I hope everybody had a good weekend. Unfortunately I think my motorcycling season is winding down until spring. It's too cold to ride in the morning. Yes, I'm a wuss.

Thanks to JE for her characters and as always, all mistakes are mine.

Chapter 4

As suspected, removing the staples was not a pleasant experience and Bobby left the room after having administered pain relief. Both Ella and Ranger were in the living room as he walked out, removing his gloves and dropping them in the wastebasket just outside by the door.

"She'll sleep for awhile after the meds I gave her and that's the best medicine right now. On a positive note, the incision's looking really good and there's no sign of any infection, which we certainly don't need."

He walked out the door. Ella finished in the kitchen and also headed out.

"Call me if you need me, Ranger."

He nodded and sighed.

They had both been reading Bobby's notes on her care and continuing efforts to bring up her strength. There were also the notes on what was thought to be possible scenarios.

Bobby had certainly been doing his homework. He had been looking at everything from simple procedures that were less invasive to the most radical, the heart transplant.

What he was looking into and had documented was a non-invasive procedure called a Mitra Clip, but there was a problem. Unfortunately it was still in the testing stages and hadn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. It involved making two tiny keyhole incisions and inserting the device that way. The tests were coming back very positive and it appeared to be a good stop-gap to assist the heart or at the very least, the ability to assist a patient for a heart transplant if one was needed.

Before it was even being considered for any patient, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels was absolutely imperative. Stephanie's blood pressure was normally low but with her previous diet, her cholesterol numbers were inching to the high side. It would have to be lowered considerably if she could ever meet the requirements for this procedure, if and when it became available.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank sat in his office. He had just come upstairs from the gym and looking at his hands, he grimaced at the skinned knuckles.

He had returned without seeing his Lula. She was in solitary and was facing another disciplinary hearing. He had no idea what had happened but suspected that after that meeting, her sentence might again be increased by a few more days.

One of the guards had phoned him outside the gates and had given him some information.

She was being targetted. Her attitude was bordering on insolent and unfortunately she was not handling the hierarchy of the inmates inside. They were miffed that she had scored the position of working in an office instead of the kitchen or the laundry and it looked to them that she was getting special treatment and plum assignments and they didn't like it.

Tank sighed. He had tried to caution her about how to conduct herself in there, but unless one had prior knowledge, which he did, you had no idea of how prison life really was. A best case scenario was to shut up and keep your eyes and ears open. Unfortunately his Lula had spoken up just a few days into her sentence and the repercussions were still being felt.

She was losing weight, which was a good thing, but at the same time she was losing muscle mass and not the fat weight. Her face had that unhealthy pallor of being inside too much and her voice was starting to take on that hard edge of someone who could easily fall into the depths of depression or manage to sink into the system and wind up with a much longer sentence.

Tank crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. He had brought with him pictures of possible places to stay that they could share. They all had an area that the cats could be restricted to until the allergy shots took effect.

He had secured permission to leave them for her to peruse and talk to him the next time he was able to see her. He hoped that it would tide her over and give her a bit of hope.

He sighed and pulled the first file off the in-box that seemed to be always overflowing. Maybe he could immerse himself in work and stop worrying.

~~~o0o~~~

Les looked back in his apartment from the doorway. His small pack was at his feet and ready to be swung on his back. He closed the door hoping that he would be back soon to once again inhabit it. In fact, he hoped that he would be back to inhabit it. This mission was different and he had a weird feeling, one he had never had before.

He closed the door and walked down the hall to Bobby's office. Bobby was just getting ready to grab his file on Stephanie as Les stopped in the doorway

"I know the chopper's en route and you have just a few minutes to say bye to the Bomber before you leave. She knows it's going to be short and sweet."

They walked to the elevator together and the door opened. Swiftly heading upward it opened on seven and the apartment door was already open.

Stephanie was sitting on the couch waiting. She had made a special effort to get dressed in street clothes and they were all in bright colors.

Les walked in and Stephanie smiled. She had had Ranger wake her up early so she could get ready and would take a rest later. She wanted Les to see her at her best, or at least trying to appear better.

He sat down carefully on the couch beside her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She was trying to hold it together. Goodbye's were hard for her but she sniffled and forced herself to buck up. There was a little package on the table in front of her.

She motioned for Les to take it. He looked at her.

"Beautiful, you didn't need to do this."

She shook her head at him and then pointed to the package.

"It's not much Les, but I wanted to give it to you before you left. I hope that it will help in some small way."

He carefully opened the top on the tiny box, and a grin spread across his face. It was a tiny dromedary keychain and it looked brand new. Les picked it up and looked at both the front and the back of it. The eye on one side had lashes and on the other, not. He turned it back and forth then looked at her. She gave nothing away and shrugged, then put it into his pants pocket. He felt confident that he could use it somehow to remind himself that it had been given to him by a very good friend, one who was worried about him.

He kissed her again on the cheek as his phone beeped. The chopper was five minutes out and he just had time to head to the roof.

Ranger stood by the door and as Les walked out he followed leaving the door open behind him. Ella was standing by the elevator door and gave him a quick hug. She was his aunt first and a member of Rangeman second.

Ranger and Les walked onto the roof. Both Bobby and Tank were waiting to see him off. He could hear the helicopter in the distance and only had time to give Tank a handshake and Bobby a man hug then Ranger clasped his hand and reached up and grabbing his head, gave him a noogie, messing up his spiky hair.

The chopper softly landed and he tossed in his small pack then climbed in, barely putting on his harness before it lifted off again. He had time to give one more wave and then he was gone.

The men walked to the door and passing back through it, dogged it and continued down the stairs to five.

Ella would stay with Stephanie and they all suspected that there would be tears on each woman's cheeks.

Men did not usually handle woman tears well and they could hide in an office until they had their own emotions under control.

~~~o0o~~~

Les stepped out of the terminal into the smoggy sunlight. He looked up at the sky wondering how many kinds of blues there were between what he was seeing and the vibrant blue of a smog free city.

Grasping his pack a little tighter, he hailed a cab, giving him the address. He was headed to a little hotel in the theatre district that looked like it would be frequented by small-time and wanna-be actors.

His cab pulled up at a non-descript brownstone building. He tossed some bills at the cabbie, thanked him for taking him directly there and exited the cab.

Les walked up to the front door and rang the bell, waiting patiently as he knew that the person manning the camera pointed at him was observing every move.

The door buzzed and he walked in, heading to the desk.

"Name," came the grizzled request from a man sitting on a stool with crutches leaning against the desk.

"Tell Veronica that Leonard is here."

The name tag on the man's shirt said he was going by Larry, spoke.

"Veronica's not here right now. Leave a number and she can call you."

He made to push a piece of paper and a pen over to Les but he shook his head.

"I know her schedule. Unless she's in the hospital tell her that Master Leonard is here."

Larry picked up the phone and spoke softly into the mouthpiece turning his back on Les. He hung up and sighed. Pressing a button beside him, he spoke.

"Take the elevator to three."

Les tamped down the smile and picking up his bag, he walked to the elevator. His finger pressed on the glass button with a faded Up arrow, waiting for it to arrive. He stepped in when the doors opened and pressed 3, watching Larry as the door closed. He noticed that 'Larry' stood up and walked away from the desk without his crutches.

Les stepped out as the elevator door opened. He was standing in the front entrance way of a very large apartment, complete with vintage Persian rugs on the floors, animal skins on the walls and the huge wild animal head positioned so that it gazed over any visitor as they arrived.

Les shuddered to himself. Veronica had the same taste for exotic animals as when he had met her oh so many years ago in Africa.

He waited patiently at the front entrance, having already removed his boots and placing them on the mat by the wall. He knew of her aversion to footwear in the apartment.

He watched the hands on the clock move minute by minute. That too was her trademark. She loved to make an appearance on her time.

There had been a joke running around that the only time Veronica was early was the day she was born. On time for Veronica was at least fifteen minutes late.

He heard a door open down the hall and soft footsteps making their way down the hall. He quickly looked down making sure that his buttoned shirt was properly tucked in, straight and lined up with his belt buckle and zipper. Veronica also hated anyone looking rumpled or not put together.

A small, elderly lady walked into the room and stopped. It had been at least five years since Les had seen her and life had not been kind to her. Her face showed the ravages of the skin cancer she had suffered. She was leaning on a cane as she walked into the room, but her smile of recognition was genuine.

Veronica walked up to Les and reached out her free hand, clasping the hand that Les now held out to her. She moved in and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and pulled him to walk with her to the living room.

Les looked around as they moved to a couple of chairs overlooking the street below. She settled down heavily in a purple velvet wing-backed chair and motioned him to seat himself in the identical chair on the other side of a small table.

A young girl materialized with a tray containing two cups of coffee and a cream and sugar set. She set it on the small table between them and backed up never turning her back on her employer until she had left the room.

Veronica took her time adding sugar then cream and stirring her coffee. She never looked up until she had her cup in hand and had daintily sipped the drink. Les drank his coffee black and picked up his cup when she did, taking a sip and admiring the taste. He could tell that it was not a domestic blend and was trying to figure out from which district in Africa it had come from.

She smiled as she watched him trying to decide.

"Veronica, knowing you it's either from Tanzania, Ethiopia or Burundi, but you might be sneaking me a blend just to confuse me."

Veronica laughed at Les. She was pleased that he had maintained his discerning knowledge.

"It's my new favorite, Leonard, from Uzuri. I ordered a shipment to be sent to me and just recently received it. I would be honored if you accepted a gift pack from my stores."

Les smiled and nodded his assent. It would be very rude to refuse her gift.

They finished their coffee without a word, enjoying the flavors, knowing that later they would debate the merits of which blends made the grade for the new batch.

Veronica put down her now empty cup and Les cleared his throat. She looked at him as he prepared to speak.

"You have ears in countries that we can only hope to ever obtain information. I need to call in my favor and and at the same time to assist you with your operation. I hope that with all your contacts you can help me to open some doors."

He too had put down the cup and looked at his friend and former employer. Les had gone undercover as a coffee plantation foreman at one of her plantations. He had solved a dangerous kidnapping ring all the while protecting plantation workers from being whisked away and sold to countries up and down the coast.

Veronica had been sad to see him leave and had let him know through her special channels that she had moved to the States for medical treatment. She had also reminded him that she owed him a favor for his efforts and he could call on her if her unique services were ever required.

Les cleared his throat again, remembering at the last minute how much she detested that nervous mannerism, and as he looked up at her and he quickly grimaced with the memory.

While members of the outside world had been less than impressed the fact that slaves were still employed, on her plantations they were well treated and handled with respect. The word 'slave' was really a misnomer. In all but a few cases, her recruitment officers had paid good money for the young men and women they were buying, usually to the parents or relatives. Money and food was so very scarce and if you were strong and healthy, you could be a valuable asset. When their contracts were up, they were provided with letters proving they were free and able to walk away without penalty. It was also noted that many of the men and women had chosen to stay as free workers, earning a wage and continuing to work.

Les prepared to leave. He remembered her unspoken rules of meeting lengths and his time was drawing to an end.

Veronica picked up her cane that was leaning against the table and prepared to stand. Les stood up and offered her his arm to give her more support and she smiled at the offer. He really had been a good employee and she would have liked to have kept him on. She was overjoyed that he would be working on her largest plantation. She had already moved her people around and anybody questioning her decision had been dealt with, firmly.

Les waited for her to steady herself before he lowered his arm.

She looked at him before preparing to leave the room.

"Your position is waiting for you. You may recognize some of the workers. I know that you will do your job."

There was a slight threat to that and they both recognized it for what it was.

Les bowed slightly, and backed his way out of the room, stooping to pick up his shoes on the way out. He knew he would not be returning to this apartment again. Veronica did not stay in one place for too long a period before moving on. It had kept her safe and alive for this long.

He slipped on his boots in the elevator on the way down. The door opened and another man was sitting at the desk with the name tag of 'Larry' on his shirt. He silently held out a large and bulky envelope and watched as Les headed for the door. Les noted that he was one-legged.