Chapter 29
Ella had been setting out breakfast for two while Ranger finished getting dressed. "For you and Raoul," she explained as he entered the kitchen with raised eyebrows. "He said he would join you for breakfast." Ranger nodded.
"Thank you, Ella," he told her. "For everything. I don't think I say it enough." He pulled her to him as she cried. "We'll get her back, Ella." She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.
"It's not the same here without her," she whispered. God, wasn't that the truth!
"I know," Ranger agreed. Raoul left himself in. Ella collected herself.
"Just let me know if you need anything. I'll take Ivy downstairs with me." She fed Ivy a Beggin' Strip {A/N: my dogs love those. And Snausages and Scooby Snacks. Then again, they loved to eat cat turds out of the litter box!} and led her to the door. Raoul sat at the counter and stared.
"What?" Ranger finally asked as he poured them coffee.
"You didn't sleep last night…did you? You look like hell." Ranger shrugged. He placed a mug in front of Raoul and sat on the stool next to him.
"Tried." He dug into his egg white omelet. He felt Raoul's continued stare. "I didn't reach for the bottle…if that's what you're wondering." Raoul smirked.
"I was actually," he told him. "I'm concerned about you, little brother."
"Rao…" Raoul cut him off.
"I don't think you are crazy, Carlos. I don't think you are weak. And, I don't think that you can't handle this situation. You have been to hell and back recently. Both of you have. This situation is a lot to deal with. You're hurting, and it's killing me that I can't fix this," Raoul explained. He leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. "You always had a knack for getting yourself in deep. Leave it to you to find the one person who could get in deeper." Ranger sighed and pushed the plate away before he finished.
"Last night…." He swallowed hard. "I dreamed that she was raped. I couldn't move…or help her. She was screaming for me….and, all I could do was watch. Then that mother fucker kicked her…over and over again. When I picked her up she was bleeding and….." He rubbed his face with his hands. "And a dead baby dropped onto the floor. Shit, it seemed so real." Damn it. His eyes began to leak. Not now! Not in front of his brother. Shit! He felt Raoul's arms surround him.
"Let it out, Carlos," Raoul told him softly. "It's going to eat you up inside if you don't." He did. He cried for Stephanie. He cried for the twins. He cried for the men he lost in the crash. And, he cried for all the pain that he locked up inside him. It was if the flood gates opened, and he was unable to stop it.
The clang of the metal, makeshift cell door awakened Stephanie. It wasn't Khalid…thank God. She didn't know this one's name, and he wasn't exactly friendly, but at least he didn't go out of his way to be mean to her. She immediately sat up, drawing her knees to her chin, then hissed at the sharp twinge of the injection site. "Here." He sat a small tray on the end of the cot. "If you feel up to it after breakfast, you'll be able to sit in the back yard for a while." She perked up. "But you better not try anything," he warned. "You'll never see daylight again if you try to escape."
"Gee…now why would I want to do that?" she muttered before she could stop herself. One of these days, she was really going to have to work on holding back the sarcastic comments.
"Khalid's already got the love Jones for you. He's a real sick fuck. The last girl he had a hard on for wound up dead." He turned to leave. "He's been warned not to touch you, but…." He dropped his head and sighed. "Like I said…he's sick. Try not to piss him off and make it worse for yourself."
"Okay," Stephanie replied softly.
"I'll be back in a little bit to take you out." She pulled the tray towards her. She was starving. At least they had been providing her with decent food. Eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, milk, and fruit. With the exception of the bacon and eggs, it would have been a Ranger-approved breakfast. She ate with gusto. Even though she hated taking it here, the Phenergan really helped. She just couldn't believe her luck! She didn't know how closely she would be watched, but at least she had a chance to get at that phone. Would Inga be out there? How many others were there? This was totally insane. How could something like this exist? It was like plot from a Lifetime movie.
Her thoughts turned to Khalid. Not only was she terrified of him, but it seemed like everyone else was too. So, that meant that she would get no help from any of the guards. They were too afraid to cross him. Not good.
If it had been anyone but his brother, Ranger would have been humiliated by his display of weakness. But one thing was for sure, he could not deny it was what he needed. What a tremendous release that was. The feelings of oppression, uncertainty, guilt, anger, fear, sadness…all of it…just seemed to flow from his soul. It was like an emotional enema. It dawned on him that he had been getting some emotional release through making love to Stephanie. It had been a couple of weeks since they were last together. Tank called to let them know that Morelli was there, and Durrer would be over after Orr made the call to reschedule the meeting. He washed his face in cool water. There wasn't much he could do about his red-rimmed eyes. The lack of sleep and crying saw to that. But, he felt…lighter. Each time he let his feelings out, instead of burying them deep inside, it gave him a weird sense of freedom. Like his feelings had been holding him hostage, and confronting them had liberated him. Now to focus on the goal again.
Before the meeting could start, Durrer called to say that Orr was able to get a meeting in Hartford, Connecticut for the day after tomorrow. He got the okay from his superiors that Rangeman could use their own people, but they would have to wear wires. Durrer and his partner would be there as soon as they could. Ranger disconnected. "We got it pushed up to Saturday. We can use Mac," Ranger told them. He excused himself to his office with Tank and Raoul hot on his heels. He put in a call to Mac. "I need you to get down here on the next flight."
"Did you find Steph?" Mac asked.
"We think so. I need to you be my German husband." Ranger held the phone away from his ear as Mac howled into the receiver. Tank and Raoul exchanged smiles.
"Are you shittin' me?"
"No, Mac…I'm not shitting you. Just get down here, and I'll explain everything." Ranger disconnected. Ranger looked back and forth between his brother and best friend. He could tell they were trying not to laugh. With Stephanie in trouble, there hadn't been anything to laugh at. But, that wouldn't have stopped her. Stephanie would have laughed if something struck her funny…no matter how inappropriate. Ranger smirked. "It's okay to laugh. If she knew I was going to dress in drag with Mac as my husband, she would laugh." Tank smiled.
"Shit, if this wasn't so serious, I think I'd piss myself from laughing so hard seeing you in a dress," Tank told them. They snickered. "I mean, Santos does have nice legs, but you have a better ass."
"You're lucky that I need you right now, Tank," Ranger growled. "Otherwise, I'd kick your ass." Tank smirked.
"After this is over, I'm going to kick your ass for that fuckin' Swear Jar," Tank mumbled. Ranger rolled his eyes.
"I think I'm going to let you kick my ass for that one," he agreed. "Come on. Let's get planning this thing."
Stephanie had to shield her eyes at first. She hadn't seen daylight in almost a week. He took her out the back way through the exterior basement steps. The house itself was huge. Trees lined the perimeter of a spacious yard. Near the tree line towards the back sat an in-ground pool and a guest house. There were a few lounge chairs, patio chairs, and tables set up in the yard. One table appeared to have drinks and snacks. In Stephanie's estimation, there were about ten girls already out there, dressed in similar sportswear. They all looked very young. All eyes were upon her as she approached them. "Like I said, don't do anything stupid." She nodded in acknowledgment. She looked around again and noticed there were a few guards watching the yard. Even if she did try to make a break for it, she wouldn't get far on this bad ankle. She limped over to the group that was raiding the refreshment table.
"Hi," she said to them. A couple of girls nodded, but the rest ignored her. "I'm Stephanie. Do you know who Inga is?" A young and attractive, pregnant blonde girl, who looked about ready to deliver, pointed to another group sitting in the lounge chairs. Stephanie grabbed a bottle of water and limped over to Inga. The closer she got, she was able to pick her out from the photos she had seen. The three girls looked up as Stephanie approached. "Inga?" The girl's eyes widened.
"Are you Stephanie Plum?" she asked nervously. "I'm so sorry! They made me call you! I didn't do it on purpose!" Stephanie waved her off.
"I know you didn't. I'm not angry with you. Are you okay?" Inga looked down and rubbed her protruding little belly.
"I'm okay." She moved her legs to straddle the lounger to allow Stephanie to sit. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this. I thought he loved me. He made me believe we were going to be a family. I was so stupid." Stephanie put a hand on her leg.
"It wasn't your fault, Inga. Believe it or not, you father is worried about you. He hired us to find you." She shook her head.
"I wish I could believe that. He's never around. All he cares about is work."
"Not everyone knows how to express his feelings, Inga. We've got a lot in common. My mother and I didn't have the greatest relationship either. When we get outta here, we can trade war stories. But right now, I need some help. The guard they shot the other day handed me his cell phone. I left a message for my…." She started to say fiancé, but since she gave him the ring back, she corrected herself. "…boyfriend but tossed it in the bushes. I need you guys to cause a distraction or something. I'll see if it's still there, and try to call for help." All the girls perked up.
"You can get us out of here?" a petite Asian girl asked her.
"I'll try." The red headed girl leaned forward.
"I have asthma. I can pretend that I'm having an asthma attack. Would that work?" Stephanie nodded.
"I'm just going to stroll around the yard. I think the phone is on that side of the house," Stephanie whispered as she tilted her head towards the far side of the mansion. "Wait till I am right there. I only need a few minutes. They could have found it. The battery could be dead. I just don't know." Stephanie got up and sipped her drink as she causally hobbled around the yard. She noticed one of the guards following her. She feigned interest in the various bushes along the way. She turned to him. "Hey…is this a…." She searched her brain for the name of a bush…any bush. "um…lilac bush?" She pointed to the juniper bush. The guard shrugged. "I'm a…um…a plantophile. You know…someone who is into leaves." She bit her lower lip. "The more I look at this, I think it's really a…um…azalea or something." She looked at the bushes on the side of the house. "Is it okay if I look at those?" He nodded and walked off. Truthfully, she couldn't tell a lilac from an azalea to a marijuana plant. Well, she might recognize the pot plant. She continued to the side of the house and pretended to examine the bushes. She heard the commotion in the yard. The red headed girl, Lisa, was coughing and convulsing on the ground. She found the phone under the third bush. She dialed Ranger's number, but the digital voice informed her that she needed to call customer service and provide a credit card to load more minutes. Shit…shit …shit….damn it all to hell! Then, she remembered that a person can call 911 from any cell phone. That was the one number that cannot be blocked. She hoped that 911 center had the capability to track the GPS on this phone.
"911…what is your emergency." The guards were rounding everyone up to keep all the girls contained while they attended to Lisa. Stephanie tried to disconnect the call and tossed the phone back into the bush. She figured she could try it again, but didn't want them to discover the phone. Stephanie didn't realize that the line was left open.
Mac called back to let them know he was driving down. The earliest flight available was 6PM. He could make the drive in less than four hours and be there around 1PM. Raoul had gotten a call from a friend with the Newark PD. A body was found behind a warehouse in a red GTO. GSW(gunshot wound for those not EMS or ER savvy) to the head. There was no ID on the body, but the car was registered to Daniel Lawrence. Ex-Army Ranger. Raoul covered the mouth piece of his phone. "Did you know a Daniel Lawrence?" Ranger thought for a minute.
"Name sounds familiar. Why?" Raoul held up his index finger and finished his conversation. Lester frowned.
"I think we had a guy in our unit named Dan Lawrence," he said. "He came in just before most of us got out." Ranger turned to Hector.
"Run a check on him." Hector opened up his laptop. Raoul disconnected the call. "What's up?"
"I had called my friend, Manny, about this case and asked him about the GTO. The body hasn't been identified yet, but the car is registered to this Lawrence guy. I know this could be some huge coincidence but…" Raoul trailed off. Yeah…right…coincidence. A red GTO was seen in the driveway of a house that Stephanie's necklace was found. Then, it just so happened that a dead body was found inside one after she leaves a voice mail where a gunshot was heard. And because this involved Stephanie, just about anything could be possible.
"Do you think that he let her use his phone? And, they shot him?" Bobby wondered. Hector connected his laptop to the projector. He showed everyone Dan's driver's license.
"Shit," Ranger muttered. He did recognize him. What the hell was he doing mixed up with this scum?
"I'm running his credit cards to see if that was his phone. But check this out," Hector told them. "His younger sister is missing. File is still open. She was never found."
"He must have overheard who Steph was. Maybe he tried to help her and got caught," Lester added.
"His sister's name is Amanda," Hector continued. "Last seen in Philly."
"He was probably trying to find her," Tank said. "Hopefully, we'll finish the job for him."
After the team was fully assembled, it was decided that Ranger and Mac would go in wearing wires as Mark and Araceli Bauer. They were meeting with Henried at the Hyatt in Hartford. Valerie made the reservations for their rooms as well as the team. They knew this was a first meeting, and they might not be able to see any of the girls. It was decided to address it during the meeting. Care had to be taken to avoid suspicion. Stephanie wasn't due till October. Another angle to work in was asking about women for sale. They were always looking for new talent for their hardcore films. The game plan was to make an offer to buy Stephanie now. They would pay top dollar for her and the babies. Since their offer would have to be negotiated and the fee paid, Ranger would slip a GPS tracker to Stephanie. This would help them to find the location of the Stable. Another hope would be that they stored the records of the women and children they have sold at that secret location. Taking this ring down was the easy part. Putting together a case and having a jury convict them was something else.
"So…," Mac began after the strategy part of the meeting concluded, "are you gonna let me be on top?" Ranger shook his head. There were some snickers. Lester leaned over and put his arm around Ranger's shoulders.
"You can borrow my boobs and my green dress, but you can't have my wig or panties." The room exploded in laughter. "I just don't picture you as a red head." Raoul furrowed his brow.
"Uh…I guess I missed something here," Raoul muttered. Ranger dropped his head against the back of the chair and groaned. "Is there something you want to tell me, Santos?"
"He's right though," Hector said. "You are so not a red head." Hector pulled up the security camera shots of Leslee and Ranger in the elevator. More laughter. Raoul grinned from ear to ear. Because of the release that Ranger felt this morning, and how much it was needed, he allowed the goofing around to continue.
"Okay. Those that are coming to Hartford, finish up here and get your gear ready. We leave at oh-600." Ranger got up, stood behind Lester, and sighed. "Come on, Leslee. Show me what you have."
Stephanie was sitting on her cot with her back to the wall. It was getting close to dinner time. She assumed that the phone wasn't discovered because no one said anything. At least she hoped it wasn't found. Time seemed to drag. No TV. No radio. Nothing to read. Just time. Time to think about her life. If she got out of this, she was going to have a long talk with Ranger. She loved him and wanted him in her life. But, she didn't want him to feel trapped. Rena's comment about him marrying all the girls he got pregnant came to mind. So did Ranger's own words. Hearing the words coming out of his mouth was what hurt the most. But, it just didn't add up. He said he bought that ring while they were in Miami. That was before she got pregnant. It was in his safe. She had been with him constantly since he returned from North Carolina. Although she didn't know how much it cost, she could tell that ring was expensive. Would he spend that kind of money on a ring for someone that he thought of as an obligation? He seemed so sincere. Yeah, he lied about the car. But, it was for her good…not his. Then, there was the Jeanne Ellen factor. In her recent experience, whenever Jeanne Ellen was involved, there was nothing but major bullshit and backstabbing. Ranger said she lied about it. Did that bitch tell him she was pregnant with his baby? Stephanie gave Ranger an out, and he didn't want it. That said something. And, if that was the case, he would be looking for her. He would move heaven and earth to get to her. She needed to stay strong.
She was drawn out of her thoughts by the gate opening. Khalid. He looked pissed. Without saying a word, he yanked her to her feet and slammed her into the adjacent wall. He pressed his body up against hers. "You think you are so smart…don't you?" He fisted his hand in her hair and banged her face into the cinderblock. "Don't you?"
"W-what are you talking about?" The other hand reached around and palmed her breast. Gripped with fear, she went blank.
"The phone, Stephanie." He ground his pelvis into her backside and painfully squeezed her breast. She struggled to free herself, but he wrapped his arms around her holding her still. There was something vaguely familiar about the way he had her pinned. It finally clicked. This was one of the holds that Mac taught her to get out of. He began to grind against her again. "You have to be punished now." Fear was pushed aside, and anger took over. With a war cry that would have made all the Merry Men proud, she twisted her body and was able to swing her elbow back till it connected with his nose. She heard and felt a sickening crunch. "AAAHHHH!" he cried out in pain, let go and held his face. She tried to run but her ankle gave way, and she fell head long. "You fucking, bitch!" He turned and reached for her. Stephanie brought up her good foot and smashed him between the legs.
At this point, two more guards came after hearing the commotion. Khalid sunk to his knees, now holding his aching groin. The guards pulled her up by her arms and held her in place. "Try that again, and I'll kill you!" Stephanie warned. She spat in his face. Khalid was still trying to catch his breath as he cradled his injured crotch. The guards exchanged nervous glances. No one ever talked back to Khalid, no less attacked him.
Several minutes later, he slowly rose to his feet. When he looked at her this time, he didn't see fear. She was tougher than she looked. Arrogant little bitch. He backhanded her, splitting her lip with his signet ring. "Not the face! Henried warned you about that!" Khalid glared at him before turning to Stephanie.
"This isn't over, Stephanie. When I get back, you'll pay for this," he hissed while pointing to his nose. He roughly squeezed her breast again causing her to whimper. With a final sneer, he left.
"You better hope he calms down by the time he gets back," a guard told her. They let her go, and she flopped on to her cot. She tasted blood as it oozed from her lip. Looking down, she could see the swelling already. Her right cheek burned where the cinderblock scrapped her skin. Her breast throbbed again. Now, she would have a matched set of bruises. As the adrenaline rush of her anger began to ebb, the fear started to slowly creep back. The other guard examined her face.
"I'll bring you some ice." The left her cell and locked the door behind them. Stephanie overheard them talking about Khalid leaving to pick up some more girls. He mentioned the phone. Shit. They didn't frisk her on the way inside. She should have taken the phone with her. Ranger and the Merry Men would have done that. She was going to have to start paying more attention when they taught her stuff. But, she remembered what Mac taught her, so there was hope for her after all. She couldn't lie. As scared as she was, it felt good to break that asshole's nose. And don't forget about smashing his nuts, too! YES! She wasn't as weak and helpless as she thought….or as anyone else thought. But now what? The phone plan was gone. God only knows what Khalid was going to do to her when he got back. Nothing good…that was for sure. Those other girls were so young! Oh my God. And poor Inga! She just wanted someone to love her, and that scumbag took advantage. And got her pregnant! The guard was back. He had her dinner tray, an air cast for her ankle, and an ice pack.
"We called Henried to let him know what happened. But, he's been warned before. You broke his nose, and he is fuckin' pissed. Just a word to the wise, don't fight him next time. He will kill you." Stephanie just nodded. She dabbed her napkin into the glass of water and tried to clean her lip and chin.
"Why do you do this?" she asked him softly.
"What?"
"Why do you do this?" She gestured around the room.
"The money is good. The job is easy."
"Kidnapping women and selling them and their babies is easy?" He shrugged.
"We all have to make a living somehow. Nothing personal, lady. It's just a job." He walked through the gate and locked it behind him. "I'll check on you later." She shouldn't have been so surprised. Even her own husband screwed her over for money. Dickie! That's why Omni was so familiar! It was related to that account she found with those millions of dollars in a Swiss bank. That jerk off was involved in this, too! Oh God, I hope Hector found that connection, she prayed to herself. She remembered the bad shoe karma on the shoes the Lula stole from Jeanne Ellen. Well, Dickie was going to discover what bad shoe karma was…right after she put on the ugliest shoes she owned and broke her foot off in his ass. That little prick! She had other words for him that would cost her at least $7.50 in the friggin' Swear Jar!
Sighing, she lifted the cover off her dish. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gray, and canned green beans. A slice of pound cake was off to the side. She had to cut it into tiny pieces to get it into the little slit of her mouth. Her bottom lip was still bleeding a little and throbbed. Chewing didn't help it, but she was hungry. Better to eat while she was hungry and knew the food would stay down. Maybe she should ask for a pill before she went to bed. Just in case. She needed to think of another plan. Hopefully, something that would get her out of there before Khalid came back. Even with renewed faith that Ranger really did love her and was looking for her, she sensed her time and luck were running out. She knew that it was Khalid that killed Marnie. And, she knew, from the bottom of her soul she knew, that she would next.
