Fall Carnival Ch. 4

A/N: As usual JE owns the characters I just like to play with them. All errors are mine. Thank you for your patience. My muse is talking to me again and I am glad to be back. I hope you enjoy. :)

Bobby POV:

"Okay, nothing to see here." I said encouraging people to move on about their business. Ranger and Cal left with a bloody Alex in tow. From the blood still pouring from his nose it looked like Les broke it. I grabbed Santos' fist and examined it to make sure he didn't do any damage to his gun hand. His knuckles had some blood on them and were a little scraped up but that was nothing compared to the other guy. I turned to examine Steph. She grumbled but humored me. Looks like none of the blood on her was hers so let her go and told her to call me if she needed me.

Steph gathered her purse and ditched the bloody, princess dress. When I looked out I saw Alex struggling to walk at Cal's pace. There is no doubt that Steph and her lethal knee relocated the man's family jewels. I cringed at the thought, instinctively covering myself- but it serves him right. I suppose I should get my medical bag and head over to the warehouse I assume is the site of Alex's reckoning. From what Les has told me this has been a long time coming. I can't even imagine...

RANGER POV

I climbed into the turbo and took a moment to let loose behind the tinted windows knowing no one could see me.

I know people think I have no emotions since I have nearly perfected the blank face that gives nothing away to the enemy, but I do. I just keep a tight grip on them as much as possible to not show weakness.

No one unhinges me like Alex. I don't know how we can be from the same gene pool.

I let go of my blank face and found myself breathing in shallowly but exhaling heavily. My knuckles turned white from the grip I had on the soft leather on the steering wheel.

My ability to compartmentalize is the only reason Alex is still breathing. There is no other way I would have been able to stand the sight of Alex with his hands and lips on Stephanie. DIOS! When I realized it was him, the flashback images of Heidi morphed and it was Babe under him- if it hadn't been for Tank and Steph both touching me, the memory alone may have propelled me out of control and into strangling the life from his body after I had beaten him to a pulp.

I also didn't want Steph to see the darkness inside me.

I am sure Alex is whining to Cal trying to worm his way out of this mess of his own doing. I need to calm down before I drive out of here. Breathe Manoso; you cannot let this prick get to you even if he's your brother. DAMMIT! Of all the women...

I don't know what it is about her, just being near her, touching her calms me. She thinks that every time I hug her tight at one of her accidents that I am there to comfort her but the truth is holding her close and feeling her melt into my chest and smelling her shampoo comforts me. When her breathing returns to normal my tension releases. I don't know how many times I have broken into her apartment to watch her sleep. Something about her peaceful expression eases the darkness that threatens to surface and drag me into its undertow. I spent a lot of years doing things I can't talk about; in the name of my country that still haunt my dreams.

Cal pulls the explorer out of the parking area and my thoughts return to Alex. I don't care if that jackass is my brother-NO ONE treats my Babe like that! Besides, I OWE him. I need to lock down my emotions until I can unleash them on the person who earned it.

My phone rings-it's Les. "Yo, cuz, I am taking Steph home, you need help?" My initial response was no but then I remembered how Alex's behavior also hurt Lester when we were kids. He must have understood my silence and told me he'd be there as soon as her dropped her off. Nothing else needed to be said.

CAL POV

I pulled Ranger's brother out of the explorer and dragged him inside the old warehouse. It doesn't look like much but it serves its purpose. No one comes nosing around here so we sometimes use it to extract information. I can't believe this guy is Ranger's brother. The whole way over he pleaded with me to let him go saying it was a misunderstanding. Once I jerked him from the vehicle he tried to escape my grasp but I grabbed him and he accidentally ran himself into the wall. NOBODY treats Steph like that.

I shoved him down into a metal chair and waited for Ranger to arrive. I kept my blank face in place while assessing him. He has some similar facial features to Ranger but a more slender build.

STEPH POV

I couldn't help but see Ranger's face in my mind. The look he had when his brother grabbed him in a hug. Most people wouldn't have seen the miniscule changes, a muscle twitch in his jaw as a wide variety of emotions swept through him. Tank, Bobby & Lester knew what he was thinking with their shared ESP, but I think I've gotten better at noticing the subtle changes in his demeanor. If I am being honest, I spend a lot of time looking at Ranger. I watch him when he doesn't know I'm looking. The man is perfection.

My heart was broken for teenage Ranger and what his sick brother did to him. I wonder what happened to his Heidi person.

ALEX POV

Oh shit. I knew my baby brother had been a highly decorated military man but this is the first time I had ever been afraid of him. All those men in black were huge and looked like they'd kill for him if he asked. How was I supposed to know that curly-haired beauty in a princess dress, at a community carnival kissing booth no less, would be his woman? What are the odds?

She is a little spitfire! If she had kneed me any harder I woulda tasted my own nuts! I shivered at the thought. The way she leaped over the booth side and tackled me, you'd think she was a professional wrestler. Then again I think she is a bounty hunter? She probably knees all her charges...I winced again at the thought and feel my crotch ache.

I licked my lip and tasted the dried blood there and tried to assess the damage. My left eye was swollen nearly shut. I'm pretty sure my nose is broken. My ribs hurt and so does my jaw from where she kept hitting me until Ricky pulled her off of me.

I've got to get out of here and give little Ricky a chance to calm down and what the hell is wrong with Lester? What did I ever do to him?

I raise my head to see the enormous guy with spiky blonde hair leaned against the wall chewing on a tooth pick and staring at me. What is on this guy's forehead? I strain to see out of my good eye. Is that a flaming skull tattoo? I'll have to talk him into letting me go, anyone that huge with a tattoo like that on his face cannot be all that bright.

Before I can come up with anything to say a door swings open and Ricky barrels in looking pissed. His hands are balled into fists and he just radiates anger. I nearly wet myself. "Door." he tells the blonde guy who quickly pushes off the wall "Yes Boss."

Ricky paces back and forth mumbling as if he is arguing with himself. I don't recall having ever seen him do this. He doesn't look like the baby brother I used to know, this man looked dangerous- is this what the army has done to him?

He suddenly stops and stares right through me. I have to think of something quickly, his glare is cold. Dead cold.

LES POV

I break every speed law getting to the warehouse knowing that there is a real possibility that Alex won't walk out of it. I'm afraid that if Ric lets Alex have what is coming to him that he won't be able to forgive himself for being the one to deliver it. Alex means nothing to me anymore, but I love Ric like a brother instead of a cousin. I'll offer to hand out his punishment. I race inside surprised at the quiet.

"Ricky, we can talk about this, it was just a big misunderstanding," Alex pleads.

Ric lunges toward him, grabs Alex by the throat and picks him up shoving him hard against the nearest wall, his face only a couple inches away. "Misunderstanding?!" Ric hisses. Alex turns red and looks over at me his eyes pleading for me to intercede. "Ric?" I say softly getting closer. He loosens his grip and Alex slumps to the floor and Ric steps away. I step closer to him and look into his eyes. I nod and motion with a tilt of my head for him to step away. He growls and gives me a tiny nod.

I walk over to Alex and pull him to his feet and un-cuff him. He breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God, Lester!"

"Don't thank me yet," I growled and slammed him up against the wall, my forearm to his throat cutting off the air to his lungs. "Do you know why you are here?" I demand through clenched teeth.

Alex just looks at me not sure what he needs to say to get out of this. "Well?" I demand.

He chokes so I loosen the pressure on his windpipe a little and stare at him waiting for an answer.

"Is this about the infamous Stephanie?" he asks.

"Careful cuz," I warned narrowing my eyes at him. "She is a friend of mine and more importantly," I spat getting right in his face, "She is your BROTHER'S woman and you disrespected her!"

"It was a kissing booth and I didn't know who she was," he whined.

"Doesn't matter," I said shoving him hard against the wall. "Once you did know you still referred to her as a 'piece of ass'. You disrespected her and you disrespected Ric. Not that it is new behavior for you."

"What are you talking about?" he managed to choke out.

"Heidi," I growled.

"Heidi? Heidi who? This is over a couple of stupid bitches?"

Ric spun around unable to hold back any longer. He grabbed Alex by the collar and threw him hard against the adjacent wall. He stepped back bouncing on the balls of his feet. Ric stuck his chin out daring his brother to hit him. "Come on, hit me, take your one shot!" he taunted.

Alex, the idiot that he clearly is, swung and caught Ric's jaw splitting his lower lip and igniting the last remaining straw holding back his fury.

Ric's fists flew, letting go years of anger and hurt. I know he hated what his older brother had done all those years ago. We both had.

Alex fell in a heap on the cold, concrete floor. "Get up!" Ric snarled at him. I poked Alex with my boot. He moaned, but didn't move. "Enough Ric," I said holding out my hands in front of me and stepping between him and the bloody mess on the floor. "Cal!" I yelled. Cal appeared in the doorway. "Take this garbage out." Cal nodded.

Once Alex was on his feet and being heavily assisted by Cal I stopped him. "One minute" I said leaning into Alex's ear. "Ric is done with you, but I'm not," I warned and shoved him toward Cal and they disappeared out the door. I called Junior to come clean up the mess and was about to take Ric back to Haywood when Bobby slipped in through the heavy metal door. He eyed the blood on the floor and then glanced at Ric. Bobby could see how keyed up he was.
"Pretty one-sided," I said answering his silent question. "I'm going to take him back ..." "Sparing?" he asked. "No," Ric answered, "heavy bag, only one injury tonight." he turned, walked outside and hopped into the passenger side of the explorer I was driving. Bobby called the office to have someone pic up Ric's car.