Disclaimer: See the previous chapters. This is a combined response for Xylia's 'April Fools Fall in Love' challenge on Babe Squad, and Sare's 'Tulip Field' challenge on Perfectly Plum. Hope you like! Huge thanks to Angie and Cara for their invaluable contributions – especially kicking me in the ass and telling me 'enough already'!

Locked Up & Pissed Off – pt 36

Ranger's POV

"I CAN'T DO THAT, Ric. I can't let you take all the risk for me while I'm here doing nothing."

I kept hearing her last words to me over and over again in my head as I made my way downstairs, trying to figure out a way to make her understand just how dangerous apprehending Morelli was going to be without crushing her independence. I sighed and shook my head. I knew she really wanted to be in on the capture; she hated having to have someone else take care of her problems. Regardless of how much confidence I had in Steph's abilities to come out of some very scary situations without much more than a few bruises and scrapes, this time I needed her to stay back out of harm's way. At least, until I could assure myself of her safety. I wouldn't put it past her to sacrifice herself to assure mine or my men's safety either. She'd done that more than once in the past and amazingly everyone came out of it in one piece. This time though, I wasn't confident that would be the case. This time the stakes were higher than ever. For the both of us.

When I entered the living room, all eyes turned to me even as Marcus and Bobby were preparing themselves for the hunt. Lester would be staying behind with his family to help keep Steph occupied until we had Morelli in custody. Only then would I feel comfortable enough to allow her to confront the bastard without fearing for her safety. A chill ran down my spine as a terrifying scenario crossed my mind. If he managed to slip through our fingers and grab Steph…

I shook off the image, and without a word the three of us proceeded to get ready, Lester and Mari silently watched as we finished strapping on Kevlar before donning vests that held extra ammo loaded in clips for the guns we carried. We were in the process of checking our communication gear when Stephanie made her way down the stairs, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved flannel shirt over a T-shirt the color of her eyes, and her Doc Martins. I could tell by the slight bulge of her jeans around her ankle that she was wearing a holster on her left leg, and I didn't doubt that the flannel hid a gun tucked into her waistband. She wasn't going to give in no matter what anyone said, and I knew in that instant I was going to cave and allow her to participate in the takedown. What can I say, I am a hopeless romantic and I love to spoil my girlfriend.* I made her a promise that she could confront him, and I do keep my promises, especially when I make them to Steph. It wouldn't hurt to try reasoning with her one more time, though.

"Babe, we need to get him into custody before you leave the house. Promise me you'll wait until I call with the 'all clear' before you head out." As much as I wanted to, I couldn't say the word 'please'; it would be too much like taking away another choice, and I wasn't willing to do that again.

She shook her head, her expression decidedly mulish. "You know what, Ranger? I can't tell you that because I refuse to lie to you."** You know I can't promise you anything even close to what you're suggesting. This is too important to me to let you handle this without me and you know it." Her expression had only become more determined.

A snicker behind me had us both turning our heads to glare at the offender, but before I could verbally castrate my brother for daring to laugh, Steph turned her gaze on him, giving the idiot a look that would make even me shit my pants if she decided to turn it on me. My Babe can be pretty scary sometimes!

"Was there something you needed to say, Marcus?" She turned to face my brother, her hands planted firmly on her hips and her eyes bore a look that suddenly had him doubting the wisdom of confronting Steph in rhino mode. She slowly began to walk towards him, her steps measured and precise and her body taut with tension as a slow, evil grin began to form on her lips. I glanced at Lester and Bobby; both of them were trying diligently to smother their laughter. They'd been down this road before, and like me, couldn't wait to see how she planned to deal with him. Judging by past situations, it was going to be memorable.

Marcus smiled uncertainly. "Well, let's face it, Stephanie; you're just a mere woman. What could I possibly have to fear from you? I'm a trained FBI agent, and you're…well, let's just say that not only do I have more training, but I'm a lot bigger and stronger than you. Do you honestly think you can scare me?" He smirked at her as he finished, and I had to clench my fists at my side to keep from wringing his neck. His whole attitude suggested he wasn't taking her seriously, and I refused to allow anyone to think of her as entertainment. Not anymore. I'd made that mistake before, and the hurt it caused her was a blow to my heart. She didn't deserve that kind of pain from my family or my men. I was responsible for enough as it was.

"You seem to forget, Marcus, that not only am I an apprehension agent as well as a 'burg girl, but I've also been working with Ranger and the Merry Men for nearly three years now." A salacious grin began to form on her mouth as she moved to stand directly in front of him. She lifted one hand off her hip to smooth the collar of his shirt. "They've taught me a lot, including, but not limited to, payback, and I'm given to understand you know a lot more than you'd care to admit about how they like to 'administer' that payback. With that in mind, do you doubt my abilities now, Mr. FBI man?" As she finished, she flicked a finger at his chin before turning and sauntering back over to stand closely in front of me, a smile of satisfaction curving her lips. She leaned in and rested her forehead against my chest, a low moan rumbling against me as she inhaled my scent.

My arms automatically came up to encircle her protectively, my eyes involuntarily closing for a moment to savor her nearness. They snapped open at the sound of a muffled laugh and zeroed in on the new offender. It was Lester; his eyes were trained on Marcus, and he was obviously experiencing a moment of humor at my brother's expense. My sibling seemed to be frozen in place, a look of stunned wonder there for all to witness. I smiled inwardly at his discomfort; Steph'd learned a lot since she began working with my men, and judging by the look on his face, she could without a doubt hold her own with my family as well as the myriad of FTA's she brought in on a regular basis. After all, we'd all seen firsthand how she'd handled Celia; a feat never accomplished by anyone else in my family save me. I'd be willing to bet Marcus was no longer as sure of himself when it came to Stephanie Plum, and by Lester and Bobby's gleeful expressions, they agreed with me. Score: Stephanie 1, Marcus 0.

Bobby cleared his throat. "Well, I would say we need to get rolling, wouldn't you agree, Ranger?" He'd donned his blank face, but I could detect a glint of humor in his eye. I guess I'd been a little lax on the intimidation factor where he was concerned. Might have to remedy that real soon here, although I had to smile to myself in agreement…

"And since it looks like Steph here will be joining us," Lester piped up, "should I assume I'm now included in the takedown?" All eyes turned my way, including Steph's.

With a slight nod of my head at Lester, I looked down at the woman who was currently pressed to my side. "If you want to be in on this, you are to do exactly as I say, Stephanie. No questioning my orders, no back talk, and no hesitation. If another member of the core team gives you an order, you are to follow it to the letter, just as you would for me. And you will wear a Kevlar vest. Are we clear?" I knew she'd understand just how serious I was simply by the use of her full name. She always took me at my word when I addressed her as such. Now more than ever, I needed her to heed those instructions without fail.

"Yes Ranger, I understand. Completely." She didn't even flinch as she faced me. "I will follow your orders, but all bets are off if you plan to shove me into a corner where I'll be nice and safe. You know damn well I'll be an asset out there, because no one knows Joe better than I do. I won't take any unnecessary chances, but I refuse to cower behind anyone. Are we clear?"

I studied her expression assessingly. By the set of her face, I knew she was serious, and Serious Steph was not to be trifled with. No more so than me. "Yeah, Babe, we're clear. Now get that vest on, and grab two of the guns there along with extra clips and some cuffs." I pointed towards the open locker in my office. I'd special-ordered a Kevlar vest that would fit Steph much better than the one she normally wore. It would allow her more freedom of movement, yet keep her better protected against stray bullets that could find their way into the gaps that were created by the ill-fitting ones that we had on hand. Of course, none of them were designed for a woman, since I'd never hired a woman before I met my Babe. Ella didn't count. Uncle Luis wasn't one to take chances with her life. He'd had one ordered for her the first day they started working for me.

While Steph was suiting up, Lester was giving his wife and daughter last minute instructions; mainly, keeping themselves inside and out of sight. The stakes would rise on the off chance Morelli or one of his snitches managed to locate the safe house and see them through the windows or wandering outside. Not that I had to worry much about that happening; not only was the house located in a more or less isolated area, but few outside of our family would realize Mari and Mia's connection to Lester and Rangeman, not to mention me. No one in our family ever associated much in the Trenton area, since most of them lived in Newark or Miami. We wouldn't be taking any chances, though.

Finished donning her vest and weapons, Steph joined the rest of us as we filed outside and loaded up into the SUV's; Bobby and Lester taking the Bronco while Marcus joined Steph and I in the Cayenne. We moved out silently, the tension high among us as we each silently contemplated our next move. Talk was non-existent as we drove down out of the trees and entered the highway that led us into the outskirts of Trenton.

The closer we got to Rangeman, the higher the tension mounted in the car; most of it emanating from Stephanie as she worked herself up to the confrontation we would be planning upon our arrival at the office. She was almost vibrating from her anger, although if I allowed my feelings to show, we'd be a matching pair. Marcus wasn't much behind us.

I drove into the underground garage and pulled into my parking space next to the elevators, Lester and Bobby's Bronco sliding in right behind us. We disembarked from the vehicles simultaneously, all of our faces blank and set. Surprisingly, for once Steph's expression matched ours, although her rage and disgust was clearly evident in her eyes. She didn't even fidget as we all piled into the elevator and moved silently to the fifth floor.

Tank was standing at the elevator when the doors silently slid open to spill us out into the control room. His expression was grim, and without so much as a nod of his head, he turned and led the way to the conference room where most of our planning was done when commencing a dangerous operation. We all filed in and sat down, nodding to those already assembled there.

Ram looked like he had finally gotten some rest, which made me sigh inwardly with relief. Now maybe Celia would back down from the constant phone calls berating me for working him so hard, although I'd be willing to bet that she was already feeling chastised after her visit to my house and her confrontation with Steph, as well as learning the reason why we had been working around the clock for the past two weeks.

Hal and Cal set coffees down in front of us as Tank began to brief us on the discovery of Diana in the 'Barrens, starting with Bobby's suggestion of searching the area and ending with his visit to the coroner's office and his report of the autopsy. Although the body had been badly mutilated by the wildlife in the area, he had found evidence of torture inflicted by human hands; solidifying the count of murder. Now we just needed to tie Morelli to the killing.

"Do we have a witness putting Morelli with Diana when he was last seen?" I asked, trying to keep my mind on track. I had been watching Stephanie as Tank described the condition and location of the body, her distaste of the subject matter apparent on her face. She hadn't been able to keep the blank look in place since my right-hand man began speaking, especially after viewing the pictures being passed around the table. As a matter of fact, she was looking a little green when she got a glance at the last picture in the pile.

"Please, please, please, don't tell me that's what I think that is.**" She slid the picture down the table to Bobby, grimacing when he picked it up and studied it with an impassive look. His medical training was coming in handy as he took in the details of the photo with an objective eye, viewing the eviscerated body parts that were the focus of the print. He tossed it back onto the table with detached interest.

"Sorry Bomber, but I don't think even you can deny what's in that photo." He turned his head catch Marcus' eye before bringing his head around to meet my eyes. "He's gone over, Boss."

Steph looked confused as she tried to decipher his cryptic comment. "What do you mean, 'he's gone over', Bobby?" She steadied her gaze on his face, causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat as he tried to figure out a way to answer her without breaking protocol.

"What he means, Babe, is that Morelli's no longer acting within reason." I cut in, eliciting an imperceptible sigh of relief from Bobby. "It also means he's going to be even more unpredictable, so we all need to grow eyes in the back of our heads when it comes to taking him down. While your intuition will help out a lot, it's time to get even more creative in our takedown procedures. No more wasting time on this bastard. One thing you can't recycle is wasted time,*and I'm done pissing around with him. It's time to neutralize his ass and get on with the rest of our lives."

Operation: 'Snakedown' was now commencing.

*(BS)

**(PP)

Word count without title and author's note - 2664