Recap: Stephanie figures out a vital clue about where two of the white supremacist leaders will be meeting.

Ranger

An hour later we were setting up a sting. Stephanie and I would play a couple window shopping for jewelry. Frank and Mary would do the same. That would allow us to wander around the streets without looking suspicious. We could keep an eye out while looking at reflections in the glass, and point to things to give us an excuse to give us an excuse to turn our heads. I would also take advantage of the opportunity to try to learn her taste in jewelry. Stephanie didn't come from money, and her nicest pieces were heirlooms. They reflected her mother or grandmother's choices, not hers. That meant I couldn't just peek in her jewelry box to discover what she liked. I wasn't exactly planning on ring shopping this weekend, but I had every expectation of drowning her in as many expensive gifts as she would let me give her.

I was glad I had brought a set of non-black clothes. We wanted to stand out as little as possible, and I'd look conspicuous in all black on such a nice day. Steph had also changed, putting on shoes she could run in if necessary. We were testing our hidden mics before getting in position, and I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips.

"Shit." she said, unexpectedly. I was surprised, generally my kisses got a better reaction.

"What's wrong Babe?" I asked, hoping everything was OK. She was staring at our clasped hands.

"Ranger, I'm sorry, but I just realized. We don't want to catch their attention. These are white supremacists, and we're an interracial couple. Frank and Mary appear to be the same."

It pained me to think of it, but she was right. Having these assholes notice us and glare would attract way more attention from them than we wanted. I had not given that much thought to what the ramifications of us being interacial would mean for us as a couple. I didn't care, and neither did my family. They would be thrilled at the idea of me finally being with someone, anyone. At this point I'm not certain they would have cared if I were dating a non-carbon based lifeform, as long as I wasn't alone. But her family and community were different. Would that matter to her? I had no doubt that she loved me, no matter my skin tone, but how much grief would she get from her family?

"OK Babe. I'll pair up with Mary, you with Frank. I doubt these guys can tell the difference between Latino and Native American. It's mostly the same gene pool after all." Steph looked uncomfortable, but she had made a good observation. "Thanks for pointing that out, Babe. We need every advantage we can get." She looked a little happier, but still a little uneasy.

I sent a text to Frank's phone when I stepped away to look over Silvio's work on the monitors. . 'If you see anything Steph seems to like, remember the item and store.' When I got back, he gave me a quick look that told me he got the message and understood. We did one final sound check on our equipment and we set out to watch the streets.

Frank

When I joined Rangeman, I was warned that the biggest priority was keeping Stephanie Plum safe. I'd asked if she was the boss's wife, and was treated to some knowing glances between my colleges. "Nah, man." Brown said. "They've got their heads too far up their asses to actually be doing anything like dating, let alone getting married."

Santos gave him a noogie, then laughed. "Those two love each other, but won't admit it. But Brown is right. If it's a choice between protecting a client and protecting Stephanie, you protect her. There isn't a man here who wouldn't take a bullet for her. Partly because she actually is really nice, a lot of fun, and as hot as fire-walking in August, but also because getting shot is a lot less scary than what Ranger will do to you if she gets hurt."

I had been nervous around her for a short time after that. I was used to the idea of throwing myself in front of a bullet to protect someone, but it seemed odd to have a bodyguard for a woman you weren't even dating. But Santos was right, she was kind and smart, and seemed to have an ability to put clues together in a way that other people didn't. Plus, her knowledge of the Burg was helpful in some cases, much like her local knowledge of Philadelphia was helpful today. This was the first time I'd worked with her directly, and she seemed chatty.

"So, what was it like guarding the President?" she asked as we walked along the street, pausing occasionally to look at a reflection in the glass.

"Well, you should know I didn't do it too often. I helped with POTUS duty some of the time, but mostly I worked threat analysis and protection for the girls if they went somewhere other than school or home. I protected him occasionally, though. He was always kind and respectful. He likes to joke around, and I've never seen a couple more in love."

"So what kind of things did you do on days you weren't guarding someone?"

"Checking out online threats, seeing if they were people who were actually dangerous. Occasionally putting in relief protectorate duty for other government officials who get Secret Service protection. I did a bit of all kinds of stuff."

"Why did you leave?"

"My wife died about 3 years ago." Her face instantly changed into an expression of sympathy, but I pushed ahead. I was at the point where I could mention it, but I couldn't go in depth without a stab of pain in my heart and a pricking of tears at my eyes. "That left me with 4 kids to take care of. My mom was a real help, but she's been ill lately as well. The sequester means my pay got cut, and loss of staff means my schedule was more unpredictable as I had to fill in for others more. Without Mom's help it was just becoming too difficult. Rangeman pays a lot more, is both more predictable and more flexible, and Trenton isn't half as expensive to live in as DC."

As we talked I watched Stephanie's eyes, seeing if she looked at any one piece for longer than the others. Ranger had come into my life right when I needed him, if it weren't for him I didn't know where I would be, so I was glad to do this favor for him. But she wasn't looking at the jewelry, her eyes were high and searching. She was watching the street for the people we were trying to catch. We didn't expect them for more than an hour, but we were out early just in case.

As we moved from one window display to the next I caught sight of Ranger and Mary across the street. He had his arm around her, looking for all the world like they were a couple shopping for rings. I felt a stab of jealousy in my stomach. It was silly. Mary and I used to work together a lot, and she had been really helpful when I was mourning my wife. I'd always liked her, but I had no right to be jealous. Especially when she was with my boss, on a job, and I knew it was fake. But still, it pained me to see her laughing and cuddling another man when it had been so close to me doing that with her.

Ranger caught my eye, and we communicated in that way all of us "Merry Men" could. His look told me I should do the same cuddly action with Stephanie, and had I seen anything she liked?

OK, he sent me a text telling me that. I hadn't quite gotten down the silent communication thing with Ranger yet. At least, not from across a street.

I decided to use the oldest trick in the book about finding out what a woman liked. I pretended I was asking for someone else.

"So, Stephanie, I was thinking of getting Mary something. But I'm totally hopeless at this kind of thing. What's nice?"

That got her to open up. She pointed out a few pieces, saying what she liked about them. We wandered from window to window, me trying to find a theme in the things she prefered. Unfortunately, I didn't know enough about jewelry to pick out much of a patten.

Then I saw it, the perfect gift for Mary. An owl pendent necklace. She had a thing for owls, they had a special place in Cherokee culture. But what made this perfect for her was that it wasn't just a necklace. The pendant was actually a USB memory stick. Really, what better present for a Native American computer expert? I looked at my watch. We didn't expect our little Nazis for half an hour, and if we had misinterpreted the time, they likely would have been here half an hour before.

"Steph, I'm going to duck in here and use the restroom. I'll be right back out." I fibbed. I didn't want to tell her the real reason, because I wanted her to keep talking to me about what she liked. But everybody has to pee sometimes. I went into the store, and asked to be pointed to the restroom. I rushed in, did my business, then came out and asked the salesperson to get one of the pendants and box it up as quickly as possible. She did, and I handed over my credit card, keeping a nervous eye out the window, looking for my quarry. Stephanie had spotted me and was giving me a quizzical look, but switched her focus and I could tell she was looking at reflections again, scanning the street for people wearing a red sweater or a green scarf.

She didn't say anything about my detour and we kept walking; pointing, chatting, and pretending to be a couple out for an afternoon stroll in the Autumn air. After almost half an hour she suddenly stiffened under my arm, though I doubt her appearance changed much. She tucked a curl behind her ear, subtly turning on her mic.

"They're here."