Chance Encounters

Chapter 25

oOoOo

"Tell him, I have a message for the Dark Angel. Very important."

Shorty eyed the young Latino in his late teens suspiciously. He noticed the scar on his face and also the absence of gang colours. He was not in 'uniform' but he still had that distinctive swagger.

"Why should I believe you?"

"It concerns his Vixen."

Although outwardly Shorty showed no reaction, his heart did clench tightly at that remark.

"You've been in here before."

Shorty rarely forgets a face. As soon as he declared that observation the young man instantly touched his scar. Embarrassed, he nodded. Shorty lifted his chin up and nodded. Of course, one of his punk visitors. But he had lost the punk attitude and the overall look.

"I see that. You were one of those punk visitors."

His eyes went wide and he nodded, hanging his head in shame.

"Yes sir. I'm sorry. Eh. If it's any consolation, I didn't pass the test. Too slow and too stupid to know better."

Shorty shrugged his shoulder and tilted his head slightly in a show of indifference.

"And how did you come about this information? Is someone setting him up? The Vixen?"

He shook his head no but nodded as well.

"Have you eaten yet?" Shorty decided to change tack. The kid looked lean and gaunt and had that sallow appearance of the undernourished who rarely saw daylight. He didn't look like a druggie … no needle track marks were evident since his arms were clean with his sleeves rolled up. He looked clean but still unkempt, making Shorty think he must be living on the streets.

The kid shook his head, embarrassed to admit it, but the tempting surrounding aroma of pizza sauce was wreaking havoc with his senses. His stomach rumbled with hollow echoes of discomfort and yearning.

"Here. Sit. Eat." The kid tried to protest. "Sit. It's on me." Shorty's voice was commanding, brooking no argument.

Shorty poured some orange juice and handed him a plate with a calzone which he had just removed from the oven, a napkin and a bottle of water.

"Careful. It's hot. You eat first, then we talk."

Shorty watched him. He was tentative at first but hunger took over, while trying not to eat too fast since it was obvious that it had been a while since he had something decent and fresh to eat. He ate everything to the last crumb and sighed.

"Thank you. That was so good."

"De nada. It's been a while, eh?"

Embarrassed, he nodded again. It was hard to admit this to the big man. He still remembered those big knives and that baseball bat.

"So," Shorty opened a can of coke for him, thinking it would help his sugars too, "what else you know? How authentic? Is it a rumour or just hearsay?"

"Not rumours, or hearsay either. I witnessed this and heard it with my own ears. I work in one of the bars just off Stark. Cleaning tables and the bar, mopping floors, and collecting the empties for the dumpster at the end of my shift. I walk the bottles to the recycling bin in the alley. That's when I saw this big guy, huge big scary dude. He was bitching to another guy about how tough they had it, while they smoked a joint. They were real loose."

"Alright. Get to the point."

He gulped and nodded.

"Big scary dude 'wants to play', he said, since he was denied, or something like that, and finish what he started. He said something about having unfinished business with her and he's really pissed, saying it was all her fault that … er Jimmie … yeah, Jimmie be dead. And because of that, he lost money and his livelihood."

Shorty nodded. He knew exactly who this was and had immediately texted Hector while listening.

"They were swearing a lot. The smaller dude was also pissed at her, saying the fucking bitch … er, sorry … that she cost him his job. He wanted to get even since his friend is in the slammer because of her. And, because of this Jimmie dude, he had lost heaps of money."

"What else?"

He hesitated.

"I think they knew each other, you know, not like two random dudes hanging out smoking weed. He called the scary dude Benny who was getting very agitated, talking in this weird voice. And then he tried to calm him but the big dude grabbed him and tried to throw him. He's strong but not like he used to be, he said. See, he says, Benny that is, since that b- … er, since he had her already, some dude in the dark threw two knives at him, injuring both his shoulders."

"That would be me," Hector remarked from the doorway where he'd been listening. The kid jumped at the sound of Hector's voice.

"This other dude have a name?"

"Yeah. I think he called him Picky? Or something like that."

He was looking nervous and uncomfortable as Hector approached him. Hector spoke to him in rapid Spanish, Shorty knew what this was about. The kid was sweating and crossed himself swearing he was telling the truth, that much was obvious.

"What else did you hear?" Shorty placed some cookies on a plate in front of him.

"They were planning to catch her. Picky kept saying he wanted to kill her, but that Benny dude said 'she's mine' and they argued some more. Picky said he'd seen her and tried to follow her. He said he had an idea, … but that's all I could hear as they were interrupted when a patrol car cruised by, spotlighting down the alleyway. They ran past me where I was hiding. I nearly dropped the crate of empties."

Hector and Shorty looked at each other.

"You got a name, kid?"

"Yes sir. Daniel."

"Where do you live?"

Daniel mumbled something. Hector spoke in Spanish to him again, sounding very terse and angry but then calmed his manner.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Shorty gentled.

"Philly, until things went apeshit with Mum's new asshole boyfriend. He kicked me out."

They nodded.

"You're sleeping rough? On the streets?" Embarrassed, Daniel nodded.

"Why do you feel the need to share this?"

"I've seen her. The Vixen. She is cool and smart and badass. I've seen her more than once. She has heart. She's the bomb with cool martial arts moves. I used to do karate. She's good. I didn't like the way those two creeps talked about her. It was freaky scary shit."

"Well, consider yourself lucky that Benny didn't see you. He's a homicidal rapist, and that Picky dude, he's an ex cop."

oOoOo

After an emergency meeting at Rangeman with both Hector and Shorty reporting the information from Daniel, Ranger and the Core Team came to a swift decision. Using Tiny with his extensive profiling experience he analysed the footage from Shorty's inside camera feed and concluded that the kid was legit and genuinely concerned for the Vixen. Time for a Code 3.

Stephanie conceded the need for a partner or two, at all times and the guys were relieved that she didn't challenge it. Hearing about Ramirez and Gaspick plotting to take her out was a very scary and unpleasant reminder of her first encounter with Benito Ramirez. Her upper arm suddenly felt uncomfortable at the memory of Benito's knife as she rubbed the rose tattoo absentmindedly. That guy was one seriously sick psycho whacko and no way did she want another close encounter with him. She'd only just recently recovered from the nightmares.

Hector and Ranger suggested that she work from the Rangeman building utilising their advanced search engines, advising that one of the guys would collect the FTA folders from the Bonds Office. Nothing was said to Vinnie. Hector was happy to give her a tour of the facilities on offer at Rangeman. He was all for distracting her. The gun range, where she met Ram and shot a few rounds into paper men, secretly named Benny. Ram was already impressed with her, especially how she shot Jimmie Alpha and now here in the gun range her accuracy was amazing. To the gym and as her eyes scanned the room appraisingly, she was impressed, and not by just the equipment.

"Nice eye candy in there, si?" Hector grinned as they left the gym. She punched his arm playfully and chuckled.

Presently, there was very little word on the street about either of them. Ramirez, being such a bulky figure, was conspicuous and also well-known. Gaspick had no significant features, just an ordinary looking guy. He may as well be invisible. It seems they had both gone to ground. Hector already had his ears and feelers on the street as did Tiny and Shorty. It was time to shake the tree.

That night, Ranger and a team of Rangemen went down to Stark Street to shake up the hood.

She was standing by the printer, waiting, when Stephanie saw them arrive back on the fifth floor the following morning. While making their way to the conference room, she stopped in her tracks as the Homies parade swaggered past her. They looked deadly but mighty fine. She was stunned by the bad boy vibes that oozed from Tank, Bobby, Cal and the others, with bandannas on their heads. Their accents were stronger and the ghetto lingo prevailed as they all filed in. No Rangeman black, they were all in ghetto gear. They were talking loudly enough for her to hear the ghetto talk. They walked the walk and talked the talk. They were pumped.

She blinked when Lester chuckled at her, "Eh. Chica. You like bad boys. Si? Muy bonito," as he gently tapped her open mouth shut. She had to do a double take at his entire appearance which was so different. Wow. Then she saw Ranger, Street Ranger, and once again her jaw dropped. Lester forgotten. Street Ranger took advantage, caressed her cheek and his sexy expressive voice rumbled, "Eh, Bonita niña. Mi Querida." He kissed her deeply with a toe-curling kiss, then twisted a wayward curl around his finger before tucking it behind her ear. His Cuban accent was more distinctive and super sexy. With a dazzling one hundred watt smile he swaggered away, saying, "Later, Babe."

She was awestruck. Wow. And, did he have diamond stud earrings? Is it getting hot in here? The bandanna, those baggy pants and that tight tank top flashing all that glorious mocha latte muscular skin had Stephanie checking her mouth for drool.

Hector followed and winked at her. "Si, muy sexy," he said with a shit-eating grin. Then the door to the conference room closed.

The shake down was necessary with some useful information gleaned and a reminder that Rangeman was still in town keeping a pulse on the hood. But no one had anything specific about where they lived, just places where they had been seen. It was a start. But, like other times, coming back from shaking the hood triggered a testosterone filled buzz. Men! And they were horny.

It took some time for Stephanie to be able to concentrate on her searches. While Hal was going over the print out of her search findings with her highlights and anecdotes, Stephanie heard them all cruise past the office door. She watched as bandannas were taken off and jackets removed as they made their way to the stairwell. Some waved, smiled, nodded or winked as they went by when they glanced in.

Ranger stopped in the doorway, hands leaning against the top of the door jamb. Her eyes widened at the sexy sight. That man just oozes Sexy (with a capital S) without even trying. She liked what she saw, and he noticed making his mouth tilt up on one side which only enhanced the look. She had now seen Rangeman-all-in-black Ranger, Corporate-Armani Ranger, and now Bad-Boy-Homeboy Street Ranger.

"Babe. You're looking at me like you do at a bowl of tiramisu." He grinned as she licked her lips.

"C'mere," his deep voice summonsed.

Slowly she walked to stand so close to him but without touching, he had to lean down to look into her sparkling blue eyes.

"I'm going upstairs to catch up on some sleep." He winked, his voice now had a husky timbre. "You could always join me, if you like," he whispered. He put his warm hand behind her neck and kissed her tenderly closing the minimal space that was between them.

She blushed, but only for a moment, more a hot flash than a blush. She moaned and half whined.

"Tempting as that sounds, I'll have to take a raincheck for now as Hal and I are just on our way to nab this medium high skip. Vince is coming with us and we have Zip and Zero as back up." She then kissed him back, nipping his bottom lip as she released him. "Sweet dreams, Bad Boy." He laughed as he made his way to the stairwell.

oOoOo

Stephanie caught her skips with her partners without incident. Her research was thorough and the guys were intrigued with the depth of her local knowledge and the connections and links she made in locating their skips. She was tenacious and it served as a great distraction from the stalker threats made by Ramirez and Gaspick. Minimising her street time, Stephanie went back to Rangeman with Hal and Vince, while the back-up team drove the skip to the TPD for processing and the receipt.

The rest of the week flew by. Each night she went back to the Den accompanied by her Merry Men as she started to call them, always with a second vehicle escort. Each night they took turns to patrol the grounds at night in pairs. Someone was always inside her villa with her, spending the night. Hector spent more nights deep in the hood. So, either Cal or Tiny, or Ranger would stay the night inside. Ranger, like the others, slept in the guest bedroom on his roster. On that night, neither Stephanie nor Ranger slept much, thinking of the close proximity of the other.

Stephanie went downstairs to make herself a mug of hot chocolate, grabbing some marshmallows, hoping that a nice warm milky drink might allow her to become sleepy. But as she waited for the microwave to ping, Ranger came down the stairs, deliciously bare chested, wearing some low-slung sweat pants. The oven pinged but her eyes were on the vision of sexiness approaching her with a dazzling smile.

"Cute jammies, Babe," he smiled while removing her hot cup from the microwave.

She looked down and smiled confidently. Cute pink flamingos on an aqua background, little boy shorts and a tank top. Oh well.

"Hot chocolate?" she asked him, still admiring his chest and abs. "You know, you have excellent abs and pecs and I love biceps. Nice biceps." She popped some marshmallows into her mug and also into her mouth after those disclosures, to stop giving info to the enemy. She then made Ranger a mug of hot chocolate. Leaning against the kitchen island, side by side now, they sipped their hot chocolate in companionable silence, if you discount the soft Stephanie moans. He took her mug from her hands and took her lips in a tender kiss. She hummed into the kiss and leaned in closer.

"Mmm … marshmallowy chocolate goodness," she mumbled contentedly. She felt comfortable in his presence. Now the question is … was she referring to her hot drink, or to the hot chocolate mocha latte gorgeous man beside her?

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" She shook her head.

"Me neither." He was watching her as she leaned more heavily against him.

Stephanie tried to stifle a yawn and mentally chastised herself. He grinned and kissed her chastely.

"Come on," he said softly, "you're tired. I'll help you upstairs." He put his arm around her waist, partly to hold her up. He liked holding her close.

He tucked her into her bed. He looked so beautiful.

"She hummed and muttered softly, "You could join me, if you like?"

He nuzzled her hair and whispered in her ear, "I'm guarding your body tonight. But I will take a raincheck, Babe." And he kissed her temple with a smile at his own payback with the raincheck. Score, one all.

oOoOo

With the weekend, Ranger had arranged for contract workers to take care of business while they all joined Steph, Hector, Shorty, Tiny and Cal at the Den for a huge barbecue cookout. Stephanie insisted on Ella and Luis being there as well. The occasion? Sort of a welcome to the new neighbourhood, house warming and thank you to the Rangeman team for all they had done including getting her Grandma settled.

"No price, Babe," Ranger had said.

Everyone had pitched in with snacks, salads, drinks, grilling the steaks, and freshly baked crusty bread, garlic bread and pizzas in the large stone pizza oven. The music added to the party atmosphere. A wonderful feast with desserts followed with a tasty selection of tropical fruits, brownies, cookies and cake. Got to have cake to celebrate. Everyone was relaxed, some reclined on the loungers, almost in a food coma.

Earlier they had played volleyball in the pool and Stephanie had been very distracted by all the glistening buff bodies and testosterone that abounded. Hector nudged her with a grin giving her a side squeeze. He was chuckling at her bedazzlement and also admitted enjoying the delicious scenery.

"Si, Chiquita. This was a good idea."

But really, her eyes were particularly on one man. He smiled broadly, more than a hundred watts, and wandered over giving her a shoulder squeeze and a chaste kiss. He offered her another beer and they clinked the glass necks. As he turned to put her empty bottle on the table, a distinctive sound that only the trained ears of these military men recognised instantly, shattered the beautiful chillaxed atmosphere.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

Stephanie's bottle hit the ground and shattered as she uttered a cry of surprise.

She crumpled and Ranger was quick enough to catch her before she hurt herself more.

All the men were suddenly armed and poised to return fire in various positions and stances of alert and readiness.

"Sniper!"

oOoOo

TBC

I know! Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. I know you secretly love a cliff-hanger. Okay … so I'm a bad girl. Tell me what you think.

Thank you for all your reviews and comments and I enjoy reading every one.

Just to remind you, JE owns the characters you recognise, but this plot and any mistakes are mine.

BTW It's summer here, and a scorching summer it has been, so it might seem odd for those of you in the northern antipodes for a poolside barbecue party.

Happy New Year to you all for 2020. I hope this new decade brings you peace, joy, good health and some prosperity.