Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.

Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.

This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series.

I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference.

Chapter 21: Captives

Unknown POV:

I couldn't believe it was all Vito Grizzoli's fault! He was the one who started all this! I lifted my chin and determined not to show any emotions. I walked over to my old friend and caressed the rifle. It had seen a lot of use recently. I lifted it and aimed. Squeezing the first shot and hitting Terry dead center in the forehead and then seconds later hitting Vito in the same location. My eyes narrowed as I lowered the rifle. Soon little sister. Soon it would be your turn. First there were a few things I had to take care of. I stripped the riffle down and fit it into the briefcase. I then made my way down to the street and hailed a cab. I smiled as I slipped into the back seat and my daddy turned to smile at me and ask where to. I smiled back and relayed the address where I was headed. I sat back and relaxed. I was safe now. Daddy wouldn't let any harm come to me. Just as we were moving away from the scene, a woman with a camera snapped my photo. My eyes took in everything about her and I smiled. I knew who she was, so I could pay her a visit later and explain about not wanting my picture taken. Before I got done she would get the point.

Stephanie's POV:

The three weeks after Vito and Terry Grizzoli were murdered were filled with a great bit of tension. I received black roses every day. Connie had finally been released from the hospital, and in an effort to find out who might be behind everything, Lula tried talking to Connie and getting the low down. Connie was refusing to talk. She said it would mean her life if she talked and she didn't like me well enough to risk her life. I got a funny feeling when Connie said that and decided to visit the police station to see if I could talk to Jorgio Lubnick. I had an idea that maybe he'd had some help in deciding he wanted to stay in jail. Morelli arranged for me to get into talk to him and several of the guys were there to make sure I was safe. Carl, Big Dog and Eddie were all there as well as Joe and Ranger insisted on going with me as well as Tank.

There would have been more Merry Men but I wanted Jorgio to talk to me. He was brought into the visitor's room and I asked him why he chose to stay in jail when it was obvious his family would bond him out. He looked around and shook his head; "The walls have ears." was all he would say. I leaned into him and whispered, "The thing is, someone is after me. They seem to be targeting anyone that gets in the way between them and me. I'm willing to let it be known that you are now in the way."

Jorgio's eyes widened and I knew I was on the right track. "She'll kill me. She's crazy. Said if I got out of jail again she'd find me and kill me. She said you were her toy and no one else was allowed to play with you."

"Do you know what she looks like?"

Jorgio shook his head. "She was dressed all in black like some kinda ninja. She had a wicked looking rifle with her. Said if I didn't go back to jail she was going to have some fun with it."

I had the feeling he'd told us all he could. I thanked him and made my way out of the building with Tank and Ranger flanking me. I had just exited the building when Val pulled her vehicle to a stop in front of me and started coming at me. She was screaming about how I'd killed her mother and took her father from her and how I had ruined her life because now everyone was saying Vito Grizzoli was her father. She pulled out a gun from her purse and as she went to raise it a shot was fired and Val was hit in the center of her forehead. She dropped to the ground and lay there looking up at us, sightless.

Police were streaming from the building and fanning out but there was no sign of the shooter. Ranger and Tank were covering me as we hurried back into the building. Ranger made a call. I heard him telling someone he wanted answers now. When he joined us he told us there might be a lead. It seems someone got a picture of someone leaving the Grizzoli murders in a cab. Tank and Ranger hurried me out to the SUV and we headed back to Rangeman. We were almost there when Ranger got a call and we switched directions and headed for St. Francis as fast as the vehicle would go. When we got there Ranger forced his way back to the triage area and checked behind the curtains until he found the person he was searching for.

Tank was staying by my side and I was having trouble keeping up. When I heard Ranger say, "Jeanne Ellen?" I thought maybe I should give him some privacy but Tank kept me going till we had joined Ranger and the woman on the gurney. When I entered the area, Ranger took my hand and pulled me to him. I gave him a puzzled look and he leaned his forehead against mine as he told me, "Babe, this is Jeanne Ellen Burrows. I asked her to look into this from another angle. She's been following us around trying to get anything on the person we are after. She had a photo of someone leaving the Grizzoli murders and was on her way to Rangeman with it when she was blindsided. The photo is a casualty."

I nodded that I understood. I tried not to be jealous of the familiar way Ranger and Jeanne Ellen interacted but I don't think I was completely successful. Jeanne Ellen let out a hoarse laugh and told Ranger he should formerly introduce us. That's when I learned that Batman had a sister. Ranger pulled me closer and told me Jeanne Ellen was his sister. When I made reference to that making her Cat Woman she laughed and said I better not tell Ram. When I looked puzzled, Ranger explained that Jeanne Ellen and Ram were engaged. Seconds later Ram was barreling into the room and demanded somebodies head on a platter.

Fortunately Jeanne Ellen had only been grazed with the bullet. Still, she was lucky to be alive since she had in effect seen the person who was behind all this. Ranger arranged for Junior and Hal to guard her door and Ram would stay with her till she could be released. The three of us headed back to Rangeman. Jeanne Ellen had given us her camera and Ranger planned to see if Hector could do any magic to get us the picture that was on the clip that had been taken. I remembered Jeanne Ellen mentioning something about the person getting into a cab and I had a thought. I called my dad and asked him if he could drop by Rangeman. He agreed and said he'd be there in a few minutes.

When Binkie called up to say my father was there I headed downstairs to meet him. Ranger was in a meeting with a team to see what they could recover from the camera. My dad smiled as I entered the lobby and he gave me a big hug. I asked him if he knew which one of the cabs might have picked up a fare near the Club where Vito and Terry were killed. He frowned for a minute and then he admitted that he had picked up a regular there. I asked him who that was and when he told me everything fell into place. We were moving across the lobby to the elevators when the door to the street opened and a shot was fired. Binkie went down but before I could help him and then there was an automatic being aimed in my direction. I wasn't surprised to see the woman in front of me. I was hoping she would just take me but luck wasn't on my side because she insisted daddy come with us.

We held our hands up to let her know we were unarmed and we moved towards the door to the street. I glanced up at the camera and said a quick prayer that the guys on monitors had picked us up and were letting Ranger and the others know right this minute what was going on. We walked slowly out to my dad's cab and she had us get inside. She sat beside me in the back and gave the directions to a remote location not far from the house I had bought. When we arrived we got out of the car and she directed us inside. It looked like she'd put a lot of thought into what she'd need if she ever got me this far. I tried to get her talking but she waved the gun in my face and told me to stop the chit chat.

She had a recliner just like my dad's positioned in front of a TV. It was freaky just how much it looked like the den of my parent's house. There was a dining room table and kitchen area that looked like theirs as well three beds. One looked like my parent's, another was hidden behind a partition and then there was the one she indicated I should move towards. She handcuffed me to the headboard with a chain attached so I could use a hidden stool if I needed the bathroom. I had a feeling she had been planning this for a long time. I sat on the bed and lowered my head. I pretended to be resigned to my fate and stayed as quiet as possible. My dad took the chair that was so much like his own and tried to sit as he normally would as he watched TV. I saw the concerned look he shot me when she wasn't watching and I tried to let him know I was okay. The important thing for now was to play along until we were in a position to act.

Ranger's POV:

We were in the conference room and Hector was trying to get the images from the camera. He was having some success when the alarm went off indicating a shot had been fired in the building. Hank burst in and told us a woman had just entered the lobby and shot Binkie, then took Stephanie and her father and left the building. I demanded the feed be transferred to the conference room and 15 minutes later I knew everything there was to know about the woman. I had an address and we were rolling. The location was close to where Steph's house was. We surrounded the area and I sent Hector in to find out what the situation was.

When Hector came back he told us the dad was sitting in a recliner watching TV and Steph was handcuffed to a bed with a chain that would allow her to move a short distance. We went over a plan and when it was time to move out I gave the order. I made sure everyone knew that Babe was to be protected at all costs. I also wanted her father unhurt if we could manage it. We had all reached our positions and were waiting for the right moment to move together. I was able to see the woman come over to where Stephanie was seated and say something. I couldn't hear what Stephanie was telling her but the woman was getting more agitated. Suddenly the woman lifted the automatic and yelled out, swinging it in Stephanie's direction.

I know, I know…..but I'm addicted to cliffhangers. I love writing them. However, when I'm the reader I respond just the way you are about to respond. Don't worry though; I will get the next chapter up before the end of the day tomorrow.