The Adventures of Nancy Drew (In Chronological Order) Season 1

Episode 18-A New Plan

The following takes place between 1:00 P.M. and 2:00 P.M.

The last time Jack had seen Carson was in River Heights. He had just signed up for the army. When he drove to the airport with Teri and Kim, he hadn't expected to see Carson's entire family standing in the lobby. They had gotten there early for his send-off. Every hug made Jack's heart grow bigger. Carson was the last to say goodbye and then Jack got on his plane. Not long after that, the Drews moved to California and he hadn't heard from them until now.

Jack had always had a feeling he wouldn't see his best friend again. His line of work was Russian Roulette. Every day the trigger of an invisible gun was pulled. Sooner or later, the chamber would have a bullet and Jack would be gone. It was only a matter of time.

So how did Carson die before Jack? As far as he knew, Carson never had any health issues. His job wasn't nearly as dangerous as Jack's. He may have missed his wife, but Carson would never succumb to his grief. He loved his children too much to make them orphans. That left only one explanation for his death.

"He did it," Jack said through gritted teeth. "Sal's father did this."

"How?" Tony asked. "If you're right about Sal's father being the culprit of the bomb, then he couldn't have killed Carson. He would've had to be in two places at once."

"He probably sent a couple of Black Riders after Carson to do the job for him." There was murder in Jack's eyes. "Carson's mansion was his sanctuary. The moment he stepped outside he became vulnerable."

"What are 'black riders?'" Tony questioned. 

Jack cringed at his recklessness. He would have to think of something fast to keep Tony's suspicions at bay.

"His men. They wear all black, drive black vans--"

Tony held up a hand. "Black riders. Got it."

Relief eased some of the tension from Jack's bones but only briefly. His anger at the loss of his friend was stronger than his grief. He couldn't allow Jackson to hurt another person. He had to put an end to this.

"We have to find him," Jack growled.

"Yeah, we established that earlier." Tony frowned. "The problem is, Carson was the only person who could help us find this guy and now he's gone. We've hit a dead end."

The word dead  gave Jack an idea. It was a stretch, but he was desperate. 

"Actually, Tony, there might  be one other person who could to lead us to Sal's father," Jack said warily. He knew his boss wouldn't like this.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Well, it's complicated," Jack warned. "They're most likely dead but we have to try. If they're still alive, we can find them and make them tell us where Sal's father is."

"Okay... so who is this mysterious person?" Tony asked.

Jack's hesitation set off Tony's radar.

"Jack, who are we going after?" 

With a heavy heart, Jack looked his friend in the eye and told him the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Aysel Naziri."

Tony's blood curdled at the sound of Anya's real name. 

"She's dead, Jack. There's no way she survived the explosion. It was a suicide mission." 

"Maybe, maybe not," Jack said. "Forensics did a sweep on the area to see if there were any other victims in the warehouse besides Nancy. We can go to the hospital, get access to the results, see whether they found other DNA. And if they didn't..."

"Aysel would be alive," Tony finished for him. 

Jack nodded gravely. "If Aysel did get away, we will  find her. As of now, she is our only link to Sal's father. It may be a waste of time, but I would rather do something than be a sitting duck. I'm all she has now. I'm all her sisters have."

Tony knew Jack was right, but he couldn't push down the feeling of dread that numbed his body. Either way, this wasn't going to be good for him. If Aysel was dead, Jack would lose another lead to Sal's father. If Aysel was alive, she would have to be brought back to CTU and interrogated before being arrested, and Tony knew the job would fall on him. The thought of looking into her eyes again made his stomach churn. He had done it so many times before, but this would be different. He wouldn't see the eyes of his loving girlfriend. He would see the eyes of a woman who served evil.