All familiar characters are JEs, not mine. I make no money. Just doing this for fun and cause I'm bored at work! Also first story so reviews and constructive criticism welcome! ENJOY!
This is Tank/Les POV. I would like to remind everyone these men are soldiers, and will talk like it. So if you don't like foul language….. Well, just be advised.
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TANK POV
It's 0930 Monday morning and I'm literally waiting on something to happen. I did my admin duties in less than 2 hours this morning.
I may be one hell of a soldier, but even I'll be the first to admit I suck at computers. When we were deployed I had trouble learning a lot of the newer tech but Lester or Ranger would be there to pick up the slack.
Computers and stuff were always Jess's thing, I was more of a rough and tumble jock.
I blame my big hands and fat fingers.
When Steph brought up this program and Hector said we already had it, I was pissed at Ranger. Usually he's all for this kinda shit but his growing paranoia over the years is setting our company back into the fucking stone ages.
I was still doing schedules and requests off, hand written with pen and paper. Now all I do is click a few buttons on the mouse and it puts everything in.
Ranger has been trying to get Steph to work here full time for a while, but her little "miss independent" thing keeps her from taking the job. She thinks it's a handout, not seeing it as an opportunity.
The fact that he keeps dicking her around isn't helping either. When he went on an OP a few years back, it took over 6 months. He's usually not gone that long. It was a nightmare dealing with all the financial crap on top of all the other daily stuff.
When I met with our accountant Chuck, for the quarterly review, he asked me about the entertainment budget. I wasn't aware of any entertainment budget, all the stuff on 4 for the lounge was listed under employee living expenses.
Chuck gave me the expenses listed as "entertainment" and every single one was Stephanie related. Multiple cars, all destroyed in one way or another, her own auto policy, and a week-long all inclusive trip to Hawaii among other things.
I don't know what happened in Hawaii, but I know it didn't end well. There was no FTA brought back and Ranger came home in a bloody shirt, 5 stitches in his left eyebrow, and a in really bad mood.
I heard Morelli came back in worse shape than that. And both of them came back AFTER Steph.
I was really hoping she got tired of their shit and beat the crap outta both of em. Ranger wouldn't say what happened, and it really wasn't my place to pry.
After the meeting, I asked Lula about it and she had told me some of the things Steph has told her over the years, stuff about "a condom not a ring" and other ridiculous excuses.
So when he got back after I found out about the "entertainment budget", I was sticking my nose in.
The morning he got back, he showed up at Rangeman about 0430 in a pissed off mood. My guess is he went to Stephanie's apartment and found Morelli there. We know he goes straight there before and after leaving, to sit in the chair and watch her sleep.
For a guy who is constantly on the lookout for her newest stalker, he fails to see the irony in the creepy shit he does.
I got a call from Les who happened to be on overnight monitor duty when he saw Ranger head straight to the gym from the garage and proceed to beat the stuffing out of one of the bags.
We've seen Lester do it plenty of times after coming back empty looking for Kell, so we knew it was Stephanie related.
FLASHBACK
"Rough trip?" I said walking in.
"Fuck off." He said between blows to the second bag. The first bags contents lying on the floor. I wasn't cleaning that shit up and neither was Ella.
I'd had a nice slow burning rage since I had the meeting with Chuck and now that he was back, my blood pressure was rising by the minute.
"O what, you pissed off you couldn't crawl into bed with her, just to give her some lame line in the morning about how you don't do relationships?" My voice dripping with sarcasm.
I got a pretty Burg worthy death glare for that comment, but he just turned back to the bag.
"Oh, so it's ok for you to call everyone else out on their bullshit, but God forbid someone do it to the mighty Manoso?" My voice was getting louder.
I was already in a pair of workout shorts and a tank top and kicked my sandals off to the side of the gym. I walked over to the equipment cabinet and started taping up.
"We both know why you kept her at arm's length for so long. Same reason you kept Julie out. At the time it was noble and I agreed with it. But they are both in it now. Scrog made sure of that."
I walked into the center of the mats, I was baiting him. I knew it.
"She's proved herself time and time again she is capable of handling you and the lifestyle that we live. Yes, she needs to be properly trained. MAYBE she would be more interested in doing it if you would talk to her. Tell her the truth. Quit being a self-righteous asshole!"
He slowed down the beatings and gave me another glare. I was getting to him.
"By the way, Chuck came by a few weeks ago. We had our quarterly. I canceled the entertainment budget."
That did it. He turned and lunged at me full speed. I was a worthy opponent to Ranger, but I was a big man. He had more speed and agility than me, and I had the bigger bite to my punch.
We went full force for a good 10 minutes before Lester and Bobby showed up in the gym pulling us apart.
After that spar on the mat Ranger started getting more and more involved with Steph, but still hadn't pulled the trigger. She was more willing to be here and was getting closer to everyone here.
She was the little sister around here now, not just Ranger's woman.
When she broke her foot 2 weeks ago I knew that was my chance to get her in here permanently.
Jess being here would help. I had no question about that.
And it worked like a freaking charm!
Me and Lester were so happy with everything she's done the last 2 weeks. We knew it was time to present her with her paperwork. Ranger made her a core team member last year before he left on a particularly dangerous but short OP. Gave her enough of his shares and the rest of us voted to approve it. No one argued. Steph was a perfect addition to the 4 of us. She was the softer side this company, and our team needed her.
I thought for sure Ranger would pull his head outta his ass when he did that, but they continued to play the back and forth with Morelli game.
And now Morelli is outta the picture for good. Everything is falling into place.
Except the fact that shit head wasn't even here. I wasn't waiting for him to get back either. I wasn't going to let her change her mind and go back to working for that scum.
Family or not, that guy was toxic. Literally. I was afraid of getting Hep B anytime I got near him.
Lester was working on getting her "signing bonus" fresh from the dealership and should be here soon.
Porsche Cayenne Turbo in Metallic Moonlight Blue. I'd get her a 911 but I knew she would want to go back in the field and you can't haul anyone into the cop shop in a 2 door.
Just then Lester walked through my door. Dude never knocks.
"Where's Steph?"
"How's the car? I think she's gonna love it."
"No, Tank. She's not here. Her rust on wheels isn't here leaking oil all over the garage and she's not at her desk."
I called Ram who was on monitor duty, "Hey, you see Steph come in yet?"
"No, Sir. I'm checking her key fob activity right now." Ram said.
I shook my head at Lester waiting for Ram's answer.
"No activity on her fob since Friday and car tracker since Saturday, Sir." Ram said
It wasn't totally unusual for her Car not to move all weekend. The trackers in her purse other than her panic button weren't monitored by main control. Hector placed and monitored those personally.
She hated it when we put trackers on her. She's gotten better over the years about having them though. I called Hector's office next and put him on speaker.
"Hector. Pull up Step's tracking history for the last 2 days."
"She went to Home Depot and bakery Saturday. No movement Sunday. Says she's still in apartment now."
"THAT is unlike her. Call Jess on the way to Steph's. See if she's talked to her since Saturday." Lester said as we both started walking out the door.
"I already tried her cell twice, goes straight to voicemail." Lester said as we took the steps to the garage.
Hector was already waiting for us as we exited the stairwell. We all climbed in to one of the Chevy Suburbans we use as a fleet vehicle and I drove directly to Steph's apartment.
Lester was on the phone with Connie checking to see if she had stopped by the bonds office first. He hung up and shook his head at me.
Steph's car was in the parking lot of her apartment building, and neither it nor the building appeared to have any evidence of foul play.
The 3 of us took the stairs 2 at a time to the second floor. Her main apartment door was closed and locked, no signs of forced entry.
I knocked loudly a handful of times, waiting for an answer. She hates when people just break into her apartment, and I can't blame her really.
I started to pull the pick out of my cargo pocket when Hec produced a key for her door.
I looked at him sideways wondering why he had a key to her apartment, but decided not to question him now.
"Stephanie! Me Lester and Hector are here." I yelled loudly into the main living area.
There was no answer so the 3 of us walked in and everything appeared to be in order.
Lester pulled his phone out of his pocket and called control.
"Code blue eyes! Step is missing. No appearance of forced entry. Vehicle still at residence. SOPS are in effect. Contact family members first."
He hung up and called Morelli. Went straight to voicemail, too.
"How do we know she's missing?" I asked. Her apartment looked normal enough. No holes through the wall from a Molotov cocktail, dead guys on her couch, so normal enough for Steph's place.
"Rex's cage is missing." Lester pointed out.
I looked at him questioningly.
"She only takes la rata when she leaves for more than a day. So she's gone, but most likely not taken." Hector said.
I had been sent over to get the damn thing more times than I can remember, so I should have picked up on that.
I called TPD main line, asked for Lenny. I skipped the pleasantries when he picked up.
"This is Tank with Rangeman. Stephanie didn't show up to work this morning. Evidence at her apartment appears no foul play. Have you heard anything from her?"
"No. I haven't talked to, or even seen Steph in weeks, now that I think about it. Morelli's been gone undercover for the feds for a few weeks now too. Hold on a minute."
Lenny put me on hold. I hated being put on hold.
"Ok Tank. I'm with Chief Juniak. I already filled him in."
Joe Juniak was now the Chief of Trenton Police. He was a good family friend of Stephanie's. And a damn good police officer.
"Tank, I'm going to go ahead and issue an APB for Stephanie. We can't technically file a missing person's yet. But considering Stephanie's history, I don't feel comfortable waiting." He said.
THAT is why I called Lenny.
"You've got my number." And I disconnected. I knew he would keep me updated with any pertinent information.
Dillon her landlord walked into the apartment just then. He appeared surprised to see us. And scared.
"Oh. Um. Hi. I…I… I was just coming up to change the locks for Mrs. Mazur."
"Por Que?" Hector said to Dillon making him look like he was going to piss himself.
Hector could play the gangster cholo very well.
"Her note. She said her Grandma Mazur was going to move in." Dillon said pulling it from his pocket.
Hector grabbed the note and read it quickly.
"Ella se fue." He said looking hurt and confused. (She left.)
"What?" Lester grabbed the note and we both read it.
There wasn't a whole lot of information in the letter. Just that she was moving out and leaving Trenton. There was 3 month's rent for her Grandmother and an extra $100 for Dillon to take care of her.
Lester looked like he was just stabbed in the heart.
Me and Hector searched the apartment for any other clues. Her cell phone was gone but her Rangeman laptop and trackers were on the counter. Her apartment furnishings were all still there, but otherwise it looked empty upon further inspection.
No toiletries in the bathrooms. No clothes or shoes in the bedroom. No personal effects. 4 large totes in the bedroom closet with a note on top to have Frank put the stuff in the attic. I opened the totes, just to be sure, and they were nothing but old photos and random mementos from over the years.
"She's not missing. She planned for this." Lester said, sounding more broken by the minute.
This was a case of déjà vu I never expected to experience again.
Just then the phone rang. It was Hal. I put it on speaker as I answered it.
"Report." I barked out.
"Sir, the mail just came. You need to get back here." He said. I'm sure Ram and Cal filled him in already.
"What is it?"
"Letters for you, Lester, Hector, and various Rangeman, all postmarked from Stephanie's apartment, Sir."
"Put them all in my office, were on our way back."
"Am I ok to still change the locks?" Asked Dillon.
"Yes. If I need to get back in I'll come find you." I told him, we both damn well know if I need to get in, I have ample ways of doing it, not requiring his assistance.
As we drove back to Haywood I could see Lester change from sadness, to shock, to anger. When he hit anger I knew where he was going as soon as we hit the garage.
He jumped out of the truck before it was even in park and was up the stairs in seconds.
LESTER POV
The empty apartment, the letters, the disappearing without a trace. Her trackers were all found and left. Earrings on the counter. Ranger gave her those earrings. She loved them. She wouldn't have left them unless she knew there were trackers in them. And there would be no way she would know without a pretty high end scanner.
This had Jess and Diesel's names written all over it.
I don't give a shit what they say, I know she had something to do with Kelly going underground. I knew her and Diesel both do. I just can't prove it.
She was gone almost 5 months before I even got word of it. I was in the Middle East and she was supposed to be on an OP in Eastern South America.
I was still enlisted and had limited time but extended resources. I searched for her for 6 months.
I am the best tracker the Rangers had seen in decades and I couldn't find her. I couldn't find a trace of her.
I scanned through thousands of records matching her general description, but running searches for a 5'8 blonde white woman in the United States turns up literally millions of records. I tried to bribe a few alphabet agency agents a handful of times to run her through facial recognition.
I almost got dishonorably discharged for that one.
After about 6 months I tried to accept she didn't want to be found. She left and gave her reasons, even if I didn't believe them, in a lengthy 3 page letter she mailed to my parents' house in Newark before leaving.
Her and Jess were close. And after about a two years I noticed a pattern of Jess disappearing herself for a week or so on end. She had opted not to reenlist and was a civvy now and got a job near Philadelphia.
After that I would track her and her movements for months on end. I knew she would slip eventually.
She would take a vacation every few months or so, but before she did she always called and talked to her big brother, making sure he knew where she was going and asking how the guys were.
He never thought anything of it, but never fail the first 3 years or so when she heard I was out of town, that's when she would take her vacations.
Tank though it was just a coincidence, even after I showed him the evidence. The traced calls, the plane tickets she was never on.
She knew I was searching. I let my guard down around family and the person who was stabbing me in the back was right in front of me the whole time.
Tank figured out I was keeping tabs on his little sister and told me to back off. I told him where to shove it.
We're brothers till the end, but that almost broke us.
After about 4 and a half years, who knows how many bottles of Tequila, and over a million dollars spent searching, Ranger convinced me to stop looking.
"Is it really her you're looking for anymore? Or just the obsession over the fact that you can't find someone?" He asked me one day.
Me and Jess tried to bury the hatchet, but I know it was her.
Her and that freak Diesel. He's better than me. I fucking hate to admit it, but he is. There's rumors that he's "supernatural", and most people laugh it off, but there's something different about that dude.
He's too good.
My anger is rising, not just over Steph, but now my "Kelly issues" have returned.
I hit the ground running before the SUV even stopped moving. I scaled the steps 3 at a time, making it up to the medical suite in record time.
I bust through the door, finding Jess standing at the medical cabinet, taking inventory.
"Where the fuck is she?" I screamed.
"We've been over this. I. DON'T. KNOW!" She yelled the last three words at me like I was a child unable to understand.
"Cut the shit Jess! First Kelly, and now Steph! How many of your friends are you going to help disappear?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" She screamed back at me
"SANTOS!" Tank yelled from the doorway.
I was breathing so hard my nostrils were flaring, all I saw was read. Tank knows I would never lay a hand on Jess, but even I'll admit my restraint was breaking.
"P what is he talking about?" Jess pretended to be concerned. She should have been an actress not an Army medic.
"Don't lie to me, Jess." Tank looked pissed. Maybe he finally believed me.
"What the Hell are you two talking about? I thought we got over the Kelly thing. And what are you talking about Stephanie?"
"Stephanie's apartment is cleaned out. Notes left that she left Trenton. Sound familiar?"
"Stephanie is gone?" Jess asked
"And the golden globe goes to…." I snarked at Jess.
"Lester. I know you and me have never been the same since Kelly left, and we talked about this."
"Right…..But you show up and Stephanie disappears. A little too coincidental, don't ya think?"
"Hector, you and Lester need to leave."
"Fuck that! She's going to tell me where they are!" I started walking towards Jess and Tank grabbed me by the wrists, spinning and pinning me to the wall.
It's a maneuver I can get out of, but it will most likely dislocate at least one, if not both, shoulders.
"I am going to handle this." Tank whispered in my ear.
"I want to read my letter. Let's go upstairs." Hector told me.
"If you don't handle this, then I will. And you won't like the way I handle it this time." I told Tank. I knew I was stepping on family but he had to see it this time.
Jess coming between Me and Tank could kill this unit. And this company.
JESS POV
I was prepared for this. I had planned out my speeches, and revised it all in my head. Just like last time with Kelly.
I know I'm lying to my brother. I'm lying to people I consider family.
I know this could kill relationships, and families, and cause catastrophic consequences.
With Kelly, I knew it was right. I was saving her and Alex.
After that cartel came after her stateside, I knew when I was helping her. I was protecting Alex. That's all Kell cared about. Keeping that baby safe.
With Steph I wasn't as sure. I thought I was right, but I still had my reservations.
After she told me everything about Ranger and the dozens of times people have tried to kill, kidnap, and abduct her, I thought about Alex and Kelly.
I watched at Hector pulled Lester out of the room. His green eyes burning holes into me.
We've been through this before. I knew it would take a while longer for him to come down this time. I was prepared.
"Jessia Genevieve Cambray." Pierre growled at me when the door finally closed.
"Pierre Emile Cambray" I cut him off
"Yeah, I know your full name too. Want to explain to me what the hell is going on before you start biting my head off?"
He relayed everything about Steph not showing up to work, the apartment, the letter to her landlord.
"Tell me you didn't have something to do with this. I stuck up for you with Kelly. I told him you had nothing to do with it. I'm starting to believe him, Jessia."
"You think Steph and Kelly both ghosting are somehow related?"
"Diesel was spotted in Trenton two weeks ago, following a pretty black girl on her morning run."
How did he know that?
"I've spent enough time in this city, and have enough connections that people call when things happen. When Diesel shows up, things happen."
Pierre never took this tone with me before. I was NOT prepared for this.
"And you told you that?" I was going on the defense now.
"Remember that woman I was involved with a while back. Lula. Stephanie's friend."
"The gold digger who tried to trick you into getting married? Yeah. Steph told me about her."
"She knows you are my sister. She knows Diesel, even if only in passing."
"So she called you. I've never met Lula before. She could have been mistaken."
"What other person than you and Steph could he possibly have been here to see?"
"I'm not his handler. I don't keep tabs on him." I was sinking. He knew it. I knew it.
"Ya know what. I don't feel comfortable here anymore. I think you should find another medic to take over till Bobby gets back."
"Jessia. I need you to tell me the truth." Pierre had a sadness in his stern tone I was having a hard time lying to it.
I've lied to him and Lester for years. I knew I was burning bridges to keep Kelly's secret. And I used to be ok with that.
We stood there and stared each other down for what felt like hours. He finally took a deep breath. Closed his eyes to calm himself down and looked back at me.
"Pack your things. I'll have another medic here before the end of the day."
He turned to walk back out the door, but turned to me before leaving,
"I hope you have a good reason for this Jessia. I hope it's worth the family you are losing. And I pray to God you come to your sense before Ranger comes home."
If I didn't have Pierre to back me up and defend me against Lester when Ranger came home, I might just wanna join Steph and Kell. Because I was going to disappear when Ranger came home anyways.