Disclaimer: The characters of the Stephanie Plum series belong to Janet Evanovich and are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: Angst. There will be an HEA.
Pairing: Stephanie/Ranger
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Feedback: Send comments to ttsmiscellany@yahoo.com
Educational Opportunity - Part 5: Climbing
By TT
Stephanie bit back another swear. When Tank said she wouldn’t like helping, she thought he was referring to having to carry her gun and getting up early. She didn’t think he meant being loaded down with all her gear and having to climb eight flights of stairs.
She also hadn’t imagined a building this horrible existed in Trenton. To be honest, she thought as she quickly raced by yet another rat crawling on the staircase, she had never thought a building like this could exist in the United States, but it did.
Glancing over her shoulder, she confirmed Ram’s position behind her and continued climbing. She glanced at the floor number as she reached the landing. One more flight of stairs to go and they would, at least, be on the right floor. Then it was just a matter of waiting until Tank gave the word. She and Ram had one job and one job only – make sure the skip didn’t get out through the back stairway.
Normally, Stephanie would think of this as a pity job, but after reading the file on this guy, she had almost volunteered for the position. The fact that she resembled a large portion of this guy’s victims didn’t help her feel any better about it.
Still, this would give her the money she needed to ensure Angie’s trip this summer and a bit to spare. A small part of her couldn’t ignore the tiny tickle at the back of her mind warning her that things weren’t necessarily going to be as easy as they looked.
Taking up her position, Stephnie waited for Ram to radio in their readiness and then waited.
Though it seemed like an eternity, Stephanie knew no more than fifteen minutes had passed when a loud shout followed by gunfire sounded in the hall. Her earpiece crackled with the sounds of the fight for several minutes before she heard the call that the armed skip was headed her way. Lifting her gun, she took her stance and waited. She noted Ram doing the same a few steps away.
When the door to the stairwell burst open, Ram and Stephanie both shouted, “Freeze! Drop the weapon!”
The skip simply fired at Ram. Stephanie barely had time to register the skip’s move before she pulled the trigger on her own weapon. She saw the skip twist slightly as he fell.
She kept her gun trained on him as he fell. Activating her microphone, she shouted, “Ram is down. Skip is down. Repeat. Ram is down.”
Cautiously creeping forward, she felt slightly sick when she saw the blank stare of the skip. Still, she kept her gun trained on him with one hand and reached down to remove his weapon with the other.
Just as she tossed his weapon a few feet away from the body, Tank and Bobby burst into the stairwell. Tank took one look at the situation and moved so Bobby could tend Ram.
Putting away his gun, he quietly approached Stephanie, talking to her softly. He took a moment to lean down and check the skip for a pulse, though he knew it to be futile. Stephanie may hate her gun, but she possessed an uncanny accuracy with it. “You’re clear, Stephani,” he cooed. “You can put down your gun now.”
Stephanie’s eyes didn’t leave the skip on the floor until Tank’s hand came into her line of sight, pushing the gun downward.
With her focus broken, Stephanie’s hand dropped to her side and she willingly allowed Tank to take the gun from her lax fingers. Tears flooded her eyes.
Stepping over the corpse, Tank wrapped Stephanie in his arms just seconds before she started sobbing.
The tears quickly passed as Stephanie pulled herself together. In less than a minute, Stephanie pulled back and wiped her eyes. Looking up at her friend, she simply said, “I hate paperwork.”
Tank smiled and nodded his agreement.
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