Chapter 14

Stephanie climbed into the new Enclave. She wriggled her butt into the buttery soft leather. Sure it was still black everything, but in her dad's mind, a Buick was a Buick, the greatest brand of automobile ever invented. It was All American, just like his jockey shorts, and shirts. (little did he know that Helen had a seemingly unending supply of Made In the U.S.A. tags and had been sewing them in his clothing for years)

She motored out of the garage pretending that the vehicle following her was heading on another errand. Stephanie stopped at Giovanni's for a coffee cake and some Italian salami and cheese along with a loaf of squishy white bread. Nobody in her family would touch anything to do with whole wheat until it had been milled down to perfectly white flour.

Stephanie stopped in front of the house. Her Grandmother and Mother were standing at the door with questioning expressions on their faces. Frank peeked through the front window and then the curtains moved as he dashed outside. Stephanie had a smile as she opened the door and stepped out. She had the key ring twirling on her finger and with a quick kiss hello, Frank snatched the keys and jumped into the vehicle.

He brushed his hands gently over the steering wheel, then looked appreciably at the dash, taking in the different dials and gauges. He adjusted the rear view mirror and wriggled his shoulders in excitement. He turned the key in the ignition and listened to the big engine roar to life.

Stephanie closed the door and made a take off gesture. Frank grinned and put on the seatbelt, shifted the SUV into gear and sped off. Stephanie waved at the guys in the SUV down the road. There was a flash of lights and they took off after Frank. Less than a minute later another SUV took its place.

Stephanie walked up to the doorway and gave her mom and grandma a hug. They were both chuckling as they all walked into the house arm in arm. Stephanie handed off the bag of groceries to her mom and they headed for the kitchen. They figured they would see Frank in about twenty minutes. He had a favorite route to "test" a new vehicle so rushing to make lunch was not a high priority today.

Stephanie headed for the coffee pot that seemed to always be full and poured herself a cup of coffee adding in sugar and milk to her taste. She sat at the kitchen table and watched as lunch was being prepared.

Soup sat on top of the stove, bubbling away in the big stock pot. Today it was potato with bacon and the smells had wafted out the front door and assaulted Stephanie's nose upon arrival. This was one of her favorite soups that her mom made and usually only once a month. This was Stephanie's lucky day.

The conversation in the kitchen was easy and light. They hoped Carlos could come for supper soon. Helen wanted to try out a new Cuban recipe. They commented on how much stronger Stephanie looked each time they saw her. They complimented her on her continually ever more toned body. Helen pointedly ignored the gun in the holster on her hip. Edna's eyes strayed to it a number of times but Stephanie ignored her.

Grandma regaled Stephanie with the details of her last senior's bus trip to the casino. Marty McBeth had come at the last minute alone because he and his former girlfriend had had a lover's spat and he had left her at home. He was feeling rather glum at the prospect of spending the rest of his life alone when he won the casino's progressive top prize on the slots for the month. He was now over a quarter of a million dollars richer and figured that Lady Luck was telling him something. He was already casting around for a new lady friend and was taking applications. Edna had applied but figured she was out of the running because she was only fifteen years younger than Marty and he was looking for someone with their own teeth.

Helen was rolling her eyes in disgust as she continued to make lunch. Her mother was a constant source of embarrassment and the burg grapevine had hummed for a few days after that episode.

Frank walked into the house heading for the kitchen to gave Stephanie back her keys. He had a huge grin on his face. He had already texted Ranger and complimented him on his choice of vehicle and asked him when he was getting rid of that foreign car and replacing it with a real one.

Ranger had responded that his Porsche was unique and he liked it, a lot.

They sat down for lunch. In the Plum household, mealtime was an animated affair. Finally they all sat back and sighed in contentment. Dessert would come a bit later and this was the time to catch up.

Frank spoke up."Nice wheels you have there. I see Ranger finally came to his senses and purchased a superior work vehicle to protect you and your men."

Stephanie smiled. "Did you hear about Al's Garage catching fire? We had some trucks in there for repair and they were all damaged either by the fire or by vandalism. The only ones not touched were the new Buick's. Either they have their own protection or somebody did not know they belong to Rangeman."

Frank nodded his head. The cabbies had been talking about it. They had their own gossip grapevine and not much happened in Trenton that they did not hear about. So far, no tidbits of information had made their way to a cabby's ears but it was only a matter of time. Frank was always very agreeable to passing on information as needed. He could phone Eddie, or Ranger.

Stephanie looked at her watch. Unfortunately if she wanted to see Connie and Lula at the bond office, she had to leave soon. She stood up and gave her family a hug. Since her most recent brush with death, they all took leave taking a bit more seriously.

She walked down the path to her SUV and prepared to leave. She noticed that a new set of protective Merry Men were watching. They too were in an Enclave. She gave them a wave and received a headlight flash in return.

She sped off to Tasty Pastry. One should never, ever arrive at the office without a peace offering, and especially if one had not visited in awhile. With pastry box in hand, she slid off of the seat from the vehicle and strode inside.

Connie was sitting at her desk filing her nails. Lula was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Stephanie opened the box and set it on the front of the desk. She sat down in the plastic chair that she had always claimed and waited for the clouds of confectioner's sugar to drift down as hands snaked into the box bringing out a tasty treat.

Stephanie leaned over to check if there was still a Boston Creme left. The front plate glass window shattered in a million pieces and glass flew everywhere. Both Connie and Lula hit the floor. They looked at Stephanie laying on the ground, motionless. Blood was flowing from a wound on her head. Lula reached over and found the panic button in Stephanie's purse. She pressed it. Connie had crawled over after dragging the phone off the desk. She was on the phone calling in a 911 to the bond office.

Stephanie's phone was ringing. Lula picked it up with one hand and answered it while still pressing her jacket over the wound with the other.

Tank was on the line. "Who is this?" Lula was sobbing. "It's me, Tankie Bear. Skinny White Girl has been shot in the head. She's bleeding everywhere. Connie is calling 911. Someone shot through the window."

Tank felt the blood drain from his face. He looked around noting Ranger had already flown out of the office and down the stairs. Woody was on the monitors and had lifted the door to the garage. Two more trucks had been dispatched to the bond office and Bobby was waiting for Tank to leave. Standard Operating Procedure had Bobby attend every shooting and he would provide interference at the hospital. Unfortunately, since it was Stephanie, Bobby would need someone as strong as Tank if things went wrong. They raced out the door and down the stairs to the garage. Tank drove and handed the phone to Bobby so that he could continue to talk to Lula.

The ambulance had arrived and the EMT's had already staunched the flow of blood. They were loading her into the ambulance as Ranger raced up. He screeched to a halt in the middle of the road and jumped out, neither turning off the car nor closing the door. He raced to the back of the ambulance and jumped in before they could close the door. He sat on the jump seat watching Stephanie as they sped off to the hospital holding her hand in his and caressing it softly. Once again, she was injured, possibly a warning to him or a failed attempt to end her life.

Tank and Bobby met the ambulance at the hospital. Bobby followed the gurney into the triage room and Tank and Ranger were left to pace outside in the waiting room. Once again, the room was filling rapidly with Rangemen, the Plum family and Connie and Lula.

Bobby emerged. He headed to Ranger. Ranger and Tank straightened up. Bobby had on his best blank face. He stopped in front and looked at Ranger. "She's used up another life, Ranger. It is a scalp wound, but she is not going to like that they had to cut a pretty long strip of her hair off for the stitches. Dr. Evans didn't even wait for me to ask, but says they have to make sure she is fully awake before we can take her home. He thinks she hit her cheekbone on the corner of the desk when she fell and may have a fracture. I will head back and get your apartment ready for her. I'm not even going to ask if she wants to stay on four. She will have to wake up every two hours for the next day. I assume you will take on that responsibility."

With that, he signalled to Casey and they left the waiting room. Casey's partner, Binkie would catch a ride with someone else.

Ranger slipped out the door and headed down the hall. He peeked into each examination room until he found the right one. A nurse was checking her vitals and Ranger slid in beside the bed on the other side. He took a look at her. Her head was bandaged but some of her curly hair was peeking out from under the bandage. He looked at her face. Her right cheekbone was already showing a large bruise from hitting the corner of the desk.

This had to stop. One of these times, whoever was doing this would be successful.

He could hear boots approaching. His hand was on his gun until he spied Binkie and Zip standing watch. Ranger sat quietly. He must had zoned out because some time later, he could hear a gurney approach the curtained off area, then voices. Binkie was asking what was happening.

Ranger stood up. An orderly was rolling in a gurney and placing it beside the bed. A nurse followed and between them they shifted Stephanie onto the gurney. There was a clipboard on the bed and he spied an appointment for an x-ray for her cheekbone for possible fracture. Ranger followed the gurney to the elevator with the two men following. The orderly pressed the button and summoned the elevator. It arrived but there was just enough room for the gurney, Ranger and the orderly.

Ranger spoke. "Take the stairs and meet us down in radiology. I'll be with her."

The men obediently headed for the stairs. The doors closed. Ranger felt uneasy. He was hemmed into a corner and almost unable to move. He noticed the orderly press the button for the back door to open at Level 2. Before he could question the action, he felt a buzz and his world turned black.

The back door opened and the orderly pushed the gurney out of the elevator. He reached back in and pressed the button for the 12th floor and sent the elevator heading upward overriding the system by a key fob in his hand. Ranger lay slumped in a corner of the elevator.

He pushed the gurney to a loading dock door. There was a vehicle sitting waiting.

Swiftly one man scooped up Stephanie and her blanket and then shoved her in the back seat. The other man slammed the doors closed and they sped off.

I will be positing the next chapter on Monday. Have a good weekend everyone.