Thanks for the support and sorry for the delay. I'm still not feeling 100%, but hope to be back to my normal base next week.
As always, let me know your thoughts.
Disclaimer: The Plum Universe belongs to JE. The typos/mistakes are my bad.
Vince's POV
I wait with bated breath, not wanting to spring into action just yet. I have complete faith in Bomber's ability to get the job done. I'll only step in if Morelli dares to try to put his hands on her. Out of all the things this Patrick guy said, the fact that Morelli never deserved the honor of touching Bomber or being a part of her life is a fact that I completely stand behind. It's not a subjective opinion. No, it's true that Morelli's treatment of Bomber has been disgusting from the start. It's a hard cycle to break, and I'm glad Bomber finally snapped those chains holding her back. Breaking free from that asshole's hold is a win. I'll make sure we help celebrate Bomber's triumph once we put this night behind us.
Griffin was the first to arrive, squaring his bony shoulders as if to intimidate Patrick as he stood before him. It was a pathetic show, really, considering that Patrick is significantly muscled.
Morelli was close behind. He barreled right past our FTA seconds later, nudging Griffin aside as he invaded Bomber's personal space. From the corner of my eye I noted that almost everyone was paying attention to the unfolding scene. A few patrons even had their phones out, ready to capture the interaction on video just in case it got 'juicy'. Luckily, no one else is close enough to capture quality audio of whatever bullshit Morelli is about to spew. We'll get to hear it all thanks to our comm units, but at least the gossipers in the Burg won't be privy to the real 'discussion'.
"That was a quick turnaround." Morelli snarled, earning him an eyeroll from both Bomber and 'I'm in love with you' Patrick.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes right along with them. Morelli literally walked in here with some other woman. He's living his best bachelor life, yet he wants to act all annoyed and shit over Bomber's company. Delusional piece of shit.
"Guess you had to whore yourself out to this little bitch…" Whatever else Morelli was about to say next was cut short when Bomber's hand connected with his left cheek. The slap was so forceful that Detective Italian Douchebag staggered back two steps. Ouch! I bet he felt that all over his face. He deserved it though, so I didn't feel the least bit sorry for him.
"That sounded like a smack." Lester pointed out, sounding like he was narrating a suspense filled scene. He can be so melodramatic at times.
"A slap." I clarified, eliciting a chorus of cheers from the men.
"Way to go, Bomber!" Several of the guys let out in a roaring chorus.
"You bitch…" Morelli obviously isn't going to learn his very overdue lesson the easy way. He's not going to back off until he's left on his ass.
"How could ya do my gurl dirty like that?" Bomber used her best outraged tone, really milking her smoky voice as she flashed Morelli a heated look of disgust.
"Yeah, how could ya! You cheatin' bastard!" Patrick said to Morelli in a voice that was forcefully high pitched. It came through loud and clear in my ear, but the Burg gossipers got zilch. I could hear the murmurs all around me, the audience confused because they couldn't make out what was being said. All they knew was that it looked like it was prime gossip ammunition and they were all missing it.
"What are you on?" Morelli gritted out, righting himself and lunging forward as he muttered that they were both crazy.
Unfortunately for him, Patrick was quick to react. With a solid punch to the face, Morelli went down on his ass. Hell yeah! Even as Morelli is trying to staunch the blood coming out of his nose, it's still obvious he got his ass kicked.
In the next surprise of this unscripted portion in the added distraction to our distraction… Wait, Bomber added a distraction within our distraction? Oh, she's too good at this.
Anyhow, Patrick spun around to face Bomber.
"Thanks, girl." With two air kisses blown Bomber's way, he whirled around to face Griffin. "Bye, handsome." Using a finger wave like the one Bomber uses, Patrick winked at our target while giving him a very appreciative head to toe glance. "You two have fun." He made it sound quite suggestive, quickly turning to face Morelli once again.
We all watched in stupefied fascination as Patrick easily hauled a writhing Morelli off the floor. Using a fireman's carry, Morelli was escorted out of the premises. All eyes tracked their movement, the murmuring voices growing in volume as soon as the door swung closed after the stunning exit.
"Had to help a gurl out, ya know?" Bomber addressed Griffin, flashing him her best seductive grin as she reeled him in yet again.
"Mmm." Griffin grunted, licking his lips as his sleazy gaze raked over Bomber's form.
"She got him." I relayed, watching with a big grin on my face as Bomber wrapped our target around her finger. "ETA eight minutes." I give it two songs before she lures him outside.
After only six minutes and several well placed deflections every time Griffing tried to get handsy, Bomber leaned in to make a suggestion.
"Wanna get out of here?" Bomber's breathy voice caused goosebumps, the good kind, to erupt all over my exposed forearms. Shit, even knowing death would await me I'd still follow after her. It seems more than one of us would risk it all just for a shot to be with Bomber.
"Fruity boy got a kiss." Griffin arched an eyebrow as he demanded to know what he'd be getting. He's got another thing coming to him if he thinks he's going to act out his improper intentions with Bomber.
"Oh, what you'll be getting lasts a lot longer than a kiss." Bomber purred as she led the way, easily getting Griffin to trail after her with his eyes glued to her sashing hips.
Yeah, like fifteen to life!
"Incoming. T- minus thirty seconds." I offered the heads up, only waiting until the door slammed closed in their wake to bolt out of my seat.
Detouring to the bar, I easily grabbed Bomber's navy pea coat on my way outside. As predicted, there were no further interferences.
By the time I emerged into the parking lot, I caught a minute glimpse of Hal engaging the floor shackles on Griffin's feet. Zip was already behind the wheel of the fleet SUV. In seconds, Hal had our man properly secured. As soon as Hal jumped into the front passenger seat, the Rangeman SUV motored out of the tiny lot.
With our job completed, I shifted my gaze to the sidewalk where and irate Morelli stood. His arms waved, the vein on his neck pulsed and spittle flew out of his mouth as he talked shit.
Knowing Bomber was going to get involved, I decided to give her at least a minute line of defense against the chilly night. She's gotta be cold out here.
"Thanks." Bomber murmured as I stealthily sidled up behind her, helping her shrug the coat on without slowing her steps. Still on the move, Bomber didn't miss a beat as she removed her earpiece to hand it to me.
Stepping back, I watched as she squared her shoulders. Bomber's about to rip Morelli to shreds. Fuck yeah!
"Enough!" Bomber's seductive throaty tone, the one she'd used minutes before on our target, was instantly replaced by her 'Don't fuck with me' authoritative one.
"You're on his side?" Morelli tried to frown, but immediately regretted it based on his pathetic wince. What a wuss. Fury flashed across his dark eyes as his gaze repeatedly darted between Bomber and Patrick.
"Manoso gets bored with you so you were quick to jump into someone else's bed?!" Morelli yelled loud enough for the curious Burg gossipers to hear. A handful of them are hovering by the bar's entrance, murmuring amongst themselves as they speculate and no doubt fill in the blanks to their sick liking.
In her haste, Bomber forgot to remove her mic. Or maybe she didn't want to flash someone inadvertently. With a pointed look at my comrades, I deliberately take off my earpiece and turn it off. The guys get the message loud and clear, also mirroring my move. Bomber deserves privacy, even if the Burg has made it their mission to deny her that basic human right.
Hector gives me a curt nod before he taps his tablet, and effectively cutting the live feed. Good. Now even the men that are listening remotely won't get to hear what's about to go down.
S&R
Ranger's POV
When Tank informed me that Griffin's capture was moved up due to a tip from one of our informants, I decided to return to New Jersey. Apparently, our FTA was getting ready to flee Trenton. If he succeeded, we'd lose him for good. Knowing how dangerous and ruthless Griffin can be, I was worried about Babe. Since he knows me well, Tank was quick to inform me that Babe would have lots of backup during this distraction. Even with that piece of intel, I still felt uneasy. Something told me that I had to return, and taking a play out of Babe's book I listened to my intuition.
Hector created a link for me to join the team's comm set up via my cell phone. Hearing some random Burg native profess his endless love for Babe was not the threat that should have worried me tonight, but it did. Receiving a notification that Morelli was also in the mix, worried me further. Babe's attention needed to be solely on Griffin. Instead, she had to deal with a love confession and her idiotic ex throwing a jealous tantrum.
Calling out to her quieted the men's murmuring as well as got her head back in the game. How did I know? Within minutes, Babe had the situation under control. Zip and Hal took Griffin off Stephanie's hands, delivering him to the TPD shortly after.
I don't know what happened next, because Hector cut off the audio feed. Messaging Tank got me no updates aside from telling me that everything was under control.
Over an hour after the comm line was purposely disconnected, my plane landed in Newark. My truck was already waiting for me. I mentally thanked my second in command for sending one of the men earlier to leave me a mode of transportation.
Peeling out of the lot, I drove towards I-95. The traffic rush has died down considerably at this time of night, yet that still put my ETA at around an hour. I hated being in the dark, not knowing what was happening while I was still a good distance away.
I was nearing the Market St exit in Trenton when my phone buzzed in the center console. Flicking my eyes to the dashboard, I saw Babe's name flash across the screen. My heart beat wildly in my chest as I answered the hands-free call.
"Babe." I greeted, somehow sounding calm and collected despite my racing pulse.
"Hey, Batman!" Babe's voice filled the cab, floating out of the truck's speakers as I turned onto Market St. As I stopped for a red light, I frowned. Babe sounded off.
"Stephanie, are you alright?" I need to know that she's safe. My gut automatically clenched at the mere possibility that she could be in danger. Trouble seems to find her no matter what she's doing.
"Mmmhmm." Came the slurred reply. That's when I realized that she was drunk.
"Babe, where are you?" I gritted out, furious that the men would leave Stephanie to her own devices if she was under the influence.
"Ranger…" Babe's purr carried loud and clear, instantly making my body take notice. Memories of our intimate times together flashed through my mind as I drove without purpose.
"Babe." I clenched my teeth when she didn't immediately answer me. Stephanie can't handle her alcohol. The idea that she could be at anyone's mercy while she's intoxicated didn't sit well with me. Heads will roll before the night is over.
"If you want me, come and get me." The deliciously inviting sexual undertone worried me further. Her inhibitions have definitely been lowered, making her more unpredictable than usual. "I need to no-no-know." The giggling fit that ensued told me that Babe's quite drunk. So drunk that she might be on the verge of passing out. I need to get to her before that happens.
"Where are you, Stephanie?" I demanded after I pulled over to check her trackers. Even her cellphone wasn't pinging for me. What the hell?!
"Figure it out." Her snicker, followed by a hiccup, was the last thing I heard before she disconnected.
"Babe!" I bellowed, but it was too late. Dialing her number right after got me nowhere. The call went straight to voicemail.
I called the control room next, hoping to get any crumb of information that could help me navigate towards Babe's mysterious whereabouts.
"What is Stephanie's location?" I barked out, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Uh, Boss…" Manny cleared his throat nervously, indicating that I wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Bomber is completely offline, Sir." Manny's voice cracked as he delivered the information.
Oh, Babe. You're playing with fire. I will find you and I will show you just how much I really want you. Don't play with fire if you don't want to get burned, Stephanie.
I should have the final piece to this tweaked short by Monday the latest. It'll be Stephanie's POV telling us what happened with Morelli and Reed that resulted in Stephanie getting so drunk that she called Ranger. In turn, we'll have Ranger's POV on his quest to find his Babe after she challenged him with her 'come and get me if you really want me' dare.
What are your thoughts?
