Hi Guys, sorry it's taken so long for the update but the Easter holidays are in full swing so I've been pretty much full on with all three of my kids (yes, I'm including in my husband in that category...) plus I've broken my left index finger (I think you Americans call this your pointer finger) I've no idea how I've done it, but it's slowed me down a bit too!

This chapter is a bit longer than usual, hopefully that should help make up for the delay in posting it!

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews you've left - hope you continue to enjoy - and either way, please let me know. It always makes my day. ;oP

The journey to Atlanta was peaceful and orderly and despite her relatively calm exterior Steph was convinced everyone on the plane could hear her heart pounding and the knots twisting and writhing in her stomach. She'd been booked into first class where an over helpful air stewardess had wrongly assumed she was a nervous passenger and had checked on her several times in the first ten minutes.

Luckily she soon backed off when Steph explained that she just had a really important meeting to attend and that she needed peace and quiet. Or then again, it could have been the death glare…

She sighed mentally. If she hadn't needed to keep her wits about her when she landed, she'd have had a couple of beers to settle her nerves. Scratch that, she thought grimly. She'd have had a large bottle of tequila and then had to have been rolled down the steps. But after all the things she'd heard about Connor and his band of not so merry men, she knew that was a really bad idea.

Taking a deep breath she pretended to read her magazine, gathering her inner Ranger about her as the plane began to descend.

o0o0o0o0o

"Woah, wouldn't mind a piece of that." Trevor whistled out to Viper as a slim woman with curls and blue eyes in a smart, very expensive looking black business suit that showcased her long legs, turned the corner heading out of the arrivals gate, pulling a large and unwilling wheeled suitcase behind her with both hands.

"Yeah. D.i.t.t.o." came the slowly whistled reply moments before the woman in question reached them and immediately stopped in front of the sign they were holding up.

"Hi guys. Stephanie Plum, pleased to meet you." The woman said brightly as she extended her hand for one of the men to shake.

Ignoring her physical gesture of hello, the two men nodded silently and gestured for her to follow them. All previous positive thoughts flying out of their heads as they eyed up the enemy.

Sheesh! Why couldn't Ranger employ people who could talk? Steph thought to herself as she slipped into Denial Land and traipsed behind the disappearing figures dragging her case behind her. If and when she saw her esteemed leader again she'd have words about their hospitality skills too.

o0o0o0o0o

The black explorer pulled up to the front of a tall building and parked messily across a couple of empty parking bays that ran along the front of it. Looking out of the car's privacy glass windows and towards the main metal edged glass revolving doors Steph counted seven floors. She only hoped that she'd have the same luck within this building as she'd had in the last one then snorted internally. Right! She added to the mantra that was running through her head.

She could do this… Falcon believed in her!

She could do this. Tank believed in her!

She could do this… Even Ranger must believe in her...

Mentally squaring her shoulders she opened the door and stepped out onto the blacktop. No-one was there to greet her which funnily enough did not surprise her.

One of the men, she still did not know their names, had already leapt out and was pulling her case out of the trunk as she looked around her. As soon as she'd shut the car door it sped away and down a ramp at the side of the building and presumably into an underground parking lot.

Mr No Name, as Steph had called the Rangeman who'd taken her case, took it inside and left it just inside the door before nodding to the man behind the desk, swiping his security pass and disappearing through one of two brushed chrome doors which she assumed led into the offices beyond.

Steph sighed. She was used to minimal conversation when the MM were in their driving zones, but the silence that had surrounded her on the journey from the airport had been isolating and uncomfortable. She hoped it was not a sign of things to come. Slipping further into Denial Land she carried on assessing her surroundings.

The building itself was nondescript brick but there were two enormous floor to ceiling windows flanking the front door through which light flooded into a small, bright white reception area with a long, kidney shaped, black shiny desk located centre stage. On the back wall were two elevator doors which matched with the ones in the corner that Mr No Name had gone through.

Etched in a column into each of the two windows at waist height were the words

Rangeman Security LLC:

New York

Miami

Boston

New Jersey

New York? New York! She thought. When had New York been added to the portfolio? Once she'd gotten over the shock she walked inside.

Behind the desk, topped by a tall opaque glass wall, Steph could see the head and shoulders of a man who was currently on the phone, smiling and laughing. A personal call? Steph thought. Hmm, she'd be having words with Connor about that.

Or maybe not…

Picking up her case and mentally pulling up her big girl panties, Steph strode purposefully towards the desk. "Hi" she said "I'm Stephanie Plum. I believe you're expecting me."

o0o0o0o0o

Stephanie could have coped with a blank face, she thought later as she emptied the contents of her suitcase into the drawers in the cramped apartment located in the basement of the building. What she found more disturbing was when Salvadore, the man on reception, had looked her over and licked his lips before picking up the phone and calling the control room to confirm her arrival without ever even saying "hi".

A few minutes later Connor came down, introduced himself, picked up her case and then escorted her to the room she now found herself in. Obviously from the same school of few words as Ranger, he showed her where the intercom was and how to use it then left her to settle in, explaining that she should call when she was ready and he'd give her a guided tour of the facilities. He'd been helpful but not friendly, but the way he treated her was pretty much in line with the rest of his team so she hand't been at all surprised.

Steph stopped her unpacking for a moment and sat down on the small couch nestled into the corner of the long room. There was no external light which made the room feel even more prison like than it had on first inspection ten minutes earlier.

The blank walls were bright white and there was nothing to soften its sharp edges. The two single beds that pointed out into the room at the other end had one single nightstand between them and a small dismal light that tried its best to add some ambience to the room, but failed miserably. The small kitchenette contained all the basics for a short term stay, including a 2-ring stove, table top refrigerator and microwave but was tired and dated. The bathroom was adequate but again, lacked any homely touches and was pretty basic. Even the TV was a small portable and jammed onto the corner of the only table in the apartment.

If Connor and his men were trying to intimidate her they were doing a really great job of it.

Leaning her head against the wall, Steph allowed a tear to softly fall. She was not having a pity party, there was no freezer in the small kitchenette to hold anything Ben & Jerry's might have created so it was more pathetic than that. Her head was spinning as she drew in a deep breath. Sending up the Bat signal had obviously done no good. No-one was gonna save her this time. For the first time, realisation hit her that she was sailing down this shitty creek single handedly without so much as a teaspoon never mind a paddle.

o0o0o0o0o

Ranger sat, arms folded, and looked at his daughter as she nervously toyed with the hem of her regulation blue and green tartan tunic, trying to disappear into the seat next to his own where she was currently squirming.

She'd been caught knocking seven bells out of a fellow student with a crowd of other girls watching and encouraging the fight. "Dios!" He thought. Neither combatant would explain what the catalyst for the brawl had been but Ranger had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to it than met the eye and that the problem had been brewing for a while.

Where had he gone so wrong? He wondered. The Scrog debacle had opened up a window of dialogue and bit by bit they'd gotten closer, much closer. Recently, she'd even taken to asking his opinion on what her future could hold and regularly updating him on the comings and goings of chez Martine. Whinging when Rachel grounded her and amusing him with humorous tales of what her significantly younger half brothers and sisters got up to. Julie'd never let on to him that she was unhappy either in her personal life or at school but here they were in the Head's office waiting to find out whether Julie would be welcomed back next semester.

Internally he sighed as he took a quick glance at the clock he could see on the Head's immaculate desk. He had planned to be in Atlanta when Steph arrived on the guise of checking over some of the older more established account but in reality he wanted to earn some brownie points by offering her some moral support, but noooo, he was stuck in Miami with his daughter… Mentally he pouted as he glared at Julie. Why him? Why now?

Somehow he never quite managed to be there when it really mattered for any of the most important females in his life: Mama. Abuela Rosa, his sisters and now both Steph and Julie.

o0o0o0o0o

"Tank, I'm worried." Ace said as he looked down at a piece of paper in his hand. "Where's that little brother of mine?"

"In Miami, with Julie, sorting out some... school issues. He muttered something about a last straw…"

"Ah. That's why I can't reach him then." Ace knew better than to be able to speak to his brother while he was in Miami with or without Julie. "Do you know when he's back?"

"Tomorrow, if he sorts things out. Why?"

"I'm not sure, but Vera's raised a question I can't answer and I when I try reach to Stephanie Connor tells me she's in meetings and he won't give me any straight answers. She's only been down there a day, but I'm already worried."

"I'm on it." Tank said and hung up. He sighed then got up to go find Lester. He needed to know where Bomber was and he was the one with the activation code for her earring.

o0o0o0o0o

Steph stared up at the ceiling and let out a deep breath before calming her voice in readiness for the meeting ahead. Ace had warned her that she might not get the same level of enthusiasm from the Atlanta team as he and his men had given her, but she'd not been expecting the high level of out and out hostility that she felt around her right at that minute either.

Luckily she'd spent most of the previous evening talking with Rees and he'd devoted most of their conversation to boosting her confidence. Telling her she was doing a great job. Had done a great job. Would do a great job. Agreed, the way she'd been 'welcomed' by Atlanta was one step up from freezing, but only because they all felt threatened by the fact she was a woman and if they couldn't see how valuable an asset she was then there was no hope for any of them.

Girding her loins and realising she was as prepared as she was going to be she stood up and slammed her hands forcefully down on the table and glowered at the men leaning back in their chairs with their legs open and their arms folded.

"Look! I didn't choose to be here either, but the Boss Man decided that you could benefit by an injection of female perspective and logic so I'm here to do just that. In my experience..."

Someone snorted so Steph glared in the direction the noise came from for a few seconds before returning to her sentence "In my experience... the woman in a relationship usually makes the final purchase decision for most things, including the house. In my experience" she repeated, placing an emphasis on the phrase "this usually extends to not just the interior decoration and furnishings but everything, including security. If you can't at least converse with these major influencers without pissing them off or scaring them, then you're gonna lose approximately 50% of your potential business before you even start. In Trenton for example we now have almost as many requests for installations from women as men now and some of our biggest clients have come to us based on the recommendation of existing female customers who discuss these sorts of thing over coffee, or lunch, with their friends."

Steph was watching her audience as she delivered her speech and could swear a couple of the men had dozed off and a few more were doodling aimlessly on paper they'd brought into the room with them. They were plainly not paying her any attention - stupid idiots! She soldiered on anyway.

"Additionally, you need to think laterally when skip chasing and that's where a woman can help too. As we know, most skips stay local to what they know and it's amazing how often the local community knows exactly where they're hiding. If you can get a toe hold into their community, usually by hooking up with a gossip with her ears firmly tuned into the local grapevine, you're halfway to finding them. In many ways, this information can be as strong or stronger than that gained from our more usual sources."

Someone muttered "bullshit".

Steph saw red. "Ok, tell you what! You can all explain to Ranger why it is that Trenton and Boston now have over a 93% capture rate when Atlanta obviously thinks 60 is ok." And with that she stormed out in exasperation. She wasn't going to cry but the anger that she felt was definitely making her feel eyes sting.

"Hey, girlie. Too much testosterone for ya? No Ranger or Ace here to wipe your ass for you?" a sneery voice spat out as she leant back on the wall of the corridor she found herself in, taking deep breaths and channelling her inner Batman.

She turned round and saw red, every colour of it from soft pinky red to brilliant scarlet. Before the guy had a chance to add any more insults she'd pulled her stun gun out from the back of her cargoes and given him a full barrel load. "And I'm too much oestrogen for you, Buster!" she gritted back as she watched in satisfaction as his face registered surprise then planted itself squarely on the carpet tiles at her feet.

Behind her she heard a slow hand clap and a lazy "impressive."

She turned and looked straight into Connor's sculptured chest. Running her eyes slowly up to his face she gave him a condescending look "Silly me!" she simpered "Gosh, I wonder how I did that?" before flashing him a dangerous smile.

"Maybe I underestimated you." Connor said, sobering slightly. After all, Ranger had been on his case about this woman for the past couple of weeks. He also knew that if he and his team didn't do something soon, Ranger would be making drastic changes. He'd seen him in action before and didn't like the idea of being giving his marching orders. That said, he could still have a bit of fun, after all, Stacey, Stevie or whatever her name was was quite pretty with a fine ass and well, he might just have to tap it.

"Come with me." He nodded his head and turned towards his office with Steph reluctantly on his heels.

o0o0o0o0o

Lester laughed so hard he fell off his seat and rolled around on the floor clasping his sides. The headset he'd been wearing fell off as he tumbled. "Priceless!" he gasped.

"Santos?" Tank growled out, fishing for the earphones.

"She stunned Chase!" Les gasped out. "I would have given mega bucks to see that one!"

By now Tank was sitting in the seat Lester had just vacated and was listening to the conversation Steph was now having in Connor's office and Bobby was grinning from ear to ear. "That's my girl!" he smirked as he leant over Tank trying to catch what was being said.