Chapter 3:
Tank and Stephanie walked to the elevator and the command room. "Everyone, I am letting you know that Stephanie's mom is missing. She was doing some grocery shopping and never came home. I just proposed to Stephanie, and she said yes. Stephanie, Lester, and I are going to city hall now. I am also telling everyone to be extremely careful. We don't need any more people missing. Ensure you are with your work partners and don't go out alone when you are off work." Tank said that he, Stephanie, and Little One left Rangeman and went to City Hall.
Lester, Tank, and Stephanie saw Edna waiting in the parking lot with Frank.
Tank and Stephanie took a deep breath and exited the Rangeman SUV. Lester, Tank, and Stephanie approached Frank Plum and Helen Mazur. "Okay, let's get married, little one."
Everyone walked into city hall, and Lester gave Tank two wedding bands. "Ranger gave these to me in case I needed them, but I don't, so you and Stephanie can have them," Lester told Tank and Stephanie.
"Thanks, Lester," Tank said as they walked to the judge's office. Tank knocked on the door.
"Yes," Judge Sandson yelled.
"Sir, I am sorry for the interruption, but I want to marry this lovely lady." Tank said as he poked his head in the Judge's office.
"Tank, I was wondering when you would collect that favor. Of course, come in. I have time to marry quickly." Sanderson told him.
Tank and Stephanie took a deep breath and walked in with Frank, Edna, and Lester as witnesses.
The Judge completed the marriage license and added, "I will waive the three-day wait period for you, too."
"I will make this short because I must return to the courthouse soon. Do you, Pierre Sherman, take Stephanie Plum to be your wife?"
"I do." Pierre looked at Stephanie and smiled.
"Do you, Stephanie Plum, take Pierre Sherman to be your husband?"
"I do," Stephanie said, smiling back at him.
"Do you both have rings?" the judge asked him.
"Stephanie, these past six months have been the greatest. I love you and always will. I swear to protect and love you until I die," Pierre said as he put the 24-carat wedding band on her left hand.
"Pierre, you are my heart and soul, and I can't wait until we can begin our lives together," Stephanie told him, putting his wedding ring on his left hand.
"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." Judge Sanderson, and then he added, "Go on, kiss her,"
Pierre gently cupped her face and kissed her deeply.
Frank and Edna signed the marriage license as witnesses, and everyone left the office.
"How about we all go out to eat? While we eat, I can tell you what happened," Frank told everyone.
"Thanks, Dad. We would love for Stephanie to tell him.
Everyone got in their cars and drove to a nice, quiet little restaurant. They all sat at a table, and Stephanie and Tank placed the chairs against the wall so they could see who entered the restaurant.
The waitress came over and gave them menus, and then, as she was leaving, she moved her hips to try to get Tank's attention, which did not work.
"I had gotten home from a shift with the cab, and Helen said that she needed to do some grocery shopping, so she took Big Blue because she caught Edna driving again without a license. But when she did not return from the grocery store, I got worried and went to look for her. I found Big Blue, but Helen was nowhere to be found. So I called the police, and they came and impounded Big Blue. They told me not to worry that she probably went to do some burg business, so I went home. I woke up early this morning to an empty bed. Her side was not even wrinkled. I called the police again, and they took a report. I tried to call her on her cell phone, but she always left it on her dresser." Frank said to them.
"Okay, so we know that Helen is missing, just like Ranger, Morelli, and Lula," Tank said to everyone.
"Pierre, this is getting creepy," Stephanie said to him.
"Yes, little one, it's most definitely getting creepy," Tank told her.
"Wait, that Ranger guy, Joseph, and Lula are also missing," Frank said, adding, "Should I be worried that you two might go missing?"Frank asked them.
"No, Frank, we will not disappear like they did. We have too much security for that to happen," Tank told his father-in-law.
"But if the two of you go out, please go out together to ensure that nothing happens to either of you. Be aware of your surroundings, and so forth." Stephanie told them.
After everyone ate, they went their separate ways. Tank, Stephanie, and Lester all drove back to Rangeman. Once they were in their building, they entered the command room.
"I will be off the grid for a while. Try to find something that will help us find our family," Tank told everyone. Then Stephanie and Tank walked to the elevator and went to their apartment.
Once Tank and Stephanie were in their apartment, Pierre locked the door and heard Stephanie speaking to him. "Pierre, are we safe?" Stephanie asked him.
"Yes, little one, we are. No one can touch you or me. I promise you this," Pierre said as he picked Stephanie up and carried her to their bed. "Pierre, I am scared of all of this. This whole situation with all my friends and family disappearing." Stephanie told him softly. Pierre looked at his wife and started to play with one of her curls. "I promise you, I will be with you for a long time. We will find our friends and family." Pierre said to her, and then he kissed her a deep kiss. He unzipped her dress and then her bra. "Pierre," Stephanie told him softly. The two of them finished undressing each other and then made love again. After they were done, they went back to bed for the night.
The next morning, Tank woke up early and went to work out. "Hey, boss, how is Stephanie holding up?" Lester asked him.
"Better, so with that, let's get this workout done," Tank told Lester. Then, they used the ring and boxed for a while. After they were done, the Tank was cleaned up. When he returned to his office, Lester said, "Hey boss, we might have a new client, but he wants to meet the man in charge of Rangeman. So I guess that is you because Ranger is missing now. I have his information right here."
"Thank you, Lester. I will call the new client," Tank said as he watched Lester leave his office.
Tank took a deep breath and called the number, "This is Pierre Sherman from Rangeman. I heard you might be interested in starting services with us. If you are interested in meeting, please give me a callback. I would love to talk to you about our services." Tank left his number and then looked at all the employee reviews he had to do. "Ranger, I don't know where you are, but you must return here." Tank said as he started to fill out some of the reviews. After he finished the reviews, he shut off his computer and went to be with his wife.