Disclaimer: I own none of the good characters. Just Peter Atolo and Will Tusen.

Thank you muchly to those who told me what AU means. :) (Clearly, blackmail works excellently, because I got like seven people telling me what it means. ;))I was considering posting this last night, but then decided that three chapters in one day was too much. For some reason...not sure why... Anyway, thanks to all my reviewers and I hope everyone likes these chapter and the ones coming after it as well.

rinskigoddess-I hadn't really realized that I was cutting out a lot of stuff, except for the conversations. But thanks for pointing that out. I didn't have Connie or Lula say anything really (and this is, in fact, why a lot of the conversations aren't dialogue, they are just summaries) because I'm trying not to ruin their characters and I think that if I actually have them say stuff, I'll ruin them. So, I'll try to make the chapters less abrupt, but I'm sorry if, in the process, I mess up people's characters. (The whole abruptness thing is, in fact, one of my biggest problems with writing. I tend to summarize a lot of things.)

Mufassa-indeed. Learning words is very fun. But sometimes it's hard working them into sentences.

Chapter 5

He picked up on the second ring. "Yo." Apparently, being told to say 'Yo' first thing when picking up the phone was part of the Rangeman training.

"Hey Tank. I have a question, but first, you have to promise not to tell any of this to Ranger." I was willing to recognize when I needed help, but I still didn't want Ranger involved in this any more than necessary.

There was a long pause. "I can't promise that, Bombshell."

I sighed. "Alright. Never mind then. Sorry to bother you, have a nice day." I was partially serious, partially bluffing and hoping that he'd decide that finding out what was going on was worth promising to keep Ranger in the dark.

"Wait!" I'd never heard Tank, or any Rangeman employee for that matter, sound this close to panicked. My guess, though, was that he wasn't concerned at the thought of losing this chance for deep and meaningful conversation. "I promise not to tell Ranger anything more than I think he absolutely needs to know. What's this about?"

I figured that either I could accept that as the best I was going to get or I could hang up. If I hung up, though, he'd probably come to my apartment to investigate and then he'd see this, find out about the stalker, and tell Ranger. I decided to go with the first choice. "Can you come to my apartment, please?"

Another pause, this one shorter. "Be there in ten." Then he hung up.

As he'd told me he would be, Tank wasoutside my door in ten minutes. Conveniently, I was too, as I'd just closed the door and stayed outside, waiting for him. I had, bythen, eaten my Tastykakes, but they didn't really do anything to calm me down. The elevator opened and he looked at me and raised an eyebrow. He walked towards me.

"What's up?"

I got to my feet. "I have a stalker. Before now, it was freaky, but not nearly as bad as some things I've dealt with. But, I think that writing on my wall with some mystery person's blood moves the stalker into the 'threatening enough to pay attention to' category." I opened my apartment door and gestured him in.

Tank looked in and stilled. I don't just mean he stopped moving. It was like his whole being settled down and he was suddenly eerily calm. He drew his gun and walked through the apartment slowly and carefully, checking any possible hiding places. I considered making some teasing comment about him being scared of a few flowers, but I decided not to. Seeing as how I was scared of a few flowers, it seemed like saying anything would just make me look pathetic.

After he'd done his little 'secure the premises' thing, he turned to me. "So, tell me about your stalker."

I went to my kitchen drawer and pulled out all the notes, handing them to him. Then I threw away the Tastykake wrappers and went to check on Rex while I talked. He appeared unharmed. Truthfully, I'd sort of been worried that the blood was his and that someone had killed my hamster. Seeing that he was fine was a huge relief. "I've gotten those over the past few days. All of them have been accompanied by a single red rose. The one that says 'Step Back', though, also came with a bomb on my driver's seat in my car. I threw the bomb when I saw it and it landed in Morelli's truck. Then Morelli's truck blew up."

The corners of his lips tipped upwards. Very Rangeresque. What was it with these men? Were they incapable of actually smiling!

Tank grinned. "Of course we can smile." Great, I'd said that out loud. Tank's smile disappeared as he returned his attention to the photos. He looked at the one of me in a towel in my bathroom and raised an eyebrow. "You realize that this means there's a secret camera in your bathroom?"

Wow, way to state the obvious. "Not anymore. I threw it out the window."

Tank gave me a strange look for a second and then just shrugged, to himself I think, as though he should have expected something like that from me. "Well, there might be more scattered throughout your apartment. I don't think it's safe for you here. Pack a bag, and I'll take you to Ranger's apartment. I'll have someone come in and clean all this up and check for cameras."

I was glad he'd asked so very nicely instead of just telling me what to do. Not.I gave him my best Burg glare, which he ignored completely, and then went to pack a bag. I was ready quickly and then we left. I made him carry Rex, but I don't think that job effected him any more than my glare. He didn't seem all that repentant. Maybe he didn't even notice that he'd been totally bossy.

"Or maybe he didn't care." I'm not sure which startled me more; the fact that Tank spoke suddenly when I wasn't expecting it (informing me, in the process, that I'd spoken out loud yet again), or the fact that the man not only thought, he had a sense of humor. Apparently, I said this aloud too, because he chuckled. "Nice to know you see me as more than just a pretty face, Bombshell."

Luckily, we reached the black SUV he'd driven over here at that moment, so I didn't have to think of a reply. The ride over to Rangeman was silent, so I used the time to think. I was hoping that my stalker didn't, in Tank's opinion, fall under the category of things Ranger needed to know. I asked.

"I think, now that you're in Ranger's apartment, you should be fine. If something comes up that I think Ranger might harm me if I don't tell him, such as you get hurt or kidnapped, I'm obviously going to tell him. But, if it's something that'll just worry him and possibly blow his cover, I'm not going to mention it to him."

What he was saying sunk in and I turned to face him as he drove, narrowing my eyes. "You speak to him? Where is he? You say he's undercover? Is that why he couldn't tell me anything? Is it some top secret, 'secret agent man' thing?"

Tank looked over at me, but then returned his attention to the road. "If he didn't tell you any of this, why do you think I'll tell you? Yes, I speak to him. The rest, I'm not going to answer."

I glared at him but he ignored it and parked. I hadn't realized we were already here. He got out and then got Rex and started towards the elevator. I got out and followed him and then waited while we rose to the seventh floor. Tank went in first, put Rex on the counter, and then handed me a keychain with the apartment key and the remote to get to the seventh floor.

It was as I looked at they key that I realized something. "Tank, I don't have my car."

He nodded. "I noticed."

"So…how am I supposed to go anywhere?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Like where? Surely you don't think you're going to get to leave the building until your stalker is caught?"

Without giving me a chance to respond, he turned and walked to the door. By the time I got to the door to yell at him, he was already gone. Well…this scene was vaguely familiar. Stupid evasive men… Men suck.