Once again, thank you for the kind reviews. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 6

Ranger watched with concern as each day came and went and Stephanie continued to recover. She had received guests in the apartment; her family, and her friends, Mary Lou and Connie.

He noted that while she enjoyed their company she was exhausted by the time they entered the elevator to vacate the building and sometimes she couldn't even make her way back to the bedroom to crash. More than once he had come into the room and gently picked her up and carried her to bed, removing clothing as needed and tucking her in.

Bobby had spoken to him about running himself too ragged. He was tired from listening at night as she slept, catnapping himself as he watched over her but he refused Bobby's offer to stay with her so that he could crash in an empty apartment for a good night's sleep. He was continuing to watch over her and would until either it improved enough for him to relax or the situation changed.

Ranger had done his own research and had confirmed in his mind all that Bobby had also researched.

Fortunately, Ranger had his own information highway to delve into and he was checking on the possibility of the Mitra Clip being inserted into Stephanie and not being part of any study or experiment. He was looking into flying his Babe to a clinic in either Sweden or Norway where there were a number of doctors who were already performing the procedure. Unfortunately, travel was the problem. Money was not an issue but he knew that Stephanie would balk at him hemorrhaging money on her once again. She couldn't just up and fly in her condition. He was looking at using the Rangeman plane and getting it retrofitted for someone injured.

She, on the other hand, believed in the American system and was willing to wait her turn; unfortunately time was not on her side. Bobby's tests were proving that she was backsliding slightly.

He watched as she woke up each day wishing that her strength had miraculously reappeared and disappointed when by the end of the day she was as exhausted as ever. He could sense the depression start to catch up with her again and she meekly obeyed all the orders both Bobby and Ella were placing on her.

He wondered how to get her excited about the future. Would she ever be able to go back to bounty hunting, something she held near and dear to her heart? Would she ever be able to dig into an extensive file of information and find that needle in a haystack that had eluded his men in their quest?

He knew that heading to Point Pleasant with its sandy beaches and the wind coming on shore was something that she always looked forward to. He had mentioned that after the specialist appointment and if she agreed, that they would take a few days and head there. He had hoped that Stephanie would perk up at the news but she only shrugged her shoulders.

He kinda wished that Lula was around to knock some sense into her. How many days left before she got out?

~~~o0o~~~

Lula shuffled back to her cell. She had deflected additional time since the video camera had very clearly shown the hearing that she had been attacked and was only defending herself. She was still only three days over the three months before she would be released and she was going to do her darnedest to keep it that way.

Stephanie needed her and hopefully so did Tank. Time would tell if he was willing to continue a relationship with a felon.

She looked at the envelope waiting for her on her table as she walked in. She sat down heavily on the plastic chair that groaned under her and pulled the envelope to herself. There was a note on the front and it read.

Lula Baby. Here are some pictures of a few places I thought we might like to look at when you are able to and willing. There are dedicated spaces to corral the cats until the shots take effect. We can talk about it the next time I see you.

Be strong and be careful. Luv ya baby.

Tank

Lula looked at the pictures and a tear slid down her cheek. He was waiting for her. He still wanted to have her move in with him.

She flipped through the pictures a few times. They all looked so expensive. How could she help to pay her share of the rent? She had barely scraped up enough to rent that rat-trap of an apartment and this new place still needed to be furnished? Her head hurt thinking about it. Vinnie better be agreeable about a pay raise, or she needed another job.

She had a thought. Would it be possible to start her allergy shots while she was still locked up? It was worth a try. A number of the correctional workers had cats and she sneezed whenever she came near them. Maybe she could use it as an excuse to start the shots. It was certainly worth a try.

Lula sat down with the general request form that had been in her information package when she arrived. Filling it out, she put it on the corner of the bed to take with her when she headed to supper. She could drop it in the box by the dining room. Hopefully she would get an answer soon.

~~~o0o~~~

Les woke up to the morning sounds of a working plantation. He could hear the trucks starting up and the workers leave for the fields. He got out of bed and headed for the shower to start the day, knowing that when he reappeared in his room there would be a freshly laundered uniform to wear, his breakfast laid out on the table and the morning newspaper freshly ironed and folded neatly to the side.

He sat and sipped his coffee planning his day. He had a million things to do. Check the accounts, order supplies, pay the bills and check the markets. He needed to know which futures he should be watching and when to jump selling the produce coming out of the fields.

It was hard work and the foreman earned every penny of their wages. In addition, they had to take responsibility if they chose wrong or weather wiped out the crop.

Last but certainly not least, he had to get his name back out there for his real mission.

Les sighed. It was going to be a tough assignment. The last time he had done this he had to return to Rangeman and take a couple of months off to recuperate. He grimaced at the memory. Well he should clarify that. His mind only needed a couple of weeks but the bullet wounds required more recuperation time before he was back to full-time.

Les pulled the burned phone out of it's hiding place and made the call from memory. He waited until the three rings then punched in another set of numbers.

A voice answered the phone.

Les spoke.

"Disease works in mysterious ways."

~~~o0o~~~

Joe stepped out of his office and stretched. He was just coming off a tough shift. Unfortunately, or fortunately, there had been a gang-related shoot-out last night and there were now more bodies in the morgue waiting for identification and release to the funeral homes and their families.

The carnage was still being cleaned up as he had driven to the hospital hoping that at least one of the wounded would say something, but he was not expecting that miracle to happen. Even wounded and under arrest, their tongues were tied and they were staying true to their allegiance. Rightly or wrongly, their other family as they came to know it, had either defended and saved them, or thrown them under the bus.

He could feel a text message arrive as the phone vibrated on his hip. He knew who it was even before he pulled his phone from its holder and peeked. Sophia was just coming off shift and wondered if he was available for breakfast.

Joe smiled. He loved her breakfast. She was passionate in the bedroom and was adventurous. He had thought of himself as quite the lover but Sophia had been as exuberant as he was.

At the same time, she was sweetness and light and everything he had ever dreamed that a girlfriend should be. She had her own place which was always spotless when he showed up. She could cook. Boy could she cook. If he had to make a choice right now, she was better at cooking Italian than his mother, maybe even his grandmother! She wanted to find a man and settle down. Her time clock was ticking she said and at 29 she was more than ready to take the next step and make it happen.

Joe discretely adjusted himself.

He was ready to end this day and head over for breakfast. Who knows, she might even feed him later!

He sent a quick note to her. No words but a few of those little icons that were so popular on messages now. A happy face, and a thumbs up.

If he hurried, he might still find her in the shower.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank received a text and he sighed with relief. Lula was back in general population and no additional time had been added. He could plan for his next visit. The envelope had been delivered.

He smiled to himself as much as Tank really smiled. It was more like his face relaxed from its usual calculating scowl, but only for a brief moment. It did not look good to walk around with a goofy grin on one's face and nobody would ever admit that Tank looked 'goofy'.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie stepped onto the floor and headed to her cubicle. Once again she was under a one hour window. She had successfully convinced Bobby that she needed to start to work her way back by doing something other than sleeping. If her body was rebelling, at least she could use her mind to work on something. Stewing and grumbling were not helping to make her days go by and just the little exercise would prepare her for a more extensive activity period in the gym. She argued that when she was finally cleared for an exercise regime that it would go a long way in fighting this to a successful conclusion.

Once again there was only a single file in her box and she eagerly pulled it to her. This one was a bit more difficult and she once again fired up the search engines and set to work. The hour flew by and her watched beeped. She was trying to take responsibility for her actions.

Stephanie stood up and placed the now completed file in the box to be acted on. She had found a bit of information that the guys had overlooked but since they were men would not know of a woman's need for special nail appointments with respect to gel nails. They could now find her and close this file down.

She stood up and stretched and her shirt rose up and over her pants. A couple of the guys averted their eyes at the large scar that would be part of her for the rest of her life. They all carried scars of one kind or another but the long and ugly incision would be a reminder to all how close she had come to never returning to them.

She walked toward the elevator to return to seven, but the door to Ranger's office was open and she peeked in.

He was working at his desk with files spread out. His head raised and a smile peeked out from under his, what she called, his working face.

Ranger leaned back into his chair and beckoned her to enter. She walked in and made to stop in front of his desk, but he beckoned her with a crooked finger to come closer, then closer still and then reached for her to place her on his lap.

Stephanie sighed at the memory of how many times he used to do that 'before'. She lay her head against his shoulder and made a happy sound as her lips found a favorite spot between his neck and his clavicle bone.

Ranger's arms wrapped around her and they sat in silence, reveling in a favorite position. He was hoping that it was a sign that she still seemed fairly strong after being on the floor and working. Maybe she really was starting to improve.

Bobby's voice could be heard coming from the control room.

"Anybody seen the Bomber? Her shift is over and when I checked with Ella she said she's not back on seven."

Someone obviously pointed to Ranger's office because he materialized in the door with a worried look on his face.

Stephanie sat up with a sigh.

"Hi Bobby. I was just leaving and saw Ranger's door open so I came in to say hi."

He looked concerned that she might have lost strength to even make her way upstairs but she shook her head.

"I'm feeling stronger today and as I told you, if I can take my mind off being sick, I'm starting to feel better. I can just feel the difference today and I want to start extending it even a few minutes more each day. I'm tired of feeling sick and I want to feel well."

He nodded and looking at Ranger pointedly before he backed out of the room.

Bobby smiled as he walked to the stairway. Stephanie had always drawn strength from Ranger and while it might come back to bite her on the ass later today, that little extra time down on the floor was a sign, and hopefully a good sign.

Bobby smiled and lesser men would have been worried. It was time for another one of those surprise evening checks. He hoped that the results would show that she was on the road to regaining her strength.

In the back of his mind a niggling worry still remained.

~~~o0o~~~

Les fell into bed each evening and woke up each day ready to once again assume the reins of responsibility. The coffee beans were ready to be picked and all workers had been moved into those fields. Down the road, cotton was almost ready and next on the schedule and weather permitting, everything would go as planned. After that, well then there were the vegetables again.

Veronica had built this plantation up from a very small operation. She had not stepped onto any of the plantations for a number of years but her weekly reports demanded detail. Nobody wanted to have her contact them with questions that they could not answer and many men before and probably some after would be called on the carpet to explain their actions.

Meanwhile Les was continuing to gather tidbits of information. He had contacted his informants from the mission years ago and they had their ears to the ground. He had been brought in to substantiate that there was illegal activity going on. It was suspected that there were some government official hands in the cookie jar and the need to run the operation on a secretive and need-to-know basis was imperative.

There were some rumors of an unofficial gold mine being worked. At first glance, trying to hide an operation as large as a mine was mind-boggling but with enough security to keep any and all away, it was possible. At the same time, there was also some whispers that an as yet unnamed eastern country was behind the clandestine operation. They appeared to be wanting to skirt the somewhat mundane idea of paying fair market value for the gold and adding it to their considerable reserves at the same time. What was also beginning to become apparent was the fact that the labourers were being picked up one here and one there. To the unassuming it appeared that slaves had attempted escape from different plantation operations, but this time they were not being tracked down and found quite as easily.

Les was moving slowly, very, very slowly. He might take a small side trip on his way to the grain exchange while in town. He might use the burn phone in an alley before stopping at the bank to sign out the bags of money from the bank for payday. He had a computer hidden in his quarters to upload to a satellite his findings. Everything was done without prying eyes.

As for prying eyes, he was still waiting on the satellite pictures of a few areas he was keying in on. Unfortunately he was having trouble getting permission for a few fly-overs.

Les walked out to the square. It was early but the sun was already beating down and it was proving to be another very, very warm day. Unfortunately he was going to have to dispense some justice today and the bull whip was coiled up and in his hand. The slaves and workers had been marshalled into the main yard and stood quietly with only whispers here and there.

A man was already tied to the post spreadeagled. His shirt was off and he was standing with his head hung down. He had tried to injure one of the supervisors with a shovel and before the others had knocked him down and subdued him he had broken the man's shoulder. Now, Les would be down one supervisor and one of his best workers and that would make getting this crop off a bit more challenging.

Les had tried to question the man as to the reason but he was silent. There had been rumors but until Les checked them out, unfortunately justice needed to be meted out, now.

Silence descended as he walked purposefully to the middle. The whip flicked a bit as his hand moved. Others would not have cleaned the whip before using it, but Les held out his hand for a cloth and carefully wiped the entire length, taking his time. This served two purposes. One, to let the anticipation of what was about to happen build and one was for everyone to see both Les and the victim and how they reacted. Howls and screams were both enlightening and telltale, but watching to see how Les performed his job was also very, very telling to the worker population.

Les strode up to the man. He was tall, and very, very muscular. The muscles on his upper body rippled as he shifted. This man had never used weights or a fitness room in his life but he had the same look as Rangemen personnel who spent hours in the gym.

Once again he asked the man for an explanation of his actions and once again the man had shaken his head and refused to speak.

Les stepped back and the whip snaked over the man's back with a snap. To his credit, not a word was spoken but a silent grimace. One.

Les took his time. He had been tortured by the best and the anticipation was almost worse than the punishment. Not knowing when the next strike would be made one tense up.

The whip snaked out again. This time there was a slight moan as the tail slid along the rib cage leaving a long red mark. Two.

Les paused. The women were quietly weeping, but he was watching out of the corner of his eye, a young girl. She was being supported by women on either side of her and her grief was almost over the top. He now knew who the man was protecting.

Three more lashes and he signaled that the punishment was complete.

The workers were herded to the trucks for the trip to the fields and after they left, the man was untied and taken to the infirmary for treatment. He would spend two days in the cage and then would return to the fields, the punishment completed.

Les watched from afar. He noted that the girl in question was headed to the washing shed where the produce was prepared for shipment. He would get some more information before he moved.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie had turned the corner. Her strength was increasing and her numbers were holding steady on her blood pressure. What was exciting was her cholesterol levels were inching down, closer and closer to the magic number that was required for any further treatment.

Bobby was confident in his own mind that the Mitra Clip was the way to go. Not too invasive and all tests had come back that in some cases it was more than a stop-gap solution. Nobody wanted her to have to go down the full heart transplant road. At the same time, they all hoped that with her amazing will to survive and recover and her body that was actually in pretty good shape for someone who never really looked after herself that she would overcome any obstacle that stood in her way. Maybe her body would heal itself. Stranger things had happened.

Speak of the devil and Stephanie came down the stairs to four. She had slowly built up going up and down the stairs starting with one flight at a time. Nothing too strenuous or fast or she would have dizzy spells, but she was really trying.

Bobby watched as she hopped up on the examining table. Her breathing was almost normal, but her eyes shone with excitement.

"I jogged the first flight today, Bobby. I didn't see black spots or anything. In fact, I passed Tank."

He squeezed her hand in congratulations. Giving her a few minutes to bring her heart rate back to normal, he sat on his little rolling stool, doing a quick mental check on her condition.

Eyes clear, check; increased breathing, up but slowing down, check; clammy skin, no; nervous swinging of leg, no.

He pulled the bp stand closer and she stuck out her arm, ready. He put it on and let it set itself and record todays numbers.

He nodded as the machine beeped. Her numbers were good and her respirations were lowering. Marking it all down, he smiled.

Stephanie sat waiting for the results. She had had the cholesterol test yesterday and knew that whoever Bobby sent it to was fast with the results. Money talked and Rangman was a very good customer.

Bobby tried to draw out the suspense but he was jumping for joy inside.

Stephanie, if she had been standing on the ground would have stamped her foot.

"Bobby, tell me the number. I know it's better. This diet you have me on has to be doing the trick. Unfortunately with hardly any sugar, I feel like jumping Ranger's bones, doctor's orders or not!"

Bobby grimaced. TMI. Sometimes, as the medic he was privy to information that best be left, shall we say, in the bedrooms of Rangeman, and this was no different.

He chose his words carefully.

"Stephanie," uh oh. Full name here.

"The doctor said no until his appointment. That's in three days, Bomber. THREE DAYS. Take a shower, take another walk up and down the halls, do whatever."

He did not mention that Ranger had just left after complaining of the very same thing. It must be pretty hard to live upstairs with each other literally wanting to tear the clothes off each other in their eagerness. He thought that he might be needing a cold shower after this himself. He'd already been to the gym.

Unfortunately Bobby was in somewhat the same situation. His girlfriend had just been released after a D and C. She had begun to experience very heavy periods and while the results had come back clear, she was also under orders. Bobby had already booked time off when she was cleared for sexual activity.

Stephanie hopped off the table and headed for the door. She was hoping that Ranger was out on some kind of take-down or errand or she might just go against doctor's orders and locking him in his own office, get some relief there.

It was going to be a long three days.

A/N – I can just tell that you were grimacing at Les administering punishment, but his life as a Foreman of a very large establishment dictates that sometimes justice must be served. It is cruel and it is harsh, but their job and possibly their life depends on using a show of force when required.

(I promise to make it up to the man later)

Myrna