Chapter 37

When I could hear my thoughts in my head I knew I needed to get up, I struggled with the simplest act of opening my eyes, though sounds were beginning to make their way through the buzzing in my ears.

"Just lie still Ranger, the effects don't last long, give your body a chance to recover"
What the hell just happened, why was Rangeman taken by surprise?
"Bobby?"
"I'm here Ranger"

"Any casualties?"
"No, just after effects of the gas"
"Steph?"
"I don't know"

I finally managed to open my eyes, looking up at the ceiling, still in the reception area. Bobby helped me to sit up and I looked around as men were slowly coming to. I shook my head to clear it as Tank came into the room.

"Tank what the hell happened?"
"I think they got gas into the air ducts, it didn't trigger the alarms so I'm not sure what it was"
"How?"
"I don't know, I'm waiting on answers from Hector and Jay"
"Steph, where is she?"
"She wasn't here"

Shit why would they take her now, what the hell did she have to do with any of this?

I slowly stood up with a helping hand from Tank and then turned to Bobby.

"Is the building clear now?"
"Yes"
"Tank have a skeleton crew on the monitors and close reception, full meeting in fifteen in the conference room and get Hector and Jay there with some answers"
I took the stairs up to seven glad that my mind seemed to have cleared and my body was working as I needed it to. I didn't look round the apartment but went straight to the closet in the bedroom, discarding the suit and shirt I was soon in cargos, long sleeved T-shirt and cat boots. I went to the safe in the closet and brought out guns, knives and grenades then with a Kevlar vest on I attached the weapons to the straps and holders. I had to find my zone and not think of where Steph could be, I would be more productive in helping her by being in mercenary mode. As I walked into the conference room it was packed, it seemed even those not on duty were here and every man was dressed for action, every man showing focus and determination.

"Hector?"
"They sent miniature drones in through the air ducts, no larger than a fly, once in the main air conditioning unit it seemed they massed together and caused a small explosion emitting the gas that was held inside them"
"Jay?"
"Controlled through hand held units close by, no doubt the men who came into the building through reception, two went down to the garage and disabled the door and another two took Steph into a waiting car"
"Any messages?"
"None"
"Hector put up that building at Bordertown on the screen"

Everyone turned to look first at a map and then an overhead image.

"This is where Carrigan is meeting with the bosses so we are going in there and putting a stop to this and getting Steph back"
"Why take her?"
"I don't know Bobby"

"Okay how do you know about this meeting?"
"A message from Ramos and Jemerez"

"Are those messages kosher, you know what I mean, they did come from them and this isn't some kind of trap?"
"I don't think so and if there's any chance that is where he's taken her then that's where I'm going, I don't expect anyone here to follow me"
"Yeah like that's gonna happen, I'm with you Ranger"
I nodded my head at Santos, he would always back me up just as I would him, but the voices coming from the men gave me pause to be thankful for a group of men who would follow me anywhere.

"Jay the helicopter intact?"
"Yes, they didn't go beyond the garage and the first floor so didn't see it"
"Okay then this is what we do"

As I drove down route 206 with Santos, Tank and Cal I knew my men would be where they were supposed to be, we'd decided to forgo the communication system we would normally use because Jay felt that it might be picked up and that would spoil the surprise we had in mind. Once I'd left the main road I followed the road that ran parallel to the creek and pulled over where I knew we wouldn't be seen form the road or anyone guarding the building. Once on foot we moved silently through the trees using hand signals when necessary. When we had the building in our sights we stopped and took cover, Jay had warned us that maybe this guy would rely on sensors and cameras to detect anyone moving around the building, so our next move was to disable the sensors and cameras as we moved through them, a trick that Jay had perfected as part of his paranoia when he locked himself away from the world. We each had an emitter on us that would do that and we each took a different route to get into the building, that way if they did realize we were there at least we'd give them something to think about. Hector had found some plans for the place and while Carrigan may have done some minor alterations there was no evidence of heavy construction, that was a risk we would have to take. I was heading to the upper floor where the offices would be while Tank and Cal were making for the large warehouse area to try to establish what Carrigan was up to. Santos caught me up as I moved up the stairwell and then stopped a half flight up from the door to the top floor. We were trying to establish if there was any sign of guards and when the coast seemed clear we moved back down and went through the door onto a corridor. I just hoped my hunch was right and that Steph wouldn't be in on any meeting. The worry I had was that the building seemed too quiet, any sound we made seemed to echo from the walls. As we walked down the corridor we each checked through the glass panes in the door trying to establish who might be up here. As Santos checked through one of the windows on the right he nodded across to me, meaning I prayed that she was there. I picked the lock and carefully entered the room, leaving Santos standing outside, I could see her laid down on the floor at the far end of the room. It covered an enormous area, with no windows or other doors, I just didn't know if it was a trap. It was set up as an office area with lots of tables and chairs but I could tell from the state of the furniture that they had been here awhile. I took the risk, I had to, no way was I leaving Steph alone so I let the door close and walking around the perimeter quietly walked over to her. The room was circular with a dome of glass above its center, and for some reason I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. As I reached for her she suddenly sat up fear wracking her eyes and face.

"You can't be here, you have to get out"
"Not without you"
"It's a trap"

I pulled her to her feet and made for the door, but it wouldn't open, even when I tried to use the tools, the lock on the handle was opening but there must have been another mechanism keeping it shut. A sound behind us had me turning and a screen on the wall came to life with the face of the man we had been looking for, Carrigan Davey.

"I didn't expect you quite so soon Mr Manoso, you certainly live up to your reputation"
"What do want Carrigan?"
That threw him; he obviously didn't expect me to know who he was.

"Clever Mr Manoso, they said the woman was amazing at detecting and that you were the tracker, but it doesn't matter what you know, I have you here and that annoying Miss Plum"
"Let her go Carrigan"
"Now why would I do that?"
I just hoped the rest of the men had done their work undetected because now I wasn't sure how to get out of here. I held Steph to me as Carrigan continued to talk.

"You see you Mr Manoso was someone I knew I could never threaten or control, in some ways you were as bad as Jimmy always knowing what was going on and there to stop anyone getting out of hand and Miss Plum, what can I say, she has this uncanny way of seeing things and then working at a problem like a dog with a bone, she annoys me in more ways than you will ever understand. Having the two of you here serves my purposes as an example to those others who don't have your morals or tenacity"
"Carrigan what do you hope to achieve here?"

"Kill two birds with one stone Mr Manoso. You have ten minutes to say goodbye to each other"
At that last statement the screen went dead and I looked down at Steph.

"Babe did he say anything?"
"He said he has some type of bombs all around the room"

"Show me"

"They're on the floor by the walls"
I walked to the wall and knelt down beside a circular disc, it was only about five inches in diameter and an inch thick but there was no way I could move it.

"He said they're bolted down"
"Okay, have you seen any cameras?"
"Just that one above the screen"
I took out some spray paint from a pocket in my cargos and handed it to her, I wasn't sure if Jay's devise was working or not, probably not if Carrigan had seen me, maybe he was using a hard wired system.

"Spray paint the lens"
As Steph did that I started to move the tables to the center of the room, I needed to try to give us some protection. Steph came and helped me and within minutes we had built a cocoon in the middle of the floor, god knows what had happened to Santos. I pulled her to me and sat down on the floor, her sat between my legs but with hers wrapped around me, I opened my vest, taking it off and placed it around her and then pulled her to my chest.

"I'm so sorry Babe"
"It isn't your fault, it's his, all his"
"Christ Babe I don't want anything to happen to you, I love you too much"
"Carlos I love you too, and if we die together then that's what's meant to happen, but don't you dare die and leave me alone"

"That goes for you as well, I love you Stephanie, more than I ever thought I could love someone"
"I love you too Carlos, please don't leave me"
I held her tight against me, a hand on her head and one round her back, I knew we didn't have long, by my reckoning maybe less than a minute. I turned her head and plunged my tongue into her mouth savoring what could be my last moment with her, I felt her push herself as close as she could get and then heard the click of the detonators and the surge of power that suddenly came toward us. I held her tight not allowing her to break the kiss, a roaring sound and debris hit us with a violent force and that was the last that I remembered.