A/N: So sorry I did not post last week on my usual schedule. Work and my 1 hour commute have been leaving me very tired when I get home. This is also the last pre-written chapter I have, so updates may come every two weeks instead of every week now. I promise, I will continue until it sees an end. Please let me know what you think...and Batman should be reappearing in a chapter or two. Enjoy!
Dude (Looks like a Lady) by Aerosmith
"What a funky lady
Oh, she like it, like it, like it, like it
Oh, he was a lady
Dude looks like a lady
Dude looks like a lady"
Defining Moments
Chapter 11: O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?
Steph's POV
I can feel Quinn swiveling his head to keep looking at me. Well, we learned a little more about the Bianchi's from Alexander, but not much. Although, we know who's responsible for killing off drug users.
"Seriously?" Quinn finally asks, "how are you buddy buddy with that guy?" I do a half shrug.
"To my parent's house," I remind him before taking a breath as I gather my thoughts to explain.
"I met Alexander while I was helping to clear uh…another bounty hunter's name. He was wanted for killing Homer Ramos," I start explaining, "I was staking out the place, cruising by when Alexander ran out of the house and jumped in my car. I ended up driving him around a few times for smokes, and he liked me. I guess his kids don't care about his health anymore though." Quinn looks thoughtful for a moment and then looks over at me while we're stopped at a traffic light.
"The other bounty hunter," he starts and I can feel my heart rate increase, "was it Ranger Mañoso?" I gulp. I wonder what Quinn knows about him…about us. Sheesh. What us? He was my mentor and friend…nothing more. The ache in my chest tells me he was a whole lot more. Instead of saying anything I just nod my head. The light turns green and Quinn goes, but I can feel him staring.
"You two are…close?" he asks uncertainly. I swivel my head over to study him. Is he just pretending not to know much about him? Maybe he wasn't able to get to Ranger or Ranger didn't say anything…but still, this town loves its gossip.
"Uh…well…I guess as close as anyone can be to Ranger," I reply knowing that's a pretty accurate description. He always keeps everyone at arm's length. I'm lucky I got to see more of him than others. I see Quinn still look at me curiously but he drops his line of questioning.
Before we know it, we're in front of my parent's duplex. Quinn shuts off the car but pauses instead of opening his door. He looks over at me, and I'm caught up in his eyes. I can tell his interest is peaked, and it's as though he knows it's a sensitive topic for me.
"I'm here if you ever want to talk about it. I'll admit, I don't know much, I only know what the gossipers say," he says grabbing my hand to reassure me, "I'd like to hear your side too." I nod and swallow hard. I've been trying hard to push him from my mind and from my heart, but it's so hard. We exit the car and head up the walk. My mother and grandmother are waiting on the porch by the time we get to the door.
"Stephanie, what a surprise," my mother greets, "and who is this handsome young man?" I try hard not to roll my eyes at my mother clearly trying to charm who she thinks could be a potential boyfriend. Quinn grins, and I see both my mom and grandma suck in a breath.
"Ooh boy," Grandma mutters, "Stephanie sure knows how to pick 'em. You gotta find me a young hottie with a nice package." I see my mother blanch.
"Mother!" she shrieks, horrified. Honestly, this is normal, I'm not even fazed. Quinn looks at me from the corner of his eye, and I shrug.
"This is my partner Quinn. He's new to bounty hunting so I'm just showing him the ropes," I inform my family as we start heading inside. I see Quinn visibly flinch and he moves closer to me. Whoops. Grandma must have gotten a pinch in. She cackles gleefully.
"Man, I haven't felt a tushy that tight since Stephie brought home one of those good-looking RangeMen," Grandma comments as we head to the kitchen. I see my mother do the sign of the cross.
"Grandma!" I exclaim, feeling bad for Quinn, "Quinn is my partner, please try and keep your hands to yourself." She exhales loudly and I see my mother discreetly pour some Jim Beam into her glass.
"Fine," she mutters, "I got me a looker anyways." I see Quinn relax slightly as she agrees to behave. I see my mother take a big gulp of her drink and then start preparing some sandwiches.
"Speaking of your man, Grandma," I begin, hoping she'll tell us what she knows, "how is Nicolas?" Quinn's head swivels to mine. I guess I forgot to mention that my grandma is dating the head of the Bianchi family. Quinn and I take a seat at the counter, I sit between him and my Grandma.
"Nicolas, is such a gentleman," she reveals taking a sip of coffee, "but boy, does he know how to use his tool in the bedroom!" I groan as I try not to picture that. I see Quinn's eyebrows raise marginally. I guess he's not used to horny old ladies. I don't blame him, but I grew immune to Grandma Mazur long ago.
"Quinn, can I get you something to drink?" my mother asks diverting his attention from Grandma, "how does your girlfriend feel about you doing such a dangerous job?" I choke on air and turn it into a cough. Jeez, I know my mom wants me married, but she's being a little too nosy with my partner. Quinn glances over at me but smiles at my mother.
"Well, Mrs. Plum, water would be nice," he says, "and I don't have a girlfriend at the moment, but my mom sure wants me to settle down." I see my mother's eyes light up.
"Parents just want the best for their children," she states innocently enough, "I've been trying to get Stephanie to settle down as well." Ugh, I can see the setup already. I turn my attention back to Grandma.
"So, you said you have some things to tell me about the Bianchi's?" I question as I feel my eye start to twitch. I place a finger on it. Being home for any period of time can really get to me. Grandma nods and slides her dentures around in her mouth.
"Nicolas is not fond of his grandson," she says sourly, "he thinks his own grandson murdered his daughter. He tried kicking him out of the family, but his son-in-law wouldn't allow it." Well, now we know for sure Ian killed his mother. It's not just gossip otherwise his own family wouldn't believe it. I nod and we're all distracted by the sound of a large truck pulling up outside. We go to the living room and look out the window. It's not a truck, but a big school bus outside. Sally Sweet has arrived.
The school bus doors open and Sally steps down. He's over six feet tall, has scruff covering his jaw and lip, but it's the rest of his appearance that really catches the attention. He's wearing a silver top with itty bitty straps and it hangs loosely on his skinny frame (he has no boobs to fill it out properly), and then he's wearing skin-tight black leather pants that look painted on. He tops off the appearance with some sparkling silver FMPs. He looks glamorous as always. In his right hand is a big duffle bag and in the other, it looks like he's carrying a small makeup container. I met Sally Sweet a few years ago when he was one of my FTAs. We became pretty good friends. Lula joined his band at one point and so did my Grandma. I went to see every show even though my eardrums weren't appreciative. Last year, he saved my life by gunning down a bunch of gang members who were about to do some horrible things to me. He sees us on the porch staring so he flashes us a grin.
"Stephanie! Nice to see you," Sally greets and then his eyes go to Quinn. "And who's this stud you have with you?" I chuckle.
"My partner Quinn," I respond, "he's new to being a bounty hunter." Sally squints at him and his brow furrows.
"Hey dude, you remind me of this reporter I met last year…" Sally says tapping his chin with a well-manicured polished red nail. I look at Quinn and he shifts his weight from foot to foot. Hmm…I have a feeling he was that reporter. Quinn shrugs and Sally can't seem to place him so we just head inside. We head to the living room, and I can see how excited Grandma Mazur is.
"Boy, this sure is a pip! I've never had a professional doll me up before," she says with excitement. I see my mom drink some more from her glass. Sally lugs in the bags and puts them on the floor.
"I thought about this pretty hard," he said with a grin, "I'm thinking we can do a Betty White red carpet look." I see Grandma think about that.
"I don't know…" she says, "Betty White is... old." I cover my mouth with my hand to stop myself from laughing. I see Quinn glance at me as he tries to suppress a smirk.
"Don't worry! We'll make it look hip," Sally assures her, "Plus we can do some of her looks from when she was younger." Grandma shrugs.
"If you say so." Sally starts opening the bags and directing Grandma on what to do. Mom wanders back into the kitchen to either pour more to drink or work on lunch.
"So Steph, your Granny tells me you're after Ian Bianchi," Sally says, holding up several different options for Grandma. She hasn't found one she likes yet.
"Yeah, I am," I reply as Quinn and I sit down, "you didn't know him, did you?" Sally chuckles.
"Nah, not really. A friend of a friend said he's not the nicest guy though," Sally replies pulling out a white outfit. I see Grandma's eyes light up at it.
"Nicolas wanted to ban Ian from the family, but his daughter forbade it and once she did he didn't want to go against her wishes," Grandma tells us. Interesting.
"We're just trying to get as much info as we can on them," I say looking over at Quinn who seems to be studying the carpet. I see Sally nod and Grandma as well.
"I gotta tell ya, Stephie, I sure am really enjoying spending time with Nicolas," Grandma says as Sally sits her down and opens his makeup bag. "I told Anna about it and she's ok with it on account of we're helping find out what happened to Sarah."
"Well I'm glad, Grandma," I reply thinking I haven't seen her so happy in a long time. I may even have good news to tell her worried friend. Depends on if the credit card activity pans out or not. "Just be careful. The family is still dangerous." She pats her leg near where she would have a pocket.
"That's what ole Bessie is for," she says with a smirk. I sigh and feel my eye twitch. I decide not to comment even though I'm sure she's talking about a gun. Quinn's gaze finds mine and I can hear his unasked question. I just shrug.
"The only lead right now is that Ian is supposed to have a meeting with someone named Juliet next week," I say feeling like we're out to do the impossible. Sally's head perks up.
"You know I just watched Romeo and Juliet the other night," he says as he fluffs Grandma's curls, "such a sad movie! They were both parts of two rival families but they fell in love." I sigh, I've seen the movie and it's not one of my favorites. It also isn't going to help with finding Ian although something niggles in the back of my mind.
"That Leonardo DiCaprio sure is a looker," Grandma sighs wistfully, "I loved him in Titanic." I nod. I'm not the biggest sappy movie watcher, but I did enjoy the Titanic. There was definitely space for Jack on that piece of wood though-he so did not have to die. Sally continues working on Grandma's makeup. She looks radiant and it's not over the top. Mom comes into the room.
"Lunch is ready," she announces before taking another drink from her cup. Jeez, she's really drinking a lot more than she used to. Quinn and I stand and head towards the kitchen with Sally and Grandma coming close behind us.
We all sit at the table and dig into the sandwiches and potato salad my mom prepared. A simple lunch.
"Stephanie, what are you doing tonight?" Sally questions, "Like we should get the girls together and go out!" I look up at Sally.
"Hmm," I say looking over at Quinn. His interest seems peaked but he's not saying anything.
"C'mon, you seem more down than normal," Sally comments, "It'd be good for you to have some fun and let loose. Your partner can come too. I'll call Lula and set it up." Sally has his phone out before I can protest. Quinn chooses to speak up at this moment.
"I agree. I think it would be good for you," Quinn replies, "I know you're stressed with this case and training me." I roll my eyes. I guess he's right. I'm also still heartbroken over he who must not be named. I see Sally chatting animatedly with Lula. I guess we're going out tonight. My own cell phone starts ringing in my pocket. I pull it out and hear the ringtone, "I'm too Sexy" and realize it's Lester calling. I can't help but smile. He must have changed my ringtone without me realizing it.
"Yo," I greet with a smile and I see my mother's hawk eyes land on mine. Her eyes narrow and I know she's silently reprimanding me for not using proper phone etiquette. I just smile.
"Beautiful!" Les greets enthusiastically, "I hear we're going out tonight!" I feel my eyebrows raise in surprise. How does he know already? Sheesh, gossip around here works fast.
"How did you know? I barely knew a minute ago," I reply knowing that somehow Lula told Tank.
"Tank just sent out a text," he says, "I'm excited! I haven't seen you in a while. Also, you better come visit today because word has it you've been cozying up to a G-man." My eyes widen and I look around to see if anyone has heard. I'm just being paranoid.
"Les!" I hiss, realizing that will probably bring more attention to myself.
"We're eating lunch now, be there in 20." I hear Les cackle gleefully.
"Better be or I'll track your cute little butt down," he threatens, "and there's nothing Ranger could do to stop me." I feel a pang as he mentions his boss. He hangs up without a goodbye, and I shake my head. Why do these guys never use proper phone manners? I see Quinn looking at me with a face that asks what the hell was that phone call.
I make excuses for us and we head out. Sally says if he doesn't hear from me later he'll drag me out of the apartment. I guess it's good I have friends who care and can tell I haven't been quite myself lately.
"So who called?" Quinn asks as he gets behind the wheel of his car.
"My friend Lester," I reply, "I take it you know how to get to RangeMan?" I look over at him and he gives me a nod. Jeez, it's a little unsettling when I realize that Quinn knows so much about everything in my life.
"I'm looking forward to going out and seeing you with all of your friends," Quinn states as he turns onto Hamilton Township and continues towards RangeMan. I nod.
"Hopefully it will be fun," I state in a monotone voice. Honestly, I'm a bit nervous. "And Les knows I've been hanging around the FBI." Quinn raises his eyebrow as he throws a glance in my direction.
"How? We shouldn't tell anybody for a while," he replies looking a little worried.
"They keep trackers on me and noticed I was at the FBI building," I reply, "Don't worry, they're good at keeping secrets." He nods.