Recap: Stephanie, Ranger, and the others plan and execute a takedown at a swinger's club. Ranger, Tank, and Lester are all dealing with other situations while the apprehension happens, leaving Stephanie, Bobby, and Bobby's date Susan to carry it out. They maneuver the FTA into a sex shop connected to the club, where Hal and Cal grab him and carry him off.

Ranger

I was speaking with Natasha when I saw Stephanie look down at her leg like something was wrong. Bobby and Susan went over to her, and didn't look worried, so I pushed down my protective instincts and kept talking with Natasha. We might have come from different hemispheres, but there are things all immigrants have in common.

We were talking about the absurd cost of American weddings when I saw Williams go over to Stephanie. I kept talking to Natasha, but made sure to flick my eyes over every few seconds to keep track of what was going on. The music was so loud it was hopeless to try to overhear anything being said, I could barely hear what was being said a few feet away from me.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I said as I saw Stephanie, Susan, Bobby and Williams walk towards the door that led to the sex shop. His hands were already handcuffed and he was wearing a gag, Babe had certainly come through. I turned Natasha subtly so she wouldn't see what was going on by dipping my ear in her direction so she was speak directly into it.

"I said, the amount Martin spent on the wedding would have fed my hometown for a month. Fancy food, fancy clothes, hundreds of guests, and I didn't know anyone except my parents and sister." She stopped then. "I shouldn't complain, it was a lovely wedding, and I should be grateful."

"It was just a little much?"

She nodded. "I hadn't even recovered from the… um, plane time?"

"Jet lag". I knew it well. It wasn't too bad after coming home from trips to South America, but could be a real beast after a trip to Asia, Africa, or Europe. I imagine it was also bad traveling to Australia, but the US Government didn't perform many operations there. Not since that incident during the Vietnam War with the Prime Minister disappearing into the sea. Though that had never been confirmed. "Try eating spicy food to help you stay awake, and kiwi fruit to get to sleep."

She smiled at me. "Do you like spicy food?" she asked, trailing a single finger down my arm.

Hal's voice rang in my ear. "Package acquired and secured. Mission accomplished." We had succeeded. Depending on lights, the club was 3-4 minutes away from the highway, at which point even if there were any guards waiting in the parking lot, it would be impossible for them to stop us. I looked at Natasha. We had figured she could get home when the guards came to pick her and Williams up, but it seemed cruel to just leave her here for hours while she didn't know where her husband had gone. I decided to let her know, once we had him a safe distance away. At least she wouldn't be frantically trying to find him.

"I'm Cuban, it comes with the territory. Hot climate, hot food..."

"Hot men." she said, and stepped forward to kiss me. I hesitated a moment. It was important that she not raise any alarm, we didn't want any guards that might be nearby getting a call. She wouldn't have a cell on her at the moment, but she might have checked hers at the front desk, or ask to use their phone.

I gave her a kiss on the cheek, then whispered in her ear "Could I have a dance?"

She looked puzzled, but acquiesced. It was an upbeat tempo, and as we spun on the floor I could tell she was looking for her husband. Her head swiveled around and she peered into corners. As the song ended Hal's voice came over my com again. "We're on the highway, free and clear. See you back in Trenton after the drop off."

I pulled her to the side in the quietest place I could find.

"Natasha, I have to tell you something."

"Yes?" she said, batting her eyes at me.

"I'm a bond enforcement agent. My partners just arrested your husband."

She looked panicked and upset and about to bolt.

"We aren't going to hurt you," I said, trying to calm her down. "But he was supposed to show up for court weeks ago and didn't. You aren't in any trouble. If you want, I can call you a cab to come take you home."

She stared numbly, sat down in a nearby chair, then looked at me with accusation in her eyes. "I thought you liked me. Were you just using me?"

"I do like you, you seem like a really nice person. But I had a job to do, and my feelings didn't enter into it." I saw Stephanie re-enter the club, Bobby and Susan were with her, Williams obviously wasn't. "Besides, my heart belongs to someone else." Along with my body and soul.

Natasha stood up, lifted her chin defiantly, and glared at me. "I'll get my phone and call myself a ride." As she walked away she looked back at me. "I hope you're proud of yourself, using another person, making them think you like them, while you are plotting to steal their husband away and send him to jail."

Honestly, I wasn't. It didn't change anything though. Williams belonged in jail, no matter how nice his wife was.

Stephanie came over to me and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Mission accomplished. The night is young, want to enjoy the fact that we're here?"

I shook my head. "Let's get the others and go home. We have a big couple days ahead of us."

I went to go find Santos, a small pit of guilt sitting in my stomach.

Stephanie

I stared into the faces of a dozen men, their eyes hard and cold, their faces filled with anger. I don't know exactly what I believe about souls, but I'm pretty sure none of these men had them.

I looked away from the laptop screen and rubbed my eyes, trying to keep them from watering. Agent Mankiller had me looking at photos of all known leaders in local white supremacist movements, and it was depressing.

"How's the face memorization going?" she asked from across the conference table.

"These people look so angry. What the hell is wrong with them?"

Mary shrugged. "The world used to belong to white men, and they see other groups getting equality as an attack on them, rather than an evening of the playing field. I sometimes have to spend hours a day on their message boards, looking for threats, but considering what happened to my people, I really can't feel too sympathetic."

Yeah. The Cherokee, all Native Americans really, had suffered a lot more than these people had. "I need a break. These faces are all blurring together, especially since they all have the same haircut."

She nodded. "And they may wear disguises. Sunglasses, hats, hoodies. Look for people with a different mood, different energy. Most of the people attending will be thrilled. If someone is there to cause trouble, they'll likely be suppressing annoyance at hearing things they don't like, surrounded by people they hate. These folks generally aren't Academy Award-winning actors."

"So exactly what roll will I have?"

Mary handed over a sheet of paper with a list of Rangeman staff who would be working at the rally. Hal, Lester, Binkie, Zip, and a few others I didn't really know would all be on crowd duty. Ram was a sniper. Bobby would be at the first-aid tent. I was marked as "Crowd, Civilian Clothes". At the bottom, Tank and Ranger were listed as "POTUSRLG."

"Are Tank and Ranger taking care of alphabet soup?"

Mary smiled and shook her head.

"The government likes acronyms. That particular one is President of the United States, Rope Line Guard. They will be with Obama when he inevitably decides to go shake hands."

Holy Shit