A/N: Here you go, Potterwench! I finally got this one finished! I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted a chapter for this story and I'll try to post more frequently!

Chapter 3 – Distraction Action

I awoke to the wonderful smell of cooking bacon. To a normal person this might be cause for alarm because I actually live alone. But considering that my apartment tends to the equivalent of grand central station, I'm actually used to people being here when they shouldn't be. Plus, the bad guys never tend to cook me breakfast before whisking me away.

My stomach let out a horrific growl that I'm surprised didn't bring my guest running into my bedroom, so I rolled out of bed and threw on a pair of sweat pants over my tiny boxers before throwing my hair up in a halfway decent pony tail and making my way into my kitchen for what smelled like a great breakfast.

Sure enough, Lester Santos was standing in my kitchen just finishing up some scrambled eggs and throwing them on a couple of plates with the bacon and some fresh fruit. Les was one of the Merry Men that I was actually closest to. For the past six months, it seemed as if Ranger had just been making excuses for me to have a RangeMan partner with me at all times and with the exception of a few weeks where Les went on vacation it had always been him.

I had tried questioning him about it in the beginning. After all, I hadn't actually had a stalker in the past four months and with my added muscle I also hadn't managed to have any troubles with my skips, but he had just smiled and said that he liked hanging out with me anyway or making some excuse for why Ranger felt the need to assign me a partner. I kept thinking that since Lester was part of the Core team they would eventually give me someone else as a shadow, but it had never happened.

Lester smiled at me as I entered then he picked up the plates and sat them down on my kitchen table. "You're just in time, Beautiful. Happy birthday!" He picked up a small package and handed it to me, "Ranger asked me to give this to you this morning."

I smiled and took the box from him. It was very obviously a Tiffany's box, and at one point in time I would have been angry when Ranger spent so much money on me, but over the years I had come to realize that it was just another way he took care of me. Plus arguing about just wasted air, he always managed to get me to take his gifts simply by saying please.

I opened the box and found a beautiful platinum butterfly with its wings spread open and a small note tucked into the lid that simply read, 'keep flying'. I smiled at the fact that he knew me so well and felt my heart swell as it always did when he encouraged or praised me.

I slipped the necklace on and picked up a couple of the grapes on my plate then tossed them into Rex's cage for him before chowing down.

"Thanks for breakfast; I'm surprised you're actually up this early on a Saturday. Did you not have a hot date last night?" I asked.

Les wiggled his eyebrows at me, "No one's hotter than you, but no I didn't have a date. I had monitor duty until midnight last night."

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence with the exception of my occasional moaning in regards to the fact that he had made me real bacon instead of the fake bacon that Ranger was always trying to force me to eat. When we were done he made me go wait on the couch while he cleaned the dishes.

I flipped on the television and started surfing but I ended up turning it off when I couldn't find anything more interesting than a rerun of Growing Pains. When Les was done he came into the living room and sat down next to me.

"I know it's your birthday, but we were really wondering if you would be able to do a distraction for us tonight. We need to bring in Juan Perez by midnight or we lose the bond."

The sad thing was that I had absolutely no plans for my birthday. My mother had invited me to have a birthday dinner at her house, but after the whole Joe fiasco I'm sure the burg grapevine had gone crazy with all sorts of rumors and I just couldn't find it in myself to go set through another version of my mother's 'Joe is your last hope for happiness' speech. Plus since my best friend was in some foreign country probably leading a rebellion and Lula had gone with Tank to New York City for the weekend, I had absolutely no one else to hang out with either.

"Sure, I don't see why not. When, where, and what kind of dress?"

Les smiled, "I'll pick you up at 2000 hours and he should be at Alure tonight. He seems to go after girls who are slightly drunk and showing a lot of cleavage."

I nodded, "I'm sure that I probably have something that fits the bill."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me and said, "The guys were also wondering if you'd stick around after and dance with us for your birthday."

Who could say no to going out with a bunch of overprotective men who were definitely easy on the eyes? Especially since for the first time in my recent history I am completely single and not tied down to anyone.

"Sure, I'd love to!"

He grinned, "Great, the guys are excited some of them have a hard time finding girls to go out dancing with so be prepared to be exhausted by the time you get back!"

I laughed, "I think I can handle that!"

He stood up and kissed the top of my head, "I'll leave and let you relax for a little bit, I'm sure you're probably going to go back to sleep. Enjoy it while you can!"

I sighed, "I guess that means that Ranger told you he talked me into working and RangeMan?"

"Yes, the guys are already fighting over who's going to get you as their partner. Unfortunately for them, I already called dibs!"

I laughed at the idea that anyone would fight over working with me, after all I'm pretty much a walking disaster when it comes to bounty hunting!

Apparently Lester's ESP was working this morning because a dark look crossed his face before he bent down and looked me in the eyes. "You are not a walking disaster, Steph. You have the best instincts out of anyone I've ever seen except for maybe Ranger. You never give up and you always get your man. Sure, sometimes you might come out with a few questionable substances on you and a blown up car, but you always get back up and dust yourself off for the next time." He paused, "I'm not saying you're perfect, but you're already taking a step in the right direction by coming to work with us. We'll train you and help you get even better and then you'll be unstoppable."

I sighed, "Sometimes I wish I could see myself the way that you and Ranger see me."

And I did. It was why I was constantly going back to Joe and why I'd let Ranger constantly pull me into the alley at the bonds office. My mother had been telling me for as long as I remember that I was a disappointment in every way, and then Joe had always told me I was horrible at my job and that I should be settling down with him and getting married. Somewhere along the way I'd begun to believe what they were telling me.

He smiled, "Well, we'll just have to keep telling you until you believe us."

And with that he walked out of my apartment.

*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*LS*

When we pulled up to Alure that night my spidey sense was starting to hum, but since it looked like it was getting ready to rain and I had been feeling ominous about my birthday I pushed the feeling aside. It also could be because this is the first distraction I had ever done without either Ranger or Tank watching my back. As much as I trust Les, it was odd to not have either of the top two RangeMen around.

"Okay, Blinkie and Woody are at the front door, Hal and Cal are at the back, Hector is inside, and Bobby is behind the bar." He paused and handed me my wire, "This guy is dangerous, Steph. Be careful. Hector will be sure to keep you in sight and I'll be inside a few minutes after you."

I took the wire and secured it with tape on the underside of my breast. I was wearing a black mini skirt and a blood red halter that dipped low enough to show a decent amount of cleavage without being so low as to look trashy and I'd paired it why my favorite pair of black FMPs that made my calves look amazing.

"Got it, I'll be careful."

I took a deep breath and climbed out of the explorer before making my way into the club. It was early so there wasn't a lot of people at the bar and Juan was easy to spot. I glanced around and found Hector sitting a couple of stools away from Juan which helped me relax a little bit.

I walked over to the bar stumbling a little to make it appear as if I was already a little tipsy and leaned over it so that my dress rode up. When I noticed Bobby was at the other end of the bar I made an irritated sound that caught Juan's attention.

He leaned towards me and brushed a few curls over my shoulder making me cringe internally. I hated when skips felt the need to touch me before we had even spoken.

"Need a drink, chica?"

I glanced over at him and let my eyes linger so that he would think I was checking him out. He wasn't actually that bad to look at. He had brown sugar skin, dark chocolate eyes, and a dark brown crew cut. He was built but definitely not up to RangeMan's high standards.

I licked my lips and let out a fake giggle, "That would be great."

He waved down Bobby who made his way down to us. "What can I get for you?"

Juan looked at me and I answered, "Gin and tonic."

Bobby walked down the bar to mix my drink since I knew he would be making a nonalcoholic version. He came back a minute later and winked at me before sitting it down in front of me and walking to another customer.

I sipped on the straw and glanced at Juan, "Are you here alone?"

"I'm not alone now that you're here." He paused and let his eyes roam over my body. "What about you, chica? Did your man let you out all by yourself tonight?"

Something about the way he said that made my skin crawl, but I tried to push it back and started playing with my straw using my tongue.

"I'm single for the moment. I came with my friend but she left me for the first guy who offered to take her home." I gave him a slow grin, "I'm a little pickier."

He placed his hand on my lower back and began to rub small circles into it. "And what are you looking for, chica?"

I stepped between his open legs and ran my finger down his chest. "I'm looking for someone who can keep up with me and not pressure me for anything more than one night."

He smiled, "That sounds like something I'm willing to give."

"Then let's get out of here." I threw back the rest of my drink and sat the glass back down on the bar before pulling him towards the door.

We were almost out of the building when I felt him push me into a small doorway and into what appeared to be a janitorial closet.

"I'm not generally a closet kind of girl." I said trying to make light of the situation and give the guys an idea of where I was.

He pushed me against the wall and shoved his pelvis into mine then he ran a finger down my neck and down the deep v of my halter top. I pushed against him and made an irritated sound, "Come on, I only live a couple of blocks away."

"I think here will do quite nicely." He said and I felt him reach down to unbutton my skirt.

I was suddenly terrified, where were the guys and why weren't they here yet? I could feel him struggling to get the button to my skirt open and I began to struggle against him, but he was too strong and he had me backed into the corner.

He leaned against me and put his lips against my ear before whispering, "That's it chica, fight me."

I looked desperately around the small closet, but I couldn't see anything I could use as a weapon. There were some liquor bottles on some shelves in the corner but they were too far away for me to reach. He started to reach for the tie at the neck of halter and I did the only thing I could think of. I shoved my knee into his balls with as much force as I could from the position I was in.

Unfortunately, from the way he was pushing against me it wasn't enough. He let out a roar of pain, but he didn't go down instead he lifted me off the ground and literally threw me towards the shelves in the opposite corner.

Then several things happened at once. I felt my head hit the shelves with enough force to knock down some of the liquor bottles and then the door burst open just as I fell on top of them. I could feel the bottles break and the glass cut into my skin.

I looked up just in time to see Les pick Perez up and begin pounding him within an inch of his life. I tried to call out to him to stop, but I could feel myself losing consciousness and it wasn't long before the world went black.