AN: And now my lovelies... shit gets weirder... -UB
Jessie was relieved to have the house to herself again. It was actually nice hanging out with the guys, even if she was uncomfortable at first. Truth be told, she could only spend so much time around most people. It was exhausting. Locking up and setting the alarm, she made her way upstairs to the bedroom she had been using. She fell on the bed in a very unladylike fashion and waited for Wyatt to join her. Of course, the dog wasn't going to cuddle until he received a snack. That was why a separate jelly bean container sat on her dresser.
Curled up for the night with her best friend, Jessie reflected on the day she had just experienced. Ranger was… nice? No, that didn't sound right. Racking her brain she could not come up with a single word to sum up the man she just spent over 12 hours with. Wow, she had not had contact with another human for that long at once in years. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something unsettling about Ranger. She felt safe in his presence, was not afraid of him, but there was something off. He was polite, mostly, and didn't push too hard... Broken, that's the word she was looking for. Though he tried to hide it, there was significant pain in his past. She could relate.
Sighing she rolled over and draped her arm around Wyatt who happily snuggled in tighter. As she absently stroked his side, she realized she was still wearing Hector's jacket. Thinking of he and Lester made her smile. They were big men, scary men to others she was sure, but she thought they were just good guys. It didn't hurt that they were hot too. She was shocked and relieved that Hector knew her secret. In the privacy of her temporary bedroom, she could also admit that she was tempted to take him up on his offer for "pain relief services". She could tell he would be a lover who didn't harbor illusions of long-term attachment.
Jessie pulled her useless mp3 out of her pocket and laid it on the nightstand. Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics filled the room as she closed her eyes. She was hoping against hope that the pain would lessen and she could actually get an hour or two of sleep for once.
Ten minutes away on Haywood, Ranger was sitting in the semi-darkness of his apartment, nursing a Corona. His mind was in chaos. If his life depended on it, he could not put a straight thought together, a rarity for a man with such legendary control. He was astonished by Jessie, her powers, her quick wit, her green eyes. She was so small but seemed so very strong. She could be serious when necessary, funny when appropriate, and she didn't back down. The fact that he couldn't intimidate her or bend her will through flirtation was a turn on.
He was trying to avoid thinking about the fact that she spent time with him today because she truly WANTED to, not because she HAD to. It was true, with her abilities, if she wished him out of the house, she probably could have sent him out the door in a blink. The nagging thought in the back of his mind was the reminder that she was also immune to his powers. His influence had nothing to do with their time together.
Yet, she didn't appear to be interested in him, in a sexual way. When she did say anything on the more provocative side, it was said in blunt honesty, not flirtation. Ranger didn't know if he was upset or relieved that she wasn't coming on to him. And talk about come-ons, what the hell was up with her and Hector? She didn't have an issue flirting or being suggestive with either him or Lester. Was he losing his touch? Was he too broken now? His thoughts were becoming more unproductive. Downing the rest of his beer, he went to shower before bed.
Two floors down in the same building, a different kind of chaos was about to erupt in the control room. As Lester and Hector left Jessie's house, Les had sent a text to Tank that simply stated "Code Black- 15 minutes". This was a term they had created when Rangeman was first established, when it was only the four of them. It was their way of saying something important was happening related to Ranger and they needed to talk about it ASAP- without the man in black present. Code Black had only been used a few times during the last seven years, and most often it related to his government missions. Over time, as the core team grew and other men in the company proved they were trustworthy, knowledge of the code spread.
As if a PTA mom's phone tree had been activated, Rangemen started coming out of the woodwork. Actually, Vince and Binkie were already on duty on the fifth floor. Tank was on his way home after dinner at Shorty's but turned around and drove back to work. Bobby had been on two in the infirmary going over reports, and met Ram and Cal in the stairwell as they were leaving the gym. Zip, Manny, Junior, and Woody had been in their apartments on four, they quickly ran upstairs.
The men were gathering in an empty conference room. Tank cut the security feed before they had all arrived. Hal and Zero were on a surveillance shift (which would later include driving by Jessie's house), one of the men called them and put them on speakerphone. Ten Rangemen, plus two through air waves, sat with baited breath waiting to hear what the emergency was.
When Lester and Hector arrived on the fifth floor it was nearly deserted save for one lonely contract worker at the monitors. After ensuring the boss was upstairs for the night, they walked into the second conference room. Les cleared his throat loudly to get the guy's attention. With a shit eating grin on his face he said, "Gentlemen, and the rest of you fuckers... she's here." Of course, he drew out the final word much like that creepy kid from Close Encounters...
No one moved or spoke. Hector, who had remained standing by the conference room door, had a sober expression on his face. The gathered men looked from Les to Hector like they were waiting for the punchline of a dreadful joke. When Hector squared his shoulders and nodded his head, all hell broke loose in conference room two.