Okay hope you like the new twist. Puma hasn't read this story yet, and
just read up to chapter five last night. She was about ready to kill me to
tell her what happens. You all are probably doing the same thing. Well,
we don't find out in this chapter. (moment of
silence...crickets...laughter) just kidding.
Summary: Gage finds out why they're 'not as safe as they think'
Unlucky Hand chapter six: Ante Up
The next morning, the two rangers arrived at the station after stopping by Syd's to change, and found everyone there waiting for them at their desks, even Alex and Angela. When they walked in everyone yelled, "Surprise! Welcome back!"
Stunned, Sydney looked at her partner who only shrugged. "I didn't put them up to it." he insisted.
"No. This was our idea." Kim said. "You've been through quite a bit, and we wanted to make you feel welcomed."
"Oh, thanks, guys." She said hugging them. "This is so sweet. And cupcakes."
"Well, we were going to send you flowers, but you weren't in the hospital, and we didn't know where you were, so...we tried this." Walker informed hugging his wife and daughter.
"And you and Gage are the only two who hasn't replied for my Christmas party." Alex informed handing both rangers a card.
"Of course we'll come, Alex. Wouldn't miss it." Gage then asked, "Who all's going to be there?"
"You two, Trent, Carlos, Kim, Trivette and Erika, and Butch." Alex listed everyone. Gage and Sydney had now become friends with the bartender at Uppercuts named Butch and were interested in him.
A week later
They got a call that day to the scene of a murder where a man had been stabbed in the heart.
"What did they stab him with?" Gage asked as the detective lead them over.
"Whoever it was used a knife. Here..." he said handing them a bag with a knife in it. "Not uncommon."
"I wonder what the red flower is for?" Gage thought aloud. "No one knows. Ranger Cooke, this was left for you. It's the second on we've found. Please excuse me." he said handing Sydney an envelope.
"The second one? He must be mistaken. There must be another Cooke..."
"No." she interrupted. "It's for me, and it's not the second."
"What?" Gage asked confused.
"Right before we went to work on that heroin case I received a weird letter. At first I thought it was nothing. Then the second one came."
"So this is the third one." he said scared.
"The fourth. You remember the house that was robbed?" He shook his head. "Well, that's where the 'first one' was."
"The cops don't know about the other two? Sydney, why didn't you tell me?" He took her in his arms as she started to cry.
"I thought it was just a prank."
"Here. Let's go see Walker and show him the letters. Okay."
"Okay."
They headed back to her apartment, got the other letters and items, then headed to the rangers station. When they got there Walker wasn't there and neither was Trivette. They decided to see if their PI friends could help.
"So what do you think, Trent? Is she in trouble?"
"She very well could be. This guy sounds serious. Let's read over each letter and try to match things up." He began to read them aloud. "Letter one: Queen of my Heart, Right now we can not be together. Fear not, for I soon will be out, and we will be one. I promise to take care of you. I'll be your Ace in the Hole.
Until later my love, my queen.
Thatcher
Letter two: My queen, You did well today. You and your partners work well together. But the two blonde men were fairly shaken. Has the Jacks been fighting over you? Don't worry. I'm out now. And I will give those two Kings a Royal Flush. Thatcher Letter three: My love, I've searched far and wide to find the perfect bride. Will you take the bait and be my mate? We'll have a Full House with Three of a Kind. Me and you. Not just in my mind. Don't fret my queen. I'll protect our hive. Thatcher
Letter four: My queen, You're making me angry. You've ignored me letters of love and now you're out playin' Straight with the King who hides his swords. Obviously you don't know how to play your cards. But don't worry I'll take your Two of Hearts and turn them
into ONE!
Thatcher
And that's it."
When he had finished reading each letter, he made a copy of each and put the originals away. "Okay, Carlos, you take the first letter and highlight anything weird." Trent handed him the copy of the first letter and a high lighter. "Gage, Sydney, you guys take the second, and do the same. Here, Kim." he handed her the third. "You do the same. Use different methods. If something is spelt wrong do it one way. If several words belong together do them another." He instructed working on the last letter.
Ten minutes passed and soon everyone was done. Trent took out a blank piece f paper and separated it into columns. "Okay. Now let's take the words that fit together and place them in the columns. Them let's look at the content." He did so, fitting the highlighted words into the list. Soon he began asking Sydney what she thought they meant.
"Well, the second one came after we made the bust. I think you two," she said pointing at Gage and Trent, "are the two blonde Jacks."
"I think she's right." Kim added. "Here he says that they were fairly shaken. You guys had just fought that day."
"Kim's right on that, but the fourth letter is what I don't get." Carlos said reading a few lines off the paper. "...now you're playing straight with the King that hides his swords...playing your cards...hey someone give me a deck of cards."
"Carlos?" Trent asked trying to follow him.
"Yeah. Playing cards." Trent handed the deck to Carlos. Kim snickered and teased, "You have playing cards." Trent and Carlos just shrugged. Carlos quickly sorted the cards laying out all the Kings, Queens, Jacks and the two of hearts. "Okay. Now the first letter came with a spade, yellow flower and he called you his queen." He laid out the Queen of Spade. "The second was with a wooden club and a red flower and he calls Gage and Trent Jacks and Kings; and says he'd give them a royal flush." He laid out the Queen of Clubs. "The third was found at a house that had been robbed. There was a diamond ring attached to a leaf on it. And again calls you his queen; and says you'll have a full house and be three of a kind." The Queen of Diamonds was laid down. "And finally, the last was found on a dead man stabbed in the heart. The knife had a red flower on it. Again he calls you his queen, and again refers to a King, one with a hidden sword." He laid the King of Hearts down. "He also says he'll take your two of hearts and make it one." The two of hearts was placed down. "'You don't know how to play your cards' . He thinks he's playing a card game."
"Or he's obsessed with cards." Trent added. "Good job, Carlos."
"Or he was obsessed with gambling." Sydney threw in. "Gage, you remember that case a while back where we arrested a bunch of men for gambling illegally?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. One of the guys was obsessed with gambling cards."
"Do you think it could be him?" Kim asked.
"He went to jail, and his time is up. I think it's him, guys. What should we do?" Gage noticed that she was really starting to become frightened. Though they weren't suppose to show their affections for each other in public, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders letting her lean against his chest. Carlos was clearing things up, and Kim and Trent just stared at each other. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Walker about this. If this guy finds out that he knows, he might become more violent."
"You're right, Trent. It's best if the four of us know right now, and no one else." She said as they moved to the couch still watching the rangers. "Besides, Walker has his wife and daughter to think of. He doesn't need to worry about Gage and Sydney."
"But you know he does. Their like his kids. He feels he has to protect them."
"I respect that. You know something, Trent, sometimes it seems...and maybe it's just me...but it seems that you feel you have to protect me and Carlos; but not so much Carlos."
"What do you mean, Kim?" He shifted so as to face her.
"It seems like you never want me to help on a case." She said solemnly.
"That's because I don't want you to get hurt. You're right. I am more protective of you because I know Carlos can take care of himself. Not that you can't. I just feel..."
"Like you want...to protect me." She emphasized the want.
"Yeah. I think that's it." he leaned back and smiled.
"Trent, I appreciate that very much, but you know yourself that if need be I can defend myself. You taught me how to. So in that way you're always there to protect me. Even if you're all the way on the other side of Dallas."
He laughed at this. "Come on. Let's give those two some room. How about dinner? Just the two of us." he said smiling at her.
"What about Carlos?" she questioned.
"He has a date. And he already left. So what do you say?" he asked again in that low, sexy voice.
She couldn't resist it. The smile, his voice, those eyes that pierced her heart, the way him being this close to her made her heart rush. She shook her head yes and the two said goodbye to the rangers entangled in each other. Trent grabbed their jackets, helper her on with hers, and left.
End chapter six. Seven coming. Next time: what happens on Trent and Kim's night out. See I promised more action. The thing with the cards is that I was looking at my deck one night and noticed the way the different cards looked. The cards described here are called "INVINCIBLE" made by the Western Publishing Company, Inc from 1979. I know not all card decks are the same. I checked. The name Thatcher is the name of this guy that was at a Christian retreat. He was cute, Christian and has the coolest name. Well, hope you've liked it so far. Later! *^_^*
Summary: Gage finds out why they're 'not as safe as they think'
Unlucky Hand chapter six: Ante Up
The next morning, the two rangers arrived at the station after stopping by Syd's to change, and found everyone there waiting for them at their desks, even Alex and Angela. When they walked in everyone yelled, "Surprise! Welcome back!"
Stunned, Sydney looked at her partner who only shrugged. "I didn't put them up to it." he insisted.
"No. This was our idea." Kim said. "You've been through quite a bit, and we wanted to make you feel welcomed."
"Oh, thanks, guys." She said hugging them. "This is so sweet. And cupcakes."
"Well, we were going to send you flowers, but you weren't in the hospital, and we didn't know where you were, so...we tried this." Walker informed hugging his wife and daughter.
"And you and Gage are the only two who hasn't replied for my Christmas party." Alex informed handing both rangers a card.
"Of course we'll come, Alex. Wouldn't miss it." Gage then asked, "Who all's going to be there?"
"You two, Trent, Carlos, Kim, Trivette and Erika, and Butch." Alex listed everyone. Gage and Sydney had now become friends with the bartender at Uppercuts named Butch and were interested in him.
A week later
They got a call that day to the scene of a murder where a man had been stabbed in the heart.
"What did they stab him with?" Gage asked as the detective lead them over.
"Whoever it was used a knife. Here..." he said handing them a bag with a knife in it. "Not uncommon."
"I wonder what the red flower is for?" Gage thought aloud. "No one knows. Ranger Cooke, this was left for you. It's the second on we've found. Please excuse me." he said handing Sydney an envelope.
"The second one? He must be mistaken. There must be another Cooke..."
"No." she interrupted. "It's for me, and it's not the second."
"What?" Gage asked confused.
"Right before we went to work on that heroin case I received a weird letter. At first I thought it was nothing. Then the second one came."
"So this is the third one." he said scared.
"The fourth. You remember the house that was robbed?" He shook his head. "Well, that's where the 'first one' was."
"The cops don't know about the other two? Sydney, why didn't you tell me?" He took her in his arms as she started to cry.
"I thought it was just a prank."
"Here. Let's go see Walker and show him the letters. Okay."
"Okay."
They headed back to her apartment, got the other letters and items, then headed to the rangers station. When they got there Walker wasn't there and neither was Trivette. They decided to see if their PI friends could help.
"So what do you think, Trent? Is she in trouble?"
"She very well could be. This guy sounds serious. Let's read over each letter and try to match things up." He began to read them aloud. "Letter one: Queen of my Heart, Right now we can not be together. Fear not, for I soon will be out, and we will be one. I promise to take care of you. I'll be your Ace in the Hole.
Until later my love, my queen.
Thatcher
Letter two: My queen, You did well today. You and your partners work well together. But the two blonde men were fairly shaken. Has the Jacks been fighting over you? Don't worry. I'm out now. And I will give those two Kings a Royal Flush. Thatcher Letter three: My love, I've searched far and wide to find the perfect bride. Will you take the bait and be my mate? We'll have a Full House with Three of a Kind. Me and you. Not just in my mind. Don't fret my queen. I'll protect our hive. Thatcher
Letter four: My queen, You're making me angry. You've ignored me letters of love and now you're out playin' Straight with the King who hides his swords. Obviously you don't know how to play your cards. But don't worry I'll take your Two of Hearts and turn them
into ONE!
Thatcher
And that's it."
When he had finished reading each letter, he made a copy of each and put the originals away. "Okay, Carlos, you take the first letter and highlight anything weird." Trent handed him the copy of the first letter and a high lighter. "Gage, Sydney, you guys take the second, and do the same. Here, Kim." he handed her the third. "You do the same. Use different methods. If something is spelt wrong do it one way. If several words belong together do them another." He instructed working on the last letter.
Ten minutes passed and soon everyone was done. Trent took out a blank piece f paper and separated it into columns. "Okay. Now let's take the words that fit together and place them in the columns. Them let's look at the content." He did so, fitting the highlighted words into the list. Soon he began asking Sydney what she thought they meant.
"Well, the second one came after we made the bust. I think you two," she said pointing at Gage and Trent, "are the two blonde Jacks."
"I think she's right." Kim added. "Here he says that they were fairly shaken. You guys had just fought that day."
"Kim's right on that, but the fourth letter is what I don't get." Carlos said reading a few lines off the paper. "...now you're playing straight with the King that hides his swords...playing your cards...hey someone give me a deck of cards."
"Carlos?" Trent asked trying to follow him.
"Yeah. Playing cards." Trent handed the deck to Carlos. Kim snickered and teased, "You have playing cards." Trent and Carlos just shrugged. Carlos quickly sorted the cards laying out all the Kings, Queens, Jacks and the two of hearts. "Okay. Now the first letter came with a spade, yellow flower and he called you his queen." He laid out the Queen of Spade. "The second was with a wooden club and a red flower and he calls Gage and Trent Jacks and Kings; and says he'd give them a royal flush." He laid out the Queen of Clubs. "The third was found at a house that had been robbed. There was a diamond ring attached to a leaf on it. And again calls you his queen; and says you'll have a full house and be three of a kind." The Queen of Diamonds was laid down. "And finally, the last was found on a dead man stabbed in the heart. The knife had a red flower on it. Again he calls you his queen, and again refers to a King, one with a hidden sword." He laid the King of Hearts down. "He also says he'll take your two of hearts and make it one." The two of hearts was placed down. "'You don't know how to play your cards' . He thinks he's playing a card game."
"Or he's obsessed with cards." Trent added. "Good job, Carlos."
"Or he was obsessed with gambling." Sydney threw in. "Gage, you remember that case a while back where we arrested a bunch of men for gambling illegally?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah. One of the guys was obsessed with gambling cards."
"Do you think it could be him?" Kim asked.
"He went to jail, and his time is up. I think it's him, guys. What should we do?" Gage noticed that she was really starting to become frightened. Though they weren't suppose to show their affections for each other in public, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders letting her lean against his chest. Carlos was clearing things up, and Kim and Trent just stared at each other. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Walker about this. If this guy finds out that he knows, he might become more violent."
"You're right, Trent. It's best if the four of us know right now, and no one else." She said as they moved to the couch still watching the rangers. "Besides, Walker has his wife and daughter to think of. He doesn't need to worry about Gage and Sydney."
"But you know he does. Their like his kids. He feels he has to protect them."
"I respect that. You know something, Trent, sometimes it seems...and maybe it's just me...but it seems that you feel you have to protect me and Carlos; but not so much Carlos."
"What do you mean, Kim?" He shifted so as to face her.
"It seems like you never want me to help on a case." She said solemnly.
"That's because I don't want you to get hurt. You're right. I am more protective of you because I know Carlos can take care of himself. Not that you can't. I just feel..."
"Like you want...to protect me." She emphasized the want.
"Yeah. I think that's it." he leaned back and smiled.
"Trent, I appreciate that very much, but you know yourself that if need be I can defend myself. You taught me how to. So in that way you're always there to protect me. Even if you're all the way on the other side of Dallas."
He laughed at this. "Come on. Let's give those two some room. How about dinner? Just the two of us." he said smiling at her.
"What about Carlos?" she questioned.
"He has a date. And he already left. So what do you say?" he asked again in that low, sexy voice.
She couldn't resist it. The smile, his voice, those eyes that pierced her heart, the way him being this close to her made her heart rush. She shook her head yes and the two said goodbye to the rangers entangled in each other. Trent grabbed their jackets, helper her on with hers, and left.
End chapter six. Seven coming. Next time: what happens on Trent and Kim's night out. See I promised more action. The thing with the cards is that I was looking at my deck one night and noticed the way the different cards looked. The cards described here are called "INVINCIBLE" made by the Western Publishing Company, Inc from 1979. I know not all card decks are the same. I checked. The name Thatcher is the name of this guy that was at a Christian retreat. He was cute, Christian and has the coolest name. Well, hope you've liked it so far. Later! *^_^*