Standard Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money, yadda yaddacakes. I didn't put this in part one, but spoilers up through LMT.
Overheard Part 16
Middle of the night, inside Steph's hotel room
Stephanie was buried under her covers with only the top of her head showing. The room was silent apart from the faint scrabbling sounds coming from Rex's cage. Stephanie moaned slightly and sat up in bed. Getting out of bed, she stumbled into the bathroom. Without turning on a light, she sat down on the toilet. She finished her business but was so tired she started falling asleep as she sat there. Suddenly a scritching noise at the hotel door woke her up. She stood up and pulled up her panties and tiptoed out of the bathroom. She watched as the door opened very slowly. Since she didn't feel the usual tingle that indicated Ranger was near, she knew that she was in trouble. Sick and tired of having to deal with psychos, she backed towards the bathroom. Bending over, she grabbed the purse that she had dropped on the floor by the bathroom. Rooting around inside, she found her stun gun and handcuffs. She turned the stun gun on and zipped the purse closed, sticking the handcuffs in the waistband of her panties. Watching the intruder carefully slip inside and close the door behind him with a soft snick, she wrapped the purse strap around her left hand a couple of times and got ready to swing.
"Oh my lovely Goddess now we can be together forever." The intruder reached to pull back the covers. Before he could pull them back, Stephanie gave a loud shout and sprang at him. Swinging her purse like nunchuks, she connected with his skull. He dropped to the bed like he was pole axed. Reaching out with her right hand, she stabbed him in the ass with a stun gun. Dropping the stun gun, she pulled the handcuffs out of the waistband of her panties and cuffed his hands behind his back. She dropped to the unused bed in relief. Finally she had been able to handle things herself. Filled with a sense of pride, she got her cell phone and dialed 911.
"Yes, I need to report an attempted kidnapping and assault." The 911 operator asked for the details. "My name is Stephanie Plum and I am staying at a Comfort Inn near Jonesboro just off Route 63. I am in room 245. I subdued the attacker with a stun gun and he is handcuffed on my bed." The 911 operator paused for a second "The police have been dispatched and are on the way. I will stay on the line with you until they arrive." Stephanie thanked the dispatcher.
"Ma'am, can I ask you a question? Why do you have a stun gun and a pair of handcuffs in your possession?" Stephanie laughed. "I am a Fugitive Apprehension Agent and these are tools of the trade." Stephanie could hear the dispatcher trying to stifle a laugh. "It is the story of my life. I get stalked and kidnapped on a semi-regular basis. I decided this time to be proactive in my own rescue." The dispatcher said "Sounds like you lead an interesting life. I am glad this turned out okay." At a knock on the door, the dispatcher said good-bye. Stephanie got up to answer the door.
In Pino's Pizza Parlor
Joe waited at the counter for his order. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was get his pizza and head home to Robin and peace and quiet. He looked up as a couple of Rangemen walked in. They were talking quietly to each other when one of them caught Joe's eye. To his surprise, they both walked over.
"Joe, my name is Zero and I work for Rangeman. I suppose you heard about the accusation made against our boss?" Joe nodded. "We did a canvass of Ms Cohen's apartment building and discovered a witness that saw Ranger leave the building and a perfectly healthy and unmarked Ms Cohen leave a few minutes after Ranger."
"Did you take her down to the station to make a statement" Joe inquired. He momentarily wondered about the name Zero but figured it was par for the course for a company run by a man named Ranger with a second in command named Tank.
"She gave a statement to Detective Gobel. There was something off about his attitude though so I wanted to mention it to you so you could check it out. I know there is no love lost between you and Ranger but you have a rep as a good cop. We know you wouldn't take this as an opportunity to score against our boss. Gobel, on the other hand, I am not so sure about." Joe looked flabbergasted at this statement. He had no idea that any of Ranger's men would even give this a thought.
"I'll talk to Marty in the morning and see what is up. You are right. I have issues with Ranger but I know he wouldn't beat a woman up like that. He has a code of honor that he sticks to fiercely. I may not always agree with his methods but I do agree with his morals and motivations." It was time for both Zero and Manny to look flabbergasted.
Anthony interrupted the men. "Joe, here is your pizza." He handed over a pizza with a salad sitting on top. At Joe's quizzical look, he continued "Robin called just before you came in and asked me to add a salad to your order. She said lunch didn't agree with her and she was afraid to eat pizza in case it upset her stomach." Joe smiled and handed Anthony a $20. "Keep the change, thanks."
"I'll call Rangeman tomorrow and let you know what I find out. Is Manoso in town or is he off trying to catch up to Stephanie?" Woody and Zero looked at each other, wondering how much they should reveal. "Never mind, I should know better than to ask Ranger's men to reveal anything about their boss. Tell Manoso he needs to get back here soon to deal with this before Gobel puts out an APB." With that, he grabbed the pizza and salad and headed home to be with his girlfriend. Times like these I am so glad that Steph and I broke up. I have gotten used to not having to slug down Maalox anymore.
Back in the hotel room
Stephanie answered the door. Waiting outside were two cops with their hands on their guns. "Come in officers. My attacker is handcuffed on the bed." One officer stepped inside to survey the room. The other grabbed Stephanie and pulled her outside.
"Ma'am, please explain what happened. I also need to see some ID." Stephanie started to roll her eyes because the cop was keeping his hand on his gun but thought better of it. She figured the cops didn't know her so she hoped that they were just taking precautions in case she was the criminal.
"My name is Stephanie Plum and I live in Trenton New Jersey. My wallet and license are in the room in my purse. I was driving to Memphis to visit Graceland. I thought I saw a rusty brown car following me on the Interstate but when I pulled off, the car did not. I checked into this hotel and fell asleep. I woke up and had to use the bathroom. As I was coming out, I heard a scratching noise at my door. I thought someone was breaking in so I grabbed my purse in my left hand and took out my stun gun and handcuffs. The guy handcuffed on my bed entered the room and I hit him with my purse, stunned and then handcuffed him and called 911." The cop looked stunned at the story. He wondered why she wasn't in hysterics.
His partner walked out and handed Stephanie's wallet to him. He opened it up and saw that her license matched the information she had given. He looked down into the parking lot and noticed a rusty brown sedan parked under a busted out parking lot light at the back of the lot. Inclined to believe her story, he still called his dispatcher and had them run a check on her. He motioned to his partner and quietly told him to get the license plate number on the sedan and call that in as well.
Stephanie stood there in silence, knowing that the cops had to run through standard procedures. "It is a bit chilly out here. Can we go inside while things are getting checked out?" The cop saw no reason that they couldn't go inside to wait for an ambulance and the information so he nodded. Stephanie stepped inside and grabbed the pants she had shucked earlier and pulled them on. Ranger's T-shirt covered her adequately but she felt better fully dressed.
The cop's radio crackled. "Miss Plum's information checks out. She is a bounty hunter from Trenton. According to the newspaper articles, she has a tendency to attract psycho stalkers and blows up cars on a regular basis." The cop looked stunned for a moment. "That would explain the stun gun and handcuffs then I would also explain why she wasn't in hysterics when we arrived." The dispatcher replied "Wait 'til you get back to the station and read all the stories." Stephanie rolled her eyes at that and said, loud enough for the dispatcher to hear "The funeral home was not my fault and the rest is exaggerated." At that moment, his partner entered the room. "The car is registered to a Jed Hanson of Springfield Missouri. He has some priors for assault and some complaints that were never followed through on for sexual assault."
The cop noticed the ambulance pulling into the lot. He motioned the paramedics upstairs. Turning to Stephanie he said "I need you to come down to the station and give a statement. We will be taking Mr. Hanson to the ER to be checked out and then either he will be placed under guard at the hospital until he is recovered or he will go to jail to await a bond hearing."
Stephanie nodded in agreement. "Let me get some socks and shoes on and I will go with you to the police station. Do I need to follow you or can someone give me a ride back here when I am done?"
The cop replied" We will take you down to the station to make a statement and then bring you back here."
As the paramedics were loading her attacker onto the stretcher, she pulled on a pair of socks and her sneakers. Grabbing her purse she followed the cop out the door. As she locked it, she watched Hanson being loaded into the ambulance. She followed the cop to his car and got into the back as he held the door open. When they pulled out of the lot, the cop noticed a Black SUV pulling into the front of the hotel.