Chapter Six

Madam Bündchen waited outside watching the van heading towards the manor. She smirked knowing what she had planned for her pupil. This was the first time that she was going to use the tactic but knew it would be successful. Although Nancy had shown that she was taking in her tutelage by sitting up straight and being more like a lady, her attitude was what needed to be fixed. Bündchen vowed not to let what happened earlier to happen again.

Rubbing her bandaged nose, the woman cursed. No one had ever punched her or given her the licking that she received. A broken nose would heal but her pride and reputation would take time to repair. The only way to fix her pride is to fix the problem.

The van stopped in front of her and three women got out. A dark haired woman in her mid-40s came around and greeted Bündchen as an old friend.

"Lisle," the woman purred embracing her, "how good it is to see you!"

"Hilde," Bündchen said curtly.

The woman stood back and was shocked to see the bandage on Bündchen's nose. "What happened?"

"As I told you, my pupil, did this. She needs to be taught a lesson."

"I must say, I agree, but why contact me? It's late in the afternoon. There's no way we could start anything right now."

Bündchen smirked. "Oh, I believe we can, Hilde. The girl is resting right now but I have been assured that we are allowed to wake her and get her ready for the next step. Did you bring everything I asked for?"

"Of course," Hilde replied watching her attendants unload the van with several bags and boxes. "But I wonder if it is necessary."

"It is," she sneered. "I have been given permission do to what I can. The girl has excellent posture and table manners though her attitude is what needs to be changed. She needs to be complacent and willing to listen. That is what needs to be done. Shall we?"

"Yes," her colleague nodded. "I am looking forward to meeting this young woman."

"You couldn't find anything?" Creekford squeaked looking up at the officer. It had been several hours since he sat down with the Hardys promising that he'd find their weapons.

"No, Sir," the officer shook his head. "There was nothing in their bags other than clothing and toiletries."

"How is that possible? We were told they'd be armed!"

"I know, Sir," he stated, "but the bags had nothing. Not even an empty magazine clip. And we checked several times. They're clean."

"Damn it," Creekford muttered rubbing the back of his neck. He knew he couldn't hold the Hardys much longer on grounds of possible interference without the weapons charge. They had to be let go. "Thank you. I'll handle it."

"Sir?"

"I said I'll handle it!" he snapped.

"Yes, Sir." The officer rushed out the door without another word while Creekford stared out the window overlooking the tarmac.

He thought about what had transpired throughout the day. A phone call came in hours earlier about the Hardy brothers coming. If their detainment was botched up, then he'd have to deal with the humiliation of releasing them and with his boss. A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he angrily went over to it.

"I told you I was going to handle it!" Creekford cried whipping the door open.

He stopped the moment he realized his mistake. The person standing at the door was not one of the officers under his charge but a woman in a skirt suit. She cocked an eyebrow at him curiously.

Creekford cleared his throat nervously. "Can…Can I help you, Madam?"

"I'm looking for the man in charge of detainment," she stated in an American accent.

His face grew pale. This was what he feared. "Oh, uh, that would be me," Creekford said after composing himself, smoothing his shirt. "Myles Creekford. And you are?"

"Jenny Powell," she said authoritatively, walking into his office. "I'm from the US embassy. I believe that you have two Americans in your custody. I am here to relieve them of you."

"Under what authority?" he demanded loudly.

"The authority of the United States government," she answered firmly. "I believe that you are illegally holding these two and it is my responsibility to have you release them into my custody. You have no basis in holding them."

"Actually, we do, Ms. Powell," Creekford said condescendingly. "We have reason to believe that they brought guns into the country."

Ms. Powell's eyes went wide in surprise. "Is that what this is about?" she cocked her head. "Do you have any evidence of this?"

"Well…well," he stammered, "we haven't found any…yet."

"Well, if you haven't found anything by now, you're not going to," she stated. "I expect the Hardy brothers to be released immediately."

"Ms. Powell," Creekford objected, "they are going to be a hindrance as long as they are here. The Hardys came here to purposely disrupt our ongoing investigation into a man we have been looking at for quite some time now."

"And how did you come across that information, Mr. Creekford? Do you have a crystal ball that told you all of this or did someone leak it to you?"

The man's face went pale at the notion but he soon cleared his throat to answer her. "That is none of your concern, Ms. Powell."

"I highly doubt they will disrupt anything," she said skeptically. "Senator Winston Hawkley called me personally that they are here in search of a close friend of theirs and if they do cross paths with whomever you seem to be working for these days, then the Hardys will work with you instead of against you. Now, do I have to call the senator back or are you going to release them?"

Creekford swallowed hard. If there was one thing he didn't want were two Americans getting in over their heads and into trouble. But he really had no choice but to release them. Hawkley was well known in the UK since more than likely he was going to be the next president of the United States. Diplomacy was a must in the situation. He just hoped his superiors didn't get angry with him for letting them go.

"Fine," he finally conceded. "They're free to go. But if they interfere, they will be arrested and deported."

"Thank you, Mr. Creekford," she nodded politely. "I assure you, they won't interfere. Now, please show me where they're at and we will be out of your way."

"Well, that was the worst experience I've ever had at an airport," Joe grumbled settling into the SUV as it pulled away from the curb.

"Hey, at least you weren't strip-searched," chuckled Frank sitting next to him.

"Oh, I can wait a little longer if you'd like that, Frank," Jenny Powell giggled in front of the brothers. "I'm sure Joe would like to experience that more than I would."

"Uh, no thanks," Joe grimaced. He looked around the car. "You got any food?"

"Unfortunately, no, Joe," she shook her head. "I was sent at the last minute to pick you two up and didn't have the chance to grab any food along the way. We're heading right to the hotel from here so you can grab something there."

"It's good seeing you again, Jenny," Frank smiled. "When did you leave Senator Hawkley's office?"

"A few months ago," the woman shrugged. "He gave the recommendation to get me into the embassy. It was a huge step up and I love being the ambassador's liaison. Thankfully I was there in order to help you two out."

"Okay, Frank remembers you but I have no clue as to who you are," Joe stated looking dumbfounded.

"A little dense there, Joe?" his brother laughed. "She was a part of Senator Hawkley's office when we were on the case looking for Parker. She was at the hotel though she didn't say much while we were there."

"Good memory, Frank," Jenny blushed.

"Yeah, really good memory," Joe eyed him. "I thought you were all googly-eyed for Nancy by then."

"We barely knew Nancy then, Joe," Frank gave him a look, "so, no, I wasn't all googly-eyed for her."

"Yeah, right," he snorted.

"Besides, Jenny has a boyfriend." the older Hardy replied nervously. "Right?"

"Its fiancée now," she smiled holding out her left hand where a stunning diamond ring sparkled. "Just last month too. Oh, it's good to see both of you. Too bad it's under these circumstances but I'm sure you'll be able to find Nancy. If there's anything you need, let me know."

"There is one thing," Frank held up his finger. "Where's Charlie?"

"Oh, right. He's waiting for you at the hotel. Your father made the arrangements along with Senator Hawkley. Your new hotel is right across the street from the embassy in case there's an emergency."

"Smart move," Joe replied. "Charlie's okay, though?"

"Yes," Jenny nodded. "He's just a little confused as to what happened but you can fill him in once we arrive. We just have to ensure that we don't have any tails. The hotel room is in Charlie's name so no one would be able to know where you're at including Myles Creekford."

"Who was that guy anyway?" Frank asked.

"We believe he was British Intelligence," she stated. "Right now, Charlie is trying to figure out who tipped him off and why. Did you really bring guns into the country?"

"We didn't," he smirked. "Charlie did though he didn't know it. I had a feeling that we might have some trouble so I put them in his suitcase knowing that no one would check them as he went through customs. I had him use one of Dad's bags which has a lead compartment to blocking whatever's inside. I didn't tell him so he wouldn't act nervous and arouse suspicion."

"Smart move. That probably saved us a lot of red tape to get your out of there. If they had found the guns, you were looking at some jail time and deportation. What good would that do to find your friend?"

"We're not leaving until we find Nancy," Frank said firmly.

"I know and I wish you good luck in finding her," Jenny smiled. "Your father is coming in a few days along with Carson Drew. He should be able to help you if you need it."

"Carson is able to travel?"

"That's what I was told. Your father wants you to call him though to let him know you're okay. I'm sure he's biting at the bit waiting for you to call."

"Thanks." Frank got his phone out and dialed his father's number. It was only a mattered of seconds before Fenton Hardy's voice echoed in the car, his voice cracking under pressure. As the brothers spoke with their father, Frank thought about what their next course of action was going to be. England may not be a large country but there was still a lot of ground to cover. The question was where Nancy was and would they be able to find her?

"Thank you," the man replied then hung up the phone. He walked over to the desk were Donatelli sat perusing several important papers.

"Let me guess," Donatelli said without looking up from his work, "the Hardy brothers are loose."

"My Lord," the man stated nervously, "someone was able to get them released quicker than expected. A woman from the American embassy who was contacted by Senator Winston Hawkley. And also no guns were found among their luggage. Our man inside was only able to get a few bits of information but he said that Creekford was a little put out that they couldn't find the guns. He took the whole story about the Hardys interfering in his investigation as the truth."

"Where are they now?"

"We have a tail on the SUV they left in," he stated. "It looks like they're heading toward the American embassy."

Donatelli sighed and put down his readers to stare up at his assistant. When their person at the FBI called to inform him that the two brothers would be on a flight to Heathrow, he thought for sure someone would be able to hold them. Creekford was just a lackey waiting for a promotion and jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, no one counted on someone calling the American embassy on behalf of the Hardys. That wasn't supposed to happen.

This was just upsetting as hearing about his long-time ally, Marcus Haynes, killing himself after an altercation with Carson Drew. Donatelli's high-level information would cease as the person at the FBI office was only a low-level agent. And now that Haynes was gone, it would only be a matter of time before the other double agent was found out. Donatelli will be too powerful by then for anyone to stop him or for anyone to believe that he was behind most of the criminal activity in England and parts of Europe. But if he went down, so would numerous high-ranking officials in several countries.

"Are we sure they're heading toward the embassy?"

"That's just a guess but it is heading in that general direction."

"That tells me nothing," Donatelli snapped causing his assistant to cringe. "I want those two liquidated before they find out where Nancy is. Or worse, she finds out they're here!"

"Yes, My Lord," the man bowed his head. "It shall be done."

Jenny's phone rang and she quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"You have a shadow," the person on the other line answered. "About three car lengths back."

"Who is this?" Frank and Joe looked over at her quizzically, wondering what was going on. "How did you get this number?"

There was a click and the line went dead. Jenny glanced out the back window, searching for their supposed tail. There were only two cars behind them one of which looked suspiciously familiar. She turned back to the driver.

"Do you see what I see?"

"Yes, Ma'am," the driver nodded, looking at his rear-view mirror. "I believe they've been following since the airport but I didn't know if they were just heading towards a hotel. Embassy, then?"

"Yes, Peter," Jenny agreed. "We'll deal with it there." She returned to her seat then turned around to look at the Hardys.

"Everything okay?" Frank asked staring at her.

"We may have a situation. We're heading to the embassy."

"What about Charlie?" Joe inquired.

"He's fine," she answered. "We have a room next to yours for security purposes so anyone who comes down that hall who doesn't belong will be detained. Besides, no one knows Charlie is here with you, correct?"

"Right," Frank nodded. "We didn't walk together through the airport to make sure of that. As long as he's safe, I'm fine with that. Dad said he didn't know anything about Charlie coming with us so I'm wondering why he wanted to come along."

"Maybe he just wanted to get away," his brother shrugged. "He did say that he wanted to help so maybe that's it too."

"Whatever reason he had," he replied grimly, "he's better off in the hotel for now anyway. Do we have any idea as to who's following us?"

"We'll know more once we get to the embassy," Jenny stated. "I'll have someone track the plates to see if we can find out who they are as well. It just might take some time and some patience. You might have to stick around the embassy for a few hours just to make sure there's no one else."

"Fine," Frank conceded.

"Aw, man!" Joe huffed folding his arms in front of him. "I wanted to get a shower and food in me before I go to bed. Maybe here I'll actually get some rest."

"Joe, now's not the time to be thinking of your stomach," he said rolling his eyes. "Or thinking about sleep."

"Hey, you know that I haven't slept much in the past few months," his brother pointed out. "It would be nice to actually sleep!"

"I know," Frank bowed his head, remembering their earlier conversation about Joe's dreams. "I'm sorry. I…I just want this to end."

"So do I, Frank. So do I."

Nancy was jolted awake by the slamming of her bedroom door. She looked up to see Madam Bündchen towering over her, a wicked grin stretched across her face. Groaning, Nancy slowing got herself up off the floor, her body still aching and tired.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Bündchen replied cheerfully. She gestured toward the three women standing behind her while several boxes and bags were scattered around the room. "I want to introduce you to a friend of mine."

"You actually have a friend?" Nancy retorted. One of the women snickered though her boss glared at her and she straightened up. "I would have thought otherwise, Bündchen. Especially with your shitty attitude and face. Oh, and how's the nose? I see that I broke it quite well."

The woman's eyes blazed with anger though she did nothing to retaliate. Nancy's punishment would come soon enough. Bündchen then smiled knowing what was going to happen next to the insolent girl in front of her.

"Meet Madam Hilde," she stated. "She is the foremost stylist in all of Europe and is known for making anyone look like a lady. You, my dear, are going to have the pleasure of having a different kind of make-over. One that will be most uncomfortable for you."

"You're going to give me a make-over?" Nancy asked incredulously. She laughed. "After what I just did to you, that's how you're 'punishing' me? Okay, whatever."

Bündchen smirked again. "Oh, I don't think you understand, Nancy. Madam Hilde, show her what I mean."

"Of course." Hilde snapped her fingers and her two attendants went to work.

Mathias signed as he looked around the empty sanctuary. It was difficult to imagine that the place was once filled with worshippers and those seeking help or refuge but it had fallen on hard times. Usually there was at least one or two people wanting to speak with him but tonight, it was empty.

Most of the good people of the village had left for better places which Mathias didn't blame them for. The only ones left were those who couldn't afford to move or those who lived here their whole lives and couldn't see themselves living anywhere else. The village had been run down by thugs and miscreants who were just out for a good laugh or quick coin. Mathias stayed for his congregation who remained and as a refuge for those who needed an escape.

It was nearly seven in the evening as he made his way towards the doors to lock them. He normally locked them at the time due to it getting darker out. It was even earlier during the winter. No one wanted to be on the streets after dark. Most of the villagers knew it was when the worst of the criminals came out.

Mathias was just locking the door when it was pushed back by force. The old priest was knocked to the ground and looked up just in time to see two young men walking in.

"Well, lookie wha we have here," said a dark-haired one. Mathias saw several missing teeth in the youth's mouth, probably from bad hygiene or a fight or two. "Me thinks that the old codger wants to close up? What do you think, Will?"

"I think he's going to have a problem," replied the blond one named Will. "Why would he want to close up anyway? We have confessions to make. Right, Mac?"

Mac snickered. "Oh, yeah."

Mathias scrambled on the floor, backing away from the advancing thugs. The two had sinister glints in their eyes as they kept their stares on the priest.

"W-whatever it is you…you want," Mathias stammered finally rising from the floor, "I-I don't have much. Please, just leave the church alone."

Will smirked then walked toward a table nearby where a statue of Christ sat. He stared at it briefly before swiping the table's contents onto the floor. The statue crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

"Whoops!" he said mockingly. "My bad. Looks like Jesus ain't here to help you, priest!"

Mac picked up a hymnal and began ripping out pages.

"Please, stop!" Mathias cried grabbing a hold of him. "I-I haven't done anything to you! The church is a sacred place!"

"You haven't done anything for the town except merely existing," the young man sneered pushing the priest away. "The town don't need you no more so we're taking it into our own hands to clear you out!"

"P-please, don't," the priest pleaded. He watched in horror as the two young men began trashing the sanctuary, their laughs echoing in the high chamber.

Mac pushed over a pew causing the rest of them to fall like dominoes. Will blew out all the candles in the altar before flipping over the table. The two men grabbed a large statue and pulled it over, the sound stinging Mathias' ears as it crashed to the stone floor. The priest rushed over to the one called Will and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the broken statue. Will shrugged Mathias off, pushing him into a stone pillar. The priest slid down the pillar to the ground, the wind knocked out of him.

The laughing still echoed in Mathias' ears but then a different sound interrupted it. It was the sound of fighting, several groans echoing in the air. Mathias tried to look up but his eyes wouldn't open, his head throbbing with pain. A few minutes later, he felt a gentle touch as someone helped him off the ground. A door closed nearby, the dead bolt sliding into place as he was guided to the parish at the back of the church.

"Let's get him into the bed," replied a familiar voice.

Mathias felt his body being lowered onto his bed. His eyes finally opened and it looked like an angel was standing over him. She smiled sadly as she stared down at him. Mathias uttered her name.

"It's all right, Mathias," she answered. "I'm here."

The priest smiled as he slipped into unconsciousness knowing everything would be okay...for Katherine had returned.

Author's Note:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. My girls made out like little bandits for Christmas this year and have been driving us nuts with all of their new toys (and antics). Trying to find time to write was another issue. Like I said before, I had most of this chapter written but had to fill in the spots that were missing which took a little longer than expected. I apologize for the delay. Lots of things going on in the chapter and we'll find out more in the next. I do have to say this though. I will do my best to get this out quicker in the future. Thank you to everyone who read the previous chapter and to those who left a review. I am so grateful to all of you for being patient with me in getting this out. MargaretA66, I am so hoping for a Cincy upset. I HATE Alabama just as much as I hate Ohio State (sorry). Here's to tomorrow night that both our teams win! I have a good feeling about it! What a way to ring in the new year too! Jilsen, thank you. I am doing very well now. Healing up quickly. As for Charlie, he was introduced in the second story, All's Faire, and has been showing up here and there throughout other stories. And Bündchen I wanted to be unlikeable in every way so I'm glad that you were able to have that vibe. Elizabeth Joan, everything will come out as to what Donatelli's true intentions are. Thanks also to max2013, Candylou, Nan girl, and caseykam for the reviews! I hope that you all enjoyed the latest chapter and as this is probably the last upload for the year, have a wonderful and blessed New Year! Be well and Go BLUE!