ELEVEN

I jump on spot in my seat as my phone rings out of the blue to wake me harsh from my sleepiness, and hit my head on the roof of the car hard. 'Ouch!' I exclaim rubbing my hurting top vigorously, and struggling to press the answer button on the cell phone with the other hand.

'Wha…' I squeeze through my clenched teeth fighting back tears ready to spill from my eyes.

'Stephanie?' I could hear it in Tank's voice that my strange voice has alarmed him.

'Yep,' I confirmed in a toned down voice still struggling to rub off the pain.

'You OK?' he asks cautiously, and waits for my reply.

'Absolutely!' I manage to sound casual, though it hurts a lot. 'It's just my head. Somehow it ended smashing to the roof,' I smirk.

Did I hear him chuckle to that line or was that just my imagination playing?

'Steph, there is a… um… some force major situation going on near by,' he went on explaining the reason behind his call, but somewhat uncertainly just as he got confirmation that I'm alright.

'Do go on,' I urge him intrigued.

'I am calling team with you off for a while. Could we agree for you not to get into some situation while another team comes to replace them?'

'Um, sure,' I agree readily. 'I can be on my own for a while. Not a biggie, you know.'

'Good,' comes his reply, but there is no real certainty in his voice. 'Another team is already on their way.'

I'm not that bad on being on my own, or am I? I stretch and then slouch deeper into the seat as I follow the departing RangeMan's SUV. Hopefully Osso won't come while I'm on my own, so I'd be able to keep my word to Tank.

It doesn't take long for me to start dosing again, and I feel my eyelids getting heavy with lead.

Don't fall asleep, I tell myself. And I don't, but not because I manage to shake off sleepiness, but because some one tears the door of the car open, and strong arms wrestle me out of the car faster than I can even scream.

I take in full lungs of air and open my mouth to yell for help, to make a protest, but a big hand clasps over my mouth with force, and hushes my protest before it got out.

'Not a sound little one,' the man tells me. ' You don't want to make me hurt you, do ya?'

'Hold her,' I hear another man's voice nearby, and try to look in that direction. Another huge tug is closing on me, and my gut tells me I'm in real trouble this time.

While the first man tightens his grip on me, the other takes out a syringe from his pocket and jobs me with it as I try in vain to shake me free.

Almost instantly I get dizzy and all weak. My legs give up on me and I sag.

'Pick her up,' I hear as if through fog, and everything goes blank.

Ranger's POV

My last connecting flight en route home has been delayed due to bad weather conditions, so I was stuck in this airport. Two more hours to go, and finally I'd be on my way back to Trenton. Back to Babe, I thought. Then an image of letting myself into her apartment and finding her deep in sleep, but then slowly awaking to my very presence– how does she do that always puzzles me -, all of the sudden crosses my mind, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stay calm and focused. I wasn't going to let myself off guard in some god-forgotten airport. She'd say I'm so much like Batman holding my emotions under a black blanket instead of showing them in public. Huh, if only she knew…

As a soldier I got used to call home every place I was at the moment. But ever since I met her, it all changed. Now she became my home, and, not for the first time, I've felt this longing to see her, to be with her, to share a laugh…

Damn, soldier. You're getting soft for that woman. I took a grip on myself and make me take my thoughts off of Babe. And what could be a better way to stop thinking of her than think of work?

I fish my phone out of my jacket pocket and switch it on. Just as the phone is fully loaded, the SMS alert pops up. It's from Tank, and as I read the message, my heart sinks.

'SHE'S GONE', the message says, and there's no doubt who's 'she'.

'Ranger,' Tank answers without delay, and starts talking. 'I had to call off team to take care of a hot call at Masters like two hours ago. 10 minutes max she's been left alone, but when another team came in to take over, she was gone, her car empty and with door open. We could not find a trace of her whereabouts since.'

As he fills me with details I listen silently, clenching my fingers hard on the phone in a deadly grip.

'Osso?'

'Doesn't look like him,' Tank says. 'But I think all of this is about the case.'

'Keep on looking,' I tell him. 'Put all of the men you can spare on this. Finding her is a priority.'

'It's done,' Tank puts in. 'We're doing all we can to get her back.'

'Good. I'll be back as soon as possible. Keep me updated,' I say and end our conversation.

Damn, I swear inwardly. Trust Babe to stumble into the very thick of a mess. But there is nothing I can actively do to solve this mess right away, so I just pace it off.

Damn.