J.M.J.

Thank you so much for continuing to read and review! We're back to Nancy again now. This chapter may or may not answer more of your questions, but even if it doesn't, answers are coming soon! God bless!

Chapter 14

Nancy woke up with a start. She had only dozed off, but that was enough for the nightmares to return. She breathed hard, trying to push the images out of her mind. Ned also sat up and put an arm around her.

"As soon as it's light out, we'll go out and search some more," he told her. "It's not very far off."

"You didn't sleep much tonight, either," Nancy commented.

"No, not much," Ned admitted.

Nancy rested her head against his shoulder. There were no hotels in Clay Ford, but the police officer who had been guiding them around town, Belman, had told them that his brother-in-law had a guesthouse that he wouldn't mind letting them use under the circumstances. Nancy hadn't wanted to take any time to sleep nor had she wanted to stay at some unknown person's guesthouse, especially since something about Belman had alerted her suspicions, and there was no reason to assume that his brother-in-law would be any better. Even so, she had known that she and Ned needed to get what sleep they could once they had done everything possible for the night.

Virtually all they had been able to do was make phone calls: to George and Burt, to Sam, and to Nancy's dad and Hannah and Ned's parents. George and Burt had agreed to fly back to River Heights as soon as possible. Chet Morton and Biff Hooper had arrived in Vancouver, and so they could do anything that Sam or Frank needed, so George and Burt thought they could be more help in River Heights, trying to see if they could find anything out about the kidnappers. Or at least they could try to help Dave and Bess keep from beating themselves up too much over what had happened. They were, understandably, taking the situation hard. Carson Drew, Ned's parents, and Hannah all offered to go home as soon as possible, too, but Nancy had wistfully advised them that there wasn't much to do there.

There wasn't much to do here, either, and that was the worst part of all of this, Nancy thought. She and Ned and anyone else who wanted to could run around all they wanted, pretending to do something, but there weren't any leads, unless the police back home could happen to find the car that the kidnappers had used. She closed her eyes, the nightmares that had filled every moment of sleep encroaching on her waking mind.

"Ned, I just can't stop thinking about that other case and thinking…"

Ned squeezed her a little tighter, assuring her that he knew what she was thinking. "This is a different situation altogether. There's no reason to think that anything like that is happening to them."

"I know. But the alternatives aren't much better. You know as well as I do how kidnappings usually end."

"I'm not very interested in statistics," Ned replied. "You've rescued enough kidnapping victims that I know that no matter what the statistics say, that isn't always the story, and usually isn't when it's up to you. I'm not going to give up hope until this is all over."

"I don't know that I want it to be over, not if it's going to end badly." Nancy squeezed her eyes shut. "I'll never forgive myself."

"None of this is your fault. You didn't ask for any of it; you didn't go looking for it. Frank is a friend, and he needed you. There wasn't anything else you could do. We thought the girls would be all right at home, and by all rights, they should have been. We couldn't have known any different."

"I guess…" Nancy started to say, but before she could finish, her phone rang. It was Sam Radley, so she answered immediately, hoping that it was some good news.

As it turned out, it was, even if it wasn't as good as she had hoped. Sam repeated what Frank had told him: that the supposed smuggling case that they had come to Canada for had turned out to be nothing, that a Network agent had approached them about doing some surveillance in Clay Ford, how they had found and hidden the key and then subsequently gotten kidnapped, that they had been moved a long distance by plane, and what little he knew about what Ryan White was doing and why.

"So those kidnappers might not even be anywhere around Clay Ford," Nancy said.

"I'd say probably not. The plane trip could have been an attempt to confuse Frank and Joe by taking them up in the air and then bringing them down not far from the starting point, but I think they really were moved. We don't know how Frank escaped or what happened after he did, but he couldn't have possibly walked from Alberta. Chances are, they're somewhere in British Columbia."

"This Ryan White owns property in British Columbia, too?"

"Yes, but not particularly close to Vancouver. It's still a couple hundred miles away. I don't think Frank could have walked even that far, nor would he have had to without coming to some town or even a ranch or something before that. But maybe he didn't walk the whole way, wherever he came from. We just don't know enough. There is one important thing I learned. The nurse, Serene White, is Ryan's sister."

"What are the chances that Frank would be taken to a hospital where the sister of the guy who kidnapped him works?" Nancy objected.

"So bad it had to be arranged. I've asked Griffon to find out how the decision was made to take him to that hospital. I'll let you know what he comes up with."

"Okay. Thanks. Ned and I will go and get that key Frank buried. Hopefully, it's still there. Maybe something else will come up after that."

It wasn't quite dawn yet when they went out. The streets were deserted, and so to remain as unobtrusive as possible, Nancy and Ned decided to walk. It wasn't far to the sign of the white horse. It took a few minutes of digging around at the base of the post, but they had soon recovered the key.

"I hope this really is a clue," Ned commented as Nancy put the key in her pocket.

"I'm sure it is, for as much trouble as those people went to hiding it," Nancy replied, "but at the moment, it's not very helpful to us."

They were about to start back toward the guesthouse when Nancy spotted a man across the street, watching them. He was around forty and he looked completely unremarkable in the early morning light. Nancy was sure she had never seen him before. Ned noticed that something had caught her attention, and then he saw the man himself.

"He could just be a curious local," Ned commented quietly, "but let's go and see."

As they strode across the street, the stranger stayed where he was, seeming neither surprised nor alarmed. He nodded when they were close enough to speak. "Nancy Drew, if I'm not mistaken," he said.

It wasn't a question, and Nancy glanced uncertainly at Ned, who seemed just as discomfited by the situation.

"Who are you?" Ned asked.

The man was already holding a wallet in his hand. He flipped it open and took out a card which he handed to Nancy. The name Calvin Mace was printed on it, along with a barcode and a phone number. There was nothing else on the card.

"What's this?" Nancy asked.

"My name, as you can see, is Calvin Mace," the man replied. "I work for an American anti-terrorism agency known as the Network. I believe you've heard of it, even if you haven't worked with us like the Hardys have. We don't want to advertise who we are with our ID cards, but I assure you that this is a genuine card."

Nancy didn't care much for his assurance, but there didn't seem much point in arguing. "What do you know about the Hardys?" she asked quickly.

"I know that it would be better not to talk about them here where we can be overheard. It would also be better to find someplace more comfortable. I have a lot of questions for you, and I can imagine you have a lot for me. We have quite a file on both of you, and so I know already what details I can share with you."

"Not all of them, I take it," Ned replied.

"No, but I can tell you enough that if we cooperate with each other, I believe we'll be able to rescue both the three still-missing Hardys and your daughters."

Nancy narrowed her eyes. "What do you know about our daughters?"

"I know that they're missing, and I believe I know why. Frank and Joe Hardy were working on a Network case when they went missing, and so I believe I can fill in quite a few gaps for you. Come on. We've got a house nearby that we've been using as a base."

He led them about two blocks away down a side street and then into a small house. Nancy and Ned were wary about following him, but it didn't look as if they had much choice. There was a small sitting room. Mace gestured for the others to sit down while he closed the blinds. Then he sat in one of the armchairs and crossed his legs comfortably.

"I don't want to waste time, not in a case where time is so precious," Mace explained. "I am aware that some of the missions Frank and Joe Hardy have worked on for us have not gone very well. For instance, the one that you were involved in, Ms. Nickerson."

Nancy tensed at the mention of this mission.

Ned placed his hand on her arm. "Is that relevant? It was six years ago."

"It's relevant in that it was the beginning of the chain of events that have brought us here. Frank and Joe were nearly as ill-prepared for working a mission involving human trafficking as you were, Ms. Nickerson. They were deeply affected and nearly let their emotions get in the way of completing the mission, as you are aware. Now, I won't blame them or you for it. Their handlers should have known that they were unprepared, and so they should have never been assigned to that mission. Nevertheless, they do have an independent streak that has made them a bit difficult to work with from time to time, despite their considerable skills. This has caused difficulties in other missions, as well, although I can't give you the details of those. They're irrelevant, anyway. The most important thing is that the Hardys have considered breaking ties with us multiple times over the past six years."

"It's too bad they didn't follow through," Ned commented.

"But they did," Mace said. "Three years ago, a mission that they were involved in went particularly badly. They resigned unconditionally."

"But you just said that they were working with you," Nancy objected.

"They thought they were." Mace shook his head. "There are some very strange things going on in Clay Ford. We received some intelligence suggesting that a local citizen, Ryan White, is involved in some way with a terrorist organization. I've been investigating up here for several weeks now, along with a couple of other operatives. You can imagine our surprise when we spotted Frank and Joe Hardy in town. We kept our distance in case contacting them would break our cover. It turns out that we didn't need to bother. When we abruptly stopped seeing them around town and we discovered that their campsite was still set up, we suspected foul play. We attempted a raid on a house that the suspects had been using. They were all gone by the time we arrived, but they must have left in a hurry. We recovered a laptop tat had quite a bit of information on it, including that one of their people had pretended to be a Network agent and lured the Hardys here. I don't know how, but somehow he managed what we haven't been able to in talking them into helping the Network. Unfortunately, it wasn't really us that they were helping. It seems, however, that Frank and Joe were not the main targets. On the contrary, the entire plan was made to capture Fenton Hardy, and apparently, it has succeeded. Fenton has worked with the Network before. In fact, he has done so more recently than his sons have. He almost certainly has information about Network operations that these people could use to avoid us. Of course, convincing him to divulge that information would be difficult, but these people now have his wife and one of his sons captive, too, which means that they have very strong leverage to convince him to talk."

"So you know that Frank escaped?" Nancy asked. "Why haven't any of your people been to see him and find out if he has any information?"

"Some of our people have," Mace replied. "They just didn't advertise their presence."

"Then you'll know that your story doesn't quite line up with his."

"I know, and that does trouble me. However, I think the memory issues he is experiencing after his accident could explain the discrepancies."

"Are you sure about that?"

Mace smiled. "If you're testing me, Ms. Nickerson, you're not doing a bad job, but as I said, I don't see any point in wasting time. There is one major discrepancy which I haven't mentioned yet, but I think it's easily explained by the fact that these people have been on a campaign of misdirection. The information that we found in our raid shows that Ryan White is not actually involved at all. On the contrary, there has been a very elaborate attempt to frame him."

"What?" Nancy asked incredulously. "But Frank said…"

"I know he said that he actually saw White. However, Frank wouldn't know what White looks like. In fact, this group could have even come up with a convincing double. As I said, the frame has been quite elaborate. In fact, there has possibly also been an attempt to frame White's sister, Serene, who, as you know, works as a nurse in the hospital where Frank is."

"You think she's been framed, too?" Nancy asked. "But she confessed."

"Yes, that is why I said 'possibly,'" Mace conceded. "She either was pressured or blackmailed into confessing or into actually attempting the assassination. The clumsy attempt at framing Callie Dalton was undoubtedly meant to convince the local police of Serene's guilt."

"It's quite the coincidence that Frank was taken to the hospital where she works," Nancy said. "Do you know anything about that?"

"No. We're having to work backwards on all of this, so we haven't gotten any information on that yet. That's the extent of the information I have to share with you. Unfortunately, we have no information whatsoever about where the Hardys or your daughters might be held. I would offer you both a word of caution, though. These people already have used Fenton Hardy's sons to get at him. That's the most likely reason why they have also captured your daughters."

"To get information from me or to get me off the case?" Nancy asked.

"Most likely the latter. Your reputation is still excellent. You have apparently made them nervous."

"I would have rather not," Nancy murmured.

"Is there anything else?" Ned asked, eager to have the interview at an end.

"Yes, I have some questions for your wife." Mace kept his eyes on Nancy. "I'd like to know more of what you've been doing."

Nancy felt her pulse quicken with nervousness. She didn't want to tell Mace anything.

He must have seen it in her face because he went on quickly, "I can understand your distrust of myself and even of the Network. You know nothing about me, and just enough about the Network to have a distaste for the agency. I won't blame you if you decline to answer my questions, but I do encourage you to do so. It will help to find your daughters and your friends as quickly as possible if we all cooperate."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to do some checking first," Nancy said finally.

Mace frowned. "I understand, but you won't find anything. The Network will neither confirm nor deny that I'm working for them, if you can find a phone number for them. I could provide one, of course, but somehow I doubt that the approval of someone that I gave you the number for will reassuring to you, even if you could obtain. The identity of Network agents is considered classified information."

"You told us who you are easily enough," Ned pointed out.

"I needed to, and I know who I'm talking to. Over the phone, there's no telling who you might really be talking to." Before Mace could try again to persuade Nancy to answer his questions, his phone rang. He answered it quickly with a "Yes?" He turned away from Nancy and Ned so that they couldn't see his face. After a pause, he said, "All right. I'm on my way." Then he hung up his phone and turned back to Nancy and Ned again. "You're in luck. I don't have time for questions. One of our agents just got a report that some hikers in British Columbia saw someone answering Laura Hardy's description. I'm going to check it out. If you'd like some advice, I would recommend going back to either River Heights or Vancouver. I'm the last of our agents here in Clay Ford, and it might not be the safest place to be."

Nancy glanced at Ned and then back at Mace. "Would it be all right if we came with you? It's just a hunch, but I think those people might have taken our daughters to the same place they have the Hardys."

"It's certainly possible, and in any case, it would be very helpful to us to have someone along whom the Hardys trust," Mace said. "They're most likely going to be a little leery of Network agents for a while."