There Ain't no Love Like Ranger Love
Chapter 7
Stephanie got to the bonds office about nine o'clock the next morning. Lula and Connie were already there, drinking coffee and chatting at Connie's desk.
"Girl, you sure got lucky yesterday," Lula said by way of greeting. Them murdering scurvy dogs that tried to grab you are scary! Well, one of them is scary and the other one is dead."
Stephanie set the box of donuts she was carrying on Connie's desk. "Murdering?" she asked Lula.
"Mmm hmm. You ain't heard yet?"
"No. Heard what?" Steph asked. Her stomach was starting to form a knot. This was not the type of news she wanted to start out the day with.
Connie handed the morning newspaper to Stephanie. "These guys were wanted for questioning in the murder of a dozen women, Steph," Connie told her.
"Not only that," Lula said, taking a jelly donut from the box. They done chopped off some of their heads."
"What?" Stephanie shrieked, scanning the news article. "Holy shit!"
"Thank god Yashi was there to help you," Connie said, shaking her head. That man is a damn hero."
Stephanie took the newspaper and walked over to sit on the couch. She read the gory details of the women who had been killed and her hands were shaking so badly by the time she got to the end, she could barely hold the paper steady.
Connie took a cup of coffee from the cardboard carrier that Lula had brought in and said, "Lula, here, hand this to Steph."
Lula crossed the room and Stephanie took the cup from her. She didn't really feel like talking about what happened at Shorty's or about the news article, so she pretended to be preoccupied with opening and removing the plastic tab from the lid of her coffee.
The front door opened and Yashi walked in. He had a cup of coffee in one hand and a rolled up newspaper in the other. "Morning, ladies," he greeted them with his usual smile.
Immediately, he could tell something was wrong. "Everything okay?" he asked looking from Connie to Lula to Stephanie.
"You read that there newspaper yet?" Lula asked, nodding to the one he was holding in his hand.
"No, I just bought it five minutes ago. Why?" He didn't wait for them to answer. He set his coffee cup on the counter by Connie's desk and unrolled the paper.
The girl's watched as his eyes took in the headlines and pictures on the front page. They remained quiet while he read for a couple minutes before his head snapped up and he looked at Stephanie. "Good God! Have you read this?"
Stephanie nodded her head. "Most of it." I had to skip over some of the gorier details."
Yashi ran his hand through his hair as he glanced back down at the paper and then back up at Stephanie. "I need to see you in my office."
He picked up his cup of coffee and walked to the back of the office. Stephanie put the strap of her purse over her shoulder, rose from the couch and gave Lula and Connie a questioning look.
They both shrugged their shoulders. None of them had heard him use that type of no-nonsense tone of voice before.
Stephanie followed him, clutching her cup of coffee, and waited as he tucked the newspaper under his arm so he had a free hand to unlock the door.
"Have a seat," he told her, closing the door once they were inside.
Once they were settled in their chairs, Yashi looked down at the newspaper in front of him and then looked up at Stephanie. "To say this is frightening is an understatement."
"It really is," Stephanie agreed. "I owe you my life," she said softly.
"You don't owe me anything, Steph. I assume you're aware of the album at the library that chronicles your history as a bounty hunter?"
"I've heard about it, but I've never seen it. I'm sure it's not very flattering."
"Flattering?" Yashi said with surprise. "Whether or not it's flattering seems inconsequential considering the actual content."
Stephanie shifted in her chair. Yashi seemed out of sorts this morning and she had a feeling that she was the cause. "I guess I don't look at it the way other people do. Most people in this town gossip and collect stories like they're nuggets of gold. They thrive on building mountains out of mole hills. I just take things one situation at a time and when it's over, I put it behind me and move on."
"Stephanie ... "
Yashi was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. "You need to take that?" he asked.
"No, but I'll shut it off," she said, reaching in her purse for her phone and hitting the red button to cancel the call and turn off the phone. "I'm sure my mother has read the paper and is calling to lecture me about my job and threaten to never make another pineapple upside down cake for me unless I quit." She dropped the phone back into her purse and turned her attention back to Yashi.
Yashi leaned forward and rested his arms on the newspaper in front of him. "I read the entire album last night, Steph. To say I was stunned and frightened for you doesn't begin to cover it."
He picked up the sheets of paper he'd prepared the night before. "You've had two vehicles blown up, two set on fire, a garbage truck fell on yet another. There was a funeral home fire, a house that caught on fire and a house that exploded. Ranger got shot while you were picking up a skip, you've been kidnapped three times. You've been shot twice, shot at another four times. You've been stabbed twice. You've had two minor concussions and two major concussions. Christ, Stephanie, do you know there are NFL players who have had to end their career after the third or fourth concussion? That's how serious they can be, not to mention explosions, bullets and knives."
Stephanie was speechless and didn't know where all this was going. Finally, to his question about the NFL players she just shook her head no.
"Now," Yashi continued, picking up the newspaper, "you came within seconds of being kidnapped by two of the lowest human beings on the face of the earth. There is no way they would have let you go alive if they'd been able to get you inside that van."
"I was lucky you were there," she admitted again, not sure what else to say.
Yashi took a deep breath and blew it out as he leaned back in his chair. "Aren't you ever worried that some day your luck is going to run out?"
Stephanie shrugged. "Everyone's luck is going to run out some day, Yashi. I'm a bounty hunter, this is what I do."
"Why? Of all the jobs in the world, why this?"
Now it was Stephanie's turn to blow out a weary sigh. She hated being questioned like this. If it were anyone but Yashi, she'd probably tell them to mind their own business. But, it was Yashi. She knew he was only asking because he was concerned, plus, he was her boss. He probably had more of a right to ask than some other people.
"When I first started out, it was because I was out of work and needed the money. After a while, it kind of grew on me. I mean, it's not the funnest job in the world, but I hate being stuck behind a desk. With this, I can work my own hours, I have down time when there aren't any skips and many of them pay really well."
"And all the violence and injuries?" Yashi asked.
"I guess I've just gotten used to it."
"That sounds a lot like complacency, Steph, and complacency can get you killed."
"Why are you telling me all this Yashi? Is all this leading up to something?"
Yashi shuffled the papers in his hands. "Yes. I spent a lot of time thinking about this last night and that was before I knew the background of the guys from Shorty's. I know you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you, but it's not negotiable. Well, there are parts of it that can be negotiated, but the basic part is not negotiable."
Now Stephanie was really nervous. She wondered if he was going to fire her. She told herself to remain calm and not overreact to whatever it was. She was sometimes known for her knee-jerk reactions and reminded herself to not panic or say something she'd regret.
"Just tell me," she said, not being able to take the suspense.
"I'm suspending you for three months, with pay, pending some changes on your part."
Stephanie jumped up from her chair. "What! Three months! Suspension!"
"Stephanie, sit down." He didn't yell at her, but he did raise his voice enough to make sure he had her attention. "I know this is upsetting to you, but I want you to hear me out."
Stephanie stood motionless for a couple of moments and then dropped back down into her chair. "Why are you doing this?"
"When I read through the album last night at the library, I was shocked to see that not only are there articles that actually cover the events I mentioned earlier, there are fluff pieces and editorial pieces that feature you. The local writers are fascinated with you, but the things they write make your job even more dangerous.
"There are periodic pieces that talk about your lack of training, the fact that you're unarmed half the time and that more times than not, you work without adequate backup. Stephanie, it's all right there in black and white for any FTA or criminal to see what an easy mark you are."
Stephanie didn't have a reply to that so she remained quiet.
"You're known as the bounty hunter who is allergic to guns and exercise, so I wrote down some suggestions and options for you to explore. Don't feel bad about hating exercise, a lot of people do and I'm one of them. I used to run a lot, even ran in a few marathons and then one day I thought, why the hell am I doing this? I don't even like running. I only started it as a challenge. Anyway, now I only do exercises I like and you can do the same thing. "Do you like to swim?"
Stephanie nodded her head. "Yeah, but I don't get the chance very often."
"I have a pool. Do you like to ride bikes?"
She shrugged. "Mary Lou and I used to ride our bikes through the 'Burg all the time, but I haven't ridden in years."
"We can get you a bike," Yashi said.
"Do you like to dance?"
Stephanie frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Dancing is great exercise, Steph. I wouldn't be home during the day, but I could give you a key. I have a workout room and mats and audio equipment with surround sound. You could crank up the music and dance your head off. The neighbors will never hear the music like they would in your apartment. The wall where the treadmill, elliptical and stationary bike are set up is all mirrors. You can watch yourself dance and watch your progress if you'd like.
"I'd also like you to do some kind of self-defense training. Like I mentioned yesterday morning, I'd be happy to give you free karate lessons. If that doesn't appeal to you, there are places in town to learn kickboxing and other forms of martial arts and self-defense.
"Here's one scenario," he continued, "you can show up at my house at 8 am three times a week for karate. Then, when I leave at 9 am to come here, you'll have the house to yourself. You can use the workout room to either work out or dance or both. My neighborhood is very safe. You could keep your bike in my garage and ride it around the neighborhood. You can also use the pool as often as you like. Swimming is great exercise. It'll strengthen both your arm and leg muscles.
"Another scenario is that you can leave me totally out of the picture and arrange whatever workouts and exercises you want to do on your own. You're not obligated to accept any help from me, but I offer it gladly if you want to accept it.
"The third scenario is, you decide you don't want to exercise or train in self-defense and would rather not work here any more.
"In addition to the above, you need to practice with your gun regularly, if you're not already, and carry it with you at all times."
Stephanie was silent for a few minutes then said. "You've been talking with Ranger, haven't you? Did he put you up to this?"
Yashi shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "No. This has nothing to do with Ranger. I only spoke with him for a minute last night to make an appointment to discuss the high bond skips. Why? Are these things he's already discussed with you?"
"Yes, all the time. He's always trying to get me to work out and run and practice with my gun."
Yashi frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "And you haven't listened to him because?"
"Because I don't like working out and I'm not getting up at five AM to run with him."
"Stephanie, if you won the lotto and hired a successful financial expert to advise you on what you should do with your money, would you ignore their expert advice?"
"No, I wouldn't think so."
"But, Ranger, an experienced security expert, has been advising you about your safety for years and you just ignore it, like it's not important." He paused for another minute. She didn't answer, but he could see she was thinking about it. "Are you willing to get up at seven-thirty to be at my house by eight for karate? Then dance and swim and/or ride your bike?"
Yashi sipped his coffee while he waited for an answer, but still she didn't reply.
"Stephanie look. This morning I deposited $12,000 into your bank account. If you take me up on this offer, I'll actually be paying you to take a vacation of sorts. No skips to chase down for three months and you spend a couple hours a day bike riding, swimming and dancing along with free karate lessons. How could you turn that down?"
"How did you get my bank account number and what if I turn down your offer?"
"Your bank account number is in your employee file. Lula's and Connie's are in their files too. It appears that Vinnie was going to implement direct deposit at one point and had all of you fill out the forms, but he never followed through. If you decide to turn down my offer, you can consider the money severance pay for the years you've worked here."
"But I've only worked one day for you. That's not right."
"The money will come out of the business and you've been a part of the business for three and a half years. Listen, you don't have to answer me right this moment. Go home, think about it, discuss it with a friend or whatever. You can call me later if you decide to arrange for your own training and defense or if you decide to quit. Or, you can just show up at my house tomorrow morning at eight. You remember how to get there?"
Stephanie nodded.
"Good." Yashi stood up so Stephanie stood too. He came around the desk and put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick one arm hug. "Whatever you decide to do is okay with me Stephanie. I'm not going to be upset if you decide to get out of this business. But if you do decide to leave, you'd better not be a stranger. Now get out of here," he said with a dimpled smile. You have some thinking to do."
Stephanie nodded and turned to open the door.
"Steph?"
"Yeah?" she asked turning back around.
"You might need this," he said holding out her purse. "I'm sure your mother isn't going to give up after one try."
"You have no idea," Stephanie replied.
"Would you like to hang out for a bit and chat with Lula and Connie?"
Stephanie declined by shaking her head. That was the last thing she needed right now. She may have appeared okay on the outside, but inside she was shaking like a leaf. She just wasn't sure whether she wanted to break down and sob or fly into a fit of rage.
"How about if I run interference for you by walking you to the front door?"
When she nodded her head, Yashi reached around her and opened the door, then walked her to the front door and opened it for her. Neither of them looked at Connie or Lula as they passed them, but both could feel their curious stares.
Yashi stood at the front door until Stephanie got in her car and pulled away, then made his way back to the office as two pairs of curious eyes followed his movement. He had no idea how they were going to take the news, but hopefully, like he, they wanted Stephanie to be more prepared for the job so she'd be safe. Safer.
He seated himself at his desk and picked up his phone, punching in Ranger's cell phone number.
"Yo," came the voice on the other end.
"Hey, Ranger. Yashi, here. Couple of questions for you. I know we said three o'clock today, but would it be a problem if we changed it to three-thirty?"
"Three-thirty is fine," Ranger said then paused waiting for the next question. He was in his turbo on his way to an appointment.
"Great, thanks. Uh, the other thing is, well, I know Stephanie just works for you part time and all, but do you happen to know if she's seriously interested in anyone?"
The turbo's tires squealed as he pulled off to the side of the road and slammed on the breaks. What the fuck? He knew this little pissant was interested in his Babe. He thought for a few seconds about how he should answer. Finally, he said, "I'm quite certain she is," as he disconnected.
Yashi hung up his phone and chuckled softly at Ranger's reaction. "You're welcome, Steph," he said to the empty room.