesses. Bündchen was horrible to a "T" but Nancy was determined to get out from underneath the woman's iron fist.

She stared at the pages in front of her, the information jumbling together. The businesses Donatelli possessed alone were staggering causing her to wonder how he still had yet to be caught. Nancy's so-called tutor, a man by the name of Michael Billings, was Donatelli's assistant and knew just about everything there was to know about his boss' enterprises. He sat next to her pointing out the a place in Germany that was a front for money laundering. She brazenl

"Why hasn't he been caught by now?" Nancy asked brazenly. "I mean, there's enough information here to put him in jail for life. Why..."

"It's not your place to ask questions!" Bündchen screamed, hitting Nancy with her switch.

Nancy cried out in pain then muscled up the courage to stand up for herself. She whirled around on the woman, grabbing a hold of the switch and throwing it across the room where it broke in half against the wall. Bündchen screamed in anger and pushed Nancy back against the wall. Although Nancy was exhausted, she still fought back against the woman. The two women rolled onto the floor, both of them trying to get the better of the other.

For a woman who was all about being a lady, Bündchen was able to hold up on her own. She dodged Nancy's punches though a few still landed. As the older woman was about to come down on her once again, an image flashed into her mind, giving her a moment of pure adrenaline. She pushed back, knocking Bündchen to the ground. Jumping on her, Nancy started wailing on the woman, not letting up for one moment. The punches were soft but they were making their mark.

Michael gaped at the whole ordeal, unsure if he should intervene. But he also wanted to see how the young woman would fight. It was his job to watch and understand what she was capable of. It was what his boss wanted. But when it seemed as if Nancy was getting the upper hand, he finally called help. A guard outside the door rushed in, grabbing Nancy around the waist and easily lifting her off of the other woman. The young woman clawed at the man, trying to get away but he held her tight.

"Get her out of here!" Michael ordered. The guard nodded and took the kicking and screaming captive out of the room.

Bündchen glared at the retreating pair, her eyes full of anger. She swiped at her face, blood coating her hand as she did. The woman looked down at her once pristine dress. She could see several tears along with blood stains. Bündchen shook her head. In all the years she had been a tutor, she had never had a pupil retaliate. Most girls caved to the measures within a few hours but this girl was different. Sure, her methods were crass and only the nastiest of people hired her to help with tough cases but there had to be a way to break her. Nancy defied everything that was thrown at her even with the knowledge that her father would be punished if she did.

"I'm so sorry, Madam Bündchen," stated Michael. "I did not expect that to happen."

"I highly doubt that, Mr. Billings," she said calmly, glancing over at him. "You were ordered to do what you just did. Mr. Donatelli knew she would do something like this, didn't he?"

"Yes," he nodded. "That was my job along with the tutoring."

"What are you going to do now with her? Tie her up like before?"

"No. I honestly don't know what to do."

Bündchen smiled wickedly at him. "Let me handle it. This one is special and it would be my pleasure to make her life a living hell."

"Whatever it takes."

Nancy was thrown into her room, the door closing and locking behind her. She pounded on the door, screaming at the top of her lungs to be let out. She had to get away. That last hit was the final straw for Nancy. She couldn't take another lick of pain from that horrible woman and she wanted to make a statement by punching the woman right in the face. Nancy stopped briefly as she stared down at her hand, the knuckles red and the pain high. But the adrenaline she felt was starting to wane.

She leaned against the door and slowly plopped to the ground, her energy gone. The fatigue was settling in. She couldn't move, her body resisting to the orders her brain was trying to convey. Nancy shifted and she let out a groan. Her back felt like it was on fire from all the whips Bündchen rained down on her along with the fight she just had.

Nancy smiled, hoping she at least broke the woman's nose. She was going to do everything in her power to get away but she couldn't move to try anything. Her body was just spent.

Her head drooped and her eyes closed. Images flashed before her eyes and she saw him. His dark eyes staring at her but not with pity but love. Nancy wanted him, needed him but she knew the only way to do that was to get away. Her mind focused on escape to get back to everyone she loved, to get back to him.

As sleep finally came, Nancy dreamed of his warm and caring smile and prayed that she would be in his arms once again.

"Do you have anything to declare?" the customs agent asked, her voice tired and bored.

"Nope," Joe shook his head pleasantly. "It's pretty much cut and dry for me."

"Mm hmm," she sighed then scanned his passport.

The woman stared at the screen then back at Joe who gave her his best grin. She quirked an eyebrow at him skeptically before turning her attention back to the screen. The gesture worried Joe somewhat as he glanced over at Frank who was at the next customs agent a few feet away. The older Hardy seemed to be having the same issue with his customs agent. Charlie had already gone through customs without any problems and was waiting for them on the other side of customs.

"Excuse me for one moment, Mr. Hardy," the customs agent replied when Joe turned his attention back to her.

Before he could comment, the woman quickly walked away. Joe's eyes went wide in alarm, wondering what was going on. He exchanged a nervous glance with his brother just as the customs agent returned with another agent. An airport officer came up beside Joe while another came up to Frank.

"Is there a problem?" Joe asked warily looking over at the officer.

"No problem, Mr. Hardy," replied the new agent. "We just need to ask you a few questions. Would you please come with me?"

"Um, I guess so," he answered unsure of what to do.

Joe looked over to see his brother walking with another officer and decided to join him without question. As he followed Frank, he caught Charlie's eye but shook his head to stop the young man from following them. The last thing they needed was for Charlie to be caught in whatever was going on. As they disappeared into a restricted area, Joe was relieved to see Charlie already on the phone, knowing exactly who he was calling.

The officer stopped just in front of a window where two small containers sat. He gestured toward the containers as he spoke. "Cell phones, wallets, keys, please."

"Uh, can you tell us what's going on first?" Frank asked, not moving. "I think we have that right, don't we?"

"Yes, you do, Mr. Hardy," the man replied annoyed, "but it is policy that when we detain people, that your effects are confiscated."

"Is it also policy not to tell the people what they're being detained for?" Joe spat, folding his arms in front of him.

"I'm sorry," Frank Hardy held up his hand, glancing briefly at his brother, "are we being arrested for something?'

"No, but you are being detained for reasons that will be explained later," the officer said angrily. The brothers looked at each other in confusion, both of them wondering how anyone knew they were coming. "Now that I have your attention, please, your cell phones, wallets, keys, and anything else small. Or do we have to search you?"

Without a word, Frank pulled out his cell phone and wallet and threw them lightly into one of the small containers, his eyes blazing. Joe's shoulders slouched in defeat as he followed suit, putting his phone and wallet into the other container. The brothers were then led down the hall and into a windowless room where they were locked inside. A long mirror stretched across one wall. It didn't take a genius to know that it was a two-way mirror. A table with four chairs took up most of the room while a video camera was mounted to the wall above them, the red light blinking.

"What do you think is going on here?" Joe asked quietly, plopping down into one of the chairs.

"I don't know," his brother answered scanning the room. "I'm not sure if we should trust them either."

"Right," the younger Hardy sighed. His stomach growled loudly, echoing in the small room.

"Seriously?" Frank grimaced at him. "Is there ever a time when you're not hungry?"

"Nope," Joe shook his head. "I have a bottomless pit for a stomach, according to Aunt Trudy."

"Uh huh. Too bad that stomach of yours can't get us out of this room." He looked up at the camera, wondering who was watching them.

"How long do you think they'll keep us here before they come in to actually talk to us?" his brother asked, knocking Frank back to reality.

"Depends on what the situation is and what they're looking for."

"You don't think…"

Frank held his hand up to stop his brother and gave him a serious look. "Not here," he stated softly. "We'll find out soon enough what's going on." Frank sat down next to him and leaned in close to Joe to speak more freely. "Hopefully Charlie can get Dad to help us out here."

Charlie watched as Frank and Joe were escorted into the restricted area by airport security. He wondered why the brothers were being detained but, more importantly, how he was going to get them out. He held his phone to his ear waiting for someone to answer.

"Charlie!" cried Fenton after the second ring. "Where are you? I've been looking all over for you."

"I…I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy," he stammered nervously. "I…I…"

"You're in London, aren't you?" the man sighed.

"Yes, sir."

"We talked about this, Charlie," Fenton stated. "It's too dangerous for you to be there."

"I know, Mr. Hardy, but…"

"It's too late now," he sighed. Charlie could hear the man's frustration over the phone and wondered if he'd made the right decision in going to London. "Where are Frank and Joe? I need to talk to them."

"That's the reason why I called you, sir," Charlie said sheepishly.

"What do you mean?"

"Frank and Joe were detained by airport security while they were going through customs."

"What! Why?"

"I don't know," the young man shrugged. "I went through customs all right then waited for them right outside the terminal. I watched airport security take them back to a restricted area then called you. I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy. I didn't know…"

"It's all right, Charlie," Fenton sighed. Charlie heard Carson say something to Fenton and he explained the situation to him. Seconds later, the man addressed him again. "Does anyone know you're with Frank and Joe?"

"I…I don't think so," he replied, nervously glancing around him. "Nobody's really paying attention to me."

"That's a good thing, Charlie," he lightly chuckled. "I want you to find a place to sit at the airport, maybe a restaurant or lounge, until I call you back with what to do next. Carson is going to contact Senator Hawkley for help in the meantime and we'll get the boys out of there somehow. I don't want you talking to anyone other than me on the phone. We don't know who knows what or if anyone is suspicious of you. Stay in a public area until I contact you again. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Charlie nodded. "I'm so sorry I disobeyed your orders."

"Don't worry about it, Charlie," Fenton replied. "The good thing is that you were there to let us know about Frank and Joe being detained. I'd like to know why but we'll have to wait until we talk to them again. I'll contact you soon."

With that, the phone call ended and Charlie was left to wander the airport until he found a restaurant. It was a good thing he had a company credit card too or he wouldn't have been able to afford the meal he bought. All he could do was wait and that was just what he was going to do.

"What is it, Michael?" Donatelli sighed as he answered the phone.

"She did what you expected, My Lord," his assistant stated. "Madam Bündchen went a little too far and Ms. Drew fought back. It was quite a sight."

"And how did Bündchen take it?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid," Michael replied. "She has a plan to make Ms. Drew suffer for what she did. I believe she broke Madam Bündchen's nose."

"That's marvelous!" Donatelli cried excitedly. "This is exactly what I wanted to hear! Make sure Bündchen doesn't go too far though. I don't want Nancy dead or so bruised I can't introduce her this weekend. Actually, let her go the next time she does it. I want to see how far Nancy is willing to go to get her freedom. That was Bündchen's payment anyway in the end though not by Nancy's hand. No one will miss the woman if something were to happen. How much longer do you think Nancy will last?"

"Not long, Sir," the man chuckled. "It didn't take much this time around though I'm surprised that Ms. Drew was able to do anything against Madam Bündchen as she was quite exhausted."

"Once she's fully attacked Bündchen, let her sleep however long she'd like," he ordered. "The tutoring in the business can wait. Is she trained enough to be a lady if something were to happen to Bündchen?"

"I think so," Michael concluded. "She sat up straight the majority of the time I was with her and her manners were excellent."

"Wonderful!"

"Sir, might I ask a question?"

"Of course."

"What is so special about this young woman anyway? There's nothing really different about her so why all the attention?"

"Now that is a really good question, Michael," his boss smirked. Donatelli paused, tapping a finger on his chin in thought. "See, I do have plans for her but she needs to be trained just a little bit in order to get there. She's well on her way to being ruthless and cunning and she will be a good fit within my business. But it's not just her I want. It's her mother, whom I really want. Katherine is formidable and has eluded me for 20 years now. With Nancy here with us, Katherine is sure to follow."

"But, sir," Michael protested, "in all the months Genevieve had Ms. Drew, her mother never showed up and she still hasn't."

"Oh, I think she will this time. She knows I have her daughter and she'll be willing to come and get her no matter what. And when she does, I'll be ready to take what I want."

"That's all, Sir?" the assistant asked cautiously. "I mean your true plans with her. It just seems like there's something..."

"Oh, there is more to the story though I'm still looking into it," Donatelli interrupted. "All will be revealed when I know more myself. I've been looking into an area where she's been over the past year or so. I'm trying to find out what went on there though the only witnesses are either unavailable or don't remember. Time will tell as to what I find out. Keep me posted on Nancy's progress."

"I will. And what of Madam Bündchen?"

"If she goes too far, you know what to do."

It was nearly an hour before someone finally came into the room. Frank and Joe turned to see two men in dark suits stroll in. The brothers exchanged looks, each of them wondering who they were dealing with. One of the men sat down across from them and opened a file folder, clicking his pen in the process. He pulled a set of reading glasses from his pocket and began looking over the file. The younger of the two stayed back against the wall, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Frank Hardy," the seated man announced, reading from the file. "Age 24 years; six foot, one inch, 185 lbs. Dark brown hairs, brown eyes." He looked at Frank over his reading glasses then continued. "Joseph Hardy. Age 22 years; six foot, 195 lbs. Blonde hair, blue eyes."

The man glanced at Joe before returning to his file. The room was silent once again until Joe impatiently opened his mouth.

"What the hell is this?"

"Joe…" Frank warned.

"We are American citizens who did nothing wrong," Joe continued, ignoring his brother. "You can't just hold us for no reason. Why are you doing this?"

The man took off his readers and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was going to be a long day.

"We were informed earlier this morning that the two of you were coming here," he stated officially. "Your passports were flagged and here we are."

"You still haven't told us why we're being detained," Frank growled, leaning forward and staring the man in the face. "That and who you are."

"Myles Creekford, Mr. Hardy," the man finally introduced himself. "And that is all you need to know about me at the moment. As for why we are holding you, well, we were told that you intend to interfere with an ongoing investigation here in the UK. We don't take lightly to foreigners who want to take the law into their own hands, especially ones who bring weapons into our country. That alone gives us incentive to hold you."

"But we're not here to interfere in any way," the older Hardy protested. "We just want to find our friend!"

"Ah, yes." Creekford thought for a moment before continuing. "A Nancy Drew, correct? Well, that is one thing you won't be doing. Once we are done here, you two will be on the next airplane out of the country and sent home. That is, of course, if you don't have any weapons in your bags. Airport security is searching them right now and will find anything that you may have hidden."

Although Frank was calm, Joe seemed to get slightly nervous as he tried to get his brothers attention. Creekford smirked as he closed his file folder, feeling good about the prospect of holding the two Americans on the weapons charge.

"Hey!" cried Joe glaring at the man. "Where's our phone call?"

"You'll get one when I give you one, Mr. Hardy," the man said politely though there was a slight condescension to his voice. He rose from his chair and gathered his file. "I have no obligation to give you one especially with the seriousness of the weapons charge. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to write up."

Creekford walked out of the room with his partner following close behind leaving the two Hardys in shock. The moment they were alone, Frank was already thinking of a way to get them out of the situation. The one thing that worried him though was how Creekford knew about the guns.

"This is such horseshit!" cried Joe angrily. He got up quickly, knocking his chair back. It clattered loudly as it hit the linoleum floor. "They can't treat us like this!"

"Joe, now is not the time to go crazy," Frank said calmly, glancing up at his brother. "We need to think this through." He lowered his voice. "Charlie will call Dad and he'll get us out of here. You know that."

"But, Frank," his brother protested keeping his voice low, "if they find…"

"They won't."

"How do you know?"

Frank leaned toward his brother and said something in his ear. Joe's mouth went into an 'O' shape as he listened.

"See? No worries."

"Okay, so now what?"

"We wait."

Author's Note:

It has been a while since I posted the last time. I planned on having this chapter out weeks ago during my recovery time at home but unfortunately my little one's daycare closed due to covid. The entire time I was home and through Thanksgiving. Yay. The good thing was that our holiday was nice and the following two Saturdays were epic in college football as my team finally beat their biggest rival plus won the B1G championship. I was on cloud nine for days! Woo hoo! Silver lining in everything. And I'm doing really well after the surgery with only restrictions in my way. A few pains here and there but nothing I can't handle. I do plan on getting the next chapter out a little quicker as some of it has already been typed up. The chapter was longer than expected and I needed to spread a few things out so I cut out a couple of sections that will be posted later. And hopefully, the section with Donatelli explains a few things about his intentions. Anyway, thank you so much for the continued support by reading and responding to the story. I appreciate everyone's words. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter and, if you will, please leave a review to let me know what you think! Have a great week and God bless!