The characters below do not belong to me. They are all part of the genius of JE.

Jenn (perfectmanhattan), I'm so glad you agreed to stick with me and continue your invaluable work as my Beta.

Chapter 1 - Intuition

The sound of hard shoes on the tile floor was the first clue someone was coming that would need to be kept out. The staff in the hospital tended to wear more practical shoes designed to be comfortable for the hours they spent on their feet. These shoes were dress shoes and from the sound of the footsteps it seemed like they belonged to a man.

I looked to my left and noticed Tank move slightly to his right effectively blocking anyone's entrance to the room we were guarding.

I was accustomed to hiding my thoughts and emotions so the man dressed in white scrubs carrying a folded bath towel in men's dress shoes never knew we saw through his pitiful excuse for a disguise.

Seeing the large black man towering over him at the door the idiot tried to talk his way in. "Excuse me, sir, but I was told to bring this towel to Ms. Plum's room so she would have everything she needs for her evening bath." He held the towel up as evidence of the truth of his words.

I had to assume Tank was in the mood to have a little fun when he asked, "You were told to bring a towel to a woman who is unconscious so she will have what she needs for her evening bath?"

The man had a typical reaction to the second in command at RangeMan when he took a step backward and his eyes began shifting around looking for the closest means of escape.

Seeing the man's hesitation Tank stepped forward to end the one sided conversation. "Why don't you give that towel to me? I'll be sure she receives it when it's needed and you can tell you boss that you can't get a picture of her in the hospital."

The man had the good sense to drop the towel and back away quickly. Tank picked it up and threw it in a cart nearby full of dirty linens. "Damned reporters," He said barely loud enough for me to overhear. Tank may have felt he failed to keep her safe at the distraction this evening, but he was not planning on repeating that mistake now.

I can't honestly say what happened tonight, except that Stephanie warned us that something was off. Standing guard outside her room now I tried to think of an occasion when Steph was wrong when she said something felt off. Coming up empty, I realized if I had been in charge of the distraction, I would have called it off when she spoke up. I wasn't the boss however, and Ranger made the call to move forward.

Tonight should have been a simple in and out for her. We had great Intel that the skip, Edward Thomas, was going to be at Promises at 7:00, where he would be drinking away his sorrows. Despite the fact that the bar was a dive, Thomas was reported to like the naughty secretary type and so Steph was told to wear a classy outfit that at second glance was revealing and sexy. No easy task, but she arrived in a black skirt that cupped her ass and ended a couple of inches above her knee with a split on each side that allowed her to move.

The skirt was paired with a tight white blouse that only had three buttons buttoned and it seemed damn near see through. I was sure if she bent over the buttons would pop and we would all get a free show. It was that promise that made me unable to take my eyes off of her, despite her typical poise in these situations.

Her gravity defying bright red heels made her legs look a mile long. I never understood how she walked in those things, but I could confess to appreciating it anyway. Her hair was pulled up and twisted behind her. I usually preferred it when she wore it down, but with the look she was going for tonight it was perfect. There were two little curls escaping down the back of her neck that made any red blooded male want to wrap them around their finger.

I could tell from the sounds in my earpiece I wasn't the only guy appreciating her outfit because when she stood up out of Ranger's Turbo there were sharp intakes of breath, a few exclamations, and Lester's, "Shit, Beautiful is making me hot for teacher all over again." A piece of me wanted to smack him for talking about Stephanie that way, but I figured the growing bulge I was trying to get rid of meant that down deep I agreed with him.

She walked ten paces from the car before turning back to Ranger and saying, "Are you sure about this? I don't have a good feeling about tonight."

Ranger let out a small breath which would be the equivalent of a normal man sighing, throwing up his arms and saying, 'Of course I'm sure, we've been through this already.' But in typical Ranger shorthand he only said, "Babe."

I assume Steph is good at reading the boss, because she seems to understand that that single word can mean more than just an endearment. She jumped in when he offered nothing more.

"It just seems strange that our detailed Intel is about a guy who isn't from around here. Don't you think it's odd that someone knows him well enough to give us his exact arrival time and his preference in women? It sounds like he wanted to know who would be coming after him so he planted the info to have me show up dressed in a way that will make me stick out from every other person in the bar. If this is a trap he'll know who I am and why I'm there the second I walk in." She explained her hesitation, and I had to agree with her completely.

"The Intel is from a very reliable source who spoke to Thomas when he'd had a few too many to drink. You will be the woman of his dreams when you walk in there. By now he should be three sheets to the wind and you'll have no trouble getting him to follow you. Now go in there and bring out the bad guy." Ranger said with his hands on Stephanie's shoulders.

Both were quiet for a moment as if there was a battle of the wills going on. A piece of me wanted her to say no. Her concerns were valid and there had to be a better way to get him out other than risking her life to do it.

"Alright," She relented. "You know I can never say no to you."

And with that she turned around, straightened up, and squared her shoulders as if she were a soldier walking into battle knowing that they were going on a suicide mission. I'd seen this look on many faces and realized she wasn't just a little scared about the skip, she had a gut instinct telling her this was going to blow up and no one was listening to her.

Lester spoke up, "Ranger, man are you sure about this? She made a good point."

"Santos!" Ranger barked in return. "Just stay sharp in there and she'll have nothing to worry about."

I was at the door and stepped aside when she walked past me to let her in. The focus on her face hardly allowed her to acknowledge me, but she did manage to nod her head as she passed. Stephanie was never rude no matter how distracted. She said it was because of her Burg upbringing, which I knew was a crock of shit. It was because she was too tender hearted to ever dream of offending one of us. We never understood why she chose to make us her friends, but she went out of her way to get to know us and break down the walls we built to keep people out of our lives.

I pushed on my ear to be sure I could hear everything that was happened inside. Knowing that Steph was nervous had me on edge too and I hated being stuck at the door and not able to watch over her. Of course when she walked out with the skip, Tank and I were in position to grab him so in the end I got the most important job of keeping her safe. The take down is where things could turn ugly in a hurry.

I heard Junior, who was behind the bar tonight, ask what he could get her to drink.

She made a sound like she was irritated and said a gin and tonic with a lime. I smiled, knowing she would be getting a tonic over ice with a lime. She had to pretend that the drink affected her; no one from RangeMan would ever serve her alcohol because she had no tolerance for the stuff. She was tough in so many ways which made the fact that she was such a cheap drunk a bit of a joke around the office.

It's not that we were laughing at her. We wouldn't do that, and we'd seriously hurt the person that tried. But, she seemed to be full of contradictions and we found them humorous. She was from a proper Burg family, yet she hung out with a bunch of mercenaries. She talked to her fuzzy hamster as though he were her best friend, and yet she befriended a group of quiet emotionally closed-off ex-military guys. She believed chocolate was its own food group and regularly ate lunch with us as we munched on salads and grilled meats. People who judged her based on their assumptions about who she should be missed out on meeting an amazing woman.

"Here you go little lady, and let me know if I can get you anything else." Junior said bringing me back to reality.

I heard what I assumed was the skip speak loudly enough in my earpiece that I knew his face was too close to her chest. Apparently I wasn't the only person to jump to that conclusion as there were multiple growls that meant I didn't need to concern myself with being gentle in the takedown.

"I don't remember seeing you in here before," Thomas began with an unoriginal line.

"I've never been here before," Steph came back like a pro. "I was driving home from work and saw this place and knew that I needed a few drinks to get over my day so I took a chance and came in."

"I'm glad you did," He replied. "What happened that made you want to drown your troubles?"

"Let's just say the attorney I worked for and I didn't see eye to eye about my job. I thought I was there for typing and filing and he thought I was there to service his briefs." Steph improvised. We looked forward to her answers during distractions. Ever since 'group sex' night, she would try and throw in something every time to make us laugh.

"And you didn't think his case was worth taking?" Thomas pressed.

"Not his," Steph answered before throwing out her hook to reel him in. "He was a pushover that obviously had no idea how to treat a woman." Her voice became a little more breathy and totally sexy, "But if I could find someone who knew how to take control I would be more than willing to take a chance on a real man."

"That sounds like a challenge I can't pass up," Thomas assumed himself to be up to the task.

I heard the ice in Steph's drink rattling in her glass and I knew she'd just downed the remainder of her tonic. "Then why don't we get out of here so you can show me what you've got."

Junior's voice came through loud and clear, "She's got him. This was a record. Less than two minutes and he's following her out the front door like a little puppy."

Tank and I stepped aside and got ready to surprise Thomas and protect Steph. "He's at the door," Vince told us from his seat inside.

We waited, but the door didn't open. I looked at Tank, but he was staring at the door willing it to open. Realizing something was off I listened harder for any sound that would let us know what was happening, but it was impossible to get much over the noise in the bar.

When the door finally opened I saw Thomas had Steph directly in front of him with her arm twisted behind her. I had to assume from the look in her eyes that he had a weapon of some sort digging into her back.

Thomas began yelling as soon as the door closed behind them, "I've got your girl and I'll kill her if you make one false move. I needed to pass along a message to the great Manoso and this was the only way I knew you would get it. My boss says to get out of his business. He isn't worried that you're going to find anything, but your digging around is making all sorts of trouble for him and he doesn't appreciate it. This is the only warning you'll get from him."

"And who is your boss?" Ranger asked from the shadows not revealing his body as a target.

"You know exactly who he is. There's no way you can forget his face." Thomas said cryptically. I had to assume it meant something to Ranger. All I knew for sure is that from my location I had only a compromised shot at Thomas from behind. He didn't seem to be aware of my position, but I couldn't guarantee my shot wouldn't harm Stephanie. I wouldn't take it unless I was ordered to, but I stood at the ready just in case.

"You've given me your message," Ranger told him. "Now let the girl go."

"I think she might do nicely as a reminder that he means business," Thomas warned. "Plus if you are busy caring for her, then I'll have time to get back to the office and tell him you've been warned and if you continue trying to push your way into our business then the leeway you're usually given on Stark Street won't apply and we can respond to your presence immediately."

"Like I said," Ranger said with his tone hardening on every word. "I've got the message now let her go."

"Okay, you can have her," Thomas said before moving his hand just enough I saw the 9 mm he was gripping. Before I could pull the trigger he shot Stephanie near the shoulder.

Rage blinded us all. Ranger's voice came through with a command of "Ram!" which I knew meant to shoot him. I was a sniper, after all. The only reason my name was said was to tell me to take him out. No one hurt Stephanie without paying a price. Knowing if I killed him it would create more paperwork for Vinnie, I dropped my aim and shot him in the upper thigh instead.

In the brief seconds between the two shots, all the guys from inside and from the cars in the lot surrounded us. Bobby ran over and went straight to Stephanie. The wound appeared to be just below her shoulder which meant that while it probably didn't damage her heart, it might have hit her lung. "Shit!" Bobby yelled making my earpiece squeal with feedback from the loud sound so close to her wire.

Ranger was on the ground holding Steph's hand immediately. "What is it?" He asked with the anger only tapped down by the fear that we all heard in his voice.

"The bullet didn't go through and I think it's in her lung. She's got to go now; this is going to require surgery right away. She's out, and her breathing is already getting shallow." Bobby explained, not bothering to make it sound like she would be okay.

Ranger dropped her hand and picked her up in his arms cradling her like a young child. He jumped in the SUV waiting with Woody behind the driver's seat. Woody was probably the best driver on RangeMan staff. If anyone could get her there in record time the speed demon behind the wheel could do it.

Tank went ahead and cuffed Thomas while he was screaming on the ground from the flesh wound I gave him. After hearing Bobby detail Steph's injury I suddenly wished I hadn't been so careful in selecting my target and I'd hit him in a place that would do more damage - perhaps a foot higher and more to the center.

Tank looked around at the guys who were still in shock about what had happened. "Hal, you and Binkie get this joker the medical attention that's medically necessary and turn him over to the PD."

Binkie grabbed Thomas under the arm and half drug him to the SUV. Binkie and Steph had a special relationship and he was especially upset about how things went down. He was the youngest guy on staff, and although he was very talented in hand to hand combat, and served as a Ranger for three years before coming on board with us, Steph still treated him like a younger brother that needed her protection around the rest of us. I was as guilty as the others of picking on Binkie in front of her just to watch the anger in her eyes as she jumped to his defense. Steph's passion for anything was amazing and her heartfelt defense of the young guy was no exception.

Tank continued to hand out orders, "Les, get back to the office and set up a schedule for Steph's room. I want two men on the door at all times, rotating every four hours. Ram and I will head there now and stay until 2400 hours. You can distribute the schedule and text me with who to expect then."

Les nodded his understanding, and I knew he would be there at midnight even though the graveyard was the shift most people wanted to avoid. Until we had word on her condition, most of the guys would be hanging around the hospital anyway. He may as well be there officially.

I jumped in beside Tank and we silently made our way to the hospital. When we got there Bobby and Ranger were in the waiting room. Ranger's shirt was covered in blood, despite being black, the glistening wet evidence of her condition was there for us to see. Bobby was leaning against the wall, eyes to the front, staring at the swinging doors that led to the OR. The fact that he wasn't sitting and waiting patiently as was his practice only added to the tension. Within ten minutes, most of the available guys were filling up the waiting room. No one dared to approach Ranger who alternated between waiting with his head resting on his hands and pacing.

I knew I should think positively, but the training to always have a contingency plan kicked in and I began to look around the room trying to figure out how we could subdue Ranger if she didn't make it. Most of the staff were behind a half wall petition so we would just need to contain him to this side long enough for Bobby to sedate him if necessary. Of course keeping him still long enough for Bobby to hit him with a needle would be no small task.

Of course that assumed Ranger would be the only one to flip out. If someone came out and told us that Steph had died, a lot of us might be too stunned to react. We had all gotten used to her bubbly face around the office, waving at us on the monitors and joining us for the occasional night out. I doubt any of the guys told her how much it meant when she went to a club with us. Being able to hold Steph in your arms on the dance floor made you want to be worthy of the honor, and for the three to five minutes the song lasted it was easy to forget all horrible things you'd seen and done.

When the doctor came out an hour and a half after we arrived, we all stood up. He approached Bobby and Ranger, but didn't try to tell us to back up in order to protect Steph's right to medical privacy. Smart man.

"Ms. Plum is out of surgery and is currently in critical condition. The bullet entered at an angle and splintered two ribs before traveling through her lungs and lodging in her trachea. While it did no damage directly to her heart, the damage to the lung and windpipe was significant enough to put her heart in arrest. We were able to start her normal rhythm again with the paddles during surgery. The bullet is out, and we've repaired the damage as best we can for now," The doctor reported while twisting the surgical cap he held in his hands.

"She'll have a long recovery ahead of her and will need extensive respiratory therapy. For now, we'll keep a careful watch over her for the next twenty-fours. If she remains stable, we'll downgrade her condition then. In the meantime, we plan on keeping her sedated in order to keep her on the ventilator. I know she has a reputation as a fighter, and I'm afraid if she wakes up she'll do damage to herself trying to get the tube out before her lungs are ready to support her." He finished his report.

Bobby spoke up, "I'd like to be included in all the care plans so that I can better understand what her needs will be upon release. There will also be two men stationed outside her room at all times, and one man with her. The hospital has made similar accommodations for her in the past."

"Of course," The doctor agreed before turning to walk away. His shoulders were slumped as though he just endured a long hard war. I knew that look, I'd had it myself. It happened when you realized you'd just technically been victorious in battle, but the fight was won at a great cost to yourself.

Tank clapped his hand on Ranger's shoulder, "Why don't you go sit with her, man? Me and Ram will be outside and Les will be here in a few hours with a schedule to rotate coverage until she's ready to come home to us."

Ranger looked up at the mention of home. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. We're the ones who put her in this condition in the first place. She shouldn't be around us, she shouldn't be around me. I always knew my enemies would get to her. Shit, this time she even warned me, but I wouldn't listen. She's in there fighting for her life because of me. She doesn't deserve that. The best thing we can do is see her through this and when she's better, we let her go. I always knew that she'd outgrow what I could offer her and this is just accepting the inevitable and giving her a chance at a happy life without all the danger I bring to her."

"That's bullshit and you know it RangeMan." Tank countered. "You know it would kill her if you sent her away. Plus, do you know a man here that would cut her out of their life because you were afraid you couldn't keep her safe?"

I had to admit that Tank made a good point. I didn't care if it was a direct order, I wouldn't turn my back on her. I wouldn't punish her because of our mistake.

Ranger just pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger before letting out a long breath and nodding his head. The crowd thinned out and I followed Tank to the hall that would be my domain for the next two and a half hours.

So far we had turned away a team of medical students, a nosey nurse who didn't work on this floor, and the reporter dressed as an orderly. The time was flying by.

When Les and Vince came by to relieve us, I didn't want to go, but knew I had no valid reason for staying. Ranger came out when he heard us talking in the hallway. I wouldn't say anything, but he looked like hell, as though staying in the room with Stephanie had aged him a dozen years in just two hours.

"How is she?" Tank asked.

Ranger shrugged. "No change."

"Why don't you take a walk and clear your head. We'll keep an eye on her for awhile." Tank instructed our boss.

Ranger nodded, but looked at Tank before moving. "We need to discuss a few things."

Tank turned to me. "Go sit with Bomber. I'm going to take a walk with RangeMan and I'll be back to relieve you."

I nodded and went into her room for the first time. I had seen a lot of things in battle and in my time with the guys, but nothing prepared me for the frail look of Stephanie hooked up to the ventilator and all the tubes and wires. She looked small and helpless and every instinct I had to protect those weaker than me kicked in.

I took the seat next to her bed and knew Ranger had just vacated his watch over her from this same spot. Her hand was on top of the covers and had a single needle in it connected to a drip above her bed. I ran my rough finger over her pale skin and wondered if she was aware of my presence.

"Hey Steph," I said aloud, instantly feeling foolish for talking to someone who the doctor had said would be kept unconscious. "I just wanted you to know I'm here and we'll be by your side until you're better."

Saying the second sentence felt a little less childish so I kept talking to her. "The doctor said you were fighting, which is great. We'll watch over you so all your energy can go to healing. I was proud of you tonight. I heard what you said about the distraction and I agreed with you. It turns out your instincts were dead on, huh?" I cringed at my choice of description for her intuition that something wasn't right tonight.

I found myself talking to her for the next half hour. It was so much easier to say things to Steph while she sleeping. Partly it was because she couldn't interrupt to disagree with me, but mostly it was because I knew she wouldn't remember it for me to be embarrassed about it later.

Tank came in quietly and said, "You can go. Boss wants to meet at 0700 in the conference room. He knows who Thomas was talking about and he wants us to come up with a plan to take him out for what happened tonight." Then Tank looked at Stephanie and ran his knuckle across her white cheek. "This shit can't go unpunished or she'll live her life with a bull's-eye on her back." I had to agree with him on that.

Tank was probably the most protective of Stephanie besides Ranger himself. A couple of years ago Lula and Tank were dating pretty heavily and she told him why she and Steph were such close friends. When Lula was in the hospital after Ramirez left her for dead on Steph's fire escape, Stephanie stayed by her side for hours at the time. She brought flowers to her room and did her nails while she was unconscious. According to Lula, there was no reason for her to have done it other than she was just one of those people who loved people because she could, not because she wanted something in return. Some of Lula's opinion of Steph rubbed off on Tank too, and before long, he'd check to see if her trackers were on-line nearly as often as the boss did.

Hell, it wasn't hard to get most of the guys to share a similar story about her. Everybody had their one reason for standing by Steph, and few of us did it because we were ordered to anymore. This little girl had wiggled her way into our hearts and there was nothing left for us to do but to protect her as one of our own.

I planned on going back to my apartment, but found myself at my cubicle instead. I wanted to run a check on Thomas myself. This wasn't my case but as soon as he shot Steph, it became mine.

It didn't take much searching to figure out who his boss was that sent the message to Ranger. Although Thomas had a job with a meat packing plant downtown, he was associated with a known gang leader named Manuel Lopez. I did a little secondary searching into Lopez, who I knew only by name on the streets. He had his hand in most of the crime one way or the other on Stark Street, but the police didn't seem to be able to get much to stick. By reputation, his business included girls and drugs, but more importantly he was the Stark Street version of a mafia leader. Store owners paid him for protection, and Lopez kept their businesses safe when the gangs were out on the streets at night.

I had heard Ranger say on several occasions that he could live peacefully with Lopez out there because Lopez could be controlled and in the long run he probably did more good than harm. I don't think he liked him, but they had a mutual respect for each other. It was a deal with the devil, but it's better to go with the devil you know than the one that will rise up to take his place.

I sat back in my chair and wondered what Ranger had up his sleeve to take out Lopez. The cops kept him under pretty constant surveillance and it would be noticed if he suddenly disappeared and was never heard from again. Of course if Ranger had a plan I wanted to be on the front line of the action.

There were few people I held in high enough regard to want to serve with. Tank, of course, just because of his shear bulk and overwhelming power. Lester would be my next choice. Most people think of him as a jokester, but after working by his side for a few years I guess his outlook on life accounts for his lighthearted approach. Some people turn inward when they have his kind of attitude, but Lester is determined to get some pleasure out of every day and as a result he has a laugh for pretty much every situation. Few people realize that the flip side of his personality is his opinion that his life will be cut short so he tries to pack as much as possible into each moment. I've seen Lester fight and when he is set loose he fights like a man with nothing to lose. He is exactly the kind of man I'd want fighting beside me.

Regardless of who I had beside me, there is no doubt of who I'd want as my leader. I didn't take my position at RangeMan lightly. I'd served beside Ranger on several excursions in the Rangers, and I knew he would run his business in the same way. I've never regretted my decision to join his company. His mind is constantly moving and his ability to come up with brilliant plans under constant pressure is amazing. Lopez may have thought he was sending a message to Ranger to leave him alone, but he has no idea what he's unleashed. A plan will be devised by a master military mind. It will be carried out by top trained military precision and Lopez will lose his life because he thought the best way to make us lay down was to hurt us through Steph. In fact, what he's done is unite us with a common bond that can't be broken.

I hope he sleeps well tonight because come tomorrow his moments of breathing are numbered.