Narc 49

The following story is a work of fiction that features characters developed by Janet Evanovich. No money has been earned through writing this story. Any similarities to real events or persons are entirely coincidental.

I have written a number of books in this series. Out of the previous books, the first one is a bit cupcake-y, but the rest are pure babes and develop the relationships between the characters. For maximum enjoyment, I suggest that you read them in the following order:

22 Caliber

Trigger Happy 23

Morelli's Argument 23.5

Ranger 23.75

Threatening 24

Fixation 25

Security 26

Sneaky 27

Date Night at the Movies 27.1

Meeting Maria 27.2

The Intervention 27.3

Envious 28

Dickie's Demise 28.1

Mob Matters 28.2

Altercation at Giovichinni's 28.3

Numbskull 29

Toxic 30

Obit 31

Tamper 32

Theft 33

Forced 34

Fiesta 35

Step 36

Snatched 37

Exhumed 38

Nativity 39

Fraud 40

Orientation 41

Televangelist 42

Therapeutic 43

Foxy 44

Foul Play 45

Solicitation 46

Support 47

Escaped 48

In recognition of the fact that I'm a binge reader and don't personally like to wait for updates, I will try to post daily, barring unseen life events.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoy it!

~ Sarah ~

Chapter One

I smiled at the people sitting around the conference table as I entered the room. Joe Morelli, good friend, Trenton police detective and liaison to my husband's company, Rangeman, was standing at the head of the table. He was tense and upset and, as I looked around the table, I noticed that Ranger, my husband, was equally focused and poised for action. So were Tank, the Executive Vice-President, and Hal, the Vice-President of Operations. Cal, the head of the Investigative branch, Hector, one of our in-house detectives, and Flynn, head of the local Emergency Response Team, looked as curious as I felt. I guess, like me, they could also feel the intense and anxious energy in the room. I knew that, whatever we were called into this emergency meeting about, it wasn't going to be good.

My name is Stephanie Plum, and I am the Research Director for Rangeman, an elite private security firm. We fulfil a number of functions and have a wide range of clients, from governmental bodies to public organizations to multinational corporations to small Mom-and-Pop businesses and private individuals. While no job was too big or too small for us, we were known for our designs of large and complex security systems. We were also known for our well-trained security staff and had approximately three hundred locations on our roster. That number was constantly increasing and we were always in a hiring mode for more guards.

In my opinion, we were the best security company in the country and maybe the world. In addition to our core services of system design and security staffing, we provided bodyguarding services, investigative services, cybersecurity systems, research, and our Emergency Response Teams. We had four ERTs. Two were designated as local teams, and basically acted as the TPD SWAT team, trained other area SWAT teams, and responded to staff needs. The other two teams were the national teams and were designated to support the FBI Hostage Rescue Team. They had been called out several times and had impressed a number of people. The HRT called us the elite team, and a number of their team members had told our team that they were very happy that we had joined their group.

We worked a little differently than the HRT. The Hostage Rescue Team had three larger teams. We had two teams, each with ten soldiers and one commander, that respectively worked two weeks out of the month, trained for one week, and took a week off to rest. Because of our small size, we were more mobile and could do targeted hits. Our mandate was to get in, go hard, and get out fast, and because our team was so talented we had been able to do a lot of good work and impress a lot of people. At first the HRT members were not very welcoming. They thought we were yahoos who didn't have the training necessary to do the job. And then they saw us work. Now we were full members of the team and the HRT commanders used us to our utmost. As they said, they had thought they were good – and they were. We were just better.

Our team was happy as well. They were getting the challenge that they enjoyed but were still working for Rangeman. Our ERTs were composed of the best of the best from the military. All former Special Forces, the ERTs were men who enjoyed being soldiers but had wanted to return Stateside for various reasons, most of which were to better support family. Since our pay and benefits and pension plan are so much better than that offered by the military, they were thrilled to be employed by Rangeman. However, our team was only called out in emergency situations, which meant that the men spent a lot of time in training. The majority of the time the HRT handled issues on their own. If the situation was too complex or needed a small strike team or they were running short of manpower, they called us in. We got called out about once every two months for service calls, and another time or two a month for training purposes. We were paid well for our efforts.

Our local team was similarly trained and had similar expertise, but they didn't use their supersoldier skills the same. Although it wasn't as high-octane a team and they didn't have to travel all over the country to respond to service calls, the flip side was that they were called out a few times per week. However, I knew from personal experience, proven through an unfortunate number of emergency call-outs for me, that although they no longer did the high-octane work associated with being in the Special Forces, the team was beyond good.

As everyone sat down and made themselves comfortable, Joe shut the door. "Thank you for coming", he said. "The TPD has a problem and I'm hoping you will be able to help us.

"A few months ago, Rangeman investigated a case for us into a motorcycle gang called Night Terror. One of the gang members was committing extortion to try to buy a number of businesses on a particular block of land. Through this investigation we realized that the person who was committing extortion on behalf of the gang was being blackmailed into the role by the president of the Night Terror gang. That president was put in jail and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for a number of charges, including drug smuggling, extortion, blackmail and fraud. The people that the president had framed to take the fall for previous drug smuggling charges were released from jail." Cal looked at me. We had worked the case together, and we'd both been pleased to see the true culprit incarcerated.

"Since then, the people who were released from jail have taken over the motorcycle gang and, with the support of their members, are turning it into a legal club. They have done away with the drugs and prostitution and are getting into being landlords. They have bought a number of houses, have been fixing them up, and are renting them out. Instead of stealing money, they are now raising money for charities. Over a very short period of time they have become incredibly successful, have changed the direction of the club to being one that gives back to society, and people within the club are very pleased with its management. To celebrate the difference in direction of the club, they have changed their name to the Thunder Devils.

"However, not all the members of the gang were happy with the change in direction. There is a splinter group which changed their name to Death Dogs, and they continue to make their money by importing drugs to sell to the dealers on Stark, and by running women. They have about ten girls in their prostitution ring. There are approximately twenty bikers in this group. One of those people is undercover officer Brett LePage. He was worried about the splinter group and thought it would become far more dangerous without the moderating influence of the more conservative Thunder Devil members. As he said, they are a powder keg ready to explode, and he has been monitoring their activities closely.

"Brett has disappeared. The day before yesterday, he left a message for his handler with all the gang members' names and the fact that he felt they were onto him. He identified three in particular as people that he was keeping his eye on but did not detail why, and he said there was a lot of latent anger over the fact that their former president, Richard Cook, had been put in jail. He said that they had vowed to do whatever they could to get him released. He also said that they were tough and hard and should not be underestimated.

"After Brett left that message, he has not been seen since. He did not check in with his handler yesterday even though he is supposed to do so twice a day. We need your help to find him without breaking his cover, and to help him complete his mission."

"Cal", said Ranger, "I want your team to do the work of figuring out where he is. Hector, any face-to-face work should be done by you. With your tattoos, the Death Dogs will not suspect that you are associated with the police and are there to take them down. Cal, you can't get too close as you were visible in the last investigation concerning them. Flynn, I want your ERT to be ready to move in and retrieve Brett when we identify where he is. The longer he is there, the more likely he is being mistreated. Steph, I need you to drop all research on your desk and farm it out. This will be one of those things that, as soon as you find out names, I will need you and Dirk and Miguel, and maybe Gwynne and Lauren and Nick, to jump on the research immediately and do as thorough a job possible as quickly as you can. You are our fastest and most detailed researcher, so we will need you to respond immediately to research requests. Your team can start doing overviews on the twenty names that Brett sent through on Sunday, and I want you personally to go deep on the three names that Brett identified. With your research, we will not only identify potential places that Brett may be, places that Hector can check out and determine whether they are Brett's location, but we also will use that information to help further Brett's investigation."

"Would it be good if Cal talked to Todd?" I said. Todd was the person who had been blackmailed into committing extortion, and we'd arranged for him to work with the police and get his help in closing the case. It was his parents who were the head of the Thunder Devils and were the couple who had been wrongly imprisoned, the couple that we had been instrumental in getting released from jail. I had developed a friendship of sorts with Todd since. "Perhaps Todd could suggest some places that Brett might be, or give us first-hand knowledge about the different players. I think Todd would be willing to help us if we asked."

"Especially after you helped him find a job", said Cal with a smile. I tried to bite back a grin as I looked up at Joe. He sighed and shook his head, and I could almost see him thinking that I was not a social worker and should not be getting so involved in the lives of felons. It was a lament I had heard from Joe a lot over the years. Then I looked at Ranger. He also sighed, but his eyes were soft as he looked at me so I knew that he wasn't truly frustrated with me. He understood my fundamental belief that everybody deserved a hand up and it was everyone's responsibility to help others. I used to be a bounty hunter, and I had often wondered if the people I was taking into court would have committed the crime in the first place if someone had given them some help, whether it was access to food for those who had starving families, access to safe low-income housing for those who were stealing to earn money to pay for rent, or even access to drug rehabilitation programs and free health care for those who were struggling with addictions and mental health issues. Yes, some of those people I had taken in because they made poor decisions. The odd person was evil. However, many others I took in because they had no option other than to commit a crime. I felt sorry for them. They were in a bad place and were struggling to hold it all together, and I felt very strongly that those people should be helped onto a better path. I also felt that it was everybody's responsibility to help people. The line 'we are all in this together' may be cheesy, but it is so accurate and I don't think enough people realized that. And I think the world would be a better place if everybody did.

Todd and his family were a good example of people who needed help. Todd's parents were put into jail unfairly, blamed for a crime they didn't commit, and their son was being threatened and told that he had to come up with a significant amount of money to refund the money 'that his parents had stolen'. Cal and I helped get the parents out from jail and, when they did, I found a job posting for a motorcycle mechanic for the TPD. Joe gave it to them and, even though he constantly told me that I shouldn't get involved in the lives of felons, he offered to be a reference and was thrilled when the father got the job two weeks later. Meanwhile, I found another job posting for a social worker that I sent over to Todd. I was his reference, much to Joe's dismay, and he too got the job. He is now working with people on parole. It was nice to be able to support someone and watch them as they rebuilt their lives. I checked in with Todd every few weeks, and it sounded like things were going very well for him and his family. It made me happy to hear him so happy. It had been a long time in coming.

"Go ahead and talk to Todd then, Cal", said Ranger. "Meanwhile, perhaps Hector can talk to the TPD handler and try to find out if there are any clues there. Steph, Joe is going to email you that list of twenty names. As I said, do an overview on everybody, do an in-depth review on the three people that Brett especially identified, and when you are finished that, go back and do an in-depth review on any other people who look interesting. Also, work with Cal and perhaps Todd will be able to shed light on the Death Dogs' members for us."

"Do you know what they want?" I asked. "There has to be a reason that they took Brett. After all, he's been working the case for the last four years."

"The central switchboard got a call", said Joe, "that said that they had Brett, and they would release him in exchange for Richard Cook." He turned to the other members of the group who had not been involved in the previous case. "Richard Cook was the previous president of Night Terror. He took pride in Night Terror's unsavory reputation and did whatever he could to encourage it. He was the person that Cal and Steph put in jail."

Ranger looked at me, and then Cal. "Steph, Cal, I'd like you to stick around the offices until this case has been solved. You were visible in the prosecution of Richard and, if they are looking for revenge, the two of you are ripe for being kidnapped." Ranger looked at me again and could see the shiver go over me. I had been kidnapped two years ago when I was pregnant with our twins. The kidnappers intended to sell me to an African drug lord and, because the drug lord couldn't wait to meet me, he came into my prison room and raped me. I swear he was insane and, when I fought back, he started whipping me with his belt. Ranger came and saved me before Bobo, the drug lord, hurt the babies, but it was a very upsetting time. Ever since, I had been sensitive to the concept of being kidnapped. Nothing could make me hyperventilate faster than the thought of being forced to have sex, or of being taken without my consent. The only person who could calm me down from those worries was Ranger. I took a deep breath in, held it, and released the tension.

"I don't want to be kidnapped again", I said. "I don't particularly like it."

Everyone around the table chuckled as Ranger gave me a commiserating look, then continued on. "Joe and Hal also had high-profile roles and will have to hide out, but everybody else in this room wasn't as visible throughout the investigation or during the takedown. No one else was on the stand in the trial and because of that, you should be safe. Everybody, please be careful. Over the past few months, the Death Dogs gang has been embracing their big, bad wolf image. They have become more violent and more unlawful. They are more vicious and aggressive than they ever have been before and, in fact, have rapidly been becoming the true terror in town. In the ten months since we arrested Richard, the Death Dogs have made an impact and have ramped up the number of criminal charges within Trenton. The problem is that the police suspect what is going on – but they don't have proof. That was Brett's job. Because the police haven't been able to charge them with anything, the group members think they are tough shit, and are terrorizing the citizens of the city. They are getting power hungry and more and more vicious. It's time for us to stop it."