Joe Morelli contacted Rangeman Miami to speak with Stephanie. Fortunately, Stephanie travelled to Miami to introduce Julie to her half-brother. The men were happy to see Stephanie and shocked she married Vince. Tank couldn't stop hugging Nando, who loved his new gigantic uncle.
Stephanie and Nando were visiting inside Rangeman when the call arrived. Silvio transferred the call to Tank's office. "You have reached the Client Liaison Department. Stephanie speaking. How may I help you today, Joe?" she asked, knowing it was Morelli on the line. The idiot didn't block his number.
"Oh. Hi, Cupcake," he said, realizing he made a rookie mistake. "Um. We didn't catch up in Trenton. Are you coming home soon?"
"Joe, we aren't friends. Why are you calling me at work? Do you have a security concern or want to hire Rangeman for a job?" Stephanie asked.
"Um. I guess… um… I forgot why I was calling. It's good to hear your voice. I'll catch you when you're in Trenton," Joe replied. He hung up before Stephanie could call him out on his bullshit.
Joe contacted Terry to confirm Stephanie worked at Rangeman in Miami. Terry was pleased the bank account in Trenton was legitimate. She didn't want to make any mistakes.
Joyce went to the bank with Ranger and discovered the account had over ten million dollars. It was a substantial amount of cash for the group. Joyce told Terry the account was real, but Terry wanted to ensure they weren't getting led into an elaborate trap.
Hector listened to the conversation through the bugs he planted in Morelli's house. They had him by the balls. "When do we move it?" Joe asked.
"Give it a week. We don't want to tip our hand. Jorge nearly got us caught. I refuse to make any more mistakes. Thankfully, Jorge took the fall," Terry replied. "Remember to wash it through that cupcake account. She will pay the price if this goes south." Joe and Terry laughed, thinking they had a rock-solid plan to steal Rangeman's money.
"What are we going to do with the money?" Joe asked.
"We'll push it around and take it from Sutton once he transfers it to the Cayman Islands. He doesn't know that account is ours. There's enough money for us to live without worry," Terry replied.
"I hope you're right. Hey, I've got to go. My pizza delivery arrived," Joe said. He smirked when Terry huffed, then hung up.
Joe opened his door to Joyce carrying a pizza box from Pino's. "Are you hungry, Joe?" Joyce purred.
"Not for food," Joe replied. Joyce giggled and tugged Joe to the pool table, where they had sex. They ate the pizza, drank the beer - Joyce didn't know Joe drugged hers, then cuddled on the couch for the night.
Joe went through Joyce's purse to find the book where she kept the passwords stored. He logged onto the bank's portal to access the Rangeman business account. With a few clicks of a button, Joe transferred the funds to Stephanie's bank account. He didn't know both accounts were part of Stephanie's elaborate trap to catch him. Every keystroke got recorded the second he entered the password to access the fake Rangeman bank account.
Several FBI teams got dispatched to Trenton, New Jersey, to arrest Dickie Orr, Joyce Barnhardt, Joseph Morelli and Terry Gilman. Their Achilles heel proved to be Joseph Morelli. He wanted to destroy Rangeman for whatever misconceptions or biases he manufactured over the years. Screwing over Stephanie was the icing on the cake.
They got into position overnight, awaiting the notification of the money sent to the Holland account. Jasper Collins warned his men of the potential escape routes of each suspect.
At 0500, Collin received the message. "Team Alpha, prepare for countdown. Team Beta, prepare for countdown. Team Delta, prepare for countdown. Team Gamma, countdown in three…two…one…go!" Collins ordered. Over his comm unit, Collins heard doors getting kicked in. He rushed into Joseph Morelli's house with his firearm drawn. Someone discharged a weapon, forcing the team to return fire. Joseph Anthony Morelli fell to the floor bleeding from three separate gunshot wounds. Joyce Barnhardt died during the night from a drug overdose.
Terry Gilman took the cowardly way out. Her mom served a life sentence in Federal prison on a similar charge. Knowing how tough it was for her mother inside the prison, Terry ended her life by holding the gun to her head, then pulling the trigger. The agents tried to get to her before she discharged the weapon, but they weren't fast enough.
Dickie Orr was the only man the FBI arrested in Trenton. He tried to run but got tackled by the agent outside the back door. "We've got him, boss," the agent reported.
"Bring him to the precinct. We have to place him in the holding cell until the US Marshall arrives to assist with transport to Federal prison," Collins ordered.
Jasper Collins wiped the sweat from his brow. In his twenty-year career with the FBI, he never had so many casualties during an arrest. Thankfully, none of his men got injured during the gunfire at the Morelli residence.
Collins contacted Lester with the latest news. Lester, Bobby and Ram were in position in Holland, waiting to capture Steve Sutton to access the high-security bank. The FBI was awaiting Sutton's return to the States to charge him for extortion and embezzling. Stephanie contacted Emily Partridge with Interpol to assist with the arrest. Emily and her partner would escort Sutton to the States to stand trial.
"No shit!" Lester said. "We'll move in. I've got him in my sights."
Lester ended the call and shoved his phone into his pocket. He caught Bobby and Ram's attention and motioned to capture Steve. They found him outside the bank, talking to Emily Partridge. He flirted with the attractive blond, trying to get her to agree to a date. Catching Lester in her peripheral vision, Emily stepped forward to touch Steve. "You're under arrest for embezzlement," Emily said.
"I'm innocent," Steve said. "The account is mine."
"You're Stephanie Plum," Emily deadpanned. "Stephanie is a female's name."
"They misspelled my name. It was supposed to say Stephano Plum," Steve lied.
Emily didn't buy his lies. She knew Stephanie Plum, and they were friends. They met during a tour of the Bianco Winery during Stephanie's first pregnancy. Stephanie was her tour guide. The women became fast friends. Emily knew Stephanie was born as Plum but changed it to the official spelling of Palumbo when she moved to Italy.
Stephanie invited Emily to her wedding as a witness a few days after Nando's second birthday. Emily and Frank got along too.
"Stop lying," Emily said. "Stephanie and I are friends." Steve's face paled, realizing he got caught in his web of lies.
While Emily arrested Steve, Stephanie provided incriminating evidence to the FBI. She had to wait until their cyber forensic team verified her proof before recovering the money Joe Morelli took from her account. Jasper promised it wouldn't take more than a few days.
Angie Morelli received the call she had never expected. Her youngest son got involved in a shootout with the FBI. Joseph was dead. She watched the news to learn about his involvement with the scheme with Terry, Dickie, Joyce and Steve.
Bella and Angie sat on the sofa to watch the local and national news. The news anchor said the details of the investigation are unknown. Still, the quintet of Burg criminals attempted to pin everything on a former Trenton, New Jersey resident, whom they would not name until the investigation was complete. The person in question was going through airport security at the time of the theft.
A tear tracked down Angie's cheek as the reporter mentioned a second suspect was found dead in Morelli's home. The coroner believed the woman, Joyce Barnhardt, received a fatal dose of Rohypnol when she drank beer from a bottle. Only two sets of prints, assumed to belong to Morelli and Barnhardt, were found on the bottle.
Unable to watch the remaining news, Bella turned off the television. She pulled Angie into her arms and stoked her hair. "Gilman was a bad influence. I curse her family," Bella said.
Epilogue… fifteen years later.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stephanie asked Nando. Her son was all grown up, ready to leave for basic training. Despite being born in Italy, Nando was still a US citizen because his parents remained US citizens.
"Yes, Mom. I want to follow in my father's footsteps. Both of them," Nando replied.
After the FBI released the investigation details, Stephanie, Nando, Keira and Enzo returned to the States. Stephanie purchased a house on the beach in Miami. She worked the occasional case for the government but primarily worked for Rangeman.
Ranger pulled his head from his ass and made amends with Stephanie. She was too forgiving at times. But she also wanted Nando to know the man she met during her bounty hunter days. Nando continued calling Enzo Papa and referred to Ranger as Dad.
When he turned seven, Nando wanted to know more about his biological father. Nando wasn't surprised to learn it was Ranger. The man hovered as he did with Julie, Nando's half-sister. Ranger wasn't a helicopter parent. He was always around for the milestones.
Five years after relocating to Miami, Stephanie introduced her friend Emily Partridge to Ranger. The two fell in love. Stephanie was happy for her friends. She reminded Emily that Ranger was a player. Ranger said he gave that up during the seduction of Joyce Barnhardt. The woman cured him of his sex addiction - not by having sex, but because she was too outrageous in her sexual habits, which repulsed Ranger. He couldn't understand Joyce's fascination with animals. Ranger never went without wearing a condom, and he never gave her oral sex. The thought made him shudder in disgust.
Ranger leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Nando to say his goodbyes. Enzo stood beside him as they watched their son. Everything was right in their world. Stephanie was married to the love of her life, and Ranger was living with a remarkable woman who understood his lifestyle.
"I love you, Momma," Nando said, hugging Stephanie tighter. Nando hugged Keira, who was a younger version of Stephanie. "I love you, sis."
"Don't get all sappy on me," Keira replied. She hugged her brother. "Stay safe."
"I will, Keira. Everything's gonna be alright," Nando said. "Take care of Momma and Papa."
"Okay," Keira whispered.
Stephanie and Keira gave Nando a group hug before allowing him to leave. Ranger hugged his niece and Stephanie. "I'll have people watching over him," Ranger promised.
"Don't interfere, Tio Carlos. Nando needs to find his feet," Keira warned, making Ranger chuckle. Ranger thought Keira was a lot like Stephanie. Keira was Stephanie's clone.
Nando glanced at his mom and sister before getting into the car. Enzo drove with Ranger taking the passenger seat. Nando had a life filled with love and support. He could hardly wait to serve his country to protect his loved ones.
As Nando told his mother and sister, everything was gonna be alright. He smirked as he thought about his Nonno and mom. Nando knew Ghost and Shadow would be watching his back.