Chapter 37

RPOV

I couldn't believe that they had found us, if I even knew who they were, but the fact that we had drones tracking us made me think it was Gannon.

"Ash, any idea how they found us?"

"I can only assume they somehow tracked the chopper"

"Okay we have two choices, the chopper or the Hummer"

"I can take the chopper up and distract them while you take the Hummer"

"Ranger I'll go with Ash, I put a device in the hummer yesterday when I looked her over, it'll interfere with anything trying to scan it and the chopper has some toys on board that'll throw them"

I looked at the two men stood in front of me and knew they would do everything they could to help, I just hoped they wouldn't get hurt or worse trying.

"Okay, let's look to leave in fifteen"

I turned to Steph to see the fear in her eyes and was sure it was for them.

"They'll be fine Babe; they know what they're doing. Go upstairs and pack a bag, you'll need warm and comfortable clothes"

I watched as she went up the stairs and then I went down to the area beneath the house. From the vault I pulled out a ready bag that had the weapons I would use for a mission. I knew we didn't have any phones with us so picked up a sat phone and some sleeping bags putting them into the Hummer and then was back in the kitchen collecting some food and water. I noticed Ash had moved all of the computers so presumed they were down in the vault and then went upstairs to check on how Steph was doing. She'd changed into black cargos and was pulling a black sweater over her T-shirt. She already had her cat boots on and there was a black jacket laid on the bed. I walked up to her and holding her face in my hands kissed her on the head.

"Everything will be fine Babe"

"I know"

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to pick up some papers from downstairs"

I took her hand as we walked from the room and as I picked up a utility belt for her, she picked up some papers and put them into her bag. As she approached me, I fastened the belt around her waist with the strap from the gun holster around her thigh and then slipped a baseball cap on her head. Once inside the Hummer with our bags on the seat behind us and our seat belts fastened, I used a fob to open the doors to allow us to exit. I knew Zeph and Ash had already left so hopefully any attention would be on them.

Once clear of the house I knew the door would close and hoped that the place where I found so much peace would be left undisturbed. I knew the area around the house and how to get to the roads that would take us south. The problem was that I didn't want to take an obvious route and with this machine I knew we could traverse across a variety of terrain. I wanted to travel across into New Hampshire then down into Massachusetts and get to the Rangeman office in Boston, or at least near enough that Declan could get to us safely. Normally it would take me about 3 hours to do the journey but if we were staying away from major routes then we could probably double the time needed. Ash had set up his real time satellite display into the Hummer so using our position and what looked like rough tracks I mentally mapped out a route in my head. The going was rough and bumpy and to be honest I needed to fully concentrate on driving, the last thing I needed was for us to get stuck out here caught in a ditch or with damage to the vehicle.

As we travelled onto a flatter section of the track, I stole a glance across at Steph. I really hadn't realized how quiet she'd been, but from the look on her face I suddenly stopped the Hummer and took hold of her hand. Shit she felt cold and her face was pale, I noticed her hands gripping fiercely at the handle by the door, as I reached out my hand to hold it against her face she jumped slightly, obviously lost in thought.

"Babe, you're cold"

I immediately turned on the heating and the fan to raise the temperature inside.

"Sorry I was miles away"

"Did I frighten you with how I was driving?"

"No, I trust you with how you drive"

"What were you thinking then?"

"That it's all my fault"

"Babe no way is any of this your fault"

"But if this is to do with Buckley it is"

"Babe he was your FTA, so blame Vinnie for taking him on or Gannon for probably setting him up on false charges"

"But all the trouble it caused Rangeman, why, who would do that?"

"I don't know but we'll work it out. Anyway, if all this hadn't happened then you and I would have still been denying what we mean to each other"

I watched as her eyes met with mine and from what I could see I felt she was feeling calmer.

"Another hour then we'll stop for the night, I don't want to attract attention by using the lights"

She felt warmer and there was more color in her face, hell I hadn't really thought about how much being thrown into the lake would affect her. I started to move forward glad that the track we were on now was a lot easier to drive along, that meant I could keep hold of her hand on my thigh between changing gears.

An hour later as the sun was setting, I pulled the Hummer into the undergrowth and killed the engine. I didn't want us away from the Hummer but knew that we would both need to empty our bladders. Finding a shovel in the back I took her hand and led her to an area where the ground was soft and dug a hole while she silently watched me.

"What's that for?"

"You'll need a toilet"

"Yeah I suppose I do"

"I'll leave the shovel there, when you've finished just throw in some earth on top"

"Will there be any animals or?"

"No, I'm not going far, just shout if you need me"

I made my way back to the hummer and was in the process of finding us something to eat and drink when she came back noticing the slight smile on her face.

"You know I've never been camping before so that was certainly a new experience for me"

I passed her some antibacterial wipes for her hands and then opened the passenger door for her, helping her inside. We ate the cheese, bread and fruit that I'd managed to pack and then she finished her meal with some cookies I'd found. I left her for my own short walk into the woods. On returning I pulled out the two sleeping bags and laid one out across the back seat.

"Babe it's not the best place to sleep but you'll be more comfortable here"

"Where will you sleep?"

"I'll lower the front seat back"

Once we'd sorted ourselves out, I ended up stretched with my head on the back seat and Steph with her head across my chest. Yeah maybe a bit uncomfortable but I think we both needed to be able to feel each other while we slept, and I found that running my hand through her hair was relaxing enough to do just that.

As soon as the sun rose, I was awake and knew we needed to get going. Steph was fast asleep so being very careful I moved her from me and settled her head on my rolled up sleeping bag. I filled in the hole and retrieved the shovel and then readjusted the seat and started up the engine. I turned momentarily as I saw Steph move but with the heat now flooding the interior and the vibration coming from the engine she shifted and seemed to settle. By my calculations we were just over an hour from Boston so picked up the SAT phone to call Declan.

"Hey Ranger, where the hell are you?"

"I'll be dropping down into Haverhill in about forty minutes, can you can get someone to pick me up there, discreetly"

"Yeah, I'll come out myself, what's going on Ranger?"

"Long story, I'll fill you in when we meet. I'll be on the 108 north of the town, bring another driver with you to take the Hummer to the workshop"

I finished the call and focused back onto my driving. Declan was a good friend, older than me and probably what you would call sensible. He finished with the army and went to business school but then found the whole transition into working hard. I offered him the job to manage the Boston office and to be honest he was a good manager. He had still maintained keeping fit and whilst he had left the army at the rank of Captain he instilled a discipline within the men who worked there establishing the same vigorous targets that were held across all three branches. I just didn't know how much to tell him about the current situation, maybe it would be better keeping him in the dark. It seemed most of the men in the other offices knew about Steph. Santos was keen to tell stories with them, though how she would handle that I wasn't too sure but knew she would be treated with respect.

Fifty minutes later I saw a black SUV parked up on the side of the road and slowed down pulling up behind it. I left the engine running and removed my bag and Steph's from the trunk handing them over to Declan and then opened the back door to carefully remove Steph along with the sleeping bag she was wrapped up in. I noticed the confused look that Declan gave me as I put us both into the back of the car but wasn't about to explain anything to him yet. Once the doors were closed, he started to drive, heading toward Boston. I saw the Hummer turn off from the road and head in another direction. As we started to come into more built-up areas I lay down on the back seat, pulling Steph over me with the sleeping bag. That she was still asleep amazed me, hell she'd be surprised when she woke up. It took us a bit longer than I thought but at last we were pulling into the garage of Boston Rangeman.

"Declan block the cameras down here and in the lift to my apartment"

As I started to move of course that's when Steph started to wake up and soon, she was pushing on me to sit up.

"Babe we're at the Boston office"

"How?"

I laughed at her confusion.

"You stayed asleep. We need to go up to my apartment and decide what to do next"

I unzipped the bag and saw Declan waiting with the door open, I must admit he looked as though he recognized her as he held out his hand to help her down.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Plum"

"Steph, please"

"I'm Declan, manager here at Boston"

I watched as he linked her arm through his and proceeded to lead her toward the elevator. I shook my head as I followed behind carrying our two bags. Once in the elevator he continued to introduce her to the layout here compared to Trenton.

"The offices here have a larger floor area, but we only have five floors. Ranger has an apartment on five that he uses when he's here. The ground floor has the reception and garage behind it then there are conference rooms and admin offices on two. Three is like five at Trenton and is the main working hub with apartments on four"

As the doors opened on five I could tell that Steph was fully awake and definitely taking in her surroundings. I looked at Declan to open my apartment as I had nothing on me, everything had been left at Trenton when Gannon had come for us, shit that seemed like an age ago. Once inside he led her to the lounge area and sat her down on the couch to sit down opposite her on a second couch.

"Eva is bringing up coffee and something to eat. So Ranger what gives?"

Having placed the bags at the bedroom door I went and sat down next to Steph, sat on the edge of the seat as I contemplated how much to tell him.

"You know we had the incursion of our systems?"

"Yes, I spoke with Hector for him to ensure ours were unaffected"

"Well it seems that two of the companies that it focused on have led us into a number of incidents"

"I'm aware that Mateo was an imposter, Hector had to change all our access codes and logins"

"For some reason we seem to be the focus of a number of people who think that Steph has or knows of a piece of hardware they're all after"

"Tank mentioned you'd been arrested by the military police?"

"We were but managed to get away"

"So, you were in the area?"

He was doing his best to ferret out more information than I was willing to give. A look at Steph and the small smile on her face had me knowing she knew exactly what he was doing.

"We thought we were safe, but it seems someone had located where we were"

"Ah, I see, so do you know what Miss Plum, sorry Steph, is supposed to have?"

"A computer chip, but we have no idea what it does"

"So, do you want the men to know you're here?"

"I'll talk to them at briefing this evening at change of shift"

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Eva walked in carrying a tray with mugs and a coffee pot along with a plate of cookies. I looked at Eva, she knew I didn't approve of sweet biscuits in the building, was Declan allowing that rule to slip.

"Oh no Ranger, these are for Miss Stephanie"

I watched as she smiled down at Steph and as Steph thanked her, then Declan stood up and left the apartment with her.

"How do people know me?"

"The guys at Trenton are proud to have you around so I think stories get spread through them"

"Hell I hope only the good stories"

"Knowing Santos, they could know more"

I saw her cheeks blush and her looking down at her hands, she was embarrassed by what Santos may have told other people but to be honest I had no idea what he'd told them.

"Babe I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about, Trenton sees you as one of them and they're proud of you so tend to boast, but I have no idea the extent of the stories"

"What are we going to do?"

"You can shower and change, and I'll go down to my office and pick up with Tank"

"Ash and Zeph?"

"I'll see if Tank has any news"