Don't own them, don't make money.

Chapter 9

The day to say goodbye had finally arrived. We were standing at the airport, waiting for my flight to be boarded. I wanted to go back to Trenton, but also didn't want to leave. These guys had helped me a lot over the last six months. I dreaded leaving them behind, but I was anxious to see Ranger. Talking on the phone and via e-mails isn't the same as spending the night cuddled up to each other.

Tank already knew when I would be back, and he would come to pick me up at the airport. I was kind of uncomfortable walking around unarmed. I never thought that I would say this, but I felt kind of naked without my guns and knives. TK had called in a favor with the government and had gotten me a license to be able to stash my armory in my check- in luggage. And I had a lot of luggage. I got to take the whole closet, that included now special tanks to show off my new tattoo. Tank had just laughed when I told him to bring a big vehicle. The license made me feel better, so I could dress myself once I got my luggage back. For now Mick had lent me his back up piece. He had felt how uncomfortable I was. These guys knew me too good.

My flight was announced and the dreaded time to say goodbye finally came. Everyone swept me up in a hug and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Everyone whispered in my ear that they were proud of me. We agreed to stay in contact and we promised to visit each other. But now I wanted to get home. I wanted Ranger to hold and kiss me, to touch me. But I couldn't wait to show all the people I had left at home, that I had done it. I, the Bombshell Bounty Hunter, had become so good, that I could beat military guys with years of training. Maybe, if I got lucky, I could beat Tank or even Ranger. I couldn't wait to test it.

Before long I sat in the plane, ready to leave for Trenton. During the flight I made use of one of my new skills, I slept. I had never been able to sleep on a plane without Ranger.

When the plane finally began its descend I got a little nervous. Sure the guys had told me what had been going on, but I needed to catch up with Mary Lou and my parents, with the girls at the office. It was time for a girls night out, but first I needed to see Ranger. My fretting had taken up so much time the next thing I knew the plane had stopped and the first passengers were leaving the plane. But I was also a little afraid of what people might say.

"Stop it Plum, it doesn't matter what other people think. You are happy with yourself. That's all that's important."

After my little pep talk to myself I walked towards the luggage claim, where I had asked Tank to wait for me. But apparently he wanted to surprise me. Standing there, next to him, was Ranger, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. We ran towards each other, totally ignoring everyone around us. Seemed like Tank didn't tell him who they were waiting for. He engulfed me in his arms and kissed me breathless. I had Tank told to look for Army luggage, so he gathered all my bags while Ranger was kissing me. And we had attracted quite a crowd. Once Tank had collected all my bags, I snagged the case with my weapons, threw a "Be right back!" over my shoulders and disappeared into the Lady's room, where I dressed myself. I was already wearing all the holsters, so I only had to attach the weapons. But you shouldn't show in public how much firepower you have at hand.

I emerged five minutes later to the stares of Ranger and Tank.

"What? I had to get dressed?" They just smiled and Ranger made a motion for me to turn around. He wouldn't see much. I was wearing black combats and heavy boots with a snug fitting black tank top and a black leather jacket to hide two of my guns and the throwing knives. My hair was longer and swept up in a high ponytail, topped with Ranger's Seal hat. I was in combat mode, but smiling.

"You had to get dressed? You are carrying? Willingly? Where are the aliens who took our Bomber?"

"Sorry Tank, I go by Moxie now or Dragon. Depends on who is calling me. And yes, I carry. A lot. You wouldn't want to find out what and how much."

"I like your new attitude, Babe." He was lucking funny at the mention of 'Moxie', I just couldn't decipher what had crossed his eyes, because it was gone too fast.

"Worked hard to get it. Let's go, I'm hungry." This only caused Tank to snicker.

"Hey, the last time I had sugar was over three months ago. They only fed me rabbit food. I need sugar. And you both know how delicious the stuff is they serve on flights." I hadn't had Ranger, but only my shower massager. And it was made worse by the sugar withdrawal I went through. You have no idea how hard this was for me. Ranger flashed me his patented wolf grin. He seemed to know where my thoughts were headed. But Batman, gotta surprise you, I enhanced my ESP as well.

"Gotta wait for that, Batman."

"Huh?"

"I can ESP, you know?" Ranger was actually speechless and and Tank grinned at me, giving me the thumps up.

Tank was getting impatient. "Alright guys, let's get going. Wouldn't want to let the others wait to long."

Ranger was surprised. "They knew?" I didn't know, so Tank had to answer.

"Yes, everyone besides you. I think they already have TK and his team on a video call, catching up. So let's go. I don't want to risk Bomber's stomach growl so loud that security comes running. We can hid a drive through on the way home."

"Yup." Ranger still looked like he couldn't believe it. The Merry Men had managed to keep something from him. This should be a first.

"No MacDonald's, thanks. I prefer Ella's cooking." This got me a raised eyebrow from Tank.

Ranger just stared at me, so I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the car, while Tank took care of all my stuff. I had only a little backpack which I had had on the flight with me. Filled with veggies, water and the latest version of Guns& Ammo. I had changed a lot. 8 months prior, my bag would have been filled with sweets and make up. I never wore make- up anymore on a daily basis. It's to much trouble to take off when you are dead tired and swaying on your feet and my skin was glowing anyway. I only used it for special occasions now.

Tank beeped the car open and took the drivers seat. I shoved Ranger into the back seat and followed him, snuggling up to him. I leaned up to breath "I love you." into his ear and fell asleep.

I woke up when we arrived at the Haywood offices. Everyone was gathered in the garage, all the Merry Men, Ella, my parents and Grandma Mazur, Mary Lou, Lula and Connie. Thank god they didn't invite Valerie and her family. Morelli wasn't there, but I was fine with that. I had not once thought about him while I was away, whereas I had thought about Ranger in every free minute I had, especially while he was on his mission.

Ranger already had my door open. "Come on, Babe. It won't be that bad."

"How can you say this? They gonna find out that I lied to them. My mom will disown me. I will never get cake again."

"Calm down. You lived three month without any sugar at all, so you will survive one more day as well. I will tell Ella to make you a cake. But now come on." I had told him about the surprise cake and Suzie's resistance to feed me sugar.

Finally convinced, I got out of the car. Everyone was moving in on me and I had to restrain myself not to pull a gun on them. 'Plum, get back to civilian mode.' It was only a little over a day that we had accomplished the mission and I was still high alert. Something I had to work on. Ranger seemed to sense my unease. He stood behind me and pulled me into him, calming me but also making it impossible for me to pull the gun stashed in my waistband, until Lester took me to engulf me into a hug and handed me off to the next Merry Man. I wandered from guy to guy, everyone praising my accomplishments, how proud they were of me.

I finally stood in front of my mom, who was crying. She hugged me and sobbed, "Stephanie, I'm so proud of you. I was so worried, but Ranger assured us that you were okay. But let me have a look at you. You have lost some weight, you look so great. You know, I always was against your job, because I was afraid you would get hurt. But now I'm sure you have everything what it takes to be a good bounty hunter." My jaw hit the floor.

That's a first, my mom is proud of me. My dad just hugged me and whispered "Proud of you."

Lula and Connie were as enthusiastic as always. "Damn, white girl, you look good. But I could bust a cap up your ass for not telling us."

Tank felt the need to cut in "Wouldn't try this if I were you, Lula. White girl here can protect herself. Kicked TK's ass thoroughly."

That caused a series of "Wow" from the Merry Men.

My dad asked "THE TK?" Which got him nods from all the Merry Men and Ranger as well. Seemed like it was a very, very big deal, to kick his ass. But how did my Dad know of him? Sure he was in the army, but what did he do? When I thought about it, I knew almost nothing about my dad's past in the army. This screams special forces. I would have to ask him about this later.

Grandma Mazur was occupied with ogling the guys, so only Mary Lou was left to welcome me back. Ella had nodded at me and left, probably preparing something to eat for me. She knew that I could eat constantly. Mary Lou engulfed me in a hug like everyone else before.

"I'm so glad you are back. It was boring without you. Not a single car was blown up since you left. The cops don't know what to do with their time and money. They have nothing to bet on anymore."

"Let's hope we can keep it this way. I'm glad to be back." And if it was too boring, I could always plant a bomb myself. Should be funny to see their faces.

"We should have a girls' night soon, so we can catch up. I'm sure you have a lot to tell us." I had only time to nod.

"Alright Ladies and Gentlemen," interrupted us Tank, "let's move this party upstairs. Ella should have everything ready by now."

My family and the girls took the elevator while the guys, Ranger and I headed towards the staircase. That got me another surprised look from the guys. They knew I used to hate exercise. Little did they know. I was a junkie.

"Ranger?"

"Yeah?"

"Where am I staying?"

"I thought, you would move in with me, if this is alright with you." His tone was light, but I could feel how tense he was suddenly.

"I would love to." I grinned at him. I could see the tension flow out of his body. His jaw unclenched and his shoulders loosened.

"Why are you asking?"

"Well, I should loose some of my armory. When I'm inside I have to take off my jacket and I don't want my mom to see the throwing knives that are attached to my forearms. And one gun less should do, but I wouldn't want it to lie around, in case Grandma Mazur finds them."

I knew that I was safe in the building, so I could let my guard down a little. I was a lot more like Ranger now, always alert, always aware of my surroundings. This caused me to be constantly armed. And I was relieved that I wouldn't have to live in my apartment anymore, it's just not safe. I always knew this, but it had never bothered me. Another aspect of my life that had changed. I just hoped my luck with cars would also improve, because then my life would be nearly perfect.

"Okay, we can head up to the apartment to undress you and then join the party, shall we?"

"Yup."

"Babe, what are you carrying besides your throwing knives and at least two guns?"

"I think you should explore and find out later. I have some surprises for you." With that I gave him my version of the wolf grin. And he was in for some big surprises.

We deposited my weapons in the safe in his closet and headed down to the big conference room. Now that I had taken off the jacket you could see how toned my body really was. Ranger hadn't seen it before and he was impressed, but he wasn't the only one. Everyone was staring at me. I could understand them, but it was a little unnerving to be watched like animals at a zoo. Okay, I had chosen my clothing to show off my body, but they could have checked me out a little bit more subtle.

"What?" My tone was clipped, but I was tired and hungry.

Lester piped up "Bomber, you sure lost some weight and gained some muscle."

"Yeah Lester. That's what training does to you. And I go by Dragon now at least to those who are close to me. The government knows me as Moxie, so you can choose. No more Bomber, please."

"How did you come to these nicknames?" Vince asked. Why did they all look at me with such big eyes? I would have to ask one of them later.

"I have no idea what caused Dragon, you will have to ask TK. He came up with it. Has anybody called them to tell them I made it home safely?"

"Yeah, we agreed to have a video call in about an hour. Should give you time to eat first." Tank informed me. "But what's with Moxie?"

"Moxie I got when I had finished my training, but before we went on a mission. TK can also explain it later."

Ranger eyes had widened slightly, shocked expression were on everyone else's faces. "You went on a mission?"

"Yeah, wasn't a big deal. Can we talk about this later?" The information wasn't qualified, but I didn't want my family and friends to hear this, except maybe my dad. The guys nodded, they understood where I was coming from, and my answer had satisfied them for the moment. They knew they would get their answers later. And this whole company is known to be patient.

Until then I hadn't realized the feast Ella had prepared for us. I walked over to help myself and had to find out that Ella once again had outdone herself.

"Is there anything else I can do for you dear?"

Before I could think "Adopt me" slipped out. Oops, I sure hope my mom didn't hear me. Ella just smiled warmly at me, loading my plate down with a little bit of everything. I trusted Ella to prepare something I would love, so I didn't care. While Ella had loaded my plate Ric came up behind me and wrapped me in his arms.

"Love you, Babe" he whispered in my ear, so no one else could hear him.

"Love you, too."

"Can I still call you 'Babe'?" Huh?

"I will strangle you if you don't." I could feel him chuckle behind me.

He sat down in a chair at the big conference table and pulled me into his lap.

"Don't you want to eat something?"

"I thought we would share a plate. I wanted to feed you Babe." No way. That's my plate.

"Nope. I don't think that's gonna happen." He looked surprised and somewhat shocked. Okay, maybe I better share or he will withhold other things from me. Not a good idea. "Okay, changed my mind. We will share." He grinned at me. Bastard could probably read my thoughts.

After we were all full it was nearly time for the call with my guys in Mexico, so everyone but the Merry Men, Ranger and my Dad stood up to leave.

They came, hugged me goodbye and told me to come by soon. My mom invited us for diner, but I wasn't sure if we could make it.

"Daddy, how come you are staying?"

"There's a lot you don't know about me, but you are going to find out in a few minutes." Why was everybody grinning at me?

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