A/n: lots of good guesses but no one guessed who the 'cop's woman' was (: Enjoy!
Stephanie was drunk.
She stretched languidly and adjusted her sunglasses. I could get used to this, she thought as she raised her icy drink to her lips. She was draped over a chaise by Gia's newly sealed pool, laying out and enjoying the sun along with Lula, Connie, Pam, Mary Lou and Vaughn. Two weeks ago, there'd been a murder on Stark that Ranger seemed to think was linked to the Gang Task Force Morelli was working with. She snorted delicately; when she'd learned of his affair last year, she never thought they'd be in a place where he'd be able to work peacefully alongside her husband. She licked her lips reflexively; she knew she'd never tire of how much that one word pleased her. Her husband had been concerned enough to request that she keep a low public profile, so lazing around at Gia's house by the pool for the day was the perfect solution.
They'd started the day off with mimosas, moved onto wine after lunch and now they were sipping margaritas and in danger of becoming really obnoxious. Vaughn declared himself 'sober sister' and offered to abstain to keep the others from drowning in the pool, so of course they ribbed him mercilessly for most of the day.
"So you telling me you ain't never brought no man home to meet yo' momma before Hector? That's some romantic shit." Lula said.
Vaughn shrugged and said, "It's worked out for the best. No one else lasted longer than a few weeks. I'm actually pretty happy that he's the first one to meet my family."
"I love it." A thoroughly buzzed Giana piped up. "Hector's brilliant and sweet and he is niiiiice to look at." The women cackled; their main form of entertainment for the past hour had been ranking and comparing the different men they knew as the sun faded from view. "I'm glad your boyfriend isn't ugly, brother."
Vaughn rolled his eyes at her and smirked. She was amusing him.
"I wonder if Ditch will like him?" she mused.
"Who's that?" Connie asked.
"That's my baby brother. He's overseas now….here, wait!" and Gia flounced inside to retrieve a photo album. Inside was page after page full of pictures depicting a little tow-headed boy who gradually turned into a tall, muscular man with dirty blond hair. He resembled Vaughn, though his hair was several shades lighter and his frame much larger. Connie whistled and Pam rolled her eyes.
"I know, right? Just my luck, my friend has two hot brothers and one is gay while the other one is too young."
"It's really unfair. It's like you all fell out of the Hot tree and hit every Sexy branch on the way down, and landed in a pile of Rockin' Body at the bottom." Mary Lou pouted.
This caused another round of laughter from the women, and Vaughn whipped out his phone to text Hector. The girls were getting really lit and he'd need backup soon. Hector had, ehm, enticed him into keeping an eye on the girls today for him. He hadn't been able to share many details, but Vaughn knew whatever undercover work Hector was doing was very serious. He figured Hec might need a break, too.
The party moved inside where Giana whipped out another photo album. "This one is pictures of Tate!" she announced gleefully. The women raised their glasses in salute and crowded around the album.
"No! No way! He was a STRIPPER?!" Stephanie shrieked when they reached the midway point of the album. The women clapped, applauding the news as well as the photo Gia had of Mark on stage at a club.
Pam nodded drunkenly, grinning widely. "Yup." She said, popping the 'p'. "Know what else? He had a stage name. Wanna know what it was?" This earned another screaming cheer from the women.
"IT WAS 'MAGIC'!" Gia crowed, and they howled. By now, they were clutching their stomachs, drinks forgotten. They all sat down on the floor around the coffee table, the album spread out in front of them. A few were laughing so hard they were wiping tears from their cheeks, and it was at this moment the door opened and the man of the hour entered. Mark Tatum grinned, not yet knowing what the joke was but happy at the prospect of a drunk Gia – she was always a hoot after a few drinks. He was followed by Les and Bobby, having been dispatched by Hector.
Vaughn threw his hands up in the air and said, "Tag, you're it. The more they drink, the louder they get. It's like the frigging 'Gremlins' movie except nobody told me the rules and now they're crazy."
"Oh. My. Gawd." Gia gasped, sitting up. "Do you guys realize what we'd get if we combined Tater's nickname and his stage name?!"
Collectively, the six women paused, gasped, and screeched, "MAGIC TATER!" and lost any ounce of control they had left. The group rolled and howled as the men caught up with the joke. Mark rolled his eyes and silently cursed his friend; he'd never hear the end of this from Bobby or Lester. They were, he noted wryly, grinning like fools while the girls rolled around on the floor. He clapped his hands together and announced, loudly, "All right, ladies, it's time to wrap this party up. We're here to drive everybody home."
He managed to dodge Connie's outstretched hand and the fistful of dollar bills she offered him for 'just one song' and loaded her, Lula and ML into the SUV. Vaughn offered to drive Stephanie to Rangeman so that he could see Hector, and Lester offered to stay and watch Gia and Pam until he returned with Hec, silently praying Hector wouldn't kill him for stealing a few precious minutes with Vaughn's sister.
Pam fell into Gia's bed and was snoring before Les could even pull her shoes off. Shaking his head, he rolled her onto her side and covered her up. Giana'd made her way to the bathroom and he heard the sound of water running and movement. As he sat, perched in the wingback chair she'd placed in the corner of her room, waiting for her, he was struck by how oddly domestic and natural this felt – waiting for her to complete her bedtime ritual so he could wish her sweet dreams.
The door opened and she stood there for a moment, illuminated by the light behind her. She was beautiful, Les thought. So unaware and natural, her face freshly washed and a tank top on over a pair of boxers. She exuded purity and sweetness; this, he thought with aching clarity, was what he wanted. This mundane perfection, this everyday, normal utopia. She smiled shyly at him and asked, "Are you my babysitter?" while wobbling slightly.
He smiled, wistfully and murmured "Just until your brother gets back with Hec."
"Big plans for later?" she asked, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Nah. The guys wanted to go out but I just got off a shift and I'm scheduled to start at 7am. I just swung by when Hec texted Magic Tater to check on you."
She snorted. "He's going to get me back for that one, you know. If he starts plotting revenge, can I count on you to be my inside man?" Holy shit, she was flirting. Lester knew this was temporary, brought on by the alcohol and short lived because Hector would be here any minute, so he savored it. He looked at her, his eyes hooded and dark, and nodded slowly.
Gia flushed, nervous by Lester's sudden intensity, and dropped her gaze to his shoes. "Um, well, I guess I'm going to turn in." she stammered. Before she could lose her nerve, she stepped forward to brush a quick, chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for taking care of us." She gestured towards Pam's inert form. Lester smiled and said, "Anytime." Just as he heard her front door open. He slipped quickly out of the room just as Hector rounded the corner.
Hector froze upon seeing Santos exiting Giana's bedroom. His hand twitched, flexing toward the blade he wore at his waist. Les held up his hands in a defensive gesture and said, in a low tone, "I was just making sure they got into bed okay. They're pretty wasted; I didn't want anyone puking on the floor."
Hector's stare said it all. Devoid of normal emotion, it projected only menace. He growled, low and dangerous, "I will not warn you again."
Lester's mouth tightened into a thin, taut line. "What do you think will happen?" He asked, his voice deceptively soft. Inside, he was equal parts panicked and furious.
Hector hissed back, "What always happens. A few hours of using her to even some score that has nothing to do with her before you leave. Isn't that your usual modus operandi, Santos?"
Les stood, rigid and horrified. It was the way he operated, and he couldn't blame Hector for his concern. Hell, he respected the man for wanting to protect the woman who lay sleeping only a few yards from where he stood. But to hear it, thrown at him so bluntly, reminded him of all the reasons he should stay away from her. She deserved more than he had to offer, that was indisputable.
He gave a single stiff nod of acknowledgment and stalked past Hector, past a concerned looking Vaughn and toward the front door. If Bobby wasn't already here, he'd start the walk back toward Haywood. It was only 5 miles, and Lester suddenly had a lot of feelings he needed to walk off.
The Chambersburg section of Trenton was constant as the sun; men drove American cars, women gossiped like it was part of training for an Olympic sport, and houses were kept repaired and yards neat. Normally, the neighborhood reveled in the tiresome monotony of their humdrum lives, but tonight….tonight, people would mourn the loss of one of their own. Tonight, the invariability of the routines established two generations ago would work against the prevailing peace found in the 'Burg.
The woman being stalked by the Korean man had no idea that her remaining earthly time could be measured in minutes, rather than the years she expected. She had plans, this native daughter of New Jersey. Her husband, a police officer for the city of Trenton, would retire, eventually. They'd sell their house in Chambersburg and move to warmer climates, probably Florida. It was the 'Burg way, to relocate to sunny Miami. Why, there was practically a second chapter of her city located in a tropical climate! She planned to make casseroles for grieving neighbors, cookies for church bake sales and roasts every Sunday for her beloved husband for years to come. It was with these pleasant thoughts running through her mind that Myra Costanza unlocked her front door for what would be the last time in her life.
As she made her way through her house, she had no idea that a merchant of death waited quietly in her kitchen, cataloging her final trip through her small house.
Myra, thankfully, was so unaware of the proverbial snake poised to strike that she didn't see or hear the blow that rendered her unconscious. She was oblivious to the man who trussed her up tightly and loaded her into a small, nondescript sedan, and she was incognizant when the enforcer for the KDC strangled the life out of her.
Thankfully at peace, she was beyond the realm of this world by the time she was calculatingly arranged so that her discovery would have the maximum gruesome impact on the community she had loved so dearly in life, and she was blessedly deceased when the man with the wan complexion unsheathed his knife and went to work. The Korean Dragon Crew was leaving their first calling card, and it was going to make an earth-shattering impact tomorrow when the body of Myra Costanza, beloved wife of 'Crazy' Carl, was discovered.