This follows on from 'Washington General' but it deviates slightly from the POV per chapter layout. Sometimes an entire chapter is dedicated to one POV but sometimes there are multiples.
They typical FF disclaimer applies here. Enjoy my manipulations of JE's characters.
Steph's POV
It was like somebody poured ice cold water over my head. My spidey sense told me something was happening, but I have no idea what it is. This is the second time today that something like this has happened and it scares the crap out of me. I need to talk to Tank and find out what he knows.
"Tank, what's going on? I just had another wave of spidey sense come over me. I know something is going on. What is it?"
"You're right Bomber, something is going on. Ranger was arrested earlier this morning but there's something weird about the whole thing. Lester and the lawyer are trying to figure out what is going on and four of the guys are flying down right now to join them. If you come in now, I can fully brief you and you can be involved as needed."
I looked at my watch and said, "I'll be there as soon as I can."
I did the typical RangeMan thing and hung up on Tank without saying goodbye. Part of me was furious that Tank didn't tell me about Ranger earlier. Another less volatile part of me recognised that Tank was holding off until he had something concrete to tell me. I know Tank would never keep something like this from me on purpose.
I pulled back into traffic and made it to RangeMan in just over 10 minutes. I parked in the garage and ran up the stairs to the control room because the elevator was taking too long. I walked in and didn't see Tank so I went and looked in his office. It too was empty, so I went back to the control room and asked Junior about Tank's location.
"He's in the conference room. He and Hector are in a conference call or something with Lester."
Lester's POV
On my third attempt, I finally got through to Tank. "Why did I get your voice mail? Has something happened?"
"No man, Bomber's spidey sense has been bothering her all day and she finally called me on it. I had to tell her about Ranger's arrest and the fact that you guys are looking for him. Never mind that now though, Hector says he has an address. It's a warehouse down by the train yard. We're running a search on the property to find out who owns or leases it.
"The guys are en-route to you already. They should be with you in about an hour. If you collect them from the airport, they have all the necessary equipment you'd need to rescue Ranger and Fiona."
At that point, Beautiful walked into the conference room. I could hear her asking Tank a bunch of questions about Ranger. I wanted to assure her a little so I said, "Hey Beautiful, me and a few of the guys are going to check out a site where we think Ranger might have been held. We'll have more information in just over an hour from now. I'll call back as soon as I have any information, good or bad. We'll find him just like you all found me."
Beautiful sounded a little congested when she said, "Good luck Les and bring him home please."
"I will do everything in my power to find him and bring him home to you Beautiful."
After I got off the phone with Tank, Hector and Beautiful, I called Ram to find out what equipment they were bringing.
"Hey Les, after this is done with, we'll need a couple of days off just to catch up on our sleep."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. What kind of toys are you guys bringing with you?"
"We have all the guns and ammo you could dream of. We also have an assortment of black clothing, Kevlar vests, night vision and heat sensing equipment. We are pretty much bringing all the same equipment we had when we searched for you in Atlanta. We never had a chance to unpack it. If we had to put the kit together, we'd still be in the office instead of in the air."
"OK, thanks Ram. I'll pick you guys up in a van and we'll go straight to the address where Ranger's phone is located. See you shortly."
I dressed in my typical black RangeMan attire and walked down the block to a sandwich shop to get a quick lunch. I hoped George has had time to eat because I'm going to bother him far sooner than he is expecting. I hurriedly ate my sandwich and then head back to the hotel. I kept a close watch on the people in and around the hotel lobby but I didn't notice anyone suspicious.
I took the elevator up to our floor and I knocked on George's door. After a few moments, George opened the door. He was busy buttoning up a shirt as he greeted me.
"I'm sorry to bother you earlier than we originally planned. Have you had a chance to eat lunch?"
George nodded and asked, "What's changed? Do you have some news?"
"It appears that Ranger's phone is still powered on. We were able to track it and some of the guys from RangeMan are already on their way down here. Would you like to join us on a fact finding mission? I'm about to leave to pick up the guys at the airport. We aren't sure if Ranger and Fiona are at this location, but it's worth a look see."
George nodded and said, "I'd love to join you but I'm not really dressed for that sort of thing."
"No worries. The guys are bringing a load of stuff with them so I'm sure we can find something that you can wear. You might have to stick with your own shoes though. I'm not sure how many and what sizes they'll have."
George grabbed his key and wallet and then joins me in the hall. We took the lift down to the lobby and then left through the side door out to the parking lot. This was just in case there were people placed in the lobby on the lookout for George or me. We climbed into the van and then drive to the airport. When we arrive, we watch the RangeMan jet on approach, so we got out of the van and opened the back so it would be ready for loading when the guys land.
About 15 minutes later, the plane was on the ground and the van was loaded with equipment and people. George dressed in some RangeMan black and we all pulled on our bulletproof vests. We planned on stopping before reaching the warehouse at the train yard so we could arm ourselves. We'd go the rest of the way on foot. Ram would look for a perch to set up his sniper rifle, Hal would check for security measures and the rest of us would breach once Hal gave the all clear.
Of course, there is more to follow. Please be patient. I am editing and reviewing old content when I have a spare moment. More will appear soon.
L.
