~ ~ Previously ~ ~
While Tank was securing the cat, Swain tried to sidle out of the dining room but Ranger pinned him down before he got two steps away. Bobby had returned with the broom as Tank had grabbed Blockhead. Now, he set the broom aside and went through Swain's pockets. They were stuffed with the same things.
Rita and Junior gathered everything together. They set it all at one of the empty spots on the table, being careful to keep Swain's stuff separate from Cobb's.
Duncan dropped back into his chair like his knees had given out. He sat there in his own little world, sniffling occasionally, and saying nothing.
CH 4: Answering the call
~ ~ Present Day. Again. ~ ~
As the story finished, Lester and Bobby were both sitting forward. Lester had his elbows on his knees while Bobby's rested on the arms of his chair. Tank leaned back in his chair. As the intensity of the story increased, Stephanie sat up straighter. She had grabbed Ranger's arms at some point then pulled them around her when she heard about the cat attacking Cobb. Ranger pulled her tightly into his body and kissed the back of her neck.
"Holy cow," exclaimed Stephanie. "Cobb's leg must have been shredded!"
Tank shook his head. "Not as bad as it could have been. It seems like Blockhead was concentrating on getting into that pocket. Still, Cobb was scratched up pretty bad. Bobby had to grab his kit and patch him up"
"Did the noise bring the neighbors?'' she asked.
"Nope. Don't think they even heard it," said Lester. "Bad enough that all that screaming like a baby interrupted my nap. I went from flat out with sweet dreams to leaping into action in half a second."
"Didn't spill a drop of that beer, though, did you?" said Tank.
Lester laughed. "Hell no. I'm no amateur."
Bobby leaned over and bumped fists with Lester. "You've definitely got your priorities sorted." Turning back to address Steph, he said, "We confiscated all the cash."
"Tank donated it to a local cat rescue group," added Ranger.
"Aw! That was sweet." Steph gave them each a big smile.
Tank shrugged. "We figured it belonged to Blockhead since he did the take down and thought he'd want other cats to benefit from it. We handed Cobb and Swain over to the MPs after Ranger contacted their commanding officers. Everything else got turned over to the CID - that's the army's Criminal Investigation Division.
"So they were definitely cheating?"
"Not just cheating, Babe. Working together they'd either cheat the table or they'd team up against a weaker player. First they'd clean them out of all their cash. Then, if they could, they'd get even more out of them by collecting IOUs. If the victim couldn't cash those out later, Cobb and Swain would force them to give up valuable items like coin collections or stamp collections. Some victims were even forced to sign over their vehicles.
"Wow! What was the fallout from all that?"
Bobby spoke next. "CID charged them with everything possible: cheating, extortion, fraud, organized crime, conduct unbecoming and so on. I don't recall specifically which charges they were found guilty of, but they got prison time and dishonorable discharges."
"We also changed the table rules for any games at our table," continued Tank. "No cash, no cards. Play with what you bring. You run out of cash, you're out of the game. All players were subject to spot inspections at the will of the house. Refusal to let us check their pockets meant instant ejection from the game. And we kept a close eye on anyone that didn't pass Blockhead's sniff test."
"Yep," said Lester. "We thought back to how Blockhead had never liked those two and realized what a good judge of character he was. What was really impressive was how he targeted the pockets. It's like he was smart enough to know that those contents were part of what was bad about them." He shrugged."So, we started paying attention to who he did and didn't like. Most people he was neutral on. Some he really liked and some he didn't. For some of those he didn't like, sometimes stuff would later come out to prove him right."
Squinting in thought, Steph tipped her head to the side and asked, "Like what?"
"One guy turned out to be pilfering little things from people he was visiting," said Tank. "A gal in supply was stealing from the warehouse and selling the stuff online or out of the trunk of her car. Even had a couple of domestic abusers."
"Gradually," said Bobby, "we started to bring people specifically to meet the Judge and get his opinion."
Steph looked worried, biting at her bottom lip. "He's not going to suddenly go after me, is he?"
"Don't worry, Little Girl," Tank assured her. "You already passed."
Steph looked thoughtful for a moment. "I remember Lula said one of the cats kept pestering her. That wasn't the Judge was it? Why would he bother her?"
Each man instantly sucked in a breath and then stilled. It was the same kind of immediate immobilization that was a response to unexpected danger in the field.
A possible hazard had been identified. There was the sense that if answered incorrectly, this question could be in the same Destroyer class as the Kobayashi Maru of questions – 'Does this make me look fat?'. Luckily their elite training kicked in, increasing their chances of leaving the sedate office environment alive.
Next step was to conduct a risk assessment while limiting their potential as a target. Above all, do not make eye contact with the adversary.
Lester suddenly became acutely interested in the state of his fingernails. Bobby seemed to feel the need to supervise Lester or something because he was staring fixedly at Lester's inspection. Even The Mighty Manoso, who was behind Steph and therefore nowhere near her eye-line, was watching Lester and his fascinating cuticles.
And Steph was watching Tank. Staring straight into his brown eyes with her big blue ones and demanding an answer. As the silence stretched out it began to feel as if her gaze was boring straight through his eyes into his brain. It was as if she could see the answer imprinted on his grey matter if she looked hard enough. It made him, the guy who scared the shit out of people just by showing up, feel nervous and kind of fidgety and he did not like that at all. But damned if he could figure out how to answer the question without possibly triggering Steph's rhino mode in defense of her friend.
He settled for one short nod. Brevity being the soul of wit and all that. Plus, the first thing they learned at boot camp was to answer only what they were asked. Any additional information could, and would, be used against them. If not right at that moment, then it would come back later to bite them in the ass.
Steph pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Before she could say anything, though, Ranger showed the courage and willingness to sacrifice himself for the good of his team that had always distinguished him as a field commander.
Ranger's tone was calm and dispassionate as he asked, "Was that before or after Lula tried to trick you into getting married?"
Under the guise of talking to Tank, he gently reminded Steph why Lula might not have passed inspection. The tactic worked. Steph deflated. Rhino mode disengaged before it even fully activated. Once more, Magic Manoso had stepped into the line of fire and walked away unscathed, lucky bastard.
"So!" Stephanie said brightly, clearly changing the subject. "When is Olivia coming to meet the Judge?"
"Tomorrow," answered Tank.
"Are you making your world-famous jambalaya?" asked Bobby.
Lester chimed in. "And if you are, can we have the leftovers?" He batted his eyelashes at Tank and added, "Pretty please?"
"Yes and yes," replied Tank.
"Well, that was an amazing story. I'll never look at that cat the same way again." Stephanie started gathering her shopping bags. "But now, I've got to get going now or I'll never be ready in time for my date with Batman." She stood, pressed a kiss to Ranger's lips, and bounced out with her usual energy.
As they all watched her cross the control room floor to the elevator, Ranger said to Tank, "You know she's going to expect a full report on your date."
Lester and Bobby grinned and looked at Tank.
"And if she gets to hear it," said Lester, "then so do we."
Resigned to the intrusion of his well-meaning friends, Tank nodded and sighed.
~ ~ Still Present Day But One Day Later ~ ~
This was the kind of Saturday afternoon that Tank liked.
The house was clean, the cats were lounging, and the smell of good home cooking filled the air. There was nothing pressing from work hanging over him, either, so he could fully relax.
Blockhead kept him company, following him throughout the house as he readied it for Olivia's visit. Currently, he was sitting in a dining chair watching Tank spread out the table cloth. The cat listened intently as Tank outlined his hopes and dreams while setting the table.
"I have a really good feeling about this lady," he admitted. "Ever since I ran into her at the kitty rescue center, I've just felt that she was special. We've been out a few times and that feeling has only gotten stronger."
The idea of finding someone who wasn't intimidated by his size or his occupation or his past was becoming more and more important to him. Thanks to Stephanie Plum, he realized that such women existed. She had never looked down on him or anyone else at Rangeman for who they were or for the things they'd done. The Burg she'd been brought up in was worlds apart from theirs yet she'd always accepted them.
More importantly, if Carlos "Ranger" Manoso, the biggest, most buttoned up badass of them all, could unclench enough to let in a wild card like Stephanie, then there was hope for the rest of them. In fact, Bobby had started seeing a doctor over at St. Francis. Lester was still looking but at least now he had hope.
He glanced at his watch. Almost time. Everything was ready. He stood in the living room where he could see out the window but not be observed from the street. Right on time, Olivia's car pulled up in the driveway. He went out to greet her and escorted her into the house.
As they stepped into the living room he said, "Welcome to my home."
"Thank you," she said. "It's lovely. I confess I was half expecting a bachelor pad aesthetic. I like the clean lines and natural tones."
He was tempted to say 'Funny, that's what I like about you' but thought better of it. Only Santos could get away with lines like that. Santos could say damn near anything, the fucker, and women swooned and dropped their panties.
But it was true, dammit. He'd noticed her the minute she'd walked into the rescue center. Olivia was tall for a woman, about 5 feet 10 inches, with a strong build. She had cinnamon colored skin and caramel brown eyes. Her dark brown hair was cut short and kept natural. She was beautiful enough to take his breath away.
He was returning a litter of kittens he had just finished fostering so that they could move onto the next phase of their tiny little lives. Apparently, her elderly cat had passed so she was there to donate supplies. She teared up and Tank gallantly offered her a tissue. He was surprised to hear his own voice say, "How about we go for some coffee and you can tell me all about how special Miss Muffin was?" The rest, as they say, was history.
He gestured to the couch where Blockhead was sitting. "I thought we could sit for a bit, have a glass of wine before dinner."
She smiled. "I confess, I've been looking forward to meeting the cats. This big orange fellow must be Julius." She sat on the middle cushion of the sofa, careful not to disturb Blockhead sitting on the end. "Hello, handsome."
"Snowball and Hazeltine are shy," said Tank. "They'll stay upstairs so I'm afraid you won't get to meet them today."
While Tank took care of their drinks, she held one hand out toward the cat, letting him decide whether to approach. "Hey there Julius," she said softly. "Or should I say Blockhead? I'm Olivia but you can call me Livy if you like."
Tank watched as Blockhead bonked his head into her hand, demanding pets which she immediately gave him. In response, the cat purred. PURRED! Tank was flooded with elation and relief. This was a first. Not only had Livy passed the test, but the Judge had given her a hearty endorsement.
This was the kind of moment Tank liked best.
~ ~ FINIS ~ ~