Standard FF disclaimers apply.

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Timed Out

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The clock, on the wall across the hall, silently and stealthily tracked each minute. The blue LED lights cast a ghostly glow in the darkened hallway. Though she didn't want to, Stephanie glanced at it. Again. Showing her rising frustration, she scowled and closed her eyes for a moment. Turning back to the computer screen, she swore under her breath at the error message she found there. Again.

"Connection Timed out- please try again"

Her concern had grown with every passing minute, and she was really starting to hate that stupid clock. On top of everything else, it had to be in military time. Converting the numbers in her head, she realized that she had been working on this one assignment for over four hours. It was not for lack of available information, she knew that everything she needed was out there somewhere, if her computer would just let her access it.

This had been happening all afternoon. Hector and the new recruit Aaron somebody had already been by to try and solve the problem for her, but apparently it was not actually her computer that was acting up, like they had first thought. The 'Timed Out' message, that was popping up whenever she tried to load a new page, indicated a network glitch. And those kinds of issues were out of her league, especially with a system as complicated as the one they had here at Rangeman.

If she had not promised both Rodriguez and Ranger that the files would be completed before she left, Stephanie would have been fine with shutting everything down for the evening. But she knew how much these searches needed to be done before the mysterious visitors arrived in the morning.

Pushing back her chair with a little more force than she intended, she hit the wall behind her and bounced forward. The sharp whip made her neck twinge and she immediately regretted her impulsive action. But it served to knock an idea into her head. Encouraged with her new course of action she stood, grabbing her bag on her way out.

19:52 flashed to 19:53 as she passed the clock, one last glance and she was gone. Stephanie waved a hand over her head and yelled goodbye to whoever was left on the floor, a few muffled words reached her ears and she nodded slightly as she opened the stairwell door and took the stairs two at a time down to the parking garage.

If she could get home quickly, she could pull up the programs she needed on the laptop that Ranger had let her take home last week. "In case of emergencies," he had told her before he left town. Well this certainly counted as an emergency in her book. He would back sometime during the night, and she was determined to have the information ready for him when he needed it.

She was still in the dark, Ranger was being secretive about the details of the meeting tomorrow. No big surprise there. But Stephanie got the distinct feeling that this time, he was completely justified in keeping this one close to the cuff. Ranger had told her more than once that he trusted her instincts, and this was a good time for her to believe in that intuition too. Unfortunately, her gut told her that Ranger was going to be in a bad position if he didn't have the intel that he needed. It was up to her to make sure that he was as prepared as he could be. With the system malfunction at the office, it was now up to her to get it for him any way she could.

Her hunger, that she had been complaining about more than an hour ago, was now forgotten. Stephanie rushed back to her apartment with a single minded purpose. A faint nagging in the back of her mind was telling her that she was overlooking something important. Dinner was the obvious thing, so she dismissed the feeling. It wasn't until she was jamming the key into her lock that she remembered that Joe had called her this morning. Her brow wrinkled in a frown, she really didn't have time for that right now.

They had been in another time out. It had lasted about six months this time, including the time that he had been gone on a training leave for the TPD. Now he was back and he had asked her to come over to his place for the Ranger's game tonight. He'd promised her Pino's and a good time. "It's time we catch up with each other," he had said. And she knew that he was right. They did have a lot to discuss. This morning, when they talked, she had had every intention of getting it done as soon as possible. Now her search was much more important. She let the thought pass through her head that she should give Joe a call and let him know that she couldn't make it. But it left her consciousness the second she walked into the apartment. Her eyes zeroed in on the laptop that was was sitting on the kitchen table. She dropped her bag on the couch, and walked directly to the computer.

Within mere minutes she was logged into the first search program. One by one she got started on the names that she had been given. There were several places to find information on the three people that Ranger needed to know about. Stephanie did not stop until all of the searches were running. Finally, she sat back and watched the magic begin to happen. It would be at least fifteen minutes now before she could start compiling everything into the various reports, so she stood up and stretched.

Logic told her that she should get something to eat while she had this time. A peanut butter sandwich was her only option, so she ate it standing over the kitchen sink washing it down with a glass of water. She wiped her mouth and hands when she was done and sat back down at the table.

DJ Miller was the name on the first file. Stephanie watched as the information started showing up. Military records showed that the helicopter pilot was highly decorated. She only took time to skim the pages, but Stephanie was impressed with the guy.

Francis Turner was next, an older man who was apparently a fisherman from Nicosia. Stephanie took a closer look, that didn't make any sense. Turner didn't seem like a name you would find in a country called Nicosia. She had never heard of Nicosia, but it didn't take long for her to discover that it was strategically located close to Syria and Turkey. "That can't be good," she muttered. A cold shudder played along the nerves down her back. Why was he coming here?

When the pages began piling up on a man named John Smith, Stephanie's anxiety had reached a whole new level. That sure seemed like a name you used when you didn't want anyone to know who you were. Her fingers were flying over the keys as she pulled up one report after another to try to get a good picture of who this guy was.

None of the information on him was real, she just knew it. There was too much information about Mr Smith. Stephanie shook her head as she tried to wade through everything. She had learned a few things working with Ranger. Number one on that list is that things are rarely what they seem to be. And number two; people often try to bury their true identity under piles of useless details. They counted on people to be lazy or unwilling to spend their time sorting through it all.

Stephanie was not one of those people. Ranger had trusted her with this job, and had made sure that she was prepared to do it. Between Ranger and Rodriguez, Stephanie had learned many of their tricks. She used them now to paint the true picture of this man for Ranger. He needed to be prepared, this guy was definitely not what he wanted people to think he was.

She organized the information in each of the files, and was almost done when the medical records for Miller came in. Stephanie stared at the page. Her breath stuck in her throat and she made a squeaking sound. She did not like this one bit, but she couldn't say why it bothered her so much. The 'F' on the file indicated that DJ Miller was a woman. Stephanie searched for a photo. One that did not show Miller in uniform. Finally she found it, a university ID showed her to be a beautiful girl with long flowing blonde hair. On second thought, she knew exactly why it was bothering her.

Three hours later, the files were completed. Stephanie finally became aware of her surroundings. Rex was now running on his wheel, getting in his nightly calisthenics. She rose and rushed to check his water and food situation, a bit chagrined that she had forgotten all about him earlier.

Rex didn't even miss a beat as she greeted her furry little friend and replenished his dishes. Stephanie was relieved to know he was not upset with her, and didn't hold the delay against her. "I'll be back," she told him. She pulled out the flash drive from the computer and packed both it and the laptop into the black leather bag that Ranger had given her.

Instantly, the scents of leather and the distinctive essence of Ranger reached her senses and made her smile. She took only a quick personal moment to take it all in, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. She really had missed him. Thoughts of seeing him again tomorrow caused her stomach to flutter as she headed out the door.

With the computer bag secured over one shoulder, Stephanie moved down the hall toward the stairs. She slipped the strap of her purse over her other shoulder and that is when she felt the vibration coming from the bottom of her handbag. Realizing that she must have left her phone on vibrate all evening, it finally dawned on her that she had not called Joe.

Reading the screen confirmed that she had missed at least ten calls from him. She also noted that it was nearly 11:30 P.M. now. She quickly debated whether she should call him this late. Wrinkling her nose at the prospect, she delayed that decision for a split second. Then she sucked it up and dialed his number, tucking the phone up to her ear as she unlocked her car door. She listened as it continued to ring and ring. Sliding into the seat, she started the car. By the time she pulled away from her building, the call had gone into voice mail. Joe did not answer. She hadn't expected him to.

"Joe," Stephanie said, regret evident in her voice. "Joe, I am so sorry, something came up tonight and time got away from me." She hesitated before adding the last part of her message. "We really do need to talk. Call me tomorrow?" She tossed the phone onto the seat next to her and sighed.

This situation was going to be hard enough. Messing up tonight was not going to help at all. But she was not about to kick herself for her lapse of memory. Ranger needed her. That came first. She took a deep breath and made her way back to Haywood Street.

The building was hushed and dimmed. Only the night crew was here right now. Bluish lights, from the banks of monitor screens, flickered and cast an unworldly glow on the walls and the faces of the guys as she passed by. "Where's Hector?" she asked.

Three sets of eyes turned to her, but it was Woody who spoke up first and directed her to the back of the room. "He's got a temporary router set up in the corner," he told her pointing the way.

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

Stephanie found Hector deep in conversation and pointing to one of the three screens that were perched on several sturdy looking card tables. The only light source back here was the single desk lamp whose neck had been bent far enough over that its illumination was concentrated on the center keyboard. Hector was directly in front of that light, and Stephanie was almost within touching range before she noticed that it was Aaron sitting to his right, and that there was someone else seated in the shadows to his left.

It only took a moment for her to recognize the outline of his silhouette. After all the craziness of the day, it was so good to see him here now. "Oh, good," she said quietly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You're here."

Again three heads turned toward the sound of her voice. Hector and Aaron nodded and got back to their work. The third person stood as Stephanie was digging into the computer bag. She looked up at him and handed over the small flash drive.

"I wasn't sure if the system was still down, so I didn't want to depend on the connection to get the intel to you," she explained.

"You finished it then?" he asked with a hint of a smile. He had no doubt that she would, she always did. "Let's go use his computer."

Stephanie nodded and followed him to Ranger's office. She watched as Rodriguez booted up the computer. He accessed the information from the drive, nodding with satisfaction over her thoroughness. In no time it was saved in an encrypted file and he turned off the computer.

"He'll be here in about an hour," he said as he stood and walked around the desk. Stephanie nodded. His praise for her diligent work was wrapped in his sparse actions. She understood. Rodriguez, like most of the guys here, was a man of few words.

They walked back toward the monitoring desks. Stephanie knew that he was going to walk her to her car. She appreciated the thought, but she did not want to go home. An internal debate was going on inside her brain. Ranger was going to be back in just an hour. That wasn't long, she could wait here for him. He had been gone for a week. It had been the longest week of her life. She had something that she wanted to tell him.

Should she stay and try to talk to him about it? No, she decided. She needed his undivided attention, and she couldn't get it tonight. Her shoulders drooped a little as she followed Rodriguez out. She did not want to go home, but she couldn't stay here either. She may not be getting any sleep tonight. But she knew that she had to give Ranger the time he needed to go through the files she had worked all day to get for him.

Rodriguez was still watching as she pulled her car into the street. His solitary image stayed with her all the way home. His posture told her that he was concerned. She had seen the subtle change when he looked over the files. Her anxieties from earlier had been heightened. No, she would not be getting any sleep at all tonight. But she hoped that she could at least put a lid on her overactive imagination.