Chapter Nine
"None of our alarms tripped? Ranger asked Tank. Ranger already knew the answer.
"No. He doesn't show up on any of the other cameras either." Tank sounded uneasy, like he knew what he was saying sounded impossible.
For Ranger the answer was exactly as expected. One might think a security upgrade was in order, but Ranger knew better. It wouldn't matter. No amount of sophisticated security could keep Nikko out. Nikko was like smoke. He could slide under doors and through the tiniest of cracks. Nikko could be invisible, until he choked the life out of you.
"Where is he?" Ranger asked.
"He's in your office boss. What do you want us to do?"
"Nothing. I'll be right down" Ranger said and rang off.
Ranger pulled on some clothes and tucked a gun in his waistband. He went downstairs towards his office. Ranger figured the odds were in his favor that Nikko wouldn't shoot him in the middle of RangeMan. Probably. Ranger might have an unfortunate accident in the near future, but probably wouldn't get shot in the face tonight. Of course, given his luck lately not getting shot in the face might be too much to hope for.
Ranger approached his office. Tank and Les were outside with guns drawn guarding the door. Ranger gave them points for trying. Both looked uneasy. The fact that someone had penetrated RangeMan security without tripping a single alarm or sensor had freaked them out, as well it should.
What Ranger didn't tell them was it was probably worse than they thought. Ranger knew Nikko wouldn't have come in without an exit plan if things got complicated. Ranger was willing to bet Nikko had probably wired a couple of explosives in a few strategic locations.
"You know him?" Tank asked. His expression was neutral.
Ranger nodded. To his credit Tank didn't push for details.
Ranger knew he should probably tell Tank and Les that Nikko was what? A former friend, a man he once considered a brother that was now a sworn enemy because Ranger had betrayed him? Ranger said nothing because then he would have to explain how he knew Nikko and that was a conversation he wasn't ready to have. Certainly not at 3AM.
He waived them away from the door. They hesitated a minute and then moved aside. Tank was looking at him like he thought Ranger was an idiot. Tank was probably right, but at least he hadn't challenged him.
Ranger made sure his face was blank and his emotions were in check before he opened the door. Nikko had an uncanny ability to read people and smell weakness.
Nikko was sitting behind Ranger's desk, feet up. Gun on the desk. He reminded Ranger of a Cobra that was about to strike. Ranger knew Nikko was just as deadly.
Nikko was tall and lithe. His strength and grace came from a mastery of Krav Maga. His movements were always controlled and deliberate. Nikko was all about efficiency when it came to movement, words, and killing.
He had dark hair, high cheekbones, a nose that had been broken a time or two and amber eyes. They were so light they were almost golden with a dark outer ring. They reminded Ranger of a wolf's eyes. No one would ever mistake Nikko for civilized.
"Hello Nikko" Ranger said.
"Ranger that's what they call you now, yes?" Nikko drug the name out and said it with distaste. It wasn't really a question.
"Why are you here Nikko?" Ranger was tired. He didn't have the time or inclination to be snake charmer tonight. Either Nikko would strike or he would retreat.
"I thought we should have a chat. I figured your office was better than your apartment since your pregnant wife is probably sleeping."
Ranger tensed and moved forward. How dare he bring Steph into this.
Nikko held up his hands. "Easy. I would never harm your wife or baby. You have my word." What did Ranger think he was? A monster? Well, admittedly Nikko probably was a monster to most people, but he had a code and innocent women and children were off limits. He was a little offended Ranger would think different. They had been brothers once.
But this man in front of him was not the Carlos he remembered. This man was lethal and dangerous. Nikko knew it was best to remember that. Natasha had been right.
Nikko and Ranger squared off and stared at each other. Ranger considered what Nikko had said. Steph was safe of that he was sure. Nikko was nothing if not a man of his word.
Finally, Nikko sighed. He motioned for Ranger to take a seat. Ranger remained standing.
"OK, suit yourself" Nikko said. "I'm here for Natasha. I'm going to help her take down Vlad."
Ranger nodded. That made sense, he couldn't imagine Nikko letting Nat take on Vlad alone. "Understood." Ranger said. "But why are you here in my office?"
"Because Natasha is afraid you are going to compromise the task force." Nikko was eyeing Ranger. It wasn't the whole truth but it was all Nikko was willing to say.
"And you will kill me if I do?" Ranger said without emotion or inflection.
Nikko shrugged. "Something like that."
"I won't screw up the task force, but I won't lie to my wife either." Ranger wanted to be clear. He hadn't told Steph of his history with Nat, but if she asked, he wouldn't lie. He would, however, convince her that taking out Vlad had to be a priority, and he knew she would agree. Their personal problems couldn't compromise the safety of children.
"Oh, you mean your other wife?" Nikko sneered at Ranger.
Ok, so Ranger definitely deserved that.
"Right, because it has always been about you hasn't it Carlos. You were always selfish. It doesn't surprise me you abandoned Natasha. She was only ever trophy to you anyway. Hell, you didn't marry Natasha because you wanted to be with Natasha. You married her because you didn't want me to have her. You wanted to win some invisible war. You wanted her to choose you."
Ranger considered that a moment. Ranger had been caught up in the throws of Woodward's manipulations. He had been young, immature, and jealous.
Ranger inclined his head. "There could be some truth to that, but she wasn't a trophy. I loved Nat. You and I both know, in the end Nat chose you anyway. She has been with you all these years." Ranger had to work to keep the bitterness out of his voice. It was a statement of fact, not an indictment. Nikko and Natasha's bond was unbreakable, and after what he had done to her and Nikko, he didn't blame her for abandoning him. He might have done the same thing in her shoes.
Nikko's laugh echoed harsh and bitter throughout the office. "Is that what you think? You really don't know do you?"
"Know what?" Ranger asked. A feeling of dread was starting to build in his belly. Nat had been clear about her forgiveness, but Ranger had no idea what happened after he woke up in the hospital in Miami, and he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.
"Natasha doesn't belong to me. And, she doesn't belong to you. She was always better than the both of us combined, and neither of us were ever worthy of her. Make no mistake about that. And, that is why I am going to tell you the long overdue truth because I know Natasha won't."
Ranger nodded and Nikko got started.
"Woodward was dirty, but I'm sure you figured that out by now. He wanted to leverage my connections to line his own pockets, but I refused. So, Woodward went looking for leverage, and of course found Natasha.
I think initially it was just a bonus that Natasha was, let's just say gifted with computers. He knew I'd do anything for Natasha, but he knew Natasha would never betray me."
"That's where I came in" Ranger chimed in. "Woodward knew Nat and I were dating. He approached me at Rutgers. He said he wanted to recruit me. I was flattered. I was stupid."
"Which made you easy to manipulate" Nikko said. "Woodward followed you to Italy and found me. I should have never let you and Natasha out of my sight. I underestimated Woodward, and Carlos for that I am sorry. I should have protected you both. I should have known. You and Natasha should have never been in that position, and you wouldn't have been taken. None of this would have ever happened."
Of all the things Ranger had been expecting, an apology from Nikko was not it. Shot in the face, drown in the bathtub maybe but not an apology. Apparently, Nikko carried as much guilt as Ranger did. That he guessed was the one thing they all had plenty of these days was guilt. Well, that and they had both failed Nat.
Nikko stopped for a minute lost in thought then continued. "After Woodward took Natasha, he realized you were just as important to her as I was. He hatched a plan. He could control Natasha by leveraging you and he could control me by leveraging Natasha. His plan switched to recruiting us both.
He gave Natasha the option of working for him or he would kill you. To be clear, I thought she should have let him kill you. I would have. Betraying her like that and accusing her of the things you did. She should have let you rot."
Ranger nodded. "Understood" he replied. Nikko was right, and Nikko probably didn't even know the half of it. Ranger figured Nikko didn't know that Nat had tried to sacrifice herself to save them both. That Nat had begged them to kill her and let them both live. A chill ran up him at the memory. There hadn't been a moment's hesitation. Dying never held much fear for Nat. He guessed if you had already been to hell there wasn't much to be afraid of. Nat had said once it was silly to be afraid of ghosts because all the real monsters were men.
Nikko sighed. "But Natasha isn't like that. She agreed to work for Woodward as long as he wouldn't harm you. That he would leave you alone. The problem was as long as you were alive or Woodward was alive, she was under his thumb.
Natasha and I went to work for Woodward. We did whatever he wanted us to do. Most of it off-book and unsanctioned, which just gave him even more leverage. Natasha sold her soul and her future to the devil to save your life. You didn't deserve her loyalty, but for some reason Natasha always thought your life was worth more than hers, and probably more than mine. You had a family." Nikko shrugged. As far as he was concerned it was just a self-evident fact.
Nikko sacrificed himself for Ranger and Natasha, but Ranger thought it was best not to point that out. Granted Woodward wouldn't have killed Nikko because he wanted his contacts, but Nikko would have done anything for Nat. Woodward could have controlled Nikko with Nat, but Woodward got greedy and wanted Nikko and Nat, which is where Ranger came in. It was starting to make a lot of very twisted sense. Nat's hacking skills would have come in useful to a guy like Woodward.
"Woodward's dead. He has been for several years" Ranger said. He had finally found Woodward, but by the time he did, the man was dead. It had been another very frustrating dead end in his search for Nat.
Nikko nodded. "Yes, an unfortunate boating accident."
It was clear to Ranger, the accident had been neither unfortunate nor an accident.
Nikko continued. "After a few years we finally got out from underneath Woodward, but things were still pretty dicey. Woodward had buddies. We really didn't know how far the tentacles reached or what information they had.
Natasha and I started NNS Global. I did it so we could gain leverage and protect ourselves. Natasha did it because she believed we needed to make amends for the things we did for Woodward. There were some close calls."
"It was you and Natasha in Budapest." Ranger said. It was a statement not a question. Ranger's identity had been compromised, and he had found himself on the wrong end of six guys with automatic weapons. He had been outnumbered and the situation had been hopeless. He fully expected to die on the floor of that abandoned warehouse, but an unseen sniper had taken out the bad guys and Ranger had escaped.
Nikko nodded. "Yes. Natasha had been watching out for you. She was also the reason your return to the Vega compound was delayed. In case you were wondering."
Ranger wondered how many other times Nat had saved his ass. He'd chalked the Vega thing up to pure dumb luck, when it hadn't been luck at all. If he had gotten back to the compound on time, he would have been slaughtered with the rest of the agents.
"After Woodward was dead, why didn't Nat get in touch with me?" Ranger asked.
Nikko snorted. "Oh, she tried. Even though there were still enemies coming out of the woodwork she had to get to you. She said you deserved to know. I begged her not to. I told her it was too dangerous for you and her. It could make you a target, but she claimed you had changed. That you could handle yourself." Nikko rolled his eyes conveying just how unlikely he thought that was.
"She followed you to Trenton anyway. You want to know what she found?" Ranger was pretty sure he didn't but he nodded yes anyway.
"She found her so called husband in love with another woman. Natasha said you deserved to find happiness. She took herself out of the equation. She didn't contact you because she was afraid any focus on you could catch your new girlfriend in the mix. She didn't want to put the delectable Stephanie Plum in harm's way." Nikko raised his eyebrows at him. Nikko was making a point that he knew all about Ranger's life and Steph's. It was a cheap power play and they both knew it.
Nikko continued. "Natasha thought after all the things she did for Woodward, she didn't really deserve forgiveness or happiness. You did that to her. I really should have just killed you myself and taken you out of the equation." The last statement wasn't said with ire just a simple matter-of-fact voice.
Waves of hot and cold washed over Ranger. Not because Nikko said he should have killed him because Ranger didn't actually disagree with that logic, but that Nat had come back. She didn't run off with Nikko. She was forced into a life she would have never chosen to save him, and he had blamed her. Their conversation at the FDR memorial came into his mind. No wonder she was so enraged. She had every right to be angry with him.
"Then you went to Italy to get a divorce you didn't need and that stirred up renewed interest. You never think about anyone but yourself do you Carlos?"
Ranger didn't know what to say to that. He would have never done that if he had known the circumstances. But, how could he? It wasn't like anyone had told him.
"Look Nikko, you and Nat have every right to be angry at me. To hate me. What I did, was unforgiveable. I'm sorry, and I want to make this right between us."
Nikko studied Ranger for a minute. Ranger knew he was weighing his words. Finally, he spoke. "Nat has moved on. If you want to help, then help her get Vlad. She needs that. And, Carlos if you fuck this up for her." Nikko's voice trailed off.
"You'll kill me" Ranger said.
Nikko shrugged. "At least you are getting the picture."
Nikko got up to leave. "I'll text you the location of the explosives once I'm out of the building" he said.
"Appreciate it" Ranger responded.
"Hey Nikko" Ranger called. "Are there any circumstances under which you won't kill me."
Nikko thought about it for a minute. "Might be" he said and grinned or maybe it was a snarl. It was hard to say.
A minute later Ranger's phone chirped. True to his word, Nikko had texted the location of the explosives. Tank, Les and Ranger went to diffuse them.
Tank and Les were curious, but didn't press for details, at least after the first time Ranger shut them down. Ranger told them Nikko would be back to RangeMan and he was welcome.
"You're going to let that psycho in here?" Les' voice conveyed just how insane he thought Ranger was.
Ranger thought about it for a minute. "Yes" he said. "Nikko is a friend." Ranger sure as hell hoped that wasn't a deadly miscalculation on his part.
Ranger went upstairs and let himself into the apartment. Steph was still sleeping. On one hand he knew he should have stayed away from her, and on the other he really couldn't imagine his life without her.
Ranger sighed and climbed into bed. He was under no illusion that he would be sleeping, he just wanted to hold Steph for a while.
As hard as the truth had been to hear, at least he now he understood what had happened. Ranger wasn't really a man that did what-ifs, but tonight he really couldn't help himself. Finally, at 5AM Ranger got up to start the day. He still didn't have any answers.