"Okay, calm down everyone," said Vinnie from his vantage point. I was a little overwhelmed by all the questions aimed at me from everyone.

Joyce looked a little annoyed at his commanding tone but held her mouth shut when he looked back at her with cool eyes.

He looked back at me and I squirmed a bit underneath his black gaze.

He's your cousin, Steph. There's no reason for you to be scared, I reprimanded myself.

I sat up straighter and looked back at him, more relaxed.

He drummed long fingers on the desk. "I'm glad you're safe," he started.

It seemed everyone's eyes widened at his small show of affection.

His eyes got darker, but somehow...softer.

"We need you to tell us about what happened to you in all these months in order to piece together how to go about bringing him down. I know this is so sudden and that you've only just come back to us..but the sooner we can formulate a plan, the sooner we can all be in peace. Especially you."

I told myself I wasn't going to tear up and clenched my fist underneath the table.

"You're right. And don't worry about my 'fragile psyche'. I'm ready to make the fucker pay."

His eyebrows raised and a small smile peeked through. He knocked on the wood.

"Good."

Diesel has his hands overlapping and he had a very serious look on his face. It was somehow alien as he was always so cheerful and flirty.

A thought struck me and I tried to maintain my composure as I turned to him.

"If you really do have some sort of..spider sense.. about these kinds of things, why now? Why have you just now found me? I thought you were good at finding things?"

He raised his hands up at my warming tone. "I'm sorry Steph. I could feel something was up in Trenton but I ignored it. I was on an assignment with my partner and it's taken up a lot of my time. In fact, I'm still searching for," his face turned red and he backtracked a bit, "Um. I'm still on the job but my gut was telling me I couldn't ignore it. And here I am." His jaw clenched and suddenly I was enveloped by his huge form. His heat radiated to me and I lifted my arms, sinking into his embrace. He tightened his hold.

"I'm sorry, Stephanie. I'm so, so sorry," he said in a raspy voice.

I smiled from his back. "It's okay." We let go.

"It's a comfort knowing you're here," I said truthfully. "All of you."

Mary Lou wiped he tears away with a handkerchief. "We're so happy to see you again Stephanie."

With that, the meeting truly started and I related all the gruesome details of my isolation.

Briggs looked green by the end of it and they all had a mixture of emotions. Anger, disbelief, disgust. Pity.

"Wow." This was from Louise. "I'm going to give you a checkup after this okay?" I agreed.

"It was nearly impossible to find you. We had no motive. We didn't even have any witnesses on the day you were taken. Everyone else just assumed you had killed Accardi and-," Connie's eyes widened and her mouths snapped closed. She seemed at a loss for words.

"And Morelli. They assumed I'd killed Accerdi and Joe," I finished.

She nodded silently, not looking up.

"I'm guessing the story goes that after that, I'd gone into hiding."

"That is correct," said Joyce.

Sally Sweet stood and came to my side. He looked unusually refreshing without a hind of drag and his mass of black curls tied at the back of his neck.

He put him big, somehow feminine hand on my cheek and I smiled softly up at him.

"We all knew that obviously wasn't true. When I heard about what happened, I tried to reach everyone and anyone to get to the bottom of it. I heard about Lula but I knew there was no way a softie like you would be able to kill anyone!"

I raised my hand to his and held it there on my face.

"And Lula? Is she still..?" I asked very quietly.

"Yeah, she's still in a coma," said Randy, "but the docs said that she's doing a lot better now! And that there's a lot of hope for recovery any moment now! We know Lula, there's no way she's gonna stay down. I've personally experienced how..uhh..persistent she is." He rubbed his back as he recalled his not-so fond memories of our run-ins. I chuckled loudly.

"You're right. I know she'll be alright. I was hoping she'd already gotten better but there's no way she won't be back soon." I'd kept a vague hope in my full state all these months.

I know God won't take her away from me too.

"Louise has been keeping an eye on her at the hospital. Stopping by to see if she's alright. That way we can all rest assured that she's safe," said Joyce.

Louise smiled.

"Thank you."

"It's not problem girl," she replied easily.

"Let's get back to it shall we?," said Loki-I mean Vinnie, irritably.

I blinked. That avengers reference was still stuck in my head it seemed.

Well when you got Thor two seats away from him and Black-freaking-Widow over there pouting over having her thunder stolen from her at the head of the table, is it any wonder?

I really do need Louise to look me over. And maybe a psychiatrist.

I shook a at the thought and tuned into the conversation, trying to ignore my minds attempt at coping through humor.

Apparently.

"-with Briggs infiltrating the Rangeman building it should be a bit easier. But we have to be even more careful. He was probably aware of your snooping this entire time. Damn!" Vinnie clicked his tongue and a vein appeared prominently on his forehead.

Meanwhile Randy was sweating bullets.

"Y-you're right. He's probably been watching me all this time like a cat playing with his food..," he laughed, his blond hair quivering as his small form tried to stop shivering, and for the first time I truly saw fear in his eyes. Everyone else was stock-still, taking this revelation in.

"He's smart. Not that there was ever any doubt about that. He took me as soon as he saw the chance," I said roughly.

The image of Accardi, Lula, and Joe all lying in a ground with slowly growing puddles of red in my living room appeared as if etched onto my eyelids.

"But even the smartest people make stupid mistakes. And he made a fatal one when he underestimated me and I escaped."

"Ranger..," said Diesel softly.

I slammed my fist down, onto the table-

*BAM*

-and everyone looked at me, stunned.

"Do not mention his name. From this moment on."

They looked at me and at one another before nodding and ending it with a resounding-

"Yes."


We decided, in the end, to let Briggs act as if nothing had changed, and using that to our advantage. After Connie slowly crept into their database and got a fuller layout of the building, he would then be able to go by undetected.

At night, me, Diesel, and him would sneak in and get our hands on a copy of all the surveillance material and anything else that would bring him down.

That's all we had for the moment but we would have to hurry and make a concrete plan.

As soon as he found out I was gone it was a matter of racing against the clock.

I just prayed he wasn't as good at covering his tracks as he'd proven. It was a long shot.

Not to mention, according to Vinnie's 'informants' have been digging information out of Accardi's subordinates.

And it seems they have it out for me for supposedly offing their boss.

It was all so complicated. After I'd told them about the day I'd been taken and everything that had led up to now, it had only caused more confusion.

They couldn't imagine being tortured by these same thoughts for months. Thinking that everyone had lied to me and that my friends were actually my enemies.

I shifted to my side on the bed. We had decided that Joyce's mansion was too conspicuous, not to mention suspicious.

As of now I was taking up residence in Mooner's van with Diesel and him.

I could hear Diesel snoring not too far away in the darkness.

I shifted once again onto my back and closes my eyes.

In reality I was exhausted but all of these thoughts dug at me and I was afraid. Afraid to even close my eyes.

Tears ran down my face of their own volition. I wiped them away quickly. Somehow, this time, their brief warmth was comforting. Perhaps it was because I felt I still had tears to shed before I did away with this self-pity.

I was a survivor.

I smiled tiredly, and was carried off into sleep soon after.

Tomorrow.


Tomorrow. Why won't tomorrow just come already?, I thought to myself desperately.

Accardi smiled at me and raised the gun to me. "It seems fate has decided who will be the winner in this situation Ms. Plum."

I could hear my pulse in my ears as I looked up, into the barrel of his pistol.

Tears streaked my face and my hands shook.

I looked down at Lula, who was on my lap. Bleeding out.

My hands were drenched in her blood and she was unconscious. It was all my mind could take as everything seemed to spin

"Lula," I whispered, my voice trembling. "Lula!," I shouted, wailing.

I felt the cold metal press into my temple and Accardi kicked Lula off of me.

My breath left me, my mouth agape.

He crouched down to my eye level and smiled cruelly. "Now do I have your attention?"

I looked from my friend, my partner in crime of all this time and turned them to the madman before me.

"How could you...?"

He rolled his eyes. His neat suit and tidy appearance was drowned out by the unmistakable insanity seeming to emanate from him.

"I hate to do this, you know? But you got a little too close for comfort to my business. And I don't like to leave stones unturned."

I had been assigned to track down his brother for skipping and he had somehow led me to this.

If only I had cared more about my life than next months rent.

His eyes widened and he grinned widely. "Do you hear that?" He moved the gun to his ear in a mocking gesture as to listen intently.

I could hear someone approach hurriedly from the right side of the corridor. It was hard to be stealthy in my old apartment building. Someone coming in from the front door was an especially easy target.

"No! Don't com-!," I tried to shout but Accardi backhanded me so hard I fell to my side. My ears were ringing for a couple of seconds.

I was suddenly picked up and held before him as some sort of human shield.

Suddenly from behind us I heard something that made me cry with relief.

"Stephanie! MOVE!"

Confused, Accardi turned towards the voice and I took this opportunity to jump away from him.

*BAM*

*THUD*

I looked behind me, gasping at Accardi's unmoving form.

A single hole leaked from his forehead and his eyes were glazed in death.

I looked back.

Morelli ran to me from my bedroom door. It had not occurred to me that anyone would come me in through the fire escape.

I was enveloped in his embrace and I held onto him as if he were a life preserver.

I sobbed into his jacket and pulled away mumbling about Lula and how we had to take her to the hospital.

His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes widened when he looked over at Lula.

"Shit," he said under his breath.

He got up and walked over to her.

I started to get up as well.

*BAM*

One.

Time seemed to stop in one breathless moment.

Morelli's face turned to one of confusion.

"Wha-?"

Two.

Three.

He clutched his stomach and looked down at the three red holes on his shirt that were spreading.

Four.

He fell onto my carpet and my world shook.

I ran to him. "MORELLI!" I shouted, crying out. I fell into the ground Bessie him and shook him.

His breaths were shallow and getting weaker.

"MORELLI!"

His eyes, those chocolate eyes that have haunted my most intimate dreams and memories were black as they turned to me.

He slowly lifted up him arm and laid his hand on my face and mumbled something so softly I couldn't hear him.

I put my ear to his lips in panic as I held his hand like a lifeline.

"..love...you."

My eyes widened and my body shook as I felt his arm go limp.

I closed my eyes and kissed him. His lips, his nose, his cheeks. I stroked his face and pulled back.

The last red spot in his shirt lay right over his heart and his eyes were empty except for a tear that slid down his face silently.

I tried to scream but only cracking sounds could escape my throat.

I heard a creak behind me and turned back slowly.

I inhaled.

"Ranger..?"

His lean form towered over us, the light coming in from the doorway behind him obscuring his expression.

"Babe."

I heard a click and looked at his right hand were a gun glistened silently.

No. Nonononononononono.

I shook my head.

He raised his arm-

"No," I begged, my voice haggard.

-and then the darkness took over.

The same one I'd come to know personally. Every. Day. Afterwards.


A/N: I'm sorry for reuploading for those of you who read it already but I had forgotten to add this when is posted it. If any of you would be willing to describe the characterization of the Merry men characters (appearance/personality/etc. it would really help me create more quality content from this point in terms of being as in-character as they can be. I'd appreciate any help you can give. Thank you.