Chapter 56

RPOV

As I sat in the diner waiting, I couldn't help but remember that first time I'd met Steph. She may have had an innocent look to her, but she also had an eagerness and determination that enthralled me. She certainly wasn't dressed as a bounty hunter, had no equipment and no experience. Yet she'd already managed to find Morelli. She just couldn't complete the take down needed to get him back in the system. I knew straight away I would help her and that was when she started to worm herself into my life. At first, I only saw her as my mentee, the sexual tension didn't emerge until later. It was as if a switch had been flicked and all I wanted was to have her the one time. That wasn't enough though and no matter how many times I tried to dissuade her and myself that we wouldn't do ourselves any favors by being together, it didn't work.

I was broken from my thoughts by a man walking toward me. Shit I'd been so lost in thought I'd not been aware of what was around me.

"I take it this is serious if you're asking for my help"
"It is, someone has taken Steph and are keeping her prisoner"
"How do think I can help?"
"I need someone not connected to Rangeman"
"You got a problem inside?"
"Yes, but he's one hell of a clever bastard. We don't want him to be aware that we know who he is"
"Okay, what do need me to do?"
"I have the address of where I think Steph is being held, could you verify that for me?"
"I can do that"
"I need to warn you, you may not like who is holding her?"
"Dolby or Gauge?"
"No, Remi. Or if you want her full name Siobhan Remington"

"Now you're just fucking with me"

"I wish I was. She wormed her way into your life didn't she?"
"But she was helping me"
"No she was helping herself"

"But she said she was Buckley's daughter and wanted to protect his work. Make sure it couldn't fall into the wrong hands"

"She obviously isn't his daughter and I think maybe she wants it for herself"

"You mean she thinks Buckley's programs still exist?"

"That's the only reason I can think of why they'd take Steph"

"I thought everyone decided that program of Buckley's was gone?"
"Apparently they don't"
"Does Stephanie have it or know where it is"
"No"
"Okay, I'll go along with your theory"
"Be careful, she's dangerous"
"And your man?"
"Ash"
"Well they sure played us didn't they"
"Too well. I take it you didn't know?"

"No, I mean there were times when she seemed to know more than I expected, but I just assumed her hacking skills were that good"
"Her and Ash used both of us"
"What happens if Steph is at that house?"

"I need to get Steph back before they hurt her badly"

"I want in when you storm the place. In fact, I want Remi and Ash"
"Not a problem. Use this number, it's a burn phone"

I handed him a piece of paper and watched as Gannon walked out of the door. I only hoped I'd done the right thing by involving him but a conversation with a Colonel who I used to work under assured me he was trust-worthy. As I pulled into the garage, I received a simple text from Hector.

"It's done"

Now I had another meeting to bluff my way through at Rangeman.

After another meeting with the men, where for all intents and purposes we following up on as many leads as possible, I sat in my office with Tank, Hector and Santos. I was willing Gannon to make contact, I was almost sure Steph was at that address. As the lockdown engaged Hector smiled, what had he found out?

"Hector, spill it"
"He changed cars at Dolby's house and Eddie followed him going west out of Trenton. But you'll love this. I got an alert that someone was trying to do a search on Estefania"
"You set up an alert?"
"Si. She has too many stalkers, so I wanted her to be a little safer"
"Did she know?"
"Si, I told her about it. She thanked me"
"So someone was doing a search on her. How does that help?"
"Because I trace back"

"Is the address 101 Mountain view, Ewing Township?"
"Si, you knew?"

"You just confirmed it"
"House is down drive, very isolated"

I turned to the surprised looks that were on Tank and Santos's faces. Now that we knew where Steph was being held I felt confident that we'd be able to get her out.
"Let's plan on how we get in"
"Ranger you sent men to get some sleep, who're you gonna use?"
"I know Ash left the building so we'll use the men who live on four"
"How you gonna stop Ash from finding out?"
"An alert that we have a big break in, he'll just assume we are otherwise occupied"
"Yeah it could work"

"Okay this is how we're going to do it"

We roused the men from their apartments on four and set about forming a plan to extract Steph and hopefully capture Ash and Remi. I called Gannon, much to the surprise of everyone. He would have a helicopter close by and would even provide a team as back up. It was midnight when the cars rolled out of the garage, everyone was suited and dressed ready for any eventuality. Hector and Gannon left earlier to disable any sensors, cameras or alarms on the property and to also disengage the electricity. Hector's secondary job was to try and deactivate any use of Wi-Fi on the property by using a jammer.

As I drove the car toward the house, I felt the beast within me come to the surface. I had to be focused on the goal. Get Steph out safely and only then would I be able to reign in my temper. I had to be in control for this so had to see this like I would a mission. Disassociate myself from the people involved and do the job and that meant trying to lock away my emotions for Steph.

Each man knew where they had to be and what they had to do. The first order of business was knowing how many people were in the house and locating where they were. The cars were left away from the house and we each moved stealthily toward our initial positions. Gannon and Hector used the mic systems to inform us that all potential alarms and sensors had been dealt with, but the Wi-Fi signal couldn't be jammed without sending out an alert.

Next was using infra-red goggles to locate heat sources. Hector had reported seeing two men walk in the front door having made a circuit of the property. Tank had found one downstairs by the front door. Another was located by the window on the first floor. Strangely Santos informed us of another downstairs that was laid down on the floor. Then Ram saw what looked like two together in an upstairs room. I had to admit that I found it unsettling that there were so few guards. I just hoped the place wasn't set up with any booby traps. Maybe the electricity being cut off wouldn't be obvious as there didn't appear to be any lights on in the house.

"Ram and Cal, front door, take out the guard there. Santos, you and I will go to the downstairs room. Tank and Miguel take the guard by the window. Gannon you and your team take out the two together. Gannon, you know it's likely to be Remi, so be careful. Synchronize watches. On three, two, one"

As one we approached the house from different directions. Cal used a battering ram on the door and had a man down in seconds. As the others headed for the stairs Santos and I quietly made our way through a door and into what looked like a lounge area. Scanning the area my eyes settled on a figure laid in front of a lifeless fire. There curled up was my Babe, and all at once the emotions I'd tried so hard to bury came to the surface. I placed a hand over her mouth and lifted her up seeing her eyes open immediately and her legs and arms begin to fight me.

"Babe, we're here to get you out. Stay quiet"
Once she was on her feet, I started to lead her out of the lounge but as we approached the front door she stopped, for some reason something was scaring her. I stopped and stood her in front of me, concerned at the panic on her face.

"Babe?"

"I can't go th"
At that moment her hands flew to her neck and she started to scream out in pain, her breathing was fast, and her voice started to falter. I caught her as she fell to her knees not understanding what was happening. As I searched where her hands were frantically clawing, I saw around her neck some sort of collar. I knew immediately that this was the cause for her crying out in pain. I turned at a noise coming from the top of the stairs to see Remi holding a phone in her hand.

"No, she doesn't get to live. She doesn't get to win"

Remi was stood ahead of the men following her, holding something in her hands. Her eyes were blazing with anger and it seemed that anger was aimed at Steph. Ash was screaming at her to stop but it was obvious she had no intention of listening to him. Gannon was desperately trying to get the device from her as she moved to evade him and then he did the last thing I expected from him. He pointed his gun at her and fired one round into the center of her head. As she fell, he shot at the device that had fallen to the floor. It erupted into tiny pieces but at the same time Steph stopped clawing at her neck, and her body went limp in my arms.

"Bolt cutters, now"

I watched as Hal ran up the drive from one of the cars, willing him to run faster. Bobby was close behind with his medical bag and all I could do was hold my Babe's unconscious body to me. As Hal cut the fabric and we watched it fall away, Bobby was checking her pulse and breathing.

"She's doing okay. Pulse is slowing down, as well as her breathing. She's got some nasty burn marks on her throat; I'll deal with those when we get her back"

I lifted Steph into my arms as Gannon brought Ash downstairs. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he had leg shackles around his ankles. I expected him to be annoyed but he wasn't.

"I'm so sorry Ranger, I never wanted it to go this far"
"But you did let it go this far and for that I will never forgive you. Just be thankful I sent Gannon up to deal with you because I would have torn you limb from limb and everyman at Rangeman would have had a piece of you for what you've done to Steph"

I turned my back on him and walked out to the SUV that was now stopping at the front of the house. Just feeling Steph in my arms was having a calming effect on me, but I was sure by the end of the night I would need to vent some anger in the gym.