AN: Okay, I admit. I couldn't stay away. I had a thought playing around my head over and over so I thought I'd go ahead and explore it and see where we end up :-) Hope you all enjoy this.

Masquerade – Prologue

Tank sat in his office staring at the paperwork with a look that could make a man wet his pants. Of course, paper couldn't wet itself, so all he could do was glare at it and wonder briefly if he would get away with lighting it all on fire. He sighed as he finally began working on the offending object. In the back of his mind it occurred to him that Ranger must accept missions when he decides to get away from doing the paperwork himself.

A thought occurred to him. Perhaps if things were too busy in the field, when Ranger came back he'd be office bound with paperwork. The pleasantness of that feeling died quickly when his office phone rang.

"Talk."

"Tank, we've got a problem." Hal's voice was perturbed.

"Where?"

"Hallway on four." He replied.

Disconnecting, Tank turned to his computer and accessed the monitors to the fourth floor. He watched the scene unfolding in front of him. Stephanie was in the hall with the other woman and they were arguing. He turned up the volume to hear the conversation.

"You shouldn't even be here!" Stephanie growled. "You need to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere. You don't scare me!"

In a quick series of moves that Tank knew for a fact they had never taught Stephanie, she had the woman pinned against the wall. Stephanie's voice was low when she began speaking again, but Tank could hear everything she said. "You really need to ask yourself if this smart, Lil."

"Maybe you should be asking that." Lil gasped out. "Kill me and you're fucked."

"What's going on?" Stephanie's voice was one of command, something Tank had never heard from her before. It was something he had heard from his CO's in the army, from Ranger, but never from Stephanie. In fascination he continued to watch the scene unfold before him.

"Why do you care? You get to go around pretending to exist while the rest of help keep you alive. You've got RangeMan protecting you while their leader is off being world hero." Lil tried to push against Stephanie only to find herself pressed harder into the wall. "What would your precious Carlos say if he knew that you don't actually need protection? Hm?"

"Back off, Liliana!" Stephanie snarled. "Either tell me what's going on or get out of Trenton."

"Can't." She replied. "Damn it, Plum! Let me go. I'll talk."

Interesting, Tank thought as Stephanie released her. Liliana turned. Rubbing at various parts of her body to make sure she was completely intact, she continued speaking to Stephanie. "You're the one who wants to pretend nothing happened. They gave you that. You fulfilled your end of the bargain. They're keeping their word. Unusual, but they're doing it."

"Then why are you here?" Stephanie demanded.

"Maybe I missed you." Liliana smiled. "The boys are…well, they're boys."

Tank could see Stephanie rolling her eyes from his seat. "Of course they're boys, and I hardly think you missed me."

"I did." Liliana said emphatically. "Nothing's been the same since you left. They bring in others, but none as good as you. And anyway, it was a universally agreed that I come here."

"By who?"

"Everyone."

"Why?" Stephanie looked ready to strangle someone.

"You wanted this world of make-believe, Steph. We're making sure you get to keep it." Liliana said stepping a few feet away from her. "I don't see why you hide it though. You really think Ranger or any of his men will judge you for it?"

Stephanie glared at her. "It's not for them to decide what they know about me."

She shrugged. "Maybe not, but something tells me, we're all going to be on the same page soon. Then what are you going to do?"

"What do you know that you're not sharing?" Stephanie took a dangerous step forward causing Liliana to raise her hands in a surrendering gesture.

"I don't know anything. Trust me. You'll be the first to know if I do. I'm not stupid."

"It wouldn't be a good idea for you to consider thinking otherwise, Lil." Stephanie said firmly.

Liliana leaned against the wall and looked back at Stephanie. "Believe me, Steph. I've worked with both you and Ranger. I know full well which one of you is the deadliest. Pissing you off is not on my list of life goals."

Tank watched as Liliana walked away from the Stephanie. He watched as his favorite Bomber looked up and gave an "oh shit" look toward the camera realizing she had just given a vital part of something away. Something she had clearly been trying to keep hidden for some time.

Picking up his phone he dialed Stephanie's number, barking out, "My office," when she answered. It was time to see what Stephanie Plum was hiding from everyone.

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