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Joe stepped round them both and cleared his throat noisily. Ranger pulled himself back from the hug he was wrapped up in and reluctantly let Steph go.
She smiled at him turned to Joe and sunk into his chest. It almost felt as good as Ranger's.
Almost.
But she didn't want to focus on that right now. He couldn't or wouldn't give her the relationship she craved and Joe could. So she'd settled for what Morelli was offering. It was enough, hopefully.
She realised as she buried her head further into Joe's chest that she was bracing herself for his disapproval of the situation they found themselves in and that thought made her sad.
Morelli pulled back from her slightly so that he could check her over and make sure that she was OK and for the first time ever he realised that perhaps he didn't really know Steph at all. However, just as he was about to say something the building shuddered and everyone was brought quickly back to reality.
"Back up required in 2R. We've wounded enemy for pick-up" Ranger said into his mic, returning to solider mode. He didn't want to hang about in case the building collapsed but he knew that they needed to get Brewster and Catalano out with them. He bent down and cuffed Brewster who was still in the foetal position. It was evident why he was flat out on the floor as he was still clutching his crotch and had started to moan softly. Ranger looked at Steph and raised an eyebrow. She grinned all wide-eyed and innocently from within Joe's embrace. It was clear that Brewster was coming round so would be able to walk out albeit with some assistance.
Brewster groaned more loudly as Ranger hauled him to his feet and tried to straighten him up. Easier said than done when your gonads are sitting in your throat, Ranger thought and smiled to himself. It was such a shame Steph didn't realise her own strength and he prayed that Morelli would not stifle her. No point in thinking about that now – she'd chosen the cop – best not to dwell on the fact that in less than two weeks she'd be out of his life.
Forever.
Joe let go of Steph and pulled the door off Catalano's body. He'd only been shot in the upper arm and would still have been standing if it wasn't for the door and two men who'd bounced on top of him. Although Morelli was pissed off that Steph had landed herself in this situation he couldn't help but smile to himself as he picked up Eduardo's feet and began to drag him out of the doorway. He yelled for everyone else to follow.
o0o0o0o0o0o
The building was cleared by 2.28am and the minibuses were filled and moving by 2.47am. The building started to collapse at 2.53am.
o0o0o0o0o0o
No-one got much sleep that night. Lester, Hector and Hal escorted the four casualties to St Francis for assessment. Unfortunately Brewster and Catalano tripped down the stairs and picked up a few more bruises and broken bones along the way. Shame.
The unharmed victims and villains were taken to Trenton PD to be processed and Ranger, Tank and Morelli stayed to help.
Steph went with Bobby, Rhianna and Britney to be checked out at Haywood. Lionel met them to take Steph back to her place and Rhianna and Britney back to his.
The rest of the Merry Men went home to their respective beds to catch a few zeds before the dawn broke.
Steph opened her apartment door at 5.17am and collapsed asleep on her bed at 5.17 and 43 seconds. Lionel locked her in and set off back to his car to take his charges back to his apartment.
o0o0o0o0o0o
Joe and Ranger sat on the bench by the front desk, nursing coffees and waiting for the last few pieces of paperwork to be completed. The corridor was quiet and after the chaos and noise of the take down it was a stark contrast. Both men were dead on their feet as the adrenaline had worn off over an hour ago. It was all they could do to sit upright.
Ranger glanced at his watch, it was 6.32. The day was just beginning as the booking sergeant returned with the last completed forms and the two men stood up to greet him, their limbs like lead. The effort to move was almost too much for either of them to cope with.
"Good job, Ranger" said Joe, begrudgingly, reaching to shake his rival's hand. They'd managed to rescue 32 women, aged 15 to 27 and 11 children aged 4 upwards.
18 men plus Brewster and Catalano had been taken into custody as a result of the takedown and the total amount of reward money that would be paid by the 'Grateful State' was in excess of $380,000 and climbing.
"Quite a result" Joe continued.
"Nothing to do with me" Ranger replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
"?"
"It was Steph's idea" he enlarged.
"I don't understand."
"She asked for help and we gave it to her" Ranger replied again, his tone like that of a patient adult to a young child.
"Why would you help Steph if not for the money?" Joe said, looking totally non-plussed.
"It's what friends to for each other." Ranger replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly, a looked of frustration on his face. Gee how dumb is this man? He thought crossly.
Joe looked thoughtful for a moment before he said "did she ask Rangeman or you?" softly.
"Don't ask me to answer that, you've already won" came the soft reply and before the strained conversation could go any further, Tank appeared from behind the booking sergeant, tiredness etched onto his face. He took the outstanding paperwork and motioned to Ranger that it was time to leave.
Ranger nodded towards Joe and followed Tank out of the door, each man lost in his own thoughts.
Joe said his goodbyes to his old colleagues and left shortly afterwards.
