From the May 18, 2023 writer's prompt on the JE FF Facebook page. Write a one-shot using the words "asking for a friend". No longer a one-shot. Not by a long shot.

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I am not making any money from this. Mistakes are mine.

Reference made to Chapter 28 of Even the Pup is an Unmentionable

Asking for a Friend by Debra8652

Unnamed Merry Man's chapter

The excitement has died down from the Halloween costume party/political fundraiser at the Governor's mansion last Saturday night. Everyone fully expected for Diesel's capture of his Unmentionable skip to be plastered all over the Trenton Times but it was given little coverage other than to say that an uninvited guest was escorted from the premises without incident. I'm wondering if Diesel can actually blank out peoples' memories for a short amount of time.

Back to what passes for business as usual here at Haywood. Ranger and Bobby are at the Boston branch this week to conduct their quarterly evaluations. Tank, Lester, and Steph are running the Trenton office.

A little about myself - I've been at Trenton Rangeman since it opened. I knew Ranger and the rest of the core team from my Army days. My specialty was going undercover and gathering intel. In short, I was a spy. I still have a closet full of disguises and props plus access to the second floor storage room where all manner of items are kept for the same purpose.

Time for a little fun this week - Steph is the subject and Santos is my wingman. Tank will plead plausible deniability if he becomes aware of what's going on, which he will.

This will be used as a training exercise for Bomber. That's our story and we're sticking to it. I put on several layers of clothing and have a backpack full of props and accessories. Per Santos, Steph will be en route to Plum Bail Bonds when they open at 9:00a.m. to pick up files and turn in body receipts. Her first stop is Tasty Pastry for donuts for Lula and Connie. I drove my own car and am already seated inside with coffee and a muffin. I am wearing black jeans and a Rutgers sweatshirt over a black turtleneck, wire-rimmed eyeglasses and working on my personal laptop as befits a serious college student. Steph glances around the bakery but doesn't recognize me.

Next stop - Staples for a gross of highlighters that she uses for her search requests. Probably not a gross, but at least a dozen each in yellow, pink, blue, and green. I parked at the edge of the Staples lot and get rid of my Rutgers sweatshirt and the eyeglasses. Now I'm wearing a Hard Rock Cafe Johannesburg T-shirt over a black turtleneck and I've added a ballcap. I look engrossed by the selection of gel pens at the end of the aisle where Steph is shopping. No reaction to me after she scans the area. I purposely didn't wear cologne today as she would recognize it. I follow her at a distance back to Rangeman and lose my T-shirt. Time for me to do some actual work.

Lunchtime arrives and Santos texts me that she's taking her lunch and Remy to their usual park. No need to arrive ahead of time for this one. I lose my jeans and reveal black running tights along with my black turtleneck, wraparound sunglasses and a visor. I start jogging around the park but Remy sees me. This is where it will all go to hell in a handbasket. He yips, his ears perk up, and he wags his tail. I'm about to get busted by Superpup. Luckily, Steph placed a phone call when she sat down - sounds as if she's talking to Mary Lou while she eats her sandwich. I'll make one more lap around the park before I abort the mission due to an observant pup. I wonder if the military could use him?

I head back to Rangeman and change into more acceptable clothing. No one says anything to me - it's not unusual for me to visit sites or to be out of the office. I see Steph and Remy pull into the garage and head up to fifth floor for the afternoon.

Do you suppose that Steph knows that the college student at Tasty Pastry, the guy shopping at Staples, and the jogger in the park are all the same person, as well as the security guy in the ghost costume at the Governor's mansion last week? Asking for a friend. Evasively yours, F. Rodriguez