AN: Thanks for all your wonderful reviews! It means a lot to me that so many of you are still with me! There's one more chapter after this :-)

Disclaimer: Don't own them, don't make money off them. I'm just playing!

Masquerade

Chapter 24

Ranger was shoved aside by Tank who dropped to his knees and hurriedly worked to pick the lock of the door. They saw the shock on Ranger's normally stoic face. Everything Rodrigo had put Stephanie through had raced through his mind. She had locked herself in a room with her target and tormentor. After all that had happened it boiled down to a gun.

"Ranger, man, we're in." Dash said as he and Tank shoved the door open.

Everyone burst into the room to find two bodies on the ground. Rodrigo lay on the far side of the room, blood pooling under the no longer sadist. Ranger was looking at Stephanie who was also laying on the ground. Adela was kneeling down, with Stephanie's head in her lap. Ranger didn't hesitate to run over to her.

Dropping to his knees he let out a hoarse, "Babe."

Adela looked up at the dark man in front of her. There was something terribly intimidating about him, but after her dealing with Rodrigo she was feeling less fear than she might have normally. "She hit her head, when she fell. I thought she should have bled when she was shot..."

Ranger glanced at her, the blank face masking the confusion of what Adela was saying. His attention turned back to Stephanie. There was no blood on her, yet she wasn't conscious. He looked her over trying to find the source. There were plenty of bruises from fighting.

He almost jumped when her eyes flew open. Relief flooded him. "Babe."

"Shit." She wheezed out. "Reika was right. These vests are the shit."

Ranger looked at her top and felt his heart stop. There, just below her left breast, was a lodged bullet. It had been stopped by one of the new top of the line bullet proof vests General Reginald had sent them. They were designed to look like regular clothes, enabling those on missions to be more protected when they needed to blend with their surroundings. Ranger hadn't thought about what Steph was specifically wearing when she left. She had left before the rest of them knowing she would get to Rodrigo the quickest.

"Babe." He grinned.

Adela raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't really have a one word vocabulary do you?"

Stephanie laughed as she sat up. "He says a lot with one word. How are you? How badly did he hurt you?"

"He did not hurt me as badly as he has hurt others." Adela replied. "I'll live. I'm thankful he didn't get my daughter. Now, Stephanie Plum?"

Everyone in the room froze. Stephanie looked Adela over, trying to decide what to tell her. Adela saved her by continuing, "Many people feared Rodrigo. I know many governments who were unable to get rid of his influence. Whoever sent you was very smart. Your secret is safe with me. I will not tell anyone."

"Thank you."

She shook her head. "We owe you thanks. You've put the devil back in hell."

"I appreciate your discretion, Adela," Stephanie said.

Adela smiled and said, "I would really like to leave now. I would love to talk to you more, but in a more comfortable setting. Plus I need to call my daughter. I want to make sure she is still safe."

"Of course."

"Babe." Ranger helped her stand then pulled her close, breathing her in. He felt the tension leave his body knowing she was alright. In her ear he whispered, "Go with Adela. Take her back to our villa. The rest of us will finish up here."

She nodded, and turned to Adela. She was staring at the couple with a raised eyebrow. "Still with the one word." Stephanie laughed as she led her friend out of the cellar. The men heard Adela continue, "He is really quite good looking though."

"Adela, I don't share well." The men snickered at Stephanie's response.

/\/\/\/\/\

Stephanie smiled as she watched Adela placate her daughter. She had been on the phone for the last hour trying to reassure her daughter that she was alive and unharmed. From what Stephanie could see Adela had indeed fared much better than any of Rodrigo's other victims, herself included. Stephanie was already feeling the effects from her fight with the now dead man. Despite her pain, she felt relief. Relief that she no longer had the subconscious need to look over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being stalked. She didn't known yet if she would have nightmares, but if she did she knew Ranger would be there to help her. They had come a long way during this mission.

"Well, now that I've convinced her not to come flying back, I can take a moment to breathe." Adela sat down across from her. She took a long look at Stephanie. "Will you tell me about yourself?"

Hesitating briefly, Stephanie said, "It's probably best if you don't know."

"Stephanie, it is your choice to keep your secrets to yourself, but Rodrigo ousted you in front of me. On top of that there's Frederick, who we both know can find out for me."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Stephanie raised her eyebrows.

"I am trying to know the woman who set so many people free." Adela answered sincerely. "Why did you disappear the first time? Why couldn't you kill him then? Why wait so long?"

"You don't hold back do you?" She took a deep breath and looked at Adela for a moment. The truth was she had honestly missed this woman. Of all the missions she had ever done, there was a very small number of people she genuinely liked and had missed. One was Frederick, though he was still in hot water for his treatment of Ranger, and the other was Adela. Something in her gut told her she could trust Adela.

So she began her tale. She left out a large amount, such as her beginning into the world of undercover weapon, but focused mostly on her first attempt at Rodrigo. Adela listened intently, her face schooled into a blank expression that would have made Ranger proud. Stephanie found it therapeutic to open up to Adela.

When she finished, Adela reached over and grabbed one of her hands. She squeezed it comfortingly. "You've been through Hell, and all I can do is thank you for saving me, saving so many others, and telling me your story."

Before Stephanie could say anything Frederick burst into the room. The normally calm man scanned the room desperately before his eyes settled on the woman he loved. In quick strides he had Adela in his arms. Cupping her face in his hands he asked, "Are you alright?"

She melted into his arms, forgetting about Stephanie and savoring the warmth and comfort Frederick's arms provided her. She had always felt safe in his arms and was very glad to be there now. They both knew when it was just the two of them she would finally break down, but Frederick knew that wouldn't be until it was night and they were tucked away in bed. Those were the moments when Adela felt safe enough to let her guard down.

"Yes," She murmured softly, "Iris saved me. We are free, Frederick. Finally free."

Knowing what she meant his wrapped his arms around her, looking at Stephanie. "Thank you."

/\/\/\/\/\

"Are you alright?" Ranger whispered into her ear that night. She was cocooned in his arms. The moonlight spilling into the room enabled her to seen him clearly, but she didn't need light to see how concerned he was about her. After all, she had gone up against her devil knowing one of them would die.

"I'm relieved," Steph answered honestly. "I don't feel burdened by the ghost of his presence any longer."

"I wish you hadn't locked the door."

"I'm sorry, I just had to make sure he didn't escape. It was foolish of me because Adela was still in there. I barred her escape too." She had apologized to him for that move several times since they had come back to the villa.

Stephanie had been waiting for them, enjoying the moments of quiet after Frederick had whisked Adela to her main villa. Partly to have time to themselves and partly because Adela had a traitorous servant to deal with. When they had left Stephanie had heard Adela debating punishments for Selma, knowing what a difficult position the young girl had been in.

When everyone had returned Bobby had taken a look at all the wounds they had obtained, Stephanie being the most injured, the majority of it being bruises. Rodrigo wouldn't do his worst to her until he had shown her who the superior person was. She was glad that she had never shown him what she was capable of until that last fight. The element of surprise had definitely been on her side.

The local news reported a massive fire on Rodrigo's estate. As of now, there were no survivors. Rodrigo's body had been discovered in the ashes. You could feel the collective sigh of relief the city gave at that news. Even from their villa the team felt the lighter atmosphere take over. Right now the fire was being ruled as Rodrigo's cause of death, but those who knew him well would speculate that someone had finally gotten the drop on him. Adela and Frederick knew the truth, and it would stay with them. No one would hear from their lips the truth of the night.

Oh, there would be rumors of course. There always were when it came to something like this. The biggest rumor that would float around for years would be that Iris had finally come back to destroy Rodrigo. But that would only be a rumor, because Iris was dead.

"I want to go home." She murmured burying her face in his neck.

"So do I, babe."

The next morning they flew out of Spain and headed back to U.S. Soil. The flight was uneventful and they spent most of their time resting, or silently grieving for the partner they had lost. Stephanie found herself staring out a window, her mind working rapidly. Something Dash had said to her kept repeating itself over and over. "Liliana did what had to be done to make sure the job got done."

What did that mean, she wondered. No, she realized she didn't have to wonder. She knew exactly what Lil had been up to. And damn, if it hadn't worked. Stephanie had to give her friend kudos for doing what she did. Steph had been so focused on tormenting Rodrigo in return for all the pain he had put her through, she never caught on to Lil's planning. Clever bitch, she thought with an inner smile.

/\/\/\/\/\

After they landed they were taken to Ft. Benning. They were separated to be debriefed. Ranger with his men and Steph with her team. Over the next few days, things had been brutal for all them, the paperwork annoying, and tempers were running on a short fuse.

Ranger and Tank sat down after one tediously long meeting to eat a short lunch. Tank couldn't stop grinning at his boss and friend. "Steph's gonna be pretty surprised by this."

"It's time man. Like you said last year, we're getting older." Ranger replied. "It's time to focus on only RangeMan."

"What if Steph decides to come back into this?"

"She won't." Ranger was certain of that. One thing they had talked about before landing was the possibility. If nothing else this particular trip had reinforced her desire to leave this world behind.

"Ah, Ranger, just the man I was looking for." Reginald came over. "I have a note from Stephanie for you."

"Bomber's gone?" Tank asked in surprise.

"She left a couple days ago." Reginald replied.

Ranger didn't say anything, just simply opened the note.

Carlos,

I'm coming home. I promise. There's something I have to do first. I'll see you in Trenton.

Love,

Stephanie

Over the next two days, Ranger wondered what Stephanie had to do. When he walked into the control room with Lester, Bobby and Tank right behind him, Hal looked up from the monitors and smiled. "Hey, Boss."

"Report."

"Nothing to report. Everything ran smoothly. Mr. and Mrs. Plum have had a guard on them the entire time. Just let us know when to pull them."

"Man!" Cal exclaimed walking into the control room, "You should see them go! It's freaking awesome! Who knew Bombshell could move like that?" He stopped when he saw Ranger. "Welcome back, Boss."

"Where is Stephanie?" He demanded.

"Oh, they're in the gym sparring. They've been in there for a few hours."

They?

Ranger, Tank, Lester and Bobby all looked at each other before heading to the gym. They walked through the doors and froze at the sight before them.