Author's Note: Here is the third chapter... however the fourth chapter will not be posted until next Wednesday which will become my regular day of posting. Thank you so much to the reviewers of my previous chapter. I've been busy writing so I haven't been able to respond. The story alerts and author alerts keep pouring in.. thank you so much! You guys are amazing!
Disclaimer: Not mine and I am NOT making any money.
Chapter Three
Bad News Comes From Three
She had two more days before Dale Silverman's bond was up. However that didn't bother her at all. She had been at Hope House every morning the past five days to watch him walk out at five after nine and she was there to watch him come back every day at 4:45. He was more predictable than the sun rising and setting every day. She knew exactly what she was going to do to capture his ass and put him back in police custody. And today was that day. She was a little sluggish from not sleeping all week, but she had confidence in herself to get the job done.
"When we gonna do this, White Girl?" Lula asked becoming impatient.
And she had Lula with her for a distraction. Okay so clearly it wasn't the perfect plan but she had faith in it and she had faith in partner.
Steph checked her watch. It was four exactly. It was time to set up. "Are you sure you got this?" Steph questioned her one more time.
Lula let out an exaggerated sigh. "I got this white girl, but are you sure you don't want me to shoot him."
Steph rolled her eyes. "No shooting him. Just make sure he doesn't turn around. He can't see me."
"Shooting him would be easier." Lula replied.
She nodded. "And illegal."
Lula shrugged. "Technically."
She gave Lula a 'what' look. "No technically about it. Shooting him would be illegal."
Another sigh left her mouth. "Fine."
Steph got out of Lula's red firebird and made her way to her hiding place. Next to Hope House was an old building that was falling apart. It had no doors and no windows, just the opening where doors and windows should be. She was going to hide in there and wait for Silverman. Lula was going to get out of the car and approach him, keeping his attention away from Steph creeping up behind him. She was going to zap him with the stun gun before he realized she was there. She just hoped Lula kept his attention long enough.
Steph had been waiting for thirty minutes when Dale suddenly walked up. For the first in a week, he was there early. Thankfully they were already set up and that she had showed Lula a picture of Dale. She let out a sigh of relief when Lula exited the car. She couldn't see Dale's face, but he stopped in his tracks. She guessed she would have stopped too once seeing Lula. Her shoes, skin-tight skirt and hair were hot pink in color while her leggings and spandex top were lime green and hot pink striped. Lula was definitely a vision in pink.
"Hey Cutie." Dale called out.
Steph grinned to herself. Dale liked Lula. Yes! This was a great plan.
Lula sashayed up to Dale with a wide smile. "Hiya Handsome." She nodded towards Hope House. "You live here?" She asked.
He gave a noncommittal shrug. "Temporary inconvenience." He replied.
Steph stepped out of the abandoned house and silently made her way towards the pair. Dale was so intrigued by Lula, he didn't even hear the gravel crunch beneath her feet. She had her stun gun ready and it was fully charged.
"I don't usually go for prostitutes, but for you I'll definitely make an exception." She heard Dale say as he stepped closer to Lula.
Lula's eyes narrowed and she huffed out a breath. Steph could see the wheels in her head turning so Steph took a leap (literally) of faith, pressed the prongs of the stun gun against his bare neck and pressed the button. Dale went down like a stack of bricks.
"Did ya hear what fat boy called me? He called me a ho and normally I don't take offense but something about the way he said it and he was looking at me all funny."
Steph hooked her arms under his armpits and started to drag him towards Lula's firebird. "Um… a little help here." Steph interrupted Lula's rant.
"He's gonna be a heavy one."
"Yeah." Steph agreed.
Twenty minutes later and another stun to Dale's arm, they had him in her car. They were both covered in sweat. The car ride to the cop shop was done in silence as the air conditioner droned on. It wasn't exactly air conditioner season, being March and all but they were both hot after dragging and heaving Dale over thirty feet to Lula's car.
Back at the bonds office, Connie cut them both a check. Since Lula helped, Steph wanted to make sure she got her cut of the money.
"Thanks Connie." Steph replied, putting her check in her pocketbook.
"You should be thanking me! I'm the one that pays you." Vinnie yelled from inside his office.
Connie cursed. "Where's the damn bug, you asshole."
They heard Vinnie laugh. "You're never find it."
It took them ten minutes but they finally located it under Connie's calculator. Connie motioned for them to be quiet and cover their ears. Their eyes went wide when Connie pulled a fog horn from her purse. She chuckled softly as she squeezed the handle and made it go off. Steph grimaced as the sound still reached her ears, but started laughing when they heard a crash coming from Vinnie's office. His door swung open, hitting the wall hard. He came out covering his ears and cursing up a streak. They could see his chair on its back and papers were everywhere, covering the floor. Vinnie threw them all a deadly look before stomping out of the bonds office.
The three girls collapsed in a fit of giggles.
"What on earth made you think of a fog horn?" Steph asked.
Connie shrugged. "I found it at a flea market and immediately thought of Vinnie."
"I'm really glad you did. That was hilarious."
Connie grinned. "Yeah I know. Maybe now he'll think again before planting another one of those damned bugs."
Steph doubted it, but she didn't say anything. "I've got to get to the bank before it closes. I need food." Steph spoke, hinting that she was leaving.
"What's you got planned for tonight, White Girl. I could use a night out."
Steph shook her head. She hated turning her down, especially since this was the third night in a row, but she was too tired and Lula always eventually brought up Ranger. She couldn't deal with the questions about Ranger. She was honestly surprised they haven't asked her today. But it was still early.
"Not tonight, but maybe tomorrow."
Lula frowned. "You've been saying that every night. What's going on, Girl?"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Connie chimed in. "Does this have to do with Ranger?" Connie asked.
Steph sighed. And there it was. "Nothing is going on. Just tired. I'll talk to ya later." Before they could protest or ask any more questions, she high tailed it out of the bonds office.
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Back at her apartment, Steph unpacked her groceries and put them away. She got the staples such as peanut butter, olives, bread, and beer. She also got popcorn, ice cream, carrots, chips, cookies, deli ham, deli cheese, crackers, cheese crackers, soda, bottled water, frozen pizza, hot dogs, milk, hamster pellets, and several boxes of cereal because you could never go wrong with cereal. Oh and she bought several different boxes of Tasty Kakes and Little Debbie cakes. For emergencies of course. Alright a few bags of those mini candy bars. She was having a chocolate craving so she went a little crazy. No harm done… not yet anyway. She was glad to see that her cabinets and her refrigerator were full once again.
Even after all that shopping, her mind was still on Ranger and his whereabouts. She hadn't heard from Tank or any other of the RangeMan guys since the day Ranger left for unknown territory. At least it was unknown territory for her. She wanted to know if Tank had heard from Ranger in this past week, but she wasn't sure if she should call Tank to find out. Grabbing her phone, she decided she should call Tank. Maybe she would get some answers.
"Yo."
"Hey Tank!" Steph greeted him with a smile.
She could instantly hear the smile in his voice. "Hey Little Girl, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He asked.
"Well… um… I was wondering if you've heard anything from Ranger or about Ranger." She asked nervously.
Tank let out an exasperated breath. "Oh Bomber, you know I won't hear from Ranger for several months. That's how it usually is, you know that." He replied gently.
She licked her lips and resisted the urge to cry. "I know, I just…"
"What's going on, Steph? You in some kind of trouble? I can help you know."
"Oh no, nothing like that, Tank. It's just that this time feels really different."
Tank made a noise that she didn't know how to interpret. "Probably because this time it's personal for him, Steph."
She wanted to weep, but she resisted. "You're right. I'm sorry to bother you, Tank."
"You're never a bother, Little Girl. Please call me at any time you want."
She smiled despite the overwhelming sadness she was feeling. "Thanks Tank, I will."
"He's going to be fine, Steph. You'll see." Tank stated suddenly. She swear she heard someone in the background and the word liar but she couldn't be sure before Tank quickly said good bye and hung up. Wait, Tank said good-bye. She should have immediately suspected something, but all she wanted to focus on was his words that Ranger was going to be fine. She had to remember that.
She shook off her phone call with Tank and fixed a peanut butter and olive sandwich with chips. She grabbed a beer and along with her sandwich and chips, she plopped down in the living room and turned on Ghostbusters. The one movie she knew she could count on.
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Today was Saturday. A whole week since Steph had called Tank. Only a week, but it felt like a life time. Today she was spending the day with her nieces Mary Alice, Angie, and Lisa who just turned four. She still wasn't sure what they were going to do or how she was going to handle three rumbustious girls with hardly any sleep, but she had faith in herself. She hadn't spent the day with her nieces in such a long time, she was sure she had forgotten what they look like.
However today was all about them. All three of them had inherited their mother and their aunt's excessive need to shop so she was giving them each fifty bucks to spend any way they wanted. Then it was dinner and dessert at the local Dairy Queen. She would probably come home exhausted and actually be able to sleep. Just one reason why she planned this day out with her nieces.
A knock on her door signaled their arrival. Okay and the girlish giggles and squeals gave it away as well. She opened her door with a smile on her face.
"Hey girls! Who's ready to shop today?" She asked with excitement.
They spoke up and squealed making Steph laugh. She gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to her older sister, giving her the same treatment.
"Are you sure you'll be okay, Steph?" Valerie asked. "They're a real handful." She added, worried.
Steph shrugged it off. "They'll be fine. I'll be fine. I need this and they do too."
Valerie nodded looking a little relieved. "Are you sure you don't want some money. They can be real expensive too."
She laughed. "Val, I got this. I promise. Today is my treat with my nieces."
Valerie gave her another hug, squeezing her into a squeak. "Thank you so much!"
She gave each of her girls a hug, a kiss, and a quick reminder to behave before she was out the door, fire on her heels. Steph chuckled at her sister as she turned her focus on her beautiful nieces. "Alright girls, today is all about you so here's what we're going to do. We're going to the mall and I'm giving you each fifty bucks to spend any way you want."
Yells of happiness and pure girl filled Steph's small apartment. "But…" She spoke sharply and a little louder than normal to get their attention. Once she had it, she added, "You must behave and listen to me. If you don't, then I'll cut our day short and we will not have dinner and dessert at Dairy Queen. Are we clear?"
They all gave her an affirmative. "Good. Now let's go."
They made it to the mall without any problems. Steph saw that as a good sign. She really wanted today to go well. And well, sometimes disaster followed her no matter where she went.
"Where to first?" She asked.
"Claire's" Both Angie and Mary Alice stated at once.
Steph smiled. "Claire's it is."
All three girls spent ten dollars at Claire's. Mary Alice and Angie on earrings and Lisa decided on a cool pair of sunglasses and hair ties. They went to Dunkin' Donuts next where Steph treated them to a special donut of their choice. From there they had to stop at Auntie Anne's Pretzels because it was right next door to the donuts. They shared a cinnamon sugar pretzel before heading to the Godiva chocolate store. She only let the girls spend five dollars because let's face it, they could easily spend lots of money on chocolate. Especially since she spent twenty there herself. Hey, she loved chocolate. They visited several store without buying anything before heading upstairs. The first store they hit upstairs was Forever 21, where Mary Alice and Angie spent their remaining thirty-five dollars. Their next stop was Justice, a clothing shop for little girls. Lisa spent her remaining money on two cute little dresses. Oh how she loved her nieces.
They talked her into stopping at Macy's and then preceded into talking her in to buying two outfits for herself. And four pairs of shoes. And a jacket. And several pairs of cute little jammies. Her nieces were going to send her to the poor house. Before leaving the Mall, they stopped off at Starbucks and she got them a double chocolate chunk iced drink. She refused to buy them coffee, but chocolate could never be refused. After leaving the mall, she took them to dinner at Dairy Queen like she promised. Chicken strips and French fries and blizzards was their dinner. She dropped them off at home with their shopping bags. She gave them a kiss goodbye and a hug.
"We'll have to do this again. I had fun." She told her sister as the girls went screaming off to their rooms.
"I definitely enjoyed myself, but next time let me give you a little money. I had no idea you were going to buy them clothes." Her sister sounded a tad bit upset.
"Relax, Val. I gave them a little bit of money to spend. They're my nieces and I have that right." She told her.
She left her sister's house with Valerie still upset. She couldn't understand why she was upset. It was Steph's money and she could spend it the way she wanted. Without a car payment, she was doing okay right now. Her sister would have to get over it because she would definitely do it again.
Steph went home, fixed a peanut butter and olive sandwich and tried to go to sleep. Sleep however evaded her at every turn. So she spent her night channel surfing.
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It was April Fool's Day and she wanted to scream. This day had not gone as planned at all. She was coming home for third time that day. Each time worse than the time before. The first time, the skip she was after, tossed a bag of garbage at her. Normally not so bad, this time it sucked. The bag was filled with rotten eggs. Of course it was full of other garbage, but the rotten egg smell was still with her. Even after two showers, she could still smell rotten eggs. Ugh!
The second time she came home, she was covered in horse manure. All because of another skip. What was wrong with these damned people? The guy worked at a horse farm so she had went out there thinking maybe he would be pleasant and easy to deal with because that's what she had heard about him. Instead she got pushed into a pile of manure. Thank God, she had brought Big Blue instead of her baby. Because it then got covered in horse manure so now she had a car to clean.
Now the third time she was coming home, she was just plain tired and achy. She just wished one day all her skips would just hand cuff themselves and take themselves to the police station. This time she wasn't covered in anything, but she couldn't deal with another skip today. She was tired, beyond tired. Not getting any sleep in almost three weeks was enough to make anyone cranky. But the asshole had pushed her into a pile of barbed wire, tearing her jeans, her t-shirt, and covering her in tiny scratches. She just wanted a hot shower; another hot shower and maybe an hour or two of sleep. That wasn't too much to ask. At least she didn't think so.
She entered her apartment and felt their presences immediately. She looked up and to her surprise, the core team of RangeMan stared back at her. The look on their faces sent her spidey sense into firework mode and her stomach heaved on her. They didn't seem to be looking at her, but right through her. She was definitely scared, but as always denial land came through for her.
She marched right passed them into the kitchen, talking the whole way. "Listen guys, I've had a horrible day and I want nothing to do with anything but falling into a shower and then into a bed. I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm achy, and I still stink of rotten eggs so we can do this tomorrow. Whatever this is."
After grabbing a bottle of water, she turned around to see that Tank, Lester, and Bobby followed her into the kitchen. Their faces of doom were giving her the willies.
"What's going on? Is this about me doing a distraction or work –."
"Steph, we don't know how to say this…" Tank started but trailed off. Bobby stepped closer to her, slowly as if not to spook her.
She was suddenly finding it hard to take a breath; to breathe. Her spidey sense was screaming at her and her head started to pound. Shaking her head, she tried to back up, the water bottle falling to the floor as her hands came up in surrender as if to ward off any bad news they were trying to give her but the counter stopped her movement. Tears blurred her vision, but she saw Tank reach out towards her. She pushed his hands away.
Through her tears, she saw him flinch. "Stephanie, I'm sorry. Ranger's –."
"NO!" Steph shouted. "Don't say it." She pleaded with Tank as she sank to her knees.
"Ranger's gone, Steph. He's dead."