Chapter 35

Stephanie wondered around the room in small circles. Her mind racing as she heard the men give small quick instructions back and forth to each other.

She was determined to stay quiet so she wouldn't distract them but it only lasted 3 minutes before she broke down.

"Hector, you could at least have put a tv in here for me... you know I go crazy quickly." She said looking around. She knew the second convoy was still driving so she was ok for now.

"I win." She heard Lester say in her ear.

Stephanie scrunched her eyebrows, "Win what?"

"Ohhh Bomber, you couldn't wait 28 more seconds?" She heard Bobby say in her ear.

"Win what?" She said again

She heard Tank give a chuckle, "I obviously gave her to much credit."

"What are you guys talking about?" She growled.

Now they all got quiet. "Someone better tell me what Lester won." She said knowing it was about her.

"Chickens." She heard Ranger say. "Babe they all bet on how long it would take you to talk about wanting to leave the room."

Stephanie crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes into the empty room. "First are you guys serious? I told you I wouldn't leave."

"We know that Beautiful. We bet on when you would start going crazy. We trust you to keep your word and not move." Lester said with a laugh.

Stephanie growled, "Second, it is not nice to bet on people ... you asshats." She thought for a moment. "Wait Ranger you said the guys... you didn't bet?"

She heard the smirk in Rangers smile, "No babe."

Stephanie's heart melted until she heard him say, "I thought you would not even make it to closing the door."

"You guys are All jerks... even you Ranger." But her heart calmed when she heard the course of laughter. They needed to laugh and relax before they got to the building, "Glad you can put me on your entertainment line again." She said tying to sound upset when really, she didn't care.

"And it was free this time." Bobby said with a chuckle. "Normally we have to offset the price in other places."

"Bite me... it's not my fault." She said rolling her eyes with a grin.

She heard another round of laughs, "Never is Babe... Never."

"It's not, they were all accidents." She said with a large grin. It had the effect she wanted when she got loud belly laughs.

After they settled down she said again, "But really I am board... there is nothing to do in this small teeny tiny empty room." She said grinning trying to get a rise out of them.

She heard them all laugh and then a ping from her phone. She looked down to see a text from Hector.

Open the bottom center door there will be a screen. Turn it on.

She looked over to the desk to see the covered in panels.

She opened the center to see a huge computer screen. She gasped as it turned on and 6 little boxes appeared and she could see the men in them. Hector had set up surveillance around the ambush point. Her phone beeped again at her.

I knew you would be bored out of your mind and worried so I have a job for you. Watch the monitors, if you see someone get hurt let us know by the mic and call 911. The address is

4512 Brick lane

What out for us angel.

Stephanie started crying soft tears. "Thank you." She whispered to Hector in the mic. Her phone beeped again.

Welcome, stay in that room!

"I will." She said into the mic again bowing Hector could hear her.

"Your welcome?" She heard Lester say in a confused voice.

Stephanie laughed, "For working so hard to keep me safe. And I will stay here, so don't worry about me." She said to him. "Hector left me computer screens to watch over you guys. So, I can watch what's going on."

"So, you are a voyager now?" Lester said with a chuckle.

"No one wants to see what you do Lester... we might need antibiotic shots when you are done." She laughed.

She heard a round of laughter from the men, "I will need to order a lot more antibiotics, the way Lester gets around." Bobby said with a laugh.

"Whatever." Lester mumbled into the mic. "It's not that bad."

She could feel the mood shift over the mic. "Stay safe." She whispered as she watched Ranger's convoy begin to pull up in the cameras. "I love you." She whispered to Ranger.

"Love you too." She heard a Chorus of men say, "although Ranger might object to you saying that to all of us." She heard Lester say in a smart-ass voice.

"Santos mats 0500 tomorrow." Ranger said with no bite into the phone.

Stephanie gave a small Chuckle into the mic, "No mats... Ranger will be too busy with me."

"Thanks, Beautiful." Lester said, she could hear his grin.

"Babe." Ranger said amused.

She fell Silent as the men began to get out of their trucks not wanting to distract them now that they arrived.

She watched the screen, the black and white figures slowly stepping out of the trucks looking around waiting. The bad feeling in the out of her stomach coming back in full force.

"I can see them following down the lane, lights off." She heard Cal whisper into the Mic.

"They are waiting for us to into the house. They want to surprise us and keep Timmy alive." She heard Tank say.

The feeling was getting worse, something wasn't right. Stephanie searched each screen on the computer looking at the men.

"In or out Ranger?" Tank asked pushing the Timmy look alike away from the car towards the house slowly.

"Ranger." She whispered the feeling taking over her body. Fear and panic spreading. Something wasn't right but she couldn't find it on the screens.

"Babe." She could hear the question in his voice. He was asking her what she was thinking. He could hear the question and concern in her voice.

"Something is not right." She whispered. Still searching the screens trying to find it.

"I agree." He said back to her. She watched him on the screen scanning and searching his soundings like she was on the monitor. "See anything?"

"No." She whispered, "I just feel it, what you call my spidy sense. Something is wrong. But I can't find it."

All of the men paused trusting her feelings. They knew she was good at seeing what they couldn't, even if she couldn't actually see it... only feel it.

"We can't wait out here, we are sitting ducks. Plus, they will Know something is up if we sit out here." Tank said walking over the Ranger.

Ranger looked around again, "Babe." He questioned again. "What do you see?"

Stephanie looked through the screens again. "Nothing, I can't see anything wrong."

"But." He said softly. Knowing she was still feeling like something was wrong.

"I don't think you should go in the house... maybe go around to the back. " she said still looking for something... anything.

"They are sight range, they can see if we don't go in. Can we go in through the front turn on all the lights and go out the back?" Cal said softly.

"Sounds like a plan." Ranger said back, "Move."

"Hurry." Stephanie whispered. The feeling almost

making her nauseous.

She watched the men enter the building one by one. The lights going on like they planned to be there a while... the door closed cutting off her visual so she listened to the men in the ear piece.

"Move, move, move." She heard Tank whispering. She heard another door open and within seconds it was closed again. It was silent as she watched the new vehicles pull up to the house. All of their lights off deadly quiet. She watched as men got out of the SUVs. Looking around the house, she gasped as one of the men pulled out a small hand grenade. She watched as the men went to one side of the SUV, away from the house.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, the way he pulled his arm back to throw it at the front of the house. The way they ducked down and covered their ears.

"Run and cover your ears." Stephanie yelled into the Mic. "They just threw a grenade at the house!"

All she heard was rustling over the ear piece as the men ran and then she had to pull out the piece as the explosion lit up the screen and the sound screamed in her ear. Then there was silence as the man behind the SUV threw another one and another one and another one.

5 in all before it was quite and dark again. The house almost gone. Anyone inside would have been dead, and anyone close enough hurt or dead.

She scrambled to grab the mic and put the ear piece back in.

"Hello." She whispered, almost too scared to ask and not hear anything. "Is everyone ok?"

She was met with silence, as she now watched the men coming around the SUV to assess the damage and see who they killed.

"Someone answer me, they are coming towards the house... going around it. You have to hide, are you ok?" She begged, voice catching as the fear she had been carrying around came full force.

"Please answer me." She yelled, voice breaking.

But all she was met with was silence.