SOLDIER

Chapter Eleven

"Friggin' A," Lula muttered from behind me, clearly enamored with the handsome, dark-skinned man behind the wheel.

Jase's face lit up as he rushed to clear off the passenger seat so Lula could sit down. Oh, this was too easy, I thought to myself. Jase drove me to my apartment and I remembered him saying on the phone that he was just finishing up his shift. Resigned to the fact that I was stuck with a bodyguard, I asked who he was going to call to replace him.

"Don't worry about it. I'll stay so Lula and I can get better acquainted," he answered.

When we got to my apartment, he and Lula both came up. We stopped short when the elevator opened onto my floor. Sitting in front of my door was a large manila envelope with the name 'Marjorie' scrawled across the front. Wonderful, I thought, rolling my eyes, just what I want to deal with. Not only are the Slayers shooting at us, now Scully's decided to leave me another gift. I was having a hard time working up any real fear of Scully, I mostly just felt annoyance. As bad as I felt for poor, dead Marjorie, I couldn't help but think that she was much better off now as opposed to when she was alive and living with him.

I unlocked my apartment, stepping over the envelope and leaving it for Jase to pick up. As my currently-appointed bodyguard, it was his problem, right? Sure, Steph, just keep telling yourself that, I thought.

The inside of my apartment appeared safe except for the ominous blinking light on my answering machine. Too tired to deal with it, I flopped on the couch.

"What is it?" I asked Jase, who had entered the apartment and was thumbing through the contents of the envelope.

"There are some photos of his wife with bruises and burn marks, different ones then the last time. There are also pictures of you, Steph. You two really do, sort of look alike. He's got pictures of you in your parking lot, in front of Vinnie's, at Pino's. He's also got pictures of you with your family, Ranger, Lester. He's been watching you, Steph. And there's a note," he said handing me a piece of paper.

To Marjorie, my one and only,

The time has come for you to return to me. You can see from the pictures that I know who's helping you, keeping you from me. You don't want to make me angry or I may take it out on them. Today was a warning call. Next time, your boyfriend won't be so lucky. I'm your husband, Marjorie. Come home to me.

All my love,

Victor

Today was a warning call? So then it appears Scully was behind Lester's shooting. Well, that means he must somehow be involved with Junkman and the Slayers. But, why would that be? It doesn't make sense. Or maybe he just found out about the shooting and is trying to take credit in order to scare me? I guess that's possible, but something about it just doesn't add up for me.

I called Ranger's cell phone. I wanted to know if they'd gotten any information out of Junkman and I wanted him to know that Scully may be somehow involved. Ranger picked up on the first ring.

"Yo."

"Yo, yourself. I got another message from Scully. He's taking credit for the shooting."

It reminded me of terrorists who bomb buildings, then call up the newspapers to brag about it. Like everyone is going to think, 'Oh, wow, you guys are so cool. You just killed hundreds of innocent people. That's so awesome.'

"Have you learned anything from Junkman?" I asked.

"What did his message say?" Ranger asked, not answering my question.

I read the letter to Ranger and described the photos. There was a long silence. If I hadn't known Ranger as well as I did, I would've thought we'd been disconnected.

Finally Ranger said, "I'm going to send a man over to your parent's house in case someone decides to show up there. Get some sleep, babe, and try not to worry."

Try not to worry…right. Exhausted, I retreated to my room, but not before pulling Lula aside.

"No funny business in my apartment," I warned.

"Funny business, my ass. I just met the guy. What do you think I am, a ho?"

I raised an eyebrow, or attempted to anyway.

"I don't do that no more. Now, I'm an upstanding citizen. Guys have to work hard to get a piece of this. I don't just give it up."

"Good to know. If he starts to drive you nuts, tell him to sit in his car. You can crash on the couch."

"Don't you worry about me. You go on and get some sleep. I'll be just fine," she said, her eyebrows doing a little dance.

Oh, boy.

I shut the door to my room and crashed onto my bed in my thinking position, on my back, arms and legs spread like da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. I recited Scully's message in my head. The words sent a chill down my spine and made me rethink my position in this whole situation. When Ranger was first assigned to bring him in for skipping out on the homicide charges he was up against for killing his wife, Marjorie, we had learned that Scully was involved in gun-running and that he was single-handedly responsible for many of the illegal guns that found their way onto Trenton's streets. Ranger also learned about a possible shipment of guns that was going to be arriving in a week's time. The cops had been trying to nail him for gun-running for a while and had come up empty every time. So when Ranger found out about the shipment, the team decided to hold off on bringing him in until they could break up the gun sale. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone or something like that.

Ranger immediately tracked Scully to a dilapidated old row house on Cushing Street. We started keeping an eye on him, but knew he wasn't going anywhere, at least not until he was able to pass off the guns. He had a lot of money to be made.

When he first targeted me, thinking I was his wife, the guys wanted to bring him in immediately and forget the gun thing. I hesitated to go along with that, knowing there must be a good reason for why they were waiting in the first place. Hoping that Lester would tell me the truth, I went to him. He explained, albeit reluctantly, how Scully had hired a real slick lawyer who could probably get him off of the homicide charge. However, with multiple charges, homicide and gun-running, against him, they were hoping at least one would stick and he'd be put behind bars for the better half of the next hundred years. With this knowledge, I convinced the guys that they should wait and go along with the original plan.

Ranger wanted to send me to one of his safe houses. Of course, I refused and that is how I came to have a personal bodyguard. Except, my bodyguard of choice isn't here right now…instead, I have Jase, who is probably naked and in the kitchen eating all of my food.

I forced my mind back to the problem at hand. I was really creeped out now. It wasn't just me he was after. Now he was targeting my family and friends. Lester was lucky to be alive, for God's sake. Maybe they should scrap the plan and just bring him in after all. I'm sick of being afraid of some deranged lunatic. My mind went back and forth. We could get him now and put my loved ones out of danger, but risk him being back on the streets if the charges don't stick. He'd probably come after me again and this time who knows what he'd do. Or we could go with the original plan and let him harass us for the time being so that we can bust him for good.

Looking at the big picture, I knew what had to be done. The guys would understand if I couldn't go through with it, but I refused to let them down. The gun sale is supposed to be in just a few days, so it'll all be over soon. Besides, I've got Lester to protect me, right? With that thought, my mind drifted to the man in the other room and I groaned.

When I woke up the next morning, I was almost afraid to leave my bedroom for fear of seeing more than I wanted to of Jase and Lula. I'd seen naked Jase and, to be perfectly honest, it wouldn't be terrible to see him in the buff again, but naked Lula…I really didn't want to go there.

I cracked the bedroom door and peeked into the living room. To my surprise I didn't see Lula or Jase. Instead, Ranger was sitting on my couch.

"Hey, Ranger. What are you doing here?" I asked. Then a panicked thought entered my brain. I hoped he wasn't here to deliver bad news. "Is Lester okay?"

"Morning, Babe. Lester is fine." Oh thank God. "I came over this morning to relieve Jase."

"When you got here, were he and Lula-?"

"You don't want to know."

"That bad?" I asked.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to shut my eyes without seeing that image. I'm never going to sleep again."

I giggled. I'd never seen Ranger looking so…so…stunned. Yep. Stunned is the right word. I decided to switch to a safer topic, one involving gangs and drive-by-shootings.

"What did you guys find out about the shooting?" I asked. It wasn't a question of if they found out anything, it was a question of what they found out. I knew they had ways of getting even the most reluctant person to confess their darkest sin. I didn't know what they were, and frankly I didn't want to know, but they had their ways. This I was sure of.

Ranger seemed pleased that I was changing the subject and his face went from stunned to expressionless, which I'm much more comfortable with. Expressionless Ranger I can handle. Stunned Ranger I don't know what to do with.

"Once we got Junkman and the other guy, Felix Cooper, talking, they squealed like rats. They actually shed light on a lot. You know that weapons sale that we are waiting to bust Scully on?" Ranger asked.

Of course, it's all I'd thought about last night.

"Well, we found out who the buyers are. Scully was planning on selling the guns to the Slayers for $50,000. But when he started his obsession with you, thinking you are his wife, he changed his mind on the terms. He no longer wants the 50 grand. Instead he wants you."

I gulped audibly which was actually a difficult thing to do since my heart was lodged in my throat.

"Are you okay, babe?" Ranger asked, raising his hand as if he was going to stroke my cheek. With his arm half-way to my face, he stopped and dropped his arm and smiled sheepishly.

I nodded. "Uh huh, sure, fine, no problem. So, tell me again, why the Slayers targeted us yesterday."

He took a deep breath before he continued. He looked like he really didn't want to say what he was about to.

"In order to get the guns, the Slayers need to comply with two demands. They need to kill Lester and they need to deliver you. They tried to accomplish this yesterday, but they botched the shooting and panicked when Lester saw them. Rather than finishing the job, they hightailed out of there. You know the rest."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. I could barely even absorb what Ranger was telling me. They were trying to kill Lester. Kill Lester. Kill. Lester. Dead. Then it hit me…Lester's only alive because this Cooper guy has bad aim? And I'm not locked away right now with that creep Vic Scully because of bad aim? I think the saying "it's better to be lucky than good" pretty much sums up that situation. I was so lost in thought, trying to wrap my brain around that one that I'd completely tuned Ranger out. I could see his mouth moving, but I couldn't hear any words.

"Stephanie…STEPHANIE! Did you hear what I said?"

"Huh?"

"I said you need to go and pack some things. You can either stay in a safe house or in the RangeMan building, your choice, but you can't stay here."

"But-" I started to argue.

"They shot Lester in the back, babe. He had no idea it was coming and no way to defend himself. If I thought assigning you another bodyguard would be enough, I'd do it, but it's not enough. I know you don't like it, but I need to know you and my men are safe. You're staying where I can keep track of you, even if it means I have to cuff your wrists and ankles and carry you out of here myself."

Normally, I would have put up an argument, but Ranger was right. Lester's life was at risk and I wanted everyone's attention on protecting him, not worrying about where I was or what I was doing. And I certainly didn't want to put anyone else in danger. It was no time to be selfish. I nodded and retreated to my bedroom to pack some clothes and other necessities. I decided to stay at the RangeMan building, figuring it would be easier on all of them if they didn't have to secure a safe house. Plus, I was hoping Lester would be there, too.

While I was packing, I tried to think of all the people Scully may have seen me with this past week. If he was convinced they were helping keep me from him, as his letter said, were they in danger, too? I'd seen Connie, Lula and Vinnie at work, plus my skips, but I didn't think he cared about them. He hadn't included them in any of the photos, so it didn't appear he was threatening them. I'd talked on the phone with Joe and Mary Lou, but fortunately hadn't been by to see either of them, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't know about them. Besides, Lester, Ranger and the other RangeMan crew, my family were the only people of any significance I'd been in contact with since this whole nonsense started.

"What about my family?" I asked.

"If he were going after your parents, the Slayers would be the ones he'd go to in order to get the job done. Scully isn't the type to do his own dirty work. From what we learned from Junkman and Cooper, Lester is the only one Scully wants to get rid of."

I gave a small, half-hearted smile. I guess that was one less thing to worry about. After loading a few changes of clothing, shoes and my toiletry case into a duffle bag, I was ready to go. Ranger was holding Rex's cage.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes, are we going to the hospital?"

"Office. Lester was discharged this morning. He'll be staying there while he's recovering."

Good, I thought to myself, at least I'll have company.

I decided to bite the bullet and call my mother from my cell phone on the way to the RangeMan building. Keeping the conversation as brief as possible, I was able to reassure her that yes, I was at the hospital yesterday, but no, I wasn't shot, and yes, I'm pretty sure the shooting was random. Okay, so I fibbed a little there. No sense in worrying her again. I declined an invitation to dinner for tonight, saying I had to work. I failed to mention that I would be staying at the RangeMan building, but if I played my cards right, she'd never have to know that. My cell phone rang as soon as I hung up with my mother. It was Lula.

"Ooooh, Steph. That Jase is one fiiiiine man. Girl, you are the bomb for introducing me. I owe you big time."

"Don't sweat it," I said. Then I remembered Ranger's reaction to witnessing whatever he witnessed. I still didn't know what he walked in on. He refused to talk about it. "You didn't have sex in my living room did you?"

"No, we didn't do any of that…not yet anyway. He just told me all about his being a nudist. Did you know that? He doesn't like wearing any clothes at all. Convinced me to try it, too."

"So you guys just sat around my apartment naked?" I couldn't blame Ranger for getting freaked out. I didn't even see it and the thought creeped me out. Looks like I may be in the market for a new couch.

"Yep. That's some liberating shit right there. I think I'm going to become a nudist myself. When I'm not filing, that is. I don't want to get any paper-cuts where I shouldn't. That could be real dangerous. Not that I can't handle the danger, it's just that I don't want to damage anything important, you know what I mean?"

I've created a monster. Actually, Jase created the monster, I'm just responsible for bringing them together in the first place. By the time I'd gotten Lula off the phone, we were pulling into the parking garage. Ranger took my bag and I followed him to the elevator. He punched the button for the seventh floor. His floor.

I hadn't thought far enough ahead to consider where exactly I would be staying inside the building. The last time I'd stayed, it was in Ranger's apartment, but things have kinda changed since then.

"Um, Ranger?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah, babe?"

"You don't suppose one of the fourth floor apartments is available, do you?" I asked.

Ranger glanced at the buttons and appeared to only just realize that he'd punched in the seventh floor. He reached up again and hit the fourth floor button. "Sorry Steph. I didn't even think. I guess you're probably not going to be staying in my apartment anymore, huh?"

I slowly shook my head 'no' and an awkward silence filled the elevator.

We exited on the fourth floor and stood in the long corridor. There were two doors to the left, one on each side of the hall and three doors to the right. I remember from when I stayed in the building before that Lester and Bobby had apartments across from one another on one half of the floor and Tank had an apartment on the other half, across from two small, vacant apartments.

"Where should I put your bag?" Ranger asked.

Good question, I thought. I know where I'd like to stay, but I wasn't entirely sure I felt comfortable staying with Lester in his apartment. For one thing, I didn't know if he'd want me "moving in." We hadn't even been together 48 hours now. But, even if he wanted me there, I still didn't know if I was comfortable acting like a couple when Ranger was around. Despite the conversation Ranger and I had about where our relationship stood, I was really cautious about flaunting my relationship with Lester in front of him. I knew it was probably silly. Ranger had even given us his blessing, but for some reason, I felt the need to walk on eggshells around him.

"One of the empty rooms, please."

Ranger didn't react. He simply nodded and led the way to the nearest vacant apartment. I walked in and assessed my surroundings. The apartment opened into a tastefully decorated living room. There was a comfortable-looking couch, a coffee table, and two end tables that faced an entertainment center complete with plasma TV, DVD player and stereo. Black and white artwork hung on the wall. Beyond the living room was a kitchen with a breakfast nook. Off of the kitchen was a short hallway that I presumed led to a bedroom and bath.

"Make yourself at home. There are phones in the kitchen and bedroom. Dial '0' to get the control room, '70' to get my apartment, '41' for Lester's apartment and '2' for Ella. She'll be available for you if you need any cooking, cleaning or laundry. Don't hesitate to ask. It's what she's here for. Any questions?"

I shook my head no and Ranger left me so I could get settled. I called Lester's apartment and there was no answer. I tried his cell phone but he didn't pick up. I left a message letting him know where I was and went to work unpacking my belongings.

I carried my bag to the bedroom and took in my surroundings. The bedroom was simple, as tastefully decorated as the rest of the apartment. The queen size bed had a tan suede comforter on top and lots of matching throw pillows. In one corner of the room was an armoire and the wall opposite the bed held an entertainment center that matched the one in the living room. There was a nightstand with a phone and a lamp next to the bed. I carried my toiletry bag into the bathroom and put everything where it belonged. The bathroom was luxurious with a large Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower. After putting everything where it belonged, I went back to the bedroom to hang my clothes in the armoire. It didn't take long as I hadn't brought much. I was hopeful that the situation would get resolved and I'd be able to move back home soon. I'm not sure why I was in such a hurry to get back to my apartment. This one was about a thousand times nicer than mine. I guess it had something to do with the reason I was here. You know, Scully wanting Lester dead so he could lock me up in his dungeon never to be heard from again.

I hadn't taken the time to shower in my apartment before we left, so I decided to take care of that. Afraid I'd miss Lester's call, I opted for a quick shower rather than the long bubble bath I really wanted. Sadly, I knew I'd have time for that later being that it didn't look like I was going anywhere for a few days, at least. I did the lather, rinse, repeat thing and shaved my legs. I wrapped myself in a soft, oversized towel and padded to the bedroom. I got dressed in a pair of comfy cotton yoga pants and a white tank top, then went to the living room and made myself comfortable on the couch. I flipped on the television, but didn't really watch it. I was too busy wondering where Lester was and why he hadn't picked up the phone. According to Ranger, he was already back here. Knowing him, he was back to work when he should've been in his room resting.

A short time later, the apartment phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, beautiful. I hear the fourth floor has just improved significantly."

I blushed, thankful that no one was there to see. "Hi Les. How are you feeling?"

"I'd be better if you were here."

"Give me five minutes."

"I'm in apartment 4-1. The door is open."

I ran to the bathroom to apply some make-up like the good little Jersey girl I am. I finger-fluffed my still wet curls. I didn't want to take the time to dry my hair, so it would have to do. I slipped my feat into a pair of flip-flops, and walked down the hall to Lester's apartment. I pushed the door open and nearly ran into Tank and Bobby who were just leaving.

We did the 'Hi-How are you?-See you later' thing and they left.

I walked through the small, marble-tiled foyer and into the living room. A black leather couch and matching recliner dominated the space. Across from the couch was an enormous plasma TV hanging on the wall. On the side wall, there was an entertainment center with stereo, DVD player, X-Box and more movies, video games and CDs than I could count.

Lester was lying on the couch, wearing nothing but a pair of baggy basketball shorts. Despite the thick, white bandages that wrapped around his entire abdomen, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

He smiled when he saw me and tried to sit up. He did his best to disguise it, but I saw him grimace in pain.

"Don't get up," I said, rushing to his side. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, Steph, I do." His words were strained, barely above a whisper. He sounded like he was in enormous pain. "Come closer." I knelt beside him. "Please," he said, looking like he was in complete agony. The medication he was on must have worn off. I leaned closer still.

Then he grabbed me with both hands, pulled my face down to his and proceeded to kiss me into oblivion. When we finally parted to catch our breaths, he leaned back.

"Much better," he said, his eyes darkened with lust.

"You jerk! I thought you were pain!" I said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

He reached for me again and before I knew it, he had me stretched out on the couch beside him and was kissing me. He was exhibiting remarkable strength for someone who'd just had surgery, I thought. I wonder if he was strong enough to…no, no, Steph, I told myself, get your mind out of the gutter.

"So, you're a prisoner here, too, huh?" I asked when we'd finally broken the kiss. I was snuggled against him on the couch. It felt so good to feel him, to know he was alive and safe, to know that the Slayers couldn't get to him here.

"Looks that way. It's not so bad for me. I have everything I need here. I stay here almost as much as I stay in my house."

I looked around. This place looked more like the bachelor pad I'd envisioned him in, full of black and chrome and leather and electronics, whereas his other place was more of a home. Well, as much of a home as a single, 29-year-old male can make it.

"Lester, I'm so glad you're staying here and staying safe. I hate the thought of you out there when the Slayers are trying to kill you."

With a finger under my chin, he raised my head so that I was looking into his eyes.

"Stephanie, I always try to be honest with you. You need to know that I'm only here while I'm recovering. As soon as I'm able, I'm going after Scully and the Slayers. They are going to find out that when they threaten me, they have to deal with me. I appreciate what everyone is doing while I'm stuck here, but this is my battle to fight and as soon as I'm able, I'm going to fight it."

As much as that scared me, I admired him for it even more. Every time someone had threatened me, I'd felt the exact same way. A part of me wanted to argue, to tell him it wasn't worth risking his life over, to tell him he was being selfish and not thinking about the people he'd be leaving behind if something happened to him, to tell him everything people tried to tell me when I was in his situation, but it would've been completely hypocritical of me to do that. Instead, I smiled a humorless smile and made him promise that when the time came, he'd be careful.

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As always, thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think...