This is a short leading up to the upcoming spooky season, aka Steph's favorite holiday.

Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE. Typos are my bad.

Ranger's POV

I couldn't wait until I was back stateside. The need to contact Rangeman Trenton was just too overwhelming. All other branches could wait until I was officially back online, but not Jersey. Why? Because more than business, I wanted nothing more than to get an update on a certain someone. A blue eyed, curly haired someone: Babe.

"Yo! What up cuz?" Santos was my last choice, yet he was the one that answered the video call. Guess he's overseeing the graveyard shift tonight.

"Santos." The order dripped from my no-nonsense tone. He knows better than to play with me when I'm not feeling charitable,especially after a long mission like the one I just successfully completed.

"It's nice to see you too!" If Santos thinks the Atlantic Ocean and a whole continent is a good enough distance between us to keep him safe, he's got something coming to him the moment we're face to face. Some things never change. "Rangeman's good too." Flashing all his teeth, Lester gave the smile he swears has women falling at his feet.

Glaring impassively, I waited him out. Santos will tell me what I want to know, because if he doesn't…

"She's okay." Proving that he hasn't completely lost his mind, Santos finally shifted this conversation to Stephanie. Except, he didn't elaborate past 'okay'. I want to throttle him. And I will, as soon as he's within reach.

Arching an eyebrow, I silently ordered him to continue. Given our time difference, I understand that it's past midnight in Trenton. However, Lester is very much alert. He's just enjoying messing with me. Well, my emotions, the ones everyone thinks I lack.

"You could call her, you know, instead of being a creep." Santos made a show of sipping what had to be Ella's famous coffee. God, I've missed so much in my time away.

No. I couldn't just call Stephanie. For starters, she's most likely not going to answer my call. She made it very clear the last time I saw her that our ship had sailed. She told me how she felt, then gave me the chance to make my move. A move that never came. For one, she was drunk. Second, I was called away on another top secret government mission seconds after she passed out. Babe hadn't sobered up from her tequila fueled slumber by the time I had to leave, which was a shame. She probably thinks I'm the biggest piece of shit to ever cross paths with her. Sadly, she'd be right. Our late night encounter happened before the Fourth of July and it's nearly Halloween. Stephanie doesn't deserve the tiny snippets of time I get to call my own. She deserves someone who's going to be there for her, always. Not me, a broken soldier that has to leave at the drop of a hat when summoned.

Even so, I can't seem to let her go.

Perhaps it's better this way. A mocking inner voice that sounded eerily like Lester's reminded me the bitter reality. A reality I had to shove to the recesses of my mind in order to get the job done. A truth that I could no longer run from.

"You two are so fucking stubborn." Santos shook his head, muttering something about how he's supposedly the childish one.

"Santos." It was my final warning. I'll disconnect the video call and call Tank.

"I told you she's doing okay." Lester shrugged, clarifying that things are good given her new lifestyle.

"Report." I gritted my teeth as bile rose up my throat. Did she marry Morelli? Is this really it?

"She quit Vinnie's a little after the Fourth of July." Shrugging, Santos said that none of them knew why. They suspected it had something to do with me, but he was wise enough to bite his tongue. "Rangeman too."

My head felt like it was spinning as my mind concocted nightmarish visuals. Vivid, descriptive visuals.

"Beautiful got a job at the mall." Smirking, Santos shared that the gig didn't last long. "By early August she was working at Spirit." His smile widened as he waited for his intel to fully sink in.

Of course, Stephanie's working at a Halloween themed store. It's so random yet so Babe all at once.

"You should have seen your face." Lester laughed. "It screamed 'be fucking for real'!" He quickly sobered up when he read my murderous thoughts. Santos knows very well where I can send him to make his next year extremely miserable.

Before I moved to disconnect the call, Santos finally gave me the rundown I sought. Stephanie's been managing the store since early August. Initially, she only signed up to be a regular associate and assisted during the build up for the first store in the area. Apparently, the chain's a big deal. I wouldn't know. Santos couldn't say why the promotion was so swift, but what he could tell me was that Steph's done a magnificent job.

"First million dollar store in the whole country, baby!" Santos proudly shared, recounting how Babe's team took the coveted title by a landslide. And with plenty of time to surpass their goal. "The woman can upsell."

I can imagine Stephanie using her natural charm to excel in retail. She always did spectacular with Rangeman clients, even the difficult ones.

The shrill buzz of Lester's cell, indicating an incoming alert, cut through my musings.

"I gotta go." Lester, despite his usual joking manner can shift into serious mode in the span of a nanosecond. There's only one thing that can crack his playful facade that quickly.

"Santos…" My chest constricted painfully, worry taking hold.

"Something's going down at Stephanie's store. I'll keep you updated. Hec!" My screen went black before Lester shared any additional details.

Breathing heavily, I tried to control myself. I'm no good to Babe or anyone right now, seeing as I'm a good twenty four hours from touching down in Jersey. There's nothing left for me to do besides wait.

S&R

Stephanie's POV

"I need a manager up front." Chris radioed, his soft voice flowing into my right ear via my earpiece as I tuned out a wailing toddler off to my left.

"Copy that." I replied, making my way towards the registers up front from the farthest right corner. Given how busy we are, it's going to take me around five minutes to make it to the front of the store. Weaving through people and getting stopped constantly with questions made the trek longer than usual. It also doesn't help that my stupid cape keeps snagging on shelf edges, nearly choking me, as I'm trying to squeeze past customer after customer.

"I need your code for an exchange." Chris said as I rounded the makeshift counter. "I also need a pick up." He whispered as I took over his register to punch in my managerial code to allow the transaction.

Nodding, I stepped aside so he could finish tending to his customer. Chris is one of the youngest employees, a mini Hal on his quest to become a responsible member of society. He's a good kid, even if he acts like a mini adult most of the time.

"Steph, should I take my ten now?" Chris asked, always one to follow the rules a la Hal, as soon as he was done with his transaction.

Nodding again, I watched him round the counter as I once again took over his register. Checking the time, as well noting how busy we still are, I decided to do cash pick ups on the other three open registers. It'll make the end of night closing duties a lot smoother if I don't have thousands of dollars to count when we close. Cash handling is a bitch at our current volumes.

"I'm back." Chris stated like I couldn't see him standing in front of me.

Nodding, I left him on the same register he was on and moved to the right to make a pick up on Lizette's register.

"Need a pick up?" I asked the teen. Lizette nodded. She'd taken her ten minute break half an hour ago, so as soon as I was done collecting the excess cash from her register I moved onto Lindsey's.

Given how busy we've been this spooky season, surpassing our sales goal in late September, district management added an additional two registers to help with the after school and night rushes. Sadly, that means I'm responsible for closing six heavily used registers at the end of the night. I can't complain, seeing as I've created a working rhythm these past several busy weeks. I usually take closing shifts since that's when we tend to be the busiest. My two assistant managers take morning and mid shifts to leave all of our bases covered.

I'd just made the money drop in the safe, choosing to enjoy a solid ten minutes away from the madness after being sidetracked repeatedly on my way to the back office, when I was radioed once again. This time it was Lindsey.

Munching on half a peanut butter and olive sandwich, I made my way back up front. Who needs the gym when you're constantly moving throughout the store? On shipment days there's extra calories to burn. My killer legs are evidence of all the moving around I've done for months. My upper arms are pretty solid too from all the boxes I've lifted. Sometimes I can't even take a pee break without being radioed!

Yet, despite the chaos, it beats being shot at, so…

Plus, it's a steady paycheck that pays more than minimum wage and has the perks of a generous employee discount. I've added a couple things to my Ghostbusters collection just this week alone. What can I say, a good deal is a good deal.

I had to bite my cheek, nearly drawing blood, to keep from laughing at poor innocent Lindsey's face. The girl was mortified that her customer was asking if he could pay his over five hundred dollar total in all ones.

"Of course. The more change the merrier." I said sweetly, helping Lindsey to speedy up the transaction. What can I say? I have vast experience counting cash. I've come to learn that some people will dish out half my rent in one shopping trip. Must be nice.

"Thank you." The handsome man beamed at me, relieved. Smiling knowingly, I left him with Lindsey to finish up. I don't care how or where he earned his dollar bills.

"You can smile?!" Devon asked, flashing me a cheeky grin that was so much like Lester's as I walked behind him.

I glared at him, channeling my inner Merry Man so he could get back to work. I aim for a very professional atmosphere. Well, as professional as it can be given we get to dress up in various costumes leading up to Halloween.

"How old are you, Steph?" Lizette asked, possibly because I looked too friendly and approachable at the moment.

"How old do you think?" I deadpanned. Most of these kids are in high school or barely in college. They tend to be the ones that prefer closing shifts. Lucky me!

"Mmm…" Lindsey hummed, taking advantage of the lull in foot traffic that came with nearing closing time. "…like early twenties?"

I let out a full bark of laughter. I'd be a liar if I told myself that it didn't feel good to laugh again. "No." I shook my head, sending several of my curls springing forward across my face as I rounded the counter to stand on the other side of the registers. Four sets of curious eyes gave me the once over. Even 'I come to work not to make friends' Chris joined in. Go figure.

"Twenty four?" Devon took a stab at it, flashing his bright dimpled smile my way.

"A decade ago." I admitted, watching as their brows furrowed as they did the math.

"No cap?!" Lizette exclaimed, all four muttering that they didn't think I was much older than them. Hate to break it to my team, but I went to school with some of their parents. I'm ancient in their eyes.

"It's giving you need to drop your skin care routine, Sis." Devon added, taking advantage that this was the most in-depth interaction I've ever had with them.

"It's giving get back to work, bruh." I uttered in my fakest sweet voice, the one I used to use on my mark during a distraction job. God, that felt like such a lifetime ago. It's been so long that I'm an expert at the modern slang these kids love to dish out.

As our end of shift loomed closer, I dished out wrap up assignments so that I could start closing down registers.

"Chris, go-backs." He's very detail oriented. Plus, I don't have to be on him to make sure he's not just dumping merch on random sections of the store. "Lizette, girls. Lindsey, boys. JC masks and make up. Devon, adult horror. Megan, adult women." I instructed that as soon as they were done with their section, I'd double check before assigning whatever was left. If we work as a cohesive team, we can all be out hopefully before midnight. A girl can only hope after leaving every night after one am for the better part of two weeks. We are the best selling store in the tri-state area after all. Of course I'd spend most of my birthday working.

On the bright side, it's a non-school day tomorrow so I don't have to send any of the minors home as soon as we closed to the public.

I was halfway through running the sales report before I could do the final cash count, making sure we were neither over nor under the total, when Chris approached me to ask for his next task.

"Home decor." Before he got too far away, I asked if he could turn off the blaring music. I've memorized every freaking song on the revolving playlist.

Monster Mash was still stuck in my head when Chris returned, asking if I needed him to do anything else before he clocked out.

I shook my head and thanked him for his help, using the moment to call out to the others to start wrapping up their tasks in the next ten minutes. I was just about done up front. As soon as I drop the money into the safe, I'll do a quick walk through and call it a night. If anything is left pending, the morning shift can tackle it.

Chris clocked out and then went to gather his stuff from the break area in the back, unlike the others who came to the front with their stuff before they clocked out.

"Goodnight, Steph." Chris waved before he headed out.

"Night." I murmured, jotting down my final notes on the daily binder we keep under register one.

"We're all done too." Devon offered for the rest.

I nodded, wishing them a goodnight as well as they readied to clock out one by one.

This should have been an end of shift like so may others, except it wasn't. Before the door closed behind Chris, I caught movement from the corner of my eye. Since there's money being handled, my team knows that once they exit at the end of their night shift they can't come back inside. Chris knows and follows that rule better than everyone else. That was my heads up that something was very off.

"Steph." One of the girls croaked, fear lacing her suddenly timid voice. This bunch is loud, not quiet. That was the next indication that tonight's not going to be an ordinary one.

When I raised my head, I came face to face with three heavily armed masked men. Shit.

"Do as we say and you get to walk out of here." The idiot that attempted to pose as the leader bellowed, shoving Chris away from the glass doors.

Tossing the bagged money I was just about to take to deposit in the back safe, I watched it sail against the makeshift back wall underneath the counter. From my peripheral, I noted the bag got stuck behind a mass of cables. If they wanted money, they could crawl under the counter to fish it out.

It became painfully obvious that regardless of the ordinary life I've worked so hard to chug through these last several months, trouble found me once again.

The shitty part? I have a whole group of younglings looking to me for guidance. Oh, lord.

To set a good example, because for some reason I've become the responsible adult in this group, I raised my hands high up in the air so my team could follow suit. It's best to let the masked men think we're easy targets. That should keep them from turning trigger happy.

I didn't have to turn around to know that everyone followed my lead. Why? Because I could hear clothes ruffling as arms shot up.

Because we hadn't all finish clocking out before these jerks crashed our party, I'd yet to engage the alarm system. Great. As soon as we close to the public, the glass front doors are locked from the outside. Super! As for emergency exits? There's one in the back stockroom, but that would require for some or all of us to bolt through a maze of free standing walls full of merchandise. Plus, whoever makes it back there needs a key. A key that I have in my pocket.

Discreetly, I kicked the power plug with my right foot. Apparently, I'm still quick on my feet despite my early retirement from crime fighting. Cutting off the alarm panel's power source will trigger the silent alarm. It's the least I could do for my team.

That, and having zip ties instead of cuffs in my apron pockets, along with a box cutter. I'm not stupid. The contents of my pockets aren't enough to take down three armed to the teeth men. Yet, it's better than nothing. Intimidation is out of the question seeing as I'm dressed as Wonder Woman. Since it's not the uber skimpy version, seduction is out of the question too.

I just have to keep these kiddos safe until help arrives. There's nothing else I can do for them aside from calling for help.

Help arriving in time is a whole other issue.

Way to go, Plum. You're still a disaster magnet!