A/N: Wow...it's been a while. Thank you for all of the readers who are still with me. This story will be wrapping up in a few chapters or so. Please let me know what you think - Review! Thank you. Enjoy!
This is Me by Kesha
"When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me"
Defining Moments
Chapter 17: The Reveal
Steph's POV
Quinn drives while I pull up the tracker on my phone. I assume Ian is going home, but his tracker is zig-zagging and heading towards the ocean. Or the shipping yard, not the ocean. He must be meeting someone.
"Quinn, this might not be a good idea," I say as we get closer and closer to the blinking dot on the phone. I look over at him and his face is illuminated by the yellow glow of the passing street lights.
"We'll just monitor," he replies, "we won't go in without backup unless it's just him." I nod before returning my eyes back to the GPS. A knot forms in my stomach. I feel like something is not right, but I don't know what it is. Quinn turns off his headlights as we head into the gated area of the yard. Surprisingly, the gates are open and no one is manning the deck. Odd, but we continue on slowly. The red dot on the tracker blips in and out at the same pace, but I can see us growing closer. Thankfully, the shipping yard has several light posts. The lighting is dim, but it's just enough to see. There are at least three black cars in the back surrounding one shipping container. Men are standing facing each other, and I can see the guns. I instinctively go for mine. I have it in my purse since I had no good place to put it in this dress. Quinn discreetly gets us to a good place where our car is not seen, but we can look on. All of the men are dressed like they were also just at the party. All of these players in one house just had to come to the shipping yard? Definitely odd. Ian seems to be off to the side in this situation. It's hard to say, but it really looks like some kind of negotiation.
The atmosphere shifts and they all tense up and raise their weapons in seriousness. This is not good. I look over at Quinn and his eyes meet mine. He pulls his cell phone out and places a call.
"Yes, this is Quinn Rivers. We're at a shipping yard at the New York / New Jersey border. Tensions are running high, but we have Nicolas Bianchi in sight and looks like there could be a shoot out," Quinn says in a quiet urgent tone, "copy that." He hangs up the phone and turns to look at me again.
"We stay put. They're going to send a chopper and a van for back-up," he informs me as he pulls his gun from the holster under his jacket. We can see them arguing from the car but no sound reaches our ears. I can feel the tension in my shoulders and neck as we wait to see how this will play out. The arguing seems to continue, and we're stuck watching this slow motion show. Half of the men are dark-skinned Latinos and the other half are slightly less dark and could be Italian like Ian. One of the Latino's picks up a block and starts waving it around. He then throws it to the ground and a cloud of white dust plumes around the men. He continues waving his arm madly and shaking his gun. A gunshot rings out. Shit. Suddenly, gunfire is in all directions yet I see Ian dart away. I nudge Quinn.
"He's heading away from the gunfire," I say in a whisper even though there's no one else to hear us. He clenches his jaw and sighs but nods. We'll follow him.
"I think I have two vests in the car. We better put them on," Quinn says opening the door quietly. We get the vests from the trunk. I look back at the gunfire and it's still going, but it looks like some unseen force is slowly eliminating the targets. I check the GPS and it is steadily blinking yet growing slowly farther away from us. Thank God, I'm a Jersey girl otherwise I doubt I would be able to go after Ian in this outfit.
Quinn and I take off on foot and chase after our man. I glance down every now and again to ensure we're headed in the correct direction. I notice it has stopped moving. I motion to Quinn and we slow down so he won't hear us. We both have our guns drawn in front of us. I can hear my heart beating rapidly but above that is the sound of Ian cursing. I peer around a shipping container to see Ian trying to break into a car. He's not having much success as he continues looking around wildly. I nod to Quinn and we both move quickly.
"Ian Bianchi put your hands up!" Quinn yells as we both have our guns trained on him.
He looks up at us like a crazed deer in the headlights. I think he'll comply but he decides to raise his gun. Quickly, almost instinctively I aim and squeeze the trigger. It hits his hand and his gun clatters to the ground. He clutches his hand to his body as Quinn and I surround him. Quinn quickly handcuffs him.
"You're in violation of your bond and we're here to take you in," he says even though FBI is printed in bright bold yellow on our flak vests, "You're also under arrest." Quinn recites his rights as we head back to our vehicle. A chopper is circling the yard as we get closer to our car. The scene where they had all been shooting out is silent, and I see a familiar silhouette standing in the center as men are being put on stretchers. The back of my neck tingles. I wonder what this means for his mission. I wonder what that means for us.
"You need to take me to a hospital," Ian whines as he lags behind us, "I'm bleeding out." I roll my eyes. I've had worse injuries than that just from my time as a bounty hunter.
"I think you'll survive," I say not even giving him a glance. Quinn has him in leg shackles and handcuffs. Honestly, I don't know where Quinn had those stashed. We are finally bringing Ian to justice. It's taken way too long. We put Ian into the back of our car and close the door. Quinn gives me a high-five.
"See," he says with a smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes, "I knew finding you would be the best decision I've made." We lean against the car with our backs as we watch the rest of the scene. We can't hear anything, but we can see the bustle of men as they catalog injuries and weapons. Quinn bumps into my shoulder with his own. I smile.
"Thanks for believing in me, Sweetheart," I say with a wink as I bump him back. "Let's nail this a-hole!"
We get in the car and drive. It'll take about two hours to get back to Trenton from where we are. We won't be getting a normal amount of sleep tonight. Quinn says it's best to hold him at the Newark building overnight before turning him in for the body receipt at the TPD. Quinn insists I have the right to make it the biggest and best skip takedown for me. He thinks announcing I'm FBI while we do it will just be icing on the cake.
It's nearly three in the morning before I get into my apartment and strip out of my beautiful dress. It's a little dirty, but I'm hopeful having it sent to the dry cleaners will make it good as new. My feet are killing me. I have no energy to shower so I'll save that for the morning. I get in bed and sigh. I smile. I can't believe I did it. Just as I'm drifting off I swear I hear, "Proud of you, Babe."
The next morning, I have a smile on my face although I'm a little nervous. I'm ready. I look over at Quinn who's in the passenger seat beside me. None of this would have been possible without him. He's really helped me grow into the person I'm meant to be. Yes, I had already decided to change my life before he walked in, but he's given me strength and courage when I had none. I look back over my shoulder to see Ian Bianchi slumped in the back seat. Finally, we got him. We're taking him to the TPD as a formality and to collect the body receipt. Then we'll reveal to everyone that he's in FBI custody, and I'm no longer Bombshell the Bounty Hunter: I'm Special Agent Stephanie Plum. Lookout Trenton! I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces. I know they'll be shocked. I'm guessing no one bet on this outcome. A smirk settles on my face at the thought. The police station is in sight, and at 10 in the morning, it's prime action time. Quinn wanted to give me the glory and let me go in alone but he also wants to see everyone's reaction. I told him he could videotape it for all I care. We park and I get Ian out of the backseat. My badge is clipped on to the waist of my pants, but I'm sure no one will notice until after I make my announcement. I stroll into the precinct with Ian in front. Of course, I happen to run into Big Dog.
"Whoa Steph, caught your man? I don't see any food or garbage and no totaled car?" he questions, "I owe Robin twenty bucks." I roll my eyes. At least it sounds like Robin was on my side. I ignore Big Dog and take Ian up to the processing window where I find Robin Russell with a smile.
"Look at you go Steph! I knew it," she said with a smile. I grin back. It feels good knowing that she had my back instead of turning on me. I happen to see Carl, Eddie, and Joe standing down the hall in a huddle. Perfect. Everyone will be around for the grand announcement.
"Alright Steph, here's the body receipt. We'll take him from here," she says with a smile. I can feel the excitement rolling off of my partner.
"Thanks, Robin, but actually Quinn and I will take him," I reply making my voice loud enough to conveniently catch the attention of the three men.
"Steph, you know that's not how this works," she says a little annoyed. I see Joe, Eddie, and Carl stepping closer.
"I'm sorry Robin," I say as I pull out the FBI paperwork from my pocket, "Ian Bianchi is now in FBI custody. Special Agent Rivers and I will be taking it from here." As soon as the words are out of my mouth Joe is the first to come over.
"Cupcake, you've got to be kidding," Joe says incredulously. I give him a 'sorry not sorry' look and shrug.
"Unfortunately, I'm not. The FBI will be handling this case from here on out." Eddie whistles.
"Damn Steph, nice piece," he says motioning to the badge on my hip, "Proud of you." Joe's eye is also drawn to the shiny badge. I can see his face starting to heat up. It's no secret that Joe has been interested in working with the FBI. He looks up at Quinn and squints.
"You did this," he says in a low voice directed at Quinn. Quinn grins and a dimple comes out.
"Nah, I just recognize something special when I see it." Joe's mouth gapes open. I smirk and no one else can find the words to say anything. Quinn and I turn while leading Ian out of the building. As we exit into the bright clear day, I turn at my partner and smile. That felt great. I can't wait to see what case we work next. Of course, my phone starts ringing before we even make it back to the car. The Burg grapevine is like wildfire.