**This chapter is going to trip some of you up. There are so many stories about people infiltrating the PlumVerse, but there are so many questions left. Dealing with her ex-husband, Opie is going to have to make sure that Ranger understands exactly what is going on. That can lead to some pretty sticky conversations. Thanks for continuing to read, and as always enjoy!**
&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8
We arrived at Haywood and silently pulled into a parking spot in the garage. We all walked quietly towards the elevators and pressed 'B' and headed towards the basement.
"Ranger know?" I asked Les.
"Yep." He popped the 'P' and looked towards me. "He's already waiting down there I'm sure."
"Fabulous." I groaned. "Where's Steph?"
"She was up on five when I left; running searches." He glanced down at Diesel and my hands clasped and a flare of emotion slipped past his blank face. I smiled, unclasped my hand and pulled Les' into mine. He smiled. "How do you want to handle this?"
"I don't know."
The doors slid open and a small sea of Black stood in the middle of the hallway in front of one of the holding cells. You could feel the tension rolling off of them as they stood hands on hips and watched us as we made our way to them.
"This guy is an enigma." Ranger said coldly. He turned and ran a hand down his face. "Opie you need to tell me who this guy is, why he is here, and what is going on."
It wasn't a question, which isn't unusual for Ranger, but I could tell that he was irritated that he wasn't in the loop.
"His name is Marco DeChavez." I took a deep breath. "He's my ex-husband, and you won't be able to find anything on him."
"Why is he here? And why can't I find anything about him even existing. My sources aren't like some public library look up. If he exists, I would know." I looked up at Diesel and he nodded.
"I think we need to talk in private, Ranger." I worried my bottom lip. Les stiffened next to me. "Guys, just let him cool off and come down from whatever he is on. "
"Come with me." Ranger walked past us and back towards the elevators. He stopped feet from it, and opened a door immediately to his left. Holding it open he motioned for me to come in. I squeezed Les' hand before releasing it and grabbing Diesel as I strolled past.
As we entered the room, Ranger held up his FOB up at the cameras and closed and locked the door. He leaned up against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. The room was an interrogation room, with a shiny steel table and a couple of chairs.
"Diesel?"
"Maybe we should have had Tank come in just in case he freaks out." I knitted my hands nervously. Diesel laughed and pulled me into a chair, taking up the one next to me. I laughed and shook my head, pointing to the chair in front of us across the table. He just raised an eyebrow.
"Sit." Ranger looked from me to Diesel and then sat, placing his hands palms flat against the surface. He cocked an eyebrow and waited for me to start. "Okay, so this isn't going to sound good."
"That's not going to make him feel better." Diesel laughed, poking my side. I groaned. "Ranger…man…I know you know who I am." Ranger nodded. "You also know that there is shit that you just can't control, understand, or maybe even fathom."
"Just spit it out, Diesel." Ranger growled. "What the fuck is going on?"
"I'm not from here." I spit out. Diesel just shook his head and chuckled.
"Yeah, I know." Ranger sighed. "You were last in Colorado."
"Yeah, I was in Colorado, but not YOUR Colorado." I once again took up chewing on my bottom lip. His eyebrow was quirked so high on his face that I swear that it was about to join his hair line.
"Explain." Oh great…one word demands. There's the Ranger I know.
"You see, I'm not quite of your…..world." I groaned as Ranger's eyes slid shut in irritation. "Dimension? Shit, D…what the fuck would you call it?"
"It's an alternate plane." He explained calmly. "There are a vast number of realities. This is one." He motioned around. "Opie's is another."
"Are you high?" Ranger laughed, finally opening his eyes. Noticing that we weren't laughing, he stopped laughing and stood, his chair tipping over behind him. "Your files appeared conveniently after you first came to me."
"I knew that you would do a background check." Diesel explained calmly, pulling out his cell phone. "They are her records, only doctored. I replaced the people that were on there with their equals here."
"I wondered how that happened." I poked his shoulder and he shrugged.
"Wait…so you are trying to tell me that you are some…what…interplanetary traveler?" Ranger was running his hands roughly through his hair.
"Ummm…yes?"
"Explain."
"Jesus…Marco was supposed to stay in our..plane." I explained, my hands twisting around each other. "I had no one. Nothing. I was homeless and desperate."
"She was a couple days away from some pretty bad shit, man." Diesel quipped him, taking my hand and clasping it in his. "When she came here the first time, I was hoping that she would get a nice vacation. She deserved it. After the mess here, I brought her back and kept tabs on her."
"I don't believe you." Ranger deadpanned. Blank face fully in place.
"Is there any way for us to show him?" I asked, watching as Ranger began to almost vibrate with irritation.
"Well, we could pop over quick, but I don't know where I would bring him to prove it." Diesel flipped through his phone a bit and pulled up a number.
"What about Janet?" I turned away from Ranger's gaze. "Wouldn't she be able to show him…something?"
"Probably not a good idea." He chuckled. "She's pretty pissed at me at the moment."
"Wait…." I yanked his phone out of his hands. "What about the Plum-verse Fangirl convention?"
"That would be bringing a lamb to slaughter." He laughed and looked over at Ranger who now was sporting a twisted grimace. I shrugged and pulled up the site. After he read it over he stood. "This is gonna cause him to have an aneurism."
"It wouldn't be that bad." I rolled my eyes. "He's a big bad mercenary…I'm sure he can handle it."
Diesel stood and stared off into space for a few minutes. I was an inch away from smacking him back into reality when he looked at Ranger and spoke.
"Alright, Ranger…if you want proof I can show you. But this is gonna fuck with your head unless you are prepared for it."
"You guys lost me after the alternate plane shit." He growled.
"What are you thinking of?" I popped my knuckles nervously.
"It's unconventional, but it will be quiet and secure." A smile spread across his face. "He's gonna meet the other Babe."
"What?" I looked at Ranger to see if he had any idea of what he was saying, but only a blank confused look met me. "Where are we going?"
"Saint Louis." Diesel slapped his hands together and rubbed them devilishly.
"Do you think that we could pop him out and be back before anyone notices?" I stood up and looked out the small window at the top of the door. The men were all still standing by the other door.
"I am sure that we could be in and out with enough proof for him within an hour or two." He said. Ranger just looked from me to Diesel and back.
"I have a feeling that I am going to regret this." He mumbled, shaking his head.
"This is going to be awesome!" Diesel clapped his hands together and walked toward Ranger, who eyed us both like we were going to eat him. "Take my hands, both of you. It's not going to be a pleasant ride for you guys, but it won't be too bad. I can pop us right at the front door."
"I wish that we were going to the convention." I wined. "I always wanted to go to one." I giggled, grabbing his hand. I looked at Ranger, who still stood completely bristling. Diesel grabbed his hand and we were gone.
&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8
Everything went black and it felt like my entire body was being pressed heavily on all sides. After only a few seconds, light burst before my eyes and I slammed down into the pavement out of breath and dizzy. Ranger was next to me, breathing heavy and shaking his head.
"What the fuck!?" He growled, pushing to his feet. I followed, looking around. Diesel was standing, tapping casually on his phone. "What the fuck happened?"
"Welcome to Saint Louis!" Diesel grinned and spread his arms wide. "Well, outer Saint Louis, really." Ranger opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. I reached out and grabbed his hand, hoping that he wouldn't whip out his gun and just start shooting.
"Ranger, trust me, please." I placed his hand between mine. "This will help you gain some perspective. Then we can go home and figure out how to deal with this mess." He just nodded; his eyes whipping around taking in his surroundings.
We were in the parking lot of what I can assume is a park. Playground equipment and picnic tables spotted the vast green landscape. Water fountains and basketball courts were off in the distance. You could hear a few smaller children playing, the sound of water and cars in the distance.
"Where are we, exactly?" I asked, keeping Ranger's hand tightly in mine.
"We are at Salisbury Park." Diesel grinned. Ranger quirked an eyebrow. They shared a strange look, obviously exchanging some sort of ESP. "We have to walk a couple of blocks north, but it's not far. I didn't want to pop in the middle of the street and scare people."
"That's nice of you." I chuckled.
We walked at a fairly brisk pace through the park. Ranger, ever vigilant, swept his eyes constantly looking for whatever could be considered a threat. So far the closest thing I found was an overly-friendly squirrel that was bounding from tree to tree overhead, tossing various twigs and berries down at us.
"I hate going into places blind." Ranger grumbled as we stopped at the outer road, looked both ways and crossed. "I feel like a pig going to slaughter right now."
"You aren't going to die, Rangeman." Diesel chuckled. "Well, I am pretty sure that you will be okay."
"That isn't very comforting." I shook my head.
"It's the gray house on the end." Diesel pointed and we all headed in that direction.
It was a fairly large house, with a two car garage, white picket fence and matching white shutters. It was a split level home with huge windows across the higher level. The yard was perfectly manicured and minimal. Unlike the rest of the houses, it didn't have large flowering bushes or kids' toys strewn across the yard. As we got closer, I felt Ranger stop; tugging my hand with his lack of movement.
"What the fuck is this?" He asked quietly, taking note of the name on the mailbox.
"Come on, Ranger." I know that you are starting to put this together. I looked between them. They weren't going to be giving me any clues as they were currently stuck in some sort of ESP like staring contest.
"Alright boys." I sighed in exasperation. "Wanna clue me in?"
"Come on." Diesel strode up the steps, Ranger and I on his heels. "Let's come say hello."
"Diesel, this isn't…" Ranger began quietly; stopping at Diesel rang the doorbell.
I waited for someone to yell 'Coming', or footsteps or something, but there was no sound at all. A flash from the window above us caught my eye, but when I looked all I saw was the swinging of a curtain.
"Huh." Diesel knocked on the door, well more like pounded. "Come on, Mags! I know you're home!"
"This can't be happening." Ranger muttered. His face was slack and the unforgiving blank face was gone, leaving a look of terror and awe in its wake.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" A woman's voice rang through the door before it was ripped open.
"Holy shit." Ranger stuttered.
"Mags!" Diesel wrapped the woman in his arms and pulled her tightly to him. "I knew you missed me."
"You are an asshole, D." She ground out, pushing away from him and standing hands on hips to survey Ranger and I. "Who the fuck are these two?"
She was tall, probably close to 5'10 or 11. I would guess her age somewhere between 15 and 40; her eyes said she was closer to 40 but her face and body screamed teenager. Her long brown hair was pulled into twin braids and nearly reached her hips. She had gray blue eyes and pale skin. She wasn't petite, by any means, but wasn't fat. In fact, she looked buff as hell and that she could give both Ranger and Diesel a run for their money. She had on a white tank top, dark brown cargoes and pink fuzzy flippers.
"Why don't we go inside and I can explain." Diesel smiled again, making the woman laugh.
"Alright. Alright." She turned and waved her hand for us to follow. I took a step, noticing once again that Ranger was frozen once again. I yanked his hand more and he shook his head slightly before coming with me. Diesel followed us, closing and securing the door with an insane amount of locks, latches and bars. "Come on up. I'll get some coffee."
"This isn't possible." Ranger growled quietly between tight teeth.
"Anything is possible, man." Diesel shook his head.
There was a small sitting room off to one side and a giant open kitchen and dining room in front of us. The woman, Diesel called her Mags, was standing in the kitchen pouring coffee into mugs. Diesel grabbed the other two and followed her towards the dining table, motioning with his head for us to sit down.
"So…" Mags began once we were seating. "What do you want?"
"Actually, I needed to prove to my friend here. "Diesel pointed at Ranger. "That you were real, and that the possibility of multiple planes of existence existed."
"Shit, Diesel." She shook her head. "I can't be the only person on this plane that you can use to convince people. Those fucking Winchesters that you brought over made my life hell for months."
I snickered, trying to hide it with the coffee that was in front of me. Lucky girl got to play with the Winchesters. I'm going to have to remember that when Diesel tries to butter me up after this mess.
"Well, this one I could have gone to someone else, but I figured with both of your…histories…you wouldn't mind it." Diesel shot her a wink. She looked at Ranger and at me then back at Diesel; this time with her mouth slightly agape. "Yep." He popped the 'P' and sipped his coffee.
"No fucking way!" She smiled and stood, walking over towards Ranger and eyeing him up and down. "Is it really him?"
"Oh Dios, estoy muerta. Mierda . Bebé va a estar tan enojado . Yo sabía que esto era una mala idea. Pendejo de mierda me tiene muerto ." Ranger grumbled, running his hands through his hair. { Oh God, I'm dead. Shit. Babe is gonna be so pissed. I knew that this was a bad idea. Fucking asshole got me killed.}
"Ranger, no están muertos . Él sabe mejor que para lograr que de todas las personas a la puerta de mi casa muerta." She smiled. Ranger chuckled. {Ranger, you are not dead. He knows better than to bring YOU of all people to my doorstep dead.}
"Uhh…" I held up my hand. "Someone wanna clue me in?"
"Sorry." She smiled and took her seat, sipping quickly from her cup. "I'm Maggie Stanton. And you are?"
"Opie Cummings." I put out my hand and she reciprocated. "I can imagine how you know who Ranger is, but Diesel?"
"Diesel…" She looked at him and smiled. "He came to me about a year ago. Told me who he was, which I kind of already knew, and asked me to help him out." She turned to Diesel and tipped her head towards me. "Who's she?"
"She's a local, Mags." Diesel grinned and winked at me. "Remember the girl I told you about?"
"No shit?" She laughed and looked back at me. "This boy cashed in a few favors helping you out. I am just glad that Masters was able to give you the info you needed."
"Who's Masters?" I asked. This shit was weird. It's amazing that people can just run with the chaos that Diesel passes out.
"He's my….boss. For lack of better word." She ran her finger over the top of her coffee cup.
"He has more connections than anyone I have ever even imagined. Probably more than Batman over here."
"Okay, so how does Ranger know you?" I raised my eyebrow, trying to make the connection.
"There is a man in Ranger's world named Gregory Smitthe. He wrote the series on Mags here. Kind of how Janet write about Ranger and Steph. " He pointed at her and she chuckled. "He and Janet are known as satellites. They aren't Unmentionable, per say, but they are able to catch the waves that people like Stephanie and Mags throw out into the universe."
"I can't believe this." Ranger stood and paced; one hand on his hip the other running through his hair.
"Believe it, Toots." Mags said, standing and heading to the curtains that were hung behind the table. She pulled it back and knocked lightly on the glass. "I can give you any proof that you may need."
Ranger froze as the curtain moved and two huge men stalked into the room, tapping Mags gently on the top of her head with a kiss. It was fascinating to see Ranger's eyes almost bug out of his head at the sight of these two.
"Do you know who these two are?" She pointed at the men, who were now pouring themselves cups of coffee.
Both men were insanely tall; well over six feet and probably closer to seven. They were both huge, muscles bulging and threatening to rip the tan t-shirts that they were wearing at the seams. One man had short thick black hair that was just long enough to wave. His skin was of a light olive complexion, and I could only assume that he was Mediterranean. His eyes a very pale green and were lined with thick black eyelashes. The other man was pale with long dark blonde hair that was braided at the sides and gathered loosely. His eyes were bright blue. When he saw me looking at him, he winked and quirked his mouth into a semi-smile. Damn, they are fine.
"Steele and The Viking." Ranger whispered, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes. "How can this…"
"Jacob Steele." The dark haired man held out his hand to me. I shook it and he went to Ranger, nodding.
"Garret Erikson." The other man said. "Or I guess the Viking. Most people just call me Erik." He took my hand in his and held it longer than necessary. "It's nice to meet you."
"Ranger.." Mags walked up to him and took his hands in hers. "I know that this is freaky and crazy and you probably are thinking that you were drugged or that we are fucking with you. We aren't. This is real. I am real."
"But…"
"I know." She laughed. "The universe is a weird fucking place."
"So…" I interrupted both my gawking of the giant sexy ass men and the weird vibe that was clinging between Mags and Ranger. "Ranger read books about you." She nodded. "Why?"
"Well, probably because of this asshole over here." She motioned towards Diesel who just grinned ear to ear. "We have similar lifestyles. I guess that the books are fairly popular over there within certain circles."
"How can you be…you?" Ranger was still having a hard time grasping the situation. She turned and pulled the back of her t-shirt down just enough for him and I too see the word scrawled across the back of her neck. 'Babe'. Ranger reached out and traced the word with his finger.
"Hmm…that's an interesting twist." I laughed and plopped myself back into my chair.
"I've been Babe since I was a little girl. My grandfather called me that, and it just stuck." She smiled as she explained. "About 10 years ago, after the death of my husband, I was offered a job with a couple of his old buddies. They were involved with bounty hunting, security and repo. I have a way of getting into some pretty weird shit, and I guess that this Gregory guy thought that he could write a book about it."
"Does he know that you are real?" I asked, my eyes wandering back to the two men, who were now leaning up against the counter watching us as they drank their coffee.
"I doubt it." She shrugged. "The way that Diesel explained it to me was that satellites don't really see it as a vision or anything like that. I guess that it's just a pocket of their subconscious that gets the information. What they do with it from there is on them."
"I started reading the books when they first came out. I got them in a box from my family for my birthday." Ranger said, pulling away from Mags and settling back down into his seat. "I had already begun skip tracing and bounty hunting, but I wanted to expand. I was motivated by the books." He laughed and shook his head. "This is fucking unreal."
"Mags." Steele called, his eyes never leaving his cell phone. It must have buzzed or something, but I hadn't heard anything. "You want us to pick up Malloy without you?"
"Actually…" She looked at Ranger, a huge canary eating smile covering her face. "Ranger, how would you like to help me take in a guy."
Ranger stared at her for a solid minute before a huge smile crossed his face. "It's not like I would ever have the opportunity to do it again, would I?"
"Maybe." She winked, pulling to her feet. "I need to get dressed." She motioned to the jeans and t-shirt she was wearing. "I know that you are probably ready to roll, but these two" She pointed at Diesel and I. "Are going to have to wait in the vehicle."
"That's cool with me." Diesel stood and stretched, tipping his head towards the other men. "How you been doing, Steele?" She strolled out of the room and down a hallway.
"You know, man." Steele, the dark haired man, smiled. "Another day, another dollar."
"So…" Diesel leaned to make sure that Mags was out of earshot. "Did you do it yet?"
"No." Steele ground out, swiping a giant hand across his face. "It's complicated."
"Get on it, brother." Erik chuckled out, punching him in the shoulder. "You know that she has been asked out about a dozen times in the past week alone. She isn't going to hold out forever."
"Jesus.." I shook my head. "You two aren't like this jackass and Plum are you?"
"Hey!" Ranger exclaimed. "I'm sitting right here."
"Yeah, and?" I waved my hand. "You had your head so far up your ass that it actually sat back on your shoulders."
"I like this girl." Erik grinned at me and winked making me blush.
"So, Ranger…" Diesel tipped his head towards him. "You believe me now?"
"Shit." Ranger groaned. "This was pretty eye opening."
"Good."
"What are we going to do when we get back?" I asked. "Marco isn't going to just give up, especially if he has Wolf helping him."
"I can bring him back here." Diesel looked up at Steele. "Y'all don't mind holding onto a piece of shit for a while, do you?"
"Nah..we don't mind." Steele pulled out his phone and tapped on it. "The holding cells in the main building were recently renovated so they are empty. I am sure that we can set up something semi-permanent. Is he from this plane or yours?"
"He's from here." I said, pulling out my phone and scrolling through my pictures until I came to his. "This is him. Marcos DeChavez. He's from Baltimore, originally. No job and his family wrote him off years ago."
"Looks like an asshole." Erik chuckled. I nodded. "We can handle him."
"Alright!" Mags shouted as she strolled into the room. She was still wearing the dark brown cargoes but added a tan t-shirt like Steele and Erik were wearing, big steel toed CAT boots, utility belts and a couple holsters strapped with weapons. Her hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of her neck and she looked like some crazy Fuck-You-Up Barbie. I was inspired.
"Looking good, Babe." Steele winked at her and she blushed. I chuckled at the use of 'Babe'.
"What's with you and women and 'Babe'?" I asked Ranger as we stood, following the crowd down the stairs into the garage.
"Coincidence I guess." He winked at me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "It would probably be best that we not mention her to Steph. I mean, she has a real jealous streak and I don't think that interplanetary travel would do well with her psyche."
"You are so whipped." I laughed. He poked me in the side.
"Damn straight I am."
&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8&8
AUTHOR's NOTE: Okay, so are you fully confused, intrigued or enjoying it? The character that they went to visit is actually the main character in one of my own personal works of fiction. Hopefully the reason behind using her makes sense. If you have any questions, or if it just doesn't make sense, please let me know so that I can come back in and edit it with more information or to clarify.
As always, thank you so much for continuing on this journey with me. Please review!