Chapter 9

Stephanie looked at Jessie. She understood now why Jessie wasn't in the depressed state that normal grieving people go through after a loved one dies. Jessie hadn't accepted her Father was really dead.

"Jes you've got to accept that he died. It hurts, but it's the only way you'll get through this." Stephanie told her.

Jessie turned and looked at Stephanie. "How do you know? Anyone could have been in that casket."

Stephanie pulled the Porsche over into a parking lot. She turned to Jessie. "Jes remember that letter to Ranger, everything he said in it. Jes he wrote that he was dead in it."

"That's it, he wrote it. You have to be alive in order to write." Jessie said, "Who's to say he didn't just do what Uncle David has done. Change his name and die on paper." Jessie unbuckled the seat belt.

"He's not dead!" She screamed.

She opened the door and got out and took off running.

"Jessie!" Stephanie got out of the car.

Stephanie started running after her. Stephanie ran and saw Jessie turn a corner to the left. She knew Jessie was running blind, just going for all she was worth and Stephanie was losing ground. Stephanie turned the corner to the left. She didn't see Jessie at all. "No! Jessie!"

Stephanie spun around when she heard the squeal of brakes as the black SUV came to a skidding stop and Hal jumped out.

"Where did she go?" Hal asked.

"I don't know. She ran this way. Help me find her." Stephanie's heart throbbed from the run. She ran to the end of the building and looked both ways and saw nothing but a lot. Stephanie shook her head in frustration.

Jessie had turned the corner and noticed the car parked there and checked the doors. One of the back doors was unlocked she opened it and got in and crouched down behind the seat. She heard the brakes of the vehicle and what Stephanie and Hal said. Jessie heard the squeal of tires again of a vehicle taking off. She chanced a look and saw Stephanie run around the building. Jessie opened the car door got out and ran in the opposite direction.

She didn't know where she was, she just kept running. After twenty minutes she slowed to a walk trying to catch her breath as well as wipe the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

David looked at the address he had in his hands and back to the vacant lot. "Son of a Bitch!"

He hit the steering wheel with his fist. He'd been here for three hours in Trenton, New Jersey, and his one good lead ended up being a vacant lot. He hadn't gotten anything out of the military records that could help him find this man. David leaned his head back. "Damn it."

David wadded the paper up in his hands and threw it in the floor board. He sat up and pulled away from the lot, then hit the brakes. His heart started racing and he blinked twice not wanting to believe he actually saw her. He concentrated on her as she walked this way. It had been three years but he'd recognize that hair anywhere. David laughed and put the car into park. He opened the door and got out.

"Jessie?" He asked.

Jessie stopped and looked up as she wiped her eyes again. David could see the pain in her eyes.

"Uncle David." She ran for him.

David opened his arms and accepted her to him. "It's going to be okay." He crooned to her.

Stephanie was frantic, she'd lost her, and she knew Jessie was hurting. Her heart had gone out for this kid knowing that Ranger was her guardian, but she was too, would be legally in six days. Stephanie swiped at the tears that had streamed down her face. It had been twenty minutes, and she had searched everywhere Jessie could have hidden around that building. She started looking in parked cars, anywhere she thought Jessie could fit. Hal came around the corner and saw Stephanie.

Stephanie looked at him through bleary eyes.

"Damn it!" Hal growled.

"You have to call Ranger. Call him now." Stephanie demanded.

Hal looked at Stephanie and shook his head but pulled the phone out. Stephanie watched as Hal opened the phone and punched in the number.

Ranger was back in his office. Lester and Bobby were still downstairs shooting pool. He had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that he missed something in the letter that Daniel left him. He had read through the letter again, the first time he read it, he had been in shock, like he had been at the reading of the will. He only saw Mel at certain times throughout the year. Mel would always come up during the summer; he had her every other Christmas. He never had his child with him all the time. Now Daniel had given his child to him.

He hadn't picked up China the first time through, and he should have. Ranger reached for the bottled water he brought with him and took a drink. The last sentence pounded in his mind. Keep her safe at all costs, more than just her life depends on it. Ranger pushed back from the desk and started pacing.

"Daniel, I'm not getting it. Why all this damn cloak and dagger shit? Why didn't you just tell me Intelligence, I got that much from Jessie's room." Ranger asked looking back to the letter.

He locked his fingers together and placed them on the back of his head. "It would be nice to know what Jessie knew. That would probably help me out here Daniel. Why couldn't you have just made it plainer?"

He moved back to the desk and placed his palms on it looking through the letter again. "More than just her life depends on it. How many more? Two, a city, a state, a country?" Ranger looked at the words. "Same paragraph as his brother, it's got to be the brother. Jessie wrote he bought secrets. What if he was selling them?"

Ranger's cell rang and he answered.

"Yo."

"We lost Jessie." Hal said.

"Lost?" Ranger growled.

Ranger moved from around the desk. He picked up speed and headed through the kitchen to the other set of stairs.

"She jumped out of the car and ran. We can't find her."

Ranger stopped at the stairs. "Lester! Bobby! Get up here!"

"Where's Steph?" Ranger asked.

"She's right here."

Ranger heard the pounding of steps on the stairs. He took off at a run knowing Lester and Bobby would follow him.

"Ranger," Ranger's heart thudded as he heard the agony in Stephanie's voice.

"Babe what happened?"

Ranger opened the front door and headed for the BMW.

"She's hurting Ranger, she doesn't believe he's really dead."

Ranger closed his eyes; Stephanie's words hit him like a steamroller. Daniel's sentence assaulted his mind, help her through this. Jessie's own words, her reason for leaving the academy, it was a closed casket.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Ranger spun and saw Mel. He looked up and saw Emma coming across the lawn.

"Keep her with you. I need Tank."

Emma ran to the house and Lester went for Mel, he scooped her up and took off after Emma with Mel. Bobby ran for the SUV and got in.

"Babe we'll find her. I promise you, we'll find Jessie."

Tank pulled up short at Ranger's words. "Jessie's gone?"

Ranger nodded and headed around the BMW and opened the driver's door. He slid in behind the wheel and Tank got in on the passenger side. Ranger started the car and Tank was already on the phone barking orders.

"I don't know how she did it. She turned the corner, when I turned the corner she was gone."

"Babe it'll be okay." Ranger told her. He slammed the car into drive. "I'm on my way."

"Hurry."

Ranger hung up his cell. Tank told him the cross streets that Jessie had vanished at. When he cleared the last gate, Ranger pushed his foot to the floor board.

David rubbed Jessie's back, he let her cry for a few minutes and then pulled away and held her head in his hands and kissed her forehead. "It's going to be okay. You're pretty confused right now aren't you?"

Jessie nodded.

David gave her a half smile. "Come on." David reached down and took her hand. Jessie walked over to the car with him.

"No one is telling me anything." Jessie told him.

"We'll fix that." David looked down at her and smiled. He patted the trunk of the car and Jessie hopped up on it. He turned to her and put his hands on her legs and started rubbing her knees. "I went to Texas as soon as I found out. I went to the school and was told you were here in Trenton."

"What's going on Uncle David?" Jessie asked.

David leaned down and looked into her eyes. "I need you to listen real close to me Jes. Can you do that?"

Jessie nodded.

David took a deep breath and let it out slowly gathering his wits about him. He couldn't underestimate this little girl in front him. David knew she was sharp and had a very cunning little mind. "I'm being set up." He put his finger on her lips, she was about to ask him something. "In a minute. Just listen. Daniel was trying to help me get out of this mess I'm in. He got too far involved. I'm so sorry baby but they murdered him, he was getting to close too the truth." He could see the pain well up inside of her; he could almost see the grief as it washed through her. "I'm sorry baby, if I would have known they were going to do that I would have done something about it sooner. These people are very dangerous Jes, they got Daniel convinced that it's me. I went to the lawyer's office and they told me I wasn't in the will. You should have came to me baby."

David wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. "What are they wanting? I don't understand, convinced you did what?"

David put his forehead to hers. "That I was selling military secrets. They are after a disc. They thought Daniel had it, now they think you have it. I wasn't selling anything when I was in China. I was gathering intelligence on their short and long range missiles. The best one they have is still the medium range missile, which uses a liquid-propellant armed with single nuclear warheads. I was buying information on there missile program."

Jessie shook her head. "I don't have any disc. What disc?"

"You know the missile program we have, how we need to stay ahead of the game. The strike and counter strike defensive. Our government funded a program, it's been going rather well. We have chips inside missiles that help protect our country. The designs are on the disc along with a new chip design that can go inside subs, aircraft, and missiles. It has enough artificial intelligence to communicate with each other vessel."

Jessie leaned back and looked at David. "What? So this disc has everything on it?"

David nodded.

"And Father was helping them because he thought you were behind it, that you were selling this stuff?" Jessie asked.

David nodded. He had her. That was all that mattered to him now.

"What did Father say to you the last time you saw him?" Jessie asked.

"He told me he would help, that that's what brothers were for. Gave me hug like he normally did, told me to keep your friends close, but he kept his brother closer. Did you ever hear Daniel mention a disc or Arrow-Hawk?" David asked.

David knew she had taken the bait, now he waited for her to take the hook.

Jessie sat there, trying to think, she felt like a weight was pushing into her chest. She didn't want to think anymore, but she knew she had to. Something wasn't right, something he said didn't fit.

David hung his head, she was confused, he went to fast; the pain was too fresh for her. He looked up. "Jes where do you live now?"

Jessie gave an uncontrolled laugh. "I don't know." She laughed again and the tears of grief poured out of her.

"Shit!" David said. "Calm down, it's going to be okay." He took her head back in his hands. "Calm down baby." David had never seen her like this.

Ranger was four blocks from the intersection when he saw Hal. He shoved the car into park and jumped out. Hal turned and saw Ranger.

"How the fuck did you lose her?" Ranger's fist was already back and he swung connecting with Hal's face. Hal staggered backward. "You better pray I find her."

Ranger turned and jumped back in the BMW. He shoved the car into drive and went to the intersection and pulled over. His eyes scanned the area and he saw Stephanie. Ranger got out and she was running to him. He opened his arms and she ran straight in them.

"I don't know how it happened. I don't know how she disappeared like that."

Ranger hugged her tightly to him. "Babe I need you to calm down." He moved his hands to Stephanie's cheek and leaned his forehead to hers. "I'll find her. I need to know exactly what happened. Walk me through it." He kissed her and then let her go and took her hand. "Everything you can think of. Don't leave anything out."

Stephanie told him what they talked about in the car. Ranger listened and then she showed him which way she was running and then came around the same corner again for what seemed like the hundredth time to her.

"I stopped right here. I heard the SUV stop and so I turned around. Hal got out and asked me which way she went. I told him she ran that way." Stephanie said.

Ranger looked around to the only hiding spot he could see, which was the car. He let Stephanie's hand go, and went over to the car.

"I already checked the car, she's not there."

"Did you check the doors?" Ranger asked.

"No I just looked inside it after I ran to the corner of the building and into the lot back there." Stephanie pointed to the end of the block. The building ran the full length of the block.

Ranger tried the front door, it was locked, he tried the back door and it opened. Ranger bent down and looked inside the car, the door handle had sugar glaze on it.

"Did you stop for donuts?"

"Yes, we just came from the donut shop." Stephanie came over and saw the glaze. "She got in the car. I didn't think to check it, she was running so fast. I didn't think of a hiding spot until I saw the lot."

Ranger stood up and pulled Stephanie to him. "It's okay." Ranger looked the around the lot. Jessie wouldn't run that way, he was sure of that. Tank was standing just beyond them. "How long had it been before Hal called?"

"Twenty minutes."

Ranger looked at his watch, it was now twenty minutes past the phone call he had. Ranger did some calculations in his head. "Tank I want a perimeter of ten miles in every directions from this corner. Work from the outside in. Ten miles she couldn't have gotten further than ten miles."

Tank got on the phone and started setting it up. Ranger took Stephanie's hand. "Come on Babe." He walked her back to the BMW opened the passenger door, and let Stephanie get in. He looked at Tank, "Find the Porsche."

Ranger got in the driver side of the BMW and pulled away from the corner. He turned the opposite way Stephanie had said she ran. Ranger moved his hand to Stephanie's leg and started rubbing it.

"I'm sorry. If I would have known she was going to take off I wouldn't have started that conversation. Ranger I'm sorry."

Ranger looked over at Stephanie; he could see how upset she was over this. He found her hand and brought it to his lips. "I'm not upset with you Babe, or Jessie. I'm upset with Hal and Rodriguez." He stopped at the corner and looked but didn't see anything and continued on. He had driven for a mile and picked up a little speed. "If they would have been doing their job correctly this wouldn't have happened."

"We've got to find her; she doesn't even know where we live. She doesn't even know a number to call to find us. Lula didn't even believe her when she told them she didn't know."

"Bet they gave her a hard time." Ranger said as he stopped at the next corner looking down at the mile counter, he was up to five miles now and no sign of her.

"They didn't want us to leave without giving them something. She told them her room was pink and white." Stephanie gave an uncontrolled laugh.

Ranger kept glancing down the streets at every corner he came to. Ranger looked to the left and Stephanie grabbed his arm. "There, right there. Who is she with?"

Ranger didn't know who this was, but he could see Jessie shaking with unrestrained hysteria. She had broken down. He pulled over and he glanced at the lot that the car was parked in front of. That was the lot he used on his driver's license.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked. "We need to get her."

"Steph look at where we are at? Look at the lot." Ranger saw her glance at the lot then back to him.

"What are we going to do?" Stephanie asked.

Ranger let her hand go, reached to the glove compartment, and pulled out the binoculars. He trained them on the back of the car, and then flipped out his phone and called the office. "Hector, run a plate. It's XL226J, write this down while you're at it, male six foot to six four, 195 to 225lbs, business cut, sandy blonde hair, come on, damn it, lean around her, let me see your face."

Ranger felt Steph grab his leg. He could see Jessie taking deep breaths; the man was kissing her forehead.

"Blue eyes, scar above his right eye."

"Plates came back; it's licensed to the New York Financial LTD. Did you find Jes?"

"Yes, run the company. Get Lester and Bobby on the horn, I want a tail on this guy, two rotations I don't want to lose him. He's at my address at the lot."

Ranger hung up the phone. He looked to Stephanie, "I want you to get out of the car. Walk over to them. Get our girl, make something up if you have too."

"What am I supposed to come up with?" Stephanie asked.

Ranger could hear the panic in her voice. He reached over and pulled her to him and kissed her. "Calm down. We found her. Go over there and give him one of your smart ass comments. You need to get her attention. That's it Babe."

Stephanie opened the door got out of the car and shut it. How could I have been so stupid, bringing that up in the car with her? I saw that she was in denial and I pushed her trying to get her to accept it. Stephanie walked across the street and started walking toward them. How the hell am I supposed to get us out of this mess? Ranger tells me to give him some smart ass comment. This guy could be some child molester and does Ranger panic, no he's mister calm, cool, and collected.

Jessie started to calm down. He kissed her forehead like normal. She knew what was wrong; he didn't say what her Father always said to her. Uncle David got it wrong. He never talked to her Father, Jessie knew he was trying to trap her. She had to figure out how to get back to Ranger and Stephanie. She panicked and was spared when Uncle David thought it was just grief. He started soothing her again. Jessie saw him look up and behind them. Jessie turned and saw Stephanie.

"Hey do you know where the Tasty Pastry is? I got turned around and this guy said he doesn't know how to find it. He said he'd give me ride, can you show us? I need to get back there before I'm missed." Jessie said looking pointedly at Stephanie.

Stephanie stopped, "I can walk you over, it's not that far. You're not from around here are you? Don't sound like it, you know, can't be too careful these days. Why don't you come with me honey?" Stephanie put her hands on her hips.

"I kinda got lost; and panicked and this guy calmed me down." Jessie said to Stephanie.

Jessie looked at David. He was smiling at her. "See, I told you there are always good people out there." David looked over at Stephanie. "You take good care of her."

David backed up and Jessie got off the back of the car. He leaned down and whispered to her. "Be careful, I don't want to see you end up like Daniel. I'll see if I can't find out who is doing this and I'll get in touch with you."

Jessie gave him a smile and whispered back. "I'll try to remember, I don't know right now."

"Go on."

Jessie walked over to Stephanie. Stephanie turned around and Jessie followed. Jessie looked back at David as he got in the car and gave her a wave, she waved back.

Ranger watched as the car pulled off and drove by slowly, then around the corner. He got out and ran across the road to the corner and watched as one of the SUVs picked up their mark. He looked back at Jessie and Stephanie.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have ran off Steph." Jessie said.

Stephanie pulled Jessie to her. "That was your Uncle wasn't it?"

Jessie nodded. Ranger walked over them. He put his hand on Jessie's head and she turned to look at him.

"I owe you an explanation, and a very big apology. I messed up Jes. You would never have ran off if I would have told you up front that Daniel was murdered." He bent down and kissed her forehead. "They couldn't have an open casket. You had it right, you wanted confirmation and I never gave it to you. I'm sorry about that. Come on, let's go home."