Chapter 7
Ivy resisted going near the car. She pulled against the leash and started to whine. "Ivy…just get over it. You're getting in this car with me! Now!" she yelled at her. She turned to open the door, and that's when she first saw the white #2 on the door. Her jaw dropped. What the hell is this, she asked herself.
All eyes were on the monitor watching her reaction. Tank and Ranger walked up behind Hal and Junior to see what was going on. When Stephanie started to cry, Ranger muttered, "Shit." Hal opened his mouth, but Ranger stopped him with a sharp look. "I have a credit, Hal." Hal looked sheepish and nodded. Ranger was torn. His first instinct was to run down there and comfort her. But, he knew she was in a foul mood over the damn Swear Jar and wanted to give her some space. The latter idea was safer, too.
Stephanie wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She knew they were probably watching her, and she embarrassed herself once again. She just needed to get out of there for a while. Ivy finally relented and got in the car. She started it up and created another black cloud that filled the garage. At least it would give her some cover from the cameras. She pulled out and headed for the Bonds Office. Suddenly remembering that she only had crackers that morning, she decided to swing by the Tasty Pasty for some doughnuts. Sugar always lightened her mood. And, her mood sure did need a boost.
Of course, the car backfired and smoked poured into the bakery. Dejuan told her this would eventually stop. She prayed that he was right. It happened again in front of the Bonds Office. Stephanie opened the door, and Ivy hid behind Connie. Connie rubbed her head and pulled a Scooby Snack out of her drawer.
"Jeez, Steph," Connie began, "Lula wasn't kiddin'. What's with the #2?" Stephanie dropped the file and box of doughnuts on the desk and shrugged.
"I have no idea," she sighed and grabbed a doughnut before flopping on the couch.
"It's 'cause the car's a piece of shit," Lula told her. "You know…#2." Stephanie's eyes widened.
"How do you know that?" she demanded. Lula crammed a chocolate doughnut in her mouth.
"Js a gsss," she mumbled with a mouthful.
"What?" Stephanie and Connie asked in unison. Lula swallowed.
"Just a guess."
"You know who did that…don't you?" Lula shook her head.
"All I know is I got Tank's number, and we're going out next weekend. We woulda gone out tomorrow, but Ranger's gonna be out of town. Where's he goin'?"
"We're going to his parents' for dinner in Newark," she explained. Lula grabbed another doughnut and sat next to Stephanie.
"But, it's still okay, White Girl. I have one week to prepare myself for that big ol' beautimus hunk a black man. Oh…I just give myself chills just thinkin' about it." Lula put an arm around Steph. "And, I got you to thank for it all." Stephanie smiled.
"You're welcome. You're both great people. I'm glad for the two of you." Stephanie sighed and dropped her head back on the couch.
"What's eatin' you today? You seem to be a little…uh…bitchy?" Connie asked.
"I think I'm losing my mind," she told them. "My emotions are all over the place lately. I'm getting upset over stupid shit. Oh…and my sister comes up with this stupid ass idea of the Swear Jar. We have to put fifty cents in the jar every time we curse. Okay…we're donating the money to charity. I can go along with that. But, I'm emotionally unstable right now, and don't want to have to watch my language too!" Connie and Lula nodded in agreement.
"Damn…I'd probably go broke workin' there," Lula added.
"So, how much did it cost you so far?" Connie asked.
"Well…nothing. Lester put in a twenty for me, and I still have about a thirty something curse credit," she admitted. The girls laughed. Connie glanced out the window at the car again.
"And, Ranger is okay with you driving that….car?" She was a little surprised. Stephanie nodded while Lula shook her head. Stephanie glared at Lula.
"It's nobody else's decision but mine," she told them. "It's my car. I bought it. I'll drive it. I mean…I don't understand what the big deal is? It's just an old car." Lula and Connie smiled at her.
"You're right, Steph," Connie conceded. "As long as it runs and is safe to drive, it's your car."
"Thank you, Connie!" Vinnie came out of the office.
"Don't we have work to do? Are you just going to sit around and eat all day?" he griped.
"I only have one FTA, and he's not due yet," Lula insisted.
"Well…I'm not paying youz to sit around!" he told them.
"I'm working on Rangeman body receipts," Connie retorted.
"And, you ain't payin' me shit right now," Lula muttered.
"Well, why don't you get off your ass and get that FTA?"
"And, why don't you go back in yo office? I think that duck is gettin' lonely," Lula growled. Vinnie huffed but retreated back in his office. "He is such a dick!" Stephanie and Connie agreed.
"So tell me…," Stephanie began, "what do you and Tank have planned for your date?"
"Hours and hours of Wild Kingdom sex!" Stephanie clapped her hands over her ears.
"No! Please don't tell me things like that! Those guys are like my brothers! That's so gross!" Lula laughed.
"I'll be like Lula of the jungle swinging on that big ol' hunk a love's vine!" Lula joked. Connie chuckled. Stephanie groaned.
"I so did not need to hear that," she muttered.
Hearing a knock on the door, Ranger looked up to see Hal. "I haven't used any more foul language, Hal," he sighed. Hal furrowed his brow.
"Uh…that's not what I wanted to tell you," Hal began. "I wanted to let you know that Steph's still at the Tasty Pasty. She's been there for almost two hours now. She's never there that long." He nodded to Hal and grabbed his cell phone. He got her voice mail.
"Damn it." He assumed she was still angry about that morning, but he hated when she didn't take his calls. He got to the door of his office, and his eyes met Val's. She held up the jar expectantly. He jammed his hand in his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. He tossed a five in the jar. Before she could make change he told her, "Just leave it in there. I'm sure I'll use it before the day is up." He didn't have the right to get angry about it. He agreed to it. It's for charity, he told himself. Even that didn't help. He marched over to the monitor station. "Who's in the area?" Hal scanned the board.
"Ram and Woody."
"Get them over there now," Ranger ordered.
After polishing off all the doughnuts, Stephanie pulled herself off the couch and stretched. "I have a few places I want to check out before lunch, so I better get going." Lula raised her eyebrows.
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"I'm trying to track down a missing girl. She's been communicating with vampires on this website. They mentioned a few places that they hang out. I just want to see what they're like." Connie and Lula exchanged frowns.
"Uh…Steph? Did you just say…vampires?" Connie asked.
"I don't mean like Dracula! It's just a bunch of weirdoes who think they're vampires. They drink blood and wear black. Stuff like that. They mentioned a couple of clubs, and I want to check them out. Maybe go there at night or something. See what I can find out," she explained. Lula jumped off the couch and grabbed her purse.
"Well, I'm going with you. That sounds a whole lot more interestin' than sitting around doin' nothin'. No offense, Connie. Maybe you can help me catch my skip later? This guy don't like to wash his nasty ass, and your car would be perfect." Stephanie rolled her eyes. She knew Ranger didn't want her going after FTAs, but he didn't say anything about not helping Lula. She would let Lula grab the guy, and she would just do the driving. Yeah…that would work. Maybe. Well…probably not.
"Okay. You can come. Ivy?" Ivy crawled under Connie's desk. "Ivy!"
"She hates your car," Lula told her. Ivy slowly crawled out from under the desk.
"No shit," Steph muttered. She clipped the leash back on her collar. "Come on, Ivy." Reluctantly, Ivy got up and trotted after them. Whining the entire time, she got into the car without fighting Stephanie this time. Lula's face bunched up as she sniffed the air.
"Damn! What is that smell? Did you check this for dead bodies?"
"You don't have to come with me you know!"
"I know. But, I can't even roll down this damn window. The handle's still broke!" Stephanie started up the car. Connie and Vinnie were soon choking on the smoke that seeped into the office.
Ram and Woody drove past the Tasty Pastry, but didn't see the #2 mobile. Woody grabbed the mic. "Hal? Are you sure Steph's supposed to be here? The car's not here."
Hal's voice boomed into the speaker. "Are you sure her car's not there? That's what the GPS says." Woody almost made a sarcastic comment. Like the #2 mobile would be hard to miss. Ram parked the SUV and jumped out. He searched around the gutter in front of the shop until he spied what he was looking for. He held up the GPS unit.
"Uh…Ram found the unit in the gutter. I guess it fell off the car. Should we drive around looking for her?"
Hal turned to Ranger who was standing behind him. Again, Ranger was in a bad spot. Stephanie didn't know about the GPS units he put in her cars. She was already pissed off about the Swear Jar. She wasn't taking his calls. If she found out he had someone follow her, it might get ugly. He equated this situation to poking a hornets' nest with a stick. But…..she hadn't been feeling well, she was pregnant with their child, and she was driving that God awful piece of shit car that he despised more than a prostate exam. "Do it." In his mind, he could see the hornets getting ready to attack. He pulled out his cell phone and hit speed dial #3. "Hi, Ella. I was wondering if you could make Stephanie a chocolate cake for tonight."
Ram drove past the Bonds Office. No sign of the #2 mobile. "Maybe Connie's seen her? She may know where she went," Woody suggested. Ram pulled into the first available spot. Connie looked up as they came in.
"Good morning, Gentlemen," she announced. It was obvious they were looking for Stephanie. She wasn't going to make it easy for them.
"Hi Connie. How's it going?" Ram asked.
"Fine. What can I do for you? We don't have any pending files for Rangeman." Ram and Woody danced around a bit. Woody elbowed Ram. Ram shot Woody a dirty look.
"Um…we were just wondering….uh…if you had seen Stephanie," Woody stammered.
"Oh?" Connie replied innocently. "Why is that? Is there a problem?"
"No problem," Ram assured her. "Just wondering." They stared at each other for another minute before Connie decided to let them off the hook.
"She left with Lula not too long ago. Steph said she had some places to check out, and Lula needed help with a skip," she explained. Now they exchanged nervous glances.
Ram knew that Ranger didn't want Stephanie going after any skips. Ranger was going to be pissed. He pushed Woody towards the door. "Thanks. If you talk to Steph, tell her that Ram and Woody are looking for her and to call us, okay?" Connie nodded. Ram and Woody jumped into the SUV. "Shit. What the hell are we going to tell Ranger? He's going to have a fucking stroke if he finds out the Steph is going after a skip with Lula." Woody ran his hands over his face.
"Well…we don't have to tell him that," he replied. "We can just tell him she's out with Lula, but we don't know where. It's not like we'd be lying to Ranger. We really don't know where they went." Ram groaned. He pulled out his cell phone and called Stephanie. The call rolled to her voice mail.
"Damn it," he muttered. He decided not to leave a message. After a minute, he turned to Woody. "Okay. We'll say she was at the Bonds Office, and she's somewhere with Lula. Then, we'll wait for instructions."
Ranger returned to 7 to get a file he had left on his desk. He tried to call Stephanie again. He was hoping that she calmed down after getting her doughnut fix. He heard her cell ringing in his office. At first, he was relieved. She hadn't answered his calls because she had forgotten her phone again. "Babe," he muttered. He then became a little annoyed that she didn't have her phone. Especially now. Ram reported that Stephanie was at the Bonds Office and was where abouts unknown with Lula. He ordered them to resume their regular rounds. God only knows where they were. He called Tank. "Do you have Lula's number?" Tank gave him her cell number, and he immediately called her.
"Hello?"
"Lula…this is Ranger. Is Stephanie with you?" He heard the scrapping of her hand over the mouth piece.
"Shit, White Girl…it's Batman! What do I do?" Lula said to Stephanie. Ranger sighed and waited for Stephanie's response.
"What is he doing call you?" came Stephanie's reply.
"I don't know. He asked for you."
"Why didn't he call me on my phone?"
"Girl, I don't know. Do you want me to tell him that you not here?" There was a muffled reply and more scrapping and hissing sounds. He held the phone away from his ear. "Why you slowing down?"
"I'm not slowing down. It's doing that by itself. It's like the gas pedal's not working right." There was a pause.
"Babe?" Ranger called into the phone.
"Shit! The gas pedal thing is crooked. Lula, can you crawl down there, and stick it back on that button thing?" Ranger groaned.
"Babe!" he yelled into the phone.
"God damn, I hate this car! Not only does it smell, but shit keeps breakin'." He heard Lula grunt and groan. "There…try it now."
"Yea! You fixed it. You can get up now."
"BABE!"
"Shit!" Lula yelled.
"What's the matter? You can get up now."
"I can't. My weave is caught on something. God dammit….I'm stuck. Pull this mother fuckin' car over and help me up!" Ranger tried to be patient as he heard Lula continue to rant and rave. Apparently, Stephanie must have pulled over and turned the car off, because he heard the backfire then the two of them coughing on the smoke.
"There you go."
"Where the hell is my phone? Oh shit! Batman was on the phone! Girl…you in trouble now!" Ranger then heard more static and hissing sounds before he finally heard Stephanie's voice.
"Carlos?" She heard him sigh and winced.
"You left your phone in the apartment, Babe."
"Oh…sorry to keep you waiting. Lula dropped the phone."
"What happened with the gas pedal?"
"Oh…it was nothing. Lula fixed it. Did you need something?" He groaned to himself.
"I was just calling to see how you were. I didn't like that you left the office upset." She smiled. She was still a little pissed about the stupid Swear Jar, but she was a lot less emotional about it.
"I refuse to answer that question as any response I make may affect my bank account," she replied. Ranger smiled.
"If it's any consolation….I'm in for $6.00 already, and it's not even lunch time." Now, she smiled. "Are you okay, Babe? I've been worried about you all morning."
"I'm okay. You just don't know how that stupid Swear Jar has been following me around all my life. It was a pain in the ass when I had control over my emotions. Now…forget it! Look….I'll talk to you later. I really want to get this done today since we'll be at your parents' tomorrow," she explained.
"Okay…don't forget Lester today. Why don't you swing by and pick him up at noon? I'll even pay for lunch," Ranger offered.
"I thought he was on monitors this afternoon?"
"I changed my mind. I'll back the monitors up if needed. I'd feel better if you had someone with you today, okay?" She rolled her eyes.
"That's not really fair, Carlos. I can take care of myself….and the baby. But, now you threw food into the mix. How can I resist?" Ranger grinned.
"Pick him up out front. I'll give him money for lunch…and your phone!" He disconnected before she changed her mind.
"Was Batman mad?" Lula asked. Stephanie shook her head.
"No, but we have to pick up Lester at noon. Carlos is treating us to lunch. Lester can help with your skip."
"Lunch on Batman? Now you're talkin'," Lula agreed then rubbed her head. "This damn car almost pulled my weave out." Stephanie sighed.
Ranger called Lester. He told him that he would be with Stephanie in the afternoon. "Swing by my office to get her phone and the money for lunch. She had a problem with the gas pedal. I want you to check that out," he ordered. He stopped by Tank's office. "We need to make that car disappear. I want it done as soon as possible. Maybe it could get stolen while we're at my parents' tomorrow." Tank frowned.
"How is she going to buy that her car was stolen out of the monitored Rangeman garage?" Tank inquired. Ranger shook his head.
"I don't know yet, but we have twenty four hours to come up with a plan. I don't care if the car gets stolen, blown up, catches fire….whatever. I have enough things on my mind right now. I can't add worrying about Steph driving that car to the list," Ranger told him. Tank gestured to the empty chair in front of his desk.
"Do you want to talk about what's been bothering you?" Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Man. You wander around the building every night like a fucking zombie…."
"That's fifty cents, Tank," Ranger told him and gave him a dismissive wave. Tank reached into his wallet and pulled out a dollar.
"Okay…play it your way. But, you know you can talk to me." Tank rose and patted his shoulder. He walked over to toss the dollar in the Swear Jar. It was already one forth full, and it wasn't even noon yet. Ranger followed behind him.
"I'm fine, Tank. But, I'll keep that in mind," Ranger said as he went back into his office and closed the door. No, he wasn't fine. But, how could he talk to his best friend about what was bothering him when he really didn't understand it himself? So far, the problems he identified were impending fatherhood, the crash, retirement from the military, Jeanne Ellen's betrayal and confession that she was pregnant with his child, and not being able to function at 100%. He realized that he felt like a huge part of his life was over. He could never admit that to Stephanie. Even if he tried to explain it to her, he knew she would take it the wrong way.
He thought back to their conversation from that morning. He brought up their future. He was grateful that she hadn't spoken out against marriage. It just dawned on him that she didn't mention moving out again either. Thank God for that! While he was still in the hospital, she told him that she planned to move back into her apartment as soon as Val found a place for her and the girls. After he mentioned the idea of a house, she didn't correct him about her decision to move back. He smirked at the memory of the look on her face when he told her that he would move in with her. He hoped that she was finally getting the picture that he was in her life to stay. Not because of the baby, or that he felt obligated to her. He wanted her. Ranger sighed and looked back at his computer screen. As far as he was concerned, his life would be over if he ever lost her.
Stephanie and Lula pulled up to a club on Broad Street called Flux. It was an old converted church. It was closed. Stephanie jumped out to read the hours. It was open every night from 7 pm to 3am. She hopped back into the car. "It's only open eight hours a day," she told Lula. "They must do alright to stay in business. I've never been in there…have you?" Lula shook her head.
"Uh uh. I remember when it was a real church. That was what….about five years ago?" Stephanie bit her lower lip.
"I think you're right. I couldn't find out much about it on line. Would you go there with me?"
"Would I have to dress up like a freak?" Stephanie looked down at Lula's outfit. Bright yellow spandex pants, white faux fur calf high boots, and a red and white sweater that fit tighter than Ranger's shirts.
"No. But, I think wearing black might help you to blend in a little. Remember, we'd be undercover and don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Stephanie told her diplomatically. Lula thought for a minute.
"I guess I could help you. Yeah…I will help you. Don't worry, Lula knows how to dress to impress! We'll be like Cagney and Lacy, Thelma and Louise….." She trailed off. Then, she and Stephanie broke out laughing. "Okay maybe more like Laverne and Shirley. Yeah….count me in White Girl." They slapped palms in a high five.
"As much as I'd like to check the place out tonight, I don't know if I'll have the energy. This place was mentioned a lot. But, if I remember right, Monday seemed to be the most popular meeting time. Like who goes out on a Monday night? I told you these were weirdoes," Stephanie explained. She glanced at her watch. "Let's go pick up Lester. I'm getting hungry."
"Lead the way White Girl."