Going, Going, & Gone

It had been two days since Ava came into my bedroom and declared that she hated her father. Two days since I decided that we needed to leave. To get away. Now I just needed to figure out how. I needed to get away from RangeMan without any of RangeMan following me. I would have my trackers on me until I grabbed the van and went to the nearest gas station to ditch the clothes we would be wearing and of course our trackers.

Every since that night Ava has been sleeping in the bed with me. I honestly think its so she can see Ranger as he comes in at night, but Ranger hasn't come to bed anymore. I don't know what he's up to or why he's doing what he's doing but I wish I did. I don't want to leave without one more night in his arms. I brush the tears away as they well up. I do not need to cry right now.

Especially as seeing as I'm on the way down to the fifth floor to find out when I can leave. It doesn't matter what time of the day it is. If it could possibly be in the evening it would be better. That way Ava would be asleep and the questions could wait. Even though she told me she hated Ranger, I had a strong feeling that the idea of leaving him behind would only piss her off more. It was not a moment that I was looking forward to.

The elevator doors open to the fifth floor and I step out. The first thing I notice is that the place is jumping hot. I knew then that something was going down, but I didn't know when. I head towards Ranger and Tank's office but neither one is in. So I turn back around and head into the break room. Cal was there by himself and eating lunch. He looks up and smiles as I enter.

"Hi Steph! Where is Ava?"

I sit down beside him and smile back. "She is upstairs with Ella." That was another thing I hated to do. Rip her away from everything familiar. She wouldn't go quietly once learning that it would be awhile before seeing Cal, Lester, Tank, Ella, or any other member of our family; RangeMan included.

"She's getting big." He commented and I nodded. "She's so damn smart too." He added. I again nodded. I didn't want to talk about Ava. I already felt guilty as hell and talking about her was only making it worse. So I did the other thing I could; I changed the damn subject.

"What's going on around here, Cal?" I asked him.

He swallowed the food in his mouth before responding. "We're picking up somebody this evening. A complete blind side. The guy doesn't even know we're coming after him."

"Who is this guy?"

He shrugged. "We have no clue. Ranger nor Tank will tell us. But everyone is coming. Ranger wanted all of us there. Hell, Ram was off today and Ranger asked Ram to be there because he wanted his sniper skills on the scene even though we aren't sniping anybody."

My eyes narrowed in question. "Who is going to be on the monitors?"

"I believe Zero and one of the new guys."

"Is this guy that important?"

Cal nodded. "Ranger already warned us that if this guy got away for any reason, all of us would be fired and he would start new."

That so didn't sound like Ranger. I mean I know he's strict but damn that's carrying it to the extreme. This guy must be really important. "This guy must be really important." I speak my thought out loud.

Cal once again nodded. "That's what Ranger and Tank are telling us, but other than that, we aren't getting any more information from them."

Then I guess tonight would be the perfect night to leave. "What time are you guys leaving?"

"We are leaving at 1900 hours." I glare at his answer. He chuckles. "We are leaving at seven. We are kicking down the door at 7:32."

"Why 7:32?" I ask.

"Ranger wants to take the guy by surprise."

I nod. That would be perfect. As soon as the last RangeMan vehicle cleared the garage, Lula would be waiting not far from the RangeMan building. Now I needed to get upstairs and get everything ready.

"Thanks Cal. I got to get back upstairs." He just nodded. I kissed his cheek and made myself walk away. I really wanted to tell Cal that I was leaving, but I knew if I did then Cal would eventually give in and tell Ranger where I was. I couldn't let that happen.

I fobbed my way in and I headed towards my daughter's laughter. I entered the kitchen where Ella was cleaning Ava's face with a paper towel.

Ella glanced in my direction and smiled. A ball of hot guilt settled on my chest. I hated to leave Ella. Ava loved her almost as much as she loved her other grandmothers and taking her away from Ella was going to hurt Ella too.

"Hey Girls. What are you doing?" I asked.

Ava turned with to me with a big grin on her face. I could see dark spots around her mouth which I was guessing was chocolate.

"Hi Momma! Ella brought chocolate chip cookies."

I dropped my mouth open in shock. "She did! Were they good?"

Ava nodded with enthusiasm. "They were yummy. I had four. Like my age!"

"Four! Wow! You're such a big girl eating four of Ella's cookies."

Ava nodded and hopped down from the stool where she was sitting.

"Thank you Grandma Ella." Ava gave Ella a hug and a kiss and ran into her bedroom. I turned to Ella.

"Yes Thank you Ella."

Ella laughs. "Oh it's my pleasure. I just love that child." I turn to open the fridge to hide the tears that welled up in my eyes. I swallow hard before responding. "She is something, isn't she?"

I see Ella nod out of the corner of my eyes. "That she is." Ella glanced over at me as she was cleaning the counters. I grabbed a bottle of water and turned to face her.

"What time would you like dinner?" Ella asked me.

I shrugged. "The same time as normal is fine." I told her. Ella nodded.

"See you at five then." I said good bye and Ella left. I needed to get ready to leave. The first thing I wanted to do was write Ranger a letter. I go into his office and grab a pad of paper and a pen. I go into our bedroom, sit the paper and pen down and head back to his office.

When Ava was little, Ranger bought me a state of the art digital camera. It came with one of those printers. After I finish taking the pictures, I lock the camera into place on top of the printer and hit the print button. It then prints all the pictures I just took. I needed that camera right now. I wanted to take a picture of Ava and then one of us together. I grabbed the camera and went to Ava's bedroom.

"Hey Ava." She was propped up on her bed playing with her leap frog.

She smiled at me, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Hi Momma." She went back to her book.

"Can I get a picture, Ava-Baby?" I asked her. She shrugged her small shoulders so I took that as a I don't care. I turned the camera on and trained it on Ava.

"Ava, look at the camera and smile." I tell her. She looks at the camera but she doesn't smile. I hit the shutter button and it captures the sad look in her dark brown eyes. It would be a good one, except for the hurt written all over her face.

I sit down the camera on her dresser and hit the timer button. I hurry over to her and gather her in my lap. We both look at the camera but neither of us smile. The camera clicks and flashes once again capturing this heartbreaking moment.

I get up and grab the camera. "Momma, why are you taking pictures?" My daughter questions me.

"We're going on a trip this evening so I wanted to leave a picture behind for daddy." I explain.

She cocks her head to the side. "Daddy's not coming." It was more of a statement than a question but I nod anyway. Ava goes back to her leap frog and I step out of the room. I go to Ranger's office and print the pictures before going back to our bedroom. I sit down on the bed and write. I let the feelings just pour out of my hand and onto to the paper.I'm mad at Ranger but I don't want his memory of me to be of anger but love. By the time I'm finished, tears are streaming down my cheeks and onto the paper. I read it over twice before finally folding it and slipping it into the envelope.

Ava walks in holding her RangeMan bear. That reminded me that I needed to take the tracker off of the bear before we leave.

"Hi sweetie." Without responding, she climbs up onto our huge king size bed and snuggles up to me.

"How long will we be gone?"

I wrap my arms around my daughter and give her a squeeze. "I don't know, Ava. It will be for awhile." She nodded against me then handed her RangeMan bear to me. "I want to leave him here for daddy." Another ball settled on my chest; hard and heavy. This time I didn't know the feeling but it was hurting.

"Are you sure, Ava-Baby?" I ask. She nods against me again. "I'm sure, Momma. Daddy will need it. He won't have us." I pull my daughter close to me as my tears fall silently. Out of the mouths of babes. She said it all. He won't have us, but then again he doesn't want us anymore. I look down and see that Ava has fallen asleep. I snuggle up and let the darkness come. After all I needed to sleep.


Everything is ready. I can't believe I'm really going to do it. But I am going to. Since Ava decided she was going to leave her RangeMan bear here, I took it with the letter and the pictures and placed them in the hope chest with Ava's other keepsakes. I didn't want to leave that stuff behind but I knew I would be back eventually. It might be when Ava was old enough to vote, but I knew I would be.

Once Ranger found out that we were gone he would look up all of trackers. I'm hoping he would see Ava's bear gone and check that tracker. That way he would find the letter. I just hoped he understood why I had to do this. Why I had to leave. It was tearing me apart but it was really hurting Ava and I would rather her hate me than her daddy.

It was now 6:58 and in a minute, we would be leaving. I just called Lula and she was already parked down the street from RangeMan. Once she saw all the RangeMan vehicles leave, she would move closer to the building so we wouldn't have that far to go. I didn't want Ava outside for long after dark. Lula was also going to call me when she saw them leave, that way I knew when they were gone.

Everything was done here. The house was clean and quiet. I made sure everything was picked up in Ava's room and mine. I also made sure the kitchen was clean. I didn't need to bring anything because everything I was going to need was already in the van waiting for us.

I was jumpy and nervous while Ava was tired and restless. She was ready to go. I knew that once the excitement of this little 'vacation' wore off she would be upset and pissed off about leaving. She loved her family here and she hated being separated from them. I would just have to bide my time and wait. My phone ringing jarred me out of my daydreams.

"Hello."

"White Girl, five black SUVs just pulled out and they was loaded down." Five! What the hell did this guy do to deserve five SUVs full of big bad men in black coming after him.

"I'll be down in a minute."

"Well hurry it up. I need some Cluck N' Bucket chicken." I told her I would and then we hung up.

"Ava!" I called out to my daughter and she came running.

"Are we leaving, Momma?" She asked. I nodded. "We are. Let's go." We left out the apartment door and got onto the elevator with nothing but the clothes on our backs. I was wearing a pair of old black jeans with a black t-shirt that was covered in stains. On my feet were a pair of cheap Wal-Mart flip flops. I had my hair pulled into a ponytail to keep it off my face. I had no purse, no cell phone, no gun, pepper spray, hand cuffs, or stun gun on me. I also had no purse or id.

Ava was wearing a pair of too short blue jeans with a paint splattered blue t-shirt. She was wearing a pair of white socks with no shoes. We were traveling light.

The elevator hit the garage and the doors opened. I breathed a sigh of relief when the garage was completely empty. I picked up Ava and walked out of the garage doors like I did this everyday. We hurried down the street where Lula's firebird was parked and climbed in. Lula started the car and pulled away before she spoke.

"Hey little white girl. Are you excited about going on vacation?" Lula asked Ava. I told Lula that is what Ava thought we were doing; going on vacation. Ava just shrugged and looked out the window.

"I'm sorry. She's not really in a good mood lately."

"No worries." The rest of the way was drove in silence. It was a good thing too. My mind was zooming through too much to have a conversation and remember it. We pulled up behind the van and parked. I climbed out with Ava in my arms. Lula followed closely behind. I strapped Ava in the car seat and faced Lula.

"Are you going to follow us to the gas station?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yea."

"I'll see ya there."

The drive to the gas station I thought took forever. When we pulled in with Lula on my tail, the station was empty. I got out of the van and grabbed the clothes sitting in the passenger seat. I quickly changed Ava from the back seat of the van. Mary Lou left out a pair of grey sweat pants and a lavender t-shirt for Ava. There was a pair of white socks and a pair of white tennis shoes for her also. I put on the socks but since it was evening I left the shoes off.

"Lula, stay here with Ava while I go change." Lula nods at me and I turn to Ava. "Behave for Aunt Lula." She nods too and I run to the gas station bathroom. I toss Ava's clothes in the trash can then strip. My clothes follow Ava's in the trash. Mary Lou left me a pair of blue jeans that were faded and a green M & M t-shirt. It was cute. I pulled on the pair of white socks and then the white Keds. I then rip out the ponytail holder and throw it into the trash. There could be a tracker in the ponytail holder. I grab the one that Mary Lou left in the pocket of jeans and pull my hair back. Making sure everything of ours is left behind I jog back to the white van. I guess white is our new color.

"Lula, thank you so much for doing this."

"Anything for you, White Girl. Just stay in touch." I promised I would then I climbed in the van. I laugh as I spot a blond wig on the floor board. I pull it on before pulling out of the parking lot. I glance in the rear view mirror and smile. Ava is already passed out asleep in her car seat.


Cal's POV-

We have no idea what this guy did, but I'm sure he didn't deserve this. We busted down Antonio Jackson's door at 1951 hours. We busted it down and was hit with the stench of death. A hard and very painful death.

We all glanced around the living room of the apartment. Ranger looked about ready to explode. None of us understood where this Ranger was coming from. The last six months he had changed dramatically.

"What do you think killed him?" I looked at Manny; my eyes narrowed. He was trying to be funny but it wasn't. This guy was tortured until he died. He was missing every last finger and toe which was spread out around him. His tongue was missing along with his ears. He was shot over eighteen times and only then did I stop because I lost count. His face was covered in bruises and his entire body was covered in burn marks. His eyes were gouged out and both arms and both legs had been broken. Yea, this guy had a horrible death.

I walked out of the living room and down the hallway. Coming to a closed door, I opened it and let out a gasp of shock. I called to Ranger who quickly came down to investigate. He entered the room and stopped; taking in his surroundings. It hit me hard so I knew what he was seeing was killing him. The walls in this room were covered from floor to ceiling with pictures of Stephanie and Ava.

The pictures seem to start with Ava's fourth birthday party. The ones at her birthday party were grainy and blurry; like they were taken with a crappy cell phone camera. From there the pictures changed to become clear. These were taken with a high powered and expensive camera. It showed pictures of Steph and Ava at the park or the grocery store. It showed them at her parents place or the bonds office. It showed our two favorite girls getting in and out of vehicles or going in and out of different buildings with targets on the chests or on their heads. In all the pictures, one of us was with them. Ranger wasn't in any of them.

By now, every one of us was in the bedroom staring at the pictures. You could cut the anger and rage with a butter knife. It was that strong. Ranger grabbed a piece of paper from the wall above all the pictures and begin to read. He let out a roar of rage and went storming from the room. I grabbed the paper and started to read it. "Read it out loud, Cal." I heard Tank call from the back.

You should know better, Ranger. Now poor Tonio had to die because of your mistake. When will you learn, Manoso? Your wife and daughter are beautiful. Oh but she's not your wife, is she? Turned you down, I heard. Smart girl. Too bad it won't save her. Your body guards can't be around all the time, Ranger. But don't worry, once I'm done with them I'll send them back to you.. piece by piece..

Yours Truly,

I finished reading which was good because I was blinded by rage. You didn't go around threatening Steph or Ava. It wasn't signed but we knew that Ranger knew who it was. This guy was sick and if the dead man in the other room was any indication, Steph and Ava were in serious danger. I look up and find the room empty except for Tank.

"Where did everyone go?" I ask Tank.

"They needed to get out like I'm sure you do. If the rage I'm seeing coming from you means anything." Tank answered.

"Pardon me for saying so but you don't seem all that upset about this. What the fuck?" I asked him.

"I have known about this guy for the last six months. I know what he is capable of."

"And what about Ranger?"

"He knows too, but seeing the love of your life and your daughter being threatened can send anyone into a rage."

"Who is this guy?"

"Only Ranger can answer that. You need to ask him." I glare at Tank. His casual attitude is only pissing me off further. This was Stephanie and little Ava-Bird we were talking about. I walk over to him and push the letter against his chest; hard. "I will. But your laid back, I don't give a shit attitude is pissing me off."

I stalk out of the small bedroom in search of Ranger. I could only thank God that Stephanie and Ava were safe at home at RangeMan.