Chapter 35—Out of the Darkness, Into the Frying Pan
Sunday, May 9
It was Sunday evening and Stephanie was sitting on her porch in her pajamas. It was the first time in three weeks her friends had let her be alone for the entire weekend. Her father had taken Sunny out to see a movie and they wouldn't be home for hours. The Center was dark and quiet.
She knew her dad and her friends were worried about her, but she couldn't generate enough emotion to do anything about it. She still felt numb and had been unable to cry since the night of the shooting.
As she stretched and thought about turning in early, she saw a light flicker at the main house. She didn't expect her dad and Sunny back for at least a couple more hours. She decided to walk up and check it out.
Walking up the path, she didn't see the light anymore, but continued on. Steph quietly entered the dark kitchen, and just to be on the safe side, she picked up a cast iron skillet. She moved into the hallway and saw the silhouettes of the Wii box, TV and other electronic equipment stacked by the front door. Burglars!
Panic shot through Stephanie's system, the first real emotion she'd had in weeks. She heard a noise coming from the side hall. Panic morphed into anger. Someone was rifling through her office, probably stealing her computer.
Steph knew she should retreat and call the police, but after feeling nothing for over three weeks, the anger felt good. She felt like she was coming out of the darkness into the light, like waking up from a long slumber.
She passed one of the RangeMan security boxes Hector had installed several weeks ago. The final pieces of the system had been put on hold before the dance and Sunny hadn't yet asked Ranger to finish it. On the off chance there was power to the system, Steph hit the silent alarm button.
Tiptoeing down the pitch black hall, Steph peeked into her office. With the moonlight streaming through the window, she saw a tall skinny figure bent over her credenza, probably unplugging her computer. Months of her work and hundreds of contacts were stored on that computer.
Her anger surged blocking out Steph's small voice of reason. In a rage, she ran into the office and smashed the skillet over the back of the robber's neck and head. The guy (in the dim light Steph saw it was a male with a scruffy beard), collapsed onto the floor.
Shocked at her outburst of violence, Steph set the pan down on her desk and thought about what she'd just done. Concerned she might have killed the man, Steph was relieved when she saw his chest moving in a regular rhythm.
All her bounty hunting gear was down at the cottage so she searched the office for something to restrain the guy when he came to. Seeing the electrical cord still in the robber's hands, she wrapped it around his wrists and then around his ankles. She tied the end around the leg of the credenza.
Energy draining from her quickly, Steph sat down in her chair. One more thing to do; she picked up the phone on her desk and dialed 911. When the operator answered, she told him that the Rosetti Veteran's Center was being robbed and to send the police.
The operator insisted Steph stay on the phone, but Steph could hear footsteps coming down the stairs and wanted to find a better hiding spot.
Adrenaline pumping her up again, Stephanie picked up the cast iron skillet and snuck down the dark hall. She intended to go back out the kitchen door and run to the safety of her cottage. To both her and the second robber's surprise, Steph ran smack into him making him spill the armful of stolen goods he'd taken from the upstairs bedrooms.
Swinging wildly, Steph flattened his face with the bottom of the frying pan and kept hitting his back and butt as he tried to run down the hall. The fleeing man tripped over the stacked appliances near the front entryway and crashed headfirst into the solid oak door knocking himself unconscious.
Steph backed off into the shadows and listened for the sounds of additional burglars. A creaking noise sounded on the front porch. There was another guy at the front door, probably the one loading their ill-gotten loot into a getaway car. There was no time to run for it. Stephanie crept over behind the door and raised the skillet over her head. A chill ran down her back.
The guy who came through the door was big, much bigger than the first two. As Steph swung the skillet down toward the man's head, he spun around grabbing her wrist hard, making her drop the pan. With his other hand around her throat, he pushed her against the wall.
She couldn't breathe, let alone scream, but she kicked out with her feet connecting with the man's legs, causing him to exhale sharply.
"Babe?" Steph heard Ranger whisper. He released her neck, but kept hold of her wrist. Gasping for breath and massaging her bruised throat with her free hand, she croaked, "Ranger? What the heck are you doing sneaking into the house?"
"Babe, did I hurt you? Are you alright?" Ranger's concern over his rough handling of Stephanie overrode his concern about intruders. Steph angrily slapped his hand away as he tried to massage her neck. "It feels like you broke my windpipe, you big lug." She was on a roll, with anger radiating off her like waves of heat.
She reached around Ranger and yanked a pair of handcuffs out of his utility belt. Ranger watched in amusement as this very angry woman leaned over an unconscious man lying at their feet and kicked him onto his stomach. With her knee sunk into his back, she snapped the cuffs on the prone man's wrists and stood up dusting off her hands, a pleased look on her face. Ranger broke out into a smile as he watched the old Steph blossom before him.
Flipping on the light switch, Ranger took in the ransacked scene, the stacked electronic equipment, the cuffed unconscious man and the frying pan Steph had dropped. She was wearing cute little cotton pajamas with mice on them. They were anything but sexy, but he'd never wanted her more. He cut his eyes to Stephanie's, seeing the sparkle and life back in them. Relief washed over him, as he remembered the dull, empty look she'd carried just this morning when he'd visited her.
He was sorely tempted to pull her into his arms and kiss those smiling lips, but given her fragile state the past three weeks, he was afraid to upset her or disturb the precarious good mood she was in. She'd become hysterical several times when he or even her father had tried to hug her. This wasn't the right time for self-indulgence.
Keeping his tone light, he said, "Babe, we received the alarm signal at RangeMan thinking it was a false alarm, since the system was never activated. Obviously, not a false alarm."
"Obviously." Steph rolled her eyes. "I pushed it on the off chance someone would respond. Thanks, Batman." She gestured to the guy on the floor and the stack of appliances. "These are the guys who've been breaking into the neighbors' homes. There's this guy in the foyer and the other guy is in my office. He probably has a headache." Steph grinned as she picked up the dropped skillet. "I called 911, so the police should be here pretty soon."
Ranger jogged down to Steph's office and flipped on the light. Lying on his stomach trussed up like a rodeo steer was a skinny teenager struggling against his bindings. One side of Ranger's mouth tilted into a lopsided grin as he admired Steph's 'rope work.'
He released the cord from the credenza and loosened the cord around the guy's ankles hauling him up on his feet. The guy started to complain, but Ranger growled at him and the young burglar shut up. Making him hop and hobble, Ranger prodded the trussed robber out to the front entryway.
Ranger was thrilled to see Stephanie in action again and smiling to boot. Of course, outwardly one would never know how pleased he was. He pushed the hobbled robber down by the unconscious one and faced the woman pacing in front of him. He was still worried about her and knew she could fall back into depression if stressed too much.
Ranger waited until she stopped pacing and looked up at him. Consciously letting his feelings of relief and joy show in his face and letting his body respond in kind, he said softly, "Proud of you, Babe."
Stephanie stilled, ducking her head, tears and emotions welling up that she'd been burying for weeks.
Ranger saw the tears start to fall. Slowly and very gently, he pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. She let out all the guilt and fear she'd been suppressing. Ranger rubbed her back as she sobbed, whispering soothing words in Spanish to her, letting her know he was there for her. He didn't shush her or tell her it would be alright; he just let her cry.