Chapter 38
RPOV
I felt Steph deflate as she finished saying that the name was a lawyer, knowing that he could be responsible for what had happened that night at Sophia's apartment. All I could think now was what other bad news had Leo brought with him.
"Who else Leo?"
"Woman named Beth Routledge and a man named Ryland"
"We could know Beth"
"You're right Babe, that could be Elizabeth, but Ryland, I have no idea who that could be"
For some reason I was inclined to think that Rylands was Alan Andrews but then where did that leave Parker? I watched as Leo took out sheets of paper from his briefcase and as he looked at them. Then he was handing them over to me explaining what they were.
"There are three clubs down the east coast. This is a list of their members here in Trenton. I haven't done any follow up on them because I think most are just men looking for company"
I took the sheets from Leo amazed at how he could find things like this out and set them on the table between us. I'd get to those later. I heard a noise coming from Steph's computer and watched as she stood up to look at what results had come through. As soon as she was out of earshot Leo leant forward and used a low voice so that only I could hear.
"How's she holding out?"
"She's doing well"
"There's more Carlos"
Shit this must be bad if Leo didn't want to say anything in front of Steph, but I couldn't work out what it might be.
"I did some networking with some old friends and some aren't pleased with the way your debrief was handled"
"In what way aren't they pleased?"
"Seems that Calhoun is someone that's ruffling feathers"
I thought back to that meeting in Washington and who was there. There were two other men along with my handler who stayed in for the debrief but neither had said anything to me. I was sure that one of them had been named Calhoun.
"I've not worked with him before or really come across him, but I'm almost sure that he was at my debriefing"
"I did some checking and it seems Calhoun has a man out in the field investigating chatter. It's saying there's an active cell that looks to be planning something big."
"It could be John Finley, because we've already crossed paths with him. He's being handled by Garcia"
"The problem is that any information Garcia was given was correct, so I think maybe Garcia is being used by Calhoun. I'm not sure what Calhoun is up"
Men like him could always keep themselves at a distance, never actually getting their hands dirty or seen to be associating with the wrong people.
The mention of Calhoun had me confused. Why on earth would someone like him be interested with a terrorist cell unless of course he was someone who had believed what I'd said and was now trying to gather intel on them. Then it hit me as I rolled his name around my head, hoping that his first name Edward, was purely a coincidence. Surely though a man like him would never be in cahoots with terrorists, men like him had dedicated their careers to stopping things like that from happening.
"Are you staying for the night?"
"No. I only wanted to drop this in with you personally. Larri isn't happy I'm even doing that"
"I understand. You walked away from shit like this to keep your family safe"
"Get out Ranger as soon as you can"
"I will. That latest mission that I said was FUBAR? Well I think it's tied into this so I may already have upset some people"
I watched as Steph sat down, clutching a paper in her hands. I knew it was important or she wouldn't have brought it over. My priority now was to get Leo safely away from here.
"What car did you use to get here?"
"Rental. I had a business meeting in New York this morning. I fly out tonight"
"Okay, let's set up something so no one could know that you've been here"
I noticed Steph's eyes go wide and she seemed to understand how dangerous it was for Leo to be here.
"Can I help?"
"No Babe. I'll sort it. I won't be long. Why don't you look through those membership lists?"
I wasn't sure who she'd find on there but maybe she'd know the names better than I would. I walked with Leo into Tank's office, pleased that Santos was there as well.
"Tank we need to get Leo out of here and to the airport without him being seen"
"We can do that. He can lay low in the back of one of the SUVs"
"I can take his car for a spin before making it disappear"
I turned to a smiling Leo, he knew these two and how they worked.
"Do it"
"I'll get some teams together to confuse anyone watching. You may be in the car for a while Leo"
"No problem Tank"
"Talk soon Leo, give my love to Larri and Izzie"
I left the three of them to organize the details because I felt that Steph would need me to share what she'd found out. As I walked into my office, she was still looking at the sheets that I'd given to her.
"Babe?"
"There are names here that I recognize. I'm really surprised with some of them, I just never imagined they'd go to a place like that"
"Who Babe, who is it that has you upset?"
"Joe for one, hell there are a couple of police that are members. There are a few judges and lawyers. It's almost a list of men who play an important role in Trenton"
Steph was rambling, trying to cover up how much seeing those names had upset her. I suppose my name and Santos would be on there as well and maybe even some of my men. As I sat down next to her, I pulled her into my arms, trying to ease the pain that seemed to be emanating from her. As I felt her take in a deep breath and let it out, I knew she was slowly getting her control back.
"I'm sorry Babe"
"No, I knew your name would be there and Les's. Maybe seeing Bobby's and Ram's was a bit of a shock"
"We joined not long after we came to Trenton. Long before I met you. Maybe I thought of using the place when you were with Morelli, but I couldn't do it. You'd find my name on the Miami branch and I admit that I used that place a couple of times. I had needs Babe and the escorts suited that need. I haven't been with another woman in nearly a year. That's the power you have over me"
As I spoke, she raised her head and looked at me, hell, I was hoping that by telling her that she'd understand.
"I'm so sorry, I feel so selfish"
"Babe, it's all behind us. We probably both did things that we regret now. We have our whole future together"
I felt her arms come around me as she held on tightly. I tilted her face up to mine and kissed her with as much emotion that I could find, wanting her to know just how important she was to me. Feeling the effect that the contact was having on me I moved away and took a deep breath of my own.
"Soon Babe,"
Was all I said remembering the talk from Bobby this morning. I pulled away from her before my body took over control of my head and saw the paper that she was holding in her hands.
"What came through on the computer?"
She handed me a piece of paper that had 4 short sentences written down on it and I realized that they were what we'd been talking about earlier.
"Any ideas?"
As I looked at her, she looked sad, which had me wondering who it was that she suspected.
"I have an idea, but I want to find out more before I jump to conclusions. I'm just not sure how them talking could have set in motion some of the things that have happened"
I took a pen from my desk and added another point.
Shot fired outside diner
That had Steph staring up at me, she obviously wasn't aware of it.
"Babe someone could have been firing at Jerry"
"Or me, or you"
I knew she was probably right but had no intention of worrying her with that. Instead I wanted her to know what Leo had found out and why he'd thought it was necessary to deliver the information rather than risk sending it.
"Babe. I think that he may have found who our mysterious Edwards is"
"Who?"
"Remember I said that my handler was called Garcia?"
I watched as Steph nodded her head and could see that she was thinking how he was connected.
"One of his bosses is called Edward Calhoun. Calhoun was there at my debriefing"
"You think it might be him?"
"I really don't know and to be honest would be surprised. He won't be an easy man to find anything about"
"You don't know if Garcia is involved then?"
"I don't think so. Leo did some networking and talk is that Calhoun has insisted that Garcia handles Fin on some type of job"
"How about I look through those club members then, and see what I can find?"
"It's something that needs doing, but I'm not hopeful that a member will be involved"
"Okay, I'll look through them"
I watched as Steph picked up the papers and then hesitated as she looked at her desk.
"Babe?"
"I think I'll do this upstairs. I don't want to embarrass anyone if they come in and see what I'm doing"
I nodded my head and watched as she left the room, understanding where she was coming from. Though I honestly didn't think that the men would be embarrassed but was sure that Steph would be.
I picked up the other papers that Leo had brought with him and started to read through them. I looked at the names that he'd printed off and reread the brief on Calhoun. Was it coincidence that Calhoun's name was Edward, was he the man that Jerry thought was mentioned and involved in that fraud case? As I always said, there was no such thing as a coincidence. It did make me feel anxious though as to what the hell he could be planning and why.
Darren Barnes, Beth Routledge, Keith Randall, Dee and Ryland. Those were the names that headed up the company Apollo, but if Calhoun was involved then he could be a silent partner, well silent as far as any records went. As I continued to look at the names, I was surprised that Ethan Parker wasn't mentioned. Could he now be living under an assumed name? It would make sense.
Seeing as there was little that I could do at the moment I focused my attention on Rangeman work. I was certainly glad that Tank was still managing the day to day management because I certainly hadn't had time to pick it up. That had me remembering my thoughts of restructuring and I started to make some notes on how it could work.
I'd closed down the computer and was on my way out of my office when I felt the vibration of my phone. Looking at the id I swore softly, a coldness coming over me. Returning to my chair I answered the call, knowing it would continue to ring until I answered it.
"Garcia"
"Manoso, we have a job for you"
This was the last thing that I needed right now and in the back of my mind was the feeling that it wasn't a coincidence that he was expecting me to drop everything and go to god knows where and probably get my head blown off.
"Not happening Garcia"
"You're still under contract Manoso, you don't have a choice"
"If I remember correctly my last debrief ended with you deciding I was suffering from PTSD"
I knew as well as he did that anyone used for a covert operation had to have a clean bill of health, both physically and mentally.
"You were annoying, it was a slip of the tongue"
"It was enough that my medic arranged for me to see someone"
Shit I hoped to hell he was gullible enough to fall for that. The silence from him was enough that I was hopeful.
"I'll need the name of the doctor"
"I'll get him to send you a report"
No way was I going to give him any contact details because I would need to speak with Bobby first. I just hoped that Bobby knew someone that would corroborate what I'd just said.
"I expect it in the morning Manoso"
I finished the call without saying anything else and was quickly calling down to Bobby, hoping he was still there. Otherwise I'd need to get him to come back into the building.
"What's wrong Ranger?"
"I've just had a call to go out on another job"
"Hell Ranger, you've hardly been back"
"I know. I think they want me out of the way"
"I'm not following you"
"Calhoun could be mixed up in this"
"He was one of the suits at that meeting, wasn't he?"
"Yes. I told my handler that as he'd suggested I was suffering from PTSD that I was getting treatment"
"Yeah I remember that conversation"
"Any chance of someone giving me a report that would exclude me on medical grounds?"
I was waiting again for a response. I hated it when the line went silent.
"The only person I know, who would have that kind of sway, is probably Ellery. Leave it with me, I have the transcript from that meeting in Washington, I'll talk to him"
"I need to send it in the morning"
Damn, this was the last thing that I needed, but in some ways, it didn't surprise me. I wiped my hands across my face and eyes to try and relieve the tension I was feeling. There was nothing more that I could do now and hated to be so reliant on Bobby being able to get the necessary paperwork. I needed to get up to the apartment, I'd left Steph on her own for too long and I wasn't sure how she would be dealing with looking through those lists. I made my way up the stairs and let myself quietly into the apartment. As I walked into the lounge area Steph looked up watching me. There was a frown on her face as she dropped the papers in her hand onto the couch, then stood up and walked toward me.
"Ranger what's wrong, what's happened?"
I hadn't realized or thought that my expression would show or was Steph getting better at reading me. I turned her around and we were soon sat back on the couch. I had to tell her because I knew I couldn't lie to her.
"I got a call from my handler tonight"
I could see her trying to work out the significance of that and knew as she came to the right conclusion when she started to shake her head.
"I won't go Babe"
"But what will happen if you don't?"
"I've got Bobby trying to get me a medical report to say I'm suffering from PTSD, so am medically unfit"
"What if he can't?"
"I won't leave you Babe. I think it's a way of getting me out of the way"
"They can do that?"
"Calhoun or Garcia may well be manipulating things in the background. They manage some of the jobs that I get sent away on and I think someone's pulling strings to get me out of the country"
I didn't want to add that it could very well be a suicide mission. I was telling Steph the truth when I said that I wouldn't leave her but wasn't too sure what lengths Calhoun or Garcia would go to in order to get me out of the way. We never had got to the bottom of that single shot outside of the diner. Maybe someone was aiming for me? I pulled Steph closer to me, my arms holding her to me. Maybe it was me that needed the feel of her close to me. After a few minutes of just holding each other I knew I needed to try and lighten the mood. There was no point in worrying about something that at the moment we had no control over.
"Babe, did you get anywhere with those lists?"
"Only that there are a hell of a lot members"
"Anyone stand out?"
"No. But then again I'm not even sure what I'm looking for"
"Leave it for now. Let's get something to eat and then look again in the morning. We have a morning meeting so hopefully the men will have something to report"
We didn't have to wait for long before Ella delivered a meal, I knew we were late eating so had asked her for something light. Ella's idea of finger food was an excellent choice, allowing us to relax on the couch as we slowly made our way through the food. I was pleased that Steph managed to eat as much as she did, but I think she was fascinated with what each of them were, so I had the pleasure of feeding her some of them. Roasted Tomato Caprese Rolls, Chickpea Salad Boats, Turkey Pot Stickers, Double-Serrano Watermelon Bites and Peanut, Shrimp, and Broccoli Rolls.
Though I had to agree with Steph that Ella had made each one taste good, I knew that they were all healthy, so it wasn't long before all of the plates were empty. And it wasn't long after clearing away the plates that Steph was feeling tired. As she changed, I showered, and we were soon curled up together.
