Disclaimer: Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys do not belong to me; this story gives me no profit but fun. No copyright infringement is intended.

I have no familiarity with the Witness Protection program, so I am going to take liberties with my use of it in this story. But I have done a little research. Therefore, please don't review and tell me that I am incorrect. Information that I have changed on their procedure and such have been altered by design to suit the purpose of this story.

That said, please read, enjoy, and review!

To Protect and Serve: Prologue

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Special Agent Nancy Drew, 28, was the youngest leadagent working in the Witness Protection branch of the FBI, but already, due to her stunning performance in training and her many smooth operations since being instated as an agent, she was made lead on her first assignment, the protection of two detectives in the NYPD who had stepped on too many toes of the Russian mob. She was flying in to Maine where they were being held in a safehouse in a snowy and deserted corner of the state.

She looked over the fax her superior had sent her just before taking off in the Bureau's jet. It was very succinct; as little information as possible on individuals taken into the Witness Protection program was put on paper for security reasons.

They had been working undercover, trying to infiltrate the Russian mob's drug activity but they'd been made, and a contract was on both their heads. The known but untouchable Russian mob boss in New York, Vladislav Krutin, had supposedly—according to CI's—made a personal statement about the two of them.

Agent Drew had a bit a familiarity with Krutin and his lackeys, which was one reason she'd been given the assignment. The crook's arm stretched farther than New York City—she'd helped to almost corner him on one of her earlier ops in Pittsburgh when he'd there sauntered there to elude the NYPD. She'd seen him face to face; Krutin was a ruthless, arrogant, and worst of all, genius crook with near unlimited resources. He'd also managed to get a shot off on her partner, hitting him in the arm, but Nancy knew that'd he'd been aiming for her.

Oh, yes, it was personal. Max shoved her out of the way, and the wound required eleven stitches, though it only actually grazed his arm. Not only had Krutin injured her partner, it was humiliating to need help or protection, being a woman in Bureau. She'd blamed her own carelessness and moped about darkly for days. Weeks.

But, Nancy reminded herself, she wasn't in the Organized Crime unit now. Witness protection. Her job was to keep Krutin from getting to these guys, and if that would grind his gears, she'd be glad to do it.

Man, how did I get stuck on that night again, Nancy wondered, taking another look at the paper in her lap. The detectives assigned to her had been given new aliases, which were written here. The Bureau gave her the aliases first so that she would be accustomed to thinking and call them by these names in order to help them with the transition.

Jake Fitzgerald. 29. Brown hair. 6'1". Lean.

Nancy rolled her eyes at the description. That was only about an eighth of the whole male population. It went on to describe some of skills for job finding purposes.

Corey Barnes. 27. 6 foot. Muscular. Blond.

More skills. And that was all the information they preferred to put on paper; even if Agent Drew was going to burn it later. The rest of the paper gave brief background on their situation, but Krutin's name had not been listed in case the paper was traced. The location to which they would flee was coded at the bottom of the page, along with the safehouse closest to it in case of emergency. She memorized all the information then tucked the paper away into her inside jacket pocket to be burnt later.

They're my age, she noticed. Hopefully they won't be big-headed cops that refuse to take orders from a woman their own age. For their own good and their families'.

The plane was setting down in Maine now. She pulled her jacket together and buttoned it, settling her navy scarf professionally. Nancy placed the earmuffs over her ears, then smoothed her reddish hair. Just for kicks, she slid on her small night vision goggles; they weren't sunglasses, but they were close. Besides, the stereotype might provide some lightness to the guys she was picking up.

She stood and turned to the pick up team. Despite the fact that it was three in the morning eastern time, all six team members were alert. "All right, everyone, we're getting ready to roll here. Just a few things before the pick up. The safehouse team has got surveillance covered, with several snipers settled around the house. When the plane door sets down, I want Johnson and Matthews out first, to survey the scene and to stand guard next to the steps. When the clear is given, I will approach the safehouse, to get the quick brief from the safehouse lead. Shuler and Anderson will follow and escort Jake Fitzgerald to the plane; Gates and Bombay are on Barnes. Let me remind you all that it will be pitch black out there. So far, it's not snowing yet, but report says it could start soon, so we need to get in and out as fast as possible. Clear?"

The plane was on the ground by now. The people under her command, two women and four men, nodded smartly. Some were older than her, but some were younger, but all respected her command.

A signal, like the striking of match in the window, sparked then died down instantly.

"Everyone in place," Nancy hissed. She settled behind, Johnson and Matthews at the plane door, feeling the tense efficiency in all their actions.

"On my call," she whispered. When the signal flashed a second time, she hissed "Go!"

Instantly, the plane door opened, and the steps unfurled, but her two Agents firearms drawn, leapt from the door, quickly scanned the surroundings, then took their spots at the base of the steps. Instantly, Nancy drew her own weapon, and took off down the steps, and ran towards the safehouse. She could feel her other four agents behind her, though the wind was loud enough to block out the sound of their breaths.

The instant she reached the door, it flew open, and a tall blonde hair man, in all black was shoved into the waiting arms of Agents Gates and Bombay, who, shielding him with their bodies, ran with him back to the plane. Not a second later, the brown haired man followed, willingly allowing the last two agents to grab his arms and sprint back to the plane with him, shielding his face from the cold with a scarf.

Seeing this, Special Agent Drew turned to the lead, an Agent Crawford. "All clear!" he yelled into her ear over the howl of the wind. "Nothing suspicious since they came here. In New York, they are listed as missing and presumed dead, which, by tomorrow, will be changed to officially dead. A joint memorial service is to be held and made public."

"He won't go for it!" Nancy shouted back.

"No, but it will stall him! Take care of them, Drew, they've had it rough!"

"You got it! You are your team make it back to base as soon as the area is secure!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

With that, Nancy turned, and sprinted back to the plane. As soon as she stepped on the first step, they began to rise. She ran up them, and stepped through the door just as it closed behind her.

"All clear, Jamison!" she yelled to the pilot. "Get us up and head due southwest. More details later."

The team was waiting. Jake and Corey, as she knew them were sitting together, their heads grimly bowed in effort to regain their warmth. Her agents, Nancy noticed, had kept their distance from the pair, as she instructed. She wanted to make the first contact, as she would be the one to have constant interaction with them.

With a friendly smile, she removed her goggles, and hat, revealing face. She took the seat facing them, and in a cheerful yet firm voice, she introduced herself.

"Mr. Fitzgerald. Mr. Barnes. Please allow me to introduce myself." They glanced at each other, but still shivering, had not removed their hats and scarves. But she got eye contact from them both.

"My name is Special Agent Drew. I am in charge of your protection from this moment on."

At that, the brown haired man's head snapped up. Nancy thought she recognized something in his eyes, but continued on.

"You are being relocated to a secure area, where you will assume new identities, new jobs, and new lives. I knew this is all happening very fast for you, but I know that you will be able to cope well considering your former positions. But understand now—you are never to call each other by your former names—you are Jake Fitzgerald and Corey Barnes. It will take time, but you can do it."

A snort out of the younger man didn't deter her. But the brown eyes burning into her head were a bit distracting.

"When we reach our destination, a secure line will be set up so you can talk very briefly to your families and let them know you are safe. You are not to give any clues to your location, such as the weather or the house, and you are not to talk about what you are doing. You may not tell them where you are. Beyond that, please take full advantages of these calls, as they can only be set up once a week at the very most."

The genuine and sincere urging in her voice got their attention.

"I know you two can handle this. We are assigned to protect you, but let your minds at ease for another team is working hard in your hometown to make it safe for you to return as soon as possible. But for now, you must put everything aside. Do not try to be heroes; do not hold on to your former lives. You must put all your effort into becoming another person so you can keep your families safe and yourselves alive. We can only help you as long as you cooperate. Will you?"

Both men nodded, still stunned.

"Then everything will go smoothly. I'll tell you more and more during the flight, but for now, we need to get to know each other as we will have to learn to trust and depend on and be honest with each other."

So, as they unbundled, Nancy began to fire off questions at them. They answered succinctly and obediently, but when their faces were fully revealed, Nancy felt her breath catch, as she was stunned into a short silence.

Though she covered it well, she recognized her two new charges, and they recognized her. But as it was better for the team of agents not to know their former identities so they could not be forced to give them up, she said nothing and betrayed nothing. Seeing her warninglook, neither did the two men.

But there was no doubt in Nancy's mind that she was now in charge of keeping Frank and Joe Hardy alive.