Disclaimer: I do not own Lester (the character) or the Stephanie Plum series. This short-story is only inspired by the Plum world, out of canon.

Today's chapter is completely unedited. I was in a rush to post a chapter on my self-inflicted deadline (learning self-discipline here), and I had to sacrifice the proofreading. Regardless, I hope it's still enjoyable. Thanks for reading!

Feds

"Finally, you are here." Ranger pulled me into a tight embrace. The stoic expression on his face fell for several seconds and quickly snapped back into place.

"I can't breathe," I grunted pushing against his biceps and looking up at him. The man in front of me had disheveled hair, dirty clothes, and tired eyes. "You look like shit."

"You look ten months pregnant," he said, scanning me from head to toe, and I knew he was looking for signs of distress, harm or anything that signaled a life of unhappiness. "I appreciate you coming."

"Tank briefed me. Is there anything else I should know?" He gave me the rest of the details, and we walked into the precinct to find it swarming with FEDS. Identifying the FEDS among all the commotions was easy. The exclusive detectives were usually the entitled looking ones in the crowd. Police officers never liked FEDS in their territory. Thus, they walked around with sour faces.

"Who are you?" The dark-hair man standing in front of me stood with a patrician expression and arms crossed over his chest. I could have confused him with FED if it wasn't for the uniform.

"Defense Attorney Emma Rosario-Santos," I said. He shook my offered hand and glanced suspiciously at Ranger. The police tag on his shirt identified him as "J. Morelli."

"Why does your name sound familiar?" The officer relaxed his stance, but he kept his voice low. It was easy to deduct by his posture that he was on Stephanie's side on this controversy.

"Mrs. Rosario-Santos was one of the first women to train in Ranger school," Ranger replied, pressing a protective hand against my lower back. "She's also a criminal defense lawyer who honed her skills at the Pentagon."

"If you could excuse me." A sudden urge to pee had me blocking out the officer's words. The baby in my womb kept dancing on my bladder. It was easy to find the bathroom, but it was a challenge to hover over the bowl holding a briefcase with a seven-month baby testing my balance. Pregnancy brought with it many physical challenges, some a little less welcomed than balance impairment.

On my way out of the restroom, I bumped into a head of red hair attached to broad shoulders. I recognized the man as Liam Robinson. He stood next to a short-woman with short curly hair in a pencil skirt, a well-known federal attorney, Melissa Prentis. They turned to me in unison.

"Emma." The redheaded man mouthed my name.

"Good Afternoon Mr. Robinson and Ms. Prantis." I contorted my face to avoid showing any emotion. The woman took my hand offered, but the man stood watchfully next to us. "Mrs. Rosario-Santos, and I'm Ms. Plum's attorney. Could someone direct me to my client?"

"Mrs. Rosario-Santos, your client is a suspect of first-degree murder." Ms. Plantis' shifted her weight to her left foot and glanced at Robinson from the corner of her eyes. She shuffled the folders in her arms and looked at me squarely in the eyes. "Due to the evidence gathered it would be beneficial for your client to confess."

"The evidence indicates that Mr. Pond had fatal wounds on his body dated two hours before Ms. Plum arrival to the scene of the crime." I dropped my briefcase on the nearest desk and pulled out a copy of the coroner's report. "Is your team stalling to get a false confession out of my client?"

"We have circumstantial evidence…" I put my hand up, signaling for her for Ms. Printis to stop.

"Circumstantial evidence is not enough, Ms. Printis. You know that very well." If the governmental unit was willing to place a woman under custody without so little evidence, then something was amiss. "If my client is only a suspect, I'll be advising Ms. Plum not to respond to any further questions. She is going home, but she'll collaborate with the investigation if needed."

"She was found at the scene," Ms. Printis said firmly.

"Ms. Printis, I understand you're new around town, but my client is often stumbling into dead bodies and robberies. I'm sure you have seen the news clippings." The shorter woman curled her lip and grunted irritably.

"Let me take you to your client, Emma." Liam Robinson's fingers touched my lower back in a hesitant move, but he ignored the woman's frown and guided me through the small corridor leading to the holding room. "Rosario-Santos, I see you married Lester after all."

"It's none of your business." The snapped words had flown out of my mouth before I had a chance to process them. If I had, I would have known it would elicit further judgment.

"We were good friends once, Emma," he replied, halting in his step, and taking the liberty to put both of his hands on my shoulders. Robinson's eyes were touched with tears, but he did a good job at holding them inside. He always did anyway. "Lester Santos might be a good man, but Ranger and the rest of his squad have only made you suffer. Stephanie Plum will be the second victim of his amateur leadership."

"I'm happy Liam." My hands flew to my belly in a reflex reaction to his passionate statement. A quick glance over my shoulder reassured me. Ranger was staring at me while still listening to Officer Morelli. "If you excuse me, my client needs my help."

-rs-

Stephanie Plum was a tall woman with striking blue eyes and soft-looking curls. She carried traces of Italian ancestry on her face. She stared at me with wide eyes, taking in my demeanor, my belly, and my briefcase.

"Would you like some water? Bathroom?" The woman continued to watch me, seemingly taking in my every word.

"I need to use to toilet," she said, promptly rising from her chair, but the handcuff that tied her to the table halt her movements.

"It's a calculated technique by law enforcement to deprive the subject of necessities such as sleep, food, water, and bathroom visits to obtain a confession." She shuddered when my hands touched her cuffed arm. Quick work on the keyhole and the metal dropped on the table. "I'm your lawyer."

"What kind of lawyer are you?" She was rubbing her wrist and staring at the metal that kept her tethered to the table.

"Ranger sent me." My answer seemed to be sufficient enough because the cloud of questions on her face disappeared, but she continued to look frightened. "He's outside pacing a hole in the ground, and he wants to see you. I'll accompany you to the restroom. You can freshen up, and we'll check you out of here."

"The FBI detective said I was going to prison," she protested, her eyes now overflowing with tears. "He said there is evidence proving that I killed Sean Paul."

"Sean Paul?"

"The heroin lord."

"Oh, right." I had forgotten that little detail from Tank's briefing. The late detective's undercover name was Sean Paul. "The detective who said those things to you, did he have red hair?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry about him. He's melodramatic." A rueful smile appeared on her face, but it did not stop her shaking. "Listen, there might be newscasters waiting outside trying to get a glance at you. I will need you to keep your head high and wear this sunglasses."

"Yes, yes of course," she said, taking the glasses with trembling hands and following me out of the office. Liam waited outside the door with release documents in hand. I reviewed them carefully before my client signed.

"I forgot to congratulate you on baby," Liam said, reviewing the signed agreement, his eyes on the page. "We'll be in contact."

Ranger, having been sent to wait outside by frustrated police officers, scooped Stephanie up in his arms and rushed her into his car before the media had a chance to post questions. In the morning, the only pictures in the newspaper would be a hunky dark-skinned man carrying a curly hair woman into a fancy car.

-rs-

Thanks for reading!