Sacrifices
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: Not Mine
A/N: So the challenge is over, and I've got a question. Do you guys prefer shorter chapters with more frequent posts or longer chapters with more of a gap in-between chapters? This chapter contains parts of my original chapter from the RR on Babecakesrus.
Thanks goes to Jenrar (aka. Jenny), for her awesome Beta skills. She helped me work some kinks out with this chapter. And also thanks go to Jennifer who gave me an idea I worked into this chapter.
Steph's POV
I watched the car speed off with the mystery woman, Adara, inside, then turned to look at Ranger. "Who the hell is she?" Jealousy was rearing its ugly head, and he hadn't even explained who this woman was.
"She's the reason I need your help." He reached behind my seat and handed me a file. "Wait until we get to the hotel, and we'll go over it together."
"Okay." I looked down at the name on the file, and read Khalid Mehtar. Who the hell is that? What the fuck is going on? I sighed in frustration.
He pulled the SUV back out into traffic, and drove us a few blocks over, pulling into an older, rundown hotel.
"Please tell me we are not staying here?" I screeched.
"Babe." Ranger said in his It's not that bad voice.
"It is too that bad!" Hmmm … seems I was learning Batman ESP. "I just saw a rat run across the parking lot."
"It wasn't from the building. It came from the alley," he stated matter of factly, reaching for the door handle. "Steph, you have to trust me; we wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary. We needed a place to stay, where no one will pay attention or remember us."
I reluctantly got out of the car and followed him to our room. I went inside, and was pleasantly surprised about the condition of the room. It far exceeded my expectations based on the exterior of the building. There was a large bed, a small kitchen with table, and a bathroom that looked very similar to my apartment.
"We're sharing a bed?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Is that a problem?" He cocked his eyebrow in question.
Just for my hormones.
He threw his head back with a bark of laughter. "Giving information to the enemy, Babe."
I squeaked as he walked over and kissed me senseless. He pulled away a few minutes later, pulling the file out of my hand, and went to sit at the small table. He motioned me over; I took a seat beside him and opened the file.
The further I read in the file, the more I realized that Khalid Mehtar was bad news. He was wanted for the bombing of the USS Cole, which had killed seventeen U.S. soldiers. It seemed that he was high up on the Al Qaeda food chain, as well.
I finished looking over the file, closed it, and pushed it to the center of the table. I crossed my arms, leaned back, and looked at Ranger.
He was silent, trying to wait me out, knowing my curiosity had to be running wild, but I was determined. This time, I would wait him out. My silence would force him to talk, to explain the situation.
He sighed. "I don't even know how to explain this to you. Some of what I'm going to tell you can never leave this room, do you understand?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"When I left the Army, I was offered a private contract. What that means is, on paper, to the outside world, it looks like I am a civilian. In reality, I am still active duty. I'm in an elite Ranger's group. We do highly classified, highly dangerous, black ops missions for the Federal government."
He stopped talking, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
Shit! This must be bad. I couldn't take it anymore. "So what does that have to do with me and this guy, Khalid, and this Adara woman?" I motioned towards the file I'd set in between us.
"Everything." He ran his hands through his hair and stood up, pacing. "I screwed up. I was young, Babe. I didn't fully understand what I was doing." His face looked haunted. "I'd just signed away my rights to Julie; my head wasn't in the right place. I didn't really care about anything anymore. They offered me a contract, and I signed it. I didn't even pause to look at it. I just signed." He stopped talking again.
I let out a shaky breath. "How long?"
He just looked at me with pain-filled eyes.
I stood up and wrapped my arms around him, stopping his pacing. "How long, Ranger?"
"Ten years ..."
My heart constricted at his words. "But ..."
He cut me off. "That was five years ago." He brushed his lips across mine and pulled back to look at me. "Babe, I've been offered a get out of jail free card, but I need you to help me get it."
"I don't understand... Why would they let you out of your contract five years early?"
"It's complicated, and hard to explain, but I'll do my best. I've been trying to get out of the contract for a few years now. Once Tank knocked some since into me, I realized I'd just fucked up my whole life. I negotiated some loop holes into the contract after the fact, and made it to where it was beneficial for me and my company. About two years ago, my priorities changed. Someone walked into my life and turned my whole world upside down. I started wanting things I couldn't have. RangeMan had grown so much that it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to be gone for indeterminable periods of time. After Scrog, I realized I wanted to get to know my daughter. I want my life back, Steph. I'm tired of being the government's property. I want to have my someday."
My mouth fell open in shock. "I ... how ..."
"They will mark my contract fulfilled if I help them locate Khalid. The key to his location will come from his girlfriend, Adara."
I still must have looked confused.
"That, Babe, is where you come in."
"Me? Why not use the guys? Surely they would be more capable of this sort of thing." I just couldn't understand not asking the guys for help.
"Well, for starters, you've got the best instincts of anyone I know. Besides that, though, I couldn't use the guys for this, even if I wanted to." He walked over to the bed and started removing his weapons, placing them on the nightstand.
I rolled my hand in a circle, signalling him to keep going.
Once all the weapons were removed, he moved towards the dresser, pulling open one of the drawers and tossing me one of his shirts. "Babe, when a solider signs the type contract I did, you are assigned to a handler. They negotiate your missions, decide who goes where, and normally, they will refuse suicide missions. Their job is to watch our backs in strategy meetings."
He pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor. "Several of my employees are under similar contracts, so the brass decided it would be easier to assign us one handler. Our handler isn't very happy that General Marshalls offered me a way out of my contract. He doesn't want me to succeed."
I could see where this was going. "So he figured out a way to try to make sure you don't?"
"Yeah, Babe, he tried to stop the General from giving me the offer. When he figured out the contract was already signed, he told me if any of the guys help me, he'll make sure the next high risk contracts that come up have my employees' names on them. I could have told the guys, and they would have helped me regardless of the consequences to them, but what kind of a man would I be if I let them?"
He closed his eyes for a moment, visibly tense, before continuing. "I never wanted to involve you in any of this, but I know with you here, we'll get the information I need. So..." he paused, watching me wearily. "Will you help me?"
Like there was even a remote possibility I'd say no. I stood up, walking towards the bathroom, with his shirt slung over my shoulder.
"Of course I'll help you," I said as I shut the door to change.
I looked at myself in the mirror. What the hell was I getting myself into?
TBC ...
A/N: Sooo ... how did you like the twist? Did you see that coming?
Interesting tidbit: the name Khalid Metar, means immortal prince.
Please review and let me know what you think.
