Chapter Eighteen

Tannen closed the door, his eyes never leaving Nick, who pulled Nancy across the room. His hand moved to the gun in the holster at his side, pulling it free as he glared at the other man. Everything was falling apart and he blamed the men who came to help him. Tannen wanted control back and there was only one way to get it.

"I've had enough of you!" he cried, stepping up to Nick.

Nick turned slightly, quirking an eyebrow at him. He burst out laughing, squeezing Nancy's arm tighter causing her to cry out in pain. "You've had enough? That's a laugh. You started this whole thing, believing you're tough but yet you still can't get what you want."

"I'm not afraid of you or Angelo!" Tannen snapped. "This has always been my show and it always will be!"

"You still don't get it, do you?" Nick laughed again. He pushed Nancy in front of him as he made his way across the room to the front door.

Nancy glanced behind him, her eyes wide in alarm. She shouted a warning though it was too late. The gunshot rang in the room jolting Nick forward, feeling a burning sensation rip through his side. Bumping into Nancy, the pair fell backward with Nancy's head hitting the wall hard as they fell to the floor in a heap.

Frank heard the gunshot and immediately pushed his way past Marco and Samson, both of whom carried a shell shock look on their faces. The two followed Frank just as he burst into the house, his dark eyes scanning the room. There was pounding coming from the door behind Tannen though it didn't register to Frank at that moment. All his thoughts were of what was going on in the room. Tannen stood across from him, a gun still smoking in his hand. The man was staring down at something in which Frank followed the gaze.

"No!" he cried the moment he saw Nancy crumpled on the floor. Nick lay across her, his head hidden among the folds of her blue dress. Frank was about to cross over to where the two were when Tannen cried out.

"Not so fast, Frank!" he snarled. Frank froze, glancing at Tannen whose gun was now aimed at him. "Where are my jewels?"

"What have you done?" Marco yelled from the door, staring at his partner. His head turned toward Tannen, his face beet red with anger. "You're dead meat, you little weasel!"

"Don't even think about it, Marco." Tannen whipped his gun towards him. "You knew it was coming! I'm taking charge again! Now, where are my jewels, Frank?"

"I don't have them," Frank answered calmly, his hands raised defensively. "I haven't had them in eight years."

"You lie!" the desperate man cried, aiming his gun back at him. "You wouldn't come here if you didn't have them!"

"I came here to make sure my family was set free," he explained. "Once they're safe, I'll take you to where I buried them. That's the deal. And you had better hope the police don't show up beforehand."

"They won't get here in time before you or your family are dead!" Tannen screamed, cocking the gun. "I don't care about the consequences anymore! I just want what is owed to me! Now, tell me where you have them before I really kill her!"

He aimed the gun at Nancy this time. Frank's heart skipped a beat at the sight. Was there any other way to save Nancy and his family?

A loud crack echoed in the room as the door behind Tannen bowed slightly from the continuous barrage of ramming coming from the other side. The sound caught the four men off guard with Marco taking advantage of the distraction by rushing Tannen, knocking him into the wall. Tannen's gun clattered loudly as it hit the floor just a few feet away.

Frank watched the two men fight before he looked over at Nancy and Nick. He was determined to get her out of there before something else happened. Just as Frank started to go over to Nancy, he was tackled from behind by Samson. The two tussled on the floor with the much larger man briefly getting the better of him before Frank was able to fend Samson off. Stepping backward, he tripped over Nick's legs, landing next to him and Nancy. Nick moaned revealing that he was still alive, moving slowly as he came to. Frank glanced at Nancy and heaved a sigh of relief when her eyes blinked a few times and she raised her hand to her head.

Before Frank could say anything to her, Samson towered over him, a smirk stretched across his face. He then grabbed Frank by the lapels of his shirt, raising him from the ground and bringing him close to his face. "I said this to L.T. a while back," Samson gruffly said, "we should have gone after you only and none of this would have happened. You would've been dead instead of your mother and we would've been out of the country with our money! But no, he wanted to do it his way! Tell me where the jewels are and I'll let you live long enough to say goodbye to your sweetheart!"

"Frank," Nancy mumbled, watching the two men. She shifted her body out from underneath Nick and started to slowly rise. Suddenly, Nick grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her back down.

"I've got her," Nick said slurring his words. "Take care of Hardy. Get what we need and I'll make sure you get your cut."

Samson looked down at Nick and nodded. He lowered Frank who took the chance to cut under the man's arms and spin away. The larger man growled in anger as he dodged him. Nick turned his attention to Nancy, pulling her even closer to him.

"You're not getting away from me this time," he sneered.

"Let me go!" she screamed, yanking back.

"Nancy, get out of here!" Frank urged her. He couldn't get to her as Samson wrapped his arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides.

Nancy exchanged a look with him then back at Nick. "I've had enough of me trying to control me!" She lashed out, kicking the mobster in the face. The man cried out in pain, letting go of her wrist. Nancy scrambled as fast as she could and ran for the open door while Nick struggled to get up. He held a hand to his side, blood from his wound seeping through his fingers. His other hand grabbed his gun from where it dropped.

"No!" Frank cried. He lifted a leg, tripping Nick just as he aimed and fired. The bullet missed Nancy by inches as she ran out the door. Samson pulled Frank away to allow Nick to follow Nancy. The man stumbled but was able to make it to the door.

Marco and Tannen was oblivious to the exchange between the others, their attention on each other. They continued to exchange punches back and forth, neither of them letting up on the barrage of fists. Tannen rammed Marco into the wall. He tried punching the mobster but missed, hitting the wall instead when Marco ducked. Tannen cried out in pain grasping his hand and Marco kicked him back.

Frank pushed back on Samson though he wasn't able to get free from the bulky man. His boxing instincts were running on full blast but he still couldn't get an edge wise on the other man without hurting himself. Another gunshot rippled through the air from outside causing Frank to stop briefly, his heart pounding with the thought of Nancy. He had to get Samson off of him and help her before Nick hurt her.

Nancy's scream permeated the air, giving Frank a push to get away from Samson. A thought suddenly came into his head and he planted his feet before shifting to send Samson over his back and onto the floor. As he headed for the door, Frank was tripped up again by Samson though he was able to keep on his feet even though he ran into the wall.

"As much as I can't stand him, Nick's right," Samson replied, slowly getting off the floor. He maneuvered himself in front of the door, barring Frank's way out. "By the time I'm done with you, you'll be joining her wherever she's going."

Another gunshot went off and Samson laughed again. Frank stopped, his eyes going wide in alarm. He was too late. Samson smirked then rammed the distracted Frank, pushing him into not only Marco and Tannen but also through the locked door. The four landed in a heap with Frank being caught up in the middle of the wrestling match that didn't seem to end.

Fenton and Joe leaned against the door, their energy gone from trying to get the door open. Although the two had almost broken down the door, it still didn't budge. They could hear the fighting going on in the room beyond but there was not much they could do besides listen. Even in the ramming of the door, the two could vaguely make out some of the voices coming from the other room.

When the father and son stopped ramming the door, a voice they hadn't heard in years came through, urging Nancy to leave. Fenton's heart skipped a beat, knowing his oldest son was on the other side of the door and he couldn't help him.

He suddenly heard some strange noises from the other room and instinctively pulled Joe away from the door just as it was busted open. A jumble of men fell to the floor, feet away from the two Hardys, neither of whom could decipher friend from foe in the weak light of the room.

While Joe jumped in on the first person he could find, Fenton slipped out of the room to check on Nancy though the room beyond was empty. A glint on the floor caught his eye and he picked up the object before moving back into the other room. Fenton watched as Joe engaged with Tannen who had just knocked out the man named Marco. Samson was fighting with another man who Fenton couldn't quite see as his back was turned toward him. The much larger brute said something and laughed but abruptly stopped when the other man sent a bone-crunching punch to Samson's face. Samson crumpled to the floor just as his assailant turned around.

At the same time, Joe was able to subdue Tannen, who tripped over an unconscious Marco. The young Hardy whirled around without realizing what he was doing and landed a punch to the face of the unsuspecting man.

"Joe, stop!" Fenton cried, rushing over to stop his son.

Joe was breathing heavily from the fight and ramming the door earlier, watching the other man bend over, holding his nose. Fenton cautiously took a step forward, his eyes wide.

"Oh, ow!" Frank grumbled, rubbing his nose as he stood upright. "As if I already didn't have my nose broken before."

"Frank?" Fenton said watching his son.

Opening his eyes, he looked warily from his father to his brother. Frank was about to say something when Samson lashed out, sweeping Frank's legs out from under him. The larger man was about to pounce on him when he stopped, feeling the cold, hard steel of a gun at his neck.

"Lay off my son, you bastard," Fenton huffed, the gun shaking slightly in his hand. Samson held his hands up defensively, his eyes never leaving Frank. "Joe, cuff these three."

Joe nodded then grabbed the cuffs from the floor and bed. Within seconds, Samson, Tannen, and Marco were handcuffed and sitting on the floor by the door. The moment Samson was cuffed, Fenton put down the gun then looked at his older son who was still lying on the ground. He held out his hand for him to take and soon Frank was standing upright though he kept his eyes averted from his father.

"I'm..." he began though he stopped as Fenton approached him. Frank shrank back slightly but was surprised when his father reached out and brought him into a hug. The two stood there for a few seconds as Joe awkwardly looked on.

Fenton let go and placed his hands on both sides of Frank's face. "You don't need to apologize for anything, Frank. I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have defended you instead of blaming you."

Joe stared at the ground, unsure of what to say or do. He was still mad at his brother but not because he blamed Frank for what happened to their mother. That anger was gone the moment Joe realized he pushed away his best friend when Frank left eight years before. He was mad because Frank wasn't there when Joe needed him the most: His time in Korea; the loss of a friend; the disintegration of his relationship with his longtime girlfriend. There was no one there for him to confide in during those moments but now that his brother was back, Joe wondered if he should be mad at Frank at all.

He stared around the room and was about to leave when a harsh reality settled in. "Where's Nancy?"

Nancy rushed out the door, knowing she needed to get as far away from Nick as she could. Even though she wanted to help Frank, she knew she'd be no match for the four other men in the room if she stayed behind to help. Another gunshot rang and wood splintered next to her head as she passed the threshold. She had no idea where they were considering she wasn't awake when they arrived earlier but she was determined to find help.

Jumping off the short porch, Nancy glanced briefly at her options: a long stretch of driveway, open to the possibility of being shot by Nick; or a short run to the trees nearby where she could have protection. She quickly ran for the trees, fleetingly looking back to see Nick stumble down the steps and aim the gun at her again. Nancy ducked just as the gun went off. She felt a sting on her arm but adrenaline pushed her to continue and she soon allowed the trees to engulf her as she entered the area. It wasn't until she was several feet into the trees that Nancy finally stopped, hidden behind the trunk of an old oak.

"You can't hide from me, Nancy," Nick taunted her seconds later. She could hear the crunching of twigs as he made his way through the trees. "I know I got you on that last shot. Just come on out and I can help you."

Nancy hid behind the tree, her breaths coming fast. Closing her eyes, she prayed that Nick wouldn't find her. She gasped as pain shot through her arm. Nancy looked down, seeing blood seep through a wound on her bicep. She held her hand over the wound but she wasn't sure how serious it was. It suddenly got quiet, the only thing she heard was the sound of her own breathing.

"Gotcha!" Nick yelled, reaching for her from around the other side of the tree.

Nancy screamed, lashing out her hands to protect herself. Nick cried out in anger as she scrambled away though she didn't get far. He tackled her to the ground then flipped her over so she could face him. Nancy couldn't move, Nick's legs pinning her down. He wrapped his hands around her neck, squeezing the very breath out of her lungs.

"I may not be able to get the jewels from Hardy," he seethed, staring at her bulging eyes, "but at least I can fulfill my promise to him. I just wish he was here to see you die."

Nancy struggled, scratching at his hands and face as he pressed his thumbs into her jugular. She couldn't breathe, her strength already faded due to the earlier hit on her head and the wound in her arm. Her eyes closed, thinking about her father and what he would do if she didn't come home. She thought about Ned, wondering if she would see him soon. Then another thought came into her head. What about Frank? She never got the chance to tell him…

On the cusp of unconsciousness, Nancy barely heard the sound of a gunshot going off. She barely felt the hands loosen their grip around her neck or the heavy body falling on top of her. Her lungs screamed for air though she didn't oblige the order. She wanted to let go but then she thought she heard someone calling her name.

"Nancy!"

She felt a weight lift off her body and tender hands touching her face. Her blue eyes were slightly open though all she could see was a blurry figure. She felt her body being shaken, of someone trying to revive her. Her thoughts started to slow making it harder for her to respond, if she was responding at all. Before long, the darkness closed around her and she knew no more.

Author's Note:

I know, I'm leaving you with yet another cliffhanger. I'm evil, aren't I? We'll find out more in the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading the story and a special thanks to those who leave a review! I love what you have to say and appreciate the support! I just wish that this website would fix some of the glitches that have been going on for at least the past month. It's getting frustrating. Anyway, I hope that you all have a wonderful rest of the week. I am hoping to get the next chapter out by Thanksgiving. You know me. It's very slow going but I will finish the story before long and hopefully before the end of the year! I hope that you enjoyed the latest chapter and, if you will, please leave a review to let me know what you think! Have a great week and God bless!