"Where True Loyalties Lie"
By Lorrie
"Walker, I can't talk right now, but I'll call you back." Sydney whispered into her cell phone as Jonas walked around the corner.
"Hey chica, whatca doin' here all alone?" Jonas asked.
"If I wanted you to know, I would've asked you to come with me." Sydney smarted back with the same Latino accent.
"Senor Guavas is waiting. He needs to discuss something with you."
"Tell him I'll be right there."
"He wants to see you now!" Jonas grabbed her elbow and escorted her to Juan Guavas' office.
"Mr. Guavas, she was outside." Jonas reported as he ushered Sydney into the room.
"Ah, Alicia, I need but only a minute of your time. You see, your friend, Ranger Gage is causing me nothing but trouble and I would like for you to dispose of him for me, tonight."
"You had better be prepared to pay me quite well for killing a Texas Ranger." Sydney replied.
"Top dollar, my dear, top dollar. There is a catch though. I want to see you do it."
"You do not trust me, Gringo?"
"No, I do not. Trust is something that must be earned. You take care of this annoying Ranger for me tonight, in front of my eyes and then I will trust you. We'll leave after midnight."
"How will we get him out in the open? I will not kill him in his home."
"No chica, that would be far too dangerous for both of us. We will devise a plan to get him out in the open. I will take care of that."
"It will be done." Sydney replied, still not knowing exactly how they were going to pull this one off.
*****
"Hey Walker. Have you heard from Sydney yet?" Gage asked as he walked in.
"A little while ago. She didn't really get to tell me anything though. She had to hang up pretty quickly."
Gage sighed heavily and nodded.
"I know you're worried about her; but Gage, she'll be fine. Her cover is good and so far everything she's brought us has been verified. We're building a very strong case against Guavas."
"So far, I've been able to be in the right place at the right time, so it looked like I was the one stealing the information, but the really big stuff that we need can only come from the inside. He's bound to figure it out then." Gage replied.
"I've thought about that too. We're going to ready to move the moment Sydney gets the delivery schedule for the drugs and the location of the lab, so be ready. She must be close, or she wouldn't have risked calling this early."
"Early?"
"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to hear from her until after 9:00 tonight, unless she found something concrete."
"Or unless they're on to her." Gage replied nervously.
*****
Sydney left Guavas' office, thinking hard about how she could make it look like she had killed Gage, especially right in front of Guavas. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard. I can either use blanks, or warn Gage to wear a vest, or both. But to do that, I need to get Walker to warn him."
As she walked down the sidewalk in front of Guavas' estate, she felt eyes on her and dared not touch her cell phone. "Great, now I've got to shake Guavas' goons." She knew she couldn't call Walker from anywhere inside the house because Guavas had most of the rooms bugged for security reasons. Her only hope was to get off of the estate without anyone realizing she had left.
She waited until dark and sneaked out of her second story window inching her way along the narrow ledge that ran across the backside of the mansion. Once she reached the corner, she grabbed the downspout and worked her way down to the landing below. Getting out was the easy part, she'd worry about getting back in later.
Once she was on the grounds, she kept close to the shrubs and quickly made her way to the rock wall and climbed over it, all the while dodging the scanning search lights and the guards that patrolled the grounds. Luckily Guavas had a tremendous fear of dogs and wouldn't let them on the property.
When she cleared the wall, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Walker's home number.
"Hello." Alex answered.
"Alex, hi, it's Sydney. Is Walker there?"
"Sure Sydney, just a moment." Alex replied as Walker jumped up from couch and took the phone in the other room.
"Sydney, is everything alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, for now. Listen, Guavas wants me to kill Gage. Tonight."
A frown came across Walker's face. "OK, that should be easy enough to fake."
"Walker, he wants me to kill him in front of him."
"Oh boy. OK, I'll call Gage and tell him not to go anywhere without calling me first and to make sure he wears his vest wherever he goes. Do you know what time this is supposed to go down?"
"Guavas only said tonight, after midnight. I don't know where or how he plans to get him out in the open. I'm going to call Gage when I hang up with you."
"Sydney, don't. You'd be taking an unnecessary chance doing that. I'll call him from here."
Sydney bit her lip. She really needed to talk to Gage. "Walker, " she paused. "Tell him how much I love him."
"I will Sydney. He knows that already."
"I really hate this!"
"I know you do. It'll all be over soon. We've got almost everything we need."
"Yeah, if only Guavas would let the delivery location slip or show me that lab."
"You've made it known that you know what he's dealing in, right?"
"Walker. I want this to be over, of course I've let him know. I've also told him about my experience with the biker gang and running the meth lab. I've done just about everything I know to do to entice him to involve me with his drug manufacturing, but he doesn't trust me enough yet. Maybe after I kill Gage, he'll open up a little."
"Alright, I'll call Gage now and let him know what to expect."
"Make sure he's wearing his vest! I'll go for his upper chest."
*****
"Senor Guavas, she just came back over the wall, should I get her for you?" Jonas asked his boss.
"No. I feel certain that she was calling her Ranger friend to warn him. We'll be prepared tonight as well. Jonas, have Thomas` report to my office as soon as he is free."
"Yes sir."
*****
Gage's phone rang three times before he answered. "Hello."
"Gage, it's Walker. What took you so long to answer the phone?"
"I was in the shower." Gage responded, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Walker looked over Gage's tone of voice. "Listen, Sydney just called and Guavas wants her to take you out."
"When?"
"Tonight, after midnight. She doesn't know how they plan to get you out in the open. She told Guavas that she wouldn't shoot you in your home and he agreed with her that things would get too messy that way."
"Wait, slow down. Can't we just fake it?"
"No. Guavas wants her to do it in front of him."
"He wants to watch her pop me?"
"Yes. He still doesn't trust her, but she said this should prove her loyalty to him. Call me when you get the call and make sure you put on your vest before you set one foot out that door. Sydney said to warn you that she'll go for your upper chest."
"Great, I'm looking forward to it." Gage replied sarcastically.
"Gage, keep your eyes opened. Sydney's pretty sure that Guavas is on the edge of completely trusting her, but don't let your guard down."
"Walker, come on. Sydney's not going to hurt me. I know better than that."
"It's not Sydney I'm worried about."
*****
"Ah, Tomas`. Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Do you have a job for me, Mr. Guavas?"
"Yes Thomas`, I do. Please have a seat." Thomas` sat down and listened as Guavas explained.
"Alicia is going to take care of the Ranger problem tonight, but I'm still not certain of her ties to him. She may have warned him, so I want you positioned behind him to make sure my problem goes away."
Thomas` nodded. "But you want her to take the shot too?"
"Yes. You'll hold off until she fires from the front and then you fire at his back. With two bullet wounds, he'll surely draw his last breath. You know what to do."
Thomas` nodded again. "Long-range sniper's rifle, armor piercing shells and a silencer."
Guavas nodded. "Good. We understand each other."
Thomas` was dismissed and Guavas called for Jonas. "Have Alicia come here. I want her to call Ranger Gage and set up the meeting."
Jonas found Sydney upstairs in her room. "Alicia." He knocked on her door. "Senor Guavas wishes to see you in his office."
She opened the door. Jonas was surprised to find her dressed from head to toe in a fitted black body suit. "Have you set up the meet?"
"No. You will be calling your Ranger friend from Senor Guavas' office."
She nodded and descended the stairs and knocked on Guavas' office door. "Enter." Came the reply from the other side.
"You called for me?"
"Yes. I would like for you to call your Ranger friend and have him meet you at this address." Guavas handed her a piece of paper.
"What's there?"
"My warehouse."
"OK. You do understand that I'll need to lure him there on the pretense that you'll be there?"
"Of course, my dear. Do what you must."
Sydney dialed Gage's number. "Hello."
"Ranger Gage, this is Alicia. I have some very important information for you."
Gage let her ramble, knowing that she must be in front of Guavas and he knew he had to play along assuming that she wasn't calling from a secure phone.
"Alicia, what kind of information. Do you know what time it is?" He sounded annoyed.
"Yes, I know what time it is and if you want to capture Senor Guavas the time should be of no importance. If you want the information I have, meet me at 328 Industrial Ave. in twenty minutes." She hung up the phone.
"Bravo, Senorita." Sydney pulled out her .45 and checked it in front of Guavas. "Am I driving my car, or would you trust me better in the hands of your driver?"
"You may drive your car. That way Ranger Gage will not suspect anything."
"I take it you still want to watch?"
"Oh yes. I most definitely want to watch."
Sydney turned on her heel and headed to her car. She thought about calling Gage from her cell phone, but when she reached for it, she realized it was missing. "Great. Now I'll just have to pray that he's wearing his vest."
*****
"Walker, it's Gage. She just called. I'm meeting her at 328 Industrial Ave. and I'm leaving now."
"Gage. Be careful."
"Thanks."
Gage pulled out of the parking lot of his and Sydney's apartment and arrived at the address on Industrial Ave. just before Sydney. He sat in the dark waiting for a glimpse of her car.
Sydney parked her car facing Gage's, but leaving her enough room for a quick getaway. She sneaked along the shadow of the warehouse until she was within 20 feet of him.
"Thomas`, are you in place?" Guavas radioed.
"Yes." He replied as he lined up the sights on the rifle.
"Alicia!" Gage shouted when he saw her coming towards him. "What do you have for me?"
"Only this." She pulled out her .45 and fired at Gage's upper chest. As soon as she squeezed the trigger, Thomas` fired from the top of the warehouse towards Gage's back.
The impact of Sydney's bullet turned Gage's body heavily to the right. Thomas` bullet entered just above his left shoulder blade and exited underneath his left clavicle. Gage was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Sydney had not been close enough to realize that he had been shot from behind. She ran to her car, thinking that the charade had worked. Guavas would have to trust her now, she had just 'killed' a Texas Ranger in cold blood.
*****
Gage was just beginning to come to when Walker and Trivette pulled up. They had waited until they saw Guavas' driver pull the limo out from the shadows before they dared go anywhere near Gage.
"Man, I remember when I was shot while wearing the vest, it might not let the bullet through, but it sure doesn't soften the impact any." Trivette said as they neared the spot where Gage lay.
"Walker." Gage gasped.
"Easy Gage. You may have a cracked rib or two. Sometimes the impact . . ." He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed the blood that had spattered onto Gage's neck and cheek. "Trivette, call 9-1-1. He's been hit!"
*****
Sydney arrived at Guavas' home before anyone else. She wanted to badly to call and check on Gage, but knew that she ran the risk of being caught if she did. She was too close to being fully trusted by Guavas to blow it now.
The door opened. Guavas and Jonas entered to find Sydney standing in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed in front of her. "Well?"
"Very good, my dear. You have proven your loyalty to me and for that, I will reward you greatly. First, here is the money I promised for making my problem go away." Jonas handed a briefcase to Sydney. She opened it and found it to be full of money.
"I have reviewed the file we have on you and have discovered that you are very well educated in chemistry. Particularly the chemistry used in creating crystal-meth."
"I can assure you that my education on that subject was not taught in any school." Sydney replied.
Guavas nodded. "Yes, I suppose not." He laughed. "I would like to have you take a look at our lab and tell me how to increase our productivity. I have a buyer who is interested in several hundred kilos and right now I can't get it to him when he needs it."
"Sure. I'd love to take a look at your lab."
"Good. In the morning, Jonas and I will take you."
*****
"Get that vest off of him, we need to see what we're dealing with!" One of the nurse's yelled as she entered the triage area of the emergency room.
Gage's vest was removed, revealing a deep bruise on his ribcage on the right side and a large gunshot wound in his upper left shoulder area. He was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Ranger, can you hear me?" One of the doctors yelled. Gage opened his eyes, and then they immediately blinked shut again. "Ranger, I need for you to try to stay awake, OK?"
He slightly nodded.
Walker and Trivette were standing just outside of the swinging doors, staring through the small windows. "What happened?" Trivette asked.
"Sniper."
"Why? Guavas had already asked Sydney to take him out, why have someone else take a shot at him too?"
"One of two things, either it wasn't Guavas who hired the sniper or he still doesn't trust Sydney." Walker never looked away from the doctors who were fervently working on Gage. "I feel like it's the latter."
The doctor emerged from the triage room and faced Walker and Trivette. "He's lucky. If he hadn't been wearing that vest, he'd be dead. One bullet hit him from the front and the other from behind, probably simultaneously. The vest deflected the hit from the front, but the impact was hard enough to turn his body to the right. The shot that hit him in the back was an armor piercing bullet and if the first impact hadn't have turned his body, it would have killed him for sure."
"Can we see him?" Walker asked.
"He's resting right now and I'd like for him to stay that way for the rest of the night. I've given him a sedative."
"Ok, but we'll stay close tonight. I don't want anyone finishing what they started."
The doctor nodded.
Walker and Trivette sat down in the waiting area just outside of Gage's room. "Do you want first shift?" Walker asked.
"Sure, why not?" Trivette smiled as Walker sat in a chair and tried to get comfortable.
Trivette held a magazine up, as if he were reading it. He peeped over the top as a man dressed in scrubs pulled Gage's chart from its holder outside the door. He tapped Walker lightly.
"I see him." Walker replied.
"Your eyes are closed, how can you see him?"
"I know he's there. Keep an eye on him."
The man put his hand on the door and started to go in, but was scared away when a nurse approached the room to check Gage's vitals.
"Trivette, I think Gage is going to have to die." Walker said quietly.
"What?"
"I feel like someone is checking up on his progress and I had rather they think that he's dead."
Walker spoke with Gage's doctor in private and they decided they would fake his death early the following morning. Once the decision had been made, Walker stepped into Gage's room to let him know what was going on.
Gage's eyes were closed and Walker turned to leave, not wanting to wake him. "Walker." Gage said hoarsely.
"Hey, I thought you were asleep."
"No." He opened his eyes and winced a little at the pain in his left shoulder. "Do you want to fill me in on what exactly happened?" He asked.
Walker sat down in the chair next to the bed. "You were hit by a sniper and Sydney."
A puzzled look came across Gage's face. "Then he doesn't trust her."
"I know. That's what I'm worried about right now. Gage, I just talked to your doctor. You're going to die in the morning."
Gage's eyes grew wide and his mouth slightly dropped. Walker then smiled. "There's a guy snooping around your room and I'm pretty sure he's working for Guavas. If we fake your death in the morning, it may give Sydney a little more credibility. Dr. Stewart is going to make it known that both shots contributed to your death, but that Sydney's shot was the worst."
"I get it. You scared me for a minute there."
"Sorry." Walker smiled again. "You're really not hurt that bad. I know you're sore, but the bullet barely scraped your shoulder blade and came out underneath your collarbone. You were lucky."
"Yeah, I know. Hey, are you going to be able to get in touch with Sydney to let her know that I'm not really dead?"
Walker shook his head.
"Walker." Gage started.
"I would like to let her know what's going on, but I can't risk calling her. It might tip our hand and blow her cover."
Gage shook his head. "Alright, so if you're killing me off in the morning, what am I supposed to do when I'm released?"
"We'll keep you out of sight."
"I won't be left off of this case though, right? "
"You need to rest." Walker stood.
"Walker?"
"We'll talk about it later. Get some rest." He left the room.
At 6:15 the following morning, a loud beeping came from Gage's room. His doctor and two nurses ran into the room, followed by Walker and Trivette. "He's crashing!" The doctor shouted.
Forty-five minutes later, Walker and Trivette emerged from the room with the doctor, their heads hung low.
"I'm sorry for your loss." The doctor stated.
Walker shook his hand. "Thank you, doctor. I'm sure you did all you could."
The mysterious man who had been hanging around Gage's door picked up the payphone. Trivette stopped at the water fountain across from the phone and could heard the man whisper. "The Ranger's dead. I'll get a detailed report for you."
*****
"Jonas, I just heard from our eyes in the hospital. It appears that our troublesome Ranger is no longer a problem."
"So, Alicia has proven her loyalty?"
"Not quite. You and I are going to have a false conversation in a few moments. Play along with me, OK?"
"Whatever you want, boss."
"Make sure she's out there and open the door."
Jonas walked down the hallway and came back, leaving the door opened. "Yes, she's there." He whispered.
Guavas nodded and spoke loudly, to be certain their conversation was heard by Sydney. "I've arranged a meeting with one of our buyers tonight at 10:00 at the warehouse."
"Is that wise after the shooting?"
"Wise or not, the meeting will go as planned."
"Very well. Do you wish for me to drive you?"
"Yes and bring Alicia along. I would like for her to meet these people."
Jonas nodded as he left the office. Guavas smiled to himself. "Now, let's see if she takes the bait."
Sydney knew she couldn't risk trying to get off of the estate without raising suspicions. She also knew she couldn't risk calling out on any of the phones in the house, except maybe Guavas' cell phone. She would have to wait until he left his office and try to get to it.
"Senor Guavas, your luncheon guests have arrived." Guavas' accountant was waiting in the main foyer.
"Henry. Thank you for coming. Here, let's go to the dining room." All three men went into the dining room. Sydney took full advantage of their absence and entered Guavas' office. She found the cell phone in his desk drawer and dialed Walker's number at Ranger HQ and got his voice mail.
"Walker, it's Sydney. I'm calling on Guavas' cell phone and can only talk for a minute. There's some sort of a deal with a buyer going down tonight at 10:00 at the same location as last night. I wish you were there so you could tell me Gage is alright. He played his part just a little too well. I couldn't tell if the impact really hurt him or not." She paused as she heard footsteps. "I've got to go, someone's coming." There were footsteps just outside of the office. Sydney put the cell phone back in the drawer and quickly hid herself under the desk.
The door opened and Jonas turned the light on. He looked around and once he was satisfied that no one was in the room, he left.
Sydney sighed and pulled herself from her hiding place and went back into the living room.
*****
The nurse placed the sheet over Gage's head. "This is an eerie feeling." He said from beneath the sheet.
"From what I understand, Ranger Gage, if you want to stay alive, you had better remain quiet and appear dead." The nurse stated before allowing two orderlies in to take the 'body' to the morgue.
Walker and Trivette were waiting just outside the morgue and when the two orderlies left, Walker tapped Gage lightly on his chest. "OK, buddy. Hop up. We've got to get you out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"I've got something set up not too far from here. We need to see if our guy took the bait. The coroner is supposed to push your autopsy past everyone else and have the preliminary report in a few hours."
Two hours later, the mysterious man made his way back down to the morgue and swiped Gage's file. He flipped through the notes and charts and found what he was looking for. "Cause of death. Two gunshot wounds." He continued to read. "Both wounds contributed to death, but front entry wound on right side allowed bullet and bone fragments into . . ." He nodded his head, put the file back in it's spot and left.
*****
"Senor Guavas, a phone call for you." Jonas reported.
"Excuse me one moment, please." Guavas apologized to his accountant. He turned to Jonas once they were outside of the dining room. "Who is it, that could not wait?"
"Our eyes at the hospital."
Guavas nodded his head and took the phone. "Yes."
"I've read the report. Both shots contributed to his death, but it looks like the girl's shot was the most detrimental. It forced bullet and bone fragments into his lung."
"Thank you."
"Well?" Jonas asked.
"She did kill him. And you said she was not in here earlier?"
"I did not see her when I came to check."
Guavas nodded. "Perhaps she is what she says she is. We will know later tonight."
*****
"Here, put this on." He handed Gage a baseball cap. "Pull the bill down over your eyes and put this coat on." Gage winced as the weight of the coat hit his sore shoulder. "Sorry."
"It's OK." Gage replied, trying to shrug off the pain.
"Trivette, do me a favor and call the office and check my messages."
"You expecting a call?"
"Not really expecting, but hoping for one."
Trivette dialed Walker's extension and retrieved his messages. "Alex called for you and Sydney called. There's a meeting tonight with a buyer at the warehouse."
"The same one as last night?" Gage asked.
Trivette nodded.
"You should be fine at your apartment. They think you're dead, so they won't be looking for you." Walker said as he pulled into the parking lot.
Gage shook his head. "No way, Walker. I'm not hiding out while Sydney's in trouble."
"We don't know that Sydney's in trouble, but if you show up it might blow her cover."
"Come on Walker. I've been the go between since the beginning of this investigation. Don't cut me out now."
"Gage." Walker started to order him to stay put, but decided he might be useful in spotting some of the members of Guavas' staff since he and Trivette didn't know what any of them looked like.
"Alright, but remember, you're injured. You stay out of any altercations that might come up."
Gage nodded, but said nothing.
*****
"Jonas, it's almost 10:00, when are we leaving?"
"I don't know. Senor Guavas hasn't said." He watched her, hoping to detect something to report to Guavas. "Why, are you in a hurry?"
"No. No reason. I just thought he wanted to stay on schedule."
Sydney closed her eyes as Jonas left the room. "Great. Why am I getting the feeling that this is a set-up?"
*****
Walker and Trivette parked on the upper side of the warehouse and canvassed the area on foot. "I don't like this." Walker said, quietly. "It's after 10:00. If they were going to show, they would be here by now."
"Sydney's been set up." Trivette replied.
"It looks that way."
"What do you want to do now?"
"We need to get Syd out of there. If they've figured out that she's been setting them up, Guavas' isn't going to take that too lightly." Gage replied.
Walker stared at him for a moment, knowing he was right.
*****
Thomas` picked up his cell phone. "Mr. Guavas?"
"Yes Thomas`."
"We've got two Texas Rangers snooping around the warehouse. Do you want me to take them out?"
"No. Return immediately." Guavas slammed the phone down. "Jonas!" He yelled.
"Yes sir."
"Where is Alicia?"
"Upstairs."
"Bring her to me when Thomas` arrives."
"Yes sir." He said, smiling to himself.
Jonas found Sydney in her room. "Alicia, Senor Guavas would like to see you in his office, pronto."
Sydney brushed past Jonas, without speaking. He followed her down the stairs and into Guavas' office.
"Thomas`, tell Alicia and Jonas what you told me earlier."
"The Texas Ranger died early this morning from the two gunshot wounds."
"Two? I only shot him once." Sydney replied, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
"Yes chica. The other shot was mine. According to the preliminary autopsy report, both contributed to his death, but yours was the most damaging."
"You are to be commended, Alicia. You have proven your loyalty beyond reproach." Guavas paused. "Or have you?"
Jonas forced Sydney into a nearby chair. "It seems that the warehouse where the meeting with the buyers was supposed to have taken place was surrounded by Texas Rangers tonight. Do you know anything about that?" Guavas asked.
"Why would I?"
"Perhaps because you, yourself, are a Texas Ranger." Thomas` revealed.
"She's what?" Guavas exclaimed.
"Yes, she is Texas Ranger, Sydney Cooke. The Ranger she killed was her partner, Francis Gage."
"Is this true Alicia?"
Sydney made no comment. Jonas slapped her face with his open hand. "Senor Guavas is speaking to you. You will answer him."
Sydney lowered her eyes, her lip now bleeding. "Yes." She replied.
*****
Walker stopped the RAM just outside of Guavas' estate.
"Now what?" Trivette asked.
"We'll hop the fence. Gage, you stay here."
"Not a chance, Walker."
"Now listen. We don't have time to sit here and argue about this. You can't scale that wall with one arm. Trivette and I will go in and get Sydney out." Walker and Trivette both got out of the RAM and shut the doors, leaving Gage inside.
Gage shook his head, the anger welling up inside of him. He banged his right hand on the dashboard. "Just who does he think he is ordering me to stay here?"
Walker and Trivette scaled the wall surrounding the estate and made their way to the house.
Gage stared at the wall around the estate. "I've got to get over that wall." He thought as he got out of the truck.
Jonas answered his cell phone and immediately shouted to Guavas. "We've got Texas Rangers on the grounds."
"Thomas` take her out." Guavas ordered as he and Jonas left the office and headed towards the car.
They were met by Walker and Trivette as they came out the door. Jonas threw two punches at Walker and Walker quickly responded with two punches and a spin kick.
Trivette was able to take Guavas down with just two punches. "Where's the girl?" He asked, not knowing if Sydney's cover had been blown.
Gage dropped over the wall and sat for a moment and held his throbbing arm. He saw that Walker and Trivette had Guavas and Jonas under control. He looked around, trying to locate Sydney.
Suddenly, he heard a scream for help from inside the house. He broke into a full run towards the sound of the scream. He heard the scream again and realized it was Sydney's voice and ran even faster. As he neared the house, he caught sight of Thomas` reflection in the office window, his gun raised and pointed at Sydney's face.
Gage realized that he didn't have time to find the door to the house. He took a running start and kicked the window in, landing his foot into Thomas` chest and knocking the gun from his hand.
Thomas` fell to the floor, stunned by Gage's sudden entrance. He came to himself quickly and started towards Gage, who lay on the floor trying to regain his senses.
"Gage, look out!" Sydney called to him.
He raised his head and dodged Thomas` forceful blow and in the same movement, rammed his right fist into Thomas` stomach.
While Thomas` was lying on the floor, holding his stomach, Gage pulled out his gun. "Stay down!"
Sydney ran to him. "Thank God you're alive. They told me I had killed you." She wrapped her arms around him. He recoiled slightly at the pain in his shoulder.
"You're bleeding."
Walker and Trivette kicked in the office door after hearing the commotion inside. Trivette trained his gun on Thomas` while Walker insisted that Gage sit down. "I thought I told you to stay in the truck."
Gage was visibly pale. "If I had, Syd would be dead." Walker pulled back Gage's shirt. "You've opened up your stitches." He applied pressure to his chest. "Can you make it to the truck?"
Gage nodded. "Yeah. It's not as bad as it looks." He leaned slightly on Sydney as they walked to Walker's RAM and made another trip to the hospital.
*****
Sydney stretched and then snuggled up against Gage's chest. He moaned slightly. "Sorry." She touched his shoulder lightly.
"It's OK." He said as he pulled her closer.
"I can't believe I actually shot you." She said as she studied the ugly bruise on his right side.
"Honey, I'm fine. That's not the one that hurts." He adjusted his position to take some of the pressure off of his left arm.
Once he was comfortable again, Sydney snuggled even closer to him. "You can't imagine how I felt when Thomas` told me that you were dead. I was even beginning to wonder about my true loyalties."
Gage put his arm around her. "I never doubted your true loyalties." He kissed her cheek. "But I am sorry that you thought I was dead. There just wasn't a safe way to let you know what was going on. I was in the hospital and Thomas` was snooping around my room. Walker thought it would give you greater credibility with Guavas if he thought I was dead." He kissed the top of her head.
"The whole thing unnerved me a little too. I was laying in the bed and at 6:00 a.m., out of the blue, all of these alarms start going off. I was a little out of it and it took me a minute to realize that nothing was really wrong. The doctor and nurses came in the room and began hovering over me and then Walker and Trivette. The worst part was when the orderlies took me down to the morgue."
Sydney stared at him for a moment. "They took you to the morgue?"
"We had to make it look good, but it felt weird laying there with a sheet over my head, pretending to be dead."
Sydney hugged him again. "I'm just glad it's over with. Once we had Guavas records, finding the lab was no problem and we even landed the names of a couple of his buyers."
"That's great." Gage yawned and kissed the top of Sydney's head again.
"Tired?"
He nodded. "A little."
She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "Gage?"
"Um?"
"You know I could never intentionally hurt you, don't you?"
"I know, Syd. I could never hurt you either."
"And you know that I love you, right?"
"I love you too."
"And . . ."
"Syd, go to sleep."
She pulled the covers up over both of them and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
THE END
By Lorrie
"Walker, I can't talk right now, but I'll call you back." Sydney whispered into her cell phone as Jonas walked around the corner.
"Hey chica, whatca doin' here all alone?" Jonas asked.
"If I wanted you to know, I would've asked you to come with me." Sydney smarted back with the same Latino accent.
"Senor Guavas is waiting. He needs to discuss something with you."
"Tell him I'll be right there."
"He wants to see you now!" Jonas grabbed her elbow and escorted her to Juan Guavas' office.
"Mr. Guavas, she was outside." Jonas reported as he ushered Sydney into the room.
"Ah, Alicia, I need but only a minute of your time. You see, your friend, Ranger Gage is causing me nothing but trouble and I would like for you to dispose of him for me, tonight."
"You had better be prepared to pay me quite well for killing a Texas Ranger." Sydney replied.
"Top dollar, my dear, top dollar. There is a catch though. I want to see you do it."
"You do not trust me, Gringo?"
"No, I do not. Trust is something that must be earned. You take care of this annoying Ranger for me tonight, in front of my eyes and then I will trust you. We'll leave after midnight."
"How will we get him out in the open? I will not kill him in his home."
"No chica, that would be far too dangerous for both of us. We will devise a plan to get him out in the open. I will take care of that."
"It will be done." Sydney replied, still not knowing exactly how they were going to pull this one off.
*****
"Hey Walker. Have you heard from Sydney yet?" Gage asked as he walked in.
"A little while ago. She didn't really get to tell me anything though. She had to hang up pretty quickly."
Gage sighed heavily and nodded.
"I know you're worried about her; but Gage, she'll be fine. Her cover is good and so far everything she's brought us has been verified. We're building a very strong case against Guavas."
"So far, I've been able to be in the right place at the right time, so it looked like I was the one stealing the information, but the really big stuff that we need can only come from the inside. He's bound to figure it out then." Gage replied.
"I've thought about that too. We're going to ready to move the moment Sydney gets the delivery schedule for the drugs and the location of the lab, so be ready. She must be close, or she wouldn't have risked calling this early."
"Early?"
"Yeah, I wasn't supposed to hear from her until after 9:00 tonight, unless she found something concrete."
"Or unless they're on to her." Gage replied nervously.
*****
Sydney left Guavas' office, thinking hard about how she could make it look like she had killed Gage, especially right in front of Guavas. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard. I can either use blanks, or warn Gage to wear a vest, or both. But to do that, I need to get Walker to warn him."
As she walked down the sidewalk in front of Guavas' estate, she felt eyes on her and dared not touch her cell phone. "Great, now I've got to shake Guavas' goons." She knew she couldn't call Walker from anywhere inside the house because Guavas had most of the rooms bugged for security reasons. Her only hope was to get off of the estate without anyone realizing she had left.
She waited until dark and sneaked out of her second story window inching her way along the narrow ledge that ran across the backside of the mansion. Once she reached the corner, she grabbed the downspout and worked her way down to the landing below. Getting out was the easy part, she'd worry about getting back in later.
Once she was on the grounds, she kept close to the shrubs and quickly made her way to the rock wall and climbed over it, all the while dodging the scanning search lights and the guards that patrolled the grounds. Luckily Guavas had a tremendous fear of dogs and wouldn't let them on the property.
When she cleared the wall, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Walker's home number.
"Hello." Alex answered.
"Alex, hi, it's Sydney. Is Walker there?"
"Sure Sydney, just a moment." Alex replied as Walker jumped up from couch and took the phone in the other room.
"Sydney, is everything alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, for now. Listen, Guavas wants me to kill Gage. Tonight."
A frown came across Walker's face. "OK, that should be easy enough to fake."
"Walker, he wants me to kill him in front of him."
"Oh boy. OK, I'll call Gage and tell him not to go anywhere without calling me first and to make sure he wears his vest wherever he goes. Do you know what time this is supposed to go down?"
"Guavas only said tonight, after midnight. I don't know where or how he plans to get him out in the open. I'm going to call Gage when I hang up with you."
"Sydney, don't. You'd be taking an unnecessary chance doing that. I'll call him from here."
Sydney bit her lip. She really needed to talk to Gage. "Walker, " she paused. "Tell him how much I love him."
"I will Sydney. He knows that already."
"I really hate this!"
"I know you do. It'll all be over soon. We've got almost everything we need."
"Yeah, if only Guavas would let the delivery location slip or show me that lab."
"You've made it known that you know what he's dealing in, right?"
"Walker. I want this to be over, of course I've let him know. I've also told him about my experience with the biker gang and running the meth lab. I've done just about everything I know to do to entice him to involve me with his drug manufacturing, but he doesn't trust me enough yet. Maybe after I kill Gage, he'll open up a little."
"Alright, I'll call Gage now and let him know what to expect."
"Make sure he's wearing his vest! I'll go for his upper chest."
*****
"Senor Guavas, she just came back over the wall, should I get her for you?" Jonas asked his boss.
"No. I feel certain that she was calling her Ranger friend to warn him. We'll be prepared tonight as well. Jonas, have Thomas` report to my office as soon as he is free."
"Yes sir."
*****
Gage's phone rang three times before he answered. "Hello."
"Gage, it's Walker. What took you so long to answer the phone?"
"I was in the shower." Gage responded, sounding somewhat annoyed.
Walker looked over Gage's tone of voice. "Listen, Sydney just called and Guavas wants her to take you out."
"When?"
"Tonight, after midnight. She doesn't know how they plan to get you out in the open. She told Guavas that she wouldn't shoot you in your home and he agreed with her that things would get too messy that way."
"Wait, slow down. Can't we just fake it?"
"No. Guavas wants her to do it in front of him."
"He wants to watch her pop me?"
"Yes. He still doesn't trust her, but she said this should prove her loyalty to him. Call me when you get the call and make sure you put on your vest before you set one foot out that door. Sydney said to warn you that she'll go for your upper chest."
"Great, I'm looking forward to it." Gage replied sarcastically.
"Gage, keep your eyes opened. Sydney's pretty sure that Guavas is on the edge of completely trusting her, but don't let your guard down."
"Walker, come on. Sydney's not going to hurt me. I know better than that."
"It's not Sydney I'm worried about."
*****
"Ah, Tomas`. Thank you for coming so quickly."
"Do you have a job for me, Mr. Guavas?"
"Yes Thomas`, I do. Please have a seat." Thomas` sat down and listened as Guavas explained.
"Alicia is going to take care of the Ranger problem tonight, but I'm still not certain of her ties to him. She may have warned him, so I want you positioned behind him to make sure my problem goes away."
Thomas` nodded. "But you want her to take the shot too?"
"Yes. You'll hold off until she fires from the front and then you fire at his back. With two bullet wounds, he'll surely draw his last breath. You know what to do."
Thomas` nodded again. "Long-range sniper's rifle, armor piercing shells and a silencer."
Guavas nodded. "Good. We understand each other."
Thomas` was dismissed and Guavas called for Jonas. "Have Alicia come here. I want her to call Ranger Gage and set up the meeting."
Jonas found Sydney upstairs in her room. "Alicia." He knocked on her door. "Senor Guavas wishes to see you in his office."
She opened the door. Jonas was surprised to find her dressed from head to toe in a fitted black body suit. "Have you set up the meet?"
"No. You will be calling your Ranger friend from Senor Guavas' office."
She nodded and descended the stairs and knocked on Guavas' office door. "Enter." Came the reply from the other side.
"You called for me?"
"Yes. I would like for you to call your Ranger friend and have him meet you at this address." Guavas handed her a piece of paper.
"What's there?"
"My warehouse."
"OK. You do understand that I'll need to lure him there on the pretense that you'll be there?"
"Of course, my dear. Do what you must."
Sydney dialed Gage's number. "Hello."
"Ranger Gage, this is Alicia. I have some very important information for you."
Gage let her ramble, knowing that she must be in front of Guavas and he knew he had to play along assuming that she wasn't calling from a secure phone.
"Alicia, what kind of information. Do you know what time it is?" He sounded annoyed.
"Yes, I know what time it is and if you want to capture Senor Guavas the time should be of no importance. If you want the information I have, meet me at 328 Industrial Ave. in twenty minutes." She hung up the phone.
"Bravo, Senorita." Sydney pulled out her .45 and checked it in front of Guavas. "Am I driving my car, or would you trust me better in the hands of your driver?"
"You may drive your car. That way Ranger Gage will not suspect anything."
"I take it you still want to watch?"
"Oh yes. I most definitely want to watch."
Sydney turned on her heel and headed to her car. She thought about calling Gage from her cell phone, but when she reached for it, she realized it was missing. "Great. Now I'll just have to pray that he's wearing his vest."
*****
"Walker, it's Gage. She just called. I'm meeting her at 328 Industrial Ave. and I'm leaving now."
"Gage. Be careful."
"Thanks."
Gage pulled out of the parking lot of his and Sydney's apartment and arrived at the address on Industrial Ave. just before Sydney. He sat in the dark waiting for a glimpse of her car.
Sydney parked her car facing Gage's, but leaving her enough room for a quick getaway. She sneaked along the shadow of the warehouse until she was within 20 feet of him.
"Thomas`, are you in place?" Guavas radioed.
"Yes." He replied as he lined up the sights on the rifle.
"Alicia!" Gage shouted when he saw her coming towards him. "What do you have for me?"
"Only this." She pulled out her .45 and fired at Gage's upper chest. As soon as she squeezed the trigger, Thomas` fired from the top of the warehouse towards Gage's back.
The impact of Sydney's bullet turned Gage's body heavily to the right. Thomas` bullet entered just above his left shoulder blade and exited underneath his left clavicle. Gage was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Sydney had not been close enough to realize that he had been shot from behind. She ran to her car, thinking that the charade had worked. Guavas would have to trust her now, she had just 'killed' a Texas Ranger in cold blood.
*****
Gage was just beginning to come to when Walker and Trivette pulled up. They had waited until they saw Guavas' driver pull the limo out from the shadows before they dared go anywhere near Gage.
"Man, I remember when I was shot while wearing the vest, it might not let the bullet through, but it sure doesn't soften the impact any." Trivette said as they neared the spot where Gage lay.
"Walker." Gage gasped.
"Easy Gage. You may have a cracked rib or two. Sometimes the impact . . ." He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed the blood that had spattered onto Gage's neck and cheek. "Trivette, call 9-1-1. He's been hit!"
*****
Sydney arrived at Guavas' home before anyone else. She wanted to badly to call and check on Gage, but knew that she ran the risk of being caught if she did. She was too close to being fully trusted by Guavas to blow it now.
The door opened. Guavas and Jonas entered to find Sydney standing in the middle of the living room, her arms crossed in front of her. "Well?"
"Very good, my dear. You have proven your loyalty to me and for that, I will reward you greatly. First, here is the money I promised for making my problem go away." Jonas handed a briefcase to Sydney. She opened it and found it to be full of money.
"I have reviewed the file we have on you and have discovered that you are very well educated in chemistry. Particularly the chemistry used in creating crystal-meth."
"I can assure you that my education on that subject was not taught in any school." Sydney replied.
Guavas nodded. "Yes, I suppose not." He laughed. "I would like to have you take a look at our lab and tell me how to increase our productivity. I have a buyer who is interested in several hundred kilos and right now I can't get it to him when he needs it."
"Sure. I'd love to take a look at your lab."
"Good. In the morning, Jonas and I will take you."
*****
"Get that vest off of him, we need to see what we're dealing with!" One of the nurse's yelled as she entered the triage area of the emergency room.
Gage's vest was removed, revealing a deep bruise on his ribcage on the right side and a large gunshot wound in his upper left shoulder area. He was drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Ranger, can you hear me?" One of the doctors yelled. Gage opened his eyes, and then they immediately blinked shut again. "Ranger, I need for you to try to stay awake, OK?"
He slightly nodded.
Walker and Trivette were standing just outside of the swinging doors, staring through the small windows. "What happened?" Trivette asked.
"Sniper."
"Why? Guavas had already asked Sydney to take him out, why have someone else take a shot at him too?"
"One of two things, either it wasn't Guavas who hired the sniper or he still doesn't trust Sydney." Walker never looked away from the doctors who were fervently working on Gage. "I feel like it's the latter."
The doctor emerged from the triage room and faced Walker and Trivette. "He's lucky. If he hadn't been wearing that vest, he'd be dead. One bullet hit him from the front and the other from behind, probably simultaneously. The vest deflected the hit from the front, but the impact was hard enough to turn his body to the right. The shot that hit him in the back was an armor piercing bullet and if the first impact hadn't have turned his body, it would have killed him for sure."
"Can we see him?" Walker asked.
"He's resting right now and I'd like for him to stay that way for the rest of the night. I've given him a sedative."
"Ok, but we'll stay close tonight. I don't want anyone finishing what they started."
The doctor nodded.
Walker and Trivette sat down in the waiting area just outside of Gage's room. "Do you want first shift?" Walker asked.
"Sure, why not?" Trivette smiled as Walker sat in a chair and tried to get comfortable.
Trivette held a magazine up, as if he were reading it. He peeped over the top as a man dressed in scrubs pulled Gage's chart from its holder outside the door. He tapped Walker lightly.
"I see him." Walker replied.
"Your eyes are closed, how can you see him?"
"I know he's there. Keep an eye on him."
The man put his hand on the door and started to go in, but was scared away when a nurse approached the room to check Gage's vitals.
"Trivette, I think Gage is going to have to die." Walker said quietly.
"What?"
"I feel like someone is checking up on his progress and I had rather they think that he's dead."
Walker spoke with Gage's doctor in private and they decided they would fake his death early the following morning. Once the decision had been made, Walker stepped into Gage's room to let him know what was going on.
Gage's eyes were closed and Walker turned to leave, not wanting to wake him. "Walker." Gage said hoarsely.
"Hey, I thought you were asleep."
"No." He opened his eyes and winced a little at the pain in his left shoulder. "Do you want to fill me in on what exactly happened?" He asked.
Walker sat down in the chair next to the bed. "You were hit by a sniper and Sydney."
A puzzled look came across Gage's face. "Then he doesn't trust her."
"I know. That's what I'm worried about right now. Gage, I just talked to your doctor. You're going to die in the morning."
Gage's eyes grew wide and his mouth slightly dropped. Walker then smiled. "There's a guy snooping around your room and I'm pretty sure he's working for Guavas. If we fake your death in the morning, it may give Sydney a little more credibility. Dr. Stewart is going to make it known that both shots contributed to your death, but that Sydney's shot was the worst."
"I get it. You scared me for a minute there."
"Sorry." Walker smiled again. "You're really not hurt that bad. I know you're sore, but the bullet barely scraped your shoulder blade and came out underneath your collarbone. You were lucky."
"Yeah, I know. Hey, are you going to be able to get in touch with Sydney to let her know that I'm not really dead?"
Walker shook his head.
"Walker." Gage started.
"I would like to let her know what's going on, but I can't risk calling her. It might tip our hand and blow her cover."
Gage shook his head. "Alright, so if you're killing me off in the morning, what am I supposed to do when I'm released?"
"We'll keep you out of sight."
"I won't be left off of this case though, right? "
"You need to rest." Walker stood.
"Walker?"
"We'll talk about it later. Get some rest." He left the room.
At 6:15 the following morning, a loud beeping came from Gage's room. His doctor and two nurses ran into the room, followed by Walker and Trivette. "He's crashing!" The doctor shouted.
Forty-five minutes later, Walker and Trivette emerged from the room with the doctor, their heads hung low.
"I'm sorry for your loss." The doctor stated.
Walker shook his hand. "Thank you, doctor. I'm sure you did all you could."
The mysterious man who had been hanging around Gage's door picked up the payphone. Trivette stopped at the water fountain across from the phone and could heard the man whisper. "The Ranger's dead. I'll get a detailed report for you."
*****
"Jonas, I just heard from our eyes in the hospital. It appears that our troublesome Ranger is no longer a problem."
"So, Alicia has proven her loyalty?"
"Not quite. You and I are going to have a false conversation in a few moments. Play along with me, OK?"
"Whatever you want, boss."
"Make sure she's out there and open the door."
Jonas walked down the hallway and came back, leaving the door opened. "Yes, she's there." He whispered.
Guavas nodded and spoke loudly, to be certain their conversation was heard by Sydney. "I've arranged a meeting with one of our buyers tonight at 10:00 at the warehouse."
"Is that wise after the shooting?"
"Wise or not, the meeting will go as planned."
"Very well. Do you wish for me to drive you?"
"Yes and bring Alicia along. I would like for her to meet these people."
Jonas nodded as he left the office. Guavas smiled to himself. "Now, let's see if she takes the bait."
Sydney knew she couldn't risk trying to get off of the estate without raising suspicions. She also knew she couldn't risk calling out on any of the phones in the house, except maybe Guavas' cell phone. She would have to wait until he left his office and try to get to it.
"Senor Guavas, your luncheon guests have arrived." Guavas' accountant was waiting in the main foyer.
"Henry. Thank you for coming. Here, let's go to the dining room." All three men went into the dining room. Sydney took full advantage of their absence and entered Guavas' office. She found the cell phone in his desk drawer and dialed Walker's number at Ranger HQ and got his voice mail.
"Walker, it's Sydney. I'm calling on Guavas' cell phone and can only talk for a minute. There's some sort of a deal with a buyer going down tonight at 10:00 at the same location as last night. I wish you were there so you could tell me Gage is alright. He played his part just a little too well. I couldn't tell if the impact really hurt him or not." She paused as she heard footsteps. "I've got to go, someone's coming." There were footsteps just outside of the office. Sydney put the cell phone back in the drawer and quickly hid herself under the desk.
The door opened and Jonas turned the light on. He looked around and once he was satisfied that no one was in the room, he left.
Sydney sighed and pulled herself from her hiding place and went back into the living room.
*****
The nurse placed the sheet over Gage's head. "This is an eerie feeling." He said from beneath the sheet.
"From what I understand, Ranger Gage, if you want to stay alive, you had better remain quiet and appear dead." The nurse stated before allowing two orderlies in to take the 'body' to the morgue.
Walker and Trivette were waiting just outside the morgue and when the two orderlies left, Walker tapped Gage lightly on his chest. "OK, buddy. Hop up. We've got to get you out of here."
"Where are we going?"
"I've got something set up not too far from here. We need to see if our guy took the bait. The coroner is supposed to push your autopsy past everyone else and have the preliminary report in a few hours."
Two hours later, the mysterious man made his way back down to the morgue and swiped Gage's file. He flipped through the notes and charts and found what he was looking for. "Cause of death. Two gunshot wounds." He continued to read. "Both wounds contributed to death, but front entry wound on right side allowed bullet and bone fragments into . . ." He nodded his head, put the file back in it's spot and left.
*****
"Senor Guavas, a phone call for you." Jonas reported.
"Excuse me one moment, please." Guavas apologized to his accountant. He turned to Jonas once they were outside of the dining room. "Who is it, that could not wait?"
"Our eyes at the hospital."
Guavas nodded his head and took the phone. "Yes."
"I've read the report. Both shots contributed to his death, but it looks like the girl's shot was the most detrimental. It forced bullet and bone fragments into his lung."
"Thank you."
"Well?" Jonas asked.
"She did kill him. And you said she was not in here earlier?"
"I did not see her when I came to check."
Guavas nodded. "Perhaps she is what she says she is. We will know later tonight."
*****
"Here, put this on." He handed Gage a baseball cap. "Pull the bill down over your eyes and put this coat on." Gage winced as the weight of the coat hit his sore shoulder. "Sorry."
"It's OK." Gage replied, trying to shrug off the pain.
"Trivette, do me a favor and call the office and check my messages."
"You expecting a call?"
"Not really expecting, but hoping for one."
Trivette dialed Walker's extension and retrieved his messages. "Alex called for you and Sydney called. There's a meeting tonight with a buyer at the warehouse."
"The same one as last night?" Gage asked.
Trivette nodded.
"You should be fine at your apartment. They think you're dead, so they won't be looking for you." Walker said as he pulled into the parking lot.
Gage shook his head. "No way, Walker. I'm not hiding out while Sydney's in trouble."
"We don't know that Sydney's in trouble, but if you show up it might blow her cover."
"Come on Walker. I've been the go between since the beginning of this investigation. Don't cut me out now."
"Gage." Walker started to order him to stay put, but decided he might be useful in spotting some of the members of Guavas' staff since he and Trivette didn't know what any of them looked like.
"Alright, but remember, you're injured. You stay out of any altercations that might come up."
Gage nodded, but said nothing.
*****
"Jonas, it's almost 10:00, when are we leaving?"
"I don't know. Senor Guavas hasn't said." He watched her, hoping to detect something to report to Guavas. "Why, are you in a hurry?"
"No. No reason. I just thought he wanted to stay on schedule."
Sydney closed her eyes as Jonas left the room. "Great. Why am I getting the feeling that this is a set-up?"
*****
Walker and Trivette parked on the upper side of the warehouse and canvassed the area on foot. "I don't like this." Walker said, quietly. "It's after 10:00. If they were going to show, they would be here by now."
"Sydney's been set up." Trivette replied.
"It looks that way."
"What do you want to do now?"
"We need to get Syd out of there. If they've figured out that she's been setting them up, Guavas' isn't going to take that too lightly." Gage replied.
Walker stared at him for a moment, knowing he was right.
*****
Thomas` picked up his cell phone. "Mr. Guavas?"
"Yes Thomas`."
"We've got two Texas Rangers snooping around the warehouse. Do you want me to take them out?"
"No. Return immediately." Guavas slammed the phone down. "Jonas!" He yelled.
"Yes sir."
"Where is Alicia?"
"Upstairs."
"Bring her to me when Thomas` arrives."
"Yes sir." He said, smiling to himself.
Jonas found Sydney in her room. "Alicia, Senor Guavas would like to see you in his office, pronto."
Sydney brushed past Jonas, without speaking. He followed her down the stairs and into Guavas' office.
"Thomas`, tell Alicia and Jonas what you told me earlier."
"The Texas Ranger died early this morning from the two gunshot wounds."
"Two? I only shot him once." Sydney replied, trying to hide the fear in her voice.
"Yes chica. The other shot was mine. According to the preliminary autopsy report, both contributed to his death, but yours was the most damaging."
"You are to be commended, Alicia. You have proven your loyalty beyond reproach." Guavas paused. "Or have you?"
Jonas forced Sydney into a nearby chair. "It seems that the warehouse where the meeting with the buyers was supposed to have taken place was surrounded by Texas Rangers tonight. Do you know anything about that?" Guavas asked.
"Why would I?"
"Perhaps because you, yourself, are a Texas Ranger." Thomas` revealed.
"She's what?" Guavas exclaimed.
"Yes, she is Texas Ranger, Sydney Cooke. The Ranger she killed was her partner, Francis Gage."
"Is this true Alicia?"
Sydney made no comment. Jonas slapped her face with his open hand. "Senor Guavas is speaking to you. You will answer him."
Sydney lowered her eyes, her lip now bleeding. "Yes." She replied.
*****
Walker stopped the RAM just outside of Guavas' estate.
"Now what?" Trivette asked.
"We'll hop the fence. Gage, you stay here."
"Not a chance, Walker."
"Now listen. We don't have time to sit here and argue about this. You can't scale that wall with one arm. Trivette and I will go in and get Sydney out." Walker and Trivette both got out of the RAM and shut the doors, leaving Gage inside.
Gage shook his head, the anger welling up inside of him. He banged his right hand on the dashboard. "Just who does he think he is ordering me to stay here?"
Walker and Trivette scaled the wall surrounding the estate and made their way to the house.
Gage stared at the wall around the estate. "I've got to get over that wall." He thought as he got out of the truck.
Jonas answered his cell phone and immediately shouted to Guavas. "We've got Texas Rangers on the grounds."
"Thomas` take her out." Guavas ordered as he and Jonas left the office and headed towards the car.
They were met by Walker and Trivette as they came out the door. Jonas threw two punches at Walker and Walker quickly responded with two punches and a spin kick.
Trivette was able to take Guavas down with just two punches. "Where's the girl?" He asked, not knowing if Sydney's cover had been blown.
Gage dropped over the wall and sat for a moment and held his throbbing arm. He saw that Walker and Trivette had Guavas and Jonas under control. He looked around, trying to locate Sydney.
Suddenly, he heard a scream for help from inside the house. He broke into a full run towards the sound of the scream. He heard the scream again and realized it was Sydney's voice and ran even faster. As he neared the house, he caught sight of Thomas` reflection in the office window, his gun raised and pointed at Sydney's face.
Gage realized that he didn't have time to find the door to the house. He took a running start and kicked the window in, landing his foot into Thomas` chest and knocking the gun from his hand.
Thomas` fell to the floor, stunned by Gage's sudden entrance. He came to himself quickly and started towards Gage, who lay on the floor trying to regain his senses.
"Gage, look out!" Sydney called to him.
He raised his head and dodged Thomas` forceful blow and in the same movement, rammed his right fist into Thomas` stomach.
While Thomas` was lying on the floor, holding his stomach, Gage pulled out his gun. "Stay down!"
Sydney ran to him. "Thank God you're alive. They told me I had killed you." She wrapped her arms around him. He recoiled slightly at the pain in his shoulder.
"You're bleeding."
Walker and Trivette kicked in the office door after hearing the commotion inside. Trivette trained his gun on Thomas` while Walker insisted that Gage sit down. "I thought I told you to stay in the truck."
Gage was visibly pale. "If I had, Syd would be dead." Walker pulled back Gage's shirt. "You've opened up your stitches." He applied pressure to his chest. "Can you make it to the truck?"
Gage nodded. "Yeah. It's not as bad as it looks." He leaned slightly on Sydney as they walked to Walker's RAM and made another trip to the hospital.
*****
Sydney stretched and then snuggled up against Gage's chest. He moaned slightly. "Sorry." She touched his shoulder lightly.
"It's OK." He said as he pulled her closer.
"I can't believe I actually shot you." She said as she studied the ugly bruise on his right side.
"Honey, I'm fine. That's not the one that hurts." He adjusted his position to take some of the pressure off of his left arm.
Once he was comfortable again, Sydney snuggled even closer to him. "You can't imagine how I felt when Thomas` told me that you were dead. I was even beginning to wonder about my true loyalties."
Gage put his arm around her. "I never doubted your true loyalties." He kissed her cheek. "But I am sorry that you thought I was dead. There just wasn't a safe way to let you know what was going on. I was in the hospital and Thomas` was snooping around my room. Walker thought it would give you greater credibility with Guavas if he thought I was dead." He kissed the top of her head.
"The whole thing unnerved me a little too. I was laying in the bed and at 6:00 a.m., out of the blue, all of these alarms start going off. I was a little out of it and it took me a minute to realize that nothing was really wrong. The doctor and nurses came in the room and began hovering over me and then Walker and Trivette. The worst part was when the orderlies took me down to the morgue."
Sydney stared at him for a moment. "They took you to the morgue?"
"We had to make it look good, but it felt weird laying there with a sheet over my head, pretending to be dead."
Sydney hugged him again. "I'm just glad it's over with. Once we had Guavas records, finding the lab was no problem and we even landed the names of a couple of his buyers."
"That's great." Gage yawned and kissed the top of Sydney's head again.
"Tired?"
He nodded. "A little."
She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "Gage?"
"Um?"
"You know I could never intentionally hurt you, don't you?"
"I know, Syd. I could never hurt you either."
"And you know that I love you, right?"
"I love you too."
"And . . ."
"Syd, go to sleep."
She pulled the covers up over both of them and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
THE END