You can blame the adrenaline rush I got from listening to Hey Jude for the first time in months as the reason that I actually worked up the nerve to post this.

About the story, I think it would be dubbed an alternative universe tale because, while the characters are the same, the situation is completely different. Ranger and Stephanie are together and have been in a serious relationship for about a year and a half. Morelli is completely out of the picture, so sorry to the gals that dig him! I've also introduced a new character, Ranger's cousin, Lee. More on her in the actual story. Woody, that elusive Rangeman mentioned briefly in Eleven on Top, plays a prominent role in this story simply because I like his name. And of course Tank is major in here because who doesn't love the big man?

So, to wrap up this ridiculously long author's note: thanks for clicking by, have a great read, and please tell me what you think!

Summary: Children of the Phoenix, they were thrown in the fire and reborn as the guardians of peace, uniting the dimensions and bringing harmony to all living beings. At least, that's what everyone keeps telling Stephanie Plum and crew. But what about what they want?

Phoenix's Fire

Prologue

They moved quickly and quietly. Efficiently. The warehouse wasn't big but it was full of hiding places that their current target could slip into. The stench of chemicals was almost overwhelming and the entire area was littered with junk.

The team had radios but they didn't use them. There was no point in giving their positions away by speaking when they'd tried so hard to blend into the night with the all black uniform and night goggles to traverse the lab without bumping into things. Instead, the team of four had split and was using hand signals to communicate with their partners. Not that much communication was needed, they all understood the objective. Search and contain.

There was a dash of movement in team two's search parameter. The point honed in on the movement and stalked towards it, the tail keeping up and watching their back for any surprises.

A figure jumped them not ten steps after they'd started moving. He pounced from a table in the obvious hope to tackle team two to the ground. The point used the man's momentum to throw him up and over onto the table on the other side of them. The stunned man was pulled off of the table and flopped onto the ground on his stomach. The point settled a boot firmly on the man's neck in a silent command to stay still while the tail pulled out a pair of cuffs and restrained the man.

The entire episode was completed in a matter of seconds. It was the perfect takedown: professional, timely, and painless.

"God, I'm good."

Lee pulled her goggles down around her neck so that Woody could see her roll her eyes dramatically. "Please. All you did was flex your muscles. Anyone could have done that."

Woody grabbed James Trent's shirt and hauled him up onto his unsteady feet. "He would've dropped us both if I hadn't used my skills to throw him across the room."

Lee gave him an incredulous look. "The table's two feet away!"

"I'm assuming you got Trent?" Ranger asked over the radio. It was better to distract those two now before they really got going.

"Affirmative," Woody replied.

"Should I come in?" Stephanie asked. She was their backup in the truck, keeping surveillance outside of the building as well as making sure the technical aspects of the job went smoothly

"Oh yeah," Lee said, her attention turning to the apparatus on all the tables. "Bring the camera. This guy was a regular Rachel Ray of drugs. He's producing meth by the bucket load, I see packaged smack over there to be distributed, and I'm almost positive we passed a kilo or two of weed at the entrance.

Tank and Ranger appeared on the other side of the table Trent had landed on as Stephanie hustled into the building with a digital camera in her hand. "I think Rachel's a bit cleaner than this," Ranger remarked dryly.

Lee groaned as Woody grinned and shook Trent. "It was probably cleaner before Trent used it as a landing pad."

"You're so full of it," Lee remarked casually.

Woody would have retorted but Ranger beat him to the punch. "We don't need to confiscate any of this, that's the Fed's job. Steph, take pictures of what Lee thinks is important. Those and Trent will be more than enough to get our payday. Tank, help Woody with Trent. I'll check the parameter for anything else we missed."

They each went their separate ways, slipping back into work mode albeit a more relaxed work mode. The one unknown factor, Trent, had been taken care of and now they had to do the post game wrap up before they left here significantly wealthier.

It happened so fast, no one could have reacted, much less stop it.

Trent suddenly went limp in Woody's grip, causing Woody to stumble and loosen his hold. Trent wrenched away from Woody and grabbed a gun hidden under the lip of a nearby table. His aim was wild but he got a shot off before Tank shot him in the chest. The mini explosion from Tank firing his gun lit the fumes that had been released from their container by Trent's stray shot. The fire in the air moved at lightning speed and lit the other dangerous and highly flammable chemicals. Each fire caused another in an impossibly fast chain reaction until the entire area was full of deadly fumes and lit fires.

In short, the warehouse exploded.

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Anything that you recognize in this story is not mine. Janet Evanovich owns full rights to them and I don't claim any privileges over said similarities. This is purely fun writing from a questionably funny mind.