AN: So sorry it took me longer to post this chapter! It didn't start out well and I wanted it redone, so a rewrite was in order, as it must be sometimes! :-)

Disclaimer: Don't own JE's characters, just the ones I create for the story! Not making money, just playing!

Masquerade

Chapter 6

Frederick watched as the woman stepped out of the shadows. Tall, lithe, she was still the same woman from years past. Her hair was cut to her chin and the curls begged to have a man's hands running through them. Her eyes, though, told him exactly who she was.

"Iris." He breathed. "Well well well."

"Hello, Frederick." She angled her head, watching him.

Bobby looked on from the cell. Something about her looked familiar. He couldn't get a clear shot of her, she had angled herself so they couldn't see her full profile. The black corset top showed enough of her backside so he could see a tattoo that looked like a flower. He narrowed his eyes trying to identify it. A quick look at Lester and Tank told him they were also watching her.

"We have some business to discuss," Iris said, her voice indicating an accent from Europe, though none of the men could place quite where. "In private."

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of subjecting you to this," he waved his hand around the dungeon. "Though, I'm sure you've seen worse."

Together they left the dungeon and the men found themselves alone. Tank spoke first. "Alright, so we have to figure a way out of here, and fast."

"Agreed." Bobby nodded. "I need to get a better look at Ranger's injuries and here isn't the place to do it."

"I don't really fancy becoming someone's sex slave."

Bobby and Tank both looked at Lester incredulously at his statement. Lester, realizing his mistake, said, "Alright, I don't want to be someone's unwilling sex slave."

"What makes you think that's what we were bought for?" Tank demanded.

Lester shrugged as he stood, trying to find a way out of their cell. "It's better than thinking of the alternative."

"Don't worry, boys," A familiar voice came out of the shadows, "We wouldn't let you be sold for sex slaves."

Bobby looked up at the shadows. Liliana walked out with an amused smirk on her face. She walked over to the cell and leaned against it. "Look at this. Four big bad Army Rangers have done got themselves caught and sold." She chuckled.

"Lil, what are you doing here?" Bobby asked.

"We got word that Ranger was in deep shit." She replied.

"We could've told you that ourselves." Lester retorted.

"Says the man sitting in the cell." Liliana shot back. "The intel you got didn't give you a lot to work with. The intel I got told me exactly what was going to happen to Ranger if something didn't happen fast."

"What do you know?"

"I know we're going to get you guys out of here and we're going to a safe place. Going back to Trenton right now is a bad idea." Liliana said.

"Shit, Steph's not going to like this." Lester said with a sigh.

"Stephanie is a big girl and can handle it." Liliana folded her arms over her chest and turned her back to them. She leaned back against the cell bars and waited for the signal she needed.

/\/\/\/\/\

Frederick and Iris walked into his study. As a smart man, Frederick knew better than to underestimate Iris. Usually, he would have had anyone who came to him disarmed until they left, but with her he knew better. Even without weapons, her own personal body was a weapon and one he didn't care to push.

"I admit, Iris, I wasn't expecting to see you ever again." He motioned to his maid to bring them drinks. They sat down at small table. Iris held herself almost regally. Her entire demeanor made him wary of angering her. He gave her half a grin, "You know with such a terrible car accident that was supposed to kill all occupants."

She raised an eyebrow. "What are you implying, Frederick?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "Rodrigo has been swearing up and down you're alive."

"And where has he gotten that idea, I wonder?" She crossed her legs at the knee and looked at Fredrick inquiringly.

"Not from me," He said hastily. "I've been telling him to let go of you for the last year and a half."

"What a good friend you are." She said flatly.

"Hardly." Frederick smiled at her. "Do you really think I'm stupid, Iris? I've seen you work. I know full well that you planned your 'death' to get out. I admit I'm curious as to why." He leaned back in his chair and watched her, waiting for her to enlighten him. She simply stared at him with an impassive look. Finally he sighed. "You have my confidence, you know that."

"Of course, Frederick." She smiled this time. A man could get lost in her smile. "And I appreciate your discretion, especially since you know what would happen if it were broken."

A chill wrapped itself around his spine and he forced himself not to shiver. There were few people who made him nervous. Iris was at the top of that list. For his very survival, anything she told him would go to his grave with him. But he could easily admit outside of the threat of his life, he genuinely liked Iris. Outside of the deadliness she had, there was something very warm and genuine about her when she was being friendly.

"I would never dream of betraying you." He replied. "I have to ask, though, what brought you back?"

"You have something that belongs to me." Iris said. "Or rather, they belong to a friend. I'm here to return them."

"Them?"

"The Rangers." Iris said.

He shook his head. "Rodrigo paid me to catch them. I've done that. Now that I've got all four of them, they're going to go to him."

"This isn't up for negotiation, Frederick." Iris pinned him with a steely gaze. "They will be going with me."

"Damn it, Iris." Frederick hissed. "Do you know what Rodrigo will do to me if he finds out you've taken them?"

The maid came in carrying the tray containing tea and small sandwiches. For several moments, they sipped their drinks and ate the sandwiches. It had been a common practice for them years past when Iris came to him for information or for purchases. Despite the severity of the situation, the familiarity of it was a general comfort.

Iris took a small sip of her tea, set it down and looked at him long and hard. In soft voice, she said, "You'll have to ask yourself who scares you more, Fredrick."

Damn her, he thought. They both knew the answer to that. Rodrigo could threaten all he liked, but Frederick was his primary source for goods. He wouldn't be able to find someone else half as good if he killed him. Rodrigo would never follow through. Iris on the other hand…

"Let me put it to you this way," Iris spoke again, "you'll simply have to tell him they were kidnapped right out from under your nose."

He snorted. "Like he's going to believe me."

"He will." Iris smiled.

"What have you done?"

"Nothing that you need to worry yourself about." She replied. "After all, ignorance is bliss, isn't it?"

He shook his head slowly. "Iris, I've always been fond of you. You've been one of my favorite customers and it's been nice to see you again. But I have to wonder, if you're not slightly insane."

"Of course I'm slightly insane." She laughed. "To do what I do? Complete sanity is a crutch I can't afford."

"I have some other merchandise you might be interested in seeing since you're here." He tried to appease her.

"I think not." Iris rose. "Let's just say you've been given fair warning. The Rangers go with me."

"Iris." He stood and watched her. "What makes you think you can get them out of my estate without getting caught?"

She smirked. "What makes you think they're still here?"

Frederick felt his jaw drop and was unable to make himself do anything to pick it up. She walked over to him and with the tip of her finger, pushed his jaw closed. When he could make himself speak again all he could say was, "Well played, Iris. Well played."

She simply raised her eyebrows. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Just remember, Frederick. It was a kidnapping."

"Of course." He said, finally regaining his composure.

Iris walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Though, while I'm here, now that you mention it, I've heard tell of some interesting short swords you have on hand."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Hello boys!" A blonde lanky man greeted.

Tank and Lester were carrying Ranger and helped him into the back of the waiting vehicle. How Liliana had managed to get them out of there without anyone noticing was a miracle. At least they thought so until they saw the man waiting for them.

"Dash, you bastard," Lester grinned, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Even Rangers need saving," Dash chuckled. Dash was a tall man, muscular, though not heavily so the way Ranger and the Merry Men were. His was more subtle. One of his fields of expertise was electronics. If anyone could have made it capable for them to escape, Dash would be the one for them to count on. The only person who knew as much about security systems and disarming them with the finesse he did was Hector.

"I don't know, Dash." Liliana threw a smile over at the men. "Lester seemed to want to be sold into sexual slavery."

Dash looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded, "Well, he'd be at the right place; Frederick would be able to sell him for a damn good price!"

"Let's get going." Liliana said, "it's gonna be cramped, we need to lay Ranger down."

Dash walked around and laid the back seat in the SUV down. He helped the men get Ranger in there. He let out a low whistle. "Damn. He piss Frederick off?"

"It took a few men to take him down," Bobby replied, "As we hear it, he took men down with him."

"Good ole Ranger!" Dash grinned. "We can always count on him."

"Frederick isn't happy about the loss of men." Liliana said as they all squeezed into the SUV.

"I'm sure Rodrigo paid him handsomely." Dash said starting the SUV. He looked behind them.

"Go. She'll catch up." Lil said.

"You sure?"

"Who are you talking about?" Tank demanded.

"We needed a distraction to get you out of there." Dash answered taking off. "Only one person scares Freddie enough to let us successfully get you out without raising his own little militia."

"How is it we've never heard of Frederick?" Lester asked.

"You haven't, but I'm sure Ranger has." Liliana replied. "He runs an all-you-can-buy-outlet of sorts. Just ask Frederick. He'll get you anything you need. Though, last I'd heard he stopped short of selling people."

"We know why he captured them." Dash said. "Or, we have an extremely good idea as to why."

"Care to enlighten us?" Bobby demanded as he attempted to continue looking over Ranger in their cramped space.

"Now's not really the time." Liliana said.

"What's going on in Trenton?" Tank inquired. "How was Steph when you left?"

There was an uncomfortable silence. "I left about two and half weeks after you did." She said finally. "Steph was trying to keep her cool about all of you being gone." She didn't mention that she was pretty sure Stephanie had cracked one of Lil's ribs when they were sparring. None of the men would believe her unless they saw it for themselves.

"Wait, two and a half weeks?" Lester's brow furrowed. "Last I checked we'd only been gone a couple weeks."

"They probably tranquilized you for a few days." Dash said. "Keeps the people quiet when business is being conducted."

"Fantastic." Bobby muttered. "There's no telling how long Ranger's been out then."

"No, but there's a private hospital we'll get him checked out once we're safe." Liliana replied. "We can't leave him there, so you'll have to keep watch over him depending on what the doctor says."

"What's going on in Trenton that you can't take us back there?" Tank asked.

"It's not for us to explain." Dash said before Liliana could. "You'll have to wait and trust us."

The rest of the drive was in silence. Unspoken questions floated around the vehicle that were being left unanswered until the right time came. Liliana and Dash weren't going to be the ones to tell them anything.

Tank looked out the window, his thoughts gravitating toward Stephanie. If it wasn't safe for them to be there then it couldn't be safe for Stephanie to be there either. From the feed he had seen of her confrontation with Liliana there was more to their favorite Bombshell than met the eye. He had agreed to keep quiet. Whatever she was hiding could it have had something to do with Ranger? Running a hand over his bald head he shut his eyes. No, he was pretty sure he was overthinking things.

But then again…Stephanie hadn't been pleased to see Liliana. She'd made that clear enough on the video. So in all probability, it was entirely possible that whatever was going on had to do with her. Opening his eyes he saw Liliana watching him. The look on her face answered the question he wanted to ask; this definitely had to do with Stephanie. She cast a warning look at him, telling him to keep quiet. With a slight nod, he knew he would.

"Here we go." Dash pulled into a private airstrip. A private plane was waiting for them. He pulled the SUV into the hanger and hopped out. Liliana got out and strolled leisurely to the plane. The men took care of bringing Ranger up with them.

Upon entering the plane, Liliana smiled and shook her head. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough."

Tank and Bobby came in from behind her. Bobby nearly dropped Ranger upon seeing who else was in the plane. "Steph?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lester demanded, almost shouting.

"I told you we needed a distraction." Liliana said. "Though how you beat us here…"

Stephanie waved a dismissive hand. "Guess you'll have to come with next time so I can show you how it's done. Again."

Bobby and Lester looked at each other and simultaneously said, "What the fuck is going on?" They looked at Tank who simply wore a shit-eating grin on his face.

Dash chuckled and as he passed Steph he asked, "Did you do it?"

"Yeah, I did it."

/\/\/\/\/\

Rodrigo walked out of his room, tying his robe closed. His current whore had been very satisfying. She was still in bed, and he had warned her that if she wasn't still wet for him when he got back there would be dire punishments.

He headed toward his office, wanting to take care of business while his whore sweated in his bed. Making them nervous was his own aphrodisiac. One of many, but it always made him hard again—even if punishment was required.

Walking into the office, he turned on the desk lamp and stopped. On top of his desk was a bouquet of blue irises, with a card attached. Slow fury was beginning to boil his blood as he opened the envelope and read the card.

You could never claim what is not yours.

Claiming what is mine will only bring my wrath.

Are you ready?

The note crumpled in his hand.

"Iris!"

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