Recap: Stephanie overhears Ranger and Tank discussing an apprehension that they seem reluctant to talk about. She finally drags it out of them that it needs to happen at a swinger's club.

I stared at Ranger for a second, not sure how to react. Tank, being the excellent second in command that he was, chimed in. "On a Saturday night a man can't come to that place if he isn't accompanied by a woman. They work hard to keep an even ratio, so that women feel more comfortable."

"Women feel comfortable in those places? Aren't they kind of skeezy?"

Ranger shook his head. "They are designed so women feel comfortable there. Otherwise no one would come. That's why he doesn't have his guards there, all of them are men."

"OK. That makes sense. Wait. How do you know so much?"

Ranger got a wicked grin on his face. "Do you have any idea how many nights I've been on watch with Santos? We chat."

The core team was gathered around a conference table to make plans. Tank took the lead, putting a picture of Martin Williams up on the whiteboard and explaining the plan.

"If we are going to catch this guy with no casualties, it pretty much has to be here. There's nowhere else where he isn't heavily guarded. We know he attends every Saturday night, and that his guards have the night off between 9PM and 3AM."

"Why does he let them off instead of bringing them in? Can't they hire women to join them?" Lester asked. He was on the edge of his seat, with a light in his eyes I hadn't ever seen there. Seems he was excited about this job, though I can't imagine why.

"We aren't sure, but it's probably a combination of him feeling safe in there, and not wanting his employees to watch him having sex. We only found out about it because Hector hacked his computer and discovered his RSVPs. We suspect he's using a fake ID to get in, his name is too well known to not attract attention."

"How much do we know about the layout of the club?" Ranger asked, all business.

"Not much. There's some wide-angle pictures on the website, but no map." Tank replied.

"I don't want to go into a situation without having a clear idea of the layout. We'll have to do some reconnaissance Friday night before the takedown Saturday." Ranger said sternly, though I thought I caught the corner of his lip twitching just the tiniest fraction.

"I volunteer, Boss" Lester piped up, practically jumping out of his chair. "Maps, exits, how soft the beds are…"

"Not surprised, Santos. Do you know anyone boneheaded enough to be your escort?"

Lester nodded. "I bet Marie would go with me. For a girl from the 'Burg she's surprisingly liberated."

Ranger nodded. "Tank, you said you thought you could get Lula to go with you?"

He nodded. "I can't see her being uptight about something like that. Especially if we get a real Philly Cheesesteak while we're there."

"Brown?"

"Sure. I've been seeing someone, I bet she'd be interested in coming with us."

All eyes focused on me then. Ranger took my hand and spoke to me softly. "You don't have to go, I've trusted these three with my life countless times, they can handle it."

I bit my lip in consideration. On one hand, swinger's clubs where people had sex in the open weren't the kind of places good 'Burg girls went. On the other hand, this was a LOT of money for Rangeman for just a couple night's work. And my mind drifted back to when we had made love while looking down on the people in front of the Art Museum, and in the bathroom at Tattooed Mom. How exciting it had been that other people might be able to see us. How it would feel to experience that again.

"OK" I whispered, and Ranger's face lit up with the full 200 watts.

My life is weird sometimes.

A few hours later I was looking at a plain metal door in a plain cement wall. There was nothing saying what the building was except for the initials "PGC" on the wall.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" I asked nervously.

"It's the right place, all right." said Lester, his face grinning from ear to ear. "The Pleasure Garden Club. Best club in Philly."

I looked around again. "It doesn't look like much. No sign or anything."

Lester shrugged. "These places rarely do. They don't want to attract a lot of attention from the neighbors."

I took a deep breath. "OK, let's get started."

Ranger opened the door and we all filed into a small lobby. There was a desk with two people to the right, and a doorway which led to a dance floor. I gulped nervously, feeling my courage falter. I felt Ranger's hand on my back and I felt a little bit better. I could do this.

We filled out paperwork for a moment; a liability waiver, and a promise that we were going to be offended by anything we saw. We had to show ID, which I found surprising. After a few minutes we went through the doorway, where we ran into another obstacle. A security guard was checking bags and patting people down looking for weapons.

"Shit," I whispered to Ranger, "now what do we do?"

He smiled at me. "Santos warned us about this, we're ready." He stepped up to the guard,and held his arms out. Lester stood close behind us, with Marie looking around while she waited. I was feeling nervous, I knew Ranger didn't like being without a gun. So I started to babble.

"So, does anyone actually try to bring weapons in here?" I asked, desperately hoping I sounded casual."

"Sometimes. Not to many try, since they know we check."

"What's the weirdest thing anyone has tried to bring in?"

He pondered a moment while searching my purse with a flashlight. "Got a guy once who brought in a hatchet."

My face went pale. "What?"

He nodded. "Just a little one. Maybe 6 inches long. Was some kind of combination hatchet and pocket knife. He went back to put it in his car, and it was fine. Girlfriend said he was an engineer, and he used it at work." He shook his head. "Nice couple, I think they're here tonight. Don't look so worried, they come here often. Never give any trouble. Got a cousin who's an engineer, he says they tend to carry weird shit with them all the time. One of these days he'll be packing a Tesla coil."

"What do this couple look like?" Lester asked casually.

The bouncer seemed to realize he might have said a little too much, but Lester gave one of those face-splitting grins that could disarm anyone. "I like the idea of an engineer who takes his work with him. Might be a fun couple to play with."

The bouncer shrugged. "I know they've told that story a few times, so they don't think it's a secret. The guy had dreads pulled into a ponytail, his girlfriend has brown hair and is pretty large. Thirtyish. Not the only interracial couple here, but the only one that fits that description. Go to the bar and ask for a tour, someone will show you around."

He was done patting down Ranger and Lester. Lula and Tank came up and got the same treatment. I realized that while the guys got a pat down, the women only had to hold out their jackets for him to feel the pockets, and show the inside of their purses. The 8 of us got through security and looked around.

It looked like a regular dance club, aside from the skimpy clothes many of the women were wearing. I mean, yeah, lots of women wear revealing clothes at clubs, but many of the women here were wearing lingerie. A couple were even topless.

Lula made a beeline for the bar. "I need a drink, get me in the mood for my honey."

We followed at a more sedate pace, looking around. There was an area with walls about 3 feet high cordoned off, and when I looked more closely, I realized half of it was covered in mattresses. There was also a huge bean bag chair draped with a sheet, with a couple making out on it. On the wall above the bar was a large screen with porn. It was lucky it was so dark, because I was probably blushing.

Lula was back, and huffing with indignity. "They said we had to bring our own booze! What kind of club is this?"

"Relax," Lester soothed. "I got it covered." He held up a bag he had been carrying. "I brought some beer."

We all stepped up to the bar and Lester handed the bag to the bartender, who was wearing an underbust corset and nothing but black electrical tape on her nipples. "Here's our supplies. Could we get a tour please? I brought some newbies."

"Sure Lester," the bartender replied. "Always glad to see your friends. I'll get a guide, he'll meet you at the end of the bar in a couple minutes."

We walked to the end of the bar, and I stood for a moment trying not to stare. In addition to the scantily dressed women on the dance floor there was a stripper pole that went up 15 feet, and a row of tables against a long bench. Then something caught the corner of my eye.

"Sugar!" I squealed way more loudly than I meant to. A couple of people glanced my way, and I covered my mouth.

"Would you like a snack?" A white haired man in his fifties had appeared next to our group. "We have a buffet with both desert and hot food. Grab something and then I'll start the tour."

I didn't have to be asked twice. I stepped over the a table laden with danishes, cookies, and mini cupcakes, and immediately started to feel better. When in doubt, sugar always helps.

As I nibbled on a cupcake, the man explained the rules. No touching anyone without their permission. No glass on the dancefloor, how getting a drink worked, where the towels were, and no touching anyone without their permission.

"You said that twice."

"It bears repeating."

He led us around the club. In the first room was an additional bar, plus another stripper pole, and a 7 foot tall X made of wood. A woman was stretched out on it while a man held a vibrator between her legs. She was moaning, and he was teasing her nipples with his teeth. I took in a quick gasp, and Ranger put his arm protectively around my shoulder. "Are you OK, Babe?" he whispered quietly to me. I nodded slightly, trying to figure out how I felt watching two people involved in foreplay. It was a weird sensation, it was such a non-'Burg thing to be watching, but it was also really hot, and my doo-dah was starting to tingle.

Next was a large room, maybe 20 by 40 feet. It was almost empty of people, but had some….interesting equipment. There was a small stockade, a cage, and a large wooden frame with a rope hanging down from it. There were also mattresses laid out all along one wall, for something called 'group play'.

"You hear that Beautiful?" Lester asked teasingly. "We can finally play together."

"Can it, Santos." Ranger growled in a tone that was not to be ignored.

"You can do whatever you want, as long as it's completely consensual for all parties. Aside from bring drinks past this line." The guy said in a jovial tone.

"Huh." said Lula, "Doesn't seem like much of an orgy, there's noone in here besides us."

"Give it a couple hours and it will be crawling with people crawling all over each other. We tend to get started rather late here. Come on, I saved the best for last."

We left the orgy room and were about to go down a small hallway when I noticed a shower larger than my entire bathroom. It was brightly lit and enclosed entirely in glass, in full view of the dancefloor. Not even a semblance of privacy. I could imagine myself washing my hair, lathering up, getting soapy while Ranger rubbed down my breasts and a crowd of people stood around watching. I imagined his standing behind me, his rock hard butt making every woman in the room jealous as he cupped my...

"Earth to Babe," broke me out of my fantasy. Ranger was grinning down at me, and I think Tank might have been snickering. I didn't think Tank could snicker, but it had been a night of strange experiences all around.

"What? You know how much I like showering."

"Maybe later, Babe. Let's finish the tour."

We turned a corner to enter an area that had been sectioned into many small rooms. Some had themes, like the moon room that was lit with blacklights, or the jungle room painted like a rainforest. Others were just a bed with plain walls. Each room had a small window with a curtain, and the lights were on dimmer switches.

"You can have as much or as little privacy as you like. Gentlemen, you can't come back here unless accompanied by a woman or couple." our guide explained, pointing to a sign that said "no single men past this point".

There was a crowd gathered around one of the last windows. I craned my neck to see what was happening in there. I could tell from a distance that the light was bright and the curtain open in the room, so there would be a good view of whatever was happening, but I couldn't see well myself. I stood on tip-toes, and was considering asking Tank what was going on, when the crowd parted in just the right way what I could see what the couple inside were doing.

"That." I told Ranger, resolve in my voice. "I want to do that."