Stephanie pulled up to Pino's, wondering what Joe had in mind for Buffy and herself today at lunch. She understood that the discussion this morning had upset him, but hoped that he was thinking clearly about learning who set him up. Stephanie didn't want Joe to get in over his head with the FBI. Joe was a great cop, but he couldn't take on the FBI and expect to come out smelling like a rose. The only person she knew who could do that was Ranger, and well, Buffy, now that she thought about it. It seemed as if her cousin could fall in a pile of bullshit and walk away smelling like Chanel No. 5. Stephanie wondered how she did it. She knew that she certainly hadn't inherited that particular trait from her side of the family, maybe Buffy got it from her father's side. A tap on her window startled Stephanie from her musing. She looked up to see Buffy's smiling face peering in at her.
"Are you going to sit here all day, or are you going to get out and come in," Buffy spoke through the glass.
Stephanie blushed at being caught daydreaming. "Hold your horses, I'm coming." She grabbed her purse, opened the car door, and climbed out. Stephanie fluffed her hair and squared her shoulders before heading towards the restaurant.
Buffy's lips quirked up into a teasing smile. "Lighten up, Steph. If Joe is inviting someone to join us for lunch, which is my guess, your face is a dead give away that something is not kosher. Come on, give me a smile, you can do it." She danced around the taller woman, who gave her a sour look, trying not to do what Buffy wanted.
"Would you quit that? Why are you so, so bouncy, anyway? I thought you went for a run with Bob to unwind. You are worse than normal," Stephanie complained stubbornly fighting the urge to smile and losing. The small blonde twirled around like a ballerina, catching the eye of several male customers walking by; low whistles and wolf calls filled the air. Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Move along, there's nothing to see here. Go on."
"That's what you think," one large man said under his breath before opening the door to enter Pino's.
"Steph-a-nie, smile, you know wanna. Come on, pa-leease," Buffy said in a singsong voice.
"Fine," Stephanie started laughing. She couldn't help it; Buffy was contagious.
The cousins walked into Pino's arm in arm, laughing, and every head turned to watch them. They created a nice contrast to each other; with Stephanie's tall, lean frame, and brunette look next to Buffy's tiny, petite, golden one.
"Let's get a booth." Buffy pulled Stephanie along with her towards the back.
She understood her cousin's need to position herself to be able to view who was coming and going without straining her neck, or being obvious about it. After deciding which booth was perfect for her purposes, Buffy plopped down, pulling Stephanie down in the seat across from her. "Are you sure this one is okay?" Stephanie shook her head at the similarities between the tiny blonde and Ranger.
"Yep, I'm a happy camper. All I need is some pizza in my tummy, and I will be flying high." Buffy ignored the sarcasm, already taking in the people inside Pino's, organizing them into groups. She spotted the undercover or off-duty policemen and put them in a group, noting where each one sat. Buffy sorted the other customers into either harmless, possibles, or trouble. Each new person that entered Pino's joined whichever group best suited them.
"Joe should be here soon. We could go ahead and order; that way it will be ready when he gets here," Stephanie suggested, as her stomach let out a mighty growl. She started sliding down in her seat with her cheeks flaming a bright red.
"Sounds like someone is hungry," Joe whispered in his lover's ear. "Is that only for food, or could I interest you in something a little more substantial?"
Buffy hadn't let her face change when she saw Joe enter Pino's. She smiled at him motioning for her not to let Stephanie know he was behind her. She tried to ignore the conversation going on between the lovers, but it wasn't easy. Slayer hearing was a blessing and a curse at times like this. Buffy allowed her eyes stray to the man coming up behind Joe. She acted as if she only noticed his presence, now. It was an act, but he didn't need to realize that. Her large green eyes went wide, and then narrowed ever so slightly. If you weren't watching for it, you would have missed it. Clearing her throat softly, hoping to interrupt the lovers, Buffy smiled up at the recent arrival.
"Joe, aren't you going to introduce me to these two lovely ladies," a smooth voice questioned.
The Italian cop's head snapped up from the soft whispers he'd been sharing with the curly haired bounty hunter. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry about that. You understand how it is, saw my girl and my manners flew out of my head." Joe gave a Gaelic shrug in explanation. "This beautiful woman beside me is Stephanie Plum, and the short one over there," he motioned across the table, "is her cousin, Buffy Summers. This is Jason Fellows. We're working together on a case. Jason works for the FBI," Joe explained smoothly. He watched Buffy perk up in the booth, allowing her eyes to go wide. The veteran cop bit inside his mouth to keep from laughing at the dumb blonde act they were about to witness.
"That sounds exciting." Buffy smiled sunnily, pretending that she didn't remember Agent Fellows. She knew that he expected her to, but that wasn't the way to play the game.
Jason preened under the admiring tone, and the opportunity to get to know the beautiful blonde. He couldn't believe it when Morelli asked him to join them for lunch. Quickly sliding into the booth next to Buffy, Jason gave her his best smile. When Buffy returned his smile, he got daring and moved closer on the seat.
Buffy clenched her fists under the table, wondering how long this would take. "Tell me about yourself." She started the discussion, almost jumping from the booth when the blonde man brushed against her thigh. Her cell phone rang, and Buffy sighed with relief. "Excuse me." Pulling her phone out and seeing who was calling, she exchanged a quick glance with Joe before turning away to talk privately. It's show time. Taking a breath, and then putting a worried hitch in her voice. "Randy, is that you? I thought you didn't have a phone…Mmm…Are you sure?...Of course it is, I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it...Yes…Pino's with Stephanie…Do you need me to come and get you?...Okay, but take care, and if you need me, call." Buffy turned back to the three interested faces, each pretending they weren't listening to the phone conversation.
"Is everything okay, Buffy?" Stephanie asked, taking her cue from Joe's pressure on her thigh.
"What? Oh, yeah. A friend is going through a tough time. I told him that if he needed a place to stay he was welcome at my house." The waiter brought some water while she was on the phone, and Buffy gulped down a large drink, cutting off more questions for the moment.
"Sounds like your friend's in trouble. Is there anything I can do to help?" Jason leaned closer to Buffy, brushing against her thigh again.
She suppressed the urge to growl. It took everything she had not to shove him from the booth, onto the floor, then use his blonde hair as a mop to clean Pino's floor. Picturing herself doing just that helped Buffy calm down enough to answer him. "No, I'm going to have to leave. Sorry, for cutting lunch short," she smiled apologetically. "Steph, I'll meet you later."
"Sure, I'll swing by and pick up Lula."
Jason reluctantly got up from the booth, allowing Buffy to slide out, but didn't back away when she rose. He crowded her, pushing her back against the seat's edge. "I'd like to see you again sometime," he said in a low, intimate tone, leaning down to brush the hair away from her face.
"Maybe," Buffy said in a non-committal tone, ducking under his arm, moving quickly towards the front before anyone could stop her. She got to the parking lot and had her bike revved up when Ranger pulled into Pino's. Buffy gave him a brilliant smile, closed her visor, and took off, burning rubber as she zoomed down the road.
Ranger cursed under his breath, tempted to take off after her, except he was meeting Tank any minute.
As if on cue, an identical black Bronco pulled up beside him. Tank got out rubbing his bald head. "Hey, boss, wasn't that blondie I saw tearing down the street? She sure can ride that bike. Wonder who taught her?"
"I'll have to ask the next time I see her." Ranger climbed out, searching down the street for a flash of red, but knowing that Buffy was long gone. "Did you get the information I asked you for?"
Tank shook his head, holding up a folder. "Yeah, not sure what you need with this, but I got it. We gonna go inside or stand out here all day?" The large man sighed, watching Ranger devour the information on the white printed pages. Carefully taking an elbow, Tank guided Ranger towards the door.
Ranger stopped suddenly, his brow creased as he heard someone say Buffy's name. Searching the parking lot, he spotted a blonde man, definitely a cop, speaking on a cell phone.
"I'm telling you, Randy Briggs called her. No, I don't know where she went. I couldn't exactly follow her without looking suspicious to Morelli. Yes sir, I will. I asked her out, and she said she'd think about it. I know women like her, she's just playing hard to get. I'll send her flowers and it'll be a done deal. I'll wine and dine her, and then I'll have her telling me all about Briggs. Piece of cake, just leave it in my capable hands. Yes sir, you'll be the first to know." The cell phone clicked shut as the blonde hurried back into the restaurant, not noticing the dark, angry eyes that followed his every move.
"Boss, you okay? Who was that guy?" Tank had a bad feeling about Ranger's silence. He knew from experience that it was not a good thing when his ex-Secret Service commander went that still. It took a lot to get Ranger angry, but once he reached that point, it was like watching a nuclear bomb explode.
"I need to know everything about him. He's after Buffy for information, and is willing to do whatever it takes to obtain it. There is no way that I'm going to allow some prick to use her that way," Ranger growled.
Walking into Pino's, they immediately took notice of who was inside and any probable threats. Ranger went to a booth that put his back to the wall and provided him a clear view to the door. He caught Joe Morelli's eye, and nodded in greeting. Stephanie waved, which he acknowledged with a half smile. The smiled melted quickly when he saw the blonde from the parking lot join them. Ranger watched them while the waitress came to take his and Tank's order.
"Looks like Steph and Morelli know your man," Tank observed as he sat in the opposite side of the booth. He watched Ranger watching Stephanie's table. Tank had always believed the brunette bounty hunter would hook up with his boss, but that was before the tiny blonde came along. Stephanie seemed to wake Ranger up; Buffy shook his world completely and made him sit up and take notice. She wouldn't allow him to pull his dark avenger stuff with her, which was what drew Ranger to her even more. Tank knew that if this guy meant to harm Buffy that there wouldn't be enough of him left to bury.
Ranger's eyes darkened as they landed on the man sitting across from Stephanie. "Get the information as quickly as possible." The manila folder lay forgotten on the table. Ranger tapped his fingers, showing the frustration he was trying to get under control.
"Was that Manoso that I saw come in while I was taking my call?" Jason asked Joe.
"Yeah, Ranger and Tank eat here from time to time. How do you know Ranger?" Stephanie asked, wondering why the FBI agent was interested in Ranger.
Jason shrugged his shoulder. "I think someone pointed him out to me when they were showing me around Trenton. He has interesting past, ex-Secret Services from what I understand."
"Not sure about that. Ranger doesn't talk about his past with anybody." Stephanie didn't like where the conversation seemed to be moving. "Joe, I'm going to have get going. I promised Buffy that I'd meet her later, and I have some errands to run first."
"Sure thing, cupcake." Joe got up from the booth, holding his hand out to her, Stephanie put her hand in his, and he pulled her up next to him. They held each other for the briefest moments. Joe snatched a quick kiss. "I'll see you at the house."
Stephanie smiled at him before turning to Jason. "It was nice meeting you. We will have to do this again sometime."
"I agree. Joe is a lucky man." Jason gave her a charming smile.
Stephanie worked hard not to do a mental eye roll as she turned to walk out of Pino's. "Yeesh, that guy could give you a cavity with all the sugar he's spreading," she mumbled under her breath.
Buffy sped down the highway towards her warehouse, with her phone in her ear, chatting to Randy, telling him what she thought about Jason Fellow. She noticed a car tailing her and wondered who it could be since she left Ranger back at Pino's. Taking a narrow alley to the left, she watched the car follow right behind her. Buffy gripped the bike's handles, gunned the engine as she peeled out around a corner before darting back around to come directly at the car. At the last minute the car slammed on its brakes, she swerved around it, zooming out into the open street and down the road before the car could turn around. She pulled into the first street she saw and waited. The car came barreling down the street after passing directly by her. Buffy saw the driver and an evil smile broke out on her face. "Gotcha."
Slowly easing the bike forward, she followed the car for a little while before breaking off to head for the warehouse. Pulling the bike in through the large doors, Buffy left the red motorcycle where anyone driving by could see it. Whistling as she made her way into the large open are, she dropped her helmet on the floor next to the padded mats. Slipping her boots off then her sock, walking in her bare feet to the middle of the mat, she started her kata. Buffy's body flowed gracefully into the movements that grew increasingly faster as the exercise continued. She appeared lost in the martial arts routine, unmindful of her surrounding, she also didn't look like she could take out men two and three times her size. Buffy kept her eyes closed, waiting to see what the person sneaking up behind her would do. She knew that she had to play this out carefully in order for the plan to come together correctly.
A gun's cold barrel pressed against her back as a man's voice commanded, "Put your hands where I can see them."
Buffy held them in the air above her head. She felt something cold encircle her wrist. Glancing up, she saw that he was putting cuffs on her. She didn't say a word, waiting to see what the man would do next. Buffy knew she could break the cuffs if she needed to, but was more interested in why this man decided to do his own dirty work. Not only that, how had he followed her so quickly? Unless, he was already watching Pino's for another reason. Ranger popped into Buffy's mind for no apparent reason. She didn't know why, but she'd bet the Scythe she was right. Somehow, this whole thing was a big circle jerk that led back to Ranger. What did this guy have against him, and why was he out to get him for it? Maybe she was about to find out.
"We are going for a little ride, and if you're a real good girl you may make it out of this okay." The man turned her around to face him.
Buffy got her first good look at him. He stood practically seven feet tall and could have given Tank a run for the money in the muscles department. His hair was blond and cut in military crew cut that didn't detract from his tanned good looks or his brilliant green eyes. Buffy figured that many women probably thought he was handsome, but she saw the cruelty in his eyes that he tried to conceal. She was too used to working with demons not to be able to read their eyes and tell the good guys from the bad ones. This guy was definitively of the bad.
"Who are you? Why have you handcuffed me? I haven't done anything wrong," Buffy immediately fell into her famous blonde routine. Never let the enemy know your strengths, Giles always taught her. Hopefully, this guy will see a blonde bimbo playing at martial art and nothing more.
"You don't understand Ms. Summers. This is a criminal investigation and the FBI has no choice but to take you into custody in the hopes of apprehending a much more dangerous criminal," the man explained, giving her what he believed was a reassuring smile.
"But, I haven't done anything and I don't know any criminals. I-I haven't e-even been in Trenton that long." Buffy forced tears to well up in her eyes, allowing her bottom lip to tremble. Who are you? Where are your taking me? Who'll protect me?" She let her eyes wonder over his large body, then back up to his face. The expression on her own face let him know that she didn't believe that he could perform the job. Buffy hid a smile when she saw the man's jaw tighten at her lack of appreciation for his looks. No doubt, he used them to get what he wanted, especially with women.
"Name's Special Agent Jackson, Andrew Jackson," he said tersely, the nerve in his jaw twitched faster.
Buffy decided to see how much ole Andy could take before he snapped. She let her eyes go wide with wonder. "Wow, very James Bondy, and Presidency all at the same time. Your parents must be soo proud," she gushed in her best dumb voice, reminiscent of Harmony Kendall. "Do you get all those cool doodads like he does? Is there a real Z?"
"That's Q," he snarled, thinking how could Ranger stand this babbling bimbo. At first her beauty took him off guard and she appeared somewhat intelligent, but that must have been for show because the longer she talked the blonder she got. Ranger should have fought Morelli for the Plum broad. She had the worst luck, but she wasn't dumb as a post. Not willing to listen to anymore babbling, he roughly grabbed the handcuffs, dragging Buffy towards his car. Ignoring the shrieks, Jackson shoved Buffy into the backseat of the car that had been following her. She kicked and screamed until he waved his gun at her threatening bodily harm if she didn't shut up.
She eyed him balefully before sitting back in the seat with a huff. Buffy watched where they drove, memorizing the directions. Jackson ignored her as he drove. Wiggling in the seat, Buffy twisted until she could slip her hand down inside her pants. She activated a GPS that Randy would track. Turning her attention back to the man intent on ruining her friend's and new lover's lives.
The car stopped not too far away from her warehouse, which didn't surprise her. This area was the perfect place to put someone you didn't want found. Why do you think the Mob owned the whole area? Jackson pulled up to an abandoned looking warehouse, stopped the car, got out, and drug Buffy out while she pretended to struggle against him. He gave her a hard shake, quieting her down then shoved her in front of him towards the warehouse. Unlocking a large door, Jackson pushed it open only wide enough for them to squeeze through before turning back to close it, leaving them in the dark. He flipped a switch, which turned on muted overhead lights that showed an empty space with an enclosed office area off to the right. Once more shoving Buffy ahead, directing her towards the office.
She saw, as they got closer that it was a perfect place to hold someone captive. A reinforced metal door with a small window was the only entrance into the enclosed space. Entering inside, it was obvious that the walls were cement block and the only other exit was a small window roughly eight feet off the ground. The room was empty except for an iron cot bolted to the floor and another door that no doubt led to a bathroom.
"It's not the Ritz. Should do you fine for the amount of time you'll be here though." Jackson shoved her further into the room, preparing to slam the door behind him.
"Wait! Why are you doing this to me?" Buffy let tears fill her eyes. She looked up at him, pleading for an answer.
Jackson gave her a wolfish grin having already decided the perfect revenge on Ranger. "You're bait for my good buddy, Ranger. See, we go way back, all the way back to the war. He left me rotting in a prison camp. Now, it's my turn to leave him rotting in prison for the rest of his life." Stepping back, he laughed maniacally at the shock on her pretty face as he slammed the door.
Randy felt his heart jump in his small chest when the alarm went off signaling that Buffy had activated the GPS. It meant the plan was working and the target was in play. It also meant that his friend was in danger. Randy cracked his knuckles before getting to work at his computer. Clicking away on the keyboards, his fingers flew over the keys as he honed in on her exact location. Randy cross-referenced the address with the tax records at the City Hall looking for the owner. It took the small hacker several tries to get around a carefully laid trail of false records belonging to dummy companies. A happy crow of laughter escaped his lips when the name he was hoping for finally revealed itself on his screen. Swallowing hard and checking his watch to ensure that an hour had passed, Randy picked up the untraceable phone Buffy gave him.
"Hello, Morelli speaking."
"Listen, this is Randy Briggs. You remember me?"
"Of course I remember you, you little twerp. You're supposed to be…"
"Shut up, Morelli!" Randy growled into the phone, shocking Joe into silence. "Someone has Buffy. Don't know who, but I know where."
"What!" Joe exclaimed; his tanned Italian face became a pale white thinking Stephanie's family was going to kill him if anything happened to her cousin. Images of Grandma Mazur chasing him with a Magnum down the streets of Trenton flashed through his mind. "How do you know where she is?"
"She's wearing a GPS." The voice calmly came back over the phone.
"You two set this up? Are you insane? You're messing with the Mob here. They'll kill her, you idiot," Joe screamed into the phone, thankful to be alone in his car.
"Morelli, you should be looking a little closer to home. Buffy knows what she's doing. She wanted me to warn you so Stephanie didn't try to stage a rescue. Just keep your girlfriend out of it, and everything will be all right." Randy hung up before the angry cop could say anything else.
Joe thought about what Randy said, then thought about Stephanie. The light went on in his head. "Oh shit, she's going to the warehouse and Buffy's not there." Tires squealed leaving long rubber marks on the street as Joe took off to stop Stephanie from 'saving' Buffy and no doubt ending up in greater danger.
Stephanie and Lula pulled up to Buffy's warehouse. They expected to learn some new moves, but dreaded the coming hours of Buffy throwing them on their asses. Exchanging glances that dared each other to open the car door first; they finally opened them simultaneously, crawling out to face the small blonde whirlwind known as Buffy. Stephanie noticed the motorcycle parked strangely, pointing it out to Lula. The two women approached cautiously, having learned from experience that anything out of the ordinary usually meant trouble.
Walking up to the open doors, Stephanie went through first, only because Lula shoved her from behind, earning her a dirty look. Lula tripped bumping into Stephanie, knocking them to the ground with a loud bang followed by several colorful words, and Stephanie screaming for Lula to get off her. The plus-sized woman rolled away from her best friend with a huff, remaining on the floor even after Stephanie got up and offered to help her up.
"You acts like I did it on purpose. There was something on the floor. Look." Lula pointed a bright pink manicured nail to where Buffy's boots lay on the floor.
Stephanie threw her head back screaming with all her Italian heritage. "BUFFY!"
Lula covered her ears, glaring at Stephanie. She squirmed up to her knees, pushed off her hands, struggling up to her feet. Going directly up to Stephanie, speaking right to her face, "Warn a person next time you're gonna do that. You almost popped the beads straight off my head."
Stephanie deflated; worry filled her large blue eyes. "Lula, she's not here. Someone must have taken her. It's the only thing that makes sense. Come on let's see if we drive around and can find someone that saw anything."
They ran back to the car, jumped in, and raced off down the road.
Buffy waited until she heard Jackson leave, then waited around another thirty minutes to make sure that he wasn't coming back. Squatting down, she jumped up to the window, grasping the ledge, pushing the window open; she pulled herself up, climbed out, then jumped down to the ground. Buffy jogged around to the front to see if Jackson was hanging around watching the warehouse. After ensuring that he was long gone, she took the back alleys back to her own warehouse to call Randy, and move on to phase two of their plan.
Driving the SUV down the street, searching for anyone to ask about Buffy, Stephanie let out a happy squeal when she saw a familiar face. She pulled the car up along side the happy stoner. Stephanie greeted him. "Hey, Mooner, how've you been?"
"Oh, wow, it's the Bounty Hunting Hot Momma. I'm not s'posed to be in court again, am I?" Blood shot eyes gazed down at Stephanie.
"No, Mooner, I was hoping that you could help me. My cousin in missing and I think she might still be around here. Have you seen a short little blonde being pushed around by anyone in the last few hours?"
"Wow, that's like so cosmic. I just saw one not too long ago and thought, like hey, she's little, and, like, you shouldn't do that; man, that's like not nice, man," he rambled on telling Stephanie about cosmic justice for men who didn't treat woman right.
"That's true. Uh, could you tell me where you saw them? The guy who should feel the cosmic justice, I mean." Stephanie crossed everything that she could think of, hoping that Mooner was sober enough that he could remember.
"It was a warehouse," he said, causing Stephanie to want to pull out her hair. Warehouses surrounded them as far as the eye could see. "Oh, I remember now, there was a funny sign on the door, looked like an eye." Mooner tried to open his own eyes wide, but it wasn't much use.
"Thanks, that helps a lot. Take care and stay out of trouble." Stephanie took off in the direction that Mooner pointed, searching for a door with an eye painted on it.
"There it is, Steph." Lula's beads clattered happily, as she jumped in her seat, causing the car to shake.
Stephanie slammed on the brakes, taking a sharp left turn into the drive. Getting out, they tried the door. Finding it locked; they went around back where they saw the office window standing open.
"I bet if we find a ladder or something, I could crawl in that window and find Buffy," Stephanie said. She was already searching around for something to stand on tall enough to reach the window.
"How you gonna rescue Buffy? She can whip both our asses with one hand. Whoever took her must be tougher than her. I say we go call that fine man of yours and have him bring the police down here to get her out of there." Lula knew her friend wasn't going to let Joe take care of this. Oh, no, Stephanie had to charge in and do it herself. Problem was she wanted Lula to follow right behind her. Glancing up at the window, Lula gave a silent thank you to God for making her a plus-sized woman. Because she knew, her gorgeous black ass wasn't fitting through that tiny window, and that was that.
"Here, these will work." Stephanie drug several wooden crates behind her, stacking them on top of each other. "Help me, Lula. There's more over there." She pointed to a stack piled behind the neighboring warehouse.
"Are you sure, girlfriend? These look awful rickety. I'm not sure they'll hold you. What if there ain't anything on the other side for you to climb down on?" Lula eyed the warped and rotting crates that Stephanie continued to stack and climb. She handed them up as the good friend that she was.
"There's bound to be something. If not, I'll just climb back down and phone Joe." Stephanie sighed, hating the idea. Putting the last one in place while Lula held the bottom stable, Stephanie climbed into the window. The makeshift ladder creaked and groaned when she took her weight off one foot, balancing on the other then pushing off to swing onto the ledge. Stephanie sat on the ledge giving her the high sign that she was okay. The entire structure swayed to the left then the right before going straight down barely missing Lula who jumped back in time to keep from being hit by falling debris. Stephanie sat on the ledge with her mouth wide open in shock.
"Are you okay?" She shouted down at Lula.
"Yeah, how about you?"
Stephanie peered into what she could see was an office. There was nothing inside, except a bed too far away for her to reach. The ladder was gone; there wasn't anything else to do but jump. But which way, in or out.
"Lula, I have to jump, so I'm gonna go ahead and jump into the office," she called down to her wide-eyed friend.
"No, no way. You come back down here, right now. If you hurt yourself at least I can get you to the hospital." Lula gave Stephanie a death glare, crossing her arms over an abundant chest, even going so far as to stomp her foot.
"I'm not going to get hurt. Plus, I'm already here. I might as well see if I can help Buffy." With that, Stephanie threw her leg over the windowsill, pushing off, landing with a loud 'thump' followed by a scream of pain.
"Stephanie!" Lula shouted, dancing on her tiptoes as if that would enable her to see over the edge of the window into the office below. "Answer me! What happened?"
"I'm okay," a shaky reply came back, "uh, I think I broke my ankle though."
"That's it. I'm gonna go find Joe, maybe Ranger too. Gonna go get me the police, SWAT, maybe them cute CSI guys too! I'll be back in a minute hang on. Don't do anything else just stay put." Lula actually ran, well, she started running, deciding that breathing was a good thing and slowed down to a fast walk. She got to the SUV, thankful the Bounty Hunter left her purse behind before deciding to rescue Buffy.
Buffy saw Joe before he saw her. She ducked back into the back room where she stored extra weapons. Randy set her up with surveillance equipment, which she planned to rig Jackson's warehouse with. She heard Joe's phone ring and him walking back outside to talk. The next sound she heard was a car pulling away then racing down the road. Buffy figured it was police business and continued gathering what she needed so that she could get back before Jackson.
Joe raced to meet Lula, who was shouting in his ear that Stephanie was stuck in a warehouse trying to rescue Buffy. He cursed in Italian as he took a corner on two wheels. The intrepid cop loved his girlfriend, he really did, but sometimes he wanted to strangle her. Joe passed Stephanie's SUV going the other was, both vehicles slammed on their breaks. Lula spun the car around like a professional driver, pulling up beside Joe's beat up car. Rolling down the window, all he could see was white teeth from the huge smile on her face.
"Did you see me spin this car around like Mario Andretti?"
"Yeah, it was great. Where's Stephanie?"
Lula's deflated from her moment of glory, putting a solemn expression on her face. "Follow me, I'll take you right to it. You might wanna call in the calvary, cuz if whoever took Buffy comes back I ain't going in there with you. Na huh." Lula shook her head sending beads clattering in every direction.
Buffy was about to leave when a black Bronco screeched up to the doors. She cursed under her breathe as Ranger came barreling inside guns blazing, screaming her name. She leaned against the wall waiting for him to notice her. Ranger shoved the large gun back in its holster and was across the floor in a few large steps. He gathered Buffy up in his arms, kissing her for all he was worth.
She withdrew when air became an issue. "Not that I don't appreciate the nice greeting, but what's with the show?"
"Got a call. Someone said they had you and that they would call back in one hour with an address. They said to come alone, or you're dead." Ranger's jaw tensed remembering his heart stopping when he heard those words.
Buffy caressed the tight muscle. "As you can see, I'm fine. It was probably someone trying to yank your chain. I wish that I could stay and talk about this, but I have somewhere I have to be like now." She looked at him expectantly, hoping he'd take the hint.
"Where are you going? This person didn't strike me as somebody playing around. If he didn't have you, then he plans to get you. I'm not leaving you unprotected, gorgeous," Ranger told her stubbornly.
Buffy didn't have time to argue. She had to get back or they'd never get enough evidence against Jackson. If he did try to kill her before sending for Ranger again, then she'd defend herself. Buffy was betting that the FBI agent wanted his old buddy as a witness.
"I was afraid you'd say that. Sorry, Ranger." Buffy smiled at him apologetically.
"Sorry for wha.." He didn't even see her move, or the fist that came flying out of nowhere that laid him out on the floor.
"For that." She checked to make sure that he was all right before heading out the door. Taking off in a fast jog, Buffy hitched the bag up on her shoulder, hoping to get back before Jackson decided to return. "Thank goodness Stephanie and Lula never showed up. At least Joe did his part," Buffy whispered to herself, knowing her cousin's history for getting in over her head.