Chapter 64
RPOV

I knew that Steph was feeling edgy. She'd spent the afternoon talking with her father and sister, I suppose knowing how her father was coping with the fallout from Mrs. Plum's behavior in the garage might alleviate some of the worry she had. It turned out that Frank had refused to put up bail for his wife and had threatened Vinnie to do the same. No one wanted anything to do with her. I wasn't too sure what contacts Frank had but apparently his idea of her having a psychiatric evaluation must have come from somewhere. Currently that was what was being done and it could be several weeks before any report was presented to the court.

Steph's sister Val had seen it as a good thing as well, so by dinner time Steph wasn't feeling as guilty as she had been before. I decided that everything was planned for the morning and that we needed a quiet evening together, well apart from her screams as I loved my woman on various surfaces in the apartment. She was relaxed and just about comatose as we lay in bed, and I felt extremely pleased with myself as she fell into a deep sleep.

Today was the day when our plans would be put into effect and I was in my office, having received confirmation that Calhoun had arrived at the motel. Seb had taken up residence on the opposite side of the street dressed and smelling as only a hobo would be. He had a paper bag with a bottle of cheap alcohol inside, at least that's what it looked like. As we expected Calhoun had sent a contingent of men to scope out the motel but Seb had done a good job of persuading them that he was harmless. Now we would have to wait.

I looked up from my desk as the door opened and was staring at the woman in front of me. The transformation that Steph had made was amazing. Her hair was loose around her shoulders in big curls and had been backcombed onto the top of her head. Her makeup was vivid and bright but didn't hide the blue of her eyes, in fact they seemed bigger. Red lipstick complimented the polish on her nails, but nothing could detract from what she was wearing.

A white top that crossed over her breasts made them seem larger and accentuate her cleavage while the length of it finished at her waist. The skirt, I'd call it a broad belt, hung low on her hips showing her stomach and was that a ring through her belly button? Of course, the lower edge of her skirt just covered her arse but showed her long legs off to perfection. Black heeled boots covered her ankles with diamantes covering them.

I instantly went hard just looking at her and as I tried to adjust myself it didn't go unnoticed be her.

"You like what you see, lover boy?"

Came to me with a thick Jersey accent followed by the pop of the bubble gum in her mouth. I was almost lost for words but had to say something because her face deflated as though she was thinking that she'd got the look wrong.

"Babe, promise me you'll wear that again but just for me in the bedroom"

Her smile lit up her face as she realized that I was overcome with her look.

"I hope none of the men saw you?"

"Funny you should say that, they suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the hallway"

Shit, she'd have been on camera in the elevator and news would have travelled from whoever was watching the monitors. Santos, I was going to kill him.

"How long do you think before he gets here?"

"Not long, he's left the motel and Hector is keeping him in view through any street cameras"

I looked at my computer which had the building cameras in view and watched as a black SUV pulled up in front of the building.

"Showtime Babe"

I took Steph's hand and moved us so that we were in the center of the room and I was facing the door then with a hand around her head and the other cupping her arse with my mouth teasing at her neck. The feel of her bare skin under my hand was nearly my undoing. Dios, was she wearing any underwear under that skirt? I was pulled to the present and raised my head to look at the open door, knowing that now was the time to play my part.

"What have I told you about knocking before you enter, can't you follow a simple order?"

I made sure that my anger at being disturbed was obvious from the tone of my voice and my expression before looking beyond Hal to see Calhoun stood there, a small smirk on his face. Taking Steph by her wrists I pulled them from around my neck almost smiling as she tried to cling on.

"I love when you get all macho"

Was the sultry voice that could be heard by everyone. I pushed her away from me, holding her by her shoulders and looked into those deep blue eyes, seeing a mixture of amusement over the worry.

"Go up to the apartment"

"But I thought that we . . ."

"Not now, for god's sake Steph, I need some time to sort something out. Go and finish watching that show that you're so keen on"

I watched as she turned and put on a pouting face, walking straight into Hal who was stood transfixed. The sound of a giggle followed her as she walked out of the room and into the hallway.

"What is it?"

Was aimed at Hal, who was definitely playing the part of a bumbling employee.

"Sir, sorry sir. There's, err, a gentleman here to see you"

As Hal disappeared Calhoun walked into my office as though he owned the place, taking a seat on the couch and making himself comfortable. I sat down opposite him, on the edge of the seat and stared intently across at him. Obviously, he wasn't going to start the conversation.

"Why are you here. Mr Calgen is it?"

"Calhoun"

"Sorry, I recognize you from my last debriefing, but to honest I was too annoyed to take much notice of who was there"

"I could see that. In my opinion you should have remained where you were and followed those leads"

I scoffed as though disgusted at even having to think about it, wondering if he had set up those trails for me to follow in Yemen.

"It was stupid bureaucracy. The intel that I had should have been followed up on, now we have another cell planning to do god knows what"

I saw him watching me, as though trying to weigh me up before he continued saying what he was here for.

"Then why are you finishing your contract. We need good men like you"

"And work for assholes who don't know what they're doing? No thank you"

"I heard you have a good business going here"

"It is, but it lacks the adrenaline rush that I need. I've set it up so that it can run itself without me having to micromanage some of the imbeciles we have"

Yeah, the new organizational chart was large and bold pinned up on the wall and I was sure that he had taken a look over to it.

"What about this woman everyone says that you're infatuated with?"

I laughed and looked down at the floor before responding, knowing that what I was going to say would be crucial for Steph's safety.

"With a body like hers, who wouldn't be. She's a great lay but can be very demanding"

"Demanding?"

"She's playing at being a bounty hunter but hasn't a fucking clue. How the hell she ever finds anyone is beyond me, but she has a hell of a propensity for getting herself into disastrous situations without having a clue with what she's doing"

"Why keep her around then?"

"She's good for my image"

I wasn't too sure if Calhoun was falling for what I was saying but I seemed to have given him something to think about. I'd said what I felt that he needed to hear so now was the time for him to make his move.

"I'll repeat myself, what are you doing here Calhoun?"

"How about you show me around and then I think we should have a conversation"

This was what I'd expected and what all of the men were on the alert for. I noticed that he bent down and lifted up the briefcase he had with him.

"You can leave that here if you like, the place is secure"

"No. National security, so it stays in my hands"

I expected no less so taking him out of my office I walked down the hallway, opening doors to the various conference rooms that we used. At the room that we used as a sit room I just waived my hand at the door and told him it was just another conference room. Fortunately, he wasn't interested in looking inside. Of course, he paid particular attention to our monitoring screens asking questions that to be honest were pretty relevant.

"You monitor inside your own building as well?"

"Yes, I like to know that the men are on task"

All of the feeds were live except for the stairs and outside my apartment. The men had been instructed to use the elevator to show movement of men around the building. The ones on seven and in the stairway were loops from a previous day that Hector had put together. That way Steph could move downstairs and into the basement without being seen.

"You have an excellent gym facility"

"Yes. It's important that all the men are physically fit"

"What else do you have?"

"A medical room that enables minor wounds to be treated and holding cells in the basement"

"I had to park outside, but I see you have an integral garage"

"Yes. I don't want the vehicles to suffer any vandalism"

"Who are they?"

I looked to where he was pointing and watched as Louis and Wilt Crayson were walking toward the gym carrying tools. Bothe were dressed in black overalls and Wilt had on a black wig and spectacles to disguise his appearance.

"Maintenance crew. They manage the building, repairs and redecorating. I also have a cook who provides food for the men on duty"

"You seem to have a very efficient set up Manoso"

He made a performance of looking at his watch and then was walking away from the screens. I was expecting him to return to my office, but he stopped before we got there.

"I'd like to use the men's room, if you can show me them, then we need to have a conversation Manoso. Somewhere private"

I was stood outside in the hallway waiting for Calhoun to finish when a message came through to my phone. I smiled when I read that Steph was safe inside the sewer, maybe at the idea of where she was and how much she would hate it, but mainly because I knew that she was safely out of the building.

When Calhoun emerged, I was surprised to see him still carrying his briefcase. I thought he might have left it inside, but on reflection that was maybe too obvious. He walked straight to the elevator without saying a word, so following him, I used my fob to engage the system.

"Where to Calhoun?"

"My vehicle"

I walked out of the front door and got into the backseat of the large SUV parked on the street. Looking around, everything seemed very quiet, with nothing that aroused any concerns. I was just hoping that now I was out of the building that my men would be acting to find what he'd left, almost certain that it would be in the men's rest room. We were both quiet as the car sped through the streets and it was obvious that we were heading for a preplanned destination. I found it interesting that we slowed down in front of the entrance to a park and as I got out noticed that one of the SUVs that had been following us continued down the road. I was wondering what that was about when Calhoun set off at a brisk walk down one of the paths toward the edge of some trees. I followed, sure that we were being watched.

As I sat down on a wooden seat next to him, I was beginning to feel an edge of concern run through me. I wanted this charade over with and to get back to Rangeman, to see for myself that Steph was alright.

"What if I were to offer you a lucrative contract Manoso?"

"Do you really think I want to be part of that shambolic system?"

"No. This would be working for me. There's nothing to stop you from joining my elite task force"

"Elite? There are others?"

"Yes. Like you they were fed up with the way things were being handled"

That brought a whole new perspective to what he was doing. Basically, he was setting up his own mercenary group but using money from the government to fund it. As I leant forward as though deep in thought I watched as he removed his phone from his pocket. Did I distract him or let him think that his bomb had exploded in my building?

"I need time to think about it, to look through exactly what I'd be signing up for. Decide if that is what I really want to do"

His phone was returned to his pocket as he stood up, taking me by surprise.

"You have 24 hours to decide. Contact this number"

As he handed me a card my phone began to sound with the alert for Rangeman but before I could even reach for my phone Calhoun was walking away from me. By the time I reached him he was climbing into his SUV, the squeal of tires an indication of how quickly he needed to leave. The phone in my hand began to buzz so I answered quickly, wanting to know the status back at Rangeman.

"Report"

"We found a briefcase in the men's restroom that Ram moved downstairs. He managed to open it, but it wasn't big enough to do any damage"

"Did it explode?"

"No. Well it did, but it was like a firecracker going off"

I wasn't surprised by what Santos was saying because Ehsan had said that he would provide something that wouldn't do a lot of damage?

"Oh shit, get up there"

"Santos, what's going on?"

I was heading down the road now aware that I had no transport to get back to Rangeman. The sounds coming from my phone were jumbled behind the incessant blare of an alarm going off. I hailed a taxi from the curb, pleased as it slowed down and allowed me to get in.

"Rangeman, Hayward"

Were the only words I allowed myself to say as I continued to listen to my phone.

"Santos, what the hell has happened?"

"Hell, Ranger. I can't talk now"

The phone went dead in my hand leaving me feeling terrified at what had happened or what I would be walking into when I reached the building. As I looked up to see where we were, I noticed that traffic was slowing down and leant forward to the driver.

"Why so much traffic, can you get around it?"

"Sorry, any streets in the area are all the same. The scanner mentioned something about a terrorist bomb"

"I'll walk from here"

After paying the driver I started to run down one of the back streets that would get me to Haywood, all of the time aware that the traffic was now at a standstill. How was it that news of a bomb was already being talked about? What had happened to give rise to that speculation. As I turned the corner and looked across the street to Rangeman I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

The whole street had been barricaded by police cars, fire trucks and ambulances. As I dodged through people stood gawking at the scene, I was soon close to the front door when I heard my name being shouted. Turning I saw Frank stood at the front of a crowd of people being held back by a row of policemen. I went over to him and pulled him forward with me.

"You can't go in there"

Was what one of the policemen shouted from behind us but there was no way anyone was going to stop me. Entering through the front door all seemed to be normal in terms of the building, being approached by three Rangemen though told me a different story.

"The elevator's out sir"

I nodded my head as I opened the door to the stairwell and then had to slow down my fast ascent when Frank took hold of my arm.

"Slow down, I aint as young as I used to be"

Slowing down went against every instinct that I was feeling but I knew I couldn't abandon Frank on the stairs. Eventually we were walking through the door that led on to five. A quick look had me seeing Tank so that's where I headed for, he should be able to give me the answers that I desperately needed.

"Tank"

"You're here. We were getting a bit worried about you"

"What the hell has happened?"

"An explosion on the roof"

"The roof?"

I couldn't understand how Calhoun had managed to get to the roof, he was never out of our sight.

"One of those remote controlled Quadcopters, well that's what Hector reckons, dropped one hell of a device onto the roof top"

"Steph?"

I knew that she should have been next door but with me leaving the building and the briefcase contained, well she could have returned and been upstairs.

"Next door. Ranger your apartment took the full force of that explosion it's a mess. Homeland are up there now trying to find anything they can to determine who was responsible"

"Do they know . . ?"

"No, and I have no intention of telling them"

Something didn't feel right with what had happened.

"How are Homeland here so fast?"

"Anonymous tip apparently but they seem to think there was a second device. They're asking to search the entire building and look through our surveillance tapes"

"You realize that it will show Calhoun leaving with the same briefcase that he came in with?"

As I heard Tank say that it had me thinking about the briefcase that we had downstairs and how the hell it had been left here.

"Get Seb here, we need to know what the briefcase looked like that Ehsan left at that motel"

Because I was guessing that Calhoun had put the one from Ehsan inside a bigger one. As someone was so keen on Homeland finding that smaller briefcase did that mean there was something in it or on it that would incriminate Ehsan as the terrorist bomber?

"Ranger, did I hear right, Steph is somewhere safe?"

I had totally forgotten about Frank being with me and was struggling to know what to do with him. I knew I needed to check upstairs and see what the damage was, but I had the need to ensure that Steph was safe and to be honest that felt far more important at the moment.

"Are Nate and Cal still with her?"

"Should be"

I turned to Frank and gestured that he came with me with a nod of my head and then as we started down the stairs let him know where we were going.

"We're going to get Steph. I needed her to be safely out of the building while I had a visitor"

I wasn't too sure how explaining to Frank that Steph was actually in an old sewer pipe would go down, but to be honest I didn't particularly care. As I rounded the last set of steps before reaching the door, I noticed that Santos and Hector were with me so stopped as they caught up with us.

"What's wrong?"

"I've lost contact with Nate"

"Cal?"

"His panic button just came through"

Shit, were they somehow caught up because of the blast, or maybe police or Homeland searching the area? I let Santos slide open the concealed wall and walked through into the dark interior, lights automatically coming on. I could see where Santos had arranged for the concrete to be cut in the floor, allowing access down into the sewer but was surprised at the amount of dust in the air. Santos went down the metal steps first with me following behind but as soon as my feet touched the rounded surface of the large pipe, I knew that something was wrong. The tunnel was tall enough in the center to stand up straight but as Santos shone his flashlight ahead of us, I could see the floor covered in loose rubble.

"I don't understand"

Came from Santos as he ran forward, his flashlight now showing what looked to be a blockage. That's when we heard it, the slight movement of earth falling. I stepped back thinking that maybe more of the roof was about to collapse but then felt as Frank moved past me. He started to move some of the rocks and concrete revealing what looked to be a hand that galvanized all four us into digging our way in.

I knew it wasn't Steph as I saw the hand and guessed that this was Cal. His face was covered in a fine grey dust but the rise and fall of his chest assured us that he was still alive. The bright red of his blood stood out from injuries on his head but there was no indication that he was conscious. I wanted to shout at him, to shake him to wake up so that he could tell what had happened and where Steph was now.

"Hector get Bobby down here and then get him out. Santos what about Nate?"

"We need to head next door to the other end, maybe they're still in the tunnel and his signal isn't getting through"

"Are you saying that Steph is down here?"

"I don't know"

Once back on the ground floor I dusted my uniform down before stepping out onto the street. Bobby was seeing to Cal and would let me know if his status changed so the four of us now had to somehow get into the building next door without raising attention.

"Ranger, we need a diversion"

Was all Frank said as he disappeared into the crowd. I wasn't too sure what he could do that would stop people from watching the front of where we were stood. I should never have underestimated Frank Plum, after all he was Steph's father and she'd obviously inherited most of her traits from him. A low shouting started up at the back of the crowd that had everyone turning around and then the sound of feet running with shouts of "It's him, let's go get him" that mobilized the crowd further.

"Let's move"

Was my order now that we had fewer witnesses and using the wall as cover made my way down the alley beside my building. I crossed to the other side using the shadows and waited and watched as Santos slowly opened the old wooden door. I felt better once inside but for some reason held my hand up to stop the other two from advancing.

"What is it?"

"Something feels wrong"

I pulled the gun from the back of my trousers looking carefully around, then it came to me, it was too damn quiet, and I had no feeling that Steph was anywhere near.

"Where now Santos?"

"In the basement. I checked it out and there was no accessway into that tunnel, so we cut through and put in a ladder"

I couldn't believe that Santos would make such a huge mistake, surely, he had checked how safe that was before allowing Steph to hide down there. Then again maybe she was with Nate and was safe somewhere. I was sure that was wishful thinking because Nate would have answered us by now, unless both he and Steph were stuck down in that tunnel. We followed Santos carefully across the room and then down the concrete steps that led into the basement, surprised at the light that seemed to be coming from there.

I motioned to Santos to go to one of side of the door while I covered the other and then crouching down looked through the crack between the door and the frame. It looked as though the light was coming from flashlights on the ground. I pushed the door open and kept to the side, just in case someone was down here and decided to take shots at us. As the silence continued Santos went fast and low to the right while I went to the left.

Rolling to my feet I was met with the sight of three men, all of whom looked dead. There was no sign of blood, but I knew from the way their heads were twisted that their necks had been broken.

Hector was at the improvised opening looking down into the tunnel, but I knew that Steph wouldn't be there.

"Empty"

Only confirmed my worst fear, that she was missing. Where the hell was Nate, had he managed to get her out? But then who had killed these men?

"Ranger, these guys look like the ones that were with Calhoun. Black trousers, vests and mics and earbuds"

I hadn't seen them but knew that Santos had been watching the cameras that we had on the building when Calhoun had arrived.

"Any sign of Steph or Nate?"

"No, let's check and see if the car is outside"

I left the bodies and room undisturbed as Santos led us back upstairs and to a door at the side of the building. As he opened the door, my heart sank seeing the decoy car that was going to be used. Hector was the one who looked inside and popped the trunk, I really didn't want to see what was inside.

"Nate, he's alive"

Was what I heard so I watched as Hector and Santos lifted him from the trunk. He started to squirm and once we had the rope that was tying him up his eyes started to open.

"Nate, where is Steph?"

He looked at me with wide eyes, looking back and forth between us until he uttered the words that I feared the most.

"I don't know. Three men were waiting for us, I tried to defend her. Cal hadn't even come out of the tunnel when they threw a grenade in. I couldn't do enough, I tried to fight them off, but I suppose I got knocked out"

Yeah, judging from his knuckles and the bruises on his face Nate had done what he could. I slammed my fist down hard on the roof of the car, all my temper flowing through me as I realized that in trying to keep Steph safe, we had probably led her into a trap.