Chapter 53

SPOV

I watched from behind Carlos as two men approached us. I knew Carlos had his gun raised and aimed at the one at the front. As he fired another shot rang out coming from behind me. I know I screamed but a hand over my mouth stopped me and the feel of a cloth and the smell that invaded my nose and mouth had me gasping. I saw Carlos falling to the ground, blood running from his head. My last thoughts as I felt myself slipping away were filled with anger. I'd just had my dream fulfilled and some asshole was taking it away from me.

I was aware of a headache from hell and tried to figure out why. I hadn't been drinking but I did feel as though I was laying down on a comfy bed. I was warm but as I reached across from me I realized I was alone. That's when it hit me, someone had attacked us outside the restaurant. Someone had shot and then hit Carlos. I started to open my eyes, pleased that the lighting was dim and looked up at the ceiling. Clean white and painted. I pushed myself up into a sitting position taking in where I was but at the same time grateful that I was still in my dress from last night.

I looked down at my left hand and started to cry at the sight of the beautiful ring Carlos had given to me just last night. Crying wasn't productive, I had to get out of here. Pulling myself together I started to look around the room. It was tastefully decorated, soft creams and blues with tables by the bed and a chair in the corner. Pillows were behind me that matched the floral pattern of the drapes. There were two doors painted white opposite the bed, so I slowly moved my legs over the side of the bed, stopping for my head to stop spinning, and then stood up slowly. The first door I tried opened into a bathroom so deciding I needed to use the place sat down on the toilet looking around. Everything someone would need was here. Towels, soaps, shampoos and brushes. Once finished I went to the second door surprised when that opened as well.

Looking out I couldn't see anyone so opened it further seeing a hallway with more doors. I could see where the hall ended so walked up to the window to look out. I was on the first floor overlooking a small but quaint back yard. There were lots of flowers growing and what looked to be a vegetable area. Beyond the garden were trees, nothing to say where I was. I turned around and headed back down the hallway and that's when I saw two men stood at the top of some stairs. I was barefoot, so maybe they hadn't heard me. No such luck though because one turned to me and roughly took hold of my arm. I had no choice but to follow him down the stairs and then through a door into a large lounge area. We stopped inside of the door, why, I had no idea and then a second door opened and in walked Ash.I felt relief wash through me on seeing Ash, I would safe now and who ever had attacked us last night wouldn't be able to get to me..

"Ash?"
"Morning Angel, how are you feeling?"
"I, where am I?"
"Safe"

Hell, was I in a safe house being looked after by Ash. Had Ranger made the decision that I was better off here?
"Where's Ranger?"
"Hospital"
"What, I have to go there, you have to take me there, please Ash"

If he was injured, which he must be if he was in the hospital, then that's where I needed to be.
"Not happening Angel. I can't believe I was so close to you yet so far"
"What the hell are you talking about?"

I started to walk closer to Ash, struggling to understand exactly what he was saying.
"You really are something, you know that?"

I watched his face carefully as he spoke, I was at a loss as to what he was talking about. Surely he could keep me safe enough for us to go to the hospital?
"But, I thought you were here to help me?"

This couldn't be right. I must have misheard him or misunderstood what it was he was saying. He'd been a friend to me, and we'd been through so much together. I couldn't believe that he wasn't going to take me to Carlos. Why wouldn't he do that?"
"Well, I'll help you work out where the information is that Buckley left behind"
"But you're a friend of Rangers, you helped keep me safe?"
"Only until you worked it out and told us where the information was"

Oh shit. I felt deflated as realization hit me. Ash was only helping us to his own advantage. I was more annoyed at myself for not seeing it than annoyed at him.
"Why?"

"Hell come on Angel, the advancement he made will be worth millions to the right buyer"
"So you'd betray me, Ranger and the men just for money"
"No, not just for money. For love as well"

The door that Ash had come through opened again and in walked Remi or Siobhan, whatever she called herself. I watched as she walked over to Ash and draped her arm around his neck and then with her body against his kissed him passionately. It was almost embarrassing watching them, as they disentangled themselves from each other, Ash turned back to me.

"How you find things amazes me Angel. I knew when you found Remi's real identity we needed to move quickly. I also think you know where Buckley's research is"
I walked over to a chair and sank down heavily. Shit, any information I had on Remi wouldn't help. Any of the addresses would be useless. How the hell would anyone find me? And Carlos, was he alright. I remembered him being hurt but had no idea how seriously he was injured.

"Ash please tell me how Ranger is. I know he was hurt but I don't know how badly"
"Okay, he had a bullet in his shoulder, no internal damage. He'll have a hell of a headache but as far as I know he's conscious and should be out of the hospital sometime today"

I was thankful for that information even though Ash was so reticent to give me it. It was interesting though how Remi reacted to him telling me. Her posture changed as she stood back from him.
"Honey you need to get back or they'll get suspicious"
"I guess you're right, but make sure she's locked up tight. She has an uncanny way of getting out of places"
I watched as they embraced again and as Ash walked out of the room, leaving me with that damn woman.

"Check your neck Steph"
My hand went to my neck and touched a piece of material fastened around it.

"Remi what is it?"
"It works like one of those dog training collars. If you go through any of the external doors an electric current goes through it. Believe me when I say the pain will knock you out"

I ran my fingers under the fabric feeling small prongs of metal sticking out against the skin on my neck. I dropped my head into my hands trying to keep my panic away. I had to think, I had to work out how to get help here or somehow get out. Maybe Ash wasn't as clever as he thought, maybe someone would catch on that he was the one who had taken me. No, he'd managed avoiding detection so far, so why would he get caught now?

"Steph you probably need to eat, there's food in the dining room. Oh, by the way you're not allowed in the kitchen, same rule applies as the external doors. Wouldn't want you getting any ideas of using the knives in there"
She was laughing at me, taunting me and I wasn't going to rise to the bait.

"Can I shower with this thing on?"
"Sure, there are some clothes in the closet in the room you're in"

Hell, I hadn't even seen that door, that just shows how stupid I was, totally unaware of my surroundings. Maybe though I could find out more information by talking to Remi. Get her to open up a bit? I wasn't totally confident of that thought. She'd been playing me along just as Ash had.

"Where's the dining room?"
"Through there"

She pointed to the door where she'd come in from, so I stood up quickly intending to walk gracefully through the door. The thing is my head didn't catch on to the movement and I suddenly stumbled from a wave of dizziness. As I breathed through the dizziness, I realized I was kneeling on the floor and Remi was crouched down next to me.

"What're you doing?"
"Dizzy"
"I told Ash not to overdo the chloroform"
She held my elbow and helped me up and stayed with me as we walked into the dining room. There was a large table with at least eight chairs and plates with domes over them at one end of the table. I sat down on the closest chair, just glad to have made it that far.

"What do you want?"
"Coffee and maybe some cereal"
"Milk and sugar?"
"Please"
I was brought out of my daze as she set the coffee and a bowl in front of me. I was surprised when she sat down next to me. I actually wondered if she was trying to befriend me in order to get me to talk, something to think about.

"It's a beautiful house"
"Yes it is"
Okay that didn't get me very far.
"So how long have you known Ash?"
"A few years, we met at a wine bar and just seemed to hit it off"
"Where does Gannon fit into this?"
"He was easy to handle, I made him think I liked him"
"Wow, he doesn't seem like the kind to take notice of women"
"He's just a man and so easily manipulated"
"Has he gone back to the army?"
"Yes, he believed that all of Buckley's work was in that research lab at Hastings"

Damn, that meant even he wouldn't know there was still a problem. I only knew that wasn't true because of the conversation we'd had with Gauge and of course Ash would know as well.

"Dolby?"

"Ran for the hills when his toys blew up"

"So why were you working at Safenet?"
"I thought his work was more advanced than it was. All he had were basic robots that only followed an operator's instructions. Plus, they were very unreliable"

"Why did they stop attacking us and help us out?"

"Probably Dolby panicked. He wouldn't want anything to happen to you"

"How did it end up exploding?"
"I made sure there were explosive devises down there and Ash had a control unit"

"Why not just blow the place up?"
"I wasn't sure how far his work was. Ash told me they were no more than fighting machines"
"He was still hurt badly"
"Yeah he underestimated them"
"Why blow the place up then?"
"Getting rid of the competition"

"And Gannon arresting us?"
"He really just wanted you protecting"
"So why arrest Ash and Ranger?"
"He knew if he took Ranger and Ash you'd go as well"
"And you made sure with that damn message"
"Of course"

"So of course, he told you what he was going to do"
"Yes, and Ash made sure Zeph knew where you were being taken to in order to come up with some ideas for a plan to get you out"

"So, the computer faults at Rangeman?"
"I provided the hardware and you inadvertently triggered it"

"So it had nothing to do with the carbon monoxide detectors?"
"No, we needed to spook Dolby and Gaunt though what you found out only added to the intrigue"

"Why help me, I mean you couldn't have known anything about me?"
"On the contrary Steph. I followed every morsel of information I could find on you. It wasn't my intention for Ranger to throw you to the curb. I needed you as safe as possible so that I knew exactly where you were"

"I suppose you know what we found at Hastings?"
"Of course. Ash was so worried when you got yourself trapped in that room"
"Was it him who opened the doors?"
"No, he went in there cold, fortunately for you everything worked out and fortunately for me Gauge is out of the picture"
I'm sure I had more questions but for the life of me I couldn't think of anything else to ask her except maybe one, or two.

"What happens now?"
"You tell us where Buckley's research is"
"I don't know, I never have. At one stage I actually thought that dam microchip in my arm was it"
"Oh come on Steph, Ash told me about the file you took. I couldn't believe you worked out the password"

"Were you telling the truth about being his daughter and pretending to work with him?"
"Hell no, my mother was some stupid junk head. I was lucky the drugs she took didn't do me damage. I was adopted into a good family though"

"So now you know I don't know anything, when can I leave?"
"Very funny. You're here till you work it out or decide to tell us. The sooner the better, because I might just decide to try out that toy around your neck to help you"

Looking down at the bowl in front of me I couldn't face eating it. I slowly stood up, holding the edge of the table in case I felt dizzy again.

"I'm going back to the room. I don't feel too good"
"Steph, I'll give you some time to rest. But be assured when you wake up, we begin to work together, with or without your cooperation"
I passed through the lounge and headed for the stairs noticing one of the men stood by what I assumed was the front door. The second man followed me up to where I thought my room was. As I opened a door, he quickly took hold of my arm.

"Not that one. Yours is the next door down"
"Sorry, I couldn't remember"
Once inside the room I lay down in the middle of the bed in my thinking position with a pillow over my face. I knew tears were slowly rolling down my face. I wasn't sure if the tears were because of the predicament I was in but then I decided no. They were tears for Carlos, for him being hurt and me not being there. Tears because I knew he'd be so worried about me, again. I didn't mean to worry him so much but somehow things always happened to me that got me into trouble.

I felt my ring on my finger thinking back to the night before. It had been a magical evening. Everything from the dress waiting for me in the apartment to the look of Carlos in his suit. The restaurant had provided us with an amazing place to eat scrumptious food. Nita must have worked very hard to make that happen. No doubt following suggestions from Carlos. I pulled the pillow down and held my hand up looking at the ring Carlos had given to me. It was beautiful, exactly what I would have chosen. There was a large round bluish stone in the center with smaller stones swirling from the side and down the white gold band. Whilst the stone was large it didn't stick out a lot, meaning I hoped, that there was no danger of me catching it on anything. As I lay there my eyes felt heavy and I knew I needed to sleep. I would need to be alert when I woke up and faced Remi or Ash.