Combining work and pleasure…

A/n…once again, not mine.

A/n 2 Ms. Dee, who is the slave driver who changes things to make the story so much more fun to read, although I do love abusing Helen myself…c&k…thanks for reading along.

Carlos and Stephanie had found an easy balance in their daily lives, breakfast together each morning before leaving for their own jobs. A midmorning call, lunch at their offices or downtown, always with her bodyguards, Hector or Hank. Sometimes Frank would join them as well.

With the election heating up in the debates, there were plenty of hecklers out in force. No matter where Juniak and his opponent went, it was either to the openings of stores, to parades or to the Trenton Civic Center for the debates themselves. Rangeman was on the job, no matter what.

Where The Mayor went, Stephanie was right by his side. Normally Carlos would have had a fit regarding the security, but since he had made the men partners, they were the ones having the fits. Carlos was along for the ride by being at his 'Babe's' side and not missing a thing.

Lester and Hal were enjoying doing things other than letting their asses fall asleep on surveillance. The kids were much better and more active, the men on duty never knew when those two would show up and so they always were 'aware of their surroundings'.

Twice they had to push the panic buttons and have one of the men take someone away. Then it was off to the interrogation room. The men weren't nice when it came to interrogation and they got the information!

Someone always talked. They would name people who gave them the dope to sell and as high up the food chain as it could go. Almost, but not directly pointing at the Mayor's staff. It was someone who had relatives in the city. Who hated the Mayor for sending his son to prison when Juniak was the district attorney of Trenton.

There was Still not enough proof of who was really doing this. Rangeman had been making progress as well. Jennifer Brown had them making lists and were cross checking items using the white boards in the conference room. These lists would be needed to prosecute the people in charge of this. It was looking like this was another way to discredit the Mayor for not being tough enough on crime to get re-elected.

What a mess Rangeman had right along with Stephanie and Juniak, but still Carlos and Stephanie were having a blast together, going into New York City to the theatre. One day Stephanie had hired a hot air balloon for the kids of the city parks. The last ride seeing the sunset, belonged to our favorite couple.

Carlos was having fun being a man in love for the first time; there were many firsts for them. Their first fight, disagreement really was who had the better basketball team, was it the New York Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets, The team had moved this year.

They never argued over grocery shopping or anything mundane, or who was cooking. They did everything together, the space they needed apart as a couple came from their jobs.

The peace they got at home was from each other, music playing in the background and a good meal was fix together. Even poker nights had been brought back. Once a week, the unlikely group which had started at five including Carlos, grew to seven as Hank and Hector thought they had mad card skills. All the money was still donated to the summer youth programs.

As summer was turning into fall, the campaign got nastier still. Each week more hate mail would arrive. Until one day, they had gotten lucky and a woman had went to mail her newest batch right at the post office where Frank Plum was the postmaster.

Frank had looked up and saw that the silent alarm button had been pushed. Frank had gone out front and saw a woman talking to his best clerk. It was then that he had hit the Rangeman panic button.

Standing right in front of the clerk was the opponent to Juniak's chief of staff, everyone knew her. As a matter of fact, her picture was right next to her bosses in all the papers. And in her hands was the last batch of letters to be mailed. What set off the clerk was seeing that the top envelope was addressed to Stephanie Plum c/o Mayor Joe Juniak, Trenton Courthouse. Hence the silent alarm to Frank. The Rangeman alarm, had the crew there within minutes.

Ram and Cal had been watching the post office stamps on the envelopes. They seemed to be mailed from certain offices or grocery stores. This week happened to be at Mr. Plum's office. They knew something like this was bound to happen. Now they knew who was taking the fall for it. Hopefully his daughter and his best friend might be safe for now, well safer than they were.

She was taken out in handcuffs and hauled off to the holding cell where this time Hank and Hector got to question her along with Ella in the room for a witness. Carlos was watching from the side of the wall. Hearing from the woman that smoke bombs were going to be used next to frighten off Juniak and Stephanie made him sick. He had felt a knot of fear growing in his stomach and his heart was racing.

That was his woman she was so callously talking about. Hurting her and her uncle was totally unacceptable and before the police came to take her away, they had a signed confession about who the culprits were and what the plans were that were supposed to happen.

Did the opponent know? Well of course he did, it was his niece that thought this scheme up in the first place, but with her uncles money.

Time seemed to fly by for everyone in Trenton; the weekly poker games that had started out as five, turned seven, now at times were held in the conference room at Rangeman. Carlos and Stephanie joined in and had some fun with the men that meant so much to him in the army, as well as employees who had turned into friends and partners in his business.

Juniak had said nothing of his opponent dropping out of the race. Once he was implicated by his own family member, it was all over but the crying, and still life in Trenton went on.

Stephanie and Carlos had taken out the Juniak's along with Grandma and Frank to eat brunch at the Green Light Café'. Grandma had to cancel, she was catching the bus to Atlantic City for the weekend, her clip and curl girls were on a mission, to win some money or die trying.

Everyone was enjoying their fruit smoothies and snacking on the fruit salad and buffalo wings being served, everyone was so nice and relaxed, joking around just like family.

Frank was just glad to get the bathroom to himself and spending time with his daughter and her 'roommate' or whatever they were calling themselves. Everyone was having a good time. That was until the voice of doom and gloom started talking, directly behind them.

Helen had walked up to their table, turning to Frank and said, 'Frank I tried to get a hold of you to pick something up for dinner tonight. When I found out where you were from your clerk, I came here' she ranted on, her voice getting higher. 'What's the meaning of this? And Stephanie, why don't you ever call me, or even come by? You should know how everyone is talking about you and your job', "the one you can't do", all without even taking a breath and never looking at Stephanie. She then turned her focus on Elaine Juniak and Joe 'I should have known you would be with my husband (never saying her daughter), it seems like you are joined at the hip, always causing scandals around Trenton. It's a shame you won, or are winning. I can't believe what all I am hearing about you both.'

Helen just kept ranting on and on and on. Now focusing her attention on the man holding her daughters hand in a most possessive way and 'who is this?' 'Why are you with him? Is there something you care to share with your mother?' "'Are you whoring around like you did in high school?'What will the neighbors think about you being with THAT man?' All the while she still had not looked at Stephanie. Everyone sucked in a breath, waiting to see what Steph would say or do. It was all Carlos could do "NOT" to pull his gun on her. Yes he still carried his guns and even had a couple of knives on him.

That was all that Stephanie needed to set her off. How dare her 'SO CALLED" mother talk about Carlos like that, she didn't even KNOW him! And questioning her morals? That was the final straw to her. Helen didn't even know she had just started a war. And then it was game on for them all. The Juniak's, Carlos and Frank just sat back never opening their mouths, this wasn't their show. It belonging to the ladies in their lives.

Stephanie held firmly onto Carlos's hand, inhaled and let the words fly out of her mouth. She was looking directly at Elaine while making it clear that what she was saying was meant for Helen. 'Mom, I have been over to your house on numerous times right?' Elaine just nodded her head and said 'of course my dear, we just had brunch last Sunday after church, all of us were together.' 'And we have talked about Carlos and me waiting right?' Yes dear we have and We, your father, uncle Joe and I applaud both of you waiting. We knew you would do the right thing with waiting till you were married.

Elaine looked at Helen and said her own piece of mind, 'I don't know how you call yourself a mother; only to one daughter and not to another, Valerie had to move across the damn country to get away from her own 'shrewish mother.' And look at how you treat Stephanie, she is so much more my daughter and Edna's daughter than any child you ever had, now leave before I pick up my husband's phone and have you arrested for harassment.'

Helen's red face had her vein on her forehead pulsing, as she turned away, never so mortified in her life. She had seen some neighbors in here eating and listening, now it would be all over their part of Trenton about how she got the smack down of her life via her own child and the Mayor's wife no less, Mrs. Elaine Juniak.

Frank picked up his cell phone and dialed his house, leaving a message on their home phone for Helen to hear when she arrived home. 'You better fix your own dinner tonight, because I have plans,' and he hung up the phone laughing.