CHAPTER 1
I walked into the office in a foul mood this morning. It showed all over my face. Lula looked up from the box of donuts in front of her.
"You look in a mood. Wanna talk about it?"
I hesitated a moment. "It's…"
Lula threw down her donut. "Complicated! Yeah! That's all we ever get from you lately! If you don't want to share that's fine! Just don't expect us to keep asking ya to!"
I just looked at Lula for a minute. This upset me a lot, but I didn't want to show it. "That's fine! I thought that your friendship was the one relationship I could count on! I guess I was wrong! Whatever! I'm out of here!"
I stormed out of the office and got back in my car. I was upset. I was angry. I was expecting to go after Leroy Dobbs again today since I finally had a solid lead. I was hoping to have Lula for at least some sort of back up. I dug out the file again and read through it. Then I jammed it back in my bag and headed for Stark Street.
I parked a block away from the gym. Having already had one truly terrifying encounter in there when I first started out in bond enforcement, I had no desire to enter that building again. I sat there looking at the door. I took out my notepad and wrote a quick will just in case even though it probably wouldn't hold up in court…
I, Stephanie Plum, leave what few worldly possessions I have to Joseph Morelli. Unfortunately this will also include this POS car. Sorry about that. Hopefully it won't explode on you, but you might want to do the safe thing and just push it into the river just in case. This also means that you are in charge of Rex. Don't worry. He doesn't eat as much as Bob does and his poop is a lot smaller.
I debated adding that I loved him but decided against it. I signed it and left the notebook open on my seat when I got out of the car. Not wanting to enter the gym, I decided to stake out the back door knowing that Leroy would more than likely leave that way to avoid being seen on the main street. When I got in place, I took stock of my bag. Cuffs…Check. Stun Gun…Check. Pepper Spray…Check. Gun…Check though I knew I would never be able to use it. I hate guns. They scare the bejesus out of me. They always have.
I took the cuffs and put them in the back loop of my belt. I put the pepper spray in my pocket and the gun in my belt. I was holding the stun gun. I was ready.
I didn't have to wait long before I heard the heavy footsteps coming down the stairs to the door. A minute later, the door burst open and there he was. Leroy Dobbs. He was 6'2" and 220 pounds of pure muscle. But that's not the scary thing about him. His eyes were black and cold and exuded evil. I had only seen eyes like that one other time in my life and, oddly enough, they were on another man associated with this gym. Benito Ramirez. Leroy could have been his twin in the evil department. I mustered as much courage as I could in light of the fact that I was about to confront someone twice my size with no backup and very few skills.
"Leroy Dobbs?"
Leroy stopped at looked me up and down. "Who wants to know?"
I handed him my card. "Stephanie Plum. Bond enforcement. You missed court and I'm here to take you in to reschedule…"
Leroy looked around obviously looking for my backup. Seeing that I had none, he looked me up and down again and grinned.
"I don't think so…"
He turned and started walking away. I was still determined to bring him in. My rent was past due. "Stop! Bond enforcement!" I pressed my stun gun to the back of his neck and pressed the button. Nothing happened. "Fuck!"
Leroy spun around and backhanded me hard, sending me flying back into the side of the dumpster. He stood over me and laughed as I pulled myself up using the side of the dumpster. I got to my feet and pulled my gun and pointed it at him. I was still determined to take him in.
"Stop! You're under arrest!"
All of the humor left Leroy's eyes and was replaced once again by the evil. He grabbed the gun out of my shaking hand and threw it. Then he took a knife out and stabbed it deep into my belly. "No Bitch is going to take me in!"
He stabbed the knife into me three more times before he let me fall to the ground. He stood over me again and laughed. When I tried to stand up again, he kicked me twice in the chest and yelled again that I wasn't going to take him in. I collapsed again. He laughed, took my bag and my gun, and left the scene.
I laid there for a minute trying to regroup. Then I tried to get up again, but it was no good. Things went fuzzy. Then gray. Then black.
CHAPTER 2
I was lying in the alley where Dobbs left me bleeding taking stock of my life and, what I thought, my death. Pretty ironic it should happen here on Stark Street behind the gym where I had that first horrible experience what seems like a whole lifetime ago. How different my life would have been had I just done the smart thing that day and walked away.
Then there I was standing in the street in front of the gym. I was half a block from where I parked that first day. I looked over and there I was in that same POS car I was driving back then. I watched myself look up at the gym windows obviously debating whether or not I should be doing this. Then my eyes were drawn to the second floor window across the street from the gym and there was Morelli staring down at my car where I still sat debating.
I watched myself get out of the car and look up at the gym again debating some more. Then, instead of going inside like I did so long ago, I got back in my POS car and drove away from the gym. Away from Morelli. Away from my life. Ranger was suddenly there beside me…
"Do you want to see what your life was like after you drove away that day?"
Without waiting for an answer, he kissed me on my left cheek and I found myself in the dining room in my parents house. I looked at the table and I was sitting there with my Mother and Father, and Gramma of course. Bernie Kuntz, the owner of the Hardware Store in the Burg was also there along with two kids. One looked to be around 3 and the other looked to be around 1. Both were screaming. I looked more closely at myself. I looked…Empty, beat down and, once again, pregnant!
I ran out of my parent's house and found Ranger waiting for me on the street. I was furious! "Is this what happens to me?"
"It was your choice, Babe…"
"I don't think so! I never would have chosen to be Stephanie Kuntz…Baby factory! That's not me!"
"It wasn't you back then, but because you drove away that day…"
I felt sick to my stomach. "That's what I became?"
Ranger gave me a minute to let this sink in. "There's someone else you need to see…" He kissed my cheek again…The right one this time and we were back on Stark Street…And there was Lula at her usual corner back when she was working as a Ho. But it wasn't Lula. The creature that stood before me now was only a fraction of the woman she was…Bedraggled…Run down…Done in…And strung out. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Lula?"
She stumbled up to the the car that just pulled up. The driver rolled down his window. "How much?"
"10 bucks…"
The man looked her over. "Too much…"
"No, What I meant to say…5 bucks…5 bucks and you can have it all, Honey…"
The man shook his head and started to drive away…
Lula got even more desperate. "No…2 bucks! Or how about a donut? You'd be amazed what Lula would do for a donut…"
I turned away, sickened as the man drove away. "Poor Lula! How could this be?"
"Your life isn't the only one that was affected by your decision that day. Because you gave it up, Ramirez never attacked Lula…"
"But that would have been a good thing! He almost killed her!"
"He scared her straight, Babe…"
Again he let all this sink in. "There's one more life you need to see that was affected by your decision that day…"
He kissed me again…On my forehead this time and then I was in a cemetery. This time he was right beside me when the new location appeared. I looked down at the gravestone and gasped.
"Morelli?"
"He was shot 2 weeks later while he was staking out the gym…"
"But because I blew his cover that day…"
"He wasn't there and his name was ultimately cleared…"
We stood there quietly for a minute while all this sunk in. "So. I can either take you back to the front of the gym and you can walk away. Or I can take you back to the alley behind the gym and you can keep the life you have today…"
I looked at the grave and then at Ranger. "And what about you? What would your life be like if I had walked away that day?"
"Either way, my life would be what is was meant to be…"
I looked back down at the gravestone. "Take me back to the alley behind the gym…"
Ranger smiled at me. "In that case, I will be with you shortly."
He kissed me lightly…On the lips this time and I was transported back to the alley behind the gym. The pain was back but so was my life. The way it was supposed to be and I knew I made the right choice.
CHAPTER 3
Back at Rangeman, the control room noticed that neither my car or my bag had moved in the last hour and they were on opposite ends of Stark Street which was never a good place to linger in one place for long. Ranger was notified. He didn't like it. He called my cell. No answer. He gathered his A team and they headed out to check things out.
They found my car first. It was empty. Ranger saw the pad and read the quickie will that was written on it. He tore off the page and they continued on to my bag. It was located on the opposite end of the street in one of the low rent apartment buildings. They went in and started going door to door looking for me.
When they got to the third floor, they knocked on one of the doors. It was opened and 4 men were in the room. Leroy was sitting at a table and in front of him was my bag, the contents spilled out.
"Where is Stephanie Plum?"
"I don't know a Stephanie Plum…"
Ranger was finding it more and more difficult to keep is temper from boiling over. "You have her bag. I will ask you again. Where is Stephanie Plum?"
Leroy grinned. "Oh…You mean the bounty hunter bitch? I imagine she's right where I left her…"
Ranger was across the room like a shot, grabbing Leroy and slamming him into the wall. "Where is she?" To get his point across he slammed Leroy into the wall again…Hard.
"No need to get rough, Man! She's probably still in the alley behind the gym…"
Ranger dropped Leroy. "Hal, Luis. You two clean this up…"
Ranger and Tank left the apartment and ran from the building. They ran down the street to the gym and went to the back door and stopped in the alley, looking around. They didn't see me at first because I was lying on the ground on the other side of the dumpster. They split up and walked in opposite directions down the alley. Tank was the one who actually found me. "She's here!"
CHAPTER 4
Ranger was at my side in a shot. He took in my lifeless body and turned me over, noticing all the blood from the stab wounds. He got his phone out and called EMS while Tank secured the scene. "Babe…"
I opened my eyes slightly and stared glassily up at Ranger. I somehow managed a small smile, and reached up and caressed his cheek. "Flesh wound…"
Ranger tried to hide his worry. "More than a flesh wound, Babe…"
I nodded weakly and then lost consciousness again as EMS arrived. They worked quickly to get me loaded up and on the way to the hospital. Ranger and Tank ran back to one of the Rangeman vehicles. Ranger tossed the keys to Tank. "You drive. I need to call Morelli…"
Ranger got his cell phone out and dialed. Morelli picked up on the first ring. "Stephanie's on her way to the hospital. It's bad…"
There was a silence. Morelli was probably looking down at his shoe. "How bad?"
"Bad. She was stabbed on Stark Street…"
More silence. "St Francis?"
"Yes."
Morelli disconnected. Tank and Ranger got to the the hospital only to learn that I was taken right up to surgery. They sat and waited. Morelli ran in about 5 minutes later…
"Where is she?"
"They rushed her right up to surgery…"
"What the Hell happened?"
"We're not sure. We noticed she was lingering on Stark. She didn't answer her phone. Her car was at one end and her bag was in an apartment on the other…"
Morelli was getting angrier by the minute. "Her bag?"
"Leroy Dobbs had it. With some persuasion he told us that he left her in the alley behind the gym. We found her behind a dumpster…"
More silence while Morelli tried to rein in his anger. "And where the Hell was Lula?"
"Don't know. She wasn't there."
Morelli sat down and joined in the waiting game. They both sat side by side for almost two hours. "You love her…" Coming from Ranger this was more of a statement than a question.
Morelli looked over at Ranger. "Yeah. I do. I always have." He paused for a moment. "You love her too…"
Ranger's answer was simple. "Yes…"
Another few minutes passed…Ranger handed Morelli the will that I left in my car. "She loves you, Joe…"
Morelli read the will. "I know…" He paused before he looked over at Ranger. "She loves you too…"
"I know…" It was Ranger's turn to pause before continuing. "But we both know that you are the better man for her right now…"
Morelli nodded. They both sat a silent vigil. Morelli was contemplating what Ranger meant by "right now" and Ranger was contemplating the fact that he once again almost lost his Babe.
CHAPTER 5
The doctor finally came out a couple hours later. Ranger was the first to his feet. "How is Stephanie?"
"She was stabbed four times but somehow no vital organs were hit. She did lose a lot of blood so we will be keeping her here for a day or two. And she has a broken rib. They are moving her into recovery now and then you can see her."
The doctor left. "You go. She needs you."
Morelli nodded and went to the recovery floor. Ranger left and went to the bonds office. He walked in and Connie and Lula were discussing the merits of Pino's over Frankie's pizza. They both looked up when he walked in.
"What the Hell happened to you?"
Ranger could barely control the anger that has been just below the surface since his confrontation with Dobbs. "The blood is not mine. It's Steph's!"
Connie gasped. "Steph's? What happened?"
"Leroy Dobbs happened!"
"The FTA? What did he do?"
"I don't know all the facts yet, but apparently she tracked him down on Stark Street this morning and he stabbed her 4 times! Where were you, Lula?"
"Been here all morning…"
Ranger gritted his teeth. "Did you know she was going to Stark?"
"She didn't tell me nothin…"
"It's true. She was here for a minute and then she just headed out. She didn't even have a donut. Is she going to be alright?"
Ranger looked at Connie and took a deep cleansing breath. "She has a broken rib and lost a lot of blood, but no vital organs were hit. Morelli's with her now…"
"And Dobbs?"
"He's contained until Steph can take him in…"
Both Connie and Lula knew not to ask him to elaborate further on this. They knew that Ranger had mysterious ways at times. He turned on his heel and left the office to go back to Rangeman to get cleaned up.
Morelli was sitting with me when I woke up. "Hey, Cupcake…"
I tried to sit up and winced. "Hey…"
"You okay?"
"Yeah…"
Morelli was unconvinced. "Really?"
"No…Not really…"
He looked at me for a minute, then took my hand and kissed my palm. "When Ranger called and told me what happened…" He couldn't finish that sentence. "What were you doing going to Stark alone? Where was Lula? Or Ranger? Or one of the other Men in Black?"
"Well, Ranger was obviously tuned in. I mean. He found me…"
Morelli didn't want to admit it, but he was grateful for Ranger this time. "Yeah…"
There was a pause while I tried to get into a more comfortable position. "What happened to Leroy Dobbs? Was he brought in?"
"Not that I've heard…"
There was an awkward pause. "I…Uh…Got your note…"
"My note?"
He took out the quickie makeshift will that I left in my car before going after Dobbs. "Ranger found it…"
"Oh…Um…Yeah. Sorry about the car…"
Morelli smiled, but then his cop face was back. "So you knew that going after Dobbs by yourself was dangerous…"
"Everything that goes on on Stark is dangerous…"
"So why didn't you take Lula with you?"
"Not enough donuts…"
Morelli's pager went off. "I hate this thing!" He checked the message.
"But you gotta go…"
"I'll try to make it back tonight…" He got up and kissed me gently on the forehead. "I love you, Cupcake…"
"I know…"
And then he was gone. I tried to settle in and close my eyes. I was very tired and completely done, but at least I knew I was living the life I was meant to live.
THE END
This story had been swimming in my brain since I read Fortune and Glory. Finally got it out and wanted to share that I think that Steph made the right choice when she first became a bounty hunter.