Rock and a Hard Place: Chapter 1

Author's Notes: This story is another collaboration between myself and Lisa L. and pretty much sequels and spins off most of the plot points set up in Daddy's Girls and previous stories. It's also the start of an extensive network of stories that Lisa and I have dubbed the MASK Legacy Saga. Scott and the girls are all grown up and ready for adventures of their own... And that's where the Saga begins...

As usual, these stories are a partial crossover with the High Mountain Rangers television series, and other special guests may crop up during the course of the Saga. And once again, we don't own anyone but Annie Turner, Roxanne Trakker, and any of the other various characters we had to make up for dramatic effect.

Rating is the usual PG-13, and the story themes will get consecutively and significantly darker. You have been warned. Reviews are always welcomed, and flames will be bounced back to the sender using Annie's new Firewall MASK.

"She's all done." The graying, grizzled, old biker stood up from behind the sleek, black motorcycle, carefully wiping stray oil marks away from the flaming racing stripes that adorned the side of the bike. "Good for another few thousand miles anyway."

The red haired lady ranger stood against the wall of the Tahoe auto shop with her arms crossed, watching the biker take the utmost care in changing the oil on her bike. "Thanks, Butch. What do I owe you?"

"Fer a pretty little Ranger Lady like you, no charge."

Green eyes sparkled as she laughed at him. "Flatterer." She paused a moment. "How about for the information?"

He waved her away as she moved toward the motorcycle, picking up her helmet. "Eh, you can take that with ya too."

She climbed onto the driver's seat of the bike. "I appreciate that."

"Yeah, well, just be careful how ya use it," he replied with a slight smile. "And you be careful too, 'cause I don't want nothin' to happen to one o' my best customers."

She fixed him with a sly grin as she pulled on her helmet. "Butch, I'm one of your ONLY customers."

"Yeah, so ya can see what I mean."

She shook her head as she turned the key, revving up the bike's engine. "Thanks again. I'll see ya."

Without anymore banter or fuss, she pulled out of the shop and drove away. Butch watched her go for a moment, then turned back to see his partner standing just inside the entrance to what passed for the office in the shop. "I still don't see why yer so sweet on her, droppin' info just like that."

Butch just shrugged and went to work on the next vehicle in the garage. "I dunno either, Slick. She's got somethin'... that little piece of charm that makes a guy vulnerable, ya know. 'Sides, since she's been comin' around, we ain't been gettin' funny looks or harrassment from the cops or them Rangers. Hell, folks is treatin' us halfway respectable, or at least just lettin' us alone. If I gotta drop a few lines here and there to keep 'em off my back, so what." He paused then grinned over at his partner. "And she is a mighty fine lady to look at."

"That lady's a tiger," Slick said firmly. "She's hidin' somethin', somethin' dangerous."

"Hey, we all got our secrets, ya know."

"Yeah, but this is different," Slick argued. "I can see it in her eyes...like a cat just waitin' for the right moment to pounce..."

"So ya pet the kitty and feed the kitty, that way when the cat pounces, it ain't at you. You just said she's dangerous, so wouldn't you rather have her on our side?"

With that unanswered comment, Butch turned back to his work.

The roar of motorcycle engines caught Buddy Hawkes' attention as he rolled out from under Thunderhawk. Roxy? he thought immediately though the clock said she should be in class at this time of the afternoon. Well, she's been known to blow them off before, he thought to himself with a grin. He wiped his greasy hands on a towel and walked out toward his office, getting a jolt of surprise when he saw Annie Turner walking through the service door.

Brad's daughter greeted him with a smile, noting his reaction. "Hi Buddy. You look a little surprised."

"I wasn't expecting that to be you."

"Oh?" She smirked, arching an eyebrow. "And just who WERE you expecting?"

Buddy recovered quickly, smirking back at Annie. "Not you. Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I am working," came the nonplussed reply. "I do work here occasionally."

"Ahh, so this is business?"

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

Buddy nodded, taking a moment to notice how much Annie had changed from the little girl he once knew. She stood proudly, wearing the white jacket with the High Mountain Rangers insignia like a mantle of authority. Her green eyes had a somewhat hard look to them, and her expression was no nonsense and all business. The quiet, young girl that had gone up to join the Rangers came back a rather strong young woman, and Buddy found himself marvelling slightly at the change a few years had made.

Annie broke him out of his reverie when she asked, "Could you open the bay doors for me? I'd like to bring Phoenix in."

He quickly complied with her request and in a matter of moments, Annie's bike was parked in the one of the spaces reserved for the MASK vehicles. "Been a few months since she's had a tune up, hasn't it?" Buddy asked as he looked over Annie's bike.

"Probably. It wouldn't hurt you to take a look, but the oil's already been changed."

Buddy put his hand over his heart in mock-indignation. "You're cheating on me? I'm hurt."

"Oh, the information I got was worth the price of your hurt feelings." Annie flashed him a charming and dangerous smile.

"Ahh, the plot thickens."

Before Buddy could say anything more, Scott entered the garage from the secret entrance that led back to the mansion. He flashed Buddy a smile in greeting, but the smile widened when he saw Annie standing beside the mechanic.

Buddy realized this would be a good time to make an exit, and with a knowing smile to Scott, he said, "I'm gonna go give Phoenix that tune up she probably needs." As he passed Scott, he whispered conspiritorally, "She's all yours."

Somehow Scott managed to pretend he didn't understand what Buddy meant by that, so the smile never left his face as he said to Annie, "A little bird told me you might show up here."

"Figures," she snorted, "so who chirped?"

"White Eagle." Scott's grin widened as he explained further. "What was it he said? Something to the effect of: 'The Phoenix has flown to the valley where the rock meets the mountain.' "

"Yep, that's Avila all right. It's just like having Bruce around, except in a more coherent version." Annie just shook her head and smiled. "Nothing gets by any of those guys, him especially."

"Well, in any case, I'm glad you're here, for a few reasons. First," he pulled her into a quick, but tight hug, "welcome back, I missed you." Then Scott became more serious. "Second, Dad and I just finished a vid-conference with Duane, but judging by your speedy arrival, news must have travelled faster than we thought."

"In certain circles it does," Annie replied with the same seriousness. "Have you called Jess and Roxy yet?"

"They should be on their way now," he answered. "I bypassed you figuring you were already on your way."

"That's good," she said with some relief, "because I have a feeling that my news and your news are related, so there's no sense in us repeating ourselves."

"My thoughts exactly."