Birthday Wishes

By: amkp

Chapter 6-Taking care of business

Disclaimer: Where's Ranger?, I've misplaced Ranger. Oh well, they're not mine but I'll return them all except Ranger since I can't find him. Maybe I'll check my bedroom? Giggle,Giggle!

Thanks, RangerBabeFan and her daughter.

I feel lonely here in the apartment without Ranger. He's barely gone 12 hours and I'm already wondering when he'll return.

SPOV

I leave the apartment and head down to my cubbie. I've been working at my desk just a short period of time when I see Tank heading my way.

"Hey, Big Guy, how are you this morning?"

"I'm good, Bombshell. I thought you might like to know that Ranger made his first check in without incident. I'll give you updates as I'm able; I get 'feeds' through the chain of command as the mission progresses. Sometimes I even speak with Ranger directly, depending on the classification and difficulty of the mission. He asked me to help you with anything you need before he left last night. You let me know if and when you need a hand, ok?"

"Thanks, Tank. It's helps to know that he's all right and please keep me informed with updates, no matter what time of day, ok?"

Tank gives me a small nod and leaves my cubbie, returning to his office. I sit and wonder how much Ranger had shared with his friend about us before he left last night, if anything at all. Is Tank someone Ranger shares his inner thoughts with? Ranger has given standing orders, in the past, to all Rangeman employees to help me and keep me safe, so hearing Tank now didn't really surprise me.

The next couple of weeks crawl by at a slow pace, almost mundane. Well, maybe mundane to me, but probably not by most people's definition. I had hauled in 8 FTAs with little to no damage to my person; however two of the Merry Men have been sent to the ER following the takedowns. IT WAS NOT MY FAULT! I mean how was I supposed to know that my first FTA would pull a knife? In his attempt to make a run for it, he ended up swinging his arm, with knife in hand, in a long arc that caught Hal in the bicep, resulting in 25 stitches.

The second Merry Man victim was Lester, who was helping me 'escort' my FTA out of her very cluttered home. On their way through her house towards the door, she reached out with her foot to catch hold of a massive shelving unit filled with large paint cans. As the shelving unit was falling one of the cans hit Lester in the head, rendering him unconscious, and then the other cans fell, spilling open, and covering him with paint of every color. The minimal pain Lester suffered was minor compared to the verbal abuse he took from the other Merry Men. They were ruthless in their insults!

I miss Ranger terribly. This time it is so much harder than any other time he's been gone before. The nights are definitely the worst as I lay awake, thinking back to the night of his birthday. So here I am tonight in my apartment, I head to the bathroom to take a quick shower, blow dry my hair and pull on one of Ranger's black t-shirts. I crawl into bed and lay on my back staring up at the ceiling. I toss and turn, rolling from one side then the other. I flop onto my belly. Why can I not get comfortable? My 'spidey sense' is humming that's why. Finally, after an hour of this restless tossing around in bed, I get up and pull on some shorts. I shove my feet in my running shoes and grab my keys and purse, heading out the door. If there is one place that can calm me, it's Ranger's apartment. This is the fourth time I've let myself break down and sleep at his apartment. I pull into the garage and park. As I step into the elevator, I give the guys in the control room a finger wave and travel to the 7th floor. I key fob myself into the apartment, stopping just inside the door and take a deep breath. The smell of Ranger still carries in the air here, and a calm feeling washes over me. I toss my keys and purse onto the sideboard, stripping off my shoes and shorts as I make my way to his bedroom, where I crawl into his wonderful bed. The sheets alone give me some comfort, but the uneasiness isn't completely gone. However; fatigue is finally taking over as I close my eyes, and I fall into a deep sleep dreaming of Ranger.

RPOV

I'm so thankful this mission is finally coming to an end. This is my favorite part of every mission…the takedown. It's the fruit of your labor and the sacrifices you've made to get your man. This time the end is even sweeter because I know that within a few short hours I'll be on a plane heading home to Stephanie.

We've tracked the traitorous FBI agent here into the deep jungle of Columbia. The agent, David Fellman, is enroute to our location carrying documents of national security. Good ole Dave had decided that the 'bad guys' were issuing a fatter paycheck and is in the process of selling out Uncle Sam. We'd intercepted intelligence that told us this was the location of the exchange. My team of six men are placed strategically around the perimeter of this small, unmemorable block building where the meeting is set to take place at 0200. I hear the rumble of an approaching vehicle and give the hand signal to alert my team that it's 'show-time.'

The first vehicle arrives carrying the Boss and his two hired thugs. They park outside the building and exit their H3 Hummer, heading for the door. I notice that one of the big thugs has a metal briefcase cuffed to his wrist. Now that the money is here, we wait for Dave to show up. Twenty minutes later a second vehicle pulls up and parks. Dave emerges from his SUV and darts his eyes around his surroundings in an anxious gesture. Good, the bastard is nervous, as well he should be. He slowly approaches the building and steps inside.

I wait five minutes before I give the signal to my guys to move in. We hit the door in an economy of motion, blasting through and neutralizing all threats with quick efficiency. That is, except for Dave. He's pulled the pin of a hand grenade. I pull up short and take an inventory of the room. I note that the Boss and his hired thugs are dead and that one of my men is applying a tourniquet to another of my men, Jason, who had caught a bullet in the leg. One of the thugs had evidently gotten off a shot before he was killed. I turn back to Dave, who is sweating profusely, his hand visibly shaking.

"Don't come any closer." He tells me. "Drop your weapons and line up against the back wall." He chokes out.

"Ok, Dave. Don't do anything stupid here. You already have a shit-load of problems." I grind out as me and my guys drop our visible weapons to the floor.

"Oh, I don't know about that" Dave states. "All I have to do is take care of my present company and then disappear with these documents."

Great, he's getting cocky now. The danger level has just escalated.

"Dave, as long as those documents are not in the hands of the proper people you have some big problems." I drop into negotiating mode, trying to decipher what his next move will be. "If you think to add the death of 6 Black Op agents into this mess, the price on your head will grow to a staggering amount. Why don't you just put the pin back in so we can talk comfortably and find a solution to this."

"I know what your solution will be…a federal prison, tried as a traitor against the United States. Don't try your negotiation tactics with me, I've been with the Bureau for 8 years, so I know how this works. If we do this your way, I don't win. I'd rather take my chances with a price on my head." He finishes his little speech and backs towards the door, pulling it open while keeping his eyes on us. Just as he clears the doorway, he pitches the grenade towards us and slams the door. We hear something large and heavy being dragged in front of the door on the other side.

The four un-injured members of my team sprint to the door and begin pushing at the door, trying to force it open. After several attempts, they finally manage to force the door open just as we hear an engine catch outside. I turn and scoop up Jason, quickly tossing him over my shoulder as I start running for the door. I hear the sound of rapid gunfire outside the building as the remaining members of my squad commence firing shots at Dave. I'm counting the seconds I have to get out the door before the grenade explodes knowing I'll make it in time and be a safe distance from here when it does. The thought no sooner finishes crossing my mind when I'm thrown forward by the blast. The grenade has gone off prematurely. 'Stephanie!' my mind screams as I fall to the floor, covering Jason with my body as the shrapnel falls all around us.

Ok, Ok, I know it's a cliffhanger. Don't kill me!! I'm holding Chapter 7 hostage, the ransom…just a few reviews!